Chapter 20
2039 Words
I was learning not to argue with Jada(or Mary) when she(they) told me to do something. When she said, "Come one," I took her hand and went on.
Mary (I use her name here because she was definitely more in charge at that moment) led me to the closet door. She turned the nob and entered the tiny room, beckoning me to follow.
I thought about making some sort of joke about her affinity for closets, but it didn't seem like the best time.
Mary crouched down and wiggled her way between heavy, moth-eaten over coats to reach one of the walls of the closet. Without ceremony, she put her palm flat to the surface of the plaster and pushed.
To my surprise, a small, cleverly hidden door swung inward. Mary looked back at me and smiled with Jada's face. Her purple eyes flashed.
"Follow me," she said. "I'm glad they didn't bother to seal up these old passageways.
I didn't relish the idea of crawling around in secret tunnels through that creepy old house, but I didn't really have much choice either. Instead of complaining, I crouched down and began to crawl after her.
The tunnel was not as bad as I'd feared. It was about four feet wide by four feet high and the walls were finished and painted in the same way that the walls in the normal rooms of the house were. I could tell that the tunnel was well sealed because it lacked the spiders and other creepy crawlies that normally gather in seldom used corners of a home.
The farther we got away from the light of the bunkroom closet, the darker the tunnel became. Eventually, we were in total blackness. I only knew to keep moving because I could hear Mary crawling along ahead of me. I took a moment to smirk about the situation. Normally, I would have been afraid of finding something like a ghost if I were immersed in total darkness. Just then, I was afraid that I would lose one.
Mary stopped. I couldn't hear anything.
"What's up?" I whispered.
"Hang on... Just need to find the..." And then a crack of light appeared ahead of me. "Got it," she said.
I shielded my eyes. The light hurt them after having been adjusted to the gloom of the tunnel.
Mary crawled out of the tunnel and stood up. I followed her.
We'd emerged in a different closet. The clothes here looked like they were actively used. They were also much more modern that those we'd seen in the house's other closets. Also, there were about fifteen pairs of men's shoes, ranging in style from formal to sneakers.
It had to be Omri's closet.
Mary pushed open the door of the closet. The room looked exactly like both Mary's room and the bunkroom that Jada and I shared. The decorators of the Purgatech house certainly lacked imagination.
Omri was sitting on the bottom bunk of one of the sets of beds. He was wearing large headphones and didn't notice us at first. When he did look up, he screamed in surprise.
"Shh..." Mary said, speaking to him with her mind, just like she'd been doing with me. Omri threw off the headphones and clutched his head, screaming again. The telepathy seemed to scare him even more.
Suddenly, someone was beating against the door.
"Omri!" said Turner's voice. "What the hell is going on in there? Open up."
We looked at Omri, pleading. He opened his mouth and we held our breaths, hoping that he would keep our presence secret.
"Hold on just a minute," he said. Then he flew across the room, shoving me and Mary/Jada back into the closet. He held a finger to his lips as he closed the door softly.
We heard his footsteps as he crossed the room and then the squeaky hinges on his door as it was pulled open.
"Why were you screaming?" Turner asked, walking into the room.
"Stubbed my toe. Hurt like hell."
There was a long pause. I imagined Turner eyeing him, suspiciously. He must have decided that the young man was telling the truth because he eventually said, "Fine. Be quiet next time. I shouldn't have to be disturbed just because you are too stupid to keep your feet from smashing into things." We heard the door slam and Omri let out a long sigh.
When Turner’s footsteps faded away, Omri came and opened the door. He opened his mouth to say something but Jada put her finger to her lips. It knew it was her again because, at some point, her eyes had turned into her own.
"Don't speak with your mouth. Just think it. We will be able to hear."
"No you won't," came the thought from Omri.
"Yes we will," I answered him. I couldn't help chuckling at the shocked look on his face.
"Look, Omri, we have to talk," Jada said.
"Yeah, we've met Mary. She's with us now actually."
The color drained from Omri's face. "No, that can't be. She’s dangerous, she will kill us all. Turner told me."
"That's just not true, she's been helping us. It's thanks to her that we are able to communicate like this so that Turner's recorders can't hear us."
Omri looked over toward his credenza, confirming our suspicions that his room was bugged too.
"I don't care what you say," said Omri, "there is no way that Mary is trying to help us. You need to leave."
"Omri, think about how poorly Turner treats you. Do you really want to keep on like that?"
"It's better than being back out in the cold, on my own." Omri glared at me. I realized what a scary thing it must be for him every time Turner threatened to take his job.
"We won't let you be alone, Omri," said Jada.
"That's right," I added. "We're your friends, not Turner, remember?"
"I remember," he said, reluctantly.
"Good. So that means you trust us?" asked Jada. Omri looked suspicious.
"I guess so," he said.
"Then you have to listen, right now. Mary has told us what Turner is up to. She explained the whole plan and how Slade is helping."
"You mean how they are making phone apps and stuff? I already knew about..."
"No, Omri," said Jada, "we aren't talking about phone apps. Turner and Slade are trying to take over the world."
Omri stared at her for a few moments. Then he bent over, howling with laughter. Jada looked at me, thoroughly annoyed.
"Really?" she asked. "It's that funny?"
"Its freaking hilarious," Omri said, gasping for breath. "'Take over the world.' I think you've been watching too many James Bond movies."
Jada stepped forward. "I'm sorry about this. It'll be over before you know it." She grabbed his arm and her eyes turned purple.
Omri's eyes bulged and he opened his mouth to scream. His breath caught in his chest before any sound came out and I knew that he was experiencing Mary's memories that same way that Jada and I had.
For nearly a minute, he stood completely still, mouth still open, looking like some sort of deranged mannequin. Suddenly, he gasped and Mary let his arm go. Her purple eyes turned into Jada's.
Omri walked slowly over to his bed and sat down, staring at the floor.
"So it's true," he said, quietly. "I've been working for a monster."
"I'm afraid it is true," said Jada as she walked over to him. She was being much more gentle now that we could see some progress in convincing our friend of the situation.
"That makes me a monster too," he lamented.
"No. That's not true at all. You are a good person that got caught up in something horrible."
"But I've helped them this whole time. I've taken care of chores so that they could continue this terrible plan. How can I ever forgive myself?"
"You won't be able to," said Jada.
"What the hell?" I said. That was not the way I would have answered that particular question.
"UNLESS," she said, stressing the word, "you help us to put a stop to this. Right. Now."
Omri looked at her with a serious look on his face. Then he nodded, slowly.
"Tell me what to do," he said. Jada threw her hands up in a silent cheer and threw her arms around Omri.
"We need Sparks," I said. "Can you get her for us?"
"You mean here? Yeah, I'm sure that I can get her up here."
"Great," said Jada. "Go now, hurry. We don't have any time to waste. We have to fix this before morning comes."
Omri nodded and jumped up from the bed. He barely remembered to close the door behind himself when he left.
Jada and I sat down the bed opposite Omri's. She leaned over and lay down, resting her head in my lap. I let out a long sigh and tried to let some of the evening's stress dissolve.
"You think we are going to be okay?" Jada asked. Her voice lacked its usual grit. My heart went out to her. It was hard work to be confident all of the time.
"Absolutely. There is no doubt in my mind." I had to play up my belief in this fact. In truth, I wasn't sure. But some part of Jada was asking me to take charge of the confidence for a while. I was only too happy to do that for her.
"What happens next?" she asked.
"Well, after we convince Sparks..."
"Not what I meant, Aaron."
"Oh," I said. "What are you asking, then?"
"I mean what happens to us when this is all over? According to you, we will both be alive and healthy tomorrow morning. What happens when the sun comes up and we leave this place?"
"I don't really know." It was the truth. Things had been happening so fast that I really hadn't had time to consider anything outside of Purgatech.
"Are you going to take me with you?" she asked. She looked so pitiful, gazing up at me with sad, questioning eyes. I opened my mouth, still unsure of what to say.
A voice cut me off.
"What do you mean you can't wait until morning to have your laptop fixed? Do you have any idea..." It was Sparks. She was complaining to Omri in the loudest whisper I'd ever heard.
The door opened and Omri came in, walking backwards to make sure that Sparks saw the finger he was holding to his lips.
"Why the hell are you..." She stopped speaking altogether when she saw Jada and I seated on the bed. Jada sat up and waved, smiling sheepishly.
"Don't say anything out loud. Just think it," Jada instructed. Sparks blinked and dug one finger into her ear, as if a sudden pressure change had make it pop.
"This girl is dumb as a bag of hammers," she 'thought'.
"Hey, that wasn't very nice!" Jada replied.
"Oh my god," Sparks said. "You were serious. How can this be possible?" Her face wore a look of utter and silent confusion.
"We could sit here and explain everything to you, but it would be easier to let Mary show you," I said.
"Mary? How do you guys know about Mary?"
"You'll see. Give me your hand," said Jada. But her purple eyes told me she was no longer Jada.
Sparks jumped at the sight of her eyes. She did not offer her hand.
"Go on, you can trust her," I said.
Reluctantly, Sparks reached out. The moment she made contact with Mary's skin, she went ridged, as if a jolt of electricity was passing through her body. After a few minutes, she relaxed again.
Mary dropped Sparks' hand and her eyes faded from the glowing purple color back to Jada's eyes.
Slowly Sparks opened her eyes. "Wow," she said. "These guys really had me going." She sounded sad. Regretful.
"So you'll help us?" I asked.
"No."
Jada opened her mouth to protest. Sparks cut her off with a raised hand.
"You'll be helping me," she said. "Let's get moving, there isn't much time."
- Writer
