Beginnings - Missing Hearts

He slowly and deliberately turned the last page of the book with one of the three remaining fingers on his right hand. Feasting upon the final few lines of text, he closed the book with a sigh, sandwiching it between his two palms. A good story was very satisfying. Sliding from the maroon leather recliner positioned next to a tall, narrow twin-paned window pressed between bookcases, Ruben began swinging the book back and forth, pinching it between thumb and forefinger.


With broad strides from his tall, bony frame, Ruben crossed the thick multicolored rugs covering the polished hardwood floors of his personal study. Returning the book to its place, Ruben looped a finger over the binding of a first addition “Moby Dick”, above his head on an upper shelf, and pulled outward slightly until it clicked. A low yet audible humming came from behind the bookshelves on the far wall. Slowly the shelves split in half lengthwise, one side sliding open smoothly, like an enormous walk-in freezer door. The darkness beyond revealed the top in a series of wooden steps leading downward into an abyss.

Ruben slid Moby Dick back into place and stepped over to and through the bookshelves. A black panel of colored buttons and two small computer screens were recessed into the wall next to the stairs. One screen displayed a wide angle view of the study. Ruben glanced at the screen. He could see himself standing in the doorway of the open bookshelf. Ruben pressed a blue button located along the top of the panel. The humming sound returned, more pronounced within the stairwell, and the shelf slid back into place. As the door closed, a series of overhead lights flickered to life, lighting the stairs.

Ruben took the stairs two and three at a time, letting his three fingers slide down the polished wood of the narrow handrail bolted to the wall. The steps seemed to lead deep into the belly of Telston Manor. Ruben finally hit the bottom step and stopped abruptly. Touching a red button on a similar computer panel, the lights in the stairway faded to black. Ruben then pushed open the thick insulated metal door with a forearm and stepped into his playroom.

Rows of florescent lights illuminated the long egg-shaped room. With stark white walls and a light cream colored tile floor, the room held a cold, sterile quality. An expansive bare stainless steel table sat in the middle of the otherwise empty room, a solitary, malignant sentry guarding the hell that dwelt within.

“Is everyone awake?” Ruben called out, in an exaggerated sweet sing-song tone. Low moans began answering his call with a solitary sob piercing the moans.

“Let me go, please!” came a pleading yet terrified whisper.

Ruben’s laugh rolled and echoed around the room. “Just wait my darlings,” he cooed, “soon you will be free to fly away!” He was very pleased with himself and allowed a grin to spread across his gaunt features. How clever he could be with wordplay, too bad that it was wasted on these creatures. He strolled across the playroom to the first of a series of small open rectangular windows imbedded in the walls.