What Lies Beneath ▸ House of Anubis [1]

chapter forty-three. house of pursuit

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            A scream echoing up from the cellar has the four of us jumping up to run into the kitchen, where Fabian and Alfie are coming back out. Alfie looks shaken. This was just what I was afraid of, some kind of post-traumatic attack going back to the cellar.

            "I knew this was a bad idea," Nina says.

            I look over Alfie, who's breathing heavy, asking, "Are you okay? What happened?"

            Alfie answers casually through his pants, "I was winding Fabian up."

            What, to freak Fabian out? I heard that scream. There was nothing fake about it. Something happened down in that cellar, and he doesn't want to say what. Maybe after sleeping on it he'll tell me tomorrow. But what of the elixir? Neither of them are holding a bottle.

            "Did you get the elixir?" Nina asks, apparently on the same train of thought as me.

            "I dropped the sample," Fabian answers. Great. This means we have to go back down there instead of making it a one-and-done trip. Well, Alfie's not going back next time.

            "We'll have to go another night. It's too risky now."

—

            Yesterday was a long day for all of us. Alfie attacking Mrs. Andrews because he thought she was an alien; Fabian, Patricia, and I making the decision to tell him about the treasure; Nina finding that newspaper clipping that pretty much confirms the elixir of life is real and Victor's been on it for God knows how long; Alfie's little trip to the cellar; and apparently Amber has now decided to run for school rep and made Alfie her campaign manager.

            Yeah. Somehow, out of everything that happened yesterday, that's the one that makes the least sense.

            Alfie didn't come to breakfast, and when I asked Jerome about him, he said that Alfie went ahead to school before he'd even started getting ready. Apparently, Alfie had an iffy night. It's not really surprising after what happened.

            Patricia's telling us about Amber's new campaign stunt, AKA cheerleaders, and the argument between Mara and Amber she was witness to in the drama studio when we pass by an empty classroom, which doesn't seem so empty when I take a second look. Alfie's sitting at one of the desks and looks deep in thought, and yet also disturbed. I share a glance with the others before we stepped into the room to talk to him.

            "Hey, Alfie," I say gently, going to sit beside him. "You okay?"

            Alfie doesn't look at me at all. He mutters, "When I was in the cellar, I remembered. I remembered everything."

            The night he hid in the cupboard in the cellar. He'd told us in the hospital that he didn't remember anything that happened down there. I never asked him about it again. I guess he remembers now.