Amoeba (The Experiments) (42 page)

Barb dropped the notes onto Greg’s desk just as she went to sit before him. “He got her again today. Yesterday, and the day before, he was subtle. Today, he was direct.”

Greg flipped through the notes then leaned back. “And when did this second incident occur today?”

“Two minutes ago, that’s why I scribbled it in,” Barb said. “I’ll have a typed report ready.”

Greg closed his eyes and shook his head. “No rush yet. Just hold off until you do the final report for Rayon Clinical.” He handed her the reports back the
n brought his hands together under his chin.

“How did you peg him for the candidate for this research?” Barb asked.

“Honestly?” Greg shrugged. “I didn’t until four days ago. I had Paul pegged, but, hating to admit it, I was wrong. He seems to uh . . . clear his mind way too often.” Greg raised the corners of his mouth quickly in a flash smile.

“He’s out there
,” Barb commented.

“Yes, he is. I like it.”

Barb gathered up her notes. “I’ll keep you abreast of everything,.”

“Please do.” He saw Barb stand up and he leaned into his desk. “Oh
, Barb? Do me a favor?”

“Yes?”

“Have Control switch his vitamins again, please. Increase the dosage of potassium nitrate.”

“Increase it?” Barb snickered. “Sir, the dosage we started four days ago is working fine.”

“His frustration and hostility levels are growing,” Greg explained. “Increase it.”

“But don’t you think it may have something to do
with
the fact that we’ve added the potassium nitrate to his vitamins? I mean, the man can’t get an erection now. He was so mad the second time his attempt at masturbation failed.”

Greg lifted his hands and then spoke calmly in an explaining manner. “It may have a little
, just a little. But this goes beyond his erections, and you know it.” Again, Greg leaned back. “Increase it now. Play it safe. Yes, Cal can kick his ass, but I won’t take a chance on her. The last thing I want is Cal getting raped.”

“I understand.” Barb waked to the door. “Consider it increased.”

“Thank you,” Greg said, sitting in a thinking mode after Barb had left. He rubbed his finger under his chin staring forward. “Yep. It’s the last thing I want.”

Cal stepped from the bathroom wearing only a towel. She combed through her wet hair while walking to her dresser to grab her coffee. She felt a lot better, physically and mentally, after showering,. Letting the water beat upon her for a while soothed any jumpy nerves she had. Until . . . she saw them sitting on her dresser, in plain view and intended for her to see. Three photographs, all black and white. The first one was of her and Billy in bed, the other two were one Jake hadn’t seen. Cal hadn’t seen it, either, until that second. Her and Billy kneeling, muddy, kissing. Her and Billy. His eyes closed, both of them holding on in what looked like more than a friendly embrace. Her stomach churned and cringed, especially when she saw the little note attached to the one picture. A note that simply read ‘Tonight’.

The tip of a black work boot covered with mud snuck up on Judge as he knelt down in his small garden area not too far from the back of his bungalow digging up his radishes. Judge peered up at the legs that wore grey pants all the way to the black man - arms folded - who smiled flashing the silver front tooth.

Judge crawled back. “Oh my God.”

“Looking foe me Judge?”

Judge spun clockwise after he had backed up. He stumbled to his feet and swayed when he saw another man, not as big as the first, but a black man
- thin. Trembling and wanting out of the situation, and telling himself he was imagining it, Judge turned again. Behind him stood a third man with long, greasy blond hair. The man was tall and brawny. Another spin, another man. Short brown hair, thin. All four were at a distance and moving closer. Judge’s heart palpitated as he kept turning and turning to find a way out. Closer and closer the four men drew. The trees around him spun out of focus and blood rushed to Judge’s ears. His stuttering mouth moved but no scream emerged like he wanted it to. And before Judge could take a step to run, he dropped to the ground when he passed out.

^^^^

“So there I was,” Billy rambled as he and Cal strolled through the woods. “Eight years old. Eight, Cal. And I had to own up to the principal that I was indeed getting my first crotch shot by looking up the teacher’s . . . Cal?”

“Huh?” Cal looked at him.

“You weren’t listening.”

“Yeah I was.”

“Really, what did I say?”

“Um . . . sorry.” Cal shrugged.

“Geez. You ask me if I ever did anything that I didn’t want to do but was afraid not to, and then you don’t listen to me tell my story of peeping up my teacher’s dress.”

Cal started to laugh. “You peeped up your teacher
’s dress?”

“Yes. But somehow it was funnier when I told it in full force.” Billy stopped her. “Are you
okay?”

“Yes.” Cal nodded. “I have something on my mind.”

“Talk to me.”

“I can’t.”

“Why? Does it have to do with me?”

Cal hesitated. “No. No
, not at all. I just have something stupid on my mind. Don’t worry about it.”

“I do
,” Billy told her. “You can’t . . .”

“What’s wrong?”

“Judge.” Taking his hands from Cal’s shoulders, he ran past her down the small grade to Judge who was lying on the ground. He bent down to him and said, “Judge?”

Judge moaned and grabbed his head. When he opened his eyes he semi shrieked, and jolted in a frightened manner.

Cal made it down the hill. “Judge, what happened?”

Judge looked around. To his left, to his right and behind him. “Heat . . . heat must have got me.” He wiped his brow. “I passed out.”

“Here.” Billy grabbed his arm. “Let us help you to your bungalow where it’s cool.”

“Thank you.” Judge stumbled in his stand. “Thank you.” He felt Cal secure his other arm, and with their help Judge walked back to this bungalow
, but not without looking around and over his shoulder the entire walk back.

^^^^

There was a certain whimpering painful cry that came from Reed that really annoyed the hell out of Jake. Cal and Billy stood by the door, hiding laugher that was generated more at Jake then at Reed.

“Dude.” Rickie tried to soothe Reed. “Like
, you’re gonna be fine, huh.” Rickie lifted the sheet covering the super swollen foot of Reed. “Sarge?”

Jake raised his eye brows. “He’ll be sick but . . .” He paused when there was another whine. “Christ
, you got bit by a jelly fish. You’ll be fine. I don’t think we have to amputate.”

Another whine occurred
, and Rickie had to turn around from the bed because he didn’t want his lack of compassion to show through.

Jake rubbed his own forehead in frustration. “Cal
, could you go get a bucket of ice for his foot.?”

“Sure
, Jake,” Cal responded. “I’ll be right back.” She walked out.

Jake felt the heat from Reed’s red leg. “He’s fevered. We really should get this guy in a cool bath. Bill, you want to help?”

“No.”

“Billy.”

“All right. I’ll help you.” Billy was reluctant.

“Not me
,” Jake told him. “Rickie, Cal wants me to check on Judge. Why I have to play fuckin doctor in this place is beyond me.” Jake walked to the door. “It’s a fuckin endurance experiment. People should to learn to endure for crying out loud.”

Billy’s eyes widened and he bounced from heel to toe, placing his hands in his pockets. “O
kay, well,” He shrugged moving to the bed. “Shall we, Rickie?”

“Bath him?” Rickie’s eye widened. “No way dude.”

“But Jake said . . .”

“You know what?” Rickie inched his way to Billy. “Let’s just
, like, splash him with water and make him look wet. No one will ever know.”

“Rickie
, I don’t . . .” Billy paused when Reed moaned. He looked at Reed, bald, earless, tongueless, and now sporting a huge foot. “Okay, let’s do that.”

^^^^

Cal thought she was alone in the kitchen, but she found out quickly that she wasn’t. Reaching under the sink for a bucket, she felt a body move up behind her.

“Did you get my message?” Larry asked her.

Cal spun around. She just stared at him. “Why are you so sure that I’m not gonna lay you out right now?”

“I think that you want to
, but I don’t think you will. I’ll go to Jake.”

“Go to Jake.” Cal started to spin, but Larry grabbed her arm spinning her back around.

“I don’t think you quite understand. See . . .” He stepped to her. “I know things. I know things because I am one of the fortunate in this experiment to be informed. Yeah, your happy-go-lucky husband may be bopping along thinking that the institute drugged his wife, that his wife wouldn’t have cheated on him on her own. So forgiving. So fast. But the fact remains that that isn’t true, is it?”

“You know nothing.”

“I know enough about that drug. And I have the proof to back it up. Nice little information package concerning the cause and effects.” Larry smiled at her snidely. “See, what Jake doesn’t know is the kiss, the hug, they were all preludes to something that would have happened anyhow, drug or no drug. And for all he knows, probably will happen again.”

Cal stared down to Larry’s fingers that gripped her arm. “Get you
r hand off of me now.”

Larry removed his hand. “Tell me something
, Cal. How’s Jake going to react about the little mud wrestling moment? Or how will your husband react to the fact that the drug may have made you horny, but it didn’t get you there, and it wouldn’t have happened with just anyone. You, Cal, started that whole night. You kissed him first. Billy asked you to stop. He told you to tell him to stop. And you didn’t. You seduced him. And the best part is . . .” Larry dropped his voice to a whisper. “The drug at that point didn’t even have enough time to kick in yet. You went over the edge all on your own.” Larry stepped even closer. “How would Jake like to know that? He wouldn’t. You can stop him from ever knowing. My lips will remained sealed.” Larry’s hand slid in between Cal’s legs and rigidly up. “Perhaps somewhere else.”

Cal kept eye contact with him
, cold and hard despite the fact that his hand groped her. “You’re pathetic.”

“And you
’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.” Larry brought his lips to her ear. “Tonight.” Parting his lips, he extended his tongue, running it up her cheek. He backed away with a smile.

Cal didn’t flinch, blink
, or move until he had left that kitchen. And then she spun to the sink, bent over the basin and threw up.

Paul looked very seriously at Lou as they stood outside the dining building. “So. What do you say?”

Lou folded his arms. “Is this offer valid only today
, or can I take you up on it at anytime?”

“The offer is
always valid. However, these demons are after you. Twice today I had a vision. Let me exorcize them, Lou.”

“Can I smoke the pipe?” Lou asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“Cool. Let’s go.” Up for just about anything that would take his mind to really neat places, Lou followed Paul from the building.

^^
^^

Like a little kid searching for his puppy, that was how Rickie sounded calling out. “Lou! Lou!” So lost. So desperate. His voice echoed as he called out the name, “LOOOOOOOUUUUU!”

Billy was on a roll typing up his day’s events, but he had to stop. At first it was funny, but Rickie’s calling out over and over for at least fifteen minutes became a bit bothersome. He stopped with his work on the laptop, walked to his bungalow door
, and opened it. There was Rickie walking slowly around the unity circle, hands cupped over his mouth.

“Lou!” Rickie cried out.

“Rickie.” Billy stepped off his porch. “Stop that. I would think if Lou is lost you have certainly searched all that you could in the unity circle.”

“Dude.” Rickie’s head dropped. “I am like . . . so . . . bummed. I can’t find my body guard anywhere.”

“Where have you looked?” Billy asked.

“Here.”

‘He’s not here, Rickie.” Billy told him.

“But guy
, where can he be?” With a snicker, Rickie started to sing. “
Oh where, oh where has my body guard gone. Oh where or where can he be?”

Billy closed one eye in a wincing manner. “Cute. Would you like me to help you look for him?”

“Guy, could you? Like, I would be indebted. Really.” Rickie dropped his voice to whisper. “I would have checked around the island. But like . . .” Rickie shuddered. “It’s dark and scary.”

“O
kay, not like I’m all that brave myself, but let me get my revolver and we’ll go look.”

“Cool. Billy, you’re the man.”

“Yeah.” Billy nodded once, rolled his eyes and walked to his bungalow. As soon as he stepped on his porch he stopped and spun back to the unity circle when Rickie was calling out again.

^^^^

There had always been things in Cal’s life that caused her stomach to gnaw and nausea to instantly hit her. Cold pizza, cat puke, and maggots at the bottom of a garbage can were some of them. But nothing ever in her life hit her like the sound of Larry’s voice when she knocked on his door and he snidely called for her to come inside.

Slowly and with only a creak she opened th
e door, slipping nervously into the dark room. When she shut the door, he stepped from the bathroom, not wearing a shirt.

Larry looked arrogant
, ‘I knew it’ sprayed across his face. “You showed.”

“Yes
,” Cal answered.

“I guess you listened to what I said.” He moved toward her.

“Oh, I listened. And you need to know, I hated hurting my husband and I wanted to put it behind me.”

“This is a step.”

“Yes it is.” Cal nodded. “I love him. And you know so much.” She watched Larry get closer. “But there’s something you don’t seem to know.”

“What is that?” He asked.

“I tell my husband . . . everything.” On her last word, Cal reached back for the door and opened it. There stood Jake.

Larry couldn’t react fast enough. Jake charged through that door, Cal shutting it behind him,
Jake moving with a vengeance straight to Larry. Jake’s humongous hand reached out in a ‘snatch’ gripping Larry by the throat, and lifting him from the floor. With a sneer of hatred and all his strength, Jake smashed Larry in the center of his face with one hard blow, holding Larry so he wouldn’t fly back. Blood shot out from Larry’s busted nose. With a running force, Jake then hurled Larry across the room. After smashing into the lamp, Larry careened back first into the wall, sliding down and dropping to the floor. Jake lunged at Larry lifting him up, securing his arm behind his back, and ramming him face first into the wall.

Larry grunted loudly in pain as Jake pinned him against the wall, feet dangling, face pressing so hard the rough wall seared into his cheek.

“There’s nothing more I want to do than kill you right now, and I can.” Jake ground out in a low, frightening, gravelly voice. “This is the Iso-Stasis Experiment. There are no rules. I can snap your neck and no one would care or miss you. But I won’t. You have five months left. I want every bit of torture intended for you to be thrown at you. But make no bones about it. You will
not
walk off this island. I will stake my life on it.” Jake pulled him back cracking him again into the wall. “You touched my wife.” Another pull back, another grunt as Jake smashed him again. “You shoved your hand between her legs.” Another smash. “You blackmailed her for sex.” Again and hard, Jake rammed him. “Death right now is an easy way out for you. You sick fuckin piece of shit.” Jake held him against the wall with such strength he could have crushed Larry. “Let me leave you with this. If by some slim fuckin chance your pathetic ass is alive on September third waiting for that chopper to arrive at eight a.m. . . . I’ll put a fuckin bullet in your head at seven fifty-five. Pray they get you first.” After one more slam, Jake dropped a shaking Larry to the floor, turned, face emotionless, walked to Cal, took her hand, and walked her out.

^^^^

“Shh.” Rickie rushed his hand out, covering Billy’s mouth as they tromped in the woods.

“What?” Billy asked. “I didn’t say anything?”

“Dude, you breathed heavy.”

Billy tossed his hand in the air. “Forgive me. Now . . . what did you hear
?”

Rickie pointed. “Lou.”

Lou’s voice, close but still in the distance, carried down. “Uh . . . Paul. Are you listening? O
kay, now I liked the pipe, I liked the company, and I liked the mind clearing thing. But just about this point I’m gonna have to say enough is enough and get pissed off.”

Paul didn’t seem to listen. He just continued to gather logs and branches stacking them at Lou’s feet where he had Lou tied to a large post.

^^^^

Cal’s shorts and underwear, intertwined, flew high in the air and landed in the sand impressively close to where Jake had tossed the rest of her clothes. Not long after, his sweat shorts followed.

Softly
, Jake moaned, adjusting the ‘too small’ blanket to at least cover his backside and most of Cal’s legs as he lay on top of Cal. He stopped the seduction when Cal giggled.

“What?” He asked. “What’s so funny?”

“This is so unlike you,” Cal told him.

“Please. I’m being romantic. Since I have to come up with my own list of things I need improvement on . . .”

“Jake.”

“No, Cal. You won’t tell me
, so I have to figure it out for myself. And through deduction, I came up with spontaneous seduction.” He kissed her again. “So . . . a small fire and poor man’s champagne.” Jake’s hand reached up, lifted, and set down a beer. “Cal and Jake . . .” He smiled and kissed her through the smile. “Sexual protection.” His eyes glanced up to the M-16. “And here we are.”

“Here we are. And it’s still so unlike you. You enjoy privacy for your . . .” She snickered. “Intimacies.”

“Cal, please. Are you making fun of me?”

“Yes.”

Jake grunted. “This is as private as we can get. Far away, with my beautiful wife.” Jake laid his lips to Cal’s. “Who’s gonna see us?” Just as Jake locked himself and his body in the moment with Cal, kissing her and clinging to her, he sprung his head up when he heard the thump-thump-thump of feet on the sand.

“Sarge!” Rickie called out awfully close.

“No.” Jake closed his eyes then felt the tap on his shoulder. “Fuck.”

“Hey
, Sarge. Hey, Cal-babe.” Rickie bent down. “You guys busy?”

“Rickie I believe so
, yes,” Jake said so annoyed, shaking his head at Rickie and seeing Billy there too, only Billy had his back turned.

“Could you
, like, put it on pause? We need your help.” Rickie rambled on, unable in the darkness to see Jake’s irritation. “Cause, like, my body guard is trapped in a bizarre Bewitched nightmare and is about to be burned at the stake.”

Wide eyed and nude, Jake’s head
lifted up to Rickie with a stunned, open-mouthed expression, because up to that point in his life, Jake thought he had heard it all and he had just heard a new one.