CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - PAUL'S PLAN

He happily waddled clumsily along the cobbled path laughing as he felt the stones slipping and rolling beneath his feet. It was more fun on the stones than the smooth road beside them.

“B, you’ll slip over! Get off of there before you fall!”

He didn’t listen and instead he giggled and tried to playfully run away, but all the stones wobbled beneath his thin shoes and then he was screaming as he tripped up and found the stones leaping up to tear into his skin. He began to wail as he saw blood trickling down his legs and a felt something stinging his face.

“B! B, let me take a look at you.”

Warm arms were around him and plucking him from the ground before he was delicately seated on a knee. He raised his sniffling face to look up at his brother who was using a tissue to dab gently at the cuts on his face.


“B? B, are you awake?”

B kept his eyes closed. He did not want to sleep. He did not want to surrender to unconsciousness for fear that he may wake up and realise that he no longer held any memories at all. Instead he lie still and called as many memories to mind as he possible could. He wasn’t going to forget Brian or Sammy. He would never forgive himself he did…

“I know you’re awake,” Marlowe’s voice continued its intrusion of B’s private realm.

His skin had begun to tremble at the proximity of the scientist. ‘Please go away, please,’ B begged silently.

Suddenly something had pricked the back of his hand and B gave a squeal of pain as he sat bolt up right clutching his hand as a stinging liquid proceeded to gurgle throughout his bloodstream. He gasped slightly and pulled himself into a ball before falling back down again breathing heavily.

“I hate you!” he sobbed bitterly as Marlowe leaned over him.

“You shouldn’t pretend to be asleep then,” Marlowe replied in his sugary voice as he placed the syringe aside. “I don’t like you ignoring me.”

B stared up at him through a haze of tears and burning hatred. His entire body trembled with loathing for the monster above him. “What the fuck am I supposed to do!” he screamed violently. “You’re fucking my life up and taking me away from my family you fucking monster!” He threw his arms out intending to hit Marlowe but the scientist easily caught both of his wrists and pushed him aside.

Marlowe tutted and grabbed his clipboard. “Patient seems to be experiencing violent tendencies and urges.” He nodded. “That is also consistent with my preliminary work on the virus.”

“I don’t fucking care about your virus!” B screamed, the words coming from his mouth in painful splutters. He could not help the violent words that emerged from his mouth. There seemed to be nothing else foul enough to hurl at Marlowe.

Marlowe sighed and shook his head. “Such nasty words. Intense anger as well,” he added as he made a note on his clipboard again.

B gave a yell of frustration as he threw himself back down onto his table bed and covered his face with his hands as he began to cry. He could feel his mind slowly melting inside of his head. Everything was slipping away so easily despite trying to cling onto to them. He took a deep breath and tried to take himself back to the memory he had been thinking of before Marlowe interrupted him. It had been something to do with his brother…

He squeezed his eyes closed and furrowed his forehead as he concentrated, but it was gone…

“Why are you doing this to me?” he sobbed. “Please stop…”

“B, I’m giving you a new life. A chance to start afresh. Don’t you want that?”

B thought of Brian and Sammy. He still knew how they were, even if Brian’s appearance was a little fuzzy in places now. Every time he thought of them he felt waves of love inside to show him that they were important. He knew he had friends as well, he must have other people he knew, but they were gone. He had tried to think back to his childhood but all he could remember was the golden haired Sammy who had been through every part of his life.

“I want my family,” he said determinedly. “My dad and my older brother. Please…”

“You’ll soon forget about them,” Marlowe said smoothly. “In the last twenty four hours alone you’ve lost so much. It won’t be long until they’re gone completely.”

B gave another fearful sob and then he felt another needle being pressed against his skin. “NO!” he shrieked as he sat up and smacked Marlowe’s hand away before he could administer the drug. It wasn’t just the torturous, stinging drugs that burnt him inside that the scientist was injecting him with, now he was using a new substance to help B lose more memories.

“No! You don’t take my memories! They’re mine!”

Marlowe backed away but there was a mocking smile on his face. “You don’t have much time left. They’re going B, whether you like it or not! Brian and Sammy are going to be obliterated from you life!”

“WHY?” B sobbed as he staggered to his feet to round on Marlowe. “Why are you so obsessed with me forgetting? Why can’t you just let me keep those two?”

“B, B…” Marlowe chided as he seized hold of B’s arms fiercely. “Don’t get violent or I’ll have to tie you up again. I don’t want to harm you, but I don’t want you to remember your family. I want you to join us.”

“I will never join you!” B spat as he yanked his arms away from Marlowe, surprising himself with the strength he managed to summon as he broke free of Marlowe’s vice like fingers.

“You think you have a choice?” Marlowe laughed.

B gave a cry and then he flung his fist at Marlowe, catching the man on the jaw. The scientist gave a startled cry as his hand rose to his mouth and then B was scrambling for the door.

‘Gotta get out! Gotta get out!’

He couldn’t stay. He sobbed as he found the light brown hair and blue eyes entering his mind clearly for the first time in hours. ‘Dad.’ He wouldn’t forget… he couldn’t forget…

His hands were frantically slamming the panel beside the door but it merely bleeped angrily at him as he failed to input the correct code. He sobbed and screamed as he punched it, sending his knuckles raw red and sore in the process.

“Let me go!” he wailed. “Let me go! I won’t let you do this to me!”

“B, it’s no use. You’re locked in,” Marlowe said calmly. “You can’t possibly guess the code to get out!” he snickered slightly, knowing that his prey was captured and in no danger of escaping.

Hot tears flooded B’s face and he gave the panel one last pathetic smack before he slid down to the ground crying. He remembered crying when they had taken Sammy away from him. That painful memory was still clear in his mind and his heart ached at the thought of it.

“I want my brother,” he whispered. Why wasn’t Sammy here with him? He remembered him most of all. Sammy had read him a story to send him to sleep once, Sammy had let him stay up and play… why had his brother let him fall into the hands of Marlowe? He placed a hand to his head and stared vacantly about the lab. How long had he been here now?

“How did I get here?” he asked as he stared up at Marlowe.

The scientist was wiping the blood from his mouth with tissue. He stared down at him. “You don’t remember?”

B closed his eyes. Every time he tried to think about how he had come here he saw Brian. He was wet and cold and frightened and he had been lying somewhere hard whilst the rain dribbled onto his shivering body. Then Brian had been looking down at him and there was warmth and light… he couldn’t remember where he had been or what he was doing, but he could see Brian and he knew that he was his father.

He shook his head and then covered his face again. He was going insane. There was nothing left inside except hollowness in which his solitary mind rattled about in like a lost, wandering spirit.

“B,” Marlowe said softly. “You need sleep.”

“No,” B said firmly. “No.” he was trembling and he felt sick s he thought of the blackness that would close in about him if he allowed his body to relax. The rest of his memories would drain from his mind like water through a sieve. He did not want to sink into oblivion. It would be like he did not even exist without his memories. Who was he if he did not remember anything?

“You’re sick, remember?” Marlowe whispered. “You’re getting much better. The virus has almost passed.”

B wasn’t listening anymore. His mind had found something floating about his head.


It was warm and sunny and the grass had been dry and brittle beneath him. The landscape had been filled with dead bushes and ragged trees, but that did not matter because he was breathing the air about him. He bounced on the grass ahead of two others and when he turned to look at them he smiled as he saw that it was father and brother. Now there was a small pool of glistening water that glowed in the sun and here there was even still a few plants that were green. He was smiling… he was happy…


B’s head hurt. His mind needed to rest but he was frightened of letting go of the sudden memory and the two precious people it held.

“Sleep B,” Marlowe ordered.

“I don’t want to,” B protested in a childish voice. He pressed his knees to his chest and buried his face in his arms. “Leave me alone. Please.”

He trembled as he heard Marlowe bend down beside him. “You’re getting confused. You’re ill.”

“Am I?” B asked vacantly. He raised his head. “I don’t remember.”

Marlowe nodded. “You’re sick and I’m taking care of you.”

“Oh…” B’s head had seemed to fill with mist. He stared at the scientist and frowned. He had such a kind voice but… he shook his head. “No… no you’re the one who’s doing this to me…” he tried to back away but the wall prevented any escape. “I-I…”

“You’re confused,” Marlowe insisted.

“No,” B whispered. He shook his head and then jerked as the confusion seemed to clear. He stared at Marlowe in horror as he realised that his sudden lapse in memory had almost drawn him to the scientist. “NO! You’re trying to manipulate me! I’m not your puppet and I will never come to you!”

“We’ll see, you’ll soon forget all of this,” Marlowe said swiftly as he pulled a needle from his pocket and pulled the cap off. “Now it’s time you slept.”

“No!” B wailed. He tried to pull his arm but it was too late and the drug was already free inside of his blood stream. He gave a groan as the darkness came screaming to greet him. “Sammy… Dad…” he moaned as he fell forward into Marlowe’s arms.


*********************************

Sammy’s eyes were drooping and he stifled a yawn with the back of his hand. Two days sat at this computer workstation staring at dizzying strands of red and white code had given him a throbbing headache. It may not have been physically exerting work but he was tired. His mind had seemed to turn thick and glutinous like treacle until nothing his eyes saw seemed to be able to register.

He stared at the screen, his eyes wide as they gazed at the code before him. A while ago it had been comprehensible but now it was nothing more than garbled jumble which was meaningless to his aching head. He rubbed his sore eyes and blinked. He could no longer focus on the encrypted language. He had been slowly beginning to lose his concentration over the past few hours. His mind had been frequently plagued with thoughts of his brother.

Although yesterday heather had said she would try to arrange some time for him to see B, nothing had happened yet and Sammy was worried. B had been sick and if he lost him…

Then there was Brian. It had been days and days since he last saw him and surely the doctors would have had an update on his condition by now? Sammy did not know if he was alive… it was the uncertainty that made him feel so torn up inside as if a beast had thundered into his body and attacked him. He didn’t know what had happened to him. He wanted him to be alive, but he was afraid to cling to that possibility in case it was misguided. On one hand Brian was strong but on the other he’d been through so much in the past few years…

Sammy rubbed his eyes again. He wouldn’t let B go. B might be all he had left and Sammy was determined to keep him alive. He had promised himself after the baby was born that he would take care of him for ever and he did not intend to go back on that promise. B was going to survive and Sammy was going to get him safely back to the base and hopefully Brian would be waiting… It would be perfect for him and B to be reunited. B would be crushed if anything had happened in his absence.

The screen glared at him with its array of complex and intricate patterns of numbers and symbols. They were written in a language Sammy had designed, but at the moment he could not even understand a single word. He was not used to deciphering codes on his own. Usually B would be helping him and he was the speediest person when it came to computers. Maybe that would be an excuse for him to see B…

‘I need him to help me. I can’t do it alone…’

He shook his head. They would never believe him. Maybe with any other codes but these ones had been personally designed by Sammy himself.

He suddenly spotted a strange symbol that looked like a baby duck and smiled. B had always liked ducks as a child and it had been a sweet joke of Sammy’s to incorporate a duck symbol to represent the letter ‘b’. His smile faded and instead his eyes grew heavy. B would be sleeping by now and he would be spending another light alone and frightened with the Gerai…

“Tired… Sammy?” a soft female voice asked.

Sammy caught sight of Heather in the reflection of the computer screen before taking a deep breath and continuing to tap at the keys with his fingers. He had to keep working. The Gerai would not tolerate laziness and right now they were the ones with their hands around B’s neck.

“I don’t get to choose when I rest,” he relied flatly.

The other prisoners had been led back to the cells hours before, but when they left Sammy had remained under close watch by two guards. It was the same everyday now and Sammy guessed that the Gerai wanted the codes breaking as soon as possible.

He blinked his eyes and reached for the water Heather had brought him earlier but it was no longer as cool and refreshing as it had been this afternoon.

“I think that’s enough for one day,” Heather suddenly declared. “Save your work and I’ll take you back to your cell.”

The second guard on Sammy’s right faltered for a moment. “Are you sure about this ma’am?” he asked nervously.

“He’s been sat in front of that computer for over fourteen hours,” she replied coldly. “I think that’s enough for one day.”

‘Fourteen hours?’ Sammy thought. No wonder his mind felt like slush and his eyes stung so badly. He yawned slightly as he gratefully saved his progress and deactivated the computer work station. “Thanks,” he murmured, only for Heather to hear. If it was up to the other guard he would probably have been here past midnight.

He was led back to the cells down narrow corridors. The first time he had come down here he had tried to memorise every doorway and the location of every guard in case the information could aid an escape attempt, but now he could hardly keep his eyes open and everything was strangely blurry after staring at the computer screen for so many hours. There was also a deep pain that had erupted in his temple and was fast turning into a migraine.

He stared at the male guard and then turned to Heather, deciding that she seemed to be more friendly towards him, even if she did like speaking down at him and slapping his face whenever he did something that displeased her. “Will I be able to see my brother?” he bit his lip before deciding to push his luck. “He could help me with the decoding.”

The guard on the opposite side of him snorted. “You kidding buddy? Everyone knows what you and your damn brother are like with computers. You could re-write the system if you wanted to for our entire base!”

Probably true… Sammy doubted if he could do it alone, especially not while he was being watched by Gerai guards. B might have been able to though. He was very quick with computers and could always spot a loophole in the security programs. B would probably have had the same trouble as Sammy though if he was under constant surveillance.

Heather glanced down at him. “I’m sorry. The doctor will not allow him.”

‘The Marlowe freak,’ Sammy thought as he remembered the strange voiced scientist who had been with B a few days ago. There had been something sinister and serpent like about him that had made Sammy take an instant dislike to him. The word ‘doctor’ also did not put Sammy in mind of someone who was going to help B get better. that doctor had been a scientist doing experiments on him. B had been ucky to survive the first time but this time…

Sammy hung his head slightly and his eyes flickered closed. What were they doing to B that was so terrible that they would not permit him to see him?

As they arrived back at the cells Sammy dragged himself over to Kevin and Paul and the others where he miserably collapsed against the far wall with the blanket he slept on every night.

Heather slammed the door closed and then hesitated. She opened it again and then tossed a water bottle at Sammy. “Here,” she said coldly before locking the door and walking smartly out of the room before Sammy could even blink in surprise at this sudden generosity.

‘Probably poison,’ he decided as he placed the bottle down beside him. There had to be some ulterior motive for Heather being nice to him other than the kindness of her heart. Probably trying to make him work harder at cracking the codes for Darren’s base.

“How you doing?” Kevin asked.

Sammy gave groan as he lie down. “I have a very, very bad headache from that damn computer screen.”

“How close are you to breaking the codes?” Kevin asked as he slid closer to his friend so that the guard on watch of their cell could not overhear. “How many more days?”

Sammy held up three fingers. “At least,” he muttered. Three more days of this… What would happen to him then? He just prayed that he would be able to see B at last. It had been only a few days but before that it had been weeks since they last saw each other. One two minute visit was not long enough to settle Sammy’s bleeding heart. He had never spent more than a few days away from B and that had always been lonely and he had always felt guilty leaving him alone. He always missed B’s lively chatter and his carefree nature that always made Sammy smile.

When he thought of B now though it was rarely with a smile and instead nervous worry would begin to gnaw at his already shattered heart. He worried about him, he always had done. B was all he’d had to cling onto in his life and now he couldn’t help him or stop him from suffering.

Maybe soon he would be able to rescue him… and punch Marlowe in the face.

Kevin nodded. “Paul here is planning something to delay you. The day after tomorrow he’ll send a surge through the computer. It will erase everything you’ve done so you’ll have to start again. It will look like an accident as well and it will buy us some more time.”

“Okay,” Sammy replied. It was mildly irritating though to think of how hard he had worked the past few days and that it would all count for nothing soon. Still, being forced to sit in front of that computer and start from scratch was better than having Darren and the others betrayed. He couldn’t let the base fall. It had been his home for too long. Darren had saved both his own and B’s lives and he owed it to them now to make sure the Gerai did not destroy the place. “As long as you don’t get caught. You guys may think they’re bluffing about killing B but… I don’t want to take the risk. He means more to me than anything.” He pulled his legs up to his chest remembering the day that B had run away and the torrent of tears that had assaulted Sammy. If the Gerai hurt him then he would never be the same again. He couldn’t imagine life anymore without B bouncing along by his side.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. I’ve done it before and they think it’s a fault with the system. They use real old computers,” Paul said from across the cell. He glanced up at the guard and then scooted closer along with his two companions. “We have something else to talk about as well,” he said urgently.

“What?” Sammy murmured, his eyes peacefully closing as the pain in his temple grew. Stress had been building for days and now it was preparing to explode with agony. The pressure and the strain of the entire situation was now mingling with his headache to form something even more painful. He was going to feel like hell tomorrow.

“Escape,” Kevin explained. “Paul thinks he’s come up with a ay to get us out of here, though I’m not sure.” He cast Paul a dark look and Sammy frowned slightly. Surely any escape plan was helpful to them and the sooner they got out the better.

“I think it will work,” Paul said. “And it’s all down to you.” He smiled and pointed at Sammy.

Sammy raised his aching head slightly. “Me?” He glanced at Kevin with a puzzled expression.

Paul nodded eagerly, despite Kevin’s’ slight unease. “You just have to bed Heather.”

Sammy stared at him blankly. His ears seemed to have heard the words but his mind was telling him that they couldn’t be right. He opened his mouth slightly. “Excuse me?” he said quietly.

“You get Heather into bed,” Paul explained calmly as if he were telling Sammy to take a biscuit.

“W… I… uh.…” Sammy’s eyes searched for the telling smile that would lead Sammy to realise that it was all a strange joke. “What?” he gasped as all the faces remained calm. “I…” His head was beginning to feel even worse. Paul couldn’t be serious. They wanted him to sleep with Heather? How…? What…? His mind was turning even more mushier than before.

“Come on Sam!” Paul cried as he saw the younger man’s face. “You two have been flirting since day one! You stand like an inch form each other’s faces and if you were any bloody closer you’d be kissing her face off!”

“I haven’t been flirting with her!” Sammy protested. He had not even realised that heather was flirting with him. He had assumed that she was always standing close to him to intimidate him. She couldn’t actually like him! “She doesn’t have a thing for me and we do not flirt!”

“How blonde are you?” Cal asked from beside his friend. “She can’t take her eyes off of you and the moment your back is turned she is eyeing up your butt big time!”

Sammy shook his head in confusion. She liked him? Heather?A Gerai? His family were hated more than anything among them. Hey didn’t like him… “You can’t expect me to…”

“Why not? She wouldn’t say no!” Paul said. “If you ask me, she’ll probably make a move on you whether you like it or not!”

Sammy placed a hand to his head and his eyes had turned wide as he struggled to understand. How could he not have noticed Heather’s attraction? Paul and the others seemed to be completely convinced and even Kevin was nodding along with some of the comments.

“I’m not going to play at being a male whore and take advantage of her like that!” Sammy cried. “You’ve got to be kidding! It’s not fair on her!” Sammy just couldn’t use anybody, even a Gerai. He had never been that active in that department anyway and he certainly did not sleep around with every girl that looked at him, especially Geari guards who held him prisoner and blackmailed him.

“What’s the problem?” Cal asked.

Yeah,” Paul agreed. “I mean, she’s hot and damn fine! It’s not like I’m asking you to bed a complete dog or anything or a male guard! Now that would be bad. Heather is a babe and you gotta admit it and I think you kinda like her! You don’t object when she’s breathing all over you and has her lips almost touching your face!”

“What?!” Sammy cried. “You think I like her? She’s an evil witch from hell!” Although he couldn’t deny that she was a damn attractive witch from hell, but it took more than looks to grab his attention and make him willing to get into bed with a girl.

Everyone was staring at him and Paul rolled his eyes.

Sammy folded his arms stubbornly. He would not lower himself to do this… it was wrong and it was not him in the slightest. “I won’t do it. I have a girlfriend!” he said thinking of Lori. Well, technically his relationship with her was very complicated. He hadn’t actually thought about her that much since arriving her and that wasn’t a good sign. She was sweet and kind and he knew he cared about her but he had done a little thinking since her outburst. He needed someone who completely understood Sammy’s duty to B. Lori had been angry that Sammy treated him like a son but what else was he supposed to do? He couldn’t do this to Lori though, not while there was still a chance for them.

“I won’t tell her if you don’t,” Paul said with a shrug. “Girls are happy that way.”

How could he say that? It may have been easy for Paul to cheat on a girl, but Sammy couldn’t. he glared at him and was about to open his mouth when Kevin jumped in.

“Paul, leave it out. It’s Sammy’s choice,” Kevin said. “We can think of another plan.”

Preferably something that did not involve Sammy having to seduce anyone or use his body

“But this is a golden opportunity! And I’m not just talking about getting laid!” Paul protested. “Look Sammy, you’re obviously a nice guy who doesn’t do this type of thing, but it could help us to get out.”

“How?” Sammy challenged. “Bedding a guard and hoping I’m good enough for her to let us out? That won’t work. She’s not that nice.”

Paul snorted. “I know that, but that’s not the plan. The idea is that she’ll let her guard down, you give her what she wants and then swipe her key card from her uniform.”

A key card… now that would be useful. Nearly everything important in the base was controlled via key card. Suddenly Sammy began to realise what Paul was getting at but Heather would notice. She couldn’t be that stupid. She was smart and she would know something was wrong.

“It’ll never work,” he replied as he shook his head. “They’ll catch us.”

Paul firmly shook his head. “No they won’t. You get the card from heather and then get back here quickly. You’ll have given her enough of a distraction so she’ll be a little less wary. She won’t notice you have the card hopefully for a few minutes and that’s all we need. You get back here quick as you can and fight the guard if you have to, if there’ll even be guards. If anything happens, then heather is not gonna want the guards knowing about it. You let us out and we free the other prisoners. We almost outnumber the guards and we can easily take this area and their weapons. We get to the main work room and lock it down so we’re safe from them. We can hold up there until we figure out our next move or until help comes.”

“If help comes,” Kevin said. “They might not be able to find us.”

“They’ll come,” Sammy replied instantly. “The Gerai have B and Darren doesn’t want that.” If nothing else, Sammy begged that someone came for him even if they could not rescue Kevin and Sammy at the same time.

“If they don’t come then we get ourselves and B out of here. We’ll be okay in the work room though and there’s even a store room joined onto it with food so we can stay there for as long as we need. While the room is locked down as well, the Geari can’t get at us. We could hack into their system and try and find a way out,” Paul said excitedly.

“You’ve really had time to think this through haven’t you?” Sammy asked weakly and was rewarded with a nod and smile from Paul. There were problems, but there would be with any plan. There was always risk. This one though had a good chance of working, or it would except for one small detail… “But I can’t sleep with Heather. It’s just…”

“You can do it. She likes you, believe me I have never seen her so fixated with anyone before.”

Sammy leaned against the all and closed his eyes. It was an opportunity, Paul was right. It could be the only opportunity. If he could get Heather’s card then he get them out and maybe even get to B…

B, that was all he needed.

‘I can’t believe I’m going to agree to this…’

“It’s up to you Sammy,” Kevin said. “We’re not gonna force you. It’s sordid and dirty but it could work. It’s up to you.”

“I can’t disagree then can I?” Sammy whispered. “Not when B and our freedom could depend upon it.” He took a deep breath and tried to banish Lori from his mind with her accusing eyes. “All right, I’ll do it.”

He felt as if he had sold his soul.

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