Chapter Twenty-Five

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

There wasn’t anything else I wanted to see here. I stepped over the shrieking, crawling starfish and headed deeper into the house of horrors. What was it Mouth had said? This house was full of illusions and deceptions. Starfish didn’t scamper around like that. Water didn’t turn into blood. This wasn’t real.

Still, I wasn’t going to chance fate by standing around and declaring shenanigans. I was here to find Lydia, and that’s what I was going to do.

Blood wet my boots with every step. The carpet was no longer merely soggy but was drenched with more liquid than it could hold. The place smelled like a slaughterhouse. I pressed on.

There were two doors on the back wall. One was painted yellow and one blue. I hate yellow, quite honestly, so I reached for the blue door.

“I wouldn’t do that,” said a voice. I whirled around.

“Who said that?” I demanded angrily. I couldn’t see anybody.

“It’s a trap. Both doors lead to Hell.”

A small girl appeared out of the gloom and