Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures #12: Escape to California Read Online Free Page B

closer.

    â€œWell, I might as well rest my weary bones,” the guard said with a sigh.
    Oh no, thought Stanley. He’s going to sit on us!
    Stanley and Lily braced for impact. But just then, the big guard’s walkie-talkie crackled to life. “Barney, where are you? Aren’t you done with your rounds yet?”
    Barney grunted and straightened up. “Yeah, yeah,” he said to himself. “I’m coming.” He ambled down the hall, grumbling as he went.
    When Stanley could no longer hear the guard’s footsteps, he leaped up, threw off the blanket, and turned to give Lily a look of relief. But she was already on the move. He ran to keep up.
    Finally they arrived at the heavy door that would lead them out of the prison, to the outside. It was kept shut by a rusty old lock.
    Lily silently pulled another spoke from the Escapist’s wheel: the crowbar. She stuck it in the side of the door, and gave a quick push. The lock broke with a crack.
    â€œCheck the other side,” whispered Lily. “If the coast is clear, we’ll make a break for it.”
    Stanley slipped under the bottom of the door, and the salty night air struck him in the face. All was quiet in the deserted grounds of the prison, and the waters of San Francisco Bay lapped onto the shore far down below. He stood up outside and stretched his arms.
    With a flourish, Stanley opened the door for his partner—and an earsplitting siren pierced the air.
    He’d tripped the alarm!
    â€œCome on!” Lily barreled forward, scooping Stanley onto her lap. A spotlight flicked on somewhere above them. Lily weaved the wheelchair just out of its reach.

    Stanley suddenly saw that they were surrounded by a barbed wire fence that cut them off from the shoreline. That wasn’t on the blueprint! he realized.
    â€œPrepare for emergency takeoff!” said Lily.
    â€œWe’re too far from shore!” screamed Stanley over the sirens. “If you launch me from here, your wheelchair will never clear that fence!”
    â€œPREPARE FOR EMERGENCY TAKEOFF!” repeated Lily fiercely, turning the wheelchair on a dime as the spotlight’s glare grazed her elbow.
    Still on Lily’s lap, Stanley quickly connected the wires attaching him to the Escapist. Lily backed away from the fence, and the spotlight caught them. “DO NOT FLEE!” a voice commanded over a loudspeaker.
    Lily took Stanley’s hands and looked him squarely in the eye.
    â€œLet’s blow this taco stand,” she said through gritted teeth.
    And she threw Stanley over the fence and right off the edge of the Rock.

Sky High
    Stanley kept his eyes trained on Lily as her wheelchair lifted off. They climbed swiftly, but then he felt a terrible lurch—the wheels of the Escapist had snagged the barbed wire at the top of the fence.
    â€œLily!” screamed Stanley. No matter how hard the wind pulled, it couldn’t blow them free. The force against Stanley was so great, he could barely breathe. Caught like a bug in the spotlight, Lily took a spoke from the Escapist’s wheel, and pulled it apart into two handles. They were wire cutters! Lily was snipping the barbed wire!
    All at once, the Escapist was free, and Stanley blew out over the bay. Almost immediately, he felt a series of hard, jagged tugs on the wires that ran down to the wheelchair.
    Lily must be bumping the rocks on her way to the water! thought Stanley. He angled upward, pulling her higher.
    The San Francisco skyline twinkled up ahead, a slim pyramid-shaped building leading the way. She must be over the water by now, thought Stanley, and he slowly descended until he felt a smooth bump in the lines. Lily’s wheelchair was skimming the surface of San Francisco Bay.

    Down below, a spotlight caught Lily in its circular halo. But it wasn’t coming from Alcatraz. It was coming from across the bay, from Oda Nobu’s press conference. The world was watching Lily speed