Witherwood Reform School (15 page)

“They're going to be talking about this for years!” Archie said, holding on to a Life Saver he had caught and looking like he was about to cry.

On the float Professor Himzakity was pulling, there was a big pot with a short teacher standing in it. The teacher had a megaphone and kept repeating, “Established in 1805, established in 1805…”

The noise of the megaphone and the small band combined with the clapping of the students to make a sound that almost resembled fun. A wagon with the word SCIENCE on the side and a papier-mâché rainbow on top passed by, followed by a wagon being pulled by Ms. Gulp. She was wearing a gold suit that was a bit too tight. It was weird to see her in pants. Her float had two cardboard boxes covered with paper flowers. Painted on the side were the words PROPER BEHAVIOR.

“I've never seen anything like this,” Tobias said in disgust. “This is what they were bragging about.”

“I know,” Charlotte said. “I wish it would never end.”

Well, it did. There was just one more float, and it was the most surprising. Sitting on top of a wooden wagon was Fiddle. He was in a big leather chair holding his Rubik's Cube and staring out at the other students. He looked lost and confused. Painted on the wagon was the word WITHERS.

Tobias tried to get Fiddle's attention, but he was engrossed in his cube and trying not to look up.

“Fiddle!”

The crowd was so loud Tobias could hardly hear himself. As soon as Fiddle's float passed, the band started playing faster, and all the carts turned around and headed back through the large wood doors. As quickly as it had begun, the parade was over.

Tobias looked around. “That was it?”

“Best one yet,” Archie said as he sucked on his Life Saver. “I can't wait until the next.”

“I agree,” Charlotte said.

Students began to pick up their chairs to carry inside as teachers ordered some of the more enthusiastic kids to stop waving. Charlotte complained about still being hungry, so Tobias tore the remainder of his sandwich in half and gave part to her. The smell from the ripped sandwich was strong. Ever since his brain had cleared, Tobias could smell better than ever. He breathed in, trying to pinpoint what the mysterious ingredient was as Charlotte ate.

“Ready?” he asked.

Charlotte smiled. “So do you think they'll finally give us pillows tonight?”

Tobias shook his head and shoved the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. He stared at Archie as he stood up and grabbed his chair.

“So what else do you know about the Catchers?”

“What?” Archie asked, confused.

Tobias didn't have the energy to keep going round. The parade was over, and Archie was done talking.

After school, Tobias and Charlotte worked four hours in the kitchen and then Ms. Gulp took them to their room. Charlotte walked straight to her pillowless cot and went to bed.

Tobias did not. Student Morale Day had been a disappointment, and he was hoping tonight would be different.

 

CHAPTER 17

L
IBRARIES
A
RE
N
OT
S
TORAGE
L
OCKERS

Tobias Eggers was becoming much more than just a scared boy trapped in an unusual school. Now he was more like a brave boy temporarily detained in a place he was secretly mapping and slowly figuring out. He really wanted to see what they were hiding on the third floor. He couldn't remember exactly what he had seen through that third-story window, but he knew it had made him uneasy.

Tobias focused on what he wanted to accomplish tonight. He had a goal. He was going to visit the library he had found and see if it held any answers to Witherwood's secrets. He was also going to be on the lookout for anything that mentioned the word
Catchers
.

Ever since talking to Archie, there had been little else Tobias could think of. He knew there was something important about the Catchers and their relationship to Witherwood.

As Charlotte lay there sleeping, Tobias couldn't help but notice how much older she seemed. It had been just over a week, yet it felt like a lifetime had passed and that his sister was no longer the kid she had been when they stood at the iron gate and wondered what would happen next.

Tobias got up from his cot and walked to the corner where the loose floorboard was. He pulled it back and took out his paper and pen. He drew the parts of the gardens he had seen today. He drew Professor Himzakity and wrote small notes about him around the edge. Things that he might want to remember if he was ever a victim of Marvin's voice again. He wrote down some of the odd things that the professor had them repeat: “Once a person lets go of something, it's no longer theirs” and “Youth belongs to those who have fortune.”

After Tobias had written and drawn what he needed, he put the papers back and placed the board over them. He then slid beneath his cot and wrote a couple of notes to himself on the underside. He had been carefully placing clues all over that would help him remember things if he ever had his brain messed with again. If he lost his mind, he at least wanted a fighting chance to get it back.

Tobias scooted out from under the cot and stood up. Brushing his hands together, he walked to the door and took out his key. He slid it into the old keyhole, and the lock tumbled open. He listened for voices, but there was no sound of singing.

Carefully, he made his way through Weary Hall and over to Severe Hall with the help of tiny yellow lights lining the walls. Witherwood felt warm, like an oven that had retained its heat after baking a large meal. He wasn't wearing his school sweater, but he rolled up his shirtsleeves in an effort to cool down.

Near the middle of Severe Hall, there were doors that opened onto a spacious foyer lit only by a single lamp on the far wall. On the other side of the foyer, there was an archway with wide wood doors that were locked. A gold plaque to the side of the arch read LIBRARY.

The air in the foyer was quiet and filled with the smell of dirt. Tobias's nose let him know that someone had left an apple in the bottom of a small trash bin beneath a stone table.

While exploring last night, Tobias had discovered that his key worked for the library. He unlocked it and pushed the right-side door open just slightly. He slipped in and relocked the door. A dozen square windows on both sides of the building let in enough moonlight for Tobias to see. The library was enormous, with tall ceilings that were easily as high as the third floor. Bookshelves filled the walls, and every shelf was stuffed with books. Rows of wooden desks littered the floor, and the round table in the middle of the room looked like a gaping mouth. There were chairs all over and tables with boxes stacked on top of them. The boxes made the library look more like a storage room than a place of learning.

Tobias didn't know where to start. He wanted to find answers, but he wasn't even sure what questions he had. He wished Charlotte were with him so they could split the work. But Charlotte was sleeping, and he was all he had at the moment. So he wandered the rows of books and climbed the rolling ladders to high shelves, looking for anything that might appear to be an answer. Dust and feathery cobwebs were everywhere; no one had used the library in a while.

Tobias looked under
W
for
Witherwood
. There was nothing. A book titled
Hyrum Withers: Man of Science and the Supernatural
caught his attention, but it was long, and the words were little, and it would have taken him two months to read it. So he flipped to the index in the back and looked up
Catchers.
There was just one reference, page 452. Tobias read the one line that mentioned them: “The Catchers are essential to our prosperity. They are the silent hands of Witherwood.”

There was nothing else.

“What is this place?” he whispered to himself. “What school needs silent hands?”

Tobias shut the book and shelved it. He looked for books on Catchers, but there weren't any in the
C
section. He even tried looking in the
T
section for
the Catchers
, but that was pretty much a pointless endeavor from the start. As he was looking in the
K
section in case someone had accidentally spelled
Catcher
with a
K
, he heard what sounded like a key slide into the lock. Tobias slipped behind the shelf and held his breath. The library door opened, and overhead lights snapped on. There was the sound of footsteps and now the smell of old person was in the air.

Over the books and through the bookshelves, he could see Orrin and Professor Himzakity.

“We are on schedule as always,” Himzakity said. “The Gothiks will be stocked, and the demand is higher than ever.”

“Good news indeed,” Orrin replied. “This will be a profitable spring for Witherwood.”

Tobias turned his right ear to better hear.

“This library is a cemetery,” Professor Himzakity said. “A storage room with books. We could use this space for so much more.”

“Be careful what you say about libraries,” Orrin scolded. “There's much to fear and favor about books.”

“And much to forget,” Professor Himzakity snipped.

“Let's not have words,” Orrin said. “It's a pleasant night, and tomorrow we begin this semester's extractions.”

The word
extractions
made Tobias lose his breath. He shifted uncomfortably behind the shelf. The dust in the library was making his nose drip wildly, so he held one of his fingers up to his nose to keep from sneezing. As he lifted his arm, his elbow knocked the shelf, causing an almost inaudible thump.

“Wait,” Orrin said. “Did you hear something?”

Tobias held his breath.

“Stay here,” Orrin whispered.

Through the books, Tobias could see Orrin coming closer. Moving like a crab, he scurried backward until he met up with the far library wall, near the books about earth science. He couldn't see Orrin any longer, but he could hear his uneven footsteps getting closer. Tobias looked around frantically. He reached for a thick book on the bottom shelf where he was crouching. His plan was to defend himself with the volume, but when he pulled it out, he saw a knob on the wall behind where the book had been. Tobias reached back into the shelf and pushed the knob. The three bottom bookshelves slid quietly to the right, exposing a small opening into a long, dark space.

Orrin was getting closer.

Having no other option, Tobias crawled into the opening and hit the knob again. The shelves slid back into place, leaving him in the dark and behind the wall. He stood up and held his breath. A tiny sliver of light shone through the crack at the bottom of the moving shelves. He could hear Orrin as he slowly passed the shelf. Orrin stopped and scratched his arms.

“Come on,” Professor Himzakity called. “Get your book. We need to prepare.”

“I'm coming. I think my ears need a cleaning.”

Orrin's footsteps faded, and a few moments later the sliver of light flicked off. Tobias was alone, in the dark, behind the wall.

“What now?” he whispered to himself.

Instead of going back out into the library, he decided to turn and travel farther into the unknown passageway. It was black, but the possibility of where it might lead was too tempting to ignore.

“It has to lead out,” he said, trying to psych himself up.

Tobias stood and walked cautiously behind the walls.

 

CHAPTER 18

A
S
MALL
M
ENTION
OF
S
OMETHING
I
MPORTANT

It was dark by the time Ralph Eggers and his taxi driver, Sam, found 252
7
Battered Cactus Road. It was located in the center of nowhere on a section of dirt in the middle of vast fields of cattle and crops. Ralph rang the doorbell and stood on the doorstep with Sam.

A squatty woman in jeans and a pink blouse opened the door. She had suspicious eyes and a tight smile.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Hello,” Ralph said, looking at the slip of paper in his hand. “Is Donald Tilt in?”

“He's out on the far edge of the ranch.”

“Can we wait?” Ralph asked. “I'm the person he found walking around last week. I was hoping I could ask him a few questions.”

“It's nice to see you're okay,” the woman said. “Well, you're welcome to come in and wait, but it could be some time before Mr. Tilt returns.”

Ralph looked at Sam. “Can we wait?”

“I suppose,” Sam said.

The woman ushered them into a large room with vaulted ceilings and a mammoth fireplace in the middle. The walls were covered with mounted animal heads, and the floor displayed animal skins. Most of the dead animals were familiar, but a few had the look of being strange and exotic. The ceiling was made of thick wood beams, and there was a full-sized stuffed bear standing in the center of the room. The smell of burning wood filled the air.

“I don't like this room,” Sam whispered.

The woman brought them a couple of drinks and a tray full of cheese and meat.

“I guess it could grow on me,” Sam added as he sat down and did his best to empty the tray.

It was a good while before Donald Tilt finally returned. He was a tall man with wide shoulders and a long waist. His hands were as big as mitts, and he had a short beard that covered most of his thin face. He introduced himself and then ran off to wash up. Half an hour later, he emerged from his bedroom wearing a worn blue sports coat, dark jeans, and boots that had a large
D
and a large
T
burnt into the side of them. Donald poured himself a cup of coffee and then took a seat on one of the leather couches.