Page 38 of Creed

“The left will lead you to all the homes and to the right will lead you to the recreational areas. The center road leads straight to the commissary. I will give you a tour tomorrow aftermy doctor has given you a good look over, you’ve spoken with Bolton, and you’ve had some rest.”

I gave him another half hearted smile. “Thank you.” I tried to be cordial and smile, but grief had its ugly grip on me. It wasn’t long and Creed turned left into what I believed to be his driveway. We were still surrounded by trees, and it was another long driveway. “How many houses are in this place?” I asked.

“Mine is the only one that’s this secluded. Most are small and most of the single people have roommates. There are thirty five small cabins on the other side of the lake and six family houses. We also have visitors housing and there’s ten apartments. Some of the employees we have living inside the gates take up residence in the clubhouse. It has a fully stocked kitchen and seven bedrooms.” He explained.

“Family houses?”

He nodded. “A few operatives have wives or husband’s and all of them have kids. Most are around Addie’s age, so she won’t have a problem finding kids to play with her. We have an indoor and outdoor pool, a beach on the lake and a playground. In all, Creeds Lake, that’s what we call our community, sits on just over three thousand acres. Just about everything you need can be found on the premises. Once a week, two semi’s leave and pick up everything the community needs besides fuel. We do have one company permitted to enter to deliver gasoline, and natural gas is delivered via pipeline.”

“Why do you need visitor housing if nobody is allowed inside the gates?” I asked. This reminds me of a compound for a cult.

“For several reasons. Sometimes after a rescue we will provide a secure location to reunite them with their families.We also have government visits at times and our members with trustworthy families can arrange for visits. The cabins the single people reside in are very small and don’t provide space for visiting family.”

I was awestruck, plain and simple. Then awestruck again when a huge log home came into view. “Creed, my God it’s beautiful.” It was a gorgeous log and stone home and was between a mansion and a McMansion. Not too big and far from small. There was an attached garage and also a detached one with five large barn doors. The landscaping was gorgeous with a stone sidewalk that led to the wrap around porch. I noticed two trucks parked outside and one of them was Patrick’s. There was also a side by side parked in the yard. Creed stopped the car, and I looked over at him.

“I have to thank you again. I know this is the last thing you want, and I truly do appreciate it. My family was right, you’re a very kind man.”

He sighed. “You say that now, but you haven’t heard the rules yet.” He opened his door and stepped out. I was moving a little slower than usual. Of course, my head hurt, but my abdomen was covered in bruises, and it was very sore. Creed made it to my side and waited for me to stand up before shutting the door and guiding me to the house. “I have a group on a mission right now. That means I’m needed at headquarters. Grange’s wife Stephanie will stay with you while I’m gone.” He explained as he lifted a panel then placed his hand on a screen. I heard the door unlock and Creed opened it. “When you come and go, just press your badge against the screen and the door will unlock.”

“Got it.”

We stepped inside and my eyes scanned the gorgeous home. The floors were solid dark wood, the stairs were the same and to my right was an office and to the left was a formal sitting room. There was a solid wood archway next to the office that was the entryway to a very large dining room. The dining room table must have sat no less than sixteen people. The ceilings were vaulted and all the way across the house were huge windows. I could hear voices off in the distance and recognized one to be Patrick’s.

“Lets find them and then I will give you a quick tour before I have to leave.” Creed guided me toward the voices. We walked by a huge library, a gorgeous kitchen built for a chef and then a large living room that was surrounded on two sides with large windows that offered an amazing view of the lake. We walked through the kitchen then down some winding stairs which led us to a large open area. That was where we found my brother, sitting at a bar with a beer in hand. I was still trying to take in my environment. On one end it was a movie room and the other was a bar and recreation area. There was a dart board, pool table, a few slot machines, a juke box, a fully stocked bar, a kitchen, and there was hockey and football memorabilia everywhere. I counted five large televisions which had the Reds game playing on all of them. “Creed, this is…wow.” I was speechless.

“Sis.” Patrick walked over and hugged me. “Damn you scared the shit out of me.” He wouldn’t let go. “I’ll give you a few days, but we have a few things to discuss. I can’t believe you went to that motel alone.”

I hadn’t seen Patrick yet. He just came off a forty eight hour shift at the fire house and my parents kept visitors at aminimum while I was under observation. Dad told Patrick to finish his shift because I was going to be alright.

“I am so sorry about Callie.” Patrick held me tight. I shut my eyes and fought my tears.

“Thank you.”

When he let go of me, I spotted a man I had seen before but not met. “Mike Axton, pleased to meet you, and I’m sorry for your loss.” The tall dark handsome man shook my hand.

“Axton is my VP, so if I’m not available and you need something, you’ll need to call him. I will give you phone numbers a little later.” Creed said.

“Its nice to meet you, Mike.” I let go of his hand.

“Axton and I have to be going, so let me give you a quick tour.” Creed put his hand on the small of my back, which of course sent a tingle up my spine. “I guess we should start right here. Everything here is pretty obvious, let me show you the rest before we head back upstairs.”

He showed me the movie room which had an open archway then we took a left down a hall. “Here’s my personal gym.” He opened a door and yep, it was a gym. “Feel free to use it anytime you please. In fact, make yourself at home down here, nothing is off limits.” There was also a spare bedroom he said wasn’t used since it was first built and Josh stayed there while waiting for his cabin to be built.

He guided me up the stairs. “Same thing on this floor. Feel free to use the kitchen, library, watch television in the family room and of course access to the lake is right out here.” He opened a set of French doors, and we stepped out on thepatio. “As you see there’s a dock if you want to swim and inside the boathouse is a pair of jet ski’s and a speed boat.”

I took in my surroundings and breathed in the fresh Indiana air. To my right was a set of stairs so I walked over and looked down to find a stone patio with a fireplace and cozy patio furniture. It even looked like it had an outdoor kitchen.

“I will show you the bedroom you’re staying in and go over a few rules.” He guided me back inside then up the gorgeous hardwood stair way that was slightly curved. It must have taken a master woodworker to carve something so beautiful. When we got to the top there was an open area with several doors then a long hallway with a set of double doors at the end.

“I figure Addie could stay in this room.” He opened the door, and it was a medium sized room with an attached bathroom. There was a plain bed, and the log walls had nothing hanging on them. “I know you’ll want to order her some things, but we don’t have an actual address straight to my house. We have a P.O. Box and once a day the mail gets picked up and taken to the commissary. Whatever you order will be waiting for you there.” He shut the door and walked to the next door. “This is one of my spare rooms. Your boxes are in here because all your shit obviously won’t fit in your room. I didn’t know how long you would be here, so I had them bring all of it. You’ll be staying in the next room and both of these rooms are connected by a shared bathroom.” He shut that door and took me to the next one and opened the door. “This is where you’ll be staying.” I gasped when I saw the room. There was a stone fireplace, a king sized bed that called my name, and double doors that led out to a terrace.

He led me down a long hall to a set of double doors. “This is my room and it’s only accessible by me. Only myself and Tina, the woman who cleans my house, have access. If you need me just knock on the door.” The last room to the right of his also had a security panel. “I’m the only one with access to this room. I keep the door shut at all times.” He walked back down the hall toward the steps, so I followed.

“As far as the rules, no loud music when I’m home, do not speak to me in the morning if I haven’t had my coffee yet, and please clean up after yourself. Strip your bed down on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Tina is busy and that helps her out. One of the bathroom cabinets is a laundry shoot, throw the linens and your laundry down there and Tina will take care of the rest.” He kept talking as we descended the stairs and walked toward the kitchen. “You are safe here, but if the alarms sound, and you will know them when you hear them, come straight here and open this panel.” He opened a panel on the wall. “I will write down all the phone numbers you need, any codes, and also the Wi-Fi password. So, on this panel type in 06191965.” He typed it in and turned to look at his kitchen counter. Suddenly, the counter lifted, and the cabinet rose, exposing an elevator. “When you step inside, press this green button and the elevator will take you to the bunker, which is below the basement. The rest is self explanatory. Tis the season of tornado warnings, so don’t hesitate to use it.” He reached in and pressed the button and the elevator sunk and the cabinet went back to normal. “Also on every security panel in the house is a red button on the upper right hand corner. If you get hurt or there’s any type of emergency press it. We have medics on site and abilities to fight small fires. Do not call 911, we are a self-sufficient community, and we only call for help outside the community in dire situations.”

He walked over to another door, and it opened to a huge pantry. “As far as food, you’re welcome to what little I have on hand. I usually eat in the mess hall at the community center, but if you do want to cook, you can go to the commissary to buy whatever you need. They have just about everything a grocery store offers. You can use your visitors pass and whatever you want can be charged to my account.” He walked over to another cabinet and opened it. Inside the door were a bunch of keys that were marked. “You can roam freely around the community, and I’ll give you a tour tomorrow, but if you’re curious about transportation, there’s two side by sides in the garage. They drive just like a car, and you can use one of them to get around. The only cars you usually see around here are the ones leaving and returning to the community. Most guys ride their motorcycles, but the women tend to use these side by sides. You can also purchase gas at the commissary if the tank runs low.” He opened another door and it led to the garage, showing me the side by sides.

A gorgeous red head walked into the kitchen and at first I thought maybe Creed had a girlfriend I didn’t even think to expect, but he introduced her as Stephanie, the wife of one of his men. I wasn’t sure why I presumed Creed was single and suddenly I had even more questions I would save until later.

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