"Just stop!" Maria said. "This isn't a joke, you know. The Special Unit is still out there looking for us, and God knows what's in there." She took a deep breath and glared
at Michael. "Besides," she continued, "everyone knows that the first one to go is the guy who makes bad jokes and tries to get everyone scared."
"Maybe," Michael replied, "and everyone knows that the next to go is the nasty girl who yells all the time."
Maria was silent after that, but she continued to glare at Michael.
"We should park in the garage and wait it out in the house. In the morning, Kyle can take a look at the van and we'll get out of here," Max said. He pulled up to one of the four triple-sized garage doors and jumped out again to open it. When they pulled in, the van's headlights lit up the cavernous interior of the garage.
It really was huge, except for some boxes and what looked like various tools, tires, and other things Liz couldn't identify along the back wall. Max quickly pulled the van around so that it was pointing toward the door. Liz knew he was doing it in case they had to get away in a hurry.
"Come on, let's get you guys inside," Liz said. Max was soaked, and so were Michael and Kyle. Liz opened her door and hopped out. It felt good to stretch her legs. Checking her watch, she saw that it was almost midnight. As if this wasn't creepy enough, she thought as they headed down a covered path that led from the garage to the rear of the house.
6
Michael made sure that he and Max were in front of the others. He half expected Maria to complain on principle, but she kept quiet.
She must be scared, Michael thought.
"You know, we can handle anything that might be in there or that shows up. They can't be tougher than the aliens in Stonewall," he said.
"Okay, your powers work on humans and aliens. But what if they don't work on ghosts?" she said petulantly.
"Max and I have a plan for that," Michael replied.
"Yeah?" she said.
"Sure, we're going to scream like women and run away," he said.
That earned Michael a sudden whack in the shoulder from Maria, but he could see a momentary smile on her lips. Well, if he accomplished nothing else tonight, he had made her smile for one second.
The covered walk ended in front of a large wooden door that looked like some sort of servants' entrance.
Michael put his hand on the knob.
"Why do you go first?" Max said.
"I took a vote," Michael replied, and pushed on the door. He wasn't surprised when it was locked.
Max gestured to the deadbolt lock and said, "You want me to get that?"
Michael thought about it and said, "Then we'll go in together?"
Max shrugged and took a position next to Michael. Then he put his hand over the lock. There was a click inside, and Michael turned the doorknob and pushed. The door opened easily at first but came to a stop about six inches in. Michael pushed and felt a springy resistance back there. Max tried to look through the opening, but it was too dark to see anything inside.
"What is it?" Liz asked.
"I don't know. Something's back there," Michael said. Then he turned to Max. "Ready?"
"Quietly, okay?" Max said.
Michael nodded and, together, they started pushing on the door with their shoulders. For a moment the door pushed back, and then there was a tearing sound and Michael shot forward.
"Look at this," Max said, pointing to plastic sheeting on the door frame.
"Someone sealed this place up tight," Michael said.
By then the others had stepped inside and were looking with them. "Why do that? They didn't bother to do anything on the outside."
Michael tried to look into the room. It was so dark that he couldn't even see the opposite wall. He could, however,
see a big, commercial-looking stove on the wall next to him. "Looks like we're in the kitchen," he said. "Next time we explore a creepy old house at midnight, would somebody please remember to bring a flashlight?"
"We could just try the lights," Kyle suggested. There was a click and suddenly the room lit up.
"Well, the good news is, we have power," Michael said.
"That doesn't make sense. No one has been here in years. The place was locked up tight and abandoned. There shouldn't be power," Max said.
"Maybe someone's still here," Maria said.
"I don't think so," Michael said. "If someone was around, there would have been lights on when we arrived. And they would have heard us and come to investigate." Still, Michael listened carefully and didn't hear any sounds in the house. He was sure they were alone. It didn't make much sense, but he was sure it was true.
"You guys should check the place out before we go anywhere," Maria said.
"Okay," Michael said. Then he turned to Max and said, "Maxwell?"
"You can't leave us!" Maria said.
"Hard to check the place out, then," Michael replied.
"Why don't we all go together," Liz said.
"Right," Maria said. "That's very important. We shouldn't split up. In the movies that's when things start to go wrong. People split up and they start disappearing."
"Sounds good to me," Michael said under his breath.
"I heard that," Maria said. "Remember what I said before: The smart-ass jokester is always the first to go."
"Guys. Just keep it down and let's get going," Liz said.
They started making their way through the kitchen, and Michael was amazed at the size of it. There were two large commercial stoves, much bigger than the one at the Crash-down. There were also rows of cabinets and a large metal door that he recognized as a walk-in freezer. Somebody had really lived pretty well in this house. You could jit Hank's whole trailer in a corner of the kitchen, Michael thought, shaking his head. Somehow, he couldn't believe the trailer that had been his home for more time than he cared to remember and this house existed in the same universe. When Michael had left Hank and the Chisholm Trailer Park for good to get his own apartment, he swore he would never live in a mobile home again. And here 1 am living in a van, he realized. Though he recognized that living with his friends in the van was the first taste of real freedom he had ever known. He had chosen the van, and that was the difference. They were on the run, but Michael felt more in control than he had since waking in the desert after getting out of his pod. "Wonder what's in the fridge?" he said, walking over to the door to the walk-in.
He opened the door and saw that not only was the freezer on, but it was stocked from floor to ceiling with meat and boxes of who knew what else. "Someone's been here, and recently," he said.