The Processing Centre.
It was an unusual transition, moving from a “holding unit” in a forest inhabited by Centaurs to another environment that seemed… well, fairly standard by all accounts. Immediately upon entering this ordinary building, I gave up on any preconceived ideas I might have had about what was going to happen next. This, more than anything else I remember felt real, and were it not for the fact that Etand, Soren and Luci were realizing this with me, I would’ve thought nothing strange about any of it.
The words etched into the door read “Montedio Processing Centre.” What drew my eyes to it was the way “center” was spelled, like some Canadian or British version of the word. Little by little, it began to grow on me – hints of the culture and atmosphere of this place. Although I don’t recall ever seeing it before in a dream or elsewhere, this building harkened to other aspects of the life I remember, and I had feelings that seemed eerily familiar.
“Where do we go?” Etand asked.
Soren pointed out a sign that said “NEW ARRIVALS,” and it had an arrow directing us down a long, deserted hallway.
“I think Soren knows the way,” I observed.
Lucidia, also exercising a newfound confidence in herself, spoke to the occasion. “Follow him,” she said softly, referring to Soren. We were quick to take her advice.
I felt like I was a refugee from “The Wizard of Oz,” venturing down a hallway of the
The interior of the building was stale 1970s-style county courthouse chic, brown molding on the walls and all. It had that “musty odor meets ammonia” smell to it, and it felt as old as it looked. We passed by an open door, and a gentleman within took notice of our presence.
“I can help you in here,” he cried.
“Excuse me,” I said, “but can you tell us where—“
“Yeah, yeah,” he said dismissingly, “you’re in the right place. Just have a seat in here and I’ll have all of you out of here in no time.”
It took me a minute or two after seeing him, but I soon noticed that the man who invited us into his office was Evan Doe, the same person I met after I washed up on the beach, but he looked clean and happy like he’s lived and worked here all of his life. It was obvious he had no clue who I was. It wasn’t like he didn’t remember me, but more like he’d never even seen me before. But before I could attempt to say anything, he was passing out clipboards to all of us.
“First, I need you to identify some items that may or may not be yours, and then we can get everyone sorted and processed.” He said.
“What do you mean,” I asked.
He gestured to the clipboards given to us. “On this checklist, if you recognize any of these items to be yours, please check the box. If not, leave it blank.”
“I’ll need some help with mine,” Etand indicated.
“That’s fine,” said the other Evan. “I figured you would.”
As Evan helped Etand complete the form, Etand was feeling his way around the items on Evan’s desk. “Hey, his name is Evan too,” he pointed out as he ran his fingers over Evan’s engraved nameplate.
“Really?” answered a surprised Evan. “It’s not a very common name – well, at least around here it’s not.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, who were you named after?” I questioned.
“Not at all. He was a man my mother knew when she was a child. You see, my mom had a deformed hand, so a lot of kids made fun of her. However, he was someone who treated her kindly. Also, one time my grandparents’ home was destroyed in a fire, and she told me he was one of a few people that came by and offered supplies to help.”
It was a touching story, but what amazed me is that I knew about all of it. I remember that little girl. I was the Evan that did all that. “He must’ve made an impression on her to have her remember him all those years later,” I said slyly.
“He really did,” Evan said, “so much so that she talked my dad into naming me after him.”
I sat my untouched checklist down and walked right up to Evan. “You don’t know who I am?” I asked.
“No. I’m sorry, should I?” he responded.
“No,” I said, “not necessarily… not at all, I guess.”
“I’m done,” Luci spoke aloud.
She sat her clipboard down on Evan’s desk at I retrieved mine. Soren gestured to himself, and I noticed he was done as well. I had been so immersed in my memories that I completely ignored the task given to me.
The list had descriptions of twelve items of varying significance. Most were obvious: a wallet, a driver’s license, a watch and things of that nature. Some were fairly unnecessary or obscure: an old set of car keys, a pen and a postcard of this place, “Montedio.” For some bizarre reason, the license described was one I had some twenty-plus years ago. In fact, all of the things were mine, albeit possessions from when I was much younger. However, they were definitely things I owned – except for the postcard. I can’t for the life of me figure out why I would have a postcard from here. I didn’t even know where “here” actually was, much less anybody that lived here. Needless to say, that was the one box I left unchecked.
I passed the clipboard back to Evan, and he looked over it briefly. “Right,” he said, “if the four of you would just follow me.”
Evan led us to a back room with several lockers. As we made our way through the interior of the building, I noticed that Evan appeared to be the only one working there. We didn’t see anyone else at all. For someplace that seemed to be built on Twentieth-century bureaucracy, this facility was virtually deserted.
Evan gathered us around, and we each paid close attention to what he was saying. “Here are keys for each of you. As you’ll notice, the numbers correspond to different lockers in this room. You’ll each find some of your personal belongings as well as a change of clothes. When you’re ready, press that red button on the wall and that large door will open up. Welcome to Montedio, and good luck to all of you!”
“Good luck doing what?” Etand asked, but Evan must’ve not heard him because he retreated back to his office. Soren even tried going after him, but the door locked behind Evan, and we were stuck in here with only one way out – the large metal door on the opposite wall.
Luci and Etand went straight to the lockers that matched up with their keys. Soren and I soon followed. In my locker, I found a plastic bin filled with the items described on the checklist Evan gave me. I also discovered a duffel bag with a set of clothes, just as he described.
I kept the bag close to me as I set the bin down on a nearby table. Rummaging through it, I pocketed most of the stuff here and there until I came upon the postcard. “Greetings from the Tzoid, Montedio,” it read. I figured the flat-topped pyramid and obelisk formation in the photo was the “Tzoid,” but I had never seen it before.
“Do you know what this is?” I asked as I showed it to Soren. He shook his head. When I turned it over, I read the message inscribed on the back:
Evan, you MUST get to this place. It is imperative that you do this!
- Evan M. Parris (Yourself)
Myself? I never sent me a postcard, especially from this place. Why would I? It didn’t make the slightest bit of sense. On the other hand, I thought it might come in handy at some point, so I tucked it into my shirt pocket for safekeeping.
All of the sudden, I turned around to see Luci hurriedly shove all of her belongings into her bag and race to push the button that would open the door.
“Wait, I’m not ready!” I shouted, but I didn’t stop to think my statement was literally falling on deaf ears.
Soren tried to stop her, but he was powerless. Luci whacked the button, and the door began to retract.
“What’s going on?” Etand asked.
“Luci opened the door,” I replied.
We all just stood there, dumbfounded, until the mechanical device stopped.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Etand said as he donned a pair of dark galsses and extended his walking stick. “I think that’s our sign that it’s time to go.”
With that statement, we all walked out of the processing centre together.
© 2004 by Evan M. Parris
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