'It's getting scary to me. 'thought Katharina on the way home. She had every reason to, because Jen, Chris and Simon followed her. Yet again. They had been with her all the time at school. 'What on earth is this supposed to do? 'she asked worriedly. She went on hastily. She had already rushed past the bus stop, just to be sure it was just a coincidence. This wish had not come true. 'Maybe they're just following me because they're new to school. ', she had initially thought, but only until Jen even followed her to the bathroom.

The three of them still followed her at regular intervals. The next stop would be coming soon. 'I will stop there and confront them. Cost what it may. 'But that was just deluded confusion. It was something else that drove her in that direction. A power that was indescribable. Simply unimaginable and seemingly, only seemingly unreachable.
Katharina looked around, just to make sure that the three of them kept the regular distance.She was surprised to find that they had given up the chase. She knew in the deepest subconscious that this was not a good sign. Unfortunately she wasn't paying attention at that moment and ran ... against a wall. It was the old brick wall of a dilapidated house. The old rickety shutters were down and the covered entrance was littered with graphite and one wall was painted over with children's chalk.
She wanted in there. No. She had to go in there. It was as if everything she wanted was in this house. What she was looking for. Now she realized that it was in this house what she was looking for, although not consciously. It had been right in front of her the whole time. 'Why? I should have thought of it or noticed it! '

Now she stood there in disbelief. She didn't know whether to go on or go into the house. Although she knew it was wrong and that she would regret it later, she stepped on the first of the three steps that led to the house entrance.When she had climbed these three steps, the door opened as if by magic. 'I thought it was locked. 'She was now looking into a narrow old hallway from whose wall the wallpaper was peeling off the wall and when she stepped into the hallway, the floor covered with wooden slats creaked. In this house, according to the layer of dust, hadn't been in a long time. The hallway had two doors on the right and left. At the end of the corridor was a staircase whose steps, which were also made of wood, looked as if they would collapse at any time. But she didn't do that when Katharina climbed the stairs. Something was there. Something powerful, neither good nor bad, was up there and called her. Actually Katharina would have been scared, even very scared, in this situation and would have gone straight home. Above it looked exactly the same as below, but directly opposite the stairs there was an old portrait that immediately jumped in the eyes and captivated Katharina and only intensified her urge to discover the secret of this house.It showed an old man with a white beard and a strange robe. He was very thin. 'Actually, the picture is pretty beautiful. 'thought Katharina. The only thing that bothered her was: the man had totally white eyes. This man had no pupils and irises.
She knew that now was the last chance to turn back, but as before she did not listen to her inner voice, but was drawn to the unknown. This time she looked at the four rooms. There was nothing special in the first three rooms. Hold what you needed to live In the fourth room, however, it was IT. What Katharina was looking for was in this room. In this room there was a bed, a table and chair and ... a bookshelf that only held one book. 'This book? 'asked Katharina. 'Is it supposed to be this book?'

She didn't notice anything anymore. Nothing. Not the rumble that announced that several people were coming up the stairs. Katharina was now holding the book in one of her hands.Her other hand was already on the book cover to open it. Her fingers slipped under the lid and ... the door popped open and off its hinges. Chris, Jen and Simon rushed in. Katharina seemed to wake up from a deep dream. She was startled and dropped the book. With a loud scream from Chris it fell to the ground and was now open for a long time.
The aura of power that had been felt in this house all along became even stronger. Katharina only saw strange figures sketched on the open page for a short time. These were literally pulled out of the book and a pack of "cards?", Breathed Katharina. For a brief, very brief moment, the cards hovered quietly in the air, but then they sprang apart in all directions. They disappeared through the window, even through the ceiling and floor, and to Simons and Jens regretfully also through the door. Jen and Simon were torn from their feet by the cards and landed in the hallway - the cards are only 15 cm high and 5 cm wide but it doesn't matter -.Chris jumped up to the book to catch a few cards. However, it was only one that he could prevent from escaping.

As soon as it all happened, the situation relaxed again. "What was that?" Asked Katharina, not because she wanted to know, but because she could no longer bear this silence. "Those were your guardian spirits.", Chris said, but she didn't know exactly what he meant by that. 'I'm not a shaman or anything. ', she thought. Chris, who was lying on his stomach, straightened up and looked worried and breathless at Katharina. He took a step towards her and wanted to grab her arm, but Katharina pulled him back and carefully avoided looking at him. She felt sick. "Everything OK?" Asked Chris. Katharina nodded. "Everything OK.", She said after all. She looked up and straight into his eyes, which showed exactly what hers probably showed ... fear.

Outside in the hallway came two low, high-pitched screams.Chris checked what was happening out there, while Katharina noticed that Chris had not only held up one but two cards, but put one of the two in his pocket.
She followed him. But Jen and Simon weren't out there in the hallway. Katharina saw two ... yes? What actually. These THINGS looked like mythical creatures. At most Katharina would have imagined will-o'-the-wisps like this - Yuri, if you've read Unterland, you know where I got the idea from-.
One red, Jen, and the other blue, Simon.
"I think", Chris sighed. "We'll go to Waldenki now."
Katharina looked at him questioningly and said: "What kind of forest?"