Whisper (21..A novel continued)
Mark looked back at the man, his face showing concern. The man was almost incoherent and seemed to be panicking. “Oh Lord God! Thank you for this deliverance! I am so sorry for my evil ways and lack of faith!” He was ranting and pulling at his hair. The team decided to put him on the stretcher and strapped him down. They reassured him it was for his safety. The other prisoner was frightened and seemed almost inclined to stay in his cell yet there was relief in his eyes. He was 6’0” with thick wavy brown hair and blue eyes. He wore glasses with square frames and a crack along the edges of the glass pane. Both men were Caucasian. Calixta took his hand and they began leading them hurriedly toward the evacuation tunnel.
“The package is on its way to the tree. Santa has got his work cut out for him this year.” Zach Anderson quipped into the radio. John Stenberg was waiting at the evacuation van. “The kids are asleep. Bring the presents and keep quiet!” he said with an unnatural seriousness. They rushed the prisoners through the sewers. The man in the stretcher was babbling and wide-eyed but kept mostly calm. When they arrived on the street everything was as expected. They were blinded by the sunlight and Mark covered his eyes with his hand. John helped them wheel the man into the back of the van. “Oh you, you.. are a kind kind angel of light. God has much use for you. Thank you brother. Thank you.” the prisoner gushed. Anderson looked fondly at the man and ran his hand over his hair. “There there. Calm down. You are ok now. You are in good hands. We will help you recover. There's no more reason to fear.”
Zach Anderson and Mark stood at the front of the van and pretended to be working. There was a large sheet of plastic blocking the van and cones had been setup on both sides of the alley blocking traffic and onlookers. They could hear fire and police sirens nearby. Dark acrid chemical smoke was billowing into the sky from one section of the hospital. A man wandered around the emergency tape and began walking toward the van. “Sir, turn around immediately.” Anderson commanded. He moved toward the man decisively, keeping a direct gaze into his eyes, and pointed back toward the street. “This is a dangerous area and there is a gas leak. Please evacuate this area as we are working to get it corrected”
The man acted startled and turned back around. He paused and looked back at Mark and Zach. “Ok, man, chill out. Geez.” he said defensively. Mark chuckled as the man walked away. “Good call Zach. That guy would have definitely caused trouble. Did you see the curiosity in his eyes? Some people...” Anderson chuckled and they turned back to the van. The prisoners had been loaded and the rest of the team was ready to go. Anderson hopped in the driver seat and Mark took the passenger. They sped off down the opposite end of the alley. Mark's spirit soared and he couldn't wait to find out what the prisoners had to say.
They were all seated around a beautifully ornate and polished oak table. The foyer room was covered in tapestries of knights and wild hunts. They were sipping coffee and a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies sat on a beautifully worked silver tray. There was an epic painting of Marcus Aurelius sitting on the far wall. It was a rich oil painting with dark green and blue hues. Marcus appeared stern and confident. Behind him a legion of soldiers were depicted with cloaks and breastplates in full battle regalia. The scale was enormous and they looked out over a battlefield of broken and scorched earth.
The two rescued prisoners were seated at one end next to each other and the rest of the team spread out in a circle around the table. Lexington was looking at the two men. “Harold Baines, correct? That's your name sir?” The tall thin man with spectacles responded curtly. “Yes I've told you so many times. Please begin I am ready to relate the details of our capture and answer as many questions as I can about the test facility as I can.” The other man looked over at him with hazy eyes that seemed almost to not recognize him. Yet he was much more calm than before and not prone to random bouts of prayer and excited fearful exhortations as he had been.
“Harold is a smart man. I will try my best to answer your questions but I just wanted to say I know this happened for a reason and God is with us.” He exclaimed with conviction. Mark had discovered the man's name was Alexander Erickson. He had held Alexander's hand in the medical center when they returned to the mansion attempting to keep him calm. The man had been delirious and taken several days of stabilizing and therapy sessions to get to a point where he was ready and able to share information.
Mark felt glad the man hadn't lost it as he seemed pretty mad when they had first found him. As soon as Harold had been able he, had ranted continuously asking anyone he came into proximity with to pray with him or going on diatribes about the Savior; and he was up all hours of the night walking around the mansion. He demanded to be allowed to walk the grounds in the earliest hours of the morning and seemed to have an ecstatic aura of energy around him. Harold had said this was quite unlike him and the conviction had developed as a result of the treatment they had received at the testing facility.
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