As he neared the end of the hall, he heard a gunshot and leapt into a baseball slide to the next set of double doors. He sprung to his feet and as he opened the doors, turned back and fired two shots of his own at his pursuers. The doors swung closed as he ducked into another door accessing stairs. He climbed to the next level and went into the corridor.
Chapter Sixteen
Thursday, August 13, 1983
9:45 AM, Camp Hero
When he got in the hall, he tucked his gun back into the back of his pants and walked casually. He opened the first door he came to and looked in. It was a boy’s dorm room with a half-dozen bunk beds, nearly all filled with young teenaged boys. The walls were stark white and bare, not even a mirror hung. There was no furniture besides the bunks. If they had any possessions, they didn’t keep them here. Half of the kids were sound asleep. Glenn walked through.
“Michael, Michael, are you in here?”
No one said a word, but a few kids were watching him.
“Anybody see a new kid–two new kids the past few days?”
A small boy on the last top bunk spoke up. “They don’t bring new kids in here.”
“Where do they take them?”
“Probably in isolation or in the tanks on the next level.”
“Up or down?”
“Up.”
“Or the hole!” another boy chimed in.
“The hole? Where’s that?”
“No one knows. It’s in the woods somewhere. No one can find it. Everyone’s blindfolded when they go there.”
Glenn thanked them and left out the door to the hallway at the other end of the room. He ran to the stairs and up to the next level. He saw through the door’s narrow window two guards run by. He waited and listened, then slowly opened it. He stopped in the hallway and stared through a large four-by-eight window to a room with two oversized white coffin-like boxes, with angled tops to make room for hatches on the front. The hatch doors locked like commercial ice-machine doors. He followed the window to the edge of the window and read the sign Deprivation Chambers.
Glenn opened the hatch of the first tank. Inside was a darkened tomb with a couple feet of water. He closed it and opened the next. He heard footsteps running in the hall. He looked back at the glass window and climbed in the chamber. He closed the door with a crack to see out. He prayed they wouldn’t notice anything. The tank was already making his heart race and giving him chills. A full-blown panic attack was just moments away. He knew it was a mistake climbing in but he didn’t see any other choice. He saw flashes of himself in similar chambers and a blanket of horrifying darkness. The sounds in the hallway ceased. He climbed out as fast as he could, soaked from the waist down.
His shoes swished as he walked. He stopped, looked at his boots and considered taking them off. A guard appeared down the hall and yelled to him. Glenn ran and pushed through a door at the end of the hallway into another stairwell. He climbed as fast as he could with the extra water-weight from the tank. As he exited he realized he was in the building that he watched Louis and the others walk out of the other day. If he got past the radar tower ahead of him, he could make it to the woods and hide until he could try again at nightfall.
He leapt off the steps and from above a guard crashed down on him, driving him into the gravel walkway. Another five guys descended on him within an instant. After most of them got in a cheap shot one over-achiever used his taser on him.
He came to while being dragged down a hallway and dumped in an empty, narrow, four-by-eight room and left in total darkness as they slammed the door closed. He crawled around the room on his hands and knees. There was nothing but cinderblock walls and a concrete floor. He backed up against the far wall from the door and sat against it. His shoulder hurt, his back hurt, his knees hurt, his face hurt and his feet felt raw. He was done. They had him.
Chapter Seventeen
Friday, August 14, 1983
7:50 AM, Camp Hero
They bound Glenn at the wrists by a rope, and hung him from the ceiling, his toes just touching the floor. He hung lifeless in the dark when the door opened filling the room with light, blinding him.
“There he is, the elusive Glenn Rogers.”
It was Louis Gray. He recognized his voice from the others day. His vision finally came back, and he saw him walking near. Two executive-security types stood behind him.
“You know how they track sheep and cattle that wander off from the range, don’t ya, Glenn?”
“Do you have any idea what the fuck you’re talking about?”
Louis turned to the guys behind him.
“Where’s my shit? Jesus Christ, I’m trying to make a fucking point here. Get it,” he said as he signaled toward the door.
Louis walked to Glenn and ripped open his shirt, exposing his chest. He tried briefly in vain to rip the whole thing off and looked foiled by Glenn's arms, keeping the shirt together.
“Nice tattoo,” he said, seeing the tiger on his chest. “I would have expected Mom or maybe Lindsey,” he said with a proud smirk.
Glenn sucked what moisture he could from inside his mouth and spit at him. Louis backhanded Glenn across the face with his left hand, paused a second and punched him again with his right.
Glenn now had blood in his mouth to spit.
“Are you left-handed?” Glenn asked.
Louis’ security returned with a portable construction heater and a 13-inch branding iron. One guy plugged it in as the other wheeled it closer. They fired it up to full blast and one held the iron in the flames. The room heated quick as Glenn watched the iron turn red.
“So what’s on your little toy? What design? Let me guess. A dick?”
“Oh, I’ll let you get a good look at it. It’s the Goddess Shiva. I know, it’s beyond your education level. You’re just a little pawn in all this, but you should be proud you’ve helped us in the past and we’re doing some amazing things. Soon we’ll able to go back and undo the messes you’ve created. We’ll just go back and pluck you out of the picture, like a weed.”
He lifted the iron from the heat and stared at its glowing red head.
“I warned Robert about leaving you alive after taking care of Lindsey.”
“You’re a piece of shit,” Glenn said to him as the rage boiled up in him. He felt it rise in his body and heard the slight buzzing-whistle in his ears. He didn’t know how they did it. When he thought about it, he always imagined her as the young girl she was when they first got her into Project Monarch. Of the ritual abuse they subject their new recruits to, especially the Betas like her. He didn’t know if in the end they tortured her or had mercy and made it quick. But he knew they weren’t merciful men. He thought of Robin broken from the loss of her son, and of Michael and the future of torture he was headed for.
“It’s funny you’re so attached to her. She controlled you, ya know. She did all kinds of things to you. Way worse than anything I ever did to you. So far.”
Glenn struggled to focus his mind.
Louis held out his hand and the guy holding the brand in the flames brought it to him. He took it by the handle and held the Red Brass iron out inches in front of Glenn’s face. Glenn stared at the Shiva, glowing red. Louis lowered it and planted it into his chest. His skin bubbled and blistered as he let a scream. Then he swung his legs into Louis’ groin. The impact caused Louis to drop the iron. The handle bounced off Glenn’s leg and the hot Shiva caught Louis’ thigh. The brass burned through to his skin and ignited the polyester, taking hair and skin with it.
His security guys came running with their guns drawn.
“Mother fucker. Fuck, get me some ice you assholes.”
The two of them ran for the door and Louis limped after them mumbling profanities.
Glenn stared down at the branding iron and stretched to touch it with the toe of his shoe. He pulled it closer and positioned it between his feet. He squeezed it between his shoes and lifted his legs in the air. He crouched it in close and then stretch
ed his legs up until the iron met the yellow nylon rope. Slowly it melted and burned through. Then Glenn dropped to the floor on his back. He picked up the iron and held it between his still bound hands and ran over beside the door. A guard returned and ran in with his gun drawn. Glenn slammed the guy’s forearms causing him to drop the gun and then swung with all his might, whacking him across the side of the head.
He burned the rope off his wrists, picked up the gun, then went into the hallway. He saw a guard at the end of the hall spot him so he slammed open the access door to the stairs. He looked down briefly and then ran up the steps.
Chapter Eighteen
Friday, August 14, 1983
5:30 PM, Camp Hero
Damon sat back into the chair. He wasn’t sure what would happen. They were pushing him to generate a permanent portal. They didn’t understand that doors open both ways, and they didn’t know what was on the other side. He didn’t see Glenn last night and had all the reason he needed to give them what they wanted.
Damon knew there were things that wanted through the portal besides those giving the orders downstairs. If Glenn was right, then it was time to let them see what’s waiting for them.
He didn’t really know how it worked. As far as remote-viewing went, he always could do it as long as he could remember. He didn’t understand people that couldn’t do it, which was pretty much everyone. He could find the time and places they wanted to he’d just tune them in. But how they create the bridge from his thoughts? He didn’t think Terry really understood it either. Terry just put the pieces together to make them work.
Terry strapped him in like usual.
“Better make them tight today, Terry.”
Terry shook his head. “You should stop this, Damon. Someone is going to get hurt.”
“It’s not going to stop until someone gets hurt.”
“It doesn’t have to be you.”
“Maybe it won’t.”
“Just refuse.”
“No, I’m going to give them what they want.”
Terry fixed the electrode-band on Damon’s head and went through the door to the other side of the glass.
Terry gave him the sign through the glass window. Damon blinked and nodded his head as far as the straps allowed. Terry turned up the power.
They had Damon tune in to October 28, 1943 and the Philadelphia Navy Yard. He had the bridge created, and he focused on reinforcing the portal, but as he did the portal itself stretched and as it expanded, it exposed other gateways and beings threatening passage. He spotted a beast he had seen before. A ferocious, haired, humanoid-type of creature. He had shut down the portal to keep it out before. He feared what it may do if it got through, but he resolved to keep the portal open, like they wanted.
The vibration was increasing. It was emanating from the inside out. Not from the ground into the room but inside the room out. Terry shook as he reached for the dial. Damon froze as the beast rushed toward him. The indescribable sound grew deafening. A crack formed in the glass, separating Damon and Terry. Terry fought the forces that made him feel a thousand pounds and turned down the dial. The vibration slowed, the shaking eased.
Damon could see the portal collapsing. The beast was fading away into the distance becoming smaller and almost transparent. Then the call came from downstairs, and Louis Gray himself was on the phone.
“Turn that fucking power full-fucking blast! I don’t care if that little hippy-bastard’s head explodes. Don’t cut the power unless I give the order. You hear me?”
“Yes, sir. I don’t know what came over me. It’s just the safety-glass cracked and electricity was bouncing…”
“I don’t give a fuck. If you can’t do the job…”
“No sir. I mean yes, sir. I’m turning it up now.”
Terry turned the dial. The portal expanded and grew clearer. The beast moved forward, getting closer, clearer, louder, bigger. Terry shook too much to get to the dial. Electricity sparked and flew around the room as though they were inside of Tesla Ball. Damon trembled in fear as it rushed forward. Terry struggled to raise his hands over his ears to dampen the sound. The glass between the rooms shattered.
Chapter Nineteen
Friday, August 14, 1983
5:45 PM, Camp Hero
Glenn burst out of the shed door and looked around to get his bearings. The sky darkened above him as clouds descended from all corners toward Montauk. A large swirling column appeared overhead. Lightening flashed within the cylinder of cloud, with branches of electricity sometimes poking through. A massive bolt shot from the spinning clouds into the radar antenna. The arc remained and the whole antenna glowed bright. An amorphous transparent mass of energy formed in front of the radar station, buzzing and humming as it shook, resembling nothing but heat.
A loud crack rang out and in place of the amorphous energy a giant beast of a creature appeared with a head-splitting roar. Enveloped in a mass of energy or some kind of heat, it warped the surrounding view, making it hard to focus on. It was always moving and blurring. Somehow on another speed or frequency. The way we look to be in slow-motion to a housefly, except it looked to be in fast-forward.
The beast ran through the trees, snapping branches and howling along with the thunder and lightening. It jumped atop one of the small storage type buildings and smashed it to rubble. A handful of lightly armed soldiers ran out of the radar tower and tried to corner it. They shot at it to no effect. Either they were all bad shots, or it was moving too fast, or bullets just didn’t have an impact. From Glenn’s perspective, it looked like they were going right through it, like it wasn’t really there.
The cloud cover dissipated as it swirled overhead in a spiral forming something resembling a pinwheel. It was like a tunnel into the infinity forming, sucking in everything from the sky. Clouds drifted to the center and disappeared.The cloud cover dissipated as it swirled overhead in a spiral forming something resembling a pinwheel. It was like a tunnel into the infinity forming, sucking in everything from the sky. Clouds drifted to the center and disappeared.
The beast focused on a soldier and made a beeline for him. The guy fired at least a dozen rounds into him while he approached. One or two at point-blank but the beast never slowed, and it swatted the guy like a bug, sending him twenty yards or more to land just feet from Glenn.
Glenn ran to him and rolled him over onto his back. He was still conscious.
“Are you okay?”
The soldier raised his hand and moaned. Glen pulled on his shirt and lifted him up slightly with his left hand and smacked him back down with the pistol in his right to knock him out. He took his gun and left him, headed for the radar tower.
A siren wailed. Through the noise he heard the rotors of the helicopter churning and ducked behind a tree with the helicopter in sight. Louis’ guard came out of the door of the tower, followed by Louis and one other guard behind him. The winds were ripping and the distance was long but Glenn took aim and fired. He missed and Louis ducked under the arm of his guard and hurried in the craft as Glenn unloaded four more shots until he was out of ammo, hitting the helicopter with one and a guard in the shoulder with another. He tossed the gun and pulled the second from the back of his pants.
The helicopter took off, out of range. The beast roared behind him and went by in a blur as Glenn fired a shot right through it. It continued into the woods, leaving branches and trees in its wake. More guards, soldiers, and a few guys in lab coats appeared out of nowhere. Most of them followed the path of the beast while others ran to the radar tower building, where Damon was. If this was his distraction, it was a damn good one.
Glenn ran to the soldier he knocked out and took his hat from his head and put it on himself. He was taking the soldier's shirt off when he came-to. Glenn punched him in the face and knocked him back out. Then he put on his shirt.
He ran to the shed and looked back to see the beast headed for the radar tower. It flung soldiers from its path as they fired shots through it to no avail. A
s it got to the front of the building, a massive bolt of lightening hit the radar antenna and the beast let out a blood-curdling howl, thunder crashed like a bomb blast and all power at the camp went out. He ducked into the shed and down the ladder.
The landing below was dimly lit with emergency-lighting. He ran to the stairs, went down one level, and entered the dark and deserted hallway. The siren echoed and bounced off the walls. He found the deprivation tank window and checked the next door across the hall. It was pitch black darkness in the room. He walked forward and bumped into a hospital bed. Someone was in it struggling to move. He had a mask over his face, wrists bound to the bed with straps. He wore only a hospital gown. His ankles spread and bound. Glenn took off the mask. It was too dark to tell. It could be him.
“Michael?” Glenn yelled.
Michael turned his head, his eyes barley open, his mind barely conscious. Glenn untied him and helped him to his feet. He was lifeless near dead-weight. Glenn put his arm around him and helped him walk, dragging him every three out of four steps. He didn’t want to risk going the whole way underground. He was afraid of being spotted where they spotted him on his way there. They went back above. Glenn thought about taking the woods back but there were two helicopters circling the base with floodlights, men on foot, and in jeeps searching for the beast, or them.
Montauk Mayhem Page 5