SETH (Book Four)

THIRTY-SIX

As the lift door opened, my eyes tried to adjust to the darkness of the secret lab. The only light source we had was the light of the lift.

"Lights on," I command.

I switched on my head's light strap as I stepped forward. My boots stepped on broken glass, followed by crunching sounds behind me, led by Gunnar and Kendall. I check my surroundings, always being cautious, aiming my gun at wide-open spaces of the lab. This place seems more extensive than on video.

"Fuck, this place is a total wreck," Gunnar proclaims. "It's like a hurricane hit here."

"Kendall, got on a reading?" I ask her.

Her infrared gadget tells us it is beeping if anybody is done here. "I see four live bodies, but they are strapped on the other side of that door straight ahead."

"There are more?" Gunnar says softly.

We approached forward towards a keycard door. I stepped back, let Gunnar implant a C4 paste on the handle, and pressed the button. As we took a step back a few feet while the bomb beeps, it gave out a soundless explosion and opened the door.

I open the door to reveal a hallway, and the light automatically turns on. I didn't lower my gun as we proceeded inside the other room.

"Mask Off."

This room seems more sci-fi; white everywhere, chemical sets, machines, and four bodies covered in white body bags are strap-on beds waiting to be cut open.

I hear loud gasps behind me, and right then, Kendall starts to act like a child and storms her way as if she had arrived in Disneyland, not a magical world but a horrifying world. I don't understand her taste, but Gunnar is okay with it.

That is love right there.

I scan around the room, looking at things and observing specific equipment and their use. Just looking at them makes me sick and angry. All I wanted to do was destroy everything.

"Hey, Cap," Kendall calls over. "Look at this."

I went over to Kendall's computer while Gunnar took pictures. I leaned forward and looked at the screen, which was a list. One list is under the ALIVE column, while the other says DEAD.

"These are the names of the children born in the Order," I state as I look at some of the names of the parents listed. I recognized some whom I know but am only partially familiar with.

Whenever Eva calls for me, any Order members escort me. I remember everything: the space, the smell, and the depression. My room was at the far end, away from the other kids, because The walls were all white, with no windows, bright light that continued like a train track, and if you stared at it long enough, the longer you would see specks in your eyes. There are hundreds of metal doors with a two-by-four peephole and the names of each kid. I only remember a few words that always catch my eye.

It was a random curiosity as I asked what they looked like, the color of their hair and eyes, and if they were older or younger than me. I wonder if they are as depressed and in sorrow as I am. The same feeling of being trapped in an isolated place, with no outside contact, kept as prisoners, but the crime we did was...nothing.

We are victims because they want us. The Order cares nothing but themselves.

"What in the hell are the Order doing?" Kendall whispers.

"I wasn't sure, but we need to see the names kept scrolling and add the file to the USB drive."

"Okay," I watch her fingers tap on the keyboards in a flash.

"Gunnar," I turn over my head. "Done with the pictures?"

"Yeah, got everything but Cap...do you smell something funky?" Gunnar sniffs the air like a dog. "I noticed it since we got here."