Chapter 6: Overdose

Unforgiven

“This is the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for our sins. And this is his blood, shed for their remission,” Pastor Beck intoned. The elements sat on his desk as he blessed them. He stirred the cup, adding a measured amount of Lustre Plus to the grape juice. His use of drug variations over the past ten years had greatly enhanced his ministry and his success rate in taming the wild and undisciplined children who were sent to him. The weekly communion service with a trace dose left his congregants more open to the Word as well.

He spared a glance at the recalcitrant child kneeling naked at the rail in his private office. This one would learn. The rebellious mind would be wiped clean in the blood of Christ and the child would know only obedience. He dipped a piece of bread in the cup and stepped in front of the child, careful to avoid dripping the juice.

“Open and receive the cleansing power of God.” The child obeyed and Beck shoved the soggy wad into the child’s open mouth. The first dose was always the riskiest and Beck relaxed now that it had been administered. “Now let your mind be emptied of all and be prepared for the Holy Spirit’s baptism.”

Throughout the afternoon Beck continued to give small doses to the child as he systematically destroyed all sense of self-identity. It was exhausting work, but God was his strength and would see him through. Deacon and Dr. Jones were in the kitchen where he could call to them if he needed assistance, but it was best if no one witnessed his method. The doctor was a chemist, not a medical doctor, but could take care of things should the child prove unable to handle the drug.

Beck knew he sinned, but it was to make the child holy. To take the child’s sinful nature upon himself was a heavy burden, but God would not take this cup from him and Beck would not pass the responsibility to anyone else.

As the child’s mind melted under the influence of the drug and the preacher’s words, Beck alternated punishment and comfort. He built fantasies in the child’s mind—a new reality. He issued a new name. He redefined good and evil. He used the child as a vessel for his lust and God’s blessing. And in the end, a child awoke broken to His divine will.

The doctor led the child away to lodge with the others who were being renewed. In the camp, training would continue, and additional monitored doses of the drug would be administered to be sure the training set.

Pastor Beck continued to kneel naked at the altar as Deacon Stewart sat in an armchair, patiently waiting until the minister had overcome his guilt. Deacon could tell immediately that the reprogramming of the child had been successful. The sale would more than compensate for Beck’s guilt.

“Must I do more today?” Beck asked wearily. He rose and put on a robe before sitting behind his desk.

“No, Lance. You’ve done well,” the Deacon said. “God will surely be pleased with your faithfulness.”

“I hate them, you know,” Beck answered vaguely. “They come to me fouled from life on the streets, with unfaithful parents, abandoned in orphanages. They come to me with murk covering their minds and I must take it all upon myself. I hate them, for I am convicted of their guilt. I will never forgive them. They have made me into what I am.”

The Deacon nodded in sympathy. However Beck had to justify his actions made no difference to him. The result was obedient little slaves and there was always a market for the ‘purified’ souls he sold. As far as Beck knew, they were treated and returned to their homes. Whatever. The preacher left that up to the camp board.

“We have another problem,” Deacon said. “The aborted rescue of the child at the fair may have resulted in identifying our messenger. We needn’t worry about the little girl—she was a target of opportunity—but the man who stepped in could create problems. He is the only wildcard we have to deal with at the moment.”

“And Judas went out and hanged himself,” Beck muttered.

“Yes. I believe we can arrange for him to remove himself from the field.”

Homecoming

“Gee! How did your extra training for the Forest go?” Wayne asked when he saw Gee in the stands of the football game. Karen squeezed Gee’s hand as the new teacher joined them.

“It was great. Wayne, this is my ... friend, Karen. Karen, Wayne is a new first grade teacher here.”

“Nice to meet you, Wayne. You were in orientation with Gee?”

“Yes. I was with twenty-five children who don’t know quite what to do with a big scary man as their teacher. At the moment, I’m riding on a wave of awe like Poseidon of the Seas.”

“A classicist! The poor children of Rosebud Falls. They could become educated,” Karen quipped.

“They’ll survive. I’m not so sure about me. So, spill it, Gee. What task are you being assigned for Harvest?”

“I’m going to be a shaker,” Gee said. “Jonathon started me out climbing poles at the forester’s headquarters. It took most of the day. Full orientation on safety equipment and then practice on a tree. I had a blast. I haven’t climbed a tree since ... in ... I know I’ve done it, but it was a long time ago.” Gee stopped and tried to puzzle out his knowledge of having climbed a tree. Karen squeezed his hand and reached into her bag for a pad of paper and a pen.

“Did you climb for fun or for work?” she asked just loudly enough for Gee to hear her over the noise of the stands. The game was about to start.

“It was definitely fun, but I don’t know if I climbed trees for a job. What kind of job would that be? Forester? Lumberman? Arborist? I enjoyed climbing trees, but none of those names seem to fit,” Gee said. Karen wrote down the notes. Wayne watched them with interest and she put away the notebook.

“I’ve never heard of a school having its homecoming football game so early in the season,” Wayne said. “It really surprised me that it was the first game of the season.”

“It’s been that way for years. It’s because of the uncertainty of Harvest,” Karen answered. “Both schools use the first game of the season as homecoming. Crosstown rivals. The same game is homecoming for both of them since they both play on this field. The rest of the season they rotate home and away games so there’s a game here nearly every Friday until Thanksgiving.”

“Flor del Día?” Gee asked, looking at the scoreboard. “Is it a Spanish school? Or Catholic?”

“Quite a history. It started as the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s Home after the Civil War, but swiftly changed to a reform school. No one was happy about that, so by World War I it was just considered an orphanage with its own school. There was a big boom in private boarding schools after World War II and even though it maintains a high percentage of orphans, it is the children of wealthy New Englanders who pay the bills now. There was a big schism over the teaching of religion in the school that resulted in the little church school in South Rosebud breaking off from it. But that has never been big enough to merit consideration for sports. It’s more like homeschool combined with extended Sunday School. But Flor del Día is selective. No orphan has ever been turned away, but those who board as outsiders must meet rigid academic and social qualifications. They have to fit into Rosebud Falls.”

“Who pays for the orphans?” Wayne asked.

“The Families all take a share, but particularly the Cavanaughs,” Karen said. “Oh, sorry. You’re new here. When someone says ‘the Families’ they mean the seven founding Families of Rosebud Falls. Cavanaugh, Roth, Poltanys, Nussbaum, Meagher, Savage, and Lazorack. If you go back far enough, probably everyone born in this town is related to one of the Families within a few degrees of separation.”

“Hey, your last name is Savage, isn’t it, Wayne?” Gee asked. Karen’s head snapped toward Gee’s friend.

“Yes. Not related though, I’m sure. Look! He’s going to intercept that!”

The Rosebud Fireflies overcame the Flor del Día Bitternuts in the last few minutes of a lively game.

“Wayne, I’m always interested in capturing a little bit about new arrivals in town, especially when they are in a place of importance like our school. Would you consent to an interview sometime soon? Just a human interest piece.” Wayne took Karen’s offered card.

“Be careful what you agree to,” Gee laughed. “This is our seventh interview.”

“Gee,” Karen said softly, “I think we decided this was our third date.”

“That really puts it in a different perspective, doesn’t it?” he responded.

“I’ll give the interview idea some thought,” Wayne said. “I really need to focus on lesson-planning and getting the kids ready for their first Harvest right now.”

“Of course,” Karen said brightly. “Just give me a call when you can.”

The Victim

Gee planned to spend as much time over Labor Day weekend with Karen as he could. He was in love. He’d known it since the first night he spent in Rosebud Falls, but now he was certain. After the game Friday night, they had returned to Karen’s house ‘for ice cream’ but had spent the better part of two hours simply making out on the sofa. It was difficult for both of them to stop and for Gee to go home. They planned another date for Saturday night and a walk in the Forest for Sunday.

He went to the market Saturday morning to help prep for Harvest week. No one knew exactly when Harvest would begin, so the town spent the first week of September getting ready. At the store, he began the cold job of thoroughly cleaning and restocking the dairy cases.

Gee moved on to roll the fresh goods from the bakery to their cases. Commercial breads were all stocked by the vendors, but Grimm’s small bakery produced artisan bread, cookies, cakes, and doughnuts. The bakers were always happy for Gee’s assistance in stocking and it was especially welcome on Saturday morning. Though Rosebud Falls was slow in waking up most weekends, by ten o’clock, the store would be full of people doing their weekly shopping and wanting morning snacks.

“Gee! I need bacon and a side of beef,” Rupert said, coming up to him. Gee turned around. It was unlike Rupert to be sharp with him. He saw the butcher slightly stooped over with a hand on his hip. “I twisted my back and I can’t lift it,” the older man said.

That explained a lot and Gee hurried to get the cuts from the meat locker for Rupert. The locker was cold, but not freezing. Gee decided to get the beef for Rupert first, as the butcher would want to work on that while Gee sliced bacon.

“Sorry I was snappy,” Rupert said. “It just kills me to not be able to lift my own carcass.”

“It’s not a problem, Rupert. Is there anything else I can do to help?”

“Get the bacon sliced while I start working on this. When you’re done, I’ll show you how to cut filets. The Cavanaughs are having a family gathering on Labor Day and ordered six twelve-ounce cuts. Loren’s been around a long time and knows his beef almost as well as I do. He wants the strips to serve the younger generation and rib steaks for a couple of the cousins who play sports. We’ll do mostly steaks this morning.” Even though he was obviously in pain, Rupert was regaining some of his easy-going nature as he moved about the butcher shop. Gee wondered if it was the result of pain medicine or simply that Rupert was in the environment that he loved.

When the steaks were all prepared and a few more cuts were ready for the display case, Rupert asked Gee to return the remainder of the carcass to the locker. “I’m just not up to dealing with shoulder and rump today,” he said. Gee loaded the remaining sections of beef on a cart and wheeled them to the locker, hanging what he could and making sure anything shelved was on protective butcher’s paper. As he left the walk-in refrigerator, he was startled by Rena’s voice.

“You came for me!” Rena stumbled as she walked toward Gee.

Rena recognized the man sent to her from the church. She’d seen him before and even suggested to Pastor Beck that he seemed like a nice man and might be a good mate for her. The pastor had shaken his head sadly and told her that Brother Reef had taken a vow of celibacy, kind of like a monk. Then he’d given her communion and she’d forgotten about him until he met her as she walked to work Saturday morning.

“We thought you might need a refresher and this is something new from the doctor,” Brother Reef said. For some reason, she was never quite able to focus on the man’s face. “It’s a step above what you’ve had before. You should try it now.” She didn’t hesitate to pop it in her mouth and listen to the monk’s instructions.

Rena began a sultry walk toward Gee, only stumbling slightly over the crack in the concrete floor that seemed deeper than the last time she walked here. She should have waited to take the drug until she got to the restroom like she usually did, but he’d said to take it now. The high and the fantasy it induced overwhelmed her almost immediately. And then Gee was there and she needed to talk to him about standing her up at the fair. She walked toward him, releasing the top button of her shirt.

The button felt too large for the buttonhole, so she tore at her blouse, determined to attract Gee to her. Others crowded around in her mind. Former fantasies she could not disconnect from.

“No! Not you! Wait your turn!” she screamed at them. Lustre was never like this before. She could always control the fantasy. But now, all her imaginary lovers pressed in on her, threatening to overwhelm her. She felt Gee reaching for her as she stumbled forward and lashed out again—biting, scratching. All the fantasies of her life rebelled and attacked her as one. She desperately fought them.

Something didn’t look right to Gee. He was used to seeing Rena at least a little high, her glassy-eyed grin as she looked at everything around her. But this time her pupils were fully dilated and her breathing seemed stressed.

“Rena, are you all right?” Gee asked. Her response was mumbled, and she reached for the decorative buttons on her pullover blouse. “Rena? You need to sit down and wait it out. Do you need help?” He reached out to steady her and she suddenly ripped the top of her blouse. It wasn’t far, but it was all the indication that Gee needed that this was not one of Rena’s normal highs. He reached for the wall phone by the meat locker door.

“This is 911. State the nature of your emergency, please.”

“This is Gee Evars at Grimm’s Market and Meats. One of my co-workers is having some kind of fit. She’s unsteady on her feet and her pupils are fully dilated. She’s hitting at empty air and is mumbling. The words I can catch don’t make sense.” Rena shouted at him to get away but swung wildly while she was still several feet from him.

“EMTs have been dispatched. Has she taken any drugs that she might be reacting to that you know of.”

“She’s often high on something. This is worse than I’ve ever seen her. Ow! She’s hitting me! And the wall and...”

“Try to comfort her with words and see if she can settle herself down.”

“Rena, it’s me. Gee. You’re okay. You’re safe here. No one will try to harm you. You’re okay,” Gee said as he backed away from her flailing arms. She was singly focused, though, and kept tracking Gee. She swung and scratched him across the face. “Ow! Rena, stop it. This isn’t working.”

“Help is on the way. Can she be safely restrained?”

“I can try, but...” Rena jumped on Gee, knocking the phone from his grip.

“I’ll kill you!” she screamed. “I’ll kill all of you!” Rena hit the wall with her head as if she had been thrown there and flailed against the air with her nails scratching at nothing. Without further guidance from the emergency line, Gee took a deep breath and moved in to try to restrain Rena so she wouldn’t hurt herself or him further. She struck at him again and raked him with her nails.

Gee managed to get one arm around her and pin her right arm against her side. Rena was completely out of control now and threw herself from side to side, elbowing Gee behind her. When he managed to get both arms pinned to her side, she threw her head back and smashed into his nose, screaming.

“Gee! What is the meaning of this?” Rupert yelled.

“Help! Rape! Help!” Rena screamed. That was all the signal Rupert needed and he smashed a cola bottle against the side of Gee’s head.

Emergency Room

“Just lie there and don’t try anything.” The voice sounded familiar. Gee raised his hand to feel his head and found that handcuffs held him to the bed rail and straps crossed his chest and arms. He opened his eyes to find Detective Oliver staring down at him. The left side of the detective’s mouth was drawn back in a snarl that caused his left eye to squint.

“What... ? Is Rena okay?”

“Do you mean did you rape her? Rupert Grimm put an end to that. That girl is in bad shape.”

“I wasn’t raping her. She was having a fit. I tried to help.”

“Rupert said when he got to the room you were grabbing her and she was fighting you while yelling for help. Fortunately, EMTs arrived just as she passed out. They settled her onto a backboard. Doctors will know how much you hurt her soon.”

“Mead, I was trying to help. I was on the line with 911 and they said to try and restrain her.”

“You were what?” Mead bellowed. He stood up abruptly and stepped outside the room with his phone to his ear. Ellie gave the detective a shove out of her way to enter through the emergency room curtains.

“How are you feeling, Gee?” she asked grabbing his wrist to take his pulse. She felt the handcuffs. “Mead! What do you think you’re doing?” Before Gee could answer, Mead stepped back into the cubicle with his phone still to his ear and a look of disgust on his face.

“What a cluster...” he stopped and shoved his phone in his pocket as he reached for his keys. “Why hasn’t the doctor been in before now?” Mead demanded.

“Doc did triage as they were brought in and determined that Gee was just knocked out and would recover. That girl, on the other hand. Gee saved her life.”

“What happened? Is she okay?” Gee asked.

“She overdosed,” Ellie said.

“We got two emergency calls within a minute or two of each other. Different operators. One dispatched emergency aid from the fire department with an ambulance. The other dispatched two patrol cars to stop an assault and rape. The woman who called police said you were raping the girl.”

“Is she okay?” Gee insisted, not really caring about why he was in the hospital or had been handcuffed to the bed.

“She’s going to recover. Dr. Poltanys is still with her. They hit her with Naxalone and then started treatment for hallucinogens. They’re still trying to get a positive ID on the drug,” Ellie said.

“Drugs. Here in Rosebud Falls,” Mead said disgustedly. “I guess our days of being a sleepy little burg with no big city problems are over.”

“You mean being a desert full of sand for the community to keep its heads buried in,” Ellie snapped. Mead grimaced.

“Gee! I can’t believe this. Please tell me you didn’t!” Karen exclaimed as she barged into the cubicle. She spotted Mead. “Has he been charged with something?” Mead shook his head.

“A screw-up between 911 operators,” Mead said. “Two calls at once with different emergencies and police and paramedics who got caught in the middle. Ellie says Gee saved another life.”

“And paid for it,” Ellie said. “He’s pretty banged up.”

“Oh, thank God. I knew it couldn’t be true,” Karen said as she rushed to Gee and put kisses on his forehead. He tensed when she brushed his nose. “You’re hurt!”

“He was trying to restrain a girl who was having seizures and she got a few good licks in. The officers got in a few more,” Ellie scowled.

“His lawyers are going to have a great time with this one,” Mead groaned. “Our whole emergency response system is going to get reviewed.”

“They’ll be here shortly. I called them from the car as I was on my way,” Karen said.

“How did you know?” Gee asked.

“I called your house to tell you I needed to run out of town and couldn’t get together tonight as we planned. Nathan was in a mad panic. Rupert told him you were a rapist and to get your things out of the house and away from his daughter. Marian was wailing in the background. I got the police blotter and found out you’d been brought here.”

“I guess I’m homeless again,” Gee sighed.

“You’ll never be homeless again, Gee,” Karen said vehemently. “I want ... I want you to live with me. I’ve got all that room in the house. I told you I thought I should open a boarding house.” Gee looked at Karen’s tear-filled eyes and lifted his head to softly kiss her lips.

“Mead, have you arrested our client?” Gretchen LaCoe demanded as she entered the curtained cubicle. It was getting crowded. Jack, trailing a step behind his wife, came directly to Gee.

“Gee, I advise you not to say anything until we know exactly what is going on, do you understand?” he said softly. Gee nodded.

“Just another misunderstanding,” he said.

“Why do they all revolve around you?”

“Excuse me, but can I get close enough to examine the patient?” Dr. Poltanys asked sarcastically. “Or should we have a cake delivered to celebrate our resident hero.”

“I just tried to help,” Gee said. He was embarrassed that tears were leaking from his eyes. This had been more horrifying than diving into the river. Poltanys didn’t try to chase anyone out of the room, but the curtains bulged outward as they moved back to give him space to examine Gee. He checked Gee’s eyes, the knot on his head, and the bruises and scratches on his cheeks, hands, and neck. He pressed lightly on Gee’s ribs causing another wince. “So, what do you remember?” Poltanys asked.

“Everything, I guess,” Gee said. “Up until I was knocked out and then woke up here with Detective Oliver growling at me.”

“What’s your name?”

“George Edward Evars. Most folks call me Gee.”

“Where do you live?”

“683 Joshua Street. At least I did until they kicked me out.”

“Where are you from?”

“I’m from...” It was like walking into a fog. The answer seemed to be just ahead, but he couldn’t grasp it. He shook his head and then grimaced. “I remember everything back to the day I jumped in the river.”

Poltanys nodded. “I was hoping Rupert Grimm had arrived at a solution to your memory problem. Why is he restrained?” Poltanys started removing the belts across Gee’s chest and arms. He was still wearing the rubber apron he’d used while helping Rupert.

“Initially, it was to keep him from waking up and going for his head or cuts,” Ellie said. “Then Mead...”

“I did not order restraints,” the detective said. “I removed the cuffs our arresting officer placed on him. The restraints are your idea.”

“I suppose that was because our other patient identified him as her assailant and rapist,” Poltanys said as he began loosening the straps. Mead reached for the handcuffs. The doctor looked up at him. “As well as a list of thirty-two other men and seventeen women.” He looked around the cubicle. “Including everyone in this room.”

“She’s mental,” Mead sighed.

“Drugged,” Poltanys answered. “We’ve seen it before and have submitted blood samples to the CDC. We’ve never had a case like this one. I think it’s a new variant of the drug Lustre. I’ve been tracking it for several weeks, but most cases seem to just be disoriented or sometimes a little nauseous. Those we’ve interviewed profess they think it’s harmless and just enhances their fantasy lives. The most common place we’ve seen it is among online gamers who think it makes their gaming more lifelike.”