I blinked and looked into the urgent eyes of the old woman. "Where did you get that picture?" I asked, voice low. It wasn't a newspaper clipping, like the one in 206 or my bedroom. It was a crumpled Polaroid.

Hazel reached forward to take the picture. The woman was reluctant to give it up but let go. Hazel examined it closely. I grabbed her wrist to pull it down to my level.

It was odd seeing this picture in color. All my life, I had had that picture above my bed. My mom would mention it often, saying she was so lucky to have to cutest kids in the world. It used to make Hazel angry. She felt that as the older sibling, she should be the favorite or something.

"Where did you get this?" I repeated.

"I took the picture." The woman looked up and around the room until she found a dangling light bulb. She pulled the cord and the artificial light added greater detail to our surroundings. She examined our faces closer and gasped. She knelt, ignoring the dirty floor. "Michael?" she said, taking my face in her wrinkled hand. She did the same with Jane. "Gracie?"

Jane jerked away from her but I held still. My eyes widened as I stared deep into hers. There was something... no, it couldn't be. I've never seen her before. At least, I think I hadn't.

"Let us go," Hazel said, gripping our shoulders. The woman stood up and backed away. "I'm not the one who trapped you here," she said. "I booked the room to find out where people were going. I saw you go up to my room and I was going to stop you but by the time I got up to the room, you were gone. The bed was... empty and led to a pit."

She sighed and rubbed her temples. "About a week ago, I found the floor plans for this place. I noticed that room 106 was a maintenance room. When I got here, I found some stairs that went to the basement. I still didn't know what it did until now."

Hazel pushed past her and led us up the stairs.

The woman melted into a desperate person. "Please," she said. "I think you're my grandkids. You're my daughter's children!"

"We've never seen you in our life!" Hazel cried. "Go," she said to Jane and me.

We dashed up the stairs, pushing open the door at the top. Hazel wasn't far behind. She thought about locking the door behind her but changed her mind last minute, letting the rusty bolt lock sit open.

"Mom! Dad!" Jane screamed, whirling around to look at her surroundings. We were behind the building, in a dirty alleyway. Jane ran around the building and Hazel and I chased her.

We found our way back up to our room, where Mom and Dad were fast asleep. Jane jumped on Dad and cried, "We were kidnapped!"

"Jane," Hazel said. "We weren't."

Mom's eyes snapped open. "What do you mean?" she said, sitting up quickly.

"The bed in 206 swallowed us!"

Dad groaned and pushed her off, getting up slowly. He looked at my Mom and said, "You went into that room?" He gave Hazel a disappointing glance. She protested. "They ran! I only followed to make sure they didn't get into trouble."

"Well, apparently, they did," Mom said. She walked over to Jane and swept her up and in her arms. "What happened?"

I spoke over Jane's whiny voice. "The bed opened and we fell down into a pit. There was an old dude there who tried to kill us with gas. Except this lady showed up, sho said she was our grandma. We ran away from her."

"It was the lady in 206!" Jane said, grabbing Mom's face.

Mom looked at Dad. "Maybe we should leave. There are creepy people here."

Dad shook his head. "No, why would we? We're here for a reason also let's just stick it out." He laid back. "Besides, the room is nonrefundable." He tilted his head up and looked into Mom's eyes. "We're all good. We absolutely clean."

I furrowed my brow and looked at Hazel. She cocked her head at my parents before mumbling that she needed the toilet.

There was an awkward silence before Jane snuffled into Mom's shoulder.

"Let's go look down at the shops," Mom said, setting her youngest daughter down and reaching for her hand. Jane kept her arms folded and said, "No."

"Well, why not?"

"We saw the shops already," I said, sitting down cautiously on the edge of the bed.

"And we were almost kidnapped!" Jane cried. "Why don't you believe me?"

"Jane, let it go," I said. "They won't believe us."

Jane stomped away to the door. She opened it and slammed it behind her. "Janie," Mom said, with a huff, running after her. Dad rubbed his eyes and opened the cooler, packed with fruit and crackers. He grabbed some Ritz and sat in the cheap chair at the desk. It creaked and groaned.

I went after Mom in the hallway, knocking on the bathroom door as I went by. "Hey, Jane's escaping."

The toilet flushed and the sink ran for just a few seconds before Hazel was out in the hall with me. "What's happening?"

We watched as Mom chased Jane into 206. Hazel laughed and ran after them.

Mom stood agape in the middle of the room. "This is..."

"Weird, right?" Hazel said. "Look." She led Mom over to the wall that held our picture. She scanned the whole wall and purses her lips. "Where did it go?" She looked at Jane. "Did you take it?"

"No!"

"Winston?"

"No, I didn't. I walked closer to the wall and saw a small black square, where Jane and I'd picture should have gone.

"It really was here," I said, looking at Mom. She simply shook her head and looked around the room closer. "This is crazy. Who are all these people?"

"They went missing here," Hazel said. "Read the articles."

Mom suddenly laughed. Hazel and I looked at each other.

"This is great! This is pretty cool. It's like your own haunted movie, smart." She shook her head and put her hand on Jane's shoulder. "Let's get out of here. I'm not even sure we're supposed to be here."

"Of course we're not," Hazel said. "This is some psychopath's lair!"

Mom grabbed her arm too and pushed both of the girls into the hallway. She glanced back at me. "Come on, let's go."

I stayed. "What did you do?" I said, not even sure what I was asking. Mom looked taken aback. "Nothing? Let's get back to the room. We've got fun stuff to do here before dark."

"Why don't you have the original picture of me and Jane?"

Mom shrugged. "They took the pictures at the place. The mall, I think. There was no original picture. Come on, Winston." There was something in her eyes that made my feet move into the hallway. Her eyes followed me closely as I closed the door behind me.

Mom dragged the girls back to the room while keeping a close eye on me. Jane hollered the whole way, causing some of the doors to open with curious eyes behind them.

Dad brushes some crumbs off his shirt. "Are we going to see Fred yet?"

"Who's Fred?" Hazel asked.

I stopped my Mom before she answered. "You're not going to mention the room to Dad? Anything at all?"

Mom waved her hand. "It's just part of the experience." She rolled her eyes and said, "We went into the haunted room. It had spooky decorations up."

"They weren't decorations," I said.

"Who's Fred?" Hazel repeated.

"Grandpa Fred," Mom said. Hazel squealed and clapped her hands. "Granddad?" she asked. "We haven't seen him in years!"

"It's a surprise for you all," Mom said, smiling. "He's part of the reason we came here. He owns one of the shops in town. He acts in an old military outpost. Should we go?"

"Yes!" Hazel said. I shrugged. "I barely remember Granddad. What's he like?"

"Old and grouchy," Dad said, with a slight grumble.

Mom swatted him and said, "You only way that because he's a little gruff sometimes. We'll have a quick snack before heading down."

We made small meals for ourselves. Mine consisted of a handful of Club Crackers, Goldfish crackers, and a pack of cold raisins. We chewed and ate. Or at least, I tried to. The raisins kept catching in my teeth and making it hard to unlock my jaw.

"What happened to Grandma?" Jane asked.

"Oh, she died when I was your age," Mom said, munching on some carrots. "She got sick and didn't last long."

"That's so sad," Jane said, her sensitive soul causing her eyes to well. "You don't ever get sick. Okay?"

Mom laughed. "Gotcha. I'll do my best."

"What about me?" Dad asked, feigning hurt.

Jane rolled her eyes. "Dads get sick all the time and don't die. You're too tough. You're gonna be alive forever."

Dad chuckled. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind, Turtle."

We finished soon after and Mom told us to grab our hats. "It's really sunny out there and I don't want your ears and noses getting fried to a crisp."

Jane grabbed her little sun hat while Hazel and I grabbed the baseball caps we got in Salt Lake City. Hers was pink and mine was green. We pushed them on our heads and followed out parents down the stairs and out of the hotel. My eyes couldn't help but glance at 206.

The sun beat down on us as we walked. A man in a cowboy hat mumbled, "Howdy," as we passed. Hazel giggled. We wove through other tourists to get to the Military outpost. It was crowded and stuffy inside, filled with mostly teenage boys. A skinny old man in an old fashioned battalion uniform stood behind the counter, his assistant measuring the height of boys in line.

"Yes, yes," the old man said. "You'll just fine in the service of the U.S army!" He reached under the counter to grab a certificate, which he signed and gave to the boy.

"Dad?" my mom called. The old man's head popped up and he smiled gaily. "Thea? Is that really you?" He grabbed his cane and walked around the counter and the crowd. He balanced himself carefully on the thin stick and gave his daughter a hug. Mom wrapped her arms tightly around him. "It's been forever!"

"Oh, we don't need to focus on that," Granddad said, waving a hand. "I just want to see my grandkids!" He bent just head down to look at us better. "Would you look at that?! This boy looks fit for the U.S army! Good to see you, Winston."

"You have to see how tall he is first," Jane said shyly.

Granddad looked at her tenderly. "And this must be little Jane, the little princess." He placed a veiny hand on her shoulder.

"Excuse me," Granddad said, looking up at the crowd. "We seemed to have found all the young soldiers we need and are going to have to shut down for a bit." Some people groaned but they slowly trudged out into the hot sun. Granddad walked to the door and flipped the sign.

"Come here!" he said, leading us into the back room. "Come sit. I'll get Joe to make some drinks for us. The saloon is attached to this building." He pushed open a plain door and piano music and laughter rolled into the room.

I glanced around the back room, looking at all the antique equipment and decorations. My eyes landed on an umbrella stand. It took me a second to figure out what it was and what I remembered it from, I got there in the end. I gasped and pointed to it. Hazel and Jane looked at it and their eyes went wide.

"What's wrong?" Mom asked. She turned to see what I was pointing at. She laughed and stood from the rough wooden table. "I remember this!" My dad had this in our basement. I used to be scared of it. She took down from the stand and set it in front of us. A peculiar odor emanated from its old rubber. Jane figures it out first. "Itchy," she said.

Hazel leaned forward. "Granddad was the one in the mask," she said. She looked at our parents and stood.

The bell on the door rang and the old woman from 206 barged in the room, just as Grandad emerged with six drinks on a tray. He wobbled precariously with y'all drinks sloshing around on the tray.

"You!" the woman cried.

Grandad went pale and dropped the drinks. The orange drink splashed on our legs and glass exploded across the floor. He blinked once before turning and 'running' back into the saloon. The old woman chased him.

"Dad?" Mom said, running after them. Grandad didn't make it far before the woman tackled him. "What did you do to her?" she said, hands gripping his collar. He choked on his words and the woman let go of him. He was no match for this angry ball of wrinkles and gray hair.

"I thought I recognized you," Mom said, voice low. The woman looked up. "And I, you two," she said, nodding to my Mom ad Dad. Dad's face was stony and unreadable. Mom looked about to cry.

"What are you going to do with them?" Mom asked.

"You took them, so I'm taking them back."

"Taking what back?" I asked.

"You," the woman said.

I backed closer to my parents. "I don't even know who you are!"

"Yes, you do," she said. "I've figured it out. This man," she said, gesturing to Grandad with her head, "Is a notorious serial killer. He traps people in the hotel room and kills them. When his daughter couldn't have any kids, he decided to find her some."

She looked down at Grandad. "It took a while, didn't? Finding the perfect family? You found this girl, here," she nodded to Hazel. "But that want good enough. My daughter showed up with a toddler and a baby. A boy and a girl."

Mom ducked her head. I looked at her, eyes wide. "Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm your mother," she croaked. She opened her arms to catch me in a hug but I backed towards the old woman. "I raised you! Your... mother didn't fight hard enough for you. That's how I knew I needed you! Because your mother was a lousy parent."

I choked back tears.

"Who are you?" Grandad asked the woman holding him down.

"I'm Special Agent Holloway," she said, pulling a badge out of her pocket. "You shouldn't have killed the daughter of an FBI agent if you wanted to get away with it. We've been tracking you for a while. Once we could identify the children, we knew we could get you to confess. Thankfully, you did." Several people in the crowd of gawking tourists stood, drew guns, and surrounded us. They all flashed badges. One man pushed past the agents and knelt by Jane and I. His dark brown eyes match Jane and I's.

"Michael? Gracie?" he said, voice hoarse with tears.

"They don't know those names," Holloway said. "I tried." She got off of Grandad and pulled him to his feet. She slipped handcuffs on him and handed him off to another agent. A woman came from the crowd and knelt down by Jane and me.

"I'm Patricia," she said, voice soft. "I'm going to take care of you for a little bit." She began to lead us away but Jane cried, "Hazel!"

Everyone froze, not sure what to do. After a deafening silence, Patricia said, "Hazel is going to go with someone else."

"No," I said, digging my feet. "She's our sister.

Patricia glanced at Holloway. "You never mentioned there was another one," she mumbled.

Holloway shrugged. "I wasn't aware until today. Take them together. We'll figure out what to do until then."

"I'll take care of her too," the man who had talked to us so gently. "They're siblings now."

Holloway nodded. "We'll see what we can work out."

After a couple of days, we got to have another meeting with our dad. He seemed really nice, but it was hard to tell what was sincere and what was a lie after Mom and Dad. Hazel was stuck in a limbo, not sure what make of the whole situation. People couldn't figure out if she was kidnapped and they should begin looking for her next of kin or if she was Mom and Dad's actual kid. They drew her blood and mine and Jane's, just to see if we really belonged. The man was our real Dad and Holloway was our grandma. We had never had a Grandma before so Jane was very excited about it all. I still couldn't quite decide what was real and what was still a lie.

Hazel... Unfortunately, Hazel's parents were actually Mom and Dad. And there was no way she was allowed to go back to them. It is hard, I guess to raise a 12-year-old girl from prison. But my new Dad said he would take her in and he was good in his word. Another family member came forward, saying that they would take Hazel in, but she refused and insisted she stayed with Jane and me. I'm glad my older sister got to stay with us through this all.

My mind kept jumping back to the moment Granddad was handcuffed. That's when life officially changed. I think it was for the better. I think. I mean, I didn't have kidnappers as parents anymore. But I couldn't shake the thought that no adult was without fault. They all had secrets. And I wondered what new Dad's secret was. Maybe it was simple like he cheated on a test in college. Or maybe he faked the blood test and wasn't actually our parent. Either way, I knew he wasn't perfect. He was better than Mom and Dad. He let us ask questions.

It really was weird, watching your parents be taken away in handcuffs. It was also weird riding in the back of an unmarked cop car. I watched the dry desert morph back into city as we made our way to some big building, back in Salt Lake City. The only thing that stayed the same was the fact that Jane threw up three times before we made it back into town.