“Where have you come from?” Vincent questioned the strangers.
There were five in all, three males and two females, all approximately the same age. Their faces showed intelligence and a cautious curiosity, their voices were cultured and their speech educated. They appeared well groomed from their carefully cut and styled hair to their well made clothing.
Catherine noted the clothing with surprise. It was made in fashionable, contemporary styles and materials, yet like nothing she had seen modeled before. Every detail of cut and ornamentation was designed to compliment their tremendous size and unusual features.
“Are there more of you?” Vincent wondered.
“We also wish to know these things,” one of them replied; the others nodded in agreement. . “What are you doing here?” the self-appointed speaker asked. He was taller than Vincent, close to seven feet, with short dark brown hair brushed straight back from his forehead.
Vincent replied carefully, “We are here on a journey.”
The spokesman of the group decided that these two were on the defensive and looked perilously close to either fight or flight. He needed to defuse the situation and learn about them. “My name is Steven,” he pronounced. “Perhaps we can sit here and…talk about ourselves,” he suggested, cautiously gesturing to the others to be seated.
They drew closer and one by one sat in a semi-circle. Catherine and Vincent looked at each other skeptically, and then joined the group, sitting close together. Vincent was curiously studying their facial features; similar to his own, and yet different, even from each other, in coloring and form. Each had the high cheekbones, wide pronounced forehead, and long, narrow face; but the features on the others were less pronounced than his own.
Steven continued the introductions. “This is Jared, David, Linda and Bonny. This place is our safe haven from those Outside,” he said gesturing above. “I’m sure you can understand,” he said looking knowingly at Vincent, then curiously at Catherine.
Vincent considered carefully how best to reply, then opted for the truth. “I am Vincent and this is my wife, Catherine.” He draped his arm lovingly around her, and she flashed him a sweet smile. “She was from…the Outside. I found her one night when those…Outside had hurt her, and I cared for her until she was well. We found that we loved each other and have just recently joined. I brought her here to this beautiful, safe place for a visit. We will leave you again, in secret and safety.”
The strangers seemed to relax, nodding in understanding and relief.
“We thought we were the only ones who knew about this place until we saw you here some time ago,” Steven explained. “You didn’t stay long, and we thought then, that others would come back with you.”
“Where I come from, I am the only one, hiding my face from those…Outside, like you,” Vincent said, choosing his words with care. He did not want to reveal his world Below or the tunnel community just yet. “I never knew where I came from…never thought I would ever know for sure. Can you explain your existence?” he asked curiously.
Glancing up at him, Catherine knew how much it meant for him to have the answer to his basic existence, where he came from, how he came to be. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze.
The newcomers exchanged looks between themselves and at a nod, Steven answered, “Yes, we can explain our existence, as well as yours, I think, since we are the same.
“Your careful words cannot hide your upbringing. We understand…you are protecting those who care for you, who educated you well, and who love you. We can all see from Catherine’s courage, and open, giving love, that you are worthy of our trust also.
“Over thirty years ago, there was a brilliant man, a genius really, years ahead of his time in many areas of medical research. He was the first in these fields and anything that is being done today is based on his work. His work was funded by the government, secretly, of course. He was working on several projects at once, some for the government and some were personal.”
Catherine asked curiously, “What was he researching?”
“Actually, he had reached the experimental stages in several areas, and was testing his theories on animals in areas like fertility, cloning, and genetic engineering. He was not a ‘mad scientist’; you must not imagine that he would purposely hurt anyone. Even his animal specimens were treated well,” Steven insisted.
“What happened to this man, this scientist,” Vincent wanted to know; he had to hear the rest.
Steven continued the story. “Dr. Mark Eisen and his research assistant, Nancy, were married. They loved their work and each other very much; but she was unable to conceive children, thus his interest in infertility. They longed for children to follow in their footsteps. I am sure you are familiar with the methods used today with infertile couples.”
“Yes, of course,” Catherine replied, amazed that they were aware of it. One of her friends had been through the procedure and had regaled her with the details, much to her chagrin.
“As a result of his research, the Doctor had successfully helped a zoo impregnate a barren lioness. The immature male had been uncooperative. Having seen the healthy cubs successfully delivered, the doctor took the next logical step, using he and his wife as the objects of the experiment. He had developed a drug that allowed several eggs to mature at once. Her eggs were removed and fertilized in the laboratory with what he thought was his own seed.
“Nancy had two sisters who wished to help them have the children they longed for. To insure success, each volunteered to carry a baby to term, if the experiment proved fruitful. He could never have known the results, when his wife’s fertilized eggs were implanted in the three women. They joked about having triplets to care for if all three carried to term. Soon they found that all three were successfully carrying the implanted eggs.
“What he was unaware of at the time, was that one of the monkeys had gotten loose in the lab and mixed his experiments. He had been attempting gene splicing on the lion’s specimen.
“What they found out a few months later, was that all the women were carrying multiple infants and that they were developing abnormally fast. Concerned, the doctor reviewed his research notes and log book entries. Dr. Eisen saw Betty’s notes, a young assistant fresh out of college, about the loose monkey and the mess that had had to be cleaned up. He began to suspect the pregnancy abnormalities could be linked to the lab incident. The expectant mothers were only told that they were each possibly carrying triplets and could expect a premature delivery. With the medical technology of the time, he told them there was not much hope for the infants, and they would be fortunate if any survived.”
Catherine nodded as she followed the story. It agreed with her own experience with little Jacob. Vincent’s look warned her to say nothing, but he began to understand what she had been through those missing months. They both missed the knowing looks exchanged between the others.
“At six months, the women were brought to the lab to deliver the apparently fully developed infants by Cesarean. It would have been too dangerous to the mothers to delay longer or to try a natural delivery of unknown multiple births. They were put under in turn and during the night, we were brought into the world. There were nine of us all together, three normal children, and six of us.”
“What happened to the others?” Catherine asked.
“The normal babies survived the birth, although they were very tiny. They all had a long, uphill fight for health. One of them just couldn’t make it, though doubtless today he might have been saved. The mothers were told that the other babies did not survive the birth; yet they felt that the experiment was a great success. However, Dr. Eisen would never attempt the procedure again and dropped the project.
“Actually, we six were better developed, although small. Betty, the same one who logged the lab accident, assisted the doctor with the deliveries. At first, she was horrified as we were delivered. We were placed together in incubators, and separated from the others. There were so many to attend to, as well as the mothers. As soon as possible, the mothers and their three normal infants were transferred by ambulance to the government hospital and the best care was given for their survival. We were taken to another room at the lab; and for our safety, no record of our survival exists, even in the doctor’s research notes.”
Catherine processed the information. “So Dr. Eisen and the assistant, Betty, were the only two who knew of your existence?”
“Yes. Those who were aware of the missing ‘dead’ infants were told they had been cremated together, and a quiet ceremony was staged.”
Vincent was absorbing the details of the story. “Then…was I the sixth child? Why was I abandoned and left to die in the cold and snow?” he demanded.
Steven felt for him. “We believe you must be our missing brother, who was thought to be dead. You see, Betty was left alone to care for us, while the doctor played the dutiful husband and new father. He told her he would make arrangements for us as soon as he could get away. She did the best she could to keep us warm. Then Vincent, she said you started to convulse, and she didn’t know what to do. She wrapped you in the only thing she could find, some freshly laundered cleaning rags; and leaving us to sleep, rushed out to her car to take you to a hospital. In the dark, she made a wrong turn, went over the bridge, and got lost in the city. She stopped when she spotted St. Vincent’s Hospital and parked the car. But when she picked you up, she found that you were so still, she thought you were dead. There seemed to be no use taking you inside then…there would be so many questions…and someone was coming down the alley. Not knowing what else to do, she put you behind some boxes, an unexplained mystery, far from the real source. Then she left to find her way back to the lab and was kept busy with the rest of us. When the doctor returned and she told him what had happened, he was saddened at the loss and her foolishness. He sent her back to retrieve your body. He wanted to give you a decent burial. When she went back, you were gone, and have remained a mystery until now,” Steven finished.
Vincent nodded, happy to know at last that, although their existence and his was an accidental one, it was an innocent mistake. They were neither deformed freaks, nor monsters, but a uniquely created people. He had brothers and sisters, and…parents! Although their creation was unintentional, they were wanted, loved and protected, as any other child would be.
Steven then asked, “How did you survive?”
“I have had…other illnesses…in my life, from which I have nearly died.” Then glancing at Catherine beside him, he continued. “Then it passes and I recover.”
“I’m sure it is related to our dual chemistry,” Jared, the coffee-haired one, spoke up. “You may have been the most underdeveloped, which could conceivably cause the imbalance.”
Catherine thought it amusing that considering Vincent’s massive build, he was the equivalent to the runt of a litter.
“I would like to meet my par…Dr. and Nancy Eisen. Is this possible?” Vincent asked eagerly.
The others, his new-found family, saddened at his request, some shaking their heads, others looking tearfully away.
David, who had curly golden hair, answered for them. “Dr. Eisen has recently passed away, survived by his wife Nancy and their two grown children, Michael and Carole, whom we have never met. But…here, we brought away a picture of our family,” he said fishing out a framed photograph from his pocket, and passed it to Vincent.
Vincent’s hands were shaking as he beheld for the first time, his natural father and mother, and two others, who in a different reality, would be his brother and sister as well. Unbelievably, he had his father’s hair color and his mother’s sapphire blue eyes. His father, Mark Eisen, was a fine looking man, with strongly defined features and intelligent, gentle eyes. His mother, Nancy, was a striking woman with classic, clean features, and black hair. He could tell from their expressions in the photo, how deeply they had loved. Carole was obviously a copy of her mother, while the likeness between Michael and Vincent was amazing, with the exception of his feline features.
Catherine, looking on with him, noticed the similarities as well. She was so happy for him that she hugged him and kissed him on his check. Vincent shook himself back to the present.
Linda looked at her new brother sadly. “We are homeless now, and are wondering what we can do.” She had shoulder length black hair like their mother and Vincent’s blue eyes.
Steven explained, “The assistant, Betty, has been our ‘mother’ all these years. She and father raised us near here in a sub-basement of the lab. They converted it into a nursery at first, then a dormitory and schoolroom, then a home. Over the years, father has done many projects for the government to keep our secret safely. Betty did the shopping, as well as the sewing, cleaning and cooking, until she taught us how. They taught us about everything, got us books to read, television, movies, games, magazines, newspapers, journals, music. We have been wonderfully educated, but of course, we could never go out.
“Then Betty found this place by accident many years ago, while hiking on the hills behind the lab. She tripped and fell down a gully one day. She saw the opening to this cavern and explored it,” he said pointing at the ceiling. She knew right away, that this would be a safe place for us for recreation or in times of emergency.”
“It has come in handy once or twice,” David chimed in.
Linda got back to the point. “Betty was devastated by father’s death. They were…good friends.”
Catherine understood. “And they shared a wonderful secret for many years.”
Bonny, they honey-haired one, choked out, “Betty was admitted to a nursing home after father’s death. We don’t know if, or when, she will be able to come back to us.”
“Would you like me to go visit her for you, to see that she is well? Maybe I could take a message to her for you?” Catherine volunteered. She saw Vincent’s worried look. “I’ll be careful,” she promised. “I’m pretty familiar with the routine.” The others looked at her gratefully. “If you will give me the name of the nursing home and directions, if you know them, I’ll go see her.”
David said enthusiastically, “We can take you there, but we can’t get in to see her ourselves, of course.”
Vincent cautioned them to wait until well after
dark.
Jared summed it up briskly. “The problem
is, now we have no one to bring us supplies or news, and it’s not safe
to stay at the lab since father’s death.”
Steven took up the story again. “The government people have taken over the lab. We hurriedly removed all our personal mementos so there would be no trace of our existence. We were forced to conceal ourselves here. We forage as best we can by night, but it is risky and not always successful.”
“We’re afraid one of us will be caught or shot,” David broke in, “or that someone will find this place, as you have.”
“We carried away all the supplies we could and hid them here, but we can’t stay here through the winter,” Bonny worried.
Linda rebuked her, “That is months away. We’re fine here for now.”
“As long as we can sustain ourselves,” Jared interrupted.
Catherine smiled at Vincent, who nodded.
“You must not worry about a home, or food. You can come live with us,” Vincent promised.
Before their questions to his solution could begin, Catherine spoke up quickly. “We have some food with us for our return journey. Why don’t we have a meal now, before it gets dark? Then while we’re out, I can…go shopping?” She rummaged in the pockets of her jeans, but of course, had no money with her.
“If it’s money you’re looking for, we brought away all we could find, but were stumped as to how we could use it. Father always left plenty for Betty to shop with.” Jared, the practical one, handed Catherine quite a wad of money.
“There must be over $500 here,” she said incredulously. “Well, that solves the problem of food.”
“Tell us about your home, Vincent,” Linda begged, and the others piped up as well.
As they eagerly shared the remainder of Catherine and Vincent’s food, he began to tell them of how he had been found and taken below the city and cared for and raised by a community of people. They were his family, who had created a world of their own, of love and trust and caring, when they couldn’t find it in the city above. Fascinated, the group plied him with questions. Vincent told them of the life they shared Below in the tunnels, and the afternoon passed quickly.