SECRET SALVATION

by Chad Josey

  I hope this is it…

  Crinkling paper and rattling boxes continued until a light came on in the living room.

  “Jacob Levi Bishop, I thought I told you to wait?”

  “I did Mama. I didn’t wake you up. I came in here.”

  Liz staggered over to Jacob and bent down kissing the top of his head as she shuffled into the kitchen. “Don’t open any. Your dad’s in the bathroom and we’ll open them in a little bit.” The coffee maker filled the room with the aroma of instant coffee.

  “Merry Christmas, Jacob.”

  The loud, deep voice coming from the hallway startled Jacob. “Daddy!” Jacob yelled as he stood and ran to Eli hugging him around his waist.

  Eli had worked many long days and nights at the Space Center. Several days had passed since Jacob last saw Eli. Jacob’s surprise to see his dad was even greater because of his excitement for Christmas morning.

  Jacob looked up to Eli. “Did you see Santa last night when you got home, Daddy?”

  “I just missed him, Son. But, I heard the reindeer on the roof just as I came inside.” Eli brushed the top of Jacob’s hair side-to-side.

  “Awe, Man. I tried to stay up, but I fell asleep.”

  “Here’s your coffee, Honey,” Liz said as she came from the kitchen. Steam rose from both mugs in her hands. The smell of instant coffee filled the tiny house on 207 Chatham Lane early this morning.

  “Thanks, Baby,” Eli said taking his coffee and kissing Liz’s cheek.

  “Can we open the presents now?” Jacob asked as he jumped up-and-down between his parents.

  “Okay, okay, Jacob. But, you have to hand them out first,” Eli said.

  Eli and Liz sat in matching-yellow, velvet-covered chairs. A small table sat between them. Their coffee gave its jolt of caffeine they desperately needed this early in the morning.

  Jacob handed out the gifts. He crawled between stacks of gifts and under the tree. His small arms were full of presents as he passed them out between his parents.

  “Mama… Daddy… Daddy… Two for me… Mama…”

  They smiled watching Jacob go back-and-forth from the tree to them with gifts in hand. The only time either of them looked away from Jacob was when Eli and Liz smiled at each other. They held hands between their son’s deliveries.

  “Okay. That’s all. Now, can I?”

  “Go on,” Eli said nodding his approval to Jacob.

  “Yippee!”

  A Tasmanian devil appeared before them in the living room. The sight of colorful green and red paper with various pictures of snowflakes and Santa Claus flew around Jacob. The ripping of paper became deafening.

  “Far out!” Jacob yelled as he disappeared from his parent’s sight lifting his hands above the mountain of torn paper. Jacob held the toy he so had hoped he would get placing it on top of his Christmas list for Santa.

  “What did Santa bring?” Eli asked with a grin knowing this was the one gift Jacob had wanted most.

  “Evel Knievel,” Jacob said as he appeared from the cloud of papers on the floor holding the box. “You set his bike on this red thing and wind it up, and Evel rides his bike across the floor… Hot dog!”

  Liz smiled watching Jacob run into the hallway taking his toy from its box. “Look how happy he is, Eli.” Liz turned to her husband. “He’ll play with that thing for days.”

  “Go, Evel. Woo-who,” came shouts from the hallway.

  “Here, I got this for you,” Liz said lifting a wrapped box from behind her waist.

  Eli unwrapped his present. His eyes grew wide with anticipation. He opened the box and smiled, as he held a black baseball hat of his favorite team, the New York Yankees. Eli put on his new hat, smiled, and said, “I love it.”

  “But, did you see what else was inside the box?”

  “I didn’t see…” Eli replied peering again finding white tissue paper.

  Buried at the bottom was a smaller, gift-wrapped box. He unwrapped the hidden gift. A red, velvet jewelry box sat in his hand as he lifted it to the Christmas tree lights to inspect it closer.

  “Awe, Babe, it’s perfect.”

  “I figured as much time as you’re putting into work that this would be helpful.”

  “The watch is beautiful, Liz.”

  “Turn it over and read the inscription.”

  Eli + Liz = Forever.

  Upon reading the words, Eli stood and placed half his weight on her armchair and the other on her lap kissing her. Her lips tasted of coffee and cigarettes.

  “This is the perfect gift,” Eli said.

  Evel Knievel whipped through the living room. Eli and Liz jumped in the chair as Evel raced into the mound of ripped paper, finally crashing into the tree. The sight of the toy resting in the water at the base of the tree amused Eli and Liz. The spinning back wheel of the toy buzzed until it stopped.

  Jacob followed behind Evel seeing the aftermath of his stunt. “Cool, Man. Far out!”

  “Jacob, come, here. I’ve got a present for the family. I want you to open it,” Eli said as he stood and snuck behind the tree pulling out a gift he had hidden.

  Jacob sat on the floor in front of his parents holding the box with various pictures of Santa Claus and snowmen on it. The blue gift-wrapping never stood a chance against the might of an eleven-year-old.

  Paper flew away behind Jacob. He pulled a box out of the paper and tried to pronounce what he was reading. “Pola… Po… it’s a camera.” Jacob held the box up to his parents.

  “Let me see that,” Liz said reaching her hands to Jacob. She lifted it closer and read what was inside the box. Christmas lights twinkled off the box’s metallic lettering. “Eli, this must have cost a fortune?”

  “What kinda camera is it, Daddy?”

  “It’s a Polaroid camera. And what makes this camera special is you snap the picture and you get it instantly.”

  “But, I’ve seen these advertised… it costs too much,” Liz said.

  “We use them at work, and they're amazing.” Eli took the box from Liz and opened it.

  He lifted the camera out its plastic-wrapped Styrofoam protective covering. “See, it lies flat. Then, you pull this thing up. The camera pops open, and you take a picture.” Eli pulled the brown, square knob on the collapsed camera showing how to use the family’s new present.

  Eli held the camera toward Liz. “You just point the camera, click this button, and voilà.”

  Mechanical, humming came from inside the camera breaking the silence of anticipation. A zipping noise followed, reminding Jacob of the bug zapper they had used in the summer for cookouts.

  A thin, black square piece of white-framed plastic ejected from the front of the camera. Eli grabbed the plastic and held it in front of Jacob and Liz. The blackness inside the white frame faded to a lighter gray color. Like magic, the green color of Liz’s pajamas appeared.

  “And, after you take this out of the camera, in about thirty-seconds… there… you have your picture.” Eli extended his arm in front of them.

  “Wow… that’s cool… take my picture, Daddy.” Jacob sat straight holding Evel Knievel in his lap.

  Eli handed the picture to Liz as he lifted the camera to Jacob. “Say cheese.”

  “Cheeeeese.”

  “This SX-70 is the most current camera out there,” Eli said as he took the picture from the front of the camera and gave it to Jacob, who watched his picture appear.

  “But, but…”

  “No, buts about it, Liz. Jacob’s getting older, and it’ll be good to have these memories for a long time.”

  Looking again at her photo, Liz said, “Okay, but as long as you don’t take any more pictures of me looking like this?”

  “Like what? My beautiful wife.”

  “No, you know what I mean… with my hair like it is.” Liz pushed her hair up into her normal bun style. “Here, let me see that camera.” Liz took the camera from Eli and put it up to her face to take a picture.

  “Babe, you got it backwards.
”

  “Oh, yeah… that’s better.” Liz pointed the camera at Eli and snapped his picture. As Eli’s picture appeared through its black covering, Liz smiled. “Maybe this camera is a great gift after all?”

  “Woo-who, way to go Evel. Now let’s jump the tree!” Jacob yelled as he ran by his parents.

  14-There’s Only Yes

  PRESENT - Stony Brook, 5:17 p.m.

  1,829 Days Prior to Impact

  AFTER A LONG NIGHT, a repeated night of many without sleep, Joe had every intention of staying home to rest. His plan failed as thoughts raced all day about his discovery last night inside the hidden desk drawer. Since he could not slow his mind, Joe surprised Mary with a dinner outside in their backyard when she came home from teaching.

  Joe heard Mary opening the front door and rushed to greet her. “Honey, dinner smells wonderful, but you didn’t have to do anything special.” Joe used his grandma’s recipe for lemon chicken, which filled the kitchen with flavors of citrus and rosemary.

  Joe led Mary to the backyard where she saw a small outside table where Joe had placed the food and drinks. They sat in their backyard enjoying the beautiful early evening. Birds chirped in the overhead oak limbs. Joe’s mind was at peace.

  “So, how was your day?” Mary asked as she spread butter on her bread roll.

  I don’t need her to worry about me. Lie.

  “Oh, my day? Well, I tried to stay here and rest but went to the lab to catch up on some reports.”

  “Was Charlie there?”

  “No, they come back today from Myrtle Beach.”

  “Ah, the ocean. We should plan a trip someday," she said.

  Joe sat in a daze looking down at his plate while Mary ate. “You’re not hungry?”

  “Um, not really. I nibbled a little as I cooked, and I—”

  “Excusez-moi,” a man said as he stood between them outside asking if they wanted water to drink. The man wore a black shirt and pants with a white apron holding a glass pitcher full of water.

  Huh, who are you? Where did you—

  Joe looked surprised seeing the man, but Mary seemed to expect the man’s question.

  “Oui, s'il vous plaît,” Mary said as she nodded to the waiter in approval.

  As the water poured, Joe heard several people walking by them. Joe spun his head around. They were alone. With disbelief, Joe turned back to Mary. “Where’s the waiter?”

  “The who?”

  “The waiter… he was just here.”

  “No one’s here,” she said as laughter grew louder behind him. Positive he was not hearing things, Joe stood from his seat. The only thing near them was their trash can next to the door to their kitchen. No one else was in their backyard.

  “Joseph, are you okay?”

  Joe realized his lack of sleep must have caught up to him seeing and hearing people. He turned to Mary and sat again at their table. Seconds had passed. Accordion music played.

  The sound of people walking returned, as did their laughter. Mary sat in front of the kitchen window. Joe saw the back of Mary’s head reflected in the window as the afternoon sun slid lower in the horizon. He squinted causing her reflection to come more into focus, so too did the image of a black, slender, tall triangle in the background. Joe strained his eyes toward the window to better study the reflection. The image of the Eiffel Tower emerged.

  “Where the hell are we? How did we get to Paris?”

  “It’s okay, Sweetie. It’s okay. Everything will all be over soon,” Mary said.

  Mary reached across the table and clinched Joe’s wrist. Her grip grew tighter. The bright sunshine dimmed like a passing rain cloud overhead.

  “It’s okay, Joseph. Everything will all be over soon,” she said.

  Mary’s stare pierced his soul. The whites of her eyes turned blood-red.

  “What the hell?” Joe yelled.

  The more Joe struggled to loosen Mary’s grip, the tighter it became. With his free hand, Joe leveraged her hand off his wrist. Joe stood and backed away from the table.

  Mary rose from the table floating off her chair. Blood ran from her green eyes. She yelled over-and-over, “It’s okay! It’s okay!”

  The sight of seeing Mary float into the air with the blood dripping down her cheeks increased his terror. As Joe backed away from her, he knocked over the table. People, who had passed by earlier, now became visible, as everyone stopped and stared at Joe. Their screams replaced their earlier laughter. Blood fell from everyone’s eyes as their faces looked upward toward a darkening sky.

  “It’s okay! It’s okay!”

  The sun disappeared behind a total-black sky. The only light visible was the reflection in the kitchen window with the Eiffel Tower engulfed in bright, orange flames shooting upward to the heavens. Joe turned around in horror and saw the Eiffel Tower burning. The heat warmed Joe’s face.

  Mary screamed getting his attention. As Joe turned, her blood-filled eyes frightened him. Her nose was now only an inch away from his. Her sudden closeness weakened his knees as if they were about to buckle.

  She floated upward six feet above the ground with her mouth opened larger than normal, while looking down to Joe. Complete darkness absent any teeth filled her mouth as a death-awakening scream shrilled from her. Joe’s heart stopped.

  “It’s okay!”

  Joe closed his eyes to hide the terrible sight filling his brain and ears. The screaming stopped. The crackling of the burning steel of the Eiffel Tower disappeared. Silence and calm returned.

  A warm light washed over Joe’s closed eyelids as they opened. Mary’s face filled his complete field of vision. She bent over him as he lay on the red futon in their home office.

  Mary was shaking Joe’s shoulders and wrist. “Joe, it’s okay. It’s okay… it’s just a bad dream.”

  Joe blinked his eyes fast to help re-gain his sight. “What the… Mary?”

  “Joe, it’s okay. You were having a terrible dream.”

  He propped himself up on the futon. She sat beside him.

  “It felt so real. We were eating dinner outside. But, then, all of a sudden, we were in Paris… and… and… but, I thought we were here, though.”

  “You thought we were here?”

  “Yeah, we were in our backyard, but it was in Paris. And, this waiter asked nicely if we wanted water…”

  “A polite French waiter? What a nightmare, in deed,” Mary said attempting a joke.

  “Then, the sky turned black, and the Eiffel Tower was on fire… and… your eyes…”

  “Ssh. There, there. It’s okay. It was just a bad dream. You’ve not been getting any sleep, and—”

  “Sleep? Shit, who can sleep with dreams like that?”

  Mary rubbed his back as he placed his head down into his hands, his elbows propped up on his knees. “Yeah, I came home from teaching, and peeked in here. You were snoring so I thought you were sound asleep. I didn’t want to wake you. So, I went to the kitchen and re-heated chicken for dinner and went outside because it’s such a beautiful evening.”

  “Yeah, in the dream we were outside and we were eating chicken.”

  “But, the next thing I knew. You were yelling, and I thought you hurt yourself or something getting up. So, I ran in here and you were screaming, this is it, it’s the end. You kept on screaming that… and, I tried waking you.”

  This is it, it’s the end?

  Joe lifted his head from his hands and looked at the desk. He saw his Polaroid picture and the small sheet of paper with the scribbled numbers and letters.

  Oh, shit, that’s right?

  “Mary, I hate these dreams when you wake up and can’t tell if it’s real or not?”

  “Oh, Honey, It was just a bad dream. It wasn’t real.”

  If only the last week wasn’t real.

  “Whatever your dream was about, it’s not the end…” She reached over him and opened the curtains. Bright, warm orange sunlight filled the room. “It can’t be the end with a sunset like this?�
�

  Joe rubbed his eyes blinded by the sun.

  Huh, the sun must have been shining on my face through the curtains.

  “Did we talk outside this morning?” Joe asked.

  With a worried look, Mary replied, “Sweetie, when I left this morning, you were asleep and in the same position I found you in tonight when I came home. The last time we spoke was yesterday.”

  “Oh… that must have been another dream too? We were outside talking about—”

  Mary interrupted him. “Joe, I’m worried about you.”

  He stood from the futon and peeked out the window. “It’s okay. I’m just having crazy dreams because I’m not sleeping well.”

  “You were sound asleep this morning when I went into the kitchen. I thought for sure when I burned the eggs you’d come running in to see what had happened.”

  “You burned eggs?”

  “Yeah, some dropped on the stove when I was cooking.”

  “That explains it… the smoke in my dream.” Joe kissed and hugged Mary. “What about the party at Charlie and Becky’s this weekend?”

  “That’s next month, Dear. They don’t come back from their vacation until this weekend.”

  “Oh, uh, yeah… that’s right.”

  Am I going crazy?

  PRESENT - Stony Brook, morning

  1,828 Days Prior to Impact

  FOR NINE YEARS, Dr. Joseph Bishop’s office had been his sanctuary. A place where he could collect his thoughts and write his findings from his research in the adjoining lab.

  His office was his refuge from the chaos of the world around him. Too many times, it also had served as a hotel room. Joe found it too easy to lose track of time due to his countless hours of peering through volumes of trade journals, thesis works, and lab results.

  It was the place where Joe wrote his definitive research published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Since publication, various conferences had contacted Joe to present his discovery of the genetic marker miR-182 and its RNA codex, which potentially can reduce the growth of cancerous tumors. Joe felt with his discovery the purpose of his life finally was coming to fruition. He just did not realize how, until last week.

  Still, it was another night without sleep. Joe had left early this morning to go to his sanctuary. On his way, he decided, today, would be the day he began the process to determine what stays and what goes to Salvation.