Aegis: Catalyst Grove Read Free Page B

story.   He mentally kicked himself.   Colony! Rats don’t live in colonies, you idiot. You can do better than ‘colony’.
    Still in full stride, Mr. Kobble replied, “Well, its-a good thing we have ya ‘round Mr. Graham.   Can’t be hav’n colonized rat families eat’n all yer grub, now can we,” said Mr. Kobble with a slight grin and a hint of sarcasm.   “Well, here ya go. I suspect Ms. Winstone is done with her afternoon tea. Now’s just as good of a time as any.”
    Mr. Kobble removed his right pork-chop of a hand from Graham’s shoulder and balled it into a fist.   With minimal effort, but huge impact, his booming knocks on the door caused Ms. Winstone to let out a small shriek of surprise.
    “Ms. Winstone, I’ve got a little fella here that I believe you want to see.”
    “You found Graham?” Ms. Winstone replied, still a bit frazzled.
    “Yes ma’am.”
    “Wonderful.   Please show him in.”
    Mr. Kobble opened the door to reveal Ms. Winstone sitting at her desk with her fingers interlaced, forming one big fist that rested on her desk.   “Thank you very much, Oliver. I will take it from here.”
    “Yes Ma’am.”   With a quick nod of the head, Mr. Kobble gently closed the door.
    Now completely focused on Graham, Ms. Winstone held out her hand towards the empty chair in front of her desk.   “Please, sit.”  
    Graham followed orders and took the seat.   Looking around, Graham noticed that the room was strikingly bare.   The craftsmanship of the rest of the Orphanage flowed into her office with its ornate woodwork and 18 th century charm, but Ms. Winstone never added any of herself to it.   All the walls were bare, except for one, which held the yearly picture of each group of children housed at Greenwood.   The rest of the room seemed like a metropolis with stacks of papers and folders towering like high-rise buildings.   There was not even a single photograph of Ms. Winstone or any family members.
    Without any pleasantries, Ms. Winstone got straight to the point.  
    “What are you doing?” she asked with an intense stare.
    “Well, er, um….”
    “Let me expand.   What are you doing when you leave here every Saturday?”
    “I just go to be by myself, Ms. Winstone.”
    “And what does one do by one’s self?”
    “Nothing specific.   I guess I just go out so I can be alone.   I don’t like being in crowds.   It makes me anxious, and since this place is filled with people, I have to go to somewhere where I can be by myself.”   Graham understood this would get him in trouble, but he never could conjure up good lies.   The rat colonies proved that. “I… go into the woods.”
    Not surprised by the news, Ms. Winstone kept probing.   “Is that all you do? Go into the woods?”
    Graham’s gut sank.   What do I tell her? If she knows I go to Wellington, she will never let me leave the building again, but if I lie, she will know, and I will never leave the laundry room .   Story lines raced around in Graham’s head in a flurry of non-creativity until his conscious calmed the storm and prevailed.
    “No, ma’am,” Graham let out with a sigh.
    “And what exactly is it that you do, Graham?”
    “I go to...Wellington.”
    “Wellington?   That is more than seven miles away!   What on earth are you doing there?”
    “It is not that far if you go through the woods, and I don’t go out on the street.   I always go up on a rooftop balcony by myself.   I just like to watch everyone go about their day.”
    Ms. Winstone sat silent for a moment taking the story in.   After some reflection, she got up out of her chair and walked over to the wall of photographs.   As she looked over the faces of each of the children, she chose her next words carefully.
    “I would have thought you learned your lesson years ago after getting lost in those woods, Graham.   You nearly gave me a heart-attack being gone for so long.”   Still looking over the faces of the children, she