"Then two years ago my lab was vandalized. They destroyed thousands of dollars' worth of equipment and ruined my research. Fortunately, a lot of the expensive equipment was locked up or on loan at the time."
"So what happened to that test strain?" Decker asked with a hint of concern.
"That's what I'm saying. They smashed everything and threw it around the lab."
"Wait a minute," Decker interrupted, "You mean they released the altered cold virus?"
"Yes, but… " Goodman saw the look of concern on Decker's face. "I assure you, no one was in any danger from the cold virus. You couldn't even have gotten a cold from it."
"Are you certain?"
"Decker, it's been two years. If anything was going to happen, it would have happened by now. So, let me get back to my story. After the vandals destroyed my lab, I had to go back and reorganize all my notes. As I did, it became more and more clear to me that the AIDS virus was really the best medium to use as the carrier. Actually, those vandals probably saved me months of unproductive research.
"Think of it, Decker. Fifteen years ago it looked like AIDS could be on its way to being as bad as the Black Plague; and by some time in the next decade it may, combined with the C-cells, be the source of virtual immortality!"
By the time Decker and Goodman finished their conversation, Elizabeth, Mrs. Goodman, Hope and Louisa had returned from their walk and retreated to the patio for iced tea. They had talked long enough to find that they liked each other's company. After the Goodmans left, Elizabeth told Decker how much she enjoyed talking with Martha and that Martha had suggested that she come along with Decker next time he went to Los Angeles.
"Well," said Decker, pleased that his wife was pleased, "I'm glad you two hit it off. She really is a nice person. And as far as you coming along, I'd like that too. So what did you two talk about?" he asked.
"Well, mostly we talked about you and how wonderful it is to have you back. But, let's see… We talked about Professor Goodman. Did you know he's been notified that in December he's going to receive the Nobel Prize for medicine for his cancer research?"
"You're kidding!" Decker said. "He didn't even mention it."
"That's why they were here in Washington. He was invited to address the annual convention of the American Cancer Society."
"I can see I've got a lot of catching up to do," Decker said. "So what else did you talk about?"
"Well, she told me all about her grandnephew, Christopher. She's very proud of him. He's apparently a very precocious child. Oh, and this is kind of interesting: Martha said that two weeks ago she and Professor Goodman were talking about you. He had this important story – I guess what he came over to tell you about today – and apparently he was reluctant to give it to another reporter even though, at the time, you were still being held hostage. But – and this is the strange part – as they were talking about it, her grandnephew, Christopher, came over and just sort of matter-of-factly said that Professor Goodman should wait because you'd be free soon. She said she asked him about it later and he said he wasn't sure how he knew; he just had a feeling."
Chapter 10
Disaster
A light rain began to fall and Decker found himself running, awkwardly making his way through the tall grass and trying to avoid the thistles and wild blackberry bushes. Home and safety from the impending storm were just over the next hill. In his determination he was totally unaware of the strange feeling of being in a small body not yet eight years old.
The storm clouds had gathered quickly and for a while it seemed they might disappear the same way. But as the rain began to fall, the promise of a cloudburst of Noahic proportions seemed to declare itself with the first sudden clap of distant thunder.
As he ran, Decker's nerves twinged with the fear of the somehow inevitable turn of events which he knew was about to befall him. It seemed… it seemed he had done this all before. There was something in his path; something to fear. But what? Then suddenly the earth disappeared from beneath his feet.
Decker's hands flew up above his head as he grabbed at the moist thick air, trying desperately, instinctively, to slow his descent. Suddenly he felt the earth again as his stomach and chest slammed into a wall of dirt and slipped along a rough incline that threatened to swallow him. The blow had knocked the wind out of him, but before he could catch his breath, a sudden sharp pain surged through him as dozens of odd-shaped protrusions scraped against his body, tearing his shirt and pulling it up over his head as he slid down the incline. His hands, still grasping, caught a tangled mass of small fibers which quickly slipped away but were replaced by one more solid and firm. In shock he hung there, motionless.
Moments passed and Decker began to carefully pull himself upward, hoping that his hold would not fail under the strain. Raising himself a few inches, he worked his shirt back down over his head and shoulders. Now able to survey his condition, he found that he was holding onto a tree root about an inch in diameter. Near tears, he slowly turned his head and looked down. In horror he realized his imagination had not exaggerated the danger. Below him the hole continued for about thirty feet and then narrowed and veered off.
He closed his eyes and thought of the previous summer when he had first heard of such holes. He and his cousin Bobby had been riding two of his uncle's mules in the field north of the milk barn. Bobby brought him to a spot in the field where an old hay wagon had been left sitting long enough for the grass and the purple-flowered thistles to grow up around it. Bobby, who had been riding bareback, lifted his leg and slid off the side of the mule.
"C'mon," he said as he tied the twine of the mule's homemade reins through a rusted iron eye on the wagon. There was a sense of adventure in his voice and Decker was quick to follow.
"Be careful, now," Bobby cautioned as he began to inch his way slowly toward the edge of a hole in the ground on the other side of the wagon. Decker followed Bobby's lead and was soon standing on the edge of the hole looking down.
"Man, that's deep," Decker said. "What is it?"
"A sink hole," Bobby answered.
"A what?"
"A sink hole. It goes on forever," Bobby said authoritatively.
"Aw, that's crazy," Decker responded. "I can see the bottom."
"That's not the bottom, it's just where it turns off in another direction." Bobby gave a slight tug to Decker's shirt and the pair moved to the other side of the hole. "See down there," Bobby said as he pointed to what had appeared to be the bottom of the shaft. Decker couldn't tell how far it went, but he could see that the shaft continued off in the other direction. He squatted down to get a better look but there simply wasn't enough light to see any farther.
"Where'd it come from?" Decker asked.
"Whadda ya mean, where'd it come from? Ya think we dug it or sumthin'?" Decker gave Bobby a dirty look and Bobby, deciding that this was not the place to pick a fight, continued. "They just show up. One day it's flat ground and then the next day there's a sink hole. That's why they call 'em sink holes, I guess."
Decker tried again to get a better look and then an idea struck him. "Let's get a rope and climb down and explore it!" "Are you nuts?"
"C'mon! We can get a real long rope, or even better, we can find some flashlights and get that roll of bailing twine in the barn. We can tie the twine to one of the mules and ease ourselves down. I've seen 'em do stuff like that on television a bunch of times."
"Man, you are nuts! My dad told me about three guys who went down in a sink hole over in Moore County. They never came back up, and two months later they found their bodies in the Duck River!" Decker looked at Bobby, trying to figure whether he was making this up. Bobby continued, "I told ya, these things don't have no bottoms!" Just then they saw Bobby's dad stomping through the tall grass toward them. He was mad. "Bobby!" he called out, "What in the Sam Hill are you doin' out here? You wanna fall in there and get yourself killed? You get away from that hole right now or I'm gonna beat the livin' tar outta both of ya!" The boys ran as quickly as they could to the mules. All the commotion gave Decker the clear impression that Bobby hadn't been kidding about the danger.