The place where I must survive. Part two.

"What are you doing here?" Arlo asked the question, quickly hiding the pouch in the pocket of his old pants, worn by his grandfather when he was young.

Looking at him strangely, as if he was seeing a person for the first time, Bannard looked around as if there was something to see in this empty room. Then, he put both hands in the pockets of his cloak and without looking at Arlo, said, "Gather your things."

"What?"

"You heard me. Get your things and follow me."

Laughing nervously, Arlo even forgot about his illness. Rolling his eyes, then laughing again, then looking at Bannard, who was too big for this small room, Arlo didn't even know what to say. He just couldn't find the right words.

"Did you come here to act like this? If you think we're having fun here, you're wrong," Bannard said, looking at him seriously. Such a handsome face became even more handsome when he tensed his eyebrows and pressed his lips together as if he feared an insect would fly into his mouth.

Finding so much courage that nothing else frightened him, Arlo was even surprised by such a drastic change in personality. Taking a few steps forward and stopping in front of Bannard and stopping his gaze just above his eyes, he said, "If you saved me, do you think I owe you now?"

Smiling so relaxed for the first time, Bannard lifted Arlo's chin with one strong finger. Arlo was greatly surprised by this gesture. His heart beat even faster and could now be heard in this room.

"I am your leader. Your whole life will depend on me. If you listen to me, there's a chance you'll survive. If not, you will die before you even make it to the First Realm."

As Bannard moved even closer to him, it was as if he were sniffing him. Arlo even thought he smelled a medicinal herb. Without moving, he feared that now the man would realize everything. And then he realized that he didn't want to leave this place without at least trying to do something for this life.

"If you want to live, follow me," Bannard whispered and quickly grabbed Arlo's bag and left the room.

"Wait!" Arlo shouted, running after him. Everyone was already gathered in the hallway, and everyone was looking at him.

"What's going on?" Zale asked the question, but Arlo didn't hear him. He just followed Bannard, who with quick steps was already on the third floor.

"What's this all about? Arlo!"

Zale's voice was also heard on the third floor and then Alora's loud voice brought everything back to normal.

"Follow me. You will now be given thirty minutes to eat your dinner. Then you can rest," Alora said, glancing to the end of the hallway.

Running along another long corridor, Arlo did not take his eyes off Bannard's broad back, who finally stopped in front of a wooden door, which was different from the other doors in that it had carvings and a drawing of some kind of animal that looked like a wolf.

Arlo wanted to scream, to protest, even to hit him, but he was becoming so curious with each passing second that he watched in silence. He had never had anything but the most ordinary days in his life. Other than Zale, he never even interacted with anyone. His whole world had always been so narrow, and now it was as if his heart had stopped screaming to see what life was like outside the walls of his house.

"Come in," Bannard said, and there was a certain elusive tenderness in his voice that Arlo of course did not hear. All he heard was an order and if he didn't obey, he would immediately find himself where he didn't want to be yet.

Upon entering the room, which was larger than the rest of the room and had a large bed and a table with two chairs, Arlo immediately remembered his home. Tears came to his eyes at the most inopportune moment, when he stopped in front of the bed and just started crying silently.

Seeing his tears, Bannard was surprised and laughed.

"Haven't you ever seen a bed?" he asked him, dropping onto the bed and spreading his legs so wide that Arlo thought it was obscene.

Quickly wiping the tears from his eyes, he walked to the door.

"What am I doing here?" he asked, remembering Zale's words when he said that Bannard liked handsome guys. Remembering this, he shuddered with his whole body and felt weakness in his legs. Barely holding his weight, he wrapped his arm around the doorknob and prepared to run away. For the man sitting on the bed frightened him. He seemed to him like a giant who could break him as easily as if he were just a tree branch.

"You will live in this room. The rules said there had to be five people in each room. You were the sixth. Every room in this building is occupied. It was as if you weren't supposed to be in this place at all," Bannard said, and now you could even see the concern in his voice and eyes. But other than danger and cunning and self-interest, Arlo could see nothing else.

"Then why am I still here? I should leave," he said, clutching his bag in his hand.

"Whoever gets in here never comes back out. Don't think this is just a building you can easily walk out of."

"And what happens if I just leave?"

"The door is open."

Without saying anything else, Arlo simply walked out of the room, but then he suddenly felt a strong hand on his shoulder, which pulled him back in and pressed him forcefully against the wall.

Closing his eyes in fear, Arlo was ready to cry, but he held back, thinking of his grandfather. Feeling the hot breath of Bannard, who stood too close by, he did not move. Afraid to even think about what might happen to him now, Arlo imagined himself lying on the bed and Bannard.

"If you try to leave now, you will be killed immediately," Bannard whispered in his ear. "There are soldiers around this building watching everything all the time. You think you're the only one who wanted to leave? There are a lot of people like that. Thirty people were killed last year and where do you think their bodies are now? They're still lying on that slope. Why do you think the grass in that place is so stringy? I don't think you want to be part of that cemetery. Now leave your things here and let's go to have dinner."

Leaving him alone, Bannard left the room.

In the end, Arlo cried after all. Throwing his bag into a far corner of the room and pounding his fist on the stone floor, he didn't even notice that he had hurt his fingers. Feeling no pain, nothing but fear and sadness, he felt like a small child.

Unable to get up and start doing anything, he had never felt so alone.

And so, on his first day in this place where one ceases to exist, he broke a rule. He didn't show up for dinner and thus missed Isolda's speech. The woman who presides over the order of this place. A woman who is a descendant of the man who founded this camp.

"I saw some guy following you," Isolda said, fixing a strand of her hair that almost touched a plate of something that looked like soup.

Tall, slender, with an intelligent and very cold expression, Isolde could always terrify everyone. She was feared even more than Bannard. For when you looked at her, you could see such a coldness in her blue eyes that turned everything in the soul into darkness.

In her black dress, with her coat over it, Isolda always maintained her majesty with her head held high and without looking at anyone. Her blank gaze was always fixed somewhere forward, which made everyone feel even colder.

Of all those present in this long hall, with one long table in the middle, many saw her for the first time. And almost all of them were immediately afraid to look in her direction. All except Jasper and Zale, who stared at her intently.

"I heard that she's waiting for the day when someone will reach the top. She's not risking her life. She's just waiting. And I heard she has great hopes for Bannard. I mean, he didn't just become our leader for nothing. He trained hard and then proved himself worthy of the mission. So this mission to the top of the mountain means a lot to her. She's confident that Bannard can reach the summit," Blake whispered all of this, ducking down and looking at Bannard, who was looking dreamily somewhere in the distance.

"What has he done to my friend," Zale muttered, unable even to eat.

"You two are such good friends."

"We grew up together."

"Forget about your friend," Jasper said, smiling slyly. "What will you do if he dies?"

"What did you say?"

"You heard me."

Grabbing an iron cup, Zale swung it around and struck Jasper on the head. A stream of blood immediately ran down his face.

Without hesitation, Jasper struck too, only with his fist, and from that blow Zale fell.

"What's your friend's name? Arlo is it? Well, Arlo is going to die soon!" Jasper shouted.

"That's enough, boys."

"Don't touch me!"

"He's talking about that guy who was following you, isn't he?" Isolda asked, watching the two guys try to continue the fight, but they are held back by Blake.

"Yes."

"So what's next?"

"What could be next?"

"Are you hiding something from me, Bannard?"

"What could I be hiding?"

"All right. I don't like secrets. So I want you to tell me why you let him stay in your room?"

"I need him to meet some of my needs. You know, pleasure."

Laughing, Isolda patted him on the back and said, "You're right. You need a lot of strength. I have high hopes for you. You could use a good toy to give you more strength and health. Have fun while you can and then get to the top. For my sake."