Altered Genes: Genesis

by Mark Kelly

  Using a crowbar, he pried at the lock until it broke. With a grunt, he pushed upwards and the metal door clanged open. A beam of light illuminated a section of the tunnel wall.

  “This is Copian’s Territory.” She read the faded graffiti that covered the wall.

  "Copians? Haven’t heard that word in a long time," he said as he climbed back down the ladder. "They were a black gang from the 50s."

  "Were you in it?"

  He laughed, a deep throaty chuckle that made her smile and forget for a minute where she was.

  "Do I look that old?" he said playfully, “I was just a boy...They were mainly in Harlem. Don't know what they would have been doing here…Doesn’t matter anyway...you need to get a move on."

  "Where are we?"

  "South Bellevue Park…a few blocks from the hospital. You'll come out in the park toilets."

  "Male or female?"

  He laughed again. “Didn't think to check."

  The smile on his face gave her pause. All the doubts she had pushed away surged to the surface.

  "Go, Doc…go now,” he said before she could change her mind. He motioned towards Lucia. “And take good care of her.”

  She nodded and began to climb, blinking away the tears. They dripped down her cheeks and collected on the edge of her mask.

  “Don’t stop, keep going. I’m sending her up now.”

  The rungs hadn’t been used in years. She tested each one before putting her full weight on it. When she reached the top, she cautiously poked her head out. There was no one around. She climbed out and then reached down to help Lucia.

  “Shut it and I'll come up and latch it from this side.”

  She peered into the darkness, barely able to see him. “Come with us, Charlie,” she pleaded.

  “I can’t,” he said in a broken voice.

  “Yes, you can.”

  “No, I can’t. I’m sick. Not the bug—cancer. There’s nothing out there for me.”

  He made a move toward the ladder and spoke in a stern voice. “Don’t make me climb up there and shut that door myself.”

  She fought back the sob that rose in her throat and lifted the heavy steel door with both hands.

  “Thank you, Charlie.”

  “Go now, Doc.”

  She dropped the door. It clanked shut. She sat on the cold concrete waiting for a sign he had changed his mind. When it didn’t come, she wiped the tears away and struggled to her feet.

  The light from the midday’s sun shone with an intensity she hadn’t seen or felt in nearly two weeks. It warmed her skin and hurt her eyes. She tore off her mask and then Lucia’s. Her face felt naked without the protective cover. It felt good.

  She blinked and looked around.

  The park was empty aside from the pigeons that pecked at the ground and nervously cooed when they saw the two women. The city was still, absent of the cacophony of sound that normally filled it at all hours of the day. The faint buzz of traffic in the distance caught her attention.

  She took Lucia by the hand and they headed down East 27th street towards 2nd avenue. A taxi was parked by the side of the street, its engine running.

  She ran towards it, dragging the other woman behind her. The driver heard the sound of their footsteps and turned in his seat. She watched in bewilderment as his surprise turned to panic. He slammed the car into drive and took off with a squeal.

  What the hell?

  They continued down 2nd avenue. She was certain they’d find another cab but the streets and sidewalks were empty. The few pedestrians they encountered stared at them and moved to the side as they approached. Everyone wore a surgical mask. She thought about running back to get theirs.

  As they passed a deli, she looked at her reflection in the plate glass window. Her scrubs were filthy from the tunnel. Lucia was in the same clothes she had wore when she brought her daughter to the hospital two weeks earlier.

  We look like we’re homeless.

  “Need a ride?” The voice came from the cabbie who had pulled up beside them and poked his head out the window. A bandana covered his mouth.

  “Yes.”

  He threw a pair of surgical masks out of the car. "Put those on.”

  She picked them up and put hers on first before helping Lucia. Satisfied they had followed his demand, he unlocked the doors and let them in.

  She spat out her address. He looked at her in the review mirror as if to assess her trustworthiness. “One hundred…up front.”

  "No way, it's a twenty-five dollar ride—including tip," she argued back.

  The door locks clicked open. “New rate...catch another cab if you want...It'll be the same."

  It was a rip-off, but she had no choice. She showed him her credit card through the plexiglass window that separated them.

  He shook his head. "Cash only."

  "Do I look like I have a hundred bucks on me?" She gestured to the hospital scrubs.

  “This ain’t a charity, Lady.”

  They argued back and forth before he finally relented and agreed to accept payment when they reached her apartment, but only after adding another twenty-five to the tab.

  “Consider it a payment fee.”

  “Okay, but I’m not tipping you," she said defiantly, insisting on getting the last word in. It wasn’t until they had finished arguing that she realized how good it felt—it felt normal. She hadn’t felt normal in a long time.

  As they neared her apartment, they passed a crowd queued up outside the small grocery store just down the street. The owner, a Korean man named Mr. Kang, stood at the door with a rifle, allowing one person in as another exited.

  "It's like that everywhere," the cabbie said. “Hope you have food at home."

  She didn’t, not much anyway, but it didn’t matter. She was going to Washington. She’d made her decision after reading and re-reading the email from Tony. He was the closest thing she had to family. It just seemed right to be with family now. I hope he thinks the same way. She glanced at Lucia who stared out the window. I can’t leave her here.

  The cab stopped at the curb in front of her apartment. She yanked at the door handle. It was locked.

  "She stays until I get my money," the cabbie said, gesturing at Lucia.

  "I'll get the money–"

  "She stays.”

  His tone left no doubt that it was non-negotiable. She didn't like the idea of leaving Lucia in the car, but her options were limited.

  “Okay,” she agreed reluctantly, "but when I get back, you take us to the airport—I’ll give you another hundred. Otherwise, we both stay.”

  “One-fifty,” he argued back.

  She agreed and raced up the front stairs of the brownstone. She yanked two suitcases out of a closet. She rolled the larger one to her bedroom and tossed it on the bed. She stuffed it full of clothing, paying particular attention to things that would also fit Lucia. When it was full, she rolled it to the door and grabbed the second one.

  The scene at the grocery store and the cabbie's words of warning were fresh in her mind as she filled the second bag with what little food there was in her kitchen. When she was finished, she emptied the contents of her medicine cabinet in the small amount of space that remained.

  With both bags stuffed to the brim, she went to the bookshelf in the living room and pulled out her dog-eared copy of the Atlas of Human Anatomy. When she graduated from medical school she had cut its middle pages out leaving a nicely formed hiding place in the book. She removed the money and stuffed it into her pocket.

  One last thing to do.

  She pulled her mobile phone from her pocket and opened the email Tony’s student had sent. She called the phone number in it. Nothing…the phone showed four bars but the call didn’t go through.

  I’ll try again from the airport.

  On her way out of her apartment, she stopped at the door for one final look. It wasn’t much, but it was home. As the deadbolt clicked shut, she wondered if she would ever be back.

  T
he drive to the airport was tedious and the cabbie's frustration grew as one barricaded street turned into two, and then three. Finally having had enough, he drove around one of the barriers and sped down a side street that housed a mixture of two-story buildings and a smattering of shops.

  Mid-way down the street, he slowed to avoid a pile of garbage in the middle of the road. As he drove around it, a bottle struck the rear window of the car with a loud thud.

  "Son of a bitch!" he yelled as he twisted the steering wheel and pounded on the gas. The car swerved. She was thrown sideways into Lucia and then Lucia into her.

  It happened so quickly, she barely had time to process the handful of men standing beside a broken shop window. She watched as boxes were tossed from inside the store to the group outside. One of the men took a swig from a bottle. He laughed before throwing it at them. It broke harmlessly on the street.

  "You okay, Miss?" the cabbie asked when they were safely away. "How about your friend?"

  She looked at Lucia, who showed no sign of even being aware of their near miss. “We're both okay, thanks,” she answered.

  At the end of the street, a wooden barricade blocked access to the road that would take them to the airport. Cursing, the cab driver slowed and then stopped. He would have to move it himself. There was no other way around.

  As he opened his door and placed his foot on the pavement, she spotted two boys on the roof of a nearby building. One of them held a bottle with a burning rag that hung from its neck. He threw it.

  "Don’t go out—“ she yelled.

  The bottle struck the road in front of them creating a fireball that rained droplets of burning gasoline onto the hood.

  The cabbie reacted instinctively and threw the car into gear. It lurched forward, slowly at first, and then faster as his right foot found the gas. When it looked like he’d be dragged from the car, he recovered and yanked his foot inside.

  They shot towards the barricade. She grabbed Lucia and ducked. The ugly sound of wood splintering on metal filled the air as they crashed through the barrier. Seconds later the car screeched to a stop and she cautiously raised her head.

  "Get out...Get out," the cabbie yelled and glared at her. His eyes were hard and unmoving. "Give me my money and get out!"

  "No," she said, defiantly. “We had a deal."

  "I don't care about your deal, lady…It ain’t worth it. Pay me and get out. I’ve been driving for thirty years and never had anything like that happen. You’re bad luck.”

  Her voice was filled with indignation as she yelled back at him. “I’m bad luck? You're the one driving. I'm just the passenger." They traded insults for five minutes before he gave up and climbed out the car to inspect it for damage.

  She watched through the window as he glared and cursed at her every time he discovered a new scratch. When he was satisfied the car was safe to drive, he climbed back in, slammed the door and drove away.

  A mile down the road, a pair of National Guard Humvees blocked their passage and herded them away from the airport.

  "Jesus...what now?" he muttered as they were forced into a long line of cars waiting to exit the Parkway. They approached a military checkpoint. He slowed at the sight of the soldiers who stood by the side of the road.

  “Please stop so I can ask them what’s going on.”

  "Lady, are you crazy?...look at those guys, they have guns and don't look very happy."

  She watched as one of the soldiers banged the butt of his rifle on the side of the car in front of them. “Okay, just slow down a bit more."

  She rolled down her window and the din of yelling and honking horns filled the car.

  "Excuse me...excuse me," she shouted to a young soldier who stood by the side of an armored personnel carrier. "What's going on, how do we get to the airport?"

  His eyes nervously darted left and right as he stepped towards the car. "Airport's closed, Ma'am...You need to move." He banged once on the roof of the cab with a gloved fist and then stepped back to the safety of the APC. The cabbie didn't need to be told again and drove away from the checkpoint.

  Dismayed, she turned in her seat and looked out the back window. The young soldier stepped into the middle of the road. He held out his hand and waved it back and forth, directing an approaching car to halt.

  The driver slowed, as if to stop, and then accelerated furiously, clipping the soldier at the waist. She watched in horror as his body rolled up and over the roof of the car, arms and legs splayed out like a rag doll. His mangled body smashed to the ground behind the car.

  Gunfire erupted from the machine gun on top of the APC. The thundering hail of bullets shredded metal and flesh instantly. Now driverless, the car that had hit the soldier swerved and crashed into the guard rail before rolling to a stop, on fire.

  "Holy shit...Holy shit!" the cabbie yelled as he pounded the gas and accelerated away from the mayhem.

  She felt a sharp pain and turned to see Lucia's fingernails digging deep into the flesh of her forearm. A trickle of blood dripped onto the car seat.

  “Are you okay?”

  The Latino woman flinched, and then nodded. She loosened her grip on Mei’s arm.

  The cab driver pulled the car to the side of the road and popped the trunk.

  "Okay, Lady...we're done. I’ve had enough...I'm going home to my wife and kids." His voice resonated with a tired determination that left no doubt their ride was over. She didn't argue and handed him the money he was owed.

  "Can I ask you a question?"

  He rolled his eyes and sighed. “What?”

  "Where's the nearest car rental and is it on your way home?”

  25

  THE LONG ROAD

  April 7th, 18h50 GMT : New York City

  Their journey out of the city was circuitous and slow. Every road was choked with cars, trucks, motorcycles and pretty much anything else that moved. People trudged down the sidewalks, hunched over from the weight of backpacks slung over their shoulders.

  A family pushed their belongings in a ladened shopping cart. The father behind, while the mother and son worked the front, lifting the rickety trolley when its small wheels jammed in the broken concrete.

  On the George Washington Bridge, a group of men, united only in their desire to keep moving, rolled an abandoned car over two sets of railings into the murky green water below. The mass of humanity surging out of the city was like nothing she had ever seen, a giant wave sweeping away everything in its path.

  As they crossed over the Hudson River into New Jersey a spring poked through the torn seat cover of the Econoline van and jabbed at the flesh of her thigh. It had been the last vehicle in the rental lot. After spending nearly six hours in it, she knew why.

  Tired and light-headed, she rolled down the window. The stench of car exhaust disappeared, only to be replaced by the sound of incessant honking, louder now with the window open. She rolled it back up, accepting the lesser of the two evils.

  The traffic carried them along and they made slow progress, never going faster than ten or fifteen miles per hour, but more often than not stopped. As they reached the outskirts of Trenton, the soft glow of twilight turned to dusk. Soon it would be night, bringing with it, a new set of dangers.

  She warily kept one eye on the road and toggled through the GPS, looking for accommodations. There were a few motels just off the highway and close to their current location. They reached the first one in just a few minutes. It was full, and so was the second, and the third, and the fourth. In the parking lot of the fifth, she began to worry they would never find a room.

  "We'll sleep in the van, it won't be comfortable, but the price is right,” she said lightheartedly to Lucia. The other woman continued to stare out the window, just as she had their entire journey.

  They pulled into a Walmart parking lot and parked next to a large motorhome, leaving an empty space between the two vehicles. An elderly man slowly climbed down the metal steps that hung from the side of the RV. He limped towards th
em with a stilted gait and a welcoming smile.

  She rolled her window down as he approached and greeted him tentatively.

  “Hi, can I help you?”

  "Evening, would you mind moving over another spot so I can put up the awning?”

  She followed his outstretched arm as he pointed towards a bundle of metal and fabric attached to the side of his vehicle. “Sure, is one enough?"

  “Plenty...thank you." He turned and limped away.

  The conversation was remarkable in its ordinariness and she did nothing for a few seconds until he waved his thanks, jolting her into action.

  She moved the van and watched as he expertly set up the awning. Finished with that task, he retrieved two chairs from a storage compartment and placed them near a folding table. Just like having a picnic and here comes the food. A woman with white hair and a pink shirt, probably his wife poked her head out the screen door and beckoned to him.

  As he disappeared into the motorhome, the dull ache of hunger formed in the pit of her stomach. Neither she nor Lucia had eaten since they cracked open a box of stale crackers rescued from her suitcase hours before. "Come on, let’s get something to eat and find a restroom.”

  They started across the parking lot towards a cluster of fast-food restaurants but didn't get far before a voice yelled, “They’re closed."

  She stopped and turned back. "Closed?"

  The old man nodded. "No food delivery yesterday or today.” Disappointed, she took Lucia by the arm and walked back to the van. The woman in pink re-appeared and said something through the screen door to her husband.

  He limped towards them and spoke. "If you need a restroom, you can use ours."

  "Thanks, but we're good. We’ll drive around…see if we can find a restaurant," she said, hoping there was something nearby.

  "Don't be foolish, not much is open, and what is, isn't any place you want to be.”

  He was right. Her tiredness was deep and consuming, the kind that sucks the rebellion out of you. “Are you sure it’s not too much of an inconvenience?"

  "None at all."

  They followed him back to the motorhome and stopped at the bottom of the steps, waiting to be invited in. The older woman re-appeared and spoke through the screen door. "Hi ladies, I'm Barb. Come on in, I'll show you where the restroom is."