Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter thirty-three. house of dead-ends

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            Somewhere in the night, I fell asleep with the others. Nina and Fabian, however, had managed to sneak out some time and got the amulets off a sleeping Victor, which means our amulets are back with us and we can go through the tunnel of horrors. Mine is safely back around my neck as the girls head out of our corridor the next morning to meet up with Fabian and Alfie downstairs.

            Victor's still sound asleep in his office, snoring like a pig. Not risking waking him and having him find out earlier than he should that the amulets are gone, we sneak downstairs quietly to make our game plan.

            "Is Victor still asleep?" Fabian whispers.

            "Sleeping like a baby," Patricia answers.

            "Well," Amber comments, "lucky old Victor."

            I laugh quietly to myself. Fabian says, "I don't think he'll see it that way when he realizes that all the amulets are gone."

            "Which is why we should get to school before he wakes up," I point out, nodding toward the door.

            Nina grins. "Tonight, we go back to the tunnels. Let's go."

            "Guys, what about breakfast?" Alfie questions.

            I grab his arm, dragging him out the door. "You can get something at school."

—

            So it turns out we'll be down one member of our group. Patricia got caught by Victor last night pranking Eddie with a bucket of vegetables that fell from the doorway onto his head and they were both given detention, and she just got called away to do chores before we went through our oven passageway to the cellar. Probably good for her; not sure how any of us would react should she see a severed foot or something in the tunnel of fears.

            "So, Patricia's doing Victor's evil chores," Nina tells us after the door to the antechamber opens up and we go inside, "so it's just us tonight. Everyone got their amulets?"

            "Sibuna, back in action again," Amber remarks with a grin. She puts on a more serious face and rightfully adds, "Does anyone else worry about Victor coming looking for the amulets again?"

            "Well, if he does," Alfie replies, "he won't find mine. Look at me; where do you think it is? Around my neck, right?" Spoiler alert: it's not. "Maybe my wrist." I roll my eyes. "Both wrong! Boom!" He lifts up the bottom of one of his trouser legs, showing his amulet taped to his lower leg. "Check it. Alfie Lewis doesn't make the same mistake twice."

            And then he tears off the tape quickly, making me cringe. That must have hurt.

            "I'm not doing that again."