Ginnie Quinn's computer dinged. She reached across her desk, entered her password, and opened Gmail. It was from Lake Reillson, one of Ginnie's friends. The email said, "Get Owen, Becks, Karl, and Kenneth, and even Will if needed on here pronto. I have something to tell you." Ginnie wondered if it had something to do with the will. Last year, Ginnie's parents had been accused of stealing and hiding a man named Connor Tyson's will. Lake had found the will in Chloe Gomez, daughter of Alchys Gomez's desk drawer. Not wanting to waste time physically dragging Kenneth and Owen away from whatever they were doing, Ginnie yelled, "OWEN! KENNETH! GET ON GMAIL NOW. LAKE WANTS TO TELL US SOMETHING!" Two minutes later, two emails popped up from her best friend and her brother: "What????" In response, Ginnie sent them the link to the group chat. "Okay. Kenneth and Owen are here. I'll email Karl and Becks." "Thx," Lake replied. 

In no time, five teenagers  and one adult were on Gmail. Will Sanchex was an older guy from Ginnie's boarding school, and having an adult with them might make things a lot easier. "Okay, Lakelinne Tabitha," Will started the conversation by teasing Lake about her full name. "Spill." 

Lake typed furiously into Gmail, not bothering for proper punctuation. "Okay so you guys know how my uncle is the founder of the itr???? Well he told me 2 tell u that the ppl who bombed owens house are COMING BACK TO FIGHT. My uncles rounding up a team of ppl 2 fight r u guys in?????" 

Ginnie heard a moan of "Oh, no" from the boys's room. Poor Owen. "In," Ginnie typed. Becks, Karl, Owen, Kenneth, and Will all said yes too. 

"Pack ur stuff," Lake sent. "We leave tmrw."     

Before Ginnie packed, she sprinted across the hallway, nearly colliding with a cabniet in the process. Then she opened the door to Owen and Kenneth's room. Kenneth was not there, and Owen was sitting on the bed, head in hands. Ginnie rapped softly on the opened door. "Can I come in?" Owen nodded without looking up. After a few minutes of silence, Ginnie said, "It's going to be okay, you know. We're all going to keep fighting, and nobody's gonna let you get hurt." 

"I know. It's just, this is the same way my parents died. Two years ago. I'm next, Ginnie, and everbody knows it." 

"No, you're not next." Ginnie said fiercely. "I'm not letting that happen. I'll die before you or anyone else gets hurt." 

"Well, I'm not letting you die either." 

"Shake on it," Ginnie said, all professional. "Either we both make it, or we both don't. It's not one or the other." 

Owen and Ginnie shook hands. Both knew, deep in their hearts, that this vow not only applied to this upcoming battle. It applied for the rest of their lives. They both went down in flames, or they both rose above the flames. Forever.

Ginnie was all packed. T-shirts, jeans, shorts, and sweats were packed into a large backpack. The front pocket was stuffed with energy bars. Ginnie's parents knew all about everything. The four Quinns and Owen left the house. Ginnie noticed that Owen lingered at the door. She didn't blame him. He'd already lost his first home. Now he might lose two.

Mom, Dad, Ginnie, Owen, and Kenneth met Mr. P, Lake, Becks, Karl, and Will at the airport. The ten people boarded the plane and shuffled to the back. They were going to ITR Headquarters, which, by plane, took about three hours to reach. Ginnie opened the window and looked down at the small buildings. Taking a deep breath, she tried to remember a time she was six years old and her family was on vacation to Hawaii. No criminals were after her, she was safe and innocent, and no vows ending in possible death. 

Ginnie walked off the plane with her crew of nine. All these people she'd met over the years were here to help her, and she was eternally grateful. 

They all piled into Mr. P.'s car and drove another 20 minutes to ITR HQ. Seldom people worked there, so there were not very many hotel rooms. Two, to be exact. One was meant for adults and one for children, so that's the arrangement they settled into. Ginnie, Owen, Kenneth, Lake, Karl, and Becks hung their clothes in the closet, and Lake heaved her heavy laptop out of her bag and set it on the desk. "What are you going to do with that, Lake?" Karl asked. Lake's answer was short and sure: "I'm spying on the Gomezes." That got everyone's attention. Ginnie, Owen, Kenneth, Becks, and Karl crowded around Lake. "How?" Kenneth asked. "I'll hack into their website." Why not?

Ginnie was actually pretty impressed with Lake's coding abilities. But there was one piece she just could not get past. It wasn't until Lake gave an aggravated sigh that Ginnie asked, "Need some help?" Lake nodded fervently. Ginnie took Lake's seat at the computer. She typed quickly, and the camera she and Owen had found four years ago became viewable. Alchys, with her long, filthy, greasy yellow hair and fat body was standing next to her skinny, rat-like twin brother. They were talking to James Barker, Keith Parker, and Arlie and Nico Simpson! Nearly all the adversaties the kids had faced over the years were in the same room. The words "plane" and "Sonny" could be heard. And it hit them. The fake ITR and the former president were plotting to kill Owen. If they were going to save everybody who lived on Lybrooke Lane, they better move. And fast.

That night, Ginnie, Owen, Lake, Karl, and Becks all slept peacefully. But far away, the Evils were plotting. 

The Evils consisted of James Barker, the former president, Alchys and Abbadon Gomez, twin criminals, Chloe Gomez, Alchys's daughter, Mr. Jailer, headmaster of the fake boarding school, Keith Parker, escaped convicted murderer, Nico Simpson, a mastermind of the fake ITR, and Arlie Simpson, Nico's twelve-year-old daughter. Nobody knew the horrors of the next few weeks.

"So...Tell me again why I'm leading this plan?" Twelve-year-old Arlie was confused. There were five grown men in the Evils, one of them being her dad, yet she was carrying out the plan of demolishing Lybrooke Lane, and ending Owen Sonny's life. "Because you're young, and you look cute," Dad answered simply. "Mrs. Quinn will be mad if one of us is in the house. On the other hand, if a poor young girl is sitting there, she will surely not be mad. You do everything behind the scenes. You're the Evils' Little Helper." 

"You can count on me," Arlie said. She tried not to think of Ginnie Quinn at twelve: Fighting off evil robots and criminals. And here she was, meaning to end an innocent teenager's life.

                                 THE EVILS

Becks had woken up late. All the others were down having breakfast, and Becks checked the computer. Alchys was saying "We attack today. It's the Sonny boy's last day alive. I hope he knows it." Becks flushed hot and cold. She dashed down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Owen, Karl, Ginnie, Kenneth, Lake, Will, Mr. P., and Mr. and Mrs. Quinn were eating breakfast. "It's happening today!" she blurted, and everyone gave her confused looks. "The attack. They're doing it today. I heard them on the computer! We have to go back to Lybrooke Lane."  Under the table, Ginnie grabbed Owen's arm. No one noticed. "What did they say?" a pallid Ginnie asked. Owen was too frightened to talk. Becks almost couldn't repeat the words. "We attack today. It's the Sonny boy's last day alive. I hope he knows it." The words were more horrible out loud. "We've got your back, Owen," Karl said. "Nobody's giving up on you," Ginnie added. "We all care." 

It was a hectic morning. Everybody rushed to pack their stuff, keeping Lake's computer out until last minute to check on the Evils. Then another problem arose: There was no money for ten plane tickets. And by the time they'd driven to Ginnie's house, Lybrooke Lane would be lifeless and demolished. But Lake had one of her very dangerous and adventurous ideas, and made Mr. P. drive to the airport anyway. As they all climbed out of the car, Ginnie and Karl fell into step next to Lake. "Lake. What are you doing?" Ginnie asked quietly. "I'm getting everyone onto the wing of that plane. That's how we're getting there." "Dude. That's gonna get us killed before we actually fight the murderers," Karl said. "Well, I'd rather say I tried than let Lybrooke Lane and everyone in it die. We aren't going down without a fight. Even if a fight means riding on the wing of an airplane." 

"You're crazy," Karl said. He paused. "I like you." Lake grinned. 

When Ginnie, Lake, and Karl told the others about Lake's crazy plan, they were in denial that those three were being serious. "You actually expect us to just hop on the wing of that plane and fly back to Lybrooke?" Becks gaped at them. "Yep," Lake said.  Karl whispered, "If we go, they have no choice but to follow us." Ginnie bolted for the airplane. Lake and Karl quickly followed. The seven others, realizing the plane would take off in a couple of minutes, raced after the teenagers. Amazingly, all ten people were seated on the wing of the plane, trepidated. Ginnie was sandwiched between Lake and Owen. She realized her hands were shaking. Owen laced his fingers through hers, and she gripped his hand as well as Lake's. None of them could've been prepared for the takeoff. It was so fast Ginnie felt like her face was peeling off. She felt her fingers numbing from both the intense speed and Owen and Lake's grip. Somebody was shrieking. 

"KENNETH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Becks screamed. She had just barely locked hands with Kenneth, who was dangling from the edge. Going 475 miles per hour in the sky trying to keep someone from falling to their death was not enjoyable. Ginnie scrambled to reach Becks and Kenneth. "KENNETH! GRAB MY HAND!" she had to shout over the roar of the plane. Together, Becks and Ginnie pulled Kenneth back up to safety, if you could call it that. Becks was knocked backward as Kenneth came crashing back on top of her. The three of them quickly got back into their spots. "Are you scared?" Owen muttered to Ginnie. "Terrifed," she replied. "You don't seem scared." The airplane suddenly rumbled. Owen, Ginnie, and Lake fell on top of each other. Lake shot up quickly and scooted closer to Mr. P., who was on her right. Ginnie was shaking violently, as was Owen. He pulled Ginnie back up. "I'm so scared," Ginnie whispered. She curled up and leaned against the plane

window. "It'll be okay," Owen said. "Remember the oath? You fall off the plane, I fall of the plane." "Neither of us is falling off. We'll both go all the way." One hour later, the plane landed. It was very painful. Mr. P. fell into Lake, who fell into Ginnie, who fell into Owen, who miraculously caught her, rather than tumbling off the plane. With trembling legs, the ten people climbed off the wing of the plane, unnoticed.  

There was something Lake hadn't thought of: Getting all the way to Lybrooke  Lane. They were twenty minutes away, if they drove. But walking would take forever, and Mr. P.'s car was back at the airport. "I have an idea." Karl came up from behind her. "What?" Lake asked. "Hitchhiking." "But that could be dange-" Lake stopped herself. Who was she to talk about being dangerous, when she had just made everybody fly three hours on the wing of a plane? "Never mind."  "That's what I thought." 

"NO. Genevieve Adella, we are NOT going hitchhiking." Ginnie's parents were not a big fan of Karl's catch-a-ride-from-a-stranger idea. "Mom, we have to. If we walk, there's a big chance the Evils will have kidnapped everybody on Lybrooke Lane. Our home will be destroyed, and we'll be stranded. I'm going." Ginnie took a deep breath. "You can follow me or not, but I'm going." Kenneth, Owen, Becks, Lake, and Karl nodded. Will solemnly joined them. Mrs. Quinn shared a weary look with her husband. "Okay, fine. But only because Mr. Parkinson is here." The group walked to the side of the road and put their thumbs out. They had to wait only ten minutes before a large van pulled off the side. "Where to?" he asked kindly. "Lybrooke Lane." Ginnie's voice was strong. They all got in and started to go.