The Potion: A genetic engineering thriller!

Chapter 2

James stood in the near-scalding water, absentmindedly watching the murky water swirl down the shower drain.

There was something satisfying about seeing the dirt, grease, and grime from a hard day’s work wash away. A part of him felt like it was a reflection of his efforts. And while he had a little bit of a hiccup earlier in the day, he managed to get his head back into it for the last half.

After spending a few more precious minutes in the shower, James stepped out of the tub and headed for the walk-in closet. His eyes instinctually glanced over at Amelia’s side, which was now empty, save for a few boxes here and there. He had donated most of the stuff but held onto a few sentimental pieces, including her wedding dress. That was something he could never get rid of. Even if he somehow managed to find new love, they would just have to understand that Amelia was an important part of his life and hope they’d accept that.

He settled on a button-down shirt and a pair of jeans he never wore to work. It was one of the few pairs that didn’t have any permanent grease stains. James knew Ronald would not appreciate a greasy mechanic getting into his pristine vehicle.

His phone chimed from across the room. Grabbing his wallet and keys from his nightstand, he snatched the phone from the dresser and read the text on his way down the stairs.

(6:49 p.m.) Ronald: Be there in five minutes.

(6:50 p.m.) James: I’ll be waiting.

Since this wasn’t the first time that Ronald had offered James to test drive one of his new vehicles, he had a feeling how this night was going to end. They’d take a cruise around the downtown strip, watch the pedestrians ogle the car, go down some backroads with the windows rolled down, and just feel the breeze before stopping for a coffee or a bite to eat. Then, Ronald would take over the wheel, drop off James, and that would be that. Just like always.

It had been weeks, if not months, since James had voluntarily left the house to go anywhere, so he was a little excited, even anxious. He paced back and forth in the small foyer into his brownstone, humming a song under his breath until he heard the familiar rumble of a high performance engine. Grinning from ear to ear, he whipped open the front door and quickly locked it behind him before nearly sprinting down the driveway.

Ronald was already out of the driver’s side and patiently waiting for him. He was a bit older than James and had darker skin and a bit of a smaller frame. The doctor didn’t work on cars, he just loved and cared for them; and that was fine with James. Instead, the good Dr. Clark worked on a different kind of mechanics. Genetics. James didn’t know exactly the parameters of his occupation, but he knew it involved analyzing the human body.

“You look like you’ve lost some weight,” Ronald chuckled before waving toward the driver’s seat. “Is Amelia not feeding you anymore?”

James stopped short, his shoulders slumping almost immediately. Tears pricked his eyes, but he swallowed, hoping they would not spill onto his cheeks. “Right, about that,” he 11 croaked, absent-mindedly rolling his wedding band, “Amelia passed away a few months ago. I didn’t know how to tell you over the phone.”

Ronald’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. James felt a bit guilty that he didn’t tell him sooner. “Oh, I’m so sorry James, I had no idea. Are you...alright? Do you still want to go out? I won’t hold it against you if you don’t.”

“No, no,” James said. “I need this. She’d want me to live my life. Where do you want to go?” he added quickly, not wanting to sour the mood.

Ronald’s lip curled into a half-smile, but not fully, as if he were still registering the news of Amelia’s death. He tried his best to hide it, but it was the same expression James saw whenever he told someone what happened to her—pity. At least the drive would offer some form of distraction for them both.

“The usual,” Ronald concluded.

The 1969 E Type Hardtop’s interior was small on the inside, but James was used to that, with having a Jag of his own. The two men managed to squeeze themselves into the front seat with no issue. It was a beautiful vehicle to say the least; and he felt honored that he had a chance to sit in it, let alone take it for a drive. He pulled out of his driveway and they were on their way.

The evening air was crisp but warm enough that they could have the windows down without freezing. James’s mind inevitably wandered to thoughts of Amelia, until Ronald interrupted his thoughts.

“I have a situation that I think you might be able to help me with,” he said, cryptically and oddly offhand.

“Oh? Is it car-related?”

“Well...yes and no. Theoretically, I suppose a car would be a good analogy,” Ronald replied.

“Well, it is my livelihood,” James snorted, a little more sarcastically than he intended.

“Fair enough,” the doctor conceded. “The more I think about it, the more I began to see that what you and I do is not altogether that different. You fix machines by replacing parts that have failed or worn out, right? Be it brakes or a transmission, you put a new part where an old one was. Yes?” Ronald went on suddenly excited. “My lab is working on growing replacement parts for humans,” he blurted.

James was taken aback and had absolutely no idea where this conversation was headed. He nodded along, hoping Ronald would get to the point.

“I guess you could compare a heart transplant to an engine swap,” James joked sardonically.

“Exactly!” Deliberately ignoring the mock, he clapped hands twice as if he just made some sort of scientific breakthrough. “So, you agree, the human body is a lot like a vehicle. Doctors and mechanics both diagnose the problem and then work on a solution to fix it. A blood transfusion and a coolant flush, if you look at the bigger picture, you could find similarities.”

“I mean, yeah, but there’s no store for body parts.” James scrunched up his nose at the thought. “There’s plenty of places you can buy car parts, maybe not for this baby,” he said, rubbing the steering wheel, “but you just have to know where to look.”

“Precisely my point,” Ronald stated. “Organ donors are hard to come by. That’s why the waiting lists are so long. Plus, you have to take into consideration whether or not the body will accept or reject the transplant, as well as other factors like infection and recovery. But what if we could bypass all that?”

“Bypass what? Surgery? How would you be able to heal the body if you didn’t fix the problem?”

Ronald remained silent for a moment, and James wondered if he had stumped him with his question. He glanced over quickly to find him twisting the ring on his thumb and his leg bobbing up and down. Normally, Ronald was a pretty relaxed and casual sort of guy, so James thought this sudden anxious behavior was quite odd.

“What if there was a vaccine that could cure the body of any illness or ailment? A serum that would solve all our problems.”

James laughed at the notion. It was a nice thought and all, but there would never be such a thing, at least, not something the government or doctors would ever admit to having anyway. If the world could be cured of every sickness and cancer on the planet, they’d lose millions of dollars in revenue from hospital bills and treatment plans. Insurance companies would go ballistic. The pharmaceutical industry would crater. As morbid as it sounded, it was the truth. Besides, James couldn’t think about the fact that he could’ve had the chance to save Amelia’s life with a prick of a needle. It was too painful.

“Well, if they had that for cars, I’d sure be out of a job,” James remarked, unsure what else he could say.

They both laughed at his joke and the car fell silent for a few more minutes. A part of him hoped that Ronald would change the topic of conversation, but he simply stared out the window, 14 watching the trees as they drove by. James headed back into town, and that was when Ronald perked up a bit.

“Turn left at the next set of lights,” he murmured. “I want to show you something.”

James followed his instructions until he pulled into Ronald’s driveway. He too lived in a brownstone, but it was in the older district, and the houses here had much more character than his home did. The architecture was a bit more medieval and gothic, while his had more modern elements. He stared in awe at the archways and details over the windows and peak of the roof. He and Amelia used to drive through these neighborhoods just to look at the gorgeous homes. He had no idea that Ronald lived in one of them.

“This place is gorgeous,” James said as he stepped out of the Jaguar. “Must be one of the perks of being a scientist.”

Ronald grinned, “Family money,” he said, then waved him toward the front door. He was a little disappointed, as he had thought he had another vehicle to show him. Instead, he unlocked the door and they slipped inside. Ronald turned one lock, then another, then dropped a security bar in place. James raised an eyebrow in confusion. As far as James knew, this district was a peaceful place to live in. He wondered if there were any break-ins nearby that Ronald was being a bit paranoid about.

“You can leave your shoes on,” Ronald stated. “It’s in the basement.”

“Is this the part where you kill me and take all my money?” James quipped. “Cuz if it is...you’re outta luck, Doc!”

“Hilarious,” Ronald snickered, rolling his eyes.

Turning on the stair lights, James followed a few steps behind until they reached the bottom steps. Rounding the corner into what he expected would be a decked-out man cave or something of that nature, instead he found a wall of thick plastic, similar to what one might find in a quarantine lab of an apocalyptic movie. He glanced at Ronald, who gave him an encouraging nod, and even went as far as to push open the two flaps into the plastic room.

Swallowing his childish paranoia, James stepped into the room first and was bombarded with the scent of bleach and cleaning products. It brought him back to the days he spent in the hospital leading up to Amelia’s death.

Never in a million years did he expect to be standing in the middle of a makeshift lab. There were metal tables lining the far wall, beakers and test tubes, machines and contraptions that James would never be able to identify, computers that were running data, and several filing cabinets. The good news? There were no dead bodies on any tables, so that was a good sign.

“What is all this stuff?” James murmured. “Is the company making you work from home now?”

Ronald refused to look James in the eye. He walked over to one of the solitary filing cabinets and retrieved a massive set of keys from his pocket. With his back turned, he retrieved something small from the middle drawer and held it in his closed fist.

“No one knows about the lab,” he stated. “Not even work. None of my co-workers, and certainly not my boss. I’ve been working on it for a while now, and last week, I think I finally succeeded. James, I had a major breakthrough.”

“With what? Curing cancer?” James mocked. He didn’t know what to think anymore. This was all becoming a bit too much to handle.

“Better. A cure for everything, just like I said in the car. It could heal a person, regenerate their cells, and essentially reset their body. I nicknamed it, The Potion.”

He held out his hand, and in it, was a thin vial of cream-colored liquid. It swirled around the glass tube and looked as harmless as ever. James didn’t know whether to laugh or tell Ronald he was mad. When he looked up from the vial, Ronald was staring at him with pleading eyes, as if begging for him to believe that he’d done it. That he’d truly come up with a serum to cure the human body. A complete and total reset.