Really, I should have done all these things. But instead I was traipsing around a house of horrors.
Sable had led us to the basement, the last place that she had seen the “others,” as she referred to them.
“Well,” Roan said, “at least this gives us the opportunity to check the basement for the cell phone scrambler.”
“Right. Because everything in this house makes sense. The one place you would expect the box to be is more than likely the last place that it will be.”
“You’re a Negative Nelly. Anybody ever tell you that?”
“Nobody had to,” I said sourly. “It’s ingrained in me.”
Sable stopped in front of a wooden door with a brass handle. “This is it—the basement. The others are down here.”
Trapped, same as us.
“What’s the plan?” I asked Roan.
“I go down and find them.”
I shook my head. “No way. You’re not going alone.”
“I’ll come with you both,” Sable said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “I’ll find them. They were hiding behind a fake sack of potatoes.”
I opened my mouth to ask why there would be a fake sack of potatoes in the basement but quickly realized that was a stupid question. Of course there was a fake sack of potatoes in the basement. It was probably stationed right beside a fake jar of pickles.
“We’ll all go and follow you, Sable. Your light will guide us, and the others, as long as they can’t see spirits, will be blind to it.” I glared at Roan. “That’s what we’re doing. I’m not sending you down alone.”
“What if they have a weapon?” he asked.
“Then Sable will help us out,” I said. “Right, Sable? You’ll give the folks a good scare?”
She licked her lips. “I love scaring the living. If Tex wasn’t so hardheaded and could see spirits, I would frighten him to death—literally. I’ve even appeared in his toilet bowl, but he hasn’t seen me. What I wouldn’t give for him to glimpse me, just once.”
“Well this is your chance, at least for someone else to view you. Let’s go,” I said.
As quietly as possible, we made our way down the stairs. Every creak, every inhalation and exhalation sounded as loud as a shotgun to me. But Sable being a beacon of light helped a lot. It was easier to remain quiet and focus on soundlessly touching the steps with her glow helping us.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Sable floated over to the sack of potatoes.
Sure enough, a giant-sized bag sat in one corner. It sounded like a low scuffling noise was going on behind it. I glanced over at Roan, whose brow was wrinkled with worry. He gave me a quick jerk of his head, suggesting that I needed to back away.
But there was something else that I heard in that scuffling. I was almost certain that I heard a hint of a whimper, one that I recognized.
I took a step forward when a voice yelled, “Now!”
The potato sack crashed down on me, knocking me on my tailbone. “Ugh!”
“Get ’em, Alice!”
“I can’t; I’ve lost my cookies.”
Which explained why it sounded like a metal tin was skidding across the floor.
Roan snapped on a light. “Alice! Ruth!” The incredulity in his voice was unmistakable. “What are you doing here?”
With a groan, I pushed the sack off me, where it slumped to the floor.
“The others,” Sable announced.
