by Darrell Bain
"Okay, Dad. Sorry, Sammie, I have to go." He departed with his father without attempting to introduce them. Samantha thought it was strange rather than rude. Or more likely, she thought, his father probably hadn't taught him a lot of social skills.
As time passed she became sure of it. He was even more uncomfortable when around those of his own age group than she was. It did give them something in common, though. They developed a friendship but it went slowly. Ray wasn't in class nearly as often as her. Spring was the time of year when he and his dad trained and sold most of their horses, he said, and it kept him busy. Also, during the summer many of her classmates were needed to help with farm or ranching duties. School continued but at a reduced pace. All this conspired to keep her from seeing Ray very often but curiously, she didn't miss him that much when weeks went by without them meeting.
She made friends with Judy and of course was friends with Jessica as well as a couple of the boys her own age. They seemed too immature for her to consider them as romantic prospects, though, and the few who were older she didn't much care for, other than Ray. They acted too much like guys who were trying to prove their manhood but didn't know exactly how and usually made a botch of it.
As her relationship with Ray was developing so slowly, the real high points of spring and early summer were calls from Whit to ask for her assistance with one animal or another. Once it was a ewe having a difficult birth. She learned a lot from that case. Another time she accompanied him to a small egg producer who was having difficulties with the hens not laying. That trip almost made her physically ill. She had learned from Caw-Caw and the birds around their home that there was a vast difference between the crow's intelligence and that of other avian species. The chickens bred for laying hardly had minds at all, but it was more from lack of development of their limited intelligence than their inherent potential. They were crammed into cages with hardly any room for movement, not even enough to spread their wings. The conditions of their servitude produced minds that were sick. In human terms they would have been called insane. She spoke to only a few of the captive birds before she had to run from the huge egg production building. She climbed into Whit's van. At first she began crying but then became nauseated at the very thought of the birds spending a lifetime in the conditions she had just observed. Their reward, she knew, would be death when their laying cycle fell below a certain limit. Then their carcasses would be ground up and used for fertilizer or even more sickening, as food for other animals, even chickens. Thinking about it made the nausea worse until she finally lost her breakfast.
When Whit arrived back at the van she was still bent over and wiping her mouth on a tissue. It was some time before he could get the story from her.
"Whit, it's terrible. You'd have to be able to understand them to know how bad it is. They're all mad."
"You mean angry?"
"No, mad as in crazy, insane. I've never thought too much about the way chickens or pigs or cows we use for food are treated, but if they're like those poor birds I don't want to go near them. Too much contact with them might drive me mad!"
"There have been a number of articles I've read about conditions at hog farms and dairy farms or beef production at slaughter houses. I had no idea that the minds of those poor creatures were affected so badly."
"Just don't ask me to go to another place like that, Whit. Please."
"I won't, Sammie. And thank you for pointing this out to me. I believe I might devote my retirement to a study of meat and dairy and egg production and maybe do some research on how to improve the lives of the animals involved."
"I'd like that, Whit. I don't think I could do it, though. I'd have to listen to the animals and I don't think I could stand it." All the way back home though, she thought about the raising of meat and dairy animals and how they lived. She knew she couldn't stand to confront a lot of any of the species at once but how about one at a time? Perhaps that way she could help Whit when the time came, if it did.
Other trips with Whit weren't nearly so upsetting. She found ferrets were lots of fun and one of the few species of animals that enjoyed play, even as adults. They were intelligent enough to have limited conversations with. She thought that if she were around them a lot she might discover other attributes not generally known, but there was only one pair in the area and they visited them only once, just for a general checkup.
By the time the weather began really warming up Samantha realized one day that she was having many more conversations with adults than with her peers. It made her think that as much as she liked the area it no longer held a lot of room for personal growth. Even the home school classes held little more for her. She began to daydream of going to a regular school, college perhaps, and having lots of friends and a really special boyfriend, one who displayed a lot more interest in her than Ray seemed to. She was restless at night and sometimes irritable for no good reason during the day but she had no idea it was simply hormones pushing her body for release.
***
"Mister Carrera, how is your special project going?"
Juan looked up from the computer alcove of his office. Bookshelves, tables and half the chairs in his office were stacked with trade magazines, printouts and hand-manufactured scale models of several spacecraft. Sitting with them were instruments and devices he had built that were holding down notes to himself. "Hello, Mr. McAllister. If you're talking about Samantha, I'm beginning to get worried about her."
"Why is that? Have the crazies found them again?"
"No, sir. It's just that... well, watch when I type in her name for a search." He tapped keys with amazing speed then gestured at the results. "See how many entries? That's half again as many as three months ago. The numbers are very impressive for someone so young."
"And that bothers you for what reason?" Anton wondered for a moment how much time the young man spent following Samantha's life, then dismissed the thought. Whatever it was, he could manage it and all his other research tasks as well. When it came to multi-tasking, Juan Carrera might have originated the concept.
"Her name and exploits are appearing too often for her own safety, I believe. I think we should bring her into the confines of the agency, along with her family, of course."
"It might spoil her development, Juan. Her talent should develop naturally. Or do you disagree?"
"There are arguments on both sides. Personally, I believe she might develop more range and depth to her talent if she were helped by us, sir, but that's not my main concern. Terrorists, spies, foreign powers, and even our own military or the agencies of Homeland Security are what I'm most worried about. And I hate to say it but it's our own people I'm most afraid of."
"Which ones?"
He shrugged. "Any of them would want her once the idea strikes someone that her talent might very well be real. Up until those groups began forming that worship her or hate her, I believe almost anyone who didn't know her personally thought her exploits were probably staged. Either that or they thought her parents were after the publicity, despite their denials. Those crazies are making too much noise, though. I really would like to see her here."
"How about her schooling? Her parents?"
"I could tutor her and so could Jane and David. If you look at her record though, she's doing a pretty darn good job of learning by herself. She's even smarter than I thought she was when you first assigned her to me as a project. And I'm sure you could find something for Mr. Douglas and his wife to work on. We could bring different animals to her rather than it being a random process as it is now. Did you know that she's learned to talk to a crow that had been hit by a car or something and was brought to the sanctuary?"
"A bird? Really?"
"Yes, sir. And now she's trying to make friends with all the birds around their place."
"Is she succeeding?"
"Within the limits of their intelligence, yes, but it's the crow I'm more interested in. Crows and ravens are very intelligent. Same with some species of parrots. Yo
u know what conversing with birds might lead to, I'm sure."
"Yes, possibly. Don't let your imagination run away with you, though. It might not mean a thing. Always remember, too, that until we actually see her in action under controlled conditions we don't know how adept she is. It might turn out that it's just as many have reported, she simply has a very high affinity and rapport with animals."
"I'd still like to see her brought here."
"You feel strongly about this?"
"Yes, sir. Very strongly."
"Alright, Juan. Let me think about it."
"Don't take too long. The world is a dangerous place and she might be the key we need."
"I'm aware of that. I'll let you know soon."
"Fine. Thanks for considering it, sir."
"You're welcome."
Anton left the young genius and retired to his own office to think. He sat at his desk and rolled a pencil between his palms, the same as always when he was giving deep thought to a problem. He knew his best days as a researcher were far behind him but he prided himself in his ability to manage the younger scientists and engineers. On many occasions he had been thanked for steering their thoughts in directions that had led to weapons and concepts for devices he could not have devised on his own, but could steer others in the right direction. His main occupation these days was keeping the scientists happy with their work while he continued his own voluminous reading habits, which in turn kept him abreast of the leading edge of many of the sciences. He smiled to himself, thinking of how young Carrera probably read more than he did and yet still managed to work on several projects, as well as keeping up with Samantha Douglas. He had just turned twenty three, too. If ever he had seen a polymath, then Juan Carrera met the criteria. He even managed time for brief romantic liaisons but they never lasted more than two or three weeks, if that long.
One day he would fall, though. Almost all young men did eventually. He just hoped he would continue his interest in Samantha when it inevitably occurred. Right now he believed she was the most likely person who could help solve his own most pressing problem, if anyone could. He just wished she weren't so young, only fourteen. She needed to be older before trying to get her to work for the agency, if at all possible. That was still in the future, though, but coming closer. Possibly.
Juan would keep her as his own special interest, of course, but if she did have to be moved here it would be helpful if they became good friends. He had high hopes for the young girl, especially since she had initiated communication with birds. He knew he shouldn't let that influence him as much as it did but he couldn't help it. Somehow they had to have a breakthrough when the time came, and as of now Samantha Douglas held the honor of being their best prospect. Or did she?
The new thought should have occurred to him long ago. Damn it, he was getting old, no doubt about it. He picked up his phone and dialed Carrera's office.
"Juan Carrera here."
"Juan, this is McAllister again. Have you given any thought to looking for others with the same kind of talent as is attributed to Samantha?"
"Of course, sir. I began a search just a month or two after you assigned me to her. So far, no results, though."
"Thanks. I should have known better than to ask. That's all I wanted, other than to see if hiring a very good security specialist to keep an eye on Samantha would assuage your fears for her safety."
"I hadn't thought of that, sir. I'd still like to see her brought here, but having a trained guard to watch out for her would certainly be an improvement on the present situation."
"That's what we'll do, then. And just to make it better, the man I'm thinking of, if I can get him, is already known to the family. They all like him."
"Thank you, sir. I really appreciate your concern and help."
"Any time, Juan. Never hesitate to ask when you need something."
He put his phone down. Old. No doubt about it, he was getting old. Or perhaps not. He still didn't want to bring the Douglas family into the agency just yet, but obviously Carrera was worried enough to hold the opposite viewpoint. His conversation with the young man had reminded him of his last briefing concerning the lives of the Douglas family at the Sanctuary. It had mentioned the security agent who had accompanied them on their move. He was having to leave the Sanctuary soon. His job there hadn't worked out. There just wasn't enough for him to do. That could be fixed though, if he hadn't already found other work. He made a quick inquiry then dialed Jennie Standifer's number while a smile lit his face. An attractive young lady would probably be a great help in recruiting the man. It certainly couldn't hurt!
Chapter Twenty Six
Ronald got up to answer the door when he heard the manual ringer sound its tune. "I wonder who that could be?" he said curiously. They had few visitors, and those who came unannounced were even rarer.
"Probably a salesman," Elaine said. "We're not expecting anyone, are we?"
"Not that I know of. Well, we'll know in a minute."
The family had been in the den after supper, watching a movie. Samantha and Elaine heard excited voices but couldn't quite make out the words. A moment later Ronald came back to the den with a huge grin on his face. He was accompanied by Jennie and by Gene Rawlings, their erstwhile guard on their move from Texas."
"Jennie! Gene!" Samantha yelled enthusiastically and ran toward them. She hugged them both with almost equal fervor.
Elaine stood up, a puzzled expression on her face. So far as she knew the two weren't even acquainted and here they were together. And Gene was supposed to be leaving soon. Ronald was equally curious but had been too polite to say anything as yet.
"I'm sorry to be disturbing you this time of the evening but it's important," Jennie said as she came into the den with Samantha holding hands with her on one side and tugging at Gene's hand to hurry him along on the other. They were both dressed casually, as most residents of the area did.
"Let's put some coffee on, or would you rather have something else?" Elaine asked.
"Coffee's fine," Jennie said. As soon as Samantha released her hand she brushed an errant strand of her taffy-blond hair from her forehead. The wind blew almost as often here as in Texas, she thought.
"Coffee's good for me, too," Gene echoed.
"Well, sit down and tell us what's going on. Sammie, would you mind making the coffee?"
"Yes ma'am. I'll have it ready in a jiff."
Once the unexpected couple were seated, Ronald raised his brows in a voiceless query.
Jennie leaned forward from the chair where she had been seated. "I guess the easiest way to explain is to just tell you that someone has been worried about Sammie, what with all the crazies and other nefarious type people at large. So worried, in fact that the person hired Gene to stick around the area and serve as her protector, sort of."
Ronald frowned and Gene quickly spoke up. "It's not like I'm going to be a pain in the... a pain to you all or to Sammie. Mostly, you won't even notice when I'm around and I certainly don't want to interfere with yours or Sammie's social life. However, you know the kind of people who might want to harm her and you never know when they might turn up." He looked quickly to be sure Samantha was still tied up in the kitchen with the coffee then continued quickly. "There might be terrorists or agencies of other governments--or even our own government, for that matter, who wouldn't hesitate to hurt or kidnap Sammie for their own purposes. I know Jennie's spoken to you about this, hasn't she?"
"Yes. Yes, she has. This still seems kind of odd. And how do you figure in this, Jennie?"
She hesitated before answering. "I guess you could say I'm sort of an intermediary. I contacted Gene and convinced him to take the job. That's with your approval, of course."
Sammie returned and stopped. She scanned the serious faces and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing at all," Elaine said. "It's just kind of sudden."
"What's sudden?"
"Sammie, how would you like to have Gene hang around the area
and make sure no bad people bother you like they did in Lufkin?"
"Are they coming here?" she cried out despairingly.
"Not that we know of," her mother said soothingly. "But if they do, Gene will run them off before you ever see them."
"Really? That would be great. I hate those people."
"Most of them are just delusional, Sammie," Jennie told her. "There are some real baddies in the world, though, and someone thought you'd be safer with a sort of body guard."
"You mean you'd be with me all the time, Gene?" She liked the big man but she knew instinctively that she wouldn't care to have him constantly at her side.
He held up his hands, palms facing outward. "Oh, no, no, Sammie. You wouldn't like that. I'm sure you don't want me to see you kissing your boyfriends do you?" he grinned. "What I'll be doing mostly is checking anyone new in the area to make sure they're okay and patrolling the roads around your house at odd times and, oh, all the things a security specialist like me does, some of which I won't even talk about. I promise, I won't get in your way."
Sammie had blushed at the mention of kissing boyfriends. She was too embarrassed to tell him that she didn't have a boyfriend at present, although she was kind of working at acquiring one.
Gene and Jennie stayed an hour while they all enjoyed remembering the good times in Lufkin, especially laughing over Meriweather's abrupt downfall. After securing Ronald and Elaine's approval for Gene acting as a security specialist on their behalf, they left together in a single vehicle. The two had become good friends since Jennie had been contacted by Anton McAllister and asked to solicit Gene as a guard for Samantha. She still had no idea why the girl's talent was so important and Gene obviously knew even less. In the week since her quick trip to see McAllister, while Gene was considering the job offer, he had shown her around the area. At her insistence they hadn't gone to visit the Douglas family until Gene accepted the job. She wanted to bring some good news for a change when she made her appearance. She liked the land and the people she met, and since she had no real ties to Houston and could do her work from a base almost anywhere, she had decided to stay in the general area of the Sanctuary. After all, if Samantha should need protecting, two would be better than one. Besides, she admitted to herself, she liked Gene. A lot.
