The Captain and the Corporal each held Rolie by the arm and followed one of the Majors out the office and down a short corridor to a heavily fortified door metal door. The door was stainless steel and had “NO ADMITTANCE WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION” stenciled on it. Steel bands were welded onto it crisscrossing it and framing it. There was a heavy steel frame around the door, and the walls themselves were made of reinforced steel and concrete. The was a “one-way-only” tone to the door, one which frightened the captive Lieutenant.
“Is this a prison? What are you going to do to me? Am I under arrest?”, babbled the anxious Marine. The Major, who was working the locks on the door, turned and jabbed her finger into his chest. “Shut up”, she said. “From here on in you will speak only when spoken to, you will do what you are told, and you will obey all orders from any WM no matter what her rank is. You have been stripped of your rank and privileges by the Colonel. If you speak out of line, or you do not obey orders you will be punished. You will be punished severely. Do not test us. Am I understood?” Rolie drew a breath to answer but a cock of the Major’s eyebrow changed his verbal response to a curt nod. “Good” the Major responded and turned to open the door.
Rolie was stunned when he saw the interior of the room. He expected to see chains bolted to the wall and a hard cot near a wooden chair under a bare light bulb. In his mind a burley man in black with a hood over his head waited by a tray of instruments of torture. Instead, when the door swung open it was like it opened to a fantasy world. The entire room was a study in pink – all shades, all hues, all tones. It was a huge room, done up as a baby’s nursery with soft lighting and rounded surfaces. The baby furniture was oversized and made a beautiful young girl standing beside a large crib look like a child.
The smell of the room was gentle and fragrant. Was that baby powder he smelled? There was the soft fragrance of shampoo or soap in the air too. The air was clean and fresh, like a window opened to the morning air of a blooming orchard. Soft soothing music played too. Rolie could make out a few serene lines from a song he hadn’t heard since he was very very little. The name escaped him but his mind seemed to anticipate each note.
All over the walls were happy and fanciful images of pixies and unicorns, butterflies and candy, flowers and birds. One wall was a mural of a fairie glade, a study in blossoms, green grass and shady trees. The ceiling was painted as blue sky, with fluffy clouds and a rainbow arcing it’s span. The effect was soothing and calming. Although painted over, an intricate system of rail guides could be discerned on the ceiling, apparently something was to be suspended from the ceiling and allowed to follow the tracks to all parts of the room. Though to Rolie these decorations and furnishings were all sappy kid’s stuff, it was a huge relief to what he was expecting, but still, he didn’t know what to make of it. “Nursery” the Colonel had said. WTF?
Rolie’s eyes went to the oversized baby furniture. Was that for him or was he supposed to operate it somehow? There was a classic looking elevated wooden crib with bars and a mobile over it, a playpen on rollers in the middle of the floor with wooden bars that would come up to Rolies chin. A large toy chest with fanciful images painted on the sides was by one wall to his right. On one side of it was an extensive chest of drawers with nearly a dozen drawers in it. By that was a large bulky cabinet that look like it was a closet. On the other side of the toy chest was a set of shelves stocked with diapers, blankets and other baby supplies.
The far side of the room was different. This looked like it was medical in nature. A large and wide white cabinet with 4 doors dominated the wall. There was a medical examination table here and some glass-doored cabinets over a small white ceramic sink and flat work area. Under the sink and work area were a number of drawers with silver metal handles. Each drawer was labeled but Rolie was too far away to read them. A few all purpose metal stands adorned the area. A large overhead light was installed to illuminate the area but it was currently off. For some reason, this area instilled a quiet dread in him.
