Pandora's Box

Chapter twenty-one

It's nighttime so it's difficult for everyone to see the house clearly but it's easy to tell that this house doesn't look the same. The once enchanting house now looks rundown and broken. Sol walks into the house and everyone follows behind him. He reaches for the light switch but it doesn't seem to work.

Toni reaches for the bundles of firewood next to the chimney and hands it to Juniper and Sonii to set alight so that everyone has a torch to search the house. Once things are visible, everyone stares in silence.

The only place they call home has been trashed. Broken glass cast shadows on the floor and the furniture is overturned. It looks like someone was here and that they were looking for something. Everyone rushes to their rooms and see the same disaster.

"Someone's been in here and I don't think they've found what they were looking for." Milo stutters, his voice is shaking. He can't believe this is what has become of their home.

"Why do you say that?" Toni asks him brother, he puts his hand on Milo's shoulder to comfort him.

"There's no other reason for them to have torn up every inch of this place. If they found what they were looking for, there would be some place that are still intact." His voice is barely audible but at least his brain is still functioning properly since he brings up a valid.

Kai's heavy steps echo down the stairs, indicating that he's in a rush. He nearly slips when he reaches the bottom and drops a newspaper clipping in front of everyone. Sol reaches for a closer look.
"That's odd." He squints at the paper.
"We've been gone for nearly a year! Just look at the date!" Kai exclaims to the others. Sonii and Milo share a knowing look and Kai calls them out on it.

"Well actually, we found a book back at the library. It said that time works differently everywhere, especially there." Sonii starts off.
"We were expecting a month to have gone past, not a year." Milo finishes.

"Hold up, Kai, if we weren't here for a year, how did that clipping get into your room." June startles everyone with her adamant voice.
"It was just there!" Kai defends himself. He is just as confused as everyone else.

Sol looks at the clipping. It's an advert for a house for sale. This house.
"What the hell!" Toni yells when he reads through the paper.
"Since when? Do you think Jane and James did this?" June goes on. Clutching the clipping tightly with her fist and scrunching it up.
They all look at each other with faces that shows they are all on the same level of confusion.

"Can we please take this into the passageway." Lilli utters for the first time and gestures for everyone to follow her. The passage has been left open once more and there's still the same eerie aura which seems to escape from it.
"Seriously Lilli, after all we've went through, you want to go back?" June questions, her voice comes off more aggressive that she means.

"Just go there, I'll explain my point when we're all safe?" Lilli says and retreats to the darkness of the passageway along with her torch.
"Safe?" Milo echoes as he follows.

Eventually everyone follows and they sit in the room at the end which is in full light thanks to the torches.
"It was one of the first books I opened. The reason this passage opens is when we're not safe. That's why it kept on appearing last time." Lilli explains.
"I have so many questions but I'm so tired." Sonii groans from the background as he rubs her eyes.

"Okay, how about everyone gets some rest. If you want, run out and get your things then come back here. We'll have to camp out here since we don't have the faintest clue what's going on and apparently it's the only place that's safe." Sol takes the lead and everyone bolts for their pillows while he runs for the set of books Aldwin have everyone. There's no way he's sleeping tonight though, not until he knows what's going on.