Interview with a Clone. Chapter 8

Interview with a Clone Chapter 8

by mary e.gerdt 2012 all rights reserved

The Recovery part II

Tommy Fairweather sat on the plane, cell phone
To his ear and still not listening to the drone of a prospective client.
His mind fixated on the cryptic limited words,
He recalled from earlier,
the phone call from
His sister Gigi,
She spit out, “There has been an Accident.
Adrenaline rush #1.………
Dawn is OK.
[remembering all the times Gigi said something was ok…Dad died,
Mom broke her hip, Gigi’s parachute did not open, Tommy’s dog drowned, ad infinitum]
But a little Banged up…”
***click***

A solar flare cut off their conversation and at that point, Gigi had done all she could do. She knew Tommy would be there as soon as humanly possible. Tommy stared out the window.
“Are you ok?” his client on the phone grumbled.
Tommy scratched the phone, squeaking the word “static…” and hung up and turned it off, covered his head, and sobbed.
“Dawn…..”, he wimpered softly. “I am coming, little girl…”

Dawn woke smelling the clean antiseptic menthol alcohol scent of the island hospital. Her movement was restricted. She was in a body cast and
felt tubes in several uncomfortable places. One she could see draped across her cheek running up to a plastic bin with milk in it or so it appeared.
Her pain was coming in waves and yet even at the age of 10, she was reassured as she deduced that having pain indicated she was alive.
She felt an itch just below her left ankle and tried to look down but a
Neck collar kept her head up facing forward.
Dawn began to say, “Nurse, Nurse.” over and over again, starting softly,
Seeing the shut door, she increased the volume,
Until she was nearly screaming, “Nurse, Nurse!”

Tommy got his bags and took a cab to the hospital where Dawn was presently screaming for the nurses.

The old woman from the beach sat in the waiting room, blending in with the other visitors, no one questioned why she was there. She often sat by Alice in the waiting room.
In the short time Dawn was recovering in the hospital, Alice grew to trust and love the old woman.
Susan and Georgia were oblivious to the old woman. Their primary concern was Dawn.
The old woman held an amulet in her hand, recited spells in her mind,
Sending a message without speaking of the apocalypse
And the horrors of cloning.
The old woman secretly was plotting to hurt Alice as the old woman tried to blame Alice for Dawn’s near drowning.

Gigi came to Alice’s defense as she knew exactly what had happened.
The captain of the tourist vessel Dawn and Gigi had been on, explained to the authorities how this little girl was thrown overboard from a rogue wave and how she was pulled underwater and washed ashore. The reef kept them out farther than they would like. It was faster to come ashore around the point. They did what they could.

Tommy was never called. It would be some time before he would even know any of this.

Dawn saw her father Tommy and her eyes lit up. Tommy had a let down feeling seeing a body cast, tubes, his little girl, a heap of broken bones in a foreign hospital. He was going to really give it to Gigi…
He never thought Gigi should take Dawn on that trip. Dawn did not even know how to swim. Tommy squeezed Dawn’s hand and showed her the teddy bear he got her. Her cradled it in her casted arm. She was relieved, her father was here. Perhaps now she could go back home. Little did she know, her forever home would be changing soon for forever.

Meanwhile, Susan’s security detail summoned her to bug out of the Bahamas to Bermuda. They had a secure facility there and her data chips were being locked down.
The elderly medicine woman had spilled the clone talk, and threatened all Susan had built up. Alice’s innocent friendship nearly cost their lives and Susan would have to speak with Alice about clone talk. Susan just could not bring herself to do the corrective talk to Alice today. Tomorrow she would be a parent. Tomorrow she would set the limits and boundaries. Today she was gathering any vital info to save and packing for their new home. Today they were moving to Bermuda.
Dawn was transported to a hospital in Houston near where she and Tommy lived.

Susan, Alice, Georgia, Katie and the labs moved to Bermuda.

Alice never ran away again. Georgia forgave Alice.

Life for the adults went straight forward, barely faltered,

plodded on, so much to do.

They had moved into an old college campus

and had better labs really, They accelerated their research for

sustainable foods and living off the Earth.

Alice felt so much had changed.
When would life settle down?
Would her life be different if she had not run away?
And run into Dawn? and the Old Lady?

Years later she would ask herself how did such a special friend Dawn and the old lady turn out to be both bad friends,

for different reasons?

Alice would ask her self that question for the rest of her life.