Jack came to a floor panel that looked unusual — “I think there’s something here.”
“Where are we on this map?” asked Stephen and Jack indicated their approximate position.
“Can’t be anything bad then, right?” asked Stephen. “After all, it's not marked.”
“You should be farther back,” said Jack. “In case something happens to me.”
“Yeah, true,” said Stephen.
Jack put his weight on the corner of the panel ahead of him. It seemed normal and solid, but there was no ignoring the color difference.
“Okay, give me your rope,” said Jack. They tied the line around Jack’s waist and then Stephen braced his feet against the wall and held the other end of the rope.
“All set,” said Stephen.
“Here I go,” said Jack. Hand-by-hand, Jack put his weight on the odd panel, clenching his jaw and waiting for the floor to fall away. When he was on the other side of the questionable panel, he turned around and laughed. “Nothing,” he said.
“Better safe than dead,” said Stephen.
“Roger that,” laughed Jack.
Jack still went through the motions of testing each panel before he put his weight on it, but he put his trust in the map. At the end of the passage, Jack found a small opening wall; it looked like the switch from the white room that Stephen had triggered.
“Come here — check this out,” Jack said to Stephen. He was pointing his light at the hole in the wall.
“Huh,” said Stephen.
In the white room, Stephen had stretched out his hand to activate the switch without getting his wrist caught when the trap closed. This switch was laid out differently. It had roughly the same arrangement — two pieces of plexiglass with two halves of a hole cut into them. If they collapsed together they would trap a person’s arm. The other major difference was the depth to the switch. Stephen had easily reached the switch in the white room because it was only recessed a couple inches behind the plexiglass gate. Here, the switch they found sat sixteen inches back — they had no opportunity to cheat with a stretched hand.
“Well, should we try it?” asked Stephen.
“Might as well — the other one didn’t do anything bad,” said Jack.
“Yeah, but I think our arms are bigger than that hole,” said Stephen. “If that thing closes, it’s going to pinch.”
“Let’s flip on it,” said Jack. He pulled out the quarter they had used earlier — “Call it.”
“Heads again,” said Stephen.
“Heads it is — you got lucky,” said Jack. He removed his backpack and moved closer to the hole. He put his hand just inside the hole and then pulled back. He brushed the bottom plexiglass and then pulled his hand away. “Hey — it’s sharp,” he said.
Stephen reached out and tested the edge — “You’re right. That thing’s meant to cut.”
“If it clamps down like before, that would nearly cut my arm off,” said Jack.
“So what do we do? We know it has to be touched by skin,” said Stephen.
“Maybe,” said Jack. “The other one had to be, but maybe this one is different.” Jack pulled out the broken broom handle he carried in his pack. Inserted into the hole, it just barely reached the switch at the back, but pressing the switch had no effect.
“Yeah,” said Stephen. “See?”
“Well, could be that it needs skin, but does it have to be our skin?” asked Jack.
“Where you going to get skin?” asked Stephen.
“I don’t know — we could fit something small in there like a hamster, or maybe even a cat, or something,” said Jack.
“Do you have a cat?” said Stephen. “How does that help?”
“Maybe it doesn’t even have to be alive,” said Jack. “Maybe a piece of meat or something would work.”
“So you want to try dragging meat and cats in here to try to press that button?” asked Stephen, dismayed.
“Sure,” said Jack. “Why not?”
“If we knew it would work, maybe,” replied Stephen. “But just on a guess? That’s dumb.”
“I know — maybe it works the same as an iPod wheel. Ever try to control that with like a pencil eraser or something? It doesn’t work — has to be your hand.”
“Okay, so we rub meat on an iPod and if that works, we’ll bring meat in here,” chuckled Stephen.
“Yeah,” said Jack.
“I guess we’re done for today then,” said Stephen.
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” said Jack.
They made it back to Jack’s yard by one-fifteen. Jack believed that his mom wouldn’t be back until three, but still spied around the corner of the house before entering. Jack’s mom pulled up at that very moment. They ran to the basement door and Jack opened it quietly. Stephen and then Jack slipped inside and trotted over to the stairs. If they went up now, they would reach the kitchen just as Jack’s mom entered from the garage.
“What do we do?” whispered Stephen.
“Wait,” said Jack. “Just wait.”
After a minute, Jack crept up the stairs, waving Stephen to stay close. Jack listened for his mom with his ear an inch from the door. When he heard the hall bathroom door shut, he reached for the handle and they were in the kitchen. Jack pointed Stephen to the living room and then gently closed the door to the basement.
On his way across the kitchen floor, Jack stepped on a soft part of the floor. The boards groaned under his weight. He lifted his foot gingerly and caught up with Stephen at the bottom of the stairs.
“Jack?” his mom called from the bathroom.
Jack looked at Stephen and shook his head. He pointed Stephen up the stairs and they sprinted back to Jack’s room. Stephen sat down and picked up the book he was supposed to be reading. Jack frantically dug through his desk drawer. He found his spare headphones and threw them over to Stephen. Putting them on, Stephen, connected the headphones to the front of Jack’s computer. Jack found another set of headphones and attached them to his iPod. Before sitting on the bed, Jack closed the door to just a crack and turned on his music.
A few minutes later, Jack’s mom tapped on the door. When they didn't respond, she pushed the door open and found the boys reading their books and listening to music.
Jack looked up, took off his headphones, and tossed a pillow at Stephen. Surprised, Stephen looked up from his book and removed his headphones as well.
“Hey, Ms. Randolph,” said Stephen.
“Did we get any calls while I was out?” Jack’s mom asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, we had our headphones on,” Jack’s lie came out genuine.
“Aren’t you supposed to be reading your books?” she asked.
“It’s classical music,” said Jack. “This book says that classical music can increase reading comprehension.” He held up one of his school books about learning and intelligence.
“It says it can for some people,” Stephen said. “For some people it has a positive effect and others are bothered by the music.”
“So Stephen’s listening to pop and I’m listening to classical,” said Jack. “We’re going to see who remembers more.”
“That’s great,” said his mom. “Didn’t you hear me yelling a minute ago?”
Jack shook his head.
“And you weren’t just downstairs?” asked his mom.
“Nope, been right here,” said Jack.
Stephen caught himself wondering how Jack could lie so easily. He felt like a fraud when Jack's mom looked at him, but Jack looked perfectly at ease.
“Okay,” she said. “Dinner’s at six.” She backed out of Jack’s room, closing the door on her way out.
Jack held his breath until he was sure his mom was away from the door. “Wow. That was pretty good.”