"Don't point your guns at people, especially friends." Josef reached his hand out and pressed the barrel down, lowering Cevil's gun. "Freeze!" Cevil ordered, once again, backing away and lifted his gun. KJ sighed, then he nudged Cevil, "Lower it, he's safe." Cevil hesitated but lowered his gun finally but refused to keep it in his pocket because he was self-conscious with Josef around. They continued their way and came to an end with two roads. Josef picked the right one and they followed. The passageway here had widened, taller and wider, but everything was still stone. "We're almost there," Josef said. Echoes of his started, loud and endless. "Most there. Most there. Most there." The echoes had finally faded away after some moments. There was another flight of steps going down that led to more stairs, but they soon came to a dead end. Cevil already expected that. There would be more secret doors, of course. Josef muttered something in German. A very long code. The section of rock made a beeping sound and unlocked itself. Josef pushed the rock open. Cevil found himself in another corridor. The stone had turned into engineered wood flooring with red carpet. The walls were built of bricks with layers of white paint over them, without any windows. The passageway had been lit up by strip lights.
Josef snatched his phone out of a pocket and pressed a button. More secret doors. A section of the wall pushed itself open slowly, revealing a large cozy bedroom. Josef entered, followed by the two boys. It had a beautiful aquarium view. The wall in front was transparent glass, allowing Cevil to enjoy the view of real, alive fishes swimming around corals, stones and pebbles. It was filled with crystal clear, pure blue water, and the corals were colorful and alive, swaying left and right. The view was breath-taking, and Cevil allowed himself to get distracted by it for a couple of minutes. On the left side was a double bed that you would see in a hotel. White mattress, white sheets, white duvets and white pillows on a greyish bed base with an eighty centimeters wide plasma screen attached to the wall above. On the right side, a white wooden wardrobe stole a section of wall, blending into it. And above it, there was an air-conditioner fixed to the wall. The room was filled with brightness, although Cevil couldn't see any visible bulbs or lamps.
"The aquarium is awesome. Is there a water filter? The water's so clean," Cevil reached a hand out, feeling the bare and cold glass of the enormous aquarium. Josef smirked, "Do you know where you are?" He stepped forward to enjoy the view with Cevil. Cevil shrugged. He felt angry with a stupid question like this. He was obviously in a bedroom, not a bathroom or sitting room. "I know what you're thinking," Josef said, "This is what you're thinking, 'Are you an idiot? It's obvious that I'm in a bedroom.' Right?" he chuckled. "You're in an ocean. This, what you're seeing, it's not an aquarium, it's the ocean. The glass is your wall, not the wall of the aquarium." A Greenland shark swam towards them. Cevil started and backed away, but the shark turned away as if afraid, disappearing from their sight. "Don't worry, this isn't any kind of ordinary glass, and we have our ways to keep animals away from here," Josef turned around and patted Cevil's shoulder. "I'll leave you two to decide who's sleeping here," he said, then left the room, closing the wall behind him, "Find the way to open the door by yourselves!" he yelled, just as it closed.
"What are we going to do?" Cevil asked, collapsing into the bed which mattress was thick and soft.
"Decide who will sleep here."
"What?" Cevil groaned, "Aren't we supposed to escape? They are unknown strangers that kidnapped us!"
"You'll sleep here," KJ opened the wardrobe. Coats and jackets were hanging behind, half covered by sweaters and shirts that were hanging in front. On the drawer below them, trousers, sweatpants and jeans were neatly packed in it. The other section of the drawer was filled with socks, gloves and types of hats. "What are you doing?" Cevil sat up on the bed and stretched himself. KJ stuck his head behind the clothes, then exclaimed as his head appeared again. "I found it!" He rested himself beside Cevil, "The controller." Cevil examined it. It was a black square piece with a single green button on it. "Controller of what? To open the door?" Cevil pressed the green button curiously. He waited for thirty seconds.
Nothing happened.
"It's spoiled, it's useless," Cevil snatched the controller angrily and hurled it towards the glass. The controller dropped with a thud, broke into pieces and spread out on the floor, but the glass remained perfectly well. Instantaneously, the wall swung open with Josef standing behind it, but this time, wearing a jacket. "You found it fast," He smiled and handed Cevil a card, "Scan it at the scanner," He gestured in the direction of the bed. There was a black device attached to the wall beside the bed. "Then the door will open, but remember, it'll close within five seconds," Josef continued, "Same goes to outside. Scan your card, you'll find it outside at the secret door we came from, then the door will open too. Depends on where your room is. The further your room is from the scanner, the longer the door would last open." Josef glanced at the broken pieces of controller, "Ah yes," He reached into his jacket and revealed a telephone, one that Cevil used to see in the older era from the television. "Any emergency, press the dial button once, I'll answer the phone immediately. And for this controller," He took another identical controller from his pocket, "It's for your couch," He placed them gently on the bed. KJ nodded his thanks and kept them in his coat which had a surprisingly big pocket.
"Wait," KJ said, as Josef was about to leave. "Where is-" he paused, searching for the word, "Your master?"
"Sorry?"
"My apologies. I mean by- Fate," KJ remembered the name.
"Oh, that," Josef chuckled, "He's on his way here, no worries."
"What exactly happened?"
Josef thought for a while, "Maybe you'll ask Sonny about this," he said, then he scanned the door open and left the room.