My feet were so cold and wet I couldn’t feel them at all by the time I got back to the ice house. I wondered if I was in danger of getting frostbite; maybe I’d end up losing a toe or two. But if I was this cold, how did Kitty feel?

The entrance gate was still open, and there was no sign of Kitty.

“Kitty? Kitty, I’m back, are you all right?” I said, and I waved the dim flashlight into the darkness. I could hear some sniffling noises and some shuffling.

“Nate! You came back!”

I thought she was going to be really angry with me for running off, but she just sounded relieved. I pointed the flashlight in the direction of her voice.

“Just look to where the flashlight is shining and head toward it, okay? Can you see it?”

I moved the light slowly to the left and right, and I heard her moving around in the darkness.

“I can’t … I can’t … I’m so cold …”

I waved the flashlight again.

“Listen to me, Kitty. You’ve got to just follow the flashlight. Okay? Can you see it?”

I listened but all I could hear was Kitty quietly crying. My heart was racing. I was going to have to go in.

I took a deep breath, as if I were about to go underwater, ducked down, and scrambled into the ice house and into the blackness. I stood still for a moment, trying not to panic. It was so dark. The blue flashlight barely helped at all. It felt like my face was being covered by a suffocating blanket. I took a few breaths and waited for my eyes to adjust, but not a lot happened. Some water dripped off the ceiling and landed on my cheek, and I jumped.

“Okay, I’m in … I’m in the ice house, Kitty, but you’ve got to h-help … You’ve got to talk so that I can find you …” I knew my voice was shaking, but I wanted her to think I was brave.

“I’m here, Nate. I’m here. Just find me, please find me,” she said. Her voice was coming from the left, but she sounded distant.

I swallowed. I kept thinking about my mum. And Gary. And the darkness.

“K-Keep talking to me, Kitty, and when you see my flashlight give me a nice big cheer, okay? Keep talking. Tell me something … Tell me something about when you were younger …”

I trod as carefully as I could, pointing the flashlight down now and then to check my footing.

“I—I remember … There was a big dollhouse in the house … A big one … You c-could … You could take the roof off and the front …”

I began to walk toward her voice. “That’s it. Tell me about the dollhouse. Did you play with it a lot?”

Her voice was helping me keep calm, and I concentrated on what she was saying as I edged deeper into the darkness.

“No. It was Charlotte’s dollhouse. She used to play with it. It was her favorite thing. She used to lay in bed at night … and stare at the house and imagine she was really tiny, and … she could go around all of the rooms …”

Her voice was shaking.

“That’s great. Keep talking, Kitty. Did your dad tell you that? About Charlotte and her dollhouse?”

I felt my way along a wet, slimy wall. “Oh! I see you! I’m here, Nate! On your left!”

The cold wall came to an end. It was an opening into another room. I pointed the flashlight in the direction of her voice, but I still couldn’t see her.

“Okay, can you walk toward the flashlight? Can you edge your way out?”

“I think so … I’ll go slowly.”

I heard her feet shuffling along the floor.

There was a clatter as her foot kicked something, and I heard her stop and scrape the floor with her foot. The flashlight began to flicker.

“Kitty, I don’t want to panic you, but you’ve got to hurry up. We need to get out of here. NOW!”

“Hold on, I’ve found something. I think it’s the next clue.”

I couldn’t believe she was still thinking about that at a time like this. “Are you serious?! Come on! If you don’t come now, I’m getting out of here right this second!” My voice echoed around the room.

“I’m coming! Don’t leave me.”

Her pale face suddenly appeared in the beam from my flashlight and I gasped. She smiled. She looked so pleased to see me.

“Thank you! Thank you, Nate.”

“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” I said, and as I turned, the flashlight died.

Someone was screaming. At first I thought it was Kitty, but it didn’t sound quite like her.

“Stop it. It’s fine, I can see the doorway!”

The screaming carried on. I put my hands over my ears to block it out.

“Calm down! We’re nearly there now. That’s enough! I said ENOUGH!”

The screaming stopped and was replaced with shuddering sobs.

“The door is just over there, we can make it. Okay? Let’s just go slowly and steadily.”

I saw a dim semicircle of light in the distance that grew brighter and brighter as I headed toward it. Before I knew it, I was scrambling through the hole and squinting in the daylight. Kitty stood in front of me.

“Nate. What’s going on? Are you okay? Why were you screaming like that? You frightened me.”

I stared back at her, blinking. It had been me? I had been the one screaming?

“I—I … I’m okay. I’ve got to go. I’ve got to go back now.”

She looked at me with her head to one side. “You didn’t sound okay.”

Kitty was holding something in her hand. It was a gray tin. She held it up and smiled.

“I’ve found it, Nate. I kicked it with my foot. The next riddle is going to be in here, I just know it.”

She began to open the tin, but I didn’t care any more. I just needed to get to the cottage. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to go.”

I turned away and I ran. I ran to the cottage, and I didn’t look back.