Robin Cook - Abduction

“It isn’t all bad,” Perry said as he sauntered over. “We’ve got hair! Can you imagine? Mine is thicker than it was when I lost it.”

“I noticed my hair,” Suzanne said with less enthusiasm.

“Aren’t you thrilled?” Perry said.

“I preferred the length I had yesterday,” Suzanne said. “Or actually the length I had three days ago.”

“What do you mean, three days ago?” Perry questioned.

“Yesterday was July twenty-first,” Suzanne said. “Right?”

“I guess,” Perry said. He wasn’t sure thanks to the overnight flight to the Azores.

“Well, my watch, which someone took off my wrist but was nice enough to leave behind, says it’s now the twenty-fourth.”

Suzanne’s watch had been the only one to last through the gassing. Its gold bracelet band remained undissolved.

“Maybe whoever removed it advanced the date,” Perry suggested. The idea of being asleep for three days was disturbing, to say the least.

“It’s possible,” Suzanne said. “But I doubt it. I mean, to grow as much hair as we have, it would have taken more than three days. Maybe we’ve been asleep for a month and three days.”

Perry shivered. “A month?” he gulped. “I can’t imagine. Besides, the hair growth we’ve had has to have come from some kind of amazing treatment. My hair’s back to the way it was when I was fourteen. I’ll tell you something: as a businessman, I’d kill to find out the secret. Can you imagine? What a product.”

“They didn’t do me any favors,” Donald said. “I didn’t want hair on my head.”

“Did you notice the puncture wounds on your stomachs?” Suzanne asked Perry and Donald.

They both nodded.

“I think that means we were on life support of some kind,” Suzanne said. “Maybe the same kind our divers had been on in those spheres.”

“That was my thought,” Perry said. “I suppose they had to keep us on something if we were out so long.”

“Hey, are you guys okay?” Suzanne called over to Richard and Michael, who were finishing dressing.

“I’m all right,” Richard said. “Except for the fact that I was wishing this was all a bad dream.”

“Drugging us is in violation of the Geneva Convention,” Donald growled. “We’re civilians! Who knows what these puncture wounds mean. They could have given us anything-AIDS, or truth drugs.”

“Actually, I feel really good,” Perry admitted. He flexed his arms and stretched his legs. It was as if his body as well as his hair had been rejuvenated.

“Me, too,” Michael said. He touched his toes and then ran in place for several strides. “I feel as if I could swim for twenty miles.”

“I got my hair back but now my beard’s gone,” Richard said. “Explain that!”

The other men reflexively stroked their chins. It was true. They had no stubble.

“This is getting more and more interesting,” Perry said.

“I’d say it’s getting more and more surreal,” Suzanne said. She looked closely at Perry’s cheeks. Previously he’d had a definite five o’clock shadow. Now his complexion was perfectly clear.

“Hang on, guys!” Richard exclaimed. He pointed at the door on the wall opposite the mirrors. “Looks like we’re being let out of the cage.”

All eyes turned to see the door silently open. Beyond was another long white corridor with framed holographs. The light coming from the other end of it was bright and natural.

“That looks like daylight,” Suzanne said.

“It can’t be daylight,” Donald said. “Unless we got moved somehow.”

Perry felt a chill go down his spine. Intuitively he knew that everything that had happened so far was a preamble of what was going to happen in the next few minutes. The problem was he had no idea what it was going to be.

Richard walked to the doorway to get a better look. He shielded his eyes against the brightness reflecting off the glossy white walls.

“Can you see anything?” Suzanne asked.

“Not much,” Richard admitted. “It opens up at the end and there’s a wall opposite. It must be open to the sky. Let’s go!”

“Hold up a minute,” Suzanne said. Then she looked at Donald. “What do you say? Should we go? Obviously our hosts expect us to.”

“I think we should go but as a group,” Donald said. “We should stick together as much as we can, but maybe we should pick one person to speak for us if we encounter our captors.”

“Fine,” Suzanne said. “I nominate Perry.”

“Me?” Perry squeaked. He cleared his throat. “Why me? Donald’s still the captain.”

“True,” Suzanne said. “But you are the president of Benthic Marine. Whoever is holding us might appreciate the fact that you speak with some authority, especially about the drilling operation.”

“You think the reason we’re down here is because of the drilling?”

“It has crossed my mind,” Suzanne said.

“Still, Donald’s been in the military,” Perry whined. “I haven’t. What if this is a Russian military base?”

“I think it is safe to say it is not a Russian base,” Suzanne replied.

“It’s not completely out of the question,” Donald said. “But I think Perry is a good choice regardless. It will give me a better chance to assess the situation, especially if things get hostile.”

“Richard and Michael!” Suzanne called. “Do either of you have an opinion about who speaks for us?”

“I think the prez should be the one,” Michael said.

Richard merely nodded. He was impatient to go.

“Then it’s decided,” Suzanne said. She gestured for Perry to lead them down the corridor.

“Okay!” Perry said with more alacrity than he felt. He tightened the golden braid around his tunic, squared his shoulders, and headed toward the corridor. Richard gave him a supercilious glance as he passed and then fell in behind him. The others followed in single file.

Perry slowed as he approached the end of the hallway. He was even more certain the light streaming in was sunlight since he could feel its radiant warmth. He gauged the space ahead to be an open sky enclosure approximately twenty-feet square.

About six feet away Perry stopped and Richard bumped up against him.

“What’s the matter?” Suzanne asked. She pushed past Richard.

Perry didn’t answer since he didn’t know exactly why he’d stopped. Slowly he leaned forward so that he could see progressively more of the opposite wall. He was looking for the top, but he couldn’t yet see it. After a step forward he tried again. This time he could see the top of the wall which he estimated to be about fifteen feet high. Above that he could see feet, ankles, bare calves, and the hems of outfits like the one he had on.

Perry straightened up and turned to the others. “There are people on top of the opposite wall,” he whispered. “They’re dressed the way we are.”

“Really?” Suzanne questioned. She leaned forward to try to see for herself, but she was too far back.

“I can’t be positive,” Perry said. “But I think they’re wearing these same flimsy satin clothes we are.” He and everyone else had assumed the flimsy, weird, lingerie-like outfits were prisoners’ garb.

“Come on!” Richard said, even more impatient now. “This I gotta see. Let’s go!”

“Why would they be dressed like ancient Greeks?” Suzanne asked Donald.

Donald shrugged. “You’ve got me. Let’s just move out and see for ourselves.”

Perry led the way. With his hand over his eyes to shield against the glare of a square of bright sky, he looked up. What he saw astounded him to the point that he stopped dead in his tracks and his mouth gaped in wonderment. Suzanne bumped into him and the rest of the group nudged against her all equally dumbfounded.