Carmen and I stood up.

Mom poured a white fluid on the gray glue.

"Is it working?" I asked.

"Yes, the glue is melting," Mom answered.

"And the creators thought it was permanent..." Carmen muttered.

"Can we move this along?" I asked. It came out sounding more irritating than
I intended.

Soon the glue was dissolved. Carmen and I were still handcuffed together, but
at least we were more comfortable. Then I remembered something. I groaned
loudly. "These are experimental handcuffs. They won't open with a key."

"Then how do they open?"

"A timer system, which has probably been screwed up because of the glue," I
griped.

"Couldn't we melt the metal?" asked Mom.

I shook my head. "Pure titanium. It would take an extremely high temperature
to melt."

Then Mom had another idea. "How about we put pressure on the chain?"

"It's worth a try." Carmen replied.

After a long ordeal involving a wrench, the chain was weak, but it still
held. Then Mom had another idea. "Where can we find an ice pond?"

"Several places." was Carmen's answer. "Like Siberia."

"Siberia it is, then." I quipped. Anything to be free from Carmen.
***************************************************************************
"What are we doing on a frozen pond?" I wondered aloud.

"You two are going to skate away from each other, until the chain breaks."
Mom said.

We obeyed. It worked. The chain snapped. Suddenly I fell backwards onto a
patch of black ice. Then I heard a sickening crack from below.

"Ivy!" I heard Mom scream as I plunged into freezing water. I saw Carmen grab
the back of her coat in panic.

To be continued......