Along one wall was a boy, no older than twenty, who stared up at the ceiling with a listless intensity. Next to him was an older man in his late thirties, wearing a crisp black suit and styled hair. He stood expressionless with his hands in his pockets, like he was waiting for a bus.
“Where are we?” Simon asked.
The man in scrubs stopped pacing for a moment and shook his head. “No idea. Thought you might know. Apparently you’re the only one they brought in unconscious.”
The girl against the wall let out a muffled cry and buried her head further into her bent legs. The woman next to her slid to a crouch and rubbed the girl’s back in a fruitless attempt to calm her down.
Everyone stared at him. He didn’t have time to panic. “I have no idea. I was at work, and this woman came up and stabbed me with some needle. Then I was here.”
The scrubs man walked to the door and pounded it with a clenched fist. “Hey!” he screamed. “Let us out!”
The teenage boy sighed. “Shut up!” he screamed.
The man pounded again. “Hey!”
“Shut up!” the boy shouted even louder.
The girl let out a wail that echoed through the room. The scrubs man turned towards her and glared. “Make her stop crying,” he said to the woman.
She simply shrugged. “She’s scared.”
“We all are,” he said.
Simon moved closer to the boy whose eyes darted wildly from wall to wall. He needed an ally, or at the very least, someone who could help. Everyone had found a spot on the floor except for the one who hadn’t stopped moving since he woke up. The boy next to him didn’t look at anyone else. There was a lost look in his eye as he tugged at the string attached to his hoodie.
Simon moved closer to the boy. Each time he got near, the kid moved in turn.
“What’re you doing?” he asked.
Simon stopped where he was. The kid had turned his whole body away like Simon had maggots crawling on his skin. The look of disgust on his face was jarring. “I just—”
“Don’t talk to me.”
“Hey, c’mon...”
The boy pulled his hood over his head and buried it in his knees.
“He was in here when I got here,” the girl said as she pointed to the kid. “He was here first. Maybe he knows something.”
The man in the suit sighed loudly. “Lila, we’ve been over this. And over this. He won’t talk.”
The scrubs man walked to the corner of the room and ran his hand along the edge.
“What are you doing?” Simon asked.
“There’s got to be a way out—like a crack in the plaster or whatever. They can’t seal us in here forever. Where’s the air comin’ from?” He walked the perimeter of the room, stepping over everyone to do it.
“Sit down,” said the man in the suit.
He pulled at the door again. “I’m doing more than you. Why are you just standing there? Help me out.”
The suit man stayed at his perch with his arms crossed.
“C’mon. Help me!” His shouts went unanswered around the room. Simon tried to spot where the small whiffs of air conditioning were coming from. The scrubs man was right; it needed to be coming from somewhere. As far as he could see, the room was a solid block. Even the door was one solid piece, without a hint of a gap in the metal or vents that brought in their cool air.
“Give it up. Don’t you think we tried?”
The scrubs man gave another yank. “Yeah, well lot of good it did you.”
Lila looked up and wiped away a tear. “We’ve been here for a while. Benjamin tried already. We all screamed so loudly, and it didn’t do anything. We screamed and screamed for an hour, and they didn’t come. Nobody came.” The words sent her back into another crying fit.
The man in scrubs lifted his hands in frustration. “Doesn’t anyone else care that we’re stuck in here, and there’s no one outside that’s answering the door? I mean, seriously. What is going on?”
No one said a word.
“Don’t any of you care? What’s wrong with all of you?”
Again there was silence.
The man stared out again, and his eyes changed from fierce determination to absolute panic. He spun back to the door and began to claw at it. “Let me out!”
It wasn’t until then that Benjamin finally moved. In three long steps, he got from the wall and walked to the door. He grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and slammed him against the door. “Calm yourself,” he said.
The man wriggled and seemed to want to escape his entrapment. Benjamin used his other hand to push against the man’s chest and pin him to the wall.
“Shit, man. I can’t breathe.”
Benjamin didn’t let up. Instead, he let the man’s body move from squirming and panicky to calmed and lax. “You cannot panic. None of us can. What’s your name?”
“Dennis,” he said with a nervous squeak.
“Dennis. I need you to lower your voice, for all our sakes. Do you understand me?”
Dennis nodded. Benjamin lifted his hands and walked back to his spot on the wall. Dennis collected himself and walked back out to the center of the room like nothing had happened. “Does anyone have any idea what’s going on?” he asked in a calm mannered voice.
Five heads collectively shook no. “They spiked my drink,” Lila cried, “and then I woke up in here.”
The woman in the suit patted the girl’s back again to stifle the new series of sniffles. “I was with a patient. They just told me to come with them. This man put a bag over my head and drove. So, I have no idea where we are.”
“They didn’t knock me out. They abducted the man who was supposed to take me to the airport. The driver had a gun and told me not to fight, and I didn’t,” Benjamin said.
The kid sat with his eyes not focused on anything. Simon nudged him a bit, but his body was stiff. “You all right?”
Dennis moved in a little closer to the boy. “Yeah, how’d you get here?”
Lila lifted her head up. “He was here when I got here. It was just us for a really long time.”
“What’s your name, buddy?” Dennis asked.
The boy’s fists clenched at his side.
“He’s that guy. On TV,” Lila said quietly.
Dennis looked the kid up and down. “No shit. I thought I recognized you. Mike or something, right?”
“Milo,” Lila said.
“Ah, that’s right. Big shot over here thinks he’s too good to talk to us.”
Milo shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why not?” Simon said.
Milo’s eyes shot over, betrayed. Dennis took that opportunity to address the room. “Oh, well, isn’t that convenient. What are you, like some mole for them out there? Do you know something we don’t know? Is that it?” Dennis took long glides over to Milo and hovered over him.
“Get away from me,” he said.
Dennis kicked at Milo’s shoe which just sent the kid further into the crouched position he’d put himself in.
“Dennis, stop it,” the suit woman said.
“Shut up,” he said. “I’ve got this.” He kicked at Milo’s foot again with enough force to launch his shoe from its planted spot on the ground. Milo barely caught himself before tipping over.
“I don’t know anything. I don’t know where we are, okay. I don’t!” he shouted.
“I don’t believe you,” Dennis said. “How long have you been here?”
Milo shook his head. “Long enough.”
Simon couldn’t take it anymore. With the little strength he had, he got himself off the ground and stood between Milo and Dennis. He braced himself for the inevitable push to the floor and kick to the face. Instead, he felt Dennis’ labored breath on the back of his neck as he stood in defeat. Milo gave the smallest smile as his attacker backed away.
As Simon walked back to his spot against the wall, he saw Edwin’s basement materialize around him. He could see the chipped pla
ster wall and the matted carpet. As Dennis talked, he heard the muted sounds of Edwin speaking to people upstairs. Those people, those stupid people, walked right above his head as half the state was out looking for him. Those idiots sat in that man’s living room as he lay starving, scared and tied to that pole. He felt the panic rise up his spine.
Simon barely made it to the wall. He gripped the concrete with his fingernails so hard he felt his nails bend against it. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t stop hearing Edwin’s footsteps walking down the stairs.
“What’s wrong with you?” Dennis asked.
There was a hand on his shoulder, a gentle touch, but he still wrenched his way out of it. “Don’t.”
“Sit down.” The woman in the suit placed her hand on his chest. It took everything he had not to push her away. The room pulsed with each shallow breath.
“You’re not breathing well. Take a deep breath and try to push my hand up.” His eyes were closed as hard as they could go. He struggled for a breath, and another did not come easily.
“Fantastic,” he heard Dennis mutter, “Now we’ve got to deal with this.”
“Shut up,” Lila said.
Simon pushed his back against the wall and tried to ignore the fact that the rest of the room was staring at him. “Just breathe, all right?”
He wanted her to go away, but he couldn’t catch his breath, let alone form any coherent thoughts. Every time she touched him all he could feel was Edwin’s hands, and it made everything so much worse.
A small voice spoke out from the corner. “Marie, I think he wants you to stop.”
She crept back and, with each step, the feeling started to lessen. Normally he’d run outside, lie down, and feel the fresh air in his lungs. In this room there was only the stale stream of frigid air and the faint stink of bleach and ammonia. When he shut his eyes, he imagined the sun heating his arms and the never-ending expanse swelling around him. No walls, no locked doors, just open fields.
He felt his heart slowly calm and the sirens that rang in his head begin to dull. As he got his bearings, he could see Milo looking over at him with unblinking eyes.
“What?” he snapped. Milo turned away and went back to his unfocused stare at the wall in front of him.
Marie backed away from the group and walked confidently to the middle of the room. "Dennis. Sit down. Everyone just sit down and stop talking.”
Dennis laughed. "Excuse me? What do you think you're doing?"
"Taking charge. Sit down."
"I don't think so, lady."
She strode over to where Dennis stood and pointed to the ground. "Now."
"Not ’till you tell me who you are. Are you working with them?"
"Unbelievable. It's like dealing with children." She slowly peeled off her suit jacket and laid it on the ground next to her feet. Under her shirt was a white blouse that had a small trail of blood that ran down her left arm. "I’ve studied this. I’m a psychiatrist.”
“That’s lovely,” Dennis muttered. “Do you want an award?”
“God, just shut up already!” Lila said.
Marie moved closer to Dennis and motioned to the floor.
"All right, doc. So what's your big plan? What are we supposed to do about all of this?" Dennis still hadn't sat down, but he'd relaxed his hostile posture and stood, alone, in the middle of the room.
"We need to stay calm and level-headed. That is the only way that we will be able to coexist in this room for any period of time. We all need to be attentive to each other’s moods. No one can unravel, not right now. Lila, do you understand?"
Lila lifted her head slightly and gave a tear-filled nod.
“I don’t know what’s going on, and neither do any of you,” she said in a calm mannered voice. “We cannot risk having whoever brought us here getting any ideas. We need to have each other’s backs. Dennis?”
He bit at his fingernails. “What?”
“We can’t fight. We can’t play these mind games.”
Dennis stood there like a naughty child who’d been caught. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good,” she said, “That’s settled. I think we should all just sit and relax. Maybe get to know each other.”
Milo rolled his eyes, and Dennis chortled. “This isn’t a summer camp,” Milo said. “No offense, I don’t care who y’all are. I just want to go home.”
“Milo, please,” Marie said.
He looked at her with hatred in his eyes. “What?”
She moved on. “Benjamin,” she said, “why don’t you take a seat? Maybe tell us a little about yourself.”
“I don’t see the point of this,” Dennis said.
She sighed once again. “If we don’t shift our focus, then we will fall apart. I’m just as scared as you are. Maybe more so.” Her words hit the ground with a thud.
“I can start,” Simon said.
“Good,” she said.
“I’m Simon Archer. I’m from Peteville.” He almost continued the story, the same story he’d said from rote to dozens of lawyers and police officers and psychiatrists.
Marie smiled and nodded at the rest of the group. “Thank you, Simon.”
Benjamin looked over with a glint of recognition. “Simon Archer. I’ve heard that name before.”
Simon felt his heart beat hard in his chest. He looked at Marie to change the subject and move on to the next person in their dreary group.
“Benjamin,” she said, “how about you?”
He crossed his arms across his chest. “Benjamin Lanston. Criminal attorney.”
Above them the light bulb flickered like it was on its last few breaths. Lila let out a muffled cry, and Marie shot her a preemptive stare to calm down.
Simon lifted the collar of his hoodie to cover the bottom side of his face. He’d seen Benjamin many times before. He’d worked at the law firm that handled the trial against Edwin. Simon and his mom had walked past Benjamin’s corner office dozens of times on the way to the conference room in the back. They’d even had a few conversations after they’d won the case. It was only a matter of time before Benjamin put two and two together.
He had a few Prozac left in his pocket. It had been a long month, and his mom said he needed to cut back. Last year he’d lost his job at the luggage store because he’d fallen asleep in the back of the store after taking a double dose after a particularly hard night. She’d taken his stash and rationed how many he got each day after that. There were still four left over in his pocket. It was only going to get harder from here. If he took them all now, then he’d feel unstoppable for a while, but he’d crash in a few hours. No, he’d have to plan them out, or he could be in bad shape if this all lasted much longer.
He slid the pill out of his pocket and tucked it into the palm of his hand. Benjamin was still looking over at him with that gaze of someone frantically trying to place a face. Simon pulled the hood up even higher to hide his mouth and brought the pill up to his lips. The moment he began to swallow he heard a shout.
“What are you doing?” Lila said.
He looked all around to see who she was talking to, but she was talking to him. All eyes were on him, and Lila had crawled over and pointed a shaking hand in his direction.
“Lila, please,” Marie said.
“He’s eating something.”
Simon threw his hands on the floor. “It’s nothing. It’s just my prescription.”
“Bullshit,” Dennis muttered.
“It is!” he said. “It’s nothing.”
“Why are you taking it? Oh my god, what are they going to do to us?”
“Please!” Marie scolded.
Dennis ignored her. He pushed past Marie and moved towards Simon. “What you got there?”
The pill was stuck in his throat. As hard as he tried to swallow, he could still feel it lodged somewhere down his chest. “It’s nothing. I swear.”
“Everyone, just relax,” Marie said.
It was useless. He crouched in front of Simon and cocked h
is head like a curious iguana. He could see the sinewy bruise that formed around Dennis’ neck with the scarlet indentions of fingers that had pushed in too far. There was a welt that formed around his eye and his breath stank of coffee and breath mints. Dennis panted hard, and his nostrils flared. “What did you take?” he growled.
Simon’s hands shook. If they knew he had pills, they would take them from him. They were all terrified. They’d steal them. “It’s just a prescription,” he said.
“Bullshit.” Dennis put his hands on Simon’s shoulders and pinned him against the wall.
“Stop,” Simon said.
Marie had leapt from her crouch in the middle of the room and walked over. She had a hand on Dennis’ arm and was speaking quietly in his ear. He hadn’t moved, in fact his grip on Simon’s shoulders was growing tighter and tighter.
“Hey!” Benjamin shouted from across the room, “Leave the boy alone, all right. You’re being an idiot.”
“Excuse me?” Dennis said.
Benjamin walked over and grabbed Dennis by the arm. “Stop. This is getting you nowhere. Leave him alone.”
When Dennis didn’t immediately let go, Benjamin pushed him off and flung him to the ground. Marie immediately made a human barrier between them, and Dennis whimpered off to his corner.
Benjamin slid down the wall and sat next to Simon. He knew. It was the look of absolute pity and uncomfortable energy that he’d seen from every adult around him since it happened. “You all right?” Benjamin said quietly.
Simon nodded. The pill was still stuck somewhere in his throat, and he couldn’t force it down no matter how he tried.
The others were talking amongst themselves. Marie parked herself next to Lila and was speaking in a perky, upbeat voice more suitable for a colorful kindergarten classroom than the barely lit dungeon they were in. Dennis went back and forth between pounding loudly on the door and swatting at the walls in the hopes of discovering some kind of secret passageway.
“You were that kid. The kidnapping trial, right?”
Simon had prayed that his own face would have been washed away in the sea of clients the man’s firm had seen over the years. “Yeah.”
The Six: Complete Series Page 2