Amoeba (The Experiments) (37 page)

The stick that Cal poked into the fire held her irritation. She slammed it hard trying not to show what she was feeling. The sparks from the crackling fire flew up, and she raised her eyes over the flames to Larry who sat across from her. How she wished at that moment he was burning in the flames like he appeared to be.

“Yeah, my wife cheated on me
,” Larry said in a near intoxicated state.

Cal guessed at that moment
that the tell tale signs were there, and that was how everyone knew. Jake’s punching of Billy. Not only Billy and Cal not speaking, but the ‘super couple’ as they were called not long before were no longer that team and together twenty-four hours a day. Cal just kept smoking her cigarette and poking at the fire, sitting with her elbows resting on her bent knees.

“Cheated on me with some guy from work.” Larry kept talking. “When I found out. Pop. I punched her right in her face.”

Cal glared up. “Good for you, you asshole.” She shook her head, flicking her cigarette into the fire, trying to ignore his comments. Not a few seconds later she felt the weight on the log shift. She didn’t look until she heard the softer voice of Paul.

“I believe enough time has passed
,” Paul told her in a whisper.

Cal shifted her head. “Excuse me?”

“Time is needed. For refection. Resolution. Penance. I feel very bad for you.”

“Are you being sarcastic?” Cal asked him.

“No, genuine. I feel bad for what you’re going through.”

“Then don’t. Not to sound like a bitch, I appreciate your concern
, but I made my own bed . . . so to speak.”

“Yes, but sometimes situations that we bring upon ourselves are complicated by forces we cannot control. I believe when bad encircles us, it invites the bad spirits in as well,
and they in turn engulf us, protecting that bad and keeping us in it.”

Cal hid her rolling eyes.

“If you are willing to end this anger and bad between you and your husband, I believe I can help you.”

Cal snickered. “I don’t you think you can.”

“No, I can’t. I can help
you
Cal. You are the one who must get rid of the demons that engulf you. I can help you do that. But I can only do that if you yourself are ready to get rid of them. If you have no remorse, it will not work.”

“Oh
, I have remorse all right.” Cal said, shaking her head.

“Then shall we?” Paul asked her with a smile.

“Sure.” Cal returned a smile, a fake one.

“I’ll be right back, then we will go.” Paul touched her back as he stood up and walked around the fire to his bungalow.

Rickie was close enough to hear
what had been said. He inched his way down the log to Lou. “Okay, wherever they go, we go. Got that?”

Lou nodded. “I’m with ya.”

Both, without Cal’s knowledge, eyed her like a hawk from that second on.

^^^^

Not only did Paul look like he carried a tan leather purse as he walked to Cal, but a rolled
up blanket as well. Rickie stood on Lou’s porch with Reed, watching Cal stand up.

Lou came out. He pushed out the chamber of a revolver he held, checked for bullets, spun it and stuck in the back waist of his pants. “Ready.”

“Cool. We’ll stay behind, watching.” Rickie told him.

“Eyes
,” Reed whined. “Uh on a O EW.”

“Dude, you can’t go
,” Rickie told him. “Cause you only talk two ways, loud and bad, and they’ll knew they’re being tailed. So, like, hang with Billy guy.” Rickie patted Reed on the back. He stayed on the porch, acting all casual while keeping his eyes glued to Cal who stood up and started to walk with Paul from camp. A few seconds later, Rickie and Lou stepped off the porch to follow.

No sooner had Cal and Paul hit the path, Rickie and Lou heard the ‘bang’ of a
door being flung open, and the thumping of Jake’s boots as he stormed out of the bungalow, off his porch, and straight toward the path.

Rickie ran to him. “Sarge
, like, what are you doing?”

Jake’s eyes never left the path. “What do you think I’m doing
?”

“Sarge, like
, we’re handling it.” Rickie laid his hands on Jake. “Stay back. We got it.” Rickie backed up with Lou. “You forfeited guy. You forfeited.”

Jake watched Rickie and Lou hurry toward the path. He shook his head bewildered. “I forfeited. Forfeited what?”

^^
^^

It took just a little while for Cal and Paul to reach the small hillside clear from the woods and path, following a trail that Paul explained to Cal that he had made.

“What is this place?” Cal asked
, looking down to the small spot that housed a burned out campfire.

“My place.” Paul set down his things, and laid some twigs in the fire circle. “I come here to speak to the Gods.” Paul took a moment to light the fire. It ignited quickly, but not in a roaring way. He stood up and grabbed the blanket roll, flapping it out. “Please sit.”

“Is this something that you’ve done all your life?” Cal asked as she lowered to the blanket.

“Yes.”

“You must be pretty proud of your heritage.”

“I am very proud of what my father taught me.” Paul sat across from her by the fire.

“So is there a reason you come way up here?”

“Let’s just say I don’t want my magic to get mixed up with the magic that I believe the institute can perform.” Paul winked and opened up his brown bag. “First, before we begin, we need to clear our minds. You
, Cal, need an open free mind.”

Peeking up on the hillside behind a small bush were Rickie and Lou. They laid on their stomachs, speaking in whispering voices, watching.

“Dude, he, like, brought a blanket.”

“That dog.”

“You don’t think, like, he thinks my mom has an easy reputation, do you?”

Lou shrugged. “I don’t know. What he’s doing now?”

Rickie’s eyes widened as he watched Paul pull out a long pipe lighting it. Paul took a hit and passed it to Cal.

“Uh
,” Rickie whispered. “He’s getting my mom stoned. Dude, if he, like, tries anything funny, I’m gonna have to go monster on him.”

“You do that
, and then I’ll shoot him in the head.”

“Cool.”

Cal coughed loud, smacking her chest that burned. She passed the pipe back to Paul. “That’s hash.”

Paul smiled. “It is an herb we need right now to open our minds and relax.”

“I got high one time in my life.”

“It’s not getting high.” Paul held in the smoke and gave the pipe to Cal. “Trust me, when we are done, you will not feel high
, as you put it. You will feel perfectly normal.” Six more times the pipe was passed, then Paul extinguished it setting it aside. “Stare into the fire, Cal. Stare into the fire as if it is your soul.”

Cal did, watch
ing the small flames flickering, bouncing. Orange and red.

Paul reached into his leather pouch pulling out a small sack. “We are going to open a door to the other side. Do not be frightened of anything you hear or see. Just know
, Cal, that once we shut the door, all the bad sprits that engulf you now will be gone, and you will have a good start to come your way.”

Cal nodded staring mesmerized into the fire.

Paul tossed a handful of something that seemed like dust onto the flames. He chanted in his native language then tossed some more. On the second throw, the orange flames turned completely white. Cal’s eyes widened, yet she still didn’t move.

Mumbling the chant, Paul tossed once more into the white fire and the second he did, surrounding Cal and Paul
- and also Rickie and Lou below - were moans, loud, painful, and agonizing. It sounded as if they were encircled by the souls of the damned. Many voices, calling out her name and words that couldn’t be understood. Paul chanted louder, and from the white flames shot a mist of smoke, thin and streaming. It spun around Cal, over and over picking up velocity, and growing wider as it did. The cries that echoed grew louder and scream filled, and from the mist came hands, reaching to Cal. Multitudes of disfigured arms extending her way, screaming out.

Cal didn’t budge though her heart pounded within her chest. She kept staring into the fire trying not
to look at the long fingers that whipped in front of her, grabbed for her. Cal didn’t flinch. And at the point that the voices seemed their loudest, the mist thinned out, turning once again into a line of smoke. It reversed its swirl, miniaturizing the hands within it, and it shot towards the fire, the white flames sucking it in, hands and voices. Then, just as the last of the smoke entranced its way into the flames, the tail end stopped and formed a little hand, normal and fragile it looked. The calls of the damned ceased, and in the silence, the fingers wiggled in a wave to Cal, and a young voice giggled happily. As the last of that hand disappeared into the fire, a girl’s voice spoke out, “Bye Mommy.”

Quiet.

Below them on the hillside, Rickie and Lou, eyes wide and shocked, watched an entranced Cal. They couldn’t move.

“Dude.” Rickie nudged Lou. “Imagine how cool that would have been if we were smoking on that pipe
, too.”

Lou, still speechless, could only nod his agreement to Rickie’s sentiment.

^^
^^

Jake was lying on a sleeping bag on the floor, a book in his hands, when he heard the bungalow door open. He didn’t have to look up, only raise his eyes to make sure it was Cal.

Cal walked in slow
ly, very slowly, her eyes wider than Jake had ever seen them. With just a slight quick shift, she looked down to Jake. “Hey.” She spoke and looked forward again. Moving at a turtle’s pace, and keeping her focus ahead, Cal closed the door, stepped down into the room, stepped over Jake’s leg, and moved straight to the bed. When she got there, her hand touched on it, and in a sideways, nearly face forward fall, she plopped down to the bed and passed out.

“Stoned?” In his own bungalow Jake stood, hands on hips, peering down at Rickie.

“That’s what I said, now can we . . .”

“Stoned. Cal was stoned?”

“Yes. Now can you . . .”

“Cal doesn’t do illegal drugs.”

“She did last night
, Sarge, and some weird poltergeist shit happened. Anyhow.” Rickie nearly shouted. “I need to know . . .”

“Stoned.” Jake was in such disbelief.

“Sarge, if you, like, keep saying that, I’ll talk to you all day. Now can you try this?” Rickie held up a tube to Jake. “See,” Rickie lifted his own shirt. “Look how cool my nipples look.”

“Rickie, why would I want to try this
?”

“Cause I’m serious and you
, like, have the only ape-like chest on the island.”

“Hair or no hair, it will work.” Jake pushed the tube away.

“Come on Sarge, how often do I ask you for things?”

“Every
day.”

“Yeah, so
, like, this is a daily request.” Rickie took on a pleading look. “Please. It doesn’t hurt. Please.”

“Will you leave me alone
?”

“Yeah.”

Jake snatched the tube. “How much?”

“Just a little dab will do ya
,” Rickie told him.

Jake squeezed a tiny dab in his hand
, and despite Rickie’s snickering, lifted his shirt and applied the lotion to one of his nipples. “There. Satisfied?”

“Cool. It worked. Don’t it feel tingly?”

Jake bobbed his head. “Not bad.”

“Like
, Sarge, you have to do the other. You’re lopsided.”

With a grunt, Jake did. “I don’t know why I’m doing this fuckin shit. There.” He released his tee shirt.

“It don’t look as good on a man with ape hair as it does on a bare-chested man.”

“That’s good to know
, Rickie.” Jake tossed the tube on the night stand.

“Sarge, like
, I’m glad I have this momentary lapse in time happening with you.”

“I’m afraid to ask. But why?”

“Okay, you can tell me I’m over stepping my Rickie-Meister boundaries, but I was strolling with the Cal-babe yesterday and we were talking about the situation.”

“You’re over stepping the boundaries. Off limit conversation.”

“Okay.” Rickie shrugged. “Anyhow, Sarge, she is like really bummed out.”

“Rickie.”

“Really, really bummed out.”

“Rickie.” There was warning to Jake’s voice.

“Really, really, really . . .”

“Rickie!” Jake yelled. “Enough.”

“And so is Billy, for that matter.”

Jake glared. “Do you think I fuckin care how Billy feels
?”

“No.” Rickie said nonchalantly. “Just adding a little decorative scenario set up.”

“What?” Jake began to get annoyed. “I don’t have time for this. I want to shoot before it gets too hot.”

“Anyhow.” Rickie followed him around the room. “We were walking and Cal got me upset. I’m bummed too. She
, like, kept talking and talking about moving back to Pittsburgh.”

Jake stopped. “For what?”

“To live.”

“Why would she do that
? She has a big house in North Carolina.”

“Sarge.” Rickie snickered. “Possibly to hook back up with the David guy . . .”

“Rickie.” Jake grabbed the arsenal bag.

“She’s a babe
, Sarge, she’s got to move on with her life. You know, I don’t see it taking her too long to . . .”

“Rickie . . .”

“ . . . hook up with a sensitive guy that won’t rush her. Not saying that you rushed her into marrying you, which I believe you did.”

“I did not.”

“Did too. But I’m getting off the subject again. Dude, I have been doing that.” Rickie gasped at himself. “So she’ll probably go to Pittsburgh straight from the experiment. Nah, she’ll get her computer stuff and her clothes because she loves that stuff. Then she’ll move to . . .”

“RICKIE!”

“Uh!” Rickie screamed and stepped back. “Sarge, you scared me.”

“Good. Now getting back to the original question. Why is Cal talking about moving to Pittsburgh
? Does she not like North Carolina?”

“Hello
, like, you’re divorcing her. Duh.” Rickie shook his head.

“Divorcing . . . where would she . . . shit.” Jake’s hand dropped the arsenal bag
, and without saying anymore, walked straight from the bungalow.

^^^^

Though she still had five more feet to go to make it completely to the top of the wall of rope, Cal stopped because she couldn’t go any further. Her fingers ached and her rigid legs were cramped. She wanted so much to just cheat and slide down to the ground, but she didn’t. Cringing and grunting, she used her upper body strength to bring herself down to the next level. No sooner did her hand reach and Cal began to fall, than she felt huge hands grip firmly on her hips.

Jake grabbed onto her, setting her down onto the ground.

With much surprise, Cal turned to face him. She swallowed. “Jake.”

Jake held up a finger
, and looked past her in silence. He held one hand on his hip and he turned his head downward to look at her. “Problems don’t affect my life often. When they do, I handle them . . . my way. When our situation occurred last week I . . . I told you that night I wanted a divorce.”

Cal closed her eyes
, and her head dropped.

“Cal
, look at me.” Jake waited for her eyes to open and look. “I was drunk, very drunk, and I broke a very important rule of mine. Never say anything in anger you can’t take back.” Jake paused to think and he took a deep breath. “I’m gonna try to take it back.” Jake took a stern approach, keeping all emotions from his voice. “Divorce . . . divorce is not an option with us. Nor is wanting you out of my life. I may be quiet, but it’s my way of working through it. I have never walked away from anything that meant something.” Jake laid his hand on Cal’s cheek. “I’m certainly not walking away from you.”

A gasp of emotion escaped Cal when she felt his touch,
and her hand sprang up holding his hand tightly to her face as she closed her eyes basking in the feel of him.

Jake lifted his head looking outward as he took a step into her. “We’ll get through this.” Spreading his fingers to her neck, Jake pulled Cal to him and he gently laid his lips on her forehead. He closed his eyes leaving his lips on her for the longest time before letting go, and stepping back. “We’ll get th
rough this.” Without looking at Cal again, Jake quietly and slowly starting walking away. His one hand stayed on her until it slid from her face as he moved on.

Cal’s eyes closed and her shoulders slumped. So
was so emotional that the second Jake could no longer be seen, Cal let out a long breath of relief and gratefulness.

^^^^

That night on Paul’s little hillside, Cal sat with Paul. A small but normal campfire separated them as they sat on small blankets. “But today, Paul.” Cal shifted her eyes to him. “He talked to me.” She took a long hit off the pipe, held it in, and passed it to Paul. She coughed as she let out the smoke. “He didn’t say anything the rest of the day . . . but . . .” She received the pipe back. “He still talked to me.”

“I’m glad. What did I tell you about exorcizing those bad spirits.”

Cal handed Paul the pipe and spoke through the smoke. “You were right.”

“Tomorrow will be better. I feel it.” Paul held the pipe to Cal.

“Thank you for everything, Paul. Exorcizing the bad ghosts . . .” Cal took a puff of the pipe. “Letting me do this mind clearing ritual with you.” She blew out and handed it back to Paul. “And share in this really neat fire.” With a look of awe, Cal stared into the orange flames.

^^^^

Not much really ever annoyed Rickie. But the ‘clomp-clomp-clomp-clomp’ sound Jake made with his heel on the step drove Rickie nuts. Rickie watched Jake as he sat next to him on the porch. Jake stared out into the path, his hands folded, eyes peeled, and leg bouncing rapidly up and down.

“Sarge.”

“What?”

“Quit that
, dude.” Rickie laid his hand on Jake’s knee. “What? Do you have something important to tell Cal?”

“No, I really have nothing to say. I just don’t want her out there.”

“Well, chill. My guy’s watching her. She’s fine. She’s just doing a little mind clearing exercise.”

“Why does she need to do that
?”

“Sa
rge, like where have you been? No, I know. In Sarge land. You beat her, Sarge.”

“I did no such thing
, Rickie.” Jake was offended. “I would never lay a hand on my wife.”

Rickie snickered. “No guy, that’s not what I meant. I mean, Cal’s been really bad. I’ve never seen her so down. I think maybe . . .” Rickie bobbed his head back and forth. “I think maybe it’s time you had like a little conversation to set you gu
ys back on the path of righteous marriage. You told her today you aren’t divorcing her.”

“Yeah, but Rickie
, not yet. I’m not ready yet.”

“Guy, you should
, like, spend tonight getting ready then.”

“Do you even comprehend what happened?” Jake asked Rickie. “My wife, Cal. She was with someone else.”

“Yeah, that sucks, but . . .”

Jake tossed his hands up. “Thanks for the compassion.”

“No guy, I’m not saying you’re wrong for getting mad. You aren’t. You have every right to be. But you can put this, like, behind you because you’re the tough guy. And it still doesn’t make sense to me, like, you have to see how sorry she is. She didn’t even have to tell you.” Rickie saw Jake’s glare. “She didn’t. And Sarge, I have to say . . .” Rickie’s head dramatically dropped, “I am so disappointed in you.”

“This ought to be good. For what?”

“You always struck me as the type that wouldn’t let the experiment get to you no matter what.”

“I am that type.”

“Guy, I have news for you,” Rickie said. “We’re in the experiment, Bud, and, like, for two people who are supposed to be mentally strong and tough, you and Cal-babe are really losing it.”

The expression on Jake’s face dropped when he really heard what Rickie said. Just as he was about to respond, he stood up when he saw Cal walking very slow
ly across the unity circle, Paul going another way. Cal kept her stare on the bungalow, inching her way home with a blank stare. She stepped on the step, looked fast at Jake, then moved to the door. “Night.” She walked inside.

Jake
, who had turned to watch her, was confused, and when he turned to look at Rickie he saw Lou.

Lou pointed to the bungalow, snickered
, and held his two fingers close to his mouth as if imitating someone getting high.

Jake’s jaws twitched. “No way. Cal does not do illegal drugs.” With a heavy stomp-stomp
, Jake opened the bungalow door. “Cal.” He stopped cold when, just like the night before, in the same position, Cal was passed out on the bed.