The Post Sunday Experiment | COMPLETED 2020

Chapter 10

The floorboards creaked underneath Ody's feet as he read the words over and over again. Stamped onto the wall with black paint, the words reflected Ody's flashlight. He stood there, watching the wall in confusion as if he had never seen words on a wall before.

Lost in a daze, Ody nearly missed a car making its way up the mulch path. Ducking behind a box at the last second, he watched two people shine flashlights down the path and on the shed.

"Ramona, I could have sworn we latched this door," a deep old man's voice shouted as he opened the door and walked into the building.

"Carajo, when will zat man learn?" the woman spat in a strong accent. She shook her head as she and the old man walked into the building and closed the door behind them.

Holding his breath, Ody prayed the two strangers wouldn't catch sight of him. Their flashlights flickered around the shed, exposing corners that he could have easily been hiding in—all he could do was pray that he would remain out of sight.

Terrified but still curious, Ody peered at the young woman and old man through a crack in the crate he hid behind. There was something familiar about the man's voice. He couldn't quite see the man's face, so he still couldn't quite place him.

"Señor, after tou." The woman smiled as she walked over to one of the larger boxes and opened the lid for the old man. Ody hadn't been able to see it clearly before, but now that two flashlights shone on it, he could see it. One box didn't hold a speck of dust while all the rest were coated.

After the woman removed the lid of the box, Ody craned his neck to see the woman help the old man into the box. Creasing his brow in confusion, his mouth dropped open as he watched the man climb into the box, then slowly disappear as if he were walking down steps inside.

This was something they only ever had in movies, Ody thought as he smiled for the first time in a long time.

After the man disappeared from sight, the woman called down after him. "I left my notebook in za car, señor. Allow me to geet it." Closing the box, she turned around to look about the room before heading out.

That's when something happened; it made Ody want to growl or maybe snap a pencil. This little action that means nothing at all out of context was now a disaster in this dark shed. Penny sneezed.

Frozen in fear and fury, every muscle of Ody's body tensed. His head turned from side to side around the room. He hadn't known that there was another person in the room. The woman froze in her tracks. It didn't take Ody long to spot Penny's round face in the dark.

"El niño! ¿Qué demonios?" she shouted as she grabbed Penny's arm and pulled her out of the shadows.

"Ma'am...?" Penny spoke slowly, confusion eminent on her face.

"What on earth are tou doing here, niña? Come!" she spoke in such a strong accent that it took Penny a second to understand her words.

Dragging her by the arm, the woman pulled the crate lid off again and yanked Penny down the stairs. Penny's cries out, "I'm so, so sorry! I'll go home right now if you want me to and tell no one I saw this! Please just let me go!" They were ignored as the woman brought her away from sight.

Terrified for his sister's safety, Ody clenched his fists in anger and shook his head as he climbed out of his hiding place. He ran down the stairs to where the woman had taken his sister.

When his sneakers reached the bottom of the flight of stairs, he froze. Ody could see a large room that more rooms branched off of. They were larger and in better condition than the shed above.

There were bookshelves that had to be fifteen feet high, covered with books in a variety of languages, but appeared to be on similar topics. There were file cabinets that were overflowing with sketches, chemical diagrams, and essays. Tubes filled with strangely colored liquid covered the walls, the sight reminding Ody of blood flowing through veins. A few desks were covered with many papers and pencils as well.

To his left, desks held several computers with multiple monitor screens and cords hanging everywhere. On the walls there were messy notes and photos clearly taken from the lens on a microscope. There was even a shelf by the back wall with jars of specimen parts he had no name for. The desk below it that appeared to be for dissections.

Frozen in surprise, Ody couldn't help but just stare about the room. "Who are tou?" the woman spoke. She looked the boy up and down, her expression a mix of frustration and fear.

"I..." Ody attempted to form words but couldn't. The whole place was a dream. It had to be. Walking around, he stared at the notes, examining the dissections and images. It all reminded him of Devlin's house.

"Don't touch dat, niño!" the woman spat. At the tone of her voice, two other people appeared. They must've come from a side room.

The first was tall, he had to be well over six feet. His muscular body towered over them all. His head was shaved and he wore a clean suit. The man didn't say a word, nor did anyone speak to him. It was almost as if when he walked into the room, all words were stolen from the air.

Following behind him, however, was a smaller man. This man was average height and weight and was clearly much older than all the people in the room. As Ody looked up into the man's dark eyes, his whole body tensed and even Penny's lips quivered a little.

"I guess it was only a matter of time before Devlin's kids found it. Y'all know anyway 'dat Devlin couldn't keep it a secret from everyone." The old man sighed.

"Zese? Zese are Devlin's kidz?" The woman sounded disgusted.

"Yes. Ms. Ammon," the old man—Benjamin Plomin—replied with a smile.