Chapter 1

The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky, just as a maroon coloured car drove into the worn-down gas station, sweeping up dirt on the road. The car stopped and a middle aged man stepped out. He was wearing a business shirt and a tie, and was known as Mr Hooba. He closed the door with a little slam, and locked the car with his smart key. The car signaled back with a blink of its headlights.

Hooba crossed the road slowly, looking up at the red banner that hung from the roof of the station. 'For sale, $800000, dial 91711001' it said.

What a fabulously low price, he thought to himself as he pulled open the dusty grey shutters. The old, deserted place spoke for itself. Nonetheless, perfect for starting his own cafe. He decided to go inspect the place for a bit, before he made his final decision.

Hooba stepped into the void of the main cafe room, there being nothing but a few wooden splintered chairs. He took another step. Crunch!

He stepped on what appeared to be a little dark box. He bent down, picked it up and opened it. A few pieces flew out and landed onto the floor. It turned out to be a portable chess set.

What's this doing here? Who's been here? he wondered. He picked up the peeled and yellowed pieces from the floor and set the game down on the counter.

Further in was a door that led to the reserved seating area. Hooba turned the knob and swung the door open.

He saw that he was back outside the gas station.

"Wha-" he exclaimed aloud. He glanced around. There was the red banner, above him, and his maroon car, behind him. He scratched his head, wondering if he had been dreaming.

I'm sane alright, he decided. He was going to try again. He walked back in front of the door, which had mysteriously closed by itself. Carefully, he turned the knob...

...and he appeared back on the dusty road again!

"Holy!" Hooba said, baffled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his smart phone. He glanced up at the red banner and dialed the number, 91711001.

"Hello? Hey, I'm at Foxford Road, petrol station #11-2 for sale for eight hundred thousand, something weird is going on here."

The voice on the other end crackled back, "Describe?"

"I'm not sure you'll believe me, but there's a room that disappeared!"

"Disappeared?"

"I was standing at the door, and then I appeared... outside the station! You... you think I must be mad, don't you?"

"Appeared... more specific?"

"I open the door, and instead of opening it to a room, the surroundings just... transformed... and I'm outside on the road again! Don't get me wrong, it's a sweet little place, I'm still thinking of buying it-"

"I'll be coming over," the voice said briefly.

"Oh you will? Thank goodness! May I know your name, good sir-" And he realised the man had already ended the call.

Hooba slipped his phone back into his pocket and sighed. How long would he have to wait, an hour? Or two? It was a remote station, quite a long way from town, and people nowadays were always late. He decided to go back and sit in the comfort of his air-conditioned car. Just as he turned around, to his utter surprise, a shiny silver car showed up at the station. At the speed it was going, it was bound to crash into his own car. Hooba ran forward and waved his hands in the air,shouting, "Hey, hey! Stop!"

The silver car screeched to an abrupt stop, just an inch away from his maroon one. A tall lean man stepped out. He dusted his sleeves and smoothed his slick black coat. He pulled out a silver suitcase with one hand and reached for a shiny top hat with the other. Both his hands occupied, he kicked the car door closed. With big strides, he approached Hooba. He put on his top hat and cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, Mr Hooba."

Isn't it basic courtesy to take off a hat at a greeting, not put it on? That appalled him first. "Do you know me?" he said, startled.

"I know most people around town," he claimed, straightening his hat. "Come, show me that room you said... disappeared..."

"Where... did you come from? Town is a couple of miles away!"

"5.73 kilometres, to be exact. Come along now, show me the place," the man said impatiently.

Hooba looked at him curiously, then led him into the cafe.

"Touched anything, have you?" the man asked.

"Erm no... except these chairs," he said, looking around. "Oh wait! There's a chess set!"

The man's lip curled. He turned around to face the counter. "Ah... there it is," he said, mostly to himself. He held the box and felt it with his black, gloved hands. He opened the box, and miraculously, the pieces were stuck firmly onto the chess board, at their respective positions.

"But they were loose just now!" Hooba uttered in bewilderment.

"50 year old game. Doesn't hurt to re-magnetise them," he said coolly.

"You what?"

The man shook his head, smoothed his chin and smiled.

Hooba started to feel uncomfortable. "Who are you, anyway? You must be selling this property, I mean, that's all I know..."

The man now opened his suitcase and went through its contents. "The name's Mercury."

Hooba looked at him, thinking he was the most peculiar man he had ever met. "Oh." Hooba began to scan him from head to toe. "And why the need for such a hat? No one wears those nowadays."

"So I can look taller," Mercury said matter-of-factly. He now got busy with a few wood and metal pieces.

"Oh... you sure look tall enough," Hooba said with a tinge of envy. He tried to peep at what Mercury was doing with his tools. " By the way, don't you want to look into the missing room?" He waited for an answer, which took about two minutes.

"What piece is gone there?" Mercury asked him, his eyes still fixed upon his work.

"What piece? Oh, you mean the chess piece... Why, a fine pawn is missing."

"Pawn, is it..." Mercury's voice trailed off as faintly as it came. After another long minute of waiting, Hooba finally received a response. "Yes, the room. Show it to me."

Hooba led him to the room. "Well, I can't exactly show it to you, it's not there, you see..." Hooba reached out for the doorknob.

"No. Allow me," Mercury stopped him. Hooba stepped aside and Mercury held the doorknob. Cautiously, he turned it and opened the door in such a manner, that...

Hooba and Mercury stayed where they were. In the place of the room was a foggy, white space.

"But-but nothing was here!" Hooba exclaimed.

"Isn't this nothing?" Mercury said, pointing at the white space.

"No, that's white, that's something. When I opened it there was absolutely nothing."

"Ah, that's because you opened it," Mercury remarked. He pulled out the chess set and a newly manufactured pawn from his pocket.

"You made that?"

Mercury closed the door of the room again. He laid the almost-complete chess board on his palm and held up the new pawn with two fingers.

"What exactly are you doing?" Hooba asked uneasily.

"Do you want your room back?" Mercury simply said.

"Yes, I do."

Mercury lowered the pawn slowly. "Home sweet home..." he said as the pawn landed on its belonging square.

A flash of light zoomed down from the sky, landed and created a bright, white explosion. Just then, the ground shook, throwing Hooba off his feet. He cried out and landed painfully onto the floor.

/

There were a pair of closed eyes, unmoving and calm, complete with beautiful eyelashes. Suddenly they opened, revealing a pair of alert and intense dark blue eyes. They began to glow an eerily bright blue. A woman's voice called out and echoed, "Steel!"