The boy, who they learned was named Michael, led them to the library. It was the biggest library Nora had ever seen in her life.
"What secrets does this library possibly have?" asked the Mayor. "I'm in here every day!"
Michael said nothing and walked to the bookcase in the back of the room. He pulled all of the books off of the third shelf up from the bottom then pulled away the wallpaper, revealing a vault. He punched in a code and the vault slid open.
"What's inside of there?" asked Louise.
"Follow me." Michael climbed up on the shelf and crawled through the vault. The others followed after him. The vault led to a small, dark room. The walls were lined with posters and bulletin boards, tacked full with old, black-and-white photos.
"What is this place?" Joann asked herself quietly, looking around at all of the eerie photos.
Michael must've heard her because he said, "This is the secret meeting place, dedicated to the study of the evil queen."
"You mean...we're not the only ones who she's kidnapped?" asked Bridget.
"Oh no, of course not," said Michael."Things like this have been going on for centuries."
"How do we stop her?" Martha inquired.
"First of all, we need an army," Michael told them. "All the people we can get. And then, we attack. People are going to die, but it will save more lives than the ones that will be lost."
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" the Mayor interrupted, suddenly. "I still haven't seen any proof that what you're saying is true."
Michael sighed and pulled a binder off a shelf. He flipped threw it then held out a newspaper article titled "Witch Kidnaps Unsuspecting Townsfolk."
"That's her!" Peggy cried, pointing to a picture of a evil looking woman at the top of the page. "That's who she is!"
The Mayor took the newspaper from Michael and read over it. He sighed. "Alright, I'm convinced. Where do we start?"
Michael opened his mouth to talk, but before he could get any words out, Martha cried, "We need to find Dad!"
Nora gasped. "I completely forgot! I saw your dad this morning! Right before I was kidnapped!"
Bridged grabbed Nora's arm. "Really?"
"Really! He was looking for you and I told him that I'd help!"
"Wait...what's your father's name?" asked the Mayor.
"James Barnhill!" Peggy, Martha and Bridged shouted in unison.
"There was a James Barnhill here today!" said Michael. "He was looking for his three daughters, said they got separated here and couldn't find each other! I told him to go to the police station and ask them for help!"
"Let's go!" without any hesitation, Bridged crawled back through the vault and the others followed.
"Stop!" Michael shouted. "You can't go out there unprotected! For all we know the witch could be walking up and down Main Street!"
"He has a point, girls," Joann said kindly.
"But we need to find out father!" Peggy exclaimed.
"I'm not saying you can't go out," Michael said. "I'm saying you need a disguise." He looked at the Mayor with a hopeful expression.
The Mayor nodded and led them out of the library and down another hallway to a room full of cardboard boxes.
A woman walked into the room. She was wearing a purple dress and matching purple shoes. Her black hair was pulled up into a tight-looking bun.
"This is Lora," The Mayor said. "My assistant."
Lora smiled and said hello.
The Mayor said something quietly to Lora, who nodded. The Mayor left the room then and Lora turned to everyone. "Alright," she said. "Let's get some disguises."
