by A. L. Jambor
He started to scan by moving his mouse. After panning over forests and farmlands it struck him that he knew there were people alive in Europe, so why not look here at home? Jason searched the website for the codes for Florida and waited for the software to connect him to a satellite floating over the North American continent.
Soon he could see the outline of the Florida coast. He decided to switch on the infrared tracking, which would enable him to see any entity with a warm body. He zoomed in and panned to the west coast of Florida. The software showed him he was over Sarasota so he moved his mouse a little until it said St. Petersburg. He then zoomed in.
The software began showing him street names. He was able to find his street and slowly moved his mouse. He zoomed in further until he could see the top of the Carsons’ house and the big satellite dish. Since he was not outside, he couldn’t see an infrared version of himself. He scrolled around the beach and neighborhood and found nothing. The buzzer went off, meaning it was time to put the potatoes and zucchini in the oven.
He left the screen on and went to the kitchen. Ten minutes after Jason left Command Central, two little infrared figures appeared in the back yard of the house three doors down. By the time Jason finished his food and returned to Command Central, they were gone.
Chapter 41
Jason took Ricky to the beach with his ball. He threw the ball and Ricky would run and fetch it. After four throws, the little dog took the ball and ran back to the house.
“Ricky you lazy slug, get back here!”
Jason ran back to the house and Ricky was waiting on the porch. Jason noticed the wind had picked up. He remembered the storm heading this way and ran back to Justin's to check the weather satellite. When he got to Command Central, he saw the clouds had tightened their formation. This storm was moving fast.
He decided to close the storm shutters on both houses for now. Maybe he would even go over to the Bennett’s and close theirs too. Strange thing about the Bennetts, when he went to take care of their bodies, they were gone, all three of them. Jason supposed they were on a trip somewhere when the tragedy struck so they fell wherever they were.
Jason’s mom had been good friends with Jessica Bennett and Jason felt he should protect their property. He would watch the storm and then go over and close their shutters. Right now he had to protect Command Central.
Jason woke up the next day in front of the monitors. He had fallen asleep sometime around 4 a.m. and now he was stiff from being hunched over the keyboard. He stretched his arms out over his head and looked around for Ricky. The terrier had followed him upstairs last night and was once again asleep on his favorite window seat.
“You know, Rick, you are really out of shape.” Ricky opened one eye and looked at Jason. He then closed it again. “We’re going on a hike today. We'll jog and then we'll eat.”
Jason got up and signaled for Ricky to follow. They went back to their house. Jason put on his new sneakers and got out Ricky's lead. The dog might decide not to run at some point and Jason could use the lead to “coax” him. The little bugger was getting fat. Jason forgot that he was not only getting fat, but he was getting really old.
They took off down the block and onto the main street of town. Jason turned right and jogged about two blocks, with Ricky keeping up pretty well. Finally, Ricky just stopped and plopped down. Jason had to stop.
He pulled the lead, but Ricky wouldn’t budge. Short of dragging him, Jason had to leave him alone. He took off the lead and continued to run. He knew Ricky would begin to follow him, but at a much slower pace.
He ran to the end of the fourth block and turned around. Ricky was loping along very slowly. Jason decided to take pity on him and head back towards home. When Ricky saw that Jason was coming back, he too turned around and headed for home. When he got to the turn in the road, he stopped. He turned to look at Jason and then back at the street in front of him. He did this several times until Jason was closer to him. Jason walked up to Ricky.
“What's up, buddy? How come you stopped?”
Ricky was growling. Jason looked around the corner and saw a little terrier that looked just like Ricky.
“Where did you come from?” Jason was smiling. The other dog was growling a little too, but neither dog looked like it wanted to fight.
“Baby Girl! Baby Girl, where are you?”
Jason heard a young female voice coming towards them. She came up behind the other dog and she knelt down behind her. She had short wavy blond hair and a pretty face. She hadn’t yet seen Jason.
“Why didn't you come when I called?” Then the little girl looked up and saw Ricky. “Oh, my, who are you?” she said. Then she looked behind Ricky and saw Jason. The look of shock on her face made Jason back off.
“I won't hurt you. Look, I have a dog just like yours.” The little girl stood up and stepped back. She looked like she was going to run. “I live on that street.” Jason pointed around the corner. “My name is Jason. Do you have a name?”
“Of course I have a name.” She squinted her eyes and gave Jason a very mad look. “I don't have to tell you though.” She had backed up a little more. Jason followed her.
“Okay, you don't have to tell me your name, but what is her name?” Jason pointed at Baby Girl.
“Baby Girl.”
The little girl turned around and ran with Baby Girl following behind her. Jason walked slowly to keep from frightening her, but he kept up because his legs were so much longer. He saw them go into the Bennetts’ house and slam the door.
“Now that was interesting, Ricky.”
Jason kept walking and stopped in front of the Bennetts’ house. He decided to leave her alone and went on by. When he got back to his house, he showered and looked at his face. He was actually sporting enough of a beard to shave. He decided to let it grow some more.
Ricky was sitting in the kitchen chair when Jason came back down.
He must be hungry, Jason thought.
He opened a can of food and put half on a paper plate. He put it on the floor and Ricky came down the little stairs and over to his bowl. Suddenly Jason remembered Antonio’s list.
Jason thought he had seen something on the list that didn't quite click in his head at the time. He ran back to the office and picked it up. He’d been right. Number 98 was Jessica Bennett. That meant that little Mark Bennett was a purple baby. That also meant he was alive. But where did he pick up that pretty little girl?
Now Jason could go over to the house because she wouldn’t be there alone and Mark should remember Jason. He would wait till dinnertime to see if they wanted to eat with him. In the meantime, he decided it was time to go into Teresa’s bedroom.
*****
Jason climbed the stairs to the second floor. He wasn’t looking forward to opening Teresa's door, but he had to see if he could find her diaries. He knew she’d been keeping them for years. He hated invading her privacy, but if she had written anything in them that would help him find Tomlinson’s office, he needed to read it.
When he got to the landing he stopped. He looked at her door. He slowly walked over and turned the knob. The door creaked as it swung open. He smelled the faint odor of her perfume mixed with soap and hairspray. She had made her bed that morning.
Her clothes were all hung in the closet and put away in drawers. There was a book by her bed next to her glasses. On the other nightstand was a picture of the three of them, Teresa, Antonio and Jason on his eighth birthday. Jason walked in the room and decided to start by looking in her dresser drawers.
He pulled them out and searched each one. There were no diaries in there. Then he opened the drawers in his father's armoire. The clothes were all gone, but Teresa had stored photo albums and other paperwork in there. Jason took the photo albums out and sat on the floor.
The first one had pictures of his parents’ wedding. They looked so young and happy. There were pictures of their honeymoon in Rome. His father was very handsome. They had taken pictures of his grandfathe
r and another old woman with the description “Nona”. Photos of Ed and Dorothy were also placed in the album.
The next one had pictures of Ricky and Jason when they were both babies. There were also pictures of Chloe. Jason noticed that there were pictures underneath the ones displayed. He lifted the top photo and pulled out the hidden ones.
The first one was of Ricky and another dog, a female. It looked like his father's hands holding Ricky up to show his belly. It had a kind of purple sheen to it. The female was lying on her back and she too had the same purple belly. Then he looked at the other photo.
It must have been taken shortly after Jason's birth and it showed his mother with Jason in her arms. Jason's face had the same purple sheen to it. Jason slipped the photos back where he’d found them and put the album back in the drawer. He opened the next drawer and he found stacks of diaries with years emblazoned on the covers.
Jason looked through the diaries until he found the one written the year he was born. In it Teresa described their trip to Florida and her decision to let Antonio treat her with the Mortevida drug Fetura. She also described her first trip to see Dr. Tomlinson. She had taped his business card on the inside cover of the diary and Jason pulled it off and stuffed it in his pocket. She described his birth and his purple body.
He skipped ahead to the year his father had died. She described a conversation she’d had with his father regarding Tomlinson's threat to have Antonio deported. She wrote about Jason's birthday and the plans to go to Orlando. That was the end of that diary. He picked up the next one. This one was written after Antonio had been murdered.
Teresa wrote about the house being ransacked and leaving Jason with Ed and Dorothy for a week. She wrote about fortifying the house and her visit with Vinnie Rawlings. She wrote about Tomlinson's disappearance and her suspicions regarding Vinnie. She stored the newspaper articles in the diary along with a copy of the list of women Antonio had written.
Jason noticed the sun was setting. It was close to dinnertime. He had been lying underneath the half-open drawer while he was reading. He looked up before he got up and noticed something taped underneath the drawer. It looked like an old manila folder.
He opened the drawer further and was able to rip the file off the drawer. The tab on the file read “George Ranier.” Jason thought he had seen that name in Antonio's notebook. Antonio had alluded to the fact that George had created something sinister with the Mortevida plant. Antonio didn’t give a more detailed explanation.
Jason opened the file and saw it was some kind of report for Wilmer and March Pharmaceuticals. The report detailed George Ranier's attempts to make the perfect biological weapon out of the plants he had brought to the company from the rainforest. The weapon proved too lethal and was placed in the deep freeze. So, George Ranier had created a weapon out of the plants. But how did this file get here?
Jason had found what might be the answer to the big question – what had caused the tragedy? The more Jason thought about it, the more he began to believe that he and Ricky survived because they had been infused before they were born with an antidote to the poison, a poison that had somehow been unleashed on the world. It was the only thing that made sense. Jason placed the file in the drawer with the diaries. It was time to pay Mark Bennett a visit.
*****
Jason went to the widow's walk with his binoculars to see if the kids were outside. He saw them tending the garden behind Mark's house. Jason had found that garden the day he went to look for the Bennett’s. He had watered it regularly, thinking he would enjoy some fresh vegetables. He was glad now that he had.
He went down the stairs two at a time. He whistled for Ricky and opened the sliding glass door. Ricky trotted ahead of him to the side yard to take care of business before joining Jason as he walked down the beach.
Jason and Ricky walked up to the fence surrounding the backyard. He looked over the fence and saw Mark and the little girl weeding between the rows of vegetables.
“You have to keep the weeds out or they strangle the plants,” Mark was telling her. Ricky barked and they both looked up.
“Hey, Mark, how ya doin'? Can I come in?” Jason was smiling but he noticed the little girl was frowning at him again.
“I can't remember your name, but I know you live over there.” Mark pointed in the direction of Jason's house. “And you're friends with Justin.”
Jason nodded. Mark waved him in and Jason opened the gate. He let Ricky in first. When Jason was inside, he closed the gate and stood surveying the garden.
“I'm Jason. I watered them for you,” he said. Mark looked at the garden too.
“Thanks. I thought they looked too good for me being away so long.”
“Your friend wouldn't tell me her name,” Jason said, nodding at Mindy.
Mark looked at the little girl.
“Why wouldn't you tell him your name?” Then Mark turned to Jason. “When did you meet her?”
“When Rick and I were on our morning run. We met her and her dog.” Jason noticed the female lying by the sliding glass door panting from the heat. “Hey, Baby Girl.”
The little dog raised her head. Ricky quickly walked over to her. They appraised each other. A flicker of familiarity passed between the dogs but quickly faded. Ricky walked over to her and she growled half-heartedly. Ricky then licked her neck and face and she let him. They had bonded.
Well, they like each well enough, Jason thought, as he recognized the female as the same dog in the picture with the purple belly. She had the same pattern on her face. That would explain her survival during the tragedy. But how did she end up in Florida?
“Can I tell him your name?” Mark asked the little girl. She looked down and whispered something Jason couldn’t hear. Then Mark said, “Her name is Mindy.”
“Okay, Mindy. I always like to know the name of a pretty girl.”
“What do you mean by that!” Mark's eyes glared at Jason.
“Nothing buddy, jeez, you two don’t make it easy, do you. Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you want to have dinner with me. I have lots of food, and I figured it would be nice to have human company for a change. No offense, Ricky.”
Mark looked at Mindy. She nodded her head once.
“I guess. Okay,” Mark said. “When do you want us to come over?”
“Half an hour. We can eat on the deck behind my house. See ya then.” Jason whistled for Ricky and he followed Jason through the gate.
Jason went home and took some hot dogs out of the freezer along with buns. He put some French fries in the oven and put ketchup and mustard on the table. He figured this was his favorite meal when he was their age so it must be theirs too. He forgot Mark's vegan history.
When the food was ready, he looked out on the deck and saw the kids had already come over. They were seated on the picnic benches looking at the ocean. The little female dog was on the bench with Mindy. Jason opened an extra can of dog food and put it on a paper plate. Tonight they would all dine together.
Chapter 42
When they were done eating, Jason asked Mark and Mindy to come over to Justin's house to see what the weather satellite was up to. Mark agreed immediately, excited at the prospect of seeing the inside of crazy Mr. Carson's house. Mindy held back.
“Why don't you like me, Mindy?” Jason asked her.
“I don't know you.” Mindy looked at the table as she spoke to Jason.
“Fair enough. Well then, while Mark and I go check out the satellite, will you watch Ricky for me?” Jason tried to give her his best smile. It really bugged him that this kid seemed so afraid of him.
“I can do that.” Mindy looked up at Jason. She wasn’t looking mean now.
“Good. Come on, Mark.”
Jason and Mark got up from the table and walked over to Justin's house. Mark ran ahead to the house while Jason turned to look at Mindy. He waved and she waved back. It was a start.
Mark was waiting for Jason as he walked inside the house.
“Up t
hose stairs to the top floor.” Jason pointed to the back stairs. Mark ran up the stairs and Jason followed him. Mark's eyes grew big when he saw Command Central.
“Holy crap!” Mark exclaimed. “This looks like Batman's cave.” He ran over to the computer.
“Stop! Don't touch the computer. I'll bring up the screen.” Jason walked over to the computer and Mark reluctantly relinquished his seat. He had a face on. “Look, Mark. If you touch something you don't understand, I can't get it fixed. If you have a computer at home, I'll see if I can hook it up to the modem here so you can check out the Internet, okay?”
Mark thought for a moment and then nodded his head. “Okay.”
Jason brought up the weather monitor and moved the mouse to show Florida. He then scrolled down to the islands just below Florida and then over to the east. Then he and Mark looked at the screen and both sucked in their breath. The mass of clouds had formed into a huge circular band with a well-defined center.
“Oh, boy.” Jason said. “I think we better get the shutters closed. That thing is moving fast. And I also think you guys should move in here for a few days. It's the safest house here. You go down and tell Mindy about the hurricane.”
*****
It took some convincing on Mark's part to get Mindy to move into the Carson house, especially if Jason was going to be there too. She finally relented when the weather turned and it was clear a big storm was coming.
The Carson house was raised up about four feet. The basement was actually the lowest floor. It had strong weatherproof shutters and a cement wall that rose up from the ground to help keep the water out from under the house for as long as possible. It also shielded the pilings from the worst of the storm surge. Mindy looked at the house once everything was in place and could see it was the best thing to do.
