Previously on Haverbrook [read the full episode here]
Time runs quickly when you have a small child. Every day there’s perceptible progress, a tangible measure of time’s movement forward. Eventually, John’s work became more routine – I finally was able to weasel out of him that they were in testing stages. John loved nothing better than to spend time with Charlie and me. He even took a few weeks away for us to go to Shelby’s Haven nature park. Charlie was almost three by then. He found places to dig in the dirt for bugs. John studied each insect, worm, and grub that Charlie excavated.
I found plenty of landscapes to sketch. Low hills grew from behind the cedar trees at the edge of the valley. Forests of shrubby salvias clung to the red earth hillsides. I was also designated the official illustrator for Charlie’s creepy-crawly excavations.
It was my first family vacation ever. I’m glad I was able to experience that once in my life, with John and Charlie.
On a Tuesday, a few months after our trip, I was standing in front of our ivory enameled stove preparing our dinner. Meal kit coq au van and a green salad. Charlie focused on stacking interlocking blocks into impractical castles on the living room floor. John hadn’t come home from work yet.
As I sliced the tomatoes, my phone rang. I hesitated to answer it mid chop – I assumed John was calling about being held up at work. I put the knife down. I turned to look at my phone. It wasn’t John calling; it was his boss, Marcus. The call dropped before I could answer it. The phone rang again.
“Marcus,” I said before he had a chance to speak.
“Amy,” He said, then hesitated. “I need you to come to the Outer Frontier.” He said in a monotone, a forced calm.
“What’s wrong? Is John okay?” I asked.
“Look, there’s been an accident. I need you to come in,” Marcus’ voice started to shake. “I’ll send a car for you.”
“What happened?” I asked. Don’t be coy, just tell me.
“It’ll be easier to explain if you come in.” was Marcus’ only reply before he hung up.
I called my neighbor, Cassandra, to see if she could watch Charlie.
“What did he say happened?” Cassandra asked.
“He didn’t say much. But it can’t be good.” I said manner-of-factly. I must not have believed it was bad if I said it so calmly.
“Don’t worry about Charlie. Go take care of John,” Cassandra offered as a black car stopped in front of our house.
I walked to the car. The driver opened the rear door, “Evening, Ms. Poppin.”
I slid into the leather seat and waited for the driver to take his place behind the wheel. There was a partition between the front and back seats. I didn’t need to talk. As long as I didn’t speak, I could keep my composure. As we drove, I could see lights inside homes, shapes inside doing ordinary things.
The car approached the entrance gate, and I could hear the driver speak to the guard. Breathing started to hurt.
The car stopped in front of a building the size of two city blocks. The driver opened the car door for me to exit. I hesitated.
“You’re here, Ms. Poppin,” the driver said as if I should be eager to get out of the car.
I slid out and stood next to the car. The building’s white stucco façade hung over the entry doors like a Neanderthal brow.
As I stared, Marcus appeared on the other side of the doors and waved at me to approach. The driver was still holding the open door and looking at me. I walked toward the building, and the driver closed the car door.
Marcus placed his hand on the bio scanner to open the chrome and glass door. I walked through the threshold; the air was cold inside, almost icy.
“I’m sorry to see you again like this. Can I get you anything? Coffee, water?” Marcus offered absentmindedly.
“No, I don’t want anything,” I replied.
“Follow me,” Marcus directed as he walked toward a dull metal door. Again his hand was required on the bio scanner.
Marcus led me through hallways painted in orange-gold, left and right turns, corridors that switched to green-gray walls. Periodically doors cut themselves into the flat plane of the wall. Each door had a window cut to glimpse empty corridors and other doors. There were no other people to interrupt the silence as Marcus walked a few steps ahead and led me deeper into the building.
It wasn’t until we entered the blue-green hallway that Marcus put his right eye in front of the bio scanner, which opened one of the windowed doors. Marcus held the door as I stepped into the secret hallway. As we reached the next door, Marcus stood inside a black square marked on the floor. Panels to the left and right opened in the walls. The wall hummed for a few seconds, then stopped.
“Add temporary user access, Amy Thorne,” Marcus spoke aloud to an unseen machine. “Please step into the square Amy.”
I did as I was told and waited while the wall panels opened again to reveal dozens of tiny square sensors mounted into the wall.
“Please look straight ahead while the sensors scan you,” Marcus instructed.
I turned my head forward. After twenty seconds, the panels closed, and the door opened. On the other side was an enormous room. The ceiling must have reached the top floor of the building. Red emergency lights were the only light in the room. It was an uncanny hellish glow. Within this room was a smaller square structure, as big as our house. It only had one entry that I could see, a windowless door with no handle.
Marcus offered me a seat next to a desk stacked with various mechanical parts. I sat, not feeling anything. I had decoherence vertigo without the teleport. I was existing in a void. Marcus moved a seat to face me and began to explain why I was there.