Amoeba (The Experiments)

by Jacqueline Druga

“No,” Jake said. “This is amazing that this has happened to your body so soon. Are we gonna feel it moving in there any time in the near future?”

  “Soon enough. Actually, almost any day or week now.”

  Jake looked up at her with a wide grin. “I love this.” His hand kept feeling. “There is something actually in there.”

  “Yeah.” Cal rolled her eyes.

  “And your stomach is rock hard.” Jake knocked on it. “Look how little and cute.”

  “Jake. Please.” Cal raised her eyebrow at Jake who spoke like she had never heard him speak. She stepped away from him and lowered her shirt. “Stop.”

  “What’s wrong?” Jake stood up.

  “Nothing. I have to tell you, Jake, I didn’t think you’d be happy about my transforming body.”

  “Neither did I. But I think seeing it has made the pregnancy real. I mean, let’s face it, anyone can say they’re pregnant and throw up all the time, but this . . .” His hand reached for her stomach and Cal smacked it away. “Cal?”

  “I’m glad you’re happy about it, Jake, because I certainly am not.”

  “Why? Isn’t it normal?”

  “No. No!” Cal tossed her hands up. “This.” She poked her own belly. “Is not normal. It’s big. It’s bigger than it should be. And you wanna know why? We didn’t lose a twin Jake. I think we lost a triplet, because there is more than one in here.”

  “Two?” Jake said in shock. “How . . how . . .”

  “Fuckin Stan.” Cal threw her hand out and brought it to her eyes as she paced. “Remember . . . remember . . .”

  “Cal.” Jake, hiding his laugh, saw how upset she was. He lowered her hand and backed her up to sit on the bed. “Calm down.”

  “I can’t!” Her words were so emotional she could have been crying. “How can I, Jake? Huh? Remember the other day when Stan was here with the mutant boar you killed?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, I pulled him aside and I showed him this.” She pointed to her stomach. “And I told him it had started to get big, but it seemed like I had grown overnight. And I asked him when I lost the one baby, was there more than two. And you know what he did?”

  “Answered you?”

  “No! He put his hands in his pockets looked up and started to whistle. I had to yell at him. And then, and then he answered me. And his exact words were. Ready? He said, ‘Uh, um . . .yeah’.”

  The laugh he held in finally escaped Jake as he knelt down before her. “Twins? Cal, we’re just not having a baby. Babe, we’re having a family. Oh, wait until we get back home and I fuckin brag about this shit. Why does this have you so upset?”

  “I work so hard on my body Jake. So hard for this to happen. Will you still want me when I get very pregnant?”

  “Cal, please.” Jake rested his hands on her legs. “I’ll always want you.” He watched her smile. “I may not be intimate . . . kidding.” He kissed her. “And don’t worry about this body. This body is awesome and it will stay awesome no matter what. Of course you do know with two in there you are gonna get huge.”

  Cal grunted and her eyes moved up. “Thank you very much, Jake.”

  “Cal.” Jake moved into her and put his arms around her. “I love you.” He kissed her cheek. “I’m happy. And . . . there is something very important I need to ask you.”

  “What’s that?” Cal looked into Jake’s staring eyes.

  “Well, since we have two dead Stasis today, Lou on guard, and this hiding your body from me out of the way, can we please . . . please make love?”

  Even though Cal still felt large, she felt better. So with a smile, and purposely hesitating in answering Jake’s question, she dropped her forehead to meets his.

  ^^^^

  “Ready?” Jake asked Billy who stood in the center of their bungalow that evening.

  “Jake.” Cal scolded.

  “Ready for what?” Billy asked, still holding his sleeping bag.

  “This.” Jake lifted the end of Cal’s long tee shirt.

  “Jake!” Cal nearly shrieked at him.

  “Oh my God!” Billy gasped out dropping his sleeping bag. “When did that happen?”

  “Recently,” Jake answered.

  “Enough.” Cal fought with Jake to lower her shirt.

  “Bill.” Jake pointed. “Guess how many are in there?”

  Billy’s eyes grew wide. “More than one?”

  “Two.”

  “Shit.” Billy grinned.

  “Stop.” Cal pulled down her shirt. “Jake, aren’t you supposed to be on the roof or something with Rickie?”

  “Yes,” Jake answered, then looked back to Billy. “Amazing isn’t it?”

  “I can’t believe she hid it. How did she find out there’s more than one in there?”

  “They failed to tell her, and when she started to grow . . .”

  “I am in this room! ”Cal snapped.

  “So am I,” Rickie said when he opened the door.

  “Rickie.” Jake spun to him. “What the hell are you doing in here? You’re supposed to be on your roof.”

  “So are you, guy. But, like, I’m waving and waving to your roof and no one’s waving back and then, like, I realize, cold and in the arctic ash blizzard, I, the humble Rickie-Meister, sit on my roof alone.”

  Jake’s top lip curled. “What the hell was all that for?”

  “Sarge, like, I got this poet in me that, like, just comes out and I can’t stop it.”

  “Stop it and get back to your roof.”

  “Okay, okay.” Rickie held his hands up. “But, like, are you gonna blow off duty and hang out here making sure that Bambi isn’t hitting on the Cal-babe while you’re protecting her safety?”

  “Rickie.” Jake warned. “Out.”

  “I’m going. But awfully convenient him getting scared all of the sudden and having to hang out in here with Cal-babe all night long.” Rickie backed up to the door. “And, like, Sarge, you’re letting him.”

  Billy watched the door shut, and in defense of himself, he turned to Jake. “Jake, look, it isn’t all of the sudden I’m scared. With this monster thing running around I’d really prefer to be where you are, Cal or not.”

  “God, Billy.” Jake winced. “You’re a man for crying out loud. I cannot believe you admit to that.”

  “I never claimed to be a tough man, Jake. Never.”

  Jake grumbled, spun his M-16, and pointed it up tapping on the hatch and opening it. “I’m going up.” He kissed Cal on the cheek. “If you need me, call for me.”

  “I will. I’m probably just going to go to sleep. Once Billy starts tapping on that lap top it puts me out.”

  “Good.” Jake smiled and grabbed for the rope ladder. “Night.” He climbed up a few rungs and stopped. “Oh, and Billy. No erections.” Very seriously Jake finished climbing up.

  It took Billy a few seconds after he felt the cold air from the roof disappear, and then he slid his hand down from covering his face. “Please tell me why he does that all the time,” he asked Cal.

  “He doesn’t want you to get . . .”

  “Cal.”

  “You asked.” Cal looked down at Billy’s stuff. “You have any pages for me to read?”

  “Yeah I do. I printed some up for you.” Billy walked to his lap top case and lifted it. He hesitated before lifting the papers out. “Cal.” He faced her. “Why didn’t you tell me about the progression in this pregnancy?”

  “Billy, you should know the pregnancy would progress. I’ve been pregnant for four months. And wow, can you believe this experiment is almost over? Really. For as physical as it is, I think they made a mistake putting me and Jake on. We knew too much.”

  “Are you finished?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I’m not talking about the pregnancy in general. I’m talking about the fact that there are two of them in you and . . .” Billy stepped to her reaching out. “This.” he indicated to her belly. “May I?”

  “All right.” Cal huf
fed.

  Billy softly touched upon her stomach. “Are you feeling life yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “When my sister had the twins she felt life at three months.”

  “Good for her.”

  “Cal.”

  “Kidding. I may have felt life, but I probably passed it off as gas.” She snickered.

  Billy chuckled as he removed his hand. “You’ll let me feel them when they kick, right?”

  “Of course. Why would you even ask that?”

  “Well.” Billy moved back, running his hand across his hair. “I’m scared, Cal. I’m scared that if I make this last month, that the moment I step off the plane, that will be the last moment I lay eyes on you and the baby or now babies.”

  “It won’t be.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “I won’t let it be,” Cal told him. “Billy, you and I are such good friends, and I need that in my life. I know how you are about family, and I wouldn’t do that to you, deny you your child. And as hard as this is for you to believe, neither would Jake, even though he’s running around being the big Dad. He knows, and he also wouldn’t deny you your child.”

  “Thanks.” Billy spoke in relief. “I guess I just needed to hear that.”

  “Sure.” Cal reached out and touched his cheek. “Besides, Jake not letting you be a part of the baby’s life isn’t something you should worry about at all.”

  “Good.”

  “Him killing you before we leave this island, now that’s a possibility.”

  “Thanks.” Billy shook his head and moved back to his lap top case.

  “Sure, that’s why we’re friends, see. I can make you feel better.”

  “Can you keep that frame of mind when you read my stuff tonight then?” Billy handed her a stack of papers.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Cal, you tear my writing apart. I take it very personally, you know that, and you still tear it apart.”

  “I’ll take it easy on you tonight.” Cal took the papers and walked over to the bed.

  “Good.”

  “Oh.” She snapped. “Where’s my red pen.”

  Billy cringed watching her search for it. He knew he was in for another bad reading and writing night with Cal. Her using that red pen and making his just written pages look as if they were bleeding from her ripping out his literary heart.

  Caldwell Research Center - Los Angeles, CA

  July 10th - 9:35 p.m.

  “Stan.” Greg closed his eyes as he rocked in the chair speaking on the phone. “Listen. Stan. Listen . . .” He rolled his eyes. “You’ll be fine. Are your perimeter fences up?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you’re safe. And . . . .we spotted him on the satellite a half an hour ago. He’s regenerating. So you have at least three days.”

  “Oh, good.”

  “Now.” Greg changed his tone to a softer one. “I understand the feeling up there. I know that it’s somber, we feel it here. But, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It was brought to our attention through the monitors that Cal is aware that she is carrying more than one child.”

  “Yes.” Stan said. “I told her.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, the woman isn’t dumb. She realized it when she started to show. And she would have realized it again when she felt life early. I figured it was best. I acted dumb.”

  “You didn’t tell her everything, did you?” Greg asked.

  “No.”

  Greg smiled. “Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

  I-S.E. Thirteen - The Island

  July 14th - 8:30 p.m.

  The lights flickered, the room flashed white, and the crashing roll of thunder vibrated the room. Jake looked up to the ceiling as he lay on his side on top of the bed with Cal. He could hear the rain beating with a vengeance against their bungalow roof.

  “Jake. I can’t believe you are going to sit up there all night.”

  “I have to.”

  “In the rain?”

  “Cal, it won’t be the first time. Now, shh.” Jake’s hand lay over her stomach, its largeness nearly covering Cal’s pregnancy. Jake’s face lit up. “There it was again. That was little Jake. He’s got the strong legs.” Jake closed his eyes. “Where did he go? Wait. There.” Jake smiled. “Now that was Sam. He’s the puncher.”

  “Jake, what are you going to do if I’m carrying girls?”

  “Cal, please,” Jake said as if that was an insulting thought. “I am not having girls. Besides, God would not do that to a female child. Could you imagine me being the father to a teenage daughter? No.”

  “It would be awful.”

  “I couldn’t take it.”

  “Neither could I,” Cal said. “Do you realize Jessie would have been sixteen? Sixteen, Jake. You would have been teaching her how to drive.” Cal snickered at the look of horror on Jake’s face. “Yeah, I could see it.” Cal proceeded to imitate Jake. “Jessie, Jess, don’t get . . . just . . . fuck. Pull the fuckin car over.”

  “Cal, please. I would never presume to use that sort of language in front of a child. You know that.”

  “My apologies.”

  “Accepted. And . . . there.” Jake grinned when he felt another tiny tap against his hand.

  “Jake, you are really different when it comes to this pregnancy. Almost . . . weird maybe?”

  “Cal.” Jake scoffed.

  “No. Let me ask you a question. A serious one, too. Are you going to use a high voice and talk baby talk, because that’s where I see this heading.”

  “I cannot believe you would even ask me a question like that. Do I look like the sort of man who would talk baby talk?”

  “No,” Cal answered.

  “No. And there will be no baby talk to these children. Absolutely none. I hate it.”

  “Jake, I didn’t realize you felt so strongly about . . .” Cal hid her snicker. “Baby talk.”

  “Oh, absolutely. You should, too. It serves absolutely no psychological purpose, nor does it develop intelligent characteristics in a child. In fact, baby talk is the sole reason to blame for why we have individuals like Rickie running about.”

  “Jake.”

  “What?” He lifted his head to look at her.

  “Go to the roof. You’re late.”

  “See. You asked me a question, I gave you an answer, now you want to get rid . . .”

  “Jake, I wasn’t serious about the baby talk question. I was kidding around.”

  “Oh.” Jake paused in an awkward silence. “Well Cal, you have to let me know next time. I wouldn’t have wasted my time giving such a detailed explanation.”

  “I’ll remember that.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now go to the roof.”

  “Just one more kick.” Jake moved his hand. “Yep.” He smiled. “There it is.”

  “Jake.”

  “One more.”

  Cal gave up. With her shirt up over the waist of her shorts, she plopped backward in defeat on the bed.

  Caldwell Research Center - Los Angeles, CA

  July 14th - 8:45 p.m.

  “Where?” Greg raced forward jumping down the two steps of the control room. Douglass sat with Daniela at the control table, and as Greg rushed by, he hit into Douglass’ chair, causing it to spin. But Greg didn’t care, actually he didn’t even notice. His excited focus was forward as he leaned against the monitors’ table right next to Lyle. “Show me.”

  Lyle clicked a few times on the keyboard. “Sneaking in through the trees. Unnoticed. He can’t be seen. See? I’m using infrared.”

  Greg watched the one monitor screen. He could see the Stasis shifting about slowly in the trees. “He looks like he’s in a stalking mode.”

  “He certainly does,” Lyle agreed. “He knows exactly which bungalow to hit and who he is hunting.”

  “And exactly who is
he hunting?” Greg asked.

  Lyle turned his swivel chair slightly, peered up at Greg, and grinned. “Reed.”

  A loud bang rang out when Douglass’ head hit, forehead first, down to table he sat in front of.

  I-S.E. Thirteen - The Island

  July 14th - 8:50 p.m.

  If Reed could look any prouder at that moment, he would have, standing before his bathroom mirror, a nice pair of fresh purple silk bikini undies on. Not that he had anywhere to go, but to Reed, after months and months, he finally looked good. That missing ear had stopped looking so red and was barely noticeable, and he guessed that as soon as his hair grew back, he would keep it long enough to cover it. Or get plastic surgery when he got back home. And his hair was indeed growing back. Five whole sections, not very thick, sprouted from just above the forehead, and they were getting long too, long enough to style back and make it appear as if he had more. He was a fashion model. He could do that sort of thing. So with the comb in his good hand, and the hair spray in the bad hand, Reed, using those stumps of fingers he had gotten quite used to, sprayed some extra hold on those lonely strands. He used the comb to lift them until they were just about dry. Then, with a quick sweep, he combed them back, using the teasing end of the comb to lift and separate the hairs.

  Reed looked good. At least he thought he did. Ready for nothing but a good book and bed, he shut off his bathroom light and walked into his bedroom. He thought about filing down the finger nails on his one hand. They were becoming unsightly and in dire need of a manicure. But he wasn’t up for it. What he was up for on such a rainy and thunderous night was a good Stephen King novel, and that sat on his night stand next to the nail file.

  Reaching down for SILVER BULLET, Reed ran his only index finger across the cover. There were small beads of water. He raised his eyes and saw the very slight opening in the window and the rain that took advantage of that opening, blowing in as a mist and laying on the small sill. Not wanting any moisture in his room, Reed reached up for the widow.

  The blast of water and wind that pelted Jake in the face not only brought the cool rain, but something else as well, a smell that Jake knew so well - damp, musty, and like an unkempt dog pound. Quickly, Jake readied his M-16, and raced across the roof to the hatch, kicking it open with his foot and yelling to below. “Buckle down, Cal, and get ready. He’s out here.”