He put the scalpel and the pills in the shopping bag, on top of the Tupperware container, and eased the entry door open. It led into a hallway, beneath Bill’s condo.
Manny walked fast, not wanting to be seen. The washer had faded the stains on his clothes, but the bandage on his hand was soaked with blood and would prompt questions.
The elevator took him to Dr. May’s floor. He knocked on the door. Almost a minute passed. Manny knocked again, harder. His tongue tasted like pennies, and he realized he was biting it.
“Manny?”
Bill was in a bathrobe. His hair was wet and smelled of shampoo.
“Dr. May-quick! Inside where it’s safe.”
He stepped past the doctor and looked around the room to make sure it was empty.
“Is anyone else here?”
“I’m alone, Manny. Are you all right? What happened at the hospital?”
Manny walked to the sofa, thought about sitting down, decided against it, and paced back to Bill.
“They took me.”
The lie came out weak. He wasn’t sure why he was still covering for David, after all the horrible things he’d done. Fear? Devotion? Guilt?
“What happened to your hand?”
Manny stared at his fist, the gauze almost completely red.
“They cut my finger off. Can you sew it back on?”
Manny reached into the bag and removed the Tupperware container. His little finger was carefully sealed in plastic wrap and surrounded by ice.
Bill reached for the phone. “We have to get you to the hospital.”
“No! He… they, they’ll find me there. I have to stay here, to protect you.”
“Manny, you need microsurgery to reattach a finger. I don’t have that kind of equipment here.”
Manny held Bill by the arm, imploring.
“You don’t understand. It’s not safe. The people who took me… they said that you were next.”
The doctor seemed to think it over.
“Fine. Let me put on some clothes, and we’ll go someplace safe.”
Bill went into another room. Manny chewed his fingernails, both eyes locked on the front door. He knew David was close by. He could practically smell him.
When they were kids, Manny and David had been very close. Even when they were fighting. Even when David did bad things. And more bad things were coming, Manny was sure of it. He could feel them drawing closer.
“Are you ready?”
He jumped at the doctor’s voice. Bill put a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s okay. It must have been horrible, but you’re safe now. Got the finger?”
Manny clutched the bag to his chest.
“Good. Let’s go.”
Bill led him down the stairs and back into the garage. It was a hellish walk for Manny, expecting David to pop out behind every corner. He felt a tad safer once they were in the car and driving.
“You’ve lost a lot of blood. Are you light headed?’
“A little.”
The car stopped at a light. Manny checked to make sure his door was locked.
“When was the last time you took N-Som?”
“A little while ago.”
Bill nodded. “Do you think maybe you should put the experiment on hold for a little while, get some sleep?”
“NO!”
The doctor flinched at the outburst. Manny tried to tamp down his emotion.
“I mean… I can’t stop now, there’s too much at stake here. This was Dr. Nikos’s dream. I’m okay. I really am. I’m just scared. As you said, I’ve been through a lot.”
A car honked behind them. Manny jerked around. Just an SUV, wanting Bill to go because the light turned green. Bill complied.
“So… what’s it like? Being on N-Som?”
“Like?”
“How does it feel?”
Manny was used to questions. He was asked them every day by the team’s shrink, Dr. Fletcher. The familiarity made him relax a bit.
“It feels normal. You just don’t get tired. Dr. Nikos calls it ZFS-Zero Fatigue Syndrome.”
“Physically or mentally tired?”
“Neither. I can exercise for a very long time. I can also concentrate for extended periods. I never get sleepy.”
“How about when the drug wears off?”
“As long as I take it every 24 hours, the effect never stops. If I miss a dose, I start feeling tired and I know it’s time to take it again.”
Like earlier. Manny couldn’t remember when he’d last taken the drug; the visit to the hospital had interrupted his daily dose. But the fatigue had been an indicator it was time.
“Are there side effects? Does it make you jumpy? Irritable?” He looked at Manny. “Paranoid?”
“N-Som isn’t a stimulant, Dr. May. I’m acting paranoid because people are really after us.”
They drove in silence. It got to Manny, and after a minute he had to talk.
“Look, Doctor, this is an amazing drug. Not only does it replace sleep, it improves your health. I don’t get sick anymore. Dr. Nikos and Theena have injected me with different diseases, and none have any affect. I can gain muscle mass at an amazing rate-in one week my biceps grew two inches. And healing… watch this.”
Manny found the scalpel in his bag and took it out.
“What are you doing?”
He brought the blade up to his cheek and make a shallow cut from his ear to his lip.
“Manny…!”
“Calm down, Doc. I have a pretty high threshold for pain. Now look.”
He lowered the visor and adjusted the vanity mirror so he could watch too.
There was bleeding, but not much. After a few seconds he wiped his cheek with his sleeve to show that it had stopped all together.
“See?” Manny put his fingers on either side of the cut and spread them open. The wound had closed.
“It’s healed?”
“Not completely. My blood clots at the same rate that yours does. But both sides have knitted together already.”
“How is that possible?”
“Sleep promotes healing. While asleep, the glands manufacture chemicals.”
“The pituitary gland. It makes human growth hormone. It’s responsible for building muscle, repairing damage, and a slew of other things. But an abundance of HGH is dangerous, Manny. It produces a condition known as acromegaly. The bones and organs enlarge, causing deformity and ultimately death.”
“Not in my case. N-Som fools the brain into thinking it has slept, and the brain responds by increased hormone production. But my increased metabolism compensates for it. In technical terms, N-Som overrides the superachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus and the midbrain recticular formation, resulting in…”
“I know,” Bill interrupted. “I read the chemical review. N-Som is a synthetic exitatory neurotransmitter. But I didn’t know it affected anything other than the Circadian Clock.”
Manny grinned, his pleasure genuine.
“Pretty amazing stuff, huh? So you understand why this experiment is so important. Once this drug is approved, not only will the productivity of the human race increase, the individual quality of life will too.”
When Bill pulled into the parking lot, Manny saw that they were at the hospital. His smile melted.
“What is this?”
