On instinct, he checked the mailbox when he got to his house, even though he already knew his mom had gotten it earlier—hence the twelfth clue. Tick couldn’t help but hope absolutely nothing else happened until Monday night, the Big Day. He needed a break from all the stress.

Easy to say when you have it all figured out, he thought. He’d sure not enjoyed the three-month-long “break” he’d had after Christmas.

He walked down the driveway toward his front door.

~

Kayla knew she didn’t have much time. The warm fire licked the air with an almost silent whooshing sound, reminding her of how much she loved watching things burn. Now that it was mostly warm outside, they never had the flames going, and if her mom walked in, there’d be a certain favorite doll that would get locked away for a whole week. She needed to hurry.

She threw the stupid piece of paper into the flames.

A wave of ugly black stuff, rimmed with a fiery line of glowing orange, traveled across the paper from both of the short sides as the whole thing slowly curled up into a ball. A little line of smoke escaped into the room, and in a few seconds, all that remained was a crispy sheet of ash.

“Kayla, what are you doing!”

She jumped at her brother’s voice, letting out a little shriek as she turned around to see him standing right behind her. Without meaning to, her eyes immediately looked over at the book sitting on the computer desk.

Tick followed her gaze, then practically leaped over to grab the book. He flipped it open, his eyes showing he already knew what had happened. His face reddened, his hands began to shake. He almost dropped the book. Then a tear fell out of his right eye. Kayla didn’t understand; why would such a dumb old—

Tick’s shout, full of rage, cut off her thoughts. “Bad girl, Kayla! You’re a very bad, bad, naughty, stupid, naughty girl!” Then he ran out of the room and out the front door, slamming it closed behind him.

Kayla bawled.

~

Tick ran.

Clutching the journal in both arms, he didn’t know where he was going, or how long it would last, but all he could do was run, his loosened scarf flapping in the wind. His heart wanted to explode out of his chest, panic and anger and disappointment crushing his feelings like someone had injected a full-sized elephant into his bloodstream. It hurt, and tears flowed down his face as he pounded the pavement with his clumsy feet. He fell twice, only to get up and keep running.

How could Kayla have done something so stupid! Everything had just fallen into place, everything was perfect. But now the message had been sent. Tick didn’t know how, but he knew it had been sent.

Burn the letter, stop the madness.