The Cumberbottom Incident: Rhett and Link

Chapter Sixteen: Computers and Confusion

Link's POV-

I feel a hand on my shoulder. I wake up suddenly. My whole body is freezing, and my limbs feel stiff and sore from sleeping in a huddled position all night. Rhett shakes me awake, "Link! We have to go!" He whispers harshly. I sit up and run my fingers through my hair as if it will do something to help its disheveled state. I sit up slowly and place my feet on the cold floor. Rhett helps me up and we walk to the door where a guard is standing stoutly. He glares at us as if we are the ones with an attitude problem. Talk about irony...

I can see that Rhett's face has regained some color from the little sleep we had. As we walk to the elevator, I start to hear a familiar shrill voice emitting from inside the elevator shaft. The doors open mechanically. Marcus. You know, sometimes I wish there were better things to wake up to.

"Gooood morning boys...." he says loudly in a sing-song tune. I sigh. I could really be done with these dramatic entrances. Marcus is in a gold silk suit, which does nothing good for his looks in general. The fake yellow-green tint of the fabric makes his skin tone look sick. He of course is wearing a purple fedora on the top of his balding head. If there is anything this guy needs more than therapy, it's a fashion sense.

"I hope you are ready for the next step in our operation!" he says mockingly.

"Of course..." Rhett mumbles, "Of course we are. Why else would we be so ecstatic right now?"

Marcus disregards the comment and motions for us to enter the elevator.

The floor indicator light blip downward until we are in the basement of this place. We are met by familiar white doors. I shudder as flashes of memories hit my synapses. Stevie...her scream.

Marcus beeps us into the room and pokes a combination into the lock.

The room is typical. Uncomfortable chairs in front of computer desks. Wires and cables are clumsily kicked under a cable box and into a pile. Cameras and video equipment are stacked on a table in the middle of the room. Then there are light umbrellas and studio ring lights that are lean against the far wall. The walls are white. The desks are white. The computers are white. I am still trying to figure this guy out...

On the corner of the room there is a camera and a monitor screen. Rhett pokes my arm and glances towards it. I can see our mirror image on the screen, mimicking everything we do on a second delay. Marcus notices, "That is to make sure we don't run into any more problems..." He takes a pen and a pad of paper out of his pocket and scribbles something down; raising his eyebrows and tutting.

"I expect you to follow these guidelines and stay to the point. Doug here will make sure everything goes smoothly!" He motions his hand toward the oddly muscular man slouching next to him. It's not the muscles that unsettle me really, it's the dull stare and the dumb looking glance. I don't think this guy is much of a threat. Marcus clearly hires his employees on the basis of quantity, not quality. And I'm not complaining.

Marcus leaves promptly, mechanical doors shutting quietly behind him. Doug looks at the wall.

Rhett and I decide to walk over to the computers to see what we are dealing with exactly. Power lights flicker green on the various devices that we are supposed to figure out what to do. I am about to  turn on one of the computers when Rhett calls me over. 

"Look at this..." he picks up a piece of paper from the desk and unfolds it. I look over his shoulder to see what is written. Rhett squints and looks up at me. There is irritation in his voice. 

"It's a list of what we have to do."

"Hm."

Then his eyes open wide in shock; "Link...we have to hack into the Youtube database." I gasp. We have never attempted to do something as drastic as this. I am about to refuse, but we have to go along with this. There is no way to get out. We have to just do it. Then a thought comes to mind, but I am almost too scared to face it. I only know one person who can help us right now.

I walk over to Doug who is still staring at the wall numbly, I wonder how I will be able to get his attention. 

"Uh..Doug?" I say nervously. For all I know, this guy is crazy and he is ready to snap at any moment; "Where is Mike?" Doug looks at me for a moment and then responds in a voice that is so raspy, that I almost cringe. 

"The boss said to do your job. You can't go."

"Please..."

His eyes don't soften. Then I get an idea...I use his I.Q. to my advantage: "Well, we can't do our job without him. Please. I won't tell him."

After a few moments of consolidating, he finally lets me go. Rhett looks at me from the other side of the room puzzled. "I'm getting Mike." I mouth the words silently. He nods approvingly.

I follow Doug to a door on the other side of the room. He tells me to look away as he punches in the combination to enter the room. When I walk in, I drop to my knees in shock.

All three of our crew members are strapped in chairs. They stare straight ahead, eyes glazed over. I run over to Mike. I shake him as if he is sleeping. 

"WAKE UP! We need you...wake up..." I feel tears well up in my eyes. Rhett walks in from behind Doug. Doug stands emotionless, just waiting for this to be over. Rhett is at my side. We both try nudging Mike to get his to wake up. I slump to the ground. This is a hopeless feat. 

All of a sudden a faint sigh emits from Mikes throat. He blinks his eyes slowly and coughs weakly. "Mike! Are you awake?"

He shifts slightly and his eyes regain their natural color. "Who are you?" he says quietly. 

"I'm Link. This is Rhett." I say calmly. His confusion doesn't subside. He just stares up at us confused. Rhett grits his teeth. I feel anger boil inside me. Marcus. What did he do to them?! Why doesn't he remember us?

I have no choice. We need his help. 

"Mike?" He responds. Thank God he knows his name. "It's okay. We just need your help. Just come with us. It's gonna be okay."

Rhett unclips the buckles that tie Mike to the chair. We help him slowly back to the computers. I can only hope that he remembers how to help us. 

I look at Rhett. "Rhett, we need answers. Talk to Mr. Big Guy over there." Rhett chuckles. "I'll take Mike over to the table."

"Deal."

Rhett walks over to Doug. I do my best to remain calm. I need to stay strong, and I will.