Broken (5 page)

I had an idea. At first I wanted to take the car there
but then I decided to run instead. I needed to get some of this steaming energy
out before it exploded inside me. I put on a t-shirt and started running down
the road. Jogging at first but soon sprinting as fast as I could down towards
Heather's parents house, loving the feel of the wind, loving the way I almost
leaped forward on legs filled with newfound strength.

They had moved to another
house after Dr. Kirk's stroke. He wasn't good with stairs anymore so they gave
up the mansion for a smaller house with only one floor. I rang the doorbell and
Mrs. Kirk opened the front door.

"Chris? What a pleasant surprise," she said
a little startled, glancing at the watch on her slim wrist. "It’s almost
ten in the evening. Is everything all right? Is Heather okay? And
William?"

It annoyed me that she thought of her grandson as the
second option, but I let it go. "Everybody is fine. Heather has a little
flu, but she will be fine. I am actually here to see the doctor."

"Well yes of course," she said, staring
closely at my face. "You look different. Are you sure you're all right? I
mean you look better than ever, and your eyes, what is it with your eyes?"

"That's what I hope your husband can help me
figure out. Is he in the living room?"

"We were just preparing for bed, but he is
probably just reading in there, so go ahead and go in," she said, closing
the door behind me.

"Chris!" the old doctor said, surprised as I
walked into their bedroom. Since the stroke his face had never recovered its
full mobility and he still had trouble finding the right words and pronouncing
them correct. His mood and way of treating people had however changed for the
better. It was as if he had received a better appreciation of people and life.
Just as I had after my near-death experience. It made him far more likable in
my book and our relationship had improved significantly. There was a special
bond between us now. We understood each other in a more profound way. I knew I
could come to him with this problem I had. Being one of the best eye-surgeons
in the country and in the world he would know what this might be, if anyone
did.

"I can't say I’ve
ever seen anything like this," Dr. Kirk stuttered, forcing the words
across his lips even though it was hard for him. He had been staring at my
eyes, examining them through a slit lamp microscope for at least fifteen
minutes now. I sat in front of him with the instrument placed in front of me,
my chin and forehead resting on a support to keep my head steady. It was
strangely uncomfortable to be on the other side of the
instrument. He had
examined my
glowing eyes, first
the eyelids,
then
cornea, conjunctiva, sclera and
iris. We had added fluorescein to help examine the cornea and tear layer and we
had even dilated the pupils to examine the back of the eye. Yet all the doctor
could do was to shake his head in disbelief.

"It is almost like you have managed to develop
some sort of a small membrane in the eye, like a
Tapetum
Lucidum
," he continued. "Ever heard of
that?"

"No," I said a little embarrassed because I
felt as an eye-surgeon myself I should probably have heard about it.

"It is a Latin phrase meaning ‘bright tapestry,’
he explained. “This membrane is composed of fifteen layers of cells directly
behind the retina, or inner surface of the eye. The
Tapeta
Lucida are surfaces known as retro-reflectors. They reflect light back in the
direction of the original source with as little scatter as possible. This means
that in reduced light, the vision doesn't lose clarity or contrast. The
Tapetum
Lucidum
also intensifies
the light that passes through the retina, allowing you to see wavelengths of
light not normally visible to humans."

"To humans? But what does that mean?" I
asked astonished.

He sighed and removed his head from the instrument.
Then he looked at me with a slight confusion in his eyes. "It's normally
only seen in cats."

"Cats? But ... I don't ..."

"How is your vision in the dark?" he asked.

"It's great. Almost better than at day, but ...
" I faltered.

He nodded. "Well. Frankly I don't quite know what
to tell you other than you have somehow improved your eyes and your vision to
make it resemble that of a cat's. It's quite breathtaking, really. Something
scientists have been researching for years. A way to improve people's ability
to see in the dark. If I were you I'd keep quiet about it though."

"Why?"

"That kind of sight is worth a lot of money.
Could you imagine how superior our soldiers would be if they had the ability to
see in the dark? Try and imagine what they would be capable of and you'll
realize how much money that is worth. Not to mention an industry of people
willing to pay to get sight like that. Like they pay to have other parts of the
body improved or enhanced. Everybody would want to figure out how you managed
to do this."

I felt my heart drop. I hadn't thought about the
possible consequences. "The thing is I don't even know it myself," I
said. "It kind of just happened to me."

The doctor nodded slowly. "Very well. If I had
discovered a thing like this I would keep it to myself too," he said.
"And you should. This is not something the world needs. In the wrong hands
it would be misused."

I stared at my own
reflection as Dr. Kirk accompanied me out to the hallway while leaning on my shoulder
for support. His walking had improved since the stroke but it was still hard
for him especially at night. The blue light in my eyes shone back at me causing
even more questions to rise in my mind. I was speechless.

"I don't know how you have managed to do this or
what you've been up to, but as I said earlier I would keep this to
myself," the doctor said. "You certainly don't want to end up as a
lab rat." The doctor reached out and grabbed a cane next to the hallway
mirror. Then he let go of my shoulder and looked at me. "But I have to
hand it to you. It is quite spectacular," he said with a smile.
"What's it like?"

I looked at him. "What's what like?"

"To have vision like a cat. To be able to see in
darkness. Oh boy. What I wouldn't give to try it just once."

I smiled. As a fellow eye-surgeon I knew exactly how
he felt. We had both devoted our lives to the human eye. We were fascinated by
it and passionate about it. We knew in detail how the human eye worked and
especially its weaknesses - one being the poor night vision. We could remove
diseases and make bad sight clearer but never before had anyone managed to
improve the human eye to be able to do what I was doing right now. If nothing
else then this was a discovery of the century. Except that I could never tell
anyone.

Chapter 6

I ran
like the
wind back to our house feeling absolutely
ecstatic. When I arrived at our quiet street I stopped in front of our big
white house. A mansion really. It was truly grandiose. Splendid with its huge
windows and white columns. Heather's dream house. She was the one who had
picked it out of course. Told me this was the one. And I had let her do it. I
didn't care much anyway. "You choose what you want. Nothing but the best
for you, my dear," I had said. But that was really just an excuse, an easy
way for me to avoid house-shopping Sunday after Sunday for six months of my
life. They all looked alike to me anyway.

As I stood outside and remembered all this I realized
I didn't want to go inside yet. I saw the lights were on in our bedroom which
meant Heather probably was awake. I didn't want to face her now. I wanted to
continue feeling this thrill inside of me. So I decided to keep running and
soon I put the entire town of St. Augustine behind me as I ran like there was
no stopping, as if I couldn't possibly ever wear myself out.

 
I still
had no idea what was happening to me or my body, but Dr. Kirk’s discovery was
mind boggling. Night vision like a cat’s. No human in history had ever had a
built-in night vision. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities. It
somehow made me supernatural and gave me a strange sense of freedom. I wanted
to explore this new thing and determine just how much I could see and how far.
I kept running along I95 which led me away from the city and its many lights
and as I did my eyes became more and more shiny and lit up the road before me
while I ran. I was stunned to realize that I wasn’t even winded. I had never
been very athletic. I loved surfing but that was about it. I never ran before.
Never. Heck I used to hate running. I was out of breath and my knees hurt after
the first couple of miles. It just wasn't me. But now. Now I was unstoppable.
The strength in my muscles felt incredible. My entire body felt so amazing. So
steady so forceful. It was absurd, really. I ran on the side of the road while
a few cars passed me until it all became quiet in the early hours. I had no
idea where I was going or when I was going to stop, when I found myself in
familiar surroundings at the entrance to Twelve Mile Swamps. I had no idea how
I got there and what led me there but the urge to go in was overwhelming. My
eyes lit up in the darkness and helped me see everything in the forest
surrounding the swamps. I slowed down to a walk as a new world opened up to me.
The world of the night. All my senses had been enhanced somehow, including my
vision. I smelled every animal nearby; I heard every crackling sound and
movement. Out here in the darkness I was the master, I was suddenly in charge.
Animals fled from me, deer, rabbits, birds, frogs, anything. They ran as they
sensed my approach. I chased deer and even crawled to the top of a tree and
jumped from the highest branch to the ground landing on all fours. It felt
great; I was powerful beyond anything I had ever experienced.

I have no idea how long I stayed in the swamps but the
sun had almost risen as I entered the front door of my house. It was still
quiet as I closed the door behind me. Happily I realized that everyone was
still sleeping and Sarah hadn't arrived yet to begin fixing our breakfast. I
had been out all night running and I didn't feel the slightest bit tired. No
weariness or fatigue. I walked to the kitchen, suddenly gripped by a huge
craving for meat. I opened the refrigerator and saw a raw, bloody steak that
Sarah had put out to prepare for tonight's dinner. I felt a hunger deep inside
of me from the mere sight of the red meat and pulled it out. I opened the
packing and sank my teeth into the raw meat sucking the blood, drinking it and
tearing the flesh apart with my teeth. I felt the blood run from my mouth down
my white T-shirt, but I didn't care. I craved this meat as I had only craved
one thing before in my entire life. The flesh of
Aiyana
.

I pulled off my shirt and ate the rest of the raw meat
like I had been deprived of food for weeks. Then I went to the guest bathroom
to wash up. In the mirror I noticed that the glowing light in my eyes was
slowly fading. My muscles started aching again as they seemed to be shrinking
back to normal size. Suddenly I looked like my old self. It was all gone.

Heather was still
sleeping as I crept into our bed. The sun had risen outside our windows and
filled the room with the most beautiful morning light. If it was the change in
me or my newfound night-activity I don't know but it was more stunning than
ever. I stayed in the bed for twenty minutes until the alarm clock went off.
Heather opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Another sleepless night, huh?" she asked.
Her eyes were still feverish and the cough that followed just as bad as the day
before.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, touching her
forehead with my palm. Still burning hot.

"Better. I think," she said with a feeble
voice.

"Maybe you should go and see Dr. Harris
today," I said.

"It's just a sore throat," she answered.

"Maybe you need an antibiotic." I got up
from the bed and walked towards the bathroom. "I really think you should
go to him."

"Maybe we both should," she said.

"Why?"

"Well you said you had a fever the other day as
well, remember? And you've had night sweats and you haven't been sleeping for a
long time now."

I shook my head. "I don't think it's the same.
I’m just stressed. Can hardly say the same for you," I said and stepped
into the shower to try and drown out her voice. No doctor would be able to name
what I had, that was for sure.