Now it was Becca’s turn to laugh. “Quite a bit,” she said. “Let’s start at the beginning.”

Becca

“So what happened out in the backyard?” Becca asked Matt, still shocked at the sight of him and Kylie and Miguel.

Now that the adrenaline of getting cold water dumped on them was wearing off, Matt’s group didn’t look like they wanted to laugh anymore. Becca felt bad for them—it must be miserable to be soaking wet in your clothes! Also considering the fact that the water had been filthy, she was willing to bet that Kylie, Matt, and Miguel would have given anything for a hot shower and a clean pair of pajamas—and to be in their own homes.

“At first, it looked like there wasn’t much to be seen,” Matt started. He made his way slowly around the living room to check out all the stuff in it, looking in disgust at the big red stains on the floor. “Just some dirt and weeds. But then the weeds turned out to form a labyrinth. We almost got lost.”

Becca looked at Kylie in surprise. She knew her friend hated the idea of getting lost more than anything. “That must have been especially scary for you.”

“It’s funny you should mention that,” Kylie said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Because the first clue we found, located in the center of the maze, pointed out that very thing. The Game Master left a note asking what I’m afraid of. Then the game revolved around using a map without getting lost in the process.”

“We beat it eventually,” Matt confirmed with a nod. “But then we had to search through hundreds and hundreds of flowers. They were growing all over this iron gate that ran along the back side of the maze.”

“Matt beat that one,” Miguel said with a grin. “He found a red key taped to a fake poppy.”

“What happened next?” Becca asked, fascinated. Danny made sure to move the camera between people smoothly and effortlessly to get the conversation on tape. If nothing else, at least they could say for sure that this was all going to make for a spooky, exciting documentary.

“Then came my clue.” Miguel shuddered; there were still droplets of nasty brown water dripping down the bottom of his T-shirt. “Asking what I was afraid of.”

“Water?” Frankie guessed, crinkling their nose at the scent of the muddy water.

“Water in the mudroom,” Kylie confirmed. “It poured out of giant buckets that were set over the door leading in.”

“Wait.” Becca made her way past Kylie and Miguel, heading back in the direction they came from. “Did you say there was another door? And that you were able to come in through it?”

“Yeah,” Kylie called back, rushing to join Becca. “How could I have forgotten already? Let’s get out of here!”