Chapter Three;
Isaac's house is not a house. It is an unfinished castle. There is a skeletal section I can already see that is just a frame and workbenches are set up inside. Tools lie everywhere on the ground in the section. The rest of the house is complete, with an exquisite wooden design made of planks and a layer of brick for a floor. There are two wooden doors with windows on either side. The roof points upwards in an odd structure that reminds me of the place where I grew up.
There is a gravel path that leads up to the gates Isaac has surrounded his home with. As he leads me along it, I glance around and notice the halfway chopped down trees with missing leaves and patches of grass. I look back and trot up to Isaac. "So….did you build this?" I speak to him nervously. He nods and says simply;
"Yeah. It's not finished yet." He says it like I did not notice the missing areas of the castle. I fall back a few steps so that I am walking behind him. He looks over his shoulder at me curiously as I cock my head at him, sharing the puzzling look. He throws open the gates and they stay open as I scurry past him. He shuts the gates as soon as I make it through. The stone sword is still in his hand and he tosses it down into the pile of tools next to the skeletal portion of the house.
Isaac notices the look on my face and opens the doors for me with the push of a button. I do not step forwards, just watch as the doors close on their own. He rolls his eyes but I remain focused on the wooden doors. Is it wise for me to touch wood? I extend my hand and push delicately on the door. Nothing happens. I let out a silent sigh of relief as Isaac's eyebrow rises. I glare at him. He pushes the button again and I take a quick step inside.
The inside is just as beautiful as the outside. There are several paintings hung on wooden walls with glass windows a bit higher up. The floors are made of brick and make no sound as I walk across them. There is another door and I can see through the small window upon it that it leads into some type of kitchen. Isaac coughs, trying to get my attention. I turn and he is standing at a staircase.
"My room is upstairs. Don't. Even. Think. About. Coming. Up. There." He says every word with his eyes blazing. I nod, wondering where I will stay, but I notice that there is another door across the room. I head towards it slowly. Isaac has already climbed the wooden staircase and disappeared into the darkness that surrounds the top of the stairs. I shudder. The other door leads to a small room containing a bed and a chest. I open the chest first, but it contains nothing. I throw my bag inside and it makes a thump as it falls.
It is then that I realize how tired I am. I do not know why, but I fall down on my side, landing on top of the bed. I lay there, staring at the wall. I find that I cannot sleep. I force my eyes shut and demand that my mind allows me to sleep.
The eyes glow strong. The white light they give off is more than I have ever seen before and it stings my skin. The man draws closer and I can hear his footsteps behind me. I run. I am going nowhere. I turn and do not see anything but darkness. And the light of his ever white eyes. I scream. The man moves backwards, the light of his eyes becoming dimmer. I lash out into the darkness. I try to radiate, I try to make light so I can see. But I cannot. I scream again. What have I become now? The white light becomes closer and closer. I try to hit the man, but he moves. I scream again, but he moves quickly and covers my mouth. He smiles a crooked smile. He holds his hand over my mouth and whispers in my ear.
"I can stop this." I struggle against his words. He does not let go. Then I am burning. He leaps away and hisses a disturbing hiss. I move towards him, leaving a trail of fire.
Then he moves his arms and I am consumed into darkness. His last words echo.
"I warned you. I warned you."
I wake up in a panic and covered in beads of sweat. I am shaking. I am freezing. I cannot stop trembling.
There is a window in my room and I can tell it is no longer dark. It is time for me to go. I try to stand up, but my knees are too weak and I collapse onto the ground. Get a grip, I tell myself. I force my way onto my feet. The light of outside leaks into the room in an odd way. I ignore it and open the door once more.
The house is well lit, I notice now that I can see. There is a switch on the wall and it appears to be hooked up to a stone I know all too well. A golden stone. I glance away from it, noticing a thick scent of food. My stomach growls hungrily.
Isaac is cooking something in a furnace. He sees me behind him and turns. His hood is off, which is odd. I notice the pale gray tints of his skin that look like he is covered in soot. His hair is the deepest black I have ever seen. He acknowledges me and checks the food that is still burning. My stomach growls again. I am sure he hears it, because he removes a piece of meat and tosses it to me. The meat is gone within a minute. There is no disguising the look of surprise on his face. He lets out a yawn.
"Did you manage to sleep?" He does not look at me. I take a moment to answer.
"Yes." He turns and faces me for a split second. Then he turns away and grabs another piece of meat out of the stove.
"You don't talk much, do you?" I shake my head in answer. I never really had anyone to talk to before. He seems bothered by this, probably having spent a lot of time in silence, like me. He gnaws on the piece of food and I watch him, my stomach still growling. He manages to swallow and it appears like he is forcing himself to eat. He glances over at me, and nods towards the furnace. I walk over to it and kneel, seeing that there is more food inside.
I grab a few pieces and tear at them, as if I am a monster. Isaac only watches me. The meat is gone and my stomach seems satisfied. I look up at Isaac who stands next to a counter he has made. I give a weak smile. He is grinning; apparently he found it amusing that I was tearing apart a steak.
"I hope you have more food." I say it simply. He shakes his head. I feel a guilty wave wash over me.
"I have plenty." He walks out of the room. I follow. Isaac is out in front of the door, holding a stone axe in one hand. I watch, he does not know I have followed him. He pulls his hood over his head and looks over his shoulder at me. He shakes his head.
"You aren't that sneaky, you know." He hands the axe to me and gestures towards the woods. "You coming or not?"
