Track of the Beast: A Brock Stone Adventure

Stone calmly laid his hand on Ward’s shoulder. With a sudden movement, he covered Ward’s mouth with his other hand, simultaneously digging the tips of his index and middle fingers into the man’s trapezius muscle in a spot near the spine. He gave a twist and Ward’s eyes bulged and he screamed into Stone’s hand. After a count of ten, Stone released the pressure, and Ward’s body sagged.

“I don’t know how they would kill you,” Stone whispered into the man’s ear, “but I can promise I will kill you slowly and painfully.”

Ward’s moment of resolve crumbled. He led them into the main area and up to an old, overstuffed armchair. He tipped it onto its side and the floor underneath it swung up along with it. Down below, a ladder descended to a lower level. From somewhere down below came a low, mournful wail. A woman called out for someone to help her, but her voice was weak and without hope.

“We have to get down there,” Trinity said.

“You go first. Then Ward. We’ll both be keeping an eye on you,” he said to the man.

The shaft they descended was made of hand-cut stone, fitted together with precision. The short hallway they found themselves in was constructed similarly. Bare light bulbs hung from a thick wife, giving off a weak glow.

“The Gebhardt family built this place. They maintained and improved it over the years. We built the space above and expanded on the laboratory beyond this next door.

They watched carefully as Ward removed a key ring from his belt, selected a key, and unlocked the door. He opened it, stepped inside, and beckoned for them to follow.

Stone stepped inside with Trinity hot on his heels. He knew immediately that he had made a mistake. The door slammed shut behind them and everything went black.

Interlude 7

May, 1927

Five Years Ago

In the ensuing days, Stone’s life fell into a pattern. Gideon alternated between attacking, feeding, and instructing him. All of it took place in the darkness. He quickly began to notice changes in himself.

His sense of hearing had been honed to a fine edge. Now, he could hear a single grain of sand fall to the floor. His sense of taste was now refined to the point where he could quickly distinguish which among several buckets of water had a single grain of salt added to it. He sharpened his sense of smell by making him identify ever-fainter scents from increasingly greater distances and enhanced his sense of learning to identify words carved in grains of rice.

He used the latter improved skill to explore his cell. He discovered that the floor was riddled with what felt like trapdoors. That was how Gideon came and went so easily. He took to waiting beside them, hoping to catch Gideon entering, but he always chose the wrong one.

There were also conversations, and not always with Gideon. There were three others — two men, and a woman. Stone eventually could identify them before they spoke, and he named them according to their most identifiable trait: Heavy Walker, Lip Smacker, and Curry Woman.

They engaged Stone in a wide range of discussions, but all the while they were picking him apart, forcing him to reveal his deepest fears, regrets, and shame. He knew exactly what they were doing, but he was desperate for human interaction, so he opened up in ways he never had before.

Stone was surprised to find the conversations brought him a measure of relief from the heavy burden of guilt he carried. He had never been much of a talker, which had created problems in his personal life. His old girlfriend, Trinity, had called him a ‘nut she was determined to crack’. Thinking of her brought back painful memories. Stone had cut her, and all the people he loved, out of his life for their own good.

On one occasion, Curry Woman asks him a rare direct question.

“What finally convinced you to leave the service? Was there a single tipping point?”

Stone took his time before answering. He scratched his chin, reflected on painful memories.

“The decision had been coming for some time. But on my last mission, I came to strongly suspect my commanding officer was working on behalf of the Nazis through a group called the Illuminati. I realized I couldn’t know if my marching orders were coming from Washington or Berlin.”

There was a long silence before Curry Woman replied.

“Men and institutions are easily corrupted, but values are worth fighting for.”

Before Stone could reply, Gideon spoke.

“It is time for a new lesson. Hold out your hand.”

As always, Stone could not tell where Gideon was standing. The man sounded like he was everywhere at once. Stone held out his hand and felt something soft land on his palm. It was a single hair. The fact he could feel it was a testament to the progress he had already made.

“Identify it,” Gideon said.

“A single hair? Impossible.”