The Brain Trust
R.A. Scarborough
For family, friends, and to wherever the spirit of inspiration thrives.
Prologue
4 months ago.
The room was in semi-darkness, forms moved slowly within the shadows. A row of cages –some empty, some had small animals which crawled and cried out with chattering and screams which sounded like a mixture of human and animal.
A section of the room had thick, vertical bars which separated it from the rest of the room and where four large figures watched from the dark, they either sat with their backs to the door or stood and watched the surroundings with interest.
Soon the door opened with a scrape as the thick hinges allowed two people to enter, they went to the row of cages were one of the scientists opened a drawer and selected a pair of thick gloves and reached into the cage where a small creature hissed and attempted to bite at its handler. Then they took the creature out of the room leaving the rest of the creatures alone again.
It was placed inside a tub where it squirmed, its claws couldn’t crawl out of the confines due to the smooth surface, it hissed and fought against the thick rubber gloves the doctors were using to cut and slice bits of its spine covered flesh.
This was not the first time it had been abused by these people in their thick protection, hours ago- or was it days? It had been taken from its cage and poked, prodded and then put back.
It had been in a cage off the main lab with other experiments the scientists had created. A few were taken and sent away to places unknown.
A gloved finger came into view as another hand cradled its belly and another held its clawed hind legs, its breathing slowed as it decided to calm down its small black eyes watched the finger come closer the owner of the hand was unprepared for what was to happen.
It opened its jaws and tensed, its small nose turned upward revealing the tiny, sharp teeth which were ready to strike and it did as quickly as a rattlesnake.
Rows of tiny fangs clamped down on the finger its sensitive nose smelled blood instantly as it began tearing at the rubber and through to the flesh, its sensitive ears were flat against its long, rat-like body and it heard the cry as the finger pulled away quickly.
In a panic the doctor jumped away pulling the protective hood away from the tank upsetting the tank and spilling the contents onto the sterile floor.
The creature saw freedom and ran toward the opened door its small, sharp claws scraped across the tiled floor it ran until it encountered three sets of feet two jumped as a trash can flew at it in an attempt to capture it again, “Get it, don’t let it get out!” a slightly overweight doctor was still attempting to compose himself as he fumbled with the suit from the clean room.
The other taller man had attempted to help only to be interrupted by the angry look from Doctor Baker, “Never mind me, and catch that damn thing before it gets away.”
His finger was beginning to swell where the creature bit him, “get the tranquilizer-gun and hunt it down.”
An assistant ran to a locker in a far corner where a modified rifle and handgun waited inside, the nervous assistant dropped three small darts before his sweaty hands finally managed to load the rifle.
The doctor grabbed the rifle from the assistant impatiently and checked the chamber himself.
The creature was hiding under a table licking the wounds inflicted on it waiting for someone to come closer. Its fangs had bits of blood and plastic from where it bit Doctor Baker.
A loud banging got the creatures attention as Doctor Baker and two assistants were moving desks and tables around hoping to uncover the things hiding place.
They had moved every desk and table they could manage in an attempt at uncovering the animal.
It was elusive, smart and watching the humans with a predatory instinct, it could still smell and taste the blood from the large human and somehow knew it to be the leader.
The other one, the one who put it in the tank was also nearby, it could hear him it didn’t know how it came into being but it knew by scent that came at it with a knife and attempted to cut it.
Doctor Steven Hatcher was a leader in his field of experimental life he had developed a technique to enhance a person’s strength, he was told by Doctor Baker these things they would be creating were approved by the Committee although he had his doubts.
The experiments which doubled a soldier’s strength worked but there was a problem it had a side effect, it dulled intellect and brought upon aggression and the subjects who volunteered had to be watched.
The creature in the lab was a subject of animal splicing and gene manipulation, they wanted to study it, feed it watch what it did, then when they were ready they would cut bits of it and test them.
They were in the middle of that when the creature attempted escape, now it will need to be killed but there was a problem.
It was made to attack and kill and adapt to anything. And it saw a way out, an air vent between the floor and wall was big enough for it. Suddenly the table it was hiding under disappeared and a large, round face stared angrily at it.
“There you are!” it coiled and struck full force at the face – quills, claws and teeth were furiously mauling as thick fingers and large hands attempted to pull it away from his now bleeding face.
Doctor Hatcher had a fire extinguisher and swung it at the creature Doctor Baker could see the movement and opened his mouth to protest only to get a back claw and quills drug across his mouth.
The extinguisher hit its mark. the creature fell away from Doctor Bakers face and ran across the tiled room to the air vent, Doctor Hatcher was there and waiting with the fire extinguisher waiting to bash it to death. The creature coiled itself up, quills fanned out and with a sudden spring and a shriek of defiance and anger it flew at Doctor Hatcher, he saw it spring and dove to the side- but several quills ripped across his throat tearing through his jugular spraying blood across the floor and at Doctor Baker’s feet.
Doctor Baker held his bleeding face and knew his nose was broken, this experiment was a total wash and wasn’t worth the misery.
His bloody left hand found the radio for security, “This is Doctor Baker, a lab animal has gotten loose I want it found and killed with all possible speed,” he winced as he wiped the blood from his cut eyes he went to the break room where the first aid kit was kept.
He saw it in the usual spot. A small metal latch fastened it to the wall next to the sink.
He unfastened it and as he checked the mirror he heard the dogs howling and gunfire of the security outside.
“I have an appointment in a few weeks.” He said to himself, this had turned out to be one hell of a day.
He glanced over at a far door across from the mess at his feet and watched as the staff attempted to clean up the blood and broken chairs which were scattered around the room.
He smiled knowing what was behind the locked doors, something which would give new life to an old game.
1
The committee of eight people sat behind leather chairs and watched the news program with rapt attention, it was a recording of an incident in the Middle East, a few US soldiers had been captured, but unknowingly followed by a reporter.
At the head of the dark marble table sat a tall, business-like man his black hair cropped in a short military cut, his dark features blended into the dark suit he wore.
At his left sat a woman the same age as himself, a healed scar ran down her left cheek, a “souvenir” of a war in a country she hadn’t even heard of when she served 30 years ago.
Across from her sat a short, round faced man who watched the video with mild interest, he hadn’t been in the service for very long before a grenade, thrown by a Viet-Cong soldier, blew his left leg apart at the knee. It was replaced by an artificial knee and he was considered one of the few lucky ones, although he didn’t feel “lucky”.
The others in the dark conference room were all veterans of some conflict, war or terrorist attempt.
The news they were watching was taped several months ago by a reporter who strayed too far into the war zone, a group of Middle East terrorist captured a small squad of military and civilian personnel and now they were torturing them for information, the view blurred for a few moments as the cameraman ran to get a better vantage point.
A voice could be heard, almost a whisper, “This is reporter Mark Revere somewhere in the Middle East-“the scene changed and a face appeared on camera, “I came with permission from the U.S. Marines to film those here in combat, I watched a group of Marines on patrol until they got caught under fire.”
The camera swung toward a shelled house where two guards stood in front of a half-hidden doorway.
The camera swung from the half-hidden doorway and spun toward the horizon where a few wisps of smoke could be seen mixing with the clouds.
“Our guys are in there, and a few –“his voice stopped as the camera fell to the ground.
Shouts rang out in the background as a cloud of dust and debris filled the scene, the camera kept filming as someone picked it up and aimed it at the direction of the house.
Billowing black smoke filled the scene. A wind began pushing the smoke from the carnage to reveal the structure.
The structure was gone, nothing was left.
“Lights,” the man at the head of the table said, his voice was deep and commanding.
Without another word the lights came on to reveal the others in the room, three were in wheelchairs at the other end of the table two others had prosthetics for hands.
The tall man rose from his seat and looked over the people around the table. They had various emotions on their faces from what they saw.
“Mr. Chairman, what was that?” the voice came from the back, an older man in a wheelchair named Mr. Tardees.
The man known as Mr. Chairman motioned to the TV screen which was now turned off, “That was a human-bomb,” he answered.
As expected gasps of confusion and questions about whom or what had been seen.
“A human-bomb?” the quiet voice beside him was as loud as his own.
Mr. Chairman nodded and explained, “Yes, we have been funding an anti-terrorist organization called the Brain Trust and they came up with that as an answer for what the terrorists had been doing to us.”
The woman next to him looked at him with confusion, “So they blow themselves up- and now we do it too?” her scar was beginning to ache, she had been a part of this organization for twelve years and had been called Mrs. Chairwomen all that time, her real name was for the outside world, the world outside the walls of the meeting place.
She, like the others at the table had jobs and families and she knew what the Committee stood for, and what it would allow for the safety of the country.
There were labs called the Brain Trust all over the country, and each was to be used with discretion, she had never questioned the actions of the newly funded Brian Trust until now.
“I don’t approve of this, either that’s why I am sending a few observers down to the lab where this was created to remind the head scientist- a Doctor Baker, that we would like to keep our casualties to a minimum.”
“You haven’t seen all the footage yet,” Mr. Chairman said as he nodded to the man at the television.
A DVD was put into the machine and a scene which was filmed only a few minutes after the explosion was shown.
The hidden base was on fire, dozens were dead, scorched sand was spread from the center of the base and ended a half-mile in every direction.
Black smoke rose like a signal across the sky, and four black helicopters now encircled the small base of operations.
Troops wearing desert camouflage and black helmets which covered their faces landed and two of them saw the reporter, a black helmet covered the face of the trooper as he raised a small pistol his intention was clear, the reporter could only raise a wounded arm as a dart shot him in the chest.
The recording ended with a symbol of a raised fist gripping the flag of the United States and the words: United We Stand under the fist.
“What did that soldier have that could cause that kind of destruction?” Mr. Tardees asked, he had seen his share of explosions and knew that couldn’t have been something a soldier could just carry in his pocket.
He knew he was changing the subject, he wanted to know what branch the trooper in black was for, but he didn’t need to ask.
They were a “clean-up crew” those sent into places where it was better off not knowing.
For a moment it looked as if Mr. Chairman would answer, but he didn’t have one.
“I really don’t know I’m not entirely sure what exactly it was they did to that man to create such a hole in the ground.”
“What I do know is our branch – for lack of a better description- in Arizona is coming up with an easily administered, easily deliverable substance which can wipe out an entire compound without harming our troops.”
“The current supervisor in Narberth hasn’t been reporting in, I think he needs another reminder that we are not to have attention.” Mrs. Chairman told Mr. Chairman as they dismissed themselves.
The group began to murmur quietly and nod at the information about the lab in Narberth they were the ones who created this new weapon as well as experiments which were not approved by the Committee they would be keeping tabs on this Brain Trust, as long as it kept itself quiet and under the radar nothing should go wrong.
Unfortunately they were getting attention. Experiments were getting the attention of an investigative reporter, his name was Mark Revere and so far he has been following reports of strange occurrences going on in and around the United States, he had been sent on an assignment to the Middle East to report on the progress of the war.
He was to have an escort wherever he went but he snuck away when he saw a patrol moving around.
He was lucky. If the clean-up crew wasn’t there to get him out he would’ve been a casualty of war.
Mr. Chairman made sure Mr. Revere made it home safely, and with a few calls made sure Mr. Mark Revere would stay where it would be safer.
He didn’t know the Committee was watching him and using his reports to follow and hoped they could quiet things down in Arizona before things got out of hand.
That’s what Mr. Chairman had hoped as he and the rest of the Committee left the conference room and out of the non-descript building and into the mid-day sun.
Mr. Chairman glanced up toward the New York skyline and paused as his eye caught the memorial for the fallen a part of him had wished the Committee wasn’t needed but for now it was.
He pulled out a cell phone from his suit jacket and dialed a number, “This is The Chairman, activate our agents in Arizona and give them level X clearance.”
The Chairman was a little concerned about the lab in Arizona. It was run by a scientist with questionable motives. Dr. Baker got results but it was at the expense of good men in uniform, men The Chairman wasn’t going to sacrifice anymore.
2
The dark blue and silver dodge caravan pulled away from the one story house and made soft depressions in the newly fallen snow.
The Miller family used to enjoy snowfall in Michigan but not anymore the house and the town would remind them of the loss of their father and the memories were too fresh right now to ignore.
Lisa had been watching her daughter, Samantha in the rear view mirror since they left the driveway, her son, Robert, was buried in his own world his dark blue eyes stared blankly at the slowly falling snow from the passenger seat he was the oldest and would be his mom’s relief on the twelve hour trip to Arizona, Lisa’s concern for her kids was written all over her face.
Robert hadn’t wanted to move, his friends were here and the college was only an hour away he had planned to stay here, but he was told about the ROTC program in Arizona so he wouldn’t be too far away from his mom and sister.
North Wood College had a job fair located in the quad out near the football stadium, tall trees and freshly cut grass framed the concrete structure.
Large tents were set up with banners which read the different careers represented, dozens of students were gathered around various tents. Robert had been walking around the campus for a few minutes as he looked for one specific area, in a corner off a thoroughfare he saw his destination.
Five temporary buildings had been crafted for the five military branches. Navy, Marines, Air Force and Army.
Three of Roberts friends had already signed up for the military and were looking forward to college after serving for a few years the recruiter smiled as they signed their names to the forms.
“Which branch are you going for?” Robert asked as he watched Nathan sign his name next to the others on the list.
“Navy, just like my old man,” Nathan answered with pride.
“How about you?”
“Air Force, but I’m going into the ROTC program.” Robert didn’t notice the recruiter take the forms they signed and place them in a folder marked “Brain Trust-recruits”.
Robert walked from the recruiters and the throng of people who were interested in joining the military, he didn’t see his other friends but he did see the cafeteria and with a silent growl from his stomach he made his decision.
“Hey, Bobby wait up!” the shout came from one of his friends who had found him walking toward the cafeteria.
“What’s up Nat?”
“I told you I don’t like “Nat” call me Nathan.” Nathan sounded a little out of breath, he had seen Robert sign up and then wander away without waiting for them.
Nathan watched Robert walk away from the growing crowds and wanted to hang out with him a little more before he had to go to his last class of the day, a strand of dark blonde hair dropped in his face as the recruiter gave him a quick look of disapproval.
Nathan signed up for the Navy and ran to meet his friend. He could see from his face something was bugging him. “What’s wrong bud?”
“You know my dad was in the Air Force, and he died.” Nathan understood, “I know, my granddad flew planes during WW2 and he was shot down.” He realized it wasn’t the same thing, his grandfather lived to tell his tale, Robert knew it, and Nathan stopped his story when he saw the irritation in Roberts' eyes.
“I like to think my dad is proud of me for getting into the ROTC, he said to himself.” Robert remembered the rest of the day as they went on to the cafeteria and ate.
He had gotten his driver’s license the same week he signed up for the ROTC and was looking forward to being on his own.
Now he watched the house, the falling snow slowly covering the shingles and the picket fence he had promised to try to fix “next week”, but he never seemed to get the time. He heard his mom say something and he looked over at her.
“I’m going to miss it too.” Their mom whispered to them not sure if she meant to say “your father”.
She pulled slowly away from the house and watched the snow slowly cake the thin shingles and tall brick chimney.
Memories swelled, as did the tears, but she couldn’t show it and were stuffed down into her mind as quickly as she could. “I miss dad.”
Samantha spoke quietly, afraid that she had been heard turned her head downward and wiped a tear from her face before her mom could see. It had become a trait in the family to appear brave in the face of hardship.
Samantha wasn’t sure if it was a trait she could continue to live with or not and wrapped herself in one of the blankets they had in the back of the car.
Lisa had seen it, smiled bravely at the seventeen year old cocooning herself in the heavy blankets in an attempt at hiding herself from the rest of the world.
A strand of black hair with purple streaks stuck out of the blankets and Lisa fought the impulse to stop the car and comfort the child, Lisa hadn’t been too happy when Sam changed her hair but understood the need to rebel a little.
Lisa looked at her daughter and fought the urge to smile, “The next thing I know you’ll be smoking behind the gym at school and breaking curfew.”
“Mom!” Sam knew her mom was only teasing her. She was growing up and slowly showing her independence some day she would leave the nest like her brother and Lisa would be alone.
Samantha wanted to text her friends a quick goodbye but she had already done that several times today. She could feel the chill of the late afternoon seep through the car and begin to creep into the wool blanket around her.
The heater was at max and she knew Rob and her mom were doing all they could to make her comfortable, physically she was warm enough, the wool blankets were wrapped around her body and she felt as if she could bury herself in them forever.
But emotionally she wanted to cry and run until the hurt left, she knew it was only temporary. Grief was a part of life. She learned that a few years ago when their dog died, it was twelve years old and going blind, and one day it passed on in its sleep.
It was going to be a long trip she dug out her CD player among the other things they decided to keep in the back of the car and quickly slipped a CD into the player ear buds were already in her ears as the music led her into a dreamless sleep.
Memories she would have given her soul to forget were attempting to interrupt her quiet moment.
A slow movement told her they were now on the way from the house and friends they knew to somewhere they had never been.
3
It was three years ago when their lives began to change. Doctor Lisa Miller was a military wife.
Her husband, Andrew, was a sergeant in the Air Force and had been selected for a top secret experiment which would help troops on the battlefield. His family had understood, their mom worked for the CDC and there were dangers they would face.
Robert had wanted to join the military and follow in his father’s footsteps. He was good in school and had the attention of several recruiters including a few for the ROTC.
Andrew kissed his wife and daughter goodbye, gave his son a hug and went to work like he had done hundreds of times before.
Lisa left to go to her job for the Center of Disease Control knowing in a few hours they would see each other again.
They had been married for twenty years and they had always seen each other at the end of the day even when Andrew had been shipped off overseas before the kids were born they knew they would see each other again.
Two years ago a Major had invited Andrew to a meeting with other staff members. They were a part of an organization called the Brain Trust. “We are impressed with your service record and want you to be a part of an experiment.”
Andrew had barely gotten off the plane from Kuwait during Desert Storm and was tired, he had arranged to have someone tell his wife he was here, and she would meet him.
He hadn’t expected three men had been waiting for him in the terminal and led him to an office which looked like a supply room, it was an office. One of the men pulled out an ID badge, “Homeland security, we need to speak with you for a moment.”
The door opened and he was greeted by two others who motioned for him to sit. Uncertain what was going on and listening to a voice in his head Andrew stood, and watched the others in the room.
They didn’t seem to be armed and they gave another man quick glances- unspoken words and silent commands could be felt between them.
A long table and four chairs sat in the windowless room a row of florescent lights lit the place and gave it a warm feeling which made Andrew sweat a little.
The man the others had nodded to was tall, short hair and a rank insignia of Major on his collar, as the others wore simple fatigues without rank to help them blend into the groups coming home.
Andrew hesitated, “I am very impressed with your record so far,” The Major explained, “Once you are a part of MY unit I can pull certain strings to make sure you never leave the United States.”
Andrew had been exhausted, sweat had been pooling behind his back and in his desert boots for hours and he could still feel the harsh sand mixed with his sweat.
He wasn’t sure just what kind of pull this Major had. It was obvious from his demeanor that he was accustomed to giving orders and never hearing the word “No.”
“What do you want me to do sir?” he asked, surprised at him for considering this, all those birthdays and holidays and anniversaries he had to miss out on because he was sent overseas.
The Major smiled when he noticed Andrew was going to join them, they needed someone who could be a team player and the offer of staying in the States was too good to ignore.
“It’s a top secret mission. Only the people here and the Brain Trust know about it, no one and I mean no one is to learn about this do you understand?”
Andrew didn’t know if he did or not but he was on missions where his wife didn’t need to know where or what he was doing.
“Yes sir, understood sir.” He answered with a quick salute.
The Major returned the salute and shook his hand, “Welcome aboard, you will be getting new orders from your supervisors and we will talk later, go see your family.”
They left the room and something told Andrew his life was going to get more complicated; he walked to the concourse where his wife was waiting with his two kids. Andrew wanted to tell his wife what had happened and watch her face as he explained how he would never have to leave his family.
“I think our new recruit will work out just fine.” Major Hunter watched as the Miller family hugged each other and Sargent Andrew Miller embraced his two children.
They walked from the concourse toward the luggage carousel where they picked the duffel bags from the metal slide and spoke about how much they missed their father.
One of the Majors’ men stood close to the Major and slid a hand towards his waist, the Major twisted around and looked him in the eye, and a look of embarrassment broke through the stone visage.
“Scott not here and not now,” Major Hunter pulled away quickly and glanced around hoping no one saw.
“I’m sorry,” “It’s nice to see families together.”
Major Hunter looked at his watch and began walking back to the make-shift office they had, to keep the Brain Trust as secret as possible, meeting places were temporary, and rarely in the same place.
He was pleased that they had another recruit, as long as it wasn’t him or any of his men he didn’t care what the damn Brain Trust did.
He was doing all he could to keep his friends off the front lines but it was getting harder to do, he knew it wouldn’t take much to find out.
He had suspected someone was watching the records but he wasn’t sure who, he allowed himself a long look at Scott and knew paperwork would be on his desk when he got back home and to keep prying eyes off him he might need to swallow his feelings and follow the rules...
Andrew drove his car into the base and showed his badge to the guard at the gate. The guard, armed showed him through as the gate was switched open.
As the gate began to open three cameras, each from a different angle, followed as Andrew drove into the base.
Two other cameras watched the wide driveway leading into the base as two other guards kept watch on the monitors.
Andrew continued until he found his usual parking spot where a man in a suit holding a clipboard was waiting for him.
As Andrew turned off the car and exited the vehicle the man approached Andrew with a very serious look on his angular face a badge and gun were conspicuously seen on his belt.
“Sergeant Miller, Andrew ID number 5209977?” It sounded like a question but the agent was checking the name and information he had on the clipboard. “Yes,” “And you are?” the agent pulled his badge from his belt and identified himself.
“Agent William Collins, Vector Securities come with me please.”
They began walking from the lot and towards a large hanger no planes or other aircraft were in this section of the base.
It was all a part of something no one would talk about, there were whispers about the group Vector Securities it had been rumored they had branches everywhere and they were a part of a group called the Brain Trust.
He had heard of the Brain Trust and until recently thought it was a rumor or some conspiracy-nut spreading a story about secret organizations. He was wrong, it was real, and he laughed at himself for it, he never believed in UFOs or aliens and especially not government conspiracies.
He still remembered the Major and his men recruiting him a few years ago. It was fun to watch in the X-Files and other programs but it didn’t exist in reality- did it?
As they entered the hanger which Andrew had assumed hid some form of high tech stealth plane or other aircraft he began to get the feeling those stories might have a ring of truth.
He had expected a high-tech aircraft or maybe a prototype of a new weapon they wanted him to try, that wouldn’t be a first, he’d done that when he first joined the Air Force.
He didn’t see anything like that, instead it contained a series of computers and medical equipment all manned by various workers who were dressed in lab coats and supervised by men dressed in suits.
In the center of the hanger waited a seven foot chamber which looked like a clamshell wires and tubes snaked from the chamber to the surrounding computers and monitors.
“This is the test chamber,” the agent explained. “You will enter it and the techs will give you further instructions.”
Andrew was given a jumpsuit which had the same logo the agent had on his badge. After he dressed behind a partition he was escorted to the chamber which surprisingly barely fit over the suit he wore.
“May I ask what this is supposed to do?” he began to feel a little cramped as the clamshell began to close.
A voice from a small speaker in the clamshell began explaining.
“We have been experimenting on a technology which, if successful, would be capable of shrouding troops in battle.”
Andrew wanted to ask another question when a heavy set man with a bushy mustache tapped on the front of the clamshell where Andrew saw a small window.
“How ya doin’ in there?” the man asked as he wrote something down on a clipboard.
The man with the mustache nodded to someone beyond Andrew’s vision, “Pulse and vitals are steady so far.” Andrew had an itch begin on his nose and it seemed to spread across his face.
“How long do I stay in here?” he could hear his own muffed voice and wondered if he could be heard within the cocoon.
A sudden movement caught his attention toward the small window and a man with a military uniform and the rank of major, his demeanor was serious and his voice held no humor.
“Sergeant, I expect you to do as ordered do you understand?” If the armor allowed it, Andrew would have given the Major a quick salute, instead all he could manage was a sharp “Sir, Yes, Sir!” he recognized the voice as that of Major Hunter, the man who recruited him.
The Major had been monitoring the experiment and wanted the lab rats to do what they needed to do and quickly, he didn’t like the Brain Trust, he didn’t trust them and made it clear to a few of his superiors but it didn’t matter what he thought.
He still bristled when he remembered seeing the order on his desk to send a group to the Middle East – and at the top of the list was Sargent Scott Green. He could feel his face turn pale, he had to sign the order he had found a way to circumvent certain orders and call in a few favors, send someone else overseas or to some swamp in the middle of nowhere.
He could almost feel the eyes of superiors looking over his shoulder, checking to see who was going where. Then a call, an organization was funneling funds to secret labs across the United States for use in “helping” soldiers in battle.
He was to answer to them, Major Hunter didn’t like it, but he had no choice, when he opened his desk and saw his gun sitting there he had a dark thought in his mind to use it, to just take it out of the drawer and – he stopped himself.
He signed the order and prepared to go to Michigan to “supervise” an experiment the Brain Trust was doing.
He arrived and met Doctor Baker and a few dozen technicians, of all the people in the hanger there were two who didn’t introduce themselves, they stayed up in the observation office which overlooked the hanger bay, and they wore business suits and only spoke to each other.
Doctor Baker glanced up, saw the suits, and turned pale, his round face seemed to lose color and he forced himself to get back to the task he had.
He checked his clipboard and gave a hesitant glance up toward the stairwell leading to the offices above, they were gone.
The suits were agents sent to check on the lab and the head Doctor. Doctor Baker had been using his lab for unauthorized experiments and except for a few “accidents” he had kept things quiet, a few experiments had gotten out of hand and the public saw things they shouldn’t have.
There were still “loose ends” which he was taking care of, but the untouchable group called The Committee was watching and he knew they were coming. He had plans to leave the Arizona branch, go up north and share his genetic experiments with a few partners he had made deals with, Dr. Baker had to make sure the committee didn’t know about the partners if they knew about them he was as good as dead.
Andrew didn’t know the top brass were watching. If he had known he would have kept his thoughts to himself.
He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the machines and could pick out the various voices around him.
He could hear someone calling out numbers in sequence he wasn’t familiar with, and someone else was “readying the plastiform.”
He heard someone counting down and felt his hands and feet begin to tingle.
“Stage one complete.” He felt something happening to his skin and the clamshell begin to change into something else, the interior of the shell moved and he could see the exterior of the clamshell.
The world moved as a haze in a heat wave and then he passed out, he didn’t hear the voices any longer.
He didn’t hear the warning alarms, only a single voice in a long deep tunnel muffled by the low hum of something he could feel around him. The words entered into his mind as a slow dreamy tone, “Oh shit, we lost him.”
Andrew opened his eyes and gasped, the hanger was gone. A heavy mist covered his vision and he couldn’t breathe something cold and thin touched his face as he attempted to make sense of what was going on.
“No,” it was the only word he heard, it was thick and low. Like listening to a recording played back at very slow speed.
“Open your eyes, you will adjust.” It was coming from another soldier, a Colonel from the rank on his collar.
“Sir?” his mouth was dry as chalk but he could breathe better.
“Rank doesn’t mean much here.” The colonel explained.
The landscape was awash with white and over exited color like a camera with overexposed film. If he squinted he could see after images of movement and he thought he saw the edge of the hanger and people around. It looked like the world was behind a thin fog or a mist.
The colonel watched him and nodded at a silent question, “Yes, you and I and about a dozen others are still alive.”
That got Andrews attention and he stood up on shaky legs.
“No, they can’t see us, or as far as I can determine hear us.”
“Call me Bill, I was once Colonel William Barrow of the US Marines until I volunteered for this experiment, I hadn’t realized it was a one-way trip.”
Andrew couldn’t keep his eyes away from the washed out horizon, it was amazing the way the color seemed to mix together.
“Where are we?”
“The best way I can describe it, the only way I can describe it, is limbo.” Andrew felt a chill rise through his body, he wasn’t dead but no one knew he was alive either.
As he stared at the horizon he saw movement, shadows of what he thought were afterimages of the “real” world.
“I’m not sure how far the horizon goes, but whenever one of us wanders out there- they disappear.”
Andrew had been watching the advancing figures and as they got closer he could see they were wearing military uniforms, some were ragged and worn and the owners looked as if they were dead, merely bags of bones wrapped in rags.
“They are the rest of the team which, like you, are here possibly forever.”
In a world of bright light and what he had thought was warmth he felt as if death itself had abandoned this group.
4
Sam, a nickname she tolerated but didn’t really care for, went to school which was a few blocks away. She didn’t know why but something was bothering her as she went down the street.
The weather was warm but she couldn’t help but feel a slight chill, she had brought a jacket which she stuffed inside her backpack along with her notebooks.
She had decided not to take it out and quickened her pace, she didn’t want to be late for history again it wasn’t her favorite subject and wasn’t looking forward to Mr. Howards lectures on what the Greeks and Romans did a thousand years ago, she preferred her science classes, plants, animals and how they managed to survive in different ways.
The mid-morning sun was getting warmer and the neighborhood was quiet, a young man in his late twenties was using a leaf blower to clear the dead leaves from his driveway.
Samantha hadn’t noticed him before and smiled sheepishly as she walked past his house she could feel his eyes on her until she turned the corner.
School was a blur and she found out she couldn’t really concentrate, even during science class it seemed no matter how much she attempted to stay focused on Mr. Raleigh’s lecture about diseases and how they seem to mutate in spite of modern medicine.
She felt as if something was wrong but couldn’t figure it out, she barely heard the bell and it took her a minute to realize the class was leaving.
Mr. Raleigh had noticed Samantha hadn’t been paying attention to the lesson, she ordinarily wrote notes and asked questions about what was going on. He simply watched her and nodded as she left.
As she was walking back home the feeling of dread began to envelope her again as she saw a black car parked in the driveway and two men in dark suits standing on the porch.
As Samantha got closer the men saw her and nodded a polite goodbye and they got in the car and drove away.
Sam found her mom in the living room sitting on the wide sofa, a pillow curled up under her as if it was a life preserver for her emotions.
“Oh, god,” Sam watched as a tear ran down the side of her mom’s face. “Your father won’t be coming home honey.”
Lisa tried to stifle the feeling of loss from her child but it was a fight she knew she was going to lose. Samantha fell into a nearby chair as the room itself began closing in on her.
The men in the suits had told Lisa all they were going to.
They were working on a new stealth design and when it was activated Sergeant Miller disappeared, there was no warning. The Brain Trust had no intention of telling the family what had really happened.
Lisa had been working with the CDC for a long time and had gotten used to the double-talk and knew when someone was trying to cover up a mistake but what mistake she would never know.
Mark Revere had been following lead after lead in what he was sure to be an obsession, he was always interested in unanswered questions, had been since he was a kid.
He remembered his first time as a reporter doing a story on a senator in New England who was in the back pocket of a known smuggler and arms dealer, he was told to stay away but he had to find out more, his stubbornness paid off, the senator had agreed to an interview- but when Mark got there he found something else, both the senator and the known criminal were dead. His phone rang and a very deep voice told him two things.
“You are quite possibly the bravest –or the dumbest reporter who ever lived. “Welcome to a brand new world, hope you survive it.”
That was over twenty years ago, he had the feeling he had a guardian angel on his shoulder ever since.
He brushed his hand through his slowly greying hair and begun writing down another “sighting”. “Arizona?” Ryan, his cameraman, had looked over Marks shoulder and nearly fell over.
Mark had been chasing odd sightings and strange things for six years –ever since a creature of unknown origin ripped through Silver Springs California while Mark was a small town reporter doing a simple interview with a scientist who had been doing experiments dealing with stellar phenomenon. The thing tore through the town, caused so much damage the town nearly shut down. And when the dust settled no trace was ever found of either the creature- or the scientist.
Robert came home from college with a letter from his counselor. When he entered the house it was quiet, his mom and sister sat in the living room with a small pile of tissues between them.