The God Experiment

Chapter No.15. Identity.

Chapter No.15. Identity.

The next day, Robert decided to walk to a local pizza establishment to get something for supper. He felt sorry for his wife having to do all the cooking especially since she had to work every day, including Saturdays.

He passed a funeral home and noted that there were lots of people there, judging by the number of cars parked next to it. His curiosity got the best of him and he walked up to the entrance and went in without anyone questioning him.

The funeral was for a young woman, probably not more than twenty years of age. She seemed so peaceful lying there in a beautiful casket. He couldn't resist placing his hand on her forehead.

Suddenly, the woman opened her eyes and sat up in the casket, causing complete pandemonium. The woman looked around and then concentrated on Robert, who offered her his hand to help her out of the casket.

The first thing that Robert noticed was that she was attired in a white gown much the same as the four Vestal Virgins he had encountered in the explosion.

"Are you a Vestal?"

She smiled. "Yes, Robert."

Everyone stood watching this as if they were locked in rapture. The woman gestured to Robert and he followed her out of the funeral home into a park nearby. As they walked along a path through the woods Robert turned to her.

"Who do you represent?"

"We are the Daughters of Light. The one you seek is of the Sons of Wickedness."

"Where might I find this . . . Son of Wickedness?"

"He hides in the fools who welcome him."

Robert assumed that she meant that he could be in anyone, even people that appear to be normal.

"By what sign could I identify him?"

"He has the symbol of death on his wrist."

Robert stared at her with a confused expression. He wanted more information, but she simply vanished.

He did get the pizza and returned home. When his wife and son showed up, they were happy.

"So, what did you get into today, Dad?" James asked him.

I stopped at a funeral home and resurrected a woman in a casket who claims to be a Vestal Virgin. She told me that I'm looking for a member of the Sons of Wickedness."

"Maybe he's Lex Luther," James said.

"That could be. If I recall, Lex Luther was a sociopath that pretended to be a philanthropist and ended up as the president of the United States."

Janet waved a dismissive hand at them. "You guys are crazy. We're not living in a comic book."

Robert smiled at her. "Oh, I don't know. So far it's playing out like a comic book scenario."

She assumed that her husband was just making a joke.

The next Saturday afternoon, Janet and James decided to go out in the farming communities to browse the roadside offerings of fresh vegetables and fruit. Usually, one could get a more equitable deal for fresh produce that way.

On the ride home, they passed a scene that caused James to order his wife to pull over off the road near a state police cruiser. He got out and approached the car and immediately noted that the officer was lying alongside his car mortally wounded. He squatted down and placed his hand on a gunshot wound that was bleeding profusely.

When Janet approached, Robert pointed to the police car. "Get the medical kit that's in there."

She found it and brought it to him. "Why don't you just cure him?"

"I think it might be more propitious if I repair the mortal damage and then just apply my skills as a medic. It will prevent questions." Get on your phone and do a 911 call. Tell them that an officer is down on Route 9 just past the 35-mile marker in the Southbound lane. Tell them the officer was shot by two men driving a black 2003 Chevy 210 pickup, license KL2033 that was headed south on route 9."

"How do you know that? You didn't see it happen."

"I didn't have to see it," he said, as he wrapped a gauze bandage around the officer's right leg.

Janet stared at him for a moment before getting her phone out and making the call he had directed her to do.

Not long after, an emergency vehicle and two police cars showed up with their lights flashing wildly.

Two men from the vehicle came over and were joined by two patrolmen.

"Are you a doctor?" one of the patrolmen asked Robert, who was just finished securing a patch around the fallen officer's right leg.

"No. I was Marine combat medic in the Iraq War. I patched up a lot of gunshot wounds like this."

Janet came over, and Robert gestured to her. "This is my wife. She placed the 911 call."

"We really appreciate you stopping to help the officer here," the patrolman said.

"No problem," Robert said.

"What's your name?" the patrolman asked.

"I'm Robert Steris." He looked at his wife. "Give him one of your cards."

Janet looked through her purse and handed the patrolman one of her business cards.

The ambulance drove off with its siren and lights flashing as it drove off to a nearby hospital with the wounded officer.

Robert saluted the patrolmen before he and Janet walked back to their car.

"Aren't you afraid that this will attract the wrong attention?" she asked her husband as she pulled out on the road.

"Maybe that's what I need to find the evil one."

She shook her head. Her husband was playing with fire and she was caught in the middle of it.

However, it wasn't over. On the way home, they passed a new incident, a car that was on fire with people trapped in it. The car was in a parking lot near a mall. People were standing around but at a distance.

Robert ran to the car and realized that it contained a woman and a child, and that the car was about to explode when the fire reached the gas tank. He tried the driver's side door, but it was locked. He made it unlock and pulled it open. Despite a raging fire, he unbuckled the woman and pulled her out of the car. He then opened the back door and retrieved a four-year old boy in a car seat. He then dragged them away from the car just before it was consumed in a devastating fiery explosion. He repaired the burns to both the woman and the child, leaving only a few first degree burns to prove that they were in the car.

Policemen rushed up to him. "Holy hell! That was unbelievable. Why did you risk being killed?"

"I couldn't ignore their screams," Robert said.

They stared at him as if he was crazy, but down deep they realized that he did the right thing.

Of course, this ended up on the news feeds.