It was raining heavily in the city. The sewers were full and were overflowed]. The roofs gave way to torrent and rivers that traversed chimneys and rooftops and some trees were falling.

Many people were cut by surprise, It hadn’t rain in weeks and it was spring!

A person, all elegant and well attired, was crossing the street in a hurrying. Getting himself all wet to protect his bag.

A door was opened “hurry up!” a voice from inside said.

The man rushed and got indoor.

“It’s there? Have you brought it?” the man that opened the door asked.

“Oh, oh” the man was breathing heavily “I can’t do those things at this age…”

“Arthur focus, the pieces!”

“Yes, the pieces… damn Joseph I was arriving at it. There were three if I don’t remember badly. One I found in a market in Cairo, a really interesting place if you aske-”

“Arthur there will be all the time in the world to tell your stories. Now we need the pieces.”

“Those young, don’t have any respect for the old. All three pieces are in the bag.”

He looked at the bag and gave the old man a coat and a towel

He brought the bag to a large room full of all types of machinery and wires.

“At that time I was a small child, my father had just come back from work bringing with himself some chocolate. For us poor-”

“Sir Zaan the machinery the missing pieces have arrived”

Zaan looked at him a bit surprised

“Already?”

“Already.”

“You are faster than I thought!” Zaan looked down for a moment “even though I still advise against it.” he stood up from the chair and picked his walking staff “where is her?”

“Getting ready for the travel”

“getting ready… oh, poor girl, I would go there myself but there is no way that I could survive. My younger self was not the kindest of people.”

“Were you so evil? I mean I too was rude when I was youn-”

“No, no it wasn’t that… it was more a question of obsession.” Zaan shook his head “don’t make me remember… there are certain things better left buried. Are you sure that you want to do this?”

“Absolutely sure,” Joseph replied.

A young girl appeared with hunting gears and exploration equipment.

“Are we ready?” she asked.

“Just a few more minutes” Joseph responded.

“I am so excited to do this! I will travel into the past, see old things!”

“Don’t get too excited.” Zaan said walking to her “you don’t have any ideas at what you are going to encounter.” He came closer. “you know how many people died in this house?

“12, right?”

“23. Many of them were a group of fully trained and prepared ex-”

“Oh Zaan,” she said interrupting him “I already know this story. You have already told me. I am going to be fine. I know what I am doing.”

Zaan looked away, thinking about something else.

“Then take this,” he said giving her an earring “it will be useful when you return.”

“It’s it magical? What does it do? How have you acquired it?” she asked.

“Ehmmm… it’s a long story. Let’s say that it offers protection.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Cool!” she said while putting it

A few minutes passed and the machine was ready.

“Just a few more things. If you find yourself in danger turn back immediately, you know where the gate is so don’t hesitate. Second, take this” Joseph said while giving her a revolver “you never know. Third… I hope that all goes well…”

“Oh Joseph you worry too much” she responded “what it’s going to take? Zaan!”

“Yes?”

“How old were you?”

“So let’s see… about forty-four, forty-five.”

“See? Is just going to be a little trip into an old man mansion.”

“You are right I am worrying too much!” Joseph said while repressing his doubts “return back safe.”

The machine was activated. The portal open.

“I will be back in a second,” she said jokingly while traversing the gate.

A second passed, then another and another. Minutes passed, dozen of them. An hour passed and there was no sign of her.

“Maybe we interpreted the instructions wrong. Maybe there is some sort of delay, some sort of thing” Joseph said.

“Nah, I have study this machine for fifteen, no twenty years. There is no such thing. If she is returning is because she doesn’t want to turn back.” Arthur responded.

“I have decided, I will go there and rescue her!” Joseph said

“Don’t be an idiot! Anna did those things since she was a child! You are way more untrained than her. If something defeated her you would not be able to rescue her. Besides if you go there we wouldn’t have the energy for another travel!”

“But- but I love her! I want to marry her. And if this means living in the past so be it!”

Joseph began to walk toward the gate. All of those energies and things, it scared him. He hesitated.

“You will go, nowhere boy.” Said a voice from behind.

Both of them turned. It was Zaan, who for all of this time remained in his chair calmly and relaxed scribbling something.

“Zaan what you know! You are doing nothing! Nothing!” Joseph said.

Zaan laughed a bit “I guarantee you that you will never see the sun again if you pass that gate. Follow me” he said, “I know where she is.”

Joseph and Arthur looked at each other in the face confused.

Zaan opened an old basement, it was very dirty and dusty. With all kind of animals around.

“Sorry for all of this dust. No one entered this room in... twenty years?”

He pushed a brick on the wall and a cabinet moved revealing a passage.

“Common, follow me”

Arthur and Joseph continued to follow the man, ever more hesitantly through a dark stone passage.

“This house has a long history of owners. Most of them dead in strange circumstances.” Zaan said “very strange circumstances… I believe that the previous owner was found after two months dead. His corpse hadn’t any bones or blood and his face was burn, burn with some sort of acid. They manage to recognize him only thanks to the clothes and the marriage ring. At the time, people were superstitious so they close the house.” he paused. The walls had become that of a cave. “We are nearly there.”

Some crystal started appearing here and there, the cave corridor opened into a large room, with a giant bright crystal at its centre.

“So what I was saying… Ah yes, the dead people. The house doesn’t like people. I was an exception, and as I discovered a unique one.” he pronounced some words and the crystal lost his brightness to reveal a crystallized Anna gone insane.

Purple eyes, mouth open with saliva screaming, hands full of bites, hair grew uncontrolled, skin turned yellow, teeth corroded, scars and injuries everywhere.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER MONSTER!” said Joseph while rushing to the crystal

“Anna, can you hear me? It’s me, Joseph! Do you remember me?”

But the figure didn’t responded.

“So as I was saying the house doesn’t like people. Even visitors or guest. When she tried to steal the artefact, well… the house didn’t react well... it nearly devoured her.” He touched and whispered some word at the crystal and it crumpled.

“I have grown senile. I had to write what I had to say.”

Joseph tried to hug her she bit him. He had to back away. She took a fetal position in one of the corners, shouting his eyes and whispering something while angry barking at the man with saliva coming outside his mouth. It looked more like a scared hydrophobic dog than a human.

“Fortunately I intervened before that could happen. I saw the earring, the same earring that I always brought with me. I believed her.”

Silence followed.

“So why is she… in that state?” said Arthur pointing to what looked more like an animal than any human.

“That?” he shrugged his shoulders “no idea what happened to her. After my experiments with her, she wasn’t in that state. I just told the house to keep her alive and not to touch the earring from her.”

“You are a monster! A devil! You knew what would happen to her and you let that happen anyway!”

“Relax,” said Zaan while she came close to her. With a fast movement of his hand he picked the earring].

Anna fell to the ground unconscious. “Where... I-My…?” she said.

Both Arthur and Joseph looked at her very confused.

“Joseph...Arthur… why are you looking at me in this way...? My head hurts so much…”

“As I have said I wasn’t the kindest of men. But I have become a little more kind with the years. This earring is a safety measure that I frequently used. It erases everything from the moment that you have wear it. Turned very useful when doing some more dangerous… ‘experiments…’ “

“Wait… so no expedition,” said Anna confuse while on the ground

“No, no expedition Anna. You have already returned.” responded Zaan.” now rest, you are going to need a lot of it.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Joseph said

“Oh… I didn’t tell you? I told you time and time again that this house was dangerous. But you insisted. With your zest and joy of ones who had seen nothing!” he paused “sorry some times those things come out…” he paused “Well I guess that everything is fine...?”

The end