The Pace (31 page)

“You
do
remember me,” he said, standing up again, completely pleased with himself.

“No,” I said, building up nerve at the thought of this washed-out man ruining my life.

“What was that?” he asked.

“No, I don’t remember you. How would I? You’re
old.
The only reason I remember you is because of your hand.”

He leaned over me and scrunched up my broken fingers. “Is there anything else you’d like to say?” He squeezed harder with each passing second, and I could hear awful crunching sounds.

“No,” I yelled, through my tightened jaws. He released my mangled fingers.

“Good, now we can get to the point of all this. You have something that I want.”

My breathing was labored as the panic built up. I dropped my head and closed my eyes again, hoping to push the reality of my situation out of my head.

“You see, Lenny, I was not too happy that you embarrassed me like you did. And I was
really
not happy, when your friend broke my hand. I had plans for us. Well, actually, not us—me. You were my ticket out of town. See, my parents didn’t have money like yours, and I was hoping to cash in on you, but then you had to go and ruin it.”

By then my breathing had steadied, but my nerves were going haywire. It felt like little bugs were crawling all over me, and I was bolted to a chair with no way to get them off. The guy was giving me the creeps, and his insanity was making me want to crawl out of my own skin.

“But that’s okay, Lenny. See, I was upset at first, but then I got to thinking about Wes. That’s his name, correct? Yes.
Wes
had barely touched me, and yet my hand was broken in fourteen places. Pretty remarkable, huh?”

I hadn’t moved an inch, nor had I answered any of his questions, but he was going along as I had. “Yes. It was quite remarkable. So it got me curious.
Who was this guy? Where did he come from?
That’s when I stumbled upon the great Dr. Oliver Thomas’ accomplishments. Well, I’m sure I’m boring you with this, so I’ll get to the point. There were a lot of rumors that he’d found a cure for diseases, while increasing strength and bodily performance through the use of alligator serum.

“Well, I figured there was something shady about Wes back then, but then you died in your little accident and he went off to Europe. I ended up joining the Army, and I thought that was the last of it. But, then the Army started a covert operation experimenting with various ways to increase performance in their soldiers. Much to my surprise, one of the trials included extracted proteins and cells from alligator blood. It was supposed to make us strong and immune to diseases that we could catch in other countries.

“As you can imagine, I was one of the soldiers who instantly volunteered to participate in the study. We found it
did
make us strong. It was exhilarating. The only problem was that it was temporary, and the withdrawal symptoms were painful. Soldiers started going haywire during withdrawal periods. The government pulled the plug on the whole thing.

“Then they sent us to a special facility so we could be weaned off of it like addicts. And just like that, they released us back into society with an honorable discharge.” I could hear the bitterness in his voice. He started rubbing the top of my head, and I could feel the filth reach all the way down to my toes.

“After that, I spent twenty years being a security guard at Berkeley. That’s when I saw you. You were just walking the campus like you were out for a Sunday stroll. Like you didn’t have a care in the world. I was stunned. I thought I was seeing things.” He stopped rubbing my hair and walked a few feet away. I couldn’t tell what he was doing, and I didn’t want to look.

“Anyway, I thought you might just resemble Lenny, but one day I followed you to the parking lot and that’s when I saw him. Mr. Wilson himself was leaning up against your car as arrogant as I remembered. Imagine my shock to watch you and him take a stroll on the path.

“That’s when I started following you two. I figured out you were up to something. I researched Mr. Wilson, and what do you know? He, or his father, or is it he? Well, we both know who it was.
He
had started research projects throughout various medical facilities focusing on, guess what? Alligator plasma.

“So little old me decided to cash in on your secret. You could say I relapsed. I started injecting the serum again, and I can’t tell you how good it feels. I’m untouchable when I’m on it. But you see, Lenny, there is just one thing missing. I want to know how you and Weston have managed not to age a day since 1963.” He paused. “It has
really
been bothering me, so I’ve decided you are going to tell me.”

That’s when I felt his presence close to me again. He positioned himself behind my chair, grabbed a handful of my hair, and lifted my head back. Still holding my hair in a solid grip, he placed a cool, hard object up against my throat.

“Now, Lenny. I do not have patience here. So if you value your life, I suggest you start talking.”

“I can’t help you.”

“That’s not the answer that I wanted.” The object pushed deeper into my skin, and I was able to identify it as a knife. I felt a stinging sensation as the blade began to pierce the skin.

“Okay,” I said, folding.

“Start talking.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but I can’t concentrate with the knife at my throat.”

“Well, you’d better try.”

“Please Andy, where am I going to go?”

He let out an amused sigh. “I suppose you’re right.” He pulled the knife away and left the room. I started to feel momentary relief until he came back in, noisily dragging a chair. The screeching sound gave the effect of magnified nails on a chalkboard. I shuddered. He positioned the chair right in front of me and sat down, casually waving the knife.

“Okay, let’s begin.”

“What do you want to know?” I asked naively.

He leaned in, just inches from my face. “Have you not been listening? I want to know how you and Mr. Wilson are not aging. What do you have that I don’t?”

“I
am
aging, Andy.”

He studied me for a few seconds, then looked at his finger nails. Without warning, he gave me a bitter backhand across my face.

“Try again,” he ordered.

“I swear,” I said truthfully. He went to reach for the fingers on my left hand, and I flinched. “Okay. Please, just listen. I’ll tell you how, but you have to hear it all.” He retracted his advance. “I’m aging,
but
Wes isn’t. I’m some sort of reincarnation.” I saw that he was about to cock his hand again. “Wait, Wes doesn’t age, because he uses the serum. It only works on males.” He was considering the explanation.

“Then why are you still here?”

“Lenny is not still here. I’m Sophie.” That is when I received the second backhand across my other cheek. I spit out blood that time. I was really getting mad. “Since you know everything then you don’t need me.”

He called my bluff. “All right, I see this isn’t working.” He pulled out the knife again. “You have exactly thirty seconds to tell me what I want to know or you can say goodbye, Lenny, Sophie, and whoever else you want to go by.” He pressed the knife under my chin and forced me to look him in the eyes. All I kept thinking was that I didn’t want to die like that. I knew I had to tell him something.

“You can check the records. Lenny died. And I was actually born Sophie in 1991. I keep coming back for Wes. He needs me.”

“Why?” he said, gritting his teeth. He was psychotic. I believed he was on something then, and I was afraid that no matter what I said, he was going to kill me anyway. I thought about just giving up, but I knew I had to try to stay alive. I had to think of something that would buy me time.

“Because I’m the missing piece,” I blurted out. He rolled his eyes, and I knew I needed to give him more to go on quickly, whether it was the truth or not. I only hoped it would work. “Because he needs my blood.” He raised his eyebrows in consideration. “My blood is the missing part of your serum. It’s what keeps him young. Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know. All I know is I donated my blood to him in 1916. He has been young ever since, and every so often, I return to replenish him.” I wanted to say take it or leave it, but I decided not to take my chances. Instead, I dropped my head and began to pray that he would believe it.

I knew my blood wasn’t the key. Amelia’s blood hadn’t cured Wes. Only Dr. Thomas knew what he’d put in the serum. I wouldn’t know. But what I did know, from Wes’ recollection, was that all of the previous patients died from trying it. I was confident that it was not the true answer that Andy wanted, but if I could just get him to try it on himself, then I might be able to make it out of there. “There’s one more thing,” I added, closing my eyes, as if ashamed to give up the rest of the information.

“What is it?” he said, sounding eager.

“It’s not the extracts the labs use. It’s the raw form of the cold-blood itself, mixed with my warm blood. You have to inject the whole blood. It won’t change you without it.”

He smiled. “It’s brilliant, of course,” he said, standing up.

“Well, if you want to be changed. You’ll need to go get real cold-blood.”

“Oh, lucky for me, Lenny, I have it here. I’ve acquired many things over these past few months. Your Weston has quite a collection at his labs. Please excuse me for a second.” He left the room, and I began to realize what I had done. I was pretty sure it would kill him if he tried it, but I realized in his absence that he was going to want my blood next. I hadn’t thought it completely through. I was too busy thinking of a way to save myself and trick him. I didn’t realize I was actually giving him a reason to kill me.

I let out a deep sigh. As I tried to hold it together, I started praying for more time. Just then, Andy came back in with a syringe, and then my praying turned to negotiating. “What do you plan to do with it?” I asked. He didn’t answer. “You have already aged,” I added. Then I wished I hadn’t said that. That was really not a good way to start. I was expecting another blow, but he chuckled instead.

“Ah, I’ll be happy with staying like this forever. But it’s not about me. See, I have a grandson. His father died serving our ungrateful government in battle, and his mother died from cancer a few years ago. He’s all I have left. He’s about your age, and he already reaps the benefits of the extracts. He’ll be very pleased to be the new Wes.”

“The new Wes?”

“Oh, your Wes is going to die, right after you.”

I was very angry now. “Just get on with it.”

“Now, now, Lenny. Slow down. Your time will come.” He started digging through a medical bag and pulled out an alcohol swab. He pulled back my sleeve and started tapping for a vein. I closed my eyes and made a fist. “I see you have experience with this,” he falsely presumed.

I started thinking of Wes at that moment. I wanted to be with him so badly, and I regretted stupidly placing myself in this situation. I just wanted Andy to get what he needed and get away from me. I felt him place a band above my elbow, and I flinched as he pulled it tight. He carefully put the needle in and began to extract my blood. “How much do I need?” he asked.

I shook my head, trying to think of an answer quickly. “Not much. Just a little bit.” I could sense he doubted me. “The blood won’t go easily into your vein. It doesn’t take much. You’ll see.” He continued to take more than I was sure he needed, and when he was finished, he started packing up.

“Now, you stay put, and I’ll be back in a little while. I need to find someone to test this on, in case you’re lying.” If he did that, I was sure it would be the end of me, and for another innocent victim. I had to stop him.

“Once you do that, you can’t kill the person. He will be unstoppable.”

He turned, very interested in my threat. “What do you mean unstoppable?”

“After ten minutes, you won’t be able to just kill him. He will be impenetrable. There will be more than one Wes. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

He stood there, studying me for a few minutes without saying or doing anything. I took it as another opportunity to add even more doubt in his mind. “Plus, you’d better hurry, because once
Wes
finds you, and you’re not changed, he
will
kill you, and you will have a lot more than fourteen broken bones.”

He smirked. “It’s a good thing that he has no idea where to find me, isn’t it?”

I started laughing. He swooped in and grabbed my throat. “What is so funny?” he asked. I tried to talk, but nothing would come out. He let up his grip a little. “What is so funny?” he repeated.

“I was talking to Wes when you pulled me over. I had him on hold when you came to my window.”

“So?” he said, not understanding.

“So, you called me Lenny,” I croaked. His eyes got wide. “It’s only a matter of time before he figures it out, and when he does, he
will
be coming for you,” I assured him. “And if you are not ready…”

“Shut up,” he yelled, shoving my neck back. He snatched up my blood and stormed out of the room. I let out a huge sigh of relief and started to think about the possibility of what I had said. Wes
had
heard it. At least, I hoped he had. And if he had, then I was sure he’d be able to figure it out.

I wasn’t sure how much time had gone by. I didn’t know how long I was unconscious, and I had no natural light in the room to go by. The only thing that made me feel like too much time hadn’t gone by was the fact that I hadn’t gone to the bathroom. I pinched my knees together and tried to think about something else.

After a while, my mind drifted and my eyes grew heavy. The next thing I remember was dreaming about Dr. Thomas. He was young, like the picture I had seen of him with Wes and me. He was wearing a white lab coat, and I was looking over his shoulder while he was writing. “Amelia,” he said. “I think I found it. I think this is going to work. The bloods are similar, and they complement each other in so many ways. I think this is the key to making the transfusions work.” I leaned over his shoulder so I could see. He held up his journal with a list and what looked like numbers and formulas.