Ethan Eternal

Chapter 9

“Once upon a time…”

            “Tell me about Montana.”

            Kevin had been nestled comfortably in a heavy sleep so overdue that Debra’s words ripped at his ears as they painfully pulled him into consciousness. Disoriented, he could only stare and blink for a few moments as his wife’s sister stood over him. She was wide awake and from the intensity of her glare… she might have been for some time. At some point, she had awoken with a compulsion to know what had happened in that far away place… what had happened to Amanda and Danny.

            Kevin had a hard time finding words… partially because of his exhaustion but also because he had not imagined words for what had happened to him. How could he explain the strange path that had led his family into a tragic ruin? How could he place any words in his mind that would even come close to describing this horrific ordeal? How could he make her understand when he did not?

            “Montana…” Kevin started and then paused. His bloodshot eyes glazed over as his mind began to extract images from a life that seemed a lifetime away. He tried to swallow but his throat would not allow it. His lips parted but sound would not come forth. He was stricken by an unyielding wall of fear… for it seemed that speaking of his wife and son might be the last step in solidifying their fate. It was a concept that held no reason… but the fear of speech could not be overcome.

            Debra could see Kevin’s distress written across his face. Her need to know was not beyond compassion for her brother in law’s difficulty. She put a hand on his and nodded slightly. It calmed him… pushed away just enough of his fear to loose a single tear. The drop glided down one cheek easily and fell upon his chest… taking with it the last breath of the family that was now lost forever. They had never died completely… until now.

            “We… we thought it was a miracle…” He began.

            The rain had slowed to barely a mist outside. Thunder only faintly echoed from far away. Colt stood watchful at the window. Perry pretended to sleep.

            “Danny had seen every specialist in Texas. We even had a trip planned to California to meet with a surgeon at a university. I guess it was the fifth interview we had done… I’m not sure… but one of the doctors told us about this treatment… this new treatment… in Montana.”

            “Mommy!” a young boy’s voice resounded from a midnight long ago.

            Kevin started to get up but Amanda’s hand gently brushed against his arm.

            “I’ll go this time” she said with a whisper.

            Kevin nodded a sleepy answer and went back to a dream about a yellow boat with an engine he could never seem to get started. She smiled and slipped away.

            The door creaked open slowly as Danny’s mother peered inside. Her son was sitting beside the window again. His tiny head was pressed against the cold glass. He did not stir as she entered but as Amanda placed her hand on his back and gave him a comforting pat between his shoulders, he muttered a familiar sob.

            “I need more medicine Mommy. I need more.”

            The pills were already in her hand. She took his and placed them in his palm. She watched him swallow a drink of water and hoped that 2 would be enough. Amanda picked up her son and rocked him slowly as he cried. He was so strong… but not as strong as the pain. She wished that it had been her and not her son. She prayed to God that he would take away Danny’s agony. She would be glad to have it.

            “I’m sorry.” He said with a child’s voice… and Amanda began to cry.

            Ethan stared at an image burned into a black plastic sheet. The image had been produced by a magnetic resonance scan inside a Dallas clinic… a clinic he bought specifically for that purpose. A month ago he would never have cared about the latest medical technologies or their applications… but now… things were different. He had been inside the machine twice before… but the image he now held… was not of him.

            “It’s aggressive Ethan… That’s what the doc said… aggressive.” A booming voice resounded from all corners of the chalky room. George looked skeptical… if not concerned.

            Dorian raised his eyes and glared at the giant sitting across the room. George was silenced without a word. A man in a white coat entered from a large iron door and paused as the door shut behind him. His jaw dropped a little at the sight of the room and what had become of it.

            “I hope you have good news.” Ethan growled.

            The doctor swallowed a lump and then stepped towards an empty chair close to his employer. As he made his way to his seat, he tried not to step on any of the photographs, X-rays or medical documents that now lay in tattered piles scattered carelessly across the floor. He struggled to avoid the newspaper clippings. He fought to evade scissor cropped pictures of a young boy with large blue eyes.

            As he sat, he began to shake… not out of fear of the thugs standing outside… or the giant nearby… but from the black revolver now resting loosely on Dorian’s lap. Dr. Jason Rodriguez was not a man accustomed to the prospect of violence. He was a brain surgeon… not a trauma surgeon. Guns were horrifying enough without men present that were more than willing to use them.

            “As… as I said… the tumor… is malignant and aggressive… but it appears to be operable. I have not found any other growths so it seems we have time.” Dr Rodriguez muttered awkwardly.

            Dorian’s eyes were fierce. He stared at the doctor with a determined and challenging judgment.

            “Time…” Dorian hissed. “Time is the one thing that I do not have… Doctor.”

            Eyeing the gun for a moment, Rodriguez nodded. Ethan continued.

            “I didn’t pay you seven million dollars for doubt. Be sure of this… if you can not perform this operation… and I die…You can be certain…”

            Pointing a finger straight at George, Ethan kept his eyes locked on Dr. Rodriguez.

            “He… will kill you.”

            The doctor did not need to look at George. He did not need to see him to know the truth of Dorian’s promise. He could feel the man’s cold breath from where he was. No. There was no doubt at all in those words.

            “The cancer is contained. I am sure… I am completely sure… that I can get all of it.”

            Dr. Rodriguez had no misgivings about what he had been hired to do. He understood the process quite clearly. There were some small aspects that he did not know about but this was the frontier of science. There would always be some pieces to the puzzle that would remain mysterious until the procedure was underway. Thankfully, he would be in good company. Dorian had enlisted a dream team of scientists and surgeons. If there was to ever be a human success… there would be no better opportunity. For his own sake, he was betting on it.

            Dorian examined the man’s face for a long moment and then seemed to relax. He almost smiled as he allowed his posture to change and leaned back into the leather chair at his back.

            “Tell them that we will schedule an appointment for next week. Tuesday. That should be enough time.” Flipping his hand toward the doctor, Dorian added quickly, “Go. Tell them.”

            Dr. Rodriguez nodded and hastily exited the room.

            About a minute passed in silence as Ethan turned his attention back to the clippings and photographs spread across the table. He found one picture of the boy that particularly captivated his interest. Danny was holding a dandelion in his small hands and blowing away the feathered seeds. The boy’s hands were almost an intriguing to Ethan as the eyes. These would be his hands… his new… hands.

            “I don’t care what he says… you’re taking a hell of a risk.” George’s words broke the silence like the heavy clang of a church bell.

            Dorian grabbed the pistol and threw it at the massive man. George ducked as it struck the wall beside him.

            “Hey!” George shouted… slowly smiling. He didn’t smile long.

            Something in Ethan’s stare told him that this was not the time for levity. Something in those blue eyes spoke a warning more certain than he dare challenge. Though larger and stronger than his employer… he had no doubt that today it would not matter. Ethan was a desperate man… clinging to a fixation that must be absolute. His obsession had made him vulnerable… and George knew that a cornered viper was not to be underestimated.

            “You don’t see… you can’t see… of course you don’t understand. You can’t see what I see… not what I see…”

            Ethan had spoken like this before. His words slurred slightly as he muttered the mantra lower and lower… turning his eyes back to the photograph of the boy. George watched cautiously.

            “He can’t see… not what I see… can’t know… no one sees… only I know.”

            George knew that Ethan was quite mad… but he had always been. This was merely a new layer to that insanity. He suspected that it was temporary. After this crisis was over and Ethan Dorian became Daniel Dorian… things would be different. He would be careful in the meantime.

            Dr. Rodriguez straightened his tie and took a deep breath in. He turned a golden door knob and stepped into a brightly lit room. He smiled widely and held a red lollipop out to a young boy sitting beside his mother. With a healer’s voice, he spoke to them.

            “Everything is gonna be ok. You’re gonna be better real soon.”

(To be continued)