If you missed Part I, you can check that out here!
Part II: The Dark Room
The black sedan raced down the two-lane highway, swerving abruptly as it navigated around slower cars in front of it. With each pass in the oncoming lane, Charlie was jerked back and forth in his seat. This had been going on for close to an hour now, and he wanted to start finding some answers.
"So," he started carefully, gauging whether he would be able to have a conversation with the Stranger or if he would be having a conversation with himself. "Slow drivers, huh? Guess you can't escape them anywhere you go."
"Indeed," responded the Stranger, not taking his eyes off of the road in front of them.
"Sorry, I know you're probably a little busy right now, but I have a lot of questions--"
"I know, and I do apologize for the abruptness of our arrival. Due to events out of our control, we felt we needed to act quickly to ensure your safety."
My safety?
"Listen, we'll circle back to my safety in a sec, but first: how did you read my mind?"
"What?"
"Back at my place. You told me I was hoping someone would arrive and discover an intruder in my house. When that was literally what I was thinking not a minute earlier. How did you do that?"
The Stranger paused for a moment, considering his answer.
"I think we should wait until we arrive at our destination. It would be easier if I explain... the whole story."
Charlie leaned forward in his seat and rubbed his eyes, frustrated. "Can I at least learn more about why I was in danger?"
"We received reports of suspicious activity near your home. Flashing lights, odd characters. You are a high-priority asset, and we needed to ensure they did not reach you."
"Who? Ensure who wouldn't reach me?"
"All in due time."
Charlie leaned back again and let out a big sigh. He glanced left out his window, watching the trees whisk by as they continued down the highway.
What seemed like an hour later, their speed started to slow. Charlie glanced around at the surroundings, and realized they had broken away from the forest and were now surrounded by nothing but darkness. He shielded his eyes from the lights within the car to try to adjust to the darkness, but it was a futile effort.
"Where are we?"
"We have arrived."
The car jolted to a halt in front of what looked like a farmhouse. The building loomed large in front of the car, dark and quiet. In fact, not a single light was on in the whole house. The driver turned the engine off, and both he and the Stranger exited the car. The driver opened the door for Charlie, who exited carefully. They were on an uneven dirt driveway, and Charlie was having a difficult time negotiating the large potholes in the dirt as they approached the front porch of the house. They entered via the unlocked front door, the Stranger leading the way and the driver following behind Charlie.
They walked in on a remarkable scene. As the Stranger flicked the light switch by the door, Charlie found himself in the middle of a living room full of men in dark suits. His eyes widened and he took a step back as he took in his surroundings. There were easily thirty men in the room.
"What... what are you guys, in a cult or something?" A few of the men laughed.
"No, Charlie, we are no cult," answered the Stranger. "We are a special agency in charge of protection of our planet's most important people. We meet in odd places, I will grant you that. But our purpose is of critical importance. Please, follow me." He motioned toward a hallway.
"Alright, just... stay away from the punch. No matter what they tell you." More laughter from the audience. Charlie led the way down the hallway, listening for the Stranger to give him instruction on which door to enter. There were four doors on each side of the hallway, which ended in a small unoccupied bathroom whose light was left on.
They reached that bathroom, and Charlie stopped. As he turned around, the Stranger moved to his right and opened the last closed door in the hallway. The space beyond was pitch black, and Charlie hesitated. "What's in there?"
"Answers," the Stranger replied plainly. "Once you're in the room and I've closed the door, flip the light switch to the left of the door. There is a large amount of information in this room for you to browse, take all the time you need. When you're ready, knock on the door and we will discuss what you've seen."
Charlie wanted nothing more than answers, and this seemed to be his ticket. Still, he did not want to enter the dark room in front of him; something in the back of his mind was sending warning signals. Strange men in suits in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night?
Am I having a bad dream?
He didn't have much of a choice. Charlie stepped forward slowly into the darkness, far enough for the Stranger to close the door. Then there was silence. The door to this room in an old house seemed to be... soundproof. He looked down at the floor behind him and noticed that no light entered the room from the door to the hallway.
More warning signals. A lot more.
Then, a lock clicked at the door. And with that, his concern was reaching critical mass.
Slowly, quietly, Charlie moved to the wall next to the door and felt for the light switch. He found it, and turned it. The room was quickly bathed in light from a sole source on the ceiling. The wall near the switch was a baby blue, as if from a newborn boy's bedroom.
Come on, Charlie. You can do this.
He turned around quickly.
Part II: The Dark Room
The black sedan raced down the two-lane highway, swerving abruptly as it navigated around slower cars in front of it. With each pass in the oncoming lane, Charlie was jerked back and forth in his seat. This had been going on for close to an hour now, and he wanted to start finding some answers.
"So," he started carefully, gauging whether he would be able to have a conversation with the Stranger or if he would be having a conversation with himself. "Slow drivers, huh? Guess you can't escape them anywhere you go."
"Indeed," responded the Stranger, not taking his eyes off of the road in front of them.
"Sorry, I know you're probably a little busy right now, but I have a lot of questions--"
"I know, and I do apologize for the abruptness of our arrival. Due to events out of our control, we felt we needed to act quickly to ensure your safety."
My safety?
"Listen, we'll circle back to my safety in a sec, but first: how did you read my mind?"
"What?"
"Back at my place. You told me I was hoping someone would arrive and discover an intruder in my house. When that was literally what I was thinking not a minute earlier. How did you do that?"
The Stranger paused for a moment, considering his answer.
"I think we should wait until we arrive at our destination. It would be easier if I explain... the whole story."
Charlie leaned forward in his seat and rubbed his eyes, frustrated. "Can I at least learn more about why I was in danger?"
"We received reports of suspicious activity near your home. Flashing lights, odd characters. You are a high-priority asset, and we needed to ensure they did not reach you."
"Who? Ensure who wouldn't reach me?"
"All in due time."
Charlie leaned back again and let out a big sigh. He glanced left out his window, watching the trees whisk by as they continued down the highway.
*****
What seemed like an hour later, their speed started to slow. Charlie glanced around at the surroundings, and realized they had broken away from the forest and were now surrounded by nothing but darkness. He shielded his eyes from the lights within the car to try to adjust to the darkness, but it was a futile effort.
"Where are we?"
"We have arrived."
The car jolted to a halt in front of what looked like a farmhouse. The building loomed large in front of the car, dark and quiet. In fact, not a single light was on in the whole house. The driver turned the engine off, and both he and the Stranger exited the car. The driver opened the door for Charlie, who exited carefully. They were on an uneven dirt driveway, and Charlie was having a difficult time negotiating the large potholes in the dirt as they approached the front porch of the house. They entered via the unlocked front door, the Stranger leading the way and the driver following behind Charlie.
They walked in on a remarkable scene. As the Stranger flicked the light switch by the door, Charlie found himself in the middle of a living room full of men in dark suits. His eyes widened and he took a step back as he took in his surroundings. There were easily thirty men in the room.
"What... what are you guys, in a cult or something?" A few of the men laughed.
"No, Charlie, we are no cult," answered the Stranger. "We are a special agency in charge of protection of our planet's most important people. We meet in odd places, I will grant you that. But our purpose is of critical importance. Please, follow me." He motioned toward a hallway.
"Alright, just... stay away from the punch. No matter what they tell you." More laughter from the audience. Charlie led the way down the hallway, listening for the Stranger to give him instruction on which door to enter. There were four doors on each side of the hallway, which ended in a small unoccupied bathroom whose light was left on.
They reached that bathroom, and Charlie stopped. As he turned around, the Stranger moved to his right and opened the last closed door in the hallway. The space beyond was pitch black, and Charlie hesitated. "What's in there?"
"Answers," the Stranger replied plainly. "Once you're in the room and I've closed the door, flip the light switch to the left of the door. There is a large amount of information in this room for you to browse, take all the time you need. When you're ready, knock on the door and we will discuss what you've seen."
Charlie wanted nothing more than answers, and this seemed to be his ticket. Still, he did not want to enter the dark room in front of him; something in the back of his mind was sending warning signals. Strange men in suits in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night?
Am I having a bad dream?
He didn't have much of a choice. Charlie stepped forward slowly into the darkness, far enough for the Stranger to close the door. Then there was silence. The door to this room in an old house seemed to be... soundproof. He looked down at the floor behind him and noticed that no light entered the room from the door to the hallway.
More warning signals. A lot more.
Then, a lock clicked at the door. And with that, his concern was reaching critical mass.
Slowly, quietly, Charlie moved to the wall next to the door and felt for the light switch. He found it, and turned it. The room was quickly bathed in light from a sole source on the ceiling. The wall near the switch was a baby blue, as if from a newborn boy's bedroom.
Come on, Charlie. You can do this.
He turned around quickly.