Pat looked across the table at Mike. That look grabbed Mike's attention.
"You need something, Smiley?" Mike asked.
"No, not really." Pat smiled back at him.
Then suddenly, Mike felt this pressure in his chest. He was feeling intense pain. Mike stood up, clutching his chest as the pain grew worse. Inside Mike's body, his heart was being crushed by an invisible force. Mike collapsed to his knees, looking up at Pat standing above him.
"You don't look so good, Mike. Do you need some help?"
Mike's mouth was agape as his heart was squeezed to the size of a dime. Mike lurched forward and collapsed to the ground, deceased. After Mike fell down dead, Seth returned to the room, walking through the door. He saw Pat standing over what he presumed was now a dead colleague in Mike and drew his gun on Pat.
"Don't you move, buddy!"
Pat just looked at Seth and smiled.
Suddenly, a force grabbed Seth's arm and wrenched it sideways, snapping his arm at the elbow like a twig. Seth dropped the gun, but then the force hurled him across the room head-first into the wall. The impact was so hard and quick that it caved in part of Seth's skull instantly, killing him just as fast. Pat and the Fleece had given Seth and Mike a second chance at life, but now their lives were over. Pat looked at the two dead bodies as he proceeded to the door. He looked back at them, grabbed the handle to close it, and said, "You two gentlemen, take a nice long rest now."
Pat smiled and shut the door as he left.
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Rob was still with Larry, who was with Linda and Jay's children. Larry called Rob's name, grabbed his attention, and let him know he would go to the bathroom quickly. Rob nodded in agreement.
When Larry left, Rob persuaded the kids to come down the hall to the Artifact Room with him. The kids hadn't been there in a while, and Rob told them he would show them some cool stuff they hadn't seen yet. The kids were excited and couldn't wait to go. Rob moved them quickly to the door and headed out. As they left, Rob depressed something in the wall that triggered a device within. He then closed the door behind him.
When Larry came back out, he was now in an empty room. Larry called out the names of the kids and Rob, seeing if they went into another room. After searching the quarters and finding none, Larry decided to exit the door and check out in the hallway. But as Larry exited, something strange happened to him.
As Larry walked out, he saw Rob standing at the far end of the hall, with the kids behind a wall to his side. Before Larry could finish what he was saying, he stopped and couldn't speak any longer. Whatever Rob had done, it triggered a device in the door frame with nanofiber spikes. As Larry exited, the spikes penetrated throughout his body, slicing through everything. Larry didn't feel well now and looked down to see his arms fall off, followed by his legs, and before the rest of his body collapsed in a pile of pieces, Larry was gone. Rob stood at the far end of the hall to be sure Larry was killed, and he accompanied the children to the Artifact Room. The children were not aware that Larry had been killed by Rob and were blissfully skipping and joyful as they headed down the hallway.
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Linda got up from behind the structure to investigate the handbag. There was no sign of the deceased guard in the room now. His essence and that of Britton were now in the handbag before her. Linda was perplexed by the object. She didn't understand what it was or what it meant. But she knew it had to be bad. However, she was afraid to touch it. Before Linda could reach for the handbag, though, the alarms of the Fleece began sounding. The elite special forces team started running from the Artifact Room to assist in another part of the Fleece. Linda looked back to see the guards running with their weapons. Linda saw Dr. Blake and Dana and yelled for them to come to her.
Dr. Blake and Dana ran over to Linda's position, as one guard, and Dr. Kelly remained at the console.
"What is it, Linda?" asked Dr. Blake.
"I followed the guard here after whatever happened, and he turned into this," Linda pointed down at the ground to the handbag.
Dr. Blake and Dana looked down at the object.
"You said he turned into this?" Dana asked.
"Yes, I can't explain it."
"Then this thing has to be important. We have to do something with it."
Dr. Blake reached down and grabbed the handbag. When he did, the object's weight was too much for him to lift, and after a few seconds of trying, energy began radiating up Dr. Blake's arm. Linda and Dana stood back as Dr. Blake yelled out. It was too late to help him, however. The energy was consuming every inch of Dr. Blake's body. From Dr. Blake's vantage point, he felt like his essence was being ripped from his body. Finally, all the fluid, blood, and any other liquids in Dr. Blake's body were absorbed, and he turned into a white, salty substance. Dr. Blake appeared like a statue for a split second, then his body collapsed into dust on the ground.
Dr. Kelly yelled at Dana and Linda, "DON'T TOUCH THAT THING! GET BACK HERE NOW!"
Linda and Dana didn't question anything after what they had just seen. They ran back to Dr. Kelly's position. Dr. Kelly was manning the controls and monitoring Jay, who was still sleeping. The guard covered the flank of the console, watching the path to the main doors of the Artifact Room. The alarm claxon was still sounding overhead.
"What is happening?" Linda asked.
"Pat is free," Dr. Kelly replied.
"What? Oh my! My children! My children are out there where he's at now!"
Dr. Kelly turned to face Linda. "We have to get Jay back awake. We need him. Then we can get your children. But you must calm down and be patient momentarily, Mrs. Trent."
Linda was in full panic mode and trying to calm down before she hyperventilated. Dana hugged her and assisted Dr. Kelly with a manual method to awaken Jay.
Linda knew Jay had to wake up; she couldn't leave him there any more than she could have left her children had the roles been reversed. But she had to get to her children. Linda didn't know that her children were on the way to her.
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Pat strolled around a corner in the Fleece, only to be greeted by a hail of gunfire. Guards were firing automatic weapons at him and hitting his body. But the bullets were having no effect. Pat just kept on smiling at them. Pat moved slowly and purposefully toward the guards, even as they ceased fire to reload their weapons and began firing again. Pat was unstoppable. Whatever he was, it was beyond what this world could perceive. He was more than human. More than a superhuman. He was the embodiment of power. The bullets were simply passing through him, making an impact only to continue straight through, hitting the wall and structures behind Pat. At one point, guards came up on Pat's flank to fire at him from behind, but were struck by the bullets passing through before they had time to react. As the guards continued firing and exhausting their ammo, Pat moved steadily toward them and finally was only a few feet from them. Once he was, Pat stopped and looked dead at them without a smile. Instantly, all the men surrounding him dropped dead on the ground. Pat caused bleeds in their brains, killing them immediately. Pat then proceeded down the hallway to the gantry that would take him to the Artifact Room.
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Rob and the kids entered the Artifact Room, proceeding down the path to the position where Jay was sleeping. Linda turned to look toward the path as the armed guard raised his weapon in the same direction. Linda could hear what sounded like kids and tried to get the guard to lower his gun. Then Linda's children came into sight, with Rob not far behind.
Linda ran to her children as the guard followed, rifle still in hand. Linda embraced her children, who were giddy with excitement about being back in the Artifact Room. However, Rob did not stop to check on her. He proceeded past them, headed toward Jay's position. The guard turned to Rob and held up his rifle, ordering Rob to stop. Suddenly, another shockwave shot out, this time from Rob, and knocked the guard backward into a nearby structure. Linda ducked down with the kids to protect them. She got back up after ensuring her kids were okay and checked on the guard. The guard was okay but stunned by the wave. Then Linda looked in the direction of Rob. Rob walked right past Jay's position and headed down the path the deceased guard had taken. Linda assumed he was going for the handbag.
Linda helped the guard up, and they all moved to the console where Dr. Kelly and Dana were still trying to awaken Jay. The kids were now starting to get scared. They didn't understand what had happened or why Rob wasn't with them. Linda looked at the guard and told them she thought Rob was going for the object, the handbag on the path. The guard proceeded to follow Rob to find out.
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Pat entered the area that takes you to the Artifact Room, but an ambush awaited him. The elite special forces team from the Artifact Room set a perimeter with explosives and remote-controlled automatic weapons while the team of five men hid from sight until they could strike. They had footage of what Pat had done to the other guards and wanted to set a trap for him. When Pat opened the door, the explosives ignited. An explosive force of 250 lbs of explosives ripped through the area away from the Artifact Room, destroying the staircase, ripping out walls, and leaving nothing but a plume of billowing smoke. Those in the Artifact Room felt the vibration and shaking caused by the explosion.
The elite special forces guards got into positions and readied their weapons, none believing that Pat had been killed until they confirmed it. One guard got closest to the blast radius and started peering through the smoke, only to be greeted by Pat's hand. Pat grabbed his face and ripped the flesh and muscle clean off. As the guard screamed in pain and agony, Pat shoved his fist through the man's chest and ripped his heart completely out, killing him instantly.
Then another guard fired a grenade launcher at Pat, exploding the round as it hit him. Another guard walked up with a minigun and began opening fire. The minigun's rate of fire was so quick that 100 rounds were fired every five seconds. More grenades were being launched, significantly damaging the area outside the Artifact Room. A risk of collapse was imminent for the structures above. But then the guards ceased fire momentarily to observe the damaged structures suddenly being fixed back in place. The weapons had no effect on anything. Even the area in the blast radius was immediately repaired. Pat used his power to fix the Fleece damage and make the guards' efforts useless. The guards saw this and decided to return to the Artifact Room to make their final stand.
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The guard yelled for Rob to stop, but Rob did not listen. The guard stopped beside the carousel where Linda had hidden before, yelling for Rob to stop. Just then, the carousel activated and began to spin. Rob walked up to the handbag and picked it up, holding it securely in his right hand without incident. Unlike Dr. Blake, Rob was not affected as he stood on the ashes of the former scientist.
The carousel began spinning faster and faster until it was going at an unbelievable speed, totally distracting the guard. Finally, the intensity of the speed was so volatile that the force generated by the carousel pulled the guard into it. When the guard hit the ride in the carousel, a blood splatter in all directions showed his body had been destroyed.
Rob only stood there, staring at the remains of the guard that flew out into the rest of the Artifact Room. He walked back to the console where Dr. Kelly, Dana, and Linda tried to awaken Jay.
"It's no use. Nothing will awaken Jay. We have to move him now!" Dr. Kelly yelled as he and Dana ran out to lift the recliner and wheel Jay away.
The recliner allowed for portability that none hoped they would ever have to use. Moving the recliner in case something bad happened was a last-ditch effort. Something awful was happening, and they had little time to react.
Dr. Kelly lifted the back of the recliner as Dana prepped the portable leads to continue monitoring Jay remotely. Linda looked down the pathway to see Rob approaching, the handbag still in his right hand.
"Dr. Kelly! We have to go now!" Linda yelled.
"We are going!" Dr. Kelly lifted the recliner and began rolling it forward. Dana was right behind him, and Linda pursued with her kids. Rob did not quicken his pace. He continued progressing down the path, pursuing them. As Rob passed the console's location, the elite guards ran up to find that everyone was gone.
One guard pulled out a tracking monitor and saw their location, which had them in motion. They were going past the Orb to the other side of the Artifact Room. The guards began moving in that direction until one of them stopped in their tracks. One guard saw the other stop and yelled for the others to wait. From the look on the guard's face, who had stopped, the leader told them to continue moving. It was too late for that guard. Although the others began running, the one guard stopped to see what was happening. The guard stopped in his tracks and was lifted up into the air, dropping his gun and equipment. Then, without warning, the guard began to scream as his body was crushed inward. Soon, the guard's body erupted in blood and bodily fluid as his face, chest, and bowels smashed inward. The guard there turned and ran as fast as he could after seeing this. As the affluence that had once been the guard collapsed to the ground, on the other side of some artifacts, Pat entered the room and proceeded along the path to find them.
Dr. Kelly continued wheeling Jay's body forward on the recliner as he was still unconscious. The five of them came upon an old tomb from the Middle Eastern region of the planet. In Anderson's time, it was once a tomb in Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Kelly and Dana put Jay inside the tomb and then proceeded to roll the stone outside of it in place to seal it. After sealing it, they darted off as Rob closed on them.
The five ran off into a section of the Artifact Room known as The Beast. These artifacts were relics of a country known as the former Soviet Union and its weapons of war. Everything from personnel carriers to tanks to missiles was present from prior wars fought thousands of years ago. Dr. Kelly motioned for the five to enter one of the tanks to provide greater protection. After lowering both children into the tank, Linda climbed down. Before Dana could climb down, bullets began showering parts of The Beast area, one hitting Dana in the side. The guards had come upon Rob and were opening fire. But Rob was deflecting the rounds in all directions. As Dr. Kelly stood on the ground around the tank, he was hit by a ricochet in the neck. Dr. Kelly was bleeding profusely from his neck now, holding his hand over the spot of entry to try and slow the bleeding. However, Dr. Kelly's efforts were short-lived as the wound was mortal. He collapsed to the ground while still holding his neck, looking up briefly at Dana, who stopped her movement as she entered the tank. Dr. Kelly motioned for her to close the hatch. Dana made a face of empathy for Dr. Kelly, knowing his life was about to end, and then closed and sealed the hatch. Dr. Kelly was now face down on the ground, the life draining from his body rapidly. As he closed his eyes, he could no longer hear the rifles firing. He heard the men screaming in agony as the elite troops were destroyed one by one as Rob approached. Pat was not far behind.
Dana was lying beside Linda as they began to inspect her wound. The bullet had gone through her lower left abdomen. Linda started putting pressure to help the bleeding, but Dana would need medical attention. For now, they and the children tried to be as quiet and still as possible so as not to give away their hiding place.
Rob approached the area of The Beast. Dr. Kelly was lying beside the tank that Rob could see, now deceased. A puddle of blood was forming under his body. Rob looked around the area, but could not locate the other four that had been with Dr. Kelly. Pat's footsteps were approaching slowly and powerfully. Rob turned to face Pat as he approached.
"Hello, Dad."
Pat smiled, "Hello there, son. I see you found the good doctor. Too bad he's already dead. I was looking forward to killing him myself."
Rob handed Pat the handbag.
"I'm not sure where the others have gotten to, though."
"You still haven't perfected that skill, have you, son? Not to worry, though. What you seek is directly..."
"Before Pat could finish, however, a voice called out to them both.
Pat turned to look behind him in the direction from which the voice came. It was undeniable to Pat and Rob, but especially to Pat. He had heard it a lot of late, and knew exactly who was yelling his name.
"If you want me, you're going to have to find me," yelled Jay.
Jay had awakened not long after being placed in the tomb by Dr. Kelly. He exited the tomb and proceeded to another part of the Artifact Room. Jay's plan was to lead Pat away from his family.
Pat looked back at Rob, "Stay here and keep looking. You will find them. And change your appearance to something more masculine."
With that, Pat walked away to pursue Jay. Rob's form began to alter as he grew more chiselled and muscular. He was a man now, fully grown in a three-piece suit. His form had shifted in an instant from a boy to an adult. Rob began walking around the area of The Beast to find Jay's family and Dana.
As Pat moved on, the handbag began to mold into Pat's hand, becoming one with his body. Now the power was within Pat.
Pat strolled along the path back into another part of the Artifact Room, thinking to himself, Let the games begin.
Jay responded back in Pat's mind, Let's.
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