Twilight Zone The Movie by Robert Bloch Read Free Book Online Page A

keeper.
    Now they moved along the hall to another open doorway at the right. He followed Miss Cox over the threshold and found himself in a room almost identical to the one that the women occupied.
    “This is the men’s dormitory,” Miss Cox announced. “I’ve given you the first bed here, nearest the door. Weinstein likes the one next to the window—he’s had it for years. Seniority rights, you know.” She glanced along the row of empty beds. “Agee is next to Weinstein and then comes Conroy. And Mute in the one next to you.”
    Bloom stared down the row of empty beds. “Don’t the men eat here?”
    “Usually they do,” Miss Cox said. “But seeing as this is Saturday, Weinstein and Agee are having dinner with Mute in the recreation room. They like to watch the game on television there. And Conroy is in the visitors’ room with his son and daughter-in-law.”
    Bloom noticed that she referred to none of the men as “Mr.” Obviously Miss Cox was an ardent champion of Women’s Lib.
    “Put your suitcase on the bed,” she told him. “You’ll find a place for your things in the wardrobe over there. As soon as you’ve unpacked, I’ll have José bring in a tray with your dinner.”
    Bloom shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. I had a very late lunch. If you don’t mind, I’d just like to rest for a little while.”
    “Suit yourself.” Miss Cox turned, moving toward the doorway. She halted there and glanced back. “I do hope you’ll be comfortable here. If you want to wash up, there’s a towel and a washcloth on the shelf in your wardrobe locker. The men’s bathroom is at the end of the hall. Now I’d better be getting back to my desk. If there’s anything else you need, let me know.”
    Before he could reply, she exited quickly, leaving him alone in the room.
    Mr. Bloom surveyed it with a rueful smile. Welcome to Sunneyvale.
    His glance traveled across the narrow beds, each covered by a drab gray blanket; the exposed borders of the sheets and the single pillow were white, but they too had a grayish tinge, the product of too many washings and too little bleach. The late afternoon sun shown dimly through windows at the far end of the room, but its rays were not strong enough to dispel the shadows blurring the outline of the shelves above each bed, the woodened-back chair beside it, or the wardrobe cabinets on the opposite wall.
    Everything seemed gray here, including the inmates.
    Guests, Mr. Bloom corrected himself. All the residents were paying guests, courtesy of Social Security, Medicare, pensions, and savings. And as long as they paid, they stayed; stayed in their gray dormitory until a deeper darkness descended—the darkness of death. Sunneyvale was no different from the other retirement homes he’d seen; just another warehouse for senior citizens awaiting graduation into oblivion.
    Bloom shrugged, then picked up his suitcase and carried it, unopened, to the wardrobe locker. Stooping, he set it down inside, then straightened and squared his shoulders. It was time to go.
    The sun was already starting to disappear over the horizon beyond the wide picture windows as Bloom entered the recreation room.
    Apparently both the football game and the dinner hour were over, because Mrs. Dempsey and Mrs. Weinstein were seated with the three men on the chairs and settee grouped before the television set. On-screen, an elderly gentleman with a shock of curly hair the color of cotton candy was grinning out at his unseen audience.
    “Let me run through that again,” his vibrant voice resounded through the room. “Vitamin A for your scalp, vision, and teeth. Vitamin B for hair and healthy mucous membranes. Vitamin C for the teeth and circulatory system. Remember, C will help keep those lips from shrinking.”
    Bloom glanced at the men. One was tall and thin, wearing scholarly horn-rims and a most unscholarly bathrobe; Bloom took a quick guess, deciding that he would be Mr. Mute, perhaps because his