Amoeba (The Experiments) (54 page)

Rickie growled.

Like an excited child, Greg nearly skipped down the steps of the control room and stood behind Barb. “This is sooner than we expected. Connect me.”

Barb pressed the intercom button on the speaker phone and leaned back. “Stan?”

“Hey, Barb?” Stan called out. “Is he there?”

“I’m here
,” Greg answered. “Did you locate them already?”

“Yes
,” Stan said. “Porter and Joseph went out. Well, rather, they lucked out. We found the bodies. One in a tent, one to the side of their set up camp, and one . . .” Stan cleared his throat. “Get this. Tied to a tree.”

“And?” Greg asked.

“And it appears Jacob Graison repeats his mistakes with his revenge kills.” There was a long dramatic silence. “Like with Griff, on all three of them, Jake killed them, but he didn’t sever the brain stem.”

Greg clenched an excited fist, tapping it on the table. “Excellent.” He smiled. “Excellent.”

Unlike with the mental challenges, every physical challenge is real. The unimaginable will be thrown your way. And it won’t stop. Once you have hit that phase of the experiment, know that it will not end until you walk off that island. But you must fight or walking off that island will never happen for you.

--Excerpt from ‘Surviving the Stasis’

--By Jake and Cal Graison

It was set up as if for a scene where they held the meeting room, perhaps to add to the illusion that it wasn’t the wee hours of the morning. A black curtain was drawn completely around the meeting level of the control room, blocking the eight investors from seeing below. Lights were added to that level, coffee urns had been set up, and Danishes had been laid out . A perky Greg, a solemn Dr. Jefferson, and seven agitated investors were all around the table.

There wasn’t the feel
ing that there usually was at any of the other investor meetings. Possibly the fact that the meeting was held so early in the morning had something to do with it, but Greg was ready and up for it.

The investors sat s
lumped over the open, updated folders, thinking more of sleep than an experiment update, ignoring their coffees because it was just too early to consume the beverage.

“Here we are nearly three months into the experiment
,” Greg spoke. “Just about at the half way point. Though we lost two lives right away, we haven’t lost any since. We gained a new participant. We’ve had some mental endurance going on. We have one near breaking, Kale. And one over the edge, Paul. But . . . seeing how Paul is still functional, he remains in the game.”

Aldo shook his head,
and sipped his coffee that had grown cold. “Haynes, for a half an hour we have been listening to you rehash the participants’ mental status. Statistics for outside funding research. Do you have something to do today?”

“No
,” Greg answered with a quirky smile. “Why would you ask that?”

“Well
, seeing that you tell us the meeting was last night and rescheduled for this hour of the morning, I just figured it’s the only time you could have done it. You do realize Jefferson could have filled in.”

“I realize that
,” Greg said with sarcasm. “However, I have my reasons for bringing you all here at this hour. Trust me. See . . .” Greg began to pace. “We are almost half way through. No more lives lost. No participants out due to mental incapacity. So we feel it is time to move on, possibly push it, and add a little excitement. Would you all agree with that?”

A group full of agreeing moans filled that level.

“Good.” Greg smiled. “ I thought so. And we are going to push it. Add excitement. We here at Caldwell thought you would like to be witness to the event that does it. That is why we called this meeting so early.” Greg picked up a remote control. “You see, this morning we are not only going to be challenging the participant status, but we are also going to be challenging your status as investors as well. By dawn today, one of you
will
be out.” With a press of a button, the lights went out and the black curtain surrounding the meeting level drew open. All of the monitors on the wall were lit. “Gentlemen, lets’s watch our screens.” Greg saw those whose backs faced the screens turn their chairs around. “And let the game begin.”

Jake’s knee hit with a bang to the floor first before the rest of his big body plummeted down as well. His head immediately sprang up and he whined subtly, looking at Cal. He shook his head like a dog to clear some, but not all, of the grogginess. He hated that bed. Jake was good at many things, but his inability to adapt to a bed too short and too small for him began to irritate Cal. And it seemed the more her hormones increased in the pregnancy, so did her agitation with Jake. He couldn’t help it. But he didn’t want to hear her bitch. It was the same thing every time he went to get out of that bed from a deep sleep. Swinging his legs over and hitting the floor before he expected to, caused his legs to buckle and Jake to drop. Usually the bang woke up Cal. But not his time. Jake was quick. He caught himself.

Tossing the covers back on the bed that dropped with him, Jake picked himself up from the floor, adjusted his boxer shorts
, and staggered to the bathroom. He shut the door slightly and turned on the light in one motion. Rubbing his eyes from the burning brightness, Jake moved to the toilet and reached for the seat. Halfway in the middle of lifting it up, Jake heard a long drawn out moan. Deep. Echoing. He lifted the seat, leaned his body to the door, and peeked out to a still sleeping Cal. Shaking his head, Jake returned to his male stance before the iron horse.

Still somewhere between an awake state and sleep state, Jake swayed as he fiddled with the opening to his boxers, exhaled
, and began to go. It wasn’t two seconds into his going that a sudden bang on the small glass bathroom window next to him startled Jake and nearly made him become the fireman he didn’t want to be. Regaining control of his aim, Jake looked over his left shoulder to the window. And while still holding steady, without a flinch, Jake’s eyebrow raised high when he saw a person outside that window. Of undeterminable gender, the person held its hands firm to the glass. It pressed its ghostly white face with rotting skin so hard against the window pane that the glass surface seemed to separate the unhealed gashes on their cheek. Hands hitting slowly, very slowly against the glass. Moaning with an open mouth showing broken teeth. And the mouth moved in a gnawing manner seemingly trying to bite their way in.

Jake blinked, finished going, fixed his boxers
, and flushed the toilet. After lowering the seat and shrugging, he moved to the sink. “I haven’t fuckin watched that movie in so long, why the fuck am I dreaming of this?”

Drying his hands, Jake shut off the light and staggered his way back to bed. “Cal.” He put his knee on the bed first then plopped down. “Cal.”

“All right. I’m up.”

“No. No.” Jake scooted into bed. “I have to tell you about this dream I’m having now.”

Cal rolled from her side to her back. “Jake, you can’t be having a dream. You’re awake.”

“Well, I didn’t see what I saw.”

“And what was that?”

“A zombie.”

“Aw, Jake.” Cal pulled the covers over her shoulder. “I hated that movie. Why would you tell me about that?”

“I thought you’d . . .” Jake’s head swayed to the door when he heard the bang. “Did I dream that?”

Cal sat up. “No.”

There was another bang. And another and then . . .

“Sarge! Sarge!” Rickie turned the locked handle. “Dude, let us in! Uh! It’s like night of the living dead out here.”

“Fuckin Rickie.” Jake flung the covers off of him. “I wish he’d hold off on his practical jokes until a decent hour.”

“Sarge!” Rickie shrieked. “Sarge!”

“Are!” Reed called out.

“Colonel!” Lou called out too.

“What the fuck?” Jake got out of bed and turned on the light. “They’re all in on this?”

“Ignore them, Jake, they’ll go away, and turn out the light.”

Jake stopped
, turned to the bed, and the banging continued. “Assholes.” He stormed to the door, unlocked it and flung it open. “If you three don’t . . .”

With loud unison screaming, Rickie, Lou, and Reed barreled into Jake’s room, slamming the door closed with all three of their bodies.

“Sarge.” Rickie spoke out of breath. “Get your gun. Get something. Help. I’m scared, Sarge.” Rickie ran to the bed. “Cal-babe.”

“Rickie!” Jake ran his hand down his own face. “Get out of bed with her.”

“Jake!” Cal gasped at him. “He’s shaking.”

“He’s fucked up. Rickie, out of my bed!”

Cal felt Rickie slide from the bed. “Rickie hand me my shorts.”

Jake looked at the three of them
, all wide eyed. “Now . . . Cal?” He saw Cal slipping on her shorts. “Get back into bed.”

“We have company in our room.”

“We have morons in our room, Cal. Now are you three high?” Jake blared.

“No
,” Rickie answered.

“Drunk?”

Rickie shook his head. “No, Sarge.”

“Then why are you in my room
?”

“Sarge
, like, it’s like night of the living dead out there. They’re like moseying into the circle, guy. Shoot them. You have to shoot them before they eat us.”

“Rickie
,” Jake said with annoyance. “I know this is a joke of yours.”

“No.” Rickie whipped his head back and forth. “See for yourself guy. If it’s a joke, it’s not me playing it. We’re being invaded by the walking dead.”

“The walking dead?” Jake had a chuckle to his voice as he moved to the door wondering who actually was playing the joke. “There are no walking . . .” Jake opened the door. A man stood there, head slumped, standing as if strings held him up. White, decaying. With a deep moan he swung his arm out at Jake. Jake shut the door. “Dead.”

“See!” Rickie screamed and huddled with Lou and Reed. All three of them began to ramble
, fast, furiously, and frightened.

Cal stood up from bed. “Jake. What’s going on?”

“All right.” Jake held up his hand and cringed. “Knock it off!” He blasted the scared three. “Now! I am going to show you that there are no walking dead. This is part of a Caldwell mental endurance that you three!” Jake pointed at them. “Are falling for.” He reached for the door again despite the begging screams of ‘no’ from Rickie, Lou, and Reed. “Shut up!” Jake opened the door. The zombie like man still stood there, and he moaned again, swinging his hands out to Jake. But Jake grabbed hold of his arm and yanked on him. “Come on in.” With a leading toss backwards, Jake moved the man into the room. Before Jake could shut the door, he peered into the unity circle to see about fifteen of them wandering around aimless. And from the path more, very slowly, trickled in. With a disbelieving shake of his head, Jake shut the door. He turned around. The zombie man stood in the center of the room slowly swinging out his arms. Rickie, Lou, and Reed hid behind Cal. “What the hell!. Be men, for Christ’s sake!” Jake stepped forward.

Cal held her nose. “Jake
, he smells.”

“Cal, please.” Jake held up his hand. “I have to prove a point. An
actor.” Jake indicated to the man. “He is an actor.” Jake walked around to face off the man. “Tell them.”

The zombie like man snarled with a snap of his teeth toward Jake.

Jake snickered. “Nice. Very nice. Okay, I get it.” Jake clapped. “Good job. You can’t tell them.” Jake looked again at Rickie, Lou, and Reed. “Gentlemen, this man is not dead.” Jake poked the man. “He has flesh. He is an actor sent here to frighten you. I would think Caldwell could come up with something better than stealing the plot from a bad ‘B’ movie. But . . .” Jake lifted his arms “They did . . . Reed.” Jake pointed to him. “Come here.”

Reed shook his head slipping more behind Cal.

“Reed!” Jake yelled. “Come here!”

Timid
ly, Reed stepped forward moving only inches to Jake. Jake snatched him up, and Reed screamed.

“Look
,” Jake told him. “Look at him. Does he look dead?”

“Es
,” Reed answered.

“No
,” Jake argued. “See for yourself. Show them, earless and tongueless, that you’re the strong one so you three can take your new buddy and get the hell out of my room.” Jake watched Reed apprehensively extend his hand, and Jake turned to Rickie. “See. Now if Reed can . . .”

Reed’s blood curdling scream was soon joined by Rickie’s
, Lou’s, and now Cal’s as blood shot forward from Reed’s hand that was chomped within the mouth of the zombie like man.

“Oh shit.” Jake spun, pulled on Reed’s arm, freeing him up less four fingers. “Cal, put a tourniquet on him!” Jake ordered, moving a bleeding Reed her way as he reached out and punched the man in the side of the head. Like a domino, the man fell sideways. Jake hurried to him, dragged him to the door, opened it
, and flung him out. The force with which Jake tossed him caused the man’s body to roll off the porch and knock into several other creatures that were moving toward the steps. Jake slammed the door and rushed back inside.

Lou held a towel to Reed’s hand while Cal tied a belt over it.

“Jake?” Cal called to him with question.

Jake said nothing
. He opened the desk drawer, grabbed an armful of papers, took them to the fireplace, and tossed them in. Lifting the matches from the ledge, Jake ignited the papers. “Bring him here. Now!” Jake grabbed the poker and placed it in the flames. “Hurry!”

Cal and Lou had to nearly drag Reed over. He screamed and cried.

“Lou.” Jake held the poker still in the fire. “Hold him. Cal, grab his arm.”

Lou secured his entire weight around a struggling Reed, While Cal braced his arm under hers and brought it to Jake.

Jake raised his eyes to Reed. “Sorry.” With his left hand, Jake clenched on to Reed’s wrist yanking him forward. The towel dropped, blood shot out, and Jake, with his right hand, swung forward with the red hot poker. With a sizzle, he placed it and held it to the first finger, then the second. On the third finger, Reed screamed so badly in pain he passed right out. Jake dropped the poker and stood up. He listened and heard the increasing sounds of moans outside. “Okay.” Jake scratched his head in thought, looked in disgust to the bloody mess on the floor, and moved by Lou who held on to Reed. “From what I saw, there’s about twenty, twenty-five of these things out there. These little shacks are not safe. We’ll get Reed down to the dining building, it’s all metal. Lou, you arm up to guard down there. That will be our secondary shelter. This shouldn’t be a problem, though. Cal, you with me for taking them out?”

Cal smiled. “You bet.”

“Let’s arm up. Rickie . . .” Jake closed his eyes and winced. “Rickie, goddamn it, quit hiding under that bed!”