I remember it very well , that one day in October . I came home later than I usually would . We were understaffed and I had to work over hours . What a night it was . And here I am now , stuck in this cage . It 's an odd place I 'm in . It has a feel of a prison to it . Well , it is a prison I suppose . I walk around the dark cell every now and then . There 's not much to see really . There 's a small opening on one side , like a window , with bars in front of it . I assume behind those small bars lays the outside world , judging by the very distant sound of a soft breeze . I 've contemplated destroying those bars multiple times . But then again , what purpose will it serve ? I don 't know where I 'll end up if I do climb out that window . It 's always pitch black outside . Yet the moon shines all the time . And the only sound out there ? Wind . The blowing of the wind . On the other side of my cage is another row of bars , just bigger . I suppose that 's where I was brought in . I call it a cage , but it 's more like a cell . Stone walls and metal bars surround me . I noticed once how immense the place I 'm in is . It is always pretty dark in the corridor just outside the metal bars , however on rare occasions the lights go on , just for a few seconds only to turn off quickly after that . I 've been here for a few days now I think , even though I have no sense of time and place whatsoever . Just once I was in time to view the surroundings of my cell . Normally I sit on my bench , thinking or sleeping , finding ways to pass time . But that one time I was there , clenching the metal with my hands . I don 't know why or how long I was standing there . But whatever the reason was , I was glad I stood there . The light popped on and I was able to look around swiftly . My eyes weren 't accustomed to the light after being in the dark for such a long time . Sure , there always was the light of the moon that slightly illuminated my cell , but it was very different from the lights inside the corridor . I tried my best to take in every sight I could see . My cell faced another cell . A few seconds won 't grant many details of anything , be it the surroundings , or the face of a fellow prisoner . I could see that there was only a meter of walkway in between the opposite cages , however the corridor stretched for miles so it seemed like . I could look into the corridor quickly , with my head pressed against the cold metal . The stream of lights in the corridor seemed to go on forever , as did the cells that were illuminated by them . I thought there were hundreds of them , if not more . From what I could pick up from the cages closer to me was that each cage had its own number listed above them . The cage in front of me had the number 1953a on it , if I remember it correctly . Those numbers probably represent prisoner ID numbers . Inside the cage was a woman . She neither looked in my direction , nor did she ever say anything to me . I 've made multiple attempts to talk to her , to ask her why she was being held captive here . But she never ever replied . I never saw her again after that day . Of course , the lights did go on more often , but I never managed to get up in time to see her . Not one bit of noise came from her cage during the time that I 've been here . It was as if she never even existed . Maybe she was part of my imagination . Perhaps I just wanted to see someone , or find someone to talk to at least . I still have a hard time understanding my own imprisonment . Why am I writing this down , I often ask myself ? To make sure I stay sane is the answer . To make sure I remember everything correctly . And probably nobody will ever read this … but that 's alright . People would probably think I 'm a madman . In the glimpse I got from my opposite neighbor 's cell , I noticed a pen and a book lying on the ground of her cage , similar to the ones I 'm using . Maybe the person who puts the people here wants the prisoners to write … But why ? It 's a question I never have gotten answered so far , it is something I wanted to ask the woman as well . It doesn 't matter anyway . The writing equipment is here for my own good . I don 't care what they will do with it . I will use it to document my story , even if it is just for myself . It will help me remember why I 've been sent here , just in case I start to question my own sanity . It 's hard to write and read properly . The weak moonlight only shines a small amount of light into the cage . I 'll have to find a solution for that sooner or later . Right now I 'll just focus on writing by feeling and sensing the pages , the pen and my own memory . Write everything down … every thought , everything that happened that night and everything that 's happening here . I came back home that one evening in October . The office wasn 't far from home , but still driving home after a 13 hour shift seemed to take an eternity . It was dark , as one would expect from a cold October evening . It was 9 pm when I pulled the handbrake after parking my car in front of my house . I got out of my car , slammed the door shut and walked towards my house where my wife would be waiting for me with a hot meal and some gentle kisses . She would always provide me with the comfort one would need after a long and exhausting day of work . As I approached my house , I looked at the window and noticed that the lights weren 't on . At the time I didn 't think anything of it . She might 've fallen asleep while waiting for me . I couldn 't blame her of course . Normally I would come home around 6 pm . I messaged her that afternoon to tell her that I had to work late and that she didn 't have to wait for me . I didn 't know if she received the message I sent her . I looked upwards and noticed that there also weren 't any lights burning in the bedroom upstairs . I entered the house , closing and locking the door behind me . After walking through the door into the living room , I turned on the lights . I let my gaze flow through the comfortably furnished area . My wife wasn 't there … I looked through the kitchen door 's glass display , into the kitchen that was slightly illuminated in green by the digital clock of the microwave , but she wasn 't there either . I put my suitcase down and opened the door which led to the staircase . I listened intently to anything that would sound familiar to me . I could hear some soft breathing coming from one of the upstairs rooms . I proceeded up the stairs and closed the door gently behind me so I could surprise her . I tried to make as less sound as possible , but the house we lived in was old and the steps were creaking lightly under my feet , even though I wasn 't quite the heavyweight . When I arrived at the top of the stairs I listened again … But the breathing had stopped . No response . I flicked on the light and noticed that she wasn 't in the room . I turned off the light and closed the door . She had to be in the other room . But quickly I realized that our bedroom was empty as well . ' Darling ? ! Come out , come out , wherever you are ! I heard you breathing , ' I called out to her playfully . Once again , no response … Confused , I checked out the other rooms , even the rooms on the attic . But the house was empty . I took my phone out of my pocket and checked if I had received any new messages . I read the message with a sigh of relief . That explained it . I went back downstairs , feeling a bit more comfortable , to heat up my dinner and start my night . I came downstairs and turned on the light in the living room . I walked past the couch and table which had a lot of unopened mail laying on it . Before opening the kitchen door , I turned on the TV , situated " In local news , a series of persons have gone missing . So far it doesn 't seem there 's any link between the missing persons . Police officials have stated that there is no reason for panic . " " There is no indication that we are dealing with a serial kidnapper at this point . What we can tell you is that the missing person count is 10 , 3 female and 7 male . We are not excluding the possibility that these people have run off on their own . We are doing everything within our power to find these missing persons . " I took my food out of the microwave and brought it to the dinner table , the only piece of furniture in the front of the living room . I sat down and started eating while reading today 's newspaper . The news flash repeated itself on TV in the background , just with different people and on different programs . I put the TV on standby with the remote that was lying on the table . The television shut down and the small red light turned on . I continued reading for a little while when I suddenly felt a weird vibe going through my body . A disturbing feeling which made me drop my cutlery on my plate . I sat up straight and didn 't realize how the thought suddenly came to me , but somehow I realized two things . I got the feeling I wasn 't alone in my house . I got up from my chair and looked around . The room was silent and empty , save for the furniture . I walked to the kitchen to put my plate and cutlery away . I scraped the rest of the food off my plate into the trash bin and placed the rest in the dishwasher . On the counter still laid the note . I completely forgot to read it . The short sentences didn 't make any sense to me . I read it two , three , four times , but I still didn 't understand it . From the corner of my eye I saw the kitchen door slowly closing as I was sticking the note in my pocket . I didn 't know what was happening at the time . I couldn 't see much through the windows , since it was fitted with light frosted glass . Usually you could only see shadows and shapes vaguely moving around through it . But at that particular moment ? Nothing . Nothing but darkness . I was a hundred percent sure that I wasn 't alone in my house . I opened the kitchen drawer and took out a knife . I held it in front of me when I opened the kitchen door . The lights were turned off again and I slowly stepped into the darkness . I tried to see into the blackness , but the only light that was shining into the room was the light from the kitchen , which didn 't get very far , and the small red light from the TV . I moved gradually towards the light switch in the front of the room , moving the knife around me cautiously , in case someone was about to grab me . I moved my hand across the wall to find the switch and when I finally found it , I immediately switched it on . The light in the kitchen exploded and the lights in the living room slowly lit up . I looked up and noticed that they only lit up very weakly … It still was hard to see in the room , but I noticed something was different on the couch . I focused hard to see what was going on . All of a sudden the kitchen door slammed shut with an enormous amount of noise and startled , I stumbled backwards . The silhouette of a woman in a dress was moving through the room , walking from place to place . Starting by the table in front of the couch , she lit a candle . She then moved towards other places to light more candles . Fear took me that moment and I couldn 't say anything . As the room lit up , I could slightly see four other women sitting on the couch . All of them were dressed differently . It looked as if they walked straight off different movie sets . The woman walking around was wearing a grey dress , which was ripped and torn . One of the women on the couch was wearing a long skirt , her upper body clenched into a corset . There was a woman who appeared younger than the rest . She wore a tighter dress , made out of old curtains is what it looked like . The 4th woman had a hat with three large feathers on it . She was wearing a loose blouse , with wool pants underneath . The 5th woman wore a more modern type of dress with a colorful flower print on it . Neither of the women on the couch were speaking . They were simply staring at me . They didn 't make so much of a noise , they didn 't move . They didn 't even blink . They just sat there … She looked at me as she sat down next to the other women on the corner couch . All of them were sitting in the exact same position . Their hands , some covered in light gloves , laid on their legs . Their faces looked like the faces of mannequins . Their skin was pulled back , as if it was fastened on the back of their necks , covered by their long hair . They were pale … and skinny . And their eyes , wide opened as if something startled them . Only the woman who spoke had a different look on her face . Even though she also didn 't blink the entire time I was looking at her , her eyes showed some emotion . ' Looking for something ? ' is what the woman asked me as she showed me the phone I was looking for . She tilted her head as she was waiting for my reply . I didn 't know what to do , me and my wife decided months before that night to cut off the fixed phone line of the house , because we never used it . We always used our mobile phones . The only thing I could think of was to go outside the house and call for help at the neighbor 's place . I slowly walked backwards towards the front door and tried opening the door , but it was locked . I started patting down my pockets again when I heard the woman shouting to me from the other side of the room , followed by a jingling noise . In a moment of panic I rushed back inside , picked up a chair and tried slamming the window . I started calling for help , while nervously looking over my shoulder at the women , who were still just sitting there , still doing nothing but staring at me . I don 't know why fear took me that moment . The woman started talking again . She started fiddling with my phone , pressing buttons , then holding it in the palms of her hands . She stretched her arms while the phone made dialing sounds , followed by ringing sounds and finally a click . A woman spoke : ' Jason , listen to me . They 're not alone . I 've been told to warn you about what happens if you don 't do what they ask . ' ' I don 't know … I … Jason , it 's not just me who 's being held captive . You have to be careful and listen to them . Do as they say and we can all make it . They told me this . ' ' Don 't worry , Jason . You heard what she said . Do exactly as we say and everything will be fine . We just want to talk with you . Yes ? ' ' Come on , Jason , don 't be ridiculous . We didn 't have anything to do with it . We 're not the only ones capable of things like that in this world , you know . But … ' ' … those other people are the least of your concern right now . Listen , I see you like that knife of yours . So let 's say you decide to cut our throats , it means you fail our test . If you fail your test , there 's no way you will ever see your wife again . You heard her , didn 't you ? We are not alone . Is that reason enough for you ? ' Hesitantly I backed away from the couch and reached for a chair that was near the dinner table . Without losing the women out of my sight , I pulled the chair to face the couch and sat down on it . The woman spoke again . ' Our test is simple . You sit there and each of us will tell you a story about ourselves . These stories might not be all that pleasant . But trust me when I say they are as real as can be . If you can sit through all 5 of them , without interrupting us or doing … whatever you plan to do to us with that big knife of yours , you pass the test . Your wife will be freed and returned to you safely . ' ' Then your pretty wife will unfortunately meet one of the fates described in our stories . We haven 't decided yet which one that 's going to be . But that makes it all the more interesting . Just you remember , you 're locked in here with us . You can 't break your windows either . You can 't call the police and the neighbors can 't hear you . ' Suddenly the first woman who I had been talking to sat herself down , leaning backwards a bit . Her eyes opened widely like the eyes of the rest of the women . Her skin pulled back as well and her body took the same position as the rest . ' Oh my , where are my manners . I haven 't properly introduced myself yet . Shame on me . Jason , I 'm Rose . And I was born in the middle of the 19th century . ' ' People called me Rodent Rose back then . I don 't know why , but everyone in the village I lived in despised me . I can 't remember much of my youth , which I suppose is where the hate towards me started , but I do remember how the last 10 years I spent there were a complete hell . ' Her eyes didn 't move and her focus almost burned through my own eyes . She lifted her arm , holding my phone in her hand . How did she … ? ' Jason , don 't interrupt me while I 'm telling my story . Remember the rules . Now , where was I ? Oh yes , hell . It was a complete and utter disaster to be living in the village . Nobody even as much as looked at me when I would walk through the street , save for one man . Oh , he was the most handsome and friendliest guy in the village . I knew he liked me , I could see it in the way he looked at me when we would take walks through the hills . You could say that things had gotten serious after a while . ' ' Of course , things didn 't stay that way . He told me he couldn 't be seen with me , otherwise the village would spit him out as well . I didn 't like it . I mean , was he ashamed of me ? Who even does that to a girl he likes ? ' I was listening to her nervously . As I write this , I can 't remember every detail of her story . She just went on and on about her feelings . Meanwhile , I wasn 't calm at all . With every word that the woman spat out , I was losing time . But I couldn 't risk interrupting her again . Every now and then , she would stop talking and ask me if I was still listening . I would then nod and she would continue . ' One night … we had an argument . We were on the hills after a walk and we stood there fighting for hours it seemed . I got so upset with him that I slapped him in the face . He almost hit me back too … But he didn 't and decided to walk away , leaving me there on that hill all by myself . That argument . I was mad at him for his behavior in the village . He would treat me the same way every other villager treated me . But I knew he was a kind man with a good heart . But someone was playing him . Someone was telling him not to be with me . And I knew who did it . Of course , I could never prove it , but I knew . 3 women , living near my man . I ran after him when he walked off . I apologized for hitting him . Then he told me that he had a confession to make . I didn 't know why he suddenly told me , but I already sensed that he had a troubled mind . He told me … he told me that he truly wanted to be loyal to me . But he said that he made a few mistakes in the nights before that . And he didn 't need to say more . I knew it . I knew those women messed with him behind my back . Are you still listening ? ' I looked up , realizing that I got so close again to the loss of my wife . Focus ! Is what I told myself . Think about your wife . ' Right … Anyway , I got even more upset and told him that I would rather be spat out by the entire village , than to be with an un - loyal , sorry excuse for a human being that he was . And I couldn 't leave this for what it was . He insulted me , made me look like a fool . So I hatched a plan to take revenge . Everyone liked to call me Rodent Rose ? Well , I wanted to let him and everyone in the village know that I truly fitted the nickname . I asked him over for dinner at my house one night . I told him I wanted to talk about what happened . I prepared a meal for the two of us . We sat there and we talked . We just talked and ate for a while . But after an hour there was nothing left to discuss . I would 've been better off just talking to myself , because the man I loved so much had been dead for 20 minutes after eating a soup that was spiced up with a lethal dosage of rat poison . ' She fell silent for a while after concluding her story . I didn 't know if I should say something . She closed her eyes . She let out a sigh too , as if a burden was lifted from her shoulders . It surprised me at the time since none of them had shown any form of emotion . Except the one look in all of their eyes . I still can 't place what I saw in them that night . Poison . It was the clearest thing that rushed through my head after I gathered my thoughts . I spent a few minutes looking at the women , realizing that soon one of them would wake from their … trance . They told me that the fate of my wife lied in one of their stories should I fail their test . People did always say that poison is a woman 's weapon … The second thing that came to mind was that I dropped the knife when I fell over right before I saw the women in my house . The silence in the house was droning . Four mannequin type - like women were looking in my direction . The other one laid her eyes to rest while still sitting up straight like the rest . Of course , these women weren 't normal . But paranormal ? I didn 't understand why they were so silent during that time . They came here , wanting me to listen to their stories , yet they weren 't telling them . I slowly got out of my seat and started walking towards to the front of the living room . I kept my eyes pointed towards the couch as I crouched to reach for the knife . I couldn 't feel it in the place I dropped it . I turned around to look on the ground . The second I turned away , another voice filled the room . The sudden sound of the voice startled me and I jumped back on my feet . From this side of the room , it wasn 't easy to see the women in detail . The candle light only illuminated the objects and persons vaguely in that particular corner . I looked up to the ceiling and saw that the lights of the living room weren 't even on anymore . Slowly I started making my way back to my chair . As I sat down , the woman to the left of Rose started talking . ' Jason , listen . I know the temptation of picking up the knife is very strong . But I really have to warn you that you better play by our rules . We are very trustworthy ladies . And being like that , means we stick to our word . So : what does this mean for you ? ' You don 't have a choice I 'm afraid … But , I see your point . Here , as a token of mutual trust , or should I say a token of my trust in your capabilities . ' ' I didn 't get the chance to introduce myself yet . Jason , I 'm Annie . I personally think it 's very nice to meet you . If only it was under different circumstances . And it would 've been nice if we had met 300 years ago . ' ' I 'm glad you chose not to interrupt me . Your wife is happy about that too , I 'm sure . Jason , back in my days , I was a thief . I spent years robbing people , finding ways to enter the houses of the rich and the wealthy . I was infamous . Pretty much all of the land 's law enforcers were out looking for me . They called me ' Anonymous Ann ' . It 's pretty cheesy , I know . I personally never would 've chosen that nickname . But I can 't say that I blame the people for coming up with that name , especially since I left my trademark at every place I robbed . It was a compulsive action , I couldn 't help it . You see , what I did was , after a successful burglary or robbery , I would write my name in oil on anything that could easily be lit up . For example a carpet , or a curtain , perhaps some bed sheets . For years , I plundered every house that had valuable items hidden inside them . I liked robbing and stealing , but ever since I started doing it , I didn 't have any purpose in life . I had no goals , no achievements , except for one thing . Jason , have you ever had the feeling that you never really achieved anything great , anything you can write home about ? Be it at work , maybe in your social life or in a relationship ? ' I didn 't respond to her . She spent forever reminiscing about the places she robbed , the precious items that she stole . It 's very hard to remember the details to every theft . I still held the knife in one hand , my finger touching the tip of it . ' Okay , that does it ! You 're not listening to me ! ' she shouted at me with a touch of anger suddenly in her face . She reached for the phone which she had hidden under the pillow next to her . ' Alright , alright . Before I met my wife , I didn 't have the feeling that I achieved much in my life . Sure , I had a good job . Sure , my life was in order . But my wife was the achievement I needed to complete my life , okay ? There it is . ' ' That 's sweet . I never cared about relationships in my own life though . I simply didn 't feel that it was my purpose in life to make that special connection with someone . No , my greatest achievement was to rob the biggest house in the entire land . The richest woman of all time lived in that house , and she was surrounded by all the wealth she had collected over the years . And I decided to make my life complete . One night , I snuck inside the house . It was a heavily guarded building as one would expect . I brought one of my fellow colleague thieves with me . We studied the house for a while and we found the perfect access point where it was completely dark and where there were no guards if you could time it well . So we climbed in through a window on the second floor . Once we were in , we looked around and everywhere we could see , there was gold , silver and jewels ! Of course we could 've stolen the stuff that was in the room with us , but we wanted to see what else was kept in the house . We snuck into several rooms and noticed that none of them were even furnished . There were only riches . Riches everywhere . Until we entered the sixth room on the second floor . We opened the door and there she was , the owner of the house . She sat in a chair made out of solid gold . The room was also unfurnished , just like the rest of the chambers . The woman looked at us and asked what our purpose was . We didn 't reply and she got out of her chair . She called us thieves , burglars and said that she 'd rather die than that she would give up any of her wealth to us . I knew she was going to raise an alarm as soon as she could . . . I ducked down and picked up one of the solid gold bricks that lied on the ground . I threw the brick at the woman without thinking it through and I hit her right on the forehead . The woman fell down on the floor and in her fall she dropped a diamond she was holding . It was bigger than any jewel I had ever seen . My colleague who had been watching me , picked it up and was just as astonished by its beauty as I was . She told me we should get out of the house , before anyone would notice that we were there . The diamond wasn 't important to me though . It was the burglary itself and I wanted to leave my mark . I grabbed my small canister of oil from my belt and lit a match . I looked around me , but there was no furniture or anything to burn something in the room . My colleague told me to hurry up . I looked down to the ground and realized what I had to do . Without hesitating , I drew my name in oil onto the unconscious woman and dropped the lit match . I do regret my actions of that night . But I had to leave something that would prove my presence there . It was my first murder . It was also my last . ' She finished her story and sounded very satisfied . This meant that there might 've been a chance that they would set my wife on fire … My wife . Poisoned . Or burned . ' No , Annie . No I didn 't . I 'm very sorry , but I don 't enjoy hearing stories about killers , and . . . and poison and fire , while there 's someone out there who needs me . I am sick and tired of your fucking test ! ' ' Excuse me , but I think I have the right to lash out here . Up until this point I have been calm , and I 've done what you said . Well , I am so tired of it ! ' ' You know what ? Fuck your test . If you don 't tell me right now where my wife is , then I 'll take matters into my own hand , Annie ! ' I grabbed the knife in a moment of frustration and desperation . I looked at Annie and noticed that , just like Rose , she closed her eyes . I walked up to her and grabbed her by the hair . It was as if I was holding a dead body , she didn 't struggle and didn 't even resist . ' I … I don 't know . They haven 't done anything yet . But they say that they know what you 're doing . I can 't see anything . But please listen to them , trust me . They say it 's over for us when you do what you 're about to do . Jason , what are you doing ? . . Please be careful … ' I hesitated . But then I lowered the knife and let go of Annie 's head . She dropped down on the floor , but didn 't make any sound or movement . The woman hung up the phone . ' Sit down , Jason . You 're not the one in charge here . Annie explained it very clearly to you before . We stick to our word . Mind your temper Jason , or this is has all been a monumental waste of time for everyone . ' ' Yes , yes , I 'm sure that you 'll make everyone pay . But need I remind you that we won 't do anything to her , unless you step out of line ? You 're the only one who could be the reason for any harm to come upon her . Remember , we 're watching . ' ' Well , you don 't have any other choice than to trust us . Now , there 's something you must know about me . I too have been the victim of kidnapping once . So I know how you and especially your dear wife must feel . ' ' I can 't do that , this whole evening has been set in motion already . Now listen , Jason , my name is Marianne and I can safely say that I 'm the oldest of the ladies in this room . It was in the first decade of the 18th century that I met the man who has haunted me ever since that moment . One evening , I was on my way home when a man approached me . The sight of the man sent shivers down my spine . It still does when I think back to it . He wore a long cloak and he had an awful haircut . He had strings of hair popping out of his head . I think there were 6 , maybe 7 plucks of hair , all combed backwards . It seemed silly to leave that few hairs on your head when the rest was already bald . He asked me if I wanted to have a chat with him . Naturally , I refused , but he kept saying that he must insist , every single time I declined his offer . The man was about a head taller than I was and I felt threatened by his presence and his behavior . ' … I stop writing for a second . There 's a sound , coming from the far end of the corridor , distant at first , but slowly getting louder . It is the sound of footsteps . It 's the first sound I hear that sounds different from the regular environmental sounds , like the wind outside or the loud clicks of the light . I get off my bench to look at who 's approaching . Yet the corridor is dark as usual . I can 't see anything . The moonlight from outside doesn 't light up the passage . The footsteps get closer and the faintest noise of breathing rises through the clacking of the soles . I don 't dare to speak up , I merely stand there and listen . When the footsteps almost have passed my cell , the sound stops . I focus as hard as possible , but my eyes have never before been exposed to this much darkness . I can 't see a thing . I stand there for minutes , trying to catch a glimpse of what just passed my cell . As I stand there , all of a sudden I feel a slight breeze rush into my nose holes . The foul stench that is accompanying the rush of breath makes me stumble backwards , realizing that the … thing stood right before me , looking at me , inspecting me as if he was able to read my every thoughts just by looking into my eyes . I back away towards the bench . The words blow through the cell door and fill the room . 79 years ? Thankfulness ? What does he mean by that ? I want to get up and ask , but the breathing stopped before I got the chance to stand up . No reaction … I walk to the bars to make another attempt at seeing the man , but it is futile . Although he has to still be here , I 'm sure of it . FLASH ! The lights in the entire corridor light up for a split second , before immediately turning off again . The sudden amount of light blinds me , yet the silhouette of the man clearly lit up before I lost my eye sight by the explosion of light . I try to get the flash off my retina and right when it 's almost gone , another flash fills the area . But this time , there 's no silhouette … ' I started to run . I wanted to get away from the man . As I sprinted down the dark road , I looked behind me multiple times and it surprised me that he didn 't follow me . I went home as quick as I could . My husband wasn 't there . He told me earlier that week that he would be gone for a little while . He said that he had to go to another town for business . Something about an important trade . It was the first time that I was alone in my house . Even though my husband was a tradesman , he normally didn 't leave the town and if he did , he would take me with him . I asked him if I could come with him , but he told me that this trade was very important and he couldn 't use any distractions . I couldn 't sleep that night . All I could think of was the man in the cloak . How he constantly stepped in front of me when I was about to pass him . He seemed so abnormal , the way he dressed and his hair … And the things he said . I got out of bed and went to the kitchen to drink some water . I sat down and buried my face in my hands with my elbows on the table . The words of the man just wouldn 't go away , they kept flowing around in my head . His voice , calling out my name . Marianne … Marianne … Until I opened my eyes and realized that his words weren 't in my head . I looked right in the eyes of the man . He was in my house , sitting right in front of me . I honestly don 't know how long I was out for . It felt like weeks . But when I woke up , I wasn 't in my house anymore . I was tied up . My hands were bound to a steel pole in the middle of a square , empty room with a door on each side . And there he was , right in front of me . He sat on a wooden chair with his hands on his lap , looking at me intently , studying me . He had a book in front of him and every now and then he would start writing things down . I couldn 't see what he was writing , but I assumed he was writing about my behavior and the movements that I made . His voice was very neutral , there wasn 't a trace of emotion to be found in it . I didn 't want to reply to him . My eyes were tearing and I tried to loosen myself from the pole I was bound to . ' Would you like to write in my book too , Marianne ? I can let you , but only if you truly want it . In this book I keep my observations of people . I write down their emotions when I talk to them , or even when I see them look at me while I 'm walking outside . I 'm not a bad person , Marianne . But people judge me by my looks . But … this is just who I am . I like to look like this . Stop struggling , you 're not going to get loose like that . ' Realizing that he was right , I sighed and stopped moving my arms . I looked at the man in desperation while tears ran down my cheek . I begged him to let me go … ' You don 't have to beg . I just want to try something out with you . Something I came up with by myself . I wrote it down in my book as well , if you want to read it . But first , I need to try it . You can read all about it later of course . Right , now . I am going to untie you , but before I do that , I 'm going to give you some options , okay ? ' ' So , I noticed that you 've been looking around a lot . It 's in my book already too , I wrote it down . And as you might 've seen , there are four exits out of this room . 3 doors will lead to death . Only one of them will lead to safety . And I 'm going to tell you which exit to take as soon as I 've untied you . . ' ' No Marianne , I am not . I 'm placing before you a choice and it 's not a very easy one . While I am still very angry about how you treated me , I can 't keep you here forever . And I 'm not a fan of cleaning up bodies either . I 've had to do that before . But before you leave , you have to ask yourself . Are you willing to place trust in the man who kidnapped and threatened you ? ' I came loose from the pole and I looked into the man 's cold , dead eyes . My face was mere centimeters away from his . He grinned at me while I was feeling the grating wounds on my wrists caused by the rope . From the corner of my eye I could see the door open . I looked to my left and saw the dark corridor that stretched out behind the opening . There wasn 't anything to see besides blackness . I turned my head to look at the door to the right of me . The corridor was just as dark as the other one , yet in the distance I could see lights and illuminated houses . I didn 't doubt my choice for one moment . I pushed the man away as hard as I could and started running towards the door on the right . I didn 't consider the other two doors , I just needed to get to the houses in the distance . As I ran into the darkness , I looked behind me and saw the silhouette of the man standing in the door opening . The lights came closer and I knew I made the right choice . The darkness slowly faded away and the area became brighter with every step I took . After a little while I arrived in the small village , the room that I escaped from disappeared from the view . I went to the first house that had light shining through the windows . I arrived at the wooden door and wanted to knock as hard as I could . My fist flew through the cold air … and air was the only thing it touched . I didn 't believe my eyes and I tried to touch the door , but I couldn 't feel it . I let my arms wade through the door , through the walls and windows , but the more I touched the illusion , the more the house started to vaporize , its visuals slowly taken away by the wind . She sighed as she finished her story . I listened to it intently . Unlike the other women , she didn 't yet close her eyes . I looked around the room at the other women . The one called Annie was still on the ground , Rose had her eyes closed . The other ones still didn 't move a muscle , their eyes still following my every move . My wife 's voice wouldn 't leave my head . She said that they knew what I was doing in the house . That meant they were watching me . I started looking around the room . If they were watching me , they would 've placed a camera of some sort in the house . ' Uhu , ' I replied to her while I kept looking around the room for anything out of the ordinary . I was convinced that they had placed a recording device somewhere , that 's probably also why they cut the lights and lit those weak candles , so I wouldn 't see it that easily . I got up from my chair and started walking past the bookcase , my fingers touching the surface of the wood . I heard Marianne 's voice behind me , asking what I was doing . I didn 't respond to her question and continued touching the shelves . An unfamiliar voice addressed me . I let my eyes flow through the room , past the bookshelf and the TV which I recognized in the darkness by the orange light that was burning , indicating that it was on stand - by . I walked back to my seat and rubbed through my eyes nervously , knowing that I was being watched . My heart was pumping harder than normal and my hands were sweaty . I didn 't know how much longer I could sit there , listening to those women . Goodness … fire , poison or a knife . With that thought in mind I turned my attention to the 4th woman , noticing that Marianne now too closed her eyes . ' Hello Jason , I 'm Iris and I was happily married once . I had found myself a man who would go through fire and flames to protect me . He did everything for me . We had been together for years and all was well until one morning in August . The sun was shining brightly . The rays of light shun through a tiny opening between the curtains . It felt really nice and warm . I turned myself around to cuddle up to my husband , but all I could feel were sheets and the matrass . I found it strange , because he would never leave without saying something to me first . I got out of bed and went to investigate . Perhaps he was in the kitchen , preparing some breakfast . But when I entered the kitchen , he wasn 't there . Puzzled by his sudden disappearance , I sat down on a chair in the living room . And I waited . And waited . But he never came home . So I went to my friends ' house to ask if she knew anything . Perhaps she had seen him that day . I didn 't understand what she meant . Why wouldn 't I be okay ? . . It was then that she told me she had seen my husband earlier that day , in the morning . He was apparently walking around anxiously on the edge of the town with an axe rested on his shoulder . I asked my friend if she had spoken to my husband , but she hadn 't . She didn 't dare to . His face appeared to be full of rage , his knuckles turned white from gripping the axe too hard . Concerned as I was , I ignored her advice about finding him and I ran towards the location that she described . When I arrived , I could see my husband from a distance . There was a woman talking to him . I came closer and as soon as she saw me she turned away , and sprinted into the forest that grew on the border of the town . I didn 't think anything of it , until my husband turned around and looked me straight in the eyes . His eyes were filled with rage … and sorrow . He approached me slowly and started to talk to me . ' You never liked her , did you ? You hated her . I could always hear it in the way you talked with her . And the way you looked at her . You wanted to be her . Yes ! You were jealous of her . So jealous that you killed her ! ' ' You got home late last night . I could hear you rumble around in the shed . It was you . After everything I 've done for you … How could you do this to my family ? How could you ? ! ' In a moment of panic , I started running away . I didn 't know what to say to him , he seemed so convinced that I killed his sister . But I didn 't . I had no idea how that axe ended up in the shed . The moment I ran off , he started to chase me , out for revenge with a blood thirst in his eyes . I wasn 't used to running , so there was no way I was going to be able to outrun him . I could hear his breathing and his footsteps quickly coming closer and I knew that I couldn 't stay away from him for long . ' Something didn 't sit right with me . I was thinking … what did I miss ? During her story , Iris didn 't look right at me anymore , she got so caught up in her own story that she started looking just past me . I had to think that night through . How were they following my every move ? I needed to retrace my steps . After I entered the house , I went upstairs . I came down . Turned on the TV , went to have dinner and then this whole ordeal started . Yet something wasn 't right , something was off . Off ? No , not off . Stand - by ! The television ! I put it on stand - by when I was at the dinner table . That was it . The light was burning red then , but what I saw before Iris started her story was a light burning orange ! All of a sudden a screaming pain went through my ankle and I fell over . I could see the shadow of my husband as I raised my head up from the ground . Slowly , but steadily I turned around and looked at my ankle which had the axe cleaved into it . The man who was standing over me pulled a knife out of his belt and pulled me up by the collar of my clothing . A sound then rumbled through the area , echoing for seconds . While the echo was fading away , I could feel that the pressure of the knife reduced and my husband 's grip loosened along with it . With his entire weight , he fell on top of me . His forehead touched mine and I could feel a warm liquid running down my head . I opened my eyes and looked straight into a dead man 's glazy and empty stare . I screamed and pushed him off me . I got on my feet , struggling to stay up . Limping , I put a few meters between myself and the body before turning around to look at what went down . My husband lay dead in the sandy road . Not far away from him stood another man , a pistol with a smoking barrel in his right hand and his other hand tucked inside his pocket , hiding a rectangular object . He didn 't look in my direction . He simply stood there , looking at the body he just shot . ' That was quite the story huh , Jason ? I bet your wife would 've loved to hear that one . Jason ? Where 'd you go ? ' A fifth woman answered Iris ' question . While she wrapped up her story , I went to the television to check out the orange light that was shining . I had a short time to inspect what it was . Just as I suspected , the light didn 't come from the TV itself . There was an object placed in front of it . I took it off the TV table and pulled loose what seemed to be a cable of some kind . I still couldn 't see it very well . As soon as I grabbed the object , I could hear the 5th woman 's voice . From the corner of the room where I was standing , the candle lights illuminated the faces of the women . I had spent a few hours with those women in the room , yet I didn 't get accustomed to their eerie , emotionless , pale faces . I could see that Iris had now also closed her eyes . The woman next to her , all the way on the left of the couch was staring at me . Never did I understand why each of them only spoke one at a time . I walked closer to the couch and my chair and stepped into the light . I had reached the point where my fear turned into anger . Knowing that I found the device that kept me at a disadvantage , knowing that I destroyed the connection , gave me strength . That was what my wife meant … that 's how they knew what was happening in the house . Of course they couldn 't see anything in the darkness , but they could hear everything that was going on . She stared at me . I knew I had her right where I wanted her . The tremble in her voice gave away her insecurity about the change of the situation . ' The last hours , I sat here , listening to the morbid , disturbing and farfetched stories that you threw in my way … And I 'm tired of it . So tell me . How are you going to communicate with your accomplices now ? ! ' With extra emphasis on the last word I threw the device on the ground and stamped on it . The woman on the couch still only looked at me . Her expression didn 't change . The same emotion I saw in the eyes of Marianne showed in hers , yet it seemed stronger . I walked up to her , grabbed her by the hair and pulled her off the couch on her knees . She didn 't struggle , yet she kept her head straight . I reached for the knife I stuck into the table and put it close to her neck . ' Listen to me . I 'm changing the way this test of you works . Either you tell me where you are holding her , or I will kill 4 of you and take one of you with me to the place . I 'm sure that your accomplices will figure out that the connection was cut , but without some kind of struggle preceding the cut it 's easy for them to believe that it 's the result of some faulty wiring . It 's not like that camera can pick up anything besides sound in this darkness anyway . Now . Tell me ! ' She didn 't say anything back to me . She simply sat there , waiting , hoping that I wouldn 't do what I was about to do . There 's only so much pressure someone can take . And I had too much that night . ' 2 … ' Still nothing … No word from the other women on the couch either . I turned my eyes towards the woman on the floor . She still laid in silence . The head that felt so heavy before , turned lighter as soon as I made the cut . Kilograms of weight turned into mere grams and as I opened my eyes I saw that the hair I was holding in my hand vaporized into thin air . That which was a woman before , turned into … nothingness . Unsure as to what happened , I looked up and saw the other women on the couch . Down all their cheeks rolled a single tear . I glanced at the knife and noticed there was no blood on it . All of a sudden I felt some movement in my pocket . I took a few steps backwards and reached inside . I felt the vibration of a phone , my phone ! Quickly and anxiously I grabbed it out of my pocket . Without looking at the screen , I picked up . ' Nothing Jason , nothing … They 're not doing anything . But he is . He 's doing the same thing he 's been doing for over 300 years . ' ' I 'm so sorry , Jason . I was just looking for a way out . We all were … You had to be patient , that 's what you had to do . That 's why you were picked . But you couldn 't … ' While she was talking , I could hear her sobbing . I didn 't know what the hell she was talking about . It made no sense . I was pacing around the room while listening to her . ' No , Jason . Don 't you get it ? All of us have to go . We have to , it 's his test . We all failed it . ' I wanted to say something to her , but the connection stopped . I tried calling her again , but it went straight to voicemail . Everything happened so fast . Desperate , I turned towards the couch again to speak with the women , but there was no trace of them anymore . Instead , a man in a dark cloak had appeared on the couch . The candles illuminated his pale face . He was staring at me . In his lap laid a book . He was writing in it without even looking at the pages . He got up from the couch without replying to my question . He walked around the table and started to put out the candles . As he moved to the final candle , he replied to me . Total darkness surrounded us as he left his disturbing statement . I lay down my pen and put my head against the wall . I 've been writing for a few days now . Every time I remembered something , a detail of what happened that night , I wrote it down . But I still don 't understand where I am . And I have no idea if my wife is safe … Oh , Marie … what have I done ? The man with the book . He said to me that I failed . My wife said I failed … It wasn 't until I wrote it all down that I put the link between the man in Marianne 's story and the man that appeared in my house . But who is he ? ' The man with the book you call him . We call him the warden . Most of us have seen him . Either when we were alive , or when we were here . ' ' You know , I … I mean Marianne , was the first one to ever meet the warden . It was more than 350 years ago that he started his tests . I remember the story so well . Marianne was the very first of his test subjects . ' ' I know a lot about her , Jason . And about Annie , Rose , Iris . And yes , about Marie too … I 've seen it all . Jason , I was there the night you got taken . ' ' Yes . . . yes you did . My name 's Elizabeth . I never got the chance to apologize for the situation I got you into . Jason … I truly am sorry that you are locked in here and I 'm very sorry for the night at your house . ' The woman didn 't make any sense . I need more information . I need to know what happened and I have a strong feeling that she can explain everything . ' Wait , wait … You were at my house ? Then what are you doing here ? Where are we now anyway ? Who are you ? And who the hell is the warden ? ' ' Alright , Jason . I realize you need some help figuring out why you 're here . Consider this the 5th story then , my story . Only this time there 's no test . There 's just you , listening to what I have to say . I 'm sure it 's easier for you now , knowing that there are no lives at stake here . ' ' The warden is an evil creature . It 's still unknown to those who have seen him what he is exactly . Is he the devil ? Is he a god of some kind ? Nobody knows . The warden tests people . It 's anyone 's guess why he puts people to the test and locks them up if they fail . You , me and all the other women you saw that night at your house have been tested . Most of them even multiple times . As I said before , more than 350 years ago the warden first appeared . His test subject was Marianne . As you heard from her story , she didn 't survive hers . ' Most of the prisoners here didn 't understand what the warden meant with it . You didn 't either … But I 'm sure you have come up with some theories , haven 't you ? ' ' I figured 79 years was the number of years I had to spend in here . But the 5 granted I couldn 't place … I thought maybe it had to do something with parole , but why would someone who puts people in prison like this be using a parole system ? It doesn 't make sense . ' ' Parole … You 're not far off though . You have to understand that the prisoners are granted a chance of getting out of here . A chance in the form of a test . Jason , do you remember the story that Annie told you ? Annie was given that chance , or should I say … Marianne was given that chance . ' ' The warden gives people a chance to … redeem themselves as it were . They 're given a chance to get out of here , but the only way they can get released from this prison is by doing a test . A test , just like the one you got . Only this time , they get to be the tester . However in reality , it is just the warden 's way of getting more people in his prison . ' ' Her soul . Marianne was dead after he stabbed her , there was no way he could keep her body alive in the prison . Yet her soul kept on living . And that 's when he decided to continue his tests and keep on collecting souls in his prison . He gave Marianne 61 years of imprisonment with 10 years granted . ' ' After so many years in a dark cage , with nothing to live for , you take every chance you get of getting out of it . After 51 years , the warden came to Marianne and offered her a way out . On one condition … she had to find a new subject within 10 years , test the person and make sure he or she passed the test . Only then would she be released . ' ' No , the warden doesn 't let any soul out of his cell until the moment of testing . So he made Marianne an offer . He would let part of her soul go to the world of the living in her place to find a test subject . The split soul would then be too weak to return to a human form and escape on its own , but just strong enough to perform the task that was assigned . ' ' She did . What else could she do ? And that 's where Annie comes into play . She is part of Marianne and she is the one who got sent out to find a subject . Finding a subject is the only thing she had to do . The warden still models the tests , every part of it . And just like everyone in this prison , she was given a specific element to test on . I 'm sure you can guess which one that was … ' ' That 's right … Once the subject was found and the test was prepared and put into place , Marianne could join Annie in the test . Unfortunately , the woman in the house who possessed all the riches there was to possess , would rather die than get split of a single part of it . ' ' The warden has a sick mind . He puts people in situations they don 't have any control over . It wasn 't fair to have you listen to 5 people 's stories either when your wife was in trouble . Neither was it fair to test Iris ' husband for forgiveness . But we couldn 't say anything … I saw you look into our eyes so many times , Jason . ' ' Yes . Naturally certain details of the stories changed , but the tests were real … After Marianne and Annie failed theirs , another 61 years passed until the next test . Of course you remember Iris ' story . Then after that was Rose 's , who had to test loyalty . And all parts of the soul were there too . The three women who were tricking her man into being disloyal were Marianne , Annie and Iris . Another unfair test . After that it was my turn to be the tester , but I 'm not going to bother you with the details . And then , finally … ' I finish her sentence without thinking . It 's hard for me to believe that I spent 10 years with her , while she was only there to provide an exit for herself . I turn my head away from the corridor and place the back of my head in between two bars . Behind me , Elizabeth continues to talk . ' Your test … was patience . That was the one I got assigned , that was the test I sent part of me back to earth for . And that 's why there were 5 women on your couch on the night of the test . And 1 woman missing . All 6 the same person , all part of the same soul . I know I 've apologized to you before . And I know it won 't help anything , but you have to understand that I 've tried my hardest to make sure everything would be fine . If you had passed the test , I could 've gone back to earth to live with you , as Marie . She was the last soul after all . And then all of us would be free . All 6 of me … And all 7 of us . ' ' Yes they are . The split is permanent . . . Unless you pass the test . Then all splits will be undone and you will get released in the form of the last soul . In my case , I would go back as Marie . ' Well , I 'm not going to condemn an innocent soul to this prison . The warden can fuck off for all I care . There is no way in hell that he is going to get any new prisoners through me . I know it seems stupid and I understand that it 's not Marie in the cell opposite of me , it 's Elizabeth . Yet their souls are connected . They are part of each other . They are the same . I can 't help but still feel attached to her . After all , everything I did that night , I did to secure her safety . I walk towards the bars again and sit down . Hesitantly , I put my arm through the bars and grab her hand , hoping that Marie can feel my touch as I hold Elizabeth 's hand . The prisoner in cell 2014m once wrote that he wasn 't going to condemn anyone to my prison . That 's what most say once they figure out the way my tests work . Strangely enough he has held on to that thought longer than anyone I 've ever put in here . It has now been 64 years since his imprisonment and I can see that he 's contemplating going back on earth to try and free himself . Ah … yes . It 's because of that prisoner that used to be in cell 1953a . They have gotten pretty attached to each other since they met . Love . Gross . It hit me after I read his book . That 's why he wants to get out . That 's why he 's changing his mind . 3 years ago , prisoners of cell 2014a , 1953a , 1892a , 1831a , 1770a and 1709 managed to pass their test . I never thought that would happen . I suppose that those who have been here long enough have gotten used to the rules and have gotten used to my methods . Well I think it 's about time I change my methods then . He sits at his old wooden table . His chamber is lit by candle light as always . In front of him lay 8 books . 7 closed , 1 open . He doesn 't even realize that he 's talking to himself . ' Yes … this will make a good novel . I have to put their stories together . I bet he 'll love that . I might let him read it , but only if he really wants to . I better find some good entries , ' he says before he starts to flip through the 7 books that lay in front of him . ' Oh … this is a good one . I 'll put that there . And then … hers . I 'll have to start with his story , that 's the basis . Oh yes , this will be great . Too bad he 's not good at remembering dialogue . Oh but I can use hers … And hers . Their stories are marvelous … So much more detailed than his . This is what I was looking for . Oh … I don 't really like that part . I 'll have to do something about that . He might not like it as much though … I just have to make sure I follow his story . That 's the most important . ' ' Ah … I need to start my new tests soon . Good thing I already have an ending for the story . Should I tell him ? No , I shouldn 't . ' ' Where did I write it down again ? Aha ! There it is . That will fit perfectly . Let me just rip that part out … and put it there . Perfect . Now it 's done . My best so far . ' ' It 's finished . My best so far , you can read it . It documents my work perfectly , ' he tells me . He gets up to pick up a new , empty book from his enormous bookshelf that stretches out for meters . He sticks it under his arm and slowly walks out the room into the darkness , on to another series of tests . I get up from my chair and sit at the desk . The stories that are told in the book that lies in front of me are very familiar to me . As I read through it , I realize it isn 't the warden who is responsible for the chain of events that is described on these pages . It is me . I made all that happen . He came to me once . He said that he wanted to make me an offer . He asked me to find a victim for his test . What he asked me that one night he showed up inside my house , sounded too good to be true . Find a subject for his test and be granted … immortality . A deal of a lifetime he called it . So I did . I did find him one . I told him that my wife would be perfect for his test . A few days after that , I told my wife that I had to leave town for a few days to take care of some business . Well . . the warden kept his word and granted me immortality . However it wasn 't the immortality that I had hoped for . He put me in this room , where he spends most his time writing and compiling stories . I 've tried to escape many times , but every time I failed . I 've already filled many pages about my futile attempts in my own books . I won 't write them down again , not here at least . I 've read many of the books from his large bookcase . All of them are filled with the stories of his prisoners . Thousands of pages full of misery and despair . But this book is personal . I am the one responsible for the start of this story and so I will be the one to end it , not him !