Read Misguided Tales for the Bored :: Never never Nevada (final)

Finn knew this was it. He looked at Caleb, who was standing steadfastly between him and the monster, and felt a rush of pure, selfless love and terror. This brave, jealous boy—the true Key—was about to sacrifice himself.

Finn acted on instinct, just as the dimensional door in the wall behind Eda began to flicker and pulse, preparing to open into the next world.

Finn grabbed Caleb's head, pulled him down, and kissed him. It was a fierce, desperate, open-mouthed kiss—a silent vow made in the face of death, a shared explosion of pure feeling.

"Go! Get out!" Finn shouted, shoving Caleb hard toward Liam.

In that very second, Liam succeeded. With a final, splintering sound, he tore away the floorboards around the small, round door. Beneath it, nestled in a velvet casing, was the Amulet: a small, brass, glowing sphere.

Eda stopped, her eyes fixated on the glowing Amulet.

Liam grabbed the Amulet. "The clock!" he screamed, sprinting to the grandfather clock near the attic door—the Anchor's Seal.

Eda, driven by pure greed, rushed past Caleb, ignoring him completely, reaching for Liam.

But Finn, seeing the dimensional door behind Eda shimmer into the medieval world—complete with the Caleb-Guard stepping through—yelled a final, desperate command.

"NOW, LIAM!"

Liam slammed the Amulet onto the brass knob of the grandfather clock.

A blinding, deafening BOOM of golden light erupted. The house screamed—a long, high, mechanical wail that shook the very foundations of the structure.

Eda froze, caught between the light and the sight of her prize.

Then, the dimensional door behind her—the portal to the medieval world—snapped open, sucking the air and dust toward it. The guard with Caleb's face stepped out, seizing his opportunity.

"Mine!" the guard roared, not at Eda, but at the real Caleb, who was still standing by Finn.

Eda screamed, turning to push the guard away. But the house was closing in. The dimensional door, the Trapper's Snare, swallowed Eda and the terrifying guard both.

The light faded. The house was silent. The grandfather clock ticked once, loudly, then stopped again. The attic was just a dusty old room.

They stumbled out of the house and onto the sun-baked lawn, coughing and covered in dirt and dried purple goo. Liam still clutched the brass Amulet. The house stood behind them, utterly still, the darkness in its windows replaced by a quiet, empty gaze.

"She's gone," Liam whispered, his voice hoarse. "The house... it trapped the Trapper."

Finn looked at Caleb. Caleb’s eyes were shining, not with fear, but with a proud, protective tenderness.

"You were the Key," Finn whispered, reaching out to touch Caleb's shoulder. "You saved us. You were the only one who didn't run."

"I told you," Caleb said, his voice dropping to a low murmur. "I wasn't going to let that copy touch you. Or let her have you."

He stepped closer, closing the distance between them. The kiss in the attic had been born of adrenaline, but this one was slow, sure, and filled with the promise of a future.

They had survived the impossible house, solved the impossible puzzle, and found something entirely unexpected in the process. They still had a long summer ahead of them, a strange Amulet to figure out, and a lifetime of secrets to share. Their adventure had ended, but their story had just begun.

"She's gone," Liam whispered, his voice hoarse. "The house... it trapped the Trapper."

Finn looked at Caleb. Caleb’s eyes were shining, not with fear, but with a proud, protective tenderness.

"You were the Key," Finn whispered, reaching out to touch Caleb's shoulder. "You saved us. You were the only one who didn't run."

"I told you," Caleb said, his voice dropping to a low murmur. "I wasn't going to let that copy touch you. Or let her have you."

He stepped closer, closing the distance between them. The kiss in the attic had been born of adrenaline, but this one was slow, sure, and filled with the promise of a future.

They broke apart, breathless, both startled by the sudden, loud clearing of a throat.

Liam, who had been staring at the Amulet, finally looked up at his brother and Caleb. He shoved the Amulet into his pocket and crossed his arms.

"Look," Liam said, his voice dry. "We just survived a multi-dimensional murder trap, so I'm willing to overlook a lot of weirdness, but I still expect you to have some restraintwith someone's little brother."

Finn laughed, a sound of pure relief and happiness. Caleb grinned, bumping shoulders with Finn. They had survived the impossible house, solved the impossible puzzle, and found something entirely unexpected in the process. They still had a long summer ahead of them, a strange Amulet to figure out, and a lifetime of secrets to share.

They didn't waste another minute. They sprinted to the car, Liam grabbing the keys while Finn pulled Caleb's duffel bag from the porch. They didn't bother packing their own things. Everything inside that house now felt contaminated.

As they peeled down the long, cracked asphalt driveway, they glanced back. The Anchor House—the massive Victorian mansion—stood silently in the harsh Nevada light. The house was no longer humming, but something had changed. The windows on the North Wing, where their room was, were completely opaque, reflecting the sky like dark mirrors. And up in the attic, the small, round window of the west gable where the journey began now had a faint, pulsing, purple glow.

"She's gone, right?" Finn asked, his voice low.

"Trapped," Liam confirmed, gripping the steering wheel. "The house ate the Trapper. It's over."

They drove straight to Caleb's house. Caleb was quiet for a moment as they pulled up to his familiar, ordinary lawn. The relief of being home was warring with the desperate sorrow of seeing Finn go.

"My parents are expecting me for dinner," he said, turning to Finn. His voice was thick. "I hate this. I hate that you have to leave."

Finn felt a familiar ache in his chest. "I know. But we're texting every five minutes."

Finn reached across the seat, and they quickly exchanged phone numbers, Caleb’s hand shaking slightly.

"I'll call you as soon as you settle in," Caleb promised. "We're in this together. Always."

Caleb jumped out, throwing one last look of fierce affection at Finn, and then disappeared inside his house, back into the normal world, leaving a piece of the Key behind.

Liam drove for two straight hours, only stopping when they reached a state line motel well past the Nevada border.

They had ordered pizza, showered, and collapsed onto their beds, utterly exhausted. The four warning books and the final journal were stacked on the bedside table next to the brass Amulet.

Liam was half-asleep when the phone rang—Finn’s phone, now perched on the bedside table. It was Caleb.

Finn snatched it up immediately. "Caleb! You okay?"

Caleb’s voice was a rush of relief and anxiety. “Yeah, I’m okay, but God, Finn, I miss you. It’s so quiet here. It’s too normal after… everything. Liam's planning to call your parents tomorrow?”

"Yeah, we're figuring out what to do next," Finn said, his voice softer now that he knew Caleb was safe. He glanced at Liam, who was already starting to snore.

It was then that Finn noticed something odd on his luggage—the backpack he'd rushed to grab from the porch.

It was covered in a thin layer of fine, silver dust.

"Liam," Finn said, his voice barely a whisper, forgetting he was on the phone. "Look."

Liam groaned but didn't stir. Finn frowned at the dust on his backpack.

“Finn? What is it? What are you seeing?” Caleb’s voice crackled slightly over the line.

"It’s not dust," Finn said, scraping a tiny pinch off with his finger. He looked at the bedside table. He picked up the first book, the one they found in the arctic waste.

The metal pin that held the spine of the book together was also coated in the strange, shimmering silver.

"Caleb, I think we have a problem," Finn whispered into the phone, his blood running cold as he looked at Liam's dusty sneakers. Liam's shoelaces had also started to shimmer.

“What is it, Finn? Tell me! Are you safe?” Caleb urged, his voice frantic.

Finn remembered the terrifying, final truth from the books: the house was a trans-dimensional anchor, and the security systems were designed to protect the Amulet.

"It's not over," Finn stammered, pointing at the silver coating the small details of their belongings. "The Amulet is out of the house. And the books... they say the Anchor needs energy." He looked at Liam's sleeping form, then at his own hand, covered in the silver residue.

"Caleb," Finn finished, his voice trembling. "I think the house is clinging to us. I think we just brought a piece of the Anchor home." Finn leaned down and saw the label sewn into the back of his backpack. The nylon tag was dissolving, melting away into shimmering silver.

He had a chilling realization: the house hadn't just trapped Eda. The house had re-anchored itself to the closest available components: the two brothers, the books, and the Key they had left behind.

They were safe, but they were no longer normal. They were tainted, their lives inextricably linked to the house they'd just fled. The weird summer had followed them home.

And then Finn heard the faint, tell-tale sound, coming not from the window, but from inside the wall of the motel room: a soft, metallic thrumming.

The Anchor had settled in.

Kzzzzzzzhhht.

The phone line went dead. Finn stared at the screen. The call had been disconnected. He tried to call Caleb back immediately, but his phone only displayed a message: "No Service. Dimensional Drift."

Finn looked wildly at the wall, where the faint thrumming was now a steady pulse. Liam snored on. Finn was alone with the chilling realization that by saving themselves, they hadn't escaped the house—they had just moved it.

And the first thing the Anchor had done was cut the connection to the Key.