“Are you ready to talk?” Wade glanced at Monty.
Monty’s eyes were closed. They slowly opened. “The memories are as strong as if it all happened yesterday.”
“That was an interesting reaction to Dr. Chambers,” Wade stated.
“I had that reaction before.”
“A door opened for you,” Wade nodded. “I could see some of your memories flowing to the surface. We are stronger when we are all together. We will wait to discuss the breakthrough when we are all together.”
At the B&B, Rachel, Dane and Drake were going through the archives of stories Winston had brought over. They had spread the articles on a table in the sitting area by the fireplace. Each took a pile of records to read through.
“These are copies from different libraries in the area,” Winston explained. “Some of them aren’t as clear as others.”
“You’d think all of this would be on computers,” Dane stated.
Winston smiled. “People from here aren’t too keen on computers or the internet and such. They use them, but they trust a paper trail more than electronics.”
“There is something missing,” Rachel stated curiously. “In searching through vital statistics, I see where Bradford Sr. married Helena. They gave birth to a son, Bradford Jr. But there is no record of Bradford III being born. We know he exists, but there is no birth certificate.”
“Check their school records,” Dane suggested.
“These Chambers are weird,” Drake declared. “They homeschooled both Bradford Jr. and Bradford III.”
“Both of them claim to be doctors,” Rachel stated. “They had to get their doctorate from an accredited university. You can home school K through twelve, but you cannot home school through higher education. They had to go to college somewhere.” She stood from her seat near the fireplace, setting the folder she was sorting through to the side. Walking over to the table, she searched the documents. “Did you guys see any school records?”
“I thought there was something about Harvard in regard to Bradford Jr.,” Winston stated as he moved over to stand next to her.
“Where did you get the homeschool information, Drake?”
When she did not hear a response, she turned. “Drake …” her voice trailed off when she saw him. It was as if all the color had drained from his face. She looked over at Dane; he did not look much better. “Guys,” Rachel called out as she slowly walked towards them.
Winston looked up. “What’s happening?”
“Looks like they are in a trance.” Rachel said as she walked slowly towards Drake.
“A trance?” Winston questioned.
“Yes,” Rachel replied as she looked closer at Drake. His eyes were open and he was still breathing, but she could tell his mind was somewhere else. She reached out to touch his hand. “Drake, what’s happening? Is something wrong?”
Winston had walked over to Dane. “He’s doing the same thing over here.”
Rachel rushed over to check on Dane. She touched his face. There was no fever, no coldness; they both felt normal to her touch. She stepped back to look at them. “Their brothers are in trouble.”
“How do they know?” Winston stepped back next to her.
“I know.” She picked up the glass of iced tea she was drinking. “One of them is going to tell me what in the hell is going on.” She threw the tea in Drake’s face. Nothing happened. “Oh shit.” She took Winton’s lemonade and did the same with Dane.
Dane stood. “They are pulling up out front,” he said, then started to walk towards the exit.
“Hold on,” Rachel grabbed the end of her blouse to wipe his face. She did the same to Drake as she walked towards the exit. Then she followed them out the door. By the time the time they stepped outside, both of them seemed to be back with them.
Wade glanced at Monty. His brother was remembering things, he could feel it. What is his connection to this place? Wade wondered as he looked out over the surroundings. On the surface it was beautiful, manicured lawn, but underneath, there was something more. The longer he stared, his eyes penetrated the surface. Below, he saw children of all ages. The visual almost made him order Lil Joe to stop the car. But caution stopped him. There were woman and children under that facility. Wade could see them, just as he had in his dream. The fence was dividing him from the children. Just as the thought filled his mind, they drove back over the bridge that was in need of repair. Clem, Bart and the people of Bristol came to his mind. He glanced at Monty, who seem to be coming back to his full shade of brown. His brothers also needed repair. They all are connected to this place. For any of them to have peace, he had to uncover that connection.
As Lil Joe pulled the car around the corner, he saw his brothers, Rachel, and Winston. He figured Ross would be pulling up soon. They had opened Pandora’s box, and it was going to take all of them to air it out.
Lil Joe stopped the car in front of the building. Rachel opened the door to the back.
Wade stepped out. “Let’s go inside. Eyes are upon us.”
Dane and Drake waited as the others walked inside the building.
“Upstairs,” Wade stated.
“I’ll get some drinks from SuzieMae,” Lil Joe said. “Winston, will you give me a hand?”
“Thank you, Joe,” Wade replied. The man understood they needed a moment of privacy.
As they walked up the stairs, Ross, Dane and Drake entered the building and followed them to Monty’s room.
Entering the room, Monty sat on the bench at the foot of the bed. They all gathered around him. Rachel took the chair by the window, as Wade sat on the sofa, facing the bench. Ross, Dane and Drake remained standing.
“You okay?” Dane asked.
Monty nodded as he wiped a hand down his face. “I was born there. I was … am one of their creations.”
Wade sat forward, concerned. “How you came to us is not important. The fact that you are with us is.”
Monty looked at Wade and nodded. “My memory to age five is clear. Afterwards it is vague.”
“Tell us what you can,” Ross encouraged.
“Take your time,” Wade added. “Details are important.”
Monty leaned forward and began. “I spoke those words as a child in that office. Dr. Chambers was attempting to control my mind at the time. He was insisting the sky was red. The more I resisted the notion, the angrier he became. It seemed as if it was my will against his.”
“Do you remember how or why you were in his office?” Wade asked.
“A girl had slipped into the water on the obstacle course. I went back to save her. We started the course over and completed the task. One of the assistants pulled me aside and took me there. I don’t know the reason, only that Dr. Chambers was not pleased.” He looked up. “After the outburst, I was taken to a room. My clothes were changed from the white shirt and pants to a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. I was given a shot. The next thing I remember is waking up in a facility with a social worker.”
“Okay,” Wade sat forward. “Monty, let’s go back. What obstacle course?”
“It was part of our assessment. Once the written portion was completed, we were taken outside. Our instructions were to follow the trail. Alone the trail, there were large pipes on the ground we had to crawl through. There were tires, and we had to run though each one, lifting our legs high to touch the inside of each. Next was a wall with a rope hanging from it. We had to use the rope to climb over the wall. Then we came to a stream, with a waterfall. We had to use the rocks to cross over to the other side. I had crossed over when I heard a splash in the water. One of the girls had fallen. That’s when I went back to get her. I jumped in the water and pulled her out. We went back to the edge of the water where we began and ran through again. Both of us make it the second time.”
“It sounds like a training camp,” Rachel exclaimed.
“It was a training camp,” Monty replied.
“How old were you?” Wade asked.
“Five.”
Wade sat back.
“What in the hell are they doing over there?” Dane asked.
“The estate is large enough to have a training facility as Monty described and more,” Ross stated. “While you two were inside with Lil Joe, I drove around the estate. There are two main buildings on the grounds. The homestead and the laboratory.”
“I did not see a house on the grounds.” Wade glanced at Ross.
“You would not. It’s on the other side of the estate.” Ross replied. “But I believe there is more to the facility than just that building.”
“I do too,” Wade nodded. “I believe there is an underground facility. And I’ll tell you something else: we are going to go back there tonight to see if I’m right.”
“Security is tight in that place,” Ross shook his head. “It may be difficult to get in, but not impossible.”
“I will go with you,” Monty stood.
“No,” Wade stood. “Memories from that building put you in a trance. You were out of it for a good five minutes.”
“The same thing happened to them,” Rachel added. “About fifteen minutes before you returned, Dane and Drake went into a trance.”
“What? We weren’t in a trance,” Drake declared. “We were listening to Wade.”
“I was too,” Ross explained. “I knew the minute you said, ‘My brother will not be harmed.’”
“That’s what I heard,” Dane stated as Drake nodded.
“That was during the time I took over Monty’s mind,” Wade declared.
“You did what?” Rachel asked in a curious voice.
“I had to take over his mind to break the trance he was in. It was as if he went back in time while we were in that room.”
“I did. I want back to the age of five,” Monty explained.
There was a knock at the door. Ross opened it.
“We brought drinks,” Lil Joe stated, standing with Winston, both with trays in their hands.
“Come on in,” Wade stated.
Ross stepped aside to allow the men to come into the room. Each of them took a glass. “Monty,” Lil Joe held the tray of drinks out to him. “This is a special blend I had SuzieMae make for you.”
“Thank you, Joe,” Monty replied as he took the glass. “I’m okay.”
Lil Joe nodded. “Good to hear.” He looked around the room. “One of you want to tell me what in the hell happened back there?”