Choke: 2 (Pillage Trilogy (Pillogy)) by Obert Skye

past the stairs we had climbed up. There was another door and when I walked through it there was a wide room with rows and rows of shelves on the walls. The back wall was extended into the room and was slanted.
    Kate was standing by me now.
    “I wanted to see where the tracks led,” I explained. I walked around the large, slanted wall looking for a door or opening to get into what had to be a large space behind it. There was no opening. In fact it looked a little like someone was trying to hide the odd wall with all of the shelving. “The tracks must angle down lower because of the slant. So whatever was on those tracks would just disappear down beneath the garage. But someone sealed off the tunnel.”
    “Nice work, Nancy,” Kate said. “Scooby and the gang would be proud.”
    I ignored her. “But why?”
    “Who knows what your ancestors were thinking,” Kate said. “They were nuts. Maybe the tracks lead to the buried basement.”
    We went back outside to where the small pieces of exposed rails were. I felt the back wall as if I were psychic and it could tell me something. It didn’t say a word. It was just a cold, stone wall.
    “Well, we can’t knock down the wall,” Kate said.
    “But we could follow the tracks into the forest,” I smiled. “I mean we could see where the other end is.”
    Kate looked to the trees and then back.
    “Sorry, but I have to get home,” she said reluctantly. “My parents will be wondering where I am soon.”
    “How about tonight?” I asked. “I have that metal detector that Millie bought me. “We could use that to track the rails. I’ll get Wyatt up here too.”
    “You’re already in trouble,” Kate pointed out. “Remember?”
    “Maybe this will help make things right,” I suggested.
    “Right,” Kate smiled. “I can tell you’re only interested because it might help.”
    “Mysterious train tracks leading into a forest,” I argued. “How am I supposed to leave that alone?”
    “Okay, I’ll meet you at midnight,” she gave in. “And I want to see that secret room and slide.”
    “Of course.”
    We quickly covered up the little bit of track we had found and went our separate ways.
    Midnight couldn’t come soon enough.

    Illustration from page 18 of The Grim Knot

CHAPTER 9

Blurred Vision
    I was so excited I could barely contain myself. To be honest, I had been a little bored the last few months and the thought of something weird and mysterious made things better. Sure, the balloon incident had broken things up, but I missed the drama the manor and dragons had originally provided my life. Things had gotten sort of normal and I was happy with the possibility of adventure.
    I telephoned Wyatt and filled him in. Most of his questions had to do with the train tracks. “Yes, there are tracks,” I insisted.
    “And they lead into your garage?” he asked.
    “They lead to the back wall and inside there’s a large part of the garage no one can get to where the tracks go down.”
    “Who built that place?”
    “I’m wondering about that myself,” I said. “So can you make it?”
    “I wouldn’t miss it for the girls.”
    Don’t get me wrong, I liked Wyatt. He was rough, but funny. Originally we were enemies, but the dragons had made us friends. The only thing that bugged me about him was the way he always joked about girls. He said things like, “Girls rule and I drool.” He also liked to brag about how he was going to ask a bunch of them out. So far he hadn’t asked anyone out. All he did was drive Kate and me crazy with his wishful thinking and desperation.
    “So you’ll be there?” I questioned, adding a fake laugh.
    “Do girls like me?” he said confidently.
    “No,” I answered.
    Now it was his turn to fake laugh. “I’ll be there.”
    The rest of the afternoon dragged, and at dinnertime there was still no sign of my dad. There was, however, roast beef, fluffy mashed potatoes, dark gravy, sweet corn, and pie that was tastier than any pie I