Joe opened his eyes and dropped his arms, the beam of the flashlight aimed at the solid wall of rock that had once been the entrance. Coughing from the dust that hung heavily in the air and filled his lungs, he swung the light around and saw that the tunnel he had been following was only partially blocked. But what about Jerry?

"Jerry!" Joe shouted as loudly as he could, moving closer to the rock wall that was, he assumed, several feet thick. "Jerry!" he shouted again. "Are you okay?" He listened as hard as he could, even catching his breath in case the sound of his own breathing made Jerry's reply to faint to hear. Nothing. "Jerry!" Joe called one more time.

A few rocks fell from the top of the mound as Joe's voice ricocheted off the walls but no vocal reply was given. Joe turned back to the tunnel. He would have to follow it and get help from the other side. He only hoped Jerry was all right.

Joe slowly made his way down the tunnel, pausing when it branched off. He took the left turn but didn't get far before it ended in a solid rock wall. Joe retraced his steps, wondering why he was beginning to feel dizzy. When he reached the branch he started down the other tunnel. His breathing grew heavier and he tripped and fell. He lay there growing disoriented. 'Air!' he thought, panicking. 'I'm running out of air! ' He tried to get back to his feet but the energy he expended was just too much. He fought to stay awake; but the battle was a losing one. His eyes flickered shut.

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Chet helped Frank to his feet and together they were herded deeper into the woods by Jeffery. After what seemed like forever they arrived at the mouth of a cave. "Let's go boys," Jeffery instructed them when they stopped at the entrance.

"It's dark in there," complained Chet.

"Not for long," Jeffery assured him.

Frank squeezed Chet's elbow briefly before moving ahead of his friend into the cave. The further in they got, the lighter it became. "A generator," guessed Frank.

"Several," Jeffery corrected him. "Keep moving."

Frank came to a stop after entering the main cavern of the cave that Tandem and his men had turned into a large laboratory. His eyes roamed over the miscellaneous equipment and the personnel present until they landed on one man in particular. Frank's eyes hardened and his heart beat stronger. He had never before felt such hate for anyone. He moved closer to the man who was trained in his sites, not hearing Jeffery announce their presence.

Tandem turned and looked at Frank. His self-satisfied smile faltered as his eyes met Frank's. Frank kept moving forward, his stance reminiscent of a panther as he neared.

"Stop right there," Tandem ordered Frank with more bravado than he felt.

Frank kept moving forward, ignoring the warning, and the weapon, Tandem had removed from the pocket of his lab coat. He had only one desire and that was to destroy the man who had taken his brother from him.

"One more step and I will kill you," Tandem threatened him.

"Frank," Chet croaked, terrified. He reached out and grabbed the back of Frank's shirt and hung on.

Frank stopped. "You killed my brother," he said, his voice so quite he could barely be heard.

Chet felt a chill run down his spine. He could feel the tension in his friend. He had seen Frank's reactions in all kinds of situations but he had never before felt fear. For the first time since he had known Frank he was terrified of him. Chet released his friend's shirt and backed away, breathing heavily. Even Tandem and Jeffery's guns did not scare him as much as Frank did at the moment.

Tandem raised his gun, his hand trembling. He, too, could feel the anger and determination radiating from Frank. "Not...not one more step," he warned.

Paying his actions and words no heed, Frank continued to advance, his eyes locked on Tandem's. Chet closed his eyes as gunfire echoed in the cavern.