The House on Hollow Hill

by David Kristoph

  Uh oh. Find out what happens ON PAGE 115

  31

  The balcony's not that far. You inch to the edge of the lattice, eying the gap and the drop to the deck below. Jake and Emma look up with wide eyes.

  Pushing with your feet, you leap into the air and grab onto the balcony railing.

  Your foot slips on the slimy wood, but your grip is strong. You dangle for a moment before pulling yourself up...

  There's a sickening crack. The wood along the railing snaps free and throws you backwards.

  Slam.

  The next thing you know, Emma and Jake are staring down at you. "Mike? Mike! Can you hear us?"

  You try to sit up but feel very dizzy. The house and your friends and the ground are all spinning in circles. Then you notice the searing pain in your arm.

  "Guys, I... I think I broke my arm."

  It will only end up being a hair-line fracture, but you're still going to need a cast. You'll be fine in a few weeks, but for now it looks like this is...

  THE END

  32

  "Let's try around the side," you say. You've got a strange feeling about this house, and don't feel sure of yourself, but thankfully your friends follow.

  The path between the house and woods is crowded with encroaching tree limbs. You push through them, keeping your head low.

  "OW!" shouts Jake. You look back and he's holding his head. The tree limb next to him is swaying. "You hit me!"

  "Sorry," you mutter. You'd better be a little more careful!

  The path ends at a clearing, where the door to the basement rests against the house at a diagonal angle. The door frame disappears into the ground below.

  And a heavy padlock connects the hinge to the frame.

  "Aww," Emma says, walking up and grabbing the lock. After examining it she lets go, and it clatters back against the wood with the hollow sound of heavy iron. "I guess we'll try around back?"

  "No way," Jake says from a few feet away. He's standing next to a tree stump, where a long wood-chopping ax is lodged. Jake pulls it free, hefting the weight. "Watch this!"

  You begin to tell him to wait, but it's too late. He raises the ax high and charges forward.

  Jump out of the way ON PAGE 42

  33

  "Let's go room by room," you decide. "The bathroom's closest, so let's try that first."

  They follow you inside. The tile is covered in the same layer of dust, making the floor slippery beneath your feet. A window in the wall lets in a diagonal beam of light, illuminating an array of floating particles. To the left is a sink and toilet, on the right is an antique-looking bathtub with four legs shaped like paws, covered by a curtain in the ceiling.

  There's not much to see, and the space is cramped with three. You open the medicine cabinet in the wall but there are just a few old bottles covered in the same dust as everything else. The area beneath the sink is similarly devoid of anything interesting.

  You're about to tell your friends to back up when suddenly the toilet flushes.

  All of you freeze as you listen to the water swirl and gargle. For a long time nobody makes a sound.

  "What...?" Emma whispers.

  "I didn't do it," you whisper back. For some reason it feels better to keep your voice low.

  The toilet doesn't flush all the way, however. It makes the same noise it makes when it's clogged, with the soft banging of pipes from the water pressure.

  And then a thing appears. It looks like some sort of green tentacle, flopping over the edge of the toilet bowl.

  Everyone screams, even Jake.

  The tentacle hangs there and begins moving again. A second one flops over the other side, sticking to the wall.

  To get out of there, RUN TO PAGE 59

  To hide in the bathtub, DART OVER TO PAGE 15

  34

  "Heck if I know," you say. "I feel like we missed something along the way..."

  "Well you've indulged your curiosity," Jake says. "Can we grab the real treasure now?"

  "But..." you say, lowering the scroll. "I bet if we keep trying we can figure this out."

  It's no use. Even Emma has her arms crossed, shaking her head.

  You sigh. "Fine." You let the scroll drop to the floor and turn back to the safe. You kneel before it, reaching inside.

  The safe door screams shut, slamming against your hand. "OW!" you cry, yanking your hand back. "What the..."

  The safe fades away, materializing into the ghost of the little girl from before.

  And she's very unhappy.

  "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PLAY WITH ME!" she shrieks. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO USE MY SPECIAL CODE!"

  Prepare to run ON PAGE 119

  35

  You reach forward carefully and pluck the tiara between two fingers. A cold sensation washes over you for a moment, but then it's gone.

  Watching your step--you don't want to fall again--you slide along the wall toward your friends in the middle of the room. "Ta-da!" you say, holding the tiara in your palm reverently.

  They ooh and aah at the sight.

  Outside the trees are swaying furiously in the wind, scraping against the windows and banging against the wall. The windows are so old that they have cracks in the frame, allowing the wind to howl and whistle.

  "Does anyone else feel like an intruder all of a sudden?" Emma asks.

  The wind changes tempo and becomes strangely voice-like. "Noooo..." it seems to say, angry and mournful all at the same time. Soon you begin to think it's not just the wind at all. It sounds like a little girl.

  You nod. "Let's get out of here."

  Head for the front door ON PAGE 36

  36

  The howling follows you out of the office and into the hall. It grows in intensity as you take the stairs two at a time. The wind swirls inside the house, tossing cobwebs and dust into spinning tornado-like pillars. Each of you is hurried along by a shared, unspoken fright, the immediate need to get out of the house as soon as possible.

  You reach the bottom of the stairs and cross the entranceway to the front door. You turn the knob and pull...

  ...and nothing happens! "It won't open!" you yell over the train-like wind.

  "Dude!" Jake says. He reaches up and pulls back the deadbolt. Still being pulled by your hands, the door abruptly flies open.

  You dash outside, too scared to feel embarrassed.

  Something's waiting for you. You skid to a halt and find Mr. Goosen standing on the porch! "Woah now," he says, putting up his hands. His palms seem strangely pale. "What's the rush?"

  "The house, there's a..." you begin, but you trail off. The inside of the house behind you is calm and silent, no hint of the maelstrom you had just escaped.

  "Such imaginations," Mr. Goosen says. "Ahh, the tiara?" He reaches forward as if to take it but holds back at the last moment.

  "You're not going to change your mind," Jake asks suspiciously, "are you?"

  "No, of course not. I was just... I had hoped you'd find the... ahh, nevermind." He looks at his gold pocket watch. "Maybe in another life. The princess's tiara is a fine choice."

  And just like that Mr. Goosen fades in front of you, like steam above a pot.

  "What the..."

  "Let's get home," you say, looking at the dark sky. You're not sure what was up with Mr. Goosen, but you've got your treasure, so this is...

  THE END

  37

  "Fantasy," you select. "Let's do fantasy." Swords and magic always were your favorite!

  "Okay," says the girl, lowering her voice even further. A hushed silence falls over the room. "In the Harry Potter book series, what's Harry Potter's middle name?"

  If you think it's John, TURN TO PAGE 76

  If you think it's James, TURN TO PAGE 124

  If you think it's Jacob, TURN TO PAGE 137

  38

  "Might as well give it a spin," you declare, turning the dial so rapidly that the numbers blur. It makes a buzzing noise like a bumble bee as it rotates over an
d over. It seems to spin forever before slowing to a stop.

  You wrap your fingers around the handle and give it a yank.

  The safe opens with a soft click.

  "Holy cow, guys!" you yell. "It worked!"

  But it works too well. You let go of the handle but the safe flies open with a bong, like some giant gong was rung right next to you. The safe door slams into your knees. You're so surprised by the safe's sudden liveliness that you stumble backwards into the hole in the floor.

  TUMBLE TO PAGE 24

  39

  "Didn't Mr. Goosen say something outside about something being important..." you mutter.

  "Memories!" Emma exclaims. "He said the most important things were memories."

  "Well where do we find memories?" Jake said.

  Emma laughs out loud and points at his feet. "Right there, dummy!"

  The three of you look at the box of old photographs.

  "Ohhh!"

  You rummage through the box, tossing aside family photographs of Mr. Goosen, his wife, and what must have been their children when they were very young. And at the bottom of the box is something glinting in the dim light...

  "A diamond ring!" Emma says, pulling it out. The gem is the size of your thumbnail!

  Check out the ring ON PAGE 99

  40

  "I definitely think the riddle refers to a baby," you say. "What else is more precious than that?"

  "So...?"

  "So we need to check the crib."

  Jake and Emma nod, though they don't look too excited about it.

  They let you lead the way toward the crib. The wood creaks slightly as the rocker scrapes against the floor. You near the edge of being able to see inside, and pause to gather your courage.

  Look inside the crib ON PAGE 85

  41

  Mutant jello? Holy cow!

  "Get it away from me!" Jake cries as he scrambles away. "GET IT AWAY!"

  You pull him to his feet as the mutant food approaches. It's not very fast, but it's a mutant piece of food hopping on the ground like a bunny rabbit. It's time to get the heck out of here.

  "This way!" you yell, leading your friends back into the hall.

  You cross the house to the side you haven't explored yet. You reach the end of the hall where two doors are open and waiting. The Den is to the left, and the Piano Room to the right.

  Before you can make a decision, the jello makes a giant leap forward, landing in the doorway of the Den. Not needing to give directions, the three of you flee into the Piano Room and swiftly close the door.

  The door rocks with a soft splat as the jelly bounces against it. Even through the door you can smell its terrible stench! But it looks like it cannot pass through the door, and slowly the awful smell fades.

  "I guess we're in the Piano Room now," Emma mutters.

  Check out the Piano Room ON PAGE 43

  42

  You grab Emma's arm and pull her out of the way as Jake charges forward with the ax over his head, yelling a battle cry like some maniac. With both hands he bring the head down with deadly speed.

  And misses.

  The ax smashes into the wooden door, half a foot to the left of the padlock. Jake stands there with both hands still on the ax handle, looking genuinely shocked. When he realizes he missed he snarls and begins trying to pull the ax out of the wood.

  "Nice swing, Barry Bonds," Emma says.

  "It's getting dark! I couldn't see!"

  You both chuckle as he struggles to get the ax free. When he does, he takes another--more careful--swing. This time he strikes the padlock perfectly. It splits it down the middle, both halves falling to the side and sliding to the ground. "Okay!" Jake yells.

  You and Emma get to your feet as he pulls the doors open with a creak of rusty hinges. Darkness stares back at you. After a moment your eyes adjust and you see a few steps leading down into the basement, but that's all. Everything beyond is pitch black.

  There's a noise down by the street, the sound of a barking dog. You lean away from the house and look down the path: Old Mrs. Hollencamp, the neighborhood snoop, is walking her Yorkie down by the street. She's peering in your direction, squinting. You hear her call out, "Who's there?"

  "Let's get out of here!" Jake hisses.

  "We're allowed to be here," Emma says. "We'll just explain that to Mrs. Hollencamp."

  To wait for Mrs. Hollencamp, TURN TO PAGE 16

  If you want to brave the basement, JUMP TO PAGE 61

  To head to the back yard, RUN TO PAGE 63

  43

  The safety of the Piano Room is a welcome relief. Everything in here seems fragile and expensive: a glass table against the wall covered in crystal figures of different exotic animals; the huge oil paintings on the wall of portraits that looks like they're of people from the 1700s; a gold and glass chandelier hanging in the center of the room.

  And of course the grand piano in the corner.

  It's too magnificent to look at anything else. Its wood is polished to a shiny black, both on the piano itself and the bench in front. The keys are so white they practically glow.

  Emma pulls open the bench to look at the music books inside. "Lots of classics here. Bach, Rachmaninoff..."

  BONG.

  One of the deep piano keys makes a noise.

  "Jake, stop messing around."

  "It's not me!" he protests. "What if it's one of those pianos that plays on it's own? Like a robot?"

  "You mean a player piano?" Emma snorts. "This is not one of those."

  "I'm telling you, I didn't do it..."

  Take a closer look ON PAGE 51

  44

  Your shoulder hurts too much and you're not sure you want to test it by jumping. Instead you reach up and push against the window. It slides open with a creak of wood on wood.

  You take a deep breath and pull yourself into the opening, falling onto the floor inside.

  The smell of musty dust hits your nose, and it takes your eyes a moment to adjust. There's a four-post bed draped with pink ribbon, with flowery bedspread and ruffled pillows. A small writing desk has an array of colored pencils on it, and a pile of stuffed animals are neatly arranged in the corner. It's very obviously a girl's bedroom, someone younger than a teenager.

  A noise whispers from just beside your ear. "Helloooooo..."

  You whirl your head around but nothing is there. What was that? "Who's there?" you ask. The dark room remains silent. But you're certain you heard something.

  Suddenly there's a shuffling noise behind you. The door in front of you is open, with a dark hallway beyond.

  Run into the hallway and TURN TO PAGE 21

  Defend yourself by TURNING TO PAGE 45

  45

  You're not going to let some spooky noise scare you. You spin around, hand curled into a fist, swinging wildly at the air. A cry of battle escapes your lips.

  And you smack your buddy Jake in the arm, right as he's coming through the window.

  "Ahh!" he cries, falling to the floor. He gets up and looks like he wants to pummel you. "What'd you do that for?"

  Emma follows through the window close behind. "What's wrong?"

  "Mike punched me!"

  You put your hands up defensively. "I'm sorry! I didn't think it was you."

  Jake rubs his arm. "Who else would it be, leather-brain?"

  "I... heard something. A noise."

  "A noise?" Emma repeats flatly.

  "Yeah, it sounded creepy, like..." you trail off as you see the look of disbelief on their faces. It sounds crazy in your head without even saying it out loud. "Nevermind," you say instead. "Let's just look around."

  Search the room and TURN TO PAGE 47

  46

  "Science Fiction!" Jake decides before you can say anything. "Ask me about Star Wars. I know more than anyone else in school!"

  "Star Wars is a movie," Emma says, rolling her eyes.

  "There are books too!"

  The ghost floats down to you, her
voice barely above a whisper. "Science Fiction. Okay. Are you ready?"

  The three of you nod.

  "Who is the author of the novel, Dune?"

  To answer Frank Herbert, TURN TO PAGE 124

  To answer Isaac Asimov, TURN TO PAGE 137

  To answer Robert Heinlein, GO TO PAGE 76

  47

  Jake opens the closet. Emma checks the writing desk. You walk to her bedside table and open the drawers.

  Some pencils, a hair brush, a spindle of yarn. Nothing interesting. An old-style lamp made of brass that used to be much shinier sits on the surface, with a faded yellow lampshade over it. You reach up into it--shivering as you feel spiderwebs--and try turning it on. Nothing happens.

  "Aww man, there's just junk in here," Jake calls. "A bunch of little dresses that look like they were worn by someone on the Titanic."

  You eye the stack of stuffed animals, but decide not to touch them. You get the distinct impression that they were carefully stacked in a specific fashion. It already feels wrong going through someone else's stuff, even with Mr. Goosen's permission. But somehow disturbing the toys feels taboo. None of them are valuable, anyways.

  You say, "Guys, I don't think we're going to find anything--"