Chapter 3: Trespasser
906 Words
It's been two days since the last meeting and both of my parents are still refusing to speak to me. I was willing to make the sacrifice and take the throne, but having to go through a possible arranged marriage? You couldn't give me enough of anything to let that become
possible.
If this wasn't bad enough, my network connection for my devices just stopped functioning. The castle is so huge and open, that we have to place multiple network routers all over the place. Most of the time we just needed to access the technician room to reset it. I knew I had to break the silence between my parents and get this over with.
*Paige presses Intercom*
*Buzz*
Intercom:
'Hello, Ms.Penn?'
'Paige, hello?'
'Yes, I wanted to ring in to meet with my parents'
'They have left for the day unfortunately'
'Will they be back soon?'
'I am unaware, they didn't indicate a time'
I hung up the intercom and pushed everything off my bed. Something was telling me that they were gone this entire time, and I had just been made aware. I took a deep breath and decided that I would go into the technician station myself.
The technician station was in the basement, on the last level. I've only been inside there once and that incident was a mistake. Yasmine and I had been playing hide and seek when we were kids and almost ended up trapped. We eventually found the right path that led us out to another exit. From that point on, we made a pact to stay away from that area all together.
But things are different now and I'm an adult. This technician room shouldn't be as gruesome as before. And at this point, my anger overcame my fear.
I walked around the first pillar in the living area and took the elevator. The elevator led me down to the basement, then to where I had to take the stairs to reach the technician room. The hallways were gloomy and had a stench of expired poultry. It's been almost ten years and it looked like they haven't updated a single pipe.
I was able to finally make my way towards the last flight of stairs and noticed the doors were all switched around. The names written on the doors were all in our native language, Pseu. With my luck, I couldn't recognize any of it. I had four doors to choose from and couldn't pick out which could possibly be the technician room.
*Buzz*
Intercom:
'Who's down there?'
...
'HELLO?'
I just noticed the motion sensor in the upper corner of the room went off. Something new they must've installed, but why? What could be hidden behind one of these doors? Whatever it was, I knew I had to get out of here and quickly. An alarm could kick in at any given moment.
There was another hallway to my far left that was pitch black, but had a pathway towards the end. I took my best bet and started running. I was a fairly good runner and could've done well in track, if my parents had let me play in competitive sports.
I got to the end of the path and saw another set of doors. Both in English, thankfully. One wrote 'Beneath' and another wrote 'Upward'. I had no time to guess and chose 'Beneath'. I felt so lost and didn't think twice about which doors I was choosing.
The last door I chose was to the courtyard. But this door was stuck and didn't seem to open all the way. At this point I was so out of breath and had no strength left over.
*Door Handle Rattles*
All of a sudden the door handle started rattling. Someone was on the opposite side of the door and was using all of their strength. I let them rattle it some more until they eventually stopped. Who could be behind this door?
All at once, the person and I both rattled the door knob together with some more force. I was able to get it unstuck and swing the door right open. But the person wasn't anyone I recognized. In fact, they looked like they weren't supposed to be here.
“Hello..um I-" He stuttered.
“Who are you and what are you doing?" I asked.
He started running the opposite direction, and I looked all around me to find anything I could throw. There was a small heavy rod that I found and threw directly towards his ankles. He instantly fell.
“I can explain, just don't do anything yet." He begged, while rubbing his ankle.
I gave him a firm look up and down. He was wearing jeans and a regular hoodie. He was from the city. But how did he end up here without being caught? He looked around my age and had a couple tattoos.
“Tell me...what is your name?" I kindly asked.
“Why do you need it?" He hesitantly responded.
“Calm down, I'm not security or the head. They wouldn't even listen to me anyway."
“What do you mean?" He asked.
“My name is Paige. See? Now what is your name?" I asked again.
“It's Caleb." He got up from the ground.
“Before you try and attempt to run, just know I'm your only way out of here. So I suggest you start talking..."
- Writer
