It definitely wasn't a good idea. This place is very suspicious. They just tell me all the rules and I'm supposed to follow them without asking any questions. While we were touring the mansion, I asked Sleepy lots of questions about the rules, such as why I couldn't go upstairs or how many there were in this house, but all those questions were ignored or he answered with something like, "You'll understand later."
The only person who was actually willing to answer my questions was also the only person I had been explicitly told not to trust and who liked to bother newcomers.
What should I do?
I knew that if I refused and it was real, then my questions would never be answered, but if it was all a joke, then I might end up getting hurt, right?
- Why are you so interested in me knowing the truth? - I asked, trying to clear up my doubts. - You have nothing to gain from this, and it could get you in trouble. -
- The truth is... - She paused as she turned her head to look me in the eyes. - The truth is that I'm sick of so many lies. I hate living blind, so I want to do you a favor and open your eyes. That's why my nickname, I mean my name, is EYE. -
As she said that, her gaze didn't waver in the slightest.
- And don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this so we can get along, but the people I hate the most are those who choose to look away from the truth. -
The truth was, I had looked away for too long, basically since I arrived at the house, I stopped asking almost completely why things were the way they were and assumed that if they didn't tell me something, it was for my own good. I've been submissive for over a week. No, actually, I think I've been submissive my whole life, turning a blind eye when people with powers discriminated against others, preferring to daydream rather than look for a real solution, resigning myself to an inferior life because others told me I couldn't aspire to more.
- All right, - I said, partly moved by her words, - Show me what you have to show me. -
She smiled, but this time it wasn't the usual smug or sarcastic smile, this time it was a sincere smile.
...
We moved down the hallway, careful not to be seen by anyone. She always went first, and we weren't walking in a traditional way. We went around rooms and moved close to the walls, sometimes hiding behind corners when we heard footsteps. Finally, we came to a gray door, which we entered. It was a cleaning room, but it was very dusty, as if it hadn't been used in years.
- Didn't you say we were going to the second floor? What are we doing here? - I whispered.
She signaled for me to be quiet ,then grabbed a kind of cart with multiple cleaning tools from the wall and moved it aside, revealing an old metal ladder that led to a small wooden door above.
Eye went up first, opened the trapdoor, and then motioned for me to come up too.
- We're up here now, so we'll have to be extremely stealthy from this point on, you understand, - Eye whispered.
I nodded.
We went out into a hallway that was narrower than those on the ground floor and also lower, more like a regular hotel hallway. We moved forward carefully, making as little noise as possible, and meanwhile, I was praying that we wouldn't run into anyone.
As we continued, I could see, or rather hear, many things coming from different rooms. I could also notice that each door on this floor was different in both color and material. Some even seemed completely out of place, such as a glass door with reflective plastic on the other side, or a door that appeared to be made of concrete.
We stopped in front of a very strange "door." It wasn't really a door. All the doors in the hallway, although they had certain differences from each other, were still doors, but this one was simply a piece of fabric that prevented us from seeing inside.
- This is it, - she said as she walked through the fabric.
I hesitated for a moment before following her inside.
It was definitely a strange room; there was no other way to describe it. It had LED lights that changed color, and I didn't see any switches. There were many outlets on the floor with different chargers connected to them, and there was a single screen also on the floor. The only real piece of furniture was a bed surrounded by different wooden ramps that reached up to the bed or higher.
The bed was undoubtedly the most remarkable feature, as the white cover looked well cared for, the pillows that adorned it were elegant, and a single doll lay in the center with its eyes closed. It was an antique doll, one of those ceramic ones that give you the creeps and seem to follow you with their eyes, but this one looked like new.
Once we entered, Eye pressed a button on the floor that caused a kind of door to slide from the side of the room.
What does all this mean?
- Look at her, sleeping so peacefully, - said Eye, referring to the doll. - Very good, no one will bother us here. This is the last room. There is only one neighboring room occupied, and it won't bother us for the moment. -
- So, what does CP mean? -
-Wow, - she said, feigning surprise. - I told you I needed to show you something first. I want to introduce you to someone. -
I looked around the room, but I couldn't see anyone else there besides us.
- Is he invisible or is he coming later? -
- Neither, - she said with a smile. - I want to introduce you to this. -
With that, she pointed to the doll.
- The doll? -
It opened its eyes.
I didn't expect that creepy doll to open its eyes, so naturally I got scared and jumped back. I had seen movies about possessed dolls, so my reaction wasn't simply because it opened its eyes, but I tried to compose myself quickly.
- I thought all CPs were people. I didn't know there were objects that could be CPs. -
- Hahaha, - she laughed at my reaction.
The doll was still there, just sitting there, I could feel its eyes following me, maybe they were. If that was a CP, it meant it had some kind of power.
- Objects can't have powers, I thought someone born in a shelter city would know that. - Eye said it very casually as she slowly stopped laughing.
- How do you know I come from a shelter city?"
- I have my methods, - she said, evading my question.
I turned to look at Eye for a moment, and when I turned back, the doll was no longer sitting on the bed. I couldn't see her anywhere. I started searching everywhere without success. Eye started laughing louder.
- I knew this was a sham. You just brought me here for this stupid joke. -
How could I have thought she was serious?
I tried to open the door, but I wasn't sure which way it opened. She finally stopped laughing.
- I'm sorry, but I didn't expect you to be scared of the doll, - she said, catching her breath, - but this is serious, this thing is called "Thing". -
She stopped laughing completely.
- I'm sure it didn't mean to scare you, it's just that its social skills are very, rusty. -
I stopped trying to figure out how to open the door and turned back to look at her. Now she was holding the doll in her hands.
- Thing, I'm going to need you to say something or I'm going to look like a psychotic. -
A few seconds passed before words came out of the doll.
- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. - Her voice was just as you'd expect from a doll, high-pitched and innocent like a little girl's but artificial.
No matter how much she apologized, it was still creepy.
- Why did you want to show me this? -
- Don't jump ahead, - Eye said. - First, I need you to have a little context. -
She placed the doll on the bed once more.
- As I was trying to explain, - she continued, - Objects don't have powers. This isn't an object, well, it is, but not really. At one point, Thing was a girl. Until her power awakened, a power that, like most of us, she didn't ask for. Thing's power allows her to transform into any object. -
I was watching the doll change before my eyes, turning into a ball, a chest, a wooden horse, and then a doll again.
- Tell me, what do you think of her power? - Eye asked me.
- It's actually a pretty good power, very versatile, - I said without thinking too much about it.
It really was a good power that could get you out of many situations. If you were attacked, you could turn into a gun; if you needed to move, you could turn into a drone or a car or a plane. If the rule was simply that it had to be inanimate, then you could turn into anything.
- Yes, in theory it would be an incredible power, - she said. - Tell me, do you remember the characteristics of a CP? -
I remembered clearly.
- First, their powers cannot be nullified. Second, their powers destroy the veil. Third, their powers cause irremediable madness that ends the lives of humans and even people with powers, - I said confidently.
- Very good, but you forgot something. -
- No, I'm sure I didn't. -
- Of course, because they didn't tell you, because in fact they don't tell anyone, but once you spend some time in the house it's more than obvious, - she said as she walked around the room, somewhat annoyed. – All the powers are horrible, something you wouldn't wish on anyone, and they completely destroy the lives of those who suffer from them. -
- What do you mean? -
- Look at her. You said it yourself; her power is very versatile. She can turn into a chair if she gets tired of standing, or a ball if they want to throw her against a wall, or a tin soldier if they try to burn her, but her power only allows her to turn into anything - she emphasized the last word.
I turned to look at Thing once more, and that's when Eye's words began to make sense. Her power only allows her to turn into objects.
- What you mean is that... -
- Exactly, - she said sarcastically. - She can no longer be human. She can't eat, she can't walk, she can't sleep or die. It's a cruel reality, condemned to be a doll until the end. -
My body suddenly began to feel colder. I think I was beginning to understand what she was getting at. But she continued.
- I'm sure if you think about it, something similar happens to you. Your power turns against you, doesn't it? Your skin burns like fire, exposed and weak, your eyes too. Maybe even the poison you produce is slowly killing you or making you sick. -
- What are you getting at? - I said, afraid of the answer she might give me.
- Sleepy, condemned to sleep so that others can wake up, Strong, who can't touch anything for fear of breaking it, or Sweet, destined to be devoured insatiably over and over again until the end of his days. - She looked me in the eyes. - Do you understand what CP means, what the acronym stands for? -
- No, what do you mean? - My voice came out more shaky than I wanted it to.
- CP is the acronym for Cursed Power, - she said seriously. - No one told you what this place is called, did they? Its full name? -
I negate with my head.
- This is 'the house of the cursed,' and all who dwell here are no longer people, they are damned. -