SECTION 6
Testing the bedroom door, I find that it is unlocked. Inside, a dull blue light illuminates probably the strangest scene I’ve ever taken in. The room has no furniture, and I can’t even see the source of the light. Opposite me is a window, but thick Venetian blinds cover it completely, keeping the blue light out of sight of the street. On the walls hang tapestries of various hues and sizes, the scenes on them ranging from smoking volcanoes to knights in black armor to black clouds thick with snow.
Strangest of all, though, is the floor. Beginning where I stand, and taking up the entirety of the room, is a series of lines and boxes, all of them connected and all of them differently colored. I can’t figure out any pattern, but I can easily see that a pattern in fact exists. After staring at the floor for several seconds, I begin to realize one important fact: all lines converge near the center of the pattern. There, almost imperceptible in the pale blue of the light, the pattern’s center reveals a small circular door with a notch carved into the center. A little larger than a manhole cover, the circular door clearly leads down.
But where? I am forced to ask. Below us is the bookstore, the windows of which revealed nothing like this at all. If that’s where the door leads, then this is the most obscure possible means of getting there. I’m all for escape hatches, but why the snazzy artwork?
Nonetheless, the door exists, and I have to decide whether or not I want to find out where it goes. Part of me says yes, purely out of curiosity, while another part tells me to turn around and go back to the living room. Above all else, I am afraid that if I choose the door, the choice may be irrevocable. That may be good, but it is frightening as well.
If Derek chooses to return to the living room, turn to Section 9.
If Derek heads towards the center of the bedroom, turn to Section 2.