<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #00BFFF"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;">David</span></span></div><br/><br/>David smiled when Tessa told him her name. He reddened a little at saying his full name. He probably sounded like a weirdo. ‘I mean who does that,’ he thought. <br/><br/>“It’s nice to meet you too,” David said. She didn’t know what was going on either. He watched her pull a guitar case, from the looks of it, off her shoulder as he thought about more questions to ask. The silence felt a little awkward to David. Though he usually liked silence, he knew that it was a social faux pas to let the silence hang. He smiled, thinking it was interesting how many French words had made their way into the English language. When he noticed that one of the latches on the guitar seemed to be busted, he was going to let Tessa know that he could point her to a craftsman who could fix it for her, but the respite was over. <br/><br/>David’s head whipped around when the voice came from the middle hallway that went deeper into the house, “Ah, hello Monsieur de Clermont, Miss Green.” David stood up but stayed on the top stair of the staircase, not trusting the man. “Welcome to the House. I am pleased you made it. I am afraid it will just be the three of us then.” David had a strange sensation that he couldn’t really pinpoint and didn’t recognize. The man felt, old. He could obviously see that the man was older, on the other side of 50 years, but that wasn’t causing the feeling. Because David felt that the man was older. Time seemed to stretch far behind him, like a trail through the ages. It was mesmerizing, like gold and silver strands extending from the man. David felt dizzy.  <br/><br/>“I am the caretaker of the House. If you have any questions or needs let me know and I will try to accommodate. Monsieur de Clermont, you'll be happy to know we have a room for Savate, as well as some other such rooms you'll appreciate.” David wobbly followed after Tessa and the Caretaker as he led them down a dark hall. “Miss Green, we have an extensive library, and some lovely trails around the House if you so desire.” The hall was lined with dim sconces that looked to be from the gothic era, but from what he could tell, the flame wasn’t real. Every now and then they would pass a door, each with its own unique style. One of the strange things was that some of them had different kinds of modern touchscreens where the doorknob would be. One door didn’t even seem to have a knob at all. David’s consciousness wandered back to the Caretaker’s voice. “I must warn you both though that until you get your bearings it is best to stay in the main hall, this hall to be specific, and not to venture upstairs. Hopefully I will have time to get both of you fully acquainted with the House before anything happens. Until then I have dinner prepared for us in the dining hall.” <br/><br/>David perked up at the mention of Savate – how did this person know that he practiced Savate? How did he know he was French? For that matter, how in the heck were they here in the first place? David couldn’t get the questions to stop flooding his mind.<br/><br/>“Um,” David said, fighting through the confusion, “Savate is a French martial arts style, kind of like kickboxing, Le Boxe Française. David wondered how Tessa was coping with all of this. <br/><br/>The smell in the opulent dining room was overwhelmingly amazing. David was used to elaborate dinners that were actually quite good, if you could get over the horrific boredom that settled in for a kid who’d prefer to be anywhere else. There were dishes of all kinds, but what caught his eye was the Bacheofe. The smell of it brought back memories. He could almost feel tears building up as memories of his mother making it for him as a child surfaced. Back when his mother seemed like the kindest most wonderful person he knew. During the time when she had been injured and had to stay home. During that small period, she had made him Bacheofe every day after his tutoring was done. They would sit and talk about what he had learned and about the silly things his older siblings had gotten into. She was a different person during that time. Before, she hadn’t payed much attention to him, and she certainly never cooked. Their chef would always do all the cooking. But that year was the greatest year of his life. And then it was gone and his mother never made Bacheofe again. David always thought that perhaps his mother was afraid of feeling. Afraid of being vulnerable. <br/><br/>He snapped himself out of it and noticed that there were other dishes as well from various places. He saw Coq au vin, chocolate mousse, cheese cake, pizza, and so much more. The caretaker led them each to their seat. The table was so long that they the Caretaker had to lead David all the way around the table so that he and Tessa could sit across from each other at the middle of the table. <br/><br/>David too wondered what the Caretaker meant by, “we.” Then he remembered what the creature had said about others being attacked. <br/><br/>David stood suddenly, “Wait, we have to help them! There’s a girl, she’s 17 and the thing in the bowler hat said his colleague was going to kill her.”<br/><br/>That’s when the voice, which David had somehow forgotten about, spoke again. It was like soft silk, which a touch of gravel that made her voice sound endearing. <br/><br/>“I can assure you,” she said in an English accent, “there are strategies being implemented at this very moment.” David sat down, looking around to see where the voice was coming from or to see if he could find any loudspeakers, but he couldn’t find anything. It seemed that the voice was coming from everywhere. “There are many things to explain, but as always there is never enough time. Even you, David, will soon realize that no one can ever truly master time.” David had no idea what she meant by that. “And these days, time is the shortest it’s ever been. It is unfair to you, young Cosmonauts, that you should be received under such dire circumstances. The laws used to function properly, before they had ben bent so far beyond recognition. The Laws have not been functioning less and less. Hence you entered the After Image before you were ready. Oh, where are my manners. Please, eat. Relax. Even though it is hard to believe, here – for the time being – you are safe from those creatures you encountered in the Outer Realm.”<br/><br/>David merely looked at Tessa, his gaze going from shock to fear to a questioning look that seemed to say, “what do we do now?”</div>