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Read Part 1

Sandra’s eyes open as she gasps for air. She chokes on her own blood and begins couching uncontrollably.   The pain is too much to bear. She rolls around for a moment. She is no longer in the house where Connor had stabbed her.

There is a heart monitor attached to her finger. With her other hand she grabs her neck. A bandage?

She is in a room with a few medical monitors. It is dark. The walls are concrete and there are no windows. No telling if it is day or night. Someone can be heard in the hallway approaching the room. The click of polished leather shoes fills the hallway. The kind only business men wear.

Who saved my life? Sandra thought to herself.

“It is I who has taken the liberty of saving your life.” A tall elderly man steps in the hallway.

“And you would be?”

“Charles Jayden.” He extends his hand to her. She hesitates.

“It was you that broke into his house. Why are you after him?”

“Well it was my men who broke into the boy’s home. I was merely attempting to retrieve stolen property.”

Charles circles the room watching Sandra as she gathered herself on the medical table. It seems that all the pain she had felt was purely mental. She had been completely healed. She had no idea how long she had been out. Judging by the severity of the wounds she received it was well over a week ago.

“What do you know about The Basement?”

“Only a brief history of the building that used to be built overtop and the history of the tunnels and the Underground Railroad. It was the last check point to the North. The house that was built over it was a normal operating Victorian mansion. It was burned down in the early 1900’s during the great depression. That is pretty much all I know. And I used to play inside there as a kid.”

Charles looked on in disbelief.

“What did the boy know?”

“Nothing. We played there as children, but other than that he spent most of his life in New York. We’d play together when his family was visiting around the holidays. The Basement was a perfect place to hid and stay warm in the winter time.”

He flung himself at her choking her against the wall. She tried to fight back, but did not have the strength.

“That’s bullshit! He activated the power sequence and is nowhere to be found. Now you either know more than you are leading on or it is he that knows and you are covering for him.”

Sandra was having trouble breathing. The bandage was beginning to bleed again from the knife wound. She screamed. Charles threw her to the ground and begins to walk towards the door.

“You’ll tell me what I need to know.”

Sandra sits herself up against the cold concrete wall to catch her breath. “Shultz make sure she stays quiet,” Charles slams the door behind him leaving the man in the dark room with Sandra.

Connor wakes up in a sweaty panic. It is night.

Where am I? The air smelled fresh. There was a light breeze through the front of the lean to. Stepping out into night, Connor, looked up at the sky. He was still trying to understand what had happened. He looked down at his ring.

“Sir, everything alright?” A man called from behind.

Connor jumped. “Listen man, stop sneaking up on me like that and remember what I said? Don’t call me sir. Connor will do.”

“Yes sir, sorry sir…I mean Connor. The names Riley. Riley Hurlbit.”

They shake hands.

“Let’s go for a walk.” Connor leads the way back towards The Basement. The moon is full and the air warm. The men walk in silence. Connor has a purpose. Riley follows with much interest. Connor reaches down and opens up the iron door. Riley holds the door as Connor descends into the dark.

As they approach the floor below Connor turns and faces Riley.

“Please explain.”

“Sir?” Riley questions.

“What is this place and why isn’t it 2009? I killed my girlfriend and in her dying moments she tells me to come here and plant this,” he points to his finger, “into that,” he points to the Coat of Arms, “because “he” is after it. Please explain.”

“He? Charles Jayden found you in 2009?”

“I guess? They nearly tore apart my house. Tracking me down.” He pauses and looks around “Wait, Jayden…there was a young man on the screen out there talking with Jayden on his name tag.”

“That is Charles Jayden of 1945. Leader of The Ring of Man.”

Connors face emptied of emotion. His hands dropped to his side.

“Come in here. I will show you.” Riley shows Connor into a room off the main atrium.

The room had a small window and light shined through the dirt stained window. The walls are lined with large framed pictures of different scientists, and a flag that was a mixture of the Confederate and Nazi flag. Everything was covered in a dirt or dust. Connor scanned the photos across the wall. The pictures looked decades old but the equipment that was displayed in the background was way ahead of its time. He finally stopped at one of the pictures and recognized Jayden right away.

“This is The Basement. It was created by a man named Charles Jayden. The Ring of Man is a group of extremist from governments throughout the years that were hell bent on “world domination” if you will. It is a secret society that has existed for hundreds of years. In 1859, the confederates posed as one of the final stops on the Underground Railroad to trap African Americans that attempted to flee the South…” Riley is interrupted.

“Please get on with it.” Connor demands.

“The Basement is capable of moving back and forth between different time periods. That much we know. Some time ago, we don’t know how long, the ring that activates this power sequence was lost by Jayden. No one had seen the ring for decades until finally in 1859 a family was brought through the tunnels to be freed. Once they found out the husband was wearing the ring…”

“They killed my entire family and I barely escaped with my life.” A tall black man appears from the door way.

“This is Louis Robinson.” Connor and Louis shake hands.  “He is one of the only people to meet Jayden face to face and live to tell about it.”

Connor raises his hand to the men. “This ring?” The both stare at the sterling silver band rapped around his right ring finger.

“What the — ?” Riley and Louis look at each other. “We need to make for the camp now.” Louis makes for the exit. Connor and Riley closely follow behind.

Back at the camp the three men gather in the tent most nearest to the center. They open the large draped door. A woman stands inside. She is tending to a small fire and is cooking some food.

“What seems to be the problem guys?” Connor asks.

“We are ready to begin Julie,” Riley states, “Connor has returned with the ring. We can begin the operation against The Ring of Man.”

Julie is Riley’s wife and seems to have knack for map reading. Her tent is filled with maps.

“They are all of the same place.” Connor point out.

“Same place, all different time periods. You see throughout history The Basement has had different occupants, and in some cases no house over it. After the Depression the mansion above was burnt down in hopes of riding The Basement as well.” Louis explains.

“Now you said Sandra was killed?” Riley asks.

“Yes, I had awoken from a nightmare and she caught me off guard in my house.”

“Here is the map for 2009,” Julie places the map on the table, “ Connor’s home is about a quarter mile due East of The Basement and we should be able to slip in relatively undetected to extract Sandra before she enters your home.”

“You’d like to think that’d work.” A strange voice says from behind. The men draw their weapons on the stranger. A young, but weathered, Caucasian man stands in front of them. He is dressed in blue overalls with work boots. His beard hasn’t been trimmed in some time and his hair is tied back in a pony tail.

“And who might you be friend?” Louis barks.

“Someone who’d like to see you stay alive a little bit longer.”

“Oh yeah, and what makes you think that I won’t make your grave right here?”

“Because if you ever want to see Sandra alive again, or have the chance to kill Charles Jayden, I suggest you listen.”

The three men lower their weapons and lend an ear to the man. The man turns and grabs a nearby chair and pours himself a cup of coffee and grabs one of the steaks cooking on the grill. Julie, Louis, Riley and Connor look on in disbelief.

“Charles Jayden knows that Connor holds the key to his machine is doing everything in his power to monitor the use of it. Any attempt to use it would result in the death of every single one of you.”

“How do you know this?” Connor asks.

“Let’s just say I have been privy to a few trade secrets.” The man explains.

“What do you recommend we do then?” Riley asks, “Sandra is an essential part of our operation. Not to mention the need to put a stop to Jayden.”

“There is a place far from here. A place no one knows about and has been forgotten for many years, a place much like The Basement. You will have to endure temperatures most have never felt before. The Adirondack’s hold some of the greatest mysteries in history and one lays just beyond Big Deer Lake. It’s called The Attic.”

“Who are you?” They ask.

“Shultz, the names Tom Shultz. And by the way, Sandra is alive.”