The Haunted Orphanage

Chapter 46

Mark's POV

"Who's Jack and why do you need to save him?" Reagan asked.

"Also, why are you coming to the three of us for help?" Nate added.

"We aren't suspects of his disappearance, are we?" Jason questioned.

Anti explained, "Jack is my alter ego and he's Mark's best friend. Mark came all the way down here to save him and the rest of us are going to help. We've come to the three of you for help because you're always finding out information around town and thought you might have heard something about him. To answer Jason's question, none of you are suspects."

"Also," Dan continued from his spot on the counter, "we aren't going to drag Mark into any political things going on, understood?"

"I understand why you're saying that, but what if Jack's in the same situation as–"

"No political stuff!" Phil interrupted Nate.

"Does this have anything to do with the timer in Anti's room?" I asked Nate.

"Well obviously–"

"Shhh!" Phil yelled as he jumped off the counter and walked over to the rest of us. "We're not talking about 'The Thing' until Mark and Jack are back to the human world, got it?"

"What's–"

"Mark, you're going to have to stop asking questions as well," Anti decided. "The kids will spill if you ask them enough times."

"What? We're trustworthy!" Jason defended.

"Getting back on topic, have any of you heard anything about a human coming down here?" Dan asked.

"No. The first I've heard of a human being down here is you guys telling us about Mark," Jason answered. "How did humans even get here?"

Dan and Phil almost seemed to be glaring at Anti for a moment before Dan explained, "Anti brought Mark here. It was never really made clear how Jack got here."

Anti chuckled, "You guys don't know how Jack got here?"

Dan stared at him. "No? You never explained how Jack got here, you just brushed over it."

"In that case, I still won't tell ya. You'll have to find out on your own, I guess," Anti replied.

"You never told me either," I murmured.

"It really isn't that important. However, it is entertaining to see you guys getting stressed out over something like this."

"How do you four plan on keeping Mark a secret from the entire Underworld population?" Jason questioned.

"With a little help from three not-so-talented thirteen-year-olds," Anti stated perkily.

"Gee, thanks," Nate muttered.

"How do you know we won't sell him out to the cops, though?" Reagan asked.

I look of worry flashed on Anti's face, but he regained his composure before anyone else noticed. "Now, would the three of you even consider doing something like that to someone who hasn't done anything wrong?"

I saw sincere pain flash through Reagan's eyes before she stared at the floor regretfully. I couldn't help but wonder if this particular statement had anything to do with the political stuff they had been discussing.

I pushed the thought aside and asked, "So none of you have heard anything about me or Jack?" Immediately after I asked, memories from my conversation with Reagan sped through my mind. She had told me that Jack was locked up somewhere. Was Jack in prison? Possibly receiving torture?