Chapter Twenty-Five

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I shuddered. Hearing that word - "dead" - made the little hairs on my arms and legs stand up. The creature came back to me.

I remembered the details. How huge it was. Its sharp claws and low growls.

Its sharp teeth...

...wanting to take a bite out of me and my brother.
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We then heard a growl. I faced the other end of the hall and spotted the creature coming down where we were.

The creature crawled on all fours. Its sharp claws dug in the floor, scraping and leaving ripped marks in the carpet. Its green eyes bulged, and drool escaped from its huge mouth.
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I felt a grip on my left arm and jumped. I glanced at the hand and soon realized that it was Katrina.

Katrina was looking up at me. She had a concern look on her face.

"Gretel? Sweetie?" she said softly. "Is everything okay?"

I let out a sigh of relief. My legs shook. I was suddenly tired and collapsed to the floor. I quickly sat up and stretched my legs.

"Sis?" I overheard Hansel. "Are you feeling like yourself?"

"Mmm-hmm." I glanced up at him. "I just got jump-scared."

"Jump-scared?" He gazed around the room. "I do not see the creature."

"No. I was thinking, and Katrina interrupted when she grasped my arm. She caught me off guard."

"Wait," Aunt Katrina cut in. Hansel and I looked at her. "What creature?"

My brother and I stared at each other. Neither of us knew what to say.

How could we explain to her about the monster that we had seen at the house? That it chased us all around, desiring to take pieces of us? Would she believe us? Or think that we were crazy?

We turned our heads back to our aunt. I opened my mouth and was going to explain about what had happened to me and my twin. But Katrina started talking.

And said something that blew my mind.

"Please tell me that you mean the creature that lives in that wooden house."

My eyes widened. I bet that my brother did the same with his eyes. I noticed that his body was shaking a little.

"Y-you have seen the creature too?" I stuttered.

Then a thought crossed my mind.

What if she saw the monster?

She was by the house. On the porch. And she got the locked door to open.
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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.
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Aunt Katrina unzipped her purse that she had laid on the stand that was close to the chairs and pulled out a picture.

The picture was my picture. "The House with the Eyes."

But...that could not be.

I reached into my pocket and felt something. I grabbed it and slowly pulled it out.

The photo. "The House with the Eyes."

Our aunt showed me the picture. "Do you see those eyes?" she questioned. "Peering through the dark window?"

I only nodded. I was speechless.

We both had the same picture.

I held up my photo. "That...that is why you had this photo," I stated. "You...you have the same one."

Hansel gazed intently at both me and Aunt Katrina. He was just as surprised as I was.

"What the crub?!" he wondered.

Katrina eyed the photo that I was holding. "Where did you get that?"

"At the news station," I responded. "Benny gave it to me. He gave me a file that had photos of Forlot. I just do not know who took them."

You readers are probably on the edges of your seats. Get ready. 'Cause what she said next was surprising. And I passed out.

"First of all, the eyes belong to the creature. Second of all..." She paused, and then continued. "...I was the one who took the picture."

Shocking, huh?

But that is not what made me pass out.

I realized that Hansel and I left our bags back at the wooden house.

And the file that contained the rest of the photos was in my bag.

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