enlightened chap like myself can't grasp everything they can do.'
'Humility from you? I never would have expected it.'
Kendall leaned closer. 'I'd be a fool to think myself their superior intellectually. So would you.'
'I don't think myself superior to anyone.'
'Nonsense. You've thought yourself the best to lead this mission, haven't you?'
'I was chosen to lead this team.'
Kendall smiled. 'No, actually, I'm afraid that was a bit more of my influence on things.'
'You?'
'Clever, huh?'
'But you've been dogging me from the start. You've resented my leadership every second of this mission.'
'Well, it makes it all the more believable then, doesn't it? Me, the disappointed wanna-be leader forever heckling you. Who would ever suspect me of manipulating things behind the scenes? No one.'
'How did you ever manage to get me appointed?'
Kendall grinned. 'Turns out the chairman enjoys sexual dalliances with very young children. That research trip he took to Thailand last year? A sexual vacation. Lucky for me, pictures of his escapades were rather easy to come by, pardon the pun.'
'You're a real sick bastard, Kendall.'
'Undoubtedly.'
'And what about when we go home? How will you explain everything then?'
''We'?' Kendall laughed. 'You aren't serious. Julia, I am the only one going home from this excursion. I can't very well let you or anyone else get back there and spill the beans on my little adventure, can I?'
'You could wipe our minds clean like you did the other abductees.'
'Not reliable enough. No, I'm afraid your fates are sealed. You and Nung will most likely live out the remainder of your lives, short though they may well be, here or else the visitors may take you to another base.'
'Another base?'
Kendall nodded. 'They have a lovely little outpost on the moon, believe it or not. Charming place.'
'And you've been.'
'Once. Yes. I think it was a gift for my years of service to their cause.'
'Years of service?'
Kendall nodded. 'I've been doing this for a long time. I am the most seasoned person on your team remember. I've led several Antarctic expeditions.'
'But none of those ever turned deadly.'
'No. But they did provide the visitors with ripe subjects for experimentation. They were doing a type of tag and release program back then. They wanted to see how the abductions would affect the lives of the victims they experimented upon. Quite fascinating.'
Julia found it hard to believe everything he was saying. She found it even harder to maintain the control over her bladder. The steel gurney was so very cold. It tickled the inside of her stomach. It made her desperately want to relieve herself. The warmth of her own urine would at least take some of the chill away, even if only for a moment.
Kendall must have noticed the look on her face because he smiled. 'That gurney's awfully cold, isn't it?'
'I hadn't noticed.'
'No? That's interesting because I could swear you look ready to piss all over the place.'
'I'm not.'
'There's no shame in it, Julia. You should have seen Nung when he woke up on the slab. The poor lad sprayed so much urine everywhere, the visitors had to stop the operation and clean it up. Terribly impolite of him to do so, too.'
'I'm sure he'll appreciate the talking to.'
Kendall laughed. 'I marvel at your sense of humor even now. Even as you know what's coming next.'
'I'm just waiting for Mick to get here and kill everyone in this place.'
'Really? You think he's coming back for you? Do you think your promise of passion after all of this is over is enough to lure him in here? You really think that you have that much allure?'
'Allure's got nothing to do with it. Mick's a good man. He wouldn't leave us all here to die.'
Kendall sighed. 'That's the problem with people. No one's pragmatic anymore. All this ridiculous emotion certainly musses things up. If people could just see the big picture, they'd realize the futility of their quests.'
'You think a lack of emotion is a good thing.'
'Absolutely. The visitors do, too.'
'That why I don't hear any laughing?'
'Make a joke while you can,' said Kendall. 'The time is fast approaching when you'll scream for your mommy and daddy to come and rescue you from the twisted fate they have in store for you. But you know what?'
'What?'
'It will be too late. Nothing can help you now. The visitors will see to that. You belong to them now.'
'Don't count me out yet, Kendall.'
'I already have.'
Julia frowned. 'When Mick gets here, I'll ask him to leave you alive a little while longer so I can kill you myself.'
Kendall smirked. 'You don't have the guts to kill me, Julia. If you did, you'd just be exactly what you despise about me. A cold-hearted killer.'
'I think I'll be able to live myself,' said Julia.
Kendall looked at her for another second before sighing. 'Perhaps.' He looked at his watch. 'It's time for me to leave now.'
'Where are you going?'
Kendall smiled. 'Things to do. People to see. Places to go. You know. Very busy being what I am.'
The door slid open behind him and Julia could see two visitors enter the room.
Kendall smiled more. 'Besides, I think our hosts want to spend some quality time alone with you. Can't say I blame them.'
Julia struggled against the straps. 'Kendall!'
His smile oozed across his face and he waved at her. 'Good bye, Julia. Enjoy the procedure.'
He left the chamber.
The door hissed shut.
And Julia saw the two visitors move closer to her.
She screamed.
24
Their eyes sucked her in.
The deep black pools of obscurity that at once seemed to grow and then shrink within her mind. She saw her reflection in them, stretched out and naked on the cold metal slab beneath her body. She felt herself gripped by such fear and anxiety.
Then strangely, it vanished.
A wave of relaxation slipped over her. She felt her muscles slacked. The tension in her body seemed to melt out of her.
She felt a bit drowsy.
Where had the visitors gone?
She tried turning her head but found she couldn't.
Her sense of control over her body was gone. Almost as if she'd been so anesthetized that she could no
