The Freezer (Genesis Endeavor Book 1) Read online

  He could almost hear her heart drop into her stomach. Her next words were quiet and cautious. “Oh my God! Jack! What is it?”

  “Mae, it’s...” As hard as he was trying not to, his voice caught. He swallowed again, paused, and finally said, “they think it’s cancer.”

  There was a long pause, and Jack wished he had just driven out to the farm to break the news face to face. “Oh Jesus! Oh Christ, no... no Jack... That’s... That’s just awful.” More silence as neither of them quite knew what to say.

  “Mae look, I don’t know everything, yet. I have to go in for a surgery tomorrow to see how bad it is. I... I don’t have any family that matters to me Mae, Jenny and Ally were all I had, and with them gone-”

  In a very motherly tone, Mabel interrupted, “Jack, you don’t even have to ask, I will come up to see you to the hospital, you know that.”

  He didn’t expect that and quickly said, “No, uh... that’s not why I was calling. You see, I don’t have anyone else to uh... to pass on my belongings to and...”

  “Oh hogwash! You quit talking that way! It’s not over until you die, and you’re a fighter. Always have been, Mad Dawg, so don’t give up until you draw your last breath.” Despite the circumstances, Jack smiled at her use of his nick name. Mae was indeed a tough woman and knew how to push his buttons as well. He blinked away what might have been the start of a tear, feeling new resolve.

  “I know, Mabel. But I’m just being honest with you: if this is it, I want to be prepared. Look, I make a decent living, and I have a little money. Since Jenny... Well, I – aside from a car, I haven’t spent much money, and it seems a waste just to give it to some charity or worse, some doctors.”

  Her voice softened, “Tell me straight, Jack, are you giving up here or are you going to try treatment?”

  “I don’t know what my options are yet Mae, and from what I do know so far, it doesn’t look pleasant. This is difficult. I still feel fine. I only went in to see the doc because I was getting a little indigestion and my back was hurting.”

  “Jack, let’s just wait until the doctors tell you exactly what your options are.” Mabel was now taking charge of the situation, something she had done all her life. Jack was a military officer, used to being in charge, but it dawned on him that maybe he had called her because he needed someone else to take the reins for a little while. “When do you go in for your surgery? Tomorrow? I’ll come in to town and drive you there.” It was settled, and Jack knew it, but he wasn’t giving up control quite yet.

  “Mae, that isn’t necessary, I can handle it myself,”

  “Bullshit Jack, you’ll need a ride home anyway, and there’s no reason you have to try to do this alone. I’ll be there in a couple hours.” Well so much for keeping control.

  With feigned resignation, Jack said, “Okay Mae, I’ll have the guest room ready for you.”

  * * *

  The next call was to his boss, Phil Norland. Jack had been working for Phil since retiring from the military. His official title was “Coordination Consultant”, but really he was more like a general contractor, and unofficially, second in command to Phil. When it came to work, their relationship was professional. Before Jennifer’s death, Phil and his wife were frequent guests at Jack’s home, but these days there was just the occasional beer after work. If Jack could call someone his friend, it would be Phil, but like Mabel, he had neglected to spend much time with him outside of work.

  After explaining the situation, it took Phil a minute to speak.

  “Oh Christ, Jack, this is just awful news.” He sighed heavily, “I can’t even tell you how sorry I am to hear this. You take all the time you need and keep me up to date on what the doctors have to say. If you need anything, don’t even hesitate to call. Theresa and I will be there for you.” The sincerity in his voice made Jack feel guilty for not being a better friend lately.

  “Thanks Phil, I appreciate it. I’ll let you know as soon as I know something.” Jack was about to hang up, but he sensed Phil was going to say something more.

  “Uh, Jack...” There was a long pause. “Uh... never mind, we can talk about that later. Call me if you need anything.”

  Jack hung up, curious what that last exchange was about. He worked in an odd business, and a lot of what went on was not supposed to be talked about. The latest job was, like most of their projects, for the military. Technically it was for some big corporation, but no corporation in the U.S. had a need for a multi-billion dollar underground bunker. Jack had a high security clearance within the army the last few years before retirement which was sort of a prerequisite for building secret bunkers and it played into the importance of his role with the firm. Still, they never knew exactly what they were building, or at least Jack wasn’t privy to it. The current project started the weekend his wife and daughter died, and the progress in the last twenty months had been good. Whatever the purpose of the project, it required a lot of room underground. For all he knew though, they were just making another big bomb shelter. With the nuclear threat from the Communists, bomb shelters and underground bunkers were good business these days. For many, it was just a matter of time before the “cold war” turned into a real war.

  After getting the guest room ready for Mae, he spent some time thinking about all the projects he had either worked on personally, consulted on, or knew about during his time both in the military and working for Phil. He was confident that if the missiles ever did fly, humanity would survive, but God help us if it ever happens. It was a morbid thought, but anything was better than thinking about the cancer.

  Chapter 4

  The memory was as vivid this time as the last, down to what he had felt and what he had been thinking deep in his mind at the time. There was still a sense of disconnection there, but it was no longer quite as strong. He still didn’t feel much, and that extended to emotions. The constant light source betrayed nothing. He was beginning to think he was indeed dead, and this was the afterlife. There was still a vague sense of time, but deprived of all senses, it had little meaning. With nothing else to do and a lot of emptiness still left to fill, he focused on the memory once again.

  * * *

  Wednesday morning, Mae drove Jack to the hospital. The surgery was going to require he be put under for about an hour, and because of the anesthesia, it needed to be performed in the hospital as opposed to Bill Callun’s office. They drove Mae’s car instead of the mustang. She thought the mustang was too fancy to drive, and too loud. “If I wanted to drive a race car I would go to the race track,” she said. Jack really didn’t care either way. His mind was focused on the next few hours.

  “Mae listen, I know this is just a formality and all, but here is a power of attorney for my belongings, just in case...” He handed her an envelope.

  “In case of what? They’re gonna knock you out, go inside you, cut off a piece of your liver, stomach, and kidneys, and put it in a bottle, then wake you up... You aren’t going to the gallows or nothing like that Jack.”

  He smiled and said, “I know, Mae, but you never can tell with these things. I’ve seen my share of surgery gone wrong. I’m sure everything will be okay, but like I said, ‘Just In Case’.”

  Mae shook her head and took the envelope and muttered something about “always prepared”. Jack just smiled and sat back. She really was a good woman, and obviously she cared about him. Jenny and Jack were married for over six years before the accident, and during that time, Mae was the closest thing Jack had to a mother. “Mabel, I feel bad that I haven’t stayed in touch. I guess I thought that seeing you would be too hard, but I was wrong. Thanks for being here for me.” She just nodded and started looking for a parking spot.

  * * *

  “Okay Jack, I’m going to put you under now, and when you wake up you might have a headache and feel groggy. That’ll be normal. It might also take you a little while to remember where you are. Once you are coherent again, we will tell you how things went. You will probably be able to go home after a fe
w hours, but you will need to take it easy for a couple days. Just relax and don’t worry, this will be over quickly. See you in a couple hours.” Jack nodded to Bill as the anesthesiologist injected him with the anesthetic.

  “I thought you used ether to knock him out?” Mae asked the doctor.

  “Not these days, now you have all sorts of intravenous anesthetics available. Ether was too volatile. It blew up too many patients, so they developed better stuff.” Bill said it with a smile.

  “Wow, the technology these days, it’s amazing isn’t it?” Mae shook her head in wonder.

  “Indeed it is, Mae, indeed it is.” It was the last thing Jack heard as he drifted off.

  * * *

  The memory faded out one last time. It no longer felt distant and disconnected. It actually felt like he was beginning to wake from a dream. He blinked and the world flashed dark. This was new. He closed his eyes, and darkness settled in. Perhaps he wasn’t dead. For the first time since awareness came to him, he began to feel. The realization that he was still in a body was a relief, and he settled back into sleep.

  * * *

  “Can you hear me?”

  “He’s starting to come around, Doc. You really performed a miracle this time.”

  “Only time will tell.”

  * * *

  The veil of unconsciousness slowly lifted and Jack opened his eyes. He blinked a few times in an attempt to clear away the foggy haze that not only covered his mind, but also seemed to surround everything in his line of sight. As his mind cleared, the confusion built. He became aware of somebody next to his bed. “Jenny, is that you?”

  “Just relax; your vision will take time to start working right. How do you feel?” A man’s voice. Why did I think it was Jenny? He tried to will himself to think clearly. The sharp memory of Jenny’s death came back to him and faded just as quickly.

  “Where am I? Who... where am I?” The disorientation would not go away any more than the blurry vision. Even his own voice didn’t sound right to his ears, and not just because he was slurring his words, it just felt… off. “What the hell is going on?” Memories threaded their way into his consciousness, and he tried to grab hold of one that would explain where he was. The cancer, the biopsy, the surgery... Surgery! “Bill?? I can’t see shit here.” He tried to sit up but his arms didn’t seem to respond to his commands.

  “It will take some time for your eyes to work properly. Your muscles too. Just relax and try to get some sleep.” A hand patted his shoulder.

  He started to relax and sink back into slumber but something plucked at his brain and he tensed up again. “Wait... what do you mean, my eyes – what are you talking about? Bill, you said I might be groggy and disoriented, not that I wouldn’t be able to move or see!”

  “He thinks he’s just had surgery. Do you think the freezer burn was too great?” A woman’s voice.

  The figure next to him moved away and in a fading whisper, “No, I think we are safe. Now let’s let ...” The voices were gone.

  What the hell is going on? “Wait, come back!” But the voices didn’t return. He tried to focus, to use his senses to gain an understanding of where he was and why he was here, but nothing seemed to work quite right. He couldn’t move, couldn’t see, and the air tasted horrible, musty and old. Something nagged at him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He felt like he had just been dreaming about being dead but like all dreams, he had already lost most of the memory of it. He looking around again but it felt like gauze was covering his eyes.

  He focused on feeling, as if that was something new to him. He could feel the weight of gravity holding him down, and even felt a little chilly. But something wasn’t right. Primarily, there was a distinct absence of pain. Am I paralyzed? he asked himself. No, I feel cold in my feet, and the weight of the blanket on me, and the tubes attached to my arms. I even feel a little hungry, but no pain, no nausea.

  It was unexplainable and incredibly different from how his mind was telling him he should feel. It’s the anesthesia, it has to be. I am still loopy from the stuff they gave me. Just go to sleep, it will all be clear when the drugs are out of my system. With that, he finally relaxed and sank into a deep slumber.

  Chapter 5

  Consciousness came slowly. Jack looked around and blinked a few times. Everything around him had a haze like he was looking through a foggy glass window. He tried to wipe at his eyes but his arm just flopped up and smacked him in the forehead. “Ouch.” Closing his eyes and focusing his thoughts, he tried to will his memories to the surface. Hospital. Cancer. Biopsy. Okay, I’m in a hospital, after a surgery. He remembered waking up and being confused; something about a doctor saying vague things about his eyes, something about some really weird dreams. “Man those must have been some crazy drugs they gave me.” He was talking out loud but he didn’t realize it.

  He went through sort of a mental checklist of his body parts. Toes? Check. Fingers? Check. Legs? Check. Arms? Check. Body? Check. He wiggled his toes, or at least he thought he did... it felt right. He wiggled his fingers and felt something on his forehead. His hand was still there from when he tried to rub his eyes, and his fingers were wiggling. “Okay, that’s a little odd.” He said it to himself, out loud again. He tried to move his arm, and it flopped off his head back to his side, feeling numb as if he had been laying on it all night, but without the pins and needles. He could control individual joints like his fingers or his elbow but when he tried to coordinate more than one thing he felt... disconnected.

  What is the problem here? Did something go wrong with the surgery and put me in a coma for a while? He had read an article in Life magazine about a lady coming out of a coma after ten years and not being able to move. Something about muscle atrophy. That would explain a lot.

  But then he noticed how... good he felt. There was no other word to describe it. He felt good. There was no pain, no upset stomach. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized how much pain he had suffered the last few months. The sore back, the indigestion, the sudden spasms of pain during normal tasks – all were symptoms of the cancer eating away at him, but they had come on so gradually that he hadn’t even noticed when the symptoms started. Only in the absence of the pain did he realize how much he had been suffering. Why was the pain gone?

  “Well, I see you are awake.” The voice startled him. His eyes were closed and he had been concentrating so hard on what was going on with the inside of his body that he hadn’t even heard the man walk in. The voice sounded familiar, perhaps it was the same one he had heard the first time he woke up.

  He opened his eyes again and tried to focus on the speaker. It was indeed a person, and the size and shape of the body confirmed that it was a man, if the voice hadn’t already given that away. He could tell the man had dark hair, but his face was still a blur. He blinked a few more times ineffectively.

  “Do not be concerned about your vision, it will come in time.” Who was this guy? He talked... different.

  “Where am I? Who are you? Why can’t I move?” The questions just fell out of his mouth before he even realized he was talking, and without effort, he was already getting frustrated. He wanted to know where he was and what had happened to get him here.

  “Relax, I will answer all your questions in time, but for now I would like to ask you a few things. Let’s start with your name. Do you remember your name?”

  Jack was now convinced that he had been in a coma. Something had gone wrong during the biopsy, or maybe he was in an accident later and had some amnesia. “Of course I remember my name, the question is, why don’t you know it? Where am I?”

  “Please, I am trying to... judge your mental condition.”

  “Hell, I’m starting to question my mental condition myself. My name is Jack. Now can you please tell me where I am?” The frustration was turning to anger.

  “If I told you where you are you would only be more confused. My name is Teague. Do you have a surname?”

  Surname? Oh, last name.
“Uh, yeah, Taggart, Jack Taggart. What do you mean I’ll only be more confused? Am I still at Deaconess Hospital, or was I moved?”

  “Jack, there is much to explain and some of it will be... difficult to grasp. If you can let me get my questions out of the way, I can maybe start to shed some light on the, um, situation.”

  Jack thought about this for a moment. What was the harm in answering a few questions, maybe then they will tell me where the hell I am and how I got here. “Okay, ask away, but at least tell me if the surgery went bad or something.”

  “Surgery... right. Tell me, Jack, What is the last thing you remember, besides waking up here?” During his twenty years in the military, Jack had met many different doctors, from field medics and surgeons that fixed people’s bodies to the psychologists and psychiatrists that worked on their minds. This guy felt more like a head shrink than a medical doctor. Jack didn’t care much for the head doctors, and the fact that he was ignoring Jack’s questions did not help.

  “Uh, well, I remember my doctor telling me that I would feel disoriented when I woke up, and that I might have a headache. Then I woke up here and you told me I would be confused if you answered my questions, and you must be right because by not telling me anything, you cleared everything up just perfectly, Doc.” Jack tended to get a little sarcastic when he got frustrated. “Tell me, Teague, are you a doctor?”

  If Teague heard the sarcasm, he either didn’t recognize it, or he ignored it. “Yes, Jack, I am what a Doctor of sorts. My specialty is more along the lines of working on people’s brains though.” Bingo! “Can you go back a little further and tell me more about what you remember? I don’t need details, just generalities.”

  Jack suddenly got the feeling this was an interrogation. The whole situation was so alien, all of his internal alarms were worthless – everything was ringing alarms in his mind. Well, if this is an interrogation, I’m fucked anyway, I don’t know shit. He sighed. “I was going in for a biopsy. My mother-in-law drove me to the hospital, and they put me in bed and then gave me the anesthesia. Now please answer my question, did something go wrong with the surgery?”