Mind Games (13 page)

“Yes.” He didn’t want to disclose too much since it seemed anyone might be listening. He chuckled to himself, “She’s a brilliant woman, probably smarter than I am. We’re kind of taking a break right now, though…”

“From your marriage? Oh, no, no, no! Don’t do that. I know it’s tempting. I mean you should have smelled Bill’s old socks, that was just about enough for me to leave him for a bit there, but I hung in there, and you should too. Try to think of the things she’s good at. There’s good in everyone. You just have to find it.”

Cameron couldn’t believe he was getting marriage advice from the widow of a legendary hermit in the middle of a forest.

“Well, Sheri, that’s the thing. She’s good at almost everything.”

“And what’s wrong with that? It sounds like you married your dream girl. Most men would be jealous of you, Cameron.”

“Yeah, get this. We met at a Denny’s.”

“Who’s that?”

“Denny’s. You know, it’s a diner.”

Sheri stared at him blankly.

“They serve a lot of breakfast food.”

“Boy, what are you talking about?”

“You’ve never heard of Denny’s?”

Sheri shrugged. “It must be stored in the same compartment of my brain as the scoring methods for baseball. That’s one key I’ll probably never find. And between you and me, I’m just counting on peopl
e
thinkin
g
I know what I’m talking about. Now, if you need a recipe for a nice beef gravy, I’ve got you covered. What do they call that? Not street smart…no…it’s being a gangster or something like that.”

Cameron wanted to crawl under the kitchen table and hit his head against the floor repeatedly. “No, it’s not a gangster. You must be thinking of book smart.”

“That’s it! Except I’m cookbook smart. Bill left me an extensive library, just huge, and I mean I never really got into reading books much. That’s why I’d have him read them to me. Cameron, he was such a fantastic reader – voices and everything.” Sheri noticed Cameron close his eyes. “Ok, I get it. You’re bushed. A muddy night in the ditch will do that to you.” She led the way out of the kitchen and towards a staircase leading upstairs.

Sheri stopped just to the left of the stairs, momentarily covering a plaque on the wall with her stout body.

“Now, Cameron, I know you’re tired, but this is important. I don’t want you to forget what I’m about to show you. This is our doctrine here. If this were a church, these would no doubt be the Ten Commandments. Got it?”

Sheri stepped out of the way and pointed to a polished, shield-shaped brass plaque mounted to the wall on a mahogany-lacquered wooden slab. The shiny covering of the plaque had been dulled by countless handprints, forming a greasy patina over the etched letters.

PEACE FROM JUSTICE

JUSTICE FROM KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE FROM TEAMWORK

TOGETHER WE CAN ACHIEVE JUSTICE!

THESE ARE THE WORDS OF THE LEADER.

IF YOU BELIEVE, THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN’T ACHIEVE.

“I want you to memorize our mantra kiddo. That’s the only way you’ll really be part of us. Every morning, each of the workers touches this plaque. In a way, it’s like a good luck charm we all share. Our community all agrees with the mantra. There’s been resistance in the past, but our Leader soon ironed out the inconsistencies in that individual’s ideology.  Now, even the most stubborn workers touch the plaque every morning. And you will too.”

Sheri’s eyes crinkled into a pair of crow’s feet, pulling her cheeks into a Cheshire smile.

“Now, let’s get you up to a nice, comfy bed. That’ll do the trick. You’ll be right as rain in the morning.”

The staircase creaked as they climbed, and Cameron fought his limp, giving equal weight to both feet as he walked upward.

“Be careful now, honey. There are a few steps that aren’t really doing their job anymore. Steps twelve and fifteen. Remember to avoid those two steps and you’ll be golden.”

Cameron warily followed Sheri up the stairs that led to a long carpeted hallway. When Sheri clapped twice, the hallway lights came on.

Sheri paused and wiped her hands on her apron before opening the first door to their right. “This is where I keep all my dolls. I’ve been collecting them since I was a little girl. They each have a name, a backstory – so if you’re ever curious, just ask me. I’d be more than happy to clue you in on their interests. My favorite doll, Suzie, has some interesting hobbies.” She flashed a devilish grin. “I also keep some knives in this room…”

“Why’s that?”

“Let’s just say the dolls get bored sometimes. This way, they have plenty of cutleries for their slumber parties. Suzie’s favorite food is chopped cabbage. They really are wild vegetable fiends.” She took a long glance into the dark room. Dozens of reflective white eyes stared back. “I really don’t know why I keep all those around. I guess they just remind me of my Bill.”

Cameron noticed some of the dolls were missing eyes. “I hope you keep this door locked at night.”

“Why would I do that, silly? You see, every once in a while, Bill would bring me a brand new doll – isn’t that sweet. Strange thing was…they never came in a box or nothing. They were already wearing clothes. Usually. Anyway, I guess I didn’t realize how many he’d given me until I dedicated an entire room to them. Bill tried to reassure me that I was not a hoarder. I just liked to keep nice things around the house. And, he’s right. I guess my doll collection was comparable to his shoelace collection.”

Cameron swallowed anxiously. “Yeah, I think someone told me about that.”

“Must have been one of the people who still gossip about my husband. Yes, now that is part of the legend that was true. He loved collecting those shoelaces. I never understood it, but really, he was kind of peculiar like that. In fact, there’s one room of this house – you’ll never find it – but he never let me go in there when he was still alive. It was his little man cave before we had a literal cave below our very feet. No lying, I can’t find his special room.”

“Why not? It’s not like he’s going to find out.”

“No. No. I know that. I can’t find the room anywhere. I’m telling you, I’ve searched this house up and down and all over. Nothing. He took the privacy in his man cave very seriously. Some nights he didn’t even eat dinner with me.”

“So, what was he doing that whole time?”

Sheri closed the door to the eerie doll room. “Ha, beats me. I guess I’ll never know, but I sure can speculate. Cameron, I would give anything to find that room. It really shouldn’t be that difficult.”

“Look, I’m just staying here for the night.”

Sheri gave a tilted glare. “I guess I’ll have to be the one to break it to you then? See, by entering this house, you entered our little club. Our little community. This compound is a lockdown area, and if you don’t work well with others, we have systems in place to take care of that. All we want here is peace and harmony. It’s what The Leader wants too. We work hard and take care of our own, so don’t get too flustered.”

Cameron furrowed his brow. “I have a life out there. You can’t just make me stay here against my will.”

“Come now, don’t look so upset. It’s a good thing. And, whatever kind of construction you were doing before will seem mighty boring compared to the type of work you’ll get to do here…”

“What, like digging tunnels all day?”

“Sometimes. Yes. But, that really depends on where your strength lies. See, my strength is in cooking and taking care of y’all, so that’s what I do. Those below, they do the digging – what we call the expansion.” Sheri stepped past Cameron to the next door on their right.

“Boy, we’ve got a lot more to see, so don’t dilly dally.” She opened the second door and it creaked on its hinges as it revealed a large library full of dusty books. “Besides his man cave, this is where you could find Bill most of the time. I’m pretty sure he read every book in here. Now, this room is off limits. Under no circumstances do you ever enter the library. You’ve heard it once from me, so I expect you to remember it and follow it. Heck, I don’t make the rules around here. I’m just one of the enforcers.” She looked up. “Can you believe it? I’m supposed to be full of cheery hospitality, and they pile on the rule enforcement also
.
Golly Ge
e
.”

Her tone became hushed again. “Cameron, I’m gonna shoot straight with you. The Leader stays in a room that’s part of the library. I guess he wanted this spot so he could access the books whenever he wanted. Makes no sense to me, but nonetheless, it’s extremely important that yo
u
neve
r
disturb The Leader for any reason whatsoever. I don’t care if you have the flu and think you’re going to die. You come to me for such ailments. The Leader has plenty of other things to worry about.” Sheri coughed and whispered, “We don’t see The Leader very often. He’s extremely private.” She closed the library door and walked on.

“There are a few rooms down this hallway that I’m simply not allowed to show you. I mean, I like you Cameron. I think you’ve got some gumption, but that doesn’t mean you get special privileges. Sure, I have my favorites, but I have to stay professional. The Leader expects nothing less of me.”

Sheri lead him further down the hall to the bathroom. “Ok, squirt. I’ll give you a few minutes to take a shower and get that mud off your face, but don’t take all week because I’ve got to show you the sleeping quarters. I’ve got to get up early tomorrow to start on a Jell-O salad, and I don’t need you keeping me up.” She yawned and stretched out her neck. “Mercy knows it’s already past my bedtime.”

Cameron closed the bathroom door behind him. A large mirror was fastened to the wall above the sink. He noticed the windows of the bathroom were boarded up tight. And except for the muddy boot prints on the tile floor, the room was actually very clean. After a painful shower, he washed his face in the sink, but as he reached for a towel to dry himself, he heard a faint cough. Out of curiosity, he turned off the water and listened closer.

The cough was dry and more frequent now. Cameron put his hands up to the glass and gently knocked on it with his left knuckles. The coughing stopped.

Knock. Knock, knock
!
The mirror flexed and his slashed knuckles smarted. The wall behind the mirror seemed to be hollow.

Cameron stood there for a moment, staring at the mirror. He suspected he was being watched somehow, but only his reflection stared back. The feeling continued to grow, and a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.

Bang, bang, bang!

“Hurry up in there. I’m not getting any younger!”

Shaken, Cameron quickly dried himself, changed, and joined Sheri in the hall again.

She pointed to the room at the end of the hallway. “That door leads to the attic. It’s locked and off limits, so don’t try anything. There’s usually someone who stays up there just to stay watch over the house. I think Dallas is up there tonight. Yes, that’s right. Dallas. You’ll meet him tomorrow for training.”

Training for what?”

“We can’t just have you join the team without some preparation. What kind of operation would we have here? Huh? This place runs like a business, so of course job training is required. I used to be in charge of training a few people, but the kitchen is my workshop now.” She licked her lips and turned to face the door on the other side of the hallway.

They now stood in front of a brown door with chipped paint and muddy footprints near its base. “Cameron, I think you’ll understand this when you’re older, but there gets to be a certain age where you just stop giving a damn. You wake up one morning and realize it doesn’t matter what other people think about you. They have to live with that, not you.”

She opened the brown door. The room was filled from floor to ceiling with many empty bunk beds. “This is the sleeping quarters for the night shift. Of course, they’re down there working right now.” She clapped twice and the bedroom lights buzzed on. “It’s nothing too special. You get a bed and a pillow. We all have to share the bathroom here, so that’s a charming fun fact. Fortunately, we have several water heaters in the cellar, so the showers are never cold.”

Cameron surveyed the room. There was nothing to differentiate one bunk bed from the next. None of the sleeping spaces were personalized in any way. The sheets were smooth, and the room smelled like lemon-scented dusting spray. Then, from the corner of his eye, Cameron noticed the tiny red blink of a security camera mounted in the corner of the room. The camera saw them enter the room, and Cameron heard the mechanical motor in the camera as it zoomed in on them.

“I just finished tidying up in here a few hours before you got here. This is where the first half of the workers stay.” Sheri opened the brown door to the adjacent room. “And, this is where the other half stay. These rooms are co-ed, but so far we haven’t had any problems.”

Snoring and heavy breathing filled the air since this second sleeping quarters was occupied by twenty sleeping workers.

“Let’s just leave them be there. I saw you coming on the TV, so I’ve got a bunk all ready just for you. We’ll start you on the day shift for now. We rotate every two weeks, for a little variety. The Leader set it up this way so that there’s a group up and working at all times. Besides, when they’re down there, they can’t tell if it’s day or night anyhow. So, before you hit the hay, there’s one more procedure we need to accommodate. Hobble yourself down there to the parlor couch. Stan will be up in a few minutes to help you get your tracker.” She patted Cameron on the shoulder. “It’s a big step. I’ve got to refill a few supplies in the bathroom, so I shall see you bright and early in the morning.” She went to the closet and filled her arms with supplies.