ALFIE'S POV
I almost die tripping over a zombie head. To some people, that's an odd thing to say. But when you live in Anubis with me, you hear weirder.
I'm carrying an enormous box of supplies for mine and Jerome's epic prank to blow all other pranks out of the water. We're going to scare the living sausages out of everyone at that party.
Whatever a living sausage may be, or why it's inside the guests.
A zombie mask falls out of the box onto the staircase and I don't notice. My foot slips on the mask and I begin to topple endlessly, flailing my arms as I fly down the stairs.
"Alfie?" I hear Willow call calmly. Does she… even notice I'm plummeting to my death?
"WAHHH!" I land on my face and hands on the final step, my legs outstretched behind me sprawled across the upper stairs. "Guuhhh…" I groan.
"Oh, Alfie! Are you ok? Why do you have a box of limbs and organs?" She asks flatly, as if she isn't at all surprised by my items.
"Don't tell anyone…" I whisper, scanning my surroundings like a spy. "But Jerome and I are planning the best Halloween prank. In History. Ever.
Willow laughs. "I'll leave you too it then! Oh, should I help you up or…"
"Oh, yeah, that'd be nice." As she's pulling me up, I say," You know, it's great to have a girlfriend who approves - no, enjoys - my elaborate schemes and pranks."
"C'mon then! Go… scare the living sausages out of everyone!"
"Wha-what?"
"You talk to yourself when you plan, did you know that?"
"Oh, good, I thought you may have been psychic, which, don't get me wrong, would have been awesome."
Willow smiles and skips upstairs to get changed into her costume. I can't even imagine what that may be.
"Living sausages, eh?"
I see Jerome at the top of the staircase, looming over me nonchalantly. His eyes are lit with amusement. "Tell me, Alfie, how does this girl put up with you and your elaborate schemes?" he jokes.
"I'll have you know that Willow actually finds my scheming amusing."
"Oh, of course. Now let's set up the prank and see how she feels afterwards."
He scampers downstairs and bounds next to me profoundly. His entire stature is disturbing, and entirely too close to me. I lunge forwards into the dining room and Jerome chases me.
"C'mon Lewis, let's see what you've got."
I show him my supplies and ideas and we set up, praying no one is to walk in on our scheme. I set the noise machine in the corner and hang the… things…from the ceiling.
We finish and celebrate with high-fives as the guests start to file in. I put on my zombie outfit and Jerome his Frankenstein (The doctor, not the monster).
I examine the costumes. Amber is, of course, dressed as Victoria - why can I recognize Victoria Beckham?
Joy and KT come dressed as Thing 1 and Thing 2, which scares me slightly, though I can't put my finger on why. Fabian is completely out of his ordinary with spiked hair and a leather jacket and ripped jeans and… chains? I understood the rockstar look, but it just isn't Fabian. He brings his electric guitar and begins to play for KT and Joy.
And then, after a few minutes of sauntering and nonchalant conversing, Eddie and Patricia walk in. It's such a mesmerizing sight. They're linked arm in arm, and stroll elegantly through the doorway. Patricia is pressed close to Eddie and they both seem to ignore the cheering and applauding at their costumes. They're dressed like Egyptian pharaohs, and boy, is it a sight to behold. With shimmering golds, whites, and blues and glistening black eyeliner used to make and Eye of Horus, you could almost mistake them for true pharaohs. I just don't understand why they aren't enjoying being the center of attention. That's so not Patricia.
Later on, Joy explains to me what's been occurring with Eddie and Patricia and of course, Madame Kahn. After hearing how much has happened to them, I'm not shocked Patricia is clinging to Eddie, silent and upset. She must be broken, seeing her boyfriend almost die twice. It makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have Willow, and how grateful I am when she asks me to dance.
"You make a handsome zombie," Willow says, but I almost don't hear her. My eyes are locked on Patricia and Eddie as they talk in the kitchen, their expressions solemn and sullen. I can't imagine what they must be going through. Their hands are locked tightly so that neither can be out of reach.
I notice the new girl Cassidy watching them the way I am - well, not exactly. She's gazing at them fearfully, biting her fake red witch's nails. She's staring at them in fear, as if she may never be able to look at them again.
Little did I know that was a precursor.
Joy rings her glass and calls for our attention as she is about to announce the winners of the costume contest. I nod to Jerome, and he scurries discreetly to the corner we've hidden the noise machine.
The voice echoing off the recorder is not what we had planned.
A terrifying screech rings, and the guests stumble over themselves in shock. I shoot my gaze towards Jerome, but he is just as perplexed as I. The rest of the Anubis residents are covering their ears and shouting, fleeing to the kitchen. They hide behind the cabinets and watch in fear as Jerome and I try to shut off the machine.
"ALFIE!" Joy screams. "WHAT IS THAT?"
"IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A PRANK - BUT THIS ISN'T WHAT WE HAD PLANNED!"
Jerome fiddles with the machine, hitting it repeatedly. Eventually, the sound shuts off and the lights begin to flicker. Fabian is the only one calm, and I see him counting the lights to himself.
"Morse!" he exclaims.
"Fabian! This is no time for food!" I shout.
"No, Morse Code!"
"That was even less specific."
Fabian ignores me and pulls out his phone. I run to him, glancing over his shoulder as he types. He's counting the series of flashing lights, and associating them with a letter. He's spelling out a phrase:
P-R-E-P-A-R-E-T-O-D-I
He types the last letter:
E.
We stare at each other in shock.
"Fabian… what's Morse?" I ask fearfully.
"It's a series of flashes or dashes used to represent words or relay a message. Each letter is a certain amount of flashes. I - was counting them and got this," he shows me his phone. "But no one was at the light switch. Alfie, tell me right now, is this all a prank?"
"I swear it isn't. I'm as scared as the rest."
Fabian eyes me suspiciously, but his gaze softens when he sees I'm telling the truth. "Then who did this?"
"I don't know, I swear."
A scream escapes from behind. Patricia is clutching her arms as she sinks to her knees. Her eyes turn dark and cloudy as she falls to the ground. Eddie is screaming her name and the entire party is going ballistic. Fabian rushes to her side so Eddie can calm down. He puts two fingers to her wrist to check her pulse.
"I can't get a pulse!" he screams.
A wretched voice escapes Patricia's mouth. It's not Patricia's.
"Forfeit now, Osirian," the voice says threateningly. "For if you don't I will harm the girl continuously. You will never see her again, and the world will be mine! You are destined to fail, Osirian. Alone, you are nothing. You lack the power needed to defeat me!" The booming voice rolls with laughter. It silences, and color returns to Patricia's face. She coughs, and sits upright.
"Wh-what happened?" she stutters.
"Guys," I whisper to Eddie and Fabian. "The non-Sibunas are getting antsy."
"I-I think it's time we tell them," Eddie mumbles solemnly, his hands still woven around Patricia's.
"Wh-tell them what?" I ask.
"Everything. The truth. They're in danger."
"Except," Cassidy interjects, starling me. "You don't know the full truth, Eddie."
"What are you talking about?"
"Look, everything you know about yourself is a lie. I mean, don't even get me started. I don't know where to begin! You can tell them all you want about Kahn and the stakeout and whatever else you want, but I'll be filling in the holes later."
"Holes?"
"You don't know the half of it. Not even a quarter. I promise I'll explain everything, but first, we need to fill them in and get to the school before Trudy or the monster with facial hair catch us, OK?"
We stare at her in disbelief. Well… that was unexpected.
"What's an Osirian?" Willow asks. "That voice mentioned it. Is it some sort of nationality?"
"I'm confused, what's going on?" Beck asks. "And what is an Osirian, and what happened to Patricia, and what about this stakeout? What are we missing?"
"Ok, Anubis house residents," Amber begins. "It's time you learned about a little something called Sibuna."
"Sibuna?" Callan asks.
"What's Sibuna?" Esmay agrees.
"Uh," Amber says as if they should know. "It's Anubis backwards, duh!"