New Birth

by Orrin Jason Bradford

  "I've got a message for you from Mary. She's the duty nurse this shift. First, all the nurses were amazed when they found out what Dr. Chickowski did to you. We don't agree with it, but there's nothing we can do. Mary told me to tell you the children are fine. They had a rough night last night, but they're fine now. She also wanted me to let you know Dr. Chickowski is getting ready to evacuate them from the premises. No one understands why. She thought you might want to know."

  "When is this going to happen?" Denise asked.

  "I don't know exactly, but I think it'll be soon."

  "Do you know how they're planning to get them out?"

  "Mary said she heard one of Chickowski's technicians talking to a van rental agency."

  "We've got to do something," Bridgette said. "If Chickowski gets the kids away from here, we'll never see them again."

  "Can you help us?" Denise asked. The nurse took a step back and lowered her eyes. "I don't know what's going on around here. I've only been working here for a couple of months. I can't afford to lose this job. If Dr. Chickowski caught me helping you..."

  "Okay, never mind. Just thank Mary for letting us know what's going on."

  The nurse finished taking the food from the cart and left.

  "Now what?" Denise asked as she walked back to the window and looked out.

  "Now we figure out some way to put a monkey wrench in Chickowski's plans." The two of them thought hard trying to come up with a plan, completely ignoring the food.

  Denise continued to stare out the window while Bridgette paced behind her. After several minutes, Denise broke the silence.

  "I think I know where to throw the monkey wrench. It just drove up."

  "What do you mean?" Bridgette asked as she joined her at the window.

  Denise pointed down to a blue van in the parking lot. The two women watched as the driver jumped out.

  "There's the van." Bridgette looked at Denise and smiled for the first time in days. "Shall we use your monkey wrench or mine?"

  "I think both of them would be appropriate," Denise replied as she hugged her friend. She opened the window and swung lightly out on the ledge. "Wish me luck. I'll be back within half an hour."

  She started inching her way along the ledge, then, stopped. "I've always wondered how many different ways there are to disable a car. I finally get the chance to find out."

  It had been a difficult night for Flip, as he reacted in his own way to the news that one of his children had been injured. Tabitha had delivered the message to the Kindred, but Flip had felt the change in psychic energy as well. He had been unclear of its source until Tabitha informed him that Mel, his only son, had suffered a serious wound.

  How is he? He thought to Tabitha.

  She did not answer at once, but Flip could feel the ominous mood preceding her thoughts. I don't know for sure, but for the first time in weeks, I can't feel his presence.

  He's not dead, is he? Flip asked before he thought what the statement might do to the others.

  I don't know, Tabitha replied.

  The Kindred had responded to the news with alarming ferocity, as though they were a great beast of prey that had just lost an appendage while doing battle. Perhaps the analogy was not far off, Flip thought. Maybe that is what we are, not each an individual, but just a small part of a greater whole.

  Flip couldn't dispel the feeling of loss and sadness. Had he lost his only son, before ever having the chance to see him? An interesting thought. He had never truly seen any of his children, although they each appeared in his mind very clearly. Except for his two strays. They were still too far away to know what they would look like. Now, it appeared that he might never know.

  And still, in the back of his mind, underneath all of the grief, was a sliver of relief. He was ashamed of the feeling. So ashamed, he fought to keep it out of his mind, but still, it persisted. For deep inside, beyond what he would even admit to himself, Flip was relieved. Perhaps it was best for everyone that Mel had been killed. Perhaps the Kindred itself had been saved by the sacrifice. Maybe a cancerous filled appendage had been severed from the beast—a malignancy that needed to be surgically excised to protect the rest of the animal. Maybe, just maybe, it was all for the best.

  Flip felt the tears pool in his eyes, and then, streak down the sides of his face. Strange to feel tears after all these years—strange to feel anything at all. Suddenly, it dawned on him, how strange it truly was. He'd had no real bodily sensations for over three years. Wait a minute. That wasn't true. He had felt something before. He remembered now.

  He'd opened his eyes once, hadn't he? It had not been a dream. He knew that now. He'd opened his eyes and had seen his room for the first time. And now, he was crying and feeling it. He was still alive, and not just his mind, but also his body.

  He had opened his eyes once—and he'd do it again. Now. Now. Open them now!

  The light was blinding and life-giving, all at the same time. The tears felt wet and warm on his face. A chuckle gurgled its way to the surface and broke from his lips, sounding like a cow regurgitating its cud.

  His eyes wandered around the room trying to take in every detail. It lasted for only a few seconds before he felt the black weariness rolling over him. He fought to maintain consciousness. Someone, please, see me. I'm alive—I'm awake. No one saw, and no one came. There was only the black tide rolling over him and in the distance, a muted pounding.

  The climb was more difficult than Denise imagined. From the security of the third-floor room, it had seemed like an easy task. Now, as she hung from the ledge trying to find the railing of the balcony below with her foot, she wondered what had possessed her to think so foolishly. Then, her foot touched the railing, and she started breathing again.

  Once on the balcony, she stood for a moment to let her heart rate catch up with itself. As she looked around, she realized the balcony was only a thin ledge with a railing, not useful for anything but aesthetics. And, she had to admit, it made a nice temporary sanctuary for novice climbers. She tested the window in front of her in the hope that someone had left it unlocked which would allow her to retire from the climbing business. She was not so lucky.

  She walked over to the edge and traced the pathway along the ledge of the second story, over to the overhang that protected the service entrance. Once there, she would lower herself down as far as possible, and then, drop onto the roof. That would be the most challenging part. If she lost her balance, she could fall from the overhang to the ground and break her leg or worse. She started to climb over the railing when something made her stop.

  She suddenly noticed a crack in the drapery that gave her a partial view into the room. As her eyes adjusted to the subdued lighting, she realized the room was a familiar one — one she'd been in many times before. It was Flip's room — but no. Flip's room had been on the first floor. Then, she remembered that Chickowski had moved Flip. Could this be Flip's new room?

  She strained to look closer at the form in the bed, shielding her eyes with her hand. Her breath caught in her throat. By God, it’s Flip. She was sure of it. She continued to study the familiar features of the man she loved, longing to reach out and caress his cheek as she had on her other visits. She felt the familiar pain in her chest she'd often felt on those visits. The old questions of "what if" arose again. What if I had asked Flip to stay, not to fly to Atlanta when we’d first met? What if I hadn’t played so coy?

  She shook herself from those thoughts. What if you'd been born a boy was the question her mother had always asked her. We'd have to rename you Dennie instead of Denise. How'd you like to go through life with such a name? Be glad for what is and don't worry about what could have been because if it could have been, it would have been. Denise smiled, as she remembered her mother's wisdom. She started back to the ledge, but as she started to look away, she noticed a strange glitter around Flip's eyes.

  Were those tears she saw? No, they couldn't be. She placed both hands against the window so she could see mo
re clearly.

  They were tears! Somehow, Flip was crying. She'd never seen or heard of such a thing. She continued to watch intently. A flutter. Wasn't that a flutter of his eyelashes? No, she thought, I'm making things up now, but she continued to watch.

  Then it happened. Before she knew what was happening, Flip's eyes opened—those beautiful eyes that had captured her heart from the first moment she saw him. His eyes were open after being closed for so very long. The scene didn't last long. Perhaps no more than fifteen seconds, but during those moments, Denise's world stopped. All the possibilities that had become impossibilities on the night of the shooting now returned fresh, renewed. If Flip could open his eyes and cry, what else was possible? Anything...everything.

  The eyes fluttered again, then, slowly closed. As they did, Denise realized Flip was drifting off again. No, not yet Flip. Stay with me for a while and dream with me. She found herself slapping at the glass with both of her hands, despite the need to be quiet. She didn't care. Flip was inside, and he needed her. He needed to know she was there for him — but it was too late. Already, the dark wave of unconsciousness had reclaimed him.

  Breakdown

  Lionel sat in the back seat of the cruiser, next to Alp. How long would she sit there staring out the window, he wondered. Probably for days, if we let her. The last few days had no doubt, been very traumatic for her. First seeing her mother brutally killed by her brother and then, losing him only a few hours later. It was too much to expect anyone to take, much less a little girl – special gifts or not.

  He reached over and patted her hand. "A penny for your thoughts." It was all he could think of to say.

  She didn't respond at first but continued to stare unfocused out into space. After a moment, she glanced over at him as though realizing where she was for the first time.

  "Oh, I was just thinking about how I expected this trip was going to be; what it would be like to see my sisters, and how much this isn't like what I thought it would be. Mel and I were going to have this beautiful trip on a big plane. We were going to free our sisters and run away to some private island, where we wouldn't have to worry about what people thought of us. Where we could be free just to be who and what we are."

  A pair of tears stained her cheeks. "But now, Mel is gone, and I'm being thrown in the same cage that I was going to free my sisters from. And, we'll continue to be looked at as though we're freaks."

  Lionel felt his own chest tighten as she spoke. What in the world were they doing to these kids? Why had he allowed himself to become a part of this atrocity? Didn't they have the same rights as everyone else? The questions haunted him, but the most difficult one of all was what was he going to do about it.

  He reached out and patted her hand again. ''It won't be as bad as you think. You won't be kept in a cage at all. In fact, you'll have a very nice nursery with lots of toys to play with and lots of people who love you." His words sounded like someone beating on an empty oil drum.

  "We'll be at the center in less than an hour. You'll see. It's not so bad." Alp moved her hand away and placed it on her lap. She leaned her head against the car window and stared into nothingness.

  "What do you mean, the van won't start?" Chickowski screamed at the top of his lungs. ''It has to start. We need to get these damn kids out of here now!" He shouted; his red face only inches from Fred's.

  Fred's jaw muscles flexed spasmodically, as he fought to maintain control. "I don't know what happened. It ran perfectly fine on the way over here, but just now, I went to move it closer to the door, and it won't start. Hell, I'm a lab tech, not an auto mechanic."

  Chickowski turned and looked at the only other person in the room.

  "How about you? You know anything about cars?"

  Barry nodded. "Yeah, I know a little. Do you want me to take a look?"

  "No, no, that won't be necessary. Why don't you just stand there with your thumb up your ass? Of course, I want you to take a look. Now!"

  The two technicians turned to the door, thankful for an opportunity to escape. "And let me know something within ten minutes. We need that van running."

  Chickowski continued to pace the lab fighting to calm down. No word from Brown and now, his alternative plan was running afoul. He turned to the intercom on his desk and punched the button for his secretary.

  "Call down to the nursery, let them know there has been a delay and find out if the children are all still asleep. Then, find the nearest rental place that rents vans and see how quickly they can get one out here."

  "Yes, Dr. Chickowski. Do you want me to have the nurses take the jackets off the children while they wait?"

  "Of course not," Chickowski snapped. Then, realizing how he sounded, added in a calmer voice, "We can't take the chance that they'll react violently to the move and injure themselves."

  Chickowski sat at his desk thinking and thumping his pencil against it. Could one of the children have awoken and done something to the van? Were their powers so strong they could do something like this even in their sleep? How in the hell am I going to control them if that's true?

  He flipped the pencil into the trash can. He didn't know how, but he'd find a way. He'd be damned if some snot-nosed little brats would get the best of him. He decided to walk down to the nursery and check on the Kindred himself.

  Denise crouched behind a prickly shrub next to the rear entrance of the building. She had just watched Fred storm through the doors, after trying unsuccessfully to start the van. I make a pretty good saboteur, she thought, but now what do I do? She was free, at least for the moment. Why would she want to go back up to that tiny room and play hostage again? I could go for help and be back before anyone notices I've left. Or, maybe I could find Mary or one of the other nurses and explain what’s happening. Surely, they would help us.

  Then, the thought of what would happen to Heather and the rest of the children if she got caught flashed into her mind. Chickowski would not hesitate to torture them or worse. Reluctantly, she looked up at the window where Bridgette was waiting. Climbing back up would be more difficult than coming down, not because the climb itself was harder, but this time she'd be returning to her prison instead of escaping.

  "Oh children, I pray I’m making the right decision," she muttered to herself, as she started climbing back up the pole of the overhang.

  The cruiser slowed as it took the exit off of 1-85 that led to the Research Triangle Park. Lionel reached over and gently shook Alp from her slumber. "Wake up, Alp. We'll be at Bio-Vita in just a few minutes."

  Alp stretched her arms over her head and yawned. She looked around in confusion, then, remembered where she was. "How much longer?" She asked sleepily.

  "Only about ten minutes until you'll be with your sisters," Lionel said, hoping to get a smile out of her.

  Alp's face brightened a little at the news. "I can't wait to meet them. I hope they like me."

  "Oh, they'll like you just fine. That's the great thing about family. They love you no matter what you do or who you are."

  "Not all family. Mom never liked me. I doubt she liked anyone."

  "Well, your sisters are sure going to like you. Cheer up. It'll be okay." Lionel paused for a moment, debating with himself whether to tell her the rest. She has to know sometime, he thought. Now is as good a time as any.

  "There's someone else at Bio-Vita you might want to see."

  "Who's that?"

  "Your father, Flip MacDougal."

  Alp nodded slowly. "So that's it."

  "What's it?" Lionel asked, confused by the lack of emotion.

  "Well, I've been feeling a presence for some time, but only one. Mel was the one who was in contact with our sisters, but every time I tried to reach them, all I got was this one identity, and it was pretty weak. I just figured it was the total of the Kindred, but that explanation never felt quite right."

  Alp paused before asking. "What's he like?"

  Lionel didn't know quite what to say, so he blurted out the truth. "H
e's in a coma—has been since just before you were born."

  "Oh," Alp said without any expression.

  "Doesn't that bother you?" Lionel said, surprised again by the lack of a reaction.

  "Yes, I guess a little, but once we get close enough, I'll be able to communicate with him anyway. So it's not so bad."

  Lionel looked at her for a few seconds trying to decide if she was kidding. He decided she was not. Could it be through his daughter they'd be able to re-establish communication with Flip after so long? The thought sent a shiver up Lionel's back.

  Alp sat in silence for a few minutes, gazing out the window. "I wish Mel could have met them too," she said. "It won't be the same without him."

  "Well, don't let it put a damper on things for you," Lionel replied. Then, deciding it was best to change the subject he added, "See all these buildings? They're all research facilities. This entire area is for research."

  "Does that mean that they're going to research me?" Alp asked.

  "Well, you are a special girl. It would be valuable if we figured out how you heal people."

  "And what made Mel a torch," Alp added. "That's why you want us all together here, so you can experiment with us and find out what makes us different. But we aren't different, not really. We just know how to do a few things other people can't, but it doesn't mean we like to be experimented on."

  "But, we won't hurt you, Alp. Really. You must trust me. Nothing will be done to harm any of you."

  Alp shook her head. "How about what was done to one of my sisters just a day or two ago. It was so awful it almost killed Mel. I didn't much like it myself."

  "What are you talking about?" Lionel asked, bewildered.

  Alp told him about the incident back at the lodge and what she had experienced.

  "Are you sure the force came from one of your sisters? That's a long way for it to pass."

  "Of course, I'm sure," Alp replied. ''I'm psychic, aren't I?"

  Lionel glanced at Chunk through the security glass that separated the back seat from the front. He was busy talking to the driver and hadn't heard Alp's conversation. He needs to know about this, Lionel thought. He started to tap on the glass, but then stopped. What if Chunk already knew what was going on? Maybe he and Chickowski were in this together. They had become pretty buddy-buddy of late. No, whatever Chickowski was up to, he'd have to get to the bottom of it himself.