With slow strides, Dr. Waters walked over to the bed. She was apprehensive when pulling the bed sheets back to reveal what was under it. Sitting in the centre of the bed was a perfect shiny Floater. They had not seen how the Floater had absorbed their beloved Bree. There was not even a tiny piece of her left behind, not even her bracelet. All Catherine could hear was her mother's screams.
Chapter 5
Kathleen Wright was in her usual spot doing her routine of watching TV when a breaking news interrupted her reality program. She is not interested in any news. Having never watched it before. This was her opportunity to go get a snack from the kitchen, but she was just too lazy to move. Normally she'd shout out to Brett to bring her something, but she knew he was fast asleep. Her husband was also sleep or passed out in the barn. They hardly saw each other much anymore. Ever since he started drinking, things changed. That was fine by her, since she prefers to watch the reruns of the Housewives. Didn't matter which state or country for that matter, she was a Housewife fanatic.
Just as she finally decided to get up to get her snack, she heard the word 'Floater' and she stopped and paid more attention to what was being said. She heard the President of the country say: 'I have a Floater too.'
Sitting up straight, she glared at the television. “Oh my goodness,” she said out loud. Listening intently to what they were saying, Kathleen learned a lot of people had a Floater and treating them like collector's items. She heard they mentioned two young boys finding one while fishing. 'Áre they talking about Brett and Jimmy?' She watched the program in its entirety. She will have to go find Hamilton, her husband and let him know what's going on. She knew exactly where to find him – curled up between bales of hay with a bottle tucked into his pants. He has just got to go see someone about his alcoholism. Walking out to the barn, she found him exactly where she thought he'd be.
“Hamilton, wake up!”she shouts out to him. “I've got something I have to tell you. It is important.!”
All the response she got from him was a gentle snoring vibrating off his lips. She kicked him several times, but she could not stir him awake. 'Useless piece of lard' she thinks. In their early years of marriage, he was a wonderful man. Worked hard and supplied the family with this farm. But the economy hit and there was no work, so his way of handling the situation was to turn to the bottle. She will have to handle this herself as she always did in any situation that arose.
The first thing to do is get that Floater back from Jimmy. After all, Brett had it first was her way of thinking because they asked to keep it at her house first. If the President of the United States had one, then that's like giving the approval to keep it. Besides, who knew what it might be worth now that a lot of people are keeping theirs.
Kathleen put on her coat and ventured off to Jimmy's house. Looking at her watch and noting that it was after ten pm, she realized Jimmy might very well be asleep. She will just have to deal with Samantha, Jimmy's mother. Kathleen never really got on with Samantha, so she usually stayed away from her. The boundary was the only thing that separated the two farms, and as long as Samantha stayed over on her side, Kathleen was happy. A neighbour war is the last thing she'd want, especially since their boys were friends.
Samantha greeted her neighbour at the door.
“I thought I heard someone walking up the path. What are you doing here so late? Is Brett ok?”
“Brett is doing fine. I only came because the boys asked yesterday if they could leave this thing they found in the river at the house. I told Brett no, so Jimmy brought it here.”
“Yes, that's correct. I told Jimmy to keep it in the barn because I didn't want it in the house, well, not until we find out what it is. Why come over so late to ask about it?”
“Well, I have since changed my mind. Jimmy can have it now, at our house. If you go get it, I will take it home now, and he will have it when he wakes up in the morning.”
“Please tell me your kidding. You walked over here this late to get something you already told Brett he couldn't have. Come on now, Your joking right?”
“Nope, I am very serious. From what I hear, it was Brett, who found it first.”
“Ah, I don't think that's entirely true Kathleen. Jimmy pointed it out to Brett and it was Jimmy who went into the water to fetch it.”
“Maybe, but Jimmy told Brett he could take it home. They were going to take turns or something.”
“Yes, But you told them absolutely not! So think of this as Jimmy's turn. Besides, he is going to check it out more closely to make sure it's safe.”
“He can do that over my house. I just think Brett should have it for when he wakes in the morning.”
“Listen, Kathleen, it's late and I am tired. We can do this in the morning when both boys are together. It is not going to get resolved this way.”
Samantha felt the stare Kathleen was giving her. She was pissed and Samantha knew right there and then, that this woman wasn't a very nice person.
“Alright, I'll go with that. But know this, I will be here first thing in the morning, with Brett to claim their find.”
Samantha watched Kathleen walk back down the drive and fade away into the distance. She went back inside and turned off the outside light. 'Why on earth would this woman come to her door eleven at night?' she asks herself. Unless she has been watching TV and seen the possibility of value in the Floater. Everyone in the area knew Kathleen would ever pass up an opportunity to get money. She probably would sell the Floater the minute she could. Her husband Randy should be home soon and she hoped she could stay awake long enough to let him know what's been going on. Samantha is going to keep a close watch on her. 'She cannot be trusted,' was Samantha's last thought before she fell off to sleep.
Kathleen watched Samantha watch her, through her small make-up mirror while walking down the path. She was determined to get that Floater tonight. She was not going to give them the opportunity to find out this thing could be valuable. The President of the United States had one in her possession for God's sake! She was not going to let the Gordon's get the glory for her kid finding a Floater. She hid behind a tree and watched as Samantha turned out all the lights.
It was fifteen minutes later that she crept back onto the property. She knew exactly where the barn was and headed directly for it. Digging in her purse, she pulled out her cell phone and turned on the flash light app. Shining her phone around the barn, it wasn't long before the light bounced off the Floater. Even at night, it shone brilliantly.
Walking over to it, Kathleen was captivated by its beauty and shine. It didn't look like this when the boys first brought it to the house., and it's a lot bigger. Reaching her hand out to touch it, she felt a quick shiver from within. The movement she felt coming from the Floater made her jerk her hand away.
Then she heard a car pulling up the driveway. That would be Randy Gordon coming home from work she thinks. Quickly grabbing the Floater in her hand, she headed for the barn door. She did not want to be caught in their barn. Knowing the Gordon's, they would call the police.
Something made her stop in her tracks, though. Feeling strangely in her hand, she looked down at it and noticed it had wrapped itself around her entire hand. She no longer was holding it, but more like the other way around. The Floater had a grip on her hand and sliding up her arm. It was slimy and gooey and the brilliance that had emitted from it earlier had disappeared.
Kathleen looked on at her hand in horror at what she was seeing. The rate of speed it was growing up her arm astounded and scared her. Her eyes grew large with fright and the screams from within her would not come out. She was totally paralysed either from the Floater or from fright. Her heartbeat raced and her breathing escalated. Her heart was beating harder and harder with every breath she took.
This thing had grown exponentially right before her eyes. With her left hand, she opened her cell phone case and tried to press her husband's number. Realizing that he would still be drunk and in their barn, she knew that was a mistake.
She stood a better chance by calling 911, but that one mistake would be her undoing as she watched the Floater creep up her left arm.
She tried to run outside in hopes Randy Gordon would see her, but her legs couldn't move. Trying to look down as much as she could, she'd just about seen that her legs were covered in slime and gook. She could feel something as it crept up through her veins. Her stomach filled with the substance and moved up and up into her chest cavity. Her last thought was she was about to die as tears streaked down her face and then her heart took its last few beats.
Samantha woke early the next morning. Turning over to the roosters crowing, she shook her husband Randy.
“Randy, wake up.” she shouted to him.
Randy stirred and stretched his arms.
“Oh man, it's that time already. Feels like I just got to sleep.”
“I didn't hear you come in last night. What time did you come in?”
I think it was around quarter to twelve or there about. Not too sure.
"We had a visitor around eleven last night. It was Kathleen Wright."
"Who is that?"
"You remember Jimmy's friend Brett, well it was his mother."
"What did she want here that late?"
"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
Samantha's filled Randy in on all that had happened, including the finding of the Floater.
"The nerve of that woman coming to our house that late to take something from a kid!"
"Maybe, just maybe it is worth something and she knows more than what we know."
"I thought I heard something coming from the barn last night. Do you think it's possible she came back after you turned in?"
"Knowing her, that's very possible. I was just picking up bad vibes from her."
"Ok, here's what we are going to do. Wake Jimmy and lets go to the barn to see this thing. Hopefully, she didn't take it last night."
The three of them walked out to the barn and over to the shelf Jimmy put it on. There is was, sitting there bigger and giving off an even more brilliant shine than before.
“Dad! It's grown. When we found it, it was the size of a rubix cube. Then, once we got it home, it had grown to about the size of a roll of toilet paper. Now, it's the size of a small Television!”
“Wow, just look at the shine on that thing!” his father said, reaching out to touch it.
“Stop, no dad, don't touch it. Something is not right about it.”
“Why? What's wrong with it?”
“Dad, you won't believe this, but I think it's alive!”
“Alive, are you serious? It doesn't look alive to me.”
“I held it in my hand and I felt a quiver. Then it changed to mush and I got physically sick. Something is not right about it.”
“Really. Hmm.. Then we should call someone about it. Samantha, we should also take him to a doctor.”
“I am fine now dad, it's just that I don't think there is any substance on earth that could make a person sick like that. Except maybe something a person is allergic to.”
That's when Samantha informed them both about the YouTube video.
“Last night, it had a few views. In just a couple of hours, it had gone viral. This morning, I saw on the news that a reporter asked the President about it and she had stated she had one.”
“Really, The President has a Floater! Wow, that's amazing.” Jimmy said in astonishment.
“Yes, that is amazing, but how on earth a President can get hold of one?” Asked Jimmy.
“Maybe the same way you did Jimmy. She had said she was on her routinely daily walk at Camp David when she visited there. I wouldn't be surprised if Kathleen had seen that news last night about the Floaters.”
“What are you talking about mom?”
“Oh Jimmy, Brett's mother came here last night when you were sleeping. She wanted to take the Floater back to her house.”
“But she didn't want it at their house. She even raised her voice to us for bringing it in her home.”
“I know, honey, that's why I think something happened for her to change her mind like that.”
Jimmy turned to his father, “Dad, what are we going to do?” Jimmy knew that his father would have the answer since he knew everything. Jimmy admired his father and looked up to him and relied on his guidance.
“I'll tell you exactly what we are going to do. Samantha, you call that reporter and anyone else who can give us more light on this. Jimmy and I will visit the doctor just to be safe and then we will go over to the Wrights house. Jimmy, you can call Brett and let him know we are coming.”
“OK dad, I'll do that right now.”
“Meet you in about five mins at the car. We will take the Floater with us just in case, Kathleen gives us grief, then she can have it. First, though, we need to contain it in something. There is an old ice chest in the barn. We will keep it in there. I am not touching that and neither will you guys.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me Randy. I will comb the comments under the video as well and see who else we can call. Let's get some breakfast first though. Cannot have my two favourite guys going hungry.”
Samantha visits the The Outer Limits Online to find out the phone number for their paper. She finally was able to get hold of a 'Tippy Robinson'. An apprentice reporter working alongside with Andrew Damaree.
“Good day, Mr. Robinson. My name is Samantha Gordon, and my son has found one of those Floaters in the water. We are just not sure what to do with it. We noticed your interest in the Floater under a video he and his friend Brett uploaded on YouTube.”
“It's nice to meet you Mrs. Gordon. You can call me Tippy. We were trying to get a hold of the owner of that video, so I am very happy you called. So, that's your son on the video?” Tippy asked her.
“Yes, it was my son in the water reaching for the Floater and it was his friend Brett who filmed the video,” Samantha confirms, hearing the excitement in his voice.
“It's great that you called Mrs. Gordon. My colleague was going to visit you in person, but it was difficult as whoever put that video up used a false name.”
“That was Brett, who done that without any permission. But that's not why I am calling. I must tell you something is very strange about this Floater. It made my son very sick when he held it in his hands. He is fine now, but my husband just took him to the doctors just to be safe.”
“That's good, because we are not sure what they are. People are finding them all over the world and treating them as gold or something.”
“Really, well, we haven't touched it since and my husband has put it in an ice chest until we can find out more about it. That's why I am calling. We just wasn't sure what to do.”
“It's a good thing you called. Now I need to tell you this. My colleague has been talking to the president about it and we should have more information shortly. But for now, please don't touch it as we don't trust it. Whatever it is, it's not of this world. I don't want to alarm you, but a biologist also called me and she said its foreign.”
“Foreign? You mean like out of this world foreign?” She asked him in shock.
“I realize it sounds a bit crazy but there is no substance on this earth like that according to the biologist. Maybe it could be some kind of undiscovered matter, but not likely. Scientist have identified all matter of this Earth over the years. The biologist just needs to do more tests. She has invited another scientist to come look at the one Floater she has. If you wouldn't mind, can you send me a picture of yours?”
“Sure, I will email it right away.”
“Also, let me know what the doctor says, as some other people touched it but didn't get sick. Here, please take my cell number and call me to keep me posted. You can send the picture right to this number.”
“OK, I will do this right now. Please let us know what to do once you find out.”
After hanging up from Tippy, Samantha ran out the house looking for Randy and Jimmy. It was a known fact that Randy never proc
rastinated about anything he set out to do. If he said he was leaving to go somewhere, you can bet he would go as soon as possible. She has seen them driving down the lane and screamed out for him. Luckily she was able to get their attention and ran up to the car.
“Great! I caught you,”she rasped, out of breath.”
“What's up, what did you find out?” Randy asked her.
“Well, for one, please don't give the Floater to the Wrights. If you have it with you, put it back in the barn. We cannot go anywhere near it after that.”
“What's going on, Sam?”
“Well, you're not going to like this but, I just found out that it might not be of this world!”
“Mom! What are you saying?” Jimmy asked with a shocked look on his face. Randy also looked at her with a puzzled look on his face.
“Listen, this thing, whatever it is, is made up of some kind of unidentifiable substance. They would like us to take a picture of it and send it to them immediately. They also want the report from the doctor, since Jimmy is the only one who touched it and got sick. According to the reporter, no one has reported an illness from touching it. Just you Jimmy.”
Randy gets out the car and goes around the back to get the ice chest out. Opening the lid, he looked inside. And it was still sitting there with no signs of disturbance or change.
Samantha takes a picture of the Floater and sent it on to Tippy.
“There, he has received it. I want to come with you to the doctors. I do not want to stay here by myself with that thing not too far away.”
OK Hun, you come with us. I might need you to talk to Kathleen anyway.
Randy walked the ice chest back to the barn but this time he put it behind some hay, just in case someone came by when they was gone. He sprinkled more hay over the top of it and then they were off to the doctors.
As far as the doctor could say he is fine. 'A boy with an appetite as Jimmy's, is a healthy boy indeed', the doctor assured them. They will have to wait for any blood results in seven days.
Floaters Page 6
