“It was a joke.” Arrow said defensively as he set the Bible back down in the pile.
Clive stewed in silence and gently smacked the Bible on the palm of his left hand. “I don’t understand any of this.” He mused. “Where are we? And what does this have to do with Preston and the microchips?”
“I don’t know, Doc. You know more about the chips than I do. I just pedaled them.”
“I had considered getting the chip, but I haven’t struggled with my mental health. Mayre does…”
“I think she’s gone, Doc.” Arrow said.
“We don’t know that!” Clive bellowed into his face. When he realized the overreaction, he leaned back away from Arrow and flung the Bible on the dusty pile.
“You’re gonna have to calm down. We have to focus on getting out of here.”
“What’s the point?”
“You can’t rescue Mayre if you’re dead.”
“According to you, there’s nothing to rescue.”
“If she’s still in there, you might be the only one who can fix it.” Arrow said, trying to be compassionate.
Clive could tell that Arrow was forcing himself to be encouraging, but Clive appreciated the sentiment anyway. It was enough to make him realize that there was always hope. The Lord wouldn’t allow this to happen to him. He was a man of God and intended to make things right with Mayre. Things couldn’t stay unfinished.
A shift went through him and Clive was perceptibly happier. “Let’s go.”
“Where?” Arrow asked.
Clive turned on his heel and began walking out of the stone structure and across the bridge at the pace he usually kept when working. His strides were long and confident. Arrow had no trouble keeping up with his long and strong legs. The glow of sunlight was breaking through the fog and illuminated the barren landscape.
“To find our way out of here, of course.”
“That’s what I said first.” Arrow rolled his eyes.
“And now I agree with the sentiment.”
“You’re really not as impressive as people think that you are. You just steal other people’s ideas.”
Clive slowed down so he could properly look at Arrow. “Do I sense jealousy?”
“Yes, I’m jealous of your pompous…”
A loud rumbling interrupted their conversation and stopped both men in their tracks. They couldn’t see anything on the path ahead of them except a few trees, but the rumbling could be felt in their bones. Lighting thrummed in the clouds above making it look like a spontaneous light show.
“We should find shelter.” Arrow said, concern drawing a line between his brows.
They walked off the path and into the trees. The crimson creek was also back here and trickled over rocks and grasses. Arrow showed no concern as he walked through the blood with his boots, but Clive stepped gingerly over the creek striving to miss as much as possible.
Once past the creek, the trees began to get thicker and thicker. A surprising number of the trees had pops of red, gold, and green peeking out from the muted filter that seemed to cover this place. The rumbling started up again and they picked up the pace until they came out into a clearing with a three-story mansion. It was intact unlike the castle, so the two men broke out into a run as drops of water fell from the skies.
They barely had any time to inspect the entrance or to see if anybody was living in this place as they raced up the steps to the wraparound porch and through the unlocked front doors. Arrow quickly made himself at home by walking through the foyer and into the sitting room where an ornate pink velvet couch sat. He plopped down on the couch and flung his long arms on the back and breathed a sigh of relief.
That’s when the bottom seemed to drop out of the sky and rain thundered on the roof. Clive followed Arrow and cautiously sat in a wingback floral armchair close to the window so he could look outside. It was a moot point, however, because he could barely see anything through the rain.
“Good thing this place was open.” Arrow said.
But they realized why it was unlocked very quickly when another person entered the sitting room.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
PAT’S UNCONSCIOUS MIND drifted in and out of strange dreams. They usually had Justice in them or the place beyond the portal. No matter the subject of the dream, he felt a strong feeling of sadness. In every dream, nothing was as it seemed and he had a deep sense of loneliness.
These fitful dreams seemed to go on forever, but when he felt like he couldn’t take it anymore, he woke up and immediately forgot what he had been dreaming. He wasn’t strapped down and he didn’t appear to be in a hospital bed, but he knew he was confined by the look of the room. There were no visible doors in the space and no windows. The only thing in the room was the recliner that he was sitting in, a metal table, a couple of chairs, and a TV screen.
He tried to stand but his legs felt so weak he couldn’t. It occurred to him that he hadn’t eaten anything in several hours or had any water. His mouth felt like it was full of cotton and his belly full of pins. After a moment, he tried to stand one more time. Slowly walking to the TV screen, he turned it on but all he could find was static. It wasn’t hooked up to anything he could access, so he wondered why in the world this was something in the room.
Walking to the table, he felt its surface and looked under it for any clues. He couldn't locate anything and felt a lump drop into his stomach. Theresa had really gotten rid of him. She must have been plotting this for a while.
Just as he thought this, a pocket door slid open on the opposite wall, and in walked somebody with a white coat, black pants, and brown dress shoes. They were wearing a mask and had short hair, so Pat couldn’t identify whether they were male or female.
“Come with me.” The muffled voice said and gestured to the exit. Pat was surprised about the trust they had in him, but that meant that the entire facility was probably secured, or that they knew how weak his legs felt.
“Okay. Will there be food there?”
“Later. For now, you are fasting before we do some tests.”
“I’m not sure I can wait.” Pat said honestly. “I’m so weak.”
The person in the white coat said nothing but continued to lead Pat down the hallway. The walls were pure white and lined with silver metal doors. The bright LED lighting was blinding and the lack of decor was creepy.
