The change from the almost darkness of the little bookshop to the piercing light of the room behind it was almost painful. I held my hand in front of my eyes as Stenway dragged me behind him, Sydney holding on to my other arm. Finally my eyes adjusted and I peeked around my fingers. We were hurrying down a long room, with white walls and gleaming tile floors. On both sides, there were a bunch of doors with labels over them; we were moving too fast to see what they said. At the back of the room, there was a set of metal double doors. It looked like an elevator.

  Stenway was, somehow, still speeding up as we reached the elevator. When we reached the tall doors, he slapped his pass against a small black square above the button panel, then nudged Sydney forward. She did the same, and then he lifted mine towards the panel. Finally the doors chirped open, and we stepped inside. I looked up at Sydney; her face was still really pale, and she kept folding and unfolding her hands. Stenway, on the other hand, looked frantic, but confident, as if the only thing he was guilty of was being late to a meeting he was supposed to be leading. I looked down at the book in my hands, then back at Sydney.

  She smiled at me weakly, and reached down to pat my shoulder. The doors dinged open and Stenway stepped out of the elevator, turning to take hold of my shoulder and pull me out. Sydney fell back in behind him. We stepped out into what looked like a doctor’s office waiting room, with light, cream colored walls, bright carpets, and uncomfortable looking furniture. Automatically I glanced around for a receptionist desk, but there wasn’t one, only a short, grey-haired man, who somehow looked familiar. Stenway straightened up and crossed the room quickly, beaming. “Doctor!”

  The two men shook hands. “Good to see you again, Park.”

  Stenway swung the man around to face us, and I realized where I had seen him before. “You’re the man from that night, at the mansion, you were sick…”

  He smiled and nodded. “They are letting me facilitate this, because I am familiar to you.”

  Facilitate? He talked kind of funny.

  I looked back at Sydney, but she still wouldn’t look at me. On the plus side, she was starting to glare at Stenway, so it looked like she was back on my side. If I could just get her to look at me…

  “Right, it’s time.” Stenway nodded at me.

  “Time for what?”

  He kept right on talking. “We can’t go with you, but we’ll be waiting right here. Just answer the questions, and keep your eyes open.”

  “Answer what questions?” I was seriously worried now, Stenway had taken Sydney’s arm and was backing her towards a slippery looking couch. “Sydney? Sydney!” She looked down at the ground and I saw her shoulders start to shake. Gently, the man laid a hand on my shoulder.

  “This way.” He opened the door behind him with his other hand.

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Sydney! What’s… what’s going on?”

  Smoothly, the doctor pulled me into the hallway and the doors shut. The last thing I saw was Sydney, jerking away from Stenway, tears dripping off her face. I turned to face the doctor, my voice shaking. “What’s happening?”

  He started to walk down the hall, gently pulling me along with him by my elbow. “A few people have a few questions for you. That is all.”

  “Why can’t they come with me?”

  “Your sister hasn’t the necessary clearance, and Park assumed you would be difficult if he was in the room. His words, you understand.” He smiled briefly and stopped walking for a moment. “My name is Tellivar, Doctor Tellivar. We have met before.”

  I nodded. “I remember. I’m Tyler.” I shook his hand. We resumed walking down the hall, then turned into an elevator.

  “Do you have any questions for me? I cannot answer them all or perhaps any, but that should not stop you from asking them of me.” We stepped inside and he pushed a button. These buttons didn’t have numbers, instead, some had letters and others had symbols. The one he pushed had a 2 followed by a sideways triangle.

  “What are you a doctor of? Like medicine?”

  “No, of psychology.” The doors slid shut in front of us.

  “What do you do here?”

  “I’m the staff psychologist. There are many challenges that our staff face, daily, and I monitor their mental health. Also, I am on call for occurrences, like today.”

  “Where am I? What is this place?”

  He smiled faintly. “I can’t tell you the name. I would say it is similar to a branch of your federal government, that would be the most similar.” He glanced down at me. “Does that make sense?” I nodded. “It is the hub for local staff, news, and resources.” He tapped himself on the chest. “I am a resource.”

  I looked up at him. “Am I a resource?”

  He chuckled as the elevator slid to a stop. “I would not say that, no.”

  “Am I…” my voice shook so I swallowed to force it down. “Am I a prisoner?”

  “No, I would not say that either.” Dr. Tellivar glanced down at me. “I would say that you should answer the questions that are asked of you as.. Exactly as you can.”

  The doors slid open and he took my elbow gently again and led me out of the elevator towards a half-height metal gate that stretched across the entire hallway. Leaning up against it was a slight blond woman, she straightened up slightly when she saw us. Her hair stood away from her head in a way that was somehow familiar, and her eyes creased upwards in a smile. The Doctor nudged me. “Take off your pass.” I lifted it from my neck and he held his hand out for it, but before his fingers closed around the lanyard, it leapt out of my fingers.

  I jumped back, dragging the doctor with me, but he only sighed. I watched, fascinated, as the pass floated through mid-air towards the young woman. “Enough.” The doctor groaned. “We are in a hurry.”

  The woman plucked the pass out of the air and held it underneath a tiny scanner that was attached to the wall. “But Doc, did you see her face? I never get to do this.” She winked at me, and waved us through the gate. She handed my pass back to me, her fingers brushing against mine. They were ice cold. The doctor was pulling me along, but I glanced back over my shoulder for as long as I could. Something about her was familiar.

  “Who was that?” I finally turned back around to the doctor. He was rushing me around a maze of halls and doors.

  “She is one of the staff here.” He smiled gently. “She had a, well, something went wrong, so she’s been recovering here where we can keep an eye on her.” Finally we stopped outside of a door, and he held his pass up to a scanner. We waited. He turned to me. “Just remember. Answer what questions you can, as much to the point as you can. Listen well. I will be in there with you.”