The team stood in front of the abandoned, dilapidated house. The front door was off one hinge and was standing ajar. The windows were all broken and there were holes in the porch. The roof was missing shingles and spider webs hung from the eaves. The paint was peeling and the grass around the house was dead.
“Ugh! No way am I going in there,” Lily declared.
“We have to, Lil. That’s our orders,” Adrian told her.
When they had left their hotel room the morning after Disneyland, an envelope had been taped to the windshield of their car with only instructions to follow the GPS. They weren’t sure where they were or what they were supposed to do there.
“It looks so creepy,” Moira said.
Will sidled close to her, hoping she wouldn’t notice. He knew that she had a boyfriend, but he wasn’t here right now. Will would protect her. He crept an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry. Nothing bad can happen if we stick together.”
Moira stared down at his arm, unsure of how to react. He was probably just trying to be nice, but still . . . She shrugged out from under it and moved away. “Don’t.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean . . .”
“No need to be sorry. Just don’t do that.”
“I wasn’t trying to hit on you,” Will told her. Who am I kidding? I was trying to, he thought to himself.
She lifted an eyebrow. “You weren’t?”
“No. I was just trying to be . . . comforting.”
She wasn’t sure whether she believed him or not. She knew how guys could be. “Okay then.”
“Can you two stop with the flirting? Let’s get this over with,” Jesse cut in.
“We weren’t flirting!” Moira insisted.
“I know flirting when I see it,” Jesse said.
“I have a boyfriend,” she said indignantly.
“Really? Then why haven’t we seen him? Or heard you talking to him?”
“Because genius, we haven’t seen anyone. And all our calls are blocked. Remember?”
Jesse didn’t know what to say to that. He just headed into the house, Lily and Adrian trailing him.
“What are we supposed to be doing in here?” Adrian whispered to everyone as they stepped into the front hall.
As soon as they were all inside, the door slammed shut behind them. They all jumped. “It was probably just the wind,” Jesse said nervously.
“I hate to break it to you man, but there wasn’t any wind outside,” Will told him.
They made their way down the hall, tripping over the debris that littered the floor. There was a creaking and then shrieking pierced the stillness of the air.
“What was that?” Adrian asked.
They looked all around. Lily and Moira were missing.
“Where’d the girls go?” Jesse asked, his voice beginning to quaver.
Will bent down. “There’s a sort of trap door here in the floor.” He tried to dig his fingernails into the small crack. “I can’t lift it.”
Jesse and Adrian crouched down as well and tried pulling at the door. It wouldn’t budge. “We’re going to have to figure out another way to find them,” Adrian said.
The three guys continued down the hall, searching the walls for doors.
Moira and Lily had landed in a heap on the floor below. “Ow, I think I broke my wrist,” Lily complained.
Moira rolled her eyes. “Let me see.” She turned and bent Lily’s wrist. “It doesn’t feel broken. I think it’s just sprained, or maybe bruised.” She wished Lily wouldn’t be so overly dramatic. “Let’s try to get out of here. It’s freaking me out.”
They looked around the room that they were in. It was mostly dark. Moira stood up and tried to dust herself off. “Come on Lily. Let’s look for a door.” She turned to help Lily up. “Lily?”
“Yeah?”
“Lily? Where’d you go?”
“I’m right here.” Lily jumped up and waved her hands in front of Moira’s face.
“Lily?” Moira started to search the room as best as she could in the dim light. “Lily, this isn’t funny! We have to get out of here.”
“I’m right here, you idiot.”
Moira was starting to panic. She had to find Lily and get out of there. She was starting to feel claustrophobic in the tiny basement—or whatever it was. How had Lily disappeared so quickly? “Lily!” She turned around and ran face first into a cloth with something solid behind it. She backed up and when she realized what she was facing, she began to scream.
Upstairs, the guys heard Moira’s shriek coming through the floorboards. They ran toward where they thought the screams were coming from. Adrian tumbled through another trap door. Before Jesse could follow, a giant black paw slammed him to the floor. A second paw was wedged in between the floor and the door, holding the door open. “What the heck, Will?”
The black panther slowly morphed back into a human form. “Sorry man. Automatic reaction. Wanted to make sure the trap didn’t shut. I can lower you down if you want to help, and then hold the door open.”
Jesse peered through the opening. “It looks pretty dark down there.” He smirked. “Good thing I have fire power. Go ahead and lower me down.”
Will stretched out on his stomach on the floor. Jesse sat on the lip of the opening and grasped Will’s hand. Will lowered him down. “You okay?” he called down.
“Yeah, thanks,” Jesse called. He held up his palm and concentrated until a spark lit in his hand. He immediately saw Moira backing away from a tall, shadowy figure. She was still screaming. “Hey! Leave her alone.” He threw the spark of fire toward the shape of what looked like a person. The fire caught the robe and it began to spread quickly.
Moira hit a wall and fell to the floor. Adrian appeared from behind Jesse and yanked her out of the way of the fiery shape. The thing disappeared. They froze and looked around for it, but they couldn’t find anything.
“Moira, where’s Lil?” Adrian finally asked.
“I can’t find her,” she admitted. “After we fell, I checked her wrist and then she just disappeared.”
“What?” He began to wander around the small room, looking for his sister. All three of them called for her.
“I’m going to try something,” Moira finally said. “Lily!” she called. “If you can hear me, focus your thoughts on me. I’m going to try to tune into you.”
She looked at Adrian and Jesse. “I need both of you to be totally silent.” Lily, can you hear me?
Yes! I’m right here, Lily’s thoughts came to her, but they seemed weak.
Moira followed the thoughts until she found a place where they seemed to be the strongest. “Am I close?” she asked.
Yes.
“Try to grab my hand.”
She felt something solid connect with her hand and she grabbed for it. As soon as she touched it, Lily came into view.
“Lily!” Adrian shouted, running for his sister. He grabbed her into a hug. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been here the whole time. It’s like no one could see me.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Jesse suggested.
They headed back for where Will still held the door open. He pulled them up one by one. Moira was last. When she cleared the floor, he stood as well and held onto her for a moment.
She stared at him. “Will I told you I have a boyfriend.”
“I know.” He hesitated for a moment, and then said, “If that ever changes, I’ll be here.”
She pulled away from him. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to change.” She walked away and followed the others out of the house.
Will trailed behind her, wondering what he could do to change her mind.
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
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