Linda groaned slightly as she rolled over in bed. Someone was softly counting. Linda slowly peeled open her eyes. Martie was doing sit-ups by her bed, her back towards Linda's and Dot's beds. Linda's eyes scanned the room until they fell upon Dot's bed, where Dot was still sleeping away. Linda's eyes scanned the room again until they fell upon a clock and saw that it was just past eight. She didn't feel like she had gotten enough sleep and just wanted to stay in bed, but she also wanted to get up and join Martie in her exercises. They were all going to need to stay in shape.

Linda glanced at the clock again and decided to stay in bed for a few more minutes before getting up. Though her body wanted to stay in bed, her mind was running a million miles a second, back in time no less. Her thoughts went back to the incident of the previous night and went over every detail in her head, or as near as she could remember them. Johnny and Astro tried to get the license plate number, but couldn't see it. The car was dark and it looked like the windows were tinted since they couldn't get a good view of the driver. It played out like it was an accident, but it sure seemed like it was intentional. But then, why didn't the driver come back and try it again if it was international?

Linda got out of bed and straightened the covers before walking towards Martie.

"One hundred thirty … morning sleepy head … one hundred thirty-one."

"Morning Martie," replied Linda. She turned one of the chairs at a desk around and sat down. "Martie, what can you tell me about Rod and Mike?"

Martie paused in her sit-ups and looked at Linda. "What exactly did you want to know?"

"Just how did those two end up such rivals?"

Martie did one more sit-up before getting up and sitting down on her bed. She grabbed a bottle and took a long drink before answering. "Well, technically it's all on Rod. Mike just has these blinders on and is super focused on getting into space. It's been his dream since he was a kid. "

Linda smiled. "Know the feeling."

Martie grinned. "You too, huh? How about the others?"

Linda chuckled. "Oh, it's been Tom's and Dot's dream equally as mine. The others decided later."

"And Ralph?" Martie asked slowly.

Linda's smile faltered. "He only came because of me. I don't think he's got any dream other than getting married to me."

"But getting married isn't part of your dream?"

Linda sighed and shook her head. "No, that's not it. I do want to get married, just not to Ralph. He's a good guy, don't get me wrong, but I just don't love him the way he wants me to."

"Oh, won't take no for an answer?"

Linda scoffed. "Kinda, he's of the opinion that I'll change my mind and fall for him. And what's worse is that my aunt and his mom enable him!"

Martie rolled her eyes. "Oh boy, they think he's the perfect little boy, don't they?"

Linda groaned. "Oh, definitely. I mean, like I said, he's not that bad, but he's just not the guy for me. And their insistence that we get together doesn't exactly help the situation either. But enough about me, please tell me more about Rod and Mike."

"Right, while Mike, and Johnny and I as well, actually, were all dreaming of getting to space one day, Rod always seemed to be in it for the glory. While your friends might act rich, Rod acts like he should be getting everything his way. He wants to be in the front, wants to be first, and wants to be in control. That's the main reason why this one-sided rivalry with Mike began, Mike was just doing his best, and his best was ultimately the best, and Rod doesn't like being second-place to anyone." Martie paused and looked intently at Linda. "You agree that Rod is behind all this?"

"It definitely sounds like Rod was determined to keep Mike from getting to Sanford."

"And the incident of last night?"

"See, that's where I hesitate, it really does seem like it was an accident at first, but the fact that there were no distinguishable marks on the car and that we couldn't see the driver would suggest otherwise."

Martie raised a finger. "You bring up a good point there, but I want to add that Mike did tell Rod that we were going to be there. And not only did Rod not go last night, but a car also nearly runs us over on an otherwise deserted street."

Linda nodded slowly. "Yes, you're right on that aspect. I still think we need more information concerning last night's incident, but if anything else were to happen and Rod's not there, I'd be inclined to believe that he's behind it as well. It would be just too odd."

Martie sighed. "Yeah, and the only problem is that Mike will refuse to see it. He's gotten so used to having Rod on the team and ignoring the rivalry that it will take him longer to see it."

Linda let out a huff. "Well, I hope we open his eyes before anyone else gets hurt."

"Yeah, no kidding," replied Martie with a scoff. "But more importantly, hopefully we can get one of the commanding officers to see and kick Rod out of the program before anyone else gets hurt."

Linda nodded slowly, her brain going along a certain train of thought. "Yes, yes, we should find a teacher or an officer who can help us." She quickly got up and got dressed.

"Where are you going?" asked Martie as she watched Linda gathering her keys, phone, a map of the campus, and wallet.

"I'm going to take a walk, maybe even head to the hanger and see if I can't take a plane up. I seem to be able to think better in the sky." She shot Martie a sly smirk. "I'm weird like that."

Martie tilted her head. "Really? Huh, Mike's kinda the same way."

Linda smiled. "Well, just another thing in common, huh? Must really make things easy for you then, being so used to him."

Martie chuckled and shrugged. "Guess so. Enjoy your flight, if you can get one, otherwise, enjoy your walk."

Linda chuckled as she opened the door. "Thanks. Be back in a bit!" She closed the door behind her and walked towards the center of the campus. There, a large metallic rocketship stood surrounded by symbols of the other sciences encased in metal. Two bronzen starfish, the college's mascot, flanked the statue. Linda's eyes roamed over the statue before coming to a pause at the very top of the rocketship. Yes, she and Tom had dreamed of going to space for the longest time. They practically devoured whatever books they could on the subject, even the fictional books, few that there seemed to be. Star Trek, Star Wars, and Stargate were on constantly and play time consisted mostly of pretending to be in space. Some decided to follow them only in play, while others apparently followed them for real.

Linda pulled out her map and studied it. According to it, the hanger was further north of the campus, closer to a field. Linda made off in that direction. Within a few minutes, the hanger came into view. There were several people milling about, checking on planes and equipment. Linda noticed one fellow was dressed in a casual military outfit and approached him.

She cleared her throat. "Excuse me, sir?"

He turned around, wiping his brow as he did so and removed his cap for a moment to reveal a head full of red hair. His grey eyes posed a question as he shot her a friendly smile. "Well hello, how can I help you?"

"Um, I was wondering, if it's not too much to ask, if I could go up in a plane?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You're a student, right?"

Linda gave a quick nod. "Yes sir."

"You already have your license?"

"Yes sir, got it just last summer."

He flung a dirty rag over his shoulder. "Well, since you have, I guess it's alright. But it is standard procedure to have a flight instructor with you."

Linda's smile began to waver. "Oh? Is there one available I can ask?"

The young man grinned. "You're looking at one."

Linda's eyes widened. "Oh! Well, then, may you come with me?"

He laughed. "First, allow me to introduce myself, I'm Ted McKay."

Linda cocked her head. The name sounded familiar. Where had she heard it before? She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and extended her hand. "Oh, well, pleasure to meet you, Mr. McKay, I'm Linda Carlton."

He grasped her hand and shook it, giving her an odd look. "Linda Carlton, huh? Why do I get the sense that I've heard that name somewhere before?"

"Oh, you too? I thought I had heard your name somewhere before too! But, I don't think I've ever met you before."

"Neither have I, to be honest." Ted shrugged. "Well, we might have met once in passing and forgot about it. If so, it's a pleasure to meet you again."

Linda laughed. "Likewise! So, um, about that plane …"

Ted grinned. "That eager to get up there, huh? You must have been called Lindy 2.0 a lot."

Linda chuckled nervously. "Nah, how'd you guess?"

Ted shrugged. "Yeah, well, you must get tired of hearing that nickname, don't you?"

Linda shrugged. "Depends on the person. I only let certain people call me that, but not all the time either. It does get annoying real quick."

Ted chuckled. "I bet. Come on, let's get you all geared up and find a plane."

Linda grinned. "Thank you!" She followed him to get the gear on and to a plane. A few minutes later, the two were up in the air. Linda let out a breath of relief.

"School hasn't started yet, what's got you so stressed? If you don't mind my asking," Ted quickly added through the headset.

Linda sighed. Should she tell him? It's not like she didn't have anyone to talk to, but the people she would have liked to talk to weren't there, one in particular at Cedar Ridge, another was still asleep, and a third wasn't out of his room as of yet. At least, she hadn't run into him yet. As a matter of fact, she hadn't even bothered looking at her phone besides grabbing it to take it with her. But there was something about Ted that she liked and she felt that she could trust him. Not only that, she wondered if an outside view might help. So, slowly, she began to open up to Ted and told him everything that had happened since orientation and everyone's suspicions.

Ted let out a soft whistle. "That's a lot to happen in such a short time. If I hadn't known about Rod's issues with Mike, I'd say it was just an accident. But it really does sound like this Rod Harger is behind it."

"It does, doesn't it? The problem is, Mike doesn't think so."

"And I understand that's frustrating, but I can see where Mike's coming from too. It's good leadership skills to base your decisions on hard facts, not mere speculation. Sometimes speculations can be right, but this was a single incident. If more things happen, then you should definitely look into it."

"How many more times?"

"I'd say three. And I know, you want to act now so that no one gets hurt, but accidents will happen when you least expect it and you do need to take that into account. But if something bad keeps happening around Mike, then consider your speculations as facts, or very near it."

Linda nodded. "A good thing to keep in mind. Thank you, Mr. McKay, you've been a great help."

"Not at all, and call me Ted. I'm used to Mr. McKay being used for my dad and, well … long story short, I don't want to be associated with him."

"He, he's not a great father?"

"Let's just say, he didn't want to be the best man he could be, so I had to step in and help my mom keep the family together."

"I'm, I'm so sorry to hear that."

"I'm not," came Ted's voice through the headset. "I'm glad of it. I couldn't stand him, none of us could. He lost job after job, forcing my mom to go to work to pay the bills. And then he tried stealing from her. She got a restraining order on him, and we haven't seen him since."

"Wow, that bad huh?"

"Yeah, I only mention it to give you a bit of back story, but I'd rather forget it, if you don't mind."

Linda waved her hand. "Don't worry, I would too. Thanks for telling me though … Ted."

"Well, thank you for listening. Now that we've gotten our troubles out of the way, why don't you show me what you can do in this bird. Take the controls, Linda."

Linda grinned under the helmet. "Oh, yes sir!"

"I didn't like the sound of that," muttered Ted, right before Linda took the plane into a spin. She did a few more maneuvers in the air before Ted called it quits for the day. "Wow, you are really good!" Ted told her as they peeled off the pilot gear.

Linda grinned. "Thanks!"

"You really do belong in the air, but are you sure you belong in space?"

Linda thought for only a second before giving him a firm nod. "Yes, definitely. It's been mine and Tom's dream for forever to get into space."

Ted raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Tom?"

"Oh, his dad works for my dad, we practically grew up like siblings."

"Ah, I see," Ted said slowly.

"Oh, speaking of, I should text him. He likes flying as much as I do, he would most likely come out here a lot too."

"Yeah, um, great. Tell him Ted McKay can hook him up with a ride whenever he wants," said Ted with a shrug.

Linda chuckled. "Will do!" She went to the locker where she had put her phone and the campus map. She picked up her phone and checked her messages. She gasped. Louise had sent her a message, several messages in fact. And not just Louise, but Maurice, Jim, Kit, Ralph, Sally, and the rest of the gang. What was going on?

"Is something wrong?" asked Ted as he walked up to her.

"I don't know, everyone's just been sending me all these messages." She quickly scanned them. "Wait, what?"

"What? What is it?"

"That bell at Cedar Ridge. It was ringing last night! They heard it, but they didn't see anyone at the bell tower!"

(Author's Note: Hello rosy readers! Yes, they will talk to each other about the other mystery, but I can tell you right now they are not connected, lol. The groups will just interact, a lot. And there may be future mysteries where they will work together, we'll see. ;) Anyways, since I gave the major update in the last chapter, there isn't much more to say for this one, so, thanks for reading and have a great week! God bless!)