Tomorrow Never Dies (Moonlight 3)

Chapter 31-Searching For The Truth

Lauchie, Michael and I headed for the hunter's base that night. Amazingly Michael still had the piece of paper Mei had scribbled with the code on his phone, muttering something about knowing we'd have to go back there. The hunters base was a mess when we arrived, people frantically talking on phones and huddled in groups. Barely anyone payed any antention to us. I thought for a moment to perhaps ask Lauchie what had happened but it didn't seem like the time or place. From the determined look on Lauchie's face it seemed that searching the files was much more important to him.

The door opened up just as easily as it had the last time. It made me wonder how many hunters knew that the room even existed. My throat tightened and I let out a small cough. There was a thick layer of dust over everything still, the photo of us sat just as we had left it perched on the end of the desk. The faces of families smiling back at us. My hand hovered over it for a moment. Wondering how things had changed.

It felt strange to be back here. Last time we'd been here was when Calum had run away after Georgia found out about him. Crazy to think that the two of them were practically engaged these days. Though somehow, we were split up once more. At least they were still together. I hoped.

Michael turned the light on, and Lauchie let out a sharp gasp. He stood at the doorway behind Michael, looking rather stunned. His eyes moved quickly as if unsure whether to keep moving. Michael ushered him inside the room, closing the door behind us. Lauchie's eyes turned to the photo that was beside me.

"Who are those people?" He asked slowly and cautiously moving beside me.

I gestured to the photograph pointing out Michael and myself to him. He looked a little shaken.

"Do any of the other people look familiar though?" Michael questioned him, coming over to join us.

Lauchie examined the photo for a while, running his fingers along the faces. He shook his head, "No."

I frowned, I guess he wasn't in the photo at all. I suppose he is two years younger than us, and even Michael and I looked quite small in it. I'd go as far as saying that we were the youngest kids in the photo. While it didn't necessarily kill the theory that Lacuhie was like us, it did make me hope that perhaps Michael and I weren't right.

Lauchie set the photo back down on the desk and looked to Michael expectantly.

"Right, shall we search the filling cabinet then?" Michael asked looking at me.

I nodded, "Yeah, I mean we found everything in their last time."

Lauchie looked between us nervously but followed us over towards the filling cabinet over the other side of the room. The time passed like that for a little while, carefully scouring the files for any sign of Lauchie's name or even a photograph that looked like him.

Yet we found nothing.

When we came to the end by finding Michael and I's files right where we left them, we knew we were out of luck. The next filing cabinets shelf was empty. If there was any information on Lauchie it would've had to have been here.

"I guess we're out of luck then." Michael sighed, "Sorry Lauchie."

Lauchie looked a little disappointed, but his eyes turned towards the desk on the other side of the room. He walked over towards it. The desk was empty except for a few pens, notepaper and the photograph. Lauchie grinned as his eyes locked on something. He lent down disappearing under the desk for a moment. There was a loud bashing noise, before his head poked back up again.

"What about the locked drawers of the desk? Could there be more in here?" He asked.

Michael and I exchanged surprised glances, neither of us having thought of that. Last time we'd looked in the cabinet but hadn't made it any further than that.

The two of us moved over to join him. Michael rattled at the cabinet. He frowned his finger running along a key pad on the bottom. "We'll need a second code to open that." He was quiet for a moment before his eyes lit up, "Wait a second, I think Mei gave us the code for this as well. We never made it over here because we looked in the filing cabinet instead. We found what we were looking for, so we stopped there."

I nodded. Though if Mei had possibly given us the code to it, did that mean there was something else in there? The cabinet was locked after all. Did that mean there was something worse hidden inside?

"You have to try it then." I looked at him, "We have to know what's in there."

Michael nodded and began to carefully punch in the code. The drawer clicked open a moment later. The first thing I noticed was how empty it was compared to what I had expected. There was a handful more files and papers in the drawer and a tiny black box with small red decorated flowers.

Sitting on top was a detailed letter on an official looking letterhead detailing the end of the hunter enhancement programme. Stating it to be effective immediately. It was from a date about four or five years after we were born. There was at least another file underneath it though.

I frowned as I read the name.

"Bingo." Lauchie declared with a slight smile as he reached for it. Though his smile faded quickly as he hesitated, pulling back from the file. He looked hesitantly between Michael and me.

"I don't think I'm ready for this." Lauchie spoke, "Not after what you told me."

I didn't blame him, we didn't exactly paint a pretty picture of what we had found out.

I looked him directly in the eyes, "We've both been there." I told him, "There's no need to rush it. Whatever you find out you're going to be able to handle it when the time is right."

Lauchie nodded slowly. He was silent for a moment just staring at the file.

Neither Michael or I pushed him to go anywhere near it.

Slowly, he sucked in a breath reaching out for the file. He held it in his hands for a moment. I noticed it was rather thin. He slowly opened it to a picture of a smiling toddler. I guess he would have been only two or three years old at most. It was similar to how ours had been, a list of unusual names and codes. There were very few notes, but they detailed his lack of showing signs of any change compared to previous experiments.

I noticed that it detailed how they'd changed the mixture since the last batch two years earlier. I realised they were talking about Michael and myself. It explained how they weren't sure how it would affect him. Yet the notes seemed to stop around the same time as the letter.

We were all silent.

"We'll that wasn't as bad as I thought." Lauchie frowned, "Though I'm concerned that it says they changed things. I wonder what it meant by that?" He was lost in thought, "Wait maybe that's why I didn't start showing signs until I was thirteen. Why I didn't start getting sick until I was older either?"

"Well you said on the way here, it happens to you around the full moon right? Maybe that means something?" Michael frowned.

"Wait you said you were thirteen?" I frowned, "That's when natural borns shift for the first time right?"

Michael and Lauchie both nodded.

"I think we're all onto something." Michael declared, "Maybe it has something to do with that."

Michael and Lauchie start throwing theories around but I become distracted as I notice that there's still another folder in the drawer after Lauchie's. I only see the last name and my heart nearly stops.

I stared for a moment feeling totally confused as my eyes lock on the unfamiliar first name. A cousin maybe? I open to the front page and nearly choke as my eyes land on the big red deceased stamp on the front cover. It was marked with the same date that the programme had ended. There's a photograph and I stared at it for much longer than I should've.

"Luke?"

"Luke? What's oh-"

With trembling hands, I show the folder to the others. Michael's face falls as soon as he reads the name. Lauchie looks confused for a moment but then he seems to realise, his mouth making a small oh.

Michael takes the folder from my hands and places it on the desk. There's nothing but sympathy in his eyes as he pulls me into a hug. I could feel tears in my eyelids and almost a blinding rage coursing through me. We sit like that for god knows how long before I'm ready to face the truth. I pull away reaching to grab the folder. I had to know what happened.

The photograph that smiled us at me was a guy probably about ten or eleven years old. His face was familiar, his blue eyes exactly like my own. Except for that stamp, it was almost identical to our own.

I did notice that a whole paragraph had been written at the bottom of the final page and had been blacked out with thick marker pen. It was almost as if someone had tried to hide what happened to him in the end.

Just why couldn't I remember him? I should've been old enough to remember. Surely my mother would've told me about him or had mentioned him. Surely there was photos even. I couldn't help but wonder, had we been friends? Had I even met him? What had my brother thought of him. Did he even remember him?

"I had another brother?" I finally spoke, my voice still slightly shaky.

"It seems you did." Michael spoke breathlessly. He stared at the page. "Just what were they trying to hide? You sure you can't remember him like at all?"

I shook my head, "I can remember Ben but never him. I wonder why I've never heard of him?"

Michael frowned, "I don't know. It's weird." He took the paper and held it up to the light where the pages was blacked out. I frowned looking up and noticing that I couldn't see through it. The hunters were hiding something about what had happened to him. I was even starting to wonder if whatever had happened was enough to stop them from doing this to other hunters. It seemed like Lauchie might have been the last one.

Michael dropped the paper half heartedly. "It's too difficult. I guess we're just not meant to know."

"I guess not." I spoke quietly, tucking the file back into the drawer. I honestly didn't want to look at it anymore. I was sure I was going to need to bring this up at home, but I was far from ready to do that yet.

"We still have this box..." Lauchie questioned silently, "If you're ready, shall we open it?"

We had to keep moving through this. Perhaps even what was in this box would give us more answers. I was pretty sure things couldn't get much worse than learning about my brother.

Lauchie reached forwards collecting the box. It was made of shiny black material that glimmered under the fluorescent lights of the room. He clicked the box open and a shining red gem gleamed back at us. I blinked as it's familiarity, just like the one that the other pack had used, exactly like the one we had used on Kyle.

"Do you think maybe this could have some memories connected to it?" Michael wondered aloud as he stared at it, "Maybe our memories?"

There were definite holes in my memory. I couldn't remember Michael or this brother I'd never had. The more I thought of it, it was like that full moon night. There were parts missing to the story. Maybe this was the answer to finding that.

"Perhaps." I nodded, "It's worth a shot."

Lauchie looked nervously between us. We used the time to explain to him about the stone that had taken our memories from us on the full moon. What we'd done to make Kyle forget about us. There was a look on horror on his face.

"It does that?" Lauchie spoke with a frown. "Maybe we will find something."

"I'm hoping so." Michael nodded, already picking the stone out from the box and holding it up by the thread. A small beam of light hit my eyes as it refracted off the stone from the light.

"Whose going first?" I questioned looking at Michael.

"I think we should hold it at the same time." Michael nodded at me.

"Same time." I agreed.

Michael placed the gem on the table. We both stood up, our hands held just above it. Michael nodded and as our hands fell on it the entire room lit up a blinding red.