The Iso-Stasis Experiment (The Experiments) (35 page)

Rickie knocked only once before he walked in, not wanting to disturb Cal too much. “Cal?” He moved slowly into the room. “I brought you some dinner.” He held a large mug in his hand and set it on the night stand. “You know how the Sarge is about you eating.”

Cal was already on the verge of tears and Rickie being so thoughtful wasn’t helping her to stay calm. “Thank you, Rickie. I’ll eat it in a little bit.”

“Oh, here,” Rickie said and handed her what seemed to be a cap to a prescription bottle. “I crushed some aspirin for you. There are two in here. I’ll crush some more in a few hours.”

Cal looked inside the cap at the white powder. “How am I supposed to give it to him? He’s out Rickie. He’s really out.”

“OK.” Rickie nervously rubbed his head. “Put it under his tongue with a little water. His reflexes should like cause him to swallow, but if it’s under the tongue, it’ll go through his blood stream faster. And like I have another idea, but you have to promise me you won’t yell a mother type of yell at me for suggesting this.”

“If it will help Jake, I won’t yell.”

“See those research people left us supplies. They gave us penicillin. But you can’t get him to take it. What if I crushed that and melted that down? You said he gave himself a rabies shot. Maybe he has another needle and you could inject him with it. I mean, I don’t mind crushing the stuff, or heating it.”

“Rickie, that’s a great suggestion. Why would I yell at you?” Cal looked at him impressed.

“Because you might wonder how I know all this stuff.”

“Well at least now you can say some good came out of your past mistakes. We’re going to get the medication in him he needs. Sit with him.” Cal stood up. “I’m going to check his things for another syringe.”

“Cal,” Rickie called to her. “What if it’s not an infection? The penicillin won’t work if it’s not.”

“Why not?” Cal asked as she walked to the bathroom.

“I learned from my past clinic experience . . .” Rickie whispered away turning away from Jake. “Antibiotics do not rule over viruses. What if he has a virus or something?”

“He couldn’t have, wouldn’t more of us have it, too? It has to be an infection. I’ll go check his stuff.”

Cal didn’t know where to begin when she stood before Jake’s so-neat dresser. She opened up the first drawer and found everything was perfectly folded and placed inside. She ran her hand over his green tee shirts that were placed to the right in the drawer. Being careful not to disrupt his things, Cal placed her hand under every item in every drawer that she rummaged through. The syringe was in the next to the last drawer she checked. The drawer contained no clothing, just his emergency pouch and a few other items. “You aren’t kidding you come prepared.” She looked inside the foot long leather-like bag and found the only other syringe. Hating to take the last one, but knowing she had to, Cal laid it on the dresser. As she went to close the drawer, something caught her eye. To the left, set neatly in the corner, were things Cal would have never have guessed he had. Small slips of paper, some folded in fours, some left open, all stacked on top of each other. Slips of paper that had scores from games they had played. Cal smiled when she saw the one that lay on top. Jake must have beaten her in whatever they played, for written across the score rather big, in her handwriting, was ‘Jake is a jerk’. Cal suddenly remembered when she did that. It was early on, before they intimate. But why did Jake keep such things? She even smiled a little when she saw the stick men she had made out of twigs from their city. Stick men having sex. Jake yelled at her and took it from her. But he didn’t throw it away like he told her he would do. A part of Cal was touched. Jake’s claim that he was not sensitive was proved right then and there to be wrong. The slips of paper, the stick men, the label she pulled off her bottle of beer, the condom Jake bought from Rickie just to shut him up when he kept preaching safe sex, he kept them, too, like everything else. Like they were his tiny pieces of a puzzle that would eventually all fit together to show the picture of what they had done and become. The things in that drawer showed her another other side of Jake. And she thought she had seen them all. Taking a breath, closing the drawer, Cal took the syringe to Rickie. “
Here.
Don’t ruin it, it’s the last one.”

“I won’t.” Rickie gave her back her chair. “I have to go down to the kitchen and get a spoon. Can I borrow your lighter?”

“It’s on the dresser.” Cal sat down, sliding her chair closer to the bed.

“I’ll be right back.”

“And Rickie . . . if you run into anyone, please don’t mention, for Jake’s sake, how sick he is. OK?” Waiting for that look that told her he already knew that, Cal grabbed the powdered aspirin that Rickie had made. She had to get Jake to take it. She hoped that maybe it would kick in by the next time she sponged him down.

“Well, how sick is he?” Aldo asked Stan as he spoke with him on the phone pacing around his home office. He stopped to hold up his index finger to his sixteen year old daughter who had poked her head in his door mouthing the words ‘Dad, come on.’

“We don’t know, Aldo,” Stan answered.

“You don’t know?” Aldo’s raised his voice. His annoyance grew worse when Alison poked her head in again whining her father’s name. “Hold on Stan . . . Allie, I’ll be with you in one minute. Shut the door.” Slam!
 
“Sorry Stan, that was my kid. Anyway, what’s this shit, you don’t know how Graison is?”

“Aldo, we watched him collapse and Cal came in. She and Rickie took him into the bathroom. When she brought him out, she blocked out the smoke alarm. We can’t see anything in that room.”

“Can you hear?”

“Nope, she covered it with something. Everything’s muffled.”

“Damn it.” Aldo grabbed his cigarettes and lit one. He could hear his daughter stomping her heeled feet up and down the marble floor outside his office. “Keep me posted on Rickie’s demeanor. That should tell us something.”

“Will do.”

“Oh, and Stan, I appreciate it.” Staring for a moment in thought Aldo slowly hung up the phone. He rang his driver to bring the car around and walked to his office door flinging it open. “And what’s this stomping shit?” he sternly asked his daughter. “I was on the phone. I find one scuff mark on my floor, one and
you’ll
be scrubbing it, not Grace.”

“We’re late.” Alison flung her thick black hair, folded her arms and quickly walked away.

“That’s it. You’re going to boarding school.” With a lot on his mind, Aldo followed his spoiled daughter out.

Rickie wasn’t asked to go back in Cal’s room, but he couldn’t sleep. The last he saw was when he brought another penicillin base for Jake. Cal still sat at Jake’s side, her arm woven through his, her head resting on the bed as she sat. The food Rickie brought her still sat in the same place he set it down, untouched. “Cal,” he whispered softly. “If you want, I can like sit with the Sarge. You can sleep in my room.”

“No, Rickie, thanks.” Cal raised her head. “I can’t leave him.”

“Still the same?” Rickie took a step into the room.

Cal nodded, sitting upright in the chair. “I don’t . . .” She paused, closing her eyes. “I don’t know what else to do for him. I’m scared. He’s trembling and he won’t wake up. Why won’t he wake up?” Her head fell back down to the bed.

Rickie could hear her sniffling. “The Sarge is strong.” Afraid to but unable to stop himself, Rickie reached out his hand and rested it on her back.

Cal lifted her head and wiped her eyes. “Wake up, Jake. Please wake up for me.” Staring at his closed eyes, Cal prayed for a response. She hoped her heartfelt pleas would be heard. They weren’t. Jake didn’t respond.

^^^^

Cal knew the longer Jake stayed out, the worse things looked. Day break had come and still nothing from him. His temperature was high and his shaking grew worse around three AM. It was so bad Cal feared that Jake would go into convulsions and there would be nothing she could do to help him.

It wasn’t her coffee that caused her the jump; she barely slept enough to need it. It was the noise, the rumbling that caused vibrations on the top of her coffee when it began. It was a situation she hadn’t given much thought to in the past twenty-four hours—the wolves.

Rickie flew into the room. “They’re coming.”

“I hear them.” Cal said calmly and reached under the bed for the duffle bags.

“You have to get out of this room.”

“Right, Rickie.” She looked at Jake. A pounding began on her door.

“Cal, come on, get out of there!” John called to her.

The banging, the normal banging of the determined wolves against the metal walls started. It was becoming such so commonplace that it no longer seemed so loud.

“I’m not leaving here,” she responded.

“Then give us a gun. We’ll shoot at them,” John yelled.

“No
fuckin
’ way.” Cal made sure the shotgun was loaded. She jumped when she heard the banging against her wall and ignored John’s pounding at the door.

Rickie stepped closer. “I’ll stay in here with you. Unless . . . Cal-babe, I’m like the king of videos. Let me go up there with a rifle. All I have to do is show myself and they’ll book. I promise I won’t waste bullets. I promise. I ruled in
Area 51
.”

Cal looked to the open duffel bag. “Jake, would kill me . . .”

“Yeah, but if we don’t scare them away, they are going to get in.”

“Take it.” Cal motioned her head to the bag and lifted her shotgun. “Take it and hurry.”

“Excellent.” Rickie grabbed the top one and flew out the door.

Through the banging and the rumbling, Cal could hear Rickie shouting as he ran down the hall.
 

John made another attempt on the door pounding hard with his fist hard. “Cal, please. They can break through the glass. You and Jake have to . . .”

“I’m not leaving him!” Cal shouted and turned in horror to see what they all feared. A wolf was leaping up trying to get in. His every attempt was unsuccessful. But for how long? Cal raised her shot gun, aiming at the window. She watched the gaping jaws of the wolf every time he jumped. And each time she saw his head, her heart skipped a beat. “Try it you bastard.”

She heard gun shots coming from above her head followed by stomping. Rickie probably hit one. She heard him fire again. Cal kept her aim steady. Then, like an earthquake dying down, so did the wolf stampede. The firing sent them scattering and eventually even the wolf at the window gave up as well.

Cal’s head sank forward at the same time she lowered her gun.

“I got two!” Rickie ran back in the room excited. “I got two of them. They saw the Rickie-
Miester
and said no man, we don’t want . . .” He moved closer. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s so vulnerable.” Cal faced Rickie. “It would kill him if he knew how vulnerable he was.”

Rickie reached out to her and to his surprise, Cal rested her head against his chest. He put his arms around her, trying to do the best he could to be so reassuring. “He’s not vulnerable. He has you.”

“Cal,” Weakly Jake called out her name.

Without hesitation Cal ran to his side, dropping to her knees before him. “Jake, I’m here.”

Jake’s eyes opened just barely. “Cal?” His voice trembled as much as his body. “I can’t see you, Cal.” Jake reached his hand up. A tone of panic took over. “I can’t see.” He closed his eyes and passed out.

^^^^

How much longer would it be?
Cal wondered. Another day neared an end and Jake hadn’t gotten any better. Fear started to hit her, fear that possibly he never would. The thought of that angered her. She entered the experiment with no intentions of talking or being with anyone. She had
every
intention of doing it alone. And as time has passed, she couldn’t imagine finishing it without Jake. Dipping the cloth into the water, Cal raised her exhausted arms to his face, wiping him off slowly. She brought it down to his lips which were getting worse. They showed the effects of the fever that ravaged him.

“Cold,” Jake moaned softly. Feeling the cloth go to his neck, he tried to swipe it away.

“Good. Fight me.” She moved his hand so she could continue.

“Rather see you.”

Cal swallowed the lump in her throat. Jake opened his eyes and then closed them quickly. “You will.” She brought her lips to his cheek kissing him. “Then you’ll get sick of me.” Cal smoothed the wash cloth over his chest.

Jake shook his head. He lacked the control he wished he had. “Don’t baby me.”

“I’m not.” Cal wrung out the cloth. Her voice stayed calm. “I’m trying to break this fever.” She dropped the cloth. “Done . . . for now.”

“You shouldn’t be here.” Jake kept his eyes closed tightly. “Sick.”

“That’s too bad. You think that bothers me?”

“Bothers me,” Jake spoke through his short, quick breaths. “Please leave.” Jake tried to push her away when he felt her presence.

“Quit pushing me away. If you want to fight, Major, I’m not what you should be fighting.”

“I’m cold.”

“I know.” Cal walked over to the other side of the bed and slid in, pressing her body tight against his back. “I’ll warm you.” She ran her hand down his arm and brought her lips to his ear. “Please fight this, Jake. You have to fight this.”

“I’m trying.”

“I know you are.” She grazed her hand softly across his face, kissing him again. She held him tighter when she felt him start to shake more. “I need you to fight because . . . I need you.” She waited for Jake to say anything, but he was quiet. “I never thought I’d need anyone again, Jake. I never thought I’d feel again.” She rested her hand on top of his hand that lay flat on his thigh. “Don’t make me face this alone. Please. Don’t take away what I never thought I’d have in my life.” Her eyes watered up as she stared down at a quiet Jake. “More than all the battles you ever won, I need you to win this one. I love you, Major Graison. Fight hard.” Cal thought he was sleeping, that he didn’t hear her but Jake did. He spread his fingers wide, allowing for hers to slip in the spaces between his. Then he gripped her hand bringing it to his chest. He gripped it tightly.