Tobias reached out and grabbed an edge. He tried to pull the tapestry away from the wall but it was stuck to it.
“Here,” Keith said, handing Tobias the flashlight. “You have to roll it up from the bottom.”
Keith leaned down and grabbed the very bottom edge. With some effort, he rolled the center part of the tapestry up twelve inches. It wasn’t easy to see, but the pattern on the material disguised what was a nice-sized flap that Keith was now pushing up. Tobias saw steps hidden behind the material. He would have been excited about it, but down the hall they could hear singing voices patrolling the school.
“Someone’s coming,” Tobias warned. He flipped the flashlight off. “Roll faster.”
Keith pushed up the fabric as fast as he could. The singing voices were getting closer and there was a soft gray beam of light at the end of the hall. Tobias reached down and pulled the cloth up a couple more inches. Keith crawled through the opening. Tobias didn’t have to be told to follow. He crawled back behind the tapestry and let the flap drop, closing them in on the thin stairs hidden behind it. Neither one moved a muscle as the sound of someone softly singing grew nearer and nearer.
Footsteps passed in front of the tapestry while the song drifted through the material and rested on their ears.
The way is clear; the means are mighty
In glow of day or on the night sea.
Repent, repair, and wish them well.
Too soon to tell, too soon to tell.
The footsteps faded and soon the sound of singing was no longer audible.
“There’s nothing funny about that,” Keith said.
“Yeah, a little too close for comfort. Come on.”
Tobias turned and began to climb the stairs. “Who found these stairs anyway?”
“Andy. He found all the passages we know of.”
“Do you think he actually made it out?” Tobias asked.
“I do, but he was kind of a jerk. I know Meghan likes him and all, but he wasn’t a nice person. He probably made it out and just didn’t bother to tell anyone or find a way to rescue us.”
“I don’t think anyone would do that,” Tobias said. “If I ever get out, I’m telling the whole world about this awful place.”
“I feel the same way, but I have to admit that some days I wonder why I want to get out,” Keith confessed. “I mean there’s bad stuff happening here, but I’m not sure what I have to go home to isn’t worse.”
“Sometimes I think the same thing,” Tobias admitted. “I’ll get out and my dad will bring me right back. But now I need to be away from this place. It’s all about getting out.”
“That’s a good saying,” Keith said. “I can picture that on a bumper sticker.”
Both boys became quiet as they climbed. At the top of the stairs there was a tall wooden door. On the front of it there was a carving of an eagle holding a clock in its talons. It also had a large brass doorknob. Naturally, the door was locked.
“We need Meghan,” Keith said.
“Really?” Tobias said, pretending to be offended. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the homemade key he had kept beneath the loose board in his room. It no longer worked on door number seven, but this door still had one of the old locks.
He stuck the key in and it didn’t turn. He pulled it out, bent the end of the key just a bit, and then stuck it back in. The lock clicked and the door was open.
“You’re like a male version of Meghan,” Keith whispered. “She smells better, though.”
Tobias was too scared and excited to comment about that. He pushed the door and it swung open quietly. It was dark, but there were lamps in the distance lighting up small pockets of space. Tobias couldn’t see everything, but he noticed dozens of beds up against the walls.
“More dorm rooms?” Keith said, sounding disappointed.
Tobias crept down the hall between the two rows of beds. Most were filled with grown bodies that were snoring. At the far end of the long room, there was an orderly with thick black hair sitting behind a desk with his head lying on his arms. He too was snoring.
“I don’t like how this place feels,” Keith said.
“Is there any part of Witherwood that you like the feel of?”
“That swimming pool felt okay, and I like the pudding.”
“Oh, yeah, we need to talk about that.”
Hanging from the end of each bed was a chart with graphs and lines on it that Tobias didn’t understand. The chart closest to him had 78435 Kristin written across the top of it.
Someone three beds down coughed and turned over. He began to moan and Tobias could see the orderly with the black hair lifting his head. Tobias and Keith dropped to the ground as the orderly stood up. Tobias scooted beneath one of the beds while Keith scooted beneath another.
The person moaning moaned louder. His raspy voice sounded old and dry.
“I’m coming!” the orderly yelled. “Hold on.”
The man moaned until the orderly arrived and gave him something to drink. Tobias could only see the orderly’s feet, but he could hear every word he spoke.
“Drink up. It’ll help you sleep. You should be comfortable during your last days here.”
After giving him a second drink, the orderly walked away.
Tobias slipped out from beneath the bed and crouched down to see where the black-haired man had gone. Thankfully he was back at his desk resting his head once more. Tobias motioned for Keith to come out. Together they moved quietly in the opposite direction, passing the door they had come through and exploring more of the third floor.
It wasn’t the most surprising exploration due to the fact that there were just more beds and more people sleeping everywhere. Under the lamplight some of the sleeping people were easy to see, and all of them looked at least ninety years old.
“I had no idea this place was for old people too,” Keith whispered. “I thought it was just a reform school for bad children.”
“I don’t get this place,” Tobias said. “These people don’t need education; they need funerals.”
Near the northeast corner of the third floor, Tobias and Keith found what looked to be an elevator. It had a copper door and, on the wall next to it, a single button with a down arrow.
“So that’s how they get these old people up here,” Tobias said.
“And it’s made of copper. Himzakity would like that.”
“He’d be baffled by it,” Tobias said. “I wonder where this elevator comes out on the first floor. It must be somewhere behind the library.”
“We could press that button and find out,” Keith suggested.
As tempting as it sounded, Tobias knew it was a bad idea. “They’d hear us for sure. Let’s get back to the stairs and off the third floor.”
“I’m all for getting out of here,” Keith said. “Who knew this place could get creepier?”
The two boys walked slowly back to the stairs. Pockets of amber lamplight fought off the dark in spots, but it still wasn’t easy to see everything. The floor was carpeted, and the ceiling was low with thick beams of wood crossing it every ten feet. Witherwood was a place of confusion and fright, but the third floor had a feeling all its own. It was softer, and almost homey in a weird way.
They reached the stairs and Keith pulled the door open. Tobias stepped back to make room for the opening door. As he moved, his hand knocked the end of the nearest bed. The hanging chart rattled, and Tobias grabbed it to stop it from making noise.
“Quiet,” Keith mouthed.
As Tobias let go of the chart, he could just make out what was printed on top.
79235 Archie
Tobias’s knees buckled and he stumbled backward.
“Shhh,” Keith said, seriously this time.
Tobias reached out for the chart and looked at it closer.
79235 Archie.
Keith looked at the chart and shivered. “There are other people in the world named Archie.”
“I know,” Tobias replied whi
le tiptoeing closer to the front of the bed.
“What are you doing?” Keith hissed. “We should go.”
There wasn’t a lamp next to the bed, but there was enough light from a distant lamp to see what he was doing. Tobias grabbed the top of the blanket and pulled it back. Whoever was sleeping in the bed coughed slightly. Although the face was much, much older, the deep green eyes that stared at Tobias were the same—it was Archie.
I don’t care who you are, you would have screamed too.
CHAPTER 14
A PIECE IS POPPED IN
Perhaps we should take a moment to breathe. In and out. After all, we need to remember that most things pass. Bad days fade and even the most painful cuts heal. Sure, things can get heavy, but it’s important to stop and realize that, in time, that clerk who was mean to you will get ill, and that crossing guard who doesn’t wave at you will move away, and that flight attendant who won’t give you extra peanuts—well, she’s just doing what she’s told—so breathe. Don’t let things frighten you. It’s not as if you are reading a book about two children who are trapped in a school and one of them is brainwashed and the other has just discovered that their friend has aged rapidly overnight. Oh … sorry, I forgot that’s exactly what you are reading. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to take a moment and breathe.
In and out.
Keith slapped his hand over Tobias’s mouth and pulled him back through the door and onto the thin stairs. He closed the door quietly, hoping the orderly would think Tobias’s scream had come from one of the old people in the beds.
Tobias was still freaking out. Keith had his hand over Tobias’s mouth, but that didn’t stop him from convulsing and hyperventilating.
“Did you…?” Tobias tried to speak.
“I did,” Keith replied. “Let’s get somewhere safe.”
He pushed at Tobias, moving him down the stairs. At the bottom, he yanked up the flap on the tapestry. Tobias knelt and Keith pushed him through the opening and into the hall with his foot. He then scrambled right behind. Pulling down the tapestry to hide the hole, Keith jumped up and dashed toward the library. When he got to the library door, he noticed he was alone. Tobias had not followed. Running back to the tapestry, he found Tobias sitting on the floor looking dazed.
“You’re going to have to act nuts some other time.” Keith grabbed the collar of Tobias’s shirt and yanked him up. “We have to get out of here before someone comes.”
Tobias followed this time. They entered the library, passed the boxes and counter and books, and opened the secret shelf in the back corner. Once they were in the wall, Keith slid the panel shut and they took a moment to stand in the dark and wonder about what they had seen.
“It can’t be him, right?” Tobias asked.
“It seems impossible, but what I saw makes me think it was,” Keith said, flipping on his flashlight.
The space behind the wall was stuffy. Tobias could feel his own hot breath as he spoke. “He was swimming just last night. He was young.”
“Maybe he’s just wrinkled from the water,” Keith said, desperately trying to find an explanation. “You know, like how your fingers get when they’ve been soaking.”
Tobias stared at him.
“Can you come up with a better explanation?”
“No,” Tobias admitted. “Do you think all those old people are just kids who were once students here?”
“I don’t know what to think. How can someone be young one day and then as old as dirt the next? I mean what’s the point? Why would this be happening?”
“Okay, okay.” Tobias took a deep breath. “There has to be an explanation, but I would rather figure it out or hear that explanation outside of Witherwood in the safety of a completely different place.”
“Agreed. It’s all about getting out,” Keith said, repeating Tobias’s line. “But in case you forgot, we have no way to get out.”
“Fine. Tomorrow we are taking things into our own hands. If we can’t get out, we’ll bring the world in.”
Both of them were silent.
“For the record,” Keith finally said, “that was probably your best ending line yet.”
They both returned to their rooms and tried with very little success to get some sleep.
CHAPTER 15
THE FOG ROLLS OUT
Charlotte was dreaming of swings and sunlight and folding paper frogs when she was awakened by the sound of crying. She opened her eyes to take in the dark. The night was in full swing with no sign of morning. The large dorm room was quiet. She rolled over on her right side to look out the windows. Most of the long purple curtains were closed, but one of the high windows was naked. Through the glass she could see nothing.
She smiled because her brain told her to.
On the lower bunk, Sue weakly cried. It was an unusual thing to hear crying in the dorms. Everyone had glazed brains, so crying was something that just didn’t happen. Surprised by the sound, Charlotte rolled over and hung her head down to look at Sue.
“Are you crying?”
“I think so,” Sue said.
“Are you happy?”
“I’m not sure.”
Charlotte flipped around and slid off her top bunk. Sue moved her legs and Charlotte sat down.
“Ms. Ratter was just here,” Sue said.
“In the middle of the night?”
“She’ll be right back.”
“That’s nice.”
“She said I’m going somewhere.”
“She’s really helpful,” Charlotte reminded Sue.
“I know, but I don’t think I want to leave. This is where I should be.”
“She’s not taking you from Witherwood, is she?” Charlotte asked with concern. “She wouldn’t do that.”
“I don’t know where she’s taking me. I guess that might be why I’m crying.”
The sound of someone with big feet could be heard coming nearer. Ms. Ratter stopped in front of Charlotte and Sue’s bunk and folded her hands in front of her.
“It’s time,” she announced. “Get your stuff.”
“I don’t have any stuff,” Sue said nicely.
“Good,” Ms. Ratter replied. “What is she doing on your bed?”
“Charlotte heard me crying.”
“I hope they are tears of joy; you’re getting a great opportunity.”
“Okay,” Sue said.
“Will she be coming back?” Charlotte asked.
“You shouldn’t even be awake. Get in your bed.”
“Sorry.” Charlotte quickly climbed to the top of the bunk and lay down.
“Good-bye, Charlotte.”
“Good-bye.”
Ms. Ratter put one of her cold hands on Sue’s right shoulder and escorted her out of the room. Charlotte lay there with her eyes closed and her mind trying to make sense of what was happening. She folded a small piece of paper over and over in her hands. Her breathing finally began to slow, and she entered a deep sleep.
It wouldn’t last long, however.
Mere minutes after she had dozed off, someone shoved her hard from the side and sent her flying from her top bunk and down onto the floor.
Charlotte saw stars and flashes of unorganized light. She wanted to scream, but the shock of what had just happened was choking her voice. Lying on the floor, she saw the shadow of someone climbing on her bed. Before she could guess who or what it might be, the shadow jumped from the bed and landed squarely on the toes of her right foot. Charlotte’s body arched as she shot up. She opened her mouth to do some screaming, but a hand covered it and pulled her tightly. Charlotte struggled and thrashed, but whoever was holding her was too strong.
“Shhh,” her assailant whispered. “We don’t want to wake up anyone else.”
Charlotte knew it wasn’t her brother holding her because the hands were smaller and didn’t smell bad. She also knew the voice wasn’t right. But most important, Charlotte knew things. The shock and pain had been so sudden and so sharp that her brain had begun to
clear quickly.
The fog was drifting.
One by one the proper memories and ideas she had once known filled up her gray matter. Charlotte stopped struggling.
“Are you okay?” the voice finally asked.
Charlotte calmly nodded her head.
The hand over her mouth dropped, and Charlotte spoke in a whisper.
“Who are you?”
“That’s not important. Do you know who you are?”
“I do. I’m Charlotte Eggers, and I’m angry at you. Really angry.”
“Good,” Meghan said.
Charlotte was let go. She turned and sat down on the lower bed. Looking at her attacker, she spoke. “I don’t understand; do I know you?”
“Now you do. I’m Meghan. I know your brother.”
“Tobias,” Charlotte said with relief. “Where is he?”
“He should be visiting the third floor.”
“On purpose, or is he being forced to visit?”
“On purpose,” Meghan answered as her long dark hair hung loosely in front of her face.
“So he’s okay?”
“Let’s hope so,” Meghan said. “The real person you should be concerned about is Sue.”
“Who?”
“The girl who was just sleeping in that bed.”
Charlotte looked at the bed she was sitting on. “I don’t remember any girl.”
“She was just taken by Ratter.”
“Who?”
Meghan rubbed her forehead and sighed. “Ms. Ratter’s our headmistress. She oversees all the girls in the dorm. She’s cold and calculating and evil. She’s taken three girls off to another part of the school. That’s why I shoved you off your bed. I told your brother I’d keep an eye on you, and if she does come for you, I want you to be clearheaded enough to know what’s going on.”
“Thanks,” Charlotte said sincerely. She stood up and noticed Meghan was at least two inches taller than her. “So are we going after Sue?”
Meghan looked wounded. “No. We need to stay in our beds in case Ratter comes back. I have no idea where Sue was taken. And if we got caught looking for her, we’d be in more trouble than she is. So for now try to sleep. Tomorrow we’ll meet up with your brother and the others.”