Kidnapped by the Cult! Read online

  KIDNAPPED BY THE CULT!

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  To the Children of Rosie and Harry's Place

  Jessica was lying on her bed, listening to the sounds of her parents and Elizabeth talking downstairs. Although they were just in another part of the house, it felt to Jessica as though they were in another part of the world.

  At least Adam Marvel understood. Adam was on Jessica's side. Adam cared about her. He had told her that she was outgrowing her friends and her family, just the way a snail outgrows its shell. And like the snail, she would have to find a new shell—one that was empty and waiting for her.

  Jessica rolled on her side. She knew that the new shell Adam was talking about was the Good Friends. They needed her. They were waiting for her.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  One

  "It was a fantastic party!" Cara Walker said to Lila Fowler. "Those Christmas lights you strung across the living room were so romantic."

  Lila Fowler smiled. "What can I say? I'm a great hostess." Lila was the daughter of one of the richest men in Sweet Valley, and modesty was not part of her personality.

  Amy Sutton shook her head. "The barbecue was even better," she said. "Especially when Winston and Ken jumped into the pool with all their clothes on!"

  "Friday night was terrific, too," Sandra Bacon said. She rolled her eyes. "Whose idea was it to order that chocolate chip pizza?" She turned to Lila. "It's a good thing your dad wasn't there!"

  Lila's father had left on Friday afternoon for a week-long business trip, and Lila had decided to make the most of his absence. Friday night she had invited her favorite Pi Beta Alpha sisters to a sleepover, Saturday night she threw a huge party, and on Sunday she invited several friends for a barbecue and pool party.

  Now it was Monday morning, and Jessica Wakefield stood in the hallway of Sweet Valley High with Lila, Cara, Amy, and Sandra and listened miserably as they talked about the fantastic weekend. Jessica hadn't been to any of the weekend's parties because her parents had grounded her for three weeks, and she still had almost one week to go.

  "Well, it sounds like you all had a good weekend," she said flatly.

  "Good?" Lila said, laughing. "It was amazing."

  "It was the best weekend I've had in a long time," Amy agreed.

  Jessica tossed her shoulder-length golden blond hair. "I'm glad you didn't let the fact that I was locked in my room with a math book stop you from enjoying yourselves," she said, sulking.

  "It was too bad you couldn't be there," Sandra said sympathetically.

  Cara nodded. "Especially since you had to miss the Pi Beta dance, too."

  Jessica scowled. Her parents, ignoring the fact that she was president of the sorority, had grounded her starting the day of the Pi Beta Alpha induction ceremony and dance.

  Lila shrugged. "It's your own fault, Jessica," she said. "You really have no one else to blame."

  Jessica's scowl deepened. It just so happened that she could think of several other people to blame.

  First of all, she could blame her parents. They were being completely unreasonable. What had she done that was so awful? Sure, she had failed a couple of math tests. So what? Everyone—except Jessica's twin, Elizabeth—failed a test now and then.

  Which brought Jessica to the second person she could blame: Elizabeth Wakefield. Jessica and her twin might look identical, from their sparkling blue-green eyes and silky blond hair, but in reality they were as different as night and day. Elizabeth was mature and responsible. She was a straight-A student and a reporter for The Oracle, Sweet Valley High's newspaper. Jessica loved to have fun, and lately, it seemed, got into nothing but trouble. As far as Jessica could tell, her parents thought Elizabeth was perfect and that Jessica couldn't do anything right. Jessica was sure that if her identical twin weren't so perfect, her parents would be less critical of her.

  Jessica frowned as she looked at her friends. Thirdly, she could blame them. What sort of friends were they, anyway? They knew she was grounded; did they have to cram every major social event they could think of into the few weeks when Jessica couldn't go? Would real friends act like that? No, Jessica told herself. Real friends would have stuck by her. Real friends would have spent their free time cheering her up. After all, these were the girls who had encouraged her to go shopping when she should have been studying, the girls who always insisted she go to the beach with them instead of doing her homework. How insensitive, spoiled, and self-centered could you get?

  "Some friends," Jessica muttered, and marched away.

  By lunchtime that day, however, Jessica's mood had changed again. She had decided that she probably shouldn't be angry with her friends. After all, it might not have been Jessica's fault that her parents had grounded her, but it wasn't really her friends' fault, either. And she did still have five more days before her parents would let her out of the house for anything other than school or cheerleading practice. That meant five long, boring evenings in the split-level prison on Calico Drive. Five evenings spent all by herself with a textbook while her friends were having a great time hanging out at Lila's. Just the thought of it made Jessica feel like crying. It might as well have been five years. Being grounded didn't get easier; it got harder. She would love to go for a pizza with the cheerleaders! She would die to go to a movie with her boyfriend, Sam Woodruff! She would even consider visiting a museum with Elizabeth, just to get out of the house.

  Jessica realized that she would never make it through those last five days. Not unless she could convince her friends to call her and visit her. Maybe if she was really nice to them, she could even convince them not to do anything really wonderful until Saturday, when Jessica would finally be free.

  Jessica arrived at the cafeteria with a bounce in her step and a smile and went over to the table where Lila, Amy, and Cara were sitting.

  "Hi there!" Jessica said cheerfully, sounding like her usual self. She slid into the empty seat beside Lila. "What's happening?"

  "We were just deciding what to do this week, before my father comes home," Lila said.

  Jessica's smile remained steady.

  Cara nodded. "Only we can't decide when to have another sleepover."

  Jessica's smile faded just a little.

  "Because of the pool party Friday night," Amy explained. "We can't fit everything in." She looked straight at Jessica. "Not and keep up our schoolwork, too," she added.

  Jessica unwrapped her sandwich without looking up. "So skip the pool party," she said. "You can always have another one."

  "If it isn't soon, though, I won't be able to come," Cara said quickly. Something in her voice made her friends all turn to her expectantly. Cara blushed. "I was going to wait to tell you this," she said, "but I guess now is as good a time as any. My mother just told me last night that she and I will be going to London." Cara looked around, smiling.

  There were a few seconds of stunned silence.

  "London?" Jessica repeated. "London, England?"

  Cara nodded. "We'll be there for a week."

  Jessica couldn't believe this. Wasn't it bad enough that Lila was having another sleepover and a pool party? Now Cara Walker was going to London!

  "Oh, you're so lucky, Cara," Lila gushed. "London is great, believe me. There's so much to do! You'll have a wonderful time," she assured her.

  "I'm so jealous!" Amy squealed. "I've always dreamed of going to London. English boys have the cutest accents. Don't you think so, Jess?"

  "Umph," Jessica said from behind her sandwich. Even though it tasted as if it had turned to sand, Jessica was grateful she had a mouthful of food. At least it meant she didn't have to speak. If she had to speak, she wouldn't be able to hide her disappointment. Why had she been born to parents who thought going out to dinner was a big deal, while Cara had a mother who just suddenly decided to go to London? Life was unfair. Here she was, born to travel, and she couldn't even leave the house! Jessica dropped her unfinished sandwich onto the table.

  "Cheer up, Jess," said Cara. "You're only grounded for a few more days."

  "Five," Jessica hissed, pushing her tray away.

  "Five," Cara corrected herself. "Well, that's not so long."

  Lila reached into her bag and took out a notebook and a pen. "We'll have to make a list of all the things we have to do to get you ready for London," she said to Cara.

  Amy beat on the table with her fingertips. "This is so exciting." She laughed. "I almost feel like I'm going, too."

  Jessica got to her feet. No one looked up. Lila was telling Cara where the best dress shops were in London, and Amy was trying to talk with an English accent.

  "Well," Jessica said, "I've got to go to the library."

  Lila and Cara nodded without even glancing in her direction.

  "Or maybe I'll go throw myself in front of a truck," she said.

  When she had first been grounded, Jessica had looked forward to Tuesday afternoons. Tuesday afternoon Jessica was allowed to go to cheerleading practice, the only extracurricular activity Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield were letting her continue. Jessica had taken th
is as a sign of humanity and compassion on her parents' part. They didn't want her to be completely left out, she had told herself. Since then, however, she'd changed her mind.

  Her parents must have known that going to practice would only make her feel more left out. When the cheerleaders weren't going through their routines, they were making plans for after practice or later in the evening. They went on and on about all the things they were doing that weekend. It was torture.

  And that Tuesday was the worst.

  While they were changing into their uniforms, Amy and Cara kept talking about the sleepover Lila was having the following night. Lila was going to show the pictures she had taken the last time she was in London, and Lila's cook was going to make fish and chips in honor of Cara.

  Lila turned to Jessica. "I really wish you could come, too," she said. "Especially since you may never get to London yourself."

  Jessica banged her locker shut so quickly, she nearly caught Lila's hair in it.

  All during practice, Jessica fumed. She shouldn't have come, she decided. Cheerleading was boring. The routines were boring. The other cheerleaders were boring. She should have gone straight home.

  "Jessica!" called Robin Wilson, who was co-captain with Jessica. "Pay attention, will you? You're mixing up the cheers."

  Jessica glowered. She had written half the cheers herself, and now Robin was accusing her of getting them wrong!

  Maria Santelli leaned over Jessica's shoulder. "Loosen up, Jess! You've got as much spring as a brick wall."

  A ripple of laughter moved along the two rows of cheerleaders. Jessica's cheeks burned and she threw her pompoms on the ground in frustration. I can't do anything right anymore, she thought as she stormed away.

  At least one good thing is happening today, Jessica told herself as she quickly dressed before the other cheerleaders came into the locker room. At least I'm going to see Sam.

  Sam was picking her up after practice and driving her home. Even before she had been grounded, the fact that Sam went to Bridgewater High and spent so much time on his dirt bike meant that he didn't pay as much attention to Jessica as she would have liked. She had hoped that since she was grounded and couldn't stand in the mud every weekend watching him race, he would come to the house more often. But so far, things hadn't worked out that way.

  Jessica waited in the parking lot a good ten minutes before Sam finally drove up. "I was just beginning to think you'd forgotten me," she said with a laugh as she slid in beside him.

  Jessica waited for him to say something like I could never forget you, Jess. "I'm sorry I'm late, Jess, but I'm having some trouble with my bike," he said instead.

  "Your bike?" she asked.

  Sam nodded. "Remember I told you I took a spill on Sunday?"

  "Uh-huh," Jessica said. In fact, she didn't remember. Her parents thought she spent more time on the telephone than she did studying, and so they had limited her to incoming calls no longer than ten minutes. She had to pack a lot into those ten minutes, and mostly it wasn't listening.

  Sam made a face. "Well, it looks like the damage is worse than I thought."

  "Which means what?" Jessica asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

  "Which means I have to get home soon so I can work on it tonight."

  "Tonight?" Jessica couldn't keep the shrillness out of her voice. "But I thought you were coming to my house for dinner."

  Sam reached for her hand as they stopped at a light, but she pulled it away. "I'm sorry, Jess, I really am. But you know I've got a big race on Saturday. I've got to get the bike fixed in time."

  "You can fix it any other night this week," Jessica protested. "I thought you were going to spend some time with me for a change. I haven't seen you for days!"

  "I'm really sorry, Jess," Sam said. "You know I've missed you. But this is really important."

  "More important than I am?" Jessica asked. There was a tone in her voice and a look in her eyes that her family would instantly have recognized as dangerous.

  Sam laughed. "How could I compare a dirt bike to one of the two most beautiful girls in southern California?" He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "The one who goes out with me."

  "You mean the one who doesn't go out anywhere," Jessica grumbled.

  When Jessica went to the school parking lot to meet her sister on Wednesday afternoon, she found Todd Wilkins sitting in the passenger seat of the Fiat the twins shared, talking excitedly with Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth opened the door so Jessica could squeeze into the cramped space in the back. "Todd's coming home with us today," Elizabeth announced breezily.

  "Oh," said Jessica. The last thing she needed was to watch Todd and Elizabeth being the perfect couple. They could be pretty sickening at the best of times, but especially when her own romance wasn't doing too well. She hadn't spoken to Sam since he had dropped her off the day before.

  Elizabeth turned to her twin with a smile. "There's a new bowling team starting up at school, and Todd and I have decided to join!" She seemed inexplicably happy about this. "You know, bowling shirts, those awesome shoes, lots of greasy food at the bowling alley," Elizabeth continued, laughing.

  As far as Jessica was concerned, bowling was a sweaty sport, with absolutely no fashion potential. "I'm surprised you have the time for another activity," she said.

  "Not only will we get to improve our games, we'll be able to spend more time together, too," Todd said, grinning.

  "Well, isn't that just wonderful," Jessica said, staring out the window.

  "I hear the coach is excellent but very demanding," Todd was saying as Elizabeth pulled into the Wakefields' driveway. "Just think of all the hours of practice we'll have to put in!" he added with a mischievous grin as Jessica clambered out of the car.

  Jessica stormed into the house, up the stairs, and into her room. But she couldn't escape them. Barricaded in her room, she could still hear them downstairs, talking and laughing. How did they find so much to talk about? After all the time Elizabeth and Todd had been dating, she would have thought they'd be sick of talking to each other by then. With a heavy sigh, she got up and went out to the hallway. "Do you two think you could be a little quieter down there?" she called. "Some of us are trying to do our homework."

  "Sure, Jess. Sorry about that," Todd called back.

  Jessica stomped back into her room. At least Todd would be going home soon, she told herself. That was some consolation.

  But Todd, Jessica discovered when she went down to supper, was not going home soon. Mrs. Wakefield, probably to punish Jessica even more than she already had, had asked Todd to join them.

  "I don't believe this," Jessica muttered as she slammed the plates down on the table. "Aren't you afraid Elizabeth's going to fall behind in her schoolwork if she spends so much time with Todd?"

  Mrs. Wakefield passed her the silverware. "I think we can risk one evening," she said evenly. "Elizabeth isn't failing math."

  Jessica threw the knives and forks into place. Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth. Elizabeth with her straight A's. Elizabeth with her award-winning work on The Oracle. Elizabeth with her perfect boyfriend. And where was Jessica's perfect boyfriend? Probably lying on the floor of his garage with his head under a motorcycle. Jessica bounced the salt and pepper shakers into place.

  "Maybe you and Sam would like to come bowling with us sometime," Elizabeth suggested after they had all sat down to eat.

  Jessica stared at her blankly. "Bowling?" she asked, as though Elizabeth had suggested cobra wrestling.

  But before Jessica could explain to her sister exactly what she thought of bowling, Mr. Wakefield broke into the conversation. "I think maybe Jessica has enough to do getting her grades up at the moment," he said, with a significant look in her direction.

  Jessica stared back at him in horror. He might as well have picked up his chicken leg and slapped her in the face with it. Wasn't it bad enough that everyone was always on her back about something? Now her father had to embarrass her in front of Todd, too.

  "I wouldn't be caught dead bowling!" Jessica shouted as she pushed back her chair and rushed out of the room.

  Two

  The end of the week went no better for Jessica than the beginning. On Thursday she picked a fight with Elizabeth at breakfast, argued with Lila and Amy at lunch, and ended the day by hanging up on Sam. Friday she moped.