The Pattern
Hannah looked around the vast hall they had stepped into. There were thousands of doors it appeared. Some of the doors were labeled and others were not. Some of the doors were red with "do not enter" signs posted on the outside, but most were white. The walls were white, and the floor was white. Everything was stark and plain except the forbidden doors.
Hannah didn't really need to go to the bathroom. She could force a little something something though she thought. The woman in front of her was like a mountain. She had a manner of walking that made it feel like the world was shaking. She was huge and kind of ugly even in clothes that looked expensive.
Rosie made a small chirping sound of desperation and Hannah wondered if the little girl would be able to hold her water. The woman stopped abruptly and turned sharply to the right. She extended her hand as if to say "go in." Rosie took off suddenly unafraid in her need for relief.
Hannah followed her in, and stopped short when she came to see the beauty of the room. It was mostly white but instead of harsh red, there was a calming blue tile inlay. The sink was a small fountain set on a circular podium of silver metal. There were silver metal stalls, and none of them held the scarred graffiti she remembered from other public restrooms. She wondered hesitantly if there were other children here, and if there were why weren't they writing on walls? She'd seen that even from the goody goodies at the Catholic school.
"This is a strange place don't you think?" Rosie asked from inside her stall.
"Yep," Hannah agreed running her hand through the fountain faucet.
The water churned from Rosie's stall and she squeaked in delight "come see!"
Hannah walked to the door and Rosie stepped aside so Hannah could watch the water flow through a spiral pipe up into the ceiling. Rosie pointed out the toilet paper too, which was even softer than Charmin. The girls were rubbing squares against their cheeks when Mrs. Hammers came in. She gave them a look of sheer irritation and tapped one stout leg against the tiled floor. Rosie meekly washed her hands while Hannah continued examining the room.
"Come along!" Mrs. Hammers spoke in an abrupt and unkind voice.
The girls were lead back out into the hall through several adjacent corridors. "I wish I had my compass," Rosie whispered behind her hand.
"She's leading us in circles to confuse us I think," Hannah contributed quietly.
"How do you know?" Rosie enquired looking around at more white walls.
Hannah pointed to a small square of toilet paper she had dropped when she first suspected Mrs. Hammers' ruse. Rosie frowned, the idea that this adult would try so hard to deceive them unnerved her. She tugged on Mrs. Hammer's blazer.
"Ma'am, where are you taking us?"
"You'll see when we arrive." Mrs. Hammers snapped and walked in a direction they hadn't yet been in- or at least Hannah didn't THINK they'd been in that direction yet. There was an elevator at the end of the hall and Mrs. Hammers typed in a code on the panel next to it. The metal doors swung open.
"I'm not going in there," Rosie announced. "There are no windows, and besides, I don't trust you Mrs. Hammers. If you try to put me in there I'll fight you."
Hannah gaped at her red headed companion. Mrs. Hammer's face scrunched down a bit, making her look more like a mastiff than a bulldog. She even growled as she turned on her heel and led the girls to a stairwell. Apparently Mrs. Hammers wasn't up for a fight. Hannah applauded silently. She thought she could figure out the way out if she could get access to stairs instead of a password-protected elevator.
The stairwell was painted to look like a sketch she had seen once in a book. IT had been black and white and had many staircases in impossible directions. Rosie traced her finger along the wall.
"Trompe loeil- it's a type of art that makes you THINK that something is real when it isn't. This is sort of a spin off of M. C. Escher, it looks like the stairs go on forever, and like this stairwell is huge and confusing but if you run your hand along the wall you realize it isn't so big." Rosie said demonstrating by placing her hand against the flat surface. "Otherwise you might get dizzy."
Mrs. Hammers had placed a pair of glasses over her eyes even though the stairwell was no brighter than the hall had been. Hannah realized it was another technique to confuse her from realizing where they were. She felt her stomach twist. Everything in this place was built to keep people inside, and she was beginning to think she might be the people they wanted to keep.
Hannah didn't really need to go to the bathroom. She could force a little something something though she thought. The woman in front of her was like a mountain. She had a manner of walking that made it feel like the world was shaking. She was huge and kind of ugly even in clothes that looked expensive.
Rosie made a small chirping sound of desperation and Hannah wondered if the little girl would be able to hold her water. The woman stopped abruptly and turned sharply to the right. She extended her hand as if to say "go in." Rosie took off suddenly unafraid in her need for relief.
Hannah followed her in, and stopped short when she came to see the beauty of the room. It was mostly white but instead of harsh red, there was a calming blue tile inlay. The sink was a small fountain set on a circular podium of silver metal. There were silver metal stalls, and none of them held the scarred graffiti she remembered from other public restrooms. She wondered hesitantly if there were other children here, and if there were why weren't they writing on walls? She'd seen that even from the goody goodies at the Catholic school.
"This is a strange place don't you think?" Rosie asked from inside her stall.
"Yep," Hannah agreed running her hand through the fountain faucet.
The water churned from Rosie's stall and she squeaked in delight "come see!"
Hannah walked to the door and Rosie stepped aside so Hannah could watch the water flow through a spiral pipe up into the ceiling. Rosie pointed out the toilet paper too, which was even softer than Charmin. The girls were rubbing squares against their cheeks when Mrs. Hammers came in. She gave them a look of sheer irritation and tapped one stout leg against the tiled floor. Rosie meekly washed her hands while Hannah continued examining the room.
"Come along!" Mrs. Hammers spoke in an abrupt and unkind voice.
The girls were lead back out into the hall through several adjacent corridors. "I wish I had my compass," Rosie whispered behind her hand.
"She's leading us in circles to confuse us I think," Hannah contributed quietly.
"How do you know?" Rosie enquired looking around at more white walls.
Hannah pointed to a small square of toilet paper she had dropped when she first suspected Mrs. Hammers' ruse. Rosie frowned, the idea that this adult would try so hard to deceive them unnerved her. She tugged on Mrs. Hammer's blazer.
"Ma'am, where are you taking us?"
"You'll see when we arrive." Mrs. Hammers snapped and walked in a direction they hadn't yet been in- or at least Hannah didn't THINK they'd been in that direction yet. There was an elevator at the end of the hall and Mrs. Hammers typed in a code on the panel next to it. The metal doors swung open.
"I'm not going in there," Rosie announced. "There are no windows, and besides, I don't trust you Mrs. Hammers. If you try to put me in there I'll fight you."
Hannah gaped at her red headed companion. Mrs. Hammer's face scrunched down a bit, making her look more like a mastiff than a bulldog. She even growled as she turned on her heel and led the girls to a stairwell. Apparently Mrs. Hammers wasn't up for a fight. Hannah applauded silently. She thought she could figure out the way out if she could get access to stairs instead of a password-protected elevator.
The stairwell was painted to look like a sketch she had seen once in a book. IT had been black and white and had many staircases in impossible directions. Rosie traced her finger along the wall.
"Trompe loeil- it's a type of art that makes you THINK that something is real when it isn't. This is sort of a spin off of M. C. Escher, it looks like the stairs go on forever, and like this stairwell is huge and confusing but if you run your hand along the wall you realize it isn't so big." Rosie said demonstrating by placing her hand against the flat surface. "Otherwise you might get dizzy."
Mrs. Hammers had placed a pair of glasses over her eyes even though the stairwell was no brighter than the hall had been. Hannah realized it was another technique to confuse her from realizing where they were. She felt her stomach twist. Everything in this place was built to keep people inside, and she was beginning to think she might be the people they wanted to keep.