Page 54 of A Little Bit More

“We were only going to watch,” Bill said. “But then we accidentally pressed some more buttons, and before we knew what was happening, you were all reacting to the accidents. It felt like we were producers on our own show.”

“I pressed the fog button,” Matty said with some pride, making her husband hiss at her to be quiet. She glared at him but closed her mouth.

“We weren’t really going to let you fight it out,” Bob said. “That was just a joke.”

“Do you know what would be funny?” Callum said in a scary low voice. “Watching your head come off your shoulders.”

And that’s when all hell broke loose.

“You can’t kill my granddad,” Ryan shouted as Callum lunged for Bill, and Joe lunged for Callum to hold him back.

The old women screamed and ran for the console.

“Don’t touch any buttons,” Harvard snapped.

But it was too late. They triggered the alarm, and a siren wailed. That alarm went straight to the local police station, so it wouldn’t be long before they were overrun. They’d never live it down.

“Shut that off,” Julia called over the mayhem.

“I’m going to kill them,” Callum shouted.

The women screeched, and the men yelled. Somebody tripped, ripping Callum’s towel away.

The alarm cut off, leaving only shocked silence.

“Well,” Rachel said, “that explains what Isobel sees in you.” Then she turned on her heel and headed toward the door. “I’m going shopping. If you kill someone, please don’t bury the body on the property. It will be hell on the resale value.”

And Julia watched as the door closed behind Rachel.