Chapter 1
The snow and cold came early to Cedar Rapids this year. The cold wind pushed against the car door as I opened it, piling out into the parking lot before sunrise. My once disciplined workout routine had fallen off to a couple of visits a month to the gym. Gone were the days of lifting weights, playing basketball, and running countless miles on the treadmill. My workout these days now consisted of a couple of laps in the pool, a couple of minutes in the hot tub, and a few more in the steam room, inhaling eucalyptus in the warm steam. There were always the gym rats, as I called them, who worked on their daily fitness routine. I recognized them upon walking in towards the front desk: the super fat white guy who used a walker and required ten minutes to ease himself into the hot tub, the skinny lady with short hair who might as well have claimed the treadmill her second home, and the mentally challenged white guy, Jimmy, who was the janitor. None of them paid any extra attention to my arrival this morning.
I pressed the code on the locker room security; 1,2,3,4. It made wonder what the point of the security lock in the first place. I was promptly greeted by the naked back side of a heavy set gentlemen who was disappointed with the results reflected from the scale he was standing on. I walked past seemingly unnoticed to the back of the lockers where I usually changed out from my street clothes to my swim trunks. I threw my bag on the floor and opened the locker realizing again I had not purchased a padlock once again. I never had anything stolen from the locker room but a padlock would allow me to mope around the gym without thinking about someone rifling through my belongings while I was working out to swimming in the pool.
As I reached down to untie my boots, I noticed a shiny black watch. It looked like one of the new iPhone watches from Apple I was bombarded with in internet advertisements and television commercials. I looked around, and there was no one else on this side of the locker room. The watch was expensive, I knew from the advertisement, and I picked it up off the floor. The watch had undoubtedly fallen out of some guy’s bag or been left behind after a shower. I thought it best just to give the watch to Jimmy, and he would turn it in to the lost and found behind the front desk. I reached down and picked it up, and the square face of the watch was dark. Out of curiosity, I pressed a button on the side of the watch, and a message appeared on the face: “This watch has been reported missing. There is a $1,000 reward for the safe return of this watch to Dr. Amy Polanski at the Veterans Administration Hospital, 601 Highway 6, Iowa City, Iowa 52246.”
I looked around again, and there was no one in the locker room except myself and the heavy-set guy whom I could now hear rifling through his locker on the other side of the locker room. He surely had not dropped the watch. Evidently, a Mr. Polanski had been given the watch by his doctor’s wife, and the message was a safety feature on the watch like the GPS locator. The GPS locator, I suspected, would shut down if someone turned off the watch, and the message was designed to appeal to the better nature of someone and offered an incentive for doing a good deed. I knew the watch was expensive, but $1,000 seemed like more than it was worth. Then again, there may have been some important data stored on the watch, thus prompting the wife’s message.
I could definitely use the $1,000. Losing my job down at the plant came unexpectedly last month. Instead of my annual choice of a ham or turkey and nice Christmas bonus, I was given an invitation to the unemployment office to meet with a career counselor about my future. My dilemma was immediate: do I pick it up and claim the reward from the doctor in Iowa City, give it to Jimmy, or turn it into the front desk myself? What I knew for sure was the $1,000 reward message would be pretty compelling to the part-time employees up at the front desk, and Jimmy surely didn’t have a driver’s license. My own personal greed got the better of me, and I put the watch in my pants pocket and proceeded to change out into my swim trunks. Instead of leaving my clothes, personal items, and the watch in the locker, I took my gym bag with me out to the pool deck.
The pool was empty except for the young female lifeguard who smiled at me. I smiled back but knew if I had a heart attack in the deep end, there was no way she was going to be able to pull me out. However, the thought of her throwing a lip lock on me in a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation had its own merits. I threw on the swim goggles and swam a few laps before jumping into the hot tub. I leaned my back against one of the tub’s jets blasting hot water and thought it would be great to have one of these at home. I sighed. Who was I fooling? I didn’t even have a home. I lived in a simple two-bedroom apartment, and rent was due next week. Finding the watch at a minimum would give me a free month of rent and a couple of Christmas presents for the kids, I figured. After a couple of minutes in the warm bubbles, I jumped out of the hot tub, grabbed my bag, and headed for the locker room. In the locker room, Jimmy appeared and was changing out a trash liner next to the sink. “Hey Jimmy, anyone find or report a watch being lost?” I asked.
“All items should be secured with a padlock that are for sale at the front desk for $5.” Jimmy replied without answering my question.
“I know, I forgot mine at home.” I lied.
“Kind of like the guy who forgot to catch the pass in the end zone yesterday and lost it for us. The Hawkeyes need better receivers, and the play calling was just terrible. I watched it and....” Jimmy continued on, oblivious to answering my question. I am not sure what Jimmy’s mental challenge was, but the guy knew everything about Hawkeye sports, and I had heard him often talking with other guys in the locker room about games he had seen in the past. He clearly was unaware of the watch. I threw my bag in an empty locker and headed for the steam room. I pressed the button on the wall to start the steam room, but there was nothing.
“Steam room is not working. No steam.” Jimmy said as he pushed his rolling garbage can with his cleaning supplies along behind me.
“Damn it. The steam room is one of my favorite parts of even coming to the gym.” I replied in frustration.
“Steam room is not working. No steam.” Jimmy replied again, thinking I may not have heard him the first time.
“Wonderful.” I replied as I headed back towards the showers.
I showered up and put my clothes back on from my gym bag. I walked to the front desk and asked if anyone had reported a watch being stolen or found and was told no and reminded that padlocks were for sale for $5, and the gym was not responsible for any lost or stolen items. I raised my eyebrows and headed out into the snowy parking towards my car. It was going to be cold and windy all day, and the sunrise would raise the temperature only a few degrees. I threw the bag in the backseat of the car and turned over the ignition. I had nothing to do, and the day had just started. It was Friday, and not only did I not have a job to go to, I had nothing to do for the entire weekend except sit in front of the TV and watch football with a beer. Jimmy and I were not so different, except Jimmy actually had a job. I figured I may as well drive to the VA in Iowa City and see if I could find a female doctor named Polanski.
The drive was about half an hour south on I-380, one I had taken countless times. I drove this same route for years, almost daily when I was going to college at the university. Looking back on it, I wondered why I ever went to college in the first place. My liberal arts college degree had a total of zero employers calling my phone on graduation day, and, to be honest, a high school graduate could have done my job down at the plant. I turned on the radio, and the sound of Christmas music filled the car. I smirked. Gone were the days of sitting around the tree with my wife and kids watching them open packages on Christmas Day. Those days were now replaced by a stepfather who provided for the home and presents. I was jealous. I shook my head, turned off the radio, and plowed along down the interstate in traffic towards Iowa City.
Chapter 2
“Good morning.” I greeted the old vet who was a volunteer at the help desk at the VA. “I am looking for a doctor, Amy Polanski. Do you know what floor she is on or where her office is?”
The guy looked down at his computer screen and began typing on his keyboard. He looked up and replied, “Dr. Amy Polanski is in the psychology department up on the 9th floor. The 9th floor is secured, so I will need to ring their front desk and let them know you are here to see the doctor. One moment, please.” The man said as he called on the phone on his desk. “She will be right down.” I was informed.
I turned and looked at the various veterans, nurses, doctors, and hospital staff roaming around on the ground floor of the VA. I should have gotten into the medical field, I thought to myself. All these people had great job security, nice salaries, and benefits. Unfortunately, for me, I was just too stupid in the math and science classes to be much more than a guy like Jimmy from the gym roaming around here scrubbing toilets and mopping floors. I grabbed a cup of free coffee from the table and turned around to see a stunning, tall, beautiful blonde woman in a white medical coat exit the elevator and approach the information desk. A thousand thoughts of myself with this beauty raced through my mind in a matter of seconds, and I returned to the information desk hoping she was Dr. Amy Polanski. Out of habit, I looked at her left hand and was surprised to see no wedding ring. I smiled.
She turned to greet me with a warm smile and beautiful blue eyes that pierced my soul. “Good morning, I am Dr. Polanski. How may I be of assistance?” Her voice was that of an angel. Doctors, nurses, and health care providers were doing God’s work in my book, and I could have stood there in the moment for hours just gazing into her eyes. I snapped to and replied, “I was in the gym this morning and found this watch on the floor. I picked it up, and a message on the face of it said to return this to you here at VA.” I retrieved the watch from my pants pocket and handed it to her.
“How kind of you.” She smiled and paused. “Come with me, please.” She turned and headed back towards the elevator. I would have followed her to the edge of the earth and jumped off if she wanted me to. She walked onto the elevator and pushed the number 9 button, and the elevator doors closed behind us. “I appreciate you returning the watch, and as the message said, there is a $1,000 reward for its safe return. I will get your money from my office.”
“That is very generous. It must be an important watch. A gift for your husband?” I figured I might as well get to the bottom of her marital status sooner rather than later.
“No, the watch is part of an experiment we are doing.” She replied.
“Oh, are you a researcher, Doc?”
“Yes, I work with psychological experiments, and one of our patients must have lost the watch in the gym. It is important that you recovered it.”
“Glad I could be of assistance to our work.” I answered, and the elevator doors opened. We exited into a small lobby and another secured door. She flashed her badge in front of a detection device on the wall next to the door. The door buzzed, and I followed her down a corridor. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary; there were a few patients roaming the halls, some nurses at their station, and several rooms with various activities inside each room. We turned a corner down the hall and stopped in front of another secured door where she repeated the entry process. Again, I followed her down a shorter hallway to her office.
The office looked more like a college professor’s office than a medical doctor’s. There were bookshelves covering the walls and a painting of two little girls playing on a beach in the sand. She went around her desk and opened a drawer. She retrieved an envelope and began counting out $100 bills when her phone rang.
“Dr. Polanski.” She answered. She turned her back to me and stared out her window over the university medical complex. “I see. Well, that is not very good. That kind of puts us in a bind. Let me see what I can do. By the way, a gentleman found the missing watch and has returned it to me just now.” She replied and then listened for a few more seconds before hanging up and returning her attention to me.
“Bad news in the world of medical research?” I asked.
“It is just frustrating. We pay the volunteers for our research quite handsomely, and often they will sign up for a study and then never show up. We have a deadline on this study, and the person that lost this watch was supposed to be in here this morning to complete the study and has failed to do so.”
“Sorry to hear that. What are you researching?” I asked.
“We are studying psycho kinetic messaging during sleep therapy. It is pretty much just letting people fall asleep and tell us about what they are dreaming about.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
“It is harder than you think. People are often intimidated by psychology and hospitals.”
“I am not.” I said proudly. “How much do you pay to have people tell you about their dreams?”
“They are actually paid more than I am on a daily basis. They get $1,000 per night of study for the first couple of nights, and if they are yielding good science, we bump that up to $10,000 per weekend.” She replied.
I raised my eyebrows. “Wow, I would tell you my dreams for a hell of a lot less than that.” I responded. Not sure she would really want to hear about my dreams, but having her there by my bedside when I woke up had to be about as close to heaven as I would ever know.
“Are you serious?” She asked.
“Well, I am in between jobs right now, and the job I just lost paid nothing like the kind of money you are talking about.”
“How is your overall health?” She tilted her head and asked sincerely. Other than the thoughts of seeing her naked blasting out of an inch of my brain, I was in good shape, I wanted to reply. I didn’t.
“I am in good shape. I don’t go to the doctor very often because I am never sick.”
“That is good to hear. Anyone can participate in the study, and if you are interested, you only need to complete a simple in-office physical and sign a couple of waivers for the government, and you could participate as well if you so desired.” She returned her attention to the cash in the envelope and counted out ten $100 bills and handed them to me.
“Thank you very much.” I said as I put the money in my wallet. “If I were to apply for your study, where do I go to get the physical?”
“Usually, we just have a nurse ask you a few questions and take your vitals. I often do these myself and fill out the paperwork as the nurses are quite busy up here on the ward.”
“Well, I don’t have much planned for the weekend. If you are in a bind, I would be willing to let you give me a physical and ask anything you want if it might help out your research.” I didn’t want to sound desperate, but I failed to see any other chance in my lifetime of being able to be alone with a goddess like this, let alone be able to help her.
“I don’t mean to impose, but that would be absolutely wonderful if you could do so on such short order. It would help us immensely as we are just finishing up and are now at risk of failing to complete the research in time. If the reporting is not done on time, we will forfeit next year’s research grant, and I will also probably be unemployed.”
“Research, or not, I don’t think you are going to have any problem finding a job anywhere.” It was true. There is not a man on the planet who would not want her roaming around the office doing anything.
“Thank you for the kind words. If you would like, I can try and get a nurse to get you a quick physical and paperwork, or I can do it myself if you prefer.”
“Don’t worry about the nurse. I trust you.” I replied.
She sat down at her chair and began asking me the typical questions a high school kid would get for a sports physical. My heart was fine, no history of chronic disease in the family, no alcohol or drug abuse, allergic to shrimp, and 20/200 vision. She took my vitals and had me stand on a scale that was in the corner of the office. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and I was hoping I didn’t say anything that would disqualify me from the best-paying gig ever to come across my radar screen.
“It appears you are a healthy specimen. I think you would be perfect.” She said as she scribbled down some notes on her desk without looking up. She handed me a couple of papers that I accepted. It was just government legalese explaining how much I was to be paid and that the results of the study were the sole property of the government. There was some other crap about their research grant and some lines about a waiver saying I allowed the government to carry out the experiment and I was not under duress. No problem. I wrote my Social Security number in the appropriate place, signed it, and handed it back to her.
“This is quite generous of you, and we truly appreciate your impromptu participation in our study. I will get a nurse to prepare your room. Your sleep will be induced with a common anesthesia. You will remain in your bed under supervision throughout your sleep, and your vital signs will be constantly monitored. When you awake, I will be there, possibly with another researcher, to ask you about your sleep and dreams. After that, you will be given a breakfast and allowed to relax on the ward, watch television, read a book, or remain in your room. We ask that you do not talk with other patients or make any outside contact as it tends to create interference and bias in our results. Is that something you can accommodate?” I was having trouble following what she said. I couldn’t get past a couple of sentences before my mind began to drift, mesmerized by her beauty.
“Yeah, ummm....No problem.” I answered.
“OK. I will get your information logged into our system and contact our nurses’ station to get you prepared. If you need a meal or your parking validated, just let the nurse know, and we will get you taken care of. If you wait her a minute, I will step out and see if I can find an available nurse.”
Chapter 3
“Is there any other pajamas you guy have? This gown here leaves my ass cheeks flapping in the breeze.” I asked the large black male nurse. The guy was huge and looked more like a lineman fo the Hawkeyes than a nurse.
“I am sorry, sir. Those are the only ones we have. The room is limited controlled and you can change the room temperature with the thermostat located in the bathroom.” He replied in a deep bass sounding voice. He seemed kind and gentle enough but I suspected if there were any nut jobs on the ward he was he guy called in to secure them.
“Where is Dr. Polanski?” I asked.
“She will be joining you later once you wake up. Do you need to use the restroom?”
“No, I just went not too long ago. I am good to go.”
“Of course. If you will come lie down here in your bed I will get you hooked up to measure vitals, give you something to help you sleep and inform the doctors who will begin your remote monitoring once you have fallen asleep.”
He said as he approached the machine on wheels at my bedside that would track my heartbeat, blood pressure and other vital signs.
“Sounds good. When do get paid?” I almost forgot to ask.
“I am not sure, sir. That is something you should ask Dr. Polanski in the morning.” He replied as he began hooking up with electronic wires from the machine. Once he completed placing the silicone indicators on my heart, my temple and on my finger he reached for a small plastic cup with a pill in it and handed it to me. “Take this and it will help put you to sleep.”
I swallowed the pill and the guy smiled at me with a big grin. “Enjoy your sleep.” He said as he exited the room and turned off the lights. These guys had to be joking. I began thinking not only could I easily do this stupid study for rock star kind of money I could possibly make a career out of being a government lab rat if this worked out. If those idiots at the plant could see me now taking down huge literally on my back sleeping they wold quit their jobs. Maybe that is why they kept this stuff under wraps, if they started advertising this kind of job in the paper or on the internet this hospital would get swamped with idiots and clog up the system for the vets. Whatever, rent was now paid and soon enough I would finally get some real cash no one I knew would be sneezing at. My eyes began to get heavier and heavier and I drifted off.
I am not sure how long I had been asleep but I could tell I was dreaming. I was wearing the same hospital gown I fell asleep in but I was handcuffed an being walked out to what appeared to be a pull up bar on a stage underneath a bright spotlight. My escorts were two large men dressed completely in black and wearing black masks. I wasn’t sure what was going on but I began to feel a little uncomfortable. As I approached the pull up bar I heard the roar of a crowd. It sounded like thousands of people were out in the crowd that I could not see because of the intense spotlight shining on me and my two escorts.
One of my escorts picked up a chain that was lying on the floor underneath the pull up bar and secured it to my handcuffs and threw the other end of it over the pull up bar. I turned to look at him and he yanked hard on the chain sending my handcuffed hands as high as they could possibly go but just out of reach of the pull up bar. “Hey, fuck, man. That shit hurts.” I said to the guy pulling on the chain. All of a sudden the crowd burst out in laughter. It was like I was a comedian who just told the funniest joke they have heard.
“Shut the fuck up, asshole. We need to get down to business.” Replied the other guy in a booming voice as he cracked a bull whip. I was terrified and confused. “You speak when you are spoken to and you be will given only on chance to come up with the right answer and you better be telling the truth.”
“Hey, what the fuck is going.....” I tried to say but was interrupted by the most painful stinging sensation I had ever felt across the back of my legs. I screamed out in pain.I struggled to free my hands from the handcuffs but another crack of the whip hit me dead center of my back and had to tear open my flesh. I began screaming, struggling and crying out for help.
“Thought I was bullshitting you, asshole? Let’s just say that was a little warning for you. You know, some guys are quick learners and some aren’t. You? I am not sure, but you look like one the dumbest motherfuckers I have ever come across. Now shut you goddamn mouth and pay attention because I am going to ask you some questions. You understand me, genius?” the evil bastards voice I would never forget as long I lived. He had a thick Eastern European accent of which origin I was not sure. “You better answer me or I am going to light your ass up again.”
“Yes.” I screamed out. I was sobbing and in excruciating pain.
“Good. Let’s start with some simple stuff, shall we? Are you a fag or do you like women?”
“I am not gay.” I yelled out.
“We will see about that. Are you married?”
“Divorced.” I yelled out. I stared up at my hands and the cuffs were digging deep into my wrist from the entire weigh of my body pulling down on them as I could barely stand. No sooner than I answered another crippling crack of the bull hit me in the face tearing open a gash and blood down my face. The crowd roared as if I just scored a touchdown in an important game. The fucking people were cheering me brutally whipped. I was sobbing and began yelling for help to anyone.”
“Would you just shut the fuck up already. These folks love this shit. So, anyways, why did your wife leave you?” He asked as he moved his face within an inch of mine. His eyes looked more like an animal’s than a human. they were dark brown with large dilated pupils.
“It just didn’t work out.” I sobbed and felt urine run down my leg.
“Wrong, dip shit.” The other guy who had secured me with chains yelled out and ripped the bloody gown from my body and dropped it at my feet. The crowd began screaming and yelling in a frenzy. The guy asking the question kneeled on one knee and then cracked the whip hitting me right in the tentacles. I screamed out in agony. I felt blood running down my thing. I was being tortured and there was no one to help me. “Stop. Stop. Oh please stop
Anything. Stop! Help me!”
“That is not what I heard. In fact, I heard you were an asshole. I heard she deserved a lot better and you fucked it all up with some bullshit get rich quick scheme. You think you’re a fucking businessman, champ?” He stood up walked up to my dangling body punched me squarely on the nose sending blood pouring down my face. I was hoping to die right there. “Well, I think you’re fucking lying to me. I suspected you would. That’s why I thought I would bring a guest up on stage to get to the bottom of this. Everyone give a warm welcome to the beautiful woman and victim of this worthless son of a bitch, Mrs. America ladies and gentlemen!”
The crowd began roaring I could hear from sounded now like a far off planet. I was begging, praying and hoping I would black out or just die right on there. Instead I barely opened my eyes and there before me was ex wife. She was smiling and looked beautiful. “Help me, I tried to say.”
“Help you? Are you shitting me. After all the bullshit you put me through you worthless bastard I think you deserve this.”
“No. No. No...Please! I am sorry. I...” again a blistering snap from the bullwhip landed across my lower left leg. My leg jerked and I screamed out in silence.
“Well, scumbag. Seems to me you were the goddamn problem after all. Imagine that. Princess, you can go take your seat again. Thank you for telling the truth .” The guy from behind pulled hard on the chain my feet left the floor. The handcuffs were now digging into the bone and blood was streaming down my arms.
“Seems like you are as stupid as I thought you were. Now that we have confirmed you are a fucking liar I guess we are going to have to make it a little simpler for you. Do you know how to swim?” The guy yelled at me from about a foot below my head as he looked up. I wasn’t absolutely sure wha he asked but I tried yelling out. “Yes!”
“Well, I sure hope so. Can you sing Christmas songs?”He turned to the crowd as he asked. “Yes! Yes!” I couldn’t hear myself. I didn’t know if I was mumbling or screaming. I just wanted it to stop.
“We will see about that.” He replied and no sooner than he had the chain was let free and I crashed on to the floor in a limp bloody mess. I could hear the crowd now laughing hysterically at the performance. I couldn’t move. I didn’t need to soon I was being drug across the stage by my hair with the spotlight following us to an acrylic bathtub that was full of water. “Now, ladies and gentlemen we are going to enhance your entertainment experience with some Christmas carols sung to you underwater by this fucking dirtbag. You folks are gonna love this one. OK, asshole, here is your chance to be a star. My man here is gonna your head underwater and I want you to start singing on of my personal favorites, Silent Night. You keep singing until you blackout. I know all the goddamn words so you better not let me down. Should take just a couple minutes. You do it right and we’ll consider your soul has been cleansed. You fuck it up or, more than likely, drown on my ass we are going to bring you back to life and we are going to try it again. I will give you three tries. If you fuck it up after three tries my man is just going to hold you down there until you are dead and there will no one bringing your dumb ass back to life. You understand me, Elvis?”
I could barely breathe but I was conscious enough to know I was going to be drowned in the tub. I didn’t reply to the question. i just couldn’t speak. I was dying already and I knew it. I felt a firm grip on my neck and another hand pulling on my hair. I was pulled until my waist was even with he side of the tub. I tried to gasp. I felt my body plunge underwater and my face smash against the bottom of the tub. How it was done I was not sure but I could hear the song Silent Night underwater just before I blacked out. I was thrown to the floor and of the guy with the bull whip kicked me directly in the stomach causing the water to rush out of my lungs and the air bring em back to consciousness. I felt my body rising from the stage and yet could see my lifeless body lying on the stage while the roar of the crowd was deafening. The last thing I remember was being grabbed by the neck and hair to be plunged into the tub again and the melody of Silent Night playing softly.We are excited to announce that Kurt Jasa is coming soon! We are a new website that will change the way you shop online. Our team is working hard to create an amazing platform that will provide you with a seamless shopping experience. We will offer a wide range of products and services that will cater to your needs. Stay tuned for more updates!
Chapter 4
I woke up screaming an crying in the hospital room. I tried to jump out of my bed but I had been strapped down while asleep. I was horrified and trembling. From the corner of my eye I saw Dr. Polanski standing beside me typing on a laptop that was sitting on a portable table that I ate my last meal from. She looked concerned and I wondered how long she had been there. “Are you OK?” She asked sincerely.
“Oh my fucking God. I am strapped down. What the fuck is going on. Get me the fuck out here.”
“Sir, please calm down. Your dream is over.”
“Fuck you. Police! Police! Somebody get me the fucking police!” I screamed.
“Sir, please try your best to calm down. You are safe and it was just a dream. The restraints were placed on you to ensure you would not hurt yourself. We will unstrap you once we make sure you are not going to cause harm to yourself or others. Can you just try and calm down?” She put her hand on my arm and began to slowly rub it. “Just take some deep breaths and you will be fine. We will get you unstrapped and let you up. I have some questions I need to ask you once you are stabilized. Can you do that for me?” She asked. I knew immediately why she was the one in charge of this research. She may have been a doctor or wizard researcher but her beauty and caress slowly but surely had me dialed down in a few minutes. I was exhausted even though I had just woken up.
“That was insane. That was the worst dream I have ever had.” I said as I looked into her eyes.
“Are you all enough now we can take the restraints off?”
“I am fine. Just take these damn things off and let me stand up.” I replied and she nodded. She exited the room and returned with the huge black nurse who began unstrapping me from the bed without saying a word. I also now knew why he was here. No matter how weird my dream was there would be no getting out of line or getting past this mountain of a man.
“You feeling alright, sir? Would like something to drink?” He asked as reached for a pitcher of water beside the bed.
“Shit, I need a shot of whiskey after that fucking dream.”
“Sorry, sir. We do not have alcohol here in the hospital. Maybe some coffee?”
I nodded, “Yeah, that is fine. The strongest coffee in the building would be nice, with a little cream if you got it.”
“Of course.” He turned and left me in the room with Dr. Polanski and I sat up and then got to my feet. I looked down and indeed had pissed my myself.
“Shit, I pissed the freakin’ bed. I need to take a shower and get my clothes on.” I felt embarrassed standing in front of her with urine all over myself and the bed sheets. I took the gown off in front of her and walked naked into the rest room to shower. I didn’t give a shit if she saw me naked. I was still trying to cope with nightmare I had awoken from.
“Sir, I will get your bedding changed out for you and get you a new gown. While you are showering I want you to try and remember as much of your dream as possible. When you are done showering I would like to discuss your dream with you.” She said loudly in a professional demeanor.
“Fine, whatever.” I replied. I wanted to be a smart ass and invite her into shower with me but didn’t.
As I started to lather up I began trying to remember pieces of the dream. It had to be the most lucid and terrifying dream I could remember. As the warm water spayed down on me it was strange I could piece together much of the chronology of the dream. I dried off and noticed a gown was lying over the sink. I put the gown on and walked out of the rest room back to the bedside where Dr. Polanski was typing away on her laptop. On the bedside table was a steaming cup of coffee.
“Feeling better?” She asked with a smile.
“Yeah, I am. Sorry to have a crazy nightmare for your research paper.”
“Don’t worry about it. Can you explain to me in as much detail as possible about the dream. I will record this while I am taking notes so I as I finish my report I will a reference if there are some clarification points I missed. Why don’t you tell me about your dream.” She said and looked at her screen instead of me at me prompting me to begin.
I recited as much as I could to her about the dream and she said nothing the entire time. She kept typing away while I spoke but never interrupted me. It took about five minutes to explain as much detail as I could. Once I stopped, she looked up at me and smiled. “You did fantastic.”
“Fantastic? I had a nightmare that was so bad I pissed the bed and woke up screaming.” I was confused.
“The reason you had a nightmare was because it was induced. Our study is dealing with the ability to control emotions while patients are unconscious. As you are aware there are variety of human emotions. The drugs we are experimenting with are designed to illicit very specific emotions. Although all the dreams are unique personal and different your response matches exactly with the dose you were given. I can’t tell you the name of the drug you were given but I can tell you it was designed to promote fear in the unconscious patient. Your description gives us very accurate insight into how the human mind works.” Dr. Polanski I suspected knew a lot more than she was leading on.
“Don’t you think it would have been nice to tell me you were going induce me into a horrible nightmare before you did?”
“If we did that there would be very few people who follow through with he experiment.”
“Yeah, you can’t count me out. I am never doing that shit again.” I took a huge swig off the coffee. It was better than I thought.
“I understand. You should take comfort in knowing that each subject is only given one dose of each corresponding emotional drug.”
“Whatever, that shit was crazy. I am going to get out of here. Do you have my money, Doc?” I said as I found my jeans in a small closet beside the bed. I slid my undies on right in front of her and then my jeans. I had nothing to fear. My chance of ever going out with her after pissing the bed and waking up like a screaming baby pretty much ended that fantasy. I reached in my back pocket and looked in my wallet. The ten $100 bills were still there.
“If you wish to quit now I will pay out on and we can conclude our study with our participation. However, I can inform you the next drug in the experiment is designed around laughter and happiness. We have had some very positive results and I can inform you many of the subjects have wanted to repeat the test or have asked where they can purchase the drug or have it prescribed. I think it will be most pleasurable for you and you again will be paid an additional $1,000.”
“Sounds cool. I am not so sure. I never had a nightmare like the last one and if you guys happen to slip up and give me that other shit again it ain’t worth $1,000.” I tired to sound cool but it is hard when you are the lab rat under observation. I took another swig off my coffee.
“You have a few hours to make your mind up. If you do not want to do it I completely understand. We will get some lunch up here for you and maybe you can watch some television or relax for awhile before you make that decision. I will be back in a couple hours and we can go from there. Does that Lund satisfactory?”
“Shit, it is 11:30am I was asleep for 14 hours?” I sleep for a maximum of about half that time. I could never recall sleeping that long before in my life.
“Yes,that is quite common. Your normal sleep cycle will return shortly if not immediately after you finish testing.”
“Can I get a pizza?
“You can order food rom any restaurant int he area that delivers. You just can’t have alcohol.” She smiled, winked at me and walked out the door. I was stunned and speechless. All i could think about was who the man her life was. It was probably the head of the CIA or a brain surgeon. I could see her rolling around in a sports car or sitting up in the press box at a Hawkeye game with the other big wigs. College was a long time ago but it quickly sank in she was out of my league. I looked at the clock and realized the Hawkeye game was on. Michigan was in town and it was going to be the game of the year. I turned on the TV and found the game. I couldn’t figure out how to get an outside line on the phone so I had room service bring up a hamburger and fries.
Around halftime Dr. Polanski returned. She always seemed happy. Everyone looks best with a smile and hers lit up her face like the sun itself. “Who is winning the game?” She asked,
“Hawks are up by 7. It is a good game.”
“Wonderful. Are you feeling OK?”
“Sure, I am fine. A beer would be nice.”
“Sorry, I can’t authorize that but I did bring you some money.” She laid ten ore $100 dollar bills on the table beside my bed.
“That is funny.” I said.
“What?”
“Usually, it is the guy laying down the money beside the bed. I feel like a whore.” She started laughing the way girls laugh. It was innocent and not in the script but she indeed was authentic and about as lovely as we make them in the human race.
“I am sorry. I did not mean to laugh.”
“No worries. I was just being dumb.”
“Have you given any consideration to following through with another test.” I knew that was the only reason she was still talking to me.
“You mean the happy drug?” I wanted to make sure.
“Yes, that is correct.” She confirmed.
“I guess I have nothing else to do this weekend. Why not.”
“Thank you. Thank is quite gracious. I will let you finish watching the rest of your game and we can begin after that if that is OK with you.”
“Fine by me.”
Chapter 5
The Hawkeyes won on a last second field goal sending the Wolverines home feeling like losers. I loved it. Those jokers have beat our ass so many times it isn’t even funny. It was nice to see the shoe on the other foot. No sooner than the students rushed on to the field to celebrate Dr. Polanski walked into the room.
“Hey, it looks like the Hawks won.” She said.
“Yeah, they did. what a great game.”
“I just wanted to check in on you and make sure you are still wanting to continue testing.”
“Sure, no problem. Bring it on.” I tried to sound brave and cool at the same time. It fell on deaf ears I suspected.
“That is good to hear. I will have your drug brought in a couple minutes and we will have you sleeping in no time. Any questions?” She asked. I wanted to ask her to marry me but instead opted for, “No, I am fine.”
A couple minute slater the same huge black nurse entered the room and was smiling. “Good afternoon, sir. How are you feeling this afternoon?”
“I am feeling a lot better now. Hawks won a big one today.” I replied as I shut off the television with he remote control.
“Yeah, I was listening to it up in the nurses’ station. That was a close one.” He replied.
“You are a huge guy. You ever play football?”
“I did when I was in high school. I had to make a choice Ethernet football or my grades. Nursing school was pretty tough and there was no way I could play and keep the studies up so I dropped it.” He said as he poured a glass of water and sat the small plastic cup containing the happy pill. My thoughts moved quickly from football to the pill.
“This is the pill that makes you happy, right?” I double checked.
“Sir, I am just a nurse. I am not sure about the testing you are doing. I can say that people seem to like the second test a lot more than the first one when they wake up.”
“Sounds good to me.” With that salutation I popped the pill in my mouth and took a swig off the glass of water. It was 2:37pm.
I looked out the window instead of lying in the bed. Iowa City looked so vibrant contrasted against the white back ground of the snow. It was a college town and youthful. The university attracted the smart people and those aspiring to be. The nightlife was fun and I had many good memories from my college days, tailgating and fishing down by the river. There were some times that were not so good but those were eclipsed by the numerous good times. My daughter was now enrolled at the university and I suspected my son would be following a couple years later. I returned to my bed and laid down. In a matter of moments I drifted off.
The first thing that I became aware of was that I was dreaming again. I was in a crowd in what appeared to be a Las Vegas type club. We were sitting in he front row right in front of the stage. I looked to my left and about fell out of my chair. It was Dr. Polanski. She had let her hair fall down around her shoulders and was wearing a sexy black dress. She was holding my hand and laughing. I wasn’t sure what she was laughing at until I turned my attention to the stage. It was an overweight guy in an Elvis jump suit that had the butt cheeks cut out. I burst out laughing. That takes some huge balls to wear that damn suit on stage. He was not an Elvis impersonator though. He was a comedian.
“Hey, welcome to the show tonight ladies and gentlemen. What a good looking crowd. Wow, look what we have right here up front. Where in the hell are your rom?” The guy zeroed in on Amy.
“We are from Iowa?”
“Jesus, I am getting a rise in my Levis just looking at you. Are you a super model or centerfold?” The comedian looked at her from head to toe.
“No.” She blushed now that everyone was trying to get a look at her. “I am in the medical field.” She replied with her gorgeous smile.
“Are doctor or a nurse?” He continued on paying attention to no one else for the moment.
“I am a clinical research doctor.” She replied.
“Jesus, I bet your goddamn bicycle seat smells strawberries.” He said while staring right at Amy. She was so embarrassed.
He turned his attention to me. He turned his attention to me and looked me up and down from head to toe. “You are one lucky dude there, player. You have the longest dick in the world or what?” The audience began laughing.
I knew better to engage these guys on stage. It wasn’t my first time seeing a comedian. I just shook my head no.
“Let me guess. You got a billion dollars and a yacht the size of a small country?” Again, I just shook my head no. “Oh, I get it. You are like the James Bond kind of guy or some shit? You just fuck the the hottest ladies on the planet and have the best seats to everywhere you go? Not bad, Bond.” I started laughing and Amy was too with the rest of the crowd. “I know you might be wearing a kryptonite bullet proof vest or some shit there, Bond, but you ever thought about wearing an Elvis suit with the ass cheeks cut out to work?” He turned around and showed the crowd his hairy ass falling out of the jump suit with flames running up the bell bottom pants legs. It was disgustingly hilarious.
We just shook our heads no.
“Where are you folks from?” He continued.
“Iowa.” I spoke up.
He just started laughing. “Iowa, (Idiots Out Walking Around), right?”
Neither one of us responded but giggled.
“Are you guys in love or just some weird brother and sister kinky shit?”
“I love him!” Amy yelled out surprisingly. I just raised my eye brows.
“I kind of like you guys. You make a cute couple. You ever see that old TV show the dating game? You know where you each try to figure out how your lover would respond to some goofy questions. Ever seen that one?”
“I nodded my head.”
“Fantastic. I got an offer for you right now. You guys come here and get three simple questions right about the other person and the hotel will comp your room, dinner and drinks for the rest of the weekend. Sound fair?”
I stared at Amy an she was squeezing my hand. I could tell she wanted to do it.
“All right, man. We will do it.” I said.
The crowd burst into applause as we walked around the edge of the stage, up a small flight of stairs and then out on stage with him. “This is going to be fantastic. OK, ladies first, right? Beautiful,what is your name?”
“Amy.”
“OK, Dr. Amy and Bond are going to see if they can make a love connection here in front of a sold out show. Dr. Amy, I am going to need you turn that freakin’ burnin’ back side of yours towards the audience. You are going to put one hand behind your back and simply give us one, two or three fingers based on what you think Bond’s answer is going to be. Got it?” The comedian had done this stunt before and this was apparent to all. Amy just nodded her head confirming she knew what to do. “Bond, I am going to ask you three different multiple choice questions. You simply tell me which one is the right answer. If it matches what the love Dr. Amy is showing the crowd behind her back three times in a row you are going to be getting drunk on Dom Perignon and fucking Dr. Amy in the Presidential Suite all weekend long. Sound good?”
“Hell, yeah!” I yelled into the microphone and the crowd went nuts.
“Alright, Bond. Here is your first question. You and Dr. Amy are riding up one of those glass elevators here in the hotel and it is packed with VIP tourists. You drop a loud, hot, wet fart that stinks so fucking bad people start gagging and throwing up. Do you, one, claim responsibility and apologize? Two, do you shove the guy beside you, call him a shit bag and blame it on him? Or, Three, stand there and act like you don’t smell why start breathing faster through your nose to hoping to clean the air for Dr. Amy?” I had never been asked such a stupid question in my life. The audience were yelling out all different numbers and I just stared at a blushing Amy.
“I don’t know, Elvis. I am going to have to go with number two.” I replied into the microphone.
“Amy, your man says he would blame it on the VIP beside him. What did you say?” She turned around and faced the crowd and showed the comedian and myself the two fingers behind her back. The place erupted in applause.
“Wow, sounds like you guys really know each other pretty well. You ready for the next question?”
“Let’s go, Elvis!” Amy was really getting into it now.
“Alright. We are over Bond’s house for Christmas and your 80 year old Grandma says she has been watching porn and notices all the girls now shave their pussies. She says 80 is the new 60 and wants to shave her pussy too. Do you, one, tell her grandpa is gonna love that shit and encourage her to do it. Two, tell her she only say half the video and she needs to shave both her pussy and her asshole or, three, you lie to her and tell her it is illegal to shave your pussy after 60 and she could be arrested in thrown in jail for doing it even if Grandpa likes it?”
“You gotta be kidding me.” I was laughing so hard I had cramps in my face and the back of neck started to hurt.
“Sorry, Bond. You have to answer. is it one, two or three?”
“Damn, you are straight up filthy.” I replied.
“Why, thank you. you’re a scholar and a gentleman yourself. Now what si gonna be, Bond.1, 2 or 3?” Elvis pushed the microphone in font of me. I could even remember the first two they were so disgusting I guessed and said, Number 3.”
“Alright, Dr. Amy, turn around and show us what you tell Grandma about shaving her pussy?” Elvis said into the microphone as the crowd erupted into hysteria. Amy turned around and showed three fingers behind her back.
“Holy shit, folks these folks from Iowa must truly be in love.One more right answer and these guys are going to living large this weekend.” He turned his attention back to me. “OK, Bond here comes the tough one. You ready?”
“Bring it on!” I shouted and Amy was almost crying she was laughing so hard.
“Come one, sweetheart,you can do it.” She said to me as Elvis shook his head.
“Bond, let’s say you get some bad news. Dr. Amy decided to leave you for a Las Vegas comedian in an Elvis suit with no ass cheeks in it. There are three people left in the bar to fuck. One, a midget wearing what you think is a thong at first but glance but then realize it is actually manicured pubic hair. Two, a transgendered Eskimo with three tits and a cock. Or, three you have sex with your dad on pay preview television.” I just shook my head at the disgusting son of a bitch. The crowd was on their feet yelling in laughter and cheering.
“I don’t know, Elvis. That is a pretty tough one.”
“Last chance, Bond.” He said as he put the microphone back in front of my face.
“I am going to have to go with number the hairy midget, number one.”
“Turn around, gorgeous and show your lover what you picked. She turned around and showed her single middle finger pointed up behind her back.”
“She’s got one finger folks. You guys are winners. Congratulations!” Elvis said into the microphone as confetti started falling from the rafters and the band started playing Elvis Presley’s Burning Love. I grabbed her in my arms and gave her a big kiss on stage. I reached Dow and grabbed her by the ass with both hands. She slid her tongue in my outhitting and grabbed me by the cock through my trousers. I began to unzip my fly when I suddenly woke up.
There by my bedside was Dr. Polanski with her laptop smiling. “Good evening, how was the dream?”
I didn’t know what to say. I was embarrassed. I was surely not going to tell her that crazy ass dream. “It was absolutely amazing. Give me another one of those damn things.”
She began laughing. “Sorry, rules are rules. did you have a genuinely happy experience?”
I sat up in my bed and looked right at her. “That was the best dream I have had in my life. I didn’t piss my pants again did I?”
“Not exactly.” She smiled. I looked down at my crotch. I had an erection that was clearly obvious when I pulled the blanket off.
“Oh, shit. I am so embarrassed.” It was all I could say.
“Would you like a minute to take a shower?” She asked with a smile.
“Yeah, a cold ass one.” I replied and walked to the restroom and turned on the col water knob. I started laughing and closed my eyes and tried to replay the dream in my head. I remembered most of it. I shut the water off and grabbed a towel hanging beside the shower. I wrapped it around my waist and walked out into room and stood beside the bed.
“Do you feel comfortable talking about your ream now?” She asked and looked so beautiful.
“I don’t know about that one. You were in it and it there was a pretty raunchy comedian in it. I would never say that kind of stuff to a woman. I m not a comedian.”
“But you found it an overall happy and fun experience?”
“That was so realistic. It was incredible. It was the exact opposite of that fucked up torture dream. It was hilarious and to be honest, you were in love with me in the dream. If I could have dreams like that every night I would never get out of bed in the morning.” It was the best I could do. I remembered what was said and what happened but there was no way in hell I could tell her the truth.
“I am glad you enjoyed the dream. There are some additional things I should say to you. The government is testing these drugs to target a wide variety of subjects. There are a wide variety of emotions across the entire spectrum of human emotions. We are only testing four in this study. The drugs themselves are going to be used in various scenarios more than likely across the world. The research is highly classified and your participation in the study is also classified. You can never tell anyone about your participation in the study. The government will deny any such study ever happened and your life will become very difficult if there is suspicion that you have mentioned anything about this to anyone. The documentation that you signed informed you of this and your signature means you agreed to the terms of the study.” She was very serious.
“I still get another $1,000 bucks, right?”
“Of course. You may also continue with study if you wish.”
“What are the other dream drugs supposed to do?” I asked. I had to know.
“The following drugs are going to be even stronger. The next drug you will take is going to be pretty scary I am afraid. It is designed to make people kill themselves, unfortunately.” She was deadly serious and looked right in my face for a reaction.
“You want me to kill myself in a dream?” I was baffled.
“Not exactly. We will intervene before any harmful action can take place.”
“Really? Why in the hell didn’t you intervene when I was screaming out for help getting my ass beat with a bull whip then?” It was my turn to stare at her face for a hint of dishonesty.
“That drug, although is powerful, it is only designed to create substantial fear, not lead to long term life ending consequences. although scary you were in no harm.”
I shook my head back and forth. “Not the answer I was looking for. What is the other drug supposed to do?”
The final drug is one of sexual arousal. It is designed to create intense sexual satisfaction in the subjects.” She said in a clinical manner without the slightest hint of teasing or arousal herself.
“How about we just skip the third one and move straight the fourth?”
“I am sorry, sir. That is impossible. However, we do increase the compensation to $10,000 dollars per session.”
“Wow, I could use the money too.” I looked out the window on the dark night lit up by street lights below. I would almost pay $10,000 if I had it to get my hands on the sexual arousal drug but there would be no forgetting that evil torture dream. “How long do I have to make up my mind.“
“We can discuss it tomorrow morning. We want you to get some rest and clear out your mind a bit. Sleep on it tonight if you can get ack to sleep and we can discuss it in the morning.
Chapter 6
There was no way I could go through with it. As much as I needed the money and wanted to try the sexual arousal drug I jut had a bad feeling about the whole study. It was truly amazing, but the whole classified stuff was a little too spooky. Plus, even if I did make it through the final two experiments what was to say they would not just gas me when i was out to shut me up right there in the room. It was a damn good pay day for a weekend but I was going to have to decline.
Around sunrise Dr. Polanski returned to the room. “How are you feeling this morning?” She asked.
“I am fine. I though about it but I am going to have to decline.” I told her with a straight face.
“Can I ask why?”
“Sure, I just don’t trust the government enough to try it. I have no doubt the sex drug would be fantastic but there is no way in hell I am going through anything even remotely as fucked up as that torture nightmare again.” It was the truth. “Can i get the other $1,000 now?”
“Of course. I suspected you would probably decline.” She confessed.
“Why do you say that?” I was curious.
“Sir, you have a very large and productive imagination. This is exactly what our studies have revealed to date. Subjects and patients that are creative seem to have the most intense reactions to the drugs. Musicians, artists, writers and chefs seem seem to have the most lucid dreams and the best ability to recall them. You seem to fit that template.” Replied Dr. Polanski.
“That is funny. I dabble a bit in all of those. I am not very good but I do a little of each of those.”
She reached into the envelope and handed my ten more $100 bills. “Thank for your participation in the study.”
I was kind of let down. I was hoping that somehow this would have transpired into a date with Dr. Polanski but literally....I was dreaming. “Thanks, I guess. Is there anything else.” I asked.
“Yes, there is one final thing.” She said as she handed me a watch that looked identical to the one I found. “Take this. You will need to place this is a public where it can be found. We will be beginning a new study after the holidays and we need to begin to screen for new subjects. Once the watch is returned you will be given an additional $1,000. The watch has GPS and is monitored continuously so we will know where it is at all times unless it destroyed. In the event it is destroyed we be unable to provide you the additional money.”
“You have to be kidding me. This entire thing was a set up?”
“Not a set up, more like a strategy. I don’t make the rules to the studies I just do as I am instructed to.” She explained in her clinical doctor/patient fashion.
i put the money in my now fat wallet and grabbed my clothes out of the closet beside the bed and got dressed. I threw on my clothes, tied up my boots and grabbed my coat. “Well that was a pretty weird weekend. Any chance we could maybe go out for dinner or drink in the future?” I had to ask.
“I would love to. You are very interesting subject. Unfortunately, it is strictly prohibited in my position.”
I sighed. “I expected as much. I guess I will see you in my dreams, beautiful.”
“I can walk you to the elevator though the secured doors.” She turned, opened the door and walked down the hall as I followed. After clearing the security doors on the ward we made it the elevator and she pressed the down button. The doors opened and the elevator was empty. I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “That second dream was fantastic. You take care.” I walked on to the elevator and she turned and headed back towards the ward without saying anything.
I jumped in my car and headed back to Cedar Rapids. I wanted to get rid of the watch immediately and though about throwing it in the parking lot or in the garbage. I decided against it as it could be lost or destroyed and it was still worth a $1,000 which would come in pretty handy. I thought about it for a few more minutes and decided I would drop it off back at the gym where I found it. Hell, I fell for it. Someone else surely would too. I accelerated north on I-380 towards Cedar Rapids and the gym with the watch on my wrist.
After the half hour drive concluded I pulled the CR into the parking lot of the gym and made my way past the front desk to the locker room. I pushed 1,2,3,4 on the code and headed back towards the locker I used a few days ago. I could hear Jimmy talking to another guy getting dressed about the kick that won the Michigan game. I pulled my swim trunks out of my bag and began to change out. I took the watch off and placed it under the bench in the exact same place I found it. I closed up the locker, grabbed my beg with the wallet and my clothes and headed out to the pool deck. I swam a few laps and laid in the warm bubbly water of the hot tub for a few minutes. I jumped out and headed back to
The locker room and noticed upon my arrival the watch was gone. I moved towards a different locker closer to the steam room. Jimmy fired up the vacuum cleaner and began vacuuming the floor. I placed the bag with my clothes and wallet in an open locker next to the steam room. I closed the locker door and wen towards the steam room. I pushed the button to activate the steam and chugged into action filling the small room with hot steam. I sat in there for a few minutes until I could take no more.
“Steam room is fixed. Good and hot again. Everything is back to normal.” Jimmy said as he saw me exit and open the locker I had put my clothes in. I checked my pants pocket and the wallet was still in my pants. “Yeah, Jimmy everything is back to normal.” I replied.
“Did you ever find your watch?”
“Yeah, I did.” I replied. It was interesting he remembered.
“Oh that is good. Another guy just found one over there. We are not responsible for lost or stolen property. You can get a padlock at the front desk for $5.”
“You know, Jimmy. I just might do that.” I replied. I dried off and got dressed. I headed towards the front desk with my bag. “I need to buy a padlock.” I said to the woman behind the desk.
“Padlocks are $5.” She replied with the robotic answer.
“No problem. Anyone l find a watch in the locker room by chance?” I asked.
“None were turned in. We are not responsible for lost or stolen items.” She replied as she returned with a padlock.
“Imagine that.” I said as I slid her $5 dollar bill. “Well, if you do, tell Amy I said, hello.” I grabbed the lock, didn’t look the woman in the face or wait for her to reply. I walked into the snow covered parking lot smiling.