A Very Odd Halloween

Nine

The chair chuckled. "Oh, trust me, kid. I'm more than your imagination can comprehend." Otis slowly took a seat on the floor next to the chair as she continued. "The name's Audrey, and, as you can see, I'm a chair. So what's this about Olympia?"

Sighing, Otis explained. "Hey, my name's Otis. I was tired and frustrated, and I kinda snapped at her. Then she got mad and left me on my own in here."

Audrey smiled knowingly. "And I'm sure you regret it now." Nodding, Otis frowned. "But now what am I supposed to do? I can't just apologize-"

"Why can't you?" interrupted Audrey. Otis thought for a minute, searching for a reason. "I'm... too scared of what's in this house?"

Audrey grinned. "Oh, nothing here can hurt you. The scientists that made us installed communication devices so that we could talk to one another. Everything in this place- except you and your girlfriend- can be called off with the push of a button. Right, guys?"

"Right!" chorused a few other voices. Faces gradually floated to the surfaces of the wall, ceiling, floor, and door. Otis jumped in surprise. "Oh! Wow. I- didn't know that the entire house was alive."

"S'okay, most people don't," the doorknob said nonchalantly. Audrey smirked. "Bet you didn't see that coming, huh? Let me introduce you. The walls are Rose, Rob, Helen, and Paul, the ceiling's Frank, the floor's Sylvie, the door's Alice, and the doorknob's Charlie. There are more in the other rooms, and every one of them has a high-tech communication system. They can direct you right to Olympia and guide all the monsters to a different part of the house. They're really very friendly."

 Frank grinned. "I've located Olympia! She's in the ballroom dancing with the ghosts."

Alice smiled. "All you have to do is open me, and you'll be instantly transported there!"

"We can even call the ghosts off, too!" added Sylvie. Otis stared in astonishment. "That's great, I mean, I'm really grateful and all, but..." He trailed off nervously. "What if she doesn't want me to apologize? What if she just gets madder?"

"I can fix that!" Paul said cheerfully. Otis spun around, looking at him suspiciously. "What are you going to do?"

"Oh, nothing much, just a few instructions to the ghosts to stop being friendly and to find her biggest fear..." Paul grinned. Otis' eyes opened wide. "If you dare lay a hand on her, I swear I'll-"

"Otis!" Audrey said sharply. "Olympia will be fine. She'll just... get a little scare. I promise." 

Slowly, Otis looked at the chair. "Are you sure?" Audrey nodded. "Absolutely."

Suddenly, the air was filled with a piercing scream. Otis jolted upright. "Olympia!" He rushed to the door.
"Not so fast, kid. What's the password?" Charlie locked the door, sticking his tongue out. Otis thought fast, then recited quickly, "Please. Abracadabra. A human. They weigh the same. 12345. The egg came first. I haven't the slightest idea. The letter E. 43. A shadow. A secret. Because 789." He stopped for breath, looking for confirmation from the doorknob.

Charlie's eyes widened. "Okay... Fine, you can go through." Unlocking the door, he sighed in resignation. Otis quickly opened the door, finding himself in the ballroom. "Thanks, Alice! Gotta go!"