Part 28 (1/2)
”Where's Theo? And Lou?” Elliott said.
An empty feeling churned in her belly. I wish I knew. I wish I knew. ”They went on a trip a few days ago. I'm not sure when they'll be back. But Vonnie would probably love to feed you something. You're welcome to stay here a bit.” ”They went on a trip a few days ago. I'm not sure when they'll be back. But Vonnie would probably love to feed you something. You're welcome to stay here a bit.”
”Right,” grunted Frank, sliding into the conversation for the first time. ”I've got some holes in the G.o.dd.a.m.n roof that needs mending. You two'd be better climbing up there than a d.a.m.n old man like me.”
”I'm going in,” Theo said to Lou. ”You stay here and warn me if anyone comes.”
The sun had set and the last bit of light lingered in the overgrowth behind them. The bounty hunters had left hours ago and the twins had spent the last few hours systematically taking down the security system: breaking lights, redirecting cameras, checking out how the locking system worked.
”f.u.c.k that,” Lou replied. And walked through the door they'd just opened in the Black Gate of Mordor, post-Change style.
Having no choice, Theo followed him through to the interior.
His first impression was that the inside reminded him of a high-security prison. The wall enclosed a large expanse of grounds, empty of foliage and the overgrowth that was so prevalent elsewhere. In the center was a curious structure that looked like a ma.s.sive pool with gla.s.s walls. A sort of aquarium type of thing with transparent sides that rose twenty feet high and had a heavy roof.
In front of it was a small building, spare and windowless, not much larger than a garage. A single Humvee was parked in front of it and there were few lights on the exterior. There was a sense of desertion about the place.
”What the h.e.l.l is that?” Lou muttered, looking up at the giant aquarium as Theo came up behind him.
The light was faulty, but they could make out the gentle slosh of water near the top of the enclosed tank. And as they drew closer, Theo recognized shadows floating inside the water. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of large shadows suspended, unmoving, packed into the pool.
They'd hacked into the security system by cutting into an external wire and integrating their computer into the network. Then they'd reset the interior cameras to show old footage of the grounds, the video looping over and over-which gave them the freedom to move about outside. The windowless building added to their boldness, as well as the single Humvee. There couldn't be that many people in there; and based on the simplicity of the security system, Theo didn't have any great fear of other barriers.
”Let's take a look,” Theo said, moving closer to the tank, eyes focused on the walls rearing above him.
But just then, they heard a noise and ducked into the shadows-the only shadow, which was from the tank itself. As they watched, a door opened at the rear of the garagelike building and a man came out.
”I'm guessing that's Ballard,” Theo whispered. ”But don't quote me on it.”
They watched as he approached the tank, and for the first time Theo noticed a door at the ground. No, that wasn't a door. It was an elevator.
Ballard went into the elevator and it rose alongside the tank to the very top. He came out and stood on a platform near the roof and knelt to look down into the water. Using a long pole to stir up the shadows as large as he was, the man spent a long time looking down into the tank.
”Should we go inside?” Lou whispered, gesturing to the building, which could very well be empty at this time.
Theo nodded, but he was still watching Ballard, who'd stood and was moving toward the wall of his catwalk. He remained there, looking out over the tank. A low rumbling sound broke the silence-and as Theo watched, a large cranelike arm appeared, rising over the top of the tank.
Something inside him began to feel very uncomfortable as he saw the arm plunge into the water as Ballard, who seemed to be controlling it from the side, waited. The crane went into the tank, not unlike those claw games from fifty years ago, where you tried to pull a stuffed animal out and drop it into a chute.
And that was exactly what happened. The mechanized arm dove, grasped one of the shadowy figures, and pulled it up and out of the substance, which wasn't water because it oozed and plopped off in globs. Theo went cold as he at last saw what it carried. Then the crane dropped its burden into a hole in the corner of the tank. A chute.
”Holy f.u.c.king s.h.i.+t,” Lou said, before Theo could catch his breath and a.s.similate what he'd seen. ”Was that a body body?”
”Yes,” Theo whispered, staring at the tank. ”My G.o.d, it's all people in there!”
”There could be a thousand bodies in there. Are they dead?”
”I can't tell,” Theo replied, trying to unfreeze his brain. He had an awful, deep-down feeling that he knew what was going on here. His stomach tightened into a horrible knot. I hope they're dead. I hope they're dead. But he'd seen the jerky wave of an arm as the body was moved, and he was afraid his hope was in vain. But he'd seen the jerky wave of an arm as the body was moved, and he was afraid his hope was in vain.
The crane was moving again, and as they watched in stunned silence, it plucked another body from the translucent muck and dropped it down the chute. And another. And another.
”That's ten,” Lou said unnecessarily as the crane at last returned to its original position.
”Let's go,” Theo said, grabbing his brother's slender arm and tugging him toward the building. ”Before he comes back down.”
Skirting the bottom of the tank, they moved silently over to the back of the building. Theo eyed the top of the elevator shaft to see when Ballard was starting his return trip. When the elevator started down, he dashed from the tank to the building's door, knowing that the angle of Ballard's descent would hide their flight.
The door opened easily, and he ducked inside, Lou on his heels.
They found themselves in a large, sterile room, lit with bright white lights. A single door loomed on the opposite wall, but other than that, the room was open and spa.r.s.e. Nowhere to hide Nowhere to hide was his first thought as Theo closed the door. was his first thought as Theo closed the door.
Operating tables with open restraints lined the s.p.a.ce and Theo found himself growing more numb by the minute. Smaller tables, just as cold and metallic, stood near one of the walls. They were lined with large hypodermic-style needles and a dish containing a substance that looked like clear jelly. Next to it was a padded tray that held tiny orange gems.
They were just bigger than coa.r.s.e-ground salt-tiny crystals that glittered in the bright lights.
”Theo,” Lou whispered from across the room, drawing his attention.
He went over and saw what had put the hushed horror in his brother's voice. A long four-foot-walled channel ran along the edge of the room and through the wall. Inside it floated human bodies.
”Good G.o.d,” he said.
Lou was just about to reach into the gelatinous substance when Theo s.n.a.t.c.hed his hand back.
”We don't know what that is. Better not f.u.c.king touch it,” Theo told him, staring down at the bodies.
They were clothed in what appeared to be normal attire. Hair floated like seaweed around them, the hems of their s.h.i.+rts drifted. From what Theo could see, the skin of the victims was pale, not necessarily gray. Only one of the three who'd come through the opening in the wall faced upward, and her-it was definitely a woman-eyes were open.
As Theo looked down at her, she blinked and her mouth moved.
”Holy G.o.d,” he whispered, realizing she was looking at him looking at him. ”She's alive.”
Just then, the sound of a clank alerted them to Ballard's return. With one mind, Theo and Lou dashed across the room toward the other door. Like the other, the door opened easily-there seemed to be no cause for extra security once inside the main walls-and Theo slipped through, dragging the slower Lou with him.
They barely had time to look around the new s.p.a.ce and determine there was no immediate threat, then close the door, before the opposite one opened.
Now they were in a short corridor lined with three doors-one at the opposite end, and one on each side of the hall. No need to speak; they read each other's minds and each of them approached a door on one side of the hall, first listening and then cracking it open in an effort to find a place to hide in case Ballard came through.
”h.e.l.l, Theo, get over here,” Lou hissed as Theo peered around the door he'd chosen. It appeared to be a bedroom with a small kitchenette; obviously Ballard's living quarters.
Aware of the noise of human movement coming from the operating room, Theo closed the bedroom door and joined Lou on the other side of the hall. His brother shoved him through and followed him in.
”Holy s.h.i.+t,” Theo breathed staring at the man-sized tubes that hung on the wall. There were a dozen of them, and they looked like ma.s.sive test tubes. Inside three of them were bodies, suspended in a bluish-tinged liquid.
He recognized two of them: Wayne and Buddy.
”What the h.e.l.l are we going to do now?” Lou asked, approaching one of the tubes.
”Are they still alive?” Theo asked, walking up to the one holding Wayne and saw that at the top of the tube was a little pipe that extended into the liquid.
Wayne's eyes were open, and his face and hands moved sluggishly as he seemed to notice Theo. Terror blazed in his eyes and he jerked once in the small s.p.a.ce, like a fish trying to escape a net. ”G.o.d, they're alive.”