Vampires vs. Trappers

11. Dream House

Grinning excitedly, I dare not even wait for his initial reaction as I rush forward and take his hand once more, curling my slender fingers around his palm and squeezing softly. Then, tugging on his hand as a signal to continue, I catch myself thinking happy thoughts as we take our first few steps into the room.

Unable to help myself though, I walk somewhat sideways as most of my attention is being spent on the tall man slowly dragging along behind me, watching his every movement and reaction to the wonders of my own personal wonderland. And just as I'd hoped, Liam's eyes have not once left the expansive miniature foyer engulfing us, even after coming to a stop right in the middle of it all.

From the artfully painted walls and ceilings, to the intricate patterns in the hardwood floor beneath us, and even to the many forms of decor, he looks all but absorbed in his own terror as he takes it all in; slack jaw and everything.

Ah, such wondrous terror!

"Wha- what is this?" He asks in a voice of uncertainty, "Some sort of torture chamber dressed up in pink?" He continues, seeming to have gotten over a bit of his peevishness from before as his new interest appears to lie with the sheer amount of fuchsia I've managed to squeeze into one room.

"Oh, don't be silly, Ken..." I say, peering back at him with a devilish grin, "My torture chamber is much more demoralizing than this."

Finally tearing his eyes away from our surroundings, his eyes flicker over to me for a brief moment - as if to see if I'm merely joking or not - but without giving him the pleasure of clarity, I just tug impatiently at his hand again as I turn and begin to lead him out of the foyer and down another, far longer hallway.

"I see..." I hear him mumble anxiously from behind.

Smiling to myself ever so slightly, I barely notice the doors starting to come and go on either sides of us. And with every one we pass, each of them bare a different label similar to the big, red letters on the main entrance doors- but instead, these are only colored a plain black.

One by one, we trail past every single one - 'Powder', 'Pleasure', 'Closet', 'Kitchen', 'Bedroom A', 'Fun', 'Bedroom B', 'Guilty', etc. - until we eventually come up on the one at the very end of the corridor.

The 'Introduction' room.

"Alright Ken, let's get you settled in as quickly as possible so you can get right to familiarizing yourself with your new living accommodations." I announce casually, letting my words float back to him, before fetching my keys from my jacket for the second time.

After taking a moment to fidget with the all-too-often stubborn handle, I finally get the key to turn and the door to open. And the moment it clears a path for us, a few motion-sensing lights flicker on and illuminate the moderately sized room set out before us in the best quality of artificial sunlight.

Set up almost like a form of runway, the walk directly ahead of us - from the door all the way to the very back of the room - is emboldened by a wide strip of off-black carpeting in contrast to the rest of the gun-metal gray style. And while the majority of the room is practically bare, there are a few select desks, bookshelves, and file cabinets lined up along the walls of the room.

But, as for the obvious centerpiece and main focal point of the entire room, a dauntless structure in the shape of an octagon- constructed from a foot-high platform and three full-length mirrors, stands tall against the back wall; centered proportionately and just a few inches shy of touching the ceiling. Small, perfectly dimmed, contemporary lights outline the proud configuration, creating a calm, yet similarly alluring glow.