Horror Game? Looks Cute novel · Chapter 4 of 24

Chapter 4: The Muffin Basket

Garvan grabbed the bear head, the pancake plate, and my lantern.

He mouthed a single word at me.

"Pantry."

Then he shoved all three into a cupboard and stepped into the pantry himself.

The pantry door clicked shut.

The knocking came again.

"Juno? Hon? We saw the Bear take you down Maple Lane. We prayed all night."

I took a second.

I wiped syrup off my chin with my sleeve.

Then I put on the face of a girl who had hidden in a well and opened the door.

Mari stood on the step in her pale pink raincoat with a covered basket on her arm.

Her smile was perfect.

Her eyes went straight past me, into the kitchen.

"You're alive!" She threw her arms around me. "Oh, Juno, thank God."

She smelled like strawberry shampoo.

I hugged her back, because my legs had decided to be polite.

"The Bear dropped me by the well," I said. "I climbed down the ladder and held my breath all night."

"The well." Mari pulled back and looked me over. "You must be freezing. And starving."

"I found this house at sunrise. The door was open. Nobody's home."

"The door was open?"

"It's some kind of cottage. There's jam."

She stepped inside before I could stop her.

She walked into the kitchen.

The table held one plate, and that plate was in the cupboard.

The stove was warm.

She put her hand flat on the pan.

I did not breathe.

"I made eggs," I said. "I was hungry. I'm sorry. Is that stealing?"

"Oh, hon." Mari turned with a laugh like a doorbell. "No. You're a survivor. Dex says the village owes us."

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