Amoeba (The Experiments) (60 page)

At the control center, in a room that resembled a miniature research center monitoring room, Stan brought Cal and Jake. He pulled out a chair for Jake at the long table before the screens. “Have a seat.”

Reluctantly Jake did.

Stan handed Jake a headset. “Put this on.” He then moved to the computer, clicking some buttons. “This will work a lot like you see interviews on Television. We have a satellite.” Stan raised his hand and pointed to a blank monitor one row above Jake’s head. “Look up here.”

Jake placed the headset on and watched.

On the large monitor in the control room, Jake appeared. Greg, leaning toward the phone, spoke. “Jake. Thank you for joining us.”

“You mean playing along
,” Jake said sternly, peering into the monitor and seeing Greg.

“What do you mean?” Greg asked.

“I mean, is this a new thing? Some dramatic ploy to let us know the way your experiment killed one of the participants?”

“Jake, we had nothing to do with this one.”

“Bullshit.” Jake rocked a little in his chair. “You brought me and Cal to see the body. Messengers of death. Warning us maybe that we don’t know everything that you guys are going to do. Using the experienced players to spread the word, cause panic.”

“Is that what you think?”

“Yes.”

“You’re wrong.”

“I doubt it,” Jake said with cockiness.

“Experienced players?” Greg shrugged some with a closed mouth. “Yeah, sure, we came to you for that. I’ll admit it. But I came to you
, Jake, because of your knowledge and personal experience.” Greg paced a little but never far from the camera’s eye. “Jake, like you I am a man who hates to fail. I hate it. I will do everything in my power to ensure I do not. And also like you, I lay everything out, each minuscule detail of the plan. It burns me when things go astray or not as I want. I want full control. At all times. What’s around the next corner will not be a guessing game for me. I hated the game concentration. Get my drift?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” Greg said. “From day one of the experiment to day 183, I have everything planned out, each chapter of this experiment, each reaction. If this happens, do this. That’s the way I operate. I have no base uncovered. Or at least I thought. Jake . . . I laid out my chapters, and something inserted a new one.”

“So you’re talking about this death.” Jake scoffed a little.

“Yes. This death, what happened is not part of my plan. And that bothers me in more ways than one. That is where your knowledge comes in.”

“My knowledge?” Jake questioned.

“Scientific knowledge.”

Jake tossed his hands up. “There it is. I suppose you expect me to believe that it’s coincidental that you need my expert scientific knowledge and experience two weeks after you used my necro-encephalopathy gas
, bringing my past to the forefront?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. I’ll play along.” Jake leaned forward. “I’m game. Shoot.”

Greg closed his eyes, looked around the silent control room
, then back to Jake. “This, Jake, is not game. This incident that occurred is not good. Something got one of you. What it is we don’t know, and that bothers me. We want you to work with Stan and Ollie to figure out what it is.”

“Why?” Jake asked. “So you can throw me through a loop
? I don’t get thrown through a loop too easily. You should know that.”

“Neither do I
, Jake, and I am thrown through a loop and worried right now,” Greg said with an edge, annoyed with Jake’s attitude. “I told you I like being in control. I must be in control through this experiment and every aspect of it for it to be a viable scientific experiment. And right now, with this death, this can very easily careen from my control.”

“How do you mean?” Jake asked.

“Things can now happen. Things we don’t plan on. Whatever did that today is out there. I haven’t any idea what it is. We spotted the remains in the monitor. It took forty minutes to find it. Did you see the dead birds, Jake? They died from eating the remains. Animals, many, have picked at the remains, ingested it, carried off some remains for others to dine on. That aspect alone, theoretically, may have taken it out of our control too much already. This participant was not supposed to die up there. Trust me.”

“Who was it?” Jake asked.

“I can’t tell you that. You’ll find out on your own and soon enough. But who it was isn’t as important as what it was.” Greg leaned close to the table. “Jake, whatever killed that participant up there today . . .killed our Stasis.”

Jake used his deepest and strongest voice, calling out as he and Cal emerged from the path into the bungalow area. “All right!” he shouted loudly. “Everyone out! If you are in this camp come out now! I need everyone in the unity circle now!” Jake stood in the center of the camp next to a worried Cal.

“Sarge.” Rickie ran up over the grade from the dining building. “You
, like, interrupted the meditation you make me do.”

“Rickie.” Jake breathed out his name in relief.

“Guy, you look glad to see me.” Rickie approached him.

Jake laid a hand on Rickie’s shoulder
. “I am.”

“Cal! Jake!” Billy called out as he stepped off his porch. “What’s going on
?”

Emotional and grateful was the sound that filled the soft gasping shriek that escaped Cal. She rushed to Billy, wrapping her arms around him tight
ly and holding him. “Thank God. Oh thank God.”

Billy smiled, held her in return, saw Jake looking, then immediately released her. He cleared his throat. “What’s wrong?”

Cal laid her palm on his cheek, then grabbed his hand leading him to where Jake and Rickie stood. “Jake, it’s not Billy.”

“As much as this pains me to say
,” Jake stated, “I’m glad.” He gave a swat to Billy’s arm and saw the confused look. “Bill, have a seat.” Jake pointed to the logs that encircled the fire pit. “Rickie, you too.” Jake looked around. “Is no one else here?”

“Sarge
, like, I think everyone is here.”

“Then why aren’t
they coming out?” Jake asked.

“They don’t like you?” Rickie guessed.

With a grunt, Jake placed his hands on his hips. “I am not fuckin around people! I need you out here right now! Busy or not!” Jake shifted his eyes quickly around the circle of the bungalows, waiting, like it was a game, beckoning in his mind for them to hurry. The suspense was killing him.

The click-click of a bungalow door opening not only brought out a participant, but a gloating, ‘ha-ha I told you so’ as well from Cal. Reed stepped out.

Cal laughed and nudged Jake as she jumped a little in excitement. “You were wrong. You were so wrong in your catch guess.”

Jake grumbled at her, waved a reluctant Reed into the circle
, and turned his head to the right when he heard another squeak of a door. The heavy thump told Jake who it was before he saw him. Lou, wet and in a towel walked out.

Cal kind of winced while whispering to Jake. “Now he’s someone that should not walk around like that.”

“Cal, please. Lou come down, grace us with your presence.” Jake looked around again. “We’re missing two.” Jake let out a breath. “Judge! Tonto! If one of you are here, or both, come out!”

The suspense was over. The identity of who the catch was revealed when the last bungalow door opened and he emerged. With a limp
, he stepped off his porch toward the circle. Judge.

“I’m sorry
, Jake. I didn’t hear you calling. I was listening to Rickie’s headphones.”

With an ‘aw!’ Cal tossed her hand in a bodily dramatic whine. “Damn it, no more loin cloth.”

Jake swayed his head her way.

“I know. I know.” She held up her hands. “Cal, please.” She moved next to Billy and sat down. “The ground is yours Jake.”

Jake stepped center the unity circle. “I apologize for calling you all away from what you were doing. But we had to gather everyone so we would know. A little bit ago, unidentifiable remains of a body were found. We had to see who it was. We had to see who was missing.”

Rickie looked around. “Who?”

Jake lifted his hands and dropped them with a huff. “Paul, Rickie. He’s dead.”

With an excited ‘Yes!’ Lou sprang up. When he did, his towel dropped off, and Cal shrieked in school-girl laughter.

Jake quickly, at the same time as Billy, reached over and covered her eyes. “Lou.” Jake twitched his head to the towel on the ground.

Lou picked it up. “Sorry.” He wrapped it around his nude body. “Just happy. Not that he’s dead. And I didn’t kill him. I’m just glad there’s no more running around.”

“I’m sure,” Jake commented.

Reed whimpered. “All is ed. Eye ant a-eve all is ed.”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “Anyhow, in playing with the experiments game, they say it isn’t, I say it is. I have to talk to you. Billy, Cal, and Rickie know what I am going to talk about. You three do not. In every experiment there is a catch, a person who volunteers to take injections that activate once they die. Using DNA, it metamorphosizes them into some sort of indestructible beast. Huge, mean, deadly. That is the catch, the thing that tries to wipe us all out before the experiment’s end. I am telling you this because we need to work together. We need to be aware. On one hand, I think this is just a turn of a page in Greg Haynes’ experiment plan book. On the other, I do not, because they gave me open access to the control center with this one. Something killed Paul out there today in a way I have never seen. There was nothing left, only bits and pieces of remains that were smashed together like a pink pudding.” Jake paused when everyone whined. Everyone but Cal, that was, who gave him a thumbs up. Jake winkled at her. “Pretty good description huh? See, the Catch didn’t kill Paul. Paul was the catch. He was injected with the DNA altering therapy. And now we not only have to face whatever did that to Paul and possibly ingested him, but we may have to face other things as well, because not only birds but other animals decided to have lunch on him.”

“So.” Lou spoke up. “What you
’re saying is we pretty much can have some fucked up wildlife running around here.”

“Exactly.”

Lou looked at Reed. “Don’t worry, we’ll watch out for you.”

Reed frowned.

Jake continued. “So what the institute wants from us is to not only keep our eyes open for what did this, but for other kills as well. And, as Lou put it, fucked up wild life.”

“Why?” Billy asked. “Why do they want your help and now ours?”

“Because . . .” Jake explained. “As they put it, this was not part of the game plan. Anything part of the game plan is in their control. Meaning, if it gets too much or too far ahead of them, but it’s still within their control, they can stop it. Guess what?”

Billy guessed. “They don’t
know what this is, so they can’t stop it?”

“Exactly.”

“Oh boy.” Billy breathed out. “Was it that bad? Was Paul that bad?”

“Bill.” Jake stomped
his foot. “I called him fuckin pudding.”

“Oh.” Billy then drew up a thinking smile. “Then is it possible to get a picture
?”

Jake didn’t answer him. “
I’ve said all I need to say. Just watch out. And . . .” He reached down and grabbed Cal’s hand. “I have unfinished business with my wife. See you at lunch.” Tugging on Cal gently, Jake lifted her to her feet and led her to their bungalow.

“Lunch?” Billy looked around the somber faces. “He
compared a mutilated dead body to food and he can think about lunch?”

“Dude.” Rickie snapped his finger. “Cool idea. Hey Lou, do we have anything
, like, down there to make pudding?”

“I believe we do.”

“Cool.” Rickie stood up. “You get un-obscene and I’ll meet you down at the kitchen, guy.”

“Excellent.”

Billy, still sitting there, watched Lou and Rickie excitedly go off in different direction. Then he saw Judge, shaking his head sadly, also stand up and walk off to his bungalow. Seeing it was time to head back in out of the sun, Billy started to get up himself when he noticed Reed still sitting there. “Your head will burn if you stay out here too long.”

Reed just shrugged.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ill-E. Wit my wa. I oh I um ex.”

It took Billy a second to decipher the Reed lingo. And when he realized that Reed had insinuated that he would fall victim to whatever was out there, Billy laid a reassuring hand on Reed’s back. “You’re probably right.” He gave a single pat to Reed and walked off. “See ya.”

The pencil flew outward from Greg’s hand as he stopped watching the still pictures of Paul flashing about the monitor. “Well.” Greg rubbed his eyes. “I’d say it’s safe to say his brain stem was severed, wouldn’t you, Dr. Jefferson?”

“Pretty much so
, yes,” Dr. Jefferson answered.

Aldo, who had been watching, spoke up. “He looks as if he was thrown up.”

“He does, doesn’t he.” Greg agreed. “In fact, stomach acid in his remains is something we’re testing for now.”

“But . . . but . . .” Aldo pointed. “In order for something to partially digest him, and
hack him back out, how big would it have to be?”

“Big
,” Dr. Jefferson said. “Big enough that we should have spotted it on the satellite photos.”

“And we didn’t
,” Greg added. “Which baffles me even more. Because if we aren’t dealing with something that’s big enough to be picked up, then what the hell are we dealing with?”

No one had an answer.