Chapter 39

Ava found herself being escorted towards a close huge metal door. The guards then pushed it open, slightly illumining the dark room inside.

"You may enter," ordered one of the guards.

She stepped inside without hesitation. The door closed behind her, engulfing her in darkness. She felt compelled to walk a little further and stopped when she felt she had to.

Suddenly the lights came on---dim lights from a few hanging chandeliers above the ceiling. She found herself in a spacious hall. There was a large, round platform in front of her. Soon the lights went out, plunging her into searing darkness again.

But there was something soothing to it all --- to this darkness. The detached feeling from the world, from reality, brought about a feeling of solitude to her. Hiding in the shadows had always been her solitude.

Strange sounds came to her, the sound of moving walls. Then the room lit up once again, not from the chandeliers but from bright blue lights that flared from the center of the rou