House of Secrets

Chapter 15

Jon jumped, knocking over Alyssa and Nellie. The flashlight hit the floor and rolled, coming to rest beside a rusted old sewing machine. The beam of light pointed to a mannequin on the floor in a half-finished Victorian dress. The mannequin was missing a hand.

“Nice one, Jon,” Alyssa said. She picked up the fake hand; it was made of wax.

“Yeah,” said Nell. “You’re freaking out over a dummy. At least Alyssa got scared of a real bat.”

“Whatever.” Jon took the flashlight and refocused on the Blackout Ready, finding the instructions on top. He read aloud, “‘The generator will automatically begin recharging through the input plug when power returns.’” He groaned. “If power returns.”

“What are we gonna do?” Nellie asked.

“Sit here and wait to get killed by witches or giant dragonflies. Whatever comes first.”

“Don’t say that! Alyssa?”

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do.”

“No!” Nellie grabbed the flashlight and pointed it accusingly at her siblings. “We had a mission, remember? To find Cap, Mom and Dad!”

“That’s right, Nell. But we’ve checked the whole house, including the basement, and they aren’t here.”

“What about outside? We haven’t looked there yet.”

“That’s where the giant dragonflies are!”

“I don’t care what’s out there. We need to search for them while it’s still light out. You guys can stay here if you want.”

Nellie stomped up the basement stairs. Jon and Alyssa glanced at each other and rushed after her; she had the only light.

Back on the first floor, the Walters opened all the shutters to let in enough light for them to see by. Then, in the kitchen, Jon insisted on some self-defense measures before the group ventured out. He took a chef’s knife from the magnetic rack that was now on the floor, and he outfitted Alyssa with a steak knife and Nellie with a barbecue fork. “Hold your weapon like a hammer,” he instructed, “with the blade pointed up.”

“I don’t have a blade,” protested Nellie.

“Your fork, then. In a fight you can use your hand to deliver butt-end knife strikes—Nell, that’s not funny. Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Don’t you guys know anything? Ugh, forget it.”

Jon led his sisters out of the kitchen, past the suit of armor that was knocked over in the hall. “Hold on.” He went back to the kitchen, grabbed some duct tape, and taped the breastplate around Alyssa. Then he put the helmet on and gave Nell the gauntlets, which were big enough to reach from her elbows to her wrists. Thus armed, looking better prepared for Halloween than for a fantastical forest, the Walters children opened the front door and stepped outside.

Jon squinted in the light. The helmet hadn’t been such a good idea: the eye slits were meant for someone with farther-apart eyes. He tried to take it off, but it was stuck on his head. Alyssa tipped her head back and saw the tops of the trees, hundreds of feet up, against slivers of blue sky.

“Mom!” Nellie called. “Mommy! Are you out here?”

“Dad! Hey, Dad, can you hear us?” Jon said. “We’re safe! Kind of . . . ”

For a moment, the birds and bugs dipped into quiet . . . and then they started up again, filling the void as if the Walters had never spoken. The children circled the house, sticking together, weapons drawn, calling out as they went. Brendan longed for anything familiar, even the stone angel. He noted the terrifying uniformity of the wilderness that surrounded them. Aside from the distant brook they had spotted through the attic window, there wasn’t anything to indicate direction. The only way to tell which way was which was by looking at the shadows of the trees. And if we didn’t go back in time, who’s to say we’re not in some weird place where the sun rises in the west and sets in the east?

When the Walters came back around to the front door, they were no closer to finding their parents, but their calls had attracted something else.

A wolf, eight feet from tail to snout, was sniffing the ground in front of their home.