Story #332 ("Truth-Seekers: The Metagene Wars" Story #3) Note: Turn on "word wrap" in Notepad before viewing. "The Original" By Richard Broadstreet ---------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, May 13, 2010 - 01:28pm EST Unknown Location ---------------------------------------------------------- My eyes slowly opened to see a bright florescent light and a ceiling like you would see in an office building. I tried to look around but I couldn't even lift my head. I then realized that I was strapped to a chair of some kind. How did I get here?, I wondered. The last thing I remembered was being shot my a military man. General Turcotte, I remembered. He had shot me. I heard a door open and close nearby, then a man in a white lab coat and glasses approached me. "Oh..." the man said, surprised. "You have awakened." "Yeah." I replied. "Where am I?" "I'm afraid I can't tell you that." the man replied. I sighed, then asked "What date is it?" "It's May thirteenth... two-thousand-ten." the man answered. "It's a nice sunny da--" "Wait." I interrupted. "I've been here for... over three years?" "I suppose so. There's so many.. patients here. It's hard to keep track of them all myself." the man answered. "I'm Doctor King." He shook my strapped-down hand, then he loosened the strap around my wrist a little and winked at me. "Well...see ya." the doctor said and exited the room. I began pulling at the loosened strap around my right wrist soon after the door closed. It loosened even more as I did so. Eventually, my right arm was free. From there, I took off the rest of the straps and got out of the crude dentist's chair. When I looked around, I saw that the room look a lot like a doctor's office. I walked to the door, opened it, made sure the coast was clear, and walked out into the hallway, closing the door behind me. I turned to the left and hurriedly walked until I got to a room labeled "File Room". I quickly entered the file room just before a pair of guards turned a corner and continued their patrols through the hallways. Within the file room, there were computer terminals, file cabinets, and humongous shelves containing boxes of all shapes and sizes. The shelves almost reached the ceiling high above. I walked to one of the computers and performed a file search for my name. Immediately, a file opened that looked to be my life's story. I scrolled down until I got to the more current entries to the file. Then, I read. Richard was retrieved and taken to Moonbase Alpha, where he was put through the regular tests and experiments, including our cloning experiments. Believing he was dead, friends and family mourned his death. But, his brother, Scott, discovered he was actually still alive. At that time, we immediately programmed two of our clones, one R. Broadstreet and one D. Broadstreet, to return to Earth and crashland. There, D. would survive until taken out by a clone assassin, and R. would be in a comatose state until it's Original's birthdate. February 1st. Friends, family, and fans mourned death. Family then moved on to create a new life. February 2010: New developments. Brother, Scott, attempts own research after unauthorized abduction. Brother fails. Original Richard is taken to Richfield Research Facility in Washington, D.C. and is subjucted to ongoing experiments. "Oh, my god..." I muttered when I finished reading. My brother tried to continue the research. "I've got to get out of here." "You've let him get away!" I heard someone exclaim out in the hall. I went to the door and peeked out to see what was going on. There seemed to be two MP's, a general, and Doctor King out there. "You helped Broadstreet escape. Give me an explanation. Now." The general demanded. "Well...I think we don't need this many humans for our experiments." Dr. King answered. "This is just wrong, Robert." "Do not call me Robert. You call me General Turcotte, understand?" he demanded. "Yes, General Turcotte." the doctor saluted. "Your father was just as terrible as you. He paid for his mistakes. And so will you." My eyes opened wide in amazement. General Robert Turcotte was General James Torcotte's son, the one who had shot me. "You are incorrect." Turcotte replied. He looked so much like his father but he was probably only a few years older than me. Turcotte pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Dr. King's forehead. "Goodbye, Dr. King." Turcotte pulled the trigger, sending a speeding bullet through King's forehead, into his brain. King's body fell to the floor almost almost instantly. James Turcotte's son is even more ruthless than his father, I thought as I watched the MP's drag Dr. King away. Thursday, May 13, 2010 - 03:42pm EST Pentagon - Washington, D.C., USA ---------------------------------------------------------- "I just get so tired of escaping the government every week." I muttered to myself as I exitted the Pentagon. "It just gets easier every time." I had found an exit to the underground facility which led through a tunnel and ended below a janitor's closet. I walked on down a sidewalk leading away from the Pentagon in silence. Saturday, May 15, 2010 - 06:21pm EST Broadstreet Residence - near Nathrop, CO, USA ---------------------------------------------------------- "Thanks for the ride." I said as I got out of the car. "No problem." the man behind the driver's wheel replied as I shut the car door. He turned around and started back down the street. "I'm home." I muttered, looking at the house and then began running to the front door. When I reached the door, I searched my pockets for my keys. That's when I remembered that everything I had on me was taken by the government. Who knows where his keys were now? I sighed and knocked on the door. As I did, I noticed there was no car in the driveway. After a few seconds of no reply, I knocked again. Then I went around to the nearest window and looked inside. "The... the house is empty..." I said as I saw the completely empty room beyond the window. What the hell was going on? It looked as if I never existed. Where was Scott and the others? Where was all of my possessions? Where are the Spheres that I sworn I would guard with my life? I walked back to the front porch and sat down on the stairs. My entire life is gone, I thought to myself and sighed. End of Story #332 - To Be Continued...