I search the familiar musculature of his thighs and back, looking for any signs, like scratches, that would suggest abuse or sexual activity. But I see none.
……
A strange sense of calm and comfort comes over me when I see Kade dressed. He approaches me, smiles, and then grabs me in a bear hug that literally takes my breath away.
The moment is broken by Troy’s raised voice, “NOT NOW – we do not have time for romance!” He shouts.
I feel Kade’s blood begin to simmer and then boil over – “FUCK YOU! You have no idea what we’ve been through. You have no idea what Tan and I had to endure, what we had to do…”
…Troy raises his hand and eye locks me for a second time, “Oh, I believe I do, Kade. But I reiterate, now is not the time for talk that may distract us.” He gently undulates his hand to make a calming gesture, “Please Kade, I urge you to remain calm whilst we reclaim Kelly; do you have any idea where she is?” He asks.
Kade lets out a sigh, takes my hand and says, “I apologize guys, I’m still a little sore and pissed.” He walks toward the wall and stops in front of a button, “This is an elevator. They took a girl in here, I couldn’t be sure if it was Kelly – but I guess this is a good place to start our search,” he says, pressing the button.
After a moment a panel slides open, revealing quite a large elevator type space. Kade walks towards it, “OK, let’s go, see what we find,” he says, with a confidence that matches Troy’s.
……
The tension between the three of us generates a very real heat that I feel as soon as the panel slides closed. There are two destination buttons on the sidewall which read: INFIRMARY and: OBSERVATION TOWER.
Kade’s finger travels toward the INFIRMARY icon, “The girl they took in looked pretty sick, so I say we start there. Do you both agree?” He asks.
“Yes,” answers Troy. I grab Kade’s hand and pull it away, “NO! Let’s start at the top and work our way down. I’m intrigued by this OBSERVATION TOWER. Let’s take a look what there is to observe there, it might reveal some useful intelligence. It’s easier to absorb info without having the distraction of looking after Kelly, if it is indeed Kelly,” I suggest
I can see that Troy is immediately reluctant. Kade isn’t, “Good thinking, Tan. You in agreement Troy?” He asks. Troy pauses for a moment, “I’m eager to find Kelly, but yes, it makes sense. Let’s go,” he says.
My stomach flips over as the elevator shoots up with an impressive speed.
……
The elevator abruptly halts and the panel shoots open.
We step from the elevator and all three of us make the same exclamation in unison – “WOW!”
“JUST WOW!” Says Kade, walking into the vast room and taking in its spectacle.
There is so much to see that I don’t know where to look. All my senses: sight, sound and even smell are being bombarded.
We are literally surrounded by hundreds – NO – thousands of monitors. They all show alternating scenes, some familiar, some not.
I focus in on a screen that shows the The Forever Garden; a man’s voice speaks to an unseen controller, “Activate the Imps in Zone FG, I repeat: imp activation with immediate effect.”
The monitor zooms in on Tree creatures as their eyes alight and they begin to swing from the trees, in an all too familiar fashion.
Another command alerts me, a woman’s voice – I walk to the source monitor, “Activate The Land of Lost souls in Zone SZ, I repeat: activate Land of Lost Souls with immediate effect.”
I see Kade walking toward me, a welcome but weary smile on his face.
……
A comforting warmth envelops me as I feel the tender touch of Kade’s arm slowly embrace me. He rests his head on my shoulder and together we stare at the monitor and watch as the beautifully tended grounds that we arrived together in, begins to swivel on what looks like a giant turntable
Within minutes there’s a 360 degree swivel round and the change range becomes the sleet covered frozen wasteland I’m familiar with. Kade’s voice is low and calm, “They’ve created a hell, here on earth. Why would they do that?” he asks. “I don’t know – yet – but look over there, it looks like they’ve got a heaven going on, as well,” I say, pointing to a monitor that displays sweeping, sun filled meadows, populated by people happily frolicking in flowing white robes.
Kade nuzzles into my neck, “It’s an incredibly convincing Heaven and Hell, maybe they’re playing God.” He suggests. I kiss his forehead, “That kinda makes sense,” I whisper. He burrows his face deeper into me, “I’m so sorry, Tan. Please promise me we’ll get through this stronger than ever – we will, won’t we?” He asks. I feel the tickle of his tears as they trickle down my chest.
I know what he’s apologizing for, but for the moment I want to avoid the horrible truth, so I welcome Troy’s interruption, “We’ve seen enough to get an idea of the truth of this place. Now, we can park all the supernatural stuff and start dealing with reality! Let’s go see who is in the infirmary,” he says, full of assertion.
……
The elevator opens into a place that lacks the wow factor of the Observation Tower. It’s a relatively small room with a single hospital bed in the middle.
All three of us throb with anticipation as we approach the bed. But, even from this distance, I can see it certainly looks like Kelly.
We stop just short of the bed to allow Troy first access. He bends to kiss her cheek and caress her head. “Troy – is this really you?” The voice is weak, but it definitely sounds like Kelly’s voice. Her arm, frail and slow, reaches out to touch him, “Am I in heaven, now?” She asks.
Troy gets on the bed, lies on his side and holds her, “No, you’re here with me. This is real – feel me,” he says, placing her hand on his chest.
“Is that your heart, beating?” she asks.
“Yes, it is.”
“But, I died and went to hell – it’s so, so cold there.”
Troy looks back at me, “You didn’t die, you were lied to.” He strokes her hair whilst staring at me, “We’ve all been lied to.” He says, then looks back at Kelly, “We’ll discuss and deal with lies when we get you home!”
As I watch this tender scene, I want to scream ‘SORRY TROY!’ But, I know there’s got to be some punishment for my betrayal. If it doesn’t come from Troy, then it will come from Karma.
……
Karma always catches up with those of us who commit wrongdoing.
……
I try to push my hurt from my head as we all sit on the bed, reassuring Kelly and planning our trip back to the Cryogenic Centre when we are interrupted by an angry sounding voice that floods the room – “Dearest disciples, it is with the deepest regret that I have to announce the death of your most loyal leader: Twin:1.”
Suddenly the walls surrounding us are transformed into giant monitors and we see hundreds of black robed people staring at us.
“Look hard at these four people before you, for it was these who have brought about her removal from this earth. She suffered greatly before she was slain.”
The monitors zoom in and scan their faces, all of which register a look of: shock, sadness and anger. Some quietly cry and are comforted by the stronger amongst them.
“We must exact a brutal vengeance. Those who capture them and bring them before me will be guaranteed eternal life in heavenly paradise.”
On hearing this, there is a collective gasp of excited exaltation and the mood of the crowd changes to one of fevered excitement.
“They must all be presented before me unharmed and in good health. For the harm that these individuals must suffer will be inflicted by me – The Surgeon.”
The Surgeon Sequel - The Twins: Part 19
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