A New Order

by Jacqueline Druga

  “Anything?” Lars asked Catherine as entered the clinic lab.

  “Well,” she turned and faced him. “I went upstairs to quarantine. Apparently, as I expected they all love Frank’s sermon.”

  “All out?”

  “If that’s what you want to call it,' Catherine said. “In the meantime, I have everything ready to go. All the antibiotics for everyone up there. IV set ups for those in advanced stages and really strong doses for Ellen and those approaching the viral stage. Hopefully, they’ll be strong enough to catch and kick its ass before the bacteria turns viral. I think we should hit Danny Hoi with a hefty dose as well.”

  “I think Dean’s wrong,” Lars said.

  “About curing Danny?” Catherine asked.

  “Yes. I mean, he’s a carrier, I get that, but his blood is like a magnet. Even if we cure him, unlike the others, who is to say he won’t get the bacteria again. I surely can not and I’m god. I think he should be a candidate for Plan B. Until we cure this virus, he’s a ticking time bomb for us.”

  “Oh.” Catherine pursed her lips. “This town may not function without Danny Hoi.”

  “This town may not have a choice.”

  “True.”

  “So, with every infected affected by the Midas weapon…”

  “The Midas Weapon?” Catherine asked. “Is that what you have named it? My goodness, Lars, how brilliant.”

  “Thank you. Not as brilliant as the person who invented it,” Lars said. “I figured the story of King Midas was similar enough to this. As I was saying, time is of the essence. What do we do about those in quarantine?”

  “I say we give them a few more hours to come out of Midas, then we put on the PPE, go in, pull blood from our late stages so we can adjust our doses, and hit the early ones.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “And what did you learn from the Henry tests?” Catherine asked.

  “Everything is normal. Even brain functions. I can’t figure this one out.”

  “We deal with viruses, this is something totally different.”

  “Tell me about it, and …” Lars lifted this phone. “Look at these pictures Hal sent of his people. Notice anything alike about them?”

  “The expressions.”

  Lars nodded. “That expression has something to do with it. Well, they say great minds think alike, maybe the great minds of us all can solve this thing. I’m going to take this …” he lifted the folder. “Down to the cryo lab and share the info.”

  “Lars, why did they take him down there?”

  “I don’t know,” Lars replied. “But I’m sure whatever they are doing to Henry will benefit all the Midas people. With Dean at the helm, I bet it’s something medically brilliant.”

  <><><><>

  “Just fucking break it, Dean,” Frank said.

  “What!” Dean blasted, his tone teetering between a shock and laugh. “I’m not breaking his arm.”

  “Then his hand,” Frank said.

  “Frank, what the hell is the matter with you?” Joe asked.

  “What? He’s trying to pull Henry’s hand down from his face.” Frank pointed to Henry. Now laying on his slightly arched back, bent legs in the air. “He’s not even stable.” Frank gently pushed on Henry’s knees and he rocked. “I’m not saying break his back. Just the arm. We can set it and he’ll never know.”

  “He’ll never know we broke his arm?” Joe asked.

  “No.”

  “How will he not know his arm is broke?”

  “Oh he’ll know his arm is broke, just won’t know it was us. We’ll tell him he fell. Which he did.”

  “True.” Joe nodded.

  “All these people are going to be so fucking stiff when they come out of it,” Frank said. “Here Dean, let me try to bring his arm down.”

  “You’re not gonna break it on purpose are you?” Dean asked.

  “No. Just let me see if I can move it.” Frank grabbed Henry’s hand that was pressed against his face. “Man its stuck.”

  “I know.”

  “Just leave it,” Joe said.

  “Nah, I can feel it start to give,” Frank pulled on the hand.

  “Really?” Dean asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Frank, let it go,” Joe told him.

  “No. I almost have it. See? His fingers are moving …”

  Crack, crack, crack.

  “Goddamn it, Frank.”

  “Shit.” Frank looked at Henry’s fingers that were twisted back unnaturally. “At least it wasn’t his arm.” He reached for the fingers.

  “What are you doing?” Joe asked.

  “Putting them back.” Frank moved the fingers, trying to get them to the position they were before, but they were twisted and crooked.

  “He’s going to need surgery,” Dean said.

  “Nah, they’re fine,” Frank said. “I fixed them.”

  “Do they look fine to you?” Joe asked.

  “Yeah.” Frank nodded.

  “No,” Lars’ voice entered the lab. “Absolutely not. What on earth happened to Henry’s fingers? He looks like the mafia got to him.”

  Dean pointed to Frank.

  “That makes sense.” Lars peered closer.

  “I was trying to move his hand down,” Frank said. “Part of the experiment here is to see if we could move them.”

  “It failed,” Lars said. “Did you think to try muscle relaxer?”

  Silence.

  “Shit,” Dean said. “But I will. Thanks.”

  “I would blame that on you drinking,” Lars said. “But I know the truth.”

  Joe asked. “Is that the results of the scan.”

  “Yes.” Lars nodded. “And there are no surprises. Everything is normal. The only thing that strikes me as some sort of clue is the expression. Hal sent me pictures of those affected by it, and every one of them, including those in Beginnings have the same wide, deer in the head lights, almost mortified look.”

  Dean looked at Henry. “You’re right.”

  “Maybe,” Joe said. “Whatever signal they sent triggers a horrifying memory.”

  “Or,” Frank said, “Showed them something.”

  “Let’s just hope,” Lars said. “It’s not some kind of brainwashing device.”

  “Man, these people are crafty,” Frank said.

  Lars nodded. “Unfortunately, we’ll never know what they saw, thought or felt because they more than likely won’t remember a thing.”

  Frank placed his hands on his hips and bobbed his head left to right. “Wish I would had known that before I used the eraser.”

  The entire feel in the room went on instant freeze.

  Joe tilted his head. “I’m sorry, Frank, you said you used what?”

  “The eraser.”

  “When?” Joe asked.

  “I don’t know, Hour ago maybe longer.”

  “And what for?” Joe pressed.

  “During my preacher speech,” Frank replied.

  “Used it on … who?”

  Frank shrugged. “I can’t name names. I don’t know. Everyone that was watching. I aimed it at the camera.”

  Lars lifted his hand. “Wait. Do you mean to tell me you aimed a mind control device at a camera lens to broadcast.”

  Frank turned his head to Dean who laughed.

  “Sorry.” Dean wiped his smirk.

  “Dean, that was very Robbie like,” Frank said. “Thank you for that.”

  “You’re welcome for that.”

  “Dad was that …”

  “Frank!” Joe yelled his loudest.

  “Ow.” Frank tugged his ear. “That was loud.”

  “Frank! Why in God’s name would you do that?”

  “Because I didn’t want them to remember what I said,” Frank replied. “I thought I’d have some fun.”

  “Have some fun,” Joe repeated.

  “What the fuck, dad, yeah. I told them the truth about everything then I …”

  Joe groaned cuttin
g him off. “I should have known. I totally forgot you did that.”

  “It’s not a big deal.” Frank said. “I set it for thirty seconds. It didn’t work on you.”

  “I wasn’t watching the television, I was listening.” Joe said. “What is wrong with you?’

  “Nothing. And I don’t know what you’re upset about. It was nothing compared to this.”

  Joe’s eyes widened. “This, you did this.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Frank argued. “The terrorist did.”

  “No, Frank there are no terrorists.”

  “Aliens?”

  “Frank!”

  “What!?”

  “There are no terrorists, no aliens .. you! You did this. You Frank. When you aimed that goddamn eraser at the camera lens somehow, someway, I don’t know how, it magnified it.”

  “No” Frank shook his head. “I didn’t do this. Then why didn’t it do this to Oliver?”

  “He wasn’t watching a television.”

  “Oh.”

  “Son of a bitch.”

  “Joe,” Dean spoke up. “In Frank’s defense.”

  “Don’t,” Joe stopped him. “Don’t say it. There is no Frank defense.”

  “Yeah, there is,” Dean repeated. “Think about it. Yeah, it wasn’t the best idea but … he may have inadvertently invented the ultimate weapon against the enemy in the great war. We find out how, tweak it, it can work.”

  “Okay. Be that as it may, we have a situation now,” Joe said. “We don’t know enough about this eraser, so we need Hank.”

  Silence.

  “Who?” Frank asked.

  “Hank,” Joe said. “Your clone.”

  “Oh, yeah, him.”

  “Him. Yes. We need him,” Joe said. “Can you get him?’

  “No.”

  “No? Why?”

  “He’s not here. Maybe in spirit…”

  “I know he’s not here, Frank,” Joe snapped. “Can you go get him.”

  “He’s on vacation.”

  “What the hell is the matter with you?” Joe yelled. “Get him, wherever he is.”

  “There’s a quarantine.”

  “It doesn’t apply to you. Now I need to get some answers. Hank is the one person who may know them. I need to pick his brain. Go get him.”

  Frank didn’t move.

  “Frank! You son of a bitch! Do you know where he is!”

  “Yes!”

  “Then get him…”

  “Dad.”

  “Now.”

  “Dad….”

  “Now!”

  “Fine!” Frank turned and walked toward the back rooms.

  “Where is he going?” Joe asked.

  “Joe?” Dean spoke up. “I’m going to go upstairs and get back to work.”

  “Oh. No. No you aren’t.” Joe turned his head to the sound of a chair squealing against the floor.

  Lars pulled up a stool and sat down. “Ignore me. This is just going to be interesting.”

  Frank returned with a silver frosted case and set it on the counter. “There.”

  “What is this?” Joe asked.

  “Hank. Well, his brain. Dean had it fucking buried under everything else.”

  Joe’s eyes shifted to Dean, whose hand immediately went to this face. “Frank. This Hank’s what?”

  “Brain. You said you wanted to pick it. Which I don’t get. But pick away. I don’t think we need it. Do we need it Dean?’

  Eerily calm, Joe nodded. “Robert, please.”

  “Uh, dad,” Frank leaned into him and whispered. “Robbie’s dead.”

  “I know this Frank, but I am sure, he is finding this very amusing right now and laughing like he always would.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe” Joe said, staying calm. “Frank, why is Hank’s brain in a box?”

  “Because he’s not using it. I don’t know why we kept it. Keeping the other parts makes sense.”

  “The other parts?” Joe asked.

  “Yeah. A bunch.”

  “For?”

  “Dean said in case I need a transplant. It’s a perfect match,” Frank said.

  “Of course he’s your clone.”

  “Yeah, he saved the heart, kidney, lung … liver.”

  “The liver. Yes. With as much as you drink, that was a good call.”

  Lars spoke. “I’ll assume this is where you got the spleen for the B calls, Dean?”

  Dean nodded. “Yes.”

  “Frank…”

  ‘It’s gonna defrost.”

  “Excuse me?” Joe asked.

  “The brain. It’s gonna defrost if you don’t use it.”

  Joe still remained calm. “Frank?’

  “Yes.”

  “What happened to Hank?”

  “He died.”

  Joe nodded. “I figured that. When?”

  “Week, maybe two. I don’t know. I lost count,” Frank replied.

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “I was afraid you’d get mad, but you’re handling this well.”

  “I am.”

  “That’s my line.”

  “Shut up.”

  “Okay.”

  “”Frank,” Joe said. “How? How did he die?”

  “Violently.”

  Joe just waved his hand for Frank to continue.

  “I was training him. I took him out to the killer baby region.”

  “Frank!”

  “You’re starting to yell again.”

  “Tell me you didn’t send him into the killer baby region,” Joe said.

  “I didn’t.” Frank paused. “But I did. I told him to outrun them.”

  “Frank he doesn’t run sixty miles an hour.”

  “I learned that pretty fast. I wish someone would have told me that.”

  “You killed your clone.”

  “Technically, he killed himself if you think about it. Or I killed myself.”

  “Frank! You stupid son of a bitch!” Joe yelled. “If I wasn’t so mad right now about this…” He pointed to Henry. “And everyone else stuck like him. I’d kick your ass.”

  Frank laughed.

  “That’s funny?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “Try me.” Joe stepped to him. “Right now we have a thousand people across the communities frozen like this and we need to find a way to set them free. Get them out of this state. What about Danny Hoi?”

  Lars replied. “Like Henry.”

  “Damn it. Anyone else we can pull in to work on this. Johnny?”

  “Frozen in the waiting room,” Dean said.

  “There has to be someone that has to know about electronics.”

  “Dad.”

  “What about out east?” Lars suggested. “George has people.”

  “Dad.”

  Joe snapped his finger “good idea.”

  “Dad.”

  “What, Frank. What? What? What?”

  “Why don’t we just zap him again?” Frank suggested.

  “You mean with the eraser?” Joe asked.

  “Yeah. Makes sense. It fuckin made them like this, it should …. Erase it. Get it.”

  “You want to hit them with the same thing that made them like that.”

  “Yeah.” Frank nodded. “It’s logical.”

  “It’s also logical it could cause permanent brain damage.”

  “It could. It’s worth trying,” Frank said.

  “Then by all means,” Joe held out his hand. “Zap Henry. You already dropped him and broke his hand. Might as well risk brain damage.”

  Frank walked over to Henry and pulled out the eraser, he fiddled with it.

  “What are you doing, Frank?” Joe asked.

  “Just setting the memory for a few seconds, I want to know what he remembers when he …”

  “Frank! Do it!” Joe shook his head and looked at Lars. “I hope this doesn’t kill Henry.”

  “It shouldn’t.” Lars said.

  “Well, once he sees is d
oesn’t work,” Joe said. “Then we can get on with …”

  “Ow….” Henry whined. “Why does my hand hurt? Why am I like this? How did I get here? Uh! What happened to my fingers?”

  Joe looked at Frank.

  Frank grinned. “Oh, yeah, who’s the brilliant mind, now?”

  Joe turned and walked out.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Hal peered up to the sky, watching as the plane flew overheard.

  “There goes, Jimmy,” Hal said to Frank.

  “Yeah, I’m a little jealous.”

  “Me, too. He gets to go out there. See another aspect of this world we forgot about it. Do you think they’ll find anything?”

  “After the guy in Brazil?” Frank shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, if they can invent such technology as the Midas, well, we have our hands full.”

  “That we do.”

  “And thank you,” Hal said. “I know you have been up all night undoing what those bastards did to our people. I want you to know I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.”

  “It had to be tedious. A lot had to be done individually, and then explaining what happened. You have been going at it since yesterday.”

  “I couldn’t just leave them like that,” Frank said. “Did I get everyone?”

  “Yes, you did. By the way, Frank, It was good seeing you today.”

  “Thanks, Hal, it was good seeing you. I miss arguing face to face.”

  “I do, too.”

  “You’re being so nice.”

  “Frank, I’m proud of you,” Hal said. “I mean, to come up with the idea of the eraser being able to reverse the Midas, my God, that was a stroke of brilliancy.”

  “Thanks. Wish Dad would see that.”

  “Dad sometimes fails to recognize how that mind of yours works. I want you to know, I see it. I was very impressed.” Hal stopped walking when they got to Frank’s truck. “Are you sure you don’t want breakfast? Take it with you maybe. We have bacon.”

  “No, I’m good. Dad wants us for this medical meeting. I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Sounds good.” Hal shook hands with Frank, stepped in for a partial hug. He watched Frank get in the truck and stayed on the street corner until Frank was no longer seen. He truly was impressed with Frank. He hadn’t any idea how Frank come up with using the eraser, but he did and it worked.

  Perhaps his father was jealous, because there was no reason for Joe to be so snippy about Frank going to Bowman, telling Hal, “I don’t give a shit if he is up all night, he will be there.”