"Before we go one step further, I want to know what, exactly, happens with the Syndrome. I think I know, but I'd like to hear--" "Something that's too bizarre to believe. It literally defies every natural law we've ever known." He couldn't bring himself to put it in words, she thought, but she knew she'd guessed right the first time. The Syndrome. Kristen Starr was growing younger. That was the horrible development and nobody could deal with it. And they couldn't stop it. Karl Van de Vliet had created a monstrosity. "I am so out of here," she said struggling to rise from the wheelchair. "If you try to keep me here, that's kidnapping. We're talking a capital crime." "Alexa, I understand you're upset, but you're in no condition to be discharged. I'm very sorry." He pushed a red button on a radio device on his belt. There was genuine agony in his eyes. "I've never in my life coerced a patient in any way. But you have to understand that so much is dependent on you now. There are no easy choices left." He's lost control of the situation here now, she told herself. He's truly terrified of Winston Bartlett. That's who's really got control of my fate. Moments later, the security guard from the lobby, accompanied by Marion, came through the door of the laboratory. "No, I'm not going to let you do this," Ally declared. "I'm not letting you do any more medical experiments on me." As she struggled again to get out of the wheelchair, she felt a prick in her arm and saw the glint of a needle in the dim light. "I'm sorry, Alexa. It should all be over in just a couple of days. And I swear no harm will come to you." She was feeling her consciousness swirl as Marion began rolling her through the steel air lock. The last thing she heard was Van de Vliet saying, "Don't worry. A week from now, all this will seem like a dream." Chapter 31 _Friday, April 10 7:04 A.M. _ Stone felt his consciousness returning as the blast of an engine cut through his sedative-induced reverie. Where was he? There were vibrations all around him and a deafening roar that was slowly spiraling upward in frequency and volume. As the haze that engulfed his mind slowly began to dissipate, he wondered if this wasn't more of the fantasy he'd been having, of flying through some kind of multicolored space-time continuum. Or was he waking up to something spectacularly real? As he opened his eyes and looked around, he realized it was no dream. He was in a cramped airline seat, strapped in with a black seat belt. His head was gently secured to a headrest by a soft cotton scarf, but his hands were free, lying in his lap. Somebody had lifted him into the seat and strapped him down. On his left was a Plexiglas window, and when he looked out, he saw the earth beneath him begin falling away. My God.