The House on Hollow Hill (Ultimate Ending Book 2) Read online

  You eye the stack of stuffed animals, but decide not to touch them. You get the distinct impression that they were carefully stacked in a specific fashion. It already feels wrong going through someone else's stuff, even with Mr. Goosen's permission. But somehow disturbing the toys feels taboo. None of them are valuable, anyways.

  You say, "Guys, I don't think we're going to find anything--"

  "Hey, check this out," Emma interrupts. She's bent over the desk with something in her hands.

  See what Emma has and TURN TO PAGE 88

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  You're not in the mood for Jake's hijinx. "Come on," you say, ignoring him. "There's nothing in here. Let's try another room."

  "Oh come on..." Jake complains.

  "Yeah, let's go," Emma agrees.

  Jake glumly drops the cue onto the pool table. "Jeez, lighten up. I was just trying to have some fun."

  Enter the hallway ON PAGE 65

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  For some reason, you're feeling lucky. "Is your birthday April 2?" you guess, saying the first date that pops into your head.

  The ghost girl stares at you, and for a moment you dare to think you were right. Then her face twists angrily. "NO!" she screams. "You don't know my birthday at all!"

  The girl disappears back to mist. You're abruptly submerged in darkness as the pantry door slams shut.

  You hear the doorknob rattle. "It's locked!" Jake says.

  Boxes of food begin falling off the shelves. You cry out as one smashes your toes.

  Emma asks, "What do we do?"

  To smash the door open, TURN TO PAGE 114

  If you have the pool cue, TURN TO PAGE 70

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  You roll the ivory cube across the ground, scraping away small chunks of dust. With a shudder and a spin it comes to a stop.

  "Left window it is," you say.

  "If this turns out bad for us..." Emma warns.

  "I know, I know," you say.

  Emma and Jake stand back as you approach. The glass is faded and frosted from years of disuse. There's definitely no way to peek outside first.

  Well, here goes nothing! You grab the bottom of the window and yank.

  It doesn't budge.

  You pull a second time with no luck. The window is stuck, or the wood is so warped it can no longer move inside the frame. Jake comes over and gives it a try but fares no better.

  "Well I guess we're trying the other window," you say.

  "Huh," says Emma. "I guess that was one choice that didn't matter."

  Jake says, "That's a first!"

  Open the right window ON PAGE 94

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  You lean forward to take a closer look at the piano when the keys begin moving on their own. DUH duh DUH duh DUH duh dih deh.

  Jake glares at Emma. "It's not a player piano," she whispers. "I'm certain."

  The same eight notes play again: DUH duh DUH duh DUH duh dih duh.

  "Hey, that's the beginning of Fur Elise," you say. "It's Beethoven. I know this!"

  "I think you're right," Emma says.

  The piano plays the same eight notes over again.

  "I... I think it wants us to play the next note." You don't know how you know, but you feel certain.

  "So what's the next note in Fur Elise?" Jake says.

  "It's the 9th note," Emma chips in. They both look at you for the answer.

  If it's an A or B, TURN TO PAGE 57

  If it's a C or D, FLIP TO PAGE 69

  If it's an E, F, or G, GO TO PAGE 95

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  "You're crazy, Emma," you say. "The door is right there, and we have the key!"

  "But we don't even know if the key..."

  You ignore her and dart to the door. You jam the rusted key inside the keyhole and turn.

  It works!

  You give Emma a smug look as you turn the knob. The door opens a fraction of an inch before bumping into something on the other side. "Uh oh."

  "What's wrong?" Emma asks as you shove against the door.

  "It's stuck!"

  Jake joins you, but even with both guys throwing their weight the door refuses to budge. The sound of Mrs. Hollencamp's Yorkie draws closer.

  "Come on, let's try climbing!" you yell. The three of you run away from the door and arrive at the lattice just as Mrs. Hollencamp rounds the corner. You freeze.

  "Ahh ha!" Mrs. Hollencamp says, pointing a wrinkled finger at you. "I knew I heard someone back here." She looks from one face to another. "Now this is quite a surprise. I would have expected this from Jake, but Mike? And Emma?"

  Emma waits patiently for her to finish. She puts on her most polite voice. "This is a simple misunderstanding. We just spoke to Mr. Goosen, and he said we could go inside his house one last time before it was bulldozed."

  "What?" she asks. She looks taken aback by the statement.

  "It's true," you say. Jake nods.

  The old woman looks angry. "That's not funny. Not funny at all. I cannot believe you children you play such a cruel, distasteful joke. Especially so soon after Mr. Goosen..."

  "No, it's true!" Emma sputters. "We're not making a joke at all!"

  Mrs. Hollencamp reaches forward and grabs your arm. She has a surprising grip for a grandmother. "Come with me. We're going to go explain this to your parents and see what they say!"

  She begins to lead you away. Jake looks like he wants to bolt, but then hangs his head and follows with Emma. Maybe you'll be able to explain to your parents what happened, and return before the bulldozers. But for tonight you've reached...

  THE END

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  You feel around on the wall by the door and find a light switch. The closet is suddenly aglow. There are two racks of clothes: suits and business clothes on the right, and dresses and blouses on the left. Underneath are stacks of cardboard boxes, with stacks of shoeboxes on shelves above the racks of clothes.

  "Might as well start looking."

  Jake opens the first cardboard box he sees, and Emma grabs one of the shoeboxes. You turn to the boxes to your left and begin rummaging through. The first box has nothing but socks in them, neatly folded pairs with their cuffs tucked-in so they stay together. The next box has men's underwear, which you quickly close and push away.

  "There are some fancy shoes in here," Emma says. She holds up a pair of tan-colored heels with sparkly straps.

  "Nobody cares about shoes," Jake says, his head buried in a box.

  "I don't care either! I'm just saying this stuff is expensive."

  You go through two more boxes, but it's all clothes. You sigh and look around the closet. The clothes hanging from the racks look interesting. Your dad always leaves money and other stuff in his suit pockets. Maybe there's jewelry attached to the dresses.

  Which is it: suits or dresses?

  Investigate the dresses ON PAGE 148

  Search the suits ON PAGE 143

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  The piano room exits into a main hallway. The stairs are by the front door, so you hang a left in that direction.

  A glowing yellow light catches your eye. It's coming from underneath the door of what must be a closet, nestled underneath the staircase. The light is brilliant, shooting across the faded wooden floorboards.

  "Mike! Are you coming?" Jake calls from upstairs.

  To open the closet, TURN TO PAGE 28

  To join your friends, GO TO PAGE 13

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  "It's just a little wolf spider," you say. "I don't think we need to--"

  "I'm outta here!" Jake blurts out. And with that he grabs the flashlight out of Emma's hands and sprints toward the door leading into the house.

  Your options are to follow Jake or stay in complete darkness. Following Jake is an easy choice.

  You bound up the stairs and into an entrance hall. It's almost nighttime outside, but there's enough light drifting inside for you to see. To the left is the front door you didn't take. Ahead of you is the billiard room. But you hear Jake to the right, so you quickly dash that way.
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  The wooden floor changes to tile as you skid to a stop in the kitchen. Jake is bent over, hands on his knees, panting with fright.

  "Jeez, Jake... it was just a spider," Emma says with more than a hint of derision.

  "Stop fooling around," he scolds. "Let's just look for our treasure and get out of here."

  Examine the kitchen ON PAGE 56

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  You walk across the kitchen's smooth tile, which is slippery in all the dust. You're conscious of all the footprints you leave behind. When was the last time Mr. Goosen was in his kitchen? Your footprints are the only ones. Something isn't right...

  "These cabinets are all empty," Emma says, pointing. She opens a few more and they're all the same. "Huh."

  Everything is pretty deserted and boring. There's a pantry behind you with the door closed. "Maybe something is in there," you say.

  "Or we could check the refrigerator," Jake suggests. "It sounds like it's still on."

  Open the pantry ON PAGE 103

  To try the fridge, TURN TO PAGE 58

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  "It's A!" you exclaim. To be certain, you play the song in your head a few times. "Yeah. It's definitely A."

  Emma nods in agreement as you step forward and press the A key.

  BONG.

  The ivory keys glow, and the full song begins to play. It sounds so beautiful, the acoustics in the room are fantastic. It sounds like it's not even coming from the piano, but from all around you.

  The glowing on the piano keys drifts into the air like mist. It starts to swirl around, forming into a solid shape.

  "I don't like this house!" Jake cries.

  Find out what it is ON PAGE 122

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  "Go ahead," you tell Jake. "See what's in the fridge." You keep your distance, however. If the contents of the fridge are as old as the rest of the house the smell should be awful.

  Jake pulls it open and immediately covers his nose. "Ugh! It smells like rotten eggs!"

  You chuckle, glad that you stayed far away.

  "Hey, what's that..." Jake says, leaning forward.

  "What is it?" you ask. He's blocking the door so you can't see.

  Jake says, "It looks like..."

  Without warning, Jake flies backwards as if punched in the chest. He lands on his butt and stares up at the glowing refrigerator opening. Something jumps out of the fridge, making a wet smack noise on the ground. As you step to the side to get a better look you see what appears to be a green jello mold, shaped like a cake. It's covered in white mold.

  "Jake, why did you grab--"

  "I DIDN'T!" he screams. "It jumped out!"

  You're about to tell him how crazy that sounds when the jello mold begins hopping forward. Jake scrambles away on his hands and knees.

  Mutant jello? TURN TO PAGE 41

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  "Forget this!" you yell. "Let's get out of here!"

  Jake and Emma totally agree. They sprint out of the bathroom faster than you do, slipping on the dust-covered floor. The three of you round the corner and slide into the office. Jake is there waiting, and closes the door behind you with a quick, but quiet, motion.

  You put your ear against the door, straining to listen.

  There's nothing for at least twenty seconds, then the unmistakable sound of something wet, like a flopping fish. You hear it in the hall, growing louder. A shadow passes in front of the doorway.

  The doorknob begins to twist.

  With a yelp, Emma quickly turns the lock. The thing, whatever it is, rattles the doorknob. You get the impression that it's annoyed. You feel something wet on your feet and realize water is spreading underneath the door!

  The thing bumps into the door softly, then harder. You and Jake put your shoulders against the wood, desperate to keep it out. You brace yourself for the next impact.

  It never comes. The wet, sliding noise continues as the creature moves away from the door. Eventually it disappears entirely.

  "What was that?" Emma asks, eyes wide.

  "I don't know," you say, "but it's gone now. Let's take a look around."

  Examine the office ON PAGE 60

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  The office has three wide windows which give plenty of light, although you can tell that night is quickly falling. There's an enormous mahogany wooden desk on the left, the kind that's really expensive and probably weighs more than a piano. Papers are scattered over the surface, but there's no computer. A bunch of boxes are stacked to the right, and beyond that is a corner with part of the floor missing. It looks like there's another box over there, just past the huge hole. You flick the light switch on the wall but of course nothing happens.

  Jake and Emma are already checking out the desk, so you walk over to the stacks of boxes. They're plain cardboard, bent and warped on the side like they've gotten wet over the years. There's no lettering on the side or any other indication as to what's inside.

  You pull the first box off the stack and open the folded top. Although the outside is dusty and mildewy, the inside is pristine. Stacks of photographs inside glass frames stare back at you. Each frame is unique, with a different style brass or silver cover wrought into fancy designs. You pick up the first picture and hold it up into the light. It's black-and-white, cracked and worn around the edges where it meets the frame. It's a family portrait: mother, father, daughter. They're standing in front of what looks like a door.

  You put it down on the ground and take a few more out, all similarly aged. A little girl playing the piano while her father smiles. A woman standing in the kitchen, holding a pot and wooden spoon. A man and four of his friends standing around a pool table. For some reason the photos make you sad.

  "Hey, is that a safe?" Jake blurts out.

  See what Jake's talking about on PAGE 77

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  It may be a foreboding sight, but you're not afraid of the dark. "Come on!" you yell, before descending into the cellar.

  You take maybe four or five steps before slowing to a stop. Already you can barely see behind you in the soup-like blackness. How can it possibly be so dark? The door was just behind you, yet now it seems a thousand feet away!

  One of your friends closes the door, the light closing shut. Now it seems worse.

  "Mike?" Emma whispers. You call back to her and her hands touch your arm as she feels around randomly. She grabs your hand and holds it in hers. You can feel her fingers trembling.

  A moment later Jake touches you. Content to not move, the three of you remain frozen in place as you listen.

  You wait for what seems like hours but hear nothing outside.

  A light unexpectedly shines on your face, painfully bright after so much darkness. You shield your eyes and cry out, and the assailant points the light at the ground.

  It's Emma, holding the flashlight. "Sorry," she says.

  "Why do you have a flashlight?"

  "I went to school early this morning to look for worms in the field with Mr. Hanney, the biology teacher. The worms only come out in the dark."

  Jake snorts as if that's funny. He's still holding the ax in both hands. He must have left his glove and baseball outside.

  "Okay, now what?" Emma asks.

  Explore the basement ON PAGE 20

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  You crouch down in front of the safe. The dial is a shiny metal compared to the black safe surface. Numbers are etched all around the circle. But what's the combination?

  If you know the little girl's birthday, TURN TO THAT PAGE (ex. March 10 would be 3-1-0, or page 310)

  If you know some other number, TURN TO THAT PAGE

  If you don't have a clue, spin the dial randomly and TURN TO PAGE 38

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  You hesitate too long, and without warning Jake bolts for the back yard. Your flight instinct kicks in and you yell "Hey, wait up!" as you chase him. Emma protests but soon you hear her follow too.

  The lawn--which looks like it hasn't been mowed since before lawnmowers were invented--is brown and cracked. A round
patio table with a glass top and a hole in the middle for an umbrella stands surrounded by the grass. Two of the chairs are turned over. A long deck runs along the entire length of the house, with a single set of steps and a door leading inside.

  Jake bounds the steps and skids to a halt by the door. You stop next to him, panting. "Should we try the back door?"

  "Hey, check this out!" Emma calls. She's up against the wall on the deck. There's a thick wooden lattice nailed against the house, spanning the entire wall from the ground to the second floor. It's covered in vines. "Let's climb this to the second floor."

  You wonder where her bad girl streak had come from. "But the door..."

  "If we go in the door she'll just follow us."

  You hear her Yorkie barking on the side of the house. If you try climbing the lattice it will be close.

  To take the safe way inside, open the back door ON PAGE 52

  If you're feeling dangerous, CLIMB TO PAGE 100

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