The Crystal Chronicles: Cursed

Chapter 22: Hidden Quirks

We started on Matt's floor. Then he walked me through the third level. We breezed past the infirmary and Matt showed me more cement hallways. His voice hardly above a whisper when he told me the next two floors have three hundred rooms each. The third-floor houses mostly two-five people families. The sleeping quarters have more space and that allows them to accommodate medium-sized families. There's a staircase at the end of each hallway. The safe house was built this way, so all floors are easily accessible, but everything looks the same. The only differences are the numbers on the solid metal doors. They continue to rise as the floors do.

The fourth level is the same as the third but flipped. We start at the living quarters and must walk through another long hallway to get to the infamous dining hall. My eyes grow heavy when we pass another flashing light and walk down another gray corridor filled with metal doors. Matt tells me this floor houses single people or couples, but at this point I could care less. I'm beyond bored. Matt mumbles beside me, you're not trapped anymore Alex. His soft words shock me, but he continues walking like he never spoke a word. Perhaps the whisper was nothing more than a figment of my imagination. Shaking off my goosebumps, this place is starting to get to me. We finally reached the outside of the dining hall. I can't help pausing and turning around.

"Everything in this place looks the same." I muttered outside the large doors. People have gathered and begun to stare. They whisper amongst themselves as they obviously point in my direction. Matt doesn't seem to notice their nasty expressions when he prances to my side, but it sure annoys me. I can't tell if they are staring because they are happy, I'm here or because they wish I was gone. However, based on their facial expressions I think it's the latter. My suspicions are solidified when I step forward. The people surrounding me grimace and shake their heads in disgust. I haven't felt this embarrassed since Ravenna accepted me into her guard. I was paraded around like a circus monkey then as I am now. I open my mouth to confront my audience, but Matt tugs on my arm. Looking up at him in bewilderment, his eyes glisten with excitement.

"If you give this place a chance. You'll find not everything is the same. It has its quirks if you know where to look" I raise my eyebrow when he asks me if I was ready.

"For what?" I skeptically question him.

"You'll see!" Matt softly chuckled before he pushed open the dining hall doors and dragged me inside. My feet slide against the cement, and I grimace. If I thought the hallway was filled with uncomfortable noise this place is way worse and louder. To these people the term dining hall is the equivalent to a hectic room filled to the brim with people. Men, women, and children are all crowded into the space. Each one is loudly shouting over the other. Dishes clatter when children spill them and drop the precious food during their endless games. Sadly, the room is filled mostly with the elderly and children. Young adults splatter through the mix, but most of the strongmen must be off working.

I force myself to look away from the people before me and gaze beyond them. The room is basically a large rectangular space. Large enough to hold hundreds of people during mealtime, but Matt was right. This place does house a spectacular quirk. Each wall has a different hand painted mural on it. The complexity and emotion in each painting is astounding. Many hours must have been spent in front of these large walls. Skillfully painting each layer with the flick of a paint brush. Each splash of color resonates within my soul. I can clearly see the artist's love for the outside world. The beauty in man and nature, but I can also feel the pain they felt when they were forced to leave it.

One wall has a whimsical forest painted on it. Bright greens and deep browns are painted before me. However, this forest isn't like any of the ones I've seen before. It almost looks too good to be true. Like it belongs in a fairytale but then again, what else is a painting supposed to be? Many different kinds of trees sprout out from the moss-covered ground. Red Maple, Douglas Fir, Pine trees, White birch, and many others I simply do not know the names of are displayed on the wall. Each tree is doing something eye-catching in the painting. The thin leafy ones stretch their branches toward the heavens. Some have thick trunks and large branches that curl amongst themselves until they have created a nest on top of its fat root.