Return to the Dark House by Laurie Stolarz

Author:Laurie Stolarz [Stolarz, Laurie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2015-07-20T23:00:00+00:00

TAYLOR AND I TAKE THE path that cuts through the woods, walking for what feels like miles. I know she doesn’t want to be here. And part of me wants to tell her to go, but I hold that part in, grateful to have her with me.

“Hey, aren’t we looking for that?” She points to a swamp.

I nod and push PLAY.

“Once you find the swamp,” the voice says, “it’ll just be a little bit farther.”

I push PAUSE again, my mind reeling with questions. How long will it take for someone to find my car behind the chocolate factory? At what point will my family contact Candy and figure out that I lied? How long after that will the police go into my e-mail to put all the pieces together?

“Ivy?” Taylor’s several steps in front of me now. “We’re going the right way, aren’t we?”

I wonder where she’s parked—if it’s in a spot that has cell reception, if someone will be able to trace her phone’s whereabouts.

“Are you still with me?” she asks.

I nod and push PLAY again.

“I’m really excited to see you, Princess.” His voice is soft and deep; the words come out slowly. “Very soon now. Just keep on walking.”

The path narrows. There are tall, vine-like bushes on both sides of us. The tops of them form a ceiling above our heads, and we have to keep ducked.

“What’s he saying now?” Taylor asks.

The path winds left and right, forming a maze. Branches stick out in my path, pulling at my hair, scraping against my cheeks. I try to keep up, but Taylor quickens her pace, hell-bent on getting to the end.

“Just a little bit farther,” the voice reminds us, as if talking in real time.

Several yards in front of me, Taylor lifts a branch and peeks outward. “Holy shitster!” she declares, cupping her hand over her mouth.

“What is it?” My heart sinks.

She waves me over, still keeping her eyes locked on whatever’s out there, beyond these shrubs.

I move slowly, my heart pounding.

“Are you there yet, Princess?” The soft purr of his voice sends shivers all over my skin.

I join Taylor, by her side, and gaze upward. A huge, Gothic-looking building sits in the distance behind an iron gate. With multiple pointed roofs and a cobblestone courtyard in the center, overgrown ivy crawls up the sides of the building, twists around the front pillars, and clogs up a chimney. “What is this place?” The windows have been boarded up, but both the gate and entrance doors are wide open. “Someone wants us to go inside.”

“Of course they do,” Taylor says. “Come right in, step right up, and you too can drop off the face of the Earth, just like your fellow contestants.”

“You don’t have to come with me,” I tell her. “I’ll understand if you don’t.”

Taylor nods, perhaps considering her options.

I try to stay focused, wondering what this building once was. A rich person’s home? A castle? There isn’t any graffiti or tagging, so either no one knows the building’s here, or nobody comes out this far.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.