Witherwood Reform School (9 page)

“I have this room because of my last name.”

“And what's your last name?” Tobias asked.

“I forget at the moment, but my uncle says it's a good one.”

“Who's your uncle?”

“He lives in that square building,” Fiddle answered. “The one in the middle of the gardens. He always says, ‘Fiddle, you are placed where you are because of your name.' Maybe my last name is Nicebedroom.”

“Fiddle Nicebedroom?” Charlotte laughed.

“Nope, that's not it,” Fiddle said, sighing. “I think it starts with an upside-down
M
. Did you guys know I sleepwalk?”

Both the Eggers kids shook their heads.

“I'm not positive I do, but my uncle has mentioned there's something wrong with me. I'm trying to figure out what it is.”

“Maybe they should lock your door,” Tobias suggested. “I'm not sure it's a good idea for us to be sleeping so close to your room.”

“You can't be too safe,” Fiddle agreed.

“We should go,” Charlotte said to her brother. “I don't want them to notice that we're missing.”

“Yeah,” Fiddle said. “Beware of the voices.”

“Like in your head?” Tobias asked.

“No.” Fiddle laughed. “The voices! The guards who walk the halls at night and sing. My uncle says the singing keeps things at bay, but I don't know what that means. I guess the dark makes the mesa a little dangerous, and the music helps. Lots of times I can hear the voices singing as they pass my door. I'll tell you this—the songs they pick are pretty awful.”

“It seems foolish to be a singing night watchman,” Charlotte said. “People will always hear you coming.”

“They're not worried about people inside. I think they're more interested in what's on the outside of Witherwood. Have you seen the chains they use to lock things up at night?”

Tobias and Charlotte nodded.

“That's because something went wrong.”

It's a fact of life that sometimes things go wrong. Most people don't make it through an entire day without something happening that shouldn't have. But when you're trapped in a strange place talking to a strange person, the phrase “something went wrong” is particularly unsettling.

“What happened?” Tobias asked.

“Something with the animals outside. It's okay now.”

It didn't feel okay.

“Don't listen to me,” Fiddle said kindly. “There are good things to be found here.” He sat up, dropped his Rubik's Cube, and instantly began twisting a loose string that was coming off the worn knee hole on his jeans. “For example, I know something nice.”

“Something nice and useful?” Tobias asked, picking up the Rubik's Cube.

Fiddle looked confused. His forehead wrinkled, and his eyes grew squinty. “Maybe I'm not sure what I know,” he finally answered.

“We really should go,” Charlotte said once more.

Tobias quickly twisted and solved the Rubik's Cube. He tossed it back to Fiddle, who stared at it in awe.

The Eggers kids turned and headed for the door.

“Wait,” Fiddle shouted. “I remember what I know. There's a door somewhere.”

“That door?” Tobias asked, pointing to a small door at the far end of Fiddle's room.

“No, that's my bathroom.”

“You've got your own bathroom?” Charlotte asked jealously.

“I don't like sharing,” Fiddle admitted.

“Forget about the bathroom. What door are you talking about?” Tobias asked.

“The door off the mesa,” Fiddle replied. “I—”

The bedroom door flew open. Standing in the doorway was Ms. Gulp. Her gloved hands were reaching out. Her face was as red as her hair.

Fiddle screamed.

“What are you doing in here?” Ms. Gulp snapped. “I thought I locked your door.”

“It wasn't locked,” Tobias lied. “We went to the bathroom and came back to the wrong room.”

“Door number seven is your door. What kind of children can't count to seven? I think you're being curious, and curiosity flattened the cat.”

“That's true,” Fiddle confirmed.

“We're sorry,” Charlotte apologized.

“I'm sure you are,” she snipped. “Now come!”

“Wait,” Fiddle said. “I was about to tell them something.”

“Sorry, Fiddle,” she replied. “You'll have to save it for later. These two children need to get their sleep so they don't wake up on the wrong side of the room.”

Fiddle shrugged. “Okay. Good-bye, imaginations. Oh, and, Ms. Gulp, they suggested you might want to lock my door. You know, to be safe.”

Tobias looked down at the white rug, wishing he hadn't opened his mouth.

“Thank you, Fiddle,” Ms. Gulp said. “We'll start locking it straightaway.”

Ms. Gulp led Tobias and Charlotte to their room. She asked them a bunch of barely understandable questions, gave them a little information, and warned them to behave. She also let them know that she wouldn't forget to use the lock this time.

“You might want to lie down and take a nap. You will be picked up for service in about three hours.”

“What kind of service?” Charlotte asked.

“Dinner service. We'll start you in the kitchen. We have extra menus and work to complete before the parade next week. Student Morale Day means a lot of extra work for me.”

“Sorry,” Charlotte said.

“That doesn't help.”

“So, where are the other students?” Tobias asked. “The ones who sleep on these other cots?”

“They've graduated. Now, lie down.”

“Are there any blankets and pillows?” Charlotte asked.

“Plenty,” Ms. Gulp answered.

“Could we get some?”

Ms. Gulp laughed, and spittle flew from her mouth. “We don't just hand blankets and pillows out,” she said with disgust. “You'll have to earn them. And you can start earning them this evening in the kitchen.”

Ms. Gulp took her large, boxy body and interesting speech skills and left the room. She slammed the door behind her, and it clicked.

“I don't like Ms. Gulp,” Charlotte whispered.

“More like Big Gulp,” Tobias added.

“Well, I don't like Big Gulp,” Charlotte said. “I can't understand half of what she's talking about. She almost makes me miss Orrin. We have to get out of here.”

“I know, and I think Fiddle might know how.”

“I don't think Fiddle knows anything,” Charlotte said sadly.

Tobias yawned. “I think he does, and we'll ask him as soon as we can, but right now I'm going to sleep.”

Charlotte yawned even wider as she lay down on her cot.

“Do you think Dad is worried about us?” she asked drowsily.

Tobias was already asleep.

 

CHAPTER 10

S
TARTING
FROM
S
CRATCHES

Ralph Eggers slowly opened his eyes. A flood of white light was covering his body. He blinked twice and then snapped his eyelids shut again.

“Hello?” A soft voice beckoned.

He opened his eyes to see an angel in a nurse's uniform standing beside him. He displayed a weak smile while she showed off one of her strongest grins.

“You're awake,” she said happily. “Let me get the doctor.”

The beautiful nurse hurried off, leaving Ralph alone. He peered down and saw the tube running into his left wrist and the thin beige blanket covering his body. He tried to lift his right arm to scratch an itch on his forehead, but his arm wouldn't cooperate. In fact, it was in a white cast and impossible to move.

Ralph Eggers looked around the room, wondering where he was and if he was even awake. A big machine next to his bed beeped a few times and then went silent. He wiggled his toes and shifted his legs under the blanket. There was a small TV up in the corner. The sound was off, but on the screen was a woman wearing a shawl and holding a bird—looking at the picture made him more confused.

The beautiful nurse with the soft voice came back, a gray-haired man trailing behind her. “Doctor,” she said nicely, “our patient's awake.”

“That's good to see,” the doctor replied. “How do you feel?”

“Fine,” Ralph said. “My head hurts a little.”

“That's not surprising. You sustained a minor concussion—nothing too serious. And as you probably noticed, your arm's broken but it was a clean break and should heal well.”

“That's good,” Ralph said. “So what happened to me?”

The doctor smiled the way doctors do when they need to say something unpleasant in a pleasant way.

“We're not sure. You were found walking through the desert this morning by a rancher. He said you were speaking incoherently and staggering around. He thought you had been drinking, but the tests show there's no alcohol in your system. You were pretty scratched up. The rancher brought you here, and we put your arm in a cast. We were actually hoping you'd be able to tell us what happened.”

Ralph Eggers looked down at his left arm. He could see a couple of small scratches and a long, finger-wide bruise.

“So—” The doctor stopped to look at the chart. “Oh, that's right. We don't even have your name.” He clicked his pen and held it over the chart in preparation for writing. “Now, what is your name?”

Ralph Eggers looked at the beautiful nurse and then at the gray-haired doctor.

“I have no idea.”

“Really?” the doctor asked.

“It's like I can't remember anything,” Ralph replied.

For the first time since he had opened his eyes, the beautiful nurse frowned. Her expression fit the feeling that was growing in Ralph's gut.

“Do you know what year it is?” the doctor asked.

Ralph shook his head.

“Do you have any family?”

“I don't … think so,” Ralph said slowly.

“Can you tell me how old you are?”

Ralph looked down at his body as he lay in bed. “I'm sorry, no.”

“The rancher who found you wandering said you didn't have a wallet. In fact, you were practically naked.”

“What?” Ralph said, confused.

“You had no shirt, no shoes, and your pants were so badly ripped they were barely hanging on you.”

“That's not good, is it?” Ralph asked.

“I'm afraid not,” the doctor answered.

The doctor then picked up a phone as Ralph Eggers closed his eyes and tried desperately to remember something. Anything.

 

CHAPTER 11

W
AKING
U
P
I
S
H
ARD
TO
D
O

No sleep is no fun. I suppose playing tag all night can be okay, but when your body realizes that it's missed a night of slumber, things get unpleasant. Nobody enjoys being around someone who is lacking a full eight hours' worth. And nobody enjoys being the one who lacks it. There is only one case where less sleep is acceptable. That is the case that involves you reading this book and not setting it down and dozing off. But aside from that, no sleep is no fun.

Tobias had no desire to get up. Unfortunately, what he desired had nothing to do with what was happening. As he was lying on his cot dreaming about maps and mechanics, Ms. Gulp violently shook his shoulder and commanded him to get up.

“Just one more hour,” he slurred.

“Get moving!” she snapped. “Nap's over.”

“Please,” he begged, his eyes refusing to open. “Let me sleep half an hour more.”

Ms. Gulp grabbed the side of Tobias's cot and yanked it straight up. Tobias flew out and came crashing down against the floor.

“Ow,” he complained as he sat up. He looked at the overturned cot and wished he were still in it.

“Now wake your sister and come with me,” Ms. Gulp ordered. “We've a lot to do.”

Tobias looked at Charlotte. She was still sleeping peacefully on her cot. “Why didn't you wake her up first?”

Ms. Gulp grabbed Tobias by the left ear and pinched. “Get your sister and come. I've got responsibilities calling my number.”

Ms. Gulp let go of Tobias's ear and walked out the door into the hall.

It took Tobias five very hard shakes to wake Charlotte. She was even less pleased about being awakened than he had been.

“I'm so tired.”

“You have to get up,” Tobias whispered. “Big Gulp's pinching.”

“Big Gulp's pinching,” Charlotte slurred incoherently.

“Get her up!” Ms. Gulp yelled from the door.

Tobias pulled his sister to her feet. Charlotte swayed for a few seconds and then slid back down onto her cot.

“I wanna sleep,” she cried groggily.

“Me too,” Tobias said as Ms. Gulp stomped back across the room. “But you've got to get up now!”

It was too late. Ms. Gulp grabbed Charlotte by the nape of her neck, hoisted her onto her feet, and marched her across the room and out into the hall. Charlotte was yelling while trying to fully understand what was happening. Tobias hurried after them, but Ms. Gulp kept him at bay, kicking her fat left leg back and swatting with her free arm.

“Let her go!” he yelled.

Ms. Gulp pushed Charlotte into the large bathroom behind door number six. She placed Charlotte in one of the stone showers behind the blue curtains and turned on the cold water full blast. Tobias was still trying to get to his sister, so Ms. Gulp grabbed his arm and shoved him into the shower too.

“Tell me when you're awake,” she barked.

“I'm awake!” Charlotte yelled.

“Me too,” Tobias added.

“Are you sure?” Ms. Gulp asked.

Both kids stood under the cold water, looking as pathetic as they had when they first arrived. Their teeth chattered. Ms. Gulp turned the spigot and shut the water off. She smiled at them.