The light in your nightmares

It's hard to believe a liar a second time, but Red finally convinces the others about the water.

It is decided that they will all drink after a day and come what may.

but there remains another problem. Like the question of time.

The large clock next to the door stay motionless and none of them have a tool at their disposal to measure the passage of time.

How then can we know in this eternal night when a day has passed?

Charismatic took off her spiral earrings, and tore her gala dress which after the swamp had become like new again. She seems uncomfortable in this outfit and that is probably why the old man points out to her that in every room there are clothes.

The woman thanks him for the information and at the same time gives her opinion on the question of time:

-We'll see, when we all want to drink we'll go down to the dining room and once we're all there we'll drink.

there is no better idea heard, so her proposal is de facto accepted.

Everything is decided in a few words.

Everyone is trying to find solutions to questions that escape them.

Humanity is like this and of course they are no exception to the rule.

They then divide into small teams.

Pony, the old man and Potatoes vouch for the ground floor, Charismatic is acting strange her eyes darting back and forth from Dust and Red to Two and Follower.

She ends up joining the last ones.

Dust notices that Two seems nervous and hesitant, he moves a little forward as if to change teams but in the end the boy stays in his place.

This trio is responsible for the first floor.

And the two black sheeps of the flock are in charge of the upper floor.

Red and Dust say nothing and go up to the second floor.

Once arrived in the corridor the boy asks the man:

-I take the left, you take the right?

Red smile without turning his head to look at him.

He turns left while saying:

-Let's not separate.

The boy follows him as usual without trying to convince him any further.

The hallway is virtually identical to the one that leads to the two men's rooms.

In fact the resemblance is so uncanny that it is destabilizing.

Doors standing at an equal distance are lit on their left and right by a candle.

The flames of the candles form luminous orange halos which intersect with those of their neighbors and only a few corners are not lit.

The walls are covered with a tapestry of a pine green background where flowers like roses and peonies emerge from nothing.

The floor a wooden parquet is in a perfect condition.

The whole thing is reminiscent of a hotel, a strange silent and petrified hotel in an era that dates back more than a century before the birth of the two mens.

They walk around observing the closed doors.

From time to time the taller of the two opens one of the doors and each time the door open onto a small living room of the same size as in Dust's apartments, with the only difference being the decoration.

After a few minutes and around sixty doors later they reach the end of the left wing. Which ends with a black painted wall and a chest of drawers.

Dust searches every drawer of the dresser, and finds nothing not even a speck of dust.

The two return to the staircase and pass it to inspect the right wing of the floor.

The boy decides to take advantage of the moment of peace to present his excuses to his companion.

-I'm sorry for my attitude earlier.

He doesn't look at Red, he focuses all his attention on the doors that pass before his eyes.

The red-haired man's clear voice maintains its usual tone:

-It's nothing, we're all tense.

Dust listens to him while observing yet another bedroom living room, then tries a furtive glance to observe the man.

He keeps his gaze focused forward, his expression peaceful. He doesn't seem to be tense at all.

they reach the end of the right wing again.

A new black wall. A new empty dresser.

Faced with this wall, Red simply said:

-Let's look at what's on the third floor.

Dust thinks it's a bit useless, the third floor is where his room is, and everything seems to be a carbon copy of the second.

But Dust also thinks that it's useless to go down now, why join the others so quickly? To exchange blanck stare with the others?while waiting for those who haven't had time to search?

So here they are on the third floor, the same floor under their feet, and the same tapestry to their left and to their right.

They explore the third further by entering the chambers.

They are all different but the configuration always remains the same.

With that steaming bath and the clothes in the closet ready to be grabbed.

Red positions himself in front of the stairs. and without him needing to say a word, Dust understands that they will still go up rather than down. So he tries to make conversation to make everything less boring.

Especially since the decor is warm at first glance but when nothing changes, when everything is as regular as they explore, everything becomes... strange.

So he end up awkwardly breaking the silence again by saying what had been on the tip of his tongue for a while.

-Red...thank you.

The man climbing the steps once more stops to examine him.

His blue eyes narrow, his arched eyebrows rise to disappear behind his red locks.

He seemed surprised then curious.

-Thank you for?

Dust takes the step in turn, then a second step to be at the same height as his companion. He waits patiently for his response.

-Thank you for saving my life in the swamp...Several times.

They don't take their eyes off each other.

The man, after listening to it, displays his strange smile. One corner of his lips rising upwards while the other side lowers, his blue eyes sparkling with contentment.

In the end, Dust thinks, this man who seemed so elusive to him may not be that complicated.

Red resumes his ascent after another second, his slightly more cheerful voice trailing behind him:

-Aaah but it's nothing Dust. You helped me too.

This time on the fourth floor in front of these identical corridors the man with red hair begins the discussion by himself.

-What do you think of the rules that others have established?

The two enter a room.

-You mean about not eating and only drinking water?

They pass the living room .

Red sits on the bed while Dust walks around the room to do a more thorough search than on the previous floors.

The man follows him with his gaze, motionless before stretching his thin lips;

-Yes, about staying here as long as possible.

Dust runs a hand through his brown hair then turns towards the wardrobe.

He opens it and finds clothes and shoes there, without much surprise.

Behind his back he feels the blue eyes of his companion who patiently awaits his response.

-I hope that it will work.

Staying here as long as possible seems to him to be what they all want.

Compared to the other option, much more nightmarish... So why ask him for his opinion on the subject?

Dust glances over his shoulder, just in time to see his companion in misfortune sigh.

He hesitates then after closing the cupboard he asks his own question:

-What do you think about it?

Red keeps the suspense going for a minute, just enough time for the duo to return to the hallway.

Dust doesn't really like waiting so long for an answer to a simple question.He becomes impatient and is about to ask again when Red decides to speak.

-At the moment nothing has happened here but it doesn't mean it is safer here .