Just as I remembered, he was sitting in the same place he had been the day before, right before Eye moved him to "greet us." He was as intimidating as I remembered, even though he wasn't very muscular, you could tell that every muscle in his body was ready to fight, his veins were bulging, showing that he might not be in a good mood again, and the power emanating from his body was enough to scare away anyone who approached him.
All my intentions to take the computer began to fade, but I had to remind myself that if I managed to do this, I could finally talk to my parents. I took a step toward him, and then a voice stopped me.
- Hey, remember that you shouldn't get closer than five feet to other people, with him, it would be better if you didn't get closer than ten feet, - Destiny said from behind me.
She must have noticed my hesitation and my decision to approach him anyway.
- Yeah, you shouldn't bother him. -
The strange man on the couch got up again from under some blankets. He really looked like a homeless man in his 30s or 40s, with unkempt hair and beard, dirty clothes, and smelling a bit as if he had decided not to bathe or brush his teeth for a while.
His presence completely distracted me. He was here last time too. I thought he was a guard or something because last time he brought the Doctor, but this time he just looked like a homeless person.
- He's very focused. Maybe you'll have better luck if you come back in two to four hours, - said the homeless man.
- I agree. If you want the computer, it's best to wait until he's finished using it, -Destiny said this time.
- Okay, what can I do until then? -
- How about some TV? - Destiny said.
I took my stool and sat behind the couch where I could watch TV. Destiny turned on the channel I wanted, and the guy fell asleep on the couch again.
Time passed slowly as I watched boring TV shows. Seriously, why did they have cable? It would be better if they had Netflix or some other streaming service.
The whole time, I couldn't stop thinking about what I was going to do with the computer.
I wanted to open my email and send a message to my dad's email or my mom's email or both. It had to be something so we could agree on a time, and then I could send them a link to a Zoom call or some other video call site so I could talk to them directly. Would they have microphones or cameras? Since it was a desktop computer, I couldn't be sure.
Maybe I could send a message to my friends so I could talk to them and find out what was going on over there. Or something like that. I desperately needed to talk to someone I knew.
The only way to check the time was to change the channel on the TV and look at the time in the programming guide. Destiny didn't seem very entertained by this either. In a way, I was starting to feel bad for her. She hadn't really done anything wrong, and now she was forced to follow me around and do whatever I was doing to make sure I didn't break the rules.
I also started to feel bad for Sleepy. He didn't really deserve to be treated like that, but I hadn't seen him all day to apologize, so I was still feeling guilty.
Finally, the clock struck half past two. The time was up, and a good four hours had passed since I had arrived in the room.
- Okay, time's up, - I said as I got up from the stool, this time remembering to pick it up.
The guy on the couch also woke up from his sleep. I approached the ten feet I had been told to leave between him and me and stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do.
I turned to look at the guy, and he motioned with his hand for me to talk to him. I turned to look at Destiny and saw her put both hands up with her palms down and slowly lower them, signaling me to calm down a little.
I wasn't calm at all. From what I had learned yesterday, this guy's power was called unstoppable force, and his name, Strong, only reinforced the idea that he was probably the most dangerous guy in the house. I knew I didn't want to upset him, which was why I had decided to wait four hours, but now it was time to say something.
I had a knot in my stomach. It was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous things I had ever done. Who was I kidding? It was the most dangerous thing I had ever done. It was like standing in front of a sleeping lion and being told to pet it, and the worst part was that I had to pet it.
I stood as still as I could, took a deep breath, and finally said,
-Hey, it's my turn to use the...-
Before I could finish my sentence, he got up from his chair, reminding me of something I had forgotten. He was taller than me, more than 8 inches taller, I think. He looked down at me, his eyes tired and annoyed, his face serious and his brow slightly furrowed. Up close, his eyes looked reddish-brown, but I could see that they were slightly irritated.
- I'm sorry, but I'm going to be using the computer all day. I hope that doesn't cause you any problems. - As he spoke, his aura of power only intensified.
I didn't know what to do. On the one hand, every instinct in my body told me that if I had to choose between running away or fighting, the only option I had was to run away. I wanted to get as far away as possible, but on the other hand, I really wanted to use the computer.
- I... - I began to speak, and the fear could be heard in my voice. - Actually, yes, I would like to use the computer. -
His face didn't change much, really. He let out a slight sigh and then turned to look at the man in the armchair.
- I'm going to use the computer for the rest of the day. Tell the others not to bother me. You know the deal. - His voice was firm as he spoke.
- Deal, - shouted the guy in the chair.
- Sorry, rookie, but that's how it is, - Strong said calmly as he sat back down in his chair. - I don't want any conflict with you, and this isn't personal. In fact, if you want to watch me play, you're free to do so from a safe distance. -
What? That's it? He's just going to ignore the fact that I've been waiting four hours for him to finish, completely ignore the fact that I really want to use the computer? What does this mean?
I turn around and the bearded guy looks back at me with a 'sorry, but that's the way it is' expression and shrugs. I look back at Destiny and her face shows me no answer. They really seemed satisfied with the outcome.
I go back to sit on my stool while I complain openly.
- This is unfair. What was the point of waiting all this time if he just said he's going to stay here all day and you guys just gave in? -
- I'm sorry, but there are things here you don't know yet, - Destiny said, trying to calm me down. - The truth is that that computer is for everyone, and everyone has a certain amount of time per day to use it, but it really belongs to Vagabonds, so he gets more time on it than the rest of us, and he gets paid a moderate amount of money for having it for us. -
- Vagabonds? -
- That's my name, kid, don't wear it out, - said the man in his thirties who seemed to live on the couch.
- Wait, are you a CP? -
- Of course, why else would I be here? Although I prefer the term 'cursed one,' thank you. -
A thousand questions were running through my head at that moment. It makes sense that he's damned, since it's true that he's been on that couch since yesterday, but rights to the computer? Deals? What does all that mean?
- Look, it's simple, really. I have more time on the computer than anyone else, and if someone just wants to use the computer a little longer or wants to speed up the change with someone else, they can just pay me to lend them my time. Easy, right? -
- Then let me use the computer. -
- Sorry, but once I make a deal, it can't be changed. It's that simple, so there are no problems. Besides, I'm sure you don't have any money. -
- Sorry, rookie. Try coming in earlier tomorrow to see if you have better luck, - said Strong from his chair in front of the computer, without even taking his eyes off the screen.
I closed my eyes with force, clenched my fists, grabbed the plastic stool, and left the room. The frustration I felt made me not want to be there any longer. I could hear Destiny's footsteps behind me, but I didn't care. I was going to Nanny to see if she could do anything about it. I felt a little stupid going to ask an adult for help as soon as things didn't go my way, but I had no other option to talk to my parents at that moment.
When I got to the kitchen, I could smell food cooking, but I couldn't see Nanny anywhere. So I decided to walk around the mansion and look for her on my own.
- What are you doing? - It was Destiny who spoke.
- I'm looking for Nanny. -
- That's not going to help you much. Things are the way they are. -
- Then what do you suggest I do? - I said, annoyed.
I didn't really have many options, or rather, I had no options. If Nanny really couldn't do anything for me in this situation, I would most likely have to give up, and that only made me even more irritated.
- You can try tomorrow. -
- How? I don't have a damn clock in my room. I have no way of knowing what time I can leave, and I have to wait for someone to come to my room. There's no way I can get there before him. - I was really desperate. The only thing stopping me from yelling was that I didn't want them to hear me from the other room.
She thought for a moment before speaking again.
- I think I have an idea, but I need to talk to Nanny first. -
- Can I hear it? - I asked, clearly angry.
- I'm going to try to get you a clock for your room and someone to watch over you so you can leave. The main problem is that you don't know many people, but don't worry, if you trust me, I have a plan. -
She said this very calmly, with a certain amount of feigned emotion, but I guess I had to trust her. But I couldn't do it. Instead, I started thinking about a plan on my own. The first step was to find a clock.
---
The hours passed with little to do. I didn't want to keep watching television, so I decided to walk through the corridors of the house again, locating any clocks I could see. Although they had shown me the lower floor, I hadn't really had time to explore the whole house or look carefully at all the rooms, because as far as I knew there were three connected buildings and I had only seen one of them halfway, as I hadn't yet seen the gym and almost the entire east side.
As I walked through the hallways, I could see that there were several rooms downstairs as well. When I tried to inspect them, I realized that most of them were locked. I didn't know if it was because they were occupied or simply locked, but after what had happened the day before, I didn't really feel like trying to force the doors open.
Or at least that was the plan, but in the last hallway and in the last "room," instead of a room numbered 20, there was a door much larger than the rest. It didn't look like a normal door because it was made of metal and had large, round screws on top like those used on ships. It also didn't have a handle as such, but a kind of sliding mechanism similar to the one I had seen in Cosa's room with a kind of grip.
I thought about seeing if I could reach it by stretching, but I heard a cough behind me. When I turned around, Destiny was standing there looking at me with her head slightly tilted toward me and both eyebrows raised.
- I just wanted to see if I could reach the door handle, - I said apologetically.
- If that's all, it's fine, but don't try to open it, okay? It's not a tourist attraction or anything like that. -
- What is the door for? -
- Someone else would be better suited to answer that question, but go ahead and satisfy your curiosity. -
I stretched and saw that I couldn't reach the handle even on tiptoe. Honestly, despite looking like a handle, it was most likely an internal lock and the gate was just not completely closed.
Could it be some kind of hangar? But from the way he had answered my previous questions, it was clear to me that I had been right before: direct questions wouldn't do much good. It would be best to ask something more discreet, but I couldn't do that right now because he might get suspicious and not want to answer. It would be best to wait a while.
I kept going until we crossed 'the classroom'. That's how Sleepy had described it, but he didn't want to say any more about it because he had told me again not to worry. I assumed it was for teaching younger children like him, but I still wanted to see what it was like inside because last time we only walked past it.
I went over to take a look.
- If you want to go in, go ahead, just don't touch anything. -
It was annoying that she had to remind me, but I just nodded and went in. The inside was as I expected, a kind of classroom for young children, except that the desks were standard size, but from the decoration it was clear that the place was for young children, perhaps elementary school age.
So, it's true that they have quite a few children here.
It was so normal that it even felt out of place. In fact, it was a feeling that permeated the entire house, all those different rooms without doors, so different from each other that it was strange to think they were so close together. It wasn't like a hotel, which had more hallways. here many rooms were in the same hallway. The hangar was near the classroom, the television was near the stairs and next to the computer, the library was near the gym, and she had only seen it from a distance. There were like three different living rooms, one of which was for board games, but none of them were really close to each other. Instead, they were close to different hallways with rooms, and the bathrooms were distributed so randomly that the only way I could identify them was because Sleepy told me they were the ones with blue doors.
There were at least three hallways with rooms. The first was where I was, and at the end was the door to building 2, where the doctor was. The second had fewer rooms and at the end had an art room and the board game room. The last one was the classroom and the hangar, which had nothing to do with the rooms. The right side of the building had the kitchen, the library, the gym, I suppose, a reading room, and no bedrooms. It was adjacent to the dining room. In the center was a living room, a computer room, a television room, the staircase, and it was also adjacent to the dining room.
I wasn't sure why it was laid out that way, but what I wanted to get at was that going from one room to another often didn't even involve a hallway; they were simply adjoining rooms without doors, each so different from the other that it felt out of place, but each was completely normal in its own way if you looked at it individually and ignored the rest.
I decided to head to the gym to see that side of the house once and for all and find the door that I assumed connected to building 3, but as we passed the TV room, I noticed a door I hadn't seen before. A door on its own was unusual among the rooms downstairs, but it was only now that I had started to think about it, and this particular door was red, which made it stand out even more.
I was about to ask when I stopped myself, sensing that the almost certain answer would be that they would explain it to me later.
This place became stranger the more I analyzed it.