Broker

Side-Story: House of Wonders I

Greg hurried after Alex as he disappeared into the hallway. It was disorienting. The walls in the hallway were set up to meld with the walls of the living room, giving it the illusion that the hallway didn’t even exist unless one was standing right next to it and saw where the opening was. Ahead of him he could see where the illusion finally broke, the hallway splitting into two dark paths that went left and right. He stopped just as he started to turn left and glanced back over his shoulder at John and Val who were taking their time at the entrance to their own path.

“You guys be careful,” He said.

Val grinned at him and shrugged, “Nothin’ I can’t handle.”

He frowned but shrugged, “Alright, suit yourself, John, watch him?”

“Yes,” John said flatly before turning to walk with Val who gave the deadpan young man a petulant look. Greg shook his head and scratched his neck, looking back down his own hallway and spotting Alex standing a few feet in, waiting for him. He let out a sigh and sauntered after him, looking around. Unlike the walls of the living room and the illusory hallway, this space was remarkably normal. Wallpaper and wooden molding near the floor. He squinted up at the lightbulbs that remained dark over his head, “See a light switch?” He asked.

Alex shook his head, “Nope,” He grunted and scratched his chest, frowning a little as he looked down the dark path, “Hey, Greg?”

“Mm?” Greg hummed, walking up next to him and squinting down the path himself. He held up his hand and it glowed a little, providing some small amount of light. Down the path he could see a single door before the path curved to the left. He glanced over at his friend who looked thoughtful, a bit of a frown playing on his face, “You good Alex?”

“Am I really that much trouble?” Alex muttered.

Greg raised an eyebrow, blinking at him a few times before his shoulders fell. “The ribbing get to ya, man?” He asked.

“A little,” Alex grunted uncomfortably, “One at a time it’s funny but-” He trailed off and leaned against the wall, “-everybody?”

Greg glanced back down the other dark hall, Val and John had already disappeared. He crossed his arms and looked back at Alex, “I think taking a breath before you leap would be a good idea,” He said honestly, “Not that the others are much better. You’re just louder,” He laughed and reached over to pat his friend on the shoulder, “Look at Lily, she jumped first to get into this place. You got nothin’ to worry about. I’d trust you with my life any day,” He said and started walking, “Now are we gonna check this place out or not? We’ve already broken in, might as well, right?”

It took a few seconds for Alex to catch up to him, but the blonde was grinning ear to ear, “So what’s first? Check this room out?” He asked, nodding to the single door in this part of the path. 

The both of them stopped and Greg shrugged, reaching for the handle and turning it. It opened easily and he pushed it open, peering inside. He froze and frowned, “Uh…”

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Alex swallowed next to him, “...creepy.”

The long room was one big mirror, every wall reflective in a way that made it seem endless. The ceiling had a slight domed quality to it with angled mirrors and what looked like strips of LEDs running between them. There were several stools set up throughout the room, a few chairs, and finally the most unsettling part of the whole space. What looked like one of those combat dolls that Forge produced. It stood stiffly at the far end of the room from the door, its faceless gaze looking out towards the opposite end. 

They glanced at one another, frowned, then immediately raised their fists. Two drops and Greg threw out scissors while Alex threw out paper. Alex groaned, “Oh man…” He muttered and slowly walked into the space. Something must have detected him because the strips between the mirrors in the ceiling lit up, brightening the area in a cheery white light with the occasional pink thrown in to add a faint amount of color. Greg watched Alex continue to walk inside before following him, both of them keeping their eyes on the doll. For a moment nothing happened, then the doll stepped forward and they both tensed.

It stopped in front of them and a monotone voice crackled out from somewhere in its chest, “Occasion?” It asked.

They looked at one another for a moment, “Uh…” Greg started before Alex immediately cut in, it looked like he’d figured it out.

“Party,” Alex said.

“Formal or casual?” It clarified.

“Casual,” Alex added.

Greg turned to look at Alex, “Are you serious?”

“It’s her dressing room,” Alex chuckled, “Just-” He went silent and stared at the doll, his mouth falling open. Greg narrowed his eyes at his expression before turning to look at the doll and immediately mirroring it.

From somewhere in the walls or ceiling, Greg couldn’t figure it out, something was projecting onto the surface of the doll. The combination of projections somehow managed to create what he could only describe as a god damn hologram. Standing there, the doll was wearing a sleeveless pink blouse with a neatly folded collar and floral pattern, a pair of white jeans and a pair of white heels with pink bows. It shifted its stance a bit to simulate standing on the heels as a white ponytail appeared on its head, matching Miss Chernovna’s hair.

“Woah,” Greg breathed.

“No kidding,” Alex murmured.

“The articles are within drawers seven, four, and nine,” The doll said and three lights bloomed within the mirrored walls. “Would you like to make adjustments, ma’am?”

Alex cleared his throat, “Uh… n-no that’s fine, thank you.”

The Doll went still, “Understood,” It said and just stood there. 

Greg and Alex looked at one another before looking at one of the lights on the walls. They swallowed and Alex shook his head, “I am not going through her clothes,” He said flatly. “As badass as hidden drawers behind mirrors are.”

Greg let out a sigh of relief, “Same, let’s get out of here,” He turned to the doll, “Uhh… thank you? That’s enough for now.”

The doll just nodded, turned on its heel, and marched back to where it had been standing. The projection of clothing slipping off of its body before it turned back to its original pose and going very still. The two young men swallowed hard and quickly backed out of the room, shutting the door behind them. “Bro,” Alex breathed.

“That was still a combat doll, right?” Greg filled in, “It didn’t look like the others, what was it made out of?”

“Bro,” Alex reiterated. “For dress up?”

They looked at one another and then towards the point in the hallway where it turned to the left. Greg cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. He wasn’t going to step away from this now. He marched down the hall and this time it was Alex who came after him. They rounded the corner and saw four more doors. Three along the right and one at the end of the hallway. Greg walked up to the first one and examined the door. There was a simple sign hanging from a nail in the door that said ‘Marta’ in simple black calligraphy. His hand immediately jerked away from the handle and he glanced back at Alex. “Yeah… no.”

They moved down to the next two doors. The first was blank while the third had a similar sign to the first but was written in pink lettering with little splashes of glitter and smiles. It said ‘Sonya’. 

“Miss Chernovna’s room,” He murmured and reached out to touch the door. At least put my hand on it, right? He immediately regretted the impulse, something he couldn’t see reacted and he felt a charge run up his arm. He gasped, pulling his hand away and cradling it a little. He looked down at his fingertips, “Ouch, ouch ouch,” He gasped, “What the hell?”

Alex hurried over and they both looked at his fingers, light burns graced his fingertips, “Is that a freaking force field?” Alex asked, scaling up his hand and reaching out to touch the door himself. Is hand was pushed back and he glanced down at his hand. It wasn’t burned but a little smoke rose up off of his scaled fingers. “Damn, that’s crazy.”

“Let’s go back to the middle room,” Greg murmured and the two moved away from the personal room, “I didn’t want to go in anyway,” He admitted, “Just wanted to say I touched the door.”

Alex snorted, “Getting into it at least.”

Greg rolled his eyes and pushed the middle door open, no sparks or charges or danger came as they poked their heads inside. It was just a bedroom, luxurious with a bit of a beach theme to it. Some ocean decor and a wide comfortable bed. The only unusual thing was a small flat tablet on the wall next to the door. The two boys looked at one another before Alex tapped the screen. It lit up and showed all sorts of details about the room. 

“Temperature, humidity,” Greg murmured.

“Bed controls, sound level, what the hell?” Alex murmured and touched the sound level selection, a bar appeared with the marker set in the middle.

They looked at one another again and Alex pulled the bar all the way down to zero. Immediately there was a faint hiss in the walls followed by utter and complete silence. Not just silence with the background noise that came with ambient sound, but real silence. Greg could hear his own heartbeat, every breath, every shift of his feet, every- “Oh fuck no, turn it back,” He gasped, the sound of his own voice grating a little on his ears, “Hurry!”

Alex didn’t have to be told twice, he turned it back to the middle setting and after another hiss the sound level in the room normalized. “Everything in this place is freaky as hell,” Alex muttered, shaking his head and immediately making for the door. The two stepped out into the hallway one more time before looking to the only remaining door.

“What do you think?” Greg asked.

“Bathroom I bet,” Alex said.

“Probably,” Greg agreed and the two made their way over, wondering what kind of marvels hid in the bathroom. Some sort of super high-tech shower? Maybe a full-room drying system? He wasn’t even sure anymore. He reached for the doorknob and thankfully nothing shocked him. That was when he saw something glow beneath his fingers. He pulled his hand away and saw a faint glowing copy of his handprint. The next thing he heard was an angry buzz and something rushed up from his feet and through his body. His muscles locked, his entire body going rigid. Next to him, Alex tensed as well. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t pleasant either. He tried to move, tried to shift his body, tried to do anything but move his jaw..

Nothing. He closed his eyes and hoped that the effect would just pass when a small light shone down on them from above, a sphere floated in the air and a tittering and very familiar laugh came out of it. “Have fun, boys?” Sonya’s voice called down to them.

“Uhh… Alex?” Greg sighed, grateful that his jaw at least still worked.

“Yeah Greg?” Alex asked from his own frozen position.

“I think we’re in trouble.”