Rita Logan and the Dark Tower - Episode 8

 

Rita Logan and the Dark Tower

Episode 8

Sunlight fell on the face of Rita Logan peeking over the roof of the house next door spilling over the window sill. It slowly nudged her out of her slumber whispering that morning had arrived.

She rolled over away from the brightness subconsciously wanting a bit more sleep. But her mind, the part that remembered the events of yesterday, shouted at her from inside its gauzy depths, "GET UP!"

Rita's heart pounded beating a rapid rhythm that felt lodged in her throat. She rubbed her eyes and let them adjust to the sunlight. Her feet dangled off the edge of the bed.

The room where she found herself was unfamiliar. It wasn't a place she had spent any time, but it was the sort of room she'd found herself many times in her life. Her parents never verbalized their fears, but every so often those fears came to the forefront of their lives pushing them to move out of town.

Rita wasn't sure what they were running from but she did know one thing -- those fears were building again.

This was why she's never allowed herself to become close to anyone. She knew eventually her parents would get 'that look' in their eyes and calmly tell her it was time to move again.

She heard her parents voices somewhere outside her door. She'd been so busy following the clues of her new mystery she'd almost forgotten they'd both been missing for a few days.

"Mom? Dad?" she said with surprising pep in her voice. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, pumpkin. It's us." Ford Logan tousled his oldest girl's hair. "Didn't think you could get rid of us that easily, did you?"

"I didn't know what happened. I came home from school and you were just gone. Even Xander, my evil half-brother, went missing. Not that I'm complaining, at least, about Xander."

Rita's parents apologized for not being able to find her during their time of crisis and they didn't explain further. She thought it was odd at the time but was more focused on her own mystery quest.

She checked her phone and there was a message from Kyle. asking her where she was. She was a popular girl these days. He was apparently hiding in her house. At text from Jordan followed with a frantic message that George was missing.

Rita could have run, but where would she go? She was bruised everywhere and it still hurt to move. She sat up in bed, her head spinning a bit. How had all this happened without her? A suitcase full of clothes was lying on the dresser. Someone had thought ahead to pack things for her. That was odd considering they'd forgotten to inform her about the danger.

Something wasn't right. And she felt like her parents were still keeping something from her.

Rita slipped into the outfit on top of the pile, grabbed her messenger bag and moved to the window. She had to find Kyle and Jordan and see what was really going on.

She was in the process of removing the screen when Noah appeared in her doorway.

"Rita? You up?"

She stilled. What was Noah Strong doing here at the safe house?"

"Just a minute!" Rita yelled. She replaced the screen pulled the curtains and moved to her bed. "Okay, you can come in," she called.

Noah poked his head in the door. "I just wanted to make sure you were all right. You came in a bit out of it last night."

"I was going back to the Dark Tower to do a bit more investigation, but I guess I never made it. Somehow, I woke up here."

"Oh, you made it all right. And about got yourself kidnapped for your trouble."

"Kidnapped?"

"Some man in black came out of the shadows and grabbed you. If it hadn't been for my brother, Micah, there's no telling where you'd be right now."

She let that thought sink in for a moment, but it didn't effect her in the way Noah thought. She wasn't scared, she was frustrated.

"All of these fantastical things have happened and I'm not any closer to solving the mystery of the Dark Tower than I was when I started." Rita huffed.

"Maybe staying safe is more important than solving a mystery no one cares about."

"That's just crazy talk," she muttered. "Everyone in town wonders about the Dark Tower. Strange lights, strange noises at all times of night. Heck, there was a holographic image on the first floor projecting an image of a living room. Why on earth would they do that unless something strange was going on?"

Noah was also interested in knowing what was going on at the Dark Tower, but he wouldn't admit that to his father, who was against trespassing on the property again.

"All right. We'll go over there together and figure this out, but we need to make sure our parents don't know what we're doing."

"Cool," said a voice behind them. It was Noah's brother, Matt. "So, are we saying 'road trip?'"