Siege Damon never thought he would be sneaking into an apartment building that day. He stood in front of a familiar looking building. He tried to look casual.
The apartment wasn't expensive or well known and so there wasn't security at the front. Siege picked this time to go in knowing that most security were at break. It would also expose him to the least amount of people.
He walked through the door with confidence.
"Excuse me Madam, is there anyone living in Room 31?" he asked to the receptionist.
"No, its been empty for ages" she replied, not looking up from her computer.
"How can I help you?" she asked. She frowned when she saw Siege standing in front of her.
"Can I book the room for a night?" he asked, trying to look like a standard tourist.
"How old are you?" the woman asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Eighteen" he lied. He didn't hesitate before he lied about his age.
"Ok, please sign this" said the woman, her face revealing no emotion.
"How did that work?" thought Siege as he signed the piece of paper. She didn't ask for ID to confirm his age. Siege put the money on the desk. But he knew something was wrong...
The receptionist handed him the keys and watched as the boy walked up the stairs to Room 31.
Siege didn't know what he was trying to achieve by going into his previous home. But he had a feeling that attracted him to the place...
The room was empty. It was nothing like Siege remembered it to be. The wall was white-washed a dim shade of yellow.
"Of course, what did I expect to find-"
But a thin crack on the wall made him stop mid-sentence. He walked up to it. He touched the surface of the wall and realized the whole room was covered in a cheap layer of wallpaper.
"What is this?"
Without thinking twice, he ripped the small piece of paper that was sticking out. The paper was only held together with a bit of glue and so the whole thing fell to the floor.
"Oh" said Siege, surprised.
On the wall, a sentence was written in large capital letters:
'DON'T TRUST THE SYSTEM...'
Siege read the message over and over but couldn't make sense of it.
"Who wrote this?"
"When was it written?"
"Who is it for?"
A million questions raced across his mind...
*******
"Room 31, huh?" said an officer.
"Yes sir" said the receptionist.
"Your saying a kid pretending to be eighteen book a room which he knew was empty but he paid for it.
"Exactly right sir"
"I don't see anything wrong with that but I'll give it a look" said the police officer, walking up the stairs...
The receptionist never trusted the boy in the first place. She was too scared to tell the boy to leave. She saw a sinister aura around Siege. As soon as the boy left, she called the police...
*******
Upon hearing the knock on the door, Siege panicked.
"Hello. This is the police sent by the Divine Government. I am here for a room inspection due to a complaint. Please open up..."
The police over didn't get a response. He opened the door.
The room was empty...
*******
Siege had climbed out of the window, holding onto the window's edge. Most people would have left go, accepting their fate. His superhuman strength was the only thing that kept him alive.
Inside, the inspector frowned. The room looked completely fine to him.
"Stupid woman wasting my time" he said, cursing her. He left the room and walked out without saying another word to the receptionist...
Meanwhile, Siege climbed back up into the apartment room, smiling to himself as he did so.
"That was close!" he whispered. But when he looked at the wall, it was empty. The small crack on the wall disappeared. The wall looked exactly like how it used to be. He ripped the wall, but there was nothing but brick on the other side.
"There must be something sinister going on here..." he whispered, "Or I'm going crazy"
He snuck out of the building, caught a taxi and headed for home...