We stopped in front of a tapestry hanging on the stone wall. The fabric depicted an all-seeing eye with beams of light radiating from its center. I’d seen something similar on a one-dollar bill, and even heard about the conspiracies. Was that the company’s symbol?
Dom pulled aside the drapery, revealing a hidden doorway. He motioned with his free hand toward the opening, and I cautiously entered the room. It was comparable to the library—cozy, lit by a fireplace, and filled with books along the back wall. There was also a desk, which Dom wasted no time sitting behind in a magnificent red-leather chair. It was like watching a king sit on his throne.
The chill from the hallway outside slowly evaporated, replaced by the warmth from the fireplace. I rubbed my arms and hugged myself. Eyes skimming the room, I noticed a wrought-iron, gated entry on the opposite side.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It leads to the prison below. We hold Dreamers down there, until it’s time for their ability to be removed.”
“Dreamers?”
“Your kind.”
“Oh,” I said. “I didn’t realize we had a name.”
“Well, now you do.” He nodded toward a door to my right. “Hide in there, watch, and listen.”
I frowned. “What are you going to do?”
“You’ll see.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but I wasn’t in a position to argue; I had no clue where I was, exactly, and he could easily wipe my imagination. It wouldn’t be a wise decision to blatantly defy him.
Dom began punching numbers on his desk phone. I opened the door, like he ordered, and came face to face with office supplies—paperclips, blank sheets of paper, highlighters, ink pens. It was nothing more than a miniature storeroom, and I squeezed myself inside, my back against the shelves.
“I’ve returned,” Dom told someone on the other end of the phone.
Minutes later, the iron gate creaked open.
“Figured it wouldn’t take you long,” said a raspy, male voice. “Did you get the girl?”
Dom replied, “Not yet, but I’m getting close.” Then, “Who’s next?”
“Victor, most likely.” The man grunted. “He’s been here for two hours. His family will freak out if we don’t get him back soon.”
The room dissolved into silence, and I assumed the man left to fetch Victor. Poking my head out, I watched Dom skim through several files on his desk, finding the one he wanted and separating it from the rest. Sometime later, heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway on the opposite side of the room, behind the iron gate. I disappeared from view, but used one eye to peek around the doorway. The sound of someone being dragged reached my ears, and I knew it had to be that Victor guy they were talking about.
“Please! Please! I’ll do anything. Don’t hurt my family.”
“Shut up,” said the raspy voice.
“Victor Ruelle,” Dom began. “Insurance salesman by day, with a loving wife and two children, and a sexual connoisseur by night. What your seemingly-perfect family doesn’t know—”
“Please don’t hurt them!” Victor yelled.
“—is that you inherited a unique ability from your father, one that caused you to leave them at night so you could have sexual fantasies with imaginary women.” Dom shook his head. “Pathetic.”
Victor’s eyes widened. He glanced around the room, outwardly searching for an escape or something he could latch on to. Or maybe he secretly hoped someone would magically appear and save him. “If it’s money you want,” he said, “I’ll give you money. Take my car keys. Whatever it is, I can get it for you. Just…don’t hurt my family. Please.”
Did Dom not inform Victor what would happen if he didn’t heed his warning? That was bizarre. He made it perfectly clear to me. This guy sounded like he had no clue why he was here, as if the Ministry was filled with a bunch of brutes intending to strip him of all his assets. Why would Dom warn me and not others? More importantly, why was he giving me a second chance and not bothering to do the same with Victor?
“There’s nothing you have that we’d want,” said Dom, “except your ability.”
The coldness of his words caused goosebumps to ripple across my skin.
“There has to be something you need,” Victor pressed on. “Something of importance.”
Dom smirked. “I have everything I need, but what I want is an entirely different story. We warned you, and you didn’t listen.”
So, he was warned…
“But—”
“Careful,” Dom warned.
Victor whimpered.
Dom said, “You were warned, and you didn’t listen. Is that correct?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then you leave me no choice.”
Dom stepped out from behind his desk, taking slow and careful strides towards Victor, until he stopped in front of him. The raspy-voice guy shoved Victor to his knees, and Dom placed his hands on either side of Victor’s head. Loose tendrils of air surrounding Victor’s head began to move, growing and constricting, as if the very air was bending to Dom’s will. Victor collapsed to the ground, screaming, writhing in pain, with blood oozing from his ears and nose. I covered my mouth, stifling a gasp. Less than ten seconds later, Victor’s cries of agony ceased, and the guard dragged him out the same way he came in.
Once I was positive the guard was out of hearing range, I asked, “What the hell just happened?”
“Oh, I think you know,” Dom replied, plunking down in his leather chair and rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers.
I gulped down the thick knot in my throat. “I didn’t realize it’d be that morbid.”
“It’s not an easy task and can’t be done with a weak stomach. It drains me, too.”
I huffed. “The shape you’re in is nothing compared to Victor.”
Dom provided me with a blank stare, then responded, “Well, of course he’s in bad shape. He didn’t listen to my warning. That’s what happens to people who don’t listen to me, Kearly. It’s a nasty, dreadful business, but somebody has to do it. Just think: that could’ve been you. And next time, it will be.”
“Take me home,” I demanded. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”
Dom was slow to stand up. “Very well.”
I couldn’t help but think about Victor, about another one of my kind. So what if he enjoyed hanging out with sexy women? They weren’t real, and he wasn’t doing any harm.
“He didn’t deserve that,” I said.
Frowning, Dom stated matter-of-factly, “He’s pathetic. Follow my advice, or you’ll end up just like him.”
Shaking my head, I repeated my previous command, “Take me home.”
Dom sighed wearily. “Close your eyes.”
I did this time, without hesitation. I wanted to forget any of this ever happened. I wanted to go back to Central Falls and deal with high-school drama. This whole Ministry thing? No. Just…no. None of this was normal.
Clutching my hands, Dom transported me. The familiar tugging sensation gnawed at my body. I didn’t dare open my eyes, for fear I’d end up in the celestial world forever. My feet hit a solid surface, and then there was complete silence. I snuck a peek. Dom had returned me to my car, amid the spray paint, a cracked windshield, and an empty parking lot with silver gum wrappers and empty potato-chip bags.
The only thing missing? Dom.
10