Hallo-weird

Chapter 3

"So, should we go inside?" Amymarie asked, after a few moments of silence stretched between them.

"Well that's probably where Red is," Kenny agreed. "But we should definitely scope out the area first before we go inside."

The Kids looked around. The sun was setting, making it difficult for them to see.

"It's getting really dark," Amymarie pointed out. "There's no way we're going to be able to see out here, let alone inside that dark house."

"Maybe there are lights inside?" Kenny offered up. "You know, like a light switch somewhere."

The Kids reached into their bags simultaneously, grabbing their smartphones to use as flashlights.

"Inside an old, abandoned house off the side of the road?" Amymarie asked. "The odds don't seem to be in our favor."

The Kids reached up, tapping Amymarie and Kenny on the arms.

"Maybe we could just squint?" Kenny suggested.

The Kids tapped them on the arms again, exchanging frustrated glances, jumping up and down to make their point known.

"Feel our way around?" Amymarie suggested to Kenny. "Try not to bump into anything?"

The Kids turned on the flashlights on their phones, shining it in Amymarie and Kenny's faces.

"Hey!" Amymarie called out, shielding her eyes.

"What was that for?" Kenny added.

The Kids flipped off the flashlights, and Amymarie and Kenny both exchanged excited glances.

"Good idea, guys!" Amymarie said, with a bright smile. She reached into her bag and grabbed her smartphone, as did Kenny.

"But next time you could just tell us," Amymarie added. "You don't have to shine a light in our faces."

The Kids rolled their eyes, shaking their heads.

"So what's the plan here?" Kenny asked, glancing around.

The Kids took off around the side of the house, running as fast as they could, and leaving Amymarie and Kenny in the dust.

"I guess that's the plan," Amymarie said, taking off after the Kids, Kenny right behind her.

Kenny and Amymarie found the Kids surrounding a car, mud still fresh on the tires.

The Kids were around the back, pointing into the trunk as they shined their flashlights through the back window.

Kenny and Amymarie came around the back to see what they had been looking at.

"That looks like an oversized bowtie," Amy mused, exchanging glances with the Kids.

The Kids nodded enthusiastically.

It looked like the bowtie that Red had been wearing.

Amymarie said, reaching over and high-fiving the Kids, "Another solid clue!" After the high-five, however, instead of letting go of her hand, the kids tugged Amymarie a few feet over to the left.

The Kids giggled, and then ran away.

Amymarie glanced down and realized that she was standing in a pit of mud.

Amymarie just shook her head, reaching down to brush what she could off. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Hey wait," Kenny said, grabbing her arm, "Leave it. You're starting to actually look more and more like a tree."