�There it is up ahead, Paradise.� Said Agent Byrne.
Agent Elizabeth DeWitt drove their Crown Victoria down the road into a deserted war-torn Main Street. �What happened here?�
The town was deserted. Storefronts all boarded up. Cars abandoned and charred down to the frame lined the road. Clothing, torn and shredded, blew in the wind across their path.
�Was there some sort of riot?� said Agent Byrne. She pointed over to the last building on Main Street. �There�s the Sheriff�s office.�
The two agents climbed out of their cat and stood there for a moment to see if they could see or hear anything. The smell of burnt rubber scented the air. They entered the Sheriff�s office. No one was at the front desk. The place looked as if a tornado had just gone through. Papers, cups of coffee, doughnuts and torn uniforms were everywhere. Feeling uneasy about the whole situation, Agent DeWitt called out as they both pulled out there sidearms. �Hello, is anybody here.�
�I�m in the back room!�
�Is that you Sheriff?�
�Yeah, I just getting the prisoners ready for transfer.�
Sheriff Tumlin walked out to the front room. �Whoa! Put you guns down.�
�Sheriff, what happened here?�
�Hell if I know. At first it happened slow. Some beer missing, nothing special. Then all hell broke loose. Robbery, looting, rape, vandalism. Shit, the whole town went crazy.�
�What do you mean went crazy? Who�s responsible?�
�How the hell do I know. Nobody knows. Folks minding their own business then before they know it strange thing happened to them. I seen it with my own two eyes. Carla, the waitress at Earl�s diner. She was working as she always had done. Then before you know it, she was screaming because she was tied down to the countertop naked as the day she was born covered in peanut butter, jelly and marshmallows. I swear to you, no one touch her much less moved her and tied her to the counter. Then it happened to the other women at the diner. Clothes torn off, posed in all sorts of positions with items jammed into them. The worst of it was three weeks ago at �SHITKICKERS� over by the county line. Over thirty women were attack, stripped and posed and not one person in there touched them. If you know any better, you both should leave when I transfer these prisoners in a fe...aww shit!�
A prisoner in an orange jumpsuit stuck his head inside from the front door flipping him the bird. �Hey sheriff! FUCK YOU!!!!� The prisoner and his three cellmates ran down the street hooting and hollering.
Both agents looked at the sheriff in disbelief. �How they get out?!�
�Like I said, I don�t know but you two better come with me over to the county courthouse over in Hermosa.� The two agents followed the sheriff outside to his squad car. Where he tried to start the engine.
�What the??� The sheriff popped the hood and found all the wires had been cut .
�Dammit!!� He threw his hat in disgust to the ground.
�Well sheriff looks like you�re riding with us.� The three piled into the Crown Victoria and headed to Hermosa.
�Murphy! Holland!� Sellers yelled. The two male assistance showed up. They both took Anna from Sellers and quickly assessed her injuries before they moved her to the medical room.
Sellers yelled again. �Carlton!�.
The well groomed thug showed up. His pistol drawn and ready.
Sellers waived him off. �Find him and kill him! I don�t care how you do it.�
Sheriff Tumlin sat in the rear seat. �And that�s what happened.�
Agent Byrne and DeWitt couldn�t believe the story they had just heard. Madeline turned to look at Sheriff Tumlin. �So you�re saying about two months ago, these strange events started happening. Things disappearing and people being assaulted.� She looked over to her partner. �That about the same time those people started disappearing. There has to be a connection somewhere. Sheriff was there anything else going on in this region? Anything at all?�
A voice came over the sheriff�s walkie talkie. �Sheriff you on?�
Picking up the walkie. �Yeah go ahead Willard.�
�I found that guy Gonzalez in another car wreck out by Sandblast Basin. He�s out and busted up real bad. I�m taking him over to Hermosa. ETA 10 Minutes�
�Gotcha, I�m on my way. OUT.�
Agent DeWitt stomped on the gas pedal.
Sellers ran about the building ordering everything to be packed up and shipped. Papers were crated. Computers were disassembled in a hurry. Sellers went to the reactor where two colleagues were starting the shutdown procedure. �How long till we�re able to transport the reactor Mr. Nestor?�
The scrawny man looked at the gauges. �24 hrs, that�s the best I can do. The reactor has to cool down, then the fuel rods have to be encased. That�s the laborious part. The rest of the reactor core can be done in 4 hrs.�
�Then you better hurry Mr. Nestor.�
Sellers left the room headed down the hallway when Mr. Branson turned the corner carrying the bodies of Janice and Melissa, one over each shoulder. Both of their faces were bloody and swollen from the beating Branson gave them for resisting. He stopped in front of Sellers and heaved the two battered women onto the cold floor. �Here they are. I had to take both of them. Where do you want them?�
Sellers knelt before Janice and lifted her swollen discolored face to examine it. �Hmm fractured cheekbone, left eye swollen shut, not to mention the marks on your throat. I would say Mr. Branson took great care not to truly hurt you.� He looks up to his goon. �Put them in the isolation room and stand guard over them. If he shows up anywhere in this facility shoot them if you have to.�
Sheriff Tumlin, Agent Byrne and DeWitt arrived at the county clinic.
�Where is he Willard?�
�The doctors fixed him up. He�s real bad. They say he would�ve died in another hour. They got him in there.�
�Then you stay right here and don�t let anyone except these two feds in.�
Agents Byrne and DeWitt entered the room. A nurse was inside taking vital and fine tuning the equipment. �Is he conscious?�
�Yes, if you want to ask questions, better make them short.� She said being protective for her patient.
�I�m Special Agent Byrne and this is Agent DeWitt. Do you know what happened to you?
�Yeah like that other agent, Sellers.�
Taken aback by the remark, Madeline said. �There is no Agent Sellers in this region.�
He told the story of how someone shocked him at home and how he woke up in some medical room, where they did some medical exams on him against his will and how he escaped. As Sheriff Tumlin confirmed the presence of Sellers, the nurse pulled Agent DeWitt to the side. �Whoever they were performed exploratory surgery on him. A sample of every major organ in him was taken. Biopsy samples more than likely. He also had a tip of one rib sawed off. The marks are fresh. They carved him up like a cadaver. He should�ve died with wounds like that but somehow he survived and is healing much faster than normal.�
Everyone finally left the room leaving Joel alone so his body could heal itself at an accelerated pace. Agent Byrne placed a call to Janice the good news.
�You! Go help Mr. Nestor with the reactor! We have to be out of here in 20 hours.� Seller�s cellphone rang. �What?!�
�It�s Carlton. I found the car about twenty miles away. He�s not here. Someone picked him up.�
�Find him and kill him. We have his girlfriend here so that should keep him in check.�
�Right.� Carlton said and hung up the phone.
�SHIT!! Mr. Nestor you better take care of those rods!!� Sellers stormed back into the reactor room. He grabbed Mr. Nestor by the collar. �Right now those rods are more valuable than you miserable life. If you damage those rods in any way, I will tear you apart like yesterday�s grouse.� He pushed him against the wall then stormed out. �SHIT!!�
�What happened?....Oh god.....Contain the area and search it for anything..� Madeline hung up her cellphone. �That was Robertson, Dr. Cheng is missing and no one knows where Dr. Jenkins is either.�
DeWitt sat there amazed at what she heard. �That�s not possible, we just spoke with them this morning.�
�The door was unlocked and the placed was messed up. He believes there was a struggle. Her car was still in the garage and her key were found in the kitchen. Dr. Jenkins never showed up for her duty shift and she hasn�t called in.�
�Should we tell Mr. Gonzalez?�
Madeline pondered the question. �No, not in his condition.�
Joel laid there in his bed with his eyes closed. He could feel his body mending itself, his strength flowed back into him. He felt itchy all over as his skin sealed their wounds then scabbed themselves only to finally smooth itself out back to normal. Somehow his body had adapted to its new found abilities, it knew how to speed up and mend itself. Of course the nurses had to come by every hour to change the IV since his body had absorbed the liquids in record time. Joel laid there waiting for the next duty round. He heard the door open. The sound of soft rubber heels that patted on the floor moved closer to the bed. He waited there patiently hearing the movements, feeling the air move. He opened his eyes. �So darling how...YOU SON OF A!!� He looked up at the nurse and saw the face of the man who shocked him.
Carlton drove the syringe towards his victim until the world exploded in his face. He was now bound and gagged to the hospital bed. His intended victim stood over him screaming. �WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY!! WHERE ARE THEY HIDING?�
Carlton�s mind couldn�t comprehend what had happened to him. He tugged as hard as he could against his restraints but they wouldn�t give in. Joel slammed Carlton�s chest as hard as he could. �TELL ME YOU MOTHERFUCKER!! WHERE ARE THEY!!� Someone outside the room started pounding against the door. �OPEN THIS DOOR!!�
Joel ripped out the gag. Carlton spat into Joel�s face and sneered. �FUCK YOU SHITHEAD!!�
Joel�s voice grew calm as he wipe the spit off his face. �Fuck me?� He grabbed the syringe from the nightstand. �I don�t know what this shit is that you tried to give me but I�m willing to bet it ain�t nice.� Joel raised the syringe. Carlton�s eyes grew wide in horror as Joel stabbed him in the leg with it. Carlton bucked at pain. �YOU WORTHLESS FUCK!!� Carlton felt his leg go numb. �SHIT!!�
The door blew open.
Sheriff Tumlin and Dep. Willard with Agents Byrne and DeWitt flew into the room, weapons drawn. Carlton laid on the floor clutching his leg crying out. �I NEED ATROPINE!!� Joel stood by the side of the bed clutching the rails for support. �He tried to kill me. This is the guy who took me hostage.� Willard slammed Carlton down while the Sheriff cuffed him. Carlton went into convulsions. They dragged him out where a medical team took him for treatment.
Madeline and Beth holstered their weapon. They each took Joel by the shoulder and placed him gently in his bed. The duty doctor walked in. �Thank you, I�ll take it from here. Madeline and Beth left the room. Sheriff Tumlin ran back. �He didn�t make it. What ever was in there was quick.�
Madeline thought over the situation. �Do you have any idea where he came from?�
Willard found him at Sandblast Basin. There ain�t much out there except Bone Dry.�
�Bone Dry?�
�It�s an abandoned mining town from the forties. They had a mining accident back then that contaminated the water table. Found out later it was radioactive. So they packed up everything and left. It�s about forty or so miles away.�
�Sheriff we need to look into that. Can you get some more men?� said Madeline.
The Sheriff got on his walkie, calling out to his men. Two minutes later. �I got all my men and the state patrol. We�ll meet at Sandblast. Ladies.�
They all went out and piled into their own cars and headed to Sandblast Basin. The feds were unaware that Joel was hiding in the trunk of their Crown Victoria.