TWENTY
I take off in the direction of his cries, but we don’t have to run far. In the kitchen, Robby has fallen through a small hole in the floor.
I dive for his hands, hearing my camera lens crack beneath me as the flashlight rolls into the corner. I scoop my arms under his armpits, holding him in a tight squeeze. The wood around us snaps like fallen branches. Is the whole floor going to go?
In the corner, something squeaks and skitters.
A rat runs out of a crack in the wall, right into the beam of the flashlight, right in our direction.
I let out the biggest scream before a Ouija board sweeps through the air, knocking the rat away.
Myah tosses the board aside and grabs hold of a sobbing Robby.
“Pull!” Myah orders.
There are more snaps, the floor groaning a loud moan. I don’t think it’s gonna hold all our weight. It’s gonna cave in and we’re going to die! I don’t want to die. I don’t want to be with Grandma and Mom yet. I don’t want to leave Dad behind. But I can’t leave Robby either.
I wiggle back, pulling Robby with me, my glasses falling off in the struggle. Wood scrapes against my arms, splinters in my fingers.
“Pull! Pull!”
With every bit of energy I have, I tug and we heave Robby out, dragging him away from the hole.
“Are you okay?” I ask, catching my breath.
“My leg,” he cries, his face wet. “It really hurts.”
I grab the flashlight and point it in the direction of his leg for two seconds, which is just enough time to see blood. Lots of it.
“I think it’s broken,” I say to Myah.
Myah scans the room. “Where’s Jabari? Where’d he go?”
“I don’t know,” Robby whimpers, squeezing my arms.
I grip him. He can’t walk in this condition.
“We can’t move him like this.” I turn to Myah. “Go get help!”
“What? No! I’m not leaving you!”
“And I’m not leaving Robby.”
Myah’s face struggles. “I can fix this … I can … I can—”
Down the hall, a door creaks open. Myah freezes. Robby’s eyes go wide, and I throw a finger to my lips.
“Shhh, hide!”
Myah looks left and right, backing into a wall. I scoop an arm under Robby’s legs and drag him into a corner, behind the long dining table turned on its side. Robby put a hand over his mouth to keep himself from screaming, but his muffled breathing is still loud. We need a distraction.
I grab a nearby rusted can and throw it in the opposite direction of the next room. It hits a window, breaking more glass.
Britney grunts, stomping toward the sound. I stare into Robby’s terrified eyes, tapping my pockets, frantic to find my phone, but it must have fallen in the shuffle. There’s no way to call for help!
“You guys are in some serious trouble!” Britney shouts, her voice cracking. “Come out right now!”
She throws a chair across the room next door. She’s crashing out and it’s only a matter of time before she walks in here. Robby whimpers. I don’t see Myah. And where’s Jabari? This is like a giant game of hide-and-seek we’re never gonna win.
My phone has to be in that first room. And there’s open windows. Ghost tours have to be walking around by now. I can make a run for it, find help, save everyone.
I point to the ground, mouthing Stay here to Robby.
He tries to stop me, but I pull away. Crawling low to the floor, I squeeze myself against the wall, making my way down the hall, creeping slow, listening to Britney’s tantrum.
The room is only a few steps away. But I trip on a raised floorboard, the noise echoing.
Britney runs into the hall, covered in blue paint, waving the knife.
“Gotcha!”
I scream, squeezing into a ball, closing my eyes tight, bracing for whatever is going to come.
Maybe it won’t be so bad, the dying part.
I’ll see Grandma again, maybe even meet my mom.
But then I think of Dad. Us singing in the car, eating cheesesteaks in Philly, barbecue in Memphis, clam chowder in Boston …
Can’t believe I’m gonna die alone in this house.
But you’re not alone.
Suddenly the tense knot in my stomach eases, and a calm wave washes over me. I’m not scared. It’s not over …
And I’m not alone.
I look down and grab my camera, snapping with another bright flash.
It only slows down Britney’s steps. Just then, Jabari jumps out of the room behind Britney, swinging Myah’s stick against the back of her head.
The knife knocks out of her hand and clatters across the floor.
She falls on her knees, cursing, but it’s still not enough to stop her.
I grab Jabari’s arm and we break for the front room.
Maybe we can jump out the window and run for help.
But the front door bursts open, wood flying, and a giant shadow takes up the frame.
“Dad!” I scream.
There’s Dad, dressed in a tux, mouth open in shock. And right behind him is Lena in her high heels. Her eyes land on Britney and she storms in, charging toward her.
Britney shouts, holding her hands out, pleading. “Wait! No, hang on! No—”
But her next words are cut off, replaced by gurgling sounds. Lena pins her up against the wall by her neck without even a struggle, eyes flaring in rage. Blue, red, and white lights flicker through the front windows, sirens blaring.
Myah runs inside through the back door, breathing hard like she’d raced around the entire city.
“I got help as fast as I could!”
Police pour in after her, heading straight for Britney and Lena. I run to Robby’s hiding spot. He’s frantically stretching to see what’s going on.
“Robby, they got her! They got Britney. We’re safe.”
Robby winces, giving me a thumbs-up. “Hero. Please.”
Dad shoves the table out of the way, spots us on the floor, and does a big exhale. “You two okay?”
“I think his leg is broken. But we’re okay. Right, Robby?”
Robby is too busy staring at Lena. It takes three huge officers to pull her off Britney, who’s still screaming and begging for help.
“Mom?”
Dad chuckles and takes out his phone, holding up the two faces waiting on the screen.
“Girls,” he says. “I got her!”
Kiki and Truth scream with joy.