by Jerry Belvo
ADon’t keep tormenting yourself, Honey,@ he whispered, steering her to the sofa, and for an hour they sat holding each other, he wiping her tears away and reassuring her everything would be alright.
Finally she blew her nose and looked at him. AI haven’t prepared anything for dinner.@
AThat’s okay Honey. Let=s eat out.
*
Jeff wasn’t taken to headquarters, but to a place in Golden near the mountains. It smelled medicinal like a clinic, but he didn’t see anyone looking like a doctor or nurse. He sat quietly, hands between his legs, waiting for someone to come into the room. Jones and Cleaver sat across from him. She stood up and approached him removing his glasses, placing them on an end table beside the couch. AI want to get a better look at you,@ she said, returning to the seat next to her partner. She studied his face thoroughly without commenting.
Jones spoke, AI wouldn’t be thinking of trying anything, Jeff. You wouldn’t want anything happening to your mother, like an automobile accident, would you?@
Jeff remembered Bobby=s accident and looked at Jones. AYou wouldn’t hurt her, would you?@
ANot if you cooperate,@ he answered, a malicious grin on his face.
Jeff now understood why Julie had cooperated with them after they threatened to harm her kids. If the AIA had tried to kill Bobby, and harm Julie’s kids, they wouldn’t have to stoop much lower to hurt his mother. He hesitated at first, but then he agreed. AWhat do you want of me?@
AThat’s better. We just need a sample of your blood, to make sure you are going to be alright,@ he smirked. Jeff had never been sick his life and being stuck with a needle was new to him. He had no idea how it would feel to be invaded with a needle, but he would have to endure whatever was necessary for the sake of his mom. Cleaver administered the needle and after one vial had been drawn she stuck another needle into his arm as though attempting to draw some more. This needle had clear liquid in the syringe and as the fluid entered his arm he began to convulse. They lead him to the couch where he collapsed, shaking violently and fading from sight.
ALook what you’ve done,@ Jones shouted at Cleaver. AYou’ve made him disappear.@ He knew it was not her fault, but for a moment he lost his composure. Taking a deep breath he apologized. AIt’s not your fault.@
AThis didn’t happen to the others. The serum must work differently on some people,@ she remarked.
AWell, apparently you gave him too much,@ he retorted.
AOh, no, I’d never do that. I measured it very carefully.@ Cleaver had other fears. What if something really happened to him? She had never meant to harm him, but she hadn’t had that much experience at drawing blood or administering this new serum. AMaybe he just got scared and teleported home,@ she replied. AYou know how they disappear if they get upset. That’s how they handle their anger.@
AYes, that’s probably what he did, but I don’t think he was angry,@ Jones remarked. AMaybe we’ll have to take some stronger measures.@
Agent Cleaver crossed the room to sit on the couch, and immediately jumped up startled. AOh, he’s still on the couch,@ she shrieked. AHis body is still here, I can feel it. I just can’t see him. Maybe he’s dead. I killed him, Jones.@ She began to panic. AWhat will we do? We can’t leave him here.@
ACalm down, Cleaver, We’ll take the body somewhere and dump it.@
AThat’s so inhumane,@ she replied curtly. AIf they report him missing someone may have seen you pushing him into our car. The police will arrest us.@ She envisioned all sorts of outcomes, none of them pleasant. They couldn’t leave this invisible body on the couch. Someone would discover it sooner or later. They would have to take it with them. But where would they dump it?
Jones excused himself and went into the adjoining room. He had initially planned to observe Jeff from that room through the two-way mirror while Cleaver interrogated him. Before he came back out Jeff began to move. She heard a sound coming from the sofa and turned to see Jeff slowing regaining his form. She breathed a sigh of relief. Pretending that nothing happened she waited for him to solidify.
Jeff found himself lying on a couch when he awoke. ADid you have a good nap?@ Cleaver inquired, trying not to show any anxiety in her voice. AYou slept for an hour.@
AWhere am I? Where is Jones?@ Jeff blurted out incoherently.
AHe’s in the other room,@ Jeff hadn’t noticed the mirror that covered one wall when he arrived, and he knew his antagonist was probably sitting behind the wall watching his every move.
He made a face at the mirror and in short order Jones appeared through the door. AWe were going to talk to you but you fell asleep on us. Now our time is up and we have to go.@
Jeff hated Jones=s condescending attitude, but he kept quiet not wanting to intimidate him. She helped him off the couch and to the door. Once outside he felt better and walked to the car on his own. ADid you get what you were after,@ he asked?
AYes, and more than we anticipated. The evening was quite productive.@ Jones replied.
ACare to share anything with me,@ Jeff asked? His head still reeling with pain, he felt so weak he could hardly stand up.
“No, it was just some idle chatter, nothing important.”
*
Jeff was glad to be dropped off. His mom and dad were waiting up for him when he got home with lots of questions. He took one step in the house and collapsed to the floor. AThey hurt my baby,@ Mrs. Martin screamed as she stooped down to help him up. Together Betty and Charles helped their son upstairs to his bedroom and laid him on the bed.
Tears in her eyes she went to the kitchen to make him some tea while Charles sat on the side of the bed holding Jeff=s hand. AHang in there son, we love you.@
It was an hour before Jeff regained consciousness. His mother was now by his side and dad was sitting by his desk, both wanting to make sure he would be alright. His cup of tea had gotten cold, but he drank some of it anyway.
AI had the weirdest dream. I dreamed I was back on Dos and someone was speaking to me. >If someone tries to undermine the integrity of your thoughts we’ll not allow it to happen. You are still under the influence of the Oracle here. As long as you keep that connection nothing can happen to you.= What does it mean, Dad?”
AI don’t know son. You will have to ask someone on Dos.@
AThey put some liquid in my arm. I began to shake and couldn’t control myself. I’ve never felt like that before. Is that what it feels like when you get sick?@
AYes,@ his mom answered. ASometimes you feel crazy and sometimes much more. When your sister Melissa was born she got her baby shots. It seemed that every time she received a shot she got sick. We didn’t want that to happen to you, so when you were born we told the doctor, >No shots!= Since then the integrity of your body has never been violated. Nothing has ever penetrated your skin until today. I hope you will have no residual effects from this. We’re glad you are back with us. Now, go to sleep, and you’ll feel better in the morning,@ she said. Betty had lots of questions to ask, but she decided now wasn’t the time. She was thankful he was home.
*
The next morning they were sitting at the kitchen table having breakfast when his mom said. AJeff, your eyes are not as transparent as usual. You must still be suffering some trauma.@
His dad asserted, AMaybe you need to take it easy today, just relax and stay away from stress if you can.@
When breakfast was over Jeff reached in his shirt pocket to make sure he had his sun glasses before leaving for work, but they weren’t there. AI must have left them in my room,@ he spoke out. On the way upstairs he realized Cleaver had removed them the day before. They were probably still on the end table where she laid them. He could wear his old pair, but decided to teleport himself to get them before anyone found them. Standing in the middle of his bedroom he visualized the room he was taken to, waited thirty seconds and opened eyes. But he was still in his bedroom.
He tried again. Then, he panicked. AI’ve lost my power. What am I going to do? My body has been violated.@
His mom heard her son=s hysterical yell and came running. AJeff, what’s the matter?@
He was sitting on the bed swaying back and forth, AI have lost my power. I can’t teleport myself anymore. My glasses are still in the room I was taken to yesterday. I can’t get them,@ he cried.
She held him tenderly, swaying with him until he quieted down, before reminding him that he would be late for work. He dried his tears, gave her a hug picked up his old sun glasses and left the house.
Driving the crowded turnpike in stop and go traffic afforded him time to think. For the first time in his life he felt anger, anger at Cleaver for doing this to him. He had lost his ability to teleport himself. What other abilities had he lost? Maybe he lost his connection to Dos. Feeling isolated in a body not connected to his spirit, he would have to experience everything like humans, and he didn’t look forward to it. He remembered what John said, he was still under the influence of the Oracle on Dos, but he didn’t feel like it. Doubt was separating him from it. Is this what they call sin, he thought, to have these feelings of separation and anger? Would he be passing his anger on to others? If he ever needed someone to confide in, it was now. >John, where are you,’ he thought? It seemed to take forever to get to work. Where it never bothered him before, he wished this damn traffic would get out of his way.
Then, he remembered Julie. No wonder she wanted to warn him. She knew what could happen, but she did teleport herself that night. Maybe he would get his abilities back. He would contact her that evening. With a glimmer of hope he began to relax and his thoughts shifted to work.
*
At dinner that evening he brought his parents up to date on all the happenings. He called Sarina and left a message the he would see her when he got back in town. Then he called Julie. She insisted they meet as soon as possible. He was at the restaurant again by eight o=clock.
She was waiting for him in the same booth, but this time she wasn’t smiling. The concerned look on her face indicated something wasn’t right. AI came as fast as I could.@ Jeff remarked. AWhat’s the problem? Why the urgency?@
Staring at his face she said, AI wasn’t totally honest with you the other night. Most of what I said was true, but I didn’t tell you all of it. I was only creating an illusion when I went to the restroom to leave. I’ve lost the ability to teleport myself. My car was out front in the lot. I can’t even move things. I can’t help anyone, not even my kids.@ She started to cry and he put his hand over hers to comfort her.
ADon’t cry, I can’t transport myself either,@ he reassured her. He didn’t think he=d ever have to say that to anyone. It felt so weird. AI don’t even know if I can heal myself either.@
The waitress took their orders and was back in a flash with their food. As they were eating she spoke up. AMy husband betrayed me. He did it trying to get custody of my kids. His betrayal ran so deep it wounded my soul, and I have lost my integrity. This is why I wanted to see you again, to let you know that someone could be betraying you, someone who stands to gain something by turning you in.@
Jeff didn’t know who that might be. He trusted all his friends. Surely none of them would ever stoop so low as to betray him. AThanks for being honest, Julie, but it wouldn’t destroy our friendship. I’ll just have to keep my eyes open. I’m flying out in the morning and don’t relish getting up so early. I have to go.@
They gave each other a hug, stepped out of the restaurant into the cool night air, and drove off.
Chapter 11
The next morning Jeff=s throat felt sore, something he had never experienced before. He couldn’t cancel his fright, so he thought he would tough it out and went to the airport to meet Helen.
As he drove to the terminal he remembered the talk he had with Sarina. He had given her Julie=s phone number, and suggested she call her in case anything happened to him. Thinking the two might have things in common, they could become friends. The first thought in her mind was that he was seeing another woman, and although she shouldn’t feel jealous as they were not committed, she did. Still she copied down her number just in case.
*
Once in New York City Helen and Jeff checked into an old renovated hotel in Harlem near the clinic they were to investigate. Helen then took him to the clinic to meet Doctor Claire, and to have his throat examined. When the nurses tried to get his charts from Denver none were available. Thinking it odd that someone who lived in a city their whole life didn’t have health records, they took his temperature which was very high and immediately put him to bed. They were about to inject a needle into his arm when Doctor Claire raced in the room, hollering. ADon=t!@ Lowering her voice she said. ADon’t give him any medication. Just give him something to cool him off and keep him calm.@
Doctor Claire Washington, now in her mid-thirties, was the director of the Harlem Health Clinic, funded by the Claudia Bell Foundation. She was a large black woman with tightly braided hair furrowed back from her forehead. Growing up poor in the Harlem neighborhood, she was reared by a strong willed welfare mom who didn’t believe in shots and needles. Claire=s mom insisted that she get a good education and she worked as a housekeeper for a wealthy family to put her daughter through college. Although never sick, Claire felt sorry for those who were and wanted to help them. She studied pre-med and eventually became a doctor. Appalled by the prices being charged the poor, she wanted to find a way to help for free. In a health magazine she read about the Bell Foundation and decided to apply for funding to open her own clinic.
The doctor checked on him regularly all day to make sure the nurses honored her request to just keep him cool and not give him any medication. Jeff slept most of the day and awoke that evening to find Doctor Claire sitting by his bed. The fever had broken but she felt he should stay at the clinic over night so that they could keep an eye on him.
AYou had a close one,@ she remarked. AIt’s a good thing I knew about you, or you would have been stuck full of needles.@
AWhat do you mean,@ he whispered, his throat too sore to speak.
She sat forward in her chair poised to tell him something, but hesitated, considering the gravity of what she was about to say. Looking around to make sure none of the staff was within ear shot she leaned over and whispered. AWhen you had no medical record I knew you were a star child, and the fact you had a sore throat indicated to me you had been given a shot of something.@
Jeff was too sick to act surprised and the soreness in his throat kept him from acting startled at her findings. AYou know, don’t you?@ He managed to gasp.
AYes,@ she sat back in her chair, AJoseph Bell was looking for gifted people to work at his wife=s Foundation, and I heard they hired one. I was hoping I would eventually meet that person and here you are.@
ABut, how can that be? No one asked me about my spiritual background.@
AApparently someone knew, and I couldn’t wait to meet you. We need you in the organization, and Mr. Bell has big plans for you.@
AHow do you know so much,@ he whispered?
She leaned over, took off her lightly-shaded glasses and again checking for any prying ears, AI’m one of you. That’s why I knew you couldn’t take medications. I can’t take them either.@
He looked at her questioningly. AYou are a star child?@
Dr. Claire nodded. ANow you know why I’m so glad to meet you. I don’t feel alone anymore. It will be a pleasure having you inspect my facilities, because you will understand what I’m trying to do here,@ she said gratefully.
He spoke slowly forcing out each word. ADid they give you a shot too?@
ANo, no one knows about my ability except mom. She didn’t cater to that tom-foolery. When she caught me mentally transporting things she put a stop to it right away. She said it was the work of the devil, and I was to cease it or she w
ould take a strap to my behind. That’s one of the reasons I became a doctor, to heal people with medicine, but I don’t really need to. I can use my energy for that,@ she said.
AThey gave me a shot of clear liquid which gave me a reaction. Do you know anything about it?@
AI suspected it was something to weaken your immune system, maybe even cause your genes to become defective. The people who did that are probably trying to destroy your power. Did they take blood from you?@
AYes,@ Jeff nodded.
AThen they are trying to isolate the genes that gave you your abilities. Once they succeed they can grow it in a laboratory, probably to administer it to the military so the soldiers can disappear when they are trying to escape. You can bet they are up to no good,@ she remarked. AThis way they have accomplished two things, neutralized you and used your gifts for their own advantage.@
AIt wasn’t why we came here?@ Jeff tried to carry on the conversation, but stopped abruptly.
She put her arm on his and she said. AThat’s enough talking for now. I’m going to run my energy through you, then, I will send Alice in with hot food. You need some nourishment.@ She stood over him placing her hands above his throat. He closed his eyes and felt the warmth coming from her hands. When he opened them, she had left the room.
*
Doctor Claire was sitting there when he awoke the next morning.
AHave you been sitting there all night?@ He asked apparently feeling much better.
ANo, I just got here. I feel so comfortable around you that I really didn’t want to leave last night. It feels good having finally met a kindred spirit.@
AI know how you feel. This is the first time in several days I’ve been able to relax. I thought about what you said yesterday, and I want to ask if you know any other star children,@ he inquired.
ANo, just you, but I found a star child web site on the internet two days ago. Apparently it just posted. Someone from Australia is running it.@
Jeff looked at her in amazement and immediately thought of Bobby. ADo you know the creator=s name?@