Amoeba (The Experiments)

by Jacqueline Druga

  Dr. Jefferson whistled. “You should see it. Rewind it for a few seconds and catch the end.”

  “I will.” Greg grabbed the remote. “And we can bring those papers with us.”

  “No need to.” Dr. Jefferson lifted a check. “Let me ask you this. What in the world are you going to do with thirty-seven investors?”

  Greg smiled as he pressed play. “I have plans.”

  “I bet you do.” Dr. Jefferson dropped the check. “It’s baffling how easily people can be bought.” He turned the chair to see Billy on the television, a lab behind him. “Oh, this is my favorite part. Turn it up.”

  Greg did.

  Billy moved a little across the shot holding out his hand. “ . . . right here in this lab.” Billy faced the camera. “Medical technologies. New drug development. Fertility manipulation. Valuable stress research that will benefit generations to come. Without Caldwell and the Iso-Stasis experiments to trial and test for a better tomorrow, in this reporter’s opinion, there wouldn’t be a better tomorrow. Until next week, I’m William Griffith.”

  Greg shut off the television. “Offers for investments have increased since his series on us started.”

  “He certainly has been a great help.” Dr. Jefferson stood up. “He was so adamant about being the journalist who would break us. How in the world did you get him to change his mind?”

  “Put it this way. A weekly spot of his own. A book that comes out in six months. A new leg . . .” Greg walked to the door with Dr. Jefferson. “How did you put it, it’s baffling how easily people can be bought?”

  Fayetteville, NC

  December 22nd - 1:30 p.m.

  Cal cringed then laughed at Rickie’s loud bad singing.

  “Cal-babe!” He yelled from the kitchen. “Can I, like, spike the eggnog?”

  “Sure Rickie.” Cal hung an ornament. “Billy, can you get me the blue ones.”

  “Sure.” Billy grabbed the box off the couch and carried them to Cal. He limped in his walk. “Here.”

  “Thanks.” She reached in and grabbed one. “I want to get this done. Jake has Chuck and his new girlfriend coming over tonight.” She extended her arm up and tip toed. “And I promised . . .” She stopped.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh.” Slowly she lowered her arm. She blinked harshly. “Oh wow.” She grabbed her stomach.

  “Cal?”

  “Oh shit.” Cal’s eyes widened.

  “Is it time?”

  “Oh yeah. Rickie!” Cal yelled out.

  Wearing a white eggnog mustache, Rickie waltzed in the room. “Cal-babe what’s wrong?”

  Cal turned to face him as Billy held her arm. “Get my bag upstairs and get the car.” She cringed. “I’ll . . . I’ll call Jake. It’s time.”

  Rickie screamed and dropped his eggnog. “Uh!” He began to race frantically around the house. “We’re having the babies! Uh!”

  “Rickie!” Billy screamed out. “Calm down and get the car.”

  “Dude.” Rickie breathed heavily. “Okay. Calm. Calm.”

  Splash! The sound of crashing water was heard.

  Rickie looked down to the large wet puddle that formed by Cal’s feet, and Rickie screamed again.

  ^^^^

  Sitting behind his desk, Jake worked with a map in front of him. He looked up to the knock on his door. “Come in.”

  Corporal Lewis walked in. “Lt. Col. Graison, Sir.”

  “Yes.” Jake peered from his work

  “Your wife just called.”

  “Put her on.”

  “She hung up.”

  “What?” Jake was puzzled. “I could have spoken to her.”

  “She didn’t want to speak to you sir. She just said to tell you . . . it’s time.”

  Jake’s eyes widened and up from his desk he sprang. Never putting anything away, never stopping, he flew out of his office.

  ^^^^

  “Cal. Breathe,” Jake told her as he walked side by side with the fast moving gurney with Billy on the other side.

  “No.”

  “Cal, breathe”

  “You breathe.”

  “Cal!”

  “All right!” She huffed her breaths, panting like a dog.

  “Jake?” Billy had a question in his voice.

  ‘What?” Jake kept his eyes on Cal.

  “Look.” Billy pointed.

  Jake looked to the end of the hall seeing Greg standing there in surgical garb. “What the fuck. Haynes?”

  “Afternoon, Jake.” Greg walked up to them. He laid his hand on Cal’s stomach feeling it. “The awaited arrival.”

  “Haynes,” Jake snapped. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  Greg looked to the nurse. “Take Mrs. Graison into the operating room, we’re ready to prep her for a ‘C’ section. I need to speak to these two gentlemen.”

  “Right away, doctor.” Through the door the nurse pushed Cal.

  Jake felt Cal slip from his hand. He wanted to follow her in, But Greg stopped him.

  “Jake, we need to talk, then we’ll go inside.”

  “Something is wrong,” Jake said. “What is it? Why are you here?”

  “I’m here because you agreed in the contract that we have every right to be here. Those children were conceived during our experiment,” Greg explained.

  “Why . . .” Jake rubbed his own eyes. “Why do I get the feeling that this pregnancy was more than an accident?”

  “Oh, it wasn’t. It was planned. We would have liked for you to father the child, but . . . you couldn’t. So we had to use Billy, pull . . .” He tilted his head. “Entice the situation so we could achieve fertilization.”

  “Wh . . . why?” Jake asked. “Why is Cal’s getting pregnant so important?”

  “She volunteered to be part of the experiment. To let us do what we wanted. We wanted to test a new DNA fetal enhancement drug. And how else were we going to do it?”

  Jake’s eyes widened and he looked at Billy then back to Greg. “DNA enhancement? No. My children are Stasis?”

  “Well . . .” Greg squirmed a little. “They look normal for now. Unless they eventually sprout hair and fangs, they should be like Rickie. We’re hoping. We’ll see.” Greg moved to the double doors. “But right now, we have to remove that cocoon.” He disappeared through the double doors.

  Both of their heads swayed at the same time to each other.

  “Jake, did he just say . . .”

  “Cocoon?” Jake looked at the still swinging doors. “Oh my God, yes.”

  ^^^^

  After expelling all of his energy, Rickie needed some more. Figuring candy would make him pace faster until he knew, he found the only vending machine in the hospital with peanut M&M’s. And just when his mouth started to water and he really was wanting those tasty little nubs of candy, the machine failed to spit out his purchase. No!” Rickie banged the machine. “No!”

  “Hey!” Her thick rough, female voice blasted. “Don’t you beat on that machine.”

  Rickie saw her reflection in the machine, and slowly he turned to her. As soon as he laid eyes upon the woman who was nearly forty years old, music played in his head, violins with a love melody. “Babe,” he whispered out. “Oh wow.”

  Round she was, but not as round as she was tall. She waddled in her walk to him. Snarling her pug face, tucking her red hair. “Watch.” She had a nasty tone. “Gentle.”

  ‘Babe, I can be . . . gentle.” Rickie was in awe. “Like, what’s your name.”

  Oddly, she raised one eyebrow and looked down at Rickie who stared at her. She pressed the button, the M&M’s dropped, and she bent down to get them. She handed them to Rickie. “Florence.”

  “Florence the babe nightingale.” Rickie gripped her hand with the M&M’s. “I swear I’m in love.”

  Florence blushed and titled her head.

  ^^^^

  “We’re in,” Greg stated and put down the scalpel. He peered over the protective sheet that blocked Cal, Jake, and Billy�
��s view. “We’re getting them out now.”

  Jake took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Cal.”

  “I saw the one, Jake.” Cal squeezed his hand. “The one is normal. I saw the ultrasound.”

  “Out,” Greg called and carried what looked like a purple snail shell to a table. Four doctors gathered around. “Dr. Morrison.”

  Dr. Morrison moved to Cal. “I’ll close her up.

  Greg reached for another scalpel. The purple cocoon squiggled and moved. “Jake, you can come see this if you want. Billy, too.”

  Jake looked down at Cal.

  “Go on,” She told him. “Billy, you too.”

  “I’ll, uh . . .” Billy grabbed her hand. “I’ll wait here.”

  Hesitantly, Jake moved behind Greg. He watched him slice into the moving object. “How’s it going?”

  “I see the one.” Greg opened the cocoon. He looked up to Jake., “Perfect, small but perfect.” He extended his hands into the cocoon. “I need an incubator. My guess.” Greg had a grip. “Three pounds.” Slowly he lifted the baby all curled in a ball. Normal, perfect, and crying. “A boy.”

  Jake’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. Look at him. Cal!” He looked back at Cal. “A boy! What’s the other one?”

  Greg pulled out the second baby. “Perfect as well. Another boy.” He handed the baby to a nurse that held a blanket.

  “Oh yes.” Jake turned back around at Cal and Billy. “Two, boys. They’re perfect, Cal. They are perfect.”

  “And another boy.”

  “Yes,” Jake shouted, then stunned, he faced Greg. “What?”

  “Three.” Greg held the third perfect baby.

  Jake was speechless, and only a small peep of a shriek came from him as he watched them put the three babies in the incubators.

  Cal tilted her head to Billy. “Go see them,” she said softly. “Go on.”

  “I’ll wait. Jake’s loving his moment. Look how happy he is, Cal.”

  Cal looked so tired, and she shook her head to see Jake beaming in happiness at the incubator. She softly called his name. “Jake,” and closed her eyes.

  “Oh, wow.” Jake was in awe. “Cal, you have to see this. Oh my God, three of them. Oh my God. Three boys. We need a . . .”

  “Jake,” Billy called him.

  “We need another name.” Jake rambled. “They all have dark hair and no fangs.” Jake laughed.

  “Jake.” Billy called out again, this time with a crack to his voice.

  “Cal,” Jake turned around. “You have to see our . . .” Jake’s eyes widened and he moved fast to the cart that Cal laid on. Her eyes were closed and her head was slumped. “Cal?”

  Billy’s voice quivered, he lifted her hand that laid loosely in his. “Oh God, Jake!”

  “Cal.” Panic hit Jake. His huge hand slipped to her neck. “Haynes! Haynes!”

  Greg spun from the babies, and he saw Cal. “Oh my God, she crashed! Everyone back away!” He jumped on the Gurney as Morrison finished closing up. He began to do compression. “I need a cart. Epi.”

  A nurse flew by moving Jake out of the way.

  “Start a push,” Greg ordered, delivering CPR. “Defibrillator.”

  Billy backed away.

  Jake’s heart pounded as he watched them bring the defibrillator to Cal, and with a click of a shock they laid the pads to her chest. Her body flew high in the air and banged lifeless to the cart again.

  Greg looked. “Nothing. Clear. Three hundred.” He placed the paddle to Cal. She again flew high with the jolt, but still nothing. “Dilanta, hurry!” Greg continued CPR.

  Jake couldn’t back away any further to get away from the heartache he watched. What had happened? What had gone wrong? He could barely breathe. One moment he was filled with an abundance of happiness, the next moment he was watching Cal refusing to come back. His eyes fixed upon them as they worked, begging in his mind for Cal to revive. Praying to God with everything he had to let his wife live.

  The seconds turned to minutes, and like the sweep of a hand on the clock they whizzed by. Faster than Jake wanted them to. Too fast.

  “Time.” Greg dropped his hand.

  A nurse called out. “Four-seventeen.”

  Jake froze. His eyes were closed so tight. His ears burned, his heart raced. It had to be a dream. It wasn’t happening.

  “Jake,” Billy spoke his name. “I’m so sorry.” He moved by him slowly.

  Jake kept his eyes on Cal, lying peacefully there. He could have sworn he saw her breathing, but he knew it was wishful thinking.

  “Jake.” Greg grabbed his arms. “We tried. We really tried.”

  Jake swallowed. His emotions had him so badly they formed a lump in his throat and he choked. He couldn’t speak.

  He stood alone with Cal in that operating room, and the bang of the door as the last person walked out shot through Jake. Every ounce of him shook, and he moved slowly to the table. “Cal.” He called her name softly. It broke up. “Oh God, Cal.” His large hand laid down on her arm. She didn’t move. His fingers gripped tightly to her arm and he lifted it, laying her small hand against his cheek. Pressing her palm close to him, Jake lowered his head down, and his body shook violently. For the first time in twenty years, tears fell from Jake’s eyes. The first one landed upon Cal and a sob as big as Jake rang out in the hollow room.

  He had lost. For the first time in Jake’s life, he had lost. His heart broke in a million pieces right there and then. He brought his lips close to Cal’s, brushing their dampness against her as he couldn’t control his emotions. “Oh my God. Oh my God.” His words were breathless. “What am I gonna do? Oh God, Cal, you’re my life.” Jake cried harder, his shoulders bounced with his every word. “You’re my entire life.” His forehead rested upon hers. “I love you,” he whispered. “What am I gonna do . . . what am I gonna do without you?” Jake broke down again gripping her hand so tightly. He sniffed in long and hard wiping his tears with the back of his hand. “I can’t believe you’re gone.” He sniffed again. “Cal. Cal, listen to me. United . . . united we stand sweetie. Divided we fall.” Another tear fell hard. “But it won’t be forever. Wait for me . . .” His voice dropped so low and raspy. “Please wait for me. Please.” Gently, Jake laid his lips to Cal’s, the moisture of his tears forming a seal as he left them on hers for that final kiss, that final taste and feel of the lips he would never touch again. “I love you with everything I am. Know that.” He kissed her again. “Know that. I will be nothing without you. Nothing.” Jake’s voice trembled as he stood straight and released her hand. “Nothing.” He laid both her hands on the table at her sides. He looked down to her face and ran his finger tips across the beauty of it. “Good bye, Cal.” Not wanting to, but knowing if he didn’t he would never leave, Jake turned from Cal. For the first time since he met her, he had to walk away from her. The hardest thing he would ever do would be to walk out the door and live his life never hearing her voice, never seeing her face, never touching the woman he loved with every ounce of his soul.

  With a lowered head and a saddened heart, Jake slowly reached for the left double door. As his hand rested upon it, he heard it. A whipping sound, high and fast, whistling in the air. Jake closed his eyes, “Please.” And then he spun. And when he did, and when his eyes fell upon Cal, Jake shrieked out so loud that his huge voice echoed in every corridor of the hospital. But it wasn’t a shriek of grief, it was a shriek of joy when he saw Cal, on the table, like Rickie when he first died, like the babies, totally cocooned.

  CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR

  THREE YEARS LATER

  Fayetteville, NC

  August 2nd - 9:00 a.m.

  “All right,” Jake barreled out. “Listen up. You three.” Hands on hips, his head lowered down as he towered before the three little boys in his front yard who were barely past his knees. All of them were mirror images of one another. Brown crew cut hair, little Levi jeans, all of them wearing a white tee shirt. And all of their tee shirts were tucked in on the right, but hang
ing out on the left. They stood, quiet, still and not saying anything. “Look at you three, so sloppy.” Jake took a moment to tuck in the shirts. “Now … while your mother and I are gone this week, you will listen to Uncle Billy. You got that?” He watched them nod. “No jumping off the roof with Rickie. No being bad. Trust me, it won’t be a pretty sight if I come home to find one of you cocooned again.”

  Cal laughed as she stepped from the house. “Jake, our flight!” She yelled to him and saw the blue van pull into the driveway. “Billy’s here.”

  Jake lowered to a squat before the boys. “Jake, Sam, Nick, give daddy a kiss goodbye.” All three boys with a laughing shriek pummeled Jake with such a force that they knocked him backwards to the grass.

  Cal opened the van door for Billy. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” He stepped out, laying his hand on her face and kissing her on the cheek. He hovered his lips with a whisper there. “I missed you.” He kissed her again.

  Cal giggled. “We’re almost ready.”

  Billy checked out Jake with the boys. “Jake ritual again?”

  “You know it. Routine. Since he started going on training tours again, well, he feels guilty. I tried to tell him not to. I mean, he didn’t go anywhere for the longest time. And now . . .” Cal shrugged. “With us doing these vacations. . .”

  “Vacations?” Billy laughed. “Experiments.”

  “Please.” Cal scoffed. “Testing for Caldwell. We don’t get hurt. We test. It’s fun.”

  “You would think it.” Billy laid his arm on Cal’s back as he moved with her. “He looks tense.”

  “He is. We have Rickie and Florence’s wedding creeping up.” Cal and Billy both shuddered. “You know Jake’s been bitching about her. And . . . he found out he has to go to Korea two weeks after we get back for, get this, six weeks.” Cal saw through the corner of her eye Billy smiling. “Stop that.” She back handed him in the gut.

  After grunting, Billy swiped his hand down his face wiping away the smile. “I’m sorry. Merely thinking of me helping you out with the boys again while he’s gone, that’s all.”