Uranium Bender VII

Going to the baseball game I had a smile tattooed on my face. Entering those magical gates into the temporary world of competitive entertainment, my eyes were lit up like twinkling stars. We were in the front row, so close to first base I felt like I could give a player a pat on the back. Managers were hollering at umpires, players were mouthing off at each other, foul balls were flying every direction, and the whole time I was grinning ear to ear. Chowing down on Cracker Jack every inning. Ray, Saul, and I kept exchanging glances; smiling and laughing at the Reds striking out the Giants, the Reds making diving catches, and the Reds hitting the ball up and down the field.

9 to 2. Reds won. What a thrill of a game, and a memory I will always cherish. The game started at 4 PM and ended at 7 PM, afterwards we ate a meal at a restaurant downtown in San Francisco, and we finished up the evening taking a sightseeing cruise back to Helen's house. The valley and the water looked picturesque, looking back at the city. The golden hour was making every building glisten and glow. Just as the sun fully set on the horizon, we pulled up to Helen's house in the driveway.

Ray dropped his jaw and said, "Don't leave the car just yet."

The tone in his voice was hollow and empty, my heart sank and it felt like my chest was caving in.

"Why?" Saul asked.

"Helen said that if something was wrong when we came back, she would turn every light on in the house."

"Oh, I thought it was strange the entire house was lit up," Saul turned to Ray with his brow puckered. "What do you think we ought to do?"

"I'll tell you what we'll do, I want you to go around and wait outside by the back door. I'll go in through the front first, and Bradley will be behind me. If you hear anything, like a gunshot or any sort of struggle, rush in. If not, my codeword for you will be 'Bloody Murder', in which case I'll need you to storm in. Got it?"

"Got it," Saul said, shoveling a pistol in his pocket that he retrieved from the glove box.

"You ready for this, Bradley?" Ray asked, spinning around in his seat to look at me in the eye.

"Yeah," I said.

"All right, let's get out of the car and quietly close the door," Ray directed as we slid out and pressed the door closed. The three of us tiptoed to the house.

Once Saul was hidden in the shadows on the side of the house we hovered at the front. Ray and I shared one last glance, a nod, and a deep breath. He slipped in the key and turned the lock. Stepping inside, my heart sputtered and a charge of energy pierced my body.

Helen was tied up in a chair at the center of the living room. Benji was chained to the inactive fire place, with a muzzle on his nose, whimpering.

Marshall's blistered red face greeted us with a wide grin. He clutched Ray's neck and spiked him to the ground. I brought my hands together, but he gripped my head and tossed me like a bowling ball, slamming into the wall on the other side of the room.

"Ray, because of you, I'm forever cursed with this uranium damage," Marshall shoved his foot on Ray's neck, crushing it down.

"At…least…you're…alive…" the side of Ray's lip curled up.

Marshall whipped out a revolver and wasted no time firing howling shots to Ray's left thigh, right thigh, left bicep and right bicep, then lifted his foot off his throat. Ray let out a wailing scream, and the back door fumbled open and a struggle of grunts and thrusts ensued.

"At least you're alive, Ray," Marshall sneered and marched over to where I was collapsed on the ground, I tried to pull myself up but I was too weak. Marshall yanked me up by my hair, seized my throat, and pinned me against the wall. He pierced me with his cold blue leer. His grin was as wide as could be and his distorted face sent chills down to my toes.

"You're supposed to protect me, I need to be safe to develop the—"

Marshall bashed my head against the wall. "We tried to do that the easy way, remember? Besides, it's nice to get a little revenge on a brat like you."

My vision was blurry, the coppery taste of blood lingered in my mouth, my brain felt like a fish in a bowl, rolling downhill. Footsteps came into the room from the back, Saul is going to kick your ass.

"The partner has been sedated," Dr. Faulkner hissed.

"Good. Sedate the other. I can't stand his constant screaming," Marshall barked.

"I thought you weren't going to shoot anyone? I thought we were just going to get the boy?" Dr. Faulkner said.

"You can't be serious? You agree to go on a mission like this and you expect this to go peacefully?" Marshall yelled.

"I thought tying up the girl and dog was a little much but I—"

Ray continued to holler at the top of his lungs.

"Shut him the fuck up already!" Marshall growled.

Dr. Faulkner rushed over and injected him with a needle, after a brief moment of hesitation. Ray's screaming died down like a police siren driving down the street.

"Now come over here, and inject the boy god dammit!"

"All right, all right! I just need to grab some more of the sedative from my bag."

My breath was fading, but Marshall shook me like a bobble head, still clutching my throat. "I'd be happy to choke you out, but you'll be put out longer with this drug," he winked. "I need you to stay awake so you can feel the pain of the needle pricking your neck."

Dr. Faulkner crept towards Marshall's shoulder, and he flicked the syringe to squirt the air bubble out.

"Any day now, Faulkner," Marshall grunted.

Each breath became slower and deeper. My pupils dilated and my jaw dropped. This was the end of the road, I was going to go back into a laboratory and develop a weapon that might destroy the world. Accept it, Bradley. We had a good run. The needle sparkled in the light as it approached my neck.

I shut my eyes, and grimaced.