Contents
Chapter Forty-Two
Overview
Tom guides Holland and Adam deep into the Props warehouse to locate the item tied to Ben’s unusual request, but the targeted antique desk has vanished. Holland refuses to let Adam erase Tom’s memory. Tom’s stray tip about a trapdoor beneath the JME yellow house offers a new lead.
Summary
Tom escorts Holland and Adam through the JME Props building, moving from showy, tour-friendly items toward increasingly obscure storage. Holland notes the sheer variety—from helmets and guitars to taxidermy and a near-perfect Oval Office replica—while Adam grows impatient at Tom’s meandering commentary.
As the tour stretches on, Adam suggests wiping Tom’s memory to speed things up, but Holland refuses to exploit Tom’s kindness. Tom casually mentions legacy features on the lot, including a now-removed trapdoor under the yellow house from My Neighbor Next Door that once led to a gun range, hinting at hidden spaces that might still be worth exploring.
They climb to the top floor, past unsettling horror props, where Tom suddenly stops at an antique desk’s spot. The desk—the item tied to Ben’s unusual request—is missing. The discovery halts their progress and shifts the investigation: their current lead is gone, and Tom’s tip about the yellow house’s trapdoor becomes their next potential avenue.
Who Appears
- HollandProtagonist; insists Tom not be mind-wiped and pushes forward to find Ben’s requested item.
- AdamAlly with memory-wipe ability; impatient, proposes using it on Tom but relents.
- TomHelpful Props employee; guides them through storage and discovers the target antique desk is missing.