Chapter 23

Arrian was groggily beginning to wake up. He couldn't remember where he was, his mind was jumbled, and nothing much seemed to make sense. He tried to sit up, but something restrained him in place. He slowly opened his eyes and although his sight was slightly blurred, he realized he was either dreaming or something was not quite right.

Arrian found himself in some sort of laboratory. He was restrained on a flat specimen table. He was naked from the waist up and had on some black jeans; nothing else.

Where the hell am I? He thought to himself. Once the blurriness began dissipating he noticed something else; there were two other tables next to him. The one furthest away from him was an empty but extremely bloody table. On the table next to him was... Greg!

Now I remember. We were at that Martial art get together... Me and Greg showed up at the same time. Oh shit, how long have we been here? What must our families be going through? Shit, I don't have time to wait; we need to get out of here fast! That table doesn't bode well for us.

As Arrian pondered what to do next Greg began stirring. Arrian hoped Greg remembered more than he did.

Three Days Ago...

"Mom, what time is Arrian getting home?" Ashley asked.

"Well, he said he wouldn't be long, but I'm not too sure." Helen answered.

Cindy walked in shaking her head.

"What's the matter Cindy?" Helen asked.

"That girl can be pig-headed when she wants to be. She is still upset that Arrian went to that get-together. I have never seen her so upset. She wouldn't even stop crying when I tried to give her some ice cream." Cindy said as she sat down.

"I think I know how she feels. I have this feeling that he should not have gone. Must be my hormones acting up already," Helen said as she ran her hand over her womb.

Cindy smiled as she caught Helen lovingly stroking her small bulge. Miranda walked in and sat with the other women.

"What's wrong with Sarah? I just passed by her room and she was sobbing," she said as she sat down.

"She didn't want Arrian to go to the get-together." Helen replied.

"I can't say I blame her, but Arrian is an exceptional man and can more than take care of himself and others."

"I'll say!" Cindy said and blushed a deep red as she realized what she had said.

The girls just broke into giggles.

It was nearly midnight and Arrian hadn't returned home. Helen was getting worried, as were all the others.

"Sam, would you call Greg's home and see if he got home alright?" Miranda asked.

"Sure, mom."

Sam went to place the call, but she was very worried. What was more troubling was that even though she had been going out with Greg for about two weeks, her worry for him was minimal. If she let herself be honest, truly honest, then she would admit Arrian's well being was her main focus. She put those feelings aside and made the phone call.

"Hello, Mr. Foster?"

"Sam is that you? Have you heard from Greg?"

"No, Mr. Foster, that is the reasons I'm calling. Arrian isn't home yet either and they were attending the same party."

"I'm afraid I don't know anything, either, " He said.

"Please call me back if Greg does get home. Time doesn't matter."

"No problem, Sam, and you do the same should Arrian get home before I call you."

"Will do, sir."

Sam hung up the phone and was more worried than before; neither Greg nor Arrian had been heard from since they left for the party.

Present...

Greg tried to clear his head; he could hear someone calling his name, but he didn't recognize the voice. He opened his eyes saw a gigantic blur of colors. He closed his eyes and tried to focus them in the vast darkness that comes with closing eyelids.

He opened them again with better results; the voice was getting clearer too.

"Greg! Wake Up!" Arrian shouted.

Finally Greg's haziness cleared.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked Arrian.

"I'm not sure. I know it can't be good in any way. We need to get out of here. I don't want to end up like whatever was on the other table," he said motioning towards the table soaked in blood.

Greg turned and felt his inside knot. He agreed; he too didn't want to end up like that either.

Greg pushed with all his strength and tried to break free of the bonds.

"It won't work. I tried the same thing. I tried other things too. We can't get out of these bonds that easily."

"So we're fucked; that's what you're saying, right?"

"Pretty much so."

Just then the door to the lab hissed; Arrian motioned to Greg to fake sleep. Both dropped their heads as if they were still unconscious before the door fully opened.

In walked a small pudgy man, balding, and with big round glasses. Behind him a much more distinguished individual walked in. He was well muscled to balance out the pudgy man, and he was tall, towering slightly over six feet.

"Picked a good one this time doc; that last one didn't even handle the probing well and look at the mess he left behind." The tall man said in a deep voice.

"I think this time we will probe the specimen in the chamber and not here. I think that would work best, Zach," The pudgy man said.

"No problem, Doc. Just let me get the gurney set to move him. Ah, which one Doc?" Zach asked.

"Ah, let's try the long haired one; he seems to be a most fitting choice."

Zach moved the gurney over and without a hesitation lifted up the table Arrian was on and placed it on the gurney, which didn't even buckle under the weight. Zach then left the laboratory pushing Arrian, followed by the Doc.

Once Greg was sure he was alone, he opened his eyes.

"Shit! This isn't good," He said out loud.

Arrian was carried away to a chamber of sorts, where there were tables similar to the one Arrian had been on, but they were all empty. Inside this chamber were all kinds of weapons, from guns of all sizes to rocket launchers. There was also a motorcycle, but this wasn't your everyday racing bike. It looked like a Hyosung GT250R, but that was in body only. It was completely black.

"Hey Doc, that sure is a nice bike. What are the new upgrades?" Zach asked.

"Well Zach, this bike, is completely bullet proof, fire proof, and runs on 2 Hydrogen Fuel cells, whereas your bike runs on one. It is DNA encoded and has a built in GPS. Its speed tops out a little over 300 mph. This is the best we have at the moment and this is the first one made."

Zach's eyes were wide as he heard the Doc describe the upgrades; he could barely handle his single Hydrogen fueled Harley. Whoever rode that bike was going to be a monster.

"Zach, release his restraints, he won't be waking up anytime soon." Doc said.

Zach went about removing Arrian's restraints and when he was finished he turned his attention back to the bike.

Once Arrian felt his bonds released, he knew he had to act fast. He opened his eyes and surveyed the room. He made a quick appraisal and made his move.

He reached out and grabbed Zach by the shoulders, spun his around and delivered a brutal kick to his chest. Had Zach not been so distracted or surprised he would have tried to avoid the attack; as it was he never had a chance. Not wasting a moment, Arrian took a deep breath and released a torrent of fire at Zach.

The fire enveloped him and burned his flesh to a crisp. He never even got the chance to scream. Doc turned and looked at the specimen with fear in his eyes.

"Please..." Doc begged.

"Disable the GPS and any tracking systems on that bike," Arrian said.

"But... I..."

"Do it or join your crispy friend over there," he said pointing at the charred remains.

Doc didn't answer as he went to do what the specimen wanted done.

"Tell me, how do I get out of here?"

"Ah... I don't know..."

Arrian moved closer to the man and breathed a small flame from his mouth. The man paled as he saw the fire leave the specimens mouth.

"Talk or be burned to a crisp; that is nothing really compared to what I can do to you."

The pudgy man began shaking as Arrian got closer. When Arrian reached out to grab the man, Doc fell on his ass and started sputtering.

"Please! Don't... I... Ok... OK... Just please let me live."

Arrian shifted back into his calm demeanor. The Doc reached into his pocket and pulled out a key card and with a shaky hand gave it to Arrian.

"Alright Doc, tell me what I need to know while you fix that bike and maybe, just maybe you will get to go home when this is over."

1 Day Ago...

Greg's family had been stationed at the Michaels home since Arrian and Greg had not returned. Brandon brought up the point of the Police, but everyone in Arrian's family rejected it; they remembered the last time the police were involved. Brandon thought it over and understood their position, having a special son himself.

Sarah had not calmed down one bit since Arrian left. Iit seemed that Sarah was right after all; Arrian should not have gone to the party.

"Helen, what do we do? We can't wait forever; we need to do something." Miranda said.

"He's still alive. We would know if he wasn't. He's alive and for now that is all we have; I'm not sure how I know, but I know he's okay."

Present...

Arrian had hurried the Doc along as fast as he could. He now had all the knowledge to help him get out, but he also had the knowledge of what to expect; how they would try to stop him. The Doc motioned him over.

"I need a drop of your blood. It's for the DNA encoding in the bike."

Arrian stuck his hand out and the man pricked him thumb with a very long needle before placing the tip into a small hole in the bike's console. The console lit up and made some faint beeping noises. With a 'ding' it was announced that the process was finished.

"Is the bike ready?"

"Yes, it will be completely untraceable and it's set to follow only your protocols. It's fully equipped, since we were ready to put you to a test as soon as you were ready."

"What do you mean 'equipped'?"

"Give it the command 'limit release, weapons discharge.'"

Arrian walked over to the bike and spoke the command. The bike whirred and in a flash the center console was open and four Glock 22's were waving at him. Next to the guns there was a large collection of magazines, considering the small space. Guns were not Arrian's weapon of choice, but Derek was a Marine; knowledge of a multitude of weapons and their uses was a necessary evil. Arrian pulled one out, loaded a magazine and removed the safety after chambering a round; he tucked it into his pants. He wondered why his pants weren't removed but filed that thought away for later.

As he was going to close the console he noticed something.

"Doc, what is that?" Arrian asked, pointing to the unknown object inside his bike.

"It's the hydrogen powered turbine for the bike. It's what allows it to have such a high speed. One fuel cell is located on the right the other on the left."

"How do I close this thing? I was going to just manually do it before the turbine caught my eye."

"Simple;, 'Limit release, weapons holster.'" The Doc said.

Arrian said as much, and noticed the bike purr as it closed the console.

"Okay Doc. before I get the hell out here, tell me how do I start and stop the bike."

"'Ignition' to start, 'standby' for shutting down the turbine, but keeping it with active power, and finally 'system shut down' to turn it off completely."

"How do I drive it?"

"Like you would any other bike. There is of course the complications of it being such a powerful weapon, but I'm sure someone like you can handle it."

In a flash Arrian was behind the Doc and knocked him out. He caught the man and laid him down.

"Sorry, Doc, but I can't have you warning everyone of our escape. I hope Greg is alright."

Arrian picked up the key card and started the bike, he hoped the Doc had been on the up and up, otherwise things were about to get much more difficult.

Greg didn't wait long after Arrian was taken to try once again to get out. He focused his mind and began the tireless work out of trying to break the restraints.

Several hours had passed, and although the restraints felt a tad bit looser, compared to how they felt initially, Greg was disappointed that the difference wasn't much more. Just then he heard a commotion outside his door. Suddenly the door opened and Arrian roared into the lab on the bike.

He got off the bike and went to the key locks on the restraints on Greg's table.

"We're getting out of here. Can you shoot?" Arrian asked as he scanned the key card.

"Bout fucking time. Yeah, I can shoot. Where did you get the bike?"

"No time now; here take this," he said handing Greg the Glock and two magazines.

"Get on and hang on!"

They wasted no time in getting on and roaring out of the lab. Greg held on to Arrian and they blasted down the hallways; the Glock was held in his firm grip. Shortly, they encountered the first resistance in their path. A group of 4 men, standing shoulder to shoulder, blocked their path. Arrian punched the speed up a little more.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Arrian called as he sped the bike up.

"Uh... Ye... yeah..."

Arrian didn't know if Greg had killed before and this was no time to hesitate; if either one did both could end up in a river or worse in this facility.

"Give me the gun and hang on tight!" Arrian said as he took the gun from Greg.

Greg was relieved; he knew how to use a gun, but he wasn't sure he could take someone's life. No, that wasn't true; he had never been forced to make that decision before. He silently thanked Arrian; he knew he wasn't ready at that moment.

Arrian punched the bike's speed as high as he could and felt the power surge in the bike before it exploded forward. The men pulled out their guns. All of them had Glocks, though none were Glock 22's.

Arrian could see the bullets coming at him; he hoped the bike's high speed would allow him to pull off this insane idea he had.

"Greg when I tell yell 'now' slam your left foot into the floor."

Arrian evaded the bullets as he got nearer to them men. They were about 100 feet in front of them now.