Although our tears have stopped we are all seeped in sadness. Kade speaks to my assembled family with passion as we start up our rotors, “Tan and I will be back, stronger than ever and we will have Kelly with us – of that you have OUR PROMISE!” He says, grabbing my hand as we take off – united in our mission to hell – and back.
……
We land in the entrance drive to The Change Range; cut our rotors and lower them into our packs.
The various buildings and out-houses have been whitewashed and the grounds have been tended. Beautifully pruned shrubs mingle with an abundance of blooming flowerpots. These adjustments combined with the brilliant sunshine give the place a different atmosphere to the foreboding place I am used to – it's now like an A-Grade Holiday Resort.
"It looks like someone's been expecting us," says Kade, looking around the spruced up grounds. He puts his arm around my shoulder, "You sure you want to do this?" He asks. "Yes!" I say, walking towards the place wherein my surgery took place.
We stop at the door and I stare at the familiar digitized buttons that carry the pass-code. As my fingers instinctively go to press them I realize something, "I should have known all along; the code is 666," I say to Kade. He looks at me, "The number of the beast – do it, pump em in and let’s get in there!" He says, a steely determination in his eyes.
......
The door slides slowly open. I take Kade's hand and we walk in with a defiant stride.
The last time I was here, it was a storeroom with all kinds of co-joined creatures in jars – and the black box containing my hormones, the key to my happy future with Kade.
Now, it is returned to its original function – a stark and sterile operating theatre. It is exactly as I remember it from the day of my surgery.
I’m so drenched in the clammy sense of hellish disbelief that I had on that day that I don’t notice the details of my surroundings. Kade’s voice rescues me from falling too deep into painful recollection, “Is this for real?” He asks. I look around, “Yes, it is,” I answer. “But it’s nothing like hell,” he says, walking towards the single operating table in the center of the room.
I talk from experience, “Imagine lying on that table, sedated and unable to move and a surgeon smiling down on you with a scalpel getting ready to slice your boy bits off – that’s hell!” I say.
He grabs me in an instinctive hug, “Sure, I get that. But, I was expecting raging fires and screaming souls suffering in eternal damnation.” He says. He lets go of me and looks around, “And like, what are we supposed to do? There’s nothing here: no test, no twins, no clues,” he says, exploring the relatively small space.
And he’s right, there’s nothing here to suggest hell, other than my painful memories. “Let’s go back, explore the grounds, there might be something outside,” says Kade, heading for the door.
I join him, “I hope this hasn’t been a red herring and hell is back home with the liberated group,” I suggest, pumping in the numerals.
The door shoots open and an icy blast slams into me and a ferocious wind knocks Kade off his feet and sends him hurtling backwards. WOW – WHAT? KADE – WHERE ARE YOU?
A howling blizzard of sleet hits my face like a thousand freezing pins, momentarily blinding me. I fight the wind and try to get back into the operating room, but the door is shut and I can’t find the password pad.
The cold is so fierce that it seems to be slicing into me and I huddle into a fetal position to try and generate some warmth.
Just when I think I’m about to succumb to hypothermia the wind and sleet subside, taking the stinging edge off the cold.
The Surgeon Sequel - The Twins: Part 15
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