The Lady and the Hound- Divination

by A M Nixon

  The next morning, after breakfast, she reported to the Major’s office at 8 AM. When she stepped inside, the smell of old spice and polyester nearly gaged her. She was thankful she had a cold coming on or she would have to leave the room. Major Kemp was reading what looked like a report.

  “News from DC?” Mary asked. He abruptly turned the paper over and placed it in a drawer. He gave her a look like she tried to get top secret information.

  “Nothing you need to know. We’ll get the camp updated when we find out more,” he said. “Now, what do we do with you?” Before he could say another word, she lied and told him she used to be a librarian and a writer. Perhaps she could be of service in the library. He hesitated for a minute, “Well, I don’t see why not. We have plenty of the women your age in the kitchen already, but we need someone to clean the big house from time to time.”

  “My age, Mr. Kemp?” Mary said, hoping that using the word mister would sting a little.

  “Oh, I didn’t mean it as a bad thing, but when women get older, I find they want the easier jobs.” He said.

  Mary, trying to keep her composure on her first full day at the camp, and even with her grey showing, she looked good for her age and certainly wasn’t as geriatric as he was making her out to be. “I agree, younger women are better suited for the hard labor of cleaning their own facility and for another, I can hold my own against anyone half my age. But as you said, you already have all the cooks you can handle.”

  The major brushed off her comment. “You can call me Major or Major Kemp, if that’s all right with you, and I’m sure you could hold your own, but cleaning crews we need more than a librarian.” He paused.

  “I’ll make you a deal, you can do half on one duty and half on the other and you decide which one will be in the morning and which will be in the afternoon, ok?”

  “Fine,” Mary said, thankful she got what she wanted, and asked for the keys.

  When she got back to the barracks, Hope was leaving for KP duty. Erika didn’t have a job since her only duty was to sit in the big house and look pretty. And she was pretty, with her long blonde hair and fresh 20-ish face. She wasn’t a pound over 110, all the right features to get any man’s attention. One would think, after a multitude of meteorites struck the Earth, men wouldn’t be men. That they could put their urges aside and be human beings first. Mary hoped this camp, and the man running it, wasn’t a sign of the future of civilization. Women were finally coming into their own, and a bunch of meteorites were going to send them back to how it used to be? She’d rather cut her own throat, then have a man tell her how to live, ever again.

  Mary opened the library door and decided she would do actual work first, so if the major checked up on her, he would see the usefulness of having her there. Once she put the books away and tidied up all she could, she looked for a way into the shed area. The back wall contained a small hatch. If one wasn’t looking for it, one may not notice it. It led in the shed’s direction so it must be the only way in. It had a lock on it, but one key on the ring the Major gave her fit. She figured the major must not know about the extra room or he might not have given her the whole set of keys. The room looked finished, complete with drywall and light fixtures, but from the outside it looked like a dilapidated shed in need of repair. How clever of the military, Mary thought.

  Once inside, she flipped on the light switch. It didn’t work. But there were plugs and a lamp on the desk inside. The lamp worked but didn’t illuminate the entire room. She would have to sneak her flash light in when she came back. For now, it had privacy, and Mary could do her divination there. She didn’t think it was safe to bring her tarot cards because she wanted to know what she was working with first. Soon, she would bring Hope over to show her. Mary still had an hour left of her duty, so she put the non-military books all on one shelf, since most of the folks at the camp wouldn’t want to read military training books.

  Mary stood outside the Major’s office, dreading going back inside. The aftershave alone enough reason to avoid it. However, she had to get her next assignment, so she took a deep breath and went inside. When she walked in, he was talking with two guards. Again, they barely acknowledged Mary’s presence. She wasn’t young enough for that. Mary wanted to know what the cut off age was, exactly? 30? 40? Why did she care? She asked the major where he wanted her to go next. He told her to clean the men’s barracks and afterward she could do what she wanted. Without argument she turned and walked outside. Mary could feel her blood pressure rising and her cheeks getting warm. She threw the bucket of cleaning supplies in the door of the men’s barracks, startling a few of the men there.

  She didn’t have a problem cleaning; she had her own cleaning business many years ago. It was a good living while she was in college. What made her stop was when she found out her Grandmother had been a maid and her Great Grandmother before her. Mary couldn’t help but think it had something to do with both women being Mexican. Not wanting to create a third generation of maids, Mary gave it up. The fact she has to clean, and for the men at the camp, only made her hate the camp that much more. She couldn’t wait to leave.

  Their duties out of the way, Mary and Hope went to check out the library. Mary showed her the hatch and the room beyond it. They would have to find out where the main power supply was so the overhead light would work at some point. Both agreed the shed would be fine for their purposes, especially at night—since it had no outside windows, no one would know they were in there. All Mary had to do was wait for the right time. It would take a week before Mary sensed it was safe enough to stay in the shed past library hours.

  Mary’s daily routine was the same. The only variation was where she cleaned. Hope was becoming a fast friend and the only person who understood her. The PA system had country music playing on it, non-stop. Someone had music stored on their phone, no doubt.

  “I’d rather hear the static and the periodic little beeps, like I did back at the cottage. No offense to country but I loved my metal,” Mary said. “I liked to party and drink til I dropped. But once I became enlightened, and wanted to meditate, I couldn’t have Five Finger Death Punch’s, ‘meet the monster,’ running through my mind when I’m trying to chill. I listened to light instrumental, and it worked for me. Until now, that is. Their incessant playing of country is not helping my vibe to get a connection.”

  “Well,” Hope said, “We can always go off the res, even if it’s for half a day. I’m curious about what’s out there, aren’t you?”

  “I’m curious but I’m not sure they’ll let us back in if we left. When I leave here, I’m heading for Maryland and I’m not looking back, and you’re welcome to come with, if you want to.” Mary said.

  “No, I would, but I’d only slow you down. I can’t fight and I’m too old to camp in this weather. I’m spoiled that way, where I like heat when the temperature is 10 degrees at night.” Hope said with a smile.

  Mary nodded in agreement. It was too cold at night to leave now. “At some point I will have to ask for guidance with the cards, I hate not having a clue as to what might happen to me, or us, in the future. I guess I’ll have to get used to this place a little longer.” Mary said.

  Chapter Four

  The Divination

  Mary needed to get in the shed room. It was time to know what her guides wanted her to know. She was in the courtyard, when she watched an older man attempting to climb a ladder that one of the major’s henchmen had ordered him to climb. Since when did this camp become a concentration camp? She walked over to the henchman; her nick name for them and asked him why he was giving the man an order. He looked at her with contempt,

  “I was given an order to get the roof repaired and to find someone to do it.” He said.

  “You know this is a temporary situation here, right? We were all regular citizens enjoying the laws of our country before we came here.” Mary said. “You probably had a day job as a civilian, and were trying to make ends meet like the rest of us, weren’t you?”

/>   He stuttered, trying to come up with something clever to say, knowing she was right. His little buddy next to him chimed in, as if to rescue him. “Look lady, It’s none of your business. I can report you to the major and you may have to fend for yourself out there. Is that what you want?”

  Mary was now the one looking at him with contempt but kept her cool. “No young man.” She said through gritted teeth.

  Lady seemed to be what the henchmen called her more often than Ma’am. A dead giveaway that these men, although dressed in fatigues, were weekend warriors or worse, civilians given a chance to order people around and take advantage of them.

  Mary looked over at the elderly gentleman and asked his name. “Ulysses Johnson, my family just calls me Uly,” he said and continued to climb the ladder. Once he got to the top and repaired the area he was sent up there to repair, Uly attempted to climb down, lost his footing and fell. She rushed over and tried to help him to his feet. It looked like he sprained his ankle, or worse. She asked for help in getting him up, and the two henchman must have gotten a sudden attack of remorse and helped Uly hobble over to the medical trailer.

  Mary took the opportunity to duck into the library, it was what she had been waiting for. Settled into the shed with only the lamp light, She prepared for a connection. She took a few slow deep breaths. Using a Tarot deck, she placed cards in stacks on the desk. Holding the pendulum over each card, waiting for the yes answer to her question. Her guardian angel and guides, through the pendulum, chose several cards for her reading. She had asked what she needed to know. Her guides chose: The Tower, The Devil, The Fool, The Hanging man, Death, The High Priestess, The Chariot and The Star.

  The Tower, meaning something built on illusion or false belief. The Devil, meaning enslavement, or a manipulative or controlling relationship. She realized these cards were talking about the meteorites and the camp. The Fool, meaning she may need to make a choice, possibly out of the blue. Mary wasn’t sure yet what it could mean for her. There were lots of choices she would have to make, but she didn’t understand what would cause her to make them, “out of the blue.” The next card, The Hanging man, which could indicate self-sacrifice, to let go of something, to gain something better. Ok, but for what or for whom? The Death card, the one she used to be afraid of, but learned it merely means transformation. A major change is coming, and she would need to remain open to understand where her path would lead her. The High Priestess, which means mysteries and secrets; there is more depth to a matter than is known so far. A secret becoming known that could be to one’s benefit. A potential unexplored. Mary didn’t know what it meant for her. Her relationship with Erika? Maybe it was a future card and she won’t know until the rest play out. The next card, The Chariot, a good card, it means triumph, but only after much effort. She knew getting justice at the camp would not be easy and questioned what the effort would be. The Star card meant a good outcome, but she will have to wait and see how the first few play out to know if it will truly be the outcome she hoped it would be.

  She went back to the barracks and told Hope what the Tarot cards revealed. Hope used to do readings, claiming not to be a psychic, but intuitive. She could feel the presence of an evil being or energy at the camp. The cards were trying to warn them. They both assumed the Tower and the Devil cards were referring to the meteorites, and the Major and his henchman. Mary and Hope went over to the library and into the shed room so Mary could ask her guides through the pendulum for clarification on the first two cards. Just as She was shuffling the cards, the shed shook, the same as the cottage did when the attack first started. Both women could see a blast of white light followed by reddish orange light from under the hatch. She immediately visualized another Meteorite. Fearing the camp was under attack, she ran to the hatch. She arrived at the library’s window as a black mass was heading into the woods behind the camp. She was wide-eyed as Hope joined her at the window to see what she was reacting to. “I think something…not of this world just left the camp.” Mary said, looking to Hope for her wisdom, and to tell her it was her imagination.

  “I told you this place…, that something was strange here. Something evil was conjured, I’m sure.” Not what Mary wanted to hear but what she needed to hear. Confirming her fears.

  For the next few days, the two of them asked their fellow camp mates if they had seen the light and the black mass. Apparently everyone was asleep, or too preoccupied to notice. At least that’s what they said. Mary and Hope observed the camp for changes, trying to spot something out of the ordinary. The most noticeable was the Major and his henchman. Mary had to hand the Major a book and noticed a mark on his hand. Hope had noticed the same mark on the henchmen’s hands. It looked as if they had seared it into their skin with a hot iron. It was a lion’s head with a human hand in its mouth.

  Everyone in the camp seemed irritable and less sociable. Even Erika had an attitude and was hanging out with Debbie, who had moved into their barracks from the big house. The two were inseparable. She moved over to the bunk next to Debbie’s after she disagreed with Mary over something trivial. Shortly after Erika’s move, she received a message through her intuition, that said, “all is not what it seems.” She could only guess at what that meant. She had to concentrate on the dark mass she’d seen and if it might be the reason for the negative energy at the camp.

  Chapter Five

  The Devil

  It was after midnight when the lamppost outside their barracks went off. Looking out the window to see what caused it, Mary could see the Majors henchman carrying a large object. It was wrapped in a tarp, with an obvious outline of a body, and she could tell it was a corpse by the way they were carrying it. She waved for Hope to come to the window. They watched as the men were taking the body to the mess hall. With the weather in the single digits at night, she figured if someone died, keeping them outside would be the best option. They continued to watch as the mess hall lights flickered on. Mary had to find out what they were doing. She grabbed her flashlight and the knife she brought with her from the cottage and pulled the hoodie’s cap over her head.

  “Be careful, I’ll keep watch and cause a diversion if you need me to.” Hope said.

  With the courtyard light out, she could get behind the kitchen in less than a minute. She crept around the back and looked in the window. The Major, his two henchmen and a few other men were standing around the naked body of Uly Johnson. They were all saying something in unison, but she couldn’t hear what it was. The Major was on one end of the body and the henchman on the other as each man sliced into the flesh that used to be Uly. Mary noticed that someone had set the smoker up two feet from where she was standing. They were putting pieces of Uly on trays—trays that were used for the smoker.

  One of the henchmen went to the table at the back of the mess hall and picked two objects off the table, one in each hand. Nearly in fear and horror, Mary strained her eyes to see what was in his hands. He set one object down next to the trays and twisted the other object. As a henchman moved out of the way, she realized what it was: a salt grinder. They were putting seasoning on Uly’s flesh.

  At that moment, the Major opened the back door, right where Mary stood. She crept around to the side, and she watched as he put the trays in the smoker. She quietly sneaked back to the front of the mess hall and ran like lightning back to the barracks. She couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed. She thought Uly was a sweet old man. He didn’t deserve to be violated in that way. She questioned how he died. It was only a sprained ankle.

  Mary was trying to speak, but she was shaking so bad from what she had just witnessed, she couldn’t get the words out. She could see Hope’s fear rising in her eyes and she forced herself to calm down.

  “I think they killed Uly. It was his body they were carrying. But that’s not the worst part.” Mary said, still shaking.

  “What? What? What the hell happened?” Hope said forcefully while trying to keep her voice down.

  “They cut up his body a
nd put the pieces in the smoker.” She said and cringed at what Hope’s reaction would be.

  Hope gasped, then sat down hard on her bunk. Her mouth open, as if in shock.

  “I knew it. I knew there was something…not right. Now they’re eating the old folk?” Hope said.

  “What am I supposed to do, make sure I don’t get injured?”

  “Well… yea.” Mary said, lowering her head and sympathizing with what must be going through her mind.

  Hope, posing as if getting ready to meditate, taking breaths slowly in and out, “Do you think our bunk mates know and are keeping their mouths shut to keep from becoming food?”

  Mary, standing at the window, staring at the mess hall “If they do, they won’t say anything. No one wants to be put out of the camp. If I were in their position, I’d keep my mouth shut too. We’re not going to say anything, to anyone, right?” She raised her eyebrows and stared at Hope.

  “Right.” Hope said. She couldn’t blame Hope for being upset. She was that age where she had to worry if she would be the next one to ‘age out’ and become part of the menu. When they could both calm down, Mary tried to think everything through. They knew it had been awhile since the camp had gotten a food delivery, but surely the reserves weren’t so low to resort to cannibalism. There had to be another explanation. They decided not to tell the others for now. This situation required more investigation and she couldn’t do that if the Major knew Mary was on to him.

  The next morning, Mary and Hope sat at the mess hall, trying not to give away what they knew. It was hard to do when there was a big container of something that resembled beef jerky in the chow line. It looked and smelled good, but they knew what it was, or who it was. They cringed silently when the others at the camp started eating it. When Erika and Debbie came back from the chow line, their trays had jerky on it.