Thanks for all of the reviews. Sorry for the delay. Brennan-Freak and Meg – you keep me writing – you really do.
Shalimar and Emma remained silent as they followed their captors. Emma wanted to try and link to the boys to see if they were alright but feared if she did, Draper would get to her again. They were going to need her powers to get out of this in the end and she could not risk herself again.
Shalimar continued to assess Jesse and Brennan's conditions. Brennan hadn't moved since he passed out and flopped liked a rag doll on the back of the largest beast. Jesse had stirred a couple of times and Shalimar wondered if he was pretending to be unconscious. She was able to hear his breathing and it wasn't steady and rhythmic as it would be if he were unconscious. Another thought came to her mind, however, and that was a fear that his breathing wasn't rhythmic due to a serious head injury. As she followed, she was able to see a substantial amount of blood now caked to the side of his head and face. She looked over at Emma who was also shifting her gaze between the two.
Shalimar caught Emma's attention and they both shared a worried look. One beast pushed Shalimar from behind and Shal lurched forward. Solely by instinct she flew around and growled. The beast only laughed. "You, I shall have a fun time with later," the beast told Shalimar. Shalimar was disgusted but held her tongue. They couldn't escape with neither Brennan nor Jesse able to walk on his own and she didn't dare anger their captors. She knew it would be taken out on Jesse or Brennan and right now, they needed to find Adam. Hopefully, that was where they were going.
XXXXX
The men from Genomex continued to search the area for a way to get into the compound that their maps told them was directly under their feet. "Glad that storm finally stopped," the radio controller said to his team leader. "Now maybe I'll be able to pick something up. Unless this compound is air-tight – and I don't believe that it is, I should be able to pick up some sort of change in temperature reading at an entrance."
"Keep looking," the team leader responded, "we have to find Mr. Eckhart soon or we will be in serious trouble for our delay." Suddenly, the team leader heard a roar of some sort in the woods. He and his team turned in the direction of the sound. "What the hell was that?"
XXXXX
Adam continued to beg Draper. "Bill, why are you doing all of this?" Draper didn't respond, he merely continued preparing a hypodermic needle and other equipment. Adam noted his actions and tried to see what he was preparing. He was fearful that if Draper injected Brennan with whatever it was, that would be the end. Brennan was bound to be incredibly weak at this point after Adam saw what happened. The loss of power to the facility was likely an overload of some sort and it was possible that Brennan caused it. After Draper filled Adam in about the shield, the wheels of his brain began to turn and Adam feared that the electromagnetic force of the shield somehow caused Brennan to mutate again – his weakened physical state likely allowed it to happen. Adam only hoped he wasn't too late to save him if they were ever able to get out of this. He decided to press Draper for more answers, if nothing else, maybe to distract him and cause him to take more time to concoct his plan.
"Is it out of some strange need to prove yourself, Bill? If it is, you don't need to do that. We all knew you were smarter than Mason – hell, Bill, you were smarter than all of us."
Draper stopped and turned towards Adam. Adam was pleased with his progress. "Do not patronize me, Adam. I know the rest of you laughed at me. I know you all thought I was too hard on the poor little bastards that we experimented on. Some of you felt that I was even perverted in a way! Yes, I listened to all of you, I know you helped Mulwray escape – nearly kill me. I know everything, Adam and that is why I decided that he will die in front of your very eyes."
"Draper!" Adam shouted.
"It is no use, Adam," Draper smiled as he returned to his work. "I hate that freak of nature and as soon as he has served his purpose of restoring my shields, I will keep him tied down and turn a couple of my captive beasts on him. They will eat him alive. Won't that be a glorious sight? And I will get to watch you watch them."
Adam was speechless. Draper was serious.
A knock on the door startled Adam from his thoughts. "Oh good!" Draper exclaimed as he made his way to the door. As he opened it, the largest beast strode inside. Adam revolted at the smell and then more so at the sight of what he was carrying. "Brennan," Adam whispered. Adam turned his attention to the second beast that was carrying Jesse. "Jesse? What happened?" he asked simultaneously as he saw Shalimar and Emma come in. Three more beasts followed them. The one carrying Jesse threw him to the floor in the corner of the room and the other three beast pushed Shalimar and Emma into the same corner. Adam came up with a start as if to try and defend them but thought better of it as he saw the look of anger in Shalimar's eyes. Jesse moaned as he hit the floor and Emma leaned down to try and help him.
Adam turned his attention to Brennan, who seemed to be the center of Draper's. The beast holding him flopped his lifeless form into the chair that Draper had prepared and ruthlessly began strapping him down. He cinched the binds far too tight, Adam noted, but the beast didn't care and neither did Draper. Adam assessed the physical appearance of his oldest. His hopes of Brennan's possible recovery if they were ever to get out of this were dashed by the seriousness of his apparent injuries. Adam knew of the gunshot wound that he and Jacob had done their best to stabilize, his broken leg that was once again without a splint and looked strangely shaped and turned. He knew of the fever and probable pneumonia as well as the likely rib fractures and gaping tears in his flesh from the numerous attacks he sustained. But now there was something else. He was burned – likely electrical burns from the condition of his tattered clothes. The burns looked serious – at least second degree and Adam feared that the burns were internal as well. He closed his eyes as tears flowed from them. He opened them again to see Draper readying his array of needles. "NO!" Adam screamed. "Leave him alone! Haven't you done enough to him?" Adam was frantic. He ran towards Draper only to be grabbed and restrained by a beast.
Draper plunged the first injection into Brennan. He stirred only slightly. He grabbed the next one and plunged it in as well.
"Leave him alone!" Shalimar cried out. The sound of Shalimar's voice awakened Jesse. He came up with a start hearing her scream only to instantly regret the motion. His head was spinning. Shalimar bent down with Emma to help steady him and try to get him to his feet. Jesse was bewildered. "Where are we?" he asked as he looked around. He heard Brennan scream, however, and what happened suddenly didn't seem as important as what was happening. Jesse assessed the situation within seconds, began to run at Draper and massed the instant he hit him. Shalimar dove at one of the beasts and brought him down. They were entangled on the floor in hand-to-hand combat. Emma thought it safe to use her powers, as Draper was distracted with Jesse. She concentrated on a beast and he fell to the floor gasping for air. She blasted another with a psionic blast. The largest beast, however, had already removed Jesse from Draper and thrown him across the room like a doll. Luckily, Jesse massed before he hit the wall. He was startled by the assault and tried to shake the cobwebs from his brain before the beast was on him again. Adam was at Brennan's side trying to loosen his binds.
"Adam!" Brennan screamed. His agony was obvious. He begged Adam to help him. "It hurts! Adam, what did they do? It really hurts!" Adam was frantic. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't get the binds loose. They were too tight. He noticed that Brennan's hands were already blue and swollen and his breathing hitched due to the band across his chest. "I'm sorry, Brennan, I'm trying. I can't get them loose! Jesse!" Adam hoped the molecular could phase the binds and Adam would be able to pick Brennan up. He was too late; Draper was right behind him with the beast that had helped him off the floor. The beast picked Adam up and tossed him at Emma just as Emma blasted the beast. He collapsed to the floor.
Draper stood by Brennan smiling. Even amongst all the chaos around him, his focus was keen. He smiled at the obvious distress of his captive. Brennan opened his eyes and cried out in pain as he saw Draper leer at him. He struggled against his binds only to cry out in agony at the pain it caused. Draper readied another hypodermic as he threw a switch on his machine. Draper began to concentrate. He held Brennan's face in his hands with the hypodermic dangerously close to Brennan's eyes. He stared into his eyes intent on controlling every aspect of his being. Brennan cried out at the mental assault. He gagged, as Draper's cold, invading, tendrils wrapped themselves around his neurons. There was nothing Brennan could do but endure. He was dead, and he knew it. This perverted bastard had finally won.
That's it – sorry to end here but only a few chapters to go. Do not despair, however, I pledge to finish my other two stories with many chapters as soon as I finish this one. "Cold Hearted Orb" and "Forgive and Forget is to Relive and Regret" will be next.