The second room looked like a sewing room of some sort, with piles of old fabric that were sun-stained from so many years next to an uncovered window. There was an ancient sewing machine that reminded Matt of the one his great-grandmother used to have when he was little. Only when he looked closer did he see that the windowsill by the pile of fabric was littered with dead ants.

So far, the upstairs area was proving itself to be just as alarming as the downstairs. He imagined the Game Master sneaking from room to room, hiding in the shadows and watching over them all like some sort of ghost, and he shivered at the thought. Who would ever want to spend time in a house this creepy?

Danny was the first to pass the third room off the hallway, holding his camera up as he entered to capture everything in real time.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed before stepping gingerly inside. “I think it’s safe to say that I found the library.”

The rest of the friends piled into the room quickly, Matt heading in last. He was unsettled by the creaking that seemed to come from deep within the walls of the house. But when he entered the room, he knew that Danny was right: this room had to be the one. There weren’t just one or two books, but hundreds. The bookshelves almost looked endless, layered in well-spaced rows across the turret-like room that expanded out from the side of the house. At the end of the room was a big window seat that overlooked the front yard, and on the wall beside it there was a big architectural drawing with a table splayed out beneath it. The drawing was old and crinkled, pinned hastily in each corner.

“Cool,” Kylie said, spinning on her toes to get a look at the entire room. “This is probably my favorite room in the house so far, if such a thing is possible.”

“It really makes you wonder what this place was like before it was abandoned,” Becca said, walking through the shelves, running her hands over all the leather-bound spines. “Maybe it was even really nice once, when everything wasn’t all broken and run down.”

Matt tried to imagine the house cleaned up, without the cobwebs or layers of dust or gigantic red stains on the floor. Maybe, just maybe, it could have been cozy once, but that ship had long sailed.

“Pleasant? Let’s not forget all the bugs in the basement,” Danny joked, moving around to get as many details as he possibly could on camera. “So . . . we’ve found the books. What now?”