Matters of the Heart

Chapter 24: Down the Rabbit Hole

Chapter 24:

Down the Rabbit Hole

The dollhouse was just as terrifying as Emily remembered. It was almost as if it still had a life of its own. The floors creaked beneath their feet as they walked through the dark abandoned hallways. Emily's flashlight flickered and she lightly slapped her palm against the side to get it working again. Toby was leading the pack, gun drawn, ready for any surprises they might find. Caleb and Hanna were on Emily's right and Spencer was on her left. Aria and Ezra were bringing up the rear. She heard Aria sputter and she turned around to face her.

"You okay?" Emily whispered, though she wasn't sure why she felt the need to be quiet.

"There are cobwebs everywhere." Aria rubbed her palm over her face to brush away a clump of light feathery material. "Oh God, I think there's a spider in my hair." She spun around and flailed about.

"Hold still." Ezra turned his flashlight towards her. He delicately picked a piece of the cobweb out of her hair.

"Being back here is giving me the heebie jeebies." Hanna clung tightly to Caleb.

Something inside the walls groaned. It sounded like the building settling. They passed a familiar hallway. Emily stopped. Even though the walls were crumbling, she recognized the area.

"I think it's this way." Emily took a step away from her friends.

Her foot hit a spot of uneasy flooring. There was something off about the hallway. Spencer was the first one to see it.

"Em, wait." She reached out to grab her arm, but it was too late.

The floor shifted underneath Emily's weight. A large tile in the floor suddenly flew open like a trap door and Emily slid down into a dark pit beneath the ground. She somehow miraculously landed on her feet, dust flying everywhere. Her flashlight slipped out of her grasp and hit the floor, going out and leaving her in the dark. She coughed a few times and then tried to get her bearings.

"Emily? Are you okay?" She saw Toby's silhouette leaning over the hole, shining a light down on top of her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She looked around the fire-damaged room.

"Hold on. We're going to find something to get you out of there," Ezra said.

The walls groaned again and Emily saw what little light there was in the room fading. When she looked up, the trap door was closing.

"Guys?" Emily felt panic rising up in her throat. "Guys, get me out of here!"

The door snapped shut. Seconds later she heard a bunch of noise above her. There was a loud yell and then a thud. It sounded like there was a struggle going on. Emily felt around the room to try and find the flashlight, but she couldn't see anything. She heard something hissing and felt hot air being pumped into the room.

She knew exactly where she was. She'd been thrown in this room before. It was a hot sauna with no ventilation and no escape. But there was no way it could still work. She told herself she was imagining it, that she was just having hot-flashes because of her nerves. The heat's intensity started to make her dizzy. Sweat was pouring out of every orifice of her body. Every breath she took burned her lungs.

Then the walls started to close in on her. She closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. In her mind she saw Ali. She focused on her engaging blue eyes. She could feel her touch. And all at once she knew she was dreaming. She could suddenly feel Ali's presence.

She jolted awake, startling Ali awake as well. Ali's arms were wrapped around her and her face was resting on her chest, her head nuzzled underneath Emily's chin. Emily's chest rose and fell rapidly for a few seconds before she was able to regulate her breathing. She laid the back of her forearm against her sweat-soaked brow and took a deep breath. She felt Ali slide her arm across her stomach and snake her fingers into the hand resting by Emily's side. Ali could feel Emily's heart pounding up against her cheek.