Run (1999)

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Sam is gone. No. Not just gone. Someone's taken him. Kidnapped him to get to me. And I only have three hours to find him... Or Sam is going to die. All because of me. NO RULES. NO LIMITS. NO FEAR. About the Author Francine Pascal is one of the most popular fiction writers for teenagers today and the creator of several best-selling series, including Fearless and Sweet Valley High, which was also made into a television series. She has written several novels, including My First Love and Other Disasters, My Mother Was Never a Kid, and Love & Betrayal & Hold the Mayo. In writing her stories, Ms. Pascal is inspired by her own memories of growing up and by the experiences of her three daughters. Francine Pascal lives in New York and the south of France. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter One: Save Sam You've Got Mail "HELLO? ANYBODY UP THERE?" Gaia had just stepped out of the shower when she heard the voice floating up the stairs to greet her. She wrapped a too-small towel around herself, went to the landing, and leaned into the stairwell. It was a familiar voice, but not one she expected to hear before eight o'clock in the morning. "Ed?" "Yeah." "Um...what the hell are you doing here?" She heard him laugh under his breath. "Just fine, thanks, and you?" At the sound of his voice, a minute ray of happiness filtered down into the blackness of her mood. She hadn't spoken a word out loud since Saturday night, since everything...happened. Now it was Monday morning, and her words were so far back in her brain she had to hunt around for them. "N-Not that fine," she responded hoarsely. "I had..." How could she begin to convey the true horror that was her life? "Sort of a rough weekend." "What else is new?" She heard both affection and wariness in Ed's voice. He knew a "rough weekend" for Gaia meant more than teenage angst -- that it would involve things like firearms and kickboxing. "Tell me about it over breakfast," he called. "I brought bagels." Her stomach grumbled loudly. One thing this city had going for it -- authentic, fresh-out-of-the-oven bagels. They almost made up for the high price of Apple Jacks. She glanced down at herself and the small puddle forming under her feet. "I'm wearing a hand towel and a few cups of water," Gaia said, wishing Ella hadn't left early this morning, so that she could be disturbed by this exchange. At least Ella had taken George with her wherever she'd gone. Gaia disliked offending George as much as she enjoyed offending Ella. "I repeat," said Ed, laughing again. "C'mon down!" Gaia rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the undertones of the remark. Two minutes later, she'd slipped into her most-worn cargo pants and a gray T-shirt and was on her way downstairs, her hair dripping water over her shoulders. On the landing, she paused to study the familiar snapshot that hung in a frame there on the wall -- the photograph George had taken so long ago of Gaia and her parents. Gaia had tried to get rid of it, but Ella insisted it remain. She squinted at it, looking hard at her father. Her father. She'd seen him two nights ago. Actually seen him and spoken to him. And decked him, she reminded herself bitterly. After that he'd disappeared -- again. Her stomach churned, both with confusion and with sadness. Why had he shown up here after all this time? What could it mean? Was it some paternal sixth sense that had dragged him back into her life? Did he somehow know she'd been on the verge of ditching her virginity, and he'd crawled out from whatever rock he'd been hiding under all these years to give her an old-fashioned heart-to-heart talk on morality, safe sex, and self-control? Or was it just one more whacked-out coincidence in her life? She leaned closer to the photo and stared into his eyes. They appeared to be soft, kind, intelligent eyes -- and the smile looked genuine. The man she'd met on Saturday night had not seemed genuine at all. The warmth and gentleness she saw in the picture