Mr Hook's Big Black Box

Marco Schmidt: Midnight Wandering

I wasn't going to open the Box. I'd got over that now, I'd sooner give up at university than lie to my friends again. Maybe when it came down to it, I hadn't had the courage to tell the truth. But I'd decided I wasn't going to lie anymore, and that was a promise I intended to stick to.

I woke up. There was a lamp on in the corner, casting just enough off-white light to see the shape of the room. The TV was whispering to itself quietly, while on screen an animated figure pirouetted, a sword in each hand. The animators somehow made it look like some kind of spiral of death, massacring anyone who came within range, but I couldn't imagine that kind of technique being any use in reality.

I looked around, but everyone else seemed to be asleep. Ferrari was on the couch next to me, a blissful smile on her face. It was like she'd finally got over stressing about everything and decided to just enjoy herself. Or she'd given in to temptation and just done something to make herself happy, though what that might be I couldn't guess. There were a couple of bean bags to either side where Dwayne and Kris were sprawled out, just about making space for five people to watch TV without banging into each other.

I looked over to Monty's bed, and saw the duvet making a dishevelled heap. I didn't look any closer, and reminded myself that I shouldn't have looked at all. Sleeping, she deserved her privacy. I shifted one of the cushions behind my head. I really was exhausted, so I'd probably fall right back to sleep given the slightest excuse. But it didn't happen. As I moved, my fingers brushed across the back of Ferrari's hand, and I flinched back in case I'd woken her. I didn't want to touch her, didn't want to be in any position that would offend her when she awoke. So I pulled myself up from the couch as slowly as I could, hoping that would avoid making any noise. It worked fine, until I took two steps forward and tripped over the waste paper basket. Still, the carpet had a thick enough plush pile to be reasonably soft, and the sound didn't seem to have woken anyone else. A little more cautiously, I tiptoed towards the door.

I wasn't planning to go down to the basement. I thought if I could find the guest bedroom, I could crash out there. Get a good night's sleep, without all the worrying of last night, and maybe I'd be able to help my friends in the morning. But I didn't know which door to try when I got down from the attic, and then I noticed a faint light visible on the ground floor. I paced down the stairs as slowly and quietly as I could manage, wondering if there was someone else in the house. I knew Monty's relationship with her mother was a bit strained, so I worried that I could be the cause of an argument if the old lady was actually home and found me prowling like this.

I got to the hallway, and found that the glimmer of light I'd seen was coming from the basement stairs, casting just enough light to illuminate a small part of the bannisters, and be visible from upstairs. I didn't know what to do, and I just froze. There were no voices, no whispering, no sounds of trouble. I couldn't freeze in terror and stay there all night, though the adrenaline rush when I first realised I wasn't alone had driven away any thoughts of sleep.

I walked slowly down to the basement. The light was on in the stairs, and in the utility room. Had we left it on before? I couldn't be sure, it had been pretty bright outside, so maybe if the light was already on we could have not noticed. It didn't feel right, though, because I didn't think there would be any reason for the light to be on when we got here. Both of Monty's parents were out of town, weren't they?

That was when I realised that the painting was swung back, revealing the control panel for the safe. And a flashing green LED had to indicate something. I moved slowly closer. There was still nobody in sight, and I didn't know what I was looking for. The flashing indicator had a label beside it, though the print was a little faded now. It said 'light'. Another green LED illuminated the words 'vault airflow'. I swallowed and stepped back as I thought of that, but I couldn't guess what conclusions I was supposed to come to. There was somebody inside the safe? Someone had managed to open that massive door, and rather than stealing the Box and leaving they had shut themselves inside with it.

It made no sense. But what else could those little indicators mean?

I paced back and forth for a good few minutes. The house was silent, save for the ticking of a clock in some other room, just about audible. I tried listening at the vault door, to see if there was any sound of someone moving about in there. That was easier said than done, because there was a dresser against the closed door and pressing my ear against the surface would have involved clearing away everything on the shelves. It would also have been totally useless, because the safe was guarded by four inches of steel. Air didn't get in or out, the control panel actually had a ventilation switch in case someone got shut in there. So sound would be contained just as securely.

Then, when I was about to go upstairs and ask the others for help, I heard the grinding sound of the massive bolts drawing back. Orange lights on the control panel this time; the safe had been opened by the safety release on the inside rather than by the a keycode, fingerprint, and retina scan. My heart raced as I tried to decide what to do next. There were all kinds of images in my head, like one of the fake CIA groups bursting out into the room, a dozen armed men emerging from the safe like a clown car. I wasn't thinking straight, I was in a panic.

Just before the rim of the door cleared its surround, I ducked behind the door that separated the utility room from the garage. That meant I was pretty much useless here; I couldn't see who was in the other room. But I was safe as well.

"Good night," a sleepy voice, punctuated with a yawn, "I'll check on you in the morning."

"Monty?" I couldn't help myself. I stepped out and there she was, standing in front of the control panel as if everything was normal. A lilac dressing gown swirled as she turned to face me, and I instinctively looked away after just a second.

"Hey, Marco! Did you come to talk to her too? She's pretty lonely, you should have said. I could have let you in."

"Her?" I was confused for a second, "Oh, the Box? Well, I couldn't sleep, and then I noticed the light was on down here, so I wondered..."

"You wanted to make sure she's safe. You always think of everybody else. That's why I love you guys. Every one of you tries to do the right thing, you know? But we're tired now, and we need to be up early in the morning. I'll lock this door, and show you to the spare room. Okay?"

I nodded. Probably made some small talk about how it had been a long day, how so many weird things had happened. I told her she was amazing, braver than the rest of us.

"Not really," she said, as we got to the spare room on the first floor. "I'm just crazy."