“I wouldn’t!” Rob commented. “I’d have to sleep with one eye open ‘cause I don’t know what those people are capable of. As far as I’m concerned, they’re not my folks. I don’t know where my folks are.”
It sounded so strange the way he said it, but I knew what he meant.
“I feel the same way.” Sam stretched out on her mat. “I think I’d have to sleep with both eyes open at my house. I get an eerie feeling being around all of them.”
“So, we make the best of this, huh?” I was looking her way.
“Yep. Don’t have much of a choice.”
We didn’t venture outdoors anymore that day and with some trepidation, awaited the neighborhood meeting scheduled for the next evening.
10
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Winwoood Academy’s grounds was one of the most picturesque and well-manicured compared to other schools in our district. Probably because it was a private school and parents paid top dollars for their kids to go there. The meeting was set to begin at six-thirty, and the guys and I arrived there on time. We didn’t want to get there early to hang around and look awkward.
Dogs of various breeds and sizes, some on all fours and others on hind legs acted as security guards and were directing everyone to gather in one main area of the campus. I felt so out of place among so many weirdos who stood there for the most part looking like statues. I saw my folks and Carl who were standing quietly ahead of Sam, Rob and me.
“Do y’all see any of my peeps?” Sam whispered.
“I don’t,” Rob replied, glancing around. “I don’t see my folks either.”
Instinctively, I looked back and toward the left, spotted them.
“They’re behind us,” I uttered softly. “One of the dogs is right there next to them, so don’t look now.”
It was an unsettling situation for us to be in, to put it mildly. I felt like we’d willingly, with our eyes wide open, stepped into the lion’s den. Yet, we all agreed we were running out of options.
It was cool out and that was pretty much the best thing about this little gathering thus far. Inside the distillery tended to get a bit warm sometimes, even at night. I must admit though, it wasn’t too bad and the mosquitoes weren’t biting as hard.
I saw Sam turning her head slightly to the left, obviously hoping to sneak a glance at her family. It was sort of insane to know they were there among you, yet you couldn’t be with them. And considering the way they were, I don’t think any of us really wanted to. Everyone I set my eyes on out there, I knew. Miss Pinkett wore her favorite, white, old fashioned hat and a white skirt and blouse. She was in her sixties and stylish, but not in a modern way. She looked like she was always dressed for church, and that was sort of understandable since she was often there for one meeting or the other most days of the week. Her husband, Ted, had died in a car accident a few years earlier; they had no children. She was a strong lady though—did everything for herself at that age, even took care of the yard. I offered to mow the lawn for her once or twice, and she seemed to appreciate it. However, I never knew for sure because she never said thanks.
Then there was tall Ralph Messi further up at the front. Rumor had it that he was about a couple inches short of seven feet. Surely looked like it to me. Ralph and his wife Cynthia, standing next to him, had ten grown children. They’d all taken off and gone to another state by the time they hit twenty. There were a lot of speculations flying around that something odd had been going on inside that house. I knew Tim and Sara well; they’re the only two out of the bunch that weren’t afraid to open their mouths just a little. Tim, Sara and I used to play hopscotch in the road when we were much younger. Both of them were older than me and introduced me to quite a few games, but after a while, they stopped coming out and hanging around us kids. I hardly ever saw them after that, even though they only lived a couple of doors down from my house.
The stories I relived as I looked at some of the folks around me... some were comical and others not so much.
I heard the sound of a microphone being adjusted and I looked ahead toward a podium that had been erected high enough for everyone to see those on top of it. I wasn’t too surprised that it was Chief Mays’ poodle Dolly-Ann that had the floor. Mays was standing behind her in plain clothing with his hands at his side. I got the feeling he was now her lackey and she must’ve been enjoying that immensely. I couldn’t say I felt sorry for the guy since he truly was a brute. Seems like he got what he deserved, but my folks were getting what they didn’t deserve because we loved and treated Dillinger well. He was a part of our family.
Dolly-Ann cleared her throat in the mic. “This meeting was called to make you aware of how things will be in this neighborhood and in this entire town moving forward. I know you all can hear and understand me, although you are limited in your response. I will have you know that this will be your new norm from now on and we, the canine species, have now been given full authority by the powers that be to control this place and to control your lives.”
My heart sunk. Nothing like hearing what you kind of suspected was happening. Sam and Rob glanced my way, and I blinked quickly to remind them to keep up the act and not to show any alarm.
“Your homes are now fully ours and so are your other possessions. Many of us were enslaved by you, but the tables have now turned. You will no longer be allowed to eat at restaurants, but you are permitted to work at such places to cater to us. Social activities are out of the question unless special permission is granted by the canine officer in charge. All government appointees and officers will be replaced unless otherwise notified, but police officers will still be allowed to work and be paid, although amendments to those salaries will be made.
“Schools will carry on as usual, but will be heavily monitored and guarded by our own kind. No one will be allowed to enter or leave Eppington under any circumstances and I will have you know that this town is no longer visible on the map and no mode of transportation will be able to enter it via normal means. You need not know exactly how this has come to be; what matters is that you now have the facts.
“A survey amongst ourselves has been conducted and as of tomorrow morning, busloads of people will be transported from their homes to a facility we have ready for them. These people were selected by their dogs to be sent away for reasons pertaining to prior maltreatment and will no longer be permitted to stay in their residences. There will be no escape and no alternatives. Other neighborhoods have been notified of these implementations and are functioning smoothly as we anticipated. We are all working for the common good and to make this world a better place for dogs and other animals.”
She looked at the crowd with those piercing eyes of hers: “In essence, people, you are our servants and we are your masters. You will do as you are told, when you are told.”
She looked to her left at the group of dogs seated on the podium. There were seven in total. “Let me formally introduce you to our team: In the first chair to your left is our leader. He has never been adopted into any household, but has lived his entire life fending for himself and never turned his back on his two pups. He has a name, of course, but to you he is Leader and that’s enough.”
At that point, I felt Sam’s fingers wrap around my pinky, then slowly slip away. I knew as tough as she was, she was afraid, clearly aware that none of us was any match for those guys.
The dog Dolly-Ann referred to as their leader was a Tibetan Mastiff. It had black and brown fur and could’ve weighed around two hundred pounds. It’s long been said that Tibetan Mastiffs were the strongest dogs in the world. From the looks of that one, the saying might’ve been true. I surely don’t remember seeing that dog or any other such breeds around our parts and I surmised that maybe he wasn’t a part of the Eppington community. Their leader had a no-nonsense air about him and I definitely wouldn’t have wanted him as an enemy.
Dolly-Ann went on to introduce their so-called generals, commanders and deputies. There were two Great Danes, one
Boston Terrier, three German Shepherds and one Pit Bull, but none of the other dogs appeared to be as fierce as their leader. I guess Dolly-Ann was the spokesperson for the clan.
A couple of restrooms with blue signage were along the portion of the building we were standing in front of and I decided to slip away to the men’s room for a minute. I assumed people still had to relieve themselves from time to time regardless of the obvious spell they were under, so I shouldn’t have appeared out of place. I hinted to the guys that I’d be right back.
The restroom was less than ten feet away from where we were standing and I managed to ease away from the crowd and into the back toward the large white overhang. That particular block painted a teal color was stretched to about one hundred and fifty feet with the men’s room roughly fifty feet in from the entrance gate.
I twisted the handle of the door and entered the rather spacious, and from what I could see, empty restroom. I opted for a cubicle instead of one of several urinals available. And after about a minute or so, as I was about to exit, I heard the door of the restroom swing open.
I wasn’t concerned since I knew whomever it was likely wasn’t a talker and just needed to relieve himself too. When I walked out, I found none other than my neighbor Mr. Mark Jeffreys in front of the basin washing his hands. I must admit, I felt kind of awkward sharing that space with him since the guys and I had gotten into a whole lot of trouble over the years for egging his house. I was glad though that he wasn’t in his right mind, and that helped to ease the awkwardness a bit.
I simply walked up to a basin and proceeded to wash my hands. At that time, he’d snatched a paper towel from the wall dispenser and was drying his hands.
“Mr. Spader,” he said, looking at me through the large rectangular mirror in front of us.
I was nearly frozen where I stood. The guy actually seemed like himself.
I turned and looked at him. “Aren’t you…”
“No.” He shook his head, knowing fully well what I was getting at. “But I was.”
“So, how come you’re not like that anymore?” I suddenly forgot the water was running and he gestured for me to turn it off.
“Oh, sorry,” I said, turning off the faucet, then without looking at the dispenser, pulled off a hand-towel.
“I have to talk to you, but not here. It’s just too dangerous. Any of them can walk in at any minute and I might not be lucky a second time.”
“Okay. Where can we meet?” I asked.
“You can come to my house tomorrow morning. But then again, that might be too risky.”
“Then come to where I’m staying. You know where the old distillery is, right?”
“You mean the one up the road there?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Okay.”
“Can you come tonight after the meeting?”
“I don’t think it would be safe. Dogs see well in the dark, but once we go about our usual business in the daytime, we’d look less suspicious,” he explained.
“I see what you mean.”
“Listen to me…” he spoke very softly. “I’m sure you heard them say they’re planning some sort of exodus tomorrow of certain families out of this neighborhood. I’m telling you, Spader, it’s just the beginning. They have a lot more in store for us.”
I saw the confidence in his eyes as he spoke. “How do you know this?”
“That I’ll explain later, but I need to tell you... you must be more careful. I was standing right behind you and your friends and noticed the slight interaction between you and the girl. If I noticed, there’s a possibility that someone else might have too. Let’s just hope they didn’t.”
I was aware of what he meant—that finger thing Sam did at one point.
“Thanks for telling me that,” I said.
He nodded and started toward the door.
“Mr. Jeffreys…”
He stopped and turned.
“Come through the distillery’s back door in the morning. If you tell me what time you’ll be there, I’ll unlock it before you arrive.”
“I probably won’t get there until tenish,” he said, then walked out.
I waited a minute or two before leaving, and met him standing with his dog when I rejoined the guys. Jeffreys’ dog was a brown Doberman Pinscher who looked like he was guarding him instead of being his companion. That, of course, was expected since humans in Eppington were suddenly at the mercy of their dogs.
The leader didn’t address the crowd, but one of his deputies did. Basically, he reiterated some of what Dolly-Ann had mentioned and announced that buses would arrive at nine o’clock the following morning. By the lack of expression on those faces in the crowd, it was impossible to tell how anyone felt about what was revealed. I wasn’t even sure they understood any of it, despite what Dolly-Ann had said. They almost looked soulless to me and I seriously wondered when it came to my loved ones if it was best they knew what was happening to them or not. If they knew and couldn’t express themselves, I imagined the silent hell they were likely experiencing. I tried my best not to think about it.
The meeting ended approximately fifteen minutes after I returned from the restroom and the guys and I cautiously walked back to the distillery.
11
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We had settled upstairs with a search light on.
“You think telling Jeffreys where we hide out was a good idea?” Rob had a look of concern on his face. “You think he can be trusted?”
“He’s one of us,” I replied. “Not under that crazy spell like everyone else is which means we can probably work together to fix this thing.”
Sam sighed heavily. “I don’t know, Hewey. Based on what I heard tonight, I’m not sure we’ve got what it takes to fix any of this. For one, we don’t have the slightest clue what to do anyway; and two: we’re out numbered.”
“There must be something we can do. Maybe Jeffreys has the answer.” I was hopeful.
“Doubt it.” Rob sucked his teeth. “If he had the answer, don’t you think he would’ve made a move on it already?”
“We won’t know what he knows unless we hear him out. That’s the least we can do,” I rebutted.
I knew what was announced at the meeting pretty much knocked the wind out of Sam and Rob. I was definitely stunned at the magnitude of what we were facing too. Surely, we got some answers, but not nearly as much as we needed. We assumed that strange object in the sky had something or everything to do with it, but there was no hint as to why or how to reverse what’s been done. In spite of everything, I couldn’t allow myself to think that we were powerless although we were clearly the minority.
“I’d be interested in knowing how Jeffreys snapped out of it,” Sam remarked. “If he did, that means everybody could, so I’m looking forward to hearing what he has to say.”
“When you think about it that way, it does give you hope, doesn’t it?” I said. “If everyone is able to snap out of this weird state, together we can take back our town and we won’t need any outside help.”
Rob’s face lit up. “You two may have a point there. We may not need an escape plan after all. They’re the ones that might need it.”
“This all sounds well and good, but let’s not get our hopes up, guys,” Sam commented. “Best to just wait and see what Jeffreys says tomorrow.”
I agreed. There was nothing worse than dashed hopes.
* * * *
That night, something summoned me from my sleep. I’m not sure if I heard something or sensed it, but rubbing my eyes, I got up from the mat and sauntered over to the window.
Down the street, I immediately noticed a white van was parked in front of Johnette Christie’s house. And moments later, two men emerged from the home carrying a stretcher with what looked like a body on top. I assumed it was Mrs. Christie’s body on the stretcher, but wondered why they’d chosen to collect it in the middle of the night. Two dogs, walking on their hind legs were with them and after one of the anima
ls opened the back doors of the vehicle, the men lifted the stretcher inside. One of them must’ve hopped in the back as I only saw the two dogs and the other man appear at the side of the van. The dogs entered through the passenger doors while the man took the driver’s seat. I heard the engine start and they drove away.
I quickly went over and nudged Sam. She woke up right away, a bit startled.
“They just came and got Mrs. Christie’s body,” I told her.
“They did?” She seemed a little surprised, considering how sleepy she obviously was.
“Yep.”
“Okay, that’s good then.” She yawned. “Go back to sleep. We’ll talk about it in the morning.”
She rolled over and moments later, I heard her snoring.
It wasn’t easy for me to fall asleep again. In fact, I stayed up a long time as my thoughts were all unsettling.
* * * *
The next morning…
8:58 A.M.
The roar of buses broke through the silence of our neighborhood and the guys and I rushed over to the window overlooking our street.
Five big, yellow school buses pulled up one after the other, parking on the western side of the street. I noticed the last one had stopped directly in front of my house.
None of us spoke a word as we watched and waited to see what would happen. Soon, the first bus drove off and pulled up on the opposite side of the road in front of the McIntosh residence, then the second drove up to the second house on the western side of the street. The third one moved next, stopping in front of Joe and Betty Kincaid’s house and the last two remained where they were.
Nervously, I watched, hoping for that last bus to drive away, but then like clockwork, several large dogs exited each bus and walked towards the homes they were parked in front of.
The Hewey Spader Mystery Series (The Complete Trilogy * Books 1 -3 ) Page 6