Out of Time Read Online Free PDF Page B

through. I can’t guarantee
you’ll find your way back.” he said to her. His tone then became
even more solemn and much quieter. “Sometimes they never do. They
just get...lost.”
    “Were the people outside the attic door lost?
Betsy was there and she found her way out.” Sasha mentioned.
    “Out of time.” Mankus added. “She didn’t end
up where she should be. Her imprint is yearning for her past
life. The one she was supposed to live.”
    “I don’t know if I believe in all that. What
if she’s been here this whole time?” Sure, it could be true. It
didn’t explain how exactly this whole place appeared out of a
closet, but there were plenty of creeps in the world and capturing
young girls might be right up someone’s alley.
    “You can try to find her.” Mankus offered and
provided more instruction. “Just be wary of the doors in this
house. Some lead nowhere. Some lead out of here. Some lead to
another room in the house. They are always changing.”
    “Can you help me find my way back?” Sasha
wondered. Mankus looked down at the ground, blinking slowly.
    “I could...but then I would be lonely
again.”
    “Why can’t you leave?” she asked him,
noticing the pain that has started to stretch across his face. She
wondered how old he was.
    “The doors don’t lead anywhere for me.” he
told her and she could tell he was telling the truth. His truth anyway.
    “None of them?” Sasha asked, her jaw
dropping.
    “In the house, they are all to the
house. The exterior doors all lead to a closet. Only for me.” he
told her. No wonder he was sad.
    “Where are the windows? I’ve seen some here
and there. It’s too dark to see what’s out there.” Sasha said.
    “Oh yes!” Mankus said, his face perking up.
“Sometimes the windows show what is on the other side of the door. If you can find a window and see what’s on the other
side.”
    Sasha was trying to process it all. She was
stuck in a place between time, with a man who was stuck in time, and with hardly any way to get out of her predicament. Suppose I found a window and door. What would I do? What if it
was the wrong time, like Betsy? How long had Mankus been trapped
here? He had to have parents.
    “What time are you from?” she finally
asked him.
    “I...don’t know.” Mankus said to her. “I’ve
been here since I was a child.”
    Sasha shuddered at the thought of a child
being all alone in this depressing house. “A child? How old were
you?”
    “Ten. I don’t know what happened exactly. All
I know is my parents went to go to the market and never came back.
When I went looking for them I realized all doors led to closets.
I’ve met people who tried to give an explanation of why this is
happening, but I’ve given up trying to fight this prison.” Mankus
told her, releasing a lonely sigh.
    “Where do you get food? Supplies? Candles?”
Sasha asked, feeling that even though she was talking to an adult,
his still hadn’t matured from being left as a child. He still
wanted human interaction and friendship, the basic necessities of
human sanity.
    “Through the doors. Whenever I open a door, I
always find something I need on the closet floor.” he said.
    “So it’s almost like you were chosen to be here?” Sasha assessed, trying to provide some comfort that
his situation wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
    “I guess I’m the caretaker of time.” Mankus
said softly.
    “Time travel, more like.” Sasha laughed
nervously.
    “Are you going to go, then?” Markus wondered,
his voice strained. His eyes started to glaze over, as if he was
fighting tears.
    “I have to. I have to find my way back.
They’ll all be looking for me.” Sasha said to him, but he shook his
head, as if she didn’t understand.
    “Unless you find your present time, but
that’s very rare.” Mankus said solemnly.
    “Do people ever get lost and then come back
to you?” Sasha inquired. Mankus nodded quickly.
    “That’s what happened to Betsy. I’m not