that oath, dire consequences will ensue.â
âCanât I take Gallow Manor, and you take whatever this place is?â I asked.
âIt doesnât work that way,â said Director Z. âNow that youâre here, you have to bring this retirement home to order. Only then will you be able to walk out of its doors. But youâll have to return if youâre gone too long. You and this place are now forever connected.â
I couldnât believe what Director Z said. How could I stay in this place forever? But before I could say anything, Director Z turned to François. âYou have to let the children stay here,â he said.
âWe have to do nothing,â said François. âNow get out of here.â
He picked me up and brought me to the door. My head exploded again.
âArgh!â I yelled. âIt hurts! My brains are turning to liquid.â
âYou canât let him suffer like this.â Roy stepped forward.
âWhat do I care if your young friend suffers?â asked François. âHeâs only a child, not one of us!â
The stars in my eyes were now blindingly bright. I felt like I was going to throw up my brain.
âWhat do you care if we take up the abandoned wing?â asked Nabila. âYou said yourself that you have space to spare. And you know that having young children around will boost your monstrous powers.â
François walked back through the doorway. I was finally able to breathe again.
âTrue,â said François. âBut why have a snack of power when Tikoloshe will soon bring us a feast?â
François headed for the door again.
âWait,â I shouted. The sound of my own voice almost made me pass out, but I continued. âIf Tikoloshe has the power to help you, why hasnât he done it yet?â
François finally stopped. A puzzled look came over his face, and for the first time, it looked like he was questioning something. He threw me to the ground.
âFine, stay if you like,â he grumbled at me. âBut donât expect any special treatment, and donât you
dare
even think about giving us any kind of orders.â
He walked over to Roy and the others.
âAs for my monster brethren,â he continued, âI shouldnât have been so rude. Please make yourselves at home. Itâs not a lot, but itâs better than the sterile facilities you first found yourselves in.â He put his arm around Royâs shoulders. âYouâll absolutely love our tarantula beds. Theyâre so fuzzy and warm.â
âOh, thatâs okay.â Roy gulped. âIâm happy to sleep on the ground.â
âAs you wish,â said François. âNow letâs go meet the others.â
The House of Eternal Rest
The door slowly creaked to a close.
BANG.
âWelcome to The House of Eternal Rest!â said François.
âYou can check in, but youâll never check out,â I mumbled.
âWeâre gonna figure this out,â Shane said. âHowâs your head?â
âBetter, now that Iâm inside,â I said.
François led us through the entryway. It seemed eerily quiet without the chatter of bugs and squawks of birds and monkeys. Even the monkey on my shoulder stayed quiet.
âItâs actually not as dreary in here as I thought it would be,â said Ben. âOnly mildly mildewy. Nice and cool.â
âOnly slightly drafty,â said Nabila.
âHigh ceilings, plenty of natural light,â said Shane.
âWeâre still working on the natural-light issue,â said François. âThe residents have been complaining. The only good thing about our previous facility was the fact that it was completely sealed off from sunlight.â
Suddenly, a dark figure dropped from the massive skylight in the center of the huge room. The room went dark, and there was a blast of cold air.
WHOOOOSH!
âDuck!â