The Disciple and Other Stories of the Paranormal (10 page)

Administrator Brennan smiled at Warden
Smith. “We have word from Helene. She’s on her way to Earth,
bringing back quite a find.”

“
Enough to free her
husband?” Smith asked with a snicker.

“
Oh, I’m sure not. Close,
but he’ll have committed some minor infraction and what with the
recent terrible inflation…well, she’ll be back out there soon
enough.” Brennan leaned back in his chair, feeling well satisfied.
“This find will move me into Control, and decently high up, as
well. I’ll be recommending you for my position.”

Smith nodded. “Thank you. Being Warden’s an
easy enough job. I’m sure I can find someone worthy who can preside
over the gas chamber.”

“
What happened to that
young man you were grooming for the job?”

“
Young Elpis? He had the
gall to think prisoners could be reformed and the temerity to
actually try to send death notices to their next of kin. No worries
about him – his ashes are in the storeroom, next to all the
others.”

“
Good.” Brennan beamed.
“So now, all we have is the waiting, and the glory that will come
when Helene returns with her find.”

AMAZING

“
Make a right here,” Susan
said as we almost went past the poorly marked side road.

“
Good eye,
hon.”

“
I
am
the map
queen,” she said with a laugh that turned into a small shriek as we
went in and out of a rough dip. “This is sure a cruddy road. But,
it matches the one on the map so it must be right.”

The road wound around and uphill for several
miles. Susan kept on checking her map. I didn’t worry. She was
great with directions.

The road finally ended and we could see the
main building. It was old, either Spanish or Moorish architecture.
I’ve never been able to tell the difference unless I have both
examples in front of me.

A large parking lot was between us and the
building. I drove us up as close to the entrance as possible. It
wasn’t a challenge. “Not a lot of cars,” Susan said, looking
around. “I thought you said your boss had invited the whole
company.”

“
No, just a few of us. His
top achievers for this past year.” I turned the car off. “Come on,
it’s a vacation, remember?”

Susan looked at the building. “It doesn’t
really look like a hotel.” She got out of the car slowly. “It looks
kind of…creepy.”

I held onto a sigh. “You just don’t like
ivy-covered walls. It’s not a chain. It’s for people who can afford
it.” I popped the trunk.

“
Since when can we afford
it?” she asked as she grabbed her cosmetics case.

“
The boss can afford it.”
I took our other three bags. “Now, come on. This is supposed to be
a vacation.”

We left the parking lot and crossed a wide
pathway, then went up the front steps. Susan was right – it didn’t
look like a hotel. It looked like someone’s private estate. Which
it was, but I hadn’t told her that.

We reached the large double doors. Susan
tugged on one. “Wow, this is heavy.”

“
Must be all the metal and
stained glass,” I suggested. “Here, let me.”

But before I could shift a bag to free up a
hand, the doors opened inward.

“
Creepy,” Susan said to me
under her breath.

“
Automatic for invalids,”
I said back under mine.

“
No button,” she
argued.

Before I could reply, a man’s voice came to
us. “Come in, please. You’re the last to arrive.”

“
Is that your boss?” Susan
asked nervously as we started over the threshold.

“
No. No idea who it
is.”

“
Creepier.”

Our eyes adjusted to the interior, which
looked pretty much like an empty foyer with a long hallway
stretching off in front of us. Before us and in front of the
hallway was a tall man in an old-fashioned suit. He had
slicked-back dark hair, a well-trimmed beard that ran along his jaw
line, and a slim moustache that connected to the beard down the
sides of his mouth. He gave us a warm smile. “Ah, finally. I’m your
Guide. Please follow me.”

As we did, Susan whispered to me, “The way
he said it makes it sound like a title, like King or Duke or
something.”

“
He’s just formal,” I
replied in kind, though she was right. “Relax. Fun,
remember?”

We followed him down the hallway. There was
nothing on the walls but white paint, or on the floor but dark
tiles. The Guide didn’t speak, but his footsteps seemed louder than
ours somehow.

“
Creepier and creepier,”
Susan muttered to me. I thought about giving a reply but figured it
wouldn’t help.

We reached the end of the hallway. Susan
looked behind us and I saw the color drain from her face. I turned
my head; I couldn’t see the front doors. “It’s just not well lit,”
I said quietly.

She swallowed visibly. “Uh huh.”

“
Here we are,” the Guide
said, forcing our attention back to whatever was ahead of us. He
gestured towards a large door. It looked like it was made out of
mahogany, but I wasn’t sure. “Now, are you ready for a rare
experience?”

“
How rare?” Susan asked. I
could tell she was trying to sound light and breezy, but her voice
was shaking.

“
Rare enough,” the Guide
said with a small smile.

“
Sure,” I replied before
Susan could say no. “It’s a vacation, after all.”

“
For some,” the Guide said
as he turned and pushed the door inward. I noticed there was no
doorknob or handle.

He ushered us into the room ahead of him. It
was smaller than I was expecting after the hallway – more like a
large parlor you’d see in an English countryside-type movie. There
were sofas and chairs, coffee tables, a couple of tea carts
complete with doilies and tea sets, sofa tables behind the larger
couches, lamps, rugs, throws and pillows. The room was well lit and
there were three other couples in it. I could feel Susan relax.

A small nondescript man came and took our
bags. “Please, sit,” the Guide said, indicating an open loveseat.
Susan gave the small man her cosmetics case and sank into her seat.
I sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulders. She
snuggled next to me and I felt her breathing return to normal.

“
Now that you’re all here,
the festivities can begin,” the Guide said with a brief
smile.

I looked around at the others in the room.
No one was familiar-looking to me, but I’d expected that. We all
knew each other by reputation, but it was a rarity to be up for
promotion at the same time as another employee you knew well. I
could tell who were the boss’ employees, though – they were the
ones who looked calm and confident. Like Susan, their companions
looked relieved and confused.

“
What festivities?” a
rather dumpy woman of what I guessed were middle years asked. She
was clearly the companion in her couple – the man with her was
about her age but looked more worldly and experienced. He looked
Susan up and down appraisingly and she blushed.

“
We’re playing a game,”
another woman answered for the Guide. She was younger, probably in
her late thirties. She would have been considered a classic beauty
in the olden days, which wasn’t a surprise. She was still
attractive now, though interestingly to me, she wasn’t in the best
physical shape, tending towards the heavier side of chubby. She had
a certain charisma that made me want to ignore this, however, and
just focus on her, as it were. I could tell the other men in the
room felt the same.

She was easily spotted as the employee in
her couple – she was clearly the most confident person in the room,
and looking at her gave me the feeling she was that confident with
the boss as well.

The man with her was handsome, but he looked
the most uncomfortable of anyone in the room. “Honey, you shouldn’t
interrupt,” he said quietly.

She gave him a fond look. “It’s one of my
strong points, my boss says so all the time.” She looked over at
the Guide and grinned.

The Guide smiled back. “Yes, Helen, your
penchant for taking charge was mentioned in my briefing. You should
enjoy the festivities very much, I think.”

Another man cleared his throat. He was
dressed impeccably, and I could tell everything on him was the
finest and most expensive available, down to his sleek leather
gloves. He was with a woman many years his junior, dressed all in
gold. She was clinging to his arm and looked more uncomfortable
than Susan.

“
When are things going to
get started?” this man asked in a tone that made it clear he wasn’t
used to waiting.

The Guide gave him a pleasant nod. “Michael,
I know you don’t approve of time-wasting. However, there are
certain…formalities that must be observed. As you are well
aware.”

Everyone nodded. The Guide gave us all a
close-lipped smile. “Excellent. Now, your luggage will be taken to
your rooms. Before dinner, a little game has been proposed.”

“
A game?” the woman in
gold asked. “But I’d like to freshen up first.”

The Guide shook his head. “Things must go in
order. Don’t worry – you’ll have plenty of time later.”

“
Time for what?” Susan
whispered to me.

I hugged her but didn’t answer.

The Guide pointed to a door opposite the one
we’d entered through. “This door leads to another room. In that
room are three doors. Choose a door, choose a path.”

The handsome man with Helen cocked his head.
“You’re sending us on some sort of hunt?”

The Guide nodded. “A treasure hunt. Of a
kind. You may stay together in a group or divide up however you see
fit.”

“
Well, that’s chummy,” the
worldly looking man said.

The Guide chuckled. “Yes, Johnny, I knew
you’d find it so.” He opened his hands. “If you look well, you’ll
find maps along the way.”

“
Maps?” Susan asked. “Why
would we need maps?”

Helen laughed. “It’s a maze.” All the
companions stared at her, varying degrees of shock in their
expressions. “It’s fun,” she said with another laugh. “Come on,
let’s go.” She got up and led the way. The rest of us followed.