CHAPTER 1

Jada checked the map on her phone. "We’re almost there."

"Three weeks of freedom!" Leo cheered.

"Three weeks of physical labor is more like it," Sofia said. "Don’t forget it’s your fault we're all here."

"You didn't have to come," Leo replied from the back seat. "I’m the one who messed up, not you."

"Abuela insisted I come along to keep you out of any more trouble," Sofia said. "She wouldn’t take no for an answer." Their grandmother could be tough, but they both knew how much she loved them.

"Poor, perfect Sofia has to babysit her little cousin," Leo teased. "What about you Jada? Here to keep me out of trouble too?"

"I’m trying to stay out of trouble myself," Jada said. "There was a robbery at the drive-through where I work, and it really shook me up. My parents thought it would be a good idea for me to get out of the city for a bit." Jada deepened her voice to sound like her father and said, "A break from all the drama is just what you need, young lady."

"Well, we're officially in the middle of nowhere," Sofia said. "I don't think we could find any drama out here if we tried."

Sofia slowed the car when she spotted the turnoff. It was summer break, and they were heading to a small fruit farm for a working holiday. She suspected it would be more "work" than "holiday" as her grandmother had planned the trip.

Abuela was always saying they were too spoiled, and she'd been upset when Leo started hanging out with what she called "the wrong crowd". When Leo was caught shoplifting, she had called an old friend and arranged for them to work on the farm.

Abuela insisted some hard work and fresh air would be good for them both. At least Sofia had been able to invite her best friend Jada to come too.

"Do you think I'll get any time to write?" Jada asked. She wound down the window and took a photo.

"Sure," said Leo. "And I'll bet there's some great hiking trails around here."

Sofia took a breath of fresh air and smiled. "Maybe it won't be so bad."

The car bumped along a dusty dirt track towards the farmhouse at the bottom of a valley.

"Here we are," said Sofia. "Hidden Valley Farm."

"It"s very…uh….rustic," Jada said. "I feel like we’ve stepped back in time."

"What's that smell?" Leo scrunched up his nose.

"I think that's just what farms smell like," Jada laughed.

Looking around, they saw a farmhouse, a large barn, a smaller barn, a chicken coop and a wood cabin. Everything looked rundown, and bits of machinery were scattered around the clearing. Horses were grazing in a nearby paddock. The farmhouse clearing was surrounded by untamed woodlands and rows of fruit trees stretched up the sides of low mountains.

The farmer marched towards them. "You're late!"

"Sorry," Jada said. "We got a bit lost."

Sofia opened the trunk. "Where should we put…"

"We've got a lot of work to do," the farmer cut her off. He was already walking towards the large barn when he looked back. "You are here to work, aren’t you? The fruit won’t pick itself. I had to get rid of the last lot of kids because they were lazy."

"Get rid of...?" Sofia mumbled as they hurried after the farmer.

"We'll start on the fruit tomorrow," the farmer said. "Your first job is to clean this barn. The hose is over there, and cleaning supplies are here." He opened a cupboard and started to leave.

"Aren't you going to show us what to do?" Jada asked. "We've never cleaned a barn before."

"I’m busy. You’ll figure it out." The farmer walked away.

Leo took a bucket from the cupboard. "He's not exactly friendly, is he?"

"He's just busy," Sofia replied. "I'm sure he'll be more friendly once he gets to know us."

"I hope so," Jada said, picking up the broom.

Leo began to fill the bucket in a large sink. "Look at that stain." He pointed to a reddish-brown mark on the concrete. "It kind of looks like blood."

"Gross," Jada said, taking a step backwards. "That's a lot of blood."

"Don't be so dramatic." Sofia looked closely. "I'm sure it's just rust, or paint or… something far less exciting. No drama, remember?"

"I just hope we aren't cleaning up a crime scene," Jada joked. She made sure to walk around the stain, just in case.

After a few hours of work, Sofia suggested they take a break.

Jada held up her phone. "Let's take a photo together."

The friends looped arms and smiled. "Cheese!"

"Can you send it to my Mom?" asked Sofia.

Jada fiddled with her phone. "I can't, I don’t have any signal."

Leo checked his phone. "Me neither."

Sofia walked around the barn, looking at her screen. "Nothing. It must be because we're in the valley."

"Jada might die without social media for three whole weeks," Leo teased.

"Ha ha, very funny!" Jada said sarcastically. She looked down at her phone. "I'm sure we can get a signal somewhere around here."

The farmer appeared in the doorway. "Standing around, are we?"

Jada quickly put her phone in her pocket and picked up the broom. "We were just taking a quick break."

"You can take a break when you're done," the farmer replied.

"Sorry," Leo mumbled, getting back to work.

At sunset, the farmer told them to finish up. He showed them to their cabin and told them to help themselves to dinner in the farmhouse kitchen.

"Aren't you going to eat with us?" Sofia asked.

"Not tonight," the farmer replied. "Coyotes got into the chicken coop, so I'll be doing repairs until late."

"Coyotes?" Leo’s eyes were wide. "Are they dangerous?"

"To chickens they are. To people, not really." The farmer picked up his tools and walked away.

"Not really?" Leo peered into the trees and shrubs surrounding the cabin. "That's not the same as no."

The cabin had two bedrooms, a living area, an outside bathroom, and a small porch.

"Home sweet home." Sofia started unpacking.

Jada was holding her phone up to the sky. "There’s no signal here either."

"I’m sure your followers will survive without an update," Leo teased.

"You won't be laughing when you get eaten by a coyote and I can’t call for help," Jada joked.

"Eaten? They can't actually eat people, can they?" Leo asked nervously.

Sofia rolled her eyes. "Not such a tough guy away from your friends, are you? Let's eat dinner before we get told off again."

On their way to the farmhouse, the friends passed the large barn. It had been hard work cleaning it out today, but they had felt good when it was finished.

"I wonder if we'll have to clean the other barn tomorrow?" Sofia asked.

"I hope not," Jada said. "I"ve done enough barn sweeping for a lifetime and my feet are aching."

"I don't think so," Leo said, pointing to the smaller barn's door. "Look."

Wrapped around the door handles was a thick chain and two rusty padlocks. Signs reading KEEP OUT and PRIVATE were hanging near the entry.

"I wonder what's in there," Jada whispered.

Leo looked around. "Whatever it is, he doesn"t want us to know."

After dinner, the three friends settled in for the night. Sofia and Jada shared one room. Leo had the smaller room to himself.

The girls fell asleep quickly, but Leo lay awake listening to the unfamiliar sounds of the farm: rustling leaves, footsteps and animal cries.

He was used to living in a noisy apartment, but it felt strange to know they were so far from any other people. He couldn’t stop thinking about coyotes. He looked outside but it was so dark he couldn’t see a thing. Just before dawn, he finally fell into a restless sleep.

Sofia was woken by the morning light flooding into the cabin. She stretched as she walked into the living area. Leo was pulling on his boots.

"Morning, sleepy head," he said.

"Morning," Sofia yawned.

"I was just coming in to wake you up," Leo said. "We need to meet Mr. Grumpy soon."

Sofia giggled. "Don't call him that."

"Well, we should try and make a better impression today. You’d better wake up Jada."

"Jada? I thought she was up already."

"I haven't seen her. I thought she was still in bed." Leo looked towards the girls' bedroom. He could see both beds were empty. "Where on earth is she?"

"I have no idea," Sofia said.

CHAPTER 2

Leo looked around the cabin clearing. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

"There's no need to panic," Sofia said. She pulled a jacket over her pajamas and slipped on her boots. "She probably went to get breakfast."

"Without us? Why wouldn’t she wait?" Leo asked.

"Let's go find her," Sofia said. "When we're all eating breakfast together, we’ll have a good laugh about this." She was trying to sound calm, but her voice faltered.

They jogged towards the farmhouse. When they looked inside, Leo's stomach dropped. There was no sign of Jada. "I knew something was wrong," Leo's voice started to shake.

"Jada! Jada!" Leo called as they walked around the clearing.

"There's still no need to panic." Sofia tried to reassure him. "I'm sure Jada is around here somewhere."

"She would have answered. I’ve been calling her name at the top of my lungs."

"Let's find the farmer and ask if he’s seen her," Sofia said. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation."

They looked around, but there was no sign of the farmer. "Look, the pickup is gone," Leo pointed out. "There is no way Jada would have left without us."

"Okay, maybe it is time to panic," Sofia said.

Sofia tried her phone, but there was no signal. "Where could she be? We’ve looked everywhere!"

"We haven't looked there." Leo pointed at the smaller barn. "The door looks different."

"You’re right," Sofia said, hurrying over for a closer look. "The chain was loose yesterday; now it's wrapped tightly."

"You don't think…" Leo couldn’t finish his sentence.

"There's only one way to find out. We need to find the key," Sofia replied.

She jogged to the farmhouse and entered the kitchen. At the far side of the large room was a door with a sign that read NO ENTRY BEYOND THIS POINT. Without hesitating, Sofia pushed open the door. Then she froze.

"I can hear voices," she whispered.

Sofia held the door open a crack and Leo leaned forward to listen. "You're right, someone is definitely in there."

Sofia listened carefully. "We don’t know if it's someone we can trust. But we need the key."

"You wait here. I’ll check it out." Before Sofia could stop him, Leo had slipped through the doorway. Sofia could feel her heart thumping.

Less than a minute passed before Leo reappeared. "It's not a someone, but a something. A talking parrot."

If he hadn't been so stressed, he probably would have laughed. "I've got the keys." Leo jangled a large key ring.

"Let's go." Sofia grabbed the keys and sprinted for the barn. She tried a few wrong keys before getting the locks open. The chain was so heavy it took both of them to unwind it from the door handles.

"What do you think will be inside?" Sofia asked.

"I just hope it’s nothing creepy," Leo replied.

Sofia pulled open the heavy barn door. They squinted their eyes in the dim light. Leo and Sofia could only see the outlines, but there was stuff stacked up from floor to ceiling.

Once inside, their eyes adjusted, and the piles took on solid forms. Rows of shelving stacked with plastic tubs lined the inside of the barn. Three metal barrels were painted with the word POISON under a skull and crossbones. Wooden crates held dusty machinery parts and tools. Leo spotted four large, rusty cages in the corner. A shiver ran down his spine. He pointed to a locked metal box. "That's a gun cabinet."

"Well, we are on a farm." Sofia was trying not to jump to conclusions.

"A fruit farm," Leo replied. "You don't shoot apples."

One plastic tub caught Sofia’s eye. She pulled off the lid and gasped.

Inside the plastic tub, more than a dozen pairs of boots were jumbled together.

"What's so scary about boots?" Leo asked.

"Look how many there are." Sofia dumped them onto the floor. "There's no way these are all his. Look, they’re all different sizes." She picked up a boot with blue shoelaces and held it next to her own. It was at least two sizes smaller.

"Do you think they’re… souvenirs?" Leo asked. "I saw a movie about a serial killer once and he kept a souvenir from each victim."

"I don’t know," Sofia said. "The good news is I don't recognize Jada’s boots."

"This place is creeping me out. Let's go back to the cabin. We might have missed a clue."

CHAPTER 3

"Look, there." Leo pointed to the sandy patch of dirt outside the cabin. "Those footprints zig-zag all over the place."

Sofia knelt to take a closer look. "Almost like someone was being chased."

"You don't think…" Leo gulped. "The coyotes?"

Sofia scanned the clearing. "It couldn't have been coyotes; there’s no paw prints." She took a step and pointed to her boot print. "Look at this! That’s mine. That’s yours. I think that print would be Jada’s because it’s about the same size." Sofia was pointing to the prints that crossed the clearing. "And look at that big print. It's not one of ours."

"The farmer," Leo said.

"Look where Jada’s footprints lead." Sofia was pointing to a jumble of rocks that formed a pathway through the bushes. "I think it’s a trail. See, it winds up there towards the top of the valley."

"Do you think she went up there?" Leo asked.

"I guess there's only one way to find out," Sofia said, climbing onto the first rock. "She’s definitely not down here, and we might be able to see something from up there that we can’t see from the ground."

Leo followed. "I don’t know if I want to see anything else."

Sofia led the way up the steep path, scanning the ground as she went. A broken twig, a scuff mark, a rock that was out of place. Were they clues? She reached the top of the rocky path first. It ended in a junction with a dirt road. She looked around while she waited for Leo to catch up.

"Leo!" Sofia cried. "Hurry up!"

"What? What is it?" Leo asked. He was sweaty from the climb and his brow was creased with worry.

"Check this out." Sofia pointed to a blood-smeared rock lying on the side of the road. Next to it, a set of tire tracks was clearly marked in the dust. "There’s a swerve there, like the driver took off in a hurry."

"You don't think that’s Jada’s blood, do you?" Leo asked.

"I hope not, but we can’t know for sure."

Sofia was examining the rock when something caught Leo’s eye. Half hidden under a tree, Jada’s cell phone was lying in the dirt. The screen had a large crack running across the middle, and a piece of the plastic casing had broken off. Leo tapped the screen, but it didn’t turn on.

"Now we know for certain that something bad has happened." He handed the phone to Sofia. "Something really, really bad."

"We need to call 911," Sofia said, taking her phone out of her pocket. At the top of the screen were the words NO SIGNAL.

Leo looked both ways along the dirt road. "We need to get out of here."

"You’re right. Jada isn’t here so there’s no point staying." Sofia turned towards the pathway. "We have to go back."

"Go back?" Leo frowned. "Have you lost your mind?"

"We need the car," Sofia explained. "We're in the middle of nowhere."

Leo shook his head. "I don't want to go back there."

"I don't want to either," Sofia said. "But if we drive back to the main road we can phone for help."

"You're right," Leo admitted. "It’s too far to walk."

"We need to be gone before the farmer gets back." Sofia started down the rocky path. "After all, our lives might depend on it."

Sofia and Leo arrived back at the bottom of the hiking trail, dusty, sweaty and out of breath. Before she stepped into the clearing, Sofia paused to listen. She motioned for Leo to do the same.

"I’ll sneak into the cabin and get the car keys," Sofia whispered. "You keep a look out." They ran across the clearing and Sofia ducked inside the cabin.

"Got them," she called.

A low noise echoed around the valley. "Do you hear that?" Leo asked. "It sounds like a truck."

"We can still get to the car," Sofia said.

She ran towards the trees. Leo followed. Keeping just behind the tree line, they made their way around the clearing towards the car. The noise of the truck sounded like a growling animal getting closer and closer.

"We made it," Leo said as they reached their car.

Just then, the pickup came through the gate in a cloud of dust.

"He's back!" Sofia cried. "We're out of time."

CHAPTER 4

From behind the trees, Leo and Sofia watched the farmer drive in and park. "I can't see Jada," Sofia said.

"He's blocked our car," Leo whispered. "Should we run?"

"Let's wait and see what he does," Sofia replied.

They watched as the farmer shut off the engine and got out of the car. When he turned in their direction, they saw the front of his t-shirt was smeared with blood.

"Change of plans," Sofia whispered. "We should definitely run!"

They backed into the trees, trying to be both fast and quiet. Sofia’s foot snapped a large twig.

"Shhh," Leo hissed.

When they were a few feet back from the clearing, they started to run. It was difficult to run on the uneven ground. Leo thought about the cages they'd seen in the barn.

"Watch out for traps," he called to Sofia. She nodded and kept running.

"Look through there," Sofia stopped and pointed. "It's the driveway."

"Let's follow it back to the main road," Leo said, "but stay behind the trees in case he's looking for us."

"He knows this place better than anyone," Sofia said. "If he wants to find us, he will."

"Wait," Leo said. "Listen."

For the second time that day, Leo and Sofia heard a vehicle making its way down the long dirt driveway to the farm.

"It might be help," Leo said.

"It might not," Sofia replied.

"You're right," Leo said. "We'd better stay hidden until we see who it is."

They crouched behind a wide tree and watched as a cloud of dust approached. It wasn’t until the vehicle was right next to them that they could see it.

"Did you see that?" Sofia's eyes were wide.

"The sheriff." Leo couldn't believe it. "Let's go back. He might be able to find Jada."

They sprinted down the driveway towards the farmhouse. They got there much quicker without having to navigate the trees and uneven ground.

Leo and Sofia arrived back at the farmhouse clearing just as the sheriff was getting out of his car. They ran towards him, but a shocking sound stopped Sofia in her tracks - laughter. It was clear the sheriff was not there to arrest the farmer.

Sofia had stopped so suddenly that Leo ran into her. He let out a cry of surprise as they both fell to the ground. The noise caught the sheriff's attention. "What's going on?" he asked.

"You're despicable. Both of you!" Sofia shouted. She no longer felt fear, just anger. "We saw the blood, we saw the barn, we saw your souvenirs, and now we see you're working together."

"Where is she? You won’t get away with this!" Leo threatened.

"What's going on?" the sheriff asked again. This time he looked at the farmer.

"Help me out of here and I can explain," a voice called from inside the sheriff's car.

"Jada!" Leo and Sofia ran towards the car.

They peered through the window and were relieved to see Jada was very much alive. Her shoulder was bandaged, and she was wearing a cast from her foot to her thigh.

"Oh Jada. I'm so happy to see you," Sofia cried. They helped Jada out of the car and hugged her so tightly she almost lost her balance.

"You're alive!" Leo said.

"Alive?" Jada laughed. "Yes, I'm alive."

"We thought…" Suddenly Sofia felt silly saying it out loud. "We're just glad you're ok."

Back in the farmhouse kitchen, Jada and the farmer explained what had happened. Sheriff Williams made tea and set a plate of cookies on the table.

"I woke up early and I wanted to check my phone. I saw a trail and I thought if I got higher, I might get a signal."

"Are you serious?" Sofia shook her head. "All this trouble just so you could check your phone?"

"It was dark, I tripped, and I lost my phone," Jada explained. "I was stuck with no phone and a broken leg."

"That's where our hero comes into the story," Sheriff Williams said.

"I don’t know about hero," the farmer blushed. "But I was on my way to check the top orchard and I heard an awful lot of yelling. I got her in the truck, and we drove straight to the hospital. Sorry we didn’t have time to tell you. I can see we’ve given you a fright."

Sofia’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. "We might have jumped to conclusions a little."

"Or a lot," Leo said. "Sorry, it's just we saw some stuff in the locked barn that spooked us."

"Nothing in there out of the ordinary," the farmer said, confused.

"Guns, cages, traps, poison," Sofia started to list the items they’d found.

"That's just farm stuff," the farmer laughed. "To keep the plants growing and the pests away. That's why there’s a great big lock on it — to keep you city folk out."

"What about all the boots?" Sofia asked. She was holding Jada’s hand and didn’t plan to ever let go.

"City kids like you lot come and have their adventure, then head back home where they don’t need work boots anymore. So, if they don’t want them, I give them to local kids who can’t afford them."

"You can add mine to the collection," Jada said. "I’ll be stuck in this cast for months. I'm grounded too. Dad is on his way to pick me up. So much for staying out of trouble."

Sheriff Williams stood. "I'd best be going."

"Thanks for the ride," Jada said. "It was much more comfortable than the bumpy old pickup. Especially with this." She pointed to her cast.

"I’m sorry I left you here scared and alone," the farmer said. "And being so grumpy yesterday probably didn’t help either. I’ve been stressed because I’m late with the harvest."

"In that case, there’s no time to waste." Sofia stood up. "Let's get working."

"What about Jada?" Leo asked. "She can't pick fruit with that cast."

"Don’t worry about me," Jada said. "I’ll stay in the cabin and write until Dad gets here."

"Are you sure?" Sofia didn’t want them to be separated so soon.

"Yes," Jada laughed. "I've got a great idea for a story - The Hidden Valley Adventure!"