The Cure: A Genetic Engineering Thriller

Chapter 3

The Golden Moonlight was as cozy and charming as Reggie and Irene had described it.

James figured that’s why they loved it so much; it was pretty much the embodiment of them, just in restaurant form. They’d parked side by side right out front of the giant double doors, where a hostess greeted them at the front podium.

“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. O’Connor, we’re delighted to have you back so soon. Will your family be joining you tonight or is it just you two?”

“Hello, Ava, we’re actually treating our new friend, James, to dinner and we knew we had to come here,” Irene beamed. “He helped us out of a bit of a pickle at Mount Rushmore.”

“Oh?” Ava’s eyes widened as if she wanted more information as to what sort of situation they could’ve found themselves in where they required James’s assistance.

“It was just a little bit of car trouble, is all,” Reggie explained. “Nothing too serious or life threatening, although you know my wife does love to tell a good story.”

“I used to be a kindergarten teacher before I retired,” she bragged. “Storytelling has become part of my identity now.”

“Well, it looks like you’ve just beat the rush.” Ava pointed her chin at the groups gathered behind them. “Follow me, I’ll seat you at your usual table.”

James followed two steps behind the old couple, zigzagging through the buzzing restaurant until they left the building altogether and stepped onto the back patio. Hundreds of string lights were twined around the gazebo, casting the evening in a warm light. There were a few couples seated outside, but it was mostly empty compared to the inside. James had no idea why; clearly the patio was the best feature of The Golden Moonlight—he wondered if that’s how it got its name.

“Here we are,” Ava chimed, ushering them into the table in the further corner, conveniently away from everyone else. “Shall I start off with your usual drinks this evening?” she asked as she laid down the laminated menus.

“Yes,” Irene answered. “What’ll you have, James?”

“I’ll just have water, thank you.”

“Perfect. I’ll give you a few minutes to settle on something to eat and be right back!” Ava twirled on her heels and disappeared into the restaurant, leaving James with the O’Connors.

“So, James, tell us, are you from around here?” Reggie asked, closing his menu without even looking at it. He likely already knew what he was getting before they even arrived.

“No,” James said sheepishly. “I’m, uh, on a bit of a road trip. I just needed to get away for a little while, figure out what I wanted to do with my life.”

“I thought you said you’re a mechanic?” Irene asked.

“No, I am, it’s just…” he tapped his fingernails on the edge of the table, searching for the right words. “My wife, she passed away last year and I’ve had a rough go of it. It was quick, which I’m thankful for since she didn’t suffer long, but I had this idea of what our lives were going to be like, and in the blink of an eye, all of that was ripped away from me.”

Irene sniffled and placed an open hand on her chest. “Oh my, I’m terribly sorry for your loss. I had no idea.” She paused, tilting her head to the side as she studied James all over. “Pardon me, but you must’ve married quite young, you don’t look much older than thirty.”

James couldn’t help but laugh. He also couldn’t tell his new acquaintances that the reason for that was because his friend had developed a biological serum that had essentially knocked years off his life, regenerated his once-removed kidney and brushed away every last wrinkle on his skin.

“That’s very kind of you to say,” James settled on. “Yes, we married when we were younger than most. She was the light of my life.”

“What was her name?” Reggie joined in on the conversation, although, if James didn’t know any better, he thought the old man looked a little shaken up by his confession.

“Amelia,” James smiled, flashes of her face and their fond memories bursting in his brain one after the other. “It was her dream to see the national parks, so it felt like the perfect time to do so. I’m not exactly sure when I’ll be going home, I don’t really have a plan either when it comes to the trip. I’m just sort of doing what feels right.”

“That’s sweet,” Irene said.

Just before things got too serious and one of them started to get emotional, Ava returned to take their order. Irene and Reggie got their usuals by the sounds of it, as the waitress didn’t even need to take it down. James ordered by recommendation of Reggie—the steak with baked potato and coleslaw on the side. Apparently, it was the house special and one of the reasons that people went out of their way to come here. The three sat and talked for what felt like hours, exploring their life stories, one memory after another. James learned that the old couple had six children and ten grandchildren, most of which unfortunately lived out of state. Their two youngest boys had just gone off 23 to college though, and they were living on campus, so their house had become an empty nest.

“It’s strange,” Irene admitted, dabbing near her eyes with the corner of her napkin. “I never pictured what our lives would be like when all of our kids had grown up and started to move on and find themselves. We have this beautiful piece of property not far from here. It's modest compared to others, but it was big enough for all of us. We’re a close family, so you’ll have to excuse my blubbering,” she went on to wipe a few more stray tears before letting out a deep breath. “It’s just nice to have some company, wouldn’t you say, Reggie?”

“Absolutely. Say, I have an idea.” Leaning forward, he readjusted in his seat a few times, and tapped his temple with his index finger. “You said you have no real concrete plans on this spontaneous trip of yours, right?”

“Yeah,” James confirmed. “I’ve got my tent in the trunk of my car, a few clothes that are in desperate need of washing, and a map to guide me. Why?”

“I was thinking, I do have a few things around the ranch that I could use a hand with, and we have lots of spare bedrooms for you to stay in if you’re interested in. Just for a few days, a week perhaps, and you can tour around some spots in the area. We know all the best places to go since we’ve lived here our whole lives. What do you say?”

A comfortable bed that isn’t on the hard ground and a homecooked meal? James thought, how could I turn such a blessing down?

“I’d love to,” James accepted his gracious offer. “If it’s alright with you, Irene.”

“Alright with me?” she chuckled. “I’d have you stay forever if it wasn’t k********g! You can stay as long as you’d like, James.”

***

The next two days had come and gone in the blink of an eye.

Irene had been keen on setting up James in the room in the loft so that he’d have the most privacy. There was a bathroom up there that he had all to himself, and the bed was far more comfortable than the one he had at home. She’d collected what little clothes he had in his duffle bag and washed them that same night they returned to the ranch, which, in his opinion, was not modest at all, but downright gorgeous in every sense of the word. They were tucked in a little slice of heaven, surrounded by fields upon fields as far as the eyes could see. At night, the sky was lit up with millions of stars, and James had considered on a number of occasions whether or not he was going to take up Irene’s offer and stay there forever.

Maybe that was exactly what he needed to escape Big Pharma once and for all: live on a secluded ranch in the 25 middle of nowhere. It probably wasn’t as ethical or moral as what Dr. Ronald Clark would’ve wanted with his life’s work, but at least he’d be alive. No one would have to find his dead body in a basement, nor would he be chased down in grocery stores by menacing murderers.

He even considered calling Melanie and asking her to run away with him. It sounded a bit childish and rash now that he had time to give it some thought, but it wasn’t the worst idea in the world. What was so wrong with the way Reggie and Irene lived? They’d gone and had six children and lived a beautiful, healthy and happy life together.

Was it so wrong to want something like that?

“James?” Irene knocked on the wall by the bottom of the stairs, always being sure to give him privacy while he was up in his temporary room. “Are you up there?”

“Yes, just washing up for dinner,” he hollered back, drying his hands onto his pants.

His mother was always adamant about showing up to the dinner table with dirty, greasy hands. Flicking off the light, he made his way down into the kitchen to find it was just Irene there.

“Where’s Reggie?” he asked.

“Oh, he got a call from one of the neighbors three farms down, said something about his tractor not 26 running as well as it should so he went down to have a look before supper.”

“Tractor, you say?” James leaned on the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you think he’ll have much luck after what happened with the Packard?” he teased.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Irene giggled, stirring what could only be the most divine pot of soup James had ever smelled. “I’m certain he’ll be over there all night trying to figure out what’s wrong with it. What they need is a real mechanic to have a look at it.”

Irene O’Connor was not a subtle woman. In fact, James was almost certain she didn’t have a subtle bone in her body.

“Does Reggie have tools in the shed out back?” he asked.

“All kinds,” she nodded, adding a few spices to her soup before giving it a taste. “Will they be useful? Who knows, but you can give it your best shot. I’ll keep dinner nice and hot for when you boys get back.”

“Yes, ma’am,” James bowed before grabbing his boots from the front door and slipping out to the back shed.

It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for, just a few basic tools that would come in handy for a simple fix. If it was anything beyond his scope of knowledge, James hoped he’d at least be able to give a 27 rough diagnosis to steer the neighbor in the right direction.

Heading down the dirt road, he walked for a good twenty minutes before he spotted Reggie’s work truck parked by the neighbor’s barn. The massive doors were pushed wide open, and inside, was a bright green tractor that looked torn apart from the road. James knew that it wasn’t a good sign.

“Hey Reggie,” James greeted, waving to the neighbor, hoping to come across as friendly as possible. “Irene said the neighbor was having some tractor troubles, she thought it might be useful if I put my two cents in.”

“Perfect timing!” Reggie hollered. “Arnold here was just about ready to lose his mind trying to get this new belt put on. The old one just snapped clean in half, never seen anything like it in my life.”

“It’s common,” James and Arnold said simultaneously, causing all three of them to break out in a laugh. “I’m James,” he extended his hand out, and Arnold shook it vigorously. “I take it Reggie told you all about me?”

“The young mechanic they’ve taken in, yes, he has,” Arnold grinned. “Not that I blame him. It’s always nice to have young hands around. Unfortunately, age doesn’t make getting fingers into small spaces much easier. I think they’ve gotten fatter every year I’ve gotten older. I can barely twist a wrench now these days.”

“Let me see.”

James took the new belt from the farmer’s hand and got to work. It wasn’t just his acute knowledge of vehicles that made the task simple, but as Arnold pointed out, his age. His body was younger, younger than it has been in years, and it was a shame more people couldn’t benefit from it.

Cure the curses that aging does to the human body. Give people the freedom and independence to maintain their lifestyles, even for just a little bit longer. It was crazy how such a simple task could make James realize what exactly he needed to do. Ever since Ronald had died, he’d seen the potion as a burden; something that he might one day have to pay with his life for. That evil men were willing to kill for, all because they wanted to control and exploit it.

Now, meeting every day, regular people like Arnold and Reggie gave James the clarity he needed—he wasn’t going to hand it over to Big Pharma, or any corrupt organization for that matter. He’d make sure the rest of the world would be able to use it.

“Would you have a look at that!” Arnold chirped. “Fits just like a glove. Maybe Reggie’s onto something; I should hire a young lad to help me out around the farm.”

“Couldn’t hurt,” Reggie nodded. “Lord knows we ain’t getting any younger.”

No, James thought. But you could.