Into the Roar (The Roar Series Book 2)

by A. M. White

  Two feet dragged along the dirt floor. A hand gripped one of the bars. It was grimy and dried blood covered the knuckles. A face emerged from the blanket of darkness. My eyes worked their way from swollen and cracked lips to two black eyes. I cringed at the almost unrecognizable sight of him. It was almost as bad as the stench that wafted from his body.

  “We are here to transport you.” Timothy announced loudly.

  Then he whispered. “She remembered.” The doctor blinked slowly and his lips formed a hint of a smile. “Better late than never.” He croaked.

  Timothy scanned his badge on the sensor. “Seeker 1, Briggs.” The voice acknowledged him and the locks on the door clinked open.

  Timothy put his hand on Jameson’s shoulder. “Now it’s your time to shine.”

  Cara and Timothy half dragged, half carried the Doctor from the cell. “We need to move quickly. Nod your head in the direction we should go.” The doctor obliged and nodded forward.

  Timothy and Cara walked with our “prisoner” in front. Jason and I aimed our guns at the doctor.

  Once we were back at the crossroads, the guards engaged us again. “I’m not comfortable with this.” The larger man shrugged. “I don’t want to call it in and look like an idiot, but this isn’t normal protocol.”

  Timothy gestured for me to take his place. I wrapped my arm under Jameson. Timothy took a stride toward the guard. “You are now considered to be in contempt of our mission. I have been authorized by my superior to detain and subdue any obstacles.” Timothy put his hands on his hips. “Are you that uncomfortable?”

  The guards stepped out of the way. “No Sir.”

  “Good. I wouldn’t make the call either. My superior is very cranky today.” He came back and took Jameson from me. The old man groaned from being jostled so much.

  We continued across the intersection. The muffled voices of the guards discussed their predicament in fervor.

  I smiled to myself under the mask. So far, Timothy had been an excellent talker. I hoped that his stories would buy us more time.

  At the end of the corridor, the original guard still held his post. When he heard us, he turned toward our group. He smiled broadly. “I see you found your way?” He called out.

  “No thanks to him.” Timothy motioned to Cara.

  The guard addressed Cara. “Hopefully he learned his lesson?” He popped her in the chest. Her balance faltered for a second.

  “Come on, I don’t need him to drop the old man. We might break him.” Timothy huffed.

  The guard lifted Dr. Jameson’s head with his baton. “You’ve made enough of a mess, haven’t you?”

  Jameson spit blood on the ground. The guard raised his baton and Timothy caught it on the down swing.

  “I have strict orders to deliver him, as is. They have something special in mind for him.” Timothy released the stick.

  “That’s a pity. I would’ve enjoyed a good whack at him. We never should have involved surface dwellers.” He leaned against the wall. “Carry on then. Maybe no one will say he can’t gain a few lumps on the way back.”

  I seethed with fury at the guard’s wish for violence. I wished I could give him some.

  Timothy forced a chuckle. “Move ahead.”

  Jameson’s head slumped to the right. We marched down the right side of the tunnel.

  Once we were out of ear shot, the doctor mumbled. “I have to show you something.”

  Cara and Timothy glared down at him. He flicked his fingers to the left; which meant we were to turn left at the next chance.

  A soft glow emitted from the archway. As soon as I stepped inside the enormous room, I sucked in my breath. Cara and Timothy almost dropped the doctor. Jason grabbed my arm.

  The room expanded to places too far to see. It was the largest room I had ever been in. The soft glow came from hundreds of glass pods. They were in rows, with all sort of tubes that ran through the ceiling connected to them. There was condensation that covered all the jars, but there was something suspended in them.

  Dr. Jameson shifted to look at me. “Look.” He instructed.

  I walked to the nearest one, afraid of what I already suspected. I reached out my hand. It shook desperately. My hand glided across the smooth surface.

  A face looked back at mine; eyes wide in fear. I yelped and jumped away from it.

  Jason wrapped his arms around my waist to keep me still. Timothy let go of Jameson and rushed over. On his way, he took a glance inside to confirm what I saw. “Take Jameson.” Timothy told Jason.

  Tears sprang from my eyes. We were right. They had harvested us. Not just for our things, but for our bodies, too.

  “What is inside?” Jason whimpered.

  “What do you think?” Cara spat.

  “Are those people?” Jason asked.

  “Yes!” Timothy answered.

  “Shh! Try and keep it down. We don’t want anyone to hear us.” Jason reminded everyone.

  The doctor began to explain. “They are slowly draining the bodies. They keep them alive, so that their systems function. The tubes and wires keep them alive, but also absorb the energy; heat and electrical.”

  Timothy tended to me. He rubbed my arms. “You’ve got to hold it together.” He breathed. “You have to do this.”

  “This is the reason we are here. They have been preparing for this since the beginning. I had to show you.” Jameson hung his head. “I knew and I contributed. I helped to do this.”

  I pushed Timothy aside and stormed over to the doctor. I squatted in front of him. I grabbed his jaw tightly. “You knew and you contributed? I should kill you now.” I pulled the knife from my boot.

  “Wait! You need me still. I will take you to the machine and show you where to place the shard. After that, kill me if you want, but I have to make this right.” He pled.

  “You will never be able to make this right. Do you understand?” I dropped my grip and pointed at the jars. “These are people. You helped to make this.” I held my knife to his throat.

  He nodded against the tip of the knife. “I did. All I can do is help to make it stop.”

  Timothy took the knife from my hand. He helped me to stand. “He is right. We need him.”

  “I don’t care what happens to him after.” I snatched the knife from Timothy and shoved it back in my boot.

  Jason shook his head. “Boy, you guys know how to choose friends.”

  .

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Timothy yanked Jameson to his feet. He threw his helmet down. His eyes pierced the darkness. “I am beginning to have very little trust in you, old man. If you try anything or I find out you have lied to us, I will make sure you die a very long and painful death.”

  Jameson lifted his eyes to Timothy. “I believe you. I believed you when I saved Alex on my operating table. I would never have allowed her to die. I needed her, just like you need me now.”

  I swung around and gritted my teeth. I leapt at Jameson. Jason caught me in mid-air.

  Cara reared back and punched the doctor in the side of his head. He reeled and fell to his knees. His hands went up to protect himself.

  Cara clinched her fists over him. “I am becoming an impatient puppet. Soon, we will no longer need you. It must be sad to know that no one cares about you. Alex is needed by all of us. Don’t you ever forget that.”

  Timothy pulled out his knife. “I think a little pain is warranted. Give me your wrist. Let’s see this shard before we get any deeper.”

  Jameson presented his wrist. “I guess it won’t do any good to ask you to be gentle?”

  Jason let go of me. I huffed at the doctor’s obstinacy.

  “No, I think we are beyond that now.” Timothy’s eyes shimmered with anger. “Cara, hold him down; give him something to put in his mouth. No doubt he will scream like a baby.”

  “My pleasure.” She smirked. Cara unzipped her uniform and tore off a piece of her shirt. It exposed her tight stomach muscles. She zipped up her suit and then
tied the strip around the doctor’s head to make a gag.

  Curiosity got the best of Jason and he wandered over to the jar. His back was to us. The doctor’s pain wasn’t as important to him. It wasn’t personal to him in the same way.

  The doctor pointed to where the incision should be made. I helped Cara hold him down. I placed my hands on his shoulders. There was some gratification in the way he shook with fear.

  Timothy stuck the point of the knife just below the thumb. The doctor squirmed beneath my hands. I pushed him into the ground.

  Timothy sliced through the skin. The doctor wailed into his gag. He vibrated as the knife opened a hole.

  I smiled at the sight of his blood. Cara shot me a concerned glance. At that moment, I changed. I knew it from the startled look in Cara’s eyes. I enjoyed Jameson’s pain. If I had to kill him, I would find pleasure in it. The realization should have scared me, but I couldn’t ignore the joy it gave me as he whimpered.

  Timothy pushed on the flesh below the incision. A metallic sliver slid out, with a lot of blood. The doctor’s wrist dripped blood onto the dirt. The smell of iron came from the crimson liquid.

  Once Timothy wriggled it out, he wiped it clean on Jameson’s collar. It blended with the other blood stains.

  Cara unwrapped the gag and tied it around Jameson’s wrist tightly. Blood soaked through it, nonetheless.

  “I deserved that.” He whispered.

  “Yes, you did.” I patted his shoulder.

  “Where now?” Timothy turned over the small piece of metal in the glow of a jar.

  “Through this room, to the right. That is where the main machine is housed. The chip will overload it and spread to the others. They are all connected.” The doctor applied pressure to his wound.

  Timothy picked up his helmet and put it on. He pocketed the chip. “I assume you aren’t going to tell us where to insert the chip before we get there?”

  Dr. Jameson shrugged. “If I did, you would have no need for me.”

  Jason seemed hypnotized by the contents of the jar. I put my hand on his arm. He jumped. “I never imagined.” He rubbed his eyes.

  “No decent person could fathom this.” I physically guided him away from the jar.

  Cara and Timothy hoisted the doctor up. Just then a uniformed mole walked in behind us. Her jumpsuit was white, like the medical staff in my dreams.

  “What are you doing?” She was as surprised as we were.

  “Orders from security to bring the doctor to overlook new improvements that will be made.” Timothy explained.

  “Oh, good. I turned in a grievance about the productivity of a few of our specimens. There may be a problem with tube insertion.” She directed us to a jar down the line. She stood on her toes to show us the outgoing tube. “I don’t feel like the wastes are being properly filtered from some of these. It is draining too slow. Look.” She wiped the glass with a towel from her back pocket. “He is clearly deteriorating faster than the others.”

  The man inside had tubes and wires that coiled around his body. His eyes where closed, unlike the first person I saw. His skin shriveled against his bones and were at the brink of tear.

  I tried to not lurch back from the sight of him. He was certainly in worse shape than the person I saw when we entered.

  Cara and Timothy propped the doctor up to the glass.

  “What should we do about this?” She asked Jameson.

  “Unfortunately, the specimen is lost. Clear the tubes and the jars to rest the system. The tubes need to be tightened and place more lubricant on the valves.” Jameson instructed.

  The woman seemed to notice his wrist for the first time. “What happened to him?” She shook her head in dismay. “I keep telling them to ease up on him. They are going to irreversibly damage him.”

  “Suicide attempt.” Timothy stated.

  “Has anyone looked at his wounds? It looks pretty fresh.” She pointed at his wrist.

  “It just happened.” Timothy confirmed. “Our team was called in to transport him for psychological and medical care, after a quick stop here.” Timothy grew weary of all the talk.

  “Make sure you put him on twenty-four-hour watch in the cells.” She slapped the glass. “We have to have this running perfectly for tomorrow’s realignment of the machines. He needs to be ready for maintenance requests.”

  “Understood.” Timothy responded. He turned away to break off the conversation. He signaled to Cara that it was time to go.

  The nurse put her hand on the jar. “This is going to be messy.” She mumbled, clearly agitated.

  We marched down the corridor. My hands were jittery. Time and time again, Timothy skirted a very serious confrontation. My luck usually didn’t last.

  The jars of people went on and on. I was thankful for the condensation, so that I didn’t have to see their faces.

  There were so many. I couldn’t wrap my brain around how this could be the most efficient form of energy. Apparently, they knew something I didn’t.

  Jason kept time with me. As soon as I was sure no moles could hear us I bumped his elbow. “You doing okay?”

  “This is serious. I had no idea they were capable of doing it on this scale.” He whispered to me carefully.

  “To be honest, I didn’t either. I mean, I knew it would be bad, but Lord.” I blew out a puff of air. There wasn’t much else to say.

  “I just hope we pull this off.” Jason looked at me. “Remembering Finn is all I’ve got right now.”

  I nodded.

  Eventually, the line of jars ended. Machines with hundreds of buttons whirled as they carried out their grotesque functions. I fought the urge to blast them with my gun.

  My anger was mixed with anxiety. The feeling was intense. I wanted nothing less than to bring this whole place down.

  The end was near. An exit was close and with every step we grew closer. The dim red light from the next tunnel loomed ahead. The doctor swayed his head to the right, to signal our next turn.

  As we rounded the corner, a marketplace bustled. Timothy paused. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He poked the doctor in his ribs. Jameson only nodded forward in response.

  The cavern was lively. People bought and sold furniture, food, and wares from above the surface. They called out to each other to make bids. The place seemed unaware of the disgusting acts that were carried out just feet from their carefree attitudes.

  When we walked closer, people’s faces craned to see us. They obviously knew who the doctor was. Many of them gossiped to each other in hushed tones.

  The moles, with their white eyes, parted the way for us. We caused quite a stir among the buyers and sellers. Some shrank away from us. Others called out vulgar remarks to the doctor.

  The going was slow while we picked our way through the crowd. At one point, a chewed apple core hit the doctor.

  I raised my gun to the crowd, in case any further advancement was made. None of the people were children. They must keep them separate. It made it easier to use the gun, if warranted.

  The people closest held up their hands for protection and shoved others aside to move back.

  Timothy took control, once more. “By request of the Superiors clear the way!” His voice was gruff. “If you do not comply, we have orders to detain you.” Timothy repeated the threat as we foraged ahead.

  That did the trick. No one wanted to call Timothy’s bluff. I believed the condition of the doctor persuaded them to not become a prisoner.

  Over the heads of the crowd, I saw the exit. I breathed a sigh of relief. There had to have been a more inconspicuous way to the machines. Hundreds of moles witnessed our direction and the transportation of Doctor Jameson.

  As soon as we ducked into the next tunnel, Timothy picked up the doctor by his throat and slammed him onto the dirt wall. The doctor hit with a grunt. Some loose bits of earth crumbled to the floor.

  “I don’t know what kind of stunt you are trying to pull, but I have had enough.” Timothy sneered into Jame
son’s face. “Take us to the machines now!”

  “My boy, we are here.” The doctor chuckled. He gestured to the next opening.

  My eyes followed his signal. The doorway had a gate that blocked entrance.

  “How do we get inside?” Timothy demanded.

  “You have done a fine job talking your way through this. I was hoping you would offer your skill.” The doctor said darkly.

  Timothy pursed his lips. He grasped the doctor under his arm and pulled him to the gate. Jameson had a hard time with the pace. His feet slipped out from under him sporadically. Timothy’s strength alone kept him upright.

  He put the doctor in a choke-hold at the threshold. I heard him whisper something to Jameson that sounded like a threat.

  This time a soldier greeted us. No guard peons would be put in charge of something as high level as the machines. “Who are you and why are you here?”

  Timothy yanked Jameson toward the bars. “I assume you recognize him? We have been ordered to bring him for a last inspection, before the realignment.”

  “I can’t grant entry without speaking directly to a Superior.” The soldier walked to a control panel on the wall.

  “Wait! The ordering Superior is waiting on my walkie. He knew you would need authorization. I know it can take a while for someone to reach them on those things.” Timothy nodded to the panel.

  “Alright, put them online. I need the code.” The soldier instructed.

  “Here’s the thing, the doctor hasn’t been compliant today, hence the choke-hold. My squad can’t take their guns off him and my hands are a little full. Could you pull the walkie from my belt?” Timothy asked.

  The soldier rolled his eyes and came toward us.

  “Thank you, this is embarrassing.” Timothy confessed.

  “You should be embarrassed. This old man, giving you that kind of trouble?” The soldier reached between the bars. Timothy dropped the doctor, cracked the soldier’s arm, and knocked him unconscious in the blink of an eye.

  He held the soldier’s misshapen arm with his body slumped to the floor. Timothy ripped opened the front of the soldier’s uniform and tore his badge from around his neck.