Hide & Seek 2: The Return of Mr. Harmon

Chapter 13: A Welcome from Mrs. Harmon

We didn't leave for Mr. Harmon's house until Jerod got back from Carmen's. However, all of us went back because Helena suggested that we take the book. Carmen was skeptical about it. She told me that the book shouldn't be anywhere near Mr. Harmon. I agreed with her. 100% really. But, Helena's in charge. She says the book will be with us. Prick. We stopped at a store to get extra flashlights and mini flashlights too. Jerod had this smart idea that we all wear green glow in the dark shirts. We were able to buy some from Walmart. It was a smart idea, now we would know who not to kill if we played another game.

We're on the highway now. I'm in the back seat sitting next to Helena and Jasper while Caleb's on my lap. Jerod's driving while Doreen's up front with him singing along to Green Day. Helena's just looking out of the window while the book is in her hands. Prick.

"Emily," Jasper says. "Coraline talks about you all the time."

I smiled at him. "She does?"

He nods. "She says you'll save us all. Violet says so, too."

Part of me feels bad. They had to suffer for two years. "I hope so," I say. Jasper looks out the window. When I do the same, I see the gray abandoned house. The house Violet died in. We're passing the house when all of a sudden, a girl appears next to the house and disappears in the same second.

"Violet," Jasper whispers. It was as though he read my thoughts. I'm thinking about Violet too. I wonder if he's just thinking about her, or if he saw what I saw, too.

Jasper slows down the car. "Whoa!" he exclaims, pulling the car to a full stop. I gasp. Mr Harmon's mansion has really upgraded. There were rides you'd see at the carnival behind his house, small roller coasters, a Ferris Wheel, a drop where the seats take you all the way to the top then drops down, a fun slide, kiddie trains, and a mini haunted house. I didn't even want to know what was in that haunted house.

"That is something," Jerod says. "It really is an attraction site."

Doreen rolls down the window to get a better look. "Looks like it's closed today. No one's there. How are we doing this?" she asks.

Helena rolls down her window too. "We need to get my ring and destroy Mr. Harmon."

Doreen turns to face us. "Why can't we just destroy that book? It's evil."

Helena sighs. "That's not an option. Besides, the book can't be destroyed. It's a part of life. It's a part of the balance. Destroy it and all good will be destroyed too."

None of argue with her. "So," I say, "what do we do?"

"We go inside and find my ring," Helena says.

Jerod turns around to face her. "Can we think rationally, please?"

"This isn't Scooby-Doo, we don't make a plan and split up," Helena says. "We have a plan. All of us are going in there, and we're going to get my ring." She sits back, crossing her arms. "Besides, any plan we make will fail. United we fail. Divided we fall."

Jerod nods. "True. Sorry, I made the reference to Scoobert-Doobert."

Doreen breaks out into laughter. "What did you just say?"

Jerod frowns. "What? It's Scooby's real name."

Helena nods. "Yeah, it is actually."

Jasper, Caleb, and Doreen laugh all at the same time. I see tears in Caleb's eyes from how hard he's laughing.

"Scoobert-Doobert," Jasper says then looks at me.

The more I think about it, the more I smile. I laugh along with them. Jerod even laughs. So here we are, all of us laughing. Everyone except the prick of course. She only stares out of the window.

"Is everyone done?" Helena barks. Her tone is serious and she's still looking out the window.

"Hey, no need to be blunt, alright?" Doreen says with her hands in the air. She turns around and looks at me like, what's her problem?

Helena turns around then takes a look at each of us. "Mr. Harmon has a ring that has the power to bring back the creatures that used to roam the Earth. If you saw the demons I dealt with, you'd never smile again." Her voice gets real low. "Once they're unleashed, we're all dead."

All of us stop laughing. We look at each other.

"Now," Helena continues. "Get your heads out of your butts and let's go."

Jerod turns on the car. "Park it by the gray house over there so nothing happens to it," Helena says bluntly.

Jerod drives to the gray house which is a two-minute drive. He parks the car in front of it. Memories. Fun memories, bad memories. Violet's old house had never looked so sinister and unwelcoming than it does now.

All of us get out of the house and head toward Mr. Harmon's mansion. We walk through tall grass. Jasper walks close to me. Very close. Our hands touch many times as we are walking and sometimes, I think he's trying to hold it.

Now in clear view of the mansion, we are easy to be spotted. The tall grass no longer hides us. Only a few feet away from Mr. Harmon's crazy house. My heart has never felt so heavy with fear. We are only two feet from the house when a woman with a face painted white and clowned with makeup steps out. Her hair is pulled back into a pony tail and a funny looking hat rests on her head. She smiles at us. Red paint is smeered around her lips.

"Welcome back, Emily," Mrs. Harmon says. Something's wrong. The more I stare at her lips the more I see the stitches. When her mouth closes, I see the stitches slide through her lips. That's when I figure out that Mrs Harmon can only say certain things. Just like in the game.