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Chapter 4

The Buddha has spoken to me, and I have risen to his challenge. The Path was once both a comforter and crutch I leaned on, but no more. I go forward to assist the Man in his doings. My brothers, hope that I do not fail. Thurman must let go of his fixation with Samsara, or else we shall all perish.

And that would be just the beginning.

“So you’re the little hotshot who thinks he can make my prison into a veritable zoo. You should be grateful that I didn’t just rid myself of you the day it happened.” The Warden jeered condescendingly. They were sitting in the Warden’s large, gray office, right in front of a black clock. Robert and William had been led there by the big man and his guards, and were listening with both interest and fear. This man held their lives in his hands, and it would do no good to anger him. “But you should be more grateful that I can use you now. Did Julius brief you?” He asked, gesturing to the big man. Robert and William looked at the Warden blankly. “I’ll take that as a no, then.” The Warden sighed, rubbing his forehead in a show of fatigue. “Alright, here’s what we know. Around 1400 hours, your friend, Bai Williams, was admitted to the infirmary for his weekly injections of a prototype drug designed to help with bipolarity. After receiving said injection, he began shaking and convulsing severely. It would have been unnoticeable and successful, save for the fact that Mr. Williams tore down one of the curtains in his convulsions, revealing his plight to the other doctors. They swiftly recognized he had been poisoned. Nurses and other patients then claim that the doctor who gave the injection to him crushed the needle under his foot and ripped off his scrubs to reveal a patients outfit underneath.” Robert snorted at the Warden’s terminology. These men were not patients; they were prisoners. The Warden continued without noticing the noise.

“No one knows how or why this patient got into the infirmary, but the guards who went in to help the other patient claim that he was gone by the time they got in there. No one saw him leave, and it’s been assumed he somehow escaped through the air-duct to leave Mr. Williams to die. The guards on duty took Mr. Williams to another doctor to identify the poison. It was confirmed to be strychnine.” At this point he stopped as both Robert and William gasped in disbelief. “I take it you both are familiar with the effects of the so-called rat poison?” He inquired. They both nodded their heads furiously. ‘Well, then you know what’s at stake. Mr. Williams will be fine, so long as he remains in the infirmary and receives painkillers and activated charcoal to absorb the poison.” He took a deep breath, and looked Robert right in the eye before he spoke. Robert saw genuine fear and admiration in the Warden’s eyes.

The Warden spoke once more. “That’s where you come in, Mr. Thurman. Mr. Williams cannot be disturbed from these treatments, or else his condition will be fatal. We believe that the patient who attempted to murder him will try again. He obviously has some sort of vendetta against Mr. Williams, and we want you to seek this patient out.”

“Why me?” Robert cried, leaping to his feet. The Warden gave him a glare that said: Sit down or someone else is going to be hurt. Out of fear, Robert sat down again and composed himself. The Warden sustained his glare, and then he continued.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Thurman, it’s not that simple. We sent the guards to retrieve this patient, and they led us on a merry chase all throughout the complex, and they stopped at one point. Unfortunately, we had to restrain them from going any further.”

“Why?” Robert asked again.

“They led us to the Gape.”

Robert heard a sharp intake of breath from William, and he turned to see his reaction. All the blood had gone out of his friends face, and his hands were starting to shake uncontrollably. Unnerved, Robert turned back to the Warden.

“What’s the Gape?” He tentatively asked.

Julius and the Warden looked at each other.

“We have something to show you.” Julius said, a grave tone showing through his tough demeanor.

* * *

They stood at the mouth of a black tunnel, a single metal gate looming before them. A deep sound seemed to be emanating from the darkness, and Robert craned his neck to listen to it. Slowly, he realized the sounds were howls. And they weren’t coming from animals. The Warden’s voice sounded behind him.

“It was the original complex, built back before the turn of the century. It was a state-of-the-art edifice, built to stand the coming days. But it quickly fell into disrepair as sections were added on and technology improved. Pretty soon it became the area that people joked about but never saw.” The Warden relayed, all the while staring at the abyss.

“Then Samuel Hunt happened. Samuel Hunt was an inmate in 2015, a man diagnosed with deep dementia. He talked to things that weren’t there, thought the walls were trying to kill him, and believed the guards were aliens coming to abduct him. He’s the kind of patient you learn to ignore.”

“Is?” Robert asked. The Warden nodded.

“He’s still down there.”

Robert began to feel an icy feeling creeping down his spine, and suppressed the urge to shiver. He forced himself to stop thinking about the connection between the eerie howls and the insane man.

“What happened?” He asked, striving to keep the trembling out of his voice. It only half worked.

“No one knows.” The Warden said gravely. “One day the guards went for their weekly check-up on him, and discovered that he wasn’t in his cell. In place of Samuel Hunt was one of the other inmates, bloodied and barely recognizable. On the wall was a message written in his blood that said simply: ‘The Clock has run down.’ No one could make anything of it.”

Robert could, because he knew what this saying was a pair to. He doubled over and tried to stop his head from spinning. Who was Samuel Hunt, and did this mean anything? Or was this just some cosmic coincidence? He managed to catch his breath and regain his composure, and found the Warden staring strangely at him.

“Sorry.” Robert said tersely. The Warden shrugged, and went back to staring into the abyss. After a brief moment, he addressed Robert again.

“We were baffled. All of us were. We thought that we were invincible, that things like this only happened in the movies. How wrong we were. It took a minute before one of the guards saw there were bloody footprints leading out of the cell and through the complex. All we had to do was follow the trail. And guess where that led us?” He waved to the gloom in front of them. “Here. Right to this very spot. The footprints even ended right at the threshold, with no sign as to where they vanished. By that time, the Gape was almost as you see it now. An earthquake had left it buried halfway underground, with only this entrance left. So we just put this fence here and decided to let Samuel rot down there.”

“That never happened. Pretty soon we began to have patients disappear when we weren’t watching, always with some sign that they had been taken here. Sometimes it was a trail of post-it notes. Other times it was more footprints. There was even a trail of breadcrumbs. Then came the bones. About three days after each patient disappeared, the guards would find a pile of bones somewhere in the complex. A big pile. Of big bones. Every time, we would take them to the infirmary to be analyzed, and every time they would come back with the same answer.”

“They were human bones, with sufficient DNA on them to correctly identify the patients we had lost. Samuel Hunt had found his food source. He was eating our patients.”

Robert couldn’t hold it in anymore. He stumbled back a few steps and vomited immensely, the scraps of some sort of meal spewing out of him. He vaguely realized that he hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast this morning, hours and hours ago. Might want to fix that and eat something. He thought. The thought of food combined with their current subject only made his nausea worse.

The Warden came over and patted him on the back once, but then quickly pulled his hand away, as if realizing that the government he worked for classified this man as dangerously insane. So he simply stood there, waiting for Robert to finish his bowel contractions. A few moments later, Robert sat down on the ground, wiping a bit of the contents of his stomach away from his mouth. He worked to keep himself from hyperventilating. He waved at the Warden to continue. The Warden obliged, keeping an eye on the sick man.

“The administration obviously couldn’t have this continue. If word got out, we would be either shut down or silenced. So he handed the assignment off to me. I took the time-honored route: SWAT teams sent in to kill the madman. We assembled a force of fifty men, all equipped with the latest and most up-to-date gear. It was supposed to be an easy task for them, almost akin to a training exercise.”

“We were fools. It had been almost three months since this all began, and Samuel Hunt had ample time to learn the secrets of his dark labyrinth. As trained as my men were, they didn’t have the experience that he did with those tunnels. The moment they disappeared from our view, we heard gunshots go off and chaos erupt. No one could see what was happening, and a few of our own unequipped guards went down into the darkness to help them out.”

“Not a single man came back. Not a one. We waited for hours, listening for sounds long after the last scream faded from our ears. Nothing came, and we abandoned this section of the facility completely. To this day, no evidence of the men we sent has surfaced, and no one wishes to give a second of thought to the fate we sent them to. The fate I sent them to.”

The Warden abruptly fell silent, and he stared for a long while at the darkness, as if reliving that horrible day. Suddenly, he turned towards Robert and pulled to his feet gruffly.

“Although I don’t like to repeat myself, I will say it again. This is why I asked for you. Surely you were wondering why you weren’t exterminated because of your murder. There are two reasons. This is one of them. Ever since I heard of your act, I’ve had two minds about this. One side screamed for me to do my duty and kill you, but my more practical side forced me to think. I’ve never forgotten this tunnel, and this just might be the right time to strike.” The Warden pulled Robert towards him and whispered in his ear. “I also don’t believe you’re insane. Trust me. I know crazy people, and you, sir, are definitely not one of them.” He pushed Robert away and looked at him intently. “Well?” He barked.

Robert took a deep, ragged breath.

“I accept.” He proclaimed, this time his voice clear and concise.

The Warden smiled. “Then let’s get you suited up.”

“You really want me to use this?” Robert asked skeptically, hefting the gun that had been thrust into his hand. The lettering on it read Barrett REC7, and Robert could almost feel the power and capacity for slaughter the rifle possessed.

“What?” The Warden said. “You think we would send you in empty handed? Maybe you really are insane.” He stalked off to check out other weapons and gear.

Robert leaned over to Julius, whispering to him. “Is he always so friendly to the inmates? Or just to the ones who he wants something from?”

Julius sighed, and spoke quietly into Robert’s ear. “It’s because you remind him of his son.” He said.

Robert was taken aback, and he tried to make sure it didn’t show. The tough old Warden had a soft side to him? This seemed like news to him.

“What was he like?” He asked, genuinely curious.

“A lot like you, but then I’ve only read your file. Brilliant, scientific hotshot, working his ways up the ranks of the government. Got close to winning a Nobel, even.”

“And?”

Julius sighed again. “Being a scientist, you have to know the emotions that run rampant throughout the labs. The resentment towards rivals, stress from the race for funding. All of that stuff takes its toll on guys, but it never affected anyone more than his son. The guy was absolutely brilliant, which is probably why he seemed to fall so far.”

Robert nearly cried out in suspense. “Julius, what happened??”

“Brain cancer. No one ever saw it coming. It just snuck up one day on him, hit him while he was working. Oh, there were symptoms of it beforehand, headaches and such. But he was so into his work that he nudged away, saying it was just lack of sleep. Until one day, he was working with one of his assistants in the lab. They were on the verge of something big, something astronomical. Something that would change the world. They nearly had it in their grasp, until Bobby started complaining of his headaches. The assistant was shocked, seeing as he had always pushed them off. He almost ignored it and went back to his work, until Bobby started moaning and groaning and holding his head in his hands. Then he collapsed.” Julius shook his head. “The assistant called an ambulance, and they rushed him to the hospital while he wailed screamed. As soon as they arrived, and took some preliminary x-rays, they summoned an oncologist. They put him through an MRI, analyzed it, and frantically took him to an operating room to see if they could fix the enormous tumor that was sitting in his skull. “

“Somehow, using a new kind of surgery, they managed to get rid of most of it. But the damage it had done was irreparable. Bobby could barely remember his own name, let alone be able to pioneer a new kind of eco-friendly bacteria.”

He didn’t manage to get anything else out, because Robert had seized his collar and pinned him to the wall. He was breathing heavily, and there was a glimmer of madness in his eyes.

“What did you say?” He bellowed, in a demonic voice that was not his own. His breath seethed between his clenched teeth, and he tightened his grip.

“Thurman! What the Burst is going on?” The Warden hollered, racing forward to break them up. He pulled Robert away from Julius, who collapsed to the ground and spluttered and coughed, trying to get an explanation out.

“I-It’s all right, sir. I was just-“ He let loose a mighty cough, then stood back up and stood at attention. “I was just trying to see if he really had it in him. To take down Samuel Hunt, I mean.” He sent a furtive wink towards Robert, who just stood there dumbly, eyes wide in shock. What had just happened to him?

“Well, good job. Testing him definitely was a good idea, and I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it. Excellent work.” He gruffly, then turned to Robert. “Well son, now that your little skirmish is over, pick up your gun and let’s get you suited up.” He turned on his heel and strutted off into the next room, leaving Robert standing in the middle of the room. Julius nudged him, and gestured for him to follow. Robert picked his rifle up from the ground, slung it over his shoulder, and sprinted after the Warden.

“Well son, what do you think?” The Warden asked with pride, gazing upon a fully equipped Robert Thurman.

Honestly, Robert felt like a knight of old, dressed up in a tin can suit that wouldn’t stop a twig.

You really do have to quit with the ancient references. You aren’t THAT old. He thought to himself, and viewed his armed personage. In addition to the rifle the Warden had given him, he’d been equipped with a titanium-Kevlar army suit that was a deep shade of purple.

“Black is actually too unnatural in the dark. It’s TOO devoid of light, and the eye picks it up immediately. Dark purple is just right.” The Warden had told him. And it certainly seemed to be that way. Testing it in a near pitch-black room, Robert had a harder time seeing the purple one than the black one. The suit itself was light as a feather, but had been tested for strength and durability by stabbing a knife straight into it. Nothing penetrated, save it were a rifle round fired at point-blank range. Robert certainly felt protected in this subtle monstrosity.

On his waist lay a Kevlar utility built, with multiple gadgets clipped to the sides. There were flash-bang grenades for a man who was used to the darkness, a Swiss-army knife with numerous useful tools, and several clips of ammunition. He had two Koch handguns on either hip, each with extra clips on the side. Tucked into his waistband was yet another pistol: a .44 Magnum Model 29 revolver. The most powerful handgun in the world. Or at least someone smart had said that. Robert couldn’t quite remember whom.

Robert had spent about an hour in a closed off shooting range, firing at paper cutouts of people. Surprisingly, he had no trouble hitting them in the heart and between the eyes. The instructor even congratulated him on his kill shots, saying how he’d never seen anything like it. Robert shrugged, not saying what he really thought it was. Instincts left over from the Raze.

Robert shuddered, as he always did when he thought about those horrifying days. Days full of hardship and suffering. Days full of death.

He shook off the feelings and memories, pushing them back until there were less pressing things looming before him. He emptied his clip at the cutouts, put his gun down, and walked out of the range to the room where the Warden was waiting for him with the rest of his equipment.

On his head he wore a Boron-alloy helmet that he could barely feel on his head, but that the Warden had (explosively) shown to be completely bulletproof from distances up to twenty-five feet. Robert could still hear the ringing of that shot in his ears. At least the Warden had warned him beforehand.

Connected to his helmet was the most important piece of his menagerie: a pair of full night-vision goggles. It would allow him to see deep down in the tunnels, as long as there was the tiniest light for it to amplify. Robert sincerely hoped there would be that little light, because total darkness was too close to home for him. Literally. As a precaution, Robert had an old-fashioned but useful tool to let him see in the dark: a flashlight. And, just to be safe, he even had a couple of candles and matches. He would not be caught, helpless in the dark. Never again.

He took in a deep breath, embracing his fear and letting it wash over him. “Sir, I think I’m ready to take down this maniac. Just point me in the direction you want me to, and I’ll hunt him down.”

The Warden nodded, and he clapped Robert on the back. “Then let’s get you to the Gape. You’ve got work to do.”

* * *

They stood before the mouth of the tunnel, with Robert gazing into the darkness. Even with all of his gear and weapons, he was nearly shaking in his rubber tread army-issued boots. The prospect of trying to take down an insane cannibal in the dark was daunting.

“Ready, hotshot?” Julius asked, slapping him on the back in a friendly manner. Robert gulped, much to Julius’ amusement. “It’ll be fine. It can’t be as bad as those jets.” He said, laughing uproariously. Robert just looked at him, perplexed.

“What do you mean by ‘jets’?” He asked. Julius just continued laughing, then walked over to the Warden and started talking quietly with him. Robert simply stood there, listening to the unnatural breeze that whistled out of the cave’s mouth. Suddenly, a memory came to the front of his mind.

He stood before a cave just like this one, with his wife in one arm and Jessica in the other. They were broken, beaten, rundown. The Hungered had been chasing them for weeks through the Appalachian Mountains, and they seemed to be able to find every hiding place Robert and his family managed to scavenge up. This was their last hope, an uninhabited cave that they had carefully avoided since they began their game of cat-and-mouse.

Robert and his exhausted brood stumbled into the cave, set up a perimeter and a campsite, and nearly crashed in fatigue. After laying on the ground for a few moments, he forced himself to get up and grab the shotgun that was their only defense. He yawned deeply, and then walked over to the mouth of the cave to take watch. They wouldn’t get his family. Not again.

A voice shattered his memories.

“Hey! Sunshine! You ready? Ol’ Samuel won’t quit stealing people just because you felt like daydreaming!” The Warden yelled, gesturing at the open cave. Robert nodded, his eyes wide with fear, as Julius opened the gate for him. Involuntarily, as if obeying the Warden’s command, his legs started moving towards the beckoning entryway. As he passed Julius, the big man leaned down and whispered in his ear. It wasn’t very loud, as the Warden could not hear it. It was a message just for Robert, just for a man that might go to his death. It was several messages in one. It was a message of praise, of motivation. But it was also something that revealed a truth, a secret. And it absolutely rocked Robert to the core, to the very center of his being.

“Go and get him, Dr. Thurman.”

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[Cielle Merbien]

"...while he wailed screamed." Which one are you meaning?