Chapter Six
Steve pulled into the underground parking lot of the Doug P. Richardson Memorial Hospital and found a space near the basement entrance doors. This ten-story concrete and glass building dwarfed everything else in Grapevine, Texas. The only other tall structures that could be seen from here were the control towers in the distance at DFW airport.
“Mom, why did you put Dad so far out? Baylor Hospital is much closer.”
“This place is a specialty hospital that treats brain diseases. In fact, people fly into this center from other states to get the specialized treatments offered here. Roy is in the best place.”
Steve turned off the ignition and opened the car door. “I’ll take your word for it.”
The two of them entered the hospital, took the elevator up to the fifth floor, and headed toward the intensive care wing. As always, this place was busy with lots of activity. Although the hospital was way out, the scientists and specialized doctors used this building as a research facility. In fact, the area looked more like a fancy hotel than a hospital.
Steve walked up to the intensive care unit and peered through the large window at the patients inside. There were six small rooms in the large enclosure that were filled with monitors, hospital equipment, and computers. The nurses and doctors were busy attending to these people and the machines that monitored them. He could see his father at the far room by the window. It seemed that Roy had more tubes and wires attached to him than any of the other patients. Even the man’s eyes had been taped shut.
After placing the proper sterilized clothes and mask on, Steve and his mother entered this special area.
“Steve, the doctor will probably come in soon and talk to us,” Helen whispered. “He’s been looking forward to meeting you too.”
Steve nodded. Suddenly, his cell phone started buzzing. He took the device from his pocket and glanced at the number on the screen. “Oh well, it’s this woman at the job. She has the hots for me. But I don’t have time to talk now.”
“It could be important,” Helen said. “I mean, she could have information about your case.”
“Not likely. She’s calling from her private number—not the office phone. The woman is still at work too. Besides, she probably knows about Dad’s condition because everything is wired these days. Maybe she wants to come up with an excuse for not telling me about it sooner. Well, I’m in no mood to hear anything from her now.”
“If you say so,” Helen replied, opening the door to Roy Miller’s private room.
Steve walked over and stood next his father, looking down into the man’s lifeless face. “Dad?”
Helen walked over and stood next to Steve. “He can’t hear you. I’ve been trying to talk to him for the last three days. Roy is too far into his coma.”
“I can at least try.” Steve then lifted his father’s hand and placed it against his own cheek. The extremity was cold and limp. “Dad, I’m here.”
His father did not respond at all. In fact, his appearance was pale and drained. The man was also very thin and brittle looking. The only movement in his body was the slight rising and falling of his chest as the machine pumped air into his lungs.
“Honey, I still think that he knows that we are here,” Helen said, while rubbing her son’s shoulder.
“I hope that he does.” Steve turned to face Helen. “You and Dad have always been like fire and ice. He was the fire and you were the ice.”
She smiled. “You’ve always said that.”
“It’s true. He would always be the one who’d lash out and demand respect. You’d always come behind him and stabilize the situation.”
“I don’t think that things were ever too drastic.”
Steve smiled. “Remember Rusty Williams?”
Helen thought for about three seconds before nodding her head. “Big Rusty Williams?”
“Yep, he’s the one. Anyway, once when I was only fourteen, I was down at the park when Rusty was showing off in front of a couple of girls. He threw the red jacket you bought me for my birthday into the mud. I pushed him into the fence, and he beat the crap out of me.”
“I remember that. You came home with a bloody lip. I called his mother, and she paid to have the jacket cleaned. She also made him apologize to me.”
“You solved matters peacefully. Dad, however, wanted revenge. When he found out what had happened, he enrolled me in Chin’s School of Karate the very next day. For six weeks, he made me practice every single day for at least a couple of hours. Then, when he knew I was ready, he told me to pick a fight with that guy. After I laughed at the way Rusty was trying to dance at the school sock-hop the next day, he came at me swinging. Of course, this time, I beat the crap out of him.”
“I remember that too. However, I never knew that Roy was the one who set that up. I also remember that you got suspended from school for three days. I didn’t approve of all of his actions, but this news does not surprise me.”
“That is why he didn’t want you to know. However, Dad was so proud. In fact, he took me to Six Flags on one of the days that I was suspended.”
“Yes, he was a ball of fire.”
Steve turned back to face his mother. “Why do you say was? He is still a ball of fire. He’ll pull through. Dad is a warrior. I don’t see a sudden illness taking him out this fast. Five years ago, he had a heart attack. The doctors said that he’d not pull through, but he did. Two years after that, you both walked away from a car accident that should have been fatal. So, don’t tell me that he can’t pull through. I’ve seen people defy the odds before, many times.”
Helen hugged Steve. “We’ll both be praying for him. Pastor Henderson will be here a little later too.”
They both continued to embrace each other in this mechanized tomb. Neither one was aware that someone else had entered the room.
“Mrs. Miller, this must be your son?” spoke a voice from behind.
They both turned to see a middle-aged Asian man. He stood about five feet seven inches in height and weighed about one hundred and sixty pounds. His lab coat literally swallowed his frail body. This small man looked more like an actor than a medical doctor.
“Dr. Chong,” Helen said, quickly addressing this doctor. “And yes, this is my son, Steve.”
Dr. Chong walked over and addressed Steve directly. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Your mother has told me a lot about you.”
“Okay, let’s cut through the chase. I don’t mean to be blunt, but I need to know what Dad’s prognosis really is. Don’t spare me any details.”
Dr. Chong took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, I’m afraid that his prognosis is very poor. Your father is suffering from a condition that is called Acute Cerebral Degeneration or ACD for short. We simply don’t know what causes it. We don’t even have a real treatment either. His brain cells are literally dying at an accelerated rate. It progresses like Alzheimer’s disease, but at a much faster rate.”
Steve walked over to the other side of the room and leaned against the wall. “What is the survival rate for this disease?”
Dr. Chong looked down at the floor. After a few seconds, he looked back up and slowly walked over to face Steve. “I’m afraid that no one has ever survived this condition—at least no one on record. I wish that I had better news, but I don’t. If I were you, I’d spend as much time with him as possible.”
Steve tensed in frustration. He could not stand the thought of anything defeating him or his father. There just had to have been a solution somewhere. “Dr. Chong, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m getting a second opinion.”
“Steve, he is the second opinion,” Helen whispered. “In fact, he is the fourth. I’ve had a team of specialists coming in and out of this room since Roy has been here.”
“Mr. Miller,” Dr. Chong said, “I’ll respect your wishes. However, please keep
in mind that I’ll do my best to keep your father as comfortable as possible.”
Tears returned to Steve’s eyes. “Okay, doctor. Please keep me informed on his progress. And if anything changes, let me know. From this point on, someone will be here with him at all times.”
Dr. Chong nodded. “I understand. I’ll be back in about an hour. We also have a hotel right here in this complex. The rates are covered by most insurance companies too.”
“Thanks, man.” Steve then sat down in a chair in the corner of the room.
Helen sat on the couch by the window and closed her eyes. This had been a very tiring day to say the least. In fact, she’d just left this place a couple of hours before Steve had arrived. The care of Roy had become an around-the-clock ritual.
Steve looked over at his father and then glanced at his mother. She too looked very tired. He now wondered how she would make it without Dad. They’d been married for almost forty years. He also wondered how his sister would handle this news. She’d always been Dad’s little girl. He was sure that his sister had not been told of this situation either. Well, in three days, she’d be here too. Times were truly looking bad. He glanced back across at his father. The man was truly on his last leg, dying from a disease that he’d never heard of before. How was it that brain cells could suddenly start dying without any known reason? It just seemed so unfair. Then, suddenly, an idea shot into his mind. “My God, that alien machine!”
Helen looked up at Steve. “What did you say?”
He stood and walked over to where his mother was sitting. “Mom, there may still be hope for Dad. I don’t care what the doctors are saying.”
She looked into his eyes. “I don’t know what you mean. Roy’s brain cells are dying. Half of his brain is dead already. We must face reality. Nothing is going to bring him back. You are going to have to accept that. Even if the doctors somehow stop the disease where it is now, Roy will still be a vegetable. It’s over, Steven.”
Steve again thought about the blueprint of the mysterious device from one of the orbs at the secret complex. It had been a machine that could regenerate brain cells. Maybe it could still be built and used in time to save his father. It was a long shot, but at least it was a chance—perhaps his dad’s only chance. “Maybe it’s over, maybe it isn’t. Come on, Mom, just trust me on this one. I’m taking you home and then I’m getting help for Dad.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I can’t say, but please trust me on this one.”
“You’re just going to leave him after asking me to come way out here?” she asked while standing. “That’s not fair to me. I’m tired too.”
“There is nothing that I can do for him, but I may be able to bring help here. However, we don’t have much time.”
“Okay…” she whispered and followed Steve out of the room.
The two of them walked down the main wing of this hospital. There were many people still crowded in this walkway that faced the west. Most of these people were dressed in business suits, rather than hospital attire. It appeared that some kind of conference was taking place. That was not unusual for this hospital either. It was the best research facility around.
“Honey, I’m going to step into the lady’s room,” Helen said. “We also need to call Roy’s sister. She—”
BOOM
Suddenly, a bright flash blazed through the window as a giant wave of sound blasted against the building. The windows exploded as an earthshattering shockwave hurled Steve into the forward wall. Other people around him fell as furniture and hospital cots overturned. Helen also crashed into a food tray and fell onto the floor.
All of the lights went out for about six seconds before flickering back on.
Slowly, Steve climbed up off the floor and looked out of the shattered window. In the distance, he could see a mushroom cloud rising into the sky. Around him, other people climbed off the floor too. The chattering that had been there just a second before was now replaced by loud rumbling in the distance. Next came the violent breeze that whipped through the corridors like a gale force.
“Steve!” Helen’s voice pierced through the roaring noise as she stood up too. “What in the hell just happened!”
“I don’t know!” he yelled while looking about at the other dazed people.
Chapter Seven
Steve pulled out onto I-35 and headed toward the downtown area. Carefully, he moved around dozens of stalled cars and other vehicles that littered the freeway. In fact, many people had abandoned their automobiles and were sitting on the hoods as others walked up and down the roadside. Along I-35, even more people were leaving buildings on both sides of the highway. It reminded him of what he’d seen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. However, there was no visible damage of a wide-spread disaster. Only a dark cloud of black smoke hovered in the distance sky.
He glanced over at his mother. “What are they saying happened?”
Helen, who stared at her I-phone’s screen, simply shrugged before responding. “Some kind of bomb exploded about two miles from the hospital. They believe that it was a terrorist attack. Twenty city blocks have been literally obliterated. Luckily, nothing much was out there to be destroyed. Two warehouses were flattened and an unfinished apartment complex. After that, there are just miles of empty space. However, DFW has also been shut down due to the power outage. Half of the computers are off-line there too.”
“I’m just glad that the hospital was not damaged much. It’s a good thing that Dad was on the opposite side of where the blast originated.”
“Yes, nothing was disturbed in Roy’s room,” Helen said.
“That’s good news. However, what in the hell is going on with all of these stalled cars and this massive power outage? There is no power station in the area.”
“According to the news, that bomb emitted some kind of magnetic pulse that fried electronic systems for miles around.”
“Wow, a pulse powerful enough to stop cars.” He steered around yet another stalled vehicle and headed for the off-ramp. Up ahead, the freeway was stacked with bumper-to -bumper traffic. “I’m using a shortcut. It’ll take forever to get through all of that.”
“I can’t argue with you about that.”
Steve’s pocket phone started vibrating. He quickly answered it. “Hello?”
“Where are you?”
Steve recognized the voice immediately. “Neil, it appears that Dallas has experienced a terrorist attack. Anyway, I’m taking my mother back home. We’re presently out here on I-35. The traffic really sucks. A magnetic pulse has wiped out the power.”
“The pulse wiped out all devices that have that new Pentium Chip in them. We’re talking about most electronic devices that have been built within the last two years.”
“Wow, that’s why we have so many stalled cars and other things in the area. I was lucky that this car is a special BMW that has lead shielding in the frame. I guess that’s why I’m still moving.”
“Steve, you need to get back to the complex as soon as possible. The situation is much worse than has been reported. We are in the middle of a national emergency. I’m not discussing any details on the phone.”
“I should be back there within the hour. Besides, I’ll need to talk with you about something else too.” Steve pressed down on the accelerator and wheeled down a side street. “I also have an idea about how to track down this fool, Diamond Jack.”
“I can’t wait to hear it,” Neil replied and hung up.
“Steve, before we get home, let’s stop by Fry’s Electronics Store,” Helen said.
“Mom, I’m kind of in a hurry.”
“I know, but if terrorists are using pulse bombs, you’ll need to store all of your CDs in lead-based containers. You don’t want to lose any data—especially with this new case. It’s no telling when or where the next bomb is going off.”
&nb
sp; “That’s good thinking.”
***
Jenny White sat in the courtyard of the USG center and watched the frenzied activity of the individuals around her. Although the people here were in a state of confusion, she was aware of an even greater threat. The simple-minded fools around here were more concerned about the data that they were suddenly unable to retrieve than the fact that a bomb had just gone off. The possibility of the loss of human lives meant little to them. In fact, many of them had walked out of their offices and now stood among the trees and benches trembling in fear of the loss of data rather than calling to see if their love ones were okay. These poor souls resembled sheep being led to the slaughter. Perhaps, they were. However, a new storm was building that threatened all of humanity. The world was in for a big shakeup.
She now wondered what to tell Steve Miller too. By now, he knew of his father’s condition. He had probably figured out that the USG had known of his dad’s illness too. Would the man even work for them anymore? Damn, this situation had become complicated really fast. Too bad this was her mess to solve. Like always, she was being forced to be the clean-up woman yet again. Life was so unfair. “I wish Neil would take care of his own mess for once,” she whispered to herself. “I’m tired of the one being blamed for everything.”
Chapter Eight
Steve impatiently looked up at the descending digital numbers on top of the elevator door. Soon, he’d be back in the basement of this top secret bunker. However, this time, he’d be the one with both questions and answers.
The door finally opened and he stepped out into the vast computer center. It was dark as usual, but everyone here was in a frenzied state of activity. People in black suits were running around from computer to computer tapping away on keyboards and staring into various monitors. Many of the screens that lined the walls were blank with static. Others had strange encrypted codes scrolling down them. A dozen or so agents were nervously jabbering away on their phones, frantically trying to explain something to the ones on the other end of their transmission lines.
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