Page 3 of The Hunt

“Do you really think it’s dangerous?” Ari asked.

Jake shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe. But I guess he just doesn’t want us to wander too far away from the estate, because we could get lost.”

“Okay, it’s settled,” Merritt replied, lifting her chin. “You’ll show us one of these tunnels, and we’ll go exploring.”

“Uh… one problem.” Benji waggled a finger. “Our parents might still be awake. They’ll totally see us when we go downstairs.”

Merritt nodded slowly. “Good point. We need to send a spy to check first.” Her brows knitted in a small frown as she hesitated. Then she turned to me. “Everly… it has to be you.”

My eyes widened. “Why?” I asked, voice coming out in a squeak.

“Because you’re only nine. You’re still so small and cute. If the adults see you, you can easily convince them you were just going downstairs for a drink. They’ll probably believe anything you say.”

“Also, you have all that long blonde hair,” Samantha added. “It makes you look like an angel. Totally innocent.”

“Um…” I bit my bottom lip, cheeks flushing hot as I felt the weight of everyone’s expectation pressing down on me. “Okay. I’ll go now.”

Heart beating fast, I opened the bedroom door and peered outside. The hall was dark and empty. I gave one last look to the others, and they all waved or gave me a thumbs-up.

Spurred on by my desire to impress them, I stepped into the hall and began to make my way toward the main staircase.

I pressed myself against the wood-paneled walls, fingers trailing along the grooves, as I tiptoed down the long hallway. Every creak of the floorboards beneath my feet made my heart leap, but no adults emerged from any rooms, demanding to know what I was doing.

At the top of the staircase, I hesitated. The wide spiral of the banister curled down to the ground level, which would be dark if all the adults were in bed, but I could see a faint warm glow down there. I knew some people forgot to turn lights off before they went to bed, though, so I decided to go down and check if the coast was clear anyway. If I didn’t, the others would think I was a total scaredy-cat. Totally uncool.

I swallowed, forcing my trembling hand to grip the polished wood, and took my first step. As I slowly descended, I strained to hear over the thudding in my chest—no movement, no voices. That was a good sign.

Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed when I reached the three-quarter point. I could see the ground floor now, and my father and Jake’s father were visible to my left, sitting at a coffee table with their heads bent over a bunch of paperwork.

“I think we can make these additions and adjustments easily enough,” my father said, moving one piece of paper to look at another. “Especially if we get the team working on it as soon as possible. That won’t be a problem, will it?”

Jake’s father shook his head. “Not at all. We’ve got a solid team of workers. All of them have signed iron-clad NDAs, too, so there’s no concerns there.”

“All right. I think we could safely assume a finish date of mid-October. How does that sound?”

“Perfect. This year’s game is starting on October 31st.”

Dad chuckled, but it sounded a bit forced and awkward. “You don’t think that’s a little on-the-nose?”

“On-the-nose and dramatic is exactly what our audience expects.” Jake’s dad grinned as he spoke. “That makes Halloween the perfect start date. The only reason it was a little later last year was because of some complications with the applicants.”

“Ah. I see.”

I let out a tiny sigh as the conversation went on, figuring they weren’t going to bed anytime soon. I’d have to let the others know we weren’t safe to sneak downstairs. At least not yet.

I turned and took a step upward. The stairs groaned under my feet, and I winced. Why did floorboards always have to creak at the worst moments?

I quickly turned my head over my shoulder to see if I’d been caught. Dad and Jake’s father were looking around and upward. “Ev, is that you?” Dad asked, frowning as he caught sight of me. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“Um… I woke up and felt thirsty. Can I please have some water?”

“Of course. Come down here, honey. I’ll grab it for you.” Dad turned back to the table. “Sorry, I’ll just be a minute.”

Jake’s father smiled and rose to his feet. “No, it’s all right,” he said. “I just realized how late it is. I actually have a meeting to go to now.”

A meeting at night?I thought to myself as I descended. That seemed weird. I didn’t like to question adults, though, so I said nothing.

“All right.” My dad nodded and gestured to the paperwork. “We’ll finish this up tomorrow.”

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