Nick did not know when or how he had fallen asleep, but when he finally woke up, he was shocked to see Katie's sleeping form beside him, her cold hands resting on his shoulder. He was still locked in the same pale room, his clothes a heap on the floor. So it wasn't a nightmare after all.
He looked over to see Katie's face, swollen and bruised. He sighed. He was still shaken by the memories of her betrayal, but one look at her face subdued his anger. He looked away, holding back the urge to pity her. She did not deserve his sympathy. Still, his heart wasn't that harsh or cold. Besides, he came out of it alive, didn't he? Nick tried to convince himself to forgive her.
His thoughts roamed back to their situation. They needed to escape and soon. He scanned the room restlessly. The light was dim, coming from a light bulb loosely dangling from the ceiling. He noticed how worn down the walls were now. The room looked pale and old. The floor was made of wood and losing their sturdiness. He could tell that this place was old. In a way, it was haunting as well.
He was intent on his surroundings when suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes on him. He looked down to see Katie's eyes wide open, gazing at him. She had remained so silent that he didn't know when she had woken. Her expression was ambiguous, but he thought he detected some fear in her.
Nick felt conscious of his near naked state and got off the bed, reaching for his T-shirt and jeans. Quickly, he grabbed them and turned around so that his back faced Katie. He blushed as he could feel her eyes on him while he put on his clothes. His face became hot.
But a thought struck him. Why should he be embarrassed? Nick reasoned to himself with hostility. She was the one that should be embarrassed for her horrible actions. And why was she staring at him like that? Nick felt violated.
His fingers fumbled while he drew his pants up. Why was he blushing? It wasn't as if Katie never saw him naked before. Nick blushed a second time.
Katie didn't fail to notice Nick blushing twice. His actions kept on reminding her of that little cute boy she met 6 years ago, and for the first time since Nick had realized his past, Katie felt comforted by his presence. He was, in so many ways, naïve and self-conscious. She knew she shouldn't have stared at him like that, but what else was she supposed to do? Look at the wall and pretend it was more interesting than him?
Katie watched on as Nick clumsily put on his clothes. She felt so bad for him know and the shame showed on her face. She wanted to kneel in front of him and beg him for his forgiveness. She knew that with effort, he would forgive her. However, she didn't because she was too ashamed. She didn't deserve his forgiveness.
She didn't have much more time to ponder when she realized that Nick was staring at the door. She looked at the knob and for the first time, she noticed that there was no lock from the inside.
Nick looked at her, motioning for her to follow him as he stepped up to the door. Katie held her breath. She was afraid to find out what was behind that door. Things have been really quiet for quite a while. Actually, things have been quiet ever since Roy last barged out of the room, leaving them there to sort out the past. She wondered where Roy went. Everything had been uncomfortably quiet since his disappearance. Katie's attention was drawn back to the present as she Nick lifted his hand to the door knob.
Nick squeezed his hand around it and began twisting. He half expected it to be jammed, but felt nervous as he realized that the knob twisted all the way. Slowly, he pulled the door and it easily opened. When the door was slightly ajar, Nick peeked out from inside the room. All was pitch black in the hall way. It seemed haunting and spooky. To his dismay and relief, he could neither see nor hear anyone.
Katie had gotten off the bed and was now beside him, her hand resting on his hips. He became annoyed. When had he given her permission to touch him? He knew she was scared, but that didn't give her any right to seek comfort in touching him. He quickly brushed her hand away. Katie felt his hostility and kept her hands to herself for the time being.
Nick looked back towards the hallways and opened the door until both of them could easily slide through the opening. Both of them shuddered as they looked out of their room. The hallways were completely dark. The place was huge, nothing like the room that they just exited.
Nick felt a chill run down his spine. It felt like deja vous. This place felt so familiar. He brushed away the eerie feeling. Quietly, Nick stepped out into the hallways first. All the while, he wondered what had happened to Roy. Why did he just disappear like that? Nick felt his heart beat faster. Katie had once again rested her hand on his back. He did not push her away this time because her touch actually had a calming effect on him.
The floor creaked loudly as Katie stepped out into the hallways with him. Nick expected to be ambushed sometime soon because Katie made such a loud sound. Minutes passed by and nobody jumped out from anywhere. Nick's body was cold and sweaty by now. He could not hear anything besides his and Katie's labored breathing.
The halls were so dark that he could not see the floor beneath him. He looked further down the large hallway and saw dim light at the end. Using that as his guide, he continued walking towards it. Katie had both her hands on his lower back. He could tell that she was scared stiff. Everything felt so weird. And where the hell was Roy?
As they drew nearer to the dim light down the hallway, Nick could see the walls for the first time. The paintings and portraits were dark and frightening, but not unfamiliar. Nick stopped for a while to carefully observe one portrait in particular. It was of a man in his late forties probably. His eyes were haunting as he stared back at Nick's.
Katie started to shake. What was Nick doing stopping to stare at such a frightening picture. She nudged Nick, bringing him back to reality. He responded and quickly took his eyes off of the painting.
But it was too late. The damage had been done. His worst fears had been confirmed. The moment he looked at the picture, he knew that this was the place. He bit his lip to keep it from trembling. Yes . . . the house looked exactly the same as it did 3 months ago.
His breathing became shallow again while his lips quivered. He could feel the tears swelling in his eyes. Even Katie could tell. He was scared out of his mind!
Yes. Everything was the same, except for the fact that the only difference this time was that Katie was with him. The walls looked as old as ever. The paint was still chipping from them, just like before. It still smelled like rotten eggs. The hallways were just as dark. And the atmosphere seemed to wreak with tension and anger. Nick could feel it. It was amorphous and invisible, but Nick could feel the wrath.
Thoughts began to cloud his battered mind. Why was he brought back to this place? How did Roy know about this place? And why did Roy choose to bring them here? How was Roy related to the owner of this spooky mansion?
The more questions that racked Nick's mind, the more he felt that something big was going on. How come Katie showed up the exact same time that Roy showed up? And this mysterious guy whose house they now stood in-how was he involved in this whole issue? The strangest thing was that everything happened in so short a period of time-Roy's and Katie's sudden appearance . .. . and Nick's shooting three months ago.
Nick felt a pain in his head. Everything didn't seem random anymore. It was as if someone had put a leash on him and was leading him down a path . .. . and the path was drawing to an end. Nick could feel it. The tension in the house seemed unbearable now. Soon, Nick believed, the tension will explode.
He could still feel the thumping of his heart. As heavy as his legs seemed, he continued walking down the hallway. He dragged himself while bearing Katie's weight as well. They moved closer to the lighted area.
Finally, they stood before a door at the end of the hallway. The place was pretty huge. The wall on their right had been replaced by railing. If they were to look over the railing, they would see the ground floor.
Nick stopped, giving Katie the chance to see for herself what the house looked like from where they were. They were actually on the second floor. He didn't need to look around. He already knew it backwards and forwards. He knew every corner as if the house was his. Nick cringed and wrinkled his head. It was a scary thought. He was locked up in this house for only 3 days-and it all happened three months ago-yet he had memorized every last feature of the house.
Nick was actually glad that Katie was with him this time. Last time, he was all alone, and the only thing he heard was himself. Everything had been deathly silent then. He was so scared that he urinated in his pants. This time, he didn't so that he could save what little dignity he had left in front of Katie.
Katie looked at Nick who nodded his head towards the railing. She thought that he was hinting at her to look over the railing. It took her a while before she gathered enough courage to see what was behind the railing. When she looked down, she saw the stairs and an open space, which she guessed to be the living room. The place was HUGE and dark. Katie felt so small in comparison. It was like a big mansion.
However, it didn't look warm and cozy. It was dark. There was a fire in the fireplace. That was the only source of light downstairs. Everything was so quiet. There was no sign of anyone else, no sign of life. Everything was spooky. Even the stairs looked haunted. Giant statues were placed at every corner. And though the place was vast, it looked old and seemed to reflect hundreds of years of sadness and terror.
What was this place? There were no windows, no connection with the outside world. She backed away from the railing and moved even closer to Nick. She grabbed his arm with both of her hands and leaned her head into him. She wanted to go back to that room. She felt like hiding.
But Nick didn't motion for them to go back. Instead, he placed his hand on the door knob in front of them. Katie's hands stiffened. What was he trying to do? She didn't feel brave enough to explore the rest of the house. She pulled him away, but he refused to follow her lead. He continued to twist the knob and opened the door. Without a second thought, he walked in. In desperation, Katie followed him inside.
To her relief, it was the bathroom. The floor had not been swept for a while. The dirt clung to the shower curtains. The sink was filled with some orange gunk. And the toilet was dry. She could feel Nick's eyes on hers and she looked up to see his impatient face. He was motioning for her to wait outside while he relieved himself.
She was not going to stand out there alone. Stubbornly, she didn't budge. He became annoyed and tried to usher her out, but she barged right on in. Can't he tell that she was scared out of her mind as well? This place was spooking the hell out of her. They struggled back and forth until she turned her face around to the wall and waited for Nick to just relieve himself.
Frustrated, Nick let her be and urinated. When he was done, he motioned for her to do the same. Just when he was about to leave the bathroom, she clutched his arm furiously and begged him to stay. "Please Nick. I'm scared. Don't leave me. What if something happens in here? What would I do?" Her eyes were so fearful.
Nick looked at her eyes and sighed. He turned around to face the wall while she relieved herself as well. Finally, they left the bathroom. She was all too eager to go back to their room. To her dismay, Nick didn't follow her back. He stood at the top of the stairs and looked down. Katie's heart dropped. She didn't want to go down. But it seemed as if things were going to go Nick's way. He waited patiently as she approached him. What was going through his mind? Katie had wanted to ask that ever since they left the room. It is all too obvious that Nick recognized this place.
Slowly, he walked down the stairs. Katie noticed that he didn't touch the railing so she didn't either. Both of her hands had made of habit of clinging to Nick's arm by now. Luckily, he didn't push them away. They descended step by step. Nick's eyes were nervously roaming and scanning downstairs. Katie only held her breath and moved closer to him. Every time they went down a step, they would hear a creak. But the wooden steps were sturdy.
Nick stopped, though, when they reached the last step. Katie bumped into him gently and did not continue, waiting for him to make the first move. He slowly turned around and gently lifted her hands from his arms. She didn't let go. He nudged her gently. His eyes looked warm. That was when she realized that he wouldn't just leave her there. Feeling a wave of trust, she let go.
She was surprised when he suddenly kneeled down and reached his arm out to grab the carpet that lay spread out on the ground in front of them below the last step. In one sweeping motion, he pulled it out of the way to reveal a big hole in the ground. Once he threw the carpet aside, he stood up. He turned to Katie and whispered into her ears.
"I made the mistake last time of stepping on it. I fell into that hole. Trust me, you don't want to know what's down there." He tried to explain, but knew that his comment only made Katie more puzzled. However, he didn't want to spend the time talking.
Katie was about to question him, but he suddenly got ready to get off the last step. The hole wasn't too big. He grabbed her arms for support and used his long legs to feel the ground to see if it was stable. When satisfied that the area beyond the hole was firm, he removed his hands from Katie's and jumped. When he safely landed on the other side of the hole, he turned around. Katie was scared. She had never been an athlete and didn't want to test out her athletic abilities at this time.
Nick's eyes beckoned her to jump though. He held out his hands impatiently. She didn't want to be left there though. Katie let out a sigh and was about to use the railing for support when Nick cried out, "Don't touch it!" She quickly withdrew her arm. She would have to use all her energy to jump. With one great effort, she pushed herself off the ground and fell into Nick's arms.
Her momentum was too great. The moment her body made impact with Nick's, Nick fell back, and both of them collapsed onto the ground. Katie kissed the ground, happy that she had made it safely across.
Nick was the first to get off the ground. Once on his feet, he pulled Katie up from the ground. She was relieved and grateful for his help. She greedily grabbed his hand. They looked around. They had made quite a lot of noise. Still, no one had appeared. At this moment, though, Katie was glad that no one else was near. At least Nick was there beside her. She never thought she would feel so dependent on any one until now.
Katie started scanning the room, but Nick didn't bother looking around. He turned to his right. Katie looked to where he directed his attention only to see more dim lighting. Why did he want to explore the more spooky areas? Wasn't he afraid? Katie knew that he was, but didn't know why he kept on heading towards the darker parts of the house.
Nick pulled Katie's hands. She followed reluctantly, only keeping a few centimeters between them. Katie wanted to close her eyes and let Nick lead her on, but a nagging feeling in the back of her mind told her to keep her eyes out in case Nick missed something-some clue that could let them out of this place. She kept close to Nick's side, and soon enough, they entered a well-lighted kitchen. Katie was all too happy and let go of Nick's arm for the first time. She walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. To her delight, the food looked exotic and delicious. There was even jello.
She grabbed the jello and stared at it longingly. It had been a while since they had eaten. She quickly walked over to Nick who seemed absorbed with going to the next room but had decided to wait for Katie. When he turned around to see Katie holding onto a bowl of jello, he quickly grabbed it and threw it at the sink. The glass bowl was shattered instantly.
He looked at Katie, his expression so serious. "Don't ever touch anything.. Don't eat anything."
That was the last straw for Katie. She had to know what was going through his mind. "What is it Nick? You obviously know this place. Why? Where are we? What are we doing here?"
The expression on Nick's face frightened her. He looked pale and worried. She could almost hear his heart beating. She could see the gloom in his eyes. Perhaps she didn't want to hear his response. The darkness that clouded his beautiful face gave her a chill. She gulped and waited for him to say something. She was only greeted with silence.
.