The Facility

Rudi nudged her awake and when Cassidy opened her eyes, she saw the sun was well on its way up already. Rubbing the much-needed sleep from her eyes, she asked, “Why did you let me sleep so late?”

“You needed the sleep. So did Gemma, so I let you both sleep. I have been keeping watch for anyone or anything, following us.”

Cass raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Been practicing?”

He nodded. “You already know that I normally cannot read closed minds, but usually those who are not really trying to keep me out are open enough for me to sense. I might not be able to do much more than sense a presence, but it would be enough for us.”

Cass nodded in agreement. “So, nothing out there?” she asked.

“Not that I’ve been able to pick up on. If I had, I would have woken you two up.”

Cass looked up, judging the sun through the trees, and figured it was about ten in the morning. Birds chirped and the trees made sounds like waves at the beach as the wind made its way through their tops.

“We better get moving,” she said. “I’d guess that they picked up our trail by now and probably are not too terribly far behind us, even if you cannot sense them.”

Cass woke up Gemma and they headed out after taking care of their morning needs, watching out for each other. Then they continued to follow the terrain down the mountain.

A few hours into their walk, they ran across a stream – again, possibly the same stream – where they stopped to take a break and grab a drink before continuing. The sun had been high overhead and was starting downward again when Gemma abruptly stopped, putting an arm out to stop the other two.

She put a finger to her lips, indicating to them to be quiet, then pointed slightly to their right. At first Rudi saw only forest, but after living in swamplands, Cass spotted it right away. Blending into the surroundings was a rustic cabin. Cass thought from the looks of it that it must be a seasonal hunting cabin.

From where they were, she could tell it was well maintained, but did not look like it was currently being used.

Quietly she asked, “Rudi, can you sense anything?”

Rudi closed his eyes and concentrated, and after a few seconds shook his head. “As far as I can tell, no one is in there.”

Deciding, Cassidy said, “Slow and quiet. Try to keep out of sight of the windows.” If someone were inside and looking out, it probably would be impossible not to be seen, but they had to try. Their clothes were filthy, but even the grimy white stood out in the dark forest.

Approaching the cabin at an angle, they made it to the cabin wall without anyone coming out to confront them. Cass slowly peeked into a window and saw no movement within. She saw the cabin was furnished and looked tidy.

“Looks clear,” she told the others. “Let’s see if we can get inside.”

They went around the cabin, finding only one door and several windows, all of which were locked.

Using her telekinesis, Cass unlocked the front door easily and they all went inside. The cabin was cozy and clean, showing little dust, like it had been recently occupied.

Its floorplan was simple: one large room that contained the kitchen and what looked to be the dining room and living room combined. A small section was walled off and they found it contained a small room and a bathroom.

Gemma was quick to say, “There had better be toilet paper,” as she disappeared into the bathroom.

Cass giggled and told Rudi, “Let’s get a fire started, I’m cold.”

He agreed and added, “Then look for food, I’m starving.”

They went to the fireplace and stacked some firewood that was next to it inside. Rudi looked around for matches or something to light the ire with while Cass put wads of old newspaper into the stacked wood.

Hunting around the fireplace, Rudi got frustrated when he failed to find anything that could be used to start the fire. “Gah!” he spat in frustration.

“What?” Gemma said from behind him, causing him to jump.

“I can’t find anything to start the fire with,” he replied.

She looked at him and raised both eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yes,” he replied curtly.

Cass heard the other girl sigh as she walked to the fireplace. Moving to the side of Cass, Gemma held out a hand, touching a ball of newspaper, which burst into flames.

“There,” she said grinning.

“Oh,” was all Rudi could say, feeling foolish.

“Now about food,” Cass said moving towards the kitchen.

They raided the kitchen and were surprised to find the cupboards stocked with food. Cass set about making food for the three of them while the other two set the table and got drinks.

Rudi was suspicious that the refrigerator was also mostly stocked with food that had not gone bad. “Someone has been here recently,” he said. “You do not leave this much food in the fridge to just spoil if you won’t be back for a while. The food is fresh, which probably means that someone will be back. No telling how soon.”

“As long as it’s not Hugo, who cares?” Gemma said. “We can take care of ourselves if we need to.”

Cass knew that was true, but she did not want to unless she was forced to. They were victims here, but she did not really want to make someone else a victim too. “We will eat and rest, then leave. Hopefully before anyone returns.”

After Cass finished cooking, they sat down to eat. Since they had not eaten anything but raspberries in a while, no one commented on her cooking, which was not bad considering she went with quantity over quality.

All three stuffed themselves until they could not eat any more, then leaving the dishes where they were, they moved over to the couch area and sprawled out.

Rudi turned on the old TV, flipping through mostly staticky channels, stopping on one that came in kind of clear. The local news was on and they watched it to see if any mention of their escape would be made, guessing that it wouldn’t unless Hugo made up some really outrageous story about three children escaping and that somehow they were a danger, without mentioning their abilities. That or them being kidnapped.

Cass thought that Hugo might be able to talk someone into believing that three children had been abducted, so everyone would be on the lookout for them.

It surprised them somewhat that there was no mention of them on the news, but then again, Hugo probably did not want to have to explain why he was trying to get children back.

After the news ended, Rudi turned down the sound some, and the three relaxed and dozed. As she dozed fitfully, Cass had a dream that dogs were after her, barking as they hunted her.

Her eyes flew open as the front door opened and a tall man with rust colored hair entered, led by a large yellow Labrador dog.

“What the hell –” was all he got out before Cass pushed him back up against the doorframe, pinning him there.

The dog started growling, lips pulled back, showing a mouth full of pointy, sharp teeth.

“Harley, no,” the man said through teeth gritted with the force pressing him against the doorframe. He said something more to the dog, but the kids did not understand as it was in another language.

The once growling dog laid down at the command, no longer growling, but Cass could see the dog’s muscles tight, ready to pounce.

Cass stood and walked towards them and the dog growled, a low throaty warning and she stopped several feet away from the dog.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Lyle Clark. This is my cabin. Who are you is the better question?” There was no answer, so he continued. “You kids do not look like typical tourists who got lost. Your clothes are dirty, you look beat…”

Looking at his meager dining room table full of dirty dishes he continued on, “…and it seems you were starving. I’ve got more food,” he said trying to hold up a string of fish he had in his hand but could not move it against the force holding him to the wall.

“I can…” Rudi said out loud, finishing, “…put him to sleep,” in Cass’s mind. He stepped forward but Harley growled when he approached.

Rudi stepped closer and Harley lifted himself from his crouch, holding himself several inches off the ground, muscles tensed to attack should the boy provoke him or become a threat.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Lyle said, “but he’ll attack if you come any closer.”

“He’s a trained dog?” Cass asked.

“Yes. Harley is an ex-police dog.”

“Who’s?”

“Mine. I retired and took him with me.”

“You used to be a policeman?” Cass asked.

“Yes,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“I don’t want to hurt him, but I’ll stop him if necessary,” Cass told him apologetically. She raised her other hand and pushed down on the dog.

Harley was pushed back down to the floor where he whined. Lyle said something in the other language to him, and then to Cass he said, “Stop. He won’t attack, just don’t hurt him.”

“Can we really trust him?” asked Gemma from behind Rudi.

“You’re in my house, eating my food, and I offered you more. Or at least tried to. I did not ask how you got in, or why, did I? It is obvious that something is not right.

“You are running from something or are in trouble somehow, although you look like you escaped from a medical or mental facility, except there are not any around these parts.”

“You are half right,” Gemma told him.

Cass lowered her hands, letting both go from her restraint. She stepped toward Harley and crouched down, moving closer to him.

“Careful, he –” was as far as Lyle got before Harley licked her hand. “Well I’ll be…” he said. He watched Cass as she scratched his ears, and his tail started to swish back and forth.

“I have enough fish for everyone. Anyone still hungry?” Lyle asked.

“Yeah,” both Rudi and Gemma replied now that their food had settled.

Cass rolled her eyes at them both, and they all watched as Lyle went into the kitchen and started to prepare the fish he had with him.

He said something in the foreign language again to Harley, who then scooted forward, pushing his nose into Cass’s leg.

“What do you tell him?” Cass asked him.

“Commands in German. It is so others cannot command him to do thing I do not want him to do. Although he would probably only listen to me even if you gave him a command in German that went against mine.”

Not feeling any real danger from Lyle or Harley, all three kids went back to the couch and sat. Harley followed them, sitting in front of Cassidy, putting his head in her lap.

Lyle watched, unbelieving.

He finished cooking the fish and set it on the table where everyone joined him to eat, even Cass who was not really all that hungry – but the fish smelled too good to resist.

As they all ate, Lyle said, “So tell me what is going on,” and all three of them told him their stories: about being captured and the testing they went through, about how they got together and escaped and ended up there in Lyle’s cabin.

Gemma and Cass listened as Rudi told his story, as neither of them had heard it before. He was living with his parents and he started answering questions that were not asked out loud by them. This spooked them and they took him to a place to study paranormal activity where he was kidnapped and taken to the facility where he just escaped from.

Gemma spoke up then. “Where are we anyway?”

Lyle looked at all three of them trying to absorb all he had just been told before finally he said, “In the forest of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia.”

“Can we call someone?” Rudi asked.

“No phone. There are no lines up here, and no cell reception. The hike from here to the ranger station is several miles. We will go tomorrow morning. In the meantime, each of you will change out of those clothes so I can wash them. They are rather dirty and kind of smell. You can all take a shower and clean up, then get a good night’s sleep.”

He got up and walked to the bedroom where they heard him rummage around before coming back out with clothes in his hands.

“Okay, Cassidy and Gemma, into the bedroom. Get undressed and put these t-shirts on. Hand out your dirty clothes and I will wash them. You two can take turns in the shower and your clothes should be clean by the time you are done.

“Rudi can change out here, and then switch with you when you are done.”

Lyle handed out the oversized shirts which fitted them all loosely and were long enough to maintain their modesty.

The girls went into the bedroom, shutting the door and, although they were both girls, neither was comfortable getting completely undressed in front of the other. Cass offered to let Gemma go first in the shower.

“Get undressed in the bathroom and I will undress out here. You can hand out your clothes and I will give them all to Lyle,” Cass told her, and she agreed to it.

Cass quickly undressed while Gemma was doing the same, so she would be done before her friend. When Gemma passed out her clothes, Cass took both sets and handed them out to Lyle who was waiting at the door.

Lyle gathered the clothes from all three kids and put them all into the washer to wash.

In the living room, Rudi sat down on the couch to wait for his turn in the shower. Cassidy sat on Lyle’s bed and looked around the small room. Like everything else in the cabin, it too was tidy, with little personal touch it seemed. There was a picture of Lyle and Harley together on the nightstand, but little else.

Gemma wanted to linger in the shower, but she knew the other two kids were waiting and there was not unlimited hot water, so she quickly got out and Cass switched places with her.

When Cass finished, they went out into the living room while Rudi went into shower. The girls sat on the couch, tucking the shirts in around them, slightly uncomfortable having nothing else on.

Lyle was in the kitchen cleaning up after both meals, as the kids had left everything out when they had finished Cass’s meal.

Harley came over to Cass and after meeting resistance trying to push between her closed legs to rest his head on her, he got up on the couch and put his head across her lap.

When Rudi came out of the bedroom, Lyle started to go into the bedroom to get extra blankets and pillows and saw where his dog was. He was not sure what he was more surprised at – that Harley was on the couch when he knew he was not allowed to be, or that he had taken such a liking to the girl. Harley was not much of a people person dog. He was mostly indifferent to others. It was part training, part bonding with his partner.

Lyle was going to say something but decided against it. The kids had enough going on and he did not want Cassidy to feel bad about his dog’s behavior. He returned with the pillows and blankets just as the dryer buzzed. Setting the bedding down, he collected the clothes from the dryer and gave the pile to the kids to sort out.

Each took their clothes and went one-by-one into the bedroom to change back into their clothes, then they arranged themselves together on the floor and laid down.

Lyle called Harley, who had laid down next to Cass and said, “Schützen,” which was German for protect. Harley looked at his master like he had every intention to do that even if he was not commanded to.

“Traitor,” Lyle mumbled before going into his bedroom to sleep.