Chapter 45

Wade knew they had to get the hell of that room. Once Bradford’s attention turned back on them, they were going to die. Ross was alert again, but Wade wasn’t sure of his strength. It took Monty a few minutes to get himself together after his episode. He sensed a movement. Scanning around, he looked up at the observation window. He saw the door when it began to open. He had to make a decision. Use his power to save Bradford Jr., or him and Ross. He chose them. Instead of using his mind to knock the syringe from Bradford III’s hand, he used it to break the observation windows behind Bradford III.

“Fall back, Ross … fall back.”

Both hit the floor as the room filled with smoke. Feet could be heard scrambling in the room. As much as he tried, Wade could not get the ties off their hands. Where is a good power or two when you need them? He thought.

They began coughing as Monty, Lil Joe and Agent Anderson entered the room from the observation entrance.

They sat him and Ross upright, then cut them loose.

“Bradford III and his men went out the other door. We can’t let them get away,” Wade coughed out. “That man is crazy as hell.” He tried to stare through the walls, but the smoke was blurring his vision. “Damn.”

“I’m on it,” Agent Anderson ran out the door.

“Let’s get you out of this room,” Monty stated as he helped Ross.

Lil Joe had Wade by the arms. “Take it easy, Wade. Let’s get you some fresh air.”

When they stepped out of the room, Monty closed the door. “Are you two okay?”

“Shaky, a little dazed,” Ross replied.

“He had an episode the same as you,” Wade stated.

Monty and Ross shared a look.

Ross nodded. “We are both from here.”

Wade exhaled. “There is more information I discovered in Dr. Chambers’ office I need to share with you. For now, we have to find Bradford III. The man is emotionally unstable.”

“I can understand why,” Ross stated. “I have a feeling if we don’t handle what we’ve discovered about ourselves the right way, he is an example of what we could become.”

Wade thought on those words and knew Ross was right. Uncovering their past was going to be a delicate balance. “That was rather deep.”

Ross stared at him for a long moment, as if contemplating how to respond to his words. The corner of his mouth curved upwards a bit. “Well, I am the deep brother.”

Monty raised an eyebrow. “Since when?”

The three brothers smiled. Then Wade exhaled, feeling a little more comfortable on the subject. “Chances are, Dane and Drake are connected to this place, too. Dane is going to follow our lead. Drake is going to have to be guided.”

Wade and Monty glared at Ross.

Ross looked behind him. “Oh, no … no. Look in the mirror, my brother. You are going to have to get all of us through this shit.”

“And I’m going to need your help to do it,” Wade replied.

The door opened and Agent Anderson stood there, winded.

“Did you get Bradford III?” Wade asked.

“No,” Agent Anderson replied. “It’s as if they disappeared through a wall.”

Ross raised an eyebrow. “That is possible. “There are a lot of tunnels leading to different areas on the grounds.”

“Tunnels?” Agent Anderson questioned.

“That’s the way we traveled down here,” Monty added. “Whose body is on the floor?”

“Chambers,” Wade stepped back into the room. “Bradford III killed him with a syringe.”

“The serum?” Monty asked.

“Or some form of it,” Ross replied.

“He’s dead,” Agent Anderson stated as he leaned over Bradford Chambers Jr.’s body.

“We are wasting time here,” Ross stated. “The crazy one is getting away. We have to check each of these tunnels, the grounds, the house; everywhere.”

“My agents should be here any minute,” Agent Anderson stated. “Tell me what you saw.”

“We found a room full of pregnant women and children, somewhere down here. Ross took us through the wall in Dr. Chambers’ office.”

“Another wall?” Anderson asked.

“Yes,” Wade nodded.

“I knew how to access the tunnels,” Ross stated. “That’s what they were called.” He looked at Monty.

“We really need to find Bradford III. He has lost it.”

“We will find them. First I need you to show me where the women and children are,” Agent Anderson insisted.

“This way,” Ross led them from the room through another tunnel that led to the back side of the barracks.

When they walked through the door, there were rooms on both sides of the hallway. It resembled an elementary school, with rooms next to each other. Joe went to open a door, but Agent Anderson stopped him. He shook his head then pulled his weapon. He motioned for the others to stand back.

Ross walked by him and opened the door. “These are the children’s rooms. They are not going to shoot at you.”

The men looked inside the room. There were four sets of bunk beds, each occupied by a child. The next room had the same.

Wade walked down the hallway. “Every room is the same. Every room ascending in age.”

“The women in these rooms,” Ross walked over and opened one of the doors. “They are assigned based on trimester of pregnancy.”

“There has to be over a hundred women and children here,” Agent Anderson stated. “What in the hell are they doing with all of these people?”

“Creating an alternate Society of Intellectual Beings,” Wade explained.

“Hey,” Sheriff McConnell called from the end of the hallway. “We got a problem.”

They ran down the hallway and walked through the door he held open and stopped. Dane and Drake were on the floor, lying in fetal position.

“We got this,” Monty and Ross walked over to their brothers. They both bent down next to them.

“What … are they doing?” Sheriff McConnell asked.

“Don’t ask,” Agent Anderson shook his head. “Just watch.”

Within minutes, Dane and Drake were slowly beginning to move.

“Sit still for a minute,” Monty ordered. “The transition back is a little rocky.”

Dane and Drake were dazed.

“You okay?” Wade asked as he stood over them.

“Yeah,” Dane replied, somewhat dazed.

“This place has an impact on people who have been here before. That means we have a connection here, too?” Drake asked.

“We don’t know that for D …” Agent Anderson began.

“Yes,” Wade cut him off. “There is a strong probability that you, Dane, Ross and Monty were a part of the in vitro fertilization program here. We will all have to deal with that piece later. Right now, I need your help to find Bradford III.”

Wade knew he had to keep all of his brothers engaged in the present. Yes, they would all have to deal with the past, but for now they had to locate Bradford.

“No need to say the third anymore. The other Bradford is dead.”

“The Doc?” Dane asked while slowly standing.

Ross nodded. “The third killed him.”

“If he got away in the tunnels, we will never track him down,” Drake stated as he stood.

“When we were going through the tunnels, looking for you, we saw more openings,” Dane replied.

“Correction,” Sheriff interrupted. “They saw more openings. I didn’t see anything.”

“We didn’t actually see them,” Dane stated. “I knew they were there. One of them led us here.”

“We walked into the room, and everything went dark. That’s the last thing I remember,” Drake stated.

“Actually, we heard voices that led us to this side of the room, but when we reached this area, both of them laid down as if it was the most natural thing in the world.”

“It was,” Ross stated. “The darkness brings sleep time.”

“Not exactly,” Wade stated. “I detected a mist of sleep additive being sprayed in the dorm areas. It induces sleep to a receptive mind.”

“So, why are they awake?” Drake asked.

Wade and the other men turned to see the women and children from the rooms all lined up in the hallway.

“We awakened as your ordered,” a woman stated.

“They awakened at your order,” Agent Anderson stated. “Now … what in the hell are we supposed to do with all of them?”