“It worked. They just started talking as if I wasn’t there.”
The metal panel slid down and in crawled Keith. Directly behind him was … nobody.
“Where’s Patrick?” Meghan asked.
“They took him,” Keith said breathlessly. “Ms. Ratter came in and told him to come with her. I wanted to do something, but I knew if I said anything, it would just make things worse. She had at least three orderlies escorting him.”
Charlotte knew it was a silly question, but she asked it anyway. “Where’d they take him?”
“Probably to the pool,” Tobias said. “This is bad.”
“It is,” Keith said. “I should get back. If Ms. Ratter is coming in and out, I don’t want to be missing.”
“Good idea,” Charlotte said sarcastically. “So then they can take you too.”
“I don’t know what to do,” Keith admitted. “I’m not the leader; I’m the funny one.”
“Really?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m funny,” Keith said dejectedly. “Ask Meghan.”
“Listen,” Tobias said. “This just means we have to move faster, for Patrick’s sake. I’ve got to find Fiddle. Keith, you go back. If you get taken, don’t jump in the pool.”
“Right,” Keith said. “That actually makes sense, because I ate a snack a few minutes ago and I should wait at least half an hour to swim.”
Keith looked at Charlotte and she smiled slightly.
“See?” Keith said. “Funny.”
“Seems like bad timing,” Charlotte commented.
Tobias ignored both of them. “Meghan, get back to your dorm, and if they notice Charlotte missing, say she went to the bathroom or just stall them until she gets back.”
“Wait,” Meghan protested. “Where’s Charlotte going?”
“She’s coming with me. Fiddle likes her, and her hearing is amazing. Besides, I need to keep an eye on my sister. If we find Fiddle, we’ll figure out where to start the fire. Then tomorrow afternoon I’m going to find a way to make this happen.”
“I hope it’s not too late for Patrick,” Keith said.
“That’s not funny,” Charlotte added.
“We can do this,” Tobias said hopefully. “Every student here needs us to.”
“You sound like a general leading his troops into battle,” Meghan said, staring out from behind long strands of hair. “But we’re not much of a troop. What happens if the fire gets out of hand, or nobody comes to put it out?”
“Then we’ll meet here the next night and plan something else.”
“You’re stubborn,” Meghan said.
“He really is,” Charlotte agreed.
“Get ready to yell fire,” Tobias instructed them. “We’ll need chaos.”
“I’m warming up my vocal cords as I speak.” Keith looked at Charlotte again.
“Was that supposed to be funny?”
Keith pushed up his glasses. “I’m just saying, warming, fire … get it?”
“Maybe you’re the misunderstood one of the group,” Charlotte suggested.
“He’s definitely that,” Meghan agreed.
All four of them left the boiler room and headed off in three different directions.
Tobias and Charlotte took the passage behind the wall and exited beneath the stairs near door number seven. Unlocking the door, the two of them stepped in. Charlotte flipped on the light. There were still two rows of gray cots and the same walls and floor, and a boarded-up window that Charlotte didn’t remember.
“What happened to the window?”
“We were both here. I’m pretty sure an animal broke through and we fought it off.”
“Wow, we’re brave.”
Tobias went to the loose floorboard in the corner and pulled it up. He retrieved the map he had drawn and spread it out on one of the cots. There were still some gaps and holes in his drawing, but for the most part, he had a pretty good idea of how Witherwood was laid out.
“That’s amazing,” Charlotte said as she leaned over the map. “I don’t remember it being so detailed.”
“I’ve added a lot in the last four days. I don’t know where Fiddle is. I know a couple of spots where he’s not, but nothing for certain. He said he could hear music and it was on the first floor. So I’m … I’ve got nothing else.”
“Ms. Ratter plays music,” Charlotte said. “Her office is in Severe Hall near the dorms, and she plays music all the time.”
“There’s also the singing staff members who patrol the halls,” Tobias said. “He might have been talking about them.”
“Right, and I heard Orrin whistle once,” Charlotte joked. “Maybe that’s what he meant.”
Tobias smiled. “It’s good to have you back. Maybe we should check out around Ms. Ratter’s office first.”
The Eggers children left the room, and this time they used the hallways to get around. Somewhere behind them, they could hear one of the singing voices. They hid behind a corner until the musical orderly passed. The song he sang was not uplifting.
If there’s no way for you to learn,
Then tear it down and watch it burn.
If there’s no way for you to see,
Count on no one, not even me.
Once the orderly and song had drifted away, Charlotte spoke.
“He was singing about burning.”
“Just a coincidence. Come on.”
They made their way down Weary Hall and into Severe. Another singing voice could be heard in the distance.
“Nothing like weird singing orderlies roaming the halls,” Charlotte whispered. “They really know how to make a creepy place creepier.”
Taking a hallway behind the girls’ dorms, they reached a set of stairs and hid beneath them.
“That’s Ms. Ratter’s office,” Charlotte said, pointing to a yellow door with a poster of a cat on the front. “I think she likes kittens. A lot of the music she plays is about cats. I don’t know what all these other rooms are. There’s a bathroom down there and a room full of chairs over there, but I have no idea what’s in the rest.”
“A room full of chairs? How do you know that?”
“Meghan likes to explore. She took me there earlier today.”
Tobias didn’t know how to feel. He liked Meghan and he liked Charlotte, but he didn’t necessarily like Meghan taking Charlotte places without him.
“Can you hear anything?” Tobias asked. “Use your ears.”
Charlotte listened.
“Is it safe to do some real exploring?”
“I can hear a couple of girls snoring in the dorms. I can also hear one of the voices in the distance.”
“What about Fiddle? Can you hear him doing something Fiddlish? Maybe he’s clicking a pen, or playing with a Rubik’s cube, or doing one of those other annoying things he does.”
Charlotte took another moment to listen. “Unless he’s the one flushing a toilet in the girls’ bathroom, I don’t hear him.”
A brainwashed girl came out of the bathroom and walked like a zombie back toward the girls’ dorms.
Charlotte bristled. “Is that what I look like when I’m messed up with Marvin’s voice?”
“Yes.”
“We’ve really got to get out of here.”
“We’ve got to find Fiddle.”
“Can you smell anything?”
“Yeah, when was the last time you brushed your teeth?”
“You’re turning into Keith,” Charlotte whispered as she punched her brother in the arm. “Let’s just start checking rooms. I’m not sure what else we can do. We have no— What’s that noise?”
Tobias and Charlotte pushed up against the wall behind the stairs and out of sight.
“What noise?” Tobias asked.
“It’s a whirring sound.”
“Marvin,” Tobias said quietly.
Both Eggers children held their breath. Down the hall, the whirring approached. From beneath the wide stairs, they could see Marvin on his electric cart. Walking n
ext to him was Fiddle. Marvin had his thin red bag over his head to hide his face and his hat on over that. His strange bird, Capricious, was on his shoulder. Marvin’s knotted hands were on the handlebar of his cart, and his squatty body looked hunched and uncomfortable. Fiddle looked like Fiddle.
“You must stay in your room,” Marvin said to Fiddle, speaking from inside his bag.
“I can’t always find it,” Fiddle admitted.
“We will put locks on it tomorrow. That way you’ll be perfectly safe. No more wandering.”
“You’re a really good uncle.”
“I’m the best you have,” Marvin reminded Fiddle. “You need to do as you are told. Recently you’ve become something of a problem. We are family, but even I have my limits.”
“I will try to keep my brain in line.”
Marvin and Fiddle passed the stairs where Tobias and Charlotte were hiding. They continued to hold their breath and Charlotte closed her eyes as if that would help her go unnoticed.
The cart slowly whirred by.
Fiddle turned his head to the side and looked directly at them. Tobias pushed back against the wall, hoping he could mesh with the building. Fiddle just smiled and kept walking.
Marvin’s head was directed the other way, so he took no notice. The electric wagon stopped twenty feet down the hall in front of a skinny door with a triangle doorknob.
“Oh,” Fiddle said with excitement. “There’s my room. Did you—”
“No more questions,” Marvin said with authority. “Now go in and stay put.”
“Okay. So I shouldn’t be worried about those other kids?”
“What kids?”
“That boy and girl.”
“The ones you led outside to the tunnel?”
“Yes.”
“Why should you be worried? There’s no reason for you to spend any thought on them.”
“But—”
“Go to sleep, Fiddle. It’s late and I have much to do.”
“Okay.”
Fiddle grabbed the triangle-shaped doorknob and let himself into his room.
“Good night, everyone,” Fiddle exclaimed.
Marvin shook his head as Fiddle disappeared behind the skinny door. “That child isn’t right. Not right at all.”
Marvin’s cart carried him down the hall and into the dark.
CHAPTER 20
FINDING THE PROPER THING TO BURN
Many things can be hidden in the shadows. A deep, dark shadow has the potential to mask some fantastic things. I’ve lost a number of things in the shadows. My keys, my lunch, my wallet, my mind. The shadows can also provide an element of safety. If there’s someone after you, you might try hiding in the shadows. If there’s trouble heading your way, take to the shadows. And if you owe a strange man two gold bricks and an old badminton racket, for goodness’ sake pay up. I don’t think the shadows will save you.
Tobias and Charlotte crept from the shadows beneath the stairs. They walked quietly across the hall and approached Fiddle’s door.
“Do we knock?” Charlotte asked.
Tobias answered by taking a hold of the triangle-shaped doorknob and turning it. With a click, the door opened, and behind the dark skinny door there was … not much.
The room was a large closet. A short bed was crammed against the wall, and there were lots of folded-up chairs next to a few bags of rock salt. There was also Fiddle, who was sitting on the bed pulling and twisting a large red rubber band. His smile covered the entire bottom half of his face. Tobias and Charlotte stepped in and closed the door behind them. With all three in the room, there was barely any space to move.
“Sorry we didn’t knock,” Charlotte said. “Are you aware this is a closet?”
“It does seem small.”
“My uncle didn’t see you under the stairs,” Fiddle said, staring at them. “Maybe you two really are made up.”
Charlotte shook her head. “We’ve been through this before, Fiddle.”
“I know. That’s why I think you’re not just a thought. Most of the voices in my head only show up once.”
Charlotte sat down on the bags of rock salt.
“You came to see me yesterday,” Tobias reminded him, trying to find a place to sit.
“I remember that.”
“I like your new room,” Charlotte said in a kind way. “It’s cozy.”
“You seem more positive than before,” Fiddle said to her. “That’s nice. I think this room is a punishment. Plus, I don’t like Ms. Ratter. Ms. Gulp was much nicer.”
“What?” Tobias and Charlotte said together.
“Yeah, she left me alone and she didn’t play music all the time. Ms. Ratter calls me stupid.”
“You’re not,” Charlotte said.
“Much kinder than before,” Fiddle said, grinning. “I’m really glad to see you two together. Otherwise, it doesn’t look right.”
“Listen, Fiddle,” Tobias said. “We would love to just hang out in this closet talking, but we think bad things are happening. And we need your help.”
“Last time I helped you, they moved me from my room.”
“This time we want to help the whole school,” Tobias told him.
“They might send me to a really crummy spot for that. What’s smaller than a closet?”
“A cabinet,” Charlotte said, as if they were playing a guessing game.
“They won’t send you to a cabinet,” Tobias promised. “We just need to ask you a question.”
Fiddle fiddled with the rubber band. He lost his hold and it hit Tobias on the cheek.
“Ouch,” Tobias said, rubbing his face.
“Sorry.” Fiddle bent over to get the rubber band and knocked his head against Charlotte’s knee.
“You need a bigger room,” Charlotte said.
“You need to answer a question,” Tobias pleaded.
“Okay, but only because I believe you two are good and sometimes I think my uncle isn’t.”
Tobias got right to it. “You said there’s a spot here that would burn for days because of what’s in it.”
“I did?”
Charlotte rubbed her forehead. “I forgot how hard it is to get information from you.”
“If you’re looking for someplace that will burn for a long time, you need the barn behind the school. That’s where they keep the wood and gas for some of the cars and equipment. I used to be able to go there when I was a little kid and watch the workers stack wood and use the machines. The staff used to tell me to be careful, because if the wood caught on fire, the shed would burn for days. They call it the bonfire barn. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there.”
“Do you think they use it for storage any longer?” Tobias asked.
“That’s a weird question. Don’t you remember we passed it on our way to the tunnel last time? It’s by that old outhouse.”
“I think I remember. It’s far enough away from the back of the school that if it caught on fire it wouldn’t get Witherwood? I don’t want any of the students getting hurt.”
“I think so. It’s in that clearing by itself, near the outhouse.”
“Perfect,” Tobias said in a hushed voice. “Nobody’s out there, and it would burn like a giant bonfire. Someone would have to notice it from far away. We just need a few firefighters to come up here from the real world. Once they see what’s happening, we’ll all be saved.”
“What if the firefighters are on Marvin’s side?” Charlotte asked. “That horrible sheriff is.”
“We can only hope that the fire is so noticeable that at least one honest person investigates.”
“Sounds like a really exciting plan,” Fiddle said. “How are you going to get to the barn?”
“I’m going out a window,” Tobias said. “The first-floor windows might be barred, but I know the third-floor windows aren’t.”
“Fun,” Fiddle said. “I’m still not coming with you.”
“We wouldn’t ask you to.”
“Well, now I
kind of want to.”
“Listen, all you have to do is promise not to tell a single soul that you saw us. If someone asks, you don’t say a thing. Talk about trees or something. Also, tomorrow when people start yelling fire, run someplace safe.”
“I can do that.”
“Thanks, Fiddle,” Charlotte said.
“Can I tell you something?” Fiddle asked, looking around to see if they were alone.
“Sure.”
“I lied about my uncle. I don’t wonder if he’s not nice, I know he isn’t.”
“We know too,” Tobias said.
“He’s taking kids to the pool.”
Tobias and Charlotte both held their breath, not wanting to startle Fiddle into losing his train of thought.
“So what happens in the pool?” Tobias asked casually.
“I’m not sure, but I’m sure it’s not good. It has something to do with the mesa. There’s something in the water.”
“See?” Tobias said. “We have to do this.”
“I won’t say a word,” Fiddle promised. “Unless I forget I told you I wouldn’t.”
“Please don’t,” Tobias said. “This is for every student here. It might be our one shot.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks, Fiddle,” Charlotte said again.
“You two are probably the nicest people I’ve met.”
“If this works, maybe you’ll get a chance to meet nicer ones.”
Fiddle stopped scratching himself. “What I really want is to try skiing.”
“Really?” Charlotte said.
“I think so. I mean, I don’t really know what it is, I just like the word. Skiing.”
Tobias and Charlotte left Fiddle in his closet alone with his thoughts. Closing the door, they slunk to the shadows beneath the wide stairs.
“I guess I’ll go back to my bed,” Charlotte said.
“And I get to go to my beautiful room with the lovely view of wood.”
“You know this is a really crazy idea you came up with. A dangerous, crazy idea.”
“I know,” Tobias admitted. “But I can’t think of anything else to try. Besides, crazy ideas are sort of my specialty.”
“It was your crazy idea to put tadpoles in gravy that got us stuck here.”
“Let’s just hope this crazy idea gets us out.”
The Eggers children split up and went their separate ways, knowing full well that tomorrow would be one frightening, dangerous, and exciting day.