“Anna-”
“No! Let me finish! I thought of something! I think I know what we must do next, at least where we should look for a clue. I don’t think it’s here. I think that arrow pointed at you because of what you can do. I think the answers are in the other world. I think we have to go back and search your house!”
“Okay. We’ll tell everyone tomorrow morning. We can all go.”
“No! I think we should do this alone. No, I know we must do this alone. We must do it right now. Maybe I’m just trying to feel special, but I really do have a feeling that we have to go right now.”
Tim sighed. “Okay. So much for sleep, I guess! Let’s go!
CHAPTER TEN
Tim and Anna walked silently, but quickly toward the way back to Tim’s house. As they reached the hallway that led to the room, a figured blocked their path. They froze.
“I knew I should be here right now,” Einna said, “What are you two doing? You should be resting.”
“We can’t, Mom. We have to go. It’s what has to be done. I just know it is.”
Einna looked at her daughter for a moment. Seeing the determined look on her face, she finally nodded and stepped aside. As Anna walked past her, she grabbed her and squeezed tight. Tim stood awkwardly next to them, till suddenly, he found himself part of the hug as well. “Both of you, be very careful. You should also know that time is short. You shouldn’t be there after the sun is up. Trust me. I know.”
Anna and Tim understood. They continued to the room with the doorway, hand in hand. “Ready?” Tim asked.
“Of course!” Anna replied, “It’s what we have to do.”
Tim led the way and through the wall they went.
It was very dark in the secret room. The light Tim had set up in there was gone, as was everything else he had moved into the room. It was completely empty. They made their way to the rest of the house. Tim gasped when they reached the living room. “Where is everything?”
“I knew we had to come tonight. It looks like someone is finally emptying the house. Your parents are gone, Tim, and you’re a kid. Did you think the house would just stay vacant forever?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it. What if they already took whatever it is we’re looking for?”
Anna shook her head. “No, I think that’s why I knew we had to come. I think whatever it is, is still here. “
As they made their way through the rest of the house, they saw that it wasn’t completely empty. His father’s office didn’t look like it had been touched yet. “Why don’t we start in here?” Anna asked.
Tim started to disagree. “I already looked in here, after I went through the wall the first time. I had no idea what was going on and I was trying to find an explanation.”
“But you weren’t looking for a clue then. You were just looking for an answer. Maybe we’ll find something different.”
Tim shrugged and turned to a bookcase on the closest wall. “I guess I’ll start here.”
Anna moved further into the room. “Then I’ll start over here.”
They searched quietly. All that could be heard was the sound of books thumping and pages shuffling. After some time had passed and most of the books had been looked through and Anna had gone through the desk again, she announced, “I guess I was wrong. Maybe we should look somewhere else?”
Tim started to pull the next book off the shelf. He heard a very loud click and the book didn’t move any further. “What was that noise? Is someone coming?” Anna sounded panicked.
“I think it was this book. It won’t come off the shelf. I don’t think it’s a book at all.”
He pushed it back into the shelf. The loud click sounded again. He pulled it out as far as it would go. Click. “It sounds like the hidden doorway to the secret room unlocking. Maybe this was the original way to open it and they had the easier way installed later?” Tim thought out loud.
They raced from the room back to the secret door. It was closed. Tim flipped the light switch and it opened. He pushed it close. “I guess it wasn’t it.”
“Tim, are there any other secret doors in your house?”
Tim gave her a look. “Why would there be another one? And if there was, why wouldn’t my parents show it to me? They showed this door to everyone!”
“Maybe they hid things in there they didn’t want you to see, since they didn’t tell you anything about Snillotia!”
Anna looked up. “What’s above us?”
“Umm, my parent’s room.”
“Come on!”
Anna grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the stairs. As they entered the room, the first thing Tim saw was that the wall across from his parent’s bed wasn’t a wall anymore. Anna was right. There was another secret door. “How’d you know?”
“I just thought about it. You have a secret room downstairs. There has to be something above it!”
Tim started toward the newly revealed door. “Wait!”
Anna pointed at the window. “Look! The sun’s coming up! My mom said we shouldn’t be here when the sun comes up!”
Just then, they heard a new noise. It was the sound of the front door opening and closing. Then the sound of footsteps echoed in the almost empty house. “Quick!”
Tim pulled open the new secret door and stepped inside. Anna followed him. Tim pulled the door shut
