G-157

by K. M. Malloy

  “I was wondering when you’d be back,” Darlene said.

  “It’s been a while. I came to see Doc about my mother.”

  “One sec, I’ll get him for you.” Darlene stood up and grabbed the broom by her desk and began to pound the ceiling. “Doc,” she shouted. “Aire’s here to see you. Get up.”

  Aire shook her head. “It never changes.”

  “I know,” Darlene said, laughing as she checked to see if the broom had smudged her fresh nail polish. “It’s a wonder the man stays in business.”

  “Supply and demand.” Both girls turned to see the doctor lumbering down the stairs. “I’m the only supply of physicians in town, so people demand to see me when they need to. In a small town it makes for a restful life. Come on, Aire.”

  The doctor shuffled into the exam room and plopped down onto his stool while Aire sprung lightly onto the table.

  “So,” he said, removing his glasses to clean them. “What brings you by today?”

  “My mother.”

  “Your mother? What’s wrong with her?”

  “She just stays in bed all day and won’t eat. She says she’s just tired, but I think there’s more to it than that. It’s like she gave up on life, like there’s nothing but sadness.”

  “Huh,” he grunted, returning his glasses to his face. Spinning in his chair, he turned to the cabinet and shuffled through its contents and produced an orange plastic bottle with a white twist top. “Here. Have your mother take two of these twice a day. That should get her back to normal in no time.”

  “What is it?”

  “Vitamin B-12 supplements.”

  Aire frowned. “You think my mother has a vitamin deficiency?”

  “Yes. A person deficient in B-12 lacks coordination and cognition, loses energy, and can suffer memory loss. Give these about a week and you should start seeing improvements.”

  “Okay.” Aire ran her finger over the label. “Doc, you had to study biology and ecosystems in school, right?”

  “Right.”

  “And you know a lot about diseases?”

  “Wouldn’t be a doctor if I didn’t.”

  “Do you think there’s something wrong with our water?”

  Dr. Caughlin frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “A lot of people are acting like my mom. And with all the fights and craziness going on I…I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I thought maybe there might be a bug or something going around.”

  “Could be,” he nodded. “I wouldn’t rule it out. But sometimes things like that just happen.”

  Aire frowned again, hesitating. “Why do people get recruited?”

  “Because the military needs people to keep us safe.”

  “I know,” she said, “but why do people only get recruited when they start going a little crazy?”

  “Because those people show signs of higher emotional levels necessary for the armed services. Plus they usually have something unique about them already.” The doctor shook his head and made a tsk-tsk noise at her. “Aire, you’re such a smart girl, why would you ask such a silly question?”

  “So they only recruit people that are different?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why haven’t they recruited me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m the only one in this whole place who wants to go to college, and the only one to ever take an admissions test,” she said. “And I also seem to be the only one who questions everything. That makes me unique. So why am I still here?”

  “Ah, you did well on your test?”

  Aire nodded.

  “That’s wonderful,” Caughlin said, the corners of his eyes crinkling into a smile. “So what school did you apply to?”

  “Harvard.”

  “That’s an excellent school.”

  “Doc, what college did you go to?”

  “I’ve told you a thousand times, I don’t really remember anything before coming here. That accident really jumbled up my memory. I don’t remember…” Caughlin’s speech slowed, his eyes dropping to the floor in front of her. Aire tensed when he spoke again, his voice strained and harsh, as though someone else were forcing the words out. “I don’t remember…remember…remember the room…on the old street…where they asked me…asked me…I don’t remember.”

  “Doc?”

  His eyes raised to her knee. A wrinkled old hand followed his gaze, and began to rub her kneecap and lower thigh.

  “Nothing wrong with you,” he said, his voice low, but no longer forced. “Nothing at all. So beautiful and young. Supple, so supple.”

  “Okay,” Aire said, a sick feeling twisting in her stomach as she stood up. “I should be getting these to my mother. Thanks for your help.”

  For a moment Caughlin’s eyes roamed over her, studying the contours of her body. The knot in her stomach tightened, and a strange mixture of icy hot panic pumped through her veins. She felt her pulse quicken as she began to move towards the door, careful to stay as close to the wall as possible to keep out of arms length from the old man.

  Caughlin’s eyes gave a hard blink, and the life returned to them as his mouth grinned in an avuncular smile.

  “You’re welcome. Tell Helen I wish her well. If she doesn’t improve in three weeks you come back and let me know.”

  “I will.”

  “Good luck with school.”

  “Thanks,” she called as she waved and rushed through the door.

  Outside she gave a shiver. Dr. Caughlin had put his hands on her before, but never in that way. Before it had always been purposeful, professional when he had to set a broken leg or bandaged road rash on her butt. How he touched her today felt almost desirous, like how Troy touched her in the woods. Did he have it? she wondered. No, he couldn’t have it…

  She shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest as she stared at the sidewalk ahead, struggling to wipe away the memory.

  Two blocks south brought her to the Commerce and Bourbon intersection where Troy would be waiting for her at Maggie’s. She stopped on the corner, waiting for a couple of bikes to pass before crossing the street. Someone called her name after the last Hornet dirt bike drove by. Mike Hadley waved at her from across the street. He did a quick glance left and right to make sure no one else was coming before jogging towards her.

  “Hey, Mike, how’s Sarah?”

  “Not good,” he frowned. “She just sits there on the couch all day, staring at nothing. I have to force her to eat. I don’t know what to do about her, Aire.”

  “That’s terrible. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay, we’ll manage. I’ve been meaning to catch up with you to say thank you for bringing her home the other day. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem. Listen,” she said, lowering her voice and leaning close to his ear. “My mom is having the same symptoms as Sarah. I just got back from Doc’s and he gave me these vitamins for her to take. You should ask him for some.”

  “Do you think it will work?”

  Aire looked into his bloodshot eyes under drooping lids. A wrinkle he shouldn’t have for another thirty years had formed on his pale forehead. She nodded and forced a smile.

  “Yeah,” she said. “Doc’s never been wrong before.”

  The corner of his mouth lifted in a weak half grin. “True. Thanks, Aire,” he said as he pulled her into a hug. “Keep me posted on how your mother is doing.”

  “I will,” she said when he released her. “You do the same.”

  “Will do.”

  Mike continued down Bourbon for Doc’s as Aire crossed the street. She saw Troy waiting at their table and smiled.

  ***

  Troy had been waiting for her for nearly half an hour. The waitress had already stopped by his booth three times before he saw Aire approach the corner. He smiled at the sight of her small body gliding down the street and excitement overwhelmed his senses as he watched her hips rock back and forth as she walked. He took a deep breath, tryin
g to calm himself before standing to greet her.

  He saw Mike run to her as soon as he slid his chair back to stand up. He crouched back into it now as he watched them. His jaw clenched and his face reddened when he saw Aire lean in close to the young man. He could almost hear all the dirty love secrets she was saying to him. She was only supposed to lean into him like that. She was only supposed to whisper in his ear.

  Troy’s knuckles went white as he tightened his grip on the chair’s armrest. He began to shake when he saw Mike embrace his girlfriend as a dark rage began to pulse within him. Images of smashing Mike’s face into a bloody pulp flooded his vision. No one touched his girlfriend. No one.

  She waved at him when Mike continued down Bourbon and she resumed her course. The sight of her smile took a bit of the edge off, and he could feel some of the heat leave his face, but it wasn’t enough to mollify it. He sat stone faced when she pecked him on the cheek and sat down across from him, his white knuckles still gripping the armrest.

  “Doc thinks it’s a vitamin deficiency,” she said, placing the orange bottle on the table. “He said if I started giving my mom these today she should be getting back to herself by next weekend.”

  I don’t care about your mother, he thought. I care about the fact that you are a liar.

  “Cool.”

  “Cross your fingers Doc is right. I just don’t know though. Something as big as what’s going on around here can’t just be caused by a vitamin deficiency. I’m going to do some research on it early next week since we have finals coming up. Want to come with me?”

  Why would I help a little two-bit liar like you?

  “No.”

  Aire sank back in her chair. “Troy what’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing.”

  Nothing other than the fact that you and your little boyfriend better watch out next time you decide to gallivant around.

  “There’s got to be something. Why are you acting like this?”

  “Why are you acting like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like how about disrespectful?”

  “Troy what are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about your little conversation with Mike over there.”

  Aire stared back at him in disbelief, pinpricks of anger dotting her skin. She took a deep, her knuckles tightening on the armrests of her chair.

  “Mike is a friend. Just a friend. His little sister is experiencing the same thing as my mom. He’s scared and just needed someone to talk to for support.”

  “It didn’t look like just a friend kind of hug.”

  “This is ridiculous. Are we really going to get into this again?”

  Troy slammed his fist onto the table. “Yeah, we are getting into this again and will continue to get into this again until you get it through your head that it is not okay for you to gallivant around with other guys.”

  “Unbelievable,” she said, grabbing the pill bottle as she stood up.

  “Me unbelievable?” He smacked his palms against his chest. “Me?”

  “Yes, you,” she said, her brown eyes glaring at him. “You have a problem and you need to fix it. Don’t talk to me until you can act like a normal person.”

  She slammed her chair back into the table and hopped over the railing. Troy glared as he watched her jog down the street and disappear onto Main. He stepped over the railing, and began to follow.

  ***

  Aire threw her backpack on the couch when she got home, taking the vitamins with her to her mother’s room upstairs. The door was slightly ajar, but she still knocked before entering.

  “Mom?” she said as she sat down next to her. “Mom?”

  Her mother turned her head to look at her. Thick puffy bags pulled down and darkened her once vibrant blue eyes. Her skin looked almost yellow, and her cheek bones were beginning to protrude. A sour smell radiated from the sheets. Aire hoped against all hope that the irrefragable smell was not what she thought it was.

  “Yes,” her mother’s dry voice whispered.

  “I got you these,” she said, holding up the pill bottle. “They’re vitamins from Doc. I need you to start taking these twice a day. Doc says you should be better in a week if you take these like you’re supposed to.”

  “Oh.”

  Aire looked at her mother, stroking her greasy hair. “Mom, when’s the last time you took a shower?”

  “Don’t remember.”

  “Well that’s what we’re doing today. I’ll go get the water warmed up.”

  Aire disappeared into the bathroom and turned on the water. She let it run for a few minutes before testing it and adjusting the temperature. A stronger stench filled the room when she returned.

  “Mom, did you fart?”

  “No.”

  “Then what is that smell?”

  “It’s far.”

  “What?”

  “Toilet.”

  “Oh, Mom, you didn’t.” Aire shambled towards the bed, her hands trembling as she pulled the blankets off. Her hand went to her mouth and tears rimmed her eyes when she saw the excrement stained nightgown and sheet her mother was laying in.

  “Oh, no,” she whispered. “Mom, why did you do that?”

  “Far,” she said, her head lolling to the side.

  She took a deep breath to choke back tears as she wrapped her mother’s arm around her neck, and grunted as she hoisted the soiled woman out of bed. A panicked sadness shot through her from the touch of her mother’s thin arms. It’s like I’m holding her bones, she thought.

  Even though she felt skeletal and sparse, her mother’s awkward, lifeless limbs made it difficult to bundle her into the shower, but after a few moments of struggle she managed to get her sitting in the tub while the shower ran.

  Twenty minutes later, Aire managed to scrub off all the urine and feces from her mother’s scaly skin. She paused to disinfect the tub before placing her mother back inside to soak in a bubble bath.

  “You sit here for a while and the bubbles will work for you, okay? I’m going to get you some new sheets.”

  Aire left the water running and went back into the room to change the sheets on the bed.

  She ripped them off and threw them into a bundle on the floor. The pillow top covering was rancid and damp, but the mattress underneath remained unblemished. She threw the bedclothes out the window since the top layer of filth had to be hosed off, and managed to find her old mattress cover from her first big girl bed. It didn’t quite fit, but it would serve its purpose. She was about to put fresh sheets on when the sound of dripping water caught her attention.

  “Mom, are you okay in there?”

  Silence.

  “Mom?”

  Aire dropped the sheet and went into the bathroom.

  “Oh my goodness.”

  The tub had over flown and an inch of water covered the bathroom floor. Her mother had fallen forward with her head between her knees, face down in the water. “Mom!”

  Aire sprinted towards the tub, but her shoes slipped on the wet tile and she came crashing down backwards, sending a silencing stab of pain through her body as she landed on her tailbone. She got to her knees, the pain in her backside burning as she crawled on all fours towards the tub and yanked her mother’s head back. She took in a gasp of air and coughed up the soapy liquid beginning to pool in her lungs.

  “Mom, what are you doing?”

  The woman caught her breath and returned staring at the water. “It’s sad,” she whispered.

  “What’s sad?”

  Her mother didn’t reply.

  She turned off the water and sat panting with her legs curled under her, careful to avoid putting weight on her bruised tailbone. Tears slipped silent down her face as she stared at her mother. Doc had better be right…he better be…

  Aire finished her mother’s bath, dressed her in a clean nightgown, and propped her in a chair next to the bed. She felt her mother’s blank stare on her as she finished putting on the fresh s
heets. Placing her back under the blankets, Aire handed her the vitamin and glass of water. The woman swallowed it with unblinking eyes.

  “If you need anything, just yell. I’ll be back in a little bit to bring you some food, okay?”

  No answer. Aire took the glass and placed it next to the bed. She stroked her mother’s clean hair and adjusted the blankets before leaving.

  In the quiet of her room, she cried loud, sobbing cries that clenched at her stomach muscles before going downstairs to heat up some soup.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Wednesday May 5, 2010

  8:37 a.m.

  Population: 217

  The school sat quiet and somber. Aire looked around at what had once been her history class of thirty that was now a class of twelve. So many were gone. Vanished. She doodled absentmindedly in her notebook, her mind racing with questions. Why did it seem that hardly anyone was troubled by the madness plaguing the town? Why was no one else looking for an answer? Why was the mayor still doing nothing about it? What if Doc wasn’t right about her mother?

  A sigh escaped her lips as she dropped her pen and looked down at her notebook. A dark man smiled back at her, a floating rice grain above his palm. Behind him was the face of the lion. She balled up the paper and placed it on the edge of her desk. The African’s warning haunted her in the sunlight as well as in slumber.

  Beware the blue lion.

  ***

  Central Control

  Lab wing

  General Manning stormed past the security center to the med lab where half a dozen units were beginning to stir from behind the Plexiglas.

  “Where the hell is Dr. Patel?”

  Several research physicians turned to see where the bellowing command had come from. A tall Asian frowned at the general before going to meet him.