Touch of Fear ▸ House of Anubis [2]

chapter seventy-four. house of timeout

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            "Vera?"

            Possessed Vera keeps coming toward us, prominently showing us the Mark of Anubis on her palm. She's been cursed by Senkhara, same as us. All of a sudden, Vera stops. The Mark on her hand stops glowing and she snaps out of her trance, back to her old, evil self it seems. It's a very, very tiny step up from being possessed.

            "Am I late for dinner?"

            Sibuna stares at her with wide eyes. She still seems a bit wooden, and I, for one, am really freaked out that the super casual 'am I late for dinner?' is her first question. She has no idea what just happened, does she?

            "Where are you all going?"

            We answer simultaneously, but with very different answers. Amber says shopping, Nina says library, Alfie says paintball, Fabian says homework, Patricia says school, and I (and I'm so not proud of this, but it's the first thing I thought of), say zombie convention. We really need to get our stories straight one day.

            Vera sighs and responds flatly, "Hobbies are good." She walks away, limping slightly.

            Once she's gone and left the corridor, we share confused and weirded out looks. So, Vera's definitely been stamped by Senkhara, although I'm not understanding the whole frozen thing Amfie said she was.

            "Looks like Vera's all thawed out," Patricia remarks.

            "But did you see her palm?" Nina asks.

            "She's been Senkhara-ed," Alfie says.

            "Senkhara said she'd make them suffer," Nina tells us. Yeah, this apparently happened whilst we were locked in the barn. "She must have done something to her."

            "See, it's true," Amber comments. "Zombie Veras do exist."

            I sigh, pointing back at the room. "Let's grab the reflectors and get down to the task before the moon eclipses the sun."

            After grabbing our other four reflectors, all of them safe and sound and now with us and the other three, we head back out to sneak down to the task. But Victor stops us from where he's standing with Vera, questioning, "Where are you off to?"

            "We're going to the library," Fabian answers.

            Victor points at each of us and says, a refusal for all six of us, "No, no, no, no, no, no."

            I groan silently, glancing down at the entrance hall when the door opens. It's Eddie and Mara, who greet us—and then go straight into the kitchen. Nina sighs, "Great, there goes our best chance at sneaking down to the task chamber. We can't go to the library. There's people in the kitchen. And we can't do it at night, either."