The Waiting Room
~ Chapter Fifty-Eight
Rats in the Kitchen
After
securing the box, Jack wandered some more. There were so many boxes.
The basement seemed neverending. They were all different sizes, all
different colors.
Some had dates. Some had names.
All
neat and tidy.
He soon found himself squeezing through the
stacks, curious as to how far back they went. The passage became
narrower and after a while the light from the front faded, casting
darker shadows. Jack found himself wishing for a torch, or better
yet, one of those new things…the handheld thingys that carried
light inside all the time. Flashlight, yes, that is what Sam had
called them.
He wished he had a flashlight.
Soon Jack
was beyond the reach of the glow of the overhead bulb. It had become
too dark to proceed but he could see the evidence that the basement
was almost cavernous. What dark secrets lay beyond the beam of light,
he wondered? What was back there in the depths of darkness? What is
it that Depp kept in shadows where it could not be found?
It
will just have to wait he thought. He would return and search the
blackness. Finding out a man’s darkest secret is the quickest way
to light your own way to greatness. He raised an eyebrow at his own
thought. Mayhap…a Depp secret may be just the thing he needed to
get out of The Room.
Yes, he definitely would return. But for
now Jack turned, pressing himself back to the basement stairs, back
into the light.
He made one final glance at the box marked
“Lost Loves”, smiled to himself and patted his pocket. For now he
had a bit of happiness, as he gave thought to the diamonds and gold
band.
He took the basement stairs two at a time until he came
to the top landing. Grasping the handle he turned the knob and
pulled. Nothing.
“What?” Came his quiet response. Then
had a thought.
Again he turned the knob, but this time he
pushed.
Nothing.
His memory reminded him of what lay
behind the basement door. The banana closet.
“Ahh, yes.”
He found comfort in the thought. “The closet full of Hannah’s
bananas. How could ye forget, Sparrow.” He recalled Sam saying he
was going to shut the door, and push the cabinet back, hiding the way
into the basement.
“Knock to come out,” Sparrow reminded
himself.
He gave three soft raps.
“Sam, me boy. I
be ready to come out now.” he said softly.
He paused, an
ear to the door, listening for any sound of the young man.
Not
loud enough he thought.
Sparrow rapped again, this time a wee
bit louder.
Again, his ear pressed against the wood door.
Nothing.
The pirate leaned back, staring at the door.
“Sam!” he gave a hushed, but harsher tone. “Where be ye,
boy? I be ready. Blast it, no time for games! Come forward and open
it up. Captain Jack Sparrow is ready to be set free!”
Jack
heard the sound of the cabinet opening.
“Sam, ye dog. I be
waiting fer ye now. Make haste. Open the bloody door.”
There
was a moment of silence, as Jack continued to listen for the sound of
the cabinet scraping the floor, as he watched for the handle to turn
and lead him to freedom.
Now Sparrow was getting impatient.
What was wrong with the lad, he wondered. Why wasn’t he helping?
“Sam, are ye deaf? Ye promised to let me out when I be
done. Well, lad, I be done now. Ye can let the old Captain out.”
But to Sparrow’s surprise he did not hear the cabinet move.
Did not see the handle turn.
Instead he stood there,
listening to the sound of the banana cabinet door being shut and
firmly secured. Jack put his ear once again to the wood door and
listened in speechless shock as he heard the sound of fading
footsteps.
“What the ‘ell?” he spat out a curse. Was
Sam leaving him there, alone, in the basement?
Jack turned to
face the stairs, looking down at the numerous boxes. There was no
escape. He had left one room only to end up in another, alone.
Out
in The Room, Sam stood painting another lovely picture of red irises
beneath a glittering rainbow.
“Masterpiece,” he prided
himself.
The kitchen doors swung open and Sam looked up to
see Sands stepping out, adjusting his glasses over his empty sockets.
“Hey Sam!” the agent called out. “ I think you better
be watching how you keep your kitchen hygienically safe. I think you
got a frigging rat in your banana closet! Might think about putting
out some bait or something to get rid of it.”
“Okay,
Agent Sands. I’ll look into it. Can’t be having rats in the
kitchen.”
Sand slid into his regular chair next to the
kitchen door.
“Yeah,” the agent laughed to himself. “Especially a rat by the name of Sparrow.”