Chapter 21

Chris Henderson

Chris was pacing the room he looked at Cathy, "Why the hell doesn't something happen?" he asked.

Cathy shook her head, the costume was now so much a part of her that she didn't think of it, "I don't know Chris; if we had known about the phone then we might even have slowed things down. We'll just have to wait."

"But I know that soon Bemalin will want to take you." Chris said, none of them referred to Grogan as such, he was now just Bemalin.

Cathy nodded, "And we'll be ready for him. If only we knew what sparked off that glow that Gwen saw." She turned to Gwen. "You didn't see what was happening just before that glow appeared?" She asked.

Gwen shook her head, "No, Chris was over there in that chair and you were sitting on the bed, but the glow seemed to cover you both." She said.

Chris shook his head, "I don't know. We only touched each other in the Dreamtime, but that was all. What if we touched each other here?" He said and placed his hand on Cathy's shoulder, there was a faint spark but that was all. "There must have been something else?" He said.

Cathy shook her head, "What else could there be?" She wondered out loud.

Gwen looked lost, "It did happen, I know it did!" She said

Cathy went to her and hugged her, "We know you did, there was something in the Dreamtime that we can't explain, but it opened our eyes and seemed to join us together! It happened when we touched each other in the Dreamtime, but when we're out here it doesn't seem to work!" She said.

"I've tried to contact Samantha and Samuel but they don't answer, I'm sure they know what's wrong but they won't help me! Chris said.

Cathy shook her head sadly, "They won't! They think it's up to us to work it out for ourselves!" She said.

Gwen looked at her, "But that's not fair! If they know the answer they should tell you!" She said.

Cathy smiled at her, "But they won't, it isn't part of the prophecy, they're only preparing the way for the real twins to arrive, we're not important enough for them." She said.

Gwen looked first at Cathy and then Chris, "What do you mean the Twins?" She asked, putting the name into Capitals with her inflection.

"At the end of the Association and Organisation's lives a set of twins will arise, they will choose which aspect of the Knights Templar will survive. They will have the full control of the Knights Templar talents at their command." Chris intoned as Cathy mouthed the words.

Gwen frowned and thought for a moment, "But who's to say that the twins are related?" she asked.

Cathy looked at her puzzled, "How do you mean, twins always are born to the same mother at the same time, that's what twins are!" She said but there was uncertainty in her voice.

Gwen kept thinking, "But that's born twins, but what if the prophecy spoke of talents, not parentage ... could they mean powers, Chris has powers over the physical world and from what he says about you, you're in control of mental world, two aspects of the world as a whole, couldn't your powers be twins?" She asked.

Chris looked at Cathy in shock, "But that's not how it was meant." He said. "They've been mapping the development of the separate families to see who would produce twins, and so far only my mother and Cathy's father have produced a set of twins." He said.

Cathy took up the tale, "But they've always said that they're for preparing the real twins to arrive and to be ready for the task ahead." She said.

Gwen nodded, "But you're saying that the Organisation would be attacking soon, they would have to commit nearly all their manpower to take this base ... isn't the end near?" She asked.

Cathy looked at Chris who nodded, "Well it is ... but we still don't know who the twins are. They haven't been found yet!" he said.

Gwen laughed, "For intelligent youths you're very dim at times." She accused them. "Chris you said that Samuel was giving you training in your powers, to allow you to create bodies like these to hid Cathy and me?" She asked and when Chris nodded she turned to Cathy, "And you told us that Samantha was training you to develop your mental skills?" it was Cathy's turn to nod. Gwen held out her hands to them both. "The twins have been preparing you two to fight the Association. You are the Twins. And when you join your powers you'll have the ability to defeat the Association! Should you want to, of course?" She added

Cathy frowned, "Of course I want to..." She turned to Chris, "Don't you?" She asked him.

Chris nodded, "Of course I do ... It's just that..." He faltered and at Cathy's look continued, "But without the Association what is there for the Organisation? The Association gave the Organisation an opposition to fight, their continued battles were what kept both sides working well. Should one be stopped then what happens to the other?" he asked.

Cathy ignored the question to turn to Gwen, "What made you think of us being the twins? I would have thought that even with these talents we'd need to be related? So where's the relationship from?" She asked.

Gwen looked at her and her eyes were white, "Don't ask that just yet sister." Gwen said and then her eyes went back to normal. "I don't know, it just seemed to come to me." She said.

Chris went to Cathy, "What do you think?" He asked quietly.

Cathy shook her head, "I think the twins are doing their best to tell us ... Without telling us! We're supposed to have worked this out for ourselves but I think we were taking too long to sort it out." She said.

Chris sat down on the bed, "So if we're the twins from the prophecy. Why aren't our powers doing more?" He asked.

Cathy sat beside him and took his hand, "I don't know. There's something blocking us." She said.

Unseen by either a white-eyed Gwen watched them and shook her head. 'Should I tell them Brother?' Samantha asked mentally to Samuel.

'No Sister, you've told them too much already.' Samuel replied in the same manner, "We can't do any more now."

Grogan looked to his advisors in anger. "Everything we try with the Organisation has failed, we've lost contact with several of our field agents and all you can say is that we should move?" He raised his voice. "IN ALL THE YEARS WE'VE BEEN FIGHTING THE ORGANISATION WE HAVE NEVER MOVED! WE WILL NEVER MOVE! THIS IS OUR BASE AND WE ARE IMPREGNABLE!"

"But ... but my Lord Grogan, nothing is impregnable, we must call in more people to defend us at least." One man said, Grogan pulled out a pistol and shot him.

"Has anyone else anything to say before they join him?" Grogan asked his eyes narrowing. "Now nothing said here will be spoken of to anyone. There will be no exceptions, as long as everyone is concerned there is no problem." He instructed.

"But my lord..." One man said and then cringed back as the pistol was pointed at him, "With respect my lord, we need to be ready just in case..." He went white and then became silent.

With a visible effort of will Grogan put the gun down. "I will not be questioned by anyone! I have given my orders and they will be followed out! Now begone!" Grogan said in a voice that brooked no more arguments.

As the advisors left the chamber they were still mutterings. "He's gone completely mad!" One voice could be heard to say which was quickly shushed before it reached Grogan's ears.

Grogan called out to the guards outside the room, "Bring the Kid here and tell him to drag that Cathy bitch with him!" One guard nodded and spoke into a telephone.

Grogan got up from his chair and went to a small display of whips; he took out a large bullwhip which he started to oil, making it supple.

"Come on kid, the Lord Grogan doesn't like to be kept wait..." There was a squawk from the guard as Chris struck him in the throat.

"My name is Lord Henderson, remember that!" Chris said as he strode into the chamber, he was pulling Cathy and Gwen along on leashes.

Grogan turned around, "I only wanted the Cathy bitch not the traitor's fluff!" He said angrily to Chris.

"Where I go so do my slaves! I can't trust the men around here, they're starting to mutter." Chris said antagonising Grogan even more; this was part of the pair's plans, to make Grogan lose contact with the people.

"I want to break that bitch even more; I want to hear her scream!" Grogan said.

Cathy looked up and shook her head, "No Bemalin! You couldn't defeat me before, you won't this time." She said.

Grogan's eyes went black, "You say this now girl, but I'm the one in control not you!" Bemalin said from Grogan's mouth "String her up against the wall!" He instructed Chris.

"But she is mine to deal with, you said so!" Chris protested.

"But she's given us nothing! And now she's going to learn!" Bemalin said going to Cathy and pulling her to the wall where there were shackles to which he strung Cathy up by. "Now 'Lord Henderson', this is how a slave should be taught!" He said and before Chris could react he pulled the dress off Cathy's back, exposing the skin.

Bemalin took a few steps back and then the whip came flying over and down to strike Cathy's back, scoring a large line of blood which came from the wound created. "Now bitch scream out for me!" Bemalin said as he pulled his arm back for a second strike.

"Never!" Cathy hissed out as the blow landed.

"I'll keep this up until you scream for mercy!" Bemalin said and then began hitting her again and again until Cathy went limp, but she never said a word.

"Damm you bitch, you won't even give me the satisfaction of crying!" Bemalin said throwing down the bullwhip, "take her away, she won't be fit for anything tonight!" He said to Chris as his eyes turned back to normal, "I'll expect to see her in a couple of day's time!"

Gwen was helping Cathy back to Chris' quarters, "Just throw her onto the bed!" Chris ordered, he picked up a telephone and dialled a number, "Kitchen? Send up a packet of salt!" He said curtly into the mouthpiece and hung up. He didn't give his name or where he was, if they couldn't deliver then he would soon make them know who he was.

He sensed the guard outside listening. "You stupid bitch! All he wanted was a cry of pain, but you had to be stubborn! Well I'm going to salt your back until you really know what pain is!" He said.

A hesitant knock on the door sounded and when Chris opened it there was a young girl who he recognised as the daughter of a prisoner, he wanted to console her but it would have been out of character, he took the tube of salt from her hands gently. "Thank you. You are excused." He said which surprised her; normally the men wanted her to see the debauchery that they were exerting.

Chris closed the door after telling the guard that he wasn't to be disturbed for any reason. When he was sure that the guard was out of the way he went to the bed. "Okay it's safe now." He said.

Gwen turned on him, "What the hell do you think you were doing? He could have killed her!" She said accusingly.

Then there was laughter from the bed, "It's alright Gwen, that whip didn't even touch me. Oh it hit the costume, but Chris shielded me from the blows, it was only after so much that I decided to act as if I was out." She said.

Gwen turned to Chris, "Why didn't you warn me? I wouldn't have..." She began.

Cathy spoke up, "Gwen he couldn't say anything, it would have given the game away to Bemalin! Your reactions had to be real." She said and then she saw her back in a mirror, "Oh god that looks really bad." She said and then she noticed something.

In the reflection she could see the raw edges of the wounds start to soften and slowly meld together. In her mind she thought, 'We can't allow that to happen too quickly, Bemalin might start to suspect'