Page 3 of Atlas
“It was a yellow corn snake.”
They all turned to me and stared.
“Charles told us. You just don’t remember.”
“When did he tell us what kind of snake it was?” Nathan asked.
“A few days after. The question came up, and he looked into it. Don’t stare at me like that. It’s not my fault you’re all trying to block out what happened.”
“Why would you remember a detail like that?” River walked over to look closer at the snakeskin. “I remember it as a large python in size.”
“No, it was a corn snake. I found it interesting because it’s one thing to place a snake in a boy’s bed, but it’s another as to whether or not Nathan was in actual danger from the snake. A corn snake isn’t venomous. It’s a common pet snake because of its docile nature and reluctance to bite. It does look similar to venomous snakes like the copperhead, but it’s harmless.”
“There’s nothing harmless about what Conor did to Nathan.” Lumi straightened up. “He placed that snake in his bed to control him through fear, and then he had the nerve to pretend he couldn’t see it when Nathan screamed for help. He made Nathan think he was crazy.”
I sighed. “True. I was merely pointing out that it wasn’t Conor’s goal to kill Nathan and that he used a harmless snake rather than a deadly one.”
“Don’t defend the man.” Maximum moved to the exit.
“I’m not defending him. You were the one who asked what kind of snake it was, and I happened to know.”
The others left the room, and I made sure to turn off the light before I followed. We walked through bedrooms, bathrooms, and the kitchen before we ended up in Conor’s office.
“I’m done with this house. Can we leave now?” Nathan was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
The office no longer had a desk, but the reading chair was still in the corner, and there were books scattered on the built-in bookshelves on two of the walls.
Lumi and I both walked over to scan the titles and pulled out a book each.
“What’s wrong?”
I turned my head to Maximum, who had asked.
“Nothing. Why?”
“I was talking to River.”
Instant worry filled me when I saw how pale and frightened she looked. “River, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know what it is, but that book makes me want to run away.”
“What, this one?” I reached for the red book to pull it down from the shelf. It was stuck, so I pulled harder.
Click.A narrow opening appeared at the end of the shelves.
Lumi, Maximum, and even Nathan moved closer, while River took a step back.
“Don’t open it,” she whispered and hugged herself, making her shoulders hunch over.
I frowned. “Why not? Aren’t you curious?”
“I have a bad feeling. What if he had someone chained up in there, and the person was never found?”
With a snort, I pushed the door open and watched dust fall. My hands searched for a light and found it to my right.
“Holy Christ!” We all stared into a room that was about the same size as the office.
“I don’t want to go in there.” River’s voice was brittle.
