I know, I know... I'm taking too long to finish this story. I really need to focus on this and get it done. I hope you all didn't lose interest between chapters. We are going to come to the end of this and wrap it all up. As always, constructive criticism is encouraged but abuse will not be tolerated and summarily deleted. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
The butterflies in Annette's stomach did not so much as flutter but rip through her as the elevator bumped to a stop at the basement harder than she thought a high-class casino lift should. She glanced quickly at the corporal who accompanied her to the breeding area as the doors parted to let her out of the car. Annette slipped through the opening then turned to the soldier in the elevator with a questioning look.
"Just down the hallway and to the left, Mrs. Simmons." Corporal Saunders said as he motioned her the right way to proceed. "There'll be another soldier at the door to guide you the rest of the way."
Annette said nothing, only nodded her thanks and watched as the trooper tipped the brim of his cap and gave her a slight all-knowing grin while the beige elevator doors closed. Annette proceeded down the hall as Saunders had directed then turned left, nearly running face-first into another soldier, this one with an automatic rifle slung over his shoulder. Annette drew a breath in sharply as she ogled the high-powered weapon. Past the armed military man was a desk where a large woman in a green uniform sat, her dark brown hair streaked with grey strands swirled neatly into a tight knot on the top of her head.
"Good morning, Mrs. Simmons," the uniformed woman stated without standing or smiling, "I'm Captain Angelus. You're here for your nine o'clock appointment?"
"Y-yes, ma'am," Annette stammered. "N-nine o'clock is what they told me." Annette suddenly felt not as confident as she did earlier in the morning. She thought about running away. She thought about Mac and his protestations. She wondered what might happen if she called the whole thing off.
"C-could I have just a moment, Captain?" Annette leaned against the block wall and stuttered again as she asked the Viking-esque women still seated at the desk in the hallway.
"Of course, Mrs. Simmons," Angelus said with just the slightest of smirks on her face, nearly mirroring that of the elevator guard. "We do have a schedule but there is ample time built in for... taking a moment." Annette thought that this was the first hint of humanity from the captain she had seen since she rounded the corner. It helped put her at ease and re-focus on the big picture.
"Thank you, Captain," Annette said and drew in a deep breath, holding it for a second longer than normal then exhaling audibly. She thought about the money and her late mother and what she had told her about the experience years before. There was no going back now. Her determination realigned, Annette strode toward the desk and the female officer that occupied the chair behind it. "OK, Captain. I'm ready."
"Excellent, Mrs. Simmons," Angelus said as she finally rose from the seat. Annette noticed that, although the captain was burly, she was at least six inches shorter than her. She stifled a giggle at the officer's diminutive stature then focused her thoughts on the impending appointment. Angelus rounded the desk and opened the door between herself and the guard with the rifle. "Right this way, Mrs. Simmons," Angelus said as she motioned her to the opening. Annette walked through the doorway and the captain guided her with a hand slightly touching he back. Angelus led Annette through the room to another door on the other side then opened it. Annette peered inside but could see nothing.
"Is that where I'm supposed to go, ma'am?" Annette questioned Angelus.
"Yes, Mrs. Simmons," the captain answered matter-of-factly.
"It's so dark!" Annette exclaimed as she stepped into the pitch-black room.
"The Nebulans are very sensitive to bright light," Angelus retorted with a knowing confidence. "The lights will be brought up slightly when you go in so that you can find your way around. If you are ready now, Mrs. Simmons, then I'll leave you to the task at hand." Angelus did not wait for Annette's reply, only stepped backward through the doorway then closed the door.
As promised, the lights rose slightly so that Annette could see her surroundings. The room held nothing but a double bed with two pillows and no blankets, only a fitted sheet covering the mattress and a top sheet folded down halfway. Annette looked around the room and saw four cameras placed in each corner of the ceiling.
They're going to watch?!
She thought but then reasoned that it was most likely only for security purposes. Annette looked further into the room and saw a stainless-steel table at the foot of the bed. Sitting on top of the table, Annette saw something that looked like a brain, only it was black in color.
Next to the brain-like object on the table was a small metal box with two flashing red lights. Annette hesitantly stepped closer to the table and the brain-thing to look closer. As she did, Annette heard a very faint squeaking noise, almost like the sound she thought a mouse might make. The two lights went from red to green as the tiny squeaks were replaced by a calm voice that echoed throughout the room.
"Welcome, Annette Simmons, I am En-moten" the voice said. Annette heard more squeaks and then the voice continued.
"Thank you on behalf of the inhabitants of Veronax for your service to our species. Shall we begin the session?"
++++++++++
Mac and Danny had made it to the basement a full hour before Annette had entered the room for her session, but they were many corridors away from her and completely clueless as to where she might be in the bowels of the massive defunct casino. The two would-be rescuers decided to split up at a hallway that they had decided was approximately halfway from where they had started. As the corridor they were walking down ended in a "T," Mac took the left and continued without Danny who veered right.
"Use that walkie sparingly, if at all," Danny said just above a whisper as he held up his own orange device. The duo had found the two-way radios in a room occupied by a camouflage-clad guard who had snuck off to catch a few winks before the day's activities had gotten into full swing. Danny put a finger to his lips to keep Mac quiet then pointed to the walkies on a ledge near the slumbering soldier. Danny tiptoed into the room and gently removed the radios from their cradle. Stealthily, he exited the room, and the two men closed the door slowly as to not wake the sleeping guard. Now the two could keep in contact as they headed in opposite directions.
"Let me know if you find anything," Mac said lightly then headed down his chosen corridor and out of Danny's sight. As he lost sight of Danny, Mac turned the radio off and slid it in the outside pocket of his cargo shorts. He had no intention of letting Danny know what he found. His mind was on one thing and one thing only: Annette. He was going to find her and get her out of here if it took him the rest of his life. He did not care about the money or helping any damn alien race survive. He only wanted her and would stop at nothing to keep her safe.
Mac looked in many rooms down the corridors but found no one in them, only tables and chairs from the old casino's conference rooms and the occasional non-working slot machine torn apart in mid-repair. Mac rounded a corner on his third hallway then jumped back silently. There was an armed guard standing watch and another military person sitting at a desk just around the corner. Mac's heart pounded in his chest as he realized how close he had come to being caught. He took a few moments to bring his breathing and heart rate under control then peeked around the corner again. The guard was conferring with the officer at the desk, neither could see Mac's head poking around the corner. Mac could not hear what they were saying but he could see the man at the desk look at his watch then he and the guard left their post and went into a room further down.
Mac could not believe his luck! He swiftly made his way past the desk and into the room nearest to where the two soldiers had been speaking. He entered the room and saw nothing in it except for another door on the opposite side. Mac opened the second door and peered in. The room was so dark that he could not tell if anything or anyone was inside. Mac decided to take his chances and go in, desperate to find his beautiful wife.
"Annie?" he whispered to the black room. "Annie, are you in here?" Mac could see nothing but two faint red lights flashing on the opposite side of this room. As he took a step closer, his shin contacted a piece of furniture. Instinctively putting his hands out, Mac felt linen and deduced they were sheets on a bed. He was in one of the breeding rooms.
"Annie, are you in here?" Mac said a little louder but still just above a whisper. He moved around the bed and walked closer to the two red lights. Feeling his way, Mac touched cool metal and slid his hands down the table. As he got halfway down the slab, he felt something warmer than the cool steel, something almost body temperature. Before Mac could deduce what he had laid his hands on, he felt something like a rope quickly wrap around his neck then felt two more ropes around his mid-section and legs, pinning his arms to his sides and freezing his legs from running.
Mac was completely immobilized and unable to stop what came next. Mac felt a series of what he thought were small needles, no more than mosquito stingers, being pushed through his temples on both sides of his head. He began to feel a sensation that he could only describe as light electrical buzzing through his head, not painful but decidedly uncomfortable.
Mac was at the mercy of whatever had captured him. He had no idea what was happening in his head, but he was neither in pain nor afraid yet. Mac heard a series of squeaks that reminded him of training wheels on a child's tricycle that needed lubrication. Mac saw the red lights on the metal table turn green then heard a voice resonate throughout the room. But not just through the room but also throughout his head, as if the voice originated in his brain, then radiated outward to fill the darkened space.
"Mackenzie Simmons," the voice called out to him as the buzzing in his head grew slightly stronger, "why are you in this area? This is a restricted zone for guests of the breeding program subjects."
Mac tried to ask who the stranger was and what was happening to him, but he found he could do nothing except answer the voice's question, as though he had no control over his mind and actions.
"I-I'm l-l-looking for my w-wife," Mac heard himself stammer, not quite believing that he had actually uttered those words. More quiet squeaks, intensified head buzzing, and then green lights on the table before the voice returned.
"Annette Simmons is in another area of the breeding floor, Mackenzie Simmons," the voice exclaimed. Mac felt more buzzing in his head. He could feel whatever it was probing further into his mind. "You have questions. Ask them now."
