Chapter 17
The Source Revealed
The journal hints that the knocking is a test, an entity drawn to loneliness and fear, seeking entry. Grandpa Bob had devised a way to deter it.
The heavy leather of Grandpa Bob's journal felt alien beneath Amy's fingertips, a stark contrast to the worn, familiar pages of her schoolbooks. The faint scent of aged paper and something indefinably earthy—perhaps the lingering essence of Grandpa Bob himself—rose from its depths. They had gathered around the sturdy oak desk in his room, the afternoon sun slanting through the dusty windowpanes, illuminating motes of dust dancing in the air like tiny, silent spirits. Connor, ever the restless one, paced the perimeter of the room, his eyes scanning the shelves laden with peculiar artifacts – a tarnished astrolabe, a collection of smooth, dark stones, and a single, intricately carved wooden bird. Laura, clutching Amy’s arm, sat close, her gaze fixed on the journal, her breathing shallow.
"It says here," Amy began, her voice a low murmur, her finger tracing a line of spidery, faded ink, "that the knocking… it's not just random. It's a test."
Connor stopped his pacing, his attention immediately snagged. "A test? What kind of test?"
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