Chapter 9
The Plan
Jack waited for sunset before he went on to find Sarah. His mind was racing. He had many possible options in mind but had narrowed it down to two choices. First, find Jeremy so they can search for Sarah together. Two heads are always better than one. The second option was to feign sickness, so he can be brought to the medical building where Sarah was being treated. He decided to do both.
“You want to do what?” Jeremy screeched.
“Come on, I’m a guest here and you’re my personal concierge.”
“I’m first and foremost, your pilot.”
“Yes, I know that. This is very important. We need to find Sarah and get her out of the medical building. She needs help and we’re going help her.”
“We could get in trouble. I could lose my job,” Jeremy reasoned out.
“Sarah’s father just died and she probably doesn’t know it yet. I suspect she’s here for a reason and it’s not yoga and green smoothies.”
“What is she here for then?”
“I don’t know. It’s just a hunch. But trust me on this. She tried to kill herself and she wanted me to leave this place. It’s all a puzzle to me, but I can solve it if you help me.”
“Okay. What would we do if we get caught?”
“We won’t. They won’t argue with a sick man.”
They finalized their plans and went to the medical building.
Drama class, don’t fail me now. Jack mumbled to himself.
“Help! Somebody help us!” Jeremy shouted on top of his lungs as he lifted Jack’s head and back off the ground and dragged him to the Emergency Room entrance.
Nurse Evans was the first to respond.
“What happened?” Nurse Evans asked calmly.
“He was having a seizure and then he collapsed and hit his head on the floor,” Jeremy explained frantically.
Two orderlies transferred Jack to a hospital bed and left as quickly as they came in. Jack laid in bed and pretended to be unconscious. Nurse Evans checked for a pulse and immediately found one.
“His heart rate is really fast. I’m gonna call Dr. Ladmile.”
As soon as she left the room, Jeremy went to the receptionist. With a little flirting, he was able to get the room number.
“208,” Jeremy whispered to Jack.
They went up the stairs and headed to room 208. There was no one around so they got inside without any hitch. As planned, Jeremy rushed to the rooftop of the medical building where the helicopter was waiting.
“Sarah. Wake up!” Jack said as he gently slapped her cheek.
It didn’t take long for Sarah to wake up.
“Jack!”
“We’ll get you out of here.”
Jack removed all the tube attachments from Sarah’s body and they both stormed out of the room and ran to the elevator as fast as they could.
“What’s going on?” Sarah asked.
“Well, you needed help. So here I am.”
“You got the flash drive?”
“The flash drive?”
“I left that for you in the locker.”
“Well, I don’t have it with me. How was I supposed to know that I needed to bring it with me?”
“It has the list of participants of the Edge Program.”
“How did you get it?”
“I had help from Vera.”
“The nutritionist?”
“Yes.”
“So, what do we do with the list?”
“Every person in that list is either dead or suffering the side effects of P-8X7.”
“That’s the experimental drug that your father endorsed.”
“Yes. It’s the drug that killed my father and it is the same drug that drove your father to kill himself.”
“What?”
Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“P-8X7 is a miracle drug but it has deadly side effects. I know because I took P-8X7 to treat my back injury that left me paralyzed for two years. I got better and better. I was back to playing sports like I never broke my back. But P-8X7 is a highly addictive drug because it heightens all your senses and it makes you better in all aspects of life. It makes you a perfect human being.”
“We need to get out of here.”
When the elevator door opened, they were greeted by Dr. Edwards and Nurse Evans. Jeremy was behind them being accosted by two burly security officers.
“You have some explaining to do, Mr. Hemlick,” Dr. Edwards said calmly.
“No! You have some explaining to do! Your Edge Program is killing people and you think you can get away with it,” Jack said furiously.
“Calm down Mr. Hemlick. Surely, the extremely paranoid Ms. Portman here is feeding you the wrong information.”
“That’s not true! That’s not true!” Sarah screamed at the doctor.
“You see, Ms. Portman is more of a patient than a guest on this island. She suffers from paranoia and schizophrenia. P-8X7 fixes the problem but she refused to complete the treatment program because she thinks it’s going to kill her.”
“Don’t believe him, Jack. Those were the side effects of P-8X7. He’s trying to manipulate you!”
Jack was completely torn. He wanted to believe Sarah, but Dr. Edwards’ explanation was convincing.
“Senator Portman’s death was an accident,” Dr. Edwards said.
“You drove him to his death. You knew there were side effects and you kept injecting him with massive doses of P-8X7. He had suicidal thoughts just like I did. And I’m sure that car crash was no accident.”
Sarah started to sob uncontrollably. Nurse Evans tried to calm her down, but she became violent and lunged at the poor nurse. One of the security officers was able to restrain her.
The officer led her back to the medical building and Nurse Evans followed them.
“Do you need any more proof, Mr. Hemlick?”
“I really don’t know what to think. Perhaps I will know when I start getting violent like Sarah and Blake.”
“Mr. McConnor has anger issues even before he took P-8X7. It was the fact that you beat him at tennis that triggered that anger. It wasn’t P-8X7. Everyone who took it got better. The previously unknown Keith Portman became a Senator. Ollie Owens led England to its second World Cup title. McConnor is the reigning champion in four Grand Slams. Your father became legendary because of P-8X7. You could be on your way to greatness if you just give the program a chance. Just like your sister did.”
Jack was stunned by the revelation.
“My sister wouldn’t…she couldn’t possibly subscribe to this kind of program.”
“Not if it meant running a billion-dollar fashion empire. We all need a little bit of help to succeed.”
Jack could not believe that his father and sister were taking an experimental drug to get ahead in life. But what was much harder to take was the deceit and the secrecy. He could have been great too, but they denied him that chance. He felt betrayed. He was overcome with emotions that he started to feel woozy.
“I can forget that this thing ever happened if you can also forget that all this ever occurred. The people in the program appreciate the privacy and seclusion that this island provides. Of course, Mr. Jeremy Hader will get to keep his job. It’s your choice.”
Jack felt dizzy and lost his balance. He sat on the ground and closed his eyes.
“The effect of P-8X7 is starting to wear off,” Dr. Edwards said.
Dr. Edwards injected Jack with three vials of P-8X7, just like last time.
“As you know, P-8X7 will only work if you take these activators.”
He handed Jack two green pills in a small ziplock bag.
“Everyone was given a choice. You always have a choice, Jack,” Dr. Edwards said as he walked away from Jack.
Jack stared at the green pills glistening like tiny jade crystals under the light.
The End
