Amoeba (The Experiments) (81 page)

No matter how hard they tried, or how loud they played the jukebox, Rickie, Lou, and Stan could still hear Billy’s screams and moans of pain. Was he really that loud, they all had to wonder, or were they tuning in subconsciously? Whatever the reason, they didn’t want to see it get that bad for Billy, they just wanted some relief for him.

Though Billy gave it his best, he still could not control the sounds of pain he experienced. Jake redid the bandages checking the hot dryness of Billy’s skin. Hysterics could have caused it, but Jake feared it was infection more than hysterics.

Cal had moved to the mattress
, pillows behind her back, Billy in her arms holding him tight as he held on to her. “Jake, he needs more morphine.”

“I know. I’m getting it.” Jake covered Billy’s leg and reached for the syringe on the floor. He moved around to the side of the mattress and injected the needle into Billy’s leg. “It won’t take long.”

“I can’t take it, Jake.” Billy’s voice shook as he spoke “I can’t. Why didn’t you let them kill me? You should have let me die.”

“I couldn’t do that
, Billy. I couldn’t. You think I want to see you die? No. And you have to try.” Jake told him as he stood up. “I’ll, uh . . . I’ll be in the next room if you need me.”

Clenching tightly to Cal, a small sob came from Billy when he felt the kick move within her stomach and touch against his cheek. “Oh God.” Billy clenched his eyes tight, his hard to control hands felt Cal’s stomach. “I’m never going to see them. I’ll never see the babies.”

Hearing this made Jake stop with a heavy heart in his reach for the door.

Cal’s fingers intertwined tightly through his hair. “Yes, Billy, yes you will.”

“Promise me, Cal. Promise me you’ll tell them about me. Please let them know my name.”

“They’ll know all about you.” Cal comforted him with her soft sad words. “Because you’ll get to see them
, Billy. You
will
be a part of their lives. That I promise you.”

Billy’s words quivered
even more as the effect of the morphine trickled into him, calming him down some. His one hand laid on her stomach, the other under Cal as his shaking head slowed down some against her chest. “I love you, Cal. I love you so much.”

Cal’s stroking fingers slowed down and she looked up to see Jake turn from the door and face Billy expressionless.

“Tell me, Cal. Tell me you love me.” Billy’s words slurred just a little, the shaking of them leaving as a grogginess hit him. “Tell me you love me . . . even . . . even just a little and I know . . . I know I can beat this. I’ll try.”

Cal stared at Jake, holding Billy
, feeling his warm body still tremble some against her.

Jake looked away, running his hand down his face before turning back to Cal. Whispering he spoke, barely heard, moving lips telling more of what he said than sound. “It’s all right
, Cal.”

Cal brought her head lower to Billy, her lips close to him speaking softly. “Can you hear me?” She felt Billy nod. “You are one of my best friends in this whole world. I need you. You hear me. I need you. I love you Billy. And I promise you it
’s more than a little. So now . . . you beat this.”

So slightly Jake’s jaws twitched as he walked to the mattress. He laid his lips for a long time on top of Cal’s head. Pulling away he ran his hand down her cheek and whispered
, “I’ll be right out there.”

Cal watched Jake leave, and she continued to give her comfort to Billy on that bed until the trembling of his body stopped, the moaning in his voice left, and Billy, finally under the effects of the
morphine, slept.

“We just . . .” Greg closed his eyes in desperation, his hand pressing on the table as he leaned over the phone. “We just need more time. We’re almost there.”

“Time is something we can ill afford Greg
,” President Wilson said over the phone. “I know you’ve heard. Russia and China have issued a one week warning. One week, and then they move on this thing. That’s if no more of these amoebas are discovered.”

“Did you explain
it to them? Did you send them the data?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t they understand the magnitude of this nesting place? We have to get the nest. If we don’t, we’re going to be right back to square one two months from now.” Greg tried his hardest to get through.

“I understand that
, but my hands are tied here. I’m the President, for crying out loud. It looks like I am twiddling my thumbs on this whole ordeal.” He paused. “How close are you?”

“Very
,” Greg answered. “We’ve been running tests on a small scale in Nevada with the small prototype, and we feel it will work. We have preliminary plans for how we’ll go about the destruction, and we’re just waiting on a date for the completion of the four Lawson Sprayers. Once we have that date, weather predictions, and estimated length of freeze time, we’ll put it in motion ASAP.”

“You have one week
,” President Wilson stated strongly. “After that, it’s out of your hands.” Click.

Greg closed his eyes and slowly turned to face the investors and Colin. He spoke no words. His solemn expression of, ‘someone please give me an answer’ said it all.

The redness of Billy’s amputation was strong on Jake’s mind as he finished making his rounds of checking the control building. He wanted to see how Billy was. He had upped the dose of morphine, but hoped that didn’t trigger the depression Billy had just started to lose.

Jake k
nocked once on the closet door, but instead of being greeted with a ‘come in’, Jake was greeted with a cloud of smoke that billowed out along with Rickie.

“Sarge
, like, how’s it going?”

Jake shifted his eyes to Rickie then to the cloud. “Were you . . . were you smoking illegal drugs in this room?”

“Not me, guy.” Rickie held up his hand then spun and pointed to Billy. “Him.”

Billy was sitting up in bed, pillows behind him. Sluggishly
, and with a weird grin he lifted his hand to Jake. Cal snickered as she sat on the floor next to him.

“Rickie
, was my expectant wife in the room?”

Rickie scratched his head. “Depends. What was she expecting
?”

“No, was she in there while he consumed them.”

“Oh!” Rickie said long and drawn. “No way, guy, I was, like, aware of the bambino situation. I booted the Cal-babe out. Check out Billy. Man, he’s kicking with the combo of the morphine and the peace pipe.”

“You let him smoke Opium?” Jake’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, why?”

“Rickie.” Jake shuddered. “The mixture of the two could kill him.”

“Oh yeah?” Rickie peeked in the room. “Dude, at least he won’t feel it, right? And, like, you said he’s getting worse, so why let the man suffer.”

Jake was humbled. “You’re right. We’re gonna leave this door open. I don’t need my wife and babies mellowing out as well.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not good for them.”

“But, like, with true Indians, don’t you think, like, the babes of the chiefs inhaled it?”

“I’m sure they did
,” Jake said.

“Nothing happened to them
, guy.”

“Oh yeah, then explain Paul.” Jake walked in the room. “How ya doing Billy
?”

Billy smiled and spoke
very slowly. “Jake.”

“Yes.” Jake moved to the end of the mattress. “I’m going to check your leg.”

“The stump.” Billy gave a slow thumbs up. “You do that.”

“Jake
,” Cal spoke his name with a smile. “Look how good he’s doing.”

“He’s stoned
, Cal.”

“Still. Billy’s doing good.”

“Bob,” Billy corrected.

Jake looked up as he undid the bandages. “Who’s Bob?”

“Me,” Billy answered. “Rickie calls me Bob. You know, because he said that’s what I’ll do in the ocean.”

“Rickie is very rude.” Jake could see as he unwrapped the leg
that the infection had grown a little, but he tried not to let it show on his face. He grabbed the tube of ointment and gauze that he had always kept next to the mattress. “Besides being high, how are you feeling?”

“Bet me I could run
,” Billy said.

“Cal.” Jake looked
at her. “How much of that peace pipe did Rickie allow him to smoke?”

“A few puffs
,” Cal answered.

“Is there any left?” Jake asked
, knowing that it would come in handy when Billy really needed it.

“Hey!” Billy raised his voice,
then lowered it down. “You gonna smoke the peace pipe, Jake?”

“Oh
, yeah,” Jake said sarcastically as he finished applying the only means he had to fight Billy’s infection. “I’m gonna party.”

Cal had to laugh.
Jake sounded so weird saying that.

Billy laughed too. “I’m getting better. Huh?”

Jake took a deep breath. “Um . . . yeah.” He hated to lie, but in this case he had to. If Billy didn’t feel it, that was half the battle. “I’m gonna bandage you back up, and then I’ll let you and Cal dwell in your peace pipe world.”

Billy’s head moved like it weighted too much for him. He swayed it Cal’s way and it dropped when he looked at her. “Cal’s great.”

“Yes,” Jake replied while working.

“She is so great. Isn’t she Jake?”

“Yes.”

“Great.” Billy smiled at Cal. “I love her. Did you know I love her?”

“Yes, Billy, I know this. We all know this. You’ve said it quite a number of times these past couple of days.” Jake tried to finish up.

“That’s because I love her . . . A whole bunch.” Billy’s words were so slurry as he widened his arms.

“Great.” Jake covered Billy’s leg. “I’ll just let you two love birds be.” He smiled at Cal. “I’ll check back.”

“Oh
, Jake.” Billy tried to lift his arm, it raised an inch, and he had to use the other one to bring it up. “Wait.”

“Yes.” Jake turned from his leaving.

“I was wondering . . .”

Jake waited. “Yes.”

“I was . . . . wondering.”

Again
, Jake waded through the silence. “Yes?” He asked in a stronger tone of voice.

“Would you.” Billy pointed at him. “Would you consider giving up Cal so I could marry her? I would really, really, really, really like that.”

“I’m sure you would,” Jake said.

“Would you consider that
? Just . . .” Billy’s voice squeaked. “Just think about it. Please?”

“I’ll tell you what. Sure. Why not.” Jake looked at him. “You beat this thing
, you make it to the end of this experiment.” Jake winked. “And you and I will sit down and work out those details.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Oh. That is so great. Thanks
, Jake. You’re great.”

“I know.” He looked at Cal who shook her head laughing. “Get better Bill. You have to get better or this deal
’s off.”

“Got it.” Billy gave another sluggish thumbs up. “And Jake.”

Jake rolled his eyes and turned back around. He kept his cool though. “What now? Would you like my house too, Billy?”

“Yes. But!” Billy tried to lifted his finger but he gave up. “No. I want to thank you for saving my life. You’re the man, Jake.”

“Oh yeah, I’m the man.” Jake held in a snicker looking at Billy totally embarked on a journey of downers and pain killers. “You get some rest.”

“I will.” Billy started to lay down. “Oh
, and Jake!”

Cal watched Jake skid to a stop. In a small warning voice she called his name. “Jake.”

Jake smiled and turned around. “Yes.”

Billy lifted his blanket, peeked under, looked up at Jake
, and gave yet another thumbs up but with a sloppy wink. “I’m being good. No erections.”

Cal burst out laughing, and Jake’s top lip quivered. He cleared his throat and took on a serious tone. “I am very glad to hear that.” Shaking his head with a slight chuckle Jake left the closet, raising his hand in a wave and informing them like Schwarz
enegger, that he would be back.

Papers were spread about the meeting table in the control room, papers that contained weather predictions, theories on freezing, and the layout to the explosives. There was also a phone with a direct line to the manufacturers so they wouldn’t get a busy signal. Everything was there but the date that the Lawson Sprayers would be complete.

No more meetings. No more discussions. They had said all that had to be said. Greg, Colin
, and the investors sat around the table, staring at the phone. Cigarette smoke lingered above them. With not much to watch on the monitor or television, they sat impatiently like expectant fathers in the waiting room of the maternity ward.

The phone rang.

Everyone sprang up as if they had just jumped from their skin. Greg held up his hand and picked up the phone. “Haynes.” His eyes closed and he smiled. “Yes. Thanks.” Slowly he hung up the phone and stood from his seat. “Three days!” he yelled over the railing to Lyle. “Lyle. Get Stan on the phone. Round up Graison. We have to get this plan in motion because we’re gonna need him.” Getting the ‘O.K.’ from Lyle, Greg faced the investors and Colin. “I’ll go through what we have to go through with Graison about the rescue and the ground explosives. By the twenty-eighth, we should have them off the island and the island and amoeba nest destroyed. That’s cutting it pretty close, but . . .” Greg twitched his head to the right. “It’s still less than a week’s time, and we’ll beat the Russian’s deadline.”

“Dr. Haynes.” Lyle stepped up to the meeting level. “We’ve lost all communications with them.”

“What?” Greg looked. Only one monitor showed a picture, and that was of the aerial shot. Everything else was static. “What about the phones?”

“Dead
, sir. Nothing. I barely got a second sentence out to Stan and everything went out.”

“Damn it.” Greg huffed. “We need communication. Let’s see if we can clear a signal.”

“Sir,” Lyle interrupted him. “It’s the amoebas. They’ve finally blocked our satellite on the island.”

“Can we bounce a signal from the one in the sky?” Greg asked.

“We can try.”

“Get on it
,” Greg ordered him and turned to everyone. “Now let’s just hope that Jake has implemented a backup plan to clear that satellite, because we have to get in touch with them. We’re not talking a lot of time to pull this off once we start, and we won’t be able to do it if our people there . . .” Greg pointed to fuzzy grey monitors, “. . .are in the dark about it all.”