by Dakota Lake
“That's not true. I do care. But Cam's not going to find out.”
“So what information do you want?”
“Information about this place and I need you to tell me about Heaven's Point.”
“Shhh!” he said looking around to see if anyone had heard me.
“Where did you get that name from? Did you overhear it? Did one of the guys say something about it?” he said swinging his leg over the bench and walking over to me.
“No. I've been remembering a few things.” I said, keeping it simple. It wasn't true, I wasn't remembering anything but I wasn't about to explain Mack to Alex.
“Come with me,” he said taking my elbow and leading me out of the room away from any curious ears. He took me to a door painted dark green. It had postcards stuck on at random and a large poster of the different types of weed and it wasn't the types of weed you spent hours in the garden pulling up between the slabs. I glanced sideways at Alex as he fumbled with the key in the lock. “What you've never smoked?” he asked smirking.
I looked at him waiting for it to register.
“Oh yeah, memory loss. Duh!”
He opened the door barely wide enough for me to fit through and put his hand on my back and pushed me inside. He ducked in after me and quickly shut the door.
“I think this looks way more suspicious than us talking in the gym.”
“Yeah but I don't want anyone listening.” he said chucking his towel on the bed. I roughly remembered what the inside of his room looked like from the time I had been inside Senka's head. The walls were the same colour as the door, the double bed spread was also green which matched the curtains and even the rug. He must like green. A lot.
There were wind chimes and dream catchers hung up at the windows. This was not how I would have pictured Alex's bedroom. There wasn't a naked pin up girl in sight.
“What's that smell?” I asked.
Alex raised an eyebrow at me, I looked around and my eyes landed on a small table with a bong sitting in the middle.
“Nevermind.” I said having just answered my own question.
“So you said you've been remembering a few things. What kind of things?” he asked. “Only names and places, it's all a mess still I can't put any of it together. So I take it you've heard of this place? This Heaven's Point?”
“Maybe,”
“Okay, well I want some information about it, do you think you can help me?”
“Information. And what will you do for me in return if I give you this information or answer a few of your questions?”
“Let's make a deal. I will talk to Narmi about you and put in a good word and you can help with my questions.”
“What would you say to her?”
“I don't know yet but I'm sure I will come up with something. Now getting back to the main topic. Heaven's Point,” I said in hushed voice even though we were alone. “Where is it? How do I get there?”
“Whoa...back up. Even if I tell you where it is you're never going to find it.”
“And why is that?”
“It's complicated.”
“So it's nowhere near Brackelburn?”
“What the.....how do you even know about that place?”
I shrugged.
“Ruby. If Cam finds out,”
“He wont,” I cut him off. “And if he does I wont let it fall back on you. So how do I get there?” “You're basically asking me how to escape.”
“Look are you going to help me or not? Or should I sweet talk Senka?” I thought this might help persuade Alex. I'd already decided Senka was not an option though.
“No don't you dare. I don't want him getting into trouble because of you.”
“So do we have a deal or not?”
“Deal.” he said standing up.
I nodded. “Okay so back to my question. Where is this place?”
“Ruby I can't just tell you. Cam would probably cut out my tongue.”
“Alex's he's not going to find out. You were joking about the tongue right?” I asked worrying, Kenzie had said the same thing I was beginning to think it was something Cam would actually do. “No I wasn't joking so let's look at this a different way. You want information and I can't openly give it to you. Think of it more as a riddle and you have to figure it out on your own. I'm just going to leave you a few breadcrumbs.”
“I'm listening,”
“What do you think about the elevator in this place?” he asked.
“I think it's a little weird it's the only access to level four. But I don't know what that has to do with anything?” I replied crossing my arms.
“First bread crumb coming up and you better say something nice about me.” He crooked a finger and beckoned me closer. “What if I told you there was no level four.”
I stood on the same spot wondering if I'd heard him correctly. I hadn't noticed he was holding the door open for me. He was tapping on the wood waiting for me to leave.
“Alex I don't understand.”
“No more questions. I've given you plenty. Now go annoy someone else and do that thing you said you would do for me. You owe me.”
I stood in the middle of the corridor staring at him like a complete idiot not sure what to say or what to make of that useless information he had given me. He hadn't given me anything, he'd just made that up to confuse me. I opened my mouth about to say something but he cut me off before I had the chance to speak.
“Up is out.” he said slamming the door in my face.
I shook my head annoyed with myself for even wasting my time with him. 'Up is out' I don't even know what that means. Probably because he was talking complete crap.
Chapter Ten
I sat under the gazebo, looking up at the manor. How had I not noticed this before? I had probably been so distracted by the beautiful flowers and animals that I hadn't been paying attention. “One, two, three.” I said out loud to myself counting the windows up from the ground floor. There were only three levels above the ground level. The swimming pool, kitchens and ballroom were on the ground level. Dining room, library and Cam's rooms were on the first floor. Then there was my bedroom and the sewing room on the second, which lead up to the third floor which was where all the 'fallen' lived. I looked up again at the third level, above that was the roof. There was no fourth level. Alex was telling the truth. So what did the elevator lead up to? The roof? The only way I would find out for sure would be to take the elevator and that wasn't an option just yet. I had been keeping tabs on who guarded the elevator near my bedroom and for how long. The guards had change overs during the day and night. During one of these change overs in the afternoon the guard would be gone and a new guard would appear with a sandwich. This lasted approximately twenty minutes and during this time the elevator was left completely unattended. I had been parked out on a long bench near my bedroom, pretending to be reading and studying. I had however caught up on all of my homework. Each level had an elevator entrance which was guarded. I had spent some time on each level taking notes of the different guards and change over times. Lucky for me the guard on my level seemed to be a little lax. If Cam knew the elevator was being left unattended for twenty minutes someone would probably lose their job. Or worse. It had been a long three days sitting on a hard wooden bench. I had bought half of my bedding out to make it more comfortable for me. During the three days I'd only spoken to Senka once and told him I was going to be busy studying and he said he had work so it worked out well for both of us. It still felt like torture, I would have much preferred to be upstairs. Kenzie had dropped by a few times and we'd seen each other at dinner. I had the feeling he knew I was up to something.
Cam was back but I'd only seen him at dinner each evening. He was quiet and didn't have much to say. Grayson usually kept the conversation going with some random topic. Last night it was all about honey bees.
There must be a way to get onto the roof? I had to make sure I wasn't going crazy. After lunch I went up to the third level and tried my
best not to run into Senka or Alex. I was looking for anything that looked like a door that would lead up to the roof. I had been up here so many times, but paying attention to the doors was not what I had on my mind each time.
I peeked round the games room door and saw Senka. He was drinking a beer standing at the window. He had his hand in his pocket and looked thoughtful staring out over the gardens. I wanted to go over to him so badly but then I wouldn't ever find the door which was the reason I came up here in the first place. I slowly walked passed the bedroom doors inspecting them all carefully, but they all looked like bedrooms. This was no good I would never find it. I was still walking along the corridor when a door covered in band posters opened and a friendly face stepped out. “Hey Ruby,” Jack said, turning back to lock his door.
“Hi Jack,”
“Senka's in the games room.”
“I know.”
“Okay, well I gotta go. Have a good day.”
“You too....oh Jack,”
“Yep.” he said spinning back around to face me.
“Don't suppose you know where the door to the roof is?”
“Why do you wanna know?”
“I wanted to do some painting. I thought being up high, I would be able to see more of the landscape.”
“Cool. Yeah it's the one with the yellow tape. Fifth door from the end on that side,” he said pointing. “But you need the master key.”
“Thanks.” I said as he walked away.
He walked to the end of the corridor and turned left. I looked around to make sure no one was watching me, then I crept to the edge of the wall and carefully peeked around the corner. Jack was already at the other end of the corridor, chatting to the guard at the elevator.
I watched as he pushed the up button. The elevator door slid open after a few seconds wait. He walked in and pressed a button on the inside and the doors closed and the elevator went up. Downstairs I hovered around near the kitchens, there were the usual servants. One of the girls was on her hands and knees washing the floor, one was adding ingredients to a mixing bowl and the other girl, Katie was cleaning the surfaces down. Shelley was nowhere to be seen. I had seen lots of different keys hanging on hooks near the back door, I only hoped the master key would be there as well. I casually walked into the kitchen and picked up a couple of grapes from the bowl. Each girl looked up briefly to acknowledge me but soon went back to their chores. I walked through the arch way and into the back entrance way. The cobblestone floor was uneven and a line of Wellington boots and girls slip on sandals were lined up along the wall. Anoraks and waterproofs were hung up covering most of the wall. I rattled the stable door and opened and closed it, pretending I was going outside. I left it slightly ajar and crept quietly back to the other side of the archway. The keys were hung up on hooks, most of which were labelled.
Garage door 1, Garage door 2. There were many garage door keys. Swimming Pool Room, Cottage 1, Cottage 2, Cottage 3. I skipped over the rest of the cottage keys and continued along the hooks. Wine Cellar, Master Key. Bingo! I quickly grabbed the key wrapping my hand around it so it wouldn't knock against the wall. There were three other master keys, hopefully no one would notice I had taken this one. I slipped the key inside the cup of my bra just as something black pushed its way through the bottom half of the stable door.
One of Cam's dogs had noticed the open door. It had a blue collar on so I knew it wasn't one of the girl dogs. Storm and Jetta usually wore pink and yellow. The dog came straight over to me sniffing my hand for food. I quietly shooed him away and sent him in the direction of the kitchen. No sooner had he disappeared around the corner I heard a terrible smashing sound.
“Cyan no. Get out!” one of the girls shouted.
I used it as my distraction to slip out the back door. I ran back passed the kitchens ducking down along the windows.
I cautiously stepped off the last step onto the third floor. Two of the boys were playing with a ping pong ball along the corridor trying to make the shot into the cup at the end. I hurried passed them trying to stay to the edge and out of their way. I walked passed Senka's door which now had loud music playing on the other side. I ran to the end and kept going until I reached the door with the yellow tape. It looked like police tape and had the words 'CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS' written across the front. I looked both ways to make sure no one was watching before I reached down my dress and pulled out the key. I slid it into the lock and turned. It clicked and the door creaked as I pushed it open. I cringed at how loud it was creaking. Inside was dark and I could see the outline of steps. I quickly closed it again and stood in complete darkness. There had to be a light switch somewhere. I felt around the walls but couldn't find anything. Then something tickled my head. I freaked out a little and started swatting the air above my head, thinking it was a spider. My hand hit what felt like a piece of string.
Hmm I wonder..... I pulled the sting and a small light bulb lit up and dangled above my head. The staircase led up to another wooden door. I held onto the small wooden railing along one side, carefully placing my feet on each step.
The stairs were narrow and creaked loudly under my weight. The top door was locked when I tried the handle. I really hoped this master key worked on this door as well otherwise I'd have to go back downstairs looking for a 'roof door key'. Thankfully I heard the lock click as I turned the key. I carefully opened the door not knowing what to expect on the other side. The warm sun poured over my face and arms as I stepped outside. My foot nudged something. I looked down and saw a piece of triangular wood. I wedged it under the door and walked around the roof. There was nothing up here. All I could see was a pair of deck chairs and a few empty bottles littering the floor and fag ends scattered everywhere. Definitely no fourth level up here.
So where did the elevator go to when it went up? This was beyond confusing. I walked to the edge of the building. The roof had a crenelated tooth shape wall running along the whole length of it, which was nearly the same height as me. I stood up on my tip toes holding onto the wall and looked through one of the gaps. All I saw was the gardens and the cottages. Nothing out of the ordinary. I looked around puzzled by the empty roof. I had to find out where the elevator went to. Which meant I had to actually take the elevator to the next level. I walked around zigzagging all over the roof trying to come up with some reasonable explanation for all of this. But I kept coming up with nothing. I looked up at the sky. Today was turning out to be too hot, the atmosphere felt as though all the air had been sucked out. Yesterday had been slightly duller with a few brief showers which was bearable. This was not. I felt like I was starting to bake just standing out here. “What are you doing up here?” a familiar deep voice said behind me.
I lowered my eyes and focused on an empty beer bottle trying to come up with something clever to say. But nothing sprang to mind. I spun around and smiled.
“It was a bit hot inside. I needed some fresh air.”
“Really? It feels hotter out here.” Senka said. He didn't look mad but he didn't look too pleased either.
“Hmm, maybe...” I replied. He was watching me closely. He knew I was lying.
“How did you get up here?”
I shrugged. “Door was open.”
“No it wasn't.” he walked over to me and looked at my hand that was balled up holding the key. He held his hand out for the key and I hesitantly placed it on his palm. He looked at me but didn't say anything. I quickly started walking back to the door.
“Hey! You finished with all that homework now?” he asked. I looked back at him and nodded. “Do you wanna hang out for a bit. I have to leave in an hour.”
“Sure.”
We sat on the games room floor playing cards for the next hour. Rummy, which was the only game I could actually beat Senka at. He normally let me win everything else. Poole, darts, air hockey even 'guitar hero' he would win hands down. It made me wonder how long he'd actually spent up here playing games. Senka never asked me what I was doing on the roof and h
e didn't ask me where I'd got the key from. He put it in his back pocket and never said another word about it. Senka left for work and I resumed my position on the bench near my bedroom. Pretending to read a geometry book. I had no idea what it was actually about I only knew the title had the word 'geometry' in it. Grayson had given it to me today, slowly introducing me to another mind boring subject I would never use.
The clocks chimed 5 o'clock. Dinner would be served in one hour. I had my notebook opened up inside the geometry book. I'd made a chart of the different hours and names of the guards standing outside the elevator for each hour. I scribbled Oliver into the space next to 5pm. The same as yesterday. Oliver was an older teen that liked to use too much hair gel for that slicked back look. He wore a smart red waist coat and black trousers and reminded me of a hotel doorman. He took over from Teddy. Teddy was short with curly black hair that had been cut short to maintain the curls. He had brown eyes and a face full of freckles and looked about twelve if I was being really honest but he was probably around sixteen. The change over took place at 1.30pm. Well it had for the last two days and today. I had missed the first day as I'd been checking out the different guards on the other levels. So the plan for tomorrow was to sit here minding my own business until Teddy left. Then I would take the elevator during the twenty minute time period and see what was up there and quickly get back down here before anyone noticed. So realistically I had between ten to fifteen minutes to get up there and back down again, which seemed like long enough. But I still needed to get a watch to keep track of time.
“What ya doing?” Kenzie asked plopping himself down next to me.
“Homework. Just the usual boring stuff.” I said carefully flipping the notebook shut. “Is this your bed?” he asked leaning back against my pillow.
“Yes it is. I like it out here, the lighting is nice and there's a lovely cool breeze along here. It feels so much cooler.”
