“I’m not,” Frankie said, the color drained from their face. “I sort of feel like I’m going to puke, actually.”

Becca wasn’t happy that Frankie wasn’t feeling well, but she was certainly grateful to have something to shift the focus to. “Uh-oh, that’s not good!” she said, her voice higher pitched than she’d hoped for. “We’d better get you something to eat right away. Maybe take a little break until you’re feeling better . . .”

“I think some water would help,” Frankie said, following Becca’s lead back toward their own neighborhood. “We’ve been out walking for a while now.”

“Let’s go,” Becca called back to the others, who reluctantly followed, Matt looking after her curiously. “We can figure out our next move as soon as Frankie’s feeling better.”

She tried to carry herself with as much confidence as possible, but as they walked back to the clubhouse, Becca couldn’t help but think about what the Game Master might have planned for them at the haunted house on Gurley Street. She wouldn’t be able to put off going forever.

Soon, they’d have to go check it out.

Matt

Matt followed Becca back to the clubhouse, weaving in and out between everybody on his scooter.

“Let’s stop at my house really quick before heading to Becca’s,” Frankie suggested, apparently feeling a lot better now that the group wasn’t heading straight to the Gurley Street house. “I have some snacks I can throw together for everybody. Can’t expect ourselves to be clue-cracking ready until our stomachs are nice and full, right?”

“I’m still not convinced we need to actually go to the house,” Becca said in a weak voice, turning onto Frankie’s street. “There might be something more to it than that.”

Matt raised an eyebrow at her. Since when did she play dumb over stuff like this? Matt knew that Becca was smart enough to realize that being given an address by the Game Master could only mean one thing: they needed to go to there. “What if the Game Master lives in the house?” he asked her, speeding his scooter up until he was riding at her side and able to see her face. “What if that’s where he’s keeping Elephant and Nacho?”

“That seems more likely than any other option,” Kylie said from behind them.

“But nobody lives in that house,” Becca said with disgust. “It’s totally run down.”

After they stopped by Frankie’s, who hustled inside to grab a small backpack and fill it with crackers, fruit snacks, and, of course, cheese, the group returned to the clubhouse. Only once they were safely inside Becca’s treehouse did she look a little more relaxed.

“Thanks for bringing all this stuff, Frankie,” she said as she stacked a piece of cheese on top of a cracker. “I think I was hungrier than I knew.”