House of Anubis: Sibuna Descending

10. Out by the Crypt

Dexter, Cassie and Erin trekked into the setting of fallen leaves and tall trees, Dexter leading the way to their destination.

"What does it look like, again?" Cassie asked Dexter.

"Spooky," Dexter answered simply. "Dark. Anything you'd expect an underground grave to be like."

"So," Erin said, "there's a body in there?"

"I don't actually know," Dexter answered hesitantly. He'd only been in there once at the end of last term with the Sibuna gang, and only gained brief details from Eddie Miller — the previous leader of Sibuna — about it. It was supposedly the final resting place of Robert Frobisher-Smythe, one of the original owners of Anubis house. Eddie had disclosed very little about the different hidden locations on the estate, though he invited the three new students into Sibuna after Sophia Danae was, who was a secret enemy turned into the stone statue Simon complemented at the first meal in Anubis house before the term started.

After complaints from Cassie about Dexter failing to inform her about the terrain so she could've picked more practical shoes to wear, the three of them reached a small doorway that appeared to lead below ground level. This was after passing a statue sheltered by a miniature cave of brick.

"So this is it," Erin stated, looking fascinated.

"Yep," Dexter said. "And it's scary down there. I wouldn't mind if you girls held onto my arms for comfort." Dexter held out his arms for them. Cassie gave him a creeped-out look. Erin, on the other hand, hesitated for a moment before walking closer to Dexter and clutching his arm. They both exchanged smiles before Dexter led Erin forward towards the door. He attempted to open it, but it was locked.

"What?" Dexter said in confusion, pushing the door with his shoulder to no avail. "Aww. It's locked."

"Obviously," Cassie pointed out, getting closer. "How do we open it? Didn't Eddie say?"

"You know, guys," Erin said, "the seniors were really vague about the hidden locations."

"So Eddie didn't mention it being locked?" Cassie asked Dexter.

"No," Dexter replied. "Not at all."

There was a crescent moon symbol and a lock in the top right corner of the door that indicated a key could unlock it from the outside, though the three standing puzzled before it had no idea where this key could be. Dexter began slamming himself into the door to break it down, but this did not work. He painfully staggered away from the door, holding his shoulder in pain, yet determined to run into the door once more. Before he could, however, Erin stopped him hastily: "Maybe we should search for the key that would unlock it."

"G-good idea," Dexter said, holding his shoulder. "Ow."

"We can ask Eddie," Cassie suggested.

"For some reason, I have a feeling he won't be much help," Erin spoke out against Cassie's idea. "He would've told us it was locked if he knew."

"Great," Dexter sighed. "We've got not way of getting through to the locket."

"Hello?" came a voice from ahead. The three of them froze in their places, eyeing each other worriedly. They started whispering at each other, scared as the voice slowly grew louder and louder, calling Dexter's name. "Dexter! Dexter, are you there?"

"Sounds like...Ray?" Cassie shrieked in a whisper.

"We need to hide, quickly," Erin said. She poked her head around the wooden door to view the person, who — as Cassie had correctly identified — was Raymond. He was nearing their spot, until...

"No way!" Raymond exclaimed. As he bent down to pick something from the ground, Erin, Cassie and Dexter scattered. They each hid behind a different tree to the right. Raymond straightened up, holding something up in amazement. "Strange," he commented, before pocketing the item and calling again, "Dexter! I swear I saw him and his friends come in here."

Cassie, Dexter and Erin panicked, though remained in their hiding places as Raymond neared the door. The rear was covered with green, but Raymond's inquisitiveness was too great to be held back. He came round to the front of the door, placing Dexter in danger of being seen. He could turn his head to the right and, with a good look, spot Dexter. Dexter couldn't move as he would create too much noise to go unnoticed.

"Oh my god," Raymond breathed. His eyes, beady with delight, took in every detail of the door. "This is...no, this fits the necklace. He could have a lair beyond this door!" Cassie rolled her eyes. "Both clues point towards the possibility of Bigfoot being more clever than I believed him to be!" Raymond whipped out his phone and began taking angled pictures of the door. He then replaced his phone in his pocket and called for Dexter, Cassie and Erin once more.

"Aww," he moaned. "Another lunchtime alone." And with that, he trudged back to the school.

"Holy moly," Dexter breathed shakily, loosening up from his hiding place. "That was both thrilling and frightening at the same time."

"You could've been spotted, Dex," Erin highlighted. "Maybe next time you should follow us."

"Guys," Cassie said. "Did you both already forget that Ray just took snaps of the crypt door?"

"Holy moly," Dexter repeated, this time with a more sinister tone. "What are we gonna do?"

"We need him to delete those," Erin stated. "He could share them with everyone. Especially Ian, he seems to enjoy being around him."

"Probably because they're roommates," Cassie said. "Can't imagine the agony he goes through every night."

"This is fabulous," Dexter said sarcastically. "We've got no idea where the key to the crypt is, Eddie probably won't be much help, and now we've got to stop Ray from showing anyone those pics."