Waiting by Erin Dennington ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 90 Bill and Marty were pretty close to being through the laboratory's maze of desks and countertops when the lights came back on in the room. Bill was wholly unprepared for what happened next after the lights came on, freezing them in their tracks. A voice seemed to come out of nowhere and everywhere, paradoxically barraging them from all directions without having a source for its origin. "Stop right there," the voice said. "You have come far enough." Bill was not about to take a step forward, anyway, even without the voice's command. But he could see that Marty appeared ready to bolt; his eyes had the wide eyed fearful expression of a rabbit cornered in a cage. "Marty!" Bill gasped when he noticed that Marty was making a move to drop to the floor. "Buck up, man, it's ok! Calm down!" "Everything is not ok," the voice said, making Bill cringe at how easily it was able to follow their conversation. "You will come to understand that in time, I suppose." "If that's you, Matthew, who is hiding and talking to us," Bill said, "then you are really getting on my nerves." "Ah," replied the voice, "but why should I reveal myself to you? What have I to gain from doing such an ignorant thing?" "You are the one who seems to know everything," Marty said, his voice cracking, "and we don't know anything!" "On the contrary, my funny little friend," the voice countered, "I would say that you definitely know way too much for your own good." Bill's eyes darted from side to side as he sought to discover where their tormentor's voice was coming from. He tried to hide what he was doing, but knew that the unseen person from whom the voice was issuing probably knew that he was searching for the outlet. His body felt chilled by the steady streams of sweat that fell down his back, so he slowly unzipped his fleece lined winter jacket so that he could air out his skin. "What do you think you are doing, fool?" This time the voice sounded amused and Bill let out a small sigh of relief at discovering that fact. If Matthew was amused, then he would most likely not kill them. At least that is what Bill was thinking. The voice appeared to enjoy its taunting game, as the cadence of its speech quickened. "You guys think you are so much smarter than me, but you really have nothing to show for it. I, however, have discovered the ultimate thing of a lifetime. I have taken control and you shall either side with me or perish." "Oh, cut the crap," Bill said. "You're so full of yourself that you don't even know which end to wipe when you go to the bathroom. Listen to yourself and tell me that you wouldn't laugh if you were in my shoes." He felt emboldened by the knowledge that the voice appeared to only desire to taunt them. It did not appear to want to hurt them -- at least not yet -- so Bill decided to work this to his own benefit, ethics be dammed. Casually reaching into his inner coat pocket, where his mini recorder lurked, he thumbed the switch to on. The voice did not appear to notice, or chose to believe that Bill was merely adjusting his coat again, for it did not say a word about Bill's actions. Bill took great pleasure in pulling one over on the voice, knowing that his recorder was good for at least 3 hours of recording. Whatever happened next, it would go down in history. The voice laughed and said, mockingly, "Oh, I am already laughing. Have no fear of that, my friend." There was a slight hiss of static and then a barked "don't you dare move from your locations until I say so or you'll be sorry." With that said, the voice went silent. Once again the lights flickered and went out, but this time Bill was not afraid in the slightest. Marty even appeared to have revived a little, too, for he stood with his arms across his chest, defiant and proud. Of course, with all of his mental posturing and courageous thoughts, Bill still jumped when a hand hesitatingly reached out and grasped his shoulder. "Stupid coward," he berated himself when he saw who it was. 21:22 - 11.30.02 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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