“I’d love to get some whale DNA if that’s possible, Dr. Massey,” piped Dr. Morales.
“I’ll see what I can do that. I’ll call the Command Center and see if anyone is patrolling near the pod. Great idea,” replied Dr. Massey.
“I’m glad I don’t live near the beach, that’s a disaster area waiting to hap—” began Dr. Goldman.
Lila stopped her cold. “I live a few hundred feet from there!” she said. “I’ve got to get my family out of there!”
“Please, Professor Jenkins, I understand your concern. We can’t start a panic because a few barrels of goo rolled up a few hundred yards from shore. You can’t move out of town!” snapped Dr. Massey.
“I can’t say I blame her, Dr. Massey,” said Dr. Morales.
Aggravated, Dr. Massey wiped his perspiring brow and said to Morales, “I was hoping for assistance, doctor.”
“You want me to believe it’s ‘goo?’” said Lila.
Massey was not going to hear any of it. “Lila, we’ll address your situation in a moment. Now, as I was saying: these barrels, nobody knows exactly what’s in them. It wouldn’t be fair to assume the worst. The Director of the Nuclear Plant has been notified. Unfortunately, he’s only been on the job for six months. The previous director, a fellow named Rothschild, died months ago. By the way, he died skiing, for you conspiracy theorists. Yes, I’m talking to you, Mr. Gorrell.
“The Federal Government wants to remove these barrels as soon as possible. They must confirm the barrels are watertight and can be removed safely. There is a concern on the part of the government that if they send in a team of retraction experts, their team may be attacked by the whales. Our job is to offer guidelines to the government as to why the whales are near these barrels. We must provide substantive information to help them. I must tell you that time is short. If the government decides to remove these barrels, and I’m sure that they will, and if the whales interfere with their efforts, the whales will be destroyed without hesitation. This would have an enormous effect on the species. This pod of whales is the single largest one we’ve ever seen and it could take generations for the population to recover. We have less than twelve hours to solve it. We’re down to eleven hours and twenty-two minutes. I’m going to open discussion to the floor for suggestions. Don’t be shy.”
The astonished experts sat quietly in their seats.
Lila rose from the table and started to make her exit.
“Professor Jenkins! Stop!” shouted Dr. Massey.
Lila was half way down the hall when Massey caught up to her.
“Lila, this is when your leadership is required more than ever!”
“This is when my daughter needs me more than ever!” she replied without the respectful tone she normally used with Massey.
“I understand. I apologize for not mentioning the barrels earlier. But personal feelings shouldn’t interrupt your obligations to the school. More importantly, your duty to your country, and, in an odd way, your duty to those whales, who will be reduced to heating oil if we can’t think of a way to help them stay out of the way of those government idiots.”
“Five-thousand barrels of heating oil would go a long way towards meeting our energy independence. That’s a good yield for one day,” cracked Lila.
Her sarcastic retort failed to amuse him. “Please, come back. As soon as I hear definitive news about those damn barrels, I’ll tell you. I promise.”
Lila grudgingly turned direction, grunted, and walked back towards the room.
“I swear, if I ever learn that you know what’s in those barrels, I’ll—”
“You’ll what? Are you threatening me?” he asked in amazement.
Lila realized her error immediately. “No, of course not. I apologize. I don’t know what’s come over me. I have a splitting headache…”
Dr. Massey cleared his throat again. “We’re under a lot of pressure. Let’s get back in that room and put our collective years of experience to use.”
“Fine, let’s go to work. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Lila slipped into the ladies’ room and used her mobile phone to call her husband. She knew disclosing information was against policy, but she was way beyond the point of rules and regulations. J.J. answered as Lila finished checking the stalls for other people.
“Hello?” said J.J.
Lila whispered into the telephone. “Hi, it’s me. I can’t talk long. Get some clothes packed. You must take Sophie to your sister’s house.”
“Lila, what are you talking about? Is it the whales?”
“It’s more than that, trust me. Get ready and go. Tonight! I’ll call you later. I love you and Sophie, now please—go.”
“It sounds like you’re overreacting. Sophie is sound asleep and I mean—”
“Listen to me! I’m serious and I’ve got to go too! Just do it. Even mild-mannered Dr. Goldman wouldn’t stay in this area and she never panics. Wake Sophie and get out of there. I’ll call you when I can.” She closed the phone and jammed it deep into the front pocket of her pants.
Lila washed her face, unable to remove the remorse she felt for the uncomfortable position she was in. J.J.’s sister Kate would be angry with the unexpected company. That would be dealt with later.
She returned to the conference room where the group of brilliant scientists worked long into the night trying to determine the cause of the erratic whale behavior. They reviewed water temperature, weather anomalies, and any type of scientific evidence that would have led them to any conclusions that evening. The end results were the same. The staff failed to produce any reasonable explanations for the whale activity earlier in the day.
CANAMITH COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
Update #94
Animal clinics close
Monroe Delevan, Director of the Association of Emergency Veterinarians, issued the following statement to the media:
“I’m disappointed to announce that due to the high number of euthanized dogs and cats, hundreds of our outstanding clinics have been forced to close. There simply isn’t enough business to sustain them any longer. I urge people to stop killing their beloved pets while the scientific community establishes the reasons behind recent canine and feline behavioral problems.
“We also request people to stop kicking their animals out of the house. The number of feral cats and wild dogs has quadrupled and forcing local municipalities to spend vital resources dealing with animal control instead of helping our fellow human beings.”
CANAMITH COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
Update #127
Local folks go on killing spree
“…Local citizens ignored the governments call for calm, and armed militias roamed the city of Portos and shot at anything that wasn’t human.
“By the time police were able to stop the slaughter, the streets of Portos were filled with dead dogs and cats, birds, squirrels and raccoons…”
CHAPTER 7
J.J. followed Lila’s insistence that he abandon the city and flee. He called Kate on his cell phone as he sped down the highway.
“Kate, hi, it’s J.J. Yeah, I’m fine, sort of. Remember those late nights when we were kids and we wished we were older and we could take a drive and go get food in the middle of the night?”
“J.J., it’s late. Get to the point,” said Kate.
“Yeah, right, sorry I’m calling you this late in the evening. Did I wake you?”
“Of course you did!” Kate snapped. “It’s close to midnight.”
“Sorry. This couldn’t wait. Lila insisted that Sophie and I leave the city tonight. It must be about the whales down by the beach.”
“J.J., why are you calling me?”
“We’re coming over. We’ll be there in a couple of hours. I’ll fill you in on what I know when I get there.”
“Let me guess…Lila thinks? Or is it Lila says?”
“Why do you get like that?”
“I don’t trust her. That’s nothing new, little brother.”
Kate wasn’t impressed. “The key’s in the same place. I’m going back to sleep and pray this was all a rotten dream.”
“It’s not a dream, sis.”
“Whatever, see you soon.” Kate slammed the phone down.
“That went well,” said J.J. to a dial tone.
He spent the next three hours navigating the winding roads adjacent to the ocean from Sanderell Beach to Kate’s quiet suburban town of Taylorville. J.J. flashed back to the hour prior to his wedding while he drove. He had tried often to smooth over the contemptuous relationship between Lila and his sister Kate.
His sibling knew little about Lila’s former life in Canamith. An hour before their oceanside wedding, Kate, nearly as tall as her brother, towered over Lila and led her aside to question the wisdom of the wedding. “I have serious reservations concerning your relationship. I hardly know you. You could be a crazy lady trying to latch on to my kid brother for all the wrong reasons. I love him with all my heart. When our parents died, I made a vow to look after his best interests and I don’t think you are in his best interests.”
Lila grew angry at the insinuation. Drawing up to her full five feet, Lila had shot back. “Kate, we may never be best friends, but I can assure you that I’m crazy, all right. Crazy in love with your brother. I’ve been vague. I have my own reasons for that. I won’t be coerced into telling you anything. Trust me when I tell you that I love your little brother. And you should stop thinking of him as your kid brother and see the man he’s become. We’re getting married and I expect you to deal with it.”
When J.J. pulled into his sister’s driveway, Sophie was sound asleep. He carried his daughter to the front door. He found the key and tried to open the door without disturbing his older sister.
Kate was standing in the foyer, groggy eyed and not looking too happy with the situation at hand. “This better be good,” she snarled.
“Nice to see you, too!” retorted J.J.
CHAPTER 8
Lila scanned the contact list on her mobile phone. She pushed “call” and listened for the connection. She hadn’t called the number in years. The phone rang once and a young man answered.
She was 125 feet from her office, but spoke in soft tones. Massey wouldn’t be pleased to hear her on the telephone.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Buck. It’s Lila. Can I talk to dad?”
“The prodigal child calls home. How long has it been? Two years?”
“Over four years, if you want to be accurate.”
Buck wasn’t impressed. “Have you saved the world? Do you want to know how I am or do you want to talk to dad?”
“I’m sorry, Buck. I’m in a hurry and I wanted to talk to dad. It’s important.”
“I’m fine, thanks for asking. If you’re calling here it must be important. Dad’s in a meeting with the Elders. You recall those meetings?”
“That’s one of the reasons I left. The ancient scrolls, I remember. Please tell him that’s it urgent I speak to him right away. Please tell him that I called. Do you remember my number?”
Buck scoffed at the suggestion. “Yeah, sure, I dial it daily and hang up. I don’t remember it. I’m sure dad has it. By the way, while I have you on the phone, you know you broke his heart when you left. I guess you had your reasons.”
“Buck, we’ve been over this a thousand times. I didn’t call to get into an argument with you or get a guilt trip. You, Dad and Mathis are wasting precious time. You have one life. Do you think the planet will explode because the ‘Elders’ gave somebody a warning a thousand years ago?”
“We got that warning 2,000 years ago.”
“See, that’s my point! Things happen for specific scientific reason, Buck. There’s a scientific reason for everything we experience. Following ideology that stipulates divine intervention prior to a disastrous series of events is absurd. I choose to live for today. How many lives would have been wasted if the people on the planet had decided to follow your path?”
“That’s not the point. The Elders knew that people wouldn’t believe. Don’t you recall reading ‘The Great Divide’? It was never their intent or belief that everyone would listen. What mattered was that our people listened, and outside of the daughter of the wisest man in town—that would be you—we all stayed here. We stuck to our obligations and will die here knowing we have lived a noble life. I don’t apologize for that.”
“You shouldn’t. You’ve consumed any spare time I had tonight. Tell dad to call me. We have the same stupid argument when we speak, and you wonder why I don’t call? Goodbye.”
“Goodnight to you too, sis.”
Lila slipped back into the meeting and tried to stay positive. She interjected, “There must be a scientific explanation for this.”
“There is,” said Massey. “I’m afraid it’ll be too late for the whales. I want each of you go back to your offices and search for answers. Let me know if you have any new ideas. Perhaps we’ll have better luck coming up with ideas on our own. We’re certainly not having much luck this way.”
Lila went back into her office. She turned the computer back on and logged into the Internet site “ScienceNow”, a website devoted to developments in the world of the scientific community. Lila hadn’t dismissed Aldo’s reports earlier in the night as coincidence, as Massey had done so matter-of-factly. She typed the phrase “anomalies in the world today” in the search box and forty-three items populated the screen.
She scrolled the list, and each article was stranger than the next, starting with the first report where the east coast police had found marauding packs of grown men hunting down squirrels and killing them. She was floored when she read the rest of the story.
When captured by the local authorities, the leader of the men reported he had personally seen squirrels working together to chew a hole in his cable line. When the man called for service, he was told that he was one of 1,300 customers complaining of an identical problem and the estimated time for his repair would be four weeks. This prompted the man to gather a “posse” to eliminate the cable-chewing critters.
She spent the next hour reading equally inexplicable accounts from around the country, each of them indicating that animals have instigated attacks. When she was done, she sighed, shut the computer down and stared out the windows, wondering what her father was doing at this exact moment.
CHAPTER 9
Rex clutched the phone to call his daughter back. He longed to talk to her, but was too stubborn to verbalize it. He felt compelled to return her call. Maybe she was calling to seek permission to return to Canamith? She hurt him when she left the village years ago. Lila was the first citizen of Canamith to leave. She disappeared fifteen years ago to attend college and get a formal, advanced education. Rex knew that there would be repercussions within the village. His position as Head Elder had been challenged, and he worried that his sons would be ostracized by their peers, a fear that came to fruition several years later when the boys were approaching manhood.
Rex seldom communicated with Lila after Sophie was born. It tore Lila apart that Sophie didn’t have a relationship with anybody on her mother’s side of the family. But Rex and Lila had made their decisions and they were sticking to them.
Rex waited for his daughter to answer. He choked up when he heard her voice. He regained his composure and sounded as casual as if he was discussing the weather with a neighbor on a steamy summer day. “Hello, Lila, I heard you wanted to talk to me. Go ahead.”
“So much for the warm greetings, Daddy. I’m glad to hear your voice anyway. I miss you.”
“If you miss me, move back home.” He cringed with these words, angry that he allowed her to get under his skin so quickly in the conversation.
“Dad, please don’t start. I called you because I’m worried that the ocean is full of poison and I wanted to warn you. I’ve spent my li
fe studying these types of scientific anomalies and the biotoxins they produce. This one has me concerned.”
“And what exactly does my little scientist propose I do?”
“I think you should get out of town for a few weeks. I’m concerned for the health and safety of all of the people in this area. There is hazardous material in the ocean by Sanderell. The village is close to the beach, too.”
The silence on the other end lasted eight seconds and then Rex tried to implore his daughter to understand his views. “Lila, you may be worried, but I’m prepared for what is coming. Our water originates from mountain run-off. No, my dear daughter, I’m not going anywhere. I have nothing to fear. We are making the final arrangements to seal the tunnels. Perhaps you should leave town?”
“Here we go with the tunnels again. Anyway, dad, I thought I’d try one more time. It’s clear you’re not going to listen to anything I have to say,” said Lila, her voice rising half an octave. “There’s a rational explanation for what’s going on and I’m going to prove to you that I made a wise decision to go to school. By the way, why close the tunnels now?”
“I can’t discuss that with you. You’re an outsider now. If you had stayed, you would be hearing all the details soon enough. I would be comforted knowing that you, your husband, and that granddaughter of mine would be safe. You have chosen to live your way, and if you want to run to the hills, or the woods, or wherever, I wish you the best, but I’m not going anywhere. I think you know that. As I said, why don’t you come home?”
Lila’s voice rose in desperation.
“Daddy, this is important! Think of Mathis and Buck. They’re my brothers and—”
“As I recall, they were your brothers when you left here, too! You didn’t seem concerned with their health back then. They’re men now and they don’t need you. Thanks for the warning, but it’s misplaced. You need it. You have limited time to save your life. In a matter of a few days or weeks you will be on your own.”
Escape to Canamith Page 4