The Gift (21 page)

Helping the soldier to his feet, Web said, “I couldn’t do that before lunch today. If you volunteer right now, each of you will be able to do that and more by this evening. Do I have any volunteers?”

Every one of them raised a hand.

While the soldiers were merging with their gifts, Web tried something he’d only been able to ask others to do on his behalf until now. He directed his gift to attempt to establish communication with Sam. To his surprise, Sam accepted the connection.

“What do you want, Eric?”

“You damn well know what I want! You need to turn yourself in, and you need to do it ASAP!”

“Turn myself in for what? I haven’t broken any laws. Jack told me to take some time off, that’s what I’m doing.”

“Taking some time off where?”

“That’s none of your damn business.”

“This isn’t a game, Sam. We know you activated the gift’s global network…”

“I call it Worldnet.”

“Fine, Worldnet. Call it whatever you want. You don’t have a right to own it. It belongs to the world.”

“You don’t want it to belong to the world. You want it to belong to the U.S. Government. Well, it doesn’t. That’s not the way the gifts work, in case you haven’t noticed. They aren’t about governments. They want to help humanity and that’s what I’m trying to do. As I said, I haven’t broken any laws or harmed anyone. You had no right to send people to my house to get me.” Sam wanted Web to know he was aware of the attempt to bring him in.

“You have broken a law. You attempted to share classified information with Sara. That’s enough to put you away, but we don’t want to do that. We just want you to come in so we can work with you, work with the Worldnet.”

“The thing is, Eric, I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you. Even with my enhanced strength, that wouldn’t be very far. You really need to spend more time on your people skills and less at the gym.”

“If you don’t turn yourself in, I have no choice but to find you. If it goes down that way, I won’t be able to protect you.”

“Eric, you may have convinced yourself you’ve done right by me in some way in the past, but that’s just because you’re a narcissist. There’s literally nothing you can say to me that will change my mind. Since you know that I activated the Worldnet, you know that I control it. If you kill me, it dies with me.”

“We have no intention of killing you. Stop being insulting and melodramatic…”

“This conversation is over. I answered to let you know that you’re wasting your time. I’m not coming in. Don’t bother trying to communicate with me again. I have no interest in what you have to say.”

“Damn it, don’t…” Web tried, but the connection was already broken.

Web was still fuming when Jack called. “What? This better be good news”

“It is, Sir. We’ve identified Sam’s friend. His name is Jim Byrne. He lives in Pueblo, not far from Sam’s house. I sent some of the military police we left there to check it out. The place is empty, but we do have a lead. Jim’s only family is a daughter and grandson. They live in Lewistown, Montana. I have their address. Do you want me to send a team to pick Sam up?” Jack asked.

“No. Who else knows about this?” Web asked.

“Just the tech that conducted the search for me.” Jack replied.

“Sequester him and send me the address. I’ll take care of Sam.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
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IVE

Sam looked at Jim. He was kneeling beside Lisa, clearly still talking with Adam. Sam waited until it appeared their conversation was over and then asked him, “What do we need to do to help her?”

“Adam says her gift is going to need raw materials in order to heal her. She can’t eat. Her gift will have to absorb those materials through her skin. She says the best way to do that is to strip Lisa and then put her in the bathtub filled with whatever food and vitamins we can find. Adam will work with Lisa’s gift to let us know what she needs and how best to provide it. I’m going to carry Lisa to the bathroom and begin getting her ready. I’ve already told Esther what’s going on. She’s waiting for you to go out to Matt before she comes in to help me. Lisa wouldn’t want you to see her without her clothes.”

“No, of course not. I understand. Jim…”

“Her disease is not your fault, Sam. Now, go take care of my grandson for me, please. I’ll let you know when she recovers.”

Sam wanted to say something supportive, something to take some of Jim’s burden. After a few awkward seconds, he realized he could think of nothing. Angry with himself, he got up and headed outside. When he got there, he saw Esther playing catch with Matt as if nothing had happened inside. Sam was impressed, but not surprised that she had remained so calm in order to avoid worrying Matt.

“My turn,” Sam told Esther as he walked up to her, his hand reaching out for the glove.

“Okay, but watch out. He has a mean fastball.” Esther said as she handed over the glove.

“Jim needs you as much as Lisa needs you both,” Sam thought to Esther.

“I know,” she thought back.

Sam tossed the ball back and forth a few times with Matt while thinking about Lisa. Realizing there was no way he could keep Matt occupied for hours like this, Sam asked, “What sort of things do you do around here to pass the time, Matt?”

“I like to fish. Grandpa taught me, and Mom likes to eat what I catch. Do you like to fish?” Matt answered, clearly more interested in going fishing than playing catch. Sam couldn’t recall with certainty when he stopped enjoying playing catch, but he was pretty sure it was before he was Matt’s age. On second thought, he didn’t stop enjoying it. He just ran out of time for it. That was probably true for Matt, as well. At least when Matt went fishing, he provided food for his mom.

“I do. Your grandpa taught me, too. How about we do that for a while? I’m sure everybody would enjoy some fresh catch.” Sam replied.

“Sweet! I’ll grab my stuff. I have an extra rod you can use.”

“Where do you keep your stuff?” Sam didn’t want Matt going back into the house.

“In a shed out back. Mom won’t let it in the house. She says it smells. It doesn’t smell to me.”

“Cool. Let’s just drop the gloves off in there. If we go back inside, they might put us to work.” Sam smiled and hoped he came across as unconcerned. It had a different effect.

“Mister…” Matt started to ask as they walked around the house.

“Just Sam, Matt.”

“Sam, is it wrong to ask what happened to your face? I mean if it is, you don’t have to tell me. It’s just, with my mom getting sick and all, I just…” Matt trailed off, his face reddening.

“It’s not wrong at all. I respect you for asking and your curiosity is normal. I was in a fire.”

“What kind of fire?”

Sam had hoped the simple answer would have ended that line of conversation. Under different circumstances, he would just tell anyone asking that question it was personal. Given what was taking place in the house and how much Matt’s life would soon be altered, no matter what happened in the next few hours, Sam found himself unable to give that answer.

“It was a house fire, Matt. My house burned down.”

“And you were trapped inside? Did a fireman get you out?”

Something clicked in Sam’s mind. Matt wasn’t just expressing the curiosity of a typical teenaged boy, or even morbid fascination. He realized I nearly died and was saved at the last minute, Sam thought. This conversation isn’t about me. It’s about Lisa.

“I did get trapped inside and yes, a fireman did save me.” Not a lie, Sam thought. “What say you tell me where we’ll be fishing?”

Matt accepted the change of subject. “Spring Creek. It runs right through the city. Do you want to fly-fish or use bait? I have both.”

“I don’t have any waders, so I guess it’ll have to be bait this time, but I’ll take a rain check on fly-fishing if you’ll let me have one?”

“Sure.” Matt answered while changing some of the contents in his tackle box. He handed Sam a well used and inexpensive pole, closed the door to the shed and started walking away from the house toward a copse of evergreens a couple of hundred yards away.

Jim had carried Lisa to the bathroom by the time Esther joined them. “I’ll take care of getting her in the bathtub, Jim. You know the house better than I do. You’ll be able to get some blended food up here sooner than I could,” Esther said.

“Thank you, Esther.” Jim started toward the kitchen to do just that, grateful for not having to strip Lisa. He would have done it. He would do anything to save his little girl, but he didn’t want to see her so vulnerable if he didn’t have to. She deserved that and somehow Esther knew it. Jim was starting to understand why Sam had wanted him to be the one to give Esther her gift.

Arriving at the kitchen, Jim asked Adam for more specific instructions.

“At the atomic level, which is where Lisa’s gift will be working in order to save her, the vast majority of the human body consists of six elements: oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, calcium, and phosphorus. The bath water will provide the oxygen and hydrogen. Keeping a portion of her skin exposed to the air will allow her gift to acquire the necessary nitrogen. We need to find foods rich in carbon, calcium and phosphorus. Look for sugar, seafood, cheese and rice or bran first; also, see if she has vitamins.”

Jim rummaged through the cabinets and found a bag of sugar, half a jar of grated Parmesan cheese, a bag of rice and a nearly full bottle of multi-vitamins. “Okay, what now?” Jim asked.

“Take the sugar and cheese to Esther now and have her dump them in the bath water. Then, come back and grind or crush the rice and vitamins as finely as you quickly can. When you’re done with that, add them to the water as well.” Adam replied.

“Does it matter how much of each we use?” Jim asked.

“No. Lisa’s gift will take what it needs in the appropriate amounts. Time matters. You must hurry.”

Jim quickly set about doing as instructed.

Settled in after casting a baited hook into a still part of the creek, Sam cradled the rod in his hand. A small part of his mind paid attention to the bobber. The rest was on Lisa. He knew it was irrational to blame himself for her condition, knew in fact that their arrival would probably be the only reason she lived, if she did. Still, it didn’t feel that way. It felt as if he may have hastened her death and shortened the time Matt had with his mother. Even now, he was keeping Matt away from her. Of course, she wouldn’t want him to see her like this, or at least Sam didn’t think she would. He wondered what made him think he had the right to make such decisions on Matt’s behalf.

“Tell me about your mother, Matt.”

“Like what?” Matt asked without turning to look at Sam. He’d ignored the bait in favor of a small spinner that he was repeatedly casting into what Sam guessed was one of his favorite fishing holes.

“What did she do before she got sick?”

“She taught at the high school. She was an English teacher. She loves to read. She’s always getting on me to read more.”

“You don’t like to read?”

“I do, but not the stuff she wants me to read. It’s boring. Who cares what happened hundreds of years ago?”

“What do you like to read?” Sam asked.

“Science fiction. You know, like time travel and stuff. You know, we’re not going to catch anything if we keep talking.” Matt observed.

“Good point.” Sam responded. He didn’t have much experience with kids Matt’s age and hadn’t wanted him to feel left out. Instead, Sam received fishing advice. A bit relieved, he turned the conversation inward.

“How’s Lisa doing, Adia?”

“It’s too soon to say, Sam. Esther and Jim have provided the required nutrients. Adam and Haya are working with Lisa’s gift. They are all doing everything they can to save her.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?”

“No. There’s only so much work that can be done on her body at a time. Three gifts are more than enough to do what needs to be done physically.”

“Then why aren’t you sure she’ll be all right?”

“Because her consciousness is barely there. She appears to be in a coma with no obvious reason for why she won’t wake up. Your science doesn’t know why that happens to humans and we’ve never known a species that exhibited such behavior. Since we don’t know the cause, we don’t know how to cure it.”

“So, giving her a gift could have contributed to her current situation?”

“I’m sorry, Sam, but I can’t say it didn’t. I can tell you that she was going to die very soon.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t help. Tell me as soon as you know anything new, and Adia; tell me if anyone I know with a gift tries to contact me. I may need more help than I thought.”

“As you wish.”

“There’s nothing more you can do for her right now, Jim. You’ve been sitting here for hours. Come with me. Let me make you something to eat.” Esther said quietly. She was standing next to Jim, her hand resting softly on his shoulder. He was siting where he had been since providing the last batch of nutrients, on the edge of the old claw foot bathtub, his right hand resting on Lisa’s forehead.

“I can’t leave her.” Jim replied.

“You’re not leaving her. We’ll be a few feet away. Please, you haven’t eaten since we left Colorado and it’s nearly dinnertime. You can be back in here in seconds if need be.”

“I can’t.”

“You can and you should. What would Lisa want you to do?”

“I don’t…she…”

Moving her hand from his shoulder to his back, she gently pushed him away from the bathtub and toward the bathroom door. “You do know what she’d want. She’d want you to take care of yourself and she wouldn’t want to wake up knowing that you hadn’t because of her. I don’t know her, but I know she lives like this for a reason. She doesn’t want to feel like a burden to anyone. She’s proud that she’s taking care of herself and Matt without anyone’s help. I can understand that. Don’t take that from her because you feel helpless.”

Without saying a word, Jim allowed himself to be led into the kitchen. He took a seat in the chair Esther guided him to, and rested his face in his hands. Esther began preparing some pasta to go with the sauce she’d started earlier.