by the window Jack jumped back with a shout He tripped over his own feet and fell on his rear His box landed beside him and split open spilling books out on the cracked pavement Are you all right his dad asked as he bent to pile Jack’s books back into the torn box Something moved inside Jack and his dad looked toward the open door Sunlight spilled into the room beyond revealing an old wooden crate and a lot of dust The thick dust showed no sign of footprints Some of the windows are broken his dad said Maybe a stray cat got in I don’t think so Jack said His dad scratched his head Maybe it was a trick of the light as I opened the door Maybe Yet Jack was certain it wasn’t light or a cat It was a person Someone was in the old theater Someone tall and thin and fast 6
Jack didn’t bother arguing with his dad He gathered the rest of his books and followed his dad inside the old theater I’ll need to check out the whole building for safety his dad said But let’s get you settled in the apartment first The dim light from the windows lit the way to a set of wooden stairs The apartment is on the basement level Jack’s dad said The stairs groaned under their feet with each step When they reached the bottom his dad used the light from his cell phone to find a switch Jack heard the click of the switch but the darkness never lifted Several more clicks followed then a sigh There must be something wrong with the lights I’ll check the fuses You can wait in the apartment There’s a lantern Jack followed the firefly glow of his dad’s phone through what felt like a maze The air felt thick and faintly damp The thick coating of dust 7
made the wood floor soft and slippery under Jack’s sneakers Finally his dad flung open a door Here we are I’ll have the lantern lit in just a second The cheer in his dad’s voice sounded forced It was tough to look on the bright side when you stood in the pitch dark After some rustling and the striking of a match light finally glowed from the lantern that rested on the kitchen table Jack looked around the shadowy room A couple of straight wooden chairs some battered counters a rattling fridge an old stove and a rusty sink completed the apartment’s kitchen He looked into the living room A sofa slouched across from an old television perched on milk crates His dad pointed at a pair of narrow doors That one leads to the bathroom and the other one leads to your bedroom The sofa folds out That’s where I’ll sleep You can take the lantern and go check out your room I’ll deal with the fuse box 8
His dad headed out whistling in the dark Jack set his box on the table and picked up the lantern He decided to stay right where he was He’d read enough mysteries to know that bad things happened as soon as you started wandering off on your own On the wall above the sofa a huge mirror reflected the room Jack stepped closer and looked into the mirror His glasses were smeared and his black hair was streaked with dust making him look like the creepy theater was turning him into an old man He leaned closer to the mirror to look at a smudge on his cheek That’s when he saw the pale figure step up behind him and smile 9
