by Ike Hamill
“Is it going to be big enough for all of us?” Brad asked Liam.
“Yeah. Easily, I think. Carrie has a count of how many people it can hold. I don’t remember the exact number, but it was more than twice the number of us who came initially.”
“Good,” Romie said. “And how long will supplies last?”
“I don’t know,” Liam said. “Maybe we can find Carrie.”
“That’s okay,” Brad said. “I’m sure people have already thought everything through. Are Robby and the kids…”
He didn’t even finish his question before they saw Janelle come around the corner. She was looking back at her father and brother and didn’t see them until Romie called to her. Then, the girl ran and practically jumped into Romie’s hug.
“I’m an old lady,” Romie said. “You’re going to knock me down.”
Robby came up and clapped an arm around Brad.
“Decided this was the place to be, huh?”
Brad nodded. “Unfortunately, we had some trouble at home. Most of the people are here safely.”
Robby seemed to understand the implication—some of the people hadn’t made it at all.
“We should talk about what happened. Not just back in Gladstone—also what’s going on in the stairwell.”
Robby’s eyebrows went up.
“Come with us—we’re headed for the cafeteria,” Robby said.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Romie said.
The kids led the way and they all walked together down the passage. It was like homecoming for many of the families. Some people didn’t travel all that often between Gladstone and Donnelly, and they were seeing old friends for the first time in a while. Coupled with the relief of being in this safe place, spirits were high. Brad was happy that they had found refuge. After what they had been through, everyone deserved it.
Robby led them to a relatively quiet corner of the cafeteria. He took their orders, not promising the availability of anything in particular.
“Hot sandwich,” Romie said. They knew what she meant. Romie like open-faced sandwiches with gravy. The contents of the sandwich weren’t as important as the gravy.
“I would love a salad, if there’s any lettuce at all,” Brad said.
Jim and Janelle went with their father. While they sat, Mike came over to say hi.
“Tough time down in Gladstone, huh?” Mike asked.
“You’ve talked to people?” Romie asked.
“A couple.”
“It is what it is,” Romie said. “Not the worst thing we’ve all been through, but it was bad.”
“Because it was so weird,” Brad added.
Mike nodded. “I was sincerely hoping that everything was local to Donnelly. I guess that was just wishful thinking. I think I’ve aged a month in the days we’ve been down here.”
Someone called to him and Mike said a quick goodbye so he could find out what was going on. Brad watched as the small group headed out. They didn’t look panicked—he was glad for that.
Robby and the kids came back a couple of minutes later. Brad’s eyes were drifting shut as he propped his head up with his arm. The sight of the food revived him. Romie rubbed her hands together the way she always did before she started into a meal that she was looking forward to. The kids sat down with baked potatoes. Robby had a chunk of fish.
“Bold,” Brad said, pointing with his fork toward Robby’s meal.
“It’s either bad or it’s about to go bad. I’m not sure which.”
“I wanted breakfast,” Jim said, “but there was nothing ready. I would have had to cook the eggs myself.”
“The horror,” Romie said.
Jim shot her a look.
“So, what has been going on in Gladstone?” Robby asked. “I overheard some stuff in the kitchen, but only about last night.”
Brad perked up at that—he started to put something together from what Mike said.
“This is going to sound crazy, but then again, everything does lately. When did we leave for Gladstone?”
Robby looked up and then back down to Brad.
“Tuesday, I want to say?”
“And what day is it now?”
“Friday,” Jim said. His father nodded.
Brad looked at Romie to see if she was as surprised as he was. She was busy with her sandwich.
“Romie? What day is it?”
She glanced at her wrist and answered without any indication that she thought her answer would be surprising.
“Thursday.”
“Huh,” Robby said. “Something strange going on with time, you think?”
Brad shrugged. “Something. And that’s not all. I have to tell you what we heard in the stairwell.”
Brad’s story started in the stairwell, but he kept having to back up to give Robby the whole picture. By the time he was done, he had told them all about the trip south and the ribbon in the sky. The only parts he left out were the more gruesome details of the murders at the school. The kids didn’t need to hear about that. Robby seemed to understand that Brad was editing as he went. His eyes communicated that they would catch up about it later.
“Well,” Robby said, finishing his meal. “We know about the Center. We’ve had a couple encounters with that. If I don’t miss my guess, the Center is also the reason why we weren’t alerted that you guys were waiting at the overpass, as well. The Center is probably listening right now.”
“It’s okay,” Jim said. “We neutralized it.”
“Let’s not be so sure,” Robby said. “If the cameras are being picky about what they’re showing us now, then there’s still some mischief going on.”
Romie put down her fork with a contented sigh.
“Someone said something about a bed?”
Robby smiled.
“If you want to get set up in your own quarters, I would assume that they’re doing assignments in Pod Four,” Robby said.
“What’s the other option?”
“You’re welcome to the room that we’ve been using. The kids and I are up, so you can relax in there and worry about a bed assignment when everyone else is settled.
“Sold,” Romie said. “Show me the way.”
They all stood.
They left Romie to the room so she could get cleaned up and then take a nap. Brad stuck with Robby and the kids and they gave him a more complete tour. It ended at the control room where Jackson was taking a shift at watching the cameras.
“No outside views at all?” Robby asked.
Jackson shook his head.
“We had one shot of the road that was on for maybe forty-five minutes. There was nothing really visible though. After sunset, the camera flipped over to infrared, I guess, but there wasn’t a creature stirring. The only thing notably different was I could see the tail end of one of the Gladstone vehicles. Liam told me that you guys had landed.”
“The camera only showed you our vehicle after we had gotten inside?” Brad asked.
“Yeah. Great system, right?” Jackson said.
Brad locked eyes with Robby. “You think this system is being selective about what it shows us?”
Robby gave him a small nod. The kids were watching them intently, absorbing every word.
“Jim, Janelle, see if you can get that display to show us the outside, could you?” Robby asked. The kids took the assignment seriously. They conferred briefly and then asked Jackson for his permission before they reached past him and began to operate the controls. Robby turned back to Brad and lowered his voice to a whisper.
“I believe your friend in the stairwell is responsible for letting you in. We might need more help on that front before this is over,” Robby said.
“You think we’re in danger?”
“I believe we’re safe as long as we’re doing what the system wants us to do.”
“Who would design a system like that?” Brad asked.
“Some things aren’t designed.”
Before Robby had a chance to expl
ain himself, Jim interrupted.
“The whole menu system has changed, Dad. Come take a look.”
Robby raised his eyebrows and went to see.
Brad couldn’t understand any of it. Everything on the screen was in a weird language. The scribbles didn’t seemed to be comprised of any repeating glyphs that Brad could understand. In that way, it reminded Brad of the odd writing that some people had left as their final act before committing suicide, years before. Those messages had been symbolic representations of a buried instinct, at least according to Robby. The stuff on the screen didn’t have the same effect. None of them appeared to be entranced by what was displayed.
Robby pointed at a line and mumbled to his kids.
“Oh!” Jim said. His quick hand darted out and he touched the screen to activate one of the options.
“Jim,” Robby said with a sigh. “Can we talk about what we’re going to press before you press it?”
“Sorry,” Jim said. “But look.”
They all peered at the screen as it lit up with a view of the outside. It was a wide shot of the overpass and the big exit door, all sealed up. The green and black colors made Brad assume that it was some sort of night vision camera.
“That’s where we parked,” Brad said.
“What is that?” Janelle asked. Her finger pointed toward the corner of the screen. She was careful not to touch it.
Brad had to move closer to see what her sharp eyes had locked onto.
“Somebody is still out there?” Jackson asked.
“I don’t think so,” Robby said. “I don’t think that’s a person.”
Brad didn’t want to tell them what he thought the shape was. To him, it looked like maybe one of the corpses that they had seen out there hadn’t stayed put.
It didn’t take more than a moment for Jim to come to the same conclusion.
“That’s a zombie,” Jim said. “I’ve seen them in movies.”
“It’s not,” Robby said.
They all stared at the screen for a few minutes. The wandering shapes always stayed at the very edge of the view of the camera. It was maddening. Just when Brad thought they might get a good look at one of them, it would turn and slowly shuffle out of view again. Jackson and the kids were transfixed. Robby moved back a little and then glanced over to Brad. He looked concerned, but also skeptical, like he refused to believe his own eyes.
“Maybe it’s time for us to have a conversation with your stairwell,” Robby said.
“Sure,” Brad answered.
The kids waved goodbye to Jackson and Robby led the way back down the passage. Brad kept referring to the markings on the walls and floor. He still couldn’t figure out the scheme.
“I’ve walked more in the past week than in the past year,” Brad said.
“It’s good for you,” Jim said.
Brad gave the child a withering look, but it didn’t land. One day, Brad hoped that they would understand what it was like to grow old. They deserved to have the opportunity to suffer through failing joints and muscles.
Flanked by Sariah and Mike, Carrie came around the corner at a fast pace.
“Robby, Brad, I’m glad we found you. We have problems in Pods One and Four,” Carrie said. She waved to them as she reversed direction. Robby and the kids easily matched their stride. Brad limped, trying to keep up.
“Doors?” Robby asked.
“Yes. How did you guess?”
“Liam had an issue earlier. He said that his door wouldn’t let him out,” Robby said.
“I sent a couple of people to fetch tools from the supply room,” Sariah said. “If we can force the doors open, I think we should disable the mechanism until we figure out the malfunction.”
“I’m afraid that might force the problem to another system,” Robby said.
“Oh? How so?” Carrie asked.
They rounded another corner and paused so Brad could catch up. He wanted to tell them to go ahead without him, but he was afraid that if they did he might be lost in the passages.
“This might be a distraction to keep us occupied,” Robby said. “In fact, I’m almost certain of it. I believe you have the right approach on this. If it’s okay with you, we’ll go back to what we intended to do. It might be the only way to deescalate this crisis.”
Carrie stopped and regarded Robby carefully. “If you think it’s best.”
Robby nodded. Gathering his kids, he pointed and they continued back the way they had come. Carrie, Mike, and Sariah went back to handle the issue with the doors. Brad watched them go.
“Are you sure, Robby? Sounds like people are trapped, doesn’t it?”
“They are,” Robby said. “But if we let the system distract us, we only give it more power.”
“Okay.”
Every time they passed through a doorway, Brad wondered if Robby could be correct. If what he was saying was true, why wasn’t this mysterious system trying to impede them? Wasn’t it capable of simply locking the door that kept them from the utility room, or locking the exit to the stairwell.
Brad didn’t voice his skepticism. He only followed Robby and the kids as they made their way between the big machines and then up the short flight of stairs that led to the catwalk. Finally, with his hand on the door to the stairwell, Robby turned to Brad.
“Through here, correct?”
“Yes. Why—is there another stairwell that I haven’t seen?” Brad asked.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Robby said.
He pushed through the door. The lights were off. The sound of the door hitting the stop echoed back down to them from above. Jim found a flashlight in his pocket and clicked it on. A second later, his sister’s light joined. The kids cast their beams around, sending shadows of the handrails up into the darkness above.
“After you,” Robby said.
Brad led the way. He pulled himself up with each stair, pausing often to listen. As far as he knew, there was no guarantee that the voice would be at the same landing that it was at before. There was no guarantee that it would be there at all. Romie had heard it—Liam had too. Brad wished they were there to back up his account.
“I think it was up here,” Brad said, pointing as he turned to the next flight.
Robby hung back while Brad moved up to the landing and then lowered himself down to sit on one of the steps leading up. For a moment, Brad simply listened. The kids were craning their necks upwards with their eyes chasing their flashlight beams.
“Charlie,” Brad whispered.
When he did, the kids both pointed their beams at him. Brad raised a hand to block them from his eyes and the kids pointed the flashlights down at the floor.
“Charlie, can you turn on the lights.”
For a moment, he thought he heard a low hiss. It went away.
Robby gave him another full minute and then put his hands on the shoulders of his kids. After he whispered something, the three of them began to back slowly down the stairs, leaving Brad alone in the dark.
“Charlie,” Brad whispered again. “Are you there?”
It was silly, sitting alone in the dark and whispering to an empty stairwell. It would have been completely absurd except for the gathering hiss that eventually formed itself into a single word.
“Hello?” Charlie asked.
Brad leaned forward, surprised that it had actually worked again.
“Charlie, I brought my friends.”
After a long moment, the hiss gathered again. “I know.”
“Will you talk to them.”
“No…” the hiss whispered. Brad frowned to himself, shaking his head. Then, another word joined the first. “lights.”
“Sorry?” Brad asked.
“I don’t want the lights,” the hiss answered.
“Okay,” Brad whispered back. He raised his voice and called for the others. Before they had climbed more than a couple of steps, Brad told them Charlie’s stipulation. Robby quietly told his kids what to do and they tried to argue with him
for a second. Then, after their complaints were heard, they gave in. The lights went out and their feet began to slowly climb upwards. When Brad heard them round the final set of steps, he whispered again so they would know where he was.
“They’re coming, Charlie. Can you hear them?”
The hiss grew slowly until it swelled into a response. “Yessssssss.”
“Did you hear that?” Brad asked.
“Yeah,” Jim said.
“I heard it,” Janelle said at the same time.
Brad heard them cross the landing and then felt Janelle brush his side as she sat next to him. He put his arm around her and wasn’t surprised to feel her squeeze close. She had always said that she had never been afraid of the dark, but her room at home was filled with things that gave off a glow at night. She practically collected digital clocks and they lit her room with a green hue every night.
“Charlie, will you talk to my friend Robby? He has some questions,” Brad whispered.
There was no answer for a time. Brad was beginning to think that Charlie had gone shy when the hissing finally came back.
It developed into a single word.
“Okay,” the voice said.
Brad blinked at the darkness and flinched back at the sound of Robby’s full voice.
“Charlie, we’re not going to play any games,” Robby said.
There was no answer.
“We know you and the Center are playing a game and trying to frighten us. It won’t work.”
Robby sounded almost angry. He was using the same voice that he used with the kids when they balked at his authority. It rarely worked with the kids. Brad suspected that the ploy wouldn’t have any luck with Charlie either.
“There’s no game,” the voice whispered.
“Then turn on the lights,” Robby said.
The hissing came back almost immediately. “It’s not up to me.”
“Turn on the lights,” Robby said again.
“I can’t.”
“Turn them on, or we’re leaving you. I don’t mean back downstairs, either. I mean we’re going to pack up and leave this entire place.”