by Jen Guberman
“Uh—” I mumbled. “Not really. I just don’t know what these other buildings are for, so I was checking them out.”
“Well, that one there,” he pointed in front of me. “That’s where our middle age members live. On that side,” he motioned to the right of it at the next building, “you have a vacant building. A few of these are vacant because we don’t have a lot of people here, in case you haven’t noticed. The only other building that actually has anyone or anything in it is the one across from your building. That’s where our seniors live.”
“Thanks,” I said hesitantly, walking in the direction of Jackson’s house, through the gap between two of the vacant buildings. The man followed me without saying another word.
I continued walking along the path, past Jackson’s house and mounds of trash along the way. The man continued to follow, making it obvious he wasn’t trying to be secretive, but still he didn’t speak.
“Can I help you?” I asked, irritated as I continued to walk, my back to him.
“What, am I not allowed to take a walk?”
“You’re following me.”
“So?”
“It’s creepy. Stop.”
“Look, kid, I’m bored. There’s nothing interesting that goes on here, and you’re something new. Let me take a little interest and see what you’re up to.”
“I’m not ‘up to’ anything,” I retorted.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he admitted, putting his hands up as if declaring his innocence. “I just meant that everyone else around here either goes around stealing crap from others, digging through mounds of trash the cities send our way, or sitting around. It’s boring. You’re doing something different, and even if you aren’t ‘up to anything,’ it’s far more entertaining than anything else I’d be doing tonight.”
“Whatever, fine,” I submitted. “Just don’t be so creepy about it.”
“Deal,” he agreed, quickening his pace to walk beside me. “So, tell me, Pig—”
“Stop calling me that,” I interrupted.
“I was getting to that,” he sighed. “So, tell me,” he continued, “what’s your real name?”
“Eos.”
“I’m Nico.”
“Pleasure,” I said sarcastically.
“What are you hoping to find back here?”
“Something besides trash, preferably,” I replied snarkily.
“Hate to disappoint,” he said. “You aren’t going to find anything else back here. We live in a literal dump. The cities send a bunch of their trash here and take up basically everything but the town center and our garden.”
“Oh,” I sighed, continuing to walk for a while only to realize Nico was probably right. “I’ve got plans with some people anyways, I should probably head back,” I said.
“See you around, Pi—I mean… Eos,” he nodded, taking off toward his building once we reached the town center.
Back in my building, the boys were already lounging on the couch waiting downstairs. Lamb offered me a seat next to the boys as she sat opposite them. I sat beside Luka reluctantly, returning his smile and greeting with a dramatic eye roll.
“Which game is it gunna’ be tonight?” Zane asked Lamb as he clasped his hands in a single clap in front of him, getting her attention.
“I think we should play Quest,” chimed Luka. “It’d be a good one for a beginner!”
“Good idea!” Lamb smiled.
“What’s Quest?” I asked.
“Quest is when we pick a building, and everybody picks a room in that building. After you pick a room, you search it for whatever specific object we all decide on—basically, we go on a quest for an object. If no one finds the object in their room in round one, we all pick different rooms,” Zane explained.
“What kinds of things do you usually search for?” I asked, mildly conflicted. I don’t want to steal someone’s old family photo or something, but I wouldn’t object to stealing simple things they probably wouldn’t even notice are missing, especially because the people here collect actual garbage.
“Nothing too crazy. Food related objects, usually. Leftovers from meals that people decide to bring back. Sometimes we go for things like specific types of clothes, like the first person to find a blue shirt wins,” Lamb replied.
“I’m in,” I said, just thankful to have something to do.
“Great!” Lamb jumped up with a smile, leading the way to the town center. When we were all outside, Lamb spoke.
“E, since this is your first time, I vote that we let you pick which building we go to.”
“Uhhh,” I said, looking at the identical concrete structures. “That one,” I pointed at the building directly across from ours.
“That’ll be fun! That’s where the elders live! They usually have bigger collections of things in their rooms, since most of them have been in Avid for a long time,” Lamb said. “Tonight’s quest will be for…” She hummed to herself, thinking. “Chocolate pudding! Find a chocolate pudding cup and you win!”
The boys laughed as the group made their way to the building. I trotted behind them to catch up. The inside of the elder’s building looked identical to our building, except there was a larger collection of chairs and sofas in the common area. Zane hurried up the stairs, poking his head down a moment later and giving us a thumbs up. The rest of us climbed the first set of stairs.
“We start on the first floor of rooms,” explained Lamb. “Pick any room and stand in front of it.”
All the doors looked the same, so I just went for the fourth door over, the identical placement as my room in my building.
“What if it’s locked?” I asked. “Or if someone is in it?”
“If you see someone in it, just run and hide for a bit before they see who you are,” Lamb said, handing me a couple of paper clips.
Once everyone was standing in front of a door, Lamb gave us a signal to start. I’ve never been good at lock picking, and this was no exception. I rarely picked locks in Rockhallow, and usually it took a while for me to be successful. I bent the paperclips into a makeshift pick and a tension holder, the two components of lock picking. Then, I fumbled around with the two clips in the keyhole. Nothing. I sighed. I bent the paperclips a different way, moving the pick around in the lock, hoping for the best. At this point, everyone else had already successfully made it into their rooms. A few tries later, the lock clicked, and I made my way into the room, leaving the door cracked behind me.
The room was fairly cluttered, with stacks of dusty books scattered around, small dishes covered in gold and silver necklace chains, and a little statue of a chicken. I dug through the heaps of things on the floor, looking for a pudding cup. While I was looking, my eyes caught sight of a small photograph. I picked up the picture, holding it up so I could see it clearly. The photo was identical to the one I found in the wooden box. Weird, I thought.
“Are you lost?” bellowed a deep, croak of a voice from the open doorway, causing my heart to jump.
An old man with short, patchy white hair stood in the doorway. He had a set of reading glasses perched on his nose, his body was a bit heavy, and the skin on his neck saggy. Speechless, I dropped the photo and stood staring back at the man, knowing there was no other way out of the room.
“Are you lost?” he repeated.
“N-no,” I stuttered.
“Then what are you doing here?” he asked grouchily.
“I was looking for something. I’m sorry, I’m just going to go,” I said, easing toward the blocked door. The man didn’t budge.
“What are you looking for?” he asked.
“It’s nothing really!” I insisted. “It’s stupid. We were just playing a game.”
“‘We?’” he said questioningly, looking over his room. “Sweetheart, it looks like your friends left you.”
“No, they didn’t come in here with me, they’re somewhere else,” I said, not wanting to reveal that they were in other rooms.
“You never answ
ered my question,” he nagged. “What were you looking for?”
“A…a pudding cup,” I said, feeling stupid.
He laughed heartily. “I can tell you’re harmless,” he said, walking away from the door and opening a burlap bag that had been shrouded by books. He pulled a chocolate pudding cup out of the bag, holding it out to me with a jittery hand.
“Take it,” he nodded to the pudding cup.
“Thanks,” I said, confused as I took the pudding.
“Mr. Montgomery,” he said, holding out a liver-spotted hand.
“Eos,” I said, shaking his hand nervously. Why is he being nice? I just broke into his room.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to go to bed now,” he started, moving toward his mattress. “Please close the door when you leave.”
When I made it back to my building, Lamb, Luka, and Zane were sitting on the couches, noisily in conversation. As soon as they saw me enter the room, their voices died down and they stared at me. I held up the pudding cup in front of me, a frown on my face.
“You ditched me,” I stated.
“We’re sorry, E. We heard that man catch you in his room and we all bolted,” Lamb apologized.
“Whatever,” I snarled, making my way to my room.
That night, no one knocked on my door.
CHAPTER EIGHT
After taking my breakfast portions to my room the next morning, I spread out the Skeleton Key papers and munched on a piece of toast while I studied the notes. I noticed a number scribbled on one of the papers and I squinted, trying to make it out. It was a year. Counting in my head, I did the math, coming to the conclusion that the date on the paper was about 60 years in the past. I wonder if anyone in Avid knows anything about the Key. Mr. Montgomery had the same picture as the one I found in the box—maybe he knows about it.
Decidedly angry with Lamb, Luka, and Zane, I came to the conclusion that I was going to spend my day doing some research on the Skeleton Key. If anyone was to know anything about something from 60 years ago, it would be the elders. Unfortunately for me, I was caught stealing from one of them. He seemed forgiving, I argued with myself. And honestly, what have I got to lose?
I made my way to the elder building. I paused at the door, hesitant. I took a deep breath and made my way to Mr. Montgomery’s room, reassuring myself that there was nothing he could do to me even if he wanted to. If he asks me to leave, I thought, I’d leave. Once at his room, I held my fist to the door, taking a second, then rapping on it a few times. A moment later, I was face to face with Mr. Montgomery.
“Hello again, Miss—” he struggled for a moment.
“Eos,” I reminded him.
“What’s your last name, if I may ask? I believe it is far more proper to address a lady with her last name.”
“Dawn.”
“Eos Dawn, a beautiful name for a beautiful young lady. Miss Dawn, would you like to come in?” he welcomed, opening his door for me to enter.
“Sure,” I said as Mr. Montgomery closed the door behind me.
“Are you here for more pudding?” he joked, emphasizing the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. “I’m afraid that was my last cup.”
“No, I actually had a couple questions for you,” I started. “How old are you?”
Mr. Montgomery burst out laughing. “Miss Dawn, that’s no question to ask an old man,” he said with a friendly smile, seeing my horrified expression. “But if you must know, I’m 84.”
“How long have you been in Avid?”
“Since I was about 22 years old. I’ve been here 62 years now.”
“Oh,” I sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“No need to be sorry, dear. I got myself here in the first place. It hasn’t been all bad, anyways.”
“No? I suppose that’s good.”
“Do you mind me asking how you got yourself stuck in Avid?”
“Not at all, sir,” I said. “I stole some rum. It was valuable—from back before the war. I wanted to keep it for a few years and then sell some of it for good money.”
“Were your parents struggling?”
“Pardon?”
“Did you have food on the table? A roof over your head? Mom and Dad happy together?”
“Yes.”
“Why’d you want the money?”
“I’m not sure. To buy things I wanted, I suppose.”
“Anything in particular?”
“I guess not. I mean, there’s just this feeling you get, you know? When you have more money than you need. You don’t have to worry, and you know that you can get anything you want. I’ve never had that much money, I guess, but I collected a fair sum.”
“Miss Dawn,” he started, his voice inquisitive. “What do you want most in life?”
“What everybody else wants, really. Wealth and happiness.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing else to it?”
“I don’t think I see where you’re going, sir.”
“Wait until you spend 62 years trapped in a dump and you’ll understand.”
I stared back at Mr. Montgomery, confused and intrigued.
“Freedom,” he whispered, leaning in.
“Oh,” I said as my eyes wandered the room.
“You’ll understand. Give it time. One day, you’ll see that freedom is worth more than any rum, more than any cash. I wish I could say you’ll not only understand, but will get to experience it, but unfortunately it’s a little late for that,” he said regretfully.
We sat in silence for a few moments before he spoke up again.
“I know you didn’t just come here to spend an afternoon with an old man. What can I help you with?”
“Oh, yeah. So, um, I’m curious, sir, have you ever heard of anything called a ‘Skeleton Key?’” I asked.
Mr. Montgomery’s face grew serious. “Yes, I have. Why?”
“I came across some papers,” I said. “They were in a box I found in the dump. I’ve been reading them for a few days now, and they talk about something called a Skeleton Key.”
“I knew the man who created the Key—”
“It’s real?” I interrupted.
“Very real. The man who created it was a member of Avid. His name was Galeno. He was a brilliant man—an inventor. We were friends at the time, until he began to isolate himself more and more. It started after he created the Key out of pieces he collected from the dump. He showed me one day how it worked, testing it on all the doors in our building. I’m sure you saw the pictures, so you know how it is mostly a long, thin piece of metal? The core of the Key is hollow, and somehow Galeno made it so that, with the turn of a tiny dial on the jeweled end of the Key, the metal flexes to fit the interior of the lock in which it is placed. It’s remarkable, really. At first he was proud, using the Key to sneak in and out of Avid, but then he grew paranoid, convinced someone was going to steal it from him, and so he designed a box. It was a beautiful little wooden box, and it took five keys just to unlock it. He started off hiding the Key in it, scattering four of the other five keys throughout his house, always keeping one with him. One day, the poor man just snapped entirely. He told me he was going to hide the five keys—one at each exile town so no one individual would ever have the Key again. The keys in each town only help to open the Skeleton Key box—nothing else. He regretted ever creating it because some of the other people in Avid at the time found out about it, and everyone was always on him about it, but he couldn’t bring himself to destroy it. Galeno was so afraid of the cities getting ahold of his key—‘no one should have this much power,’ he told me. So, he hid the keys in five different boxes, and supposedly he was successful in putting one in each exile town. By the time he got back to Avid, however, the city had taken the Skeleton Key in its box, sealing it away somewhere in the cities. I still remember that day, seeing the authorities taking him away. He was screaming when they took him. They were waiting for him in his room,” Mr. Montgomery said pensively.
“Has anyone ever tried lo
oking for the keys?” I asked.
“No. The only people that even knew about it were city officials and a handful of people in Avid. The people here that knew about it were all just petty thieves. None of them had a real reason to want to risk getting caught for the Key.”
“Speaking of getting caught, what happened to Galeno anyways? After they took him?” I asked interestedly.
“I imagine they stuck him in prison,” he said bluntly.
“I thought the cities completely did away with the prison system ages ago?” I asked.
“They did, in a way—all but one. Don’t ask where it is because I have no earthly idea—I may be old, I may know a lot of things, but I’m certainly not old enough to have been around for the development of the system. Over the years, I’ve just learned that, once in a while, the exile system fails, and the officials take away the defectors, locking them up far away from any other civilization. Certainly, they would lock away a man clever enough to devise a key that could unlock any of their complex locks.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Don’t go looking for it—it isn’t worth it,” Mr. Montgomery warned. “If you leave Avid, there’s no coming back unless you want to be sent off to wherever they take people like Galeno. I know Avid is no paradise, but anything would be better than a lifetime in a cell.”
“Yeah, but what if he wouldn’t have come back?” I pressed.
“I don’t know what all is out there. I just know of the cities and the exile towns. Beyond that, I can only imagine there’s whatever is left from the war. Unless you want to wander the empty remains of the country, there really is nowhere to go.”
“Thank you for your time,” I said sincerely. “And I’m really sorry for the other night. Don’t worry about me doing anything like that again, I’m done hanging out with those people anyways.”
“Don’t worry about it, Miss Dawn. If you think the idea of thieves bothers me after 62 years in an exile town full of them, you’d be mistaken. Don’t be so quick to give up on your friends—friends are all a person has when everything in life is taken away,” he said remorsefully.