"You could have stayed here, Carly," Alice spoke. "They would not have forced you. They could have left you."

"I would then have stayed with my grandparents. They live far away from the mall. Far away from Forlot. That would not have worked."

"You could have convinced your parents to let you stay with me or Alyssa or Elsa."

Elsa rubbed the back of her neck. "Heh. I am not really an option right now. My room still needs to be cleaned. It is a zoo in there."

"So that is why you do not host sleepovers," Alyssa said as she took off her backpack and held it by its straps.

Elsa walked close to Eddie and smiled. "Maybe a smart and strong man...like Eddie...can assist me. I...I cannot do it on my own."

Eddie blushed. "A-are there any bugs in your room?"

She hesitated. "...yes."

"Then your room should be set on fire."

Alyssa stormed over to him and slapped the back of his head. "That was not nice, Eddie."

He laid his hand on the back of his head. "Is it my fault that I am afraid of bugs?"

It was time. The moment that we have been waiting for since...this morning. I gazed at my friends. We had our sleeping bags and backpacks. I felt like that we were on a camping trip. Actually, we were camping...at a mall! I could not stop smiling. I could not wait to see the looks on my friends' faces until they saw the monsters. I only wanted to be proven correct. I did not want them hurt.

My eyes locked on the empty mall. I tapped my fingers on my sleeping bag and realized something. Somebody was missing. Skipper. He had not joined us. He did say that he would come. Maybe something came up - or he bailed because he is scared of monsters or believes that I am insane. Maybe he will turn up later.

We reached the glass doors. My heart picked up speed. I pressed my face and hands against the glass. I peered through the blackness. It was pitch black. I told Elsa to open my backpack and hand me my flashlight. She did so. I thanked her and reached in my pocket. I took said key out and inserted it into the keyhole. I turned it.

Click!

"We are in," I said.

"I have a question," Sammy piped up.

I looked at him. "What is it?"

"Should we not disable the security cameras before the sleepover begins? I cannot handle being grounded. My parents will ground me until I die!"

I smirked. "We do not have to worry about the security cameras. I overheard my parents earlier. Just our luck. They said that they are down."

"Your parents are down?"

"The cameras are down. So we will not be caught."

Samuel crossed his arms. "How convenient. I expect us to not have any cellphone service and our flashlights to not work. 'Cause that is what always happens in horror movies."

I switched on my flashlight, and it flickered. I turned it off. "Wish that you did not say that. Now they certainly will happen to us. But no monster will eat us as long as we are cautious and sleep in a safe space."

My friends looked at one another. Then back at me.

"Before we laugh at your expense..." Sammy began. He tucked his sleeping bag under his arm. "...I want to ask another question."

"And that would be...?"

"When you say safe space...are you referring to folks of color having their space? Or are we staying in the same space despite our different colors?"

I ran my hands down my face. "Did you bring race into this book?"

"You are the one who brought up safe spaces."

"Safe space is the same as safe place."

Eddie cleared his throat. "Are we going in some time in this chapter? We have wasted our readers' time talking about nonsense."

I rolled my eyes. "You only want to head in so Elsa will stop staring at you."

Elsa's face saddened. "Y-you do not like when I admire you?"

He glanced at her. "Admiring me? Is that what you call it?"

She burst out crying. "Why do you not love me?!"

Eddie was surprised by her outburst. "I-I do love you. I love you and the rest of our friends."

She covered her eyes. "I love you more than a friend! It is obvious that I have a crush on you - and that you are a moron! Wah!" She pushed open the door and dashed into the mall. The blackness swallowed her whole.

"Elsa, wait!" I shouted. "You are supposed to turn your flashlight on!"

We heard clicking, but no light came on.

"Um...is this a bad time to tell you that my flashlight is not working?"

"And so it starts," Samuel said.

We turned on our flashlights and raced into the mall. I breathed hard as I shined mine all around. My buddies and I could not find Elsa. She was gone. I prayed that a monster did not get to her first.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

Eddie cupped his hands around his mouth. "Elsa!"

"Now you care," Alice spat.

"How was I supposed to know that Elsa has a crush on me?"

"Everybody knew! Even our readers knew!"

"Shh." I put a finger to my lips. "Keep it down."

Alyssa snuck up behind me. "But nobody else is here."

I nearly leaped out of my shoes and spun around. "You scared me!"

"You just said to keep it down!"

"I cannot help it when I am scared!"

"Then I can scream."

"Why do you want to scream?"

She hesitated and bit her lip. "...something is breathing on my neck."

With a shaking hand, I pointed my flashlight at Alyssa. My heart dropped into my stomach when I spotted the monster.