Quarantined

Chapter 4

When I arrived at the dining room, Reginald asked me how I was doing, and if I was recovering. Of course, I lied to him about my tiredness. I claimed that I hadn't fully recuperated yet, when in fact, I was actually quite revitalized. In truth, I simply wanted another excuse to go back to that room after finishing dinner. I wanted to see if I could spot that figure again. It seemed to come into view only when the bars also revealed themselves. I wonder if it would disappear when the design returned to normal? 

It was rather late at dinner, around seven o'clock. I was not used to eating lunch this late; back at home I usually did this at around five-fifteen or so. Still, I wanted to get all the "sleep" I possibly could; and by "sleep", I do mean staying up for hours observing the wild happenings occurring all over my bedroom. It was beginning to darken now, with the sun having retired for the day. This made me rather anxious; the sun's light was what led to the wall's pattern changing, which in turn led to the shadow coming into view. Would that mean that those things would no longer happen until tomorrow? 

I could hardly take the anticipation. I rushed through my dinner as quickly as I could, but it still took quite some time. At one point, I made another attempt to ask Reginald about any previous events that had occurred where my bedroom was before the time of this visit. Again, he would not answer, either ignoring me outright or trying to change the subject. I tried to call him out on it, but I did not say a word; he looked like someone who would devastate me in a potential argument at a moment's notice. And besides, I thought, he knows more about this mansion than many others. Maybe he simply sees it fit to keep it a secret. Of particular note is the last time he changed the subject; he once again asked if he could be of any assistance to me, and insisted that he check on me occasionally. I reluctantly agreed, so long as he abides by the condition that he knock first. 

I went upstairs yet again after dinner. Once I entered my room and ever so quietly closed the door, I grabbed my phone and sent a quick text to Chris and Sam, asking them how they were doing and if they were having fun. I received no immediate reply, so I put the phone away. 

It was nighttime already by then, with the shining moon having come out to play. As I looked up at the wall again after putting my phone in my bag, I saw something else. Just as before, the wall's design had been simplified into the bars I saw earlier! I waited a few more minutes, hoping that shadow that I saw prior to going down for dinner would appear again as well. Indeed, it did! I was not seeing things after all! I speculated that perhaps any kind of light would trigger the change in display, whether from sun or moon. It would certainly explain what just happened. 

Interested, I slowly got off the bed and approached the section of the wall she was standing at. As I said before, the bars stretched the length of the entire room, but this woman-like figure seemed content to stay at that one location. "Who....who are you....?" I asked softly, and rather curiously. Suddenly, the silhouette grabbed two of the vertical blue bars and shook them violently, causing the rest of the bars to also tremble. A loud, reverberating noise similar to banging steel repeatedly racked my mind, almost making me drop on the spot from the resulting headache. Stop.....STOP!  I thought. The pain was splitting, and I felt like crying. Thankfully, it was as if she heard me, and she promptly ceased. 

She then simply raised one hand and placed it against the wall; it was as if she was on the "other side" of the wall from me. I reached out my own hand and put it against hers. Suddenly, I remembered earlier when I saw the wall's design turn into bars for the first time. I had compared it to.....a jail cell! She.....she must be trapped! 

I had no more time to do anything other than discover that revelation. Just then, I hear Reginald on the stairs. I must not let him find me still awake. I use another one of my pills, then quickly hop into the bed and pull the covers over myself again, going to sleep at that moment. Reginald knocked on my door, but I did not answer, as I was already slumbering. "Ah," he said to himself. "They must be sleeping." He walked away shortly afterward.

Do not worry, I thought, hoping that the woman could hear what I was thinking, as she did earlier, when she was rattling the bars. I will come up with a plan to set you free.