Chapter 3

The room was small. Very small. There was just enough room for a bed. In the wall above the bed was a closet-just big enough for all his possessions. It all looked very new and the smell of freshly dried paint hung in the air. There was a soothing purple light coming from a small round window. That was all there was. But it was more than Ben had last time.The bed was big and fluffy. It just begged Ben to finally lie on it and forget all his worries. He quickly tucked everything away in the closet and threw himself onto the bed. Only now did he realize how exhausted he actually was.
Is it really safe here?His worries were washed away by his tiredness. His eyes grew heavy as he sank deeper and deeper into the black sheets.

When Ben woke up, his room was bathed in purple light. It did not blind him, but gently settled around the contours of the room, and the bed which was clearly too big to be his. A little irritated, he looked around, until Ben realized where he was again. He looked around the room. There was no clock, and the soft light suggested no time.How long had I been asleep?Ben felt good. Very good, in fact. Better than he had felt in a long time. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so rested and refreshed. It was a strange feeling, but it was not unwelcome. After getting dressed, Ben left his room and headed for the kitchen. In the hallway, he looked around in surprise. Yesterday, after all, here was almost the end of the hallway. But now the hallway looked absolutely the same in all directions. The same white wall everywhere, with the same doors seperated by the same distance.

How am I ever supposed to find any room here? 

Ben chose the left side and began to walk the hall down hesitantly. Testingly, he tried to open a door. It was locked. Ben rattled a few more doors. They were all locked. After a few minutes of walking, the hallway changed. It was just little things, but it seemed like the doors were closer together and that the color of the walls was a little duller than before. The doors themselves also seemed different, the wood older and the metal handles at the edges a bit rusted.As a test, Ben went to a door and rattled it. It was not locked. He hesitated.Am I even allowed to do that? Just walk into rooms like that?But his curiosity got the better of him and with a flourish he opened the door. The room was large. Much bigger than Ben's. And brighter, far brighter. There was a blinding light coming from all corners of the room, even from the floor. There was a breeze in the room itself, created by some pipes coming out of the walls. Otherwise, the room was completely empty.
What would one need such a room for? What is the purpose behind all the pipes? If the room is not used and is just empty, why this strong ventilation? Ben had a lot of questions."Strange isn't it?"Ben was startled out of his thoughts. Claudia was standing next to him. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Ben didn't quite know what to say."Um, why the empty room?"Claudia smiled at him. Then she whispered something. The blinding light went out and the sound of the ventilation system died away. But the room did not go dark. No, instead, the room was filled with many tiny blue lights. They floated in the air a bit like fireflies, only much smaller.It was beautiful. Every single particle seemed to pulse with life. So the room had never really been empty. Ben turned to Claudia. To his surprise, she was just covered in the lights, they seemed to stick to her like a magnet as they pushed off of Ben. A silence of amazement spread between them."What is that?" he finally asked. Claudia took her time with her answer."They're Skargna. Truly fascinating beings. They are the ones who protect us."
Aha, of course, that explains everything, Ben thought sarcastically. However, it didn't bother him that this woman spoke in riddles, he liked the challenge."Why am I really here? Why are you just letting me live here?"The questions slipped out and lingered in the air.A little surprised, Claudia looked at him. Then she smiled again."To prevent you from doing too much damage, of course." "How exactly am I supposed to do too much damage?"Claudia again took her time with her answer. "If we only knew what happened that night that the scars came from then maybe I could answer that question.""As I said yesterday, the psychologists...""I'm not interested in what the psychologists think. I'm interested in what you saw."Ben swallowed. Could he really tell this without being labeled a madman? But if Claudia was so interested in his hallucinations, why should he keep them to himself?"There was this thing," he almost whispered, "It was suddenly there, and it..."
He fell silent again. Claudia looked at him, spellbound."What did it look like?"Ben swallowed. This woman is insane. But then again, so was he.Long black hair and nails like claws.That's all he wanted to remember."I don't remember," he lied."Did it say anything?"Ben swallowed, the thought of getting it all off his chest felt good, very good in fact, but he stopped himself at the last moment and shook his head. A pause followed."What now? Am I going to school soon? Or what exactly am I supposed to do next?"He fell silent again. Claudia took her time answering again. "You, nothing at all. Or as little as possible. Enjoy life, rest. Do whatever you want. Just please stay in this building. It's very important that you don't just leave it. Unless you want to move out of here again."So he was allowed to do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't leave this building. To be honest, he wouldn't even know how to leave it. There were just too many doors. Speaking of doors.
"Why is this house so huge? From the outside, it looks rather small. And yesterday it seemed much smaller, too."A few moments of silence followed. Did Claudia need so long to formulate an answer in her mind? Why always these pauses? Had the change of subject been too abrupt for her? Had she grown suspicious?"In order to grasp the full size of this house, the house must first accept you as an inhabitant."She said it as if it were the simplest and most logical answer of all. So this house was more than a mere object.Good to know, Ben thought.Claudia looked out into the hallway. She frowned and said:"My goodness, so late already! I've got to get on."The words were directed more to herself than to Ben. She quickly whispered something and the room lights came back on. But before she could leave, Ben asked quickly."Uh, where exactly is the kitchen?"Claudia stared at him. Then she smiled again."In the other direction, from here, the forty-second door on the right."With those words, she was off.