Heiser-The-Facade - Sparkling Eyes

CHAPTER 2"I will prepare, and some day my chance will come." —Abraham LincolnBRIAN SAT UP groggily and waited for his eyes to adjust. For a moment, he wasstartled by his unfamiliar surroundings, but then the memory of his abduction camerushing back. Where in the world am I? There was a night stand next to the bed, on whichlay his glasses, an alarm clock flashing "12:00," and a small lamp, the room's onlyillumination at the moment. Putting his glasses on, he cautiously left the bedroom,emerging into a fairly spacious, three-room furnished efficiency apartment, but one thatlacked appliances and any attempt at decoration, save for a dozen bookshelves. Therewas no telephone. He looked at his watch in disbelief. The time was nearly 7:00 p.m.;he'd lost almost a day but to what? The main living area was choked with dozens ofboxes, all labeled in black magic-marker with his last name and general descriptions ofthe contents. Even his filing cabinets were there. Other than the furnishings, the only itemthat wasn't his own in the room was a computer system al r eady set up on a desk. Therewere doors at either end of the room, each with handles instead of knobs. Brian noticedimmediately that the door closest to the sofa had some type of electronic lockingmechanism that resembled a calculator, along with a small red light that flashed at aregular interval. He tried the handle on the door, but it was locked securely. "Looks likethey want me to stay for dinner," he muttered to himself. He didn't dare touch the buttonson the affixed keypad.Staggering slightly he headed for the second door on the far end of the room andtried the handle. The door opened to a full bath-room. Thinking a shower would helpclear his head, he relieved him-self and, after a few minutes of searching through theboxes, found his toiletry items and undressed. As the spray hit his face, his thoughtsdrifted to the recent past. He had to admit that his life was in near total disarray. Theupheaval that had begun two years ago when he'd lost his parents now seemed to haveclimaxed. His mind kept telling him that the God he believed in was truly good, but hisheart still periodically stumbled into the quagmire of doubt.What was cruel about his parents' deaths was the fact that they had lost their liveson the day he had walked the line for his Ph.D. Even more cruel was how they had died.The day was sup-posed to be one of celebration, the triumphant climax to years of studyand determination. It had promised to be a day of reconciliation as well. His parents hadnever understood his desire for an academic career, much less his field of choice. In fact,they'd never under-stood him. Someone interested in books in a proud blue-collar familyjust didn't fit in. Working in the family's landscaping business during his high schoolsummers hadn't helped, either. He eventually came to understand that this arrangementhad been part of a plan to groom him for the family business; he was the anointedsuccessor. This all made sense to his parents, since Brian was the only child. He just hadno desire to spend his life manicuring shrubs and sod.17