In The Defendant's Chair

by Lynn Moon

  “My God!” shrieked a fireman. “What in the hell happened here?”

  It was a free-for-all frenzy. Flames danced to the rhythm of the unlucky victims’ heartbeats and grew wilder with each passing minute. More and more water sprayed out from the hoses. Many, who were too ill to move on their own, were trapped inside rooms coughing and wheezing from the deadly fumes. Many were burnt beyond recognition, but thank God, had long since left this world for a much better place. They were the ones who were blessed. Those who remained were suffering—they were the cursed.

  Darkness adhered cautiously to the walls as the flames continued to grow and spread. A reddish-orange light emanated from the exit signs creating an evilness far more sinister and threatening than the firefighters had ever seen. Light fixtures and other objects melted before their eyes. The water droplets were no match for the sizzling blaze that consumed anything and everything.

  “Get out of here!” the Fire Captain cried. “Hurry… everyone… get out of here, the building’s going to collapse.”

  But before anyone could move, the ceiling caved inward as though embracing the clinic one last time. Billowing plumes of smoke rose hauntingly over the small facility that was once a rather nice building. Flames leaped joyously toward the stars as though dancing wickedly and rejoicing in their victory.

  Bystanders stood in terror and disbelief. The cars across the street peeled and bubbled from the heat. People ran screaming from the now demolished building that was once a place of hope. Those trapped inside were lost forever—the only logical thing for the rescuers to do now was to save their own lives. One by one, people ran as far away from the evilness as possible.

  Chapter 62

  THE SMALL TABLE set romantically for two was lit by one candle in the middle of the white linen tablecloth. Some of the tables were draped in either gold or black to create a mixture of intimacy and sensuality. Sounds from the vibrating guitar strings echoed through her mind as the man sang only a few feet away. Tyler glanced into Caiden’s eyes and smiled. Her heart pounded harder than ever. It was a wonderful sensation being with Caiden away from their daily work. Today he was hers and she was his. It felt wonderful and sinful to take a day off just to be together. But they needed the short break.

  “Madam?” the waiter asked pulling out the chair for her to sit.

  Tyler felt like a million dollars as she took her seat. The waiter placed a golden cloth napkin with black embroidered letters over her lap. Today was magical and it could only get better.

  The song Don’t Worry played softly in the background, but the only sounds Tyler heard came directly from Caiden.

  “Tyler?” Caiden asked. “Hello, anybody home?”

  She smiled waving his hand across her face. Tyler blinked then blushed.

  “Oh… I’m sorry, and you were saying… um what?”

  “Yes ma’am,” the waiter said again. “I was asking about drinks?”

  “Um, yes… I’ll have whatever he’s having,” she replied.

  “Tyler,” Caiden whispered across the table. “I didn’t order anything yet.”

  Tyler felt not only stupid but out of control. All she wanted was to crawl into Caiden’s embrace and melt into a warm nothingness.

  “We’ll each have a Vodka Blush please,” Caiden said to the waiter.

  “Certainly,” the waiter replied.

  “Having a good time?”

  “Yes,” Tyler answered not able to remove her eyes from Caiden’s gaze.

  He chuckled. “What? What is it?”

  “Nothing. I’m just having a good time.”

  “Good,” Caiden said glancing down at the menu. “Know what you want?”

  “You,” Tyler replied before she realized what she said.

  Caiden glanced over the top of his menu and raised an eyebrow. Tyler was still staring at him.

  “I guess I’ll order for us,” he added with a slight chuckle in his voice. “Our tickets are for the early showing, so we’ll be fine. It’s only two o’clock. We have plenty of time.”

  Tyler smiled not hearing a word he was saying. She was engulfed by the love that was swelling within her heart.

  Chapter 63

  A COOL BREEZE drifted through the tall trees that lined the mountain ridge and invigorated the girls. Carrie was several steps in front of Lacey as they climbed the overgrown mountain path. The aroma of various trees and flowering brush warmed their hearts and soothed their souls. The day was hot but also cool, sweet but also sour. Every few steps Carrie checked on Lacey’s progress.

  “Need to stop?” Carrie asked.

  “Nope,” Lacey yelled as she lost her footing.

  The ground beneath her gave way and she slid down the side of the tall mountain slope.

  “Carrie!” Lacey screamed as her body dragged leaves and other debris with it.

  “Damn,” Carrie screeched. “Grab onto something.”

  Dropping everything right where she stood, Carrie sighed. Cautiously she ran after Lacey only to get caught in the flowing avalanche of packed leaves. Small branches and twigs bore into Carrie’s palms and legs as she tried to brace her speeding decent.

  “Carrie, help!” Lacey screamed.

  From up ahead, Carrie could only see the top of Lacey’s head and her hair flailing wildly. Then suddenly she was gone. Only the trees in the distance were there—no Lacey.

  “Lacey!” Carrie screamed as she realized they were both dead. Obviously Lacey flung over the side of a mountain cliff. Carrie tried to dig her heels into the soil to stop her wild and crazy ride. But instead of dirt or rock, Carrie felt years of packed dead leaves under her feet. The more she tried to stop, the faster she slid. Until suddenly, she was falling into darkness, into her death. Then there was nothing but a soft landing on years of buildup leaves accompanied by an eerie silence.

  “Nice of you to drop in,” Lacey said with her face hovering just above Carrie’s face. “Are you hurt?”

  Carrie lifted herself up onto her elbows and tried to regain her senses. “I don’t think so, are you?”

  “No, I’m okay. I think we’re in some kind of a room.”

  “A room?” Carrie asked trying to stand up.

  “No I’m lying,” Lacey mused. “Honestly, I think we’re in a cave or something.”

  Lacey held her flashlight in one hand while reaching down to help Carrie up with the other. The space was dark except for the small ray of light emanating from Lacey’s hand.

  “So now what, oh Great Explorer?” Lacey moaned. “The opening’s about fifteen feet above our heads; there’s no way we’re going to get out the same way we came in.”

  Carrie looked up at the small hole that was way above her reach. Dead leaves fell around her as she stared into the dusty sunlight. The sounds of small animals didn’t give her any warm or fuzzy feelings, either.

  “Okay, now what do we do?” Lacey asked again her voice echoing through the chamber.

  “Well?” Carrie moaned. “Do you have another flashlight on you?”

  “Where’s yours?”

  Carrie lifted her gaze longingly into the heavens. “Up there.”

  “Real smart,” Lacey added. “At least I brought my stuff with me.”

  Carrie took the flashlight from Lacey and scanned the small cave. The floor was smooth, too smooth, and the area was massive. Carrie could almost make out a…

  “Wait a minute,” Carrie whispered. “This is no cave.”

  “What else can it be up here in the middle of nowhere?” Lacey asked.

  “Look, over there, a table with glass bottles on it.” Carrie pointed across the room with the light. Lacey squinted trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness.

  “Hold on,” Lacey stated as she dug through her backpack.

  “What are you doing?” Carrie asked, flashing the light directly onto Lacey.

  “This,” Lacey declared, pulling out a larger flashlight.

  “I thought you said…” Carrie began but finished, “…oh
never mind.”

  The room was huge with many large stainless-steel tables. It was a sprawling maze beckoning them to try it out.

  “Wow, where are we?” Lacey asked walking through the room.

  “Not sure.”

  “You think anyone’s still here?”

  “Doubt it,” Carrie stated as she continued to examine the mysterious place they just landed in.

  Shelves lined the walls with large glass jars containing a liquid with what appeared to be skinned animal parts.

  “Yuck,” Lacey stated. “What is this stuff?”

  “It reminds me of a laboratory of some kind,” Carrie surmised trying to get a closer look. “Oh my God!”

  “What is it?” Lacey hollered.

  “Ah shit.”

  “What?” Lacey screamed.

  “These are not animal parts,” Carrie whispered turning away.

  “Then what are they?”

  “Human,” Carrie exclaimed shivering.

  Carrie glanced around the dark room and tried to absorb everything. It was hard since the only light came from her flashlight. The room was huge and the walls were lined with row after row of shelves filled with what could only be explained as body parts. The more she studied the large and small jars, the more Carrie felt she just entered a side show exhibit on the weird and unnatural world of human evolution.

  “What is all this crap?” Lacey asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Carrie answered.

  The middle of the room was filled with stainless steel tables bolted to the floor. Some tables were pulled from their studs and shoved to one side. Probably by animals trapped after falling in as they had. Each table housed a large sink, flushed and drained by a hose hanging above it. The room was draped with these strange contraptions which gave it a more sinister feel.

  “I feel like we just entered a house of horrors or something,” Lacey whispered.

  “I think we did. I mean look at this… it looks like a human fetus but look at the feet!”

  “Wow, they almost look webbed or something,” Lacey surmised.

  “And look at the eyes, they don’t look at all human,” Carrie added.

  “No they don’t, they look really weird, they’re round like an animal’s.” Lacey glanced around the room. “Do you get the feeling we shouldn’t be here?”

  “Yes, I do, and what really bothers me is why? There’s a reason this place was abandoned. It’s almost as though people left in the middle of something. That desk over there has papers on it. It’s like everyone left in a real hurry.”

  “There’s got to be a door around here somewhere,” Lacey said, glancing over her shoulder. “I’m going to look for it.”

  The thing in the jar stared at Carrie with saddened eyes. It was only a couple of feet long. No hair, no legs and no arms. The ears were deformed and so was the nose. The skin was rough looking, not smooth like a normal baby. Carrie was sure she was staring at a newborn human of some kind. Everywhere she looked, jars contained strange creatures floating in a yellow liquid. As she walked through the room, she noticed most of the jars contained body parts instead of a whole baby. Deformed hands and feet, floating within their eternal liquid of existence—eyes, ears, noses, mouths. It was a shopping mall of discarded human body parts and it made her sick.

  Heads were next, hundreds of deformed human heads preserved in this disgusting room to be examined and studied. Several skulls were deformed, with cleft lip and pallet, they ranged from mild to severe. Carrie wondered if these babies were killed for just this purpose—to show the progression of the ailment to others.

  “Sick,” Carrie said to no one in particular.

  “Over here!” Lacey yelled. “I found something… hurry.”

  “What is what?” Carrie asked.

  “I’m not sure. What is this thing?” Lacey asked wiping the dust from the wall.

  “What is what?” Carrie asked kneeling down to get a better look. “Let me see… it looks like some kind of a…. wall mount… or plaque of some kind.”

  As she flashed her light upon the emblem she shrieked.

  “What now?” Lacey asked.

  “Do you know what this is?”

  “A picture of a skull, I mean it matches the weirdness of this room,” Lacey surmised.

  “Duh… am I the only person with brains?” Carrie scolded.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Lacey… look at this thing,” Carrie said pointing to the skull that was sitting on top of two crossed bones. “This emblem is a signature.”

  “Signature of who?”

  “This is not good. We shouldn’t be here.” As Carrie talked she couldn’t remove her eyes or her hand from the plaque embedded in the stone. “It’s the signature of The Order of the Skull and Bones.”

  “The what?” Lacey asked.

  “Honestly, don’t you read? They were known as The Brotherhood of Death… a secret society from Yale University. This secret society housed some pretty famous and powerful people.”

  The more Carrie explained the more she felt she was being watched. She didn’t like this place and wanted out.

  “The members are called Bonesmen,” Carrie explained.

  “Are?” Lacey’s eyes widen. “You mean they still exist?”

  “Yes. I’m telling you this isn’t good.”

  “Okay, so what do they have to do with this God forsaken place,” Lacey asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe they abandoned it a long time ago? But we shouldn’t be here. I don’t think anyone wanted this place found.”

  “A little late for that now. We’re here and we’re not going anywhere. We definitely cannot get out the same way we came in. I do hope this place was really abandoned as you say.”

  “Let’s keep looking. We need to find a way out,” Carrie said shinning her light around the room.

  In one corner of the massive, dark room a large cabinet had fallen against the wall. Lacey peered under one corner and was surprised to find a door.

  “Hey, over here Carrie… look what I found.”

  “Thank goodness,” Carrie replied heading in her direction. But before Carrie reached her she stopped to study what appeared to be a body of a two- or three-year-old child. The glass jar was the largest so far and Carrie was surprised she hadn’t noticed it before.

  “Carrie… help me!” Lacey screamed as she tried to move the cabinet frozen in place.

  But Carrie didn’t move. She was mesmerized by the beauty of the little girl floating inches from her face. She was tiny but perfectly formed in every way, except for her…

  “Carrie?” Lacey asked, now standing behind her. “Egads, what is that? Are those… wings?”

  “I believe they are,” Carrie surmised. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

  “Yeah, right. Can we go now?”

  “Look at this thing… help me turn the jar,” Carrie coached as she reached out to touch the dusty glass.

  “Don’t touch it!” Lacey screamed, pulling her away. “You don’t know if it can hurt you.”

  “It’s dead,” Carrie answered placing her hands on both sides of the glass.

  Lacey sighed as she helped Carrie cautiously turn the container. “I’m going to regret this, I can tell already.”

  Chapter 64

  GEESHMORE PACED THE floor of his office located deep inside the National Institute of Health’s central annex building. He was anxiously awaiting any word of the situation that was now out of control. It was his fault—it had to be. He should have handled everything himself. It would have been the smart thing to do.

  “I can’t trust a damn soul,” he screeched. “I’ll have to clean this shit up myself.”

  As Director of the Center of Excellence for the nation’s health, Vernon Geeshmore was the pit of disappointment for his family. It was he who was supposed to make sure every citizen had adequate health coverage and every man, woman and child received only tried and tested drug therapies. But to his wife, he was a failure and to his
parents an embarrassment. At a little past forty and a little over six feet, Geeshmore’s life had finally come full circle. Time was no longer on his side. With ten years of dedicated serviced to the institute, it would be only natural he concerned himself with his future and not the millions of others who didn’t give a shit and complained daily about the poor health care they were or were not receiving.

  There was a time when Geeshmore listened and changed laws to help those in need. But the more laws he changed and put into action, the lazier people became. The more he gave, the more they took and the less they did for themselves. It was a vicious circle and now he was back where he started with nothing to show except an empty bank account, an ungrateful family and graying temples.

  “Director,” a voice said through the phone’s speaker. “I have Dr. Spangleholtz on line two.”

  “Thank you, Lellie. Patch him through.” As he waited, Geeshmore’s temper rose.

  “Vernon?” Spangleholtz beamed. “What can I do for you today?”

  “Destroy all those damn units,” Geeshmore screamed. “NOW!”

  Chapter 65

  EARLY WOKE TO a stabbing pain deep inside her abdomen. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her hands aimed for her stomach.

  “Ms. Sutton. Are you in pain?” a woman’s voice asked.

  “Yes,” Early cried.

  “I will increase the dose,” the friendly voice responded. “Take some deep breaths for me Ms. Sutton. Very deep.”

  The deeper the breath, the more pain Early felt. She wanted to die, just die and be anywhere but here.

  “How is your pain now, Ms. Sutton?” the nurse asked. “Between one and ten?”

  “Ten,” Early cried.

  “I will give you more,” she said. “Please take in another deep breath for me.”

  Early didn’t understand. The more she breathed the more it hurt. Why did this woman keep telling her to breathe? But the sharpness was dulling and Early’s body was starting to relax.

  “Ms. Sutton, what is the pain now… between one and ten?”