Moonchild

CHAPTER FIVE

The ground floor of The Dark Place was not hot, and not cold either. It was a friendly temperature for us to be in. We were not sweating like pigs anymore, and we were not cold from the sudden soft breeze that surrounded us. No one could shake the thought that a windowless building from the outside, would have many windows on the inside.

Marie walked towards the window that seemed to be next to the entrance, and looked outside. The view from the window was just like it was before we rushed and entered. Minus the flock of crows. It was sunny, but with a soft layer of white clouds towards the horizon. She opened the door, just to check if her eyes were playing games. I looked towards the place she was standing. Marie closed the door and whispered 'weird'.

'What?' I looked around for George, and then joined her at the door. She opened it again.

'The view from the window is the same view from the door opening.' She stepped to the side so that I could see.

'It is weird.' I took the door knob, opened the door further and stepped outside. The window was not there from the outside. I entered the building again, but the window was there from the inside. I closed the door this time, and tapped her shoulder. 'Let's just find George, so we can talk.'

We left the entrance behind us, walked around the chandelier in the foyer, and started looking at the different empty rooms around us.

There were a few empty rooms here, and they seemed similar: same wood floor, same paint colour, even though it grew paler by the years that The Dark Place might have been here. There was no sign of furniture; not even a single couch, or a chair. Just a massive crystal chandelier dropped on the floor in the foyer.

Without any sign of George, we started walking through the high-ceilinged hallway, opening the worn-out doors. By the time we almost ran out of doors to open, we called his name and found him behind the last one. We knocked, just in case he wasn't decent, but after the second knock he emerged from it. It was a bathroom. He looked exhausted, nauseous and in an effort to catch his breath from all the chase. After breathing in deep breaths, he looked better.

'You alright?' Marie asked, concerned.

His cheeks turned red, and he answered: 'Yes, thanks.'

We walked away from the hallway, towards the foyer. What was so extraordinary, was that the paint colour of the walls throughout the ground floor was a deep creamy representation of grey. Faded out by the years of being human-free and deserted. Between the few big rooms on the ground floor, other than the high-ceilinged hallway, there were some interesting structures that seemed a bit vintage: each room was divided by massive wooden pillars, and every two pillars were connected by thick wood planks that sat on top of them. That worked as archways. It was a treat to our eyes, because we were used in concrete archways at school.

We reached the foyer, Marie brought the bag with snacks with her, and we sat in a triangle next to the chandelier.

'So,' George spoke first, 'maybe the tapping sound that we heard before, was really coming from inside a window.'

'I guess so,' I replied.

Marie passed around the snacks: some salted chips, some baby carrots, and a bag of salted caramel pop-corn. We all jammed a handful of mixed snacks in our mouths. We ate in silence for a few seconds, but I needed to clear something out. So I added: 'How strange.'

'What is?' Marie said.

'The place that makes us feel safe now, is the same place that we were frightened to enter one hour ago.'

George turned and looked at me, with wide eyes.

'I know right?' Marie said, and then she jammed a second handful of carrots, in her mouth. 'It's good that now we feel safe, because we have to recharge on snacks, and then go back home.' She turned her head left and right fast, and then whispered: 'Do you guys feel cold?'