Chapter Twenty-Two

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"H-Hansel," I stammered. "Bro."

Hansel glared at me. "What?" he asked. I pointed a finger at the staircase, and he spotted the creature. "Crub!"

At my twin's exclamation, the creature opened its mouth and let out a roar. My brother and I had to cover our ears.

The creature snarled and began making its way down the stairs. Its hands...feet...paws - whatever you want to call them - thudded against each step. It was coming for us.

It wanted us for afternoon snacks.

I ran to the black door. There was no doorknob, so I pushed on it. Sure enough, the door opened, and I stepped into another hallway. I turned to Hansel. He was by the table and stacking paper after paper.

"Hansel!" I yelled. "We need to go before it is too late!" I added, "Main characters should not be doomed by this point!"

"I am coming!" He folded a paper and shoved it in the pocket of his shorts.

Hansel scurried to the doorway. He leaped out of the room and into the hall. He slid on the carpet.

"Why did you jump?" I questioned.

He stopped sliding and got up. "I did not want that monster to get me." He gasped. "Gretel! Close the door!"

I turned back to the room and screamed. The creature had gotten to the bottom of the staircase and was running to us. Its green eyes were on me and my twin. Drool fell on the floor.

"Do not just stand there!" Hansel exclaimed. "Shut the door!"

I quickly reacted and shut the door. I pressed my body against it.

"Lock it!"

"I-I cannot," I told him.

"Why not?!"

"See for yourself!" I moved away from the door, and my body shuddered. "See?!"

He raised an eyebrow. "What am I supposed to be seeing?"

"What you are supposed to see is not there! There is no doorknob!"

His face grew pale. "That sounds like a personal problem."

"So I cannot lock the stinkin' door!"

"Hey. The door does not stink."

We jumped, hearing the creature on the other side of the door. The creature grunted and banged against the door. A piece of the black door - a big piece - fell off and landed on the floor. In front of my feet. I saw the creature's left eye. It bulged and stared at the two of us.

"I am done with this house!" I proclaimed as I turned and ran down the hall.

"Yeah. Me too," Hansel admitted. He turned and followed me.

I was surprised by my brother. I thought that he would never agree with me about leaving the house. I guess that he realized how dangerous that the monster was.

We soon entered a room. The same room that we were in when we were forced in.

I scurried to the front door. I gripped the doorknob, twisted it, and pulled.

No such luck.

"Try pushing," my twin brother suggested. "You did it with the black door, and it opened."

I kept a tight grip on the doorknob and pushed. Pushed on the door.

It was no use.

"It is no use," I said, letting go of the doorknob and slumping to the floor. "The door will not budge. It is probably locked from the outside."

Hansel pressed his hands against the door. "Then we will need to find another way out."

"Where? We do not know the outline of the house."

"We will find the way, sis."

Then I heard a sound.

Click!

My brother moved away, and the door slowly opened. He jumped up and down.

"Freedom!"

I then gasped.

It was Aunt Katrina.

She had unlocked and opened the door. She smiled and let out a sigh of relief.

"Kids," she said. "Thank goodness that I found you."

"Aunt Katrina!" Hansel and I exclaimed at the same time. We ran to our aunt and hugged her.

She hugged us back. "I was worried. You guys disappeared. I searched all over the building. Around the neighborhood. I was beginning to think that I would never see you two again."

"We are sorry," I apologized. "Hansel wanted to go in the house. We saw a boy. He entered this house, and Hansel wanted to meet him."

"Sure," Hansel scoffed. "Put the blame on me."

I narrowed my eyebrows at him. "It is the truth."

Katrina's face saddened. "It is my fault."

I looked up at her. "Aunt Katrina, it is not your fault. You told us to stay in the building. We were the ones who left."

"It is." She rubbed the side of her neck. "I...got a call from a doctor. I...I have to go to a mental hospital."

My eyes widened. My brother's eyes widened.

"Why do you have to go to a mental hospital?" I asked. "You are not crazy...are you?"

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