Pools are blue, roses are red,
If you don't follow the rules,
She will be dead.

Follow the eagle and the direction it points,
To find your next clue, be careful don't break any joints.
The terrain will be rocky,
Don't talk to anyone, you'll find a walkie-talkie
And you must decode it.

Once you decode it, send the message to me,
And then wait, for you soon will see.

•••

I laid wide awake in my bedroom. Trying to decode the riddle, trying to solve the puzzle, in hopes of keeping Cass alive. It made no sense. I thought if everything, every place I could think of. Maybe I was over thinking it. Maybe I just needed to take a deep breath, and try again.

I sat up and rubbed my face. I turned to look at the clock. It read 4:00 a.m.

Only 10 hours until he kills Cass.

I hop off my bed and go to my desk. I turn on the light and sit. Taking a price of paper, I scribble down the puzzle. The words stared at me like I stared at them. With a blank face. No clue of what to do.

I decided to take it piece by piece like we did with poems in school.

The first part:

Pools are blue, roses are red,
If you don't follow the rules,
she will be dead.

This was obviously the threat. I couldn't tell anyone. And he basically said the internet was useless. But I tried it anyway.

A quick google search backed up his point, nothing. I sigh and look at the paper. The first line must mean something.

I think of all the pools in this small town. The town of St. Michael, Connecticut. It's best known for its beautiful ports.

There are only two public pools in the town.
The Dolphin Dive and the Rose-lawn pool.

Wait a second.
The Rose-Lawn pool.

That must be the place I have to go!!

I run over to my closet and grab a jacket, but the darkness from my window told me to wait. Mom would kill me if she knew I left early. I decided to wait for a few more hours, at least until the peaks of sunrise would arrive.

Before then I would try and figure out the rest of the puzzle.

Follow the eagle and the direction it points,
To find your next clue, be careful don't break any joints.
The terrain will be rocky,
Don't talk to anyone, you'll find a walkie-talkie
And you must decode it.

A quick google search showed there are woods behind the Rose-lawn Pool. And he said the internet wouldn't help at all.

So I must have to go to the Rose-lawn pool and go to the woods behind them, but whats with the eagle? And the direction it is pointing? I couldn't find any eagle landmark on the internet. Maybe the dude was right.

I laid back in my chair, and yet again the memories resurfaced.

She slammed her books down on the table, I jumped from looking on my phone for the loud sound frightened me.

"Hi, Jassy. How are you doing?" Cassidy smiled.

I smiled back. Her bright green eyes gleamed with excitement. Man, I had only met Cassidy two months ago, and I'm still not over her beautiful personality.

"I am doing ay-ok for being constantly bored to death by teachers who hate their life," I responded.

She snorted. "Yeah, yeah, whatever Jas."

For the rest of the lunch, I just listened to her amazing voice. It soothed me, made me feel relaxed. And from every lunch since then, I would look into her beautiful eyes, smile because she could never make me frown, and nod at every little silly story, and every little or big rant.

And that's why I kept trying to remember every single memory of Cass because I couldn't forget her, and I couldn't forget why I was doing this, solving stupid puzzle's, that may even just a prank.

It was 6:00 a.m. Only 8 hours left.

I couldn't wait any longer. I grabbed my jacket and ran down the stairs. Scribbled a note for my mother and went on my way.

My rusty piece of a crap car got me there in a half hour.Behold, the Rose-Lawn pool. Never been here in my life. Never needed to, because embarrassing enough, I can't swim. Yes, I live on an island, and I can't swim.

Anyway, back to the pool. Now I just need to find an eagle. I walked around the pool five times, just to be sure I saw everything. Nope. No eagle.I decided to walk down to the shallow beach behind the pool, just to try and clear my thoughts. I sat in the sand, not caring about my jeans. I looked out at the ocean and closed my eyes. I am already over this. I just want my Cassidy back.

I opened my eyes and instinctively turned to my left. There it was, an eagle totem pole. You couldn't have seen it from the pool building, as it was hidden behind the mists of the surrounding woods.I stood up and ran, ran as fast as I could, like my life depended on it, like Cass's life depended on it, because it does. The eagle was pointing North, I took out my phone and read the next part of the puzzle.

Follow the eagle and the direction it points,
To find your next clue, be careful don't break any joints.
The terrain will be rocky,
Don't talk to anyone, you'll find a walkie-talkie
And you must decode it.

I walk North for 30 feet before I reach a huge rocky hill. This must be the place to be. I take the kidnappers warning, going slow and steady, careful not to fall. It takes me a half hour. I get to the top and looked at my phone, eight o'clock. I keep walking north, next to find was a walkie-talkie.

I knew it couldn't be that far away from the rocky wall. I look at the top of the wall, and it was a nice open space, a nice quiet meadow. I walked around the meadow, looking in every corner, every rock. I knew he wouldn't hide it in plain sight, but if he wanted me to find it, why can't I find it.

I kick a rock off of the hill and scream out into the ocean. I scream until tears form in my eyes. I couldn't cry now, I can't cry yet. This is only the first puzzle, and I can't even find a stupid thing. I sit and curl my knees into my arms. I shudder at the thought of the kidnapper hurting Cass. I look out to the ocean and watch the waves as they roll in and out. I can't just stop looking.

I brush against a bush on my millionth time around the place. I decided to look in it. My hand touches something that isn't apart of the bush. I pull the item out and jump with excitement. I had found it.

I turn it on and listen. I wait ten minutes before a voice comes through.

What is round, can be still or in motion, and is apart of something much bigger. This item is ancient and in many shapes and sizes. Text me the answer, let's hope you'll be right.

I listen and try and think. This sounds so familiar, like someone I know-

Cassidy!! Cass used to tell me riddles back in freshman year. And this was one of them.

I open my phone to the unknown number chat and text-

W-H-E-E-L

The walkie-talkie comes to life again.

"Good job, you've solved the first puzzle within eight hours, and to prove your precious girl is alive, here you go."

I waited, there was a crash and then a scream.

"Jason! Jason!"

"CASSIDY! CASSIDY I'M COMING. CASS! CASS!!!!!!!!"

"JASSY PLEASSEEE HELP ME! JAS-"

And that was it.

"That's all for now. Are you ready for part two?" The man hissed.

**********************************************************

Authors Note:

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading this book! This is my first mystery/thriller novel so please bear with me! I hope to update at least once a week, but I am a very busy person, so it may be longer than a week. Anyway, let me know how you are liking the book so far in the comments. Thanks again!