Amoeba (The Experiments)

by Jacqueline Druga

  “Simple.” Larry set down his fork and folded his hands. “There are just some things a man is capable of doing better than a woman, and physically challenging exercise is one of them.”

  “You think?” Cal asked with an edge.

  “I know. I mean, let’s face it. You look real cute coming in here with that ponytail, sweat dripping down, but really, Mrs. Graison, doesn’t work out for you mean spending an extra long time on your hair?”

  Cal gasped. “Fuck you for saying that.”

  “Cal, please,” Jake said softly. “He’s trying to get to you and you’re letting him. Let it go.”

  “No, I will not let it go. He’s insulting me.”

  “I am not,” Larry stated. “I’m saying how I feel. If you take it as an insult, then I apologize. And I have to say, I’m surprised at this defensiveness. I would think if you feel I insulted you, your husband would say something to me.”

  “I don’t need Jake to defend me.”

  “You need him to do everything else. Train you. Talk for you. Get your food. Say who you speak to and who you don’t. I thought you were his puppet.” Larry snickered and picked up his fork. “He certainly pulls the string when it comes to dragging you along.”

  Billy called Jake’s name in a whisper. “Aren’t you gonna say something to this asshole?”

  “Nope.” Jake replied. “If I do, then I’m merely giving him what he wants. Let Cal handle it. She can.”

  Billy nervously looked at Cal. “Cal, just ignore him, okay?”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Cal returned to her food.

  “There you go.” Larry held up his hand. “Proving my point. Yet another man who tells you what to do. For a woman who’s so confident that she can keep up with a man, and acts like she can keep up with a man, who comes in here trying to show everyone she’s Mrs. Physical, you certainly let men control you.”

  “Tell me something,” Cal looked at him. “Is there a reason you’re provoking this?”

  “Nope.”

  Cal rolled her eyes. “I know exactly why. You’re insulted that Jake wouldn’t work out with you, that he turned you down.”

  “I’m a little shocked, yes. Let’s face it, there are things I can do better than you.”

  “Like what?”

  “Anything physical.”

  “Wanna bet? Name a challenge.”

  Larry laughed. “What do you weigh, a hundred and twenty pounds? Challenge me when you grow up.”

  “Dude.” Rickie set his fork down hard. “I’ve been, like, just listening here, but insult my mom one more time, and I’ll get pissed.” He saw Larry snicker at him. “Don’t make me go monster on you, guy.”

  “I’m sorry I insulted your mom.” Larry looked snidely at Cal. “I apologize. I have gone overboard. Sure . . .” He sat back. “You want to challenge me. Sure, why not. We’ll compete. Name it.”

  “No.” Cal shook her head with confidence. “You name it. You’re so cocky and arrogant that you’re better, you name the one thing that you think for sure you can beat me in and we’ll compete.”

  “All right.” Larry smiled. “Sparring.”

  Amongst the eruption of moans at the table, Cal spoke up. “You’re on.”

  Larry laughed at her again. “All right, sure little lady. No. I can’t do that to you. I’m a black belt.”

  “So what. I’m serious. You’re on. Let’s do it. Cause I know I’ll kick your ass.”

  Billy saw the seriousness on Larry’s face. He saw contemplation. “Jake.”

  Jake pushed his chair from the table. “Excuse us.” He took hold of Cal’s arm. “Come here.” He pulled her from the table. “Cal, what are you doing?”

  “Challenging him.”

  “To a sparring match?”

  “Yeah. Why?” Cal asked. “Jake, you taught me.”

  “Yes, I know. And I think you can kick his ass. But Cal . . . he’s a man. If he hits you, it’s gonna hurt.”

  “You don’t think I can take him hitting me?”

  “No. I don’t think I can take him hitting you.”

  Cal placed her hands on her hips and looked over at the smug Larry. “Come on, Jake. Support me here. Let me do this. It’s only sparring anyhow. No one really hits hard in sparring. Let me do this and shut him up.”

  “Cal . . .”

  “Jake. Please. He may not do it anyhow. Sparring, Jake. You spar with me. Come on.”

  After a long breath and a glance at Larry, Jake looked at Cal. “All right. But if it gets out of hand, I break it up.”

  “Promise me you won’t do that until you know I can’t handle it any longer.” She didn’t get an answer. “Promise me.”

  “Okay, I promise.” He laid his hand on her back and led her to the table.

  Larry watched Cal smile as she sat down. “Not allowed?”

  “No, not at all,” Cal said causing Billy to immediately look at Jake. “He’s fine with it. But . . . I don’t have to worry about it. You’re so chivalrous you wouldn’t fight me anyhow. Perhaps . . . you’re a little sacred just in case I’d beat you.”

  Larry tossed his napkin. “You’re on. Let’s go.” He stood up.

  “Now?” Cal stood also. “All right. To the beach. Let’s go.”

  “Jake,” Billy scolded “Don’t let this happen.”

  Jake looked at Billy as he rose from his seat. “What am I gonna do?”

  “Stop it.”

  Jake shook his head, almost as if at a loss, and he followed behind Cal who was eager to head out the door.

  By the time Billy - who had lagged behind trying to think of something to stop the challenge arrived at the beach, Cal and Larry were already encircled by everyone. Billy moved nearer and stood by Jake. “What’s gonna happen?”

  “They’ll spar. That’s all spar. Taps. That’s all.”

  Billy nodded, watching Cal take one type of fighter stand, and Larry remove his shirt and take another. Slowly, Billy brought his hand toward his eyes.

  Reed’s, “ding-ding” sound signaled the commencement of the fight.

  Cal stood more stationary, pivoting her body as Larry danced around her.

  “Come on, let’s see what you got,” Larry taunted, jabbing out at her and getting his punch blocked. “Whoa. Nice.” Another attempt at a punch and another block. This time Cal followed it up with a kick, and Larry snatched up her foot holding her for a second then releasing her with a toss backwards. Cal fell into the sand, and Larry laughed.

  Jake’s arms folded tighter to his body, his heart pounded, and through his clenched jaws he beckoned her name. “Cal. Come on.”

  Cal dusted herself off and stood up, taking her stance again. It was her turn to throw a punch, and Larry blocked it, tossing one of his own unsuccessfully.

  It was evident that Larry was getting frustrated, and wanted to end the slow moving match. Thinking he could, he started to toss his punches, one, two, three, quickly and without stopping, at Cal. Her arms went up, swiping his hits away just as steady as he threw them, and when he took a split second to pause, that was when Cal spun around with a kick, brushing her foot against the side of his face and taking him by surprise.

  It wasn’t a hard kick. It wasn’t intended to be. But it angered Larry out of his fighting dance. As he brought his head up, he reached forward, grabbed Cal by the shirt, and punched her hard. She flew back in a spin and landed face down in the ground.

  Cal shook her head and watched a bead of blood fall from her nose to the sand. Lifting herself slowly, she ran her hand under her nose.

  The muscles on the side of Jake’s face twitched predominantly and his arms folded so tight he could have crushed his own chest.

  “Enough.” Billy approached Jake. “Stop this. Stop this now.”

  “I can’t,” Jake said through clenched teeth and with frustration. “I promised my wife.”

  “Well, I didn’t.” Billy stormed to the circle.

  An exhalation of relief came from Jake along with a smi
le as he watched Billy walk up to Cal and help her up.

  “Cal, it’s over.”

  Cal stood up. “What are you doing?”

  “Ending this,” Billy told her, lifting the edge of his tee shirt and wiping the blood from her. “I don’t care if you get mad at me. I’m not letting this continue.”

  Larry stood there arrogantly. “See, Cal. Again, a man tells you what to do. The women’s liberation movement must hate you.”

  Billy saw Cal lunging for him, and he blocked her, then faced Larry. “It’s over,” he told Larry. “Knock it off.”

  “Let her decide. She asked for this.” Larry scoffed at Billy and stepped to Cal.

  Billy shoved him back. “Stay away from her.” As soon as Larry regained his footing from the push, he pivoted quickly and, with a short revolution, gave Billy an elbow shot to the side of the face, knocking him to the ground. Perhaps it wasn’t in Larry’s best interest at that moment to look down at Billy, or even take that second to laugh. Maybe if he hadn’t he would have seen it coming. Cal, in a charging, outraged run, leaped at him, her leg straight, arms and fist close to her, and she blasted Larry in his chest, foot first, with the entire weight of her body. He flew back from the force falling backwards into the sand.

  Cal’s leap ended as she landed in the sand just above his head. She rolled herself out of the momentum of the flying kick and dove back to Larry, grabbing him by his hair and lifting his head. Gripping hold of his arm, and using the aid of her foot under his back, she quickly rolled him onto his stomach. In a flash, her one leg straddled his back, and her other knee dug hard into his lower back arching him up as she braced his head. With a gruff whisper she spoke with her lips so close to his ear. “Don’t think for one second I wasn’t taught how to break your neck. Concede.”

  Larry didn’t, he just grunted.

  Cal gripped tighter, choking him even more and kneeling harder into his back. “Concede.”

  There was another moment of silence as Larry, face purple and red, felt his air leaving him. Then, with a painful grunt, he weakly called out, “I quit.”

  Cal dropped him and stood up and walked over to a downed Billy.

  Smiling at Rickie’s singing chant of ‘you got beat by a girl’ to Larry, Jake, in a calm but excited way, clenched his fist with a ‘yes’, stepped over Larry, and proceeded to help Cal with Billy who was out cold.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Los Angeles, CA

  March 4th - 8:25 a.m.

  Ron Douglass sipped his glass of orange juice, sitting across from Aldo on the patio of the cafe. “When are you heading back? You have a business.”

  “I know.” Aldo brought his coffee up to his lips. “Today maybe. I feel like I need answers.”

  “Aldo.” Douglass leaned in toward the table. “The experiment just started. Nothing is going to happen. You aren’t going to miss anything.”

  “That’s easy for you to say, you live in LA. No, I would have believed that statement had the yacht not exploded.”

  Slowly, Douglass leaned back in the chair. “You think the experiment did that?”

  “Most definitely.”

  “For what purpose?” Douglass asked. “What purpose is it going to serve to kill a participant or two that early in the game?”

  “Money,” Aldo said.

  “How in the world is it going to get them more . . . money.” Douglass raised his eyes at Aldo. “Billy Griffith.”

  “It’s mighty convenient that he’s on that island and now he’s an unwitting participant.”

  “Not to mention they have plans for him.” Douglass saw the look in Aldo’s eye. “Is this why you’re staying?”

  “I’m worried, and that’s why I came to see you.” Aldo folded his hands. “You know marriage. Haynes said something last night. He implied . . . he implied that he was going to use a drug or something on Cal and Billy to get them to cross boundaries that they wouldn’t otherwise cross.”

  Douglass laughed loudly. “Aldo, please. Come on, you’re a smart man. The so called ‘Spanish Fly’ aphrodisiac does not exist.”

  “What if they have something? This is a scientific research institute. Suppose they do. Suppose they have this. What if it works? Douglass, as an expert in this field, what will it do to my team?”

  Douglass had to think about it. “Does Jake know of this drug, or doesn’t he?”

  “Let’s say . . . he doesn’t.”

  “He’ll get angry. Hurt. I don’t see Jake . . . I don’t see Jake killing Billy. It will all depend on how he finds out. Does he find them?” Douglass whistled. “Does someone tell him? I think ultimately, though, I’m going to go with what I said before. Jake spent his whole life never expecting to find love, never wanting love or letting down those walls. He let down those walls with Cal. He’s not going to easily put them back up. He’s a man who doesn’t give up the fight, and I’m certain he won’t give up Cal.” Douglass broke into a slight chuckle. “Actually, I can see him up there starting his own therapeutic sessions with her to work it out.”

  Aldo breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Because if they are gonna try to make this happen, they are going to try to do it early. Despite what Haynes says about no set rules on when he’s doing things, they have to wear them down mentally first.”

  “Oh most definitely, or the physical stuff just won’t hold the impact if they aren’t drawn another way. And I think that part of the mental endurance will be tossed at them right away. If it works, if they cause a major strain early on between Cal and Jake, how good will they be for the rest of the experiment as a team?”

  “Not very, and that’s what worries me. That, and that so-called drug.”

  “Aldo, you’re forgetting one important thing. The experiment must let you know what they plan on doing in the mental phase. Just ask Haynes if there really is a drug. He has to tell you.”

  “I can do that.” Aldo ran his fingers over his mustache. “But if there is, do I want to know?”

  I-S.E. Thirteen - The Island

  March 4th - 8:30 a.m.

  Running at a comfortable speed, Rickie stopped on the path he followed through the trees. He looked at his extended hand, and the popsicle stick he held. With a whining stomp, Rickie spun back around and ran back he way he just came.

  ^^^^

  With a black pouch, Jake stepped quickly from his bungalow, went down the steps in one stride, and moved in a hurry across the unity circle to Billy’s bungalow. He knocked once on the door, announcing his entrance. “Billy?”

  “Come in,” Billy called back.

  Jake slowed in his walk inside, not only when he saw Paul standing in Billy’s room, but when he saw Paul shaking and holding a long stick over the flame of a candle, chanting something softly. Jake’s eyes shifted as he neared closer. “What’s uh . . . going on?”

  Paul removed the little sack on the end of the stick and blew out the candle. “Here, Billy, keep this with something you hold close to your heart. Tuck it away until you can no longer smell the sweet scent of it. That means the evil spirits no longer pursue you.”

  “Thanks.” Billy smiled and took the pouch. He opened up the right hand drawer to his dresser where his photos were, and laid the sack under a picture of Cal.

  Jake cleared his throat. “So uh . . . we’re doing magic, are we?”

  “Yes,” Paul answered, and collected his things. “My people believe that if someone has it against you, the evil spirits dwell upon that and feed on that, following you.”

  “Who has it out for him?” Jake asked.

  “I overheard Lawrence stating he will get even with Billy.”

  Jake laughed. “For what?”

  “For causing him humiliation.”

  Jake hid his snicker. “Um . . . did anyone inform him that he was the one that hit Billy?”

  “Yes,” Paul said. “Unfortunately, he sees Billy as the reason that Cal did what she did to him. And let’s face it, since he cannot go after her . . .” Paul
pointed his hand out to Jake, “. . .he’ll go after him.”

  “And we’re doing magic to stop it?” Jake asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” Jake turned his head and opened his mouth with rolled eyes. He regained his composure and stood up. “Ready, Billy?” Jake held up the pouch then set it on the night stand.

  “Yes. Where’s my Jack?” Billy sought out the bottle.

  “Bill, come on, it’s not even nine in the morning. Be a man.”

  “I’d rather be a drunk, Jake.” Billy sat on the bed. “Hey, uh, Paul here gave me something for the bruising.”

  Jake quickly looked at Paul. “You what?”

  “It’s an herb,” Paul answered. “Billy took quite a shot to the side of the face. It stops bruising and swelling. As you can see, it worked.”

  Jake walked to Billy, tilting his head. “Hey, it’s not purple. What do you do? Sprinkle it on?”

  Paul chuckled. “No, it’s ingested so it works quickly. I would like to offer some to your wife so her eyes don’t get black.”

  Jake glared up at him. “No, that’s okay. Thanks.”

  Paul, with his things in his arms, moved to the door. “If she changes her mind, let me know.”

  “Yeah, we’ll let you know.”

  Paul nodded before he left. “And Billy, take the second dose in an hour.”

  Jake waited for the door to shut, and he then faced Billy with a quick swat to the back of his head.

  “Ow. Hey, Jake. What?” Billy grabbed his bottle and took a swig.

  “I cannot believe you took a medicine he gave you. What the fuck? What if it was poison?”

  “Jake, come on. Why would he want to kill me? There’s no reward on my head.” Billy took another drink, and Jake removed the bottle from his mouth.

  “Let’s do this.” Jake lifted up the pouch and unzipped it.

  “Jake, you said my face isn’t purple. Paul fixed it.”

  “Unfortunately, he didn’t close the cut. I have too.”

  Billy cringed and reached for his bottle, and Jake smacked his hand. “Jake.”