Chapter 3: Path of the Requiem

"What was that?" Cody asked.

"Whoever it was, she sounded hot."

Cody just shook his head, getting up knowing they had to find the source of the voice. He gazed along the ceiling, looking for speakers, seeing if that could be the cause of the omnipresent voice. But he found nothing.

"Let's see if we can find her then," Zack said once he saw Cody had given up locating the source in the room.

Once again, they made their way into the endless hallway, not bothering to check the doors unless they seemed to stand out, but after walking for at least five minuets, they decided they weren't getting anywhere.

Then, they saw it, at the end of the endless hallway, a staircase.

Their eyes lit up, finally, some kind of hope. Hope of what, they weren't sure, but hope of something new, something to get them away.

Their walk turned into a run, which soon turned into a sprint as they threw open the door, seeing that the staircase led two stories down. With a quick nod to each other, they rushed down the steps, the sound of sneakers on steel echoing through the stairwell.

"Hold on Cody," Zack said, holding his arm out as they finally reached the door.

"What is it?"

Zack paused for a moment, not sure of what is was himself. But, in the darkest part of his mind, thoughts stirred, as he tried to decipher them. He closed his eyes, trying to focus. "If things get bad," he finally said carefully contemplating each word, "run away."

"From what?"

"Cody," Zack looked his brother in the eye, clearly terrified of what could be coming, "I don't know what's going on. But I know something, it's like a vision that keeps playing in my mind. I see you, on the ground, blood covering you. You're hurt really badly, and you keep trying to move but you can't. There are lights flashing and you reach out to me, begging for help. But, I can't help, and I let you die."

"You think that's a premonition?"

"I don't know what that means, but I'm afraid that's showing me what might happen."

Cody thought for a moment that he should explain that's what premonition meant, but now was not the time.

"Well, we don't know anything for sure yet." Truthfully, he was terrified; he knew Zack had some kind of forewarning when the explosion rocked the hallway, so Zack's vision had to mean something. He wanted to believe that it was just his brother's imagination taking hold, but knew that was just wishful thinking.

"What if something happens to you because of me?"

"Zack, we can get through this." Cody put his hand on Zack's shoulder. "I trust you."

Zack swallowed hard. "Thanks."

And despite the fear and doubt raging in their minds, they pushed the door open, the eerie creek echoing to their very bones. They took a step forward, taking in the sights of the room. With white walls reaching toward a ceiling hundreds of feet in the air, the room had an air of awe about it. The floor too matched the rest of the room; pure white, stainless carpet filled the room as far as the eye could see.

The twins took a nervous step forward.

A faint laugh filled the air.

"Who's there?" Zack shouted.

The laughter vanished.

The twins looked around, knowing that had to be close to something. But the white room seemed just as vacant as before.

"Zack look," Cody said as he ran to one of the walls, moving his hands across is, taking in every bump in the paint job.

"What?"

"This part of the wall is a slightly different shade of white than the rest. I think it means something."

Cody then held his ear to it and began tapping on it while Zack stood beside him, waiting for something to happen. Cody knocked harder, the echo growing louder.

"It's hollow."

"Is anyone there?" Zack yelled, hearing the faintest voice from behind this wall. He couldn't be sure if it was his imagination or maybe something more, but if anything, it seemed to be telling him to get to the other side of the wall.

"If so they aren't answering."

"We have to get back there," Zack said, his resolve growing with each passing second. He took a few steps back, and angled his shoulder at the wall. "Ready to knock down another one?"

Cody wanted to say no, but if there were answers to be had in this strange building, it seemed to be behind this wall, and knowing how much Zack seemed to be driven to get through this wall, that meant there had to be something. "Yeah, let me use my other arm this time."

Zack's heart began racing, his body preparing itself for answers. He wanted to punch whoever it was for torturing him like this, but knowing that probably wouldn't get him anywhere, he'd instead take out his anger on the wall.

"On 7," Zack said.

"Wait why-"

"5...6...7!"

Zack took off, Cody right behind him, sprinting as hard as he could to keep up with his brother. Once more, the two of them collided into the wall, the sound of cracking filling the air, Cody hoping those were the wall and not his bones.

They backed away for a moment, seeing two small cracks where they had hit it, but no signs of it breaking yet.

"That didn't do much," Zack said with a defeated sign.

"Maybe not," Cody said as he began examining the wall again. Running into it again might work, but he knew there had to be a better way to do this. He pondered a logical way to get through it, and taking a cue from Zack, decided violence would be the best choice.

He took off his shoe and hit the crack as hard as he could, nodding at his brother to do the same. And with a shrug of his shoulders, Zack early joined in, taking out all his frustration on this stupid wall, feeling freedom at being able to break stuff out of anger and not be yelled at for it.

After several moments of the cracks growing, and the twins becoming tired, they finally broke through, and the camouflaged door swung open.

The twins put their shoes back on, stepped inside and saw a brightly colored Victorian style room. Several book cases were filled to the brim on the sides, the carpeting was a dark red, and a perfectly crafted mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room. A large chair sat behind it, its back turned from the twins and its height obscured the person occupying it.

Millions of questions raced through the twins head. What were they doing here? What was this place? Could this person help them? Was this a friend or a foe? Where was the bathroom?

Deciding to remain silent for the time being, Zack stepped forward, his anxiousness making him feel as if he was going to explode. "Hello?"

"You could have knocked," the same voice from earlier said as she spun the chair around. She had long dirty blond hair, appeared about the same age as the twins with a bright white robe covering her neck down to her feet, and sat with her legs crossed and holding a lemon in her palm.

"We did," Cody pointed out.

"So you did," she said tossing the lemon behind her. "So. You. Did."

A/N: Answers shall be found soon, and a journey shall soon begin...