Force of Nature ▸ House of Anubis [3]

chapter forty-eight. house of the living

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            With everyone talking about Atticus' performance and Willow and Mara readying themselves to confront him once and for all, Sibuna managed to sneak out unnoticed at the end of the day. No one will miss us for the fifteen minutes we take to the crypt and back to the house. So we take advantage of the time we have to go back to the above-ground entrance to the crypt, which—if I'm being honest—I'm not too keen to return to. Four of us were locked in here for an entire night together and it wasn't comfortable at all.

            It's still not comfortable as we go down. The crypt is lit up by various candles in different shapes and sizes; the top of the stone coffin is off. I share a look with everyone except Patricia, who must be keeping watch for us outside.

            "Well, uh..." Fabian pauses. "Isn't this festive?"

            "Looks like a zombie Christmas special," Alfie agrees. "You first."

            "After you."

            I'm afraid to see what's in the coffin. If there's a dead body in it, I don't want to see it. Especially if it's Frobisher's and he's not all skeletonized like he should be for someone who was born in the nineteenth century. No, I wouldn't want to see him even if he was all skeletonized. But something's down here. I can feel it.

            Eddie sets his hands on KT's shoulders. "You can do this," he assures her.

            "Come on, together," I say, offering her my hand. She looks at it, then at me, and then she takes my hand. Eddie follows us to the coffin as Fabian and Alfie stand back, waiting for us to say something. KT lets go of my hand and throws hers over her mouth once we see what's inside.

            Robert Frobisher-Smythe, dressed in a suit, his arms over his chest in a funeral pose. His eyes are closed. He's not breathing. I look over at Fabian and Alfie, nodding to tell them to come over. How is this possible? We saw him on the camera. Fabian and Eddie saw him in Alfie and Jerome's room. He can't be dead.

            And yet... he is.

            Eddie begins to reach his hand down, probably to check Frobisher's pulse, but KT slaps his hand away. "A little respect, Eddie. He's my great-grandpa. She was right. He's really gone. I had it all wrong, I... I did this."

            KT runs out of the crypt after her blame, sobbing. Eddie calls her name, but she's already gone. Fabian runs after her, ushering Alfie along with him. I look at Eddie, giving a slight shake of my head as I take one last look at Frobisher's body before leaving the crypt.

            "Everything's going to be okay," Patricia's telling KT, trying to comfort her. I don't know what can help KT right now. We've got the truth, don't we? She just saw her great-grandpa's dead body.