Amoeba (The Experiments) (89 page)

With a lowered head and a saddened heart
, Jake slowly reached for the left double door. As his hand rested upon it, he heard it. A whipping sound, high and fast, whistling in the air. Jake closed his eyes, “Please.” And then he spun. And when he did, and when his eyes fell upon Cal, Jake shrieked out so loud that his huge voice echoed in every corridor of the hospital. But it wasn’t a shriek of grief, it was a shriek of joy when he saw Cal, on the table, like Rickie when he first died, like the babies, totally cocooned.

“All right,” Jake barreled out. “Listen up. You three.” Hands on hips, his head lowered down as he towered before the three little boys in his front yard who were barely past his knees. All of them were mirror images of one another. Brown crew cut hair, little Levi jeans, all of them wearing a white tee shirt. And all of their tee shirts were tucked in on the right, but hanging out on the left. They stood, quiet, still and not saying anything. “Look at you three, so sloppy.” Jake took a moment to tuck in the shirts. “Now … while your mother and I are gone this week, you will listen to Uncle Billy. You got that?” He watched them nod. “No jumping off the roof with Rickie. No being bad. Trust me, it won’t be a pretty sight if I come home to find one of you cocooned again.”

Cal laughed as she stepped from the house. “Jake, our flight!” She yelled to him and saw the blue van pull into the driveway. “Billy’s here.”

Jake lowered to a squat before the boys. “Jake, Sam, Nick, give daddy a kiss goodbye.” All three boys with a laughing shriek pummeled Jake with such a force that they knocked him backwards to the grass.

Cal opened the van door for Billy. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He stepped out, laying his hand on her face and kissing her on the cheek. He hovered his lips with a whisper there. “I missed you.”
He kissed her again.

Cal giggled. “We’re almost ready.”

Billy checked out Jake with the boys. “Jake ritual again?”

“You know it. Routine. Since he started going on training tours again
, well, he feels guilty. I tried to tell him not to. I mean, he didn’t go anywhere for the longest time. And now . . .” Cal shrugged. “With us doing these vacations. . .”

“Vacations?” Billy laughed. “Experiments.”

“Please.” Cal scoffed. “Testing for Caldwell. We don’t get hurt. We test. It’s fun.”

“You would think it.” Billy laid his arm on Cal’s back as he moved with her. “He looks tense.”

“He is. We have Rickie and Florence’s wedding creeping up.” Cal and Billy both shuddered. “You know Jake’s been bitching about her. And . . . he found out he has to go to Korea two weeks after we get back for, get this, six weeks.” Cal saw through the corner of her eye Billy smiling. “Stop that.” She back handed him in the gut.

After grunting, Billy swiped his hand down his face wiping away the smile. “I’m sorry. Merely thinking of me helping you out with the boys again while he’s gone, that’s all.”

“God, you’re terrible.” Cal looked at her watch. “And we have to go. Jake!”

“Have fun.” Billy kissed Cal on the cheek. “See you when you get back.”

“Thanks. Good luck with the boys.” Cal moved to the car. “Jake!”

Jake got up from the grass. “Be good for Uncle Billy.” He pointed at the boys. “Love you guys.” He smiled, backed up, darted forward to them, kissed all three again
, and raced to the car. “Bill. Watch them.”

Billy waved his hand and bobbed his head. “You know it.” He walked to the car to see them off. “And where are you two going this time?”

Jake shrugged as he shut the door after Cal slid in. “Like last time. We’ll call when we know.” He walked around to his side.

“Jake
,” Billy called and pointed.

Jake hesitated before stepping in. He looked behind to see Rickie pull up right behind him. “Christ. Move that
car, I have to go.”

Rickie peeled his car out
, screeched it to a stop, and jumped out. He raced to Jake and Cal’s car as they started to back up. “Wait.” Out of breath he leaned in the window. “Good luck and see you when you get back. Flo and I will help with the tots.”

Jake grunted and wound up the window. He looked in the rear view mirror to see Florence, so miserable standing there. “I really should back up over her.”

“Jake be nice.”

Jake grumbled again and pulled from the driveway. “Oh
, this will be pleasant when we get back. Billy is so nonchalant. He just let’s them do whatever they want. Especially with . . .” He winced when he saw Rickie dive on the ground and the boys land on top of them. “Rickie. All right. Guessing time. Which one this trip?”

“Little Jake.”

Jake twitched his head. “I think you’re right. What is it about that boy? He has no fear.”

Cal smiled and looked at Jake. “He’s just like you.”

Jake grinned. “Yeah.”

“I see you both are ready.” Greg walked around his desk to where Cal and Jake sat before him. “Good. We think you’ll like this one.”

Jake had his hands folded. “Dangerous?”

“Nah.” Greg shook his head. “More experimental. Testing. Fun. Cal.” Greg winked. “You’ll have a blast.”

“But it’s not dangerous?” Cal looked oddly at him. “Where are we going?”

“Someplace very vital to the next experiment we’re preparing. And that’s another thing we need to discuss. We need two good controllers on this experiment, and we’d like for you two to think about going. The kids could go. In fact, they’ll have a great time.” Greg sounded as if he were selling them a car. “And with you two controlling it, you know you’ll all be safe.”

“Controllers?” Jake raised an eyebrow in wonder. “For Iso-Stasis fourteen?”

“Yes.” Greg nodded. “When you’re testing this, think about it.”

“O
kay.” Jake slowly nodded his head. “But you wanna tell us where we going today?”

“Sure.” Greg lifted a folder and slid it to Jake. “This is a testing site directly connected to the next experiment. You can say my connections and the government are more than happy to help us out. Take a look.”

Leaning to Cal, Jake opened the folder. He looked to Cal then back down to the documents that contained the heading ‘NASA’. A glimmer of a smile hit Jake and Cal, and Jake lifted his eyes from the documents to Greg. “Haynes?”

“Well . . .” Greg cupped his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “I thought it would be pretty damn interesting seeing . .
. Jake in space. Don’t you?”