At Sam’s office, they
found the restless group waiting for them.
Sam stood before them and
explained their current situation. “End House has been wiped clean of all the props that were
used in the deadly game. There are no candles, no bodies, or blood. It is now
just a deserted house. And we can’t find Louise anywhere: she’s not in the
gazebo.”
“Louise could still be
alive.” David stood up.
“It’s too dark outside to
search for her tonight….We’ll
begin our search early tomorrow morning,” explained Sam.
Todd looked into Linda’s
troubled eyes, seeing her shock and fear. “How could everything have been
cleaned up already? What about the basement?” she insisted.
“We checked the rooms
upstairs. Everything is gone. The basement will be examined tomorrow.”
He came to a quick decision
and said to Linda, “I’m
sleeping on your couch until we figure out who was responsible for
tonight’s prank.”
“It was much more than a
prank! Louise might be dead! And we don’t know what happened to Tom and Edward!” Linda shouted in reply.
Todd watched her face turn
bright red in her growing agitation. He understood that she was upset about her
missing friends. He replied, “Of course I understand that it was much more than a mere prank. We must remain calm if we want to
figure out this mess.”
“I think it’s a great idea
for you to sleep at Linda’s apartment….Maybe I should sleep on Shana’s couch.” Sam
turned to Shana and asked, “Are you going to argue with me?” To everyone’s surprise, Shana gave him a sweet smile.
“What about us?” David asked.
“I’ll be right next door
if you need any help. All you have to do is call out,” replied Sam.
“I’m still afraid,”
protested David, while Mike rolled his
eyes at David’s incessant whining.
Deputy Carl slipped into
the room and offered, “I can sleep on your couch.”
David relaxed. “That will
make me feel much better.”
“Maybe not safer,”
murmured a worried Todd.
It was already 3:00 a.m.,
so Todd and Sam drove everyone home.
Meanwhile at End House,
levers and doors creaked open and shut, covering up any evidence of the game
that had taken place that fateful evening.
Originally posted on 
