The Mansion of Trials and Trials

Secret Conversations

Day two, the alarm woke me up. I was surprised that I could sleep well on such an occasion. Perhaps it was the tiredness. It was nine o'clock in the morning. The trial started at twelve. There were still three hours left. Grabbing my key, I opened the door, locked it and put the key inside my other inner pocket, away from the obols. I gazed at the floor.

The blood stains were gone.

And so as the dead body.

Nothing was left on the floor as if nothing had ever happened.

Who cleaned it? I wondered. No, it's obvious. The Residents, of course. Who else could clean a dead body? That scary murderer probably could. But if he was really so cold-blooded to kill a young girl, he wouldn't save Luna in the beginning.

As I walked, the corridor was quiet. Single footsteps. I was alone. Perhaps everyone is still sleeping. Interrupting my thoughts, a man stood in front of the elevator pacing back and forth, gripping his arms tight. He bit his nails. I recognized him.

"Good morning, Mr. Inga."

"Ahhhhh!" he screamed and jumped back, "Who.....who are you?! Where do you come from?!"

"I'm Reed. A Wanderer like you. I'm sorry I surprised you. I just want to say hi."

"Oh....hi......Mr. Reed."

"You can call me Reed."

"Well....err....you can call me Inga too. I hated those polite manners."

"Ok," I replied. Our conversation ended. Inga didn't seem to be a talkative person. Neither was I. The elevator hadn't arrived yet. How embarrassing.

"Reed. Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Did you hear any screams last night?" I froze suddenly. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Last night, I couldn't sleep. Everything in here is so crazy and abnormal. I tried to wash my face to calm myself down. But suddenly, I heard screams outside my room. The corridor for the rooms 421-440. I was so scared so I stayed in my room. Do you hear any screams?" Inga asked. I escaped from his eyes. Oh dear, Inga heard me screaming last night.

"Err.....no I didn't. I was sleeping very deeply." I lied.

"Really? That's nice. I can't sleep anywhere without my sleeping pills. I used to carry them with me but they disappeared. I guess Puppet took them. I wonder if there are any sleeping pills—--" The elevator doors opened suddenly. Von stood inside.

"Oh, it's you guys. Good morning." He smiled.

"Good morning, Von."

".........good morning."

"I'm going down to the lounge. Are you guys going there too?" Von asked. Inga and I nodded our heads and went in. Yet, I felt odd. The lounge is on the first floor. I thought Von would get out of the elevator. Does he come from the upper floors? With questions, I stared at him. Von reached out his hand and pressed the elevator buttons. Under his sleeves, his arm was covered by white bandages.

A wound? That's weird. I don't remember seeing that wound when I first saw him.

"Von, where does that wound come from?" I asked. Von seemed a bit startled.

"Oh....this?" he scratched his head, "I got cut by the glass while I was getting a glass of water last night. You should see the Infirmary. It's well equipped with meds and first aid supplies."

"The Infirmary?! Are there any sleeping pills there?" Inga asked.

"Yes, there are. I checked."

"Argh....I should have gone to Infirmary yesterday. Why didn't I go there? Mr. Von, do you know where the Infirmary is?"