by Darrell Bain
"Anything would beat what we put up with that first day the crazies arrived on our doorstep! Or all the other days those loony bins have been here for that matter. Tell them we accept!"
Just then Ronald's phone rang. He took it from his pocket and answered distractedly. A moment later a big smile appeared on his face. "Thanks for calling, Steve. And thanks for the help, whatever it was you did." He put his phone away and smiled at his wife then gave her a big hug and kiss.
"Whatever Steve said, it must have been good news!"
"It was. Judge Edmonson not only officially rescinded his order for CPS to take custody of Sammie but told Meriweather he would put her in jail if she bothered us again!"
"There is a God!" Elaine said delightedly.
***
"We're moving again? Really?" Samantha asked, looking back and forth between her mother and father. They were at the supper table that evening, where the prospective move had just been announced by her father.
"Yes, really," Elaine said. "The situation here has gotten completely out of hand. We're not going to have you go through what you did a few days ago. Not ever again if we can help it, and we can. You could have been seriously injured and Shufus could have hurt someone badly."
"I told him to just warn those crazy people until right there at the last. Mom, they were tearing at my hair and clothes and scratching and clawing like wild animals. I was scared to death and I finally told Shufus to get me to the door any way he could. I don't think he bit anyone very bad, though. Mostly he was just trying to scare them away from me."
"We know that, Sammie, but all it would take would be just one of those left-handed wing nuts to complain to the authorities and they'd come get Shufus."
"What would happen then?"
"He would probably have to be isolated for a long time." She didn't mention that in most cases of suspected rabies the animal is euthanized and its brain examined. For cases like that of Shufus, where the animal was clearly protecting its owner, isolation was indicated. The problem was that one of the nuts who had been nipped might claim Shufus was infected with rabies and then the animal control officials would have no choice but to impound him and possibly even put him down.
"Given what's been happening almost every day, it might be a good idea for you two to go on ahead of me," Ronald said. "I have to finish the semester and I still have two weeks to go plus the grading of finals."
"Couldn't you grade them out there and send the results back?"
"I suppose I could. It would save a few days."
"Would there be a place for me and Sammie to stay until we closed on a place?"
"I already have that arranged. The Director, Stanley Thompson, told me we could have one of the cabins until then. It's big enough for all of us, but we'd have to put most of our goods and furniture into storage until we bought or rented a place."
Samantha listened to the back and forth with mixed feelings. She certainly didn't ever want to go through another experience like she'd borne that day when the first of the crazy demonstrations began. Just remembering it send a shiver through her body. A move would hopefully put a stop to that. On the other hand she'd have to leave her friend Betty, the only really close girlfriend she'd ever had. That would be hard. She would have to start in another school, too, but at least they might not have heard of her. Or would they?
"Where would we be going?" she asked.
"It's a wild animal sanctuary out west. Your father would be the environmental director and I'd be working, too."
"You would?" She didn't know how to take that. It sounded... odd, somehow. Her mother had always been at home, and home had always been a place of refuge when the outside world became too tortuous to bear, even when her mother still didn't believe she could talk to animals.
Elaine smiled. "You say that like you think I don't know how to handle a job outside the home. I do have a degree, you know, and I worked before you were born."
Samantha was discomfited enough to blush. She'd just never envisioned her Mom as a career woman. "I guess I wasn't thinking," she finally said.
"It's a wonder you can think at all after this last week or two," her father remarked. "Anyway, I think you might like it out there. It's located in some pretty wild country but there's horseback riding and a rotating home school environment. I could also talk to the veterinarian and maybe you could help him when you're not in school or doing other things."
She brightened immediately. Any time there was a chance of being involved with helping animals it made her happy.
"I'd miss Dr. Summers. And Betty."
"Yes, and we'd miss Steve and Marie. They've been really good friends. But maybe they could come out that way when they take a vacation and see us. Steve said he's been in the area before and they both like the outdoors."
***
Samantha lay awake for longer than usual that night. She was still of two minds about moving again. She hated what had happened when she and Shufus were caught outside by the lunatic worshipers and haters. She thought it would probably occur again though, along with other unwelcome attention. It would be wonderful to get away from that kind of people. On the other hand she loved working with Dr. Summers and the zoo animals. She doubted that even a wild animal sanctuary would have the variety of mammals that the zoo did. But she might get to work with another veterinarian--if the new one believed she could communicate with animals as easily as she did with people. He might be hard to convince. Leaving her best friend behind would be hard, too. She and Betty had lots of fun together and Betty's dog Tuffy loved her almost as much as Shufus did.
She thought of making new friends and how bashful she still was although that aspect of her personality had improved somewhat. Maybe she would meet a boy out there who liked her the way she was. She could always hope. She daydreamed for a while about an imaginary boy. He had dark hair and was tall and handsome. He was bashful, too but he really, really liked her. She imagined kissing him and being held in his arms. When her daydream began to progress further than kissing she had to smother her giggles in her pillow. Still, it was fun to think about those things, and others, too. Who knew? Maybe some of her daydreams would really happen.
***
Just as Samantha had thought, her encounters with the unruly demonstrators, even though none were as bad as the first time, had been recorded again, likely by several people because some of the footage shown on internet videos were from different angles. The press conference at the zoo had been recorded and parts of it, too, had gone national, but that furor was more of a one or two day story so far as national interest went. The same had been true of the first few demonstrations the police broke up. She doubted these latest ones would stay strictly local news and so did her parents. The momentum was building. There had been several more groups outside shouting before bedtime, larger ones this time, and with their usual obnoxious placards. The assemblages vied with each other to be the ones in front of the cameras now that they knew they were being televised. Some groups actually fought each other in order to get their viciously worded signs observed by reporters. The police broke them up with arrests and threats of more to come.
"I wish they wouldn't show that stuff," Samantha said after the segment of news concerning her was over.
"So do we, Sammie," her father said. Already he'd had to disconnect the land phone and they had changed their emails and cell phone numbers. It was like everyone in the world wanted to speak to or be seen with "The girl who can talk to animals".
"Didn't you say Sammie and I could leave for the Sanctuary early if we needed to?" Elaine asked her husband.
"Yes, and I think it might be a good idea for you two to begin packing. You'll need to take enough clothes and so forth to last you for several weeks. I'll call and make sure you'll be expected. I can handle the rest of the moving and packing from here. Just remember, most of our things will probably have to be in storage for a while so be selective."
"When do you think we could leav
e?"
"This is Sunday. Can you be ready by Wednesday?"
"We can sure try if it will get us away from the hoorah around here. Right Sammie?"
"I guess so," she answered her mother. "I did want to get together with Betty a couple of more times before we left, though."
"Think of what you might have to face if we waited, though."
"I know," she replied sadly. "It just seems so unfair. All I wanted was to be left alone and now I have to leave, and you and Dad have to move on account of me."
"It's not your fault, Sammie," her father said seriously. "It's just the way the world is. People are always curious or upset about anything or anyone who is unusual or different, and you just happen to fit the bill."
"Those... idiots that first day weren't just curious, Dad! I really think they would have torn me to pieces if it hadn't been for Shufus and Mom."
"I know, Sammie, I know. Unfortunately, we have to live in the world the way it is, not the way we'd like it to be. You've been blessed with a great, unusual talent but there is always a price to pay for gifts like that. Just do your best to be yourself and stick with it, always. Remember that, and in the end you'll be respected and thanked for using your talent in the best way you know how. I'm sure you'll eventually make some tremendous contributions to humanity's knowledge of animal behavior. The sort of idiocy you saw yesterday will be long forgotten. Keep that in mind."
Samantha thought about those words her father said to her. It was that night when she began to keep a journal of her activities. Parts of it she intended to share with Jennie but part of it would remain private, reserved to remind her that there were great scientists and great artists and musicians who had suffered before their talents were recognized. She didn't think she was all that extraordinary now, but one day she hoped to be a scientist of sorts, a veterinarian who could advance human knowledge of animals in yet incalculable ways. It was something she could strive for regardless of what anyone else thought of her. Just as her Dad and Mom both told her, what other people thought of her didn't matter. It was how she thought of herself that did, and the only way to be satisfied with who and what she was depended on what she did and said, and how she felt about herself.
I've done some good things, she wrote in her journal. I've helped a lot of animals. I've tried to be polite and respectful to others, especially to my parents and to older people who know more than me. Well, most older people. Those crazy groups of idiots that bother me so much don't deserve respect. People like Ms. Meriweather don't either. It's those like Dr. Summers and Police Chief Donnart and Jennie and especially my Mom and Dad who ought to have the respect. They've earned it. I just hope I meet others like them out west where we're going.
Part Three
The Sanctuary
Chapter Twenty One
The sudden death from a heart attack of the second of the three senior scientists who had been a party to Anton McAllister's secret moved him to action. The first had died of a stroke the year before. He couldn't let himself be the only one who knew it all. His concern caused him to decide to bring three new scientists into the select group who would then have complete knowledge of the whole affair, the one so closely held for years. He selected Jane Carruthers and David Marston, both very stable young people who were career-oriented and could be expected to continue working for the agency, especially after they were brought into the select group. Juan Carrera would be the third. He was a young genius with the brightest mind to come out of M.I.T. in years. He had come to the agency specifically because he was told he would eventually be assigned to a project that promised to challenge even his intellect. Juan had been informed of the problem only weeks before bringing Samantha to the attention of David and Jane--but even he had yet to see the video. He already had a general idea of what the project under McAllister's command consisted of, but hadn't been brought completely aboard yet. Anton now thought it was time. Regardless of what happened to him, and he admitted to himself that he wasn't getting any younger, those three and two others who knew it all would be able to continue with the project and hope for a resolution sometime in the future.
David was the last to enter his office. His dark hair was tousled and in need of a haircut. He looked as if he hadn't had much sleep, the same as Jane and the Carrera youngster. He well remembered when he was young and pushed himself like that.
"We're all here now," Anton said, making eye contact with the three of them. "How about moving your chairs up close to my desk. We're going to be watching a series of videos."
Curiosity was evident in Jane and David's expressions but Anton could see that Juan already suspected what the meeting was about. Despite his slightly haggard appearance, he displayed his normal intensity and driving desire to understand the universe. In many ways he reminded Anton of himself when he was that age, although he knew he would never have been able to match Carrera in sheer brain power.
Once they were all seated he rolled his own chair around to join them. There were three clipboards with attached one-page forms and pens on the chair seat. He picked them up and handed one to each before seating himself in the vacated chair.
"What you have is a non-disclosure form, ultra secret. The form states simply that you are never to disclose any of the information you are about to receive except by direct order of the agency head or the President of the United States. Notice the penalties for not adhering to the agreement before you sign, please."
They did, bringing startled glances at him from David and Jane but only a wryly enigmatic smile from Carrera's handsome young face. He noted with amusement how Jane and David looked at each other, then nodded and signed. It was like they were partners in a conspiracy. He fully expected them to become a committed couple soon, all the better for the project. Juan had already finished and was running his fingers impatiently through his very slightly wavy, dark brown hair.
"Thank you." He collected the clipboards, detached the forms and inserted them into a folder that went into an inside pocket of his jacket. Finally he allowed himself a slight smile at his guests then said, "Very few people have seen the videos you're about to watch. Even the President who just left office has never seen them, although his predecessor did, and the new President viewed them just recently. From that you may note how carefully this project is guarded and perhaps it tells you a bit more about how important this information is, and why it is compartmented within the agency. Only the director and the immediate circle selected by him and the senior scientist of Big Dipper, which is yours truly, knows about it. That name, by the way, is how the project is referred to. You'll know why presently. You three are the first new scientists to be initiated into the Big Dipper group since its inception, which is a very high compliment of your abilities, intellect and... let's just call it your stability and common sense. And while I'm on the subject, that name is never to be written down or uttered in the presence of anyone except our group. Clear?"
Enthusiastic agreement was the response and again he gave them a hint of a smile, an indication that he knew how eagerly they were waiting on his revelation.
"Someone get the lights, please."
Once the room was dimmed, he made certain the door was locked. He had had his office swept for bugs that morning and hadn't left it since. He touched a remote in his hand that caused a screen to drop from the edge of his desk. Inarticulate sounds began. He made some fine adjustments so that none of the noises from the videos could be heard outside the confines of the room.
"Here we go," he said and pressed another button on the remote. The presentation began. It was somewhat grainy from inadequate lighting conditions at the scene. In reality it was a splicing together of numerous recordings in order to condense the hours upon hours of footage into ninety minutes of the most notable and important parts of them all. Despite the less than desirable conditions under which the videos had been recorded they were perfectly visible. It was also clearly not a graphic representation. The scenes were too realistic, too
enticingly enigmatic not to have been taken at the scene. As it began, Anton leaned back comfortably in his chair but ninety minutes later his body was tilted tensely forward, just as it always was at the end of the composite presentation that had been compiled from the many, many hours of footage.
"Wow!" Jane said as Anton got up and flipped the light switch back on.
"Likewise," David said.
Juan merely furrowed his brow for a moment then looked at Anton. "Could we freshen our coffee and watch it again?"
"I think I'd like to see it again, too," David said, "but I'd like to walk around the room a few times and stretch a bit first."
"That's a good idea," Anton said. "Especially for these old bones. I'll put on a fresh pot of coffee and we'll start over in fifteen minutes."
David and Jane spent the time talking quietly to each other as they walked slowly around Anton's desk. Juan said not a word as he took slow, measured steps but the furrow between his brows deepened. Anton had seen that look before. The young man was lost in thought, with probably very little of his consciousness not devoted to remembrance and analysis of the scenes he had just witnessed.
Anton could only hope that one of them would discover something, some key that would unlock the puzzle. It had certainly stumped him all these years. The thought led him to remember that Jennie Standifer was arriving this evening for a personal, face to face meeting. He needed to talk to her after the second viewing and the others had left.
***
The three scientists had left his office, tired but enthusiastic over the future of what the video had displayed. He called to Jennie, who had been waiting patiently outside for some time. She entered and he gestured to a chair. As soon as she was seated he began rolling a pencil between his palms while he considered how to tell Jennie what he wanted. He was glad she didn't mind being patient because it was several moments before he decided how to approach the subject with her. "Jennie, do you have any idea whether Samantha keeps a diary or not?"