Chapter 25 - Samuel's Secret
Lily carefully removed the chair blocking the door.
Samuel entered slowly, leaning heavily on his cane.
Fresh bandages covered his shoulder.
His face looked pale, yet his eyes burned with determination.
Harold laughed quietly.
"I knew you were too stubborn to die."
Samuel smiled.
"I learned from you."
The two old men stared at one another for several seconds.
More than seventy years of shared history passed between them without another word.
Finally Samuel sat beside the bed.
"I found Elizabeth."
Harold's eyes filled with tears.
"She's alive?"
"For now."
Harold looked toward the ceiling.
"Thank God..."
Samuel reached inside his coat.
Instead of a weapon...
He removed a faded photograph.
It showed seven young soldiers standing beside the first Richard.
Each man rested one hand upon the dog's back.
Lily studied the faces.
Harold.
Samuel's older brother Richard.
And five others.
On the back someone had written:
The Keepers
Harold touched the photograph gently.
"We promised..."
Samuel finished the sentence.
"...that none of the children would ever be forgotten."
Lily frowned.
"Then why hide everything?"
Samuel sighed.
"Because someone far more powerful wanted the children erased."
Harold suddenly looked toward Samuel.
"Did they find the negatives?"
Samuel hesitated.
"No."
Harold relaxed.
"Good."
Samuel lowered his voice.
"They found something worse."
Harold's expression froze.
"The journal?"
Samuel nodded.
Harold slowly closed his eyes.
"I prayed they never would."
Lily looked between them.
"What journal?"
Neither man answered.
Instead, both stared toward the hallway.
Heavy footsteps echoed outside.
Not one pair.
Many.
Samuel quietly stood.
"They're coming."
Harold looked at his oldest friend.
"Then the story begins again."
At that exact moment, deep inside the hidden shafts beneath the hospital, Richard stopped in front of a massive circular steel door.
Bolted to its center was an old brass plaque.
Unlike every other sign underground...
This one bore no warning.
Only a single sentence engraved decades earlier:
MEMORY IS THE LAST THING THEY CANNOT DESTROY.
Richard placed one paw against the door.
May you like
From somewhere beyond the thick steel...
Someone knocked back.
