Hey Internet, I know this is early but Mysteries of Anubis reached over a thousand views! So, to celebrate, I'm handing out the next chapter early. See you Tuesday. Enjoy!
CHAPTER TWELVE HOUSE OF RETURNS
"Of course I should be the one to go, Alfie loves me!" Amber and Patricia battled it out – unfortunately in my room – to go see Alfie in the hospital. I attempted to drown them out with my iPod, but no matter how high I set the volume to, "Show Me What I'm Looking For" (by Carolina Liar) couldn't seem to block them.
"Amber, watch my lips. I am going to the hospital, not you." Patricia said.
"The only place where yesterday always follows tomorrow." I heard Fabian mutter in between songs. "What is it, what is it, what is it? I mean, what if it's not a book?"
"Yewouch!" I screeched, ripping the earphones from my ears. I ended up tossing my iPod across the room. I could here "Crushcrushcrush" by Paramore playing from it.
"Mary Ann, who do you think should go?" Amber asked as I rubbed my ears.
"Don't ask me, I think both of you seem like a bad idea." I commented. I got up to grab my iPod.
"Alfie needs someone to cheer him up, not to shout at him." Amber said. "And that's why I wore this lip gloss." The iPod must have fallen under the wardrobe.
"Who's going to be shouting?" Patricia argued. "I won't be shouting, Amber. I'll be interrogating him, that's all." Aha, got it out!
"Don't try to confuse me with your fancy words." Amber said.
"Uh, it's in the dictionary, Amber." Patricia and I noted.
"Under the 'I' section, since it's alphabetically listed." I added, "And one of the only places where 'dumb' comes before 'smart'. 'Hello' after 'goodbye'. And also 'tomorrow' before 'yesterday'." I turned down the volume on my iPod. I felt them all staring at me, and when I turned they were. "Uh…"
"The only place where yesterday always follows tomorrow!" Fabian said excitedly. Huh? Realization hit me. Oh, a dictionary! That's the answer to the clue! "A dictionary!" Fabian enveloped me in a hug and lifted me off my feet. I squealed from surprise. He spun around a bit saying, "You genius, genius, genius, genius girl!" He finally set me down. My cheeks burned.
"Uh…" I stammered, "So… yeah, I did that… I'm still out." I put the earphones in and played a random song. I sat on my bed.
"So the clue means your dictionary." Amber said. I sighed, unable to block them with music. Whoever said listening to music helps people ignore you, go back to school.
"Not mine," I explained, "A leather-bound dictionary with a clasp on it." I stuffed my iPod into my bag.
"Do you want to help me look for it, Mary Ann?" Fabian offered.
"Nope." I replied, but that didn't hide the hope in my voice. I was so excited. We were one step closer! No, I thought to myself, they were one step closer. I'm not in the gang.
"Mary Ann," Fabian said. I looked to him, and saw him presenting the locket to me. "Sarah gave this to you. Not me."
I looked at him. He was staring at me smugly, like he already knew I couldn't say no. I groaned and snatched the locket back. "I knew befriending you was bad." I muttered loudly, "I knew you would use your charm on me eventually."
Having the locket around my neck again made me feel whole. Ugh, I sound like a cheesy movie.
~ Play Meeting ~
After sneaking into the attic, finding a dictionary that matched the description, and making it back to the school only ten minutes late, Fabian and I entered the auditorium. Before we entered, though, he asked me something.
"I wasn't able to ask you earlier, with all that was going on…" Fabian started.
"Yeah?"
"But remember when you were talking to Alfie before he passed out?" I nodded. "What did you mean when you said 'I've seen a million times worse'?"
My heart skipped a beat. "I… I don't want to talk about it." I rushed into the auditorium.
Amber came up to us in a duck costume. She had a pretty yellow assortment of feathers clipped to her hair. "Well?" she asked.
"Why are you dressed like as a duck?" Fabian laughed.
"I'm a canary." Amber replied coolly.
"A canary dressed as a duck." Fabian said, like it made no sense… because it didn't.
Amber rolled her eyes, "Did you find anything?"
"It's not in English, since Mr. Thinker here though we should look for an Arabic dictionary." I told her. I showed her the book inside me bag and she squealed.
"Uh, what's with all the squealing?" Mr. Winkler asked from the stage. "Can we set up for Act One, please?"
"I don't think we can," Fabian said.
"I know. We don't have Alfie." Winkler said.
"Or Jerome." Fabian added.
"Or Patricia," I piped in.
"Or Mara." Mick said from the stage.
"Fantastic." Winkler said in frustration.
"We can always do my scene again." Amber offered.
"I suppose we'll have to." Winkler gave in.
"Mara's here. We can do our scene as well if you like." Mick announced.
By the end of the session, only Amber was able to rehearse. Mick pushed at Mara's buttons the wrong way and she ran off. Thanks, Mick.
~ Back at House ~
Amber, Fabian, and I sat around the dictionary on the floor in my room. We tried to open the dictionary, but the clasps were sealed shut. We used all sorts of tools: a pair of scissors, a pencil, a pocketknife, even a chainsaw (just kidding)!
Amber tried her super strong nail clipper. It just snapped. "Wow…" Amber muttered. "It's a super-power clasp."
"It's so stuck…" I mumbled. "Maybe the locket will work. It has opened lots of random crap before." I handed it to Amber (mostly because I was too lazy to do it myself).
She pushed the locket on the clasp. She pushed so hard her hands were trembling. "Don't hurt the locket!" I said, taking it from her. Then I added, "Or the book! You press gently." I pressed the locket against the clasp lightly. Immediately, the locket glowed red. Amber gasped. I removed the locket from the first clasp, which was glowing red by now, and pressed it against the other clasp. That one glowed red and I moved the locket out of the way.
The clasps flew opened with a suddenness it startled me.
"It only works for you." Amber noted. "Spooky."
"Let's open this baby up." I said. Fabian opened the cover and we found…
Nothing. There was a huge space where someone cut out the center of the page for the entire book. Something must have been there, but whatever it was, it was gone.
"Ugh…" I complained. "There's nothing."
Some music started to play. I looked at my phone and saw Out of Area.
"Be right back," I said, and went into the hall.
"Norton speaking." I stated into the receiver.
"Mary Ann, it's me. I need your help." Patricia's voice said. "I'm still at the hospital. Meet me by the bike shed with blankets and food. Got it?"
"Yeah, sure. What's this for?" I asked. The line was already dead. I shut my phone and walked back into the room.
"She hung up on me. I can't believe she hung up on me!" I stated, not really angry, more confused.
"Who was it?" Amber asked.
"Patricia." I said, "We've got to go. Grab a bag and a blanket."
They didn't question me until we were going downstairs.
"She didn't say why she needed help?" Fabian asked.
"She just said to bring food and blankets to the bike shed." I explained.
"Have either of you seen Patricia?" Jerome asked when he saw us coming downstairs. "She disappeared at the hospital. And I'm think I should tell Trudy."
"I don't think –" Fabian started.
"Well that's because –" Amber interrupted.
"She's visiting a friend." I lied. "He got accepted into a smartass school and they were throwing a party to celebrate. I'll pass on the message that you've been worrying."
Jerome shrugged. "Poor guy." He walked into the living room.
"You have got to stop lying," Fabian said while laughing. I rolled my eyes.
"At least I'm good at it." I said smiling. "Let's go."
~ Meeting Patricia ~
Patricia met us at the bike shed, but she led us to an old well. In there was none other than Rufus in a wheelchair! He was knocked out.
"You stole a patient?" Amber said in shock.
"Have you gone completely insane?" Fabian asked.
"Well, I couldn't leave him in the hospital, could I?" Patricia argued. "Not like this. It's just until he comes around."
"But what if he never does?" I asked the obvious question.
"He will." Patricia said, "He's looking more alert already."
"Oh, oh yeah." Fabian said sarcastically, "He should be piloting a plane."
"Well he was more alert in the taxi." Patricia said.
Amber stepped up to him. Before we could stop her, she slapped Rufus across the face and yelled, "Rufus wake up!"
"Calm down, Amber!" Patricia yelled. Rufus was definitely awake now, looking around in complete confusion.
"Where am I?" Rufus asked.
"You're welcome." Amber said to us.
"Shh." Patricia said, "It's OK. Rufus, it's Patricia. You're safe here."
"Patricia." Rufus recognized. "What happened?"
"We're not sure. We saw Victor kidnap you." Patricia explained.
"Y-Yeah…" he muttered.
"Then, then I found you at the hospital. You were, like, comatose. They must have done something to you."
"Or hit you too hard." I joked. No one laughed.
"Oh, I'm so tired…" Rufus muttered.
"Should I slap him again?" Amber asked. No one answered her, but I gave her a look. Patricia poured Rufus some tea from a thermos we brought.
"They must have thought you were getting close to finding Joy." Patricia conspired. "Or they never would have kidnapped you like that."
"Do you think they've hidden her somewhere? Like they did with you?" Amber asked.
"Oh, I am convinced that they have taken her, yes." Rufus confirmed.
"You said you thought Mary Ann's locket might be the key." Patricia said. I stared at her wide-eyed. I placed a hand over where the locket was under my shirt. "Mary Ann, why don't you show it to him?"
"Patricia!" Fabian whispered.
"So you're the girl with the locket?" Rufus asked, looking at me with interested. There was something more in his eyes than inquiry, but the rest of his face didn't show.
"The name's Mary Ann." I greeted. "Yo."
"May I see it?" he asked.
"No!" I said instantly, turning towards Fabian instinctively. I softened a bit. "Sorry… but I was told not to show it to anyone…" Under my breath, I added, "Though I kind of already broke that promise…"
"By Sarah Frobisher-Smythe." Rufus stated.
My eyes narrowed, "And if she did?"
"Oh, she's a friend of mine." He explained a little too quickly. "And you must give it back to her."
"I tried already." I mumbled.
"Why?" Fabian asked Rufus.
"Because the locket is cursed." Rufus explained.
"Cursed?" Amber asked in a scared voice. "What do you mean 'cursed'?"
"Oh, before Sarah had it, she was a wonderful and vibrant woman." He said. I remembered the dreamy look on Sarah's face when we talked about Rufus. Did they know each other… on a romantic level? That would be creepy, but I don't think it's illegal… "And you should never have taken it."
"She gave it to me." I said.
"She's a confused old woman who doesn't know what she was doing." Rufus laughed. Did I really just steal from an old woman? But… I had it in front of her the whole time. She never asked for it back. "I can give it back to her, if you like."
"No." Fabian and I said at the same time.
"Strictly speaking, the locket isn't yours." Rufus said in a scolding tone.
"Strictly speaking, it isn't yours either." Fabian said defensively.
"I meant what I said," Rufus told us. "The locket is dangerous. The all-seeing eye of Horus is an evil eye."
"I thought the Eye of Horus was an Egyptian symbol for protection." Fabian said, confused.
"But is it protecting good?" Rufus planted the seed of doubt, "Or evil?" I glowered at him.
"I don't have to listen to this." I said, and stormed out of the well.
~ The next day ~
Alfie was coming back from the hospital, so we all planned to surprise him. Everyone hid behind doors and walls in the living room, each armed with a party popper.
He walked in with Trudy. Jumping out, we all yelled "SURPISE!" and popped the poppers. Then we started singing "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow".
We complimented him, Jerome talked about the costumes for the play ("and our camel suit is AWESOME!") and everyone dispersed.
At school, we looked at the dictionary. "Anything?" I asked Fabian, who was looking at it.
"Nothing since you asked me ten seconds ago." He laughed.
I took a small flashlight from my bag. "Use this. Maybe it's so old that we can't see anything." He nodded, and Patricia came rushing in.
"Rufus is gone." She announced. "I can't believe it! He was my only connection to Joy!"
"And there's nothing in the silly dictionary." I added.
Patricia calmed down and sat next to us. "I think whatever was in there is long gone."
"She's right," Fabian said, glancing at me, "There's nothing." Just then I saw a spark.
"Whoa, what was that?"
"What?"
"I saw something." I took his hand and moved it. Just like that, a message appeared.
"It's invisible ink!" Fabian exclaimed. "The heat from the torch must be making it appear!"
"What's it say?" Patricia asked.
"Boo-yah, new clue!" I declared.
"Under the eyes of Horus, a globe and hollow lie. Two right for eternity but just one left to die." Fabian read.
"The panel in the attic is hollow." I guessed, "Not to mention there's an eye of Horus there."
"That's not the only one…" Fabian said mysteriously.
~ MIDNIGHT ~
I snuck downstairs at midnight. Fabian was waiting at the base of the stairs with a flashlight.
"Mary Ann," he whispered. "I've been thinking. It's 'eyes', not 'eye'."
"OK?" I whispered back.
"Yeah, under the eyes of Horus, a globe and hollow lie. Eyes. It's not in the attic. I think it might be somewhere in here. In the hallway. Something globe-shaped." He started to look around the hallway.
I sighed at his obliviousness. I pointed to the sphere on the handrail. "Ahem?" He just smiled. "The only problem is which one." I pointed to the other sphere across from the one I was standing next to.
"I don't know." He said. He handed me the flashlight and knocked lightly on one of the spheres. Didn't sound hollow to me. He moved to the next one.
Knock, knock, knock.
It was hollow. I grinned. "It must be the hollow one." Fabian said in amusement. "OK, two right for eternity. But just one left to die. What do you think that means?"
"Turn it to the right twice, and you get closer to the elixir of Eternal Life. But if you turn left, it locks and the secret is locked forever?" I guessed.
Fabian took a breath. "Fingers crossed. One to the right." He took hold of the sphere and twisted it to the right. It made a loud creaking noise, but it moved nonetheless. I smiled again. "Two." He moved it again. Something clicked. He lifted it up, and the sphere came up like a cork to reveal a small object hanging off it by a hook. I nabbed a small paper that remained in the podium.
"Oh wow." I commented to the object. "That's some weird looking thing."
"What do we have here?" Fabian asked smugly.
"Yes," Victor asked. I jumped ten feet. I looked up the staircase to see our creepy caretaker descending it. How long has he been there? "What have you got there?" He walked down and held out a hand. "Give." Fabian handed it to him without a word.
"I shall decide upon your punishment in the morning, now get to your beds immediately." He moved a little to the side to make room for me. I shared a last look with Fabian before scurrying up the stairs. Before I went through the doors, I looked back at Victor. He looked at the object. I heard him say "it's not possible" as he stared at it with disbelief.
"NO!" he shouted angrily. I ran through the doors.