The House on Hollow Hill

by David Kristoph

  65

  Without any windows, the hallway is darker than the billiards room. It splits off in two directions. A long, thin rug covers the floor, at least thirty feet long.

  Emma pulls out the map, squinting in the darkness. "To the left is the Kitchen. Or we can go over to the Den."

  "What's a Den?" Jake asks.

  Emma says, "You don't know what a Den is? It has a fireplace, and couches and chairs..."

  "You mean a living room?"

  "It's the same thing, yeah."

  "Why don't they just call it a living room?" Jake says.

  "It's just an older name..." Emma explains.

  You tune them out as you look to the left and the right. Which way should you go?

  To head to the Kitchen, GO TO PAGE 56

  To explore the Den, TURN TO PAGE 78

  66

  "This one's easy," you say. "Samuel Clemens."

  "Bingo!" exclaims the little girl. "You guys are smart. I knew you'd be smart."

  You and Jake high-five. For once things seem to be going your way in this crazy, creepy house.

  "Now for the third and final question," the girl says, voice growing hushed and serious. "For this one you get to choose the topic. Do you want your question to be about Fantasy, Science Fiction, or random?"

  To pick Fantasy, WAVE YOUR WAND OVER PAGE 37

  To pick Science Fiction, TELEPORT TO PAGE 46

  To pick something random, READ PAGE 29

  67

  You meet them in the office. Jake is going through a box of photographs. Taking a moment to catch your breath, you tell them what just happened.

  "I told you I saw a ghost earlier!" Jake says, looking vindicated.

  "So what does it mean?" Emma asks. "'The path to what you THINK is most precious, is underneath what is TRULY most precious.' Such a strange riddle."

  "Don't look at me," Jake says. "You're the one who always liked riddle books, Mike."

  If you think the answer is there in the Office, GO TO PAGE 39

  If you want to try to Master Bedroom, TURN TO PAGE 113

  If you think the clue refers to the Nursery, TURN TO PAGE 98

  68

  Night is falling, so it's now extremely difficult to see. You lean one foot out the window until you feel the balcony with your toes. Then you duck through, stepping down with your other foot. Thunder rumbles in the distance.

  Now you're on the balcony with a row of six potted plants.

  "Is the prize in one of those?" Emma asks.

  "Yeah," Jake said, "but if so, which one?"

  You look at the six plants and something tickles your memory. "I've seen this balcony before. When I climbed the vine lattice to get into the little girl's bedroom."

  "Ohh yeah," Jake says. I knew it looked familiar!"

  "I saw something in one of the pots." You look to the side of the house, trying to re-imagine your vantage. "It was this pot here. The one on the end." Sticking out of the soil is the remains of a sunflower, but now it's brown and dead. The soil still looks fresh and black.

  "Reach inside and find out," Jake urges.

  "That's easy to say when it's not your hand doing the reaching!"

  To dig around in the soil, FLIP TO PAGE 89

  If you'd rather look around some more, GO TO PAGE 97

  69

  "I think it's a C," you say. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

  "Pretty sure?" Jake asks.

  "Do you have a better idea?" you demand.

  "Hey, I'm not the one taking piano lessons."

  Emma says, "I think you're right, Mike. Your guess is as good as mine."

  You step forward and find the correct octave. Your finger hovers over the C key for a few seconds before finally pressing down.

  BONG.

  The sound rings out, and you immediately know that it's wrong. "Uh oh," you say.

  Jake throws up his hands. "Mike! I thought you said you knew!"

  "I'm sorry!"

  "Guys, something is happening..." Emma whispers.

  Prepare yourself ON PAGE 140

  70

  You heft the pool cue. "I knew I kept this for a reason," you say, wedging it between the door and the frame like a crowbar.

  You lean on the stick but the door doesn't budge. A box of what sounds like cereal hits you in the back. Other bags of food smash open on the ground, spilling their contents across the floor.

  Why won't it budge! You groan as you strain against it, and then you feel Jake's hands joining yours on the pool cue. With your combined strength the door pops open and you fall forward into the brighter kitchen.

  Food continues flying out of the pantry, so you scramble to your feet. "Let's get out of here!" Jake says. None of you argue. You dash back into the hallway, turning randomly this way and that.

  Run into the Den ON PAGE 71

  71

  You, Emma, and Jake all stand motionless in the Den, listening. The only sound is your breathing, and your heartbeat pounding in your ears. "I think we're okay," you say.

  "I am not okay," Jake says. All the blood has drained out of his face. Frankly, he looks like he's seen a ghost.

  "Maybe we should leave," Emma suggests. "We could just get out of here, and tell Mr. Goosen what we saw..."

  "No way," Jake says. "Nobody will believe us. Besides, I came here for treasure. I don't want to leave empty handed."

  Explore the Den ON PAGE 80

  72

  "I've got a good feeling about the second crate," you say. "Jake, have at it."

  Jake wedges the ax head in between the top of the crate and the side. He pushes up and down on the handle until slowly, one millimeter at a time, the nails begin to loosen. With one final push the entire cover pops off and clatters to the ground, sending a puff of dust into the air all around you.

  Coughing and waving your head over your face, you lean over the crate. Jake and Emma join you, all peering inside. The dust begins to fade and the contents come into view.

  73

  Three enormous eggs sit inside the crate, resting gently on mounds of straw. They appear cream colored in the light, smooth and shiny as if they're slightly damp.

  "Dragon eggs?" Emma whispers, awestruck.

  You notice more printed letters on the inside of the crate:

  O - S - T - R - I - C - H - E - G - G - S

  "Ostrich eggs!" you say. Emma seems disappointed, but you're excited. You pick one up with careful hands and hold it up for them to see.

  A voice calls out in the darkness: "Not just any ostrich eggs!"

  You nearly jump out of your shoes until you recognize Mr. Goosen gliding toward you.

  "You scared the skin off us!" Emma says. "How did you get in here? We didn't see any doors open."

  He ignores the question. His eyes are transfixed on the egg. "We had to call them ostrich eggs to get them through customs. These are millions of years old, from the Jurassic era!"

  "Dinosaurs!" Emma cries.

  But then Mr. Goosen is gone as quickly as he had arrived. "That was creepy," Jake says. "And he looked weird, too. Like I could almost see through him, like a..."

  Across the cellar, the door to the outside swings open. It seems like there's a storm brewing. "We'd better get out of here."

  As you walk home you aren't sure whether to keep the egg or donate it to a museum. But what you are sure of is that this is...

  THE END

  74

  "...like spiderwebs," Emma finishes. A shadow descends over the thick spiderwebs, pushing them aside.

  75

  The beast emerges from the hole, pulling itself out by its eight hairy legs. It pauses between the wine racks, looking at the three of you with its multi-faceted eyes. It seems to focus on you, which is when you remember that you're still holding the ax with the spider guts all over it.

  "We've made a huge mistake," you say.

  Jake whimpers.

  The spider sets itself down on the floor. It towers over you. Saliva--or venon-
-drips from its fangs, and its green and yellow body tenses menacingly. As if it's preparing to strike.

  You stand very still, speaking out of the side of your mouth. "Guys. What do we do?"

  Jake whimpers some more.

  "You're the one with the ax!" Emma whispers. "Or would you rather run?"

  Run away ON PAGE 79

  To use your ax, TURN TO PAGE 25

  76

  Books begin flying off the shelves, shooting toward you like cannonballs. "Why don't you know the right answer?" she cries, forlorn. "WHY?"

  "I'm sorry!" you yell, but she doesn't hear it over the sound of her own wailing.

  Emma grabs your arm. "Let's get out of here!"

  The books continue pummeling your backs as you sprint out of the Den and into the hallway. "Quick, upstairs!" you point.

  Flee upstairs ON PAGE 133

  77

  Jake's pointing at the corner with the hole in the floor and the box beyond. But as you draw near and squint in the low light you realize it's not a box at all. The exterior is black matte, and one of the sides is open. A door, with a silver dial on it.

  "Hey, I think you're right," you say.

  The three of you approach the edge of the big hole. You can see through the jagged wooden floor into the room below. It looks like there's a piano down there.

  "There's a small path next to the wall," Jake says, pointing. "You should be able to reach the safe if you hug the wall."

  "Why do I have to go?" you ask.

  "You know I'm afraid of heights," Jake replies. "I won't even go into my brother's tree house!"

  You press your back against the wall and slide down the narrow walkway next to the edge. It's an awfully long fall into the room below. You raise your eyes to the safe to keep yourself from feeling scared. The door is definitely open, and something inside is glowing!

  You approach the end where the safe sits. The glowing increases. You extend your hand...

  ...and the safe suddenly slams shut with a bang.

  "Woah," you say, nearly losing your balance. You teeter before getting your footing.

  Your friends stare across the hole at you. "The wind?" Emma asks.

  You glance at the windows. They're closed. You'd better not point that out, though.

  Examine the safe ON PAGE 62

  78

  "Let's try the Den," you say, interrupting your friends. Emma nods vigorously, happy to stop her argument with Jake.

  You turn and walk down the hallway. At the end is an intersection: to the right is the front door, and straight ahead is the door leading down into the cellar. You hear a weird, gargling noise.

  "What's that?" Jake asks.

  "I don't know, but I'm glad we didn't go down there," Emma says.

  The Den is around the corner. You pass through an ornate looking doorway and enter the room, closing the door softly behind you.

  Explore the Den ON PAGE 80

  79

  You are not about to fight some giant mutant spider. "On the count of three, make a break for the door," you hiss to your friends. Out of the corner of your eye you see Emma nod.

  The spider stares at you, waiting. You're unable to look away. You can feel your heart pounding in your chest in the dank, dark cellar.

  "One, two... THREE!"

  Emma and you scramble away, pushing a paralyzed Jake with you. The flashlight bounces up and down as Emma pumps her arms, alternately illuminating the floor, wall, and ceiling. It's not far to the door. You're halfway there, and can't hear anything behind you, though you're breathing awfully loud.

  Emma reaches the steps. Jake follows. You're there, about to jump to safety...

  ...when something grabs the back of your shoe, tripping you.

  You fly forward onto your face. You turn and see a long strand of spiderweb stuck to your shoe. Using your other foot, you push your sneaker off.

  Suddenly the spider appears from the darkness. More webbing appears out of nowhere, wrapping around your ankle. The beast reaches forward with a long leg and begins to pull you backwards.

  You cry out, but your friends are nowhere to be seen. The open doorway is just out of reach, taunting you with its safety. Strangely, in your moment of fear, you worry that your mother will be angry at you for not practicing the piano. That's a stupid thing to think about, you realize, as your dragged backwards into...

  THE END

  80

  Despite its dusty and unused state, the Den has a warm, friendly feel to it. Two brown leather couches face a large brick fireplace. On either side of the fireplace are shelves filled with books, from floor to ceiling. The windows along the wall give a view of the back yard, and let in plenty of light. Dust particles float in the air.

  "Look at all the books!" Emma exclaims. The picks up the first one she sees, a thick copy of The Old Man and The Sea. She blows off the dust and looks inside. "We have to read this in English class. I bet Mr. Arrieta would love to see a copy this old!"

  "Careful," you say. "We're only allowed to take one item, remember?"

  "Oh, yeah," she says, swiftly placing the book back in its slot.

  In addition to the books, the shelves hold an assortment of special items every few feet. One looks like a porcelain egg on a display stand. Above your head is one of those Russian nesting dolls, with smaller and smaller dolls inside. To the left is a huge sheep horn, ribbed and shaped like the letter U.

  "Hey guys, look at this," Jake calls from across the room.

  See what Jake has ON PAGE 81

  81

  He's standing over the coffee table, pointing. As you approach you see a small wooden box, ornately designed. Unlike the table and furniture, there's not a speck of dust on it.

  Jake reaches forward. "Don't pick it up!" you say. "We don't know if it's what we want to take."

  "I'm just going to open it," Jake says defensively. "Cool your grill."

  With a careful hand he opens the lid to the box.

  Something white streaks across your vision, flying into the air. With horror you realize it's a little girl, but you can see the ceiling through her body.

  "Hi there!" she calls in a hollow voice. "Have you met my sister yet?"

  You take a frightened step back. "Hey wait," she says. "I just want to play a game! Don't you want to play a game?"

  "What... what kind of game?" Emma stammers.

  "A book game!" she says excitedly. "I'll give you a clue, and you have to guess what book it is! You guys read, don't you?"

  To play her game, TURN TO PAGE 147

  If you don't know much about books, GO TO PAGE 64

  82

  Mr. Goosen was very specific about what you were allowed to take, and you're not sure if a 50-cent piece would count as the one item of treasure. It's probably best to leave it.

  You get to your feet and help Emma and Jake climb through the window into the billiard room.

  Now that you're no longer distracted, your other senses awaken. The smell of mold and mildew is thick in the room. A billiard table sits in the center with a thick layer of dust on its surface. A rack of cues is mounted on the wall to the left. On the right is a shelf of empty bottles, with a countertop and three stools underneath.

  "Cool!" Jake says, running over to grab a pool cue from the wall. "My uncle has a pool table, but it's nothing like this."

  Emma pays no attention to him. "It looks like nobody has been in here in years," she says. "How could Mr. Goosen live like this?"

  She's right: there's so much dust and spiderwebs that it's obvious nobody has been in the room in a long time. Is the rest of the house so decrepit? A tingle runs down your spine.

  Shake it off ON PAGE 83

  83

  Jake is examining the pool table, so you walk over to the countertop with the stools. The bottles on the wall behind are molded into cool, unique shapes: one is almost like a pyramid, another is sphere-shaped with a flat bottom and a thin neck sticking out the top. They're all empty, and covered with
the same layer of dust as everything else.

  Behind the counter are cabinets filled with drinking glasses of all different shapes and sizes. You only look for a few seconds. There's clearly nothing valuable there.

  "Hey Mike, do you think I can sink the 8-ball?" Jake asks. He's leaning over the pool table, aiming his cue.

  To dare him to try, TURN TO PAGE 84

  If you'd rather search another room, GO TO PAGE 48

  To take the stick from Jake, TURN TO PAGE 93

  84

  "I've seen you play pool before," you taunt. "I bet you a dollar you can't sink it from there."

  "You're on!"

  Jake leans over the table, resting his elbows on the railing. The cue ball is in the middle of the table, but the 8-ball is at the other end near the corner pocket. He takes his time lining up the shot, smoothly moving the cue back and forth between his fingers. Finally he shoots.

  The cue ball rolls across the felt surface, leaving a dust-less trail behind. With a crack of ivory on ivory it strikes the 8-ball, knocking it gently into the corner pocket.