Reflections of Light

Fascination

"You fink dere's a person behind dere?
Are you sure?"

"Uh huh!" Rigsy said, nodding, a distressed look beginning to creep up on his features.

"You certain sure? Your weird spidey-sense ent always right. Bit like the time wif Miss Williams. And Miss Williams's chicken."

"Dat was a mistake! Dis is real! Dere is someone!
I can see dat dere's someone! I know dere is!
And dere locked in da room!"

"You sure?"

"Ye-ees!" Rigsy hissed, getting frustrated.

"So... What, you wanna open et?"

Rigsy nibbled his lip, unsure. "I... Don't know. I fink... Maybe?"

Wesley snorted. "How'd you anyway? Is no lock! No handle! C'mon, is probably nofink. Let's go somewhere else."

Rigsy ignored her, running his fingers up and down the crack, distracted by his own thoughts.

"Dere is a lock, I can feel all da cogs and working bits."

"You have weird powers."

"Have not!"

"Do too! You can't, like, do fireballs or spells or nofink! You just wiggle your fingers at fings, and go 'Woo, dere's fings in da walls! Woo!"
And you're not very good at it. "

Rigsy elbowed her hard in the ribs.

"Ow! Dat hurt!
You meanie!"

"You're a meanie."

Wesley shot him a sulky look, walking over to the desk and pulling a draw open, making a point of the fact that she was looking through this and not paying attention to Rigsy.

She rooted through the draw, pulling out a handful of stuff to fiddle with, including a handful of pencils, a green feathered quill, paperclips, a handful of what appeared to be knuckle bones carved with strange and ancient shapes and patterns, the heel of a broken stiletto shoe, a palm-sized black rock wrapped up in a handkerchief that when unwrapped proved to be magnetic, some chess pieces rolling around in the bottom, and Wesley's favourite prize of all, an elastic band, which she kept pinging with her fingers.

She gave up on the silent treatment after about three minutes.

" What's ya fascination wif door locks anyway? You're so weird 'bout dem, an' openin' dem.
Your mum got so mad when you got open the lock on 'er car dat time. Was da funniest fing ever."

Billy fingered a scuff mark on the wall. "Dere's a really big cog here. 'S massive.
An' it's connected to the bit dat opens da door, needs to go round to open it. But I dunno how to make it work!"

"Yeah, yeah. Uh, stupid paperclip, get offa dat magnet, an' go over dere."

"Watcha doin'?" Rigsy asked, finally getting curious about her actions.

"Building a paperclip-projectile-firer."

"Don't fire any pwojectile's at me!"

"Yeah I will!"

"No, no, no!"

The paperclip hit him in the shoulder.

"Wesley!"

"I did give fair warning!" Wesley chuckled, reloading her weapon of war.

A clattering sound saved Rigsy from a second shot, as Wesley nudged the box of paperclips with her elbow and sent them scattering.

"Uh!" She groaned, scrabbling for them.
"Dere all sticking to the stupid magnet!
Hey, Rigsy!"

Rigsy snatched the magnet, and with it the paperclips, stealing his friends ammunition away from her.

"Hey, gimme dat back!" Wesley yelled, as he danced it out of reach.

"Nah, nah, n-na-nah!
Oh look, it's really magnetic!"
He crowed as the rock glued itself to his wristwatch, then pinched one of Wesley's hairclips when he dangled it too close above her.

He giggled, purposefully adhering it to his belt buckle, coat buttons and Wesley's jacket zip.

Wesley chuckled." 's funny."

"Yeah." He agreed, attaching pennies from his pockets to the object, with a laugh.

Then he had a thought.

"Wait I second, I wanna try somefink!"

Rushing to the wall, he softly placed the stone against the sterile white wall.
The stone stuck with a soft 'click'.

Rigsy grinned. "Big cog."

Taking ahold of the magnet like the handle of a door, he started to drag it in a curve downwards.

Or attempted to.
The progress was very slow.
The cog clicked twice as it shifted down, then stuck.

Rigsy grunted. "Is too strong!"

Wesley rolled her eyes. "Give et here."

She drew it the rest of the way around, straining with the effort, but the desire to show Rigsy up was greater.

The door clicked, and she pushed it open.

The room inside was very dark.

A shift of air blew past them in the black, sending chills down their spines as they squinted at the ghostly shapes around the room.

Rigsy dug around in his pocket, bringing out a teeny party-bag torch, clicking the small light on.

He shone the small beam around the room.

Some medical equipment, unidentified screens and tubes, a flat metal medical trolley with black straps lying undone across the top...

"Rigsy, you were wrong. Again." Wesley said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, let's go already. It's not even interesting to in here."

"Can I keep the magnet?"

"Do what you like."

Phew, that was long!
But, had to be done!