Sara believed that the building no longer hid any secrets, so she did not suppose that among her there were people in whom dark secrets still lurked....
The teenager is carefully watching the man, who is resting his hand on his chin, intensely contemplating something. He gives the impression of being pensive, as if he is wondering whether the decision he has made will turn out to be the right one.
The young man surreptitiously glances at Oliver, looking both fascinated and happy to see him. In the stranger's eyes, one can see true joy, something that Sara is unable to understand.
And Oliver?
He is lost. With an absent-minded gaze, he stares at the floor without even lifting his face for a moment.
The psychologist is breathing down his neck, so Sara delves into him with a distrustful look, as she wants to get his attention. This man has been conspiring with the General from the beginning, hurting the youth, so what does he have to say to her? There is no way he can convince her.
- Oliver trusts me," he begins the speech in a firm voice, looking completely relaxed. - He may not show it from himself, but I am convinced that we are working on the same side. He serves me from the very beginning. He's a good kid," he announces, looking at the boy with a caring eye. - I asked him for discretion, and he kept it, even in front of you. I am sure of this kid.
Sara measures her friend with her eyes, but he does not raise his head even for a brief moment, as if afraid to look her in the eye.
- Oliver told me that he stopped serving the Nazis because he is no longer needed by the director. He stated that he is in no danger, but I can't believe it. Is he really safe?
- Oliver will always be safe, because the director treats him like his son. He is like my brother," the psychologist announces, and a look of clear surprise appears on the boy's face. Finally, he takes his eyes off the floor and looks at the man carefully, as if to see is he is joking.
Sara notices that Oliver has no idea what's going on around him, even though many things are related to him. He is as lost as she is.
- Why is Oliver singled out when he was picked up off the street like the other orphans you killed?
- I did not kill them. It was my father's decision. At first, he wanted me to brainwash them, but I didn't agree, so he used a math teacher to kill them," he declares, and a sour smile appears on his face. - You ask why Oliver is singled out? Because he is not an ordinary orphan.
- What do you mean? - interjects the boy, throwing the man a curious look. - Why should I be singled out? I was the same as them.
- Only you think so. We know a different truth regarding your past.
Oliver blanches. He presses his lips together and flees with his eyes to the impaired man, who slaps his hands against the bars in the glass.
- So are you saying that Oliver's past is a lie? The past he knows is just plain bullshit? - Sara is clearly shocked by this confession.
- Yes," replies the psychologist, looking at the teenager's face with a dark look. - Oliver? - The boy looks him in the eyes, so the man gets up from his chair and crouches down beside him to look at him more closely from a close distance. - Do you know why you don't remember the image of the story that happened when you were a child? Because you were made to believe it.
Shock is painted on his face. His eyes turn to tears, and he twitches with fear. Oliver, who shows courage, is arrogant to people he doesn't like — this boy sheds a tear.
- I would like to tell you everything, but it could end too cruelly for you. I've let you in on the secret, and with that, your mind will begin to open up to the past, and slowly childhood memories will begin to come back to you. From the period before you were taken to this place.
Oliver opens his eyes wider, as if this information particularly frightened him. He gives the impression that he doesn't want to know the past. As if he still prefers to be stuck in a lie. Is he afraid of discovering the truth? What lies behind it?
The psychologist pats him on the shoulder, and the boy who stands to the side looks at Oliver's silhouette with a caring eye.
- Do you know when I hated my father? - The man surprises them again. Sara rubs her frozen hands, wanting to warm them. For a brief moment, she manages to freeze, shivers appear on her body. However, she doesn't know whether they are actually caused by the cool air in the room or because of the information being delivered to her.
- Do you hate your father? - She asks in an uncertain voice.
- I hated him shortly after the General appeared in the building. Let's just say that there is some dirt in our past, and my uncle littered it even more. I couldn't accept that my father didn't stand up to him and listened to the General's every word. Not after what he did to him. What he did to our family.
Sara is intrigued by the psychologist's words. What did the General do to her younger brother who made the psychologist hate him?
- I can't hurt my father, that's why I pretend to serve them all the time, but I hope that with my help you will be able to escape from this place. I care most about keeping you two safe," he declares, and Sara opens her eyes wider. - Oliver, whom I have known since childhood, and you Sara, because you are the daughter of the woman I loved.
The girl blinks her eyelids, telling herself she's overheard, but when she repeats it again, that's when the phrase only comes to her.
- What are you talking about? What do you mean the person you loved?
- Twenty years ago, your mother and I shared a wonderful feeling. We met in college. We loved each other and were together for a long time. Unfortunately, I did not tell her the truth regarding my background. She broke up with me not because Nazi blood flows in me, but because I lied to her. This hurt her the most.
- My mother loved you? You? - Sara is so shocked by this information that she almost screams.
- She always said that I was a good person, and it was lucky that she met me.
- So good that you hurt Julia, and also injected me with some kind of pig. That's how you protected me?
- I didn't do anything to Julia. She cooperated with me. I asked her to pretend so that she wouldn't get us into trouble," he explains hastily, so Sara crosses her arms on her chest, ready for a further attack, however the psychologist doesn't let her get a word in edgewise. - That day, when the teacher sent you to me, I already knew then that you were her daughter. Do you think I would be able to hurt you?
- So what did you inject me with? Why did I lose consciousness?
- Sleeping agent.
- Why. Why did I wake up with my hand wrought with needles? Why did all my muscles hurt? - She raises her voice, mirroring him with her eyes.
- Because I put you to sleep several times so that you wouldn't wake up quickly. This caused your body to suffer in the process, and you were sore from too much. I wanted to look at you because you reminded me so much of your mother, whom I missed.... I missed her," he claims in an uncertain voice, almost ashamed.
- Do you know how it sounds? - Her voice trembles.
- I know and I'm sorry. When I realized my stupidity, I asked Oliver to take you away. - Sara shifts her gaze to her friend, starting to put everything together. It makes sense.
The boy still does not look at her. He is acting strangely. He avoids her gaze. Furthermore, he is confused.
- When my mother learned the truth and broke up with you, then that was the last time you saw her?
The man shakes his head and sighs deeply, sitting back in his chair.
- I used to see her all the time, because we went to college together. Many times I tried to talk to her, but she avoided me. - His voice saddened. - Two months later, I saw her get into the car of a man twenty years older. She did it deliberately, she wanted me to see it.
- Did she do it to get a kick out of you?
- It did. And it worked, because I got mad. She did everything to upset me. She didn't even try to forget me, but one mistake ruined everything.
- What mistake? - Sara is getting curious about the story that involves her mother.
- I don't know if she wanted to make amends this way, but she spent the night with a man she didn't know at all," he announces. Sara raises an eyebrow as she learns more and more interesting details about her family. - She cried because she regretted the mistake she had made. She sobbed in my arms because she got pregnant with a man she didn't love.
- Did he... - Sara is unable to get anything more out of herself, as her throat has dried up from nerves. She swallows her saliva wanting to finish her sentence, but the psychologist immediately gets into her words.
- The man told her to remove the child. He prepared money for her, but she didn't take it. She came running to me.... - he declares, lifting the corners of his mouth - I promised her that I would stay by her side and help her with the baby.
- So what happened? Did this child...
Again, she is unable to finish her sentence, as the man interrupts her.
- Everything got complicated. That day, we scheduled an appointment because I promised her that I would go to the doctor with her. Little did I know that my father would pay me an unexpected visit. I couldn't meet her, even though I wanted it so badly. When I didn't show up, she understood that I had thought everything through at the last minute and gave up on her. I never saw her again because she dropped out of college, and a few years later I saw her on TV at your father's side. She got together with him and gave birth to you. - Sara leans her elbows on her knees and places her chin on her trembling hands. - All along I was convinced that he did it more sympathizing. He took you and your mother in because his conscience was gnawing at him.
Sara rises vigorously from her chair and, rubbing her forehead, with tear-streaked eyes, looks at the handicapped man, who continues to pounce on them. In his eyes she sees no aggression, but rather fear? A panicky fear that is supposed to be a warning. He looks as if he wants to convey something to her....
- I think I'm beginning to understand why my father has treated me this way all my life.... Why he sent me to this hell with such ease, completely unconcerned about me," she whispers under her breath, still looking at the handicapped man, who despite being unintelligible in speech is begging for someone to let him out of there. - He never loved me. Not truly.
Oliver lifts his head and looks at the girl with sad eyes. Both of them have learned something that should never have reached them; however, the boy can only discover more details about his past with time.
- I'm sorry, Sara, for telling you everything so directly, but I want you to trust me. I want to get you out of here, even if by doing, so I endanger my life.
She does not respond. She simply turns her back on him.
Sara... In her head, she hears a strange voice calling her. With panicked eyes, she looks around the interior, wondering what it was.
In the corner, she notices a ghost.
It's her grandmother. She looks directly at her, but her eyes are blank. They look like two, black orbs. She often sees this phenomenon with her, but has never asked why it happens. Usually, her eyes are normal.
- Kill the boy. Why is he still alive? Kill him! Him and the General! - screams so shrill that Sarah is shaken by a strong shudder.
Something is wrong...
Initially, there were times when her grandmother repeated to her that she had to do it. She was forced to say these words by other spirits. After all, she herself had asked her not to let silly thoughts come into her head when she discussed the General, and now she's just telling her to kill Alan like that?
- Don't listen to what he says.
The girl moves her gaze in the opposite direction and sees the grandmother again. Only that her eyes are normal.
- What's going on? - whispers in a panicked voice, glancing both ways. Oliver notices that his friend sees something.
- It is an evil spirit that has come to you many times under my form. Don't listen to what she says. Not this time. She is trying to mess with your head.
She recalls their first meeting. It was the night Julia threw her into the pond. That was when she first noticed her grandmother in the room, which scared her to death.
And if you think about it, her eyes were black and her attitude downright hateful?
She immediately begins to recall all the encounters and flinches when she understands that she has repeatedly had to deal with an unfriendly spirit that urged her to do evil deeds.
Only now does she realize that it was not her grandmother who ordered her to kill Alan, but something that takes her form....
- Why didn't you warn me earlier! - She raises her voice and her breathing accelerates. She feels the chilling gaze of the demonic entity, which is enraged by the presence of her grandmother.
- I couldn't until I explained everything to you.... It's stronger than I. It can destroy me, send me away from here. And it intends to do it, that's why listen to me! - Sara plunges into her terrified gaze. - It appears with you, not only in my form. Recall all the terrible moments you went through here. It was solely its action. This spirit controls you. She is the one who sends you to the underworld while you sleep!
- Why? What does she want from me? - Sara opens her mouth and tears come to her eyes as she sees her grandmother begin to dissolve into the air. - What is happening to you?
- Sara, she wants to use you. You can't succumb to her words, do you understand? You can't become a murderer!
This is the final warning Sara can hear from her before her soul is gone forever.
- What about you? - Behind her back, she hears Oliver's worried voice. The boy uncertainly walks up to her and puts his hand on her shoulder. - Why are you acting like this? You're starting to scare me.
She turns to face him, looking completely scattered. With wide-open eyes, she looks, at one point, being absent from the company of the living.
- I'm already beginning to understand where this influx of courage is coming from in me," she announces so quietly that Oliver barely understands her.
- What is Sara? - He shakes her to wake up, but she looks as if she is still stuck in some kind of amok.
- This thing is going to kill me. I have to get out of here," she whispers. Although she's been looking at Oliver for a long time, it's only now that she notices him. - And you know what, you better hold me, because something is wrong, and I feel like I'm about to.... - She doesn't finish the sentence, because she sinks from her strength and faints in his arms.
Brunet plunges a worried look into the psychologist and takes the girl in his arms.
- Erik, go with them, and please keep an eye on them. Until I ask you, don't go underground. - The brunet nods in agreement and glances at the younger boy, who is concerned about his friend's condition.
- We will go out through the psychologist's office. It will be safer.
*
They silently head down an empty corridor. They vigilantly look around to avoid meeting the wrong people. Oliver senses on himself the gaze of the boy who accompanies him. He doesn't know who he is and why he acts as if he knows him perfectly well.
- Can you stop looking at me? It's weird, and I'm about to start getting the impression that there's something wrong with you.
Oliver throws him a warning glance, but a wide smile appears on Erik's face, indicating that he is amused by the situation.
- You are handsome," he claims shamelessly. Oliver opens his eyes wider and stops in place, giving Sarah a slight shove as his hands are suffering. He plunges his confused eyes into the brunette stranger, wondering if he is accidentally hitting on him? These glances and smiles of his are evidence that this is how boys behave when they try to seduce a girl.
- In addition to your face, you have a good body and are tall. You have been made up well," he declares with amusement in his voice. You can tell from his face that he is the joking type.
Oliver does not respond. He simply stands still, measuring him with his eyes.
- Chicks probably throw themselves at you like steaks," he finishes, and the smile does not leave his face. He raises an eyebrow and points to Sara with a nod. - She sees you as a piece of good meat.
- I've been so well-mannered that I'm only interested in women," he informs him, sending him a sour smile.
Erik laughs under his breath and hops up the stairs that lead to the girls' room.
He ridiculously spreads his arms and wiggles his toes, as if he is impatient that Oliver has not yet hugged him.
- Can you calm down? When you were at the psychologist's side you looked like a paid murderer, and now you act like you've been sent to a resort. This is not the time to deal with silly things. We are all in danger and no one is laughing.
- Honestly? As if to compare the hell I once came from, this center is indeed a place for me to finally relax.
- I don't know where the psychologist got you from, but you deviate from the norm of the common man," declares Oliver, dodging him on the stairs. - And in the corridor, try to be a little quieter. There are psychopaths hiding everywhere here.
Erik leaps at him and puts his arm around him so tightly that Oliver loses his balance. He narrowly misses and would have fallen along with Sarah, whom he holds in his arms.
- Are you abnormal? Do you want to hurt us? Let go of me, you excitable nut," he warns him and at the last moment catches his balance as Erik pushes him away as his attention is caught by Laura, who is standing at the top of the stairs.
Dressed in a sleep shirt, she reveals long legs that Erik has grown to love.
Seeing the stranger's perverted look, the teenage girl raises an eyebrow and pulls her shirt down with her hand to avoid presenting her panties to him. She doesn't know who he is, but his face expresses that he is starving for women, and Laura has just fallen prey to him.
- Who is the person with the painted perversion on his face? - she asks straightforwardly, pointing her finger at the stranger.
- You'd better take an interest in the fact that your friend was walking in her sleep again, and now she is unconscious," announces Oliver, heading for the room. - And don't pay attention to this clown. He has been assigned to take care of us.
Oliver enters the room, and Laura takes a turn on the step to ignore the boy standing below and join her friends. An unfortunate slip causes her to lose her balance and land right in his arms.
Blinking her eyelids, she looks at his face, on which a happy smile is painted. He presents his teeth in a pretty smile, even seductive.
- Cheap tricks always work on me. You're already mine," he declares, gnashing his teeth in a show-off manner. The teenage girl escapes from his grasp and aggressively punches him in the stomach with her fist. - Sharp... that's the kind I like best," he communicates, tilting his head to the side.
- What a tip they brought in. As if there were not enough of them in this place yet.... - mutters the girl under her breath, running up the stairs to the room.
Erik rubs his nose and moves after her, which at first disturbs Laura. The girl rudely closes the door in front of his nose, not intending to let him inside.