Absentmindedly, George reached in and flipped on the lights so they could see better.
The switch next to the door didn’t control the lights.
Behind him, Ricky heard a mechanical bolt move. The one above the door thunked a fraction of a second later. The lights in the hall went out at the same time. Except for their flashlights, they were in the dark.
A hinge squealed. Ricky whipped his light around to see the side of the window flap opening outwards. A talon was hooked under the lip of the board. When Ricky repositioned his light, the claw withdrew quickly or disappeared—he didn’t know which until the flap banged back into place.
“All the rooms must be open,” Amber said, grabbing his arm.
The reality of that dawned on Ricky. If she was right, in a few seconds they would be trapped in the room at the end of the hall with only their flashlights.
“Flip the switch, George,” Ricky said.
He heard his brother clicking it up and down. It wasn’t doing anything.
Amber was moving towards the door, practically dragging him along.
# # #
They picked up speed as they crossed the room. George saw them coming and turned to join them immediately. The three of them sprinted down the hall towards the top of the stairs. It seemed like an impossibly long distance back to where they had come from. Just past the stairs, one of the doors began to swing inwards. Ricky’s light disappeared into the dark rectangle that opened there.
Amber jolted to a stop.
Ricky clipped her shoulder when she halted and the impact twisted his torso and made him tangle his feet. As he started to fall, George reached down to catch him. He and his brother locked hands and it was too much weight for George’s balance. Both brothers began to fall.
George caught sight of what stopped Amber and his body locked up as well. He was on his knees, looking past Ricky towards the doorway down the hall.
Ricky could almost feel the beam of paralysis that had captured them. It emanated from the far doorway and locked them perfectly still. They were only a pace or two from the top of the stairs, but from the look of things they wouldn’t be going any farther.
“Help!” Ricky yelled.
He kept his back to the open doorway past the stairs as he climbed to his feet. George was closest. Ricky pointed his flashlight directly in George’s eyes, hoping to blind his brother to the monster lurking in the dark. When he saw no reaction, Ricky grabbed George under the armpit and tried to pull him towards the stairs. George was like a stone statue and felt like he had been nailed to the floor. Ricky’s tugging did nothing.
“Help!” Ricky yelled again. He heard feet on the stairs and regretted calling anyone else into danger as he saw one of the other doors open behind Amber. The monsters were returning to their roost. Ricky knew that just behind him there must be a really strong creature approaching. He considered turning to attack, but fear and apprehension flowed through him. He remembered being mesmerized and he was desperate to not let it happen again. It was like sinking down into a pit of warm acid, where you feel so soothed that you barely mind the idea that you’re being dissolved into nothing.
“Grab him and grab my hand,” Alan said. He was a few steps down from the top, leaning towards Ricky.
Ricky ignored the order and instead focused on the strap over George’s shoulder.
George was carrying a bag and Ricky thought he knew what was in it—at least what one of the items was.
Ricky loomed over his brother and only let his eyes see the flap on the bag.
As he struggled to get it open, Alan said, “I can hear them.”
Ricky heard them too—their claws were clicking latches and prying open doors. He heard something scraping from the dark behind him, but Ricky tried to ignore all those sounds. His flashlight hit the mirror and it reflected the beam back in his face.
George had taken the sideview mirror from the truck.
Ricky tore it from the bag and spun, holding it out like a priest with a cross. He turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn’t accidentally gaze upon the thing.
“George! That’s it,” Alan said. “Come to me.”
Ricky felt his brother moving beside him. He heard Amber gasp and believed that she had been freed from the monster’s hypnosis as well. Ricky held his ground until he felt his brother move by him and then Amber grabbed his arm to pull him towards the stairs.
She whispered, “Don’t look, just slide to your left. There’s a step down.”
When his foot found the edge of the stairs, Ricky lost his balance. He thought he was going to tumble all the way down, taking the others with him. Instead, their hands found him and supported him as he blindly descended backwards. The housing of the mirror cracked. Ricky was squeezing it so tightly that the plastic seam gave way. If felt like they were descending forever. Their hands both supported him and guided him down. He heard Tucker’s tail wagging and knew they had to be close.
His mother said, “This way.”
“No,” Alan said. “We have to get back to the car.”
“Trust me,” she said. “I wish we could.”
Ricky opened his eyes.
Thirty-Five: Amber
“Did that light come on when the upstairs lights went out?” Amber asked.
She pointed to the purple light they could see emanating from the gaps around the dog door under the stairs.
“Yes,” Mary and Alan said at the same time.
“Then I think Mary is right—it’s safe that way.”
They moved as a group. Ricky still held the mirror out towards the stairs, but he wasn’t looking back to make sure it was working. Looking back was too dangerous.
Alan’s hand closed around the doorknob and Amber’s heart sank. She thought for sure he was going to say that it was locked and they
