As they walked into the main lobby of  the museum, Kat was apparently, or so it seemed to Rai, dying to ask Ben a question.

Which, of course, she did.

"How come this place closed?" she asked the old man. He looked at her sadly.

" It was about a year ago...the government came in, declared this place condemned, and then waltzed right out without so much as a thought about what I would like," Ben told her. " They haven't actually set a date for tearing it down yet, though."

" So...what do you do all day?" asked Kat, still curious.

" Dust the shelves, fix the pipes, check the display cases....all routine little tasks to keep myself busy." Ben sighed. " It gets rather lonely, even with..." he stopped, then went on hastily, "even with my books to keep me company."

" Oh...." Kat said.

Rai thought that Ben was a rather odd old man, and perhaps a bit suspicious, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

Suddenly, Ben spoke. "I, ah, have to go check on those pipes....if you'll excuse me for a moment?" the old man rushed off into a nearby restroom without another word.

" O-kay...." muttered Michael. "Who else thinks this guy's a little off his rocker?"

" Shut up, Michael," hissed Kat. "He might hear you."

Ben poked his head out of the restroom door. " By the way, feel free to look around." He then spoke in a louder voice. "I'm sure you won't encounter anything STRANGE!" At that last word, he was nearly yelling. 

Michael mouthed the word "skitzo" at Rai, who nodded. Ben certainly seemed like a very...odd person. Kat gave them both the I-wish-you-weren't-stupid-like-all-the-other-boys look.

" C'mon," Michael whispered in Rai's ear, " let's get outta here." With that, he made his way through a nearby doorway and into the next room.

Rai followed. As he emerged into the next room, he realized that this was the same one he had seen outside.

" Well this stinks. Just a bunch of old stuff." Michael complained.

Rai wasn't paying attention. He was suddenly being plagued by a ringing in his ears that continued to grow louder by the second.

" This place is dumb! I knew we shouldn't have come here, " Michael continued, oblivious.

Rai couldn't hear him. The ringing was now so loud that it drowned out all other sounds.

Michael stared at him, suddenly aware that something was wrong. "Um....you okay?" he asked.

The ringing continued to grow, louder and louder, and it was now so loud as to be painful. As he clutched his head in pain, Rai wondered how come Michael didn't seem to have any reaction to the sound whatsoever.

Then, just as the ringing became unbearable, the nearby window shattered as something huge and black crashed through it.

" WHAT THE HECK?!" shouted Michael.

Rai couldn't stand it anymore. He shouted, still clutching his head in pain, and suddenly every corner of the room was filled with an explosion of bright green light.