When Death Condemns the Soul

WHEN

DEATH

CONDEMNS

THE SOUL

By:   D. H. REID

GINGER REID-PARKER

© 2008 by D. H. Reid & Ginger Reid-Parker

All Rights Reserved.  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers or author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events or locales in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual persons, (living or deceased) is purely coincidental.

First Printing in the United States of America

Published by Lulu.com

Chapter 1 - History Revealed

It was a hot, humid, mid-summer’s day in the small town of Erskine, which is located on the shores of a cold Atlantic Ocean. The sky was filled with soft-white cumulous clouds and a gentle breeze was blowing across the tops of the trees.

Many people often enjoyed wandering around the small town, trying to take advantage of the specials on display. The town’s stores were always busy with shoppers and tourists every day of the week.

Thousands of people were enjoying the various attractions for pleasure, or rushing to their jobs. It was a common sight, to see many individuals heading in different directions each hour, and the sight of thousands of tourists visiting the town wasn’t unusual for that time of year. 

Erskine wasn’t a large city like New York or Chicago, but it wasn’t a small town either. Tourists had many options that they could enjoy each day, which tickled their fancy. They could visit the theatre, sports arenas, museums, the various monuments, many sports stadiums in the urban areas of the town, or they could just relax on the sandy beaches of the ocean. 

The arts were displayed in galleries or live on stage. Many actors, singers, and normal citizens could display their talents on the stage of a theatre. Many others could enjoy the arts, or the ballet, opera, or theatrical productions that were held weekly, in buildings that were designed for that purpose.

The youth enjoyed choices when it came to sports. They could participate in football, baseball, basketball, golf, rugby or soccer. The town was designed for relaxation and comfort for everyone that now called Erskine their home. 

Tourists and visitors to the area arrived from all over the world, to view the attractions that the town offered. They would have the opportunity to sample the products manufactured in the small town, before they are exported around the world, for the benefit of others.

The mayor and the city council always prided themselves on the way they had budgeted their funds, so the town would continue to grow and prosper.  Founded in the early eighteen hundreds, Erskine had been primarily farms and agricultural businesses. The local farmers were able to market their produce easily, by driving them into the cities like Philadelphia, New York, Boston, or other areas that people frequented, in the southeastern states of the nation.

Well-known or famous people through U.S. history had called Erskine their home for a period of time. They had included W. C. Fields, James Buchanan, former president of the United States, Stephen Foster, Grace Kelly, and Lee Iacocca. Authors, engineers, industrialists, and men and women that made something of their lives had passed through the area from 1800-1945. It was an area that others embraced, since it catered to everyone.

After the destruction and atrocities committed during World War 2, many buildings were constructed to meet the needs of the soldiers of the forties.  With the men fighting the enemy overseas, the women were given the task of making bombs, bullets, and other items to further the war effort.

Different businesses moving into the area decided to take over the buildings when the war ended, allowing funds to be spent modernizing them. It would allow companies to take advantage of the assets the town offered that way. 

The business district had a harbor and docks, which made the loading and the unloading of ships easy. The businesses also had access to many interstate highways that were leading all over the nation.

The city council had drawn up plans to put the businesses and factories in one area. It saved everyone a lot of time, because everyone could gain access to most of the factories in the area, without really disrupting the lives of the other citizens in the town. A unique infrastructure would be established, to save money on road repairs and pollution.

With various products created in the docks area of the town, an area next to that was designated for the food and shopping district. The trucks could leave the interstate highways, or dock areas, to deliver their goods to their customers in the shopping district.

Everything was carefully planned, to ensure that the citizens could live their lives in peace and quiet around their homes. Erskine wasn’t really like most of the other major cities in that regard. 

With the large trucks limited to the shopping and factory districts, only cars would be seen throughout the rest of the town. There was an exception to that however, when the lives of citizens were put at risk. Even though cars weren’t allowed on the roads, it didn’t extend to all vehicles.

The bus transit system could take everyone to any part of the town and drop them at the bus stops in front of their homes. The only other trucks that were allowed on the roads were the larger emergency vehicles, like the fire, police, and ambulance departments in the town. The fire trucks were equipped with a ladder system, for the high-rise apartments that were the homes for many.  

By limiting the business and factories to one sector of the town, different companies could use the large ships in the harbour, or tractor-trailer trucks to export their products easily. Everything was done for efficiency. 

That would definitely improve the safety on the roads in the area, without disrupting the citizens that are living in the quiet, residential areas of the town.  That was a major boom for their local economy, and it gave many people an opportunity to find jobs that would turn into life-long careers.

Major hotels and bed-and-breakfast establishments were also encouraged to build next to the shopping district. For the tourists, and other people visiting the town, they were impressed that everything was carefully planned for their convenience. They could walk to the shopping district from their hotels. 

The main street of the town ran through the center of the shopping district and it created an atmosphere of mystique, excitement, awe, and bewilderment. No one would get lost and they could find everything they wanted that way.

The historical preservation of buildings, train and bus stations, and parks and monuments were maintained, so they resemble the town from the eighteen hundreds. Erskine was a prime example of modern technology, blending in with ancient history, to create an atmosphere that would attract tourists. 

The small, ocean-port town was now a bustling center for industry, fishing, and tourism. Citizens could often see the small vessels moored at the docks, preparing for pleasure cruises and fishing excursions. 

In the distance, the sails of large, hundred-year-old tall ships could be seen leaving the port, traveling to their next destination. They were the envy of the world, and people loved to step back in history, when they walked their decks.

They had arrived off the coast of the town several days earlier, to show off the splendor of their workmanship. Most of the large ships were constructed over a century earlier, in the ‘dry-docks’ of Spain, Britain, and Portugal.

The ships were traveling around the world, so they could give many people the opportunity to see what the ships were like in previous centuries. Tourists could board the vessels and learn about a sailor’s life on the high seas, when that was the way to travel the world, hundreds of years earlier.  

Moored by heavy, solid-iron anchors, many of the larger, sea-worthy cargo ships sat in the deep water by the docks. With hundreds of crewmen working diligently to perform their tasks, steel containers were placed on the decks, by using large cranes.

The steel containers were filled with every product imaginable. They were removed from the ships, and placed on trailers designed to hold them. The trucks could then deliver their contents to the factories around the nation.

From early in the morning, until late in the evening, men loaded the cargo holds with merchandise that were produced inside the factories of the small town. Once loaded, the vessels would sail to various destinations around the world, so they would be able to deliver their precious cargos. 

The small town was famous for the exquisite seafood and cuisines offered in their restaurants. Following the plans, drawn up a century earlier, fast food, hotels, and restaurants were found in an area next to the shopping district.

On many occasions, visitors could dine on such delicacies as crab, shrimp, lobster, eel, oysters, clams, octopus, calamari squid, and other seafood’s that were carefully prepared for every taste bud. Offering a choice was valued.

The prestigious menus, of high-class restaurants, often included tarantula spiders, centipedes, ants, escargot, and stonefish. The restaurant’s offered the people traditional dinners that would consist of chicken, beef, and pork. 

Various cheeses would be produced at the local cheese factory, in the small ocean town. The curds from milk were separated, and aged, to produce every cheese imaginable. Tourists enjoyed visiting the front showrooms, to sample Mozzarella, Parmesan, Blue, Swiss, Cheddar, and cheeses that were produced and aged over time. 

Two dairies were thriving in the region, to provide their endless supply of milk and cream for the cheese, and other products produced within the borders of the small town. Dairy farmers maintained their large herds of cows that were milked twice a day, so they could provide the milk for the dairies. 

Unlike other towns throughout the nation, Erskine kept the unique system enjoyed by its citizens. Milk and other dairy products were still delivered to their front doors of homes, on small trucks that are designed for that purpose. 

The bakery products, which included various bread, buns, croissants, cakes; muffins, and doughnuts, were delivered each morning to the residents at their homes. The bakeries that were located in the shopping district would market their products to the tourists, and the other visitors to the area.

That would give many individuals an opportunity to taste different products produced. Everyone has a sweet tooth and they loved sampling the different cakes, pies, breads, and pastries that were often filled with different fruits and fillings that were native to the area.

Everything someone wanted would be produced in large bakeries that were found in the business district. They would then be transported to the bakeries and homes in the region, or nationally from coast-to-coast each day. Factories had their fleets of vehicles and ships to satisfy their needs.

The town was famous for the tannery, which was built at the turn of the last century. The foul odor that many people associated with the curing of leather was overlooked for profits gained, through the manufacturing of the products. Everyone was asked to sacrifice, to ensure that everyone could benefit through the town’s ambitions. Their simple plan was created, followed, and everyone would help the town grow, or prosper in their own way.   

Fine leathers and saddles were the envy of the world. Tourists and visitors to the small town could buy everything imaginable that was made of leather. It created employment for the local citizens and encouraged tourism.

The products included belts, hats, skirts, dresses, jackets, and boots were an item that would often disappear each day. The hides from the steers were shipped into the region on boxcars, from the western states of the nation.

Preserving the history of the town was placed ahead of everything else and developers weren’t welcomed inside the perimeters. The sacrifices made by the town’s original citizens were never forgotten in Erskine. Their memories and labors were respected ahead of wealth, power, and progress. 

The early pioneers to the area had to endure endless hardships, to create the town from the wilds of the forests. It was the responsibility of every citizen to honor their memory in reverence and pride. If someone didn’t want to honour the traditions of the area, they had the option to move elsewhere.

The churches that were built in the early eighteen hundreds were preserved and cherished as sanctuaries, where the citizens could develop their faith in God. They were built through hard work, pride, and with workmanship that would last centuries, especially if they were cared for properly.

Children were taught in the schools that were built a hundred years earlier. That would give the students the same sense of pride and bewilderment that their ancestors had felt by attending them. They may have only contained one or two classrooms in the past, but the teachers were dedicated to teaching the basics to everyone that attended.

The pride and joy of the small town was the large chocolate factory and it was located near the docks. Just as ‘Hershey’ became famous for producing their chocolate kisses in Pennsylvania, Erskine became famous for producing various chocolates and delicacies that were created by European gourmets.    

It wouldn’t really be uncommon to see hundreds of people eating caramel chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate and assorted candies covered with various chocolate coverings. Chocolate-covered peanuts, cashews, and pecans were the big sellers in the shopping areas of the region.

People would arrive from the four corners of the world, and from across the nation, to buy the products at wholesale prices. A small store was located on the premises of the factory for just that purpose.

Unknown to everyone in the small town, the weather was going to take a turn for the worse very rapidly. As the storm clouds slowly appeared over the water, everyone knew that it would only be a matter-of-time, before the clouds released their fury on the residents of the town. Living on the coast would be an adventure, with each hurricane reported off the coast of Florida.

The temperature had dropped dramatically, accompanied by a bone-chilling rise in humidity. The large, fluffy-white cumulous clouds were now blending in with dark-black, sinister clouds, as the wind began to grow in intensity. It was followed by a rapid escalation in moisture, which would quickly descend on a population that knew and understood the signs.

Within seconds of the darkened clouds filling the sky, their loud crashes of thunder could be heard echoing across the heavens above them. Bright flashes of lightning would precede each sonic boom, which often sent shivers through the bodies of those caught in the unexpected turn of events.

Quickening their pace, as they rushed to their various destinations, many of the people hoped that they would get home, before the clouds unleashed their fury on the area. There was nothing worse than getting caught in a storm. 

With the escalation of dampness in the air, many people would develop flu-like symptoms, or their common colds. If they were subjected to a prolonged exposure to the elements, some of the elderly people could develop symptoms of pneumonia, if they didn’t take proper precautions to prevent it. 

Pneumonia was known as an inflammation, or infection of the lungs. It is most commonly caused by bacteria, or viruses in the atmosphere surrounding the citizens of the Earth. In all cases, the air sacs inside the lungs fill with pus, mucous, and other liquids, so the lungs cannot function properly. 

When that happens, life-giving oxygen can’t reach the blood and cells of the body. Rain was a common occurrence of nature and many people could only protect themselves with raincoats and umbrellas, to avoid catching chills.

For those that were still working in the hospitals and clinics, they knew that everyone entering their doors with pneumonia were contagious. The viruses and bacteria’s causing pneumonia are normally found in the nose and mouths of those infected. Pneumonia could be spread through coughing and sneezing, sharing drinking glasses, or utensils, and contact with used tissues or napkins.

Unknown to the citizens of the small town, a sinister-looking character was creeping through the back alleys of the business district. Dressed in a long coat, the man was carrying a small knapsack under his arm. 

He was stopping at each opportunity that presented itself, to make sure his whereabouts remained secret. If he heard something, he wouldn’t hesitate to slip behind every obstacle he could find. They would provide shelter from the driving rain too. It was now pelting against his face, so he couldn’t see.

With long, dark hair and a beard that was as black as the sky above him, he had ensured that he was wearing the darkest clothes he could find. Standing roughly six-feet-tall, it wasn’t easy for him to remain hidden. It would have been easier to hide from the elements, and those wandering around the town, if he wasn’t as tall as he was. Why he appeared that night was anyone’s guess.

Why he was wandering through the driving rain was known only to him.  Regardless of the reason for his presence, the tall stranger was trying his best to conceal his identity from others in the alley at all costs. 

Clutching the knapsack in his hands, the expression on his face implied that he was very frightened and he was trying to elude everyone around him. Why he felt that way was a unique mystery that would eventually be revealed. One thing was obvious and he was trying his best to remain anonymous.

The darkness that now surrounded him, by the cumulous-nimbus clouds of the storm, had provided him cover from everyone in the area. It also provided him with the perfect camouflage. Only he knew the purpose of his actions, as he slowly walked through the dark alleys of the business district. 

He had managed to elude everyone so far, so they didn’t know he existed.  He could remain hidden from sight, but how long it would last remains to be seen. The night was especially eerie and he could only do the best he could to remain inconspicuous to everyone around him.

Feeling the sudden drop in the temperature surrounding him, he knew that he had to arrive at his destination at all costs, before the storm could unleash its full fury around him. After feeling the rain and large hailstones pounding the pavement around him, he knew that he had to get out of the storm before it was too late.

The hailstones were the size of golf balls and he had seen situations where a person fractured their skull when they are struck in the head. If he wanted to avoid the same fate, he would seek cover, so he could maintain his health to accomplish his mission that evening. There was another reason for his concern and it was the item he was carrying under his coat, so the contents are kept dry and confined safely in his possession.

The concern was a knapsack that he was protecting from the elements and it is hidden under his coat for protection. He was making sure that it remained safe from the prying eyes of others at all costs. Others would kill, if they knew how important it was, which put his life in danger.

Fortunately, no one knew what the contents of the knapsack contained, and why the bag was so important to him. Only the tall stranger knew why he was determined to guard it so carefully. Why was he trying to deliver it to other unknown persons in the tiny town of Erskine? What had made the contents of a small sack so important?

Chapter 2 - An Unfortunate Accident

Hearing a loud, earth-shattering crash directly above his head that startled him, the stranger suddenly tumbled forwards. A combination of the thunder and some trash left carelessly at his feet had caused him to lose his balance.

Landing on the knapsack, he could hear what sounded like glass shattering inside the burlap bag that he had guarded so carefully. The man could only hope that the contents of the bag were not spoiled, or his mission would be in vain, and he would have failed mankind.

Oh no… what have I done? I hope that the contents of the bag have not broken, the man growled, as he remained on his stomach for a few minutes. "I hope that I haven’t jeopardized my mission through my own carelessness. I have to deliver this bag at all costs and I can’t let it fall into the wrong hands.

If the small vials have broken inside the bag, there is no telling what could occur in the town. The agent that provided the information for me to obtain this sack gave his life for its contents. Am I supposed to do the same thing?

If my superiors only disclosed why these vials were so important, I am sure that I could take the proper precautions to ensure the contents and my own life are protected. All I can hope for is to deliver the bag to my contact. I will then let him deal with any problems arising through my carelessness."

Using the dumpster to pull himself off the ground and continuing through the dark alley, the mysterious stranger suddenly felt very strange. His hands were now cut and bleeding and his vision was becoming blurry. To add to his worries, he could feel a throbbing pain around the temples of his head.

There must be something in this trash back here, the stranger growled, as he felt that if he talked to himself, he can push himself forward on his journey. If I pass out now, the whole operation will be for nothing. I know that men are probably trying to trace my steps and they will stop at nothing to retrieve this sack from my possession. This doesn’t look good and it appears that I am getting sick now. My head is burning from a fever that has appeared out of nowhere. Where am I and how am I going to get out of this alive?

As the strange man tried to answer his own questions, his body temperature had risen well above the normal 98.6 degrees for some unknown reason. He could feel tightness in his muscles and chest and he was becoming nauseated and confused at the same time. The blood circulating through his veins felt like it was on fire, with no relief in sight. 

Trying to look at his hands, he noticed that the glass inside the bag had cut his flesh very severely. One of the jagged shards had sliced a deep gash in his hand, exposing the bone beneath it. Blood was now oozing from the wound and it was dripping onto the ground beneath him.

Only one thought went through his mind now. He knew that he would have to get some kind of medical aid, before he could continue his journey. The last thing that he wanted to do was bleed to death in a back alley. 

Judging by the amount of blood that was now gushing from the wound near his wrist, the mysterious stranger knew that he would have to stop the blood from oozing from the wound somehow.

If the men were following him, it wouldn’t be hard for them to follow the trail of blood he was leaving behind him on the ground. They would just have to follow the gravity drops to discover his location.

After struggling down the alley, trying very hard to see his way through the crates and garbage containers in front of him, his blurred vision was making his journey perilous. Seeing a doorway partially blocked open, the suspicious character of the night slowly crept inside.

Even though it was becoming harder to see where he was going, he wanted to make sure that the door behind him was closed the same way he had found it. He didn’t want to take a chance that someone would know he had slipped inside the building. 

Even in his weakened condition, he understood that the possibility existed that someone might notice a trespasser on the premises. He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes now, because the sack was too important. 

He didn’t know why the door was blocked open. To avoid problems with anyone in that area of the building, he would leave it the way he found it. He didn’t want anyone knowing he had been there at all costs. His mission would quickly end in failure, if someone looked inside the knapsack.

Looking around, to ensure that he was still alone, he slowly walked into an area that had an overhead emergency light, which revealed that he was now in a warehouse. The dim lights above his head made walking easy and provided enough light to see what was in front of him. 

To complicate matters, now that he is in a weakened condition, everything around him was fading in and out of focus. Perhaps it was just the loss of blood from his hand that was making him feel the way he did.

If that wasn’t the reason, the mysterious man knew that he would be in a serious predicament. He couldn’t fail to deliver the sack or all mankind would perish within the next few months. That is all anyone would tell him.

He was given a few details before he began the mission, but the information was sketchy at best. They did tell him that the contents of the bag would be disastrous, if it were to accidentally fall into the wrong hands.

This would just make my day, if I am carrying some form of biological warfare viruses, the man exclaimed, as he tried to remain positive and alert. If I am inside the warehouse, I am pretty sure that they have a medicine chest around here that is used for employees getting injured on the job. I can then bandage my hand and wrist when I find it. I am feeling weak and I don’t know what is happening to me. I just have to keep going and see what happens.

Trying the best he could to get his bearings, so he could get some medical help, it now appeared that it wouldn’t be as easy as he first thought. In front of him were many skids on shelves that were piled high to the rafters.

Each skid had many heavy bags, containing various ingredients. The bags would be emptied when they were used at a future time. They would be used to produce whatever the company was in business to sell. Only the employees knew what each skid of bags was for.

In the dim lighting above his head, the mysterious stranger could tell that they lined the corridors inside the warehouse. They were running parallel to each other, from the east side of the building to the west side.

Each product was labeled with a white card, which was taped to a wrapper on the side of each skid. The information told the warehouse personnel what each skid contained. They would then know when the shipments had arrived and the last date it was inventoried.

Now that the injured man was barely creeping along the corridors of skids, he hoped that his whereabouts would remain a secret, if he remained in the shadows. At least he could lean on each skid periodically and get his breath to continue. The tightness in his chest was now becoming unbearable and it was a struggle to breathe.

Before he continued, he continued to ask himself what was so special in the sack that he was asked to deliver. If he knew what it was, it would help him find a medicine in the infirmary that might counteract his illness.

That would help him, just in case the sound of voices broke the still, night air surrounding him. He had to remain hidden at all costs, but his health called for help at the same time.  His life depended on him getting the contents of his knapsack to the contact that had hired him to obtain it. He was so close, yet so far from fulfilling his mission.

Trying his best to locate and then reach the infirmary of the factory he had entered, the man wasn’t finding it as easy as he hoped it would be. The only thing that kept him going was his will to survive at all costs.

If he could reach the infirmary, he might find something in the room that would make him feel better and wrap his bleeding hands. He would also take all the prescription drugs he could find, to ease the burning in his veins that he was now experiencing. 

Depending on the size of the company, the medical office might contain a large cabinet and a cot. Doctors always stocked them with medicines needed to alleviate the pain he was feeling. Something was now ravaging his body for some reason and he didn’t know what it was. 

Even if he had to smash the glass on the cabinet, he knew it might contain Morphine, Penicillin, or perhaps some other various narcotics that are used for medicinal uses. The young man no longer cared what the drugs were, as long as they would make him feel better, and allow him to complete his mission.   

Discovering that it would be easier said than done, he was feeling himself growing weaker by the second. His vision was now failing him completely. All he could do was continue to push his body onwards and hope he could make it in time to the door of the infirmary he believed was in front of him. 

Now that he was blind and couldn’t see anything in front of him, he had to feel the skids beside him with his hands to give him guidance. His thoughts were also all over the place and he could see his life flashing through most of the memories he had enjoying during his youth. It only led to more questions and focusing his thoughts now was very difficult. 

Where was the room located? Before my eyes failed me, I was sure that I was approaching the door of the infirmary, the man mumbled, as he could feel himself drifting in and out of consciousness. "If I don’t find the room in the next few minutes, it might be too late for me to save myself. 

It will be a tragedy if the vials fall into the hands of the wrong individuals. The fate of the world rests entirely in my hands and I cannot fail. Why are my arms and legs swollen and I am losing the feeling in my legs? There must be something in the sack that has infected me. Where am I?"

Unknown to the mysterious stranger, he was still in the warehouse area of the factory. There was nothing around him except many bags of cocoa. Other ingredients were also placed strategically in the racks and they were stacked neatly on skids. That would allow the employees to move them to an area that was set aside for their immediate consumption in the production area, which was usually the area of the factory that controlled profit and losses. 

The mysterious stranger didn’t know where he was, but he could tell from the scent in the air that it was definitely a food production company. He may be struggling, but his nose could still pick up scents surrounding him.

It had to be a major company, because most of the smaller companies in the area wouldn’t keep thousands of skids of raw materials on the premises. He could smell the distinct and very strong scents of vanilla and cocoa filling his nostrils. It was something that he recognized immediately, because his mother had used both of the products in her baking when he was growing up.

Pressing forwards, he knew that he had stumbled into some building storing ingredients to make chocolate products. Which one he was contaminating was a mystery to him. This is his first visit to the tiny fishing town on the edge of the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. 

Even though he couldn’t focus for more than a few seconds, he knew that he would be contaminating the skids of ingredients in his weakened condition.  It didn’t mean anything now, because saving himself was taking precedence over the lives of others. There would be too much at stake, for him to worry about anything other than surviving, and completing his mission.

Pulling himself slowly along the skids, his knapsack was beginning to tear open and he could hear the glass hitting the floor. The shattered shards kept cutting the fibers of the cloth bag he was still clutching tightly. The storm had caused him to stumble and fall outside in the alley, which resulted in the glass vials he was hired to transport to shatter on impact.

The sharp, jagged edges of the broken vials were slowly cutting the bag he carried open and there was nothing that he could do to prevent it. Whatever these mysterious vials contained, the liquid inside them was dripping down his clothes and onto everything he was coming into contact with.

Trying to reach the doors leading into the main production room, he was quickly realizing that it wouldn’t be an easy task for him. The doors of the room are made of stainless steel, and it appeared that they were not automatic. He would have to open them, but he didn’t know if he had the strength to do it. He could barely walk, let alone open a door.

Stumbling over their skids and leaning against the racks to catch his breath, something was happening to his body that he didn’t anticipate now. He was still gasping for a breath at every opportunity, which led to a choking feeling. 

It felt as though the muscles in his throat were quickly closing in around his larynx, making it harder to get moist air into his lungs. Hacking and coughing frequently, the man kept crawling towards his goal. 

Blood was gushing out of the wounds on his hands, dripping onto the skids and the floor he came into contact with. He hoped that natural coagulants in his system would clot his wounds, but that wasn’t happening either.

Now that he was using all the strength he possessed in his body, the young man finally reached the end of the warehouse corridor. Seeing the stainless-steel doors that led into the production area of the factory, through his blurred vision, he discovered that it is becoming increasingly difficult to take another step forward. His legs were numb and he didn’t realize he was crawling now.

His vision had faded into complete darkness earlier, but he noticed that it is now returning sporadically for some unknown reason to him. It is blurred and difficult for him to judge distance and it was a terrifying ordeal for him.

He knew that he couldn’t be found by anyone, through carelessness on his part. If that happened, his mission would probably be exposed to everyone in the media and they wouldn’t understand what he was trying to accomplish.

His friend was the agent that had succeeded in stealing the vials from a top-secret facility outside the town’s city limits. Months of planning went into the operation and national security was at stake. It could have catastrophic results, if he couldn’t deliver the vials of an unknown liquid to his contact. 

He had to complete his mission or the destiny of mankind would be altered in ways that were unthinkable. One thought kept flashing through his mind, as he is pushing himself to the limit. He knew that the sack was obtained through illegal means and the men that it was taken from weren’t model citizens.

The agent died after he gave him the sack to deliver to his contact. Did he die of natural causes, as a result of the bag, or was he murdered by the men that created the contents of the vials in the first place?

Because of the actions of the agent earlier, he remembered and understood clearly that he was definitely being followed. When the agent was leaving the premises of the building, where the bag was kept, he had tripped an ultraviolet surveillance beam. It was careless, but the past couldn’t be altered.

If they caught him now and retrieved the knapsack containing the vials, no one would have the opportunity to get access to the vials again. They would quickly disappear and it would take months to locate them again.

The scientists responsible for creating what he was carrying would spread the formula to the four corners of the world and the black market would pay a price in the millions, allowing them to spread terrorism in the country. That would have devastating repercussions for the occupants of the whole world. 

Somehow, it was up to him to devise a plan to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. He could only hope that it would never see the light of day. He had to dispose of the formula before it was too late. He had failed to deliver it into the hands of his contact and he knew that his life was coming to an end.

I have to think of something to keep this from the eyes of the world, the man stuttered badly, as he leaned against the skids. I have to keep talking to myself, so I am not hallucinating. I can feel that my life force is being drained from my body and I don’t really know why. I have to do something, so I can keep the men that are pursuing me from finding it. I don’t have the strength to take medicines, even if I make it through those doors.  

He wasn’t aware that the doors are within his reach, until his vision blurred again. Reaching to grab onto the handles, so he could open them, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing through tunnel vision. Through his blurred vision, his hands were turning black and numb to his touch. 

What would he do now? He didn’t possess the strength to open the doors.  He had regained some strength in his legs, but they were quickly failing him too. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but it was becoming more evident, with each passing second, that he was dying a slow and horrific death.

There was only one thing left for him to do and he had failed to deliver the sack to the people he was asked to deliver it too. He would have to dispose of the vials in whatever way he could, before he ceased to exist.

Climbing on top of a stack of skids that were located next to the stainless-steel doors of the main production area, his strength failed him completely. It was only seconds, before he tumbled downwards and hit the floor. 

One of the men in the warehouse had left a tiny crevice next to the wall and the skids, which the mysterious stranger suddenly collapsed into. The bags on the skids would hide his body from anyone searching for him.

Clinging desperately for life, the mysterious man in the building knew that it was of no use. He then noticed something through his blurred vision, as he gasped for air and continued to cling to his life. His hand had moved a lid on a small opening and that would answer his dilemma that he faced.

The water grate was now within his grasp. It wasn’t filled with water and it would conceal the contents of the vials, until it was no longer toxic or harmful to anyone. If he destroyed the vials and the liquid they contained, the black soap they used in the factory could destroy whatever virus they contained.

Opening the knapsack and feeling around for the vials that were still intact, the stranger dumped the contents of each one into the drain. The fall he had experienced outside in the alley had broken ten of them, but he succeeded in disposing of at least half of the vials he carried.

Even though his body was becoming numb, the mysterious man managed to replace the empty vials back into the sack.  If someone discovered his body, or the sack, they would see the empty vials and throw them in the garbage. 

Now that it was impossible to breathe, after collapsing heavily to the floor, the man passed from this life into the next, experiencing pain and suffering unknown to the human race through the ages. The secret formula that he had given his life to transport was now disposed of in the unused drains of the building, but no one could anticipate if it was permanently destroyed. 

It was unknown to the man, as he had continuously struggled to survive in the warehouse; but there was now a long, black sedan in the area and it had pulled up to the door of the company in the back alley. Stepping out of the car were at least three stocky men and all of them were wearing black suits. 

They had followed him from the park, where he met his friend earlier. The entire conversation was monitored and they knew what he was carrying inside the sack under his coat. They knew that he hadn’t exited the alley they were in. It would only be a matter of time, before they discovered his whereabouts.

Now that they stood silently in the alley, they could see another black sedan blocking the other end of the alley. He had no escape and the men searched the alley thoroughly. Seeing no signs of life behind any of the containers used for garbage and other waste, they knew that he must have escaped into one of the buildings surrounding them. They would check the doors or windows and look for anything unusual. The rain had stopped earlier, which helped them.

They knew he had been there earlier. He would now be hiding in one of the buildings surrounding them, so he could escape from their evil clutches. That would be the only way he could prevent them from finding him. Once it was evident that he was in a building, one of the men noticed that the door was left ajar on the back of the building.

He could now see that the door was propped open an inch, because the rain had eased dramatically earlier that night and the moon’s rays were now in the equation of lighting the alley. Their prey had only one option and he entered a   building and tried to escape through another exit.

As one of the men pulled the door open, to allow the others to enter first, he noticed something on his hands. He didn’t think anything of it at first, and he believed that it was some of the water dripping from the roof of the building.  The storm that had ravished the area earlier had covered everything. 

After wiping the moisture from his hands onto his clothes, he watched as his partners stepped past him. They were only wearing a normal suit coat. As their jackets opened, it had revealed small revolvers that they kept hidden in shoulder holsters under the fabric.

As the men slowly entered the dimly-lit warehouse, they were amazed that the building wasn’t in use that night. The silence inside the warehouse would work to their advantage and they were lucky that anyone on the night shift had disappeared during the graveyard hours. They would hear any sounds made by the man if he was hiding, or if he tried walking through the racks.

They could hear everything clearly in the large building, but the only audio sounds that heard at the moment, were the small drops of rain tapping against the aluminum roofing above them. If their prey knocked anything onto the floor in his travels, the men would hear it echoing through the warehouse. 

Believing that it would be in their best interests to cover three corridors at once, the man-in-charge motioned for the other two men to separate from him.  That would allow them to cover a greater distance, in a shorter period of time.  They knew that their prey was lurking somewhere in the dark shadows of the warehouse, but he would try to avoid being discovered and captured by them.

The vials in the knapsack he was carrying were the only thing that mattered to them. His life would become expendable, once they had that back in their possession. They were given the green light to extinguish his life forever, just like they had ended the life of the agent, where the vials were stored.

They were briefed earlier about the theft of the formula and they watched the movements of the agent on their surveillance cameras in the office. Once he met the agent that had the knapsack, they knew that they would eventually see an opportunity to apprehend him, and reacquire their property.

Unknown to the agent, a homing beacon was placed inside the sack, to help them control its movements. That was only accessible in their car and it would be useless for everyone inside the building. They had to search with no aids.

After they discovered his whereabouts, they would then search him, from his head to his toes, for any clues that might explain where he might hide the sack from their view. The agent that stole the vials in the first place may have also given him a small camera with film of the laboratory and building. 

As the men walked along the corridors, they noticed instantly that the rain was helping them find him. Small puddles of water had gathered on the floor, in front of the skids in the racks, and they hadn’t evaporated yet. The plastic was also wet that is surrounding the bags of cocoa and other products.

As the men continued to search for the elusive stranger of the night, they felt relieved that the homing beacon was in the sack, but it was put there for a different reason. Their boss didn’t really trust all the men that were arriving to pick it up later that night inside his home. They were from the Middle East. 

The theft was only discovered, because one of the scientists noticed that his papers were disturbed on his desk. After looking around the room, the agent was careless and he left one of the doors open on the balcony. Surveillance in the mansion was then consulted, which revealed the security break. 

The men in the black sedans were the security enforcers for the laboratory and the mansion. Their boss didn’t forgive mistakes that were made by men working for him. Their lives would then end within a heartbeat, if they didn’t correct their mistake as quickly as possible. 

As they watched the blip on the screen inside their limousines, the men are aware that the contents of the sack were probably worth billions of dollars to their boss. The sack wasn’t important, but the contents had to be recovered at all costs, and failure wasn’t an option. 

The men responsible for the creation of the liquid in the vials were going to meet buyers from the Far East the next evening.  Everything had to be in place to ensure that a smooth transaction took place.

Everyone had now understood that the agent that is responsible for the theft would do everything in his power to safeguard it from the evil clutches of evil and sinister forces that are at work in the town. The corrupt individuals would be disappointed, if the men in the limousines failed in their quest to retrieve the contents of the sack. Time is quickly passing and they were given explicit orders to retrieve the vials before the sun rose in the East.

The Islamic extremists that were involved from the Far East felt no remorse or guilt and they often sacrificed the lives of young children in suicide bombs to get their point across to others. They aren’t the sort of people to disappoint, especially after they had already wired billions of dollars into bank accounts, to purchase what they wanted. It was the type of scenario that everyone hoped to avoid at all costs.

In the world of terror, gangsters, and the mafia, there was no such thing as failure in their vocabulary. Anyone that disappointed the leaders of the various underworld mobs would never be forgiven, or given a second chance in life. They would pay for their incompetence with their lives. To prove their point, many of the victims, regardless if they are men and women were discovered in cars, executed by a single gunshot to the back of their skull. 

The men inside the limousines were working for evil men, who would stop at nothing to keep what they created secret. They understood that it was just one of the disadvantages to their jobs. They chose to work for unscrupulous men that valued power and greed above the priceless gift of life.

Searching for what had appeared to be an eternity, one of the men inside the warehouse discovered something that is suspicious to him. There appeared to be a trail of moisture that is residing on the skids beside him. There was only one logical explanation for what he had found. 

Someone had come in out of the rain and had brushed against the large bags with his clothing. Only one person could be responsible, considering no other employees were visible or working in that area of the warehouse. 

They would be able to follow the moisture on the skids to his hiding place. If he managed to elude them, the trail of moisture would also lead them to the door or a window that he had previously used to escape from them. The water they were seeing on the floor was betraying his secrecy.

As one of the men reached out to touch the water with his exposed hands, to see how damp the moisture was in front of them, the wet liquid came into direct contact with his skin. Believing that it was just common water from the storm hitting the area that night, he too wiped his hands on his clothing. 

He would need dry hands, just in case he needs to remove his weapon from the holster that is hidden beneath his jacket. A silencer would be attached, so gunshots wouldn’t echo through the warehouse area. No one in the building could know that they were now involved.

After calling his associates to join him, only a few minutes passed before they were again united in the corridor. Now that they had reassembled around him, it didn’t take long to see why he called for them to join him.

The man was pointing to a trail of moisture on the skids that he discovered a few minutes earlier. With the dim lighting above them, they could also see tiny drops of blood on the concrete floor that was in front of the skids.

Snarling and smiling, the men knew that they now had a way to track their prey’s movements inside the warehouse. That was too easy and it prompted a different series of explanations. The man was either careless, he was injured in some way, or he had tried to deceive them with a false trail to follow.  

After checking their watch, it was obvious that they had now pursued him for over an hour inside the warehouse with no results. This new information would benefit their search. 

They knew it wouldn’t be long before they had him and the precious cargo that he was trying to keep from them. They also knew that he was now within range of them, from the signs they could see around them.

The moisture on the skids was still wet and it didn’t have an opportunity to evaporate into the atmosphere around them. It told them one thing. Their prey had brushed against the skids earlier with his rain-soaked clothes. 

He was only a few minutes in front of them, so the men understood that he might try to escape through one of the doors or windows surrounding them in the building. They noticed that no one walked through any of the doors of the production room, after they entered those regions of the warehouse. 

It would only be a few minutes, before they discovered his whereabouts and retrieved the contents of the bag that he was guarding with his life. They were growing impatient and they were definitely not impressed with his game of cat and mouse during the night.

Following the trail of blood and rain-soaked bags in silence, it wasn’t long before they came across the group of skids that are near the doors leading into the main production area of the plant. The appearance of the coverings on the bags told the men that they might be at the end of the trail.

Judging from the amount of water covering the bags, they knew beyond a doubt that he had relaxed there for a long period of time. A trail of water and blood also ended at the skids in front of them. 

As two of the men withdrew their weapons, the leader motioned for one of them to climb onto the skids carefully. They didn’t know if their mysterious thief was armed and they were trained by their bosses to never take chances. They lived by the rule that you shoot first and ask questions later, if the person confronting them was still breathing. 

By moving slowly across the top of the skids, they would know if their prey was hiding from their sight. The sound of his gun being discharged would tell them immediately that he didn’t want to be caught. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill him instantly, especially if that happened.

The pool of blood on the concrete was fresh and they would know quickly if he was hiding in the darkness behind the skids. It was imperative that they obtained the vials and the life of the man being pursued was irrelevant.

Now that he had climbed on top of the skid, with the assistance of the other men, the member of the mob slowly crawled across the tops of the skids to the small crevice. His hands were covered in blood and small shards of glass were penetrating his palms.

Removing a small flashlight from his pocket and staring downwards, there was hesitation in his voice, because the sight that met his eyes was something that he didn’t anticipate. He couldn’t begin to imagine that he would ever see a sight like this in his lifetime. He had witnessed many things over the years that were gruesome, but nothing prepared him for this.

The rotting corpse of the man they were following that night was now lying on the dusty floor of the warehouse. The knapsack they sought was also lying beside him and it was completely covered in blood.

It had apparently oozed onto the concrete floor beneath him in large pools. It also appeared that the blood had seeped out through every pore of his body.  The appearance of the body that was now in the latter stages of decomposition was definitely something that they didn’t anticipate when they arrived.

Trying his best to keep from throwing up from the appearance of the corpse in front of him, the man motioned quickly for the others to join him. This was something they had never imagined in their wildest dreams and they were now seeing it up close and personal.

Perhaps it was the appearance of white maggots feasting on the rotting flesh that was making them have second thoughts. The maggots were falling from his bones in front of them and it wouldn’t take much to upset their stomachs. 

The man lying on the concrete was giving them the appearance of someone over a hundred-years-of-age. There was no possible explanation for what they were now witnessing. What had happened? The man they followed from the laboratory was middle-aged, not elderly like the man rotting in front of them.  

They knew that the employees of the company were also working there the previous day. There was no way in the world that the scent of a decaying body would go unnoticed during the working hours in the building.

The scent of death couldn’t be disguised that easily from men working their shifts in that area of the warehouse. That told them it was the man they were following and they would have to secure the bag and leave very quickly. 

The last thing they wanted was to be discovered within the proximity of the dead body. It would probably raise many questions that they couldn’t answer, without revealing their identities and who their employer is in the area. Their employment wasn’t really legitimate and the media would feast on it.

Suddenly feeling very sick to their stomachs, they had to endure the sight in front of their eyes in order to retrieve the sack. Telling one of their associates to climb towards the pool of blood beneath them, it wasn’t long before he reached out and retrieved the prize they were sent to recover. 

There was one thing that they understood very clearly. Now that the man is dead in front of them, they knew that dead men tell no tales. They would have no idea why the vials were stolen in the first place or who had arranged for the man to transport it. They wouldn’t know who wants to retrieve the knapsack if this agent could have eluded them and escaped to safety. It would be seen as a mystery that would only be solved at a future date.

Perhaps the man they were chasing found an elderly vagrant in the alley to throw them off. It wouldn’t take too much currency to pay him to hide in the warehouse and deceive them. The man with the real vials would then kill what he saw as an old man, plant empty vials in a bag and escape.

The mysterious agent knew that the man would be discovered eventually, so he probably injected him with a substance that would kill him and then eat away his flesh once he perished. If the man was elderly like they believed, he could have fallen into a vat of acid in the factory and then crawled behind the skids to die. That was the only scenario that came to mind.  

The men pursuing their prey didn’t know