Immortal Strangers: The Experiments

Chapter Four: The Hole

The rain was continuing to pour as Brand finally made it to town. The walk had been long but he was happy to see the Family Video store was only a block away then. So he pushed himself to continue forward until his right hand managed to grip the metal door as he attempted to push it open. A man inside the building was looking directly at him and motioning with his hands in a shoving pattern. Brand froze in place and stared at the man with a confused look on his face. The man approached and pushed the door from his side, "it's a pull door." The name tag he wore said 'Steve' and Brand recognized the design from the one he had found earlier.

"Sorry. The rain's got me scattered." Steve waved at him and stepped to the side, allowing Brand entry.

"No problem, welcome to Family Video." His voice was relatively low, almost emotionless, which caused Brand to grow more curious. It didn't seem like the proper way to treat a customer but maybe he was reading too much into it. Scoping out the storefront, Brand notices a slender blonde perusing the shelves. Taking in a deep breath, he lowers his hood as Steve walks past him. "Lemme know if you need help finding anything." Brand watches the guy walk back around the desk and lean with his head in his right hand and his elbow pressed against the counter. There was some sort of magazine on the counter in front of Steve but Brand couldn't tell what it was. Getting a little closer, he stares down at the page and sees a woman in a bathing suit. She looked like a model. Steve lifts his head and nervously flips the cover closed. "What can I, uh, do for ya?" He nervously asks.

"Sorry, I just had a couple of questions. I found this." Removing the nametag from his pocket, he sets it on the counter. Brand's eyes trail up to Steve's as he watches the man's expression change entirely. What seemed like a normal day in the middle of a storm, suddenly turned into a hurricane of pain. Steve's eyes grew sad as his eyebrows pulled together.

"Wh-where'd you find this?" He stutters.

"I was walking, found it in the woods, with this weird black stuff." The room is silent as Steve makes direct eye contact with Brand.

"Woods?" It was clear that Steve knew something and Brand was ready to pry.

"Yea, near where my sisters and I live." Steve continued to stare at him as he licked his lips mindlessly.

"Sisters?" Brand's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah?" Closing his eyes, he shakes his head.

"Sorry, uh, you live in the woods?" It seemed an odd place for someone to live, at least Steve seemed to think so. Brand continued staring at him. "Listen, the girl that this belonged to went missing last night... I don't know where you found this exactly but it's important. She could still be alive!" The desperation in his voice made it clear to Brand that something terrible had happened and this man was hanging on by a thread.

"Alive? Why wouldn't she be?" He pried.

"Something took her," Steve said, not thinking, as he thumbed the nametag with tears building in his eyes.

"Something?" Slowly Steve looked up at Brand, making eye contact again.

"Yeah, something..." The room grew silent as the two stared at one another. What was it that Steve was referring to?

"Something, like, a bad guy?" For some reason, those words clicked in Steve's head. Though he wasn't quite sure what it was clicking together. So he stared past Brand for a second with his eyebrows pulled together. He was in deep thought as he tried to place where he had heard that phrase before. "Was it human?" The sudden change in the atmosphere had alerted the blonde. She was listening in to their conversation but the two boys were oblivious.

"I don't think so..." The words left Steve's mouth very quietly, trailing off at the last word spoken. His eyes fell toward the nametag as he seemed to get lost in thought again.

"I can help." Brand's voice was honest and kind. As the two made eye contact again, Brand continued. "But you have to tell me what happened." Steve felt like the night before was replaying all over again. Brand reminded Steve of Stefan in a way, offering to help as though he knew what was going on. But didn't care to share any details.

"That's what the last guy said..." Steve felt anger bubbling into his chest as his right hand balled into a fist.

"Last guy?" There was someone else looking for answers?

"Yeah, Stefan, or whatever his name was... Thanks to him, she's gone..." Steve's knuckles began to turn white as his jaw clenched together.

"Stefan?" The name wasn't familiar to Brand at all but he knew he needed to keep pushing. This guy was easier to get information out of than he had originally thought possible.

"Listen, I can't talk about it in here." Steve nods toward the blonde who is looking directly at them. When she realizes they are looking at her she snaps her head away suspiciously. "People are listening." Brand looks at Steve and thinks for a moment about how he could get the guy to trust him.

"I'm not normal." Brand says, hoping that might intrigue Steve. It seems to work as he looks at Brand with his brow furrowed once more.

"Not normal?" Steve stood up straighter and crossed his arms. "What does that even mean?" Looked away, thinking again, and trying to figure out where that other phrase had come from. It starts to click more and his eyes widen and his mouth falls open in the shape of an O. "Oh..." Brand looked at Steve, curious if he understood or if he was still trying to figure it out. Lifting his left hand to the counter, he pulled back the poncho sleeve to reveal a faded 001 on his wrist.

"Does this mean anything to you?" Steve stumbled backward slightly and then leaned forward to get a closer look.

"Wait, one? Like, thee one? I didn't even know there was a one?" His eyes start to glisten with entertainment as he grabs Brand's wrist to look at it closer. Brand pulls his hand away from Steve awkwardly. "Sorry..." Steve nervously says as he rubs the back of his neck.

"Yes, thee one." Brand confirms. The two stare at one another for a long moment as a blonde girl approaches. Giving both of the boys a near heart attack.

"Hello." She says, her voice sweet but clear. She was on a mission.

"Jesus..." Steve says as he grips his chest with his right hand. "How'd you get over here so fast? Why is everyone so fast around here now?" He needed to start working out again.

"Hi, Steve, right?" Lexi lifts her hand and places it on his shoulder as she stares directly into his eyes. Her pupils dilated. "You said you saw someone named Stefan last night?" Steve seemed to be in a trance and mumbled his responses without any ability to stop himself.

"Yeah."

"Where did you see him?"

"Here, he wanted to see the hole." Lexi froze in place as Brand glanced over at the two of them.

"Hole? What were you two doing with a hole?" After a second he remembers the hole that he had nearly fallen into. "Wait, I know where it's at." Looking at her, impressed with her ability to get information more easily than he had. Lexi looks at him, introducing herself.

"I'm Lexi, Stefan is a friend, and I'm trying to find him. Can you take me to this hole?" Brand doesn't say anything he just nods and turns to head toward the door. Steve waves his hands in the air.

"Wait, what about me? What am I supposed to do? Just sit here?" Lexi smirks at him.

"Yes, like a good little worker." Steve stares at the two in disbelief, his eyes falling to Brand's poncho.

"Dude, did you forget to wipe?" Brand looks down and rolls his eyes, ignoring Steve's comment and the snot-like sludge on his poncho as he leaves. Lexi is following closely behind him. "Yea, yea, sure. I'll just stay here and make sure nobody steals any movies." He scoffs annoyed as he angrily flips his magazine back open.