Chapter 12

The next morning, Dan knocked on the door of the cabin.

"Come in," Jim spoke from inside.

Dan took in the scene as he wiped dirt from his shoes. Jim was feeding Ellen at the table. "Good morning Jim. Good morning Ellen," Dan said.

"Hello Dan," Jim said in a tired voice.

"Jim, we need to talk," said Dan.

"Can it wait until I feed Ellen?"

"Sure. Can I be of help?"

Jim stopped a spoonful of soup halfway to Ellen's mouth. "Would you mind washing the dishes?" He asked.

"No problem," Dan said.

Dan was just finishing the dishes as Jim was cleaning Ellen's face. "If you want me to spend less time with Ellen, talking isn't going to help," Jim said. "She's my sister and I'll take care of her."

"That's not what I want to talk about, at least not exactly."

"What then?" Jim asked.

"She's not getting better," Dan said. "We had hoped that once she was away from other patients ... but she isn't getting better. We don't think she will get better."

"Who's we?"

"April, me, and now Mary," Dan said.

"We shouldn't be talking in front of her like this," Jim said.

"We're not. She's not there anymore, Jim. I'm going to be blunt. We need to put her back on the drugs. It's a quality of life issue. Her mind is still a mess. She shouldn't have to think the things she does. Her life will be better if we sedate her."

"Sedate her?" Jim said. "I thought you were going to cure her."

"We were going to try," Dan said. "We did and it didn't work."

"Why not try longer?"

"Because it's just more suffering for her and there's no reason to think it will work if it hasn't already."

"I don't understand." Jim was near tears. "If her personality is gone, how can she suffer?"

"She can still feel fear. Jim, please don't make me tell you exactly what it's like in her mind. You don't want to know. Please believe me when I tell you that she should be sedated. She's still one of us and we'll take care of her. There won't be anymore sick minds around her to further fuel her fear. We can keep her in the house. She'll be treated with respect and with love. But don't expect her to get well. You're welcome here too, whether you decide to be changed or not. We owe you that because you're one of us and because of your loyalty to Ellen. There's a doctor and nurse up at the house now. Can they come down and see her?"

"You know she'll go wild when they get near?" Jim said.

"I know. She has to or they won't sedate her."

"Are you sure that sedating her keeps her from suffering?"

"Yeah. It shuts down the part of her brain that is causing the fear. She has no real thoughts but that's better than being terrified."

"Can I spend a little more time alone with her?" Jim asked. "Never mind, you said she's suffering now didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Would you stay with her until the doctor comes? I can't see her go wild again."

"Sure thing, head up to the house. We'll set up a room for Ellen and one for you, not too close but not too far away. There will be round-the-clock nurses for her and you've been through hell. I'd like you to relax and take some time off to see what you want to do in the future."

"You still want me to change, don't you?" Jim asked.

"Yeah, I do. But what do you want?"

"I don't know," Jim said as he left the cabin.

Dan let out a deep sigh. It could have gone worse, he thought to himself. He looked around the cabin. Move Ellen to the couch, Dan. She'll be easier to control there. Hot damn! Jim left the pistol. Dan stepped to the counter and took the pistol. He ejected the clip and made sure there wasn't a round in the chamber. That's one problem I don't have to worry about. He opened his phone and hit speed dial 1.

"Security."

"Please connect me to Tommy," Dan said.

After a moment he heard, "This is Tommy."

"Jim is headed up to the house. You can send the physician to the cabin. I'll help him bring Ellen to you. Once we are up at the house, pull out all the cameras and microphones from the cabin. Oh, good news. I got Jim's pistol."

"Yes sir. That is good news."

April and Mary were watching Days of Our Lives when Dan knocked on the half-opened door to April's suite. "God! How can you watch that," he said.

"Shut up," April said from the couch. "I started watching while I was in North Carolina. It's more interesting than talking to the Old."

"It's pornography for women," Dan said with a laugh. "Emotions with no socially redeeming content."

"Shut up or go away," April said.

"What do you think about it Mary?" Dan asked.

"I don't really understand the attraction of soap operas," she answered. She was in a chair. Watching April as much as she was watching TV.

"So no pornography for you, huh?" Dan asked.

"I don't understand it."

And she didn't. Neither real pornography nor soap operas. It was clear in her mind. Mary was watching TV and watching April but she just didn't get it. Dan walked to the couch and sat down with a thud next to April.

April looked at Dan in annoyance and hit him, hard, in the arm. She let out a small sigh and leaned her head against him. His arm found its way around her waist. "We'll discuss this more during the commercials," Dan said. He didn't get a chance; the show was recorded and April fast-forwarded through the commercials.

This is not what I planned. All my work, all my scheming, all my time, and for what? Destroyed by a random mutation? I can't believe it. There must be a way to save my plan. Or is there really a need? Are they what we need? Only time will tell. Mary's thoughts were clear in Dan's mind. Dan listened as Mary pushed the thoughts aside and went back to contemplating the show and why April would watch it.

"Mary?" Dan asked after the show had ended. "Would you like to meet another one of us?"

"Of course I would."

"Jim Michaels is nearby but I need you to swear to me that you won't allow harm to come to him," Dan said.

"You don't trust me?" Mary asked.

"No Mary, I don't. I don't know why you changed April without her permission. I do know that April and Martin both put that in the past but I don't why you did it. I've sworn to protect Jim and I will, even from you."

"Are you trying to insult me?" Mary rose from her chair. Her face was white; the blood had drained from her face as adrenaline flooded her body.

April pulled away from him but Dan remained calm. If looks could kill I would be dead, he thought. She is a magnificent little bitch. "No," he said. "I'm only telling you the truth. I'm being honest with you. He is not trained yet. If you play games with him we can lose him. I don't want to hear you swear, I need to hear you swear." He rose and held out his hand.

Mary struggled to control her emotions. He is uncouth and tactless, she though. Will his kind really rule the world? But he isn't stupid. He's right to question my motives. She took his hand in hers, "I will do my best to see that no harm comes to Jim, or Ellen. I have already made other oaths to April." She pulled her hand from his.

"Thank you," said Dan. "I am in your debt. Please give me a few moments to get things moving." Dan dialed a number on his phone.

"Security."

"Barbara, please call Mr. Michaels and ask him to come to the house as soon as it is convenient."

"Yes sir."

"Mary," Dan said. "After I introduce Mr. Michaels to you, would it be acceptable for me to leave him in your care tonight?"

"Yes, that would be fine. Where will you be?"

"If April will join me, I'll go into town for dinner and a movie," he said.

"You mean like a date?" Mary said with a smile.

"Yeah. Exactly like a date," said Dan, smiling back.

April and Dan arrived back home around 11:30. Once out of hearing of the bodyguards April asked, "Do you want to come up to my place for a nightcap?"

"I don't know," Dan said with a laugh. "I was going to invite you over to my place."

"Let's go to mine," April said. "I asked Jenny to have some bourbon and ice put in my room. I understand you have a weakness for it."

"Yeah, I like bourbon."

"That was different," Dan said. He lay in bed under the covers with April, not touching her. Neither of them was dressed.

"That was great!" April responded.

"Yeah, that too."

"You don't feel bad because of your early problem, do you?"

"It's not the best thing for my image or self esteem."

"You got over it or up to it," April giggled.

"It doesn't bother me; much. It happened once before, at a time kind of like this."

"Who did you do it with?" There was a possessive edge to her voice.

"Not recently silly. It was forty years ago." He paused and since she didn't hit him he went on with the story. "I was dating an eighteen year old girl and she talked me into taking LSD. She said it would expand my mind. She didn't tell me it would make the ceiling drip. I stared at my hand for fifteen minutes because it looked so weird. It took me forever to figure out the strange sensations I was feeling meant I was hungry. So I made a peanut butter sandwich but I couldn't eat it. It looked so fucking odd that I couldn't bring myself to eat it. She wanted to do it but I couldn't. It was just too weird. I just wilted away and unlike tonight I couldn't be revived."

"So it was kind of like that tonight. Too many things go on in a woman's head. Men aren't meant to see that. But when you set your mind to it, not to mention your mouth, and you start to get into it ... Then it's amazing!"

"Yeah," April giggled. "We should do it again sometime, in a few of minutes."

"Give me a moment to recuperate," Dan laughed. "I'm over eighty years old, for Christ's sake."

"Men are so focused," April said. "You only think of one thing at a time, but it is flattering to be the center of your attention." She rolled over towards him and kissed his cheek."

"April?"

"Yes."

"I want to hold you," Dan said. "While I'm holding you, you're going to hear the things I think. Some of those things may bother you. You will think things that bother me. We need to try to ignore them. If we can't, maybe we can put a sheet between us."

April rolled over and spooned up against Dan. She loved that way that his body felt against hers and the way his hand felt on her breast. His thoughts amplified her thoughts and then he started to laugh. She was wondering how the Old could ever do it with their low libidos. Maybe Mary will tell me, she thought.

{3}

The beam of sunlight on the blue floral rug had moved at least four inches since Dan had tried to get out of bed the first time. "Let's not touch again until we are dressed, okay?" Dan pleaded.

April giggled and then groaned, "We're not going to be one of the touchy-feely couples that you see, are we? You know the ones that are so sickenly sweet they make you want to barf." She was next to him in bed, close but not touching.

"Yeah, I think we're headed that way except we're the X-rated version. Just don't touch me until I have some clothes on and then maybe I'll have some will power." Dan slid out from under the sheets, gathered his clothes, and began to dress.

April sat up in bed and asked innocently, "How is your will power if I drop the sheet? Oh look, I don't have any clothes on."

"April, you are turning into a sexual addict."