We met to feed the animals the next day. “Good morning Ivy.” “Good morning…” I paused, “Zoe.” I had to force the word detective back down my throat before it rolled off my tongue and out of my mouth, into the air around us, into Freedom Park.
“Shall we load these buckets for the chickens?” I asked.
“Of course,” the detective said.
We bent down to the dirt and kneeled there. I had the key in my palm ready for her. My palms were clammy and moist, the sweat along the side of my face made my hair stick to me, shiny and wet. I placed it down onto the ground, next to my bucket. She looked down then back at me. She grabbed it and placed it into her bikini top, more cushion to swallow up the key. There was no change in her facial expression. She looked at me and moved her lips, but no sound came out. Her mouth silently said the words “good job.” Penelope had not looked in her pocket that morning. She got up early without a word and went out to start breakfast. When she did realize the key was missing, she’d probably first check The Love Room, thinking it fell out onto the floor and when she didn’t find it…I didn’t want to think about it. It just meant we had to go into The Red Room tonight because the longer we waited, the longer Penelope had to discover the key was missing.
We would wait until tonight, when everyone was asleep and then we would unlock the door to The Red Room. I knew Miles was in there somewhere. He was in there because of me. He was in there because he wanted to help me get out of here and I was too stupid to see through it all. But now, with Detective Arc here, my freedom, Miles’s freedom, was right there in front of me. Right outside the doors of Freedom House.
The rest of the morning and afternoon, Freedom House was more alive than ever. Everyone was following The Darius’s orders which meant nonstop preparations for the Ceremony of the Free. He had set the ceremony for the next day. Penelope was in the kitchen handling pounds of raw meat, seasoning it and getting ready to cook it. She used her bare hands and wiped the sweat from her forehead using her wet pink hands. Thin, slimy remnants of raw meat streaked across her forehead. A sour, spoiled stench filled the house.
Pain meditation and pain yoga were going on all day and we were required to continuously practice and endure the pain in order to be fully ready for the Ceremony of the Free. The Darius was leading the pain meditation, and I sat there, waiting for the next meditation session to begin. The Darius was wearing white loose, flowing pants and a white vest over his bare chest. His silky, long hair was straight down and he wore an embroidered band around his head. There were about twenty people sitting around him in a large circle, he was in the center as always and he said,
“Something exciting is coming tomorrow. Something that will change all of our lives. It’s the reason you all came here to Freedom House. It’s what you have been searching for your entire lives, whether you know it or not. It’s the reason we are born. Tomorrow, we will all become free and reach total enlightenment as one. Today, we must continue with our pain meditation practices in order to truly appreciate what’s coming tomorrow. We must transcend the darkness that is coming.”
And with that, I experienced my last pain meditation at Freedom House.
---
We waited until everyone was asleep. I met Detective Arc in the bathroom, just feet away from The Red Room. A place of mystery that clawed at my mind, always resting there in my heart.
“Are you ready for this?” Detective Arc asked.
“More than ready,” I said.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. I will lead the way. You must stay close behind me. I want you to take this.” She handed me a small phone.
“You have contact with the Outside?” I asked, realizing how stupid I sounded. Of course she did.
“Yes. I want you to carry this. If anything happens, if we get caught, I need you to just run and call the one number saved in that phone.”
“Who is it?” I asked.
“My colleague, Detective Richard Salvino. He knows about everything happening here. He knows who you are too. If anything happens, you call that number,” said the detective.
“Why can’t we just call now?” I asked.
“I haven’t witnessed anything illegal. We have to get the timing perfect if we want to put a stop to this. Trust me. Follow my instructions.”
I nodded. Detective Arc turned toward the bathroom doorway and began to walk to the hallway. I followed right behind her. My heart throbbed down to my knees and shot to my toes. The pit of my stomach felt heavy and turned with every step I took. The hallway was dark and the house was quiet except for light snores from the living room and the faint creaks of our footsteps against the floor boards. Detective Arc took out the key and inched towards the doorknob, the sound of the key entering into the lock seemed to echo in the hall. She slowly turned the key and we heard the click. Detective Arc opened the door and it wasn’t a room we were looking into but a cement staircase leading down underground. We walked in and stood at the top of the stairs as I closed and locked the door behind me.
Detective Arc turned to me and said, “Remember, if anything happens, you run and you call.”
-Written by Sterp
All Rights Reserved
“Shall we load these buckets for the chickens?” I asked.
“Of course,” the detective said.
We bent down to the dirt and kneeled there. I had the key in my palm ready for her. My palms were clammy and moist, the sweat along the side of my face made my hair stick to me, shiny and wet. I placed it down onto the ground, next to my bucket. She looked down then back at me. She grabbed it and placed it into her bikini top, more cushion to swallow up the key. There was no change in her facial expression. She looked at me and moved her lips, but no sound came out. Her mouth silently said the words “good job.” Penelope had not looked in her pocket that morning. She got up early without a word and went out to start breakfast. When she did realize the key was missing, she’d probably first check The Love Room, thinking it fell out onto the floor and when she didn’t find it…I didn’t want to think about it. It just meant we had to go into The Red Room tonight because the longer we waited, the longer Penelope had to discover the key was missing.
We would wait until tonight, when everyone was asleep and then we would unlock the door to The Red Room. I knew Miles was in there somewhere. He was in there because of me. He was in there because he wanted to help me get out of here and I was too stupid to see through it all. But now, with Detective Arc here, my freedom, Miles’s freedom, was right there in front of me. Right outside the doors of Freedom House.
The rest of the morning and afternoon, Freedom House was more alive than ever. Everyone was following The Darius’s orders which meant nonstop preparations for the Ceremony of the Free. He had set the ceremony for the next day. Penelope was in the kitchen handling pounds of raw meat, seasoning it and getting ready to cook it. She used her bare hands and wiped the sweat from her forehead using her wet pink hands. Thin, slimy remnants of raw meat streaked across her forehead. A sour, spoiled stench filled the house.
Pain meditation and pain yoga were going on all day and we were required to continuously practice and endure the pain in order to be fully ready for the Ceremony of the Free. The Darius was leading the pain meditation, and I sat there, waiting for the next meditation session to begin. The Darius was wearing white loose, flowing pants and a white vest over his bare chest. His silky, long hair was straight down and he wore an embroidered band around his head. There were about twenty people sitting around him in a large circle, he was in the center as always and he said,
“Something exciting is coming tomorrow. Something that will change all of our lives. It’s the reason you all came here to Freedom House. It’s what you have been searching for your entire lives, whether you know it or not. It’s the reason we are born. Tomorrow, we will all become free and reach total enlightenment as one. Today, we must continue with our pain meditation practices in order to truly appreciate what’s coming tomorrow. We must transcend the darkness that is coming.”
And with that, I experienced my last pain meditation at Freedom House.
---
We waited until everyone was asleep. I met Detective Arc in the bathroom, just feet away from The Red Room. A place of mystery that clawed at my mind, always resting there in my heart.
“Are you ready for this?” Detective Arc asked.
“More than ready,” I said.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. I will lead the way. You must stay close behind me. I want you to take this.” She handed me a small phone.
“You have contact with the Outside?” I asked, realizing how stupid I sounded. Of course she did.
“Yes. I want you to carry this. If anything happens, if we get caught, I need you to just run and call the one number saved in that phone.”
“Who is it?” I asked.
“My colleague, Detective Richard Salvino. He knows about everything happening here. He knows who you are too. If anything happens, you call that number,” said the detective.
“Why can’t we just call now?” I asked.
“I haven’t witnessed anything illegal. We have to get the timing perfect if we want to put a stop to this. Trust me. Follow my instructions.”
I nodded. Detective Arc turned toward the bathroom doorway and began to walk to the hallway. I followed right behind her. My heart throbbed down to my knees and shot to my toes. The pit of my stomach felt heavy and turned with every step I took. The hallway was dark and the house was quiet except for light snores from the living room and the faint creaks of our footsteps against the floor boards. Detective Arc took out the key and inched towards the doorknob, the sound of the key entering into the lock seemed to echo in the hall. She slowly turned the key and we heard the click. Detective Arc opened the door and it wasn’t a room we were looking into but a cement staircase leading down underground. We walked in and stood at the top of the stairs as I closed and locked the door behind me.
Detective Arc turned to me and said, “Remember, if anything happens, you run and you call.”
-Written by Sterp
All Rights Reserved
