It Shall Be, What It Shall Be

Written by: Stephen Brown; Mansfield Grey

I stood next to the iron bars as I watched Clark and company leave the jail house. There was only one jawbreaker guard left behind, sitting at a table, just staring at us from the other end of the room. It had a blank look to it, like it was not conscious. It looked and acted more robot than human. At least, that’s what I thought anyway.

I turned to the guys and in a low tone said, “We are not going to be controlled again. You guys have to make sure you don’t give in. Keep your will strong. As long as you believe you can’t be controlled, then you can’t.”

“Okay then, what’s the plan Manny?” asked Bronco.

“Yeah Manny, how we gonna get out of this one? I don’t want to be Clark’s puppet ever again!” spat Sticks.

I nodded in agreement, “Good! That’s the attitude. We have to stay positive. I have to believe there is a way out of here. We might have to go back through the tunnel that brought us here. Maybe there are other tunnels that lead out of here. After all, how did Clark get down here? He wasn’t here earlier today. How long were we unconscious?”

“So we really have nothing to go on, no idea of where we are. Do we have a plan Manny?” asked Q.

“Not yet, but I am working on it.” I smiled. “No worries boys, we will prevail. Just keep calm.”

“So what is with the deal with Sara? Is she one of them, or is she one of us?” asked Sticks.

“The jury is still out on Dr. Sara Mann. I don’t know if her story is legit or if she was just a plant to get Intel from us. Right now she is like a bird on a wire: I don’t know which way she will go. Clark knew we were coming and mentioned he didn’t expect us until tomorrow. Maybe all along this whole thing was to get us here to be re-programmed.

“Sure looks like it,” Pogo stated. “No biggie, when the Colonel comes tomorrow it shall be what it shall be. It’s all good guys.”

Axe was in the corner of the cell looking at the wall and repeatedly mumbling, “It shall be what it shall be. It shall be what it shall be.”

In that moment Q, Bronco, Sticks, and I looked at each other. We knew what the others were thinking. Pogo and Axe were affected by Clark’s words when he entered the cell. They were showing signs of the previous programming. That phrase – it shall be what it shall be – was part of the initiation code for our mind maintenance protocol. That phrase was repeated over and over while the visuals were queued up and we watched with our eyes taped open. A dropper machine dropped saline in our eyes so they didn’t dry out. We watched these for 24 hours at a time.

“Keep an eye on Pogo and Axe. It is not too late. We need to get them away from here as soon as possible. Just humor them for now. Make it look like we are all on the same page.”

Just then Sara burst into the jail wearing nothing but a bathrobe, pointed a saser at the guard, and fired. A beam of light along with a quick piercing sound hit the guard and it fell to the ground.

“We haven’t got much time; the surgeons arrive tomorrow to install your new implants!” Sara warned as she opened the cell doors with a key. “You guys need to leave here, now! I need to get back to Clark. I only have a few minutes. Meet me at the top of the pyramid when the frequency in this cavern changes. That will be in roughly four hours. I will be there with individually programmed weapons. I looked up your file for Red Band 1. All your medicals are there. I programmed some sasers to align with each of your individual body chemistry, so at least you will be armed,” She paused briefly. “Headlock has a plan to create a major catastrophic event to control populations. We need to stop this or millions of innocent lives will be lost, including all of our families. It is a planned mass extinction. Only the rich and powerful will be able to buy their survival. You need to give this to General Hopper of the Peoples’ Freedom Alliance. Remember four hours, top of pyramid.” Sara handed me a flash drive and took off through the door.

“Alright! Back in business, woohoo!” Bronco said with a smile. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” said Sticks.