The Two Worlds of Billy Callahan

by Richard Friedman

  “You need to reflect on these words for five minutes before you speak again. The phenomena you’re describing can’t be true. We’ve seen you here for years. You assert to have flown above the planet millions of years ago. Imagine if one of the other residents fabricated these outlandish stories? All the patients in here have mental disorders—-” She paused. She knew she had crossed the line.

  “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean that last thing…”

  “That wasn’t nice,” he said.

  She slipped into the nurse’s station and let out a deep breath.

  Director Gallagher stopped her dead in her tracks, “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  Corley filled him in on her conversation with Billy and the director tapped his fingers on the countertop.

  “What are we going to do with him? We can’t send him home. He doesn’t have a home.”

  Corley sunk her head, “He’s a man without a home. He lived, according to him, on the same planet at two different times, separated by millions of years, and he doesn’t have a place to call home. It’s unfortunate we can’t send him back to his imaginary world. At least he rested comfortably in that bed while he was there.”

  Gallagher hesitated, “What did you say?”

  “I said at least he rested comfortably in the bed while he dreamt, or whatever we’ve decided to call it.”

  “Exactly! You’re a genius! He was comfortable here. The individual who came out of that slumber is affected. There’s something wrong with his brain. He’s not our problem anymore. It’s clear to me now. We were the ideal place when he was comatose. He’s awake, and able to communicate, he doesn’t be-long here anymore. We can find another facility for him. Let them figure out what happened to him.”

  “This is the only home he knows,” said Corley.

  “This isn’t his home. He’s been awake for a couple of weeks. He should go to another long-term facility that can meet his requirements. We can’t have him traversing the building talking about life on Earth ten trillion years ago. My recommendation to the doctor will be to transfer him out of here. We shouldered the responsibility for him when he couldn’t do that for himself. He’s proficient at handling the physical tasks. This isn’t the place for him anymore. The Hanna Pavilion is. They do a terrific job with mentally challenged patients. You don’t have to wipe his ass anymore.”

  “You don’t make me feel any better about my career choice when you phrase it like that,” rebuked the nurse.

  “My point is that we’ll find a better spot for him soon. I promise. You can’t lock him in the basement. Greg was right about that. I believe Billy has been truthful in everything he’s said to us.”

  Corley appeared shocked. “You do?”

  “You bet. I think that he believes his experiences were real. He has specific details about his observations. I’ve recorded his experiences and the events he witnessed firsthand… his firsthand, anyway. Take a peek at the drawings he created of the machine that dug up the minerals. He has skills you’d expect from a student at the Cleveland Institute of Art, not the Keller Institute of Care. I believe he created that story as a mechanism to pass the time while his brain healed from injury. He dreamt this imaginary world and that teacher fellow, too. He can write a book about his journey. Do you recall examining the notes from his friend Greg? He said that Billy had a vivid imagination as a youth and the two of them stayed up late and enjoyed watching science fiction shows on television. Those memories are inside him. It’s natural that he would develop stories out of those memories. Billy may die believing his story of seven-foot people on Earth. That’s crazy for us to believe. Most assuredly, it’s not crazy to him.”

  CHAPTER 20

  September 22, 2060

  “Today’s the day, Billy. Our long relationship is finished. You get your wish. You’re leaving the confines of the Keller Institute of Care,” boasted Corley.

  “That’s great news!” replied the boy-man Callahan.

  “I knew you’d be thrilled. The Hannah Pavilion is picturesque place with lush gardens, massive rooms, and you have my assurance that you’ll have room to roam the surroundings freely.”

  “And then?”

  “Then what?”

  Billy looked confused, “What am I doing to do when I’m ready to leave there?”

  “Leave there? As long as you insist on sticking with your story of the tall people and all that doom and gloom talk, there isn’t a doctor in the country that will allow you to leave the states care without a legal guardian.”

  “I see. You’re saying that I’m going to be in prison for the rest of my life?”

  “I’m sorry. It doesn’t have to be for the rest of your life. Once you understand what happened to you and come to grips with it, who knows where you’ll end up?”

  “That’s not exactly the news I wanted. When you told me last week I was leaving the institute, I thought I was leaving to go on my own.”

  “Where would you go? You don’t have any money, or a job. You’re just beginning to learn how our world has changed,” said Corley, “you have to give yourself time to get acclimated to this world.”

  Billy’s head lowered, as did his emotions. “You’re right. I thought the Institute would find an apartment for me and check in on me from time to time. I didn’t think it through. I overheard you say I was leaving and I assumed the rest.”

  Corley showed compassion to her favorite patient, “You jumped to false conclusions. Maybe life will change for you once you’re better? Perhaps you can give me a call sometime and tell me what you’re up to?”

  “I’m not sick!” he shouted with anger.

  “I didn’t say sick, I said once you’re better —”

  He grasped the lamp sitting on the table and fired it at the wall. The lamp shattered, hundreds of pieces of plastic and glass cascading on the tile floor. The crash brought an onslaught of staff members who ran to the door and gawked at the deranged man. Billy stood hunched over, his face showing the fear of the realization of what he had done. Two burly men grabbed him and escorted him back to the bed.

  “I didn’t mean to break it. I lost my cool for a minute. I’m okay. Hey, let go! That hurts!” said Billy.

  “Stay calm Billy. Boys, don’t sedate him yet. Billy, are you going to behave?” asked Corley.

  “No temper tantrums….promise.” said Billy.

  Corley ordered the guards to relax, “He won’t hurt anyone, unless you’re a lamp.”

  The two security guards gave each other a look of indifference. Lock him, release him, it didn’t matter. They worked for minimum wage and neither one drew a thrill from restraining people.

  Corley finished cleaning up the floor, “I’ll be back in an hour with these gentlemen. The ambulance is going to come and get you. I’ll take you in a wheelchair from the room to the elevator, and to the door, and to the ambulance. Is that clear?”

  “Perfectly clear, thanks,” said Billy.

  Six weeks had passed since Billy’s emergence and not one person believed his story. He knew it sounded impossible. He contemplated a thousand different ways he could describe his travels back to that different Earth time that would convince them his story was real. The staff rebuffed every attempt. They told him he’d never even left the bed. They told him they were vivid dreams. Perhaps the most vivid dreams since Joseph spoke to the King of Egypt. He needed proof, and that proof was to find the orb. Rerick’s counterintelligence team buried the first one before they were murdered. He assumed Leeta eliminated the second orb that same day. He hadn’t seen images since their fight. The teacher left his head shortly after their last argument in the tall building.

  “Think…think…”

  At that instant it hit him. The moment of the earthquake came rushing back. It crushed him like the waves of a tsunami hitting the shore and obliterating everything in its path.

  He remembered! He had his proof. They wouldn’t sneer at this. He could verify his experience at long last!

 
; He yanked on the buzzer several times. He pulled on the emergency cord so hard that it ripped from the wall.

  Dr. Davidson came running.

  “Good lord, what’s wrong Billy?” he said.

  Billy paid no attention to what the doctor had said. His voice soared with exhilaration and he approached the doctor with his arms raised high.

  “I’ve got it! It came back to me! I can do it!” he shouted.

  “Do what Billy? Please calm down. What are you saying? The doctor reversed his direction and back-pedaled toward the door. He fumbled in his pocket for his security button, and for second time at the Keller Institute, Billy caused someone to fear for his safety.

  “I’ll tell you, Doc, the earthquake. I remember what happened to me!” Billy’s grin was wide enough to drive one of those old world trucks through a tunnel. The kind that brought millions of tons of dirt to the huge factories that nobody living in today’s world would believe that he witnessed.

  “That’s great! Tell me what happened. Wait a second, let me turn on the recorder,” Dr. Davidson flipped the switch to the “on” position and the monitor in Director Gallagher’s office immediately turned on, showing the director the live conversation.

  “Go ahead, I’m ready,” said Dr. Davidson.

  “I was there with my dad. There was a rumble. I was too terrified to move. He had to drag me to the edge of a boulder. The earth moved and my dad groaned while I was falling. The ground opened and I fell. It hurt when I landed. I was in a hole. I remember the odor. Isn’t it weird that it’s all coming back to me? It’s like the lid popped off my brain and all these old memories are pouring out.”

  “That’s wonderful Billy. Keep going. You’re experiencing the freeing of repressed memories. They were stuck inside and they’re bursting free. Go on,” encouraged the doctor.

  “I tried to get out of the hole. I kept calling for my dad. I called his name over and over. He didn’t answer. I thought he might be dead. So, I’m in that hole and when I tried to climb out, I slipped and fell. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, I couldn’t move, my body was stuck at an awkward angle. My body mixed in with the dirt and rocks and somehow, I could barely move my arms and legs. The ground moved and I kept digging my feet at the dirt and tried to get it away from my body. Oh yeah, I remember an aftershock, and I thought I’d die right there. I couldn’t move my chest, there was dirt everywhere, and my arms weren’t strong enough to push it away. I remember, I was scared to death. And then I saw it.”

  “Saw what?” asked the doctor. Nurse Corley entered the room. Director Gallagher monitored the story with part curiosity and part apathy. He couldn’t wait for Billy to depart his building and take his crazy stories with him.

  Billy continued, “a shiny metal object which I now realize was the orb. See? It all fits. I caught sight of it by my shoulder, stuck in the mud. I remember wondering where in the world it came from. When the floor shifted, dirt fell on me and I moved my arm to block it. That hurt. It bounced and came back hard right toward my chest. It stuck close to me. The dirt fell away from my chest, I tried to grab it and push it away from me, and this strange sensation began in my hands. My fingers were stuck to the object and I couldn’t take my hands off of it. I remember how weird it was, but my brain was getting foggy. The next thing I remember was someone yelling my name, but I couldn’t concentrate. That’s when I met the teacher. He gave me a tour of the first people who came to this planet. He showed me how those people ruined the earth and how I need to warn the authorities that we must stop ruining the world with our poisons and pollution, and stop building new weapons. In that old earth, they built weapons that eventually ruined the entire planet and killed millions of people. They had these giant digging machines that burrowed far below the ground to find raw minerals. Way deeper than our tools, at least the ones I remember. These old machines were HUGE! They needed those minerals for their home planet. And, I woke up. Until six weeks ago, I was there, with the teacher and that metal thing, watching the people that landed here.”

  Billy sat on the metal chair, exhausted from describing his traumatic story. Sweat poured down his face. The details of his nightmare unleashed after all these years. He was confident the doctors would believe him.

  Dr. Davidson flipped off the recorder. Upstairs, sipping a cup of tea, Director Gallagher closed his monitor, “Poor delusional man,” he said and returned to his reports.

  The doctor’s face grew stern. “I’m hopeful that you can find closure for this fabrication of yours. This will help commence the healing process. When you’re at the Hannah Pavilion, the doctors will be at your disposal to comfort you.”

  Billy was shocked. “Healing? Healing from what?”

  “You’ve obviously suffered a traumatic experience. All of the doctors that have treated you here at the institute respect your amazing revival to this point. Your story is entertaining, but we’re not in the entertainment business. We’ve gone to extraordinary measures to get you to this point. We wish you nothing but the best in the future.”

  “Nurse Corley? What about you?” asked Billy, begging for a sympathetic ear.

  She failed to make eye contact with him. Peering out the window of his room, she said, “The ambulance is here. We better say our goodbyes.”

  Billy’s head raced with emotions. He recalled the incident that claimed his real life and he had told the story in remarkable detail. He had used his words carefully to describe how it happened and when he had finished explaining it, they rebuked him without a second thought.

  “There are excellent physicians at the Hannah Pavilion. You’ll do well there,” said Dr. Davidson.

  “Unless they believe what happened to me, I don’t think I will,” said Billy.

  The two burly men returned in time to escort Billy to the ambulance, but didn’t speak to him. Their stoic faces confirmed this was not going to be a joy ride.

  Billy sat in the backseat and flinched when the rear doors locked shut.

  The driver checked the rear view mirror, gunned the engine, and Billy left the Keller Institute of Care. The fading figure of Corley disappeared in the distance as the ambulance headed west on Warrensville Center Road, dodging traffic along the way. Billy screamed at the men in the truck, warning them that unless mankind changed how they took care of the earth we were doomed.

  The next stop on Billy’s incredible journey was the Hannah Pavilion. Greg Miller had other plans.

  CHAPTER 21

  “May I speak to Mr. Cohen please,” said Greg.

  The law associate at the prestigious law firm of Innenberg, Cohen, and Arnovitz connected the call to the senior partner at the firm.

  She pressed the intercom while Greg waited on hold.

  “Pardon me, Mr. Miller is on line one. I hope he’s paying you enough to put up with him. He wants to take that Callahan guy to Colorado.”

  “Sentimental fellow. Thanks, Vicky, and make sure his court documents get to their destination as soon as possible,” said Mr. Cohen.

  Vicky called the express courier service as her boss instructed. Cohen took a deep breath and prepared for what he hoped was the last conversation with his client.

  “This is Mr. Cohen.”

  “Mr. Cohen, thanks for making this happen so quickly. I know I’ve been impatient. The thought of Billy spending one more day in that new dungeon is more than I can stand.”

  “I understand. You’re his true ally. We’ll have the papers to you shortly. The court was hesitant to let Billy travel out of the state. You know I can’t recall another incident where a man of your age has taken responsibility for a man at such an advanced age, and with so much adversity. That’s rather noble of you,” said the attorney.

  Miller shook off the compliment, “What do you think made the court decide to turn in our favor?”

  Cohen laughed and said, “I’d say it was my brilliant closing argument, but you were there and heard what I said. I believe your insistence that Billy collects all the mo
ney was the key. The court had to be convinced that your interests were pure, and not guided by greed.”

  “You did conclude the case in a sympathetic package. We needed a judge with a beating heart in his chest to understand what I wanted for Billy in his remaining years.”

  “Mission accomplished. Extremely well done by both of us. When are you leaving town?”

  “As soon as possible. Cleveland holds a great number of memories for Billy, but it’s time he makes new ones. I’ll pick him up at the Hannah Pavilion later today.”

  “Rumor has it that you’re putting him on tour?”

  “Like a rock band on a multi city tour?” asked Greg.

  “Hardly, the news circuit, as they call it, CNN, Fox News, and America’s Voice Network. Hell. He’s going to be on ESPN to talk about that crazy game people played on Earth, or whatever he thinks it was. Crazy talk I tell ya.”

  “Please don’t use that term,” Greg’s voice hinted that he took the comment as an insult.

  The attorney quickly recovered, “Not ‘whack-job’ crazy… crazy like I can’t believe how his life is going to change in the next few weeks. Take it slow. He’s in relatively good health, considering his plight. You don’t have to agree to each interview request. If this goes unsatisfactory, or he mis-speaks, you’ll have a real calamity on your hands and you’ll have to move deep into the Rocky Mountains to find five minutes of peace.”

  “Don’t worry so much. I have experience with type of thing.”

  “Resembling your time at FOND?” asked Cohen.

  “You know about that?”

  “I told you we’re good. We know it all. There are no secrets anymore. It’s been that way since my dad was a kid. Why do you think we needed the extra $20,000 during the last week of the hearing? We didn’t order pizza for the magistrate!”