Witherwood Reform School (12 page)

Well, it was too late for Tobias and Charlotte to feel good about anything. As they were pushed through the dark gardens toward the square building, they felt as if it was not only too late, it was too heavy. Their knees buckled under the weight of each step.

“You'll be straightened out soon enough,” Orrin repeated, as if it were something they should be happy about.

For the record, no kid likes hearing those words, and no kid is happy about it when he or she does.

When they reached the square building, Orrin unlocked the door, and the two orderlies escorting the siblings shoved them through it.

Inside, yellow light washed the room in shades of autumn. The back wall was a giant mirror. In the center of the room, there was a thick gold ring on the floor that appeared to be a handle to a trapdoor. Aside from two plastic folding chairs, the room was vacant. On the long wall opposite the mirror there were some large backward-printed words. Looking in the mirror, they read

T
IME IS A TRICK OF THE MIND.

“Stay here,” Orrin said. “Marvin will be with you soon.” He locked the door behind them.

Alone, Tobias and Charlotte stared at the mirror, barely recognizing the scratched-up, ragged kids they saw staring back at them.

“Is that really us?” Charlotte asked.

“I think so.”

Tobias's hair was sticking out in numerous directions. His arms were covered in dirt, and his hoodie was ripped in two places. The freckles beneath his blue eyes looked as if they were dripping. Charlotte's jeans were torn at the ends, and the left sleeve of her green HOPE shirt was shredded.

“We look awful,” Tobias added.

Charlotte's knees gave out, and she fell to the ground crying. Tobias knelt and put his arm around his sister.

“This is your fault,” she whispered. “You're the older one. Aren't you supposed to know better? Now look at us.”

They both stared in the mirror. It wasn't pretty.

“Dad would never have left me here if it weren't for you.”

“Be careful what you say,” Tobias said, growing angry.

“Or what?” Charlotte hollered. “You'll throw me into a strange school and lock me up?”

“I can't—”

Tobias stopped arguing as the yellow light above them began to dim. The mirrored wall was beginning to glow.

“Don't be afraid,” a low, almost hypnotic voice told them.

The two glanced around, searching for speakers or a person.

“Who said that?” Tobias asked.

“Have a seat,” the voice said. “I know how I hate to stand.”

“We're not standing,” Tobias pointed out as he knelt next to Charlotte.

“Quite right,” the voice replied. “But a chair will be much more comfortable.”

Tobias looked at the two folding chairs and then back at the glowing mirror.

“Where are we?”

“As I said, have a seat.”

“Where are we?” Tobias asked the air again.

“Sit,” the voice insisted.

Tobias stood and walked to the folding chairs. He picked them both up and shuffled back to Charlotte. Without warning, he spun and threw the chairs toward the mirrored wall, screaming, “Ahhhhhhhhh!”

The two chairs slammed up against the mirror and bounced off, causing no visible damage.

“Have a seat,” the voice said once more.

Tobias didn't want to. He walked over to the trapdoor on the floor and pulled on the gold ring. There was no budge or wiggle.

“Are you ready to sit?” the voice said.

Beaten, Tobias retrieved the chairs and set them facing the mirror. He reached down to help Charlotte, but his sister refused the offer. She stood up by herself, and they both sat down dejectedly. Facing the glowing mirror from the sitting position, they could see just how banged up their knees were from all their climbing and running.

“We're sitting,” Tobias reported.

“Perfect,” the voice purred deeply. “Do you know where you are?”

They both shook their heads.

“You are in the square room,” the voice informed them. “It's where I greet visitors. It's also the second structure that was built on top of the mesa. The first was a small outhouse at the back of the mesa near the spring. It would be awkward to greet visitors there.”

Charlotte was trying to keep her eyes open. Something about the man's voice made her head feel heavy and pleasantly foggy.

“Keep talking,” Charlotte said softly.

“My pleasure,” the voice replied. “My pleasure.”

Tobias's mind began to muddle up as well. “Something's going on here at Witherwood,” he mumbled.

“I don't know what you are speaking of,” the voice said. “Something goes on almost everywhere.”

“Not something like this,” Tobias said in a daze. “This isn't a real school, is it? It's like a secret. I saw some old people in the window. They were—”

“You don't need to worry about such things,” the voice said. “You just need to behave. This school deserves your respect. It's quite a special place.”

“What do…” Tobias couldn't finish his sentence, due to a feeling of haziness.

“You disobeyed and caused a commotion tonight,” the voice recounted.

“Sorry,” Tobias slurred.

“You disturbed my gardens,” the voice said calmly.

“Still sorry,” Tobias admitted.

“You worried the staff and tore one of our banners. Who knows what else you've done.”

“Who knows,” Tobias said innocently.

“Your voice,” Charlotte tried to explain. “It's making my head heavy and I can't think straight.”

“Good,” the voice replied. “In a moment, your minds will be mush enough to look at me. Then we will have a real discussion.”

“That's horrible,” Tobias said in a dreamlike state.

“What's horrible?” the voice asked.

“What you're doing to us,” Tobias slurred.

“I'd prefer to talk to you face-to-face, but that never seems to go well,” the voice explained. “My parents were horrified by my appearance, and they were even more horrified by what other people would think. They kept me hidden.”

“How nice,” Charlotte said, now blissfully under the spell of his voice.

“They did me no favors,” the voice snipped.

The lights in the room grew dimmer. Tobias and Charlotte could feel panic in their guts, but their minds were so dazed they couldn't stop smiling.

“Can't we just leave?” Tobias struggled to say. “I don't think we belong here.”

“You can't leave,” the voice replied. “This is your home, and it would be wise for you to stay put. You have been awarded a great gift.”

Both kids grinned. The effect of the strange man's voice on their brains was making them feel safe to talk openly.

“Okay,” Tobias said.

The lights overhead went out, and the glow behind the mirror grew in intensity. As the glow increased, a dark silhouette behind the glass began to materialize. Tobias and Charlotte squinted and leaned closer. The image coming into view was of a man in a large leather high-back chair. He was old and bald in a way that was both disturbing and unattractive. He sat hunched with his shoulders bending forward. His ears stuck out like fleshy stalks of wheat. His lips were pink and moist, and his nose looked like a small sack of marbles—lumpy and mushed. A large feathery ball was sitting on his bent right shoulder. The ball shivered as the man smiled.

“You're so ugly,” Charlotte said kindly.

“I'd be offended if this were the first time I'd heard that,” the ugly man said.

Charlotte giggled—she was frightened, but in her state of mind, she couldn't express it correctly.

“My name is Marvin Withers.”

Tobias and Charlotte were baffled by the soothing voice that came out of such an ugly mouth.

“Withers like the school?” Tobias asked.

“Yes,” Marvin replied. “Like the school.”

“Home?” Charlotte blurted.

“This is your home,” Marvin informed her. “This has been and always will be. There are worse fates.”

Tobias and Charlotte looked at each other. They knew what Marvin was saying was wrong, but for some reason, they both began to clap.

“Very nice,” Marvin said. “But it looks like you'll require additional schooling.”

The children stopped clapping.

“You like school, remember,” Marvin reminded them.

They started to clap again.

“Let me fill you in. You see, my grandparents were the first to climb this mesa. They settled on the top of it and discovered there were things … unique to its soil and water—let's just say there's something beneath this mesa that makes people behave in a unique manner.”

“There's something beneath this mesa that makes people behave in a unique manner,” both kids chanted as if Marvin had told them to repeat it.

“No,” Marvin cooed. “I'm not asking you to mimic my words. I'm telling you things that will help your transition begin. You see, after my grandparents built Witherwood, strange things began to happen. The properties of the soil alone make this ground special. Years later, I was born and it was discovered when I was around seven that my voice could persuade anyone to see things my way. I could even manipulate my parents.”

“Dad,” Charlotte said, staring blankly.

“Yes,” Marvin said. “Both my mom and my dad. When I got older, they tried to tell me how I should act and what I should be. So I used my voice. Tragically, they died following some of my instructions. It's their own fault. Everyone knows that after eating a big meal you should wait twenty minutes before swimming. Especially if you're also unconscious and wearing stone shoes.”

Tobias half clapped.

“Thank you,” Marvin said sincerely. “Enough history. Now, you've started off on the wrong foot, but there is time to heal the infection you have caused. You will stay away from the second floor. You will forget what you may have seen on the third. You will attend your classes, do your jobs, and cause no more trouble. Treat Witherwood like the institution it is. I believe you will grow to love it here. Understand?”

Tobias and Charlotte nodded so hard it looked like their heads were going to fall off.

“You will forget all that happened tonight. Stick to the places you are instructed to go and eat the food that is placed before you. The food is essential to your change. There is a master plan, and if you are obedient, things will run smoothly. Are we clear?”

“Crystal,” Charlotte chirped.

“Good. And you will no longer desire to leave the grounds,” Marvin added smoothly.

“Uh-huh,” Tobias insisted while nodding.

“I would hate to see what might happen to you two if we were to have another incident like the one you caused earlier,” Marvin said sweetly. “You are safe within these walls. We go to great lengths to acquire our students, and it makes me sick thinking about what would happen if you got out. Let's just say that some of the animals that protect Witherwood can't be trusted.”

Tobias and Charlotte just stared at him, wishing they could run or scream or, at the very least, stop smiling.

“There is a value to your lives,” Marvin practically hummed. “Great worth.”

The feathery red ball on his ugly shoulder shook as a round, velvety head rose from the top of it. The head had a beak and a six-inch neck that looked like an empty toilet paper roll. The bird opened its mouth, screeched, and then lowered its head again.

“That's enough for tonight,” Marvin said softly. “My voice will stay with you for months before I need to speak to you again. So remember what I have said, and don't forget we're glad you're here.”

“Okay,” Tobias said cheerily.

The mirror went dark, and the room quietly lit back up. A few moments later, the front door popped open and Orrin entered with the two men. The rash on his arm seemed to have spread to his right cheek, and his limp was more pronounced.