Nathaniel Sewell's Blog, page 12

Amanita – Chapter 21

21

“What are you really doing?” Artemis asked.

Dr. Demetrius stood up from behind the fancy conference room table. He waved over for Gene to remain behind with Loretta.
“Have I ever taken you for a tour of my lab?” Dr. Demetrius asked Artemis. “It’s quite remarkable. Even by my standards.”
“No,” Artemis said. She glanced over at the despondent Gene and Loretta. “But, I guess I’m about to.”
“You sure?” Gene asked. He started to stand up.
“You stay, Gene. I’m in charge, after all. Follow me Artemis,” Dr. Demetrius said. He opened the conference room door. Artemis followed him out and into the hospital’s main hallway. He proudly grinned over at Artemis as he strode down the hospital’s internal avenues, and eventually near the door for his mushroom farm.
“I guess we’re back to the farm?” Artemis asked. “Do I need a respirator?”
“No,” Dr. Demetrius said. He covered his nose and mouth with his hand. “Just walk quickly with me, cover your nose, we’ll be fine.”
They went inside the darkness, the large room hummed with drone activity, and at the end of the massive room, Dr. Demetrius pressed his thumb into a finger imprint device as simultaneously his left eyeball was scanned by a biometrical laser. A solid looking door disengaged the lock, and it popped open as if to exhale from its last breath. But Artemis turned from an instinctual nudge and saw a little girl lost in limbo searching. She saw Artemis and she quickly hid within an empty bin. The little girl was alone, and there were no other spirits in the room to guide her into the next dimension.
“What is this?” Artemis asked. She uncovered her nose as she stepped inside behind Dr. Demetrius.
“Want to go on a trip?” Dr. Demetrius asked. He pointed over toward a laboratory table. It had a black granite top with a double sink, an arched faucet with two gas hookups at the rectangular end. A nearby Bunsen burner was silent, and cold. “Those mushrooms over there will take you on a trip without ever leaving, and those over there, will kill you, after you go into liver failure.”
“Are you obsessed with mushrooms?” Artemis said. She crossed her arms to ensure she failed to touch anything. “What do you plan to do with these?”
“For now,” Dr. Demetrius said. He walked farther into the square laboratory space. “Nothing but testing, my real love is the mycelia, the structure underneath the mushroom. I think that’s the answer for humanity, for the world population.”
Artemis watched Dr. Demetrius point at different mushroom varieties. He then took out a sharp edged gardening tool, and careful, almost surgically he opened the potting soil surface within one of the large mushroom containers.
“What am I looking at?” Artemis said.
“See there,” Dr. Demetrius said. He gently disturbed a ghost white network of what Artemis thought looked like tiny tree roots, and a delicate veinous system. “This allows life, it’s almost like a humans circulatory system, see the main artery and all the off shoots?”
“Yes, I see what your saying,” Artemis said. She started to reconsider what she had seen with Virgil and Agent Beaky out in the deep forest. And what Satan had showed her. “What is it?”
“Mycelia, my darling,” Dr. Demetrius said. He pulled back the gardening tool. He gently held the fibrous network on his fingertips. “Glide your finger over them.”
Artemis hesitated, she stepped backward.
“I don’t think so,” Artemis said.
“They don’t bite,” Dr. Demetrius said. With his right hand he gripped Artemis’ forearm. “Just barely touch them, I want you to sense something about my mycelia.”
Artemis slowly, cautiously touched the organism above Dr. Demetrius’ fingertips. It felt like a pile of worms pushed from above the brown soil after a summer storm.
“That was weird,” Artemis said.
“See, they are alive,” Dr. Demetrius said. He slid his fingers back, and recovered the soil. “Let me repair my invasion, this one needs time to grow, and nurture her offspring.”
Artemis looked around the laboratory. It had been cleaned and wiped down in every nearby work station to the point that the chrome surfaces almost sparkled under the lights. To her left the laboratory had numerous more work areas hidden in darkness down a long tiled walkway.
“Does this have anything to do with the hospital?” Artemis asked. “You all have a serious claim, reason I’m here.”
Dr. Demetrius appeared to ignore Artemis’ question as he lovingly repaired his digging marks within the moist soil. He glided his fingers over the area like a master pasty chef glossing over a cake with brown icing.
“Better now, my darling?” Dr. Demetrius said toward the soil and tiny mushroom bulbs. “See Artemis, they can feel my presence, your presence, they can sense your feelings. This one needs to go into the farm, and get cared for and monitored. A mushrooms purpose is to reproduce, to share its spore.”
“You are rather obsessed with mushrooms,” Artemis said.
Dr. Demetrius stood up tall, and he grinned over at Artemis. He nodded at her as he walked over toward a sink, and carefully washed his hands. He encouraged Artemis to follow his example, and she washed her hands.
“Can never be to careful,” Dr. Demetrius said. “You know, that’s how penicillin was invented, by accident, the fungi was left alone to roam in a hospital, Saint Mary’s in London.”
“I don’t understand?” Artemis said. She wiped her hands dry. “What are you telling me?”
“Antibiotics, of course,” Dr. Demetrius said, sarcastically. “What are humans becoming immune too?”
“Oh, I guess,” Artemis said. She sensed Dr. Demetrius’ dismissive comment was her way inside his mind. “Sorry, I’m not that smart, like you.”
“I know,” Dr. Demetrius said. He started to walk down the laboratory corridor with Artemis following. “It was a man, Alexander Fleming, 1928, he left his bacteria, streptococcus, to be somewhat precise, alone in his lab. And perhaps a simple open window, allowed a fungi to accidentally find his bacteria samples, and it did what fungi spores do, it needed to survive, so, it ate the bacteria, killing it.”
“Let me see if I can catchup,” Artemis said. She was certain now the cult in the forest was connected to Dr. Demetrius. But, it was to obvious there was something else. “You’re team, you, are working to discover new antibiotics?”
“Of course, to protect humanity,” Dr. Demetrius said. “Thankfully, they, the hospital system, has me. They allow me freedom to experiment as I wish without interference, my budget is quite large, I rarely get any pushback.”
“No accidents here, the reason all these stations are swept clean?” Artemis asked.
“Exactly,” Dr. Demetrius said. “I cannot allow a discovery to just happen like some all powerful God granted me magic power, or other nonsense. I’ll unlock the fungi power all with my brain, and insight.”
“Where are we going?” Artemis asked. She saw farther down the corridor more chrome finished doors.
“You’ve seen my farm,” Dr. Demetrius said. “This is my lab area, but now, I’ll show you where I keep all my children to grow before I share them with the farm.”
“Children?” Artemis asked.
Dr. Demetrius patted Artemis on her shoulder.
“In a way,” Dr. Demetrius said.
They stopped in front of a tall refrigerator looking door. Dr. Demetrius pulled open a side panel, he slipped on latex gloves and opened a sealed packet. He gave Artemis a pair of gloves and an identical packet.
“We need to suit up,” Dr. Demetrius said. “Cover your shoes, and put on this germ proof suit.”
“Ah, respirator time again,” Artemis said.
“Quite,” Dr. Demetrius said. He put on the pale green suit, hooded his head, positioned his protective glasses, and respirator while Artemis did the same. He carefully examined Artemis, and inspected her respirator and any potential coverage gaps. “Good, you’re covered, now we can enter.”
Artemis thought he sounded like a deep throated space alien, and looked like a 1950’s B movie actor.
“You aren’t kidding around,” Artemis said.
“No I am not,” Dr. Demetrius said. He pressed in a passcode hidden within a covered side chamber. “This door will open, and then you will be in the presence of my children. Do touch any surface, anything, do you understand?”
“Yes,” Artemis said. She waited for the door to open as Dr. Demetrius stepped back from the door.
The door released the locking mechanism, and once again it sounded like a last gasp. A water mist was being sprayed over a round platform that Dr. Demetrius walked onto, as he held up his arms briefly, and then waved for Artemis to follow his example.
“I try to keep as much contamination out, as possible,” Dr. Demetrius said. Artemis followed him farther into the room. “But spores, fungi, they are quite aggressive and microscopic.”
“It’s eerily quiet in here,” Artemis said.
“Yes,” Dr. Demetrius said. “In a way, inside this low light, my experiments are in their infant stage, just beginning to grow and to form.”
“You have them all sealed off?” Artemis said.
“Not quite,” Dr. Demetrius said. “We filter the oxygen as best we can, nothing escapes this room, but, it’s not perfectly closed loop.”
“When do you expose them to bacteria?” Artemis said.
“Smart girl,” Dr. Demetrius said. He pointed farther down toward another laboratory area within the center of the chambered rooms. “Down there, we take bacteria, some are quite dangerous, there we share mushroom varietals, and then, we wait.”
Artemis looked at the empty laboratory that was surrounded by sealed mushroom lockers. It looked almost like a room for a detective to interrogate a criminal.
“Place a dish with the bacteria on the table,” Artemis said. “And, one of these?”
“Exactly,” Dr. Demetrius said. He looked up and down the hallway at his experiments. “If my children kill the bacteria, I know I’m discovering, altering slightly its gnome, the mycelia become stronger, resistant.”
Artemis remembered the helpless lamb from the forest. She looked at a long line of emerging mushrooms.
“How do you fertilize them?” Artemis asked. She closed her eyes as she was certain she would not get a truthful answer, but she was certain she had discovered the truth. “They need more than just moisture.”
“Ah, you have as the cliché,” Dr. Demetrius said. “A green thumb?”
“I liked to grow my own food,” Artemis said. She crossed her arms as she sensed her heart beat. “Not in downtown St. Pete, not an option, but, I wish I could.”
“Smart girl,” Dr. Demetrius said, suspiciously. “Always know the source, its where the magic happens.”
“You have a vast array of mushrooms growing inside,” Artemis said. “What’s your secret?”
“Now, now Artemis, I’ll perhaps let you know that some day,” Dr. Demetrius said. “But consider, with the discovery of new antibiotics, or better, someday I’ll influence the mycelia to create human organs, we’d alter humanity.”
“I see, you have a vast mind for these things,” Artemis said. And she sensed Laina’s mother was nearby. “It’s what we eat.”
“Exactly, it’s really the mycelia, they are voracious, it’s the saprotrophic fungi, they allow the world to grow, by eliminating the dead,” Dr. Demetrius said. He shifted, and turned around walking toward the exit door. “Let’s get out of here, my children need quiet time, they need to feed.”
“I never ever have seen such a thing,” Artemis said, quietly.
“Artemis, it’s like a government, or a religion, think about it,” Dr. Demetrius said. He started to walk. “It’s in front of you, it’s obvious, but what it’s really doing, is hidden underground, it slowly eats away your soul, it alters society without firing a shot.”
“You are a mysterious man,” Artemis said. Behind her respirator and protective eyeglasses, she was blank faced, puzzled by all the emotions and thoughts that we now crowded into the same space within her mind. “What am I to do about these claims, you have a lot of dead patients.”
“Oh, I see, back to your investigation,” Dr. Demetrius said. He huffed. “I’m not a lawyer, but they need evidence, I don’t think they have any evidence, do they?”
“Not yet,” Artemis said.
“That’s your job,” Dr. Demetrius said. “To protect my loves and the hospitals interests, right?”
“Yes,” Artemis said.
And from a place beyond reason, from beyond space and time, Artemis heard Satan laughing at her.

End. Chapter 21.

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Amanita – Chapter 20

 

20

“Is this Ms. Lamb? A Ms. Artemis Lamb?” A voice asked from Artemis’ smartphone speaker. The voice had a heavy southern accent with a slight twangy elongated vibration at the end of the sentence.
“Yes,” Artemis said. Her scalp tingled from a dreadful expectation. “Who are you?”
“Glad we finally found you, oh heavens me,” the voice said. “I’m Mrs. Thompson with Child Protective Services, here in Kentucky. We received an anonymous inquiry from our hotline, about you.”
“Sorry,” Artemis said. She started to pace. “I don’t understand?”
“You have a child, Laina Lynn?” Mrs. Thompson asked.
“Yes,” Artemis said. “She’s quite safe, I’ll protect her.”
“I have no doubt,” Mrs. Thompson said. “But, we do have laws here, you know you can’t just take a child, right?”
Artemis paused, she looked up at her apartments skip trowel ceiling texture.
“I’m not about to break any laws,” Artemis said. She sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve simply helped her out, seems her mother’s passed. Or, that’s what I’m lead to believe.”
“Yes, I have not doubt,” Mrs. Thompson said. “That’s our understanding, hospital informed us, the mother was cremated, mercifully, you know. I do feel for the child.”
“I understand,” Artemis said. She nodded. “Have you found any next of kin, aunt, uncle, someone close to her father?”
“Not quite yet,” Mrs. Thompson said. “But, we’ll need you to bring Laina back, we’ll need to have a hearing, we have a process to follow, you understand?”
Artemis searched her apartment for a clear thought, she dreaded what was about to happen down to her bones. Her joints ached, her vision blurred.
“I’ll comply,” Artemis said, dryly. “What am I to do?”
#
“You did what?” Wylie asked. He sat up straight on his high back office chair. “How’s this got to do with the file?”
“I know,” Artemis said. She walked back and forth, wiping her forehead with her palms. “She’s my lovers child, Benjamin, he died in Afghanistan, lucky shot.”
“I’m listening,” Wylie said.
“Weird coincidence,” Artemis said. “You know, I was working the file, girl looked familiar, you know?”
“No I don’t,” Wylie said. “I need more information, or I’ll take you off this file, I need your full attention.”
“I know, I know,” Artemis said. “Girls got no one, alone, and being Benjamin’s child, cut me some slack dude.”
Wylie sat back and nodded.
“All right, girl,” Wylie said. “But you know that general counsel, Gene something or other, he really hates you. Been complaining up north, but that just means you’re doing your job. It’s not his money on the line.”
“He’s a drunk,” Artemis said. “He’s easy to manage, I have a hearing, for Laina, I’ll get this resolved.”
“I know,” Wylie said. “Sorry, I have to let them know I grilled you, you know that?”
“I do,” Artemis said. “I’ve been duly informed.”
“So, that’s past us,” Wylie said. “I don’t ask about your personal life, tell me about the boy, and his child.”
Artemis sat down. She stared down at the carpeted office floor for several minutes. She wiped away the tears.
“After my parents accident,” Artemis said. She stared past Wylie. “I went into a hole, I liked being alone. Got out of college, went all military. I was a good medic.”
“Scary stuff,” Wylie said. “But I know part of your real work, they don’t tell me the reason, I just give you the file.”
“Yeah, I know. But once you have big bullet whizz past your skull,” Artemis said. She coughed. “Anyway, I met him over in Afghanistan. He was a good solider, born leader.”
“I take it was tragic romance?” Wylie said. “Sorry.”
“Yeah, he just understood me,” Artemis said. “He loved my red hair, told me to keep my helmet on to avoid snipers.”
Wylie got up, and walked around his desk and sat across from Artemis.
“Go on,” Wylie said.
Artemis closed her eyes, she whispered a prayer to a being she never understood, or thought ever existed, until now. She realized if Satan existed, then an all powerful force existed.
“They had me in a forward position,” Artemis said. She leaned forward and looked over at Wylie. “You know, word came back, we went in for support, hit them with air power.”
“You don’t need,” Wylie said before Artemis held up her hand to cut him off. “None of my business.”
“Let me just say it,” Artemis said. She methodically blew oxygen into her lungs, and then back out. “I found him, they had leaned him against an ASV’s tire, sniper, got him in the neck.”
“Oh, damn,” Wylie said.
“Blood was every where, his team stood there crying, guns pointed down,” Artemis said.
“Says a lot,” Wylie said. “Hardened tough guy cry for you.”
“Yeah, all I could do was hold him,” Artemis said. “I was to late, died with me. I was powerless.”
Wylie and Artemis simply sat together in silence. For several minutes that seemed longer to Artemis, she remembered Benjamin’s handsome face, his kind eyes, and his courageous gaze as he slipped from life into another dimension.
“I’ll come help you,” Wylie said. “If need be.”
“No,” Artemis said. She stood up. “I’ll do my job. I’ll get back up there, sort through this mess.”
“Come here,” Wylie said. He tightly hugged Artemis. He clutched her shoulders. “Be careful my friend, this old man’s not dead yet, if I need to, I’ll be there.”
“I know,” Artemis said. “Thank you. I’ll handle this, I always have, you taught me well, let me go.”
Wylie stepped back. He curiously looked away and walked back behind his desk.
“Just be careful,” Wylie said.
“Why are you being cryptic?” Artemis said.
“Instinct,” Wylie said. “And the fact FBI been up there, poking around, which I take it you know?”
“I do,” Artemis said. “Sorry, thought I should keep quiet for now, not sure where they’re headed.”
“Get up there, I’ll play stupid,” Wylie said. “You know, I talked with Dr. Langendorpher?”
“Not surprised,” Artemis said.
“I think you’re girl is part of this,” Wylie said. “Follow her, I bet, we’ll get our answers.”
“I think you’re right,” Artemis said. She started to leave the office.
“What was the accident?” Wylie asked. He looked away from Artemis.
“Pardon?” Artemis asked. She held the cold doorknob.
“You’re parents,” Wylie said. “What was the accident that took them?”
“Oh, gas leak, bad luck,” Artemis said. “I was away, teenager, summer camp. The police said they died in their sleep. They never woke up.”
Wylie washed his hands across the desk top. He was quiet and still.
“In a way,” Wylie said. “A merciful death, to go to sleep and not awake, you know?”
“I guess,” Artemis said. She twisted the doorknob. “I’ve never worried about money, they took care of me. But, I miss them everyday, I never got to say goodbye.”
“Maybe you’ll see them again,” Wylie said. “In heaven.”
“Stop it,” Artemis said. “I’m not a believer, you know that, you old softy.”
“Well, I guess we’ll both find out,” Wylie said. He waved over at Artemis to encourage her to leave. “Some day, right?”

End. Chapter 20.

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Amanita – Chapter 19

 

19

“Where has this child been?” Dr. Langendorpher asked. She took off her rainbow styled eyeglasses, and set the retro frames on her metal desktop. “She’s quite bright, sweet girl, but her bodies a mess, her lungs were inflamed like she was a mushroom farmer.”
Artemis sat down on a nearby cushioned side chair.
“Like we agreed,” Artemis said. She crossed her legs. “She’s part of a new file, a hospital client? Wylie and I have to manage it, investigate the claim before it goes into a suit, and then we both know, the media gets involved.”
“Agreed, we understand each other,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She partially pushed her face upwards, she huffed. “Now, who is she, really?”
Artemis uncrossed her legs. She leaned forward.
“My only love, Benjamin, he’s gone,” Artemis said. She stared downward at the medical offices tiled floor. She paused. “He’s gone, died fighting bad guys, with me. I found out later, Laina was his child, by accident, a cruel coincidence.”
“Where?” Dr. Langendorpher asked. “Where’s this hospital?”
“Selene, Kentucky,” Artemis said. She quizzically looked over at Dr Langendorpher. “Why?”
“I have no idea where that is,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “But, they are highly sophisticated. Whoever they are, Laina’s basically someone’s experimental rat. I don’t like it, a child should be protected, not abused.”
Artemis got up and started to pace inside Dr. Langendorpher’s office. She glossed her fingers over medical text books, several dogeared PDRs, and long since out of print medical journals.
“I suspected,” Artemis said. She paused. “I have a NDA over me, but since your helping with the file, right?”
“I would need to know,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She hissed.
“Exactly,” Artemis said. She tapped on the bookshelf. “The hospital is decent sized, multi-disciplinary, OB, across the line patient services.”
“Really?” Dr. Langendorpher asked. She interlocked her fingers across her waist as she scooted back. “How do they keep the place open, wouldn’t seem enough population to feed it.”
“My thoughts, as well,” Artemis said. She held her right hand under her left elbow to support her arm. Her fingers squished over her lips. “But the place is modern, well managed from the outside looking in. But…”
“Let me guess,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She held up her hand like the smart school girl from the back of the class. “Large genetics lab, experiments with mushrooms, for new drugs that will save humanity? Or other nonsense about saving Mother Earth.”
Artemis looked back over at Dr. Langendorpher.
“Why mushrooms?” Artemis asked. She held her look over at Dr. Langendorpher. “You’re being quite specific.”
“Laina, her lungs were infested with mushroom spores, different types,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “I cleared her up, but it was not without some serious anti-fungals, with an anti-inflammatory course, still might be an asthmatic for the rest of her life. Otherwise, I got all her human problems checked out.”
“Not surprised,” Artemis said. “But, you filled in a lot of information without any knowledge, how?”
“Artemis, please,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She leaned onto her office desk, supported by her elbows. Her white lab coat stretched at the sleeves. “I follow emerging science, like any other physician. But, the healthcare community needs to discover new antibiotics, as a species we are becoming drug resistant. Besides, penicillin was discovered by fungi, mushrooms, they have their own kingdom, mold, yeasts, they are ten times the size of plants and animals. First place I’d go looking for answers to this deadly riddle.”
“No idea, really, ten times?” Artemis said. She stared down at Dr. Langendorpher. “What else, give it up, you look like your holding back.”
Dr. Langendorpher leaned back and crossed her arms. She winked over at Artemis.
“You know,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “To the uneducated, you know, self important government types, they think all you need is a medical cookbook to treat the human condition, which is bullshit, and they are self entitled morons.”
“Wow,” Artemis said. “Never heard you cuss before…”
“I’m still a country girl at heart, I only cuss when I’m mad,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She got up without losing her stare over at Artemis. “Medicine is about art and science, after awhile, your instincts start to lead you in a direction, you should follow your instincts. In this case, why don’t you follow me down the hallway.”
“I guess I should,” Artemis said.
Artemis got up and walked along side with Dr. Langendorpher down toward the clinics nuclear and radiology laboratory. Dr. Langendorpher found an empty office within steps of a large PET scan machine.
“Artemis, that monster over there,” Dr. Langendorpher said as she pointed at the large machine centered with a donut hole like portal surrounded by a round mass encased inside prefabricated smooth hard plastic materials. “It’s a fancy machine, does PET scans and MRI, a terrific combination. A game changer, but expensive.”
“Never seen one,” Artemis said. She stared through the office window and out at the resting medical leviathan.
“We got one,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “No one knows it, administer, good girl, she squirreled away some grant money, or other financial magic, regardless, it’s here.”
Artemis sat down next to Dr. Langendorpher.
“Put Laina through it?” Artemis said. She appeared blank faced, and her eyes stared at the computer screen. “What does she got?”
Dr. Langendorpher glanced over at Artemis.
“Nothing I’ve ever seen,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She toggled the computer mouse, and clicked on icons until she found Laina’s electronic health record. “If I had gotten caught, I’d have lost my license, but I did it anyway.”
“I don’t understand,” Artemis said.
“I had them preform a PET and MRI on Laina,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Without pre-authorization, plus she’s a minor, even so, I went looking for something. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, mind you, but, I felt down to my mortal soul something suspicious was inside that child.”
Artemis gulped. She blew methodically, slowly through her open mouth. She pressed her lips together.
“What then?” Artemis asked.
“Tech thought I’d lost my mind,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She toggled the mouse icon. “Gave little Laina a drink with F-18 fluorodeoxglucose in it, a radiotracer mind you, she was so sweet, completely oblivious.”
“Was she scared?” Artemis said. “I would be.”
Dr. Langendorpher waved Artemis’ comment away.
“No, I told her it was just part of a basic physical,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She studied the screen, and then she clicked an icon to open a computer file with a 3-D image. She pointed at the screen. “She’s healthy, except for those little critters, look closely at where the radiotracer accumulated.”
Artemis at first only saw red shades, pale greens, and deep blue colors. But then, from her medical training she started to notice minute spots within the bright red areas.
“The dark spots, as you move from each image,” Artemis said. “They move, they shift just a little.”
“You’re good, for a med mal girl,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She double clicked the computer mouse to blowup the cranial scan image. “I think those things are the size of human cells, almost undetectable. I think there you see microbots, fueled by either a magnetic field, or a laser system, like a solar energy panel on the roof of a house, but in this case, microscopic.”
Artemis leaned in closer next to Dr. Langendorpher. She watched the dust like spots move like tiny spiders across Laina’s brain matter.
“Why?” Artemis asked. She held her breath, and rapidly blinked her eyelids. “What do you think?”
“I think someone,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She heard some nearby movement, some random conversations within the laboratory. She quickly closed the Laina’s patient file. She turned toward Artemis. “Someone is using those things to monitor Laina, not just her vital signs.”
“The mushrooms,” Artemis said. She turned toward the door as the nearby conversation grew louder. “They’ve been genetically modified, so are the spores, quite specific?”
“We should take a walk,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She turned off the computer screen, she got up acknowledged a lab tech who was prepping a patient. “Let’s walk into the hallway.”
Dr. Langendorpher had her hands inside her white lab coat’s pockets. She acknowledged her colleagues, blew a kiss over at the haggard nurses, and orderlies.
“She’s been a lab rat, for sure,” Artemis said. “Like you said, I’m lost.”
“I think so, by the way, someone skilled in surgery inserted a monitor in Laina’s right hand, between the thumb and her forefinger,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She squeezed the spot within her own wrinkled hand. “This is the spot, leave it alone, its their poker tell, it’ll lead you back to them.”
“They are tracking her,” Artemis said. “Right?”
“I think you need to be careful,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She stopped walking and touched Artemis’ forearm. “Unless I missed something, they’ll want their lab rat back, those bots are dying, slowly. They need energy, hear me?”
“I understand, I think,” Artemis said. She smelled the disinfected environment, she stared down the busy well lit marble floored hallway. “I won’t note the claim files, but I’ll tell this to Wylie, right?”
“Yeah, I think you should, just for your own protection,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She started to walk. “Let’s act like I was just practicing some safe clinical experiments, just to see how the machine worked, nothing more, you know, for a healthy patient, got the kid a baseline and all.”
“Noted,” Artemis said. “You’re so kind.”
Dr. Langendorpher stopped walking again, and gripped Artemis’ left forearm.
“Be careful, here me?” Dr. Langendorpher said. She suspiciously looked up and down the hallway. She tightly gripped Artemis’ forearm. “Like I said, this is a highly sophisticated outfit. I think Laina’s in danger. And, I suspect she’s not the only one, and by the way, you’ll be right there with her.”
“I know,” Artemis said. She stepped back, and shook Dr. Langendorpher‘ s hand. “Thank you, as always, I’ll keep Wylie up to date, you’re a gold mine.”
“I know, he’ll call anyway,” Dr. Langendorpher said. She walked away, briefly looked back at Artemis, and disappeared down a side hallway.
Artemis left the medical facility. She pondered Satan’s comments, the wooden whistle and wondered if she were, in a strange reality, Satan’s lab rat lost inside an invisible evil labyrinth that Dante could never have imagined.

End. Chapter 19.

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Amanita – Chapter 18

 

18

“You’ve been up there?” Artemis asked. She stared down at the Jenkins Law office’s persian carpet that was made from beautiful workmanship. It was stretched out over a thick padding that also absorbed sound. “Been near that tree, those mushrooms?”
Jerome Jenkins tapped his long left forefinger over his lips. His office chair calmly shifted side to side.
“Yes,” Jerome said. “It’s a rather brutal group, I try to avoid the area these days.”
Artemis studied Attorney Jenkins’ pale blue eyes, the cadence from his voice, and his blank expression.
“You called the FBI?” Artemis asked. She set her backpack down. “You’re the only person, it’s obvious.”
“I see,” Jerome said. He stared directly at Artemis. “You know something, if you live in a place long enough, you know everybody, every squirrel, every blade of grass, if something’s different, you just know.”
“I think they killed a little girl,” Artemis said. Her gaze locked onto Jerome.
Jerome grunted. He slipped his eyeglasses on, and he took in a deep breath through his open mouth.
“So we are clear,” Jerome said. He pointed over at Artemis. “We’re off the record, we’re just talking, right?”
“I understand,” Artemis said.
“No, the answer is?” Jerome asked.
“Off the record, yes,” Artemis said. “I’ll keep this to myself.”
“Good,” Jerome said. He got up. “Let’s take a walk, I want to show you something. Leave your backpack, it’s safe here.”
Artemis walked along with Jerome down the downtown street in Selene, Kentucky. He pointed out the new high school, where he used to eat sliders on Friday nights, and cruised aimlessly in his junker with friends wondering how he’d escape the town.
“You love this place,” Artemis said.
“I do,” Jerome said. “I had to learn the hard way, sometimes you have to leave, kick some tires, make some mistakes to realize what you had, I was lucky. I’ll die here, happily.”
“How do you make it?” Artemis said. She stopped walking, and stuffed her hands inside her coat pockets. “Have enough work, you know, how do you pay the bills? It takes a lot of money to fund a med mal case, we’re just getting started.”
Jerome waved over at a middle-aged couple slowly driving past them from the opposite direction along the street. He looked down at Artemis with a sheepish grin.
“Like them,” Jerome said. He pointed his thumb back toward the passing four door sedan. “I’ve known them before they got married, any legal work, they come to me. It’s straight forward work. Besides, I’ve made a few healthy licks over in Lexington, I’m in a good spot, you know that.”
“I do, you have a reputation,” Artemis said. A man inside a rusty truck, smoking a half burnt cigarette honked over at Jerome.
“Robert Charles,” Jerome said over at the man. “Nice to see you. Kept that thing going, impressive.”
The man inside the truck grinned over with browning front teeth, he gave Jerome the Queen’s back hand wave, and drove his squeaking carriage down the side street.
“Why the FBI?” Artemis said. “Local police not good enough.”
“They’ve decided to look the other way,” Jerome said. He nudged Artemis to follow him past a CVS. “Let me show you.”
And Artemis realized her hotel was nearby, the CVS was the same one she passed walking toward Most High cemetery.
“Cemetery?” Artemis asked. She continued to walk along with Jerome. She saw the pointy gates, the ancient oaks, and the headstones. “You really know how to treat a girl.”
Jerome acknowledged Artemis’ comment. He unlocked the cemetery gate and started to stroll forward with Artemis.
“I’ll end up here,” Jerome said. He pointed over at a section. “Family plots over there, drop my dead carcass in a hole, say something nice over me.”
“You’re a believer?” Artemis asked. She looked up to find a black raven staring down at her from the same oak branch. “Sorry, don’t mean to be personal.”
“No problem,” Jerome said. “I am. I believe there’s a loving God, but it’s not for this world. This world is full of evil, I think the truth to your question, read the book of Job, ever read it?”
Artemis noticed they were strolling toward a grave she had already visited. She stared down at the tombstone for Lilly Ann.
“I have, I’ve always been interested in religious studies, but, I’m not a believer,” Artemis said. She nodded down at the grave site. “Why are we here?”
“Little girl, Lilly Ann,” Jerome said. He kneeled down and whispered a prayer, he made the sign of the holy cross with his fingers, and he tapped on the headstone. “They found her out in the forest, dead, the photos taken at the scene, not the way a sweet little girl should die, I’ll leave it at that.”
Jerome stood up, he glanced away from Artemis. He was oddly quiet, and still. Artemis crossed her arms, and was thankful it was a bright sunny day.
“You knew her?” Artemis asked. She contemplated Jerome’s emotions, why he had turned his back to her, and the headstone.
“Not really, I remember her as a baby,” Jerome said. He turned back around, but kept looking downward at the brown grass. “I knew her grandmother, my wife and I both knew her grandmother. It’s a strange sensation when you realize you’re old enough that your high school friends are grandparents.”
“I guess it’s all about perspective,” Artemis said. “I hope to live long enough to find out.”
“Funny, being older becomes a blessing,” Jerome said. “And truthfully, I practice law for the pure joy. Now, it’s fun to tangle with the likes of you and your people.”
Artemis closely inspected the cemetery. It was strange to observe the headstones, the plots under clear sky’s.
“What drives me is the unfairness,” Jerome said. He appeared to contemplate his life. “I was blessed in to many ways, it’s a bit embarrassing, this girl, child, simply at the wrong place, with the wrong people, I fail to understand.”
“What happened?” Artemis said. She closed her eyes and waited for the truth to emerge. “To Lilly Ann.”
“Found her little body out there,” Jerome said. He waved out toward the hulking hills covered with thorny trees and jagged rocks. “She’d wondered off, mother was an addict, fentanyl, later found her mother dead, over dose.”
Jerome squinted his eyes, and maintained his emotions.
“That’s terrible,” Artemis said.
“Yeah, she was left all alone,” Jerome said. He wiped tears from his eyes. “Well, Lilly Ann had been half eaten, wild animals, so forth.”
“That’s awful,” Artemis said.
“The medical examiner from over in Lexington, said she’d eaten mushrooms they call, death caps?” Jerome said. He looked up into the nearby tree appearing to examine the rough bark. “Yeah, that’s right. They figured she’d gotten lost, got hungry, ate the wrong thing, she never had a chance.”
Artemis looked up at Jerome. He was clearly upset. And she was now quite aware she was being watched. There were several undead floating nearby, staring at her. Thankfully, she thought, Lilly Ann had moved on into another universe. But she was certain they were there because Satan wanted her to see them.
“You know something else?” Artemis asked. “The reason you called the FBI.”
“Correct,” Jerome said. “The local police, they’re corrupt, I ignore them. In truth, I think this little girl was murdered.”
Artemis remained quiet, her red hair was tussled by the constant breeze. She averted any eye contact.
“I’ve been up into the forest,” Artemis said, cryptically. “With an FBI agent, a local grocery owner, Virgil.”
Jerome nodded his head.
“I’ll keep quiet,” Jerome said. “And?”
“I’m not sure why, I think the hospitals involved, the FBI agent is being way to obvious,” Artemis said. She kneeled down to gloss her hand across Lilly Ann’s grave marker. “But, there’s a group out there, they’re nuts, all into mushrooms.”
“I know Virgil,” Jerome said. He sighed. “He’s not a bad guy, drinks to much. But, got a soft heart. He took you there?”
“Yeah,” Artemis said. She looked back up at Jerome.
“It’s not an easy spot to hike into,” Jerome said. “You’d need a guide, right?”
“Right,” Artemis said. “You’ve been there?”
“Yes,” Jerome said. “Just us talking, right?”
“Yes,” Artemis said.
“I think they murdered Lilly Ann,” Jerome said. “They sacrifice animals, sometimes people, but there’s never any evidence left behind.”
“You saw it happen?” Artemis said. “After…”
“Yes,” Jerome said. “They’re smart, sick, but quite smart. They don’t leave a lot of loose ends. Very little evidence, until this child was found.”
Artemis stood up and pulled out her smartphone.
“If I show you something,” Artemis said. She held the smartphone forward. “It’s disturbing.”
“I can handle it,” Jerome said. He sucked in a deep breath through his nose. “I’m old.”
And Artemis pressed the play icon, and the iPhone video of the tree, the mushrooms, the masked man and the lamb sacrifice before the ground opened up to consume the animal.
“I don’t know what to think,” Artemis said. “This has nothing to do with your med mal claim. But now I know, thanks to your friends at the FBI getting me to play along.”
Jerome reflectively stared across the cemetery.
“She ran for her life,” Jerome said.
“Sorry?” Artemis asked.
“Lilly Ann,” Jerome said. He scowled at Artemis. “Her mother was never found, presumed dead. Lilly Ann’s body had bruises, and slash marks on her. She ran for her life. And worse…”
Artemis was certain what Jerome was about to tell her next. But Lilly Ann had already told her the truth.
“Worse?” Artemis asked, ruefully.
“Someone, something had carved her heart out,” Jerome said. “And left her body behind, must have gotten spooked away before they dragged her back to that tree.”
“They created whatever that thing is,” Artemis said.
“Mycelium,” Jerome said. “I did some research after I saw what you saw. It’s what lurks under the soil. I think your Dr. Demetrius has something to do with it.”
Artemis turned to face Jerome.
“Genetics,” Artemis said. “You know about Dr. Demetrius and his mushrooms?”
“I do,” Jerome said. “Small town, we all know each other’s business.”
Artemis stepped away from Jerome.
“You don’t have the proof,” Artemis said. She stared at Jerome. “I know that you’re searching, nothing solid. It’s become dangerous to go out there. The hospitals kept in almost total lock down, administration seems obsessed.”
Jerome nodded, he squeezed his nose with his right hand fingers, and paused.
“Smart lady, but the hospitals got cameras every where. I can’t just walk about without them noticing,” Jerome said. “The police are not interested in investigating her death. My hope is the FBI might open a case. But that hospital and those kooks out there, they are connected. I’ll find out, and if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll get Lilly Ann some justice.”
“For now, let’s keep talking,” Artemis said. She started to walk away. “It’s not something I’ll share with anybody, you know important, yet. Understand?”
“I do,” Jerome said. He pointed forward. “Thank you, the gates over there.”
“Besides, I might need your help,” Artemis said. “It’s a personal matter, a little girl, total coincidence.”
“I know, I know her, there are no secrets in the mountains,” Jerome said. He walked past Artemis. “I’ll help you, or at least try.”
“I guess you’re watching me, too,” Artemis said. She shrugged. “I’ll be back in town in a week or so, we should talk some more then, see where we both are.”
#
As Artemis left the Jenkins Law office behind, ahead she saw Satan sitting on a metal bus stop bench wearing a heavy coat, and a plaid red, wool hunting cap. It was whittling a hickory branch.
“Artemis,” Satan said. “I’ve been waiting for you. I like this human body, makes me look local.”
Artemis stopped walking. She shifted her military backpack and gripped the shoulder sling. She stared down the concrete sidewalk at the modest brick buildings.
“What?” Artemis said.
“Look, I’m whittling a whistle,” Satan said. “I’ll give it to you, just in case, for an emergency. You never know, right?”
“Thanks,” Artemis said. She was stone faced. “What?”
“He’s all in,” Satan said. It chuckled. “He actually does believe in Jesus, God, swallowed the whole deal. I cannot quite get into that brain, yet.”
“He’s not for sale,” Artemis said. “Nor am I.”
Satan took the whittling knife, and sliced its human thumb.
“Look, human blood, Artemis, I’m bleeding,” Satan said. It curiously examined the wound. “It hurts this body, if I let it keep bleeding, this body dies.”
“Keep bleeding,” Artemis said, coldly.
“That’s the spirit,” Satan said. “Hate, oh I can feel your hate, thank you.”
“What do you want this time?” Artemis asked. She stared down at Satan who had snapped its fingers and stopped its thumb from bleeding, and it had instantly healed the wound.
“Just wanted to ask if you enjoyed the show?” Satan said. “Sorry, you missed out on the lust part, they all seemed to like my efforts. It was quite the fun, debasing humans.”
“I’m glad I left,” Artemis said. “What’s with the mycelium, not normal to eat an animal.”
“Ah, get to the point, I hate that,” Satan said. It inspected its whittling. The hickory wood fragrance was strong. “I think you stumbled onto a good clue, while you were talking about Lilly Ann, genetics.”
“Yeah?” Artemis said.
“Yes, I’m proud of you,” Satan said. It smiled in a menacingly gaze that another show was on Artemis’ future play list. “If you were smart enough, and you wanted to do something really, really awful, but appear to be doing something wonderful, right?”
Artemis shook her head.
“I don’t understand,” Artemis said. “You’re being cryptic.”
“I know, it’s all part of your journey,” Satan said. It handed Artemis a perfectly whittled hickory wood whistle. “Here, take it, give it Laina, she might use it as an emergency whistle.”
Artemis held the whistle in her fingers, as Satan dissolved into the late afternoon air. She held the whistle in her hand certain it was a sign from the Evil One. She thought about her mission, and she was starting to focus on how to clean up the mess she was sent to clean up.

End. Chapter 18.

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Amanita – Chapter 17

17

“Ms. Lamb?”
“Yes,” Artemis said into her smartphone. She placed the phone on her nightstand, using the speakerphone function. She wiped away morning haze from her eyes. “I can hear you.”
“This is Dr. Langendorpher,” she said. “Only reason we are talking is Wylie, understand?”
“Of course,” Artemis said. She coughed. She picked up the smartphone after plugging in her earpiece. “I have you off speakerphone, sorry, I just woke from a nap, rough night, working a bit late.”
“Try pulling an ER shift in your seventies,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Your odd friends, Alan and Mikey brought a child over to my practice, are you her parent or guardian?”
“No,” Artemis said. “She’s the child from my deceased boyfriend. Her mother recently passed. I’m trying to find her next of kin, but, in meantime, I’m just trying to help her out, that’s all. I doubt she’s ever had a health checkup.”
“Well, I can lose my license, you understand?” Dr. Langendorpher asked. “I trust Wylie. He said you can be trusted, we understand each other?”
“Yes,” Artemis said. She understood what Dr. Langendorpher was asking. “I’m just looking to help her out, and how should I say this, just looking for your expert opinion. It’s what Wylie and I do, investigate medical malpractice cases, right?”
There was silence for a few seconds on the other end of the smartphones cellular connection.
“We understand each other, I’m not accepting her into my practice, but only for a expert evaluation,” Dr. Langendorpher said. Artemis heard her sigh. “She’s precious child, I’ll never turn my back on a child in need.”
“Of course,” Artemis said. “I feel the same.”
“Ms. Lamb, the girl has been abused, she’s a mess,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Where do I start?”
“I had a sick feeling,” Artemis said.
“Your instincts were correct,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “She’s got a wearable device tapped on her back, between her shoulder blades in a spot she’d never touch. Who ever did it knew exactly where to place it.”
Artemis tightly gripped her smartphone, she stood up and walked over toward the hotel room’s windows.
“I’m not sure I fully understand,” Artemis said. “But I have a sick feeling you do.”
“Someone’s monitoring her,” Dr. Langendorpher said, flatly. “Tracking her movements, her vital signs. After I found the wearable, I didn’t remove it. But then I got curious and scanned her from head to toe.”
“What else?” Artemis said. Her lungs puffed odd shaped condensation blobs against the cold window. “Wearable’s are to easy, what else?”
“Her right hand, between the thumb and forefinger,” Dr. Langendorpher said. Artemis thought the doctor sounded passionate, angry like she wanted to punch someone. “Implanted microchip, just under the first Dorsal Interosseous Muscle, someone knows where she is at all times. Like she’s a little lab rat. I’ve never seen a real one, only read about them, just a disgusting part of science.”
Artemis stared through the windows and noticed her perplexed reflection gazing back at her. It was as if she were a living image of herself trapped inside the smoked glass.
“Her lungs?” Artemis asked.
“Interesting,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “You’re a few steps ahead of me, why did you ask that?”
“I discovered where Laina was sleeping inside the hospital,” Artemis said. She slowed down to consider her words.
“Go on,” Dr. Langendorpher said, demandingly.
“Hospital has a dark room where they grow mushrooms, fungus, it’s temperature controlled,” Artemis said. “Ah, for clinical research, new drugs. Something about penicillin, antibiotics. I don’t understand the entire science, it makes sense to me long term, they say its a safe place to sleep.”
“Not sure I agree,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “I don’t need to see it, Laina’s lungs are coated with spores, she has been infested with fungi.”
“Obviously, this is terrible,” Artemis said. She shifted to turn toward her workstation inside her hotel room. “I’ll send you cash, from the company.”
“No,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Send me a file, I’ll invoice you all, I want it kept above board.”
“Better idea, I’ll work it out then with Wylie,” Artemis said. “What’s the next steps?”
“I need to take tissue samples,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “I don’t need your consent.”
“Do what you can,” Artemis said.
“Good news, and I don’t even need to look at the samples under a microscope,” Dr. Langendorpher said.
“I don’t understand,” Artemis said.
“Fungi can be lethal,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “If the spores were from say, I looked it up, Amanita muscaria. The girl would have developed liver damage, and died a horrible death.”
“Can she be saved?” Artemis asked. Artemis closed her eyes, and slowly breathed out. “Just tell me.”
“I’ll manage her,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Take a breath.”
“Thank you,” Artemis said. She sat down on the edge of the hotel bed. “I’ll be back home soon, I’ll come visit you.”
“Another item to consider,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “GMOs.”
Artemis stared over at her computers. She frowned at the thoughts that were as obvious to her as breathing.
“I tried not to consider this,” Artemis said. “I guess it’s sometimes better to remain ignorant, go on.”
“Mushrooms, or better what’s making the mushrooms,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Can you get me some samples?”
“I think so,” Artemis said. “What else are you thinking?”
“I did some study,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Sweet girl’s results got me wondering, I was afraid I’d end up down a rabbit hole wasting my time, but then that internet.”
“I eat mushrooms,” Artemis said.
“You’re on to me,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Ever heard of CRISPR? I’m sure it’s an issue in your world.”
“Not yet,” Artemis said. “We’ve been monitoring the issue, but, we’ve not been presented with a case.”
“You will,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Genetic modification of food is one thing, scary if in the hands of a madman.”
“Ah, if I follow,” Artemis said. “That’s a big lift, as in, I don’t even like to think it.”
“As well,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Quietly modify the Genome, make slight genetic alterations through a food source.”
“No body, even government types,” Artemis said.
“Correct,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Would ever suspect a hospital in no where Kentucky.
“They do send me in to clean up messes,” Artemis said.
“You have a mess,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “Interesting side bar from researching Laina’s case, appears Death Cap mushrooms, read an article, Amanita phalloides, there’s an infestation happening, right under our feet.”
Artemis wrote down the words, death cap.
“I’ll check into this,” Artemis said. “Thank you.”
“I’ll manage this girl, give her some milk thistle, she’ll be fine for the most part,” Dr. Langendorpher said. “But, I’m not sure what else might be going on inside her tiny body.”
Artemis ended the smartphone conversation. She sat in front of her computer screen, and typed in CRISPR. She was provided a long string of self-service gene editing businesses. All she needed to do was swab inside her mouth, share the saliva with a hidden laboratory. And then Artemis realized her DNA would be freely available for the world to inspect and analyze in government or other data bases. She read a science paper abstract, CRISPR, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, and associated protein 9, CRISPR-Cas9, it was technology to edit genes in organisms.
“Mycelia,” Artemis said to the computer. “The largest organism in the world.”
And from beyond Artemis’ modest hotel room. She heard the whispered words from Satan.
“Now you’re thinking,” Satan said. “The Devil’s always found in the tiny, genetic details.”
Artemis got up and walked over to the hotel room windows. She watched the wondering spirits searching for answers. And wondered what had she stumbled into in little Selene, Kentucky.

End. Chapter 17.

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Amanita – Chapter 16

16

“I don’t think so, better, I know so- not goin’ to happen…“
“It’s of utmost importance, if you please sir,” Agent Beaky said. He leaned forward across the grocery store counter over toward Virgil. He was wearing mountain hiking clothes, with modern light weight boots. “Again, if you please?”
“I ain’t goin’ up there,” Virgil said. He wiped his mouth with the back of his thick, hairy hand. “It’s dangerous, take a two handle just to build up the nerve.”
“Pardon?” Agent Beaky asked. He turned to look back at Artemis. “Two what?”
“Bourbon bottle, I think,” Artemis said. She shrugged back over at Agent Beaky. She then stared at Virgil. “Really?”
“She’s got it, right, that’s right,” Virgil said. He pointed over at Artemis. “I’d need to drank for a week, them people are crazed, you here me?”
“I do,” Artemis said. “But I think they killed a little girl, about Laina’s age.”
Virgil stood up, and closely stared over at Artemis. He poked his tongue down into the gap between his front bottom teeth and his jaw line where back in his youth he’d stuffed Red Man chewing tobacco, or dipped Skoal from a tin can.
“I ain’t got none,” Virgil said. He coughed to clear his throat. “But I recon I’d step in front of a bullet to protect a child, it ain’t right, you don’t pick at kids.”
“They murdered a little girl,” Artemis said. “Her name was, Lilly Ann.”
Agent Beaky leaned back, his hands to his sides. He turned to closely observe Artemis like any good detective who possessed ears.
“Pardon, me lady,” Agent Beaky said. He kept his gaze at Artemis. “How might you know this?”
Artemis avoided eye contact with Agent Beaky. She hated the idea of being untruthful, but she also held her gift as her one lifetime secret. She fumbled with a potato chip bag, and rearranged the grocery display candy shelf. She realized she had gotten sloppy with her thinking, with her emotions.
“Word on the street,” Artemis said. She pursed her lips. “You know how it works, I just overheard people talking, at the hospital. Picked up the name there, perhaps you can investigate the name?”
“Ah, I see,” Agent Beaky said. He opened a notepad, and scribbled on the paper. “I’ll do that, straight away, name again?”
“Lilly Ann,” Artemis said. She stuttered a muffled last name. “I’m not exact with the last name. Just heard nurses, I think it was the nurses gossiping, you know.”
“Right then,” Agent Beaky said. He snapped shut the notepad. “I’ll not look away.”
Artemis was certain Agent Beaky did not accept her response. She was confident Virgil knew of the girl, it was his clenched jaw, his narrowed eyesight that told his story. And Virgil was hip to Artemis’ cryptic response, he just kept quiet with his fingers on the counter top.
“I guess we’ll all be packing?” Virgil asked as he pulled out from under the check out countertop a heavy, well-used snubnosed .38 revolver. “This might slow one down, doubt it’ll do any killin’.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Agent Beaky said.
“You ever been up in these hills, alone?” Virgil asked Agent Beaky. He picked up the revolver pointing the barrel upwards toward the tiled ceiling. “This will only get you a head start.”
Agent Beaky opened his jacket to reveal his weapons.
“Very well, understand, I assume you’re permitted?” Agent Beaky said. He looked at Virgil, and back over at Artemis. “If you can take us there, I’ll be well prepared to deal with them, if need be.”
“Let’s go, I’m packing as well,” Artemis said. She huffed, and released the potato chip bag stuffing it back into the display. “It’ll get dark soon, I don’t want to get lost out there.”
“Not goin’ to happen,” Virgil said. He pulled up the grocery counter. “I never get lost up in the hills, this is my home. I could crawl home in darkness.”
#
Artemis, Agent Beaky and Virgil had trudged up into the gradual climb into the Appalachian hills. It was a dense thicket, with kudzu and during the coming springtime it would bloom into a greenish fairy forest.
“I can’t believe you got me out here,” Virgil said. He gripped a high beam flashlight.
“It’ll be all right,” Artemis said. As she stepped forward up the hillside. “You view everything based on bourbon?”
“It helps me manage my stress,” Virgil said. He coughed. “You should try it, next thing you know it’s the next morning.”
“No thanks,” Artemis said. “You smell something?”
“Yeah,” Agent Beaky said. He sniffed. “Like smoke from a fire, looks like about couple hundred yards up ahead, see, it’s glowing just above the crest of the hill?”
“Yes I do,” Artemis said. “Think we can get closer?”
“Let’s just keep it slow, and real quiet like,” Virgil said. He knelt down on one knee onto a limestone rock outcropping. He scanned the area like a hunting dog. “They been known to have big boys roamin’, lookin’ for interlopers like us. They get all wacky about their meetings from what I hear.”
“Sorry?” Agent Beaky asked Virgil.
“Security detail,” Artemis said. “Let’s keep it slow.”
“Very well,” Agent Beaky said. He help up his hand. “Wait. If we get separated, what’s the plan?”
Virgil scratched his unshaven chin.
“Run back to the grocery,” Virgil said. He pointed down the hill. “Run to the road, turn left and you’ll find it, it’s maybe half mile, maybe less.”
“Very well,” Agent Beaky said. “Artemis?”
“I got it,” Artemis said. “Let’s do this.”
Virgil turned and continued to saunter up the traversing old, bare dirt path that was carved from a time when the area was inhabited by Scot Irish coal miners, and gold prospectors. It weaved between ancient oaks, birch trees, and jagged blue gray limestone out cropping. The forest floor was eternally moist and smelled earthy and dank and bore grass shoots wherever nature allowed. The tall trees and barrel chested rocks where partially blanketed with greenish moss, mushrooms, and ferns with flowers interspersed where sunlight rays provided just enough warmth and photosynthesis to defy winters late season grip.
“Here that?” Virgil said. He wiped his sweating face with his Carhartt coat sleeve. “Sounds like a party or something, but it ain’t a party, I’ll guarantee.”
Agent Beaky crawled facedown past Virgil, and made it to the crest of the hillside. He hid behind a sturdy oak tree trunk. He pulled from his coat pocket a small binoculars, and squinted through the eyeholes. For a few moments he inspected the area through the looking glasses.
“They’ve gathered near a large tree, maybe twenty or so,” Agent Beaky said. He waved Virgil and Artemis forward. “Just look forward, they’re not far, limit your movement, keep hidden.”
“What’s that,” Virgil said as he pointed forward.
Beneath the massive tree a partially naked young woman appeared escorting a pure whited furred lamb. The lamb seemed oblivious to its situation fixated on the sparking fire.
“A lamb?” Artemis said, curiously.
“That’s one giant tulip poplar,” Virgil said. “Bet its close to hundred feet high.”
“What do you guess,” Agent Beaky said. “Twenty five, thirty foot diameter?”
“I’d say,” Virgil said.
“It’s not the tree,” Artemis said. She huffed as she gripped her hands into the dark, moist soil. “It’s the mushrooms, look around the tree, they are everywhere.”
And from another universe hidden from human existence Artemis heard a playful whisper. “Artemis, Artemis… I can see you Artemis… look for me, down near The Profit Higgs Boson, see me, holding a torch. This dude thinks he’s a god.”
Artemis glanced over at Virgil, he seemed focused on the scene down near the tree. Agent Beaky appeared to ignore them. But that voice whispered again.
“Artemis, remember what I told you? What did I tell you… Artemis … Artemis … say it.”
Artemis squinted her eyes, and scanned near the tree. A man only wearing a white ritual robe poked the torch he was holding upwards, thrusting again, and again as if to draw her attention. She then knew it was Satan.
“They are going to sacrifice a lamb,” Virgil said. “Big dudes got a fancy lookin’ knife.”
“I know,” Artemis said. She stared down behind her at the forest floor. She wondered if the worms remained hidden through winter, and emerged from the soil during springtime. She wanted to hide with them, but it would have been pointless. “They know I’m nearby.”
“Pardon?” Agent Beaky asked. “How might that be?”
“Don’t eat the mushrooms,” Artemis said. She shut her eyes remembering the Lilly Ann. “Don’t eat the mushrooms.”
And Artemis heard Satan’s laugh. “Good girl. Those two cannot hear me, it’s just you and me, what a great show I have for you to see. This humanoid thinks he’s a god, Profit Higgs Boson, it’ll be a hateful day he dies, and really meets me.”
The lamb was lead before the big man wearing a demonic long horned goat mask. He was dressed in a similar white robe, but it had a golden sash. He held forward a small bowl as dutiful followers picked the forest floor for mushrooms, and placed them inside, and then backed away into their pre-determined positions. The lamb casually sniffed, it looked up at the large man with its innocent black eyes, and then bit at the brown grass.
“A knife, exactly right,” Agent Beaky said. He methodically refocused the binocular lens. He grunted. “That’s a Kris, it’s quite decorative, the blade was made wavy on purpose, it’s for rituals. I suspect it’s about to be used. If you have never experienced this sort of practice, feel free to turn away.”
“They know I’m here,” Artemis said, ruefully. “They’re going to put on a show for me.”
“How you know that?” Agent Beaky asked. He did not stop observing the scene from his binoculars.
“Oh, it’s a hunch,” Artemis said. She sighed. “That’s all, maybe my brain is playing tricks on me.”
“Might you be a clairvoyant?” Agent Beaky asked, curiously.
“Ah, now what ya callin’ her?” Virgil asked. He stared back and forth at Agent Beaky and then Artemis. “Never heard about a family up here named that.”
“A bit,” Artemis said. Her gaze locked on the doomed lamb. “Just instincts, the hospital, it’s part of this. It has to be, my stomach is in nots.”
Artemis, Agent Beaky and Virgil kept down low, and close together. They watched as the large man sang what was likely a satanic chant, or some form of demonic worship. The symbols were all there in front of them. Artemis was the only human aware that Satan was really in their midst.
“Show time for the lamb,” Agent Beaky said. He looked over at Virgil and then back over at Artemis. “Turn your heads, if need be, I’m required to develop evidence, its my job.”
Artemis heard the lamb baaing as if a child was poorly blowing through a plastic flute in music class. The lamb was tugged over toward a bowl full of mushrooms. It carefully sniffed the fungi. It started to nipple the mushrooms.
“Don’t eat the mushrooms,” Artemis said in a whisper. “Oh, god, don’t eat them.”
“Well,” Virgil said. “That’s weird, I thought they’d have don’t something worse.”
“Wait for it,” Agent Beaky said. “They are all watching the lamb, they took it off the leash, letting it roam among them, very strange indeed.”
“Jokes on that lamb,” Virgil said. “Wouldn’t mind getting walked around by a rope with some them honey’s, lands sake.”
“Focus,” Artemis said.
And as the lamb seemed to enjoy its freedom, it began to wobble, and it squealed as if questioning the humans for what they had just fed it. It wobbled like a drunken Halloween guest, until it finally flopped onto the ground, writhing in tremors and then just as quickly, it stopped. It was dead still.
“Those mushrooms, that only took a few minutes,” Agent Beaky said. He squeezed off some photo from his smartphone. “This group is up to something bad. I’ll need more evidence.”
“You all notice something weird,” Virgil said. He coughed. “Now that apes got that fancy knife back out.”
Artemis heard the whisper float over from Satan. “Artemis, this is so wicked, but, you must wait for it, it’s about to get better, and better. And these women cannot wait take me, the lamb sets them on fire, you’ll see.”
The large man wearing the demonic mask started to take the Kris dagger and he ritually carved the dead lamb into bloody chunks with random sized pieces. The group members were then served the pieces into small bowls. The members then started to scatter the bloody meat and bones around the base of the tall tree in a crisscrossed pattern and then in a larger and larger circle until the animals remains were gone. But for the severed head that was placed next to the tulip poplar trunk.
“Why are they stepping away from the tree?” Artemis asked. “This is so weird.”
“Notice,” Agent Beaky said. “They all seem to understand their role, this ritual is not random.”
The trio remained hidden behind tree trunks and evergreen bushes, but a hush descended over them as if their collective instincts had formed into a singular understanding that something unexplainable was about to happen, as if something almost supernatural. The only sounds from below were the crackling fire, and the soft breeze nudging the tree limbs. The demonic worshiping group was now holding hands in a large circle around the Yellow Poplar, but instead of looking up at the beautiful tree, they were all staring down at the ground. And after a few moments, the earth’s soil began to shift beneath their feet.
“Ah, what’s that there doin’?” Virgil asked. “That ain’t normal like, never seen this.”
“Ground is cracking open,” Agent Beaky said. He started to now video tape the scene using his smartphone. “Artemis, if you have your smartphone, perhaps you can video as well? Always good for a backup.”
“I’m with you,” Artemis said.
Artemis pressed her thumb against the smartphone icon, as she videoed the scene. Before the group long fishers opened the rich soil to reveal beneath them a white skeleton like network that sucked the animals flesh and bone down into the crevices. And then the earth healed over the openings until it had completely digested the lamb including the severed head. And tiny mushrooms began to appear just sprouting around the tree, as if pushed up from a hidden world beneath.
“There are things you see in life,” Virgil said. He covered his eyes with his hands. “You can’t forget, but wish you hadn’t seen, geez.”
“I did make me warnings to you,” Agent Beaky said. He grunted, and blew a whoosh from his lungs and out his open mouth. “Let’s move along before they notice us.”
“Great idea,” Artemis said. “I don’t understand what just happened, that tree, or it’s roots ate the lamb?”
“Artemis,” Satan whispered. “Don’t leave, maybe you should join us, come enjoy our celebration. The new mushrooms will take you on a magical trip, I promise.”
“Just give it second,” Artemis said. She stopped moving, and she started to take another video. “I have a hunch.”
“Very well,” Agent Beaky said. He remained resolute and focused on the scene. “
“Ah, them girls all got naked, like, now,” Virgil said.
And then the young women were debased and used by the men into performing debauchers acts. The large man chose his partners first, and the others followed his lead. The woman appeared to happily comply, induced from mushroom consumption. Artemis shook her head, and she turned away.
“Lust, not greed,” Artemis said. “Let’s go, that’s disgusting, nothing more to see.”
“Indeed, typical carnal activity,” Agent Beaky said. He and Artemis started to crawl away from their vantage point. It was pointless to remain watching human degradation, but they stopped and realized Virgil was still observing the show. “Virgil?”
“Wha?” Virgil said. He appeared glassy eyed. “Sorry, I’ll stay if need be, just investigating things, right?”
“Come, or you’ll go blind,” Artemis said. “Besides, you need to get us out of here, right?”
“Ah, yeah,” Virgil said. He pushed back and down, and along the leaves and dirt. “Good idea, I guess, I was just a bit hypnotized.”
And from over the hillside, Satan whispered again to Artemis. “Oh don’t leave now, the fun is just beginning. But you got it right, my second favorite, lust. Oh, these humans do like lust. And these girls are just getting warmed up for me.”
“Please leave me alone,” Artemis said. She wiped sweat from her eyebrows. “You’re not real.”
“Pardon?” Agent Beaky asked Artemis as they both methodically moved down the steep hillside.
“Nothing,” Artemis said. “Just talking to my self, you know, bad thoughts, negative energy.”
“Ah, after what we saw,” Agent Beaky said. “Much agreed.”
“Now Artemis,” Satan said. “To think these fools worship me, and someday when they die, I’ll remind them I don’t care.”
And Satan began to laugh, and laugh, as its laugh resonated through the trees and within the forest until Artemis made it back to the road.
“I don’t want any part of that place again,” Virgil said. He unlocked the metal grocery door, and opened it.
“Don’t worry,” Artemis said. “I’ll leave you alone. I’ll keep you posted about Laina, cool?”
“That’d be appreciated,” Virgil said.
“Ms. Lamb,” Agent Beaky said. “Let’s drive out of here, perhaps we should get back and have a moment to go over our findings?”
“Y’all go do that,” Virgil said. He shook his head and his shoulders. “I need to go find me a handle, and some ice.”

End. Chapter 16.

Amanita – Chapter 15

15

Artemis stood before Selene’s circular cemetery, where she observed the forbidding iron gates that were slowly rusting into oblivion. She searched past the bars for demonic spirits, or any other sign that Satan was nearby. But it appeared calm, still, covered within a grayish milky sub-layer. High above in an ancient oak tree a raven was perched, it watched Artemis like a sentinel from beyond.
Across the cemetery near the back gates she saw an undead young girl standing next to a granite monument. There were other lost souls moving quickly past her. The little girl just seemed to wait for Artemis to approach her.
Artemis opened the gate that creaked at its welded joints and she carefully stepped within the rings and past the arranged family plots. She walked near the massive center monument, and then on toward what appeared to as a lost little girl.
“Who are you?” Artemis asked. The girl was pale white, her eyes large black orbs. She was like a hazy hologram. She wore the clothes from her life, a frilly handmade shirt, and a long skirt.
“I don’t know,” the girl said. Her voice resonated as if she talked to Artemis from tin can connected to a sting. “I’m told to stand here, to wait for you, and then I can go on.”
Artemis backed up, and she inspected the cemetery searching for Satan that had to have been controlling the spirit girl. She was certain Satan blocked the little girl from moving on into heaven. It Satan’s last moment to torture her. It was nearby, it was the likely the solution for the girl’s odd behavior. Artemis expected the worst.
“Who?” Artemis asked. “What’s your name?”
The little girl stared over at Artemis.
“Am I dead?” The little girl asked. She pointed down at the monument. A name was chiseled into the granite and beneath the name were beginning and ending dates. Artemis kneeled down, she held her smartphone’s flashlight above the surface.
“Are you,” Artemis said. “Lilly, Lilly Ann Combs?”
The little girl blankly stared forward. She whispered.
“That’s my name,” Lilly Ann said. Her pale lips fashioned into a slight frown. “Where am I? I’m afraid.”
Artemis stood up and she stuffed the smartphone back inside her coat pocket. She wanted to hug Lilly Ann, but she knew it was not possible, it would be like trying to hug a rain mist.
“You’re in what’s called, limbo,” Artemis said. She softly breathed through her half opened mouth. “Can you see a light, a place to go? Go there, God’s waiting for you.”
A cold breeze brushed back Artemis’ red hair. The ground was hard, and frozen under her boots.
“I saw it, I think,” Lilly Ann said. She shook her head. “But then, I woke here, I’m just here, I don’t know why.”
“You are waiting for me?” Artemis asked. She instinctively reached forward over at Lilly Ann, but she touched only air as her hand passed through Lilly Ann’s image. “Why?”
“Mushrooms,” Lilly Ann said. “Don’t eat the mushrooms, I’m told to tell you, don’t eat mushrooms.”
Artemis thought about Laina. She looked down at the brown grass. She nodded back at Lilly Ann. She thought about Dr. Demetrius, and wondered what evil the man had already wrought against this community.
“Did you eat them?”
“Yes,” Lilly Ann said. “I trusted them. I trusted them.”
“Who?” Artemis asked.
“My mother, she gave them to me,” Lilly Ann said.
“Dr. Demetrius?” Artemis asked. She made herself keep her arms open, and welcoming. She resisted her urge to scream. “Did he give you all mushrooms, when?”
Lilly Ann moved her head back and forth.
“I don’t know a doctor. From the forest,” Lilly Ann said. “Profit Higgs Boson picked them for me. Before…”
Artemis stood up tall, and solider like. She sensed that a forbidding story was about to arrive. She had no reason why, but her truth seeking eyes, and subconscious yelled at her.
“I don’t want to ask you,” Artemis said. She closed her eyes, and whispered a prayer for peace, a prayer for Lilly Ann’s soul, and that if God really existed it would accept her into tranquillity.
“Ask me,” Lilly Ann said. “You have to-“
Artemis nodded over at Lilly Ann. She crossed her arms. She breathed in deeply, she held the breath, and then released it.
“How, did you, ah, die?” Artemis asked, slowly. She couldn’t stop the tears from coming, she knew the soon to arrive news was terrible. “I’m sorry, I wish I could have saved you.”
“Profit Higgs Boson,” Lilly Ann said, blankly. “My mother gave me away, she gave me to him.”
Lilly Ann’s face had accepted her fate, a fate that was now written into her eternal winds.
Artemis squeezed her face with her fingertips. She did not want to probe further, but she had to keep investigating. She realized there were other girls like Lilly Ann, and she now feared for Laina’s safety.
“What happened?”
“He took me, did stuff to me,” Lilly Ann said. Her body dangled within the air like a lost doll hanging by a rope from a tree limb. “My mother just watched, I kept begging her to save me, then he took my heart from me.”
Artemis tightly gripped her hands into fists. She stepped closer to Lilly Ann. She almost growled like a feral lynx as she instinctively leaned forward with shoulders.
“Your, heart?” Artemis asked. “What do you mean?”
Lilly Ann obediently nodded at Artemis. She pointed her right hand fingers back at her once fragile chest.
“Don’t eat the mushrooms,” Lilly Ann said. “Don’t eat the mushrooms.”
And before Artemis could ask another question, to search Lilly Ann for more clues. Lilly Ann disappeared and her spirit washed downward across the monument. And Artemis sensed she was no longer alone with Lilly Ann, and the others in limbo had all gone into hiding. She knew what was behind her.
“I did warn you,” Satan said. Artemis turned to see the handsome man from before. He was impeccably dressed as if a new suit from London’s Savile Row, with high polished dress shoes. A white handkerchief pocket square dangled like from a proper ladies man uniform. “This is not a pleasant place for you, you might be over your head.”
“Let her go,” Artemis said. She corkscrewed her boots into the ground. “Let the that little girl go on, please, ah, please.”
“She’s already gone, oh how quaint, you’re so nice,” Satan said. He waved Artemis’ questions away with the flick of its thorny long fingers. “But you’ve learned about Profit Higgs Boson. Now, to be clear, I hate Profit Higgs Boson. He does such bad things, he thinks himself a god like particle. And he worships me. And for that, after his human body dies, he’ll get to eternally burn in hell, with me laughing at him. Go figure?”
“Why do you hurt children?”
“I hate everyone,” Satan said. It rhythmically tapped its right dress shoe on the ground. “It makes my work much easier, but don’t get all squeamish on me now, you have so much more to learn. I trust you like mushrooms?”
“I don’t understand,” Artemis said. She huffed out fogs of her breath. “I can’t possibly understand you.”
Satan leaned back against a tall monument. It wistfully stared up at the raven. It waved at the bird, and the bird disappeared from the tree limb.
“It’s so obvious, mushrooms, the fungi,” Satan said. He wiggled his forefinger over at Artemis. “Without death, you have no life on earth. The fungi are everywhere, they create rot, and the food for your human body, or, make your body disappear.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Artemis asked. She was certain Satan enjoyed toying with her mind. She had given up trying to conceal her thoughts as it was pointless, and impossible.
“Clues, learn about the fifth kingdom, fungi are not plants, or animals, they are all on their own,” Satan said. It grinned, it winked at her. “You should go up into the forest, go find Profit Higgs Boson. Warning, he’s a bad man. The reason I hate him so, so much, which is a huge compliment coming from me. If I hate you, God help you.”
“It has nothing to do with the hospital,” Artemis said. “Other than making me sick to my stomach.”
“Oh, yes it does, this will only get worse,” Satan said. It smiled like a male model at a photo shoot. It pointed over at Artemis as it stepped forward. It started to step toward Lilly Ann’s grave. “Little girl gave you advice, didn’t she?”
“What?” Artemis asked. She examined the grave’s monument that Satan pointed down at.
“Don’t eat the mushrooms,” Satan said. It smacked its hands together. “Remember what I told you the first time we met. But, I decided a treat for you, someone you love?”
Artemis closed her eyes, she dropped to her knees, and she whispered a prayer. She decided she should pray more often now for guidance from God, as she thought Satan would eventually take her life. As she looked up, Benjamin floated within the night sky like a condemned prisoner next to Satan.
“Artemis,” Benjamin said from beyond. “Be careful…”
“Oh this is do delicious,” Satan said, laughingly.
Artemis reached forward only to grasp at nothing. She remained back on her knees, but she slowly leaned back, and stared up at Benjamin.
“What am I to do?” Artemis said.
“You, Laina, both in danger,” Benjamin said. His image wavered like a wave across a sandy shore. “Go home, leave this place. Take Laina.”
“How sweet, but, go on, my dead slave,” Satan said. It snapped its sharp fingers forward to reveal a cloud like puff. Within the puff appeared the image of a large man, well dressed with a scheming smirk. “Tell Artemis what I showed you.”
“He’s coming,” Benjamin said. “He is evil, please, protect Laina, he’s pure evil.”
“Good boy,” Satan said. It snapped its fingers again, and Benjamin disappeared. “I cannot resist, I hate twisting you, playing with you. It’s Dr. Demetrius’ real boss, he’s even scared of this one, oh, a hateful, greedy one. I hate him so, you’ll hate Profit Higgs Boson, he’s a bad man.”
“Why?” Artemis asked. She gripped her thighs, she huffed.
“Ambition,” Satan said. “This one’s got real ambition, you’ll see.”
Satan dissolved into black particles, and it floated away like a sinister carnival caravan into the night sky toward the three quarter moon.
“I don’t understand,” Artemis said. “Let Benjamin go…”
“You will, I’ll keep Ben nearby for now,” Satan said from beyond. “Don’t eat the mushrooms.”
Artemis gulped, she exhaled a heavy breath. She turned and methodically left the cemetery. She tightly zipped up her coat. As she walked along the concrete sidewalk past the dark homes, the stoic trees, she was confident Virgil would know where to find Profit Higgs Boson. And now, she was determined to avenge Lilly Ann’s death. She had to get back home to Laina, she needed Wylie’s help. She stood still, her mind blazed with tasks.
It was in those moments that Artemis sometimes regretted her gift, or thought of it as her curse. Her mother had always told her not to fear the truth, and now the truth was that Satan really existed. And if Satan existed, somewhere she hoped there was a peaceful, omnipotent God. A God she could not understand that allowed little girls like Lilly Ann to be abused, and ritually murdered. She wondered if God existed, what was it teaching her to use for her life’s journey. Or, worse, Artemis wondered if she had lost her mind.

End. Chapter 15.

Amanita – Chapter 14

14

“Me lady, a word?”
“What are you now Satan?” Artemis said. Artemis examined the sharp featured middle-aged man. He had active pale blue eyes, and thinning dishwater blond hair. She started to walk away knowing it would follow.
“Not sure the FBI has been described as Satan?”
“Sorry, force of habit,” Artemis said. She stopped walking and turned toward the man who stood in front of an abandoned pharmacy building made from ancient red bricks. “FBI? You sound like a Brit.”
“I’m Welsh, the names Nero Berkey, special agent, that is,” he said. He flipped open a wallet to reveal his golden badge. It appeared official. He opened his jacket to display a holstered weapon strapped to his sturdy frame. “Moved here with me father as a child, can’t quite lose the accent. I blame it upon the parents, at home, they only talk in Welsh.”
“What do you want?”
“Your client,” Agent Berkey said. He buttoned his jacket. “They are rather secretive, and highly profitable in an age when hospitals like this be closing down, why?”
“I have no idea,” Artemis said. She gripped her hips as she briefly stopped walking. “Guess you know my business, and my background?”
“It’s what we do,” Agent Berkey said. “Ex-Marine medic, you’re a tough lass, know what it’s like to get shot at.”
“I do-“
“Might we have a coffee?” Agent Berkey asked. He winked at Artemis. “If you have some time.”
“My hotels across the next block,” Artemis said. She waved him forward. “Walk with me, I know the drill.”
They started to move down the concrete sidewalk. They passed an older woman pushing a packed grocery cart. The old lady ignored them, but she also noticed them.
“You know the hospital owns your hotel?”
“I think they own the entire town,” Artemis said. “Is that a big surprise?”
“Not really, I guess,” Agent Berkey said. He held open the hotel’s smoked glass front door. They strolled past the chubby valet who Artemis acknowledged. “Ah, this will do nicely.”
“Why are bothering me?”
“Not sure I should say that right now,” Agent Berkey said as he sat down on a cushioned chair near the breakfast bar that was being cleaned by the hotel staff. “I’m just up here asking questions, listening to locals. It’s impossible to be about here without bein’ noticed.”
“I know,” Artemis said. “At least you don’t have my hair.”
“True, but I have this accent. I’m not to be trusted by them, I’m an outsider, as it were,” Agent Berkey said with a mischievous wide-toothed smile. He leaned his elbows on top of the table. “Where’s your liability claim headed? Lots of death up here, local lawyer seems well prepared.”
Artemis leaned forward, and took in a deep breath. She studied Agent Berkey’s face, his intense eyes.
“You know I’m under an NDA?”
“I suspected,” Agent Berkey said. He again winked at Artemis. “But I also suspect you don’t want to get pulled in over your head. Not a client to risk jail time, and loss of your liberty.”
“I’m not over my head,” Artemis said.
“Ha, I like your spirit,” Agent Berkey said. He pointed at Artemis. “You’re a spunky lass, almost a proper Irish girl. You’ll take it easy on me, now, so, help a boy out, what can you give me?”
Artemis understood the statement. It was a common practice to discuss cases on and off the record, or make certain comments that might lead toward the facts.
“I don’t know yet,” Artemis said. “Let’s just say, they might scare me if I were a patient.”
“Indeed,” Agent Berkey said, critically. “Thank you – what do you know about that Tree of Life, out in the woods?”
“Nothing,” Artemis said. “Old man out at a grocery mentioned weirdness – nothing else.”
“Weirdness?”
“Not sure,” Artemis said.
“Ever heard of Profit Higgs?”
“Never-”
“Apparently he has quite a following,” Agent Berkey said. “Women, men, an entire army, a cult leader, as it were. Studied about the type in academy, first time in my career to deal with a real one, rather creepy fellow.”
“So what?”
“Yeah, it gets a bit strange, if I must say,” Agent Berkey said. He hesitated. “I think it would be good to find them, observe them from a distance. I’m just not sure where, any ideas? Might you tag along, I think they are connected to the hospital, not sure why, but it’s in my bones. I never question my Welsh instincts, old school, they never failed me.”
“I’m only half Irish,” Artemis said. “My mother always told me to tell the truth, and right now, I’m not sure what to think of you, or this tree, and yes, it all sounds creepy.”
“I understand,” Agent Berkey said. He looked past Artemis at the hotel lobby being mopped and cleaned by a Hispanic girl with a long black pony tail. “I’ll put you at ease, in truth, I’m lost up here, this is an alien country for me, not like a normal city or town.”
“They are clannish, Scot Irish, they don’t like outsiders,” Artemis said. “A bit tribal in a way.”
Agent Berkey stared over at Artemis. She thought he was calculating his words.
“If you’ll help me,” Agent Berkey said. With his left hand fingers he gripped his square, unshaven chin. “I’ll return the favor, as it were?”
“I’ll play along,” Artemis said. She thought perhaps it would be a good time to visit the local cemetery. “I’ll do some work tonight.”
“Can you help me find this Tree of Life?”
Artemis sat back and crossed her arms. She watched the hotel valet scratch his plump belly as he tried to chat up the Hispanic maid. She was certain he would fail in his efforts.
“We should go visit the old man at the grocery,” Artemis said. She remembered the lost Native American and the roaming white stag. “I think I can find it, his names Virgil. Yeah, Virgil Sammons, he knows a friend, he’ll know where to go.”
“Ah, many thanks,” Agent Berkey said. He tapped on the laminated fake wood table top. “I need to find a local with knowledge. Otherwise, I’ll find myself with the troubles about me. My superiors will start to question me methods.”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Artemis said. “I think he’s a heavy drinker, likes the hard stuff.”
“Lass, I’m Welsh,” Agent Berkey said. He chuckled, he sucked in a deep breath. “I’d not trust him otherwise if he didn’t like a proper pint.”
“Give me your contact information,” Artemis said. She pulled out her smartphone, she tapped in the password. “Here, put in your number, I’ll call you in the morning. I have an idea what to do, just let me do some checking, I have my ways, my own peculiar methods.”
Agent Berkey tapped in his information, he handed the smartphone back over to Artemis.
“I’ll be waiting,” Agent Berkey said. “Till tomorrow then?”
“Fine with me,” Artemis said. “I’m an early riser, don’t sleep much, so I’ll likely be early.”
Agent Berkey stood and shook Artemis’ hand.
“I welcome working with ya,” Agent Berkey. “Until then.”
“Sure,” Artemis said. She leaned her head to the side. “Curious, why Nero?”
“Ah, not sure, really,” Nero said. “I’m not Roman, or Greek. It’s not even a family name.”
“My old man was a antiquities dealer, biblical scholar,” Artemis said. She smirked. “Some say Nero was a code for 666, from the Book of Revelations. I’m half kidding, not sure why I remember this useless facts.”
“I don’t think I’m the anti-Christ,” Nero said. He chuckled like a former smoker. “At least not today, my dearly beloved Catholic mother would have a good laugh at that one.”
“Sorry, I’m kidding with you, I tend to be sarcastic,” Artemis said. “If you were, I know someone that would rat you out.”
Agent Berkey amusingly shook his head, as he turned to walk away as if a huckster had tricked him into buying swamp land in South Florida.

End. Chapter 14.

Amanita – Chapter 13

13

It was his eyes, Artemis thought. His dark eyes penetrated, probed over at her, as if she was locked into two laser points from an assassin’s high powered weapon.
“Am I younger than you expected?”
Artemis hesitated, she looked across the conference table over at Gene Haskell. He looked hungover, and he almost foamed at the mouth. She then stared directly at Dr. Demetrius.
“Yes,” Artemis said. “But I knew that, you’re well trained, curious what attracted you to this hospital, not to be rude, but, your credentials can get you into any hospital you choose?”
“You are not nice,” Gene said. He looked away from Artemis and stared over at Dr. Demetrius.
“I finished college at sixteen,” Dr. Demetrius said. He was a large man, raven haired with an olive toned complexion. “Medical school was quite straight forward, after specialty training, I got a Ph.D for the fun of it. But, to the root of your question, I have freedom here, the governments eyes rarely waste their time out here.”
Artemis remained quiet, still, and considered the moment. She thought Dr. Demetrius enjoyed being Dr. Demetrius. She was certain that was the flaw she sought. And she sensed evil, she was certain Satan was in control of Dr. Demetrius. It was just an instinctual sensation.
“Freedom?” Artemis asked, curiously.
“Yes, freedom,” Dr. Demetrius said. He had a sinister smile that every orthodontist hoped to replicate. “To practice healing, to advance our culture. To discover.”
Gene coughed. He leaned toward Dr. Demetrius.
“She’s under an NDA,” Gene said. “But, I would advise caution, she’s not our friend.”
“Now, Gene,” Dr. Demetrius said. He held his left hand up. He had long fingers. “She’s not are friend, you mean, yet. Can we be friends, Artemis? Besides, I love your Greek name, and your red hair. Greeks don’t have red hair.”
“This is business,” Artemis said. She closed her iPad. She stuffed it into her purse. “How about you take me for a hospital tour, show the place off?”
“I’m not sure,” Gene said.
“Absolutely,” Dr. Demetrius said. He smacked his hands on the conference table. “Wonderful idea, I hate wasting time in pointless meetings. Let’s move, shall we?”
Dr. Demetrius quickly rose, and encouraged Artemis and Gene to follow behind him. Within the hospital hallways he acknowledge staff, patients and their family and friends like an all powerful emperor strolling within his domain wearing a flowing pure white lab cloak. He pointed up at certain treatment areas. He waved over toward common catheter labs, or active surgical suites. But then Dr. Demetrius walked into the obstetrics ward. He turned around like broadway showman, and faced Artemis with an expectant expression.
“This,” Dr. Demetrius said. He opened his arms wide apart. “This is where I do my best work.”
“We have adopted precision medicine,” Gene said.
“Quite, true,” Dr. Demetrius said. He pointed at Gene.
Artemis watched Dr. Demetrius, she realized he followed her gaze toward the now empty patient room where Laina’s dead mother had been forcibly kept alive.
“Not sure I understand?” Artemis asked. She made certain to stare at nothing, and ignored the nurses behind their station.
“We don’t really need to stay here,” Gene said.
“Here, in this hospital,” Dr. Demetrius said. “Life emerges within the simple walls, but I believe we have so much more, I want to show you my mushroom farm, I think you’ll be amazed.”
“Mushroom farm?” Artemis said. She crinkled her face. “What?”
“This is all confidential,” Gene said. He nudged over near Artemis. “We have a thriving campus, under Dr. Demetrius’ leadership, we are entering into an amazing array to heal the sick, protect God’s innocent ones.”
“Yes, of course,” Dr. Demetrius said, dismissively. He pointed over toward a hulking man who stood behind a thick window. “But we must wear a respirator, the mushrooms constantly bloom during the day, they calm only at night, under my control. I am careful with my darlings not to over stimuli.”
“I don’t remember any mention within the files,” Artemis said. Artemis cautiously followed Dr. Demetrius past the security guard room, Gene was behind her as they moved down a long corridor with a marble floor, and in front of a solid looking metal door that puffed open after Dr. Demetrius’ thumb print. He waved his hand across a sensor. As they stepped forward, within the room it was quiet, and calm. The only real sounds came from the HVAC system that sounded like a sleeping giant.
“What I’m about to show you,” Dr. Demetrius said. He adjusted the respirator over his face. He secured it. And then he inspected the respirator on Artemis’ face. “Emerging science, it must be protected, at all costs. Understand?”
“Yes, I have to,” Artemis said. As Dr. Demetrius pushed further forward to completely open the thick door that fully exhaled from the inside like a satisfied lover. She thought she was entering an alien world that appeared always at dusk, centered by tall space ship sized containers. “This is a strange surprise, it’s huge, like a giant warehouse, right here, who knew, it’s not in your files.”
“It’s super secret,” Gene said. “Word from Nashville.”
As Artemis entered she sensed the moderate temperature. It was as if long grey clouds blanketed the containers from the ceiling down like a dense African forest slowly dripping moisture, and sounded like a calming rain.
“We keep the room at a constant sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit,” Dr. Demetrius said. He sounded odd speaking over at Artemis from within his respirator. “That way the mushrooms continue to grow, we need these respirators from the constant spores being released from the mushrooms. That sound comes from humidification, my children need moisture, not to much, not to little – sort of a goldilocks environment, if you’ll excuse the cliché.”
“This room is massive,” Artemis said. She stepped farther forward over the terrazzo flooring. “Your children?”
“We have a large facility,” Gene said. “It’s meticulously maintained, our work is too important.”
“Our?” Dr. Demetrius said.
“Sorry, your work,” Gene said. “I know it’s your work.”
Artemis stared across the darkness at stacks and stacks of tall, square storage units. Each shelf utilized, covered in spiderweb like mesh sheets. They appeared to have blue inked written dates, times and serial numbers across the bins front.
“I don’t understand this?” Artemis asked. She stood near a sturdy round steel pole, and she looked up toward the top bin. She guessed it was twenty feet to the top. A sliding rack ladder was resting just within easy distance.
“A new world, we need new drugs,” Dr. Demetrius said. He gripped the pole. “Solid, my children are perfectly safe. Have you ever studied mycelia?”
“No,” Artemis said. “Not sure I understand this.”
“From the mushroom rot we are trying to discover a new form of penicillin, humanity is becoming resistant to antibiotics, anti-fungals,” Dr. Demetrius said. He tapped on a container. “I am pleased with my progress, it will save many unborn children. Do you know what kills more humans in epidemic proportions inside hospitals?”
“Sepsis,” Artemis said. “It’s almost impossible to sanitize a facility, just a fact.”
“True, very good,” Dr. Demetrius said. “Candida Auris, nasty superbug. I must discover how to kill it, before, humanity pays the cost. It has been hiding for thousands of years, until now, now it has started to spread, and kill.”
“Dr. Demetrius is so skilled at growing mushrooms,” Gene said. “The trucks, those trucks you were curious about, we donate the overflow, we are always giving back.”
“What’s over there?” Artemis asked. She pointed curiously at a smoked glass window.
“Nothing much,” Gene said. “Genetics lab, I have no idea what they do all day.”
“Emerging science, Artemis,” Dr. Demetrius said. “With computer power, we are drilling further into the human genome, foods, drugs, and a unknown discoveries – all from fungi, the fungi rule the world you know? They are not animals or plants. They are ten times larger than plant life.”
Artemis stood up straight as she tightly gulped. She realized this was the room Laina had described. She turned to examine the security door. She wondered how a little girl could have possibly snuck into this room, and safely slept through the night. And without a respirator, her fragile lungs, her tiny body being attacked at a microscopic level. She felt her stomach muscles tighten like she were doing her morning sit-up routine. She thought of Benjamin.
“This room is always locked?”
“For the most part,” Gene said. He looked curiously at Artemis like a spaceman examining a rock on a distant planet. He glanced over at Dr. Demetrius.
“At night, when the mushrooms calm down,” Dr. Demetrius said. He nudged closer to Artemis. “We’ll let children from lost parents sleep inside here. I think they feel safe hidden in the bins, it’s dark, and the sporing activity has greatly slowed down. It’s nothing to have any concerns. Unlike right now during their peak sporing time – that’s why we keep it locked down, not to disturb my darlings. But at night, they all rest, I let them relax. I think they like to have children nearby, calms them both.”
“We let them sneak inside,” Gene said. “After all, we have cameras everywhere, poor things have no place to go.”
Artemis was certain they were only sharing half-truths with her. She tried to hide her emotions, her thoughts.
“Well,” Dr. Demetrius said. “Let’s keep moving along.”
“You’re certain?” Artemis asked. She pointed over toward a line of empty bins. “They don’t need to have respirators on for protection.”
“Oh, I’ll sleep in here,” Dr. Demetrius said. “Sleep inside some night, you’ll see, it’s like a mist now, but at night the room is clear as a starry night sky. It’s like camping out in a forest, you’ll sleep like a baby, I promise.”
Artemis searched for the lower level bins. She wondered which one’s Laina had slept in. She was certain she needed to take her to a pediatrician as soon as possible upon her return to St. Petersburg. Above her she sensed movement, like a tiny helicopter was hovering above her.
“By the way,” Gene said. “Thank you for taking that little girl into your home, such a kindness, she has no one of family, we looked into it, just sad at that age to be an orphan.”
“Ah, great news,” Dr. Demetrius said. He clapped his hands. “We are overflowing with them, good for you. I’m sure Gene’s God would approve, right?”
“God loves them all,” Gene said. “All the little children.”
“I’m sure you believe that,” Dr. Demetrius said. He patted Gene’s shoulder like a parent treats a naïve child. “My God lives in science, and emerges in the fact crucible. Without data, without drawing facts from data, we are just wishing for discovery, in truth, accidental discovery rarely happens.”
“What’s your goal? What’s moving up there, in the bins?” Artemis asked. She waved up into the air and looked at the vast space packed with bins. “This is not just a passing fad, you’re up to something much larger.”
Dr. Demetrius pressed his hands together like a Buddhist monk at sunset.
“Artemis,” Dr. Demetrius said. “As the world evolves, we mush evolve, or get left behind. Mycelia is the largest living organism on planet earth, we are surrounded by them. It’s how they feed, they need water and nutrients to grow.”
“I would advise caution,” Gene said. He wedged between Dr. Demetrius and Artemis. “She’s not our friend.”
Dr. Demetrius backed away. He turned to walk toward the far doorway where Gene had indicated a genetic laboratory existed. He stopped and turned back toward Artemis. He pointed upward.
“Those are my drone robots,” Dr. Demetrius said. “They constantly monitor, and tend to their needs. My darlings are never alone, like the fungi out in the forests.”
“That’s amazing,” Artemis said. She watched a drone hover above large bin overgrowing with a mushroom variety. It clipped some growth, it cleared away dead plant life. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Antibiotics, drug resistant germs,” Gene said. He nodded over at Dr. Demetrius. “We, I mean, Dr. Demetrius has been working on new antibiotics, people are becoming drug resistant, need new ones, right?”
“Mushrooms all have unique gill patterns, they are mysterious, they hide beneath there true selves,” Dr. Demetrius said. He sighed. “Like our finger prints, they are so unique, so special, they fascinate me, my children need care.”
“Have you entered into clinical trials?”
“Not yet,” Gene said. He stood between Dr. Demetrius and Artemis. “We’ve made a corporate commitment, it needs time to build out the infrastructure.”
“Have a good day,” Dr. Demetrius said. He pointed his forefinger upward toward a busy drone humming above a bin. “Just remember, mushrooms are good, and evil, all at the same time. The fungi can be harnessed, you’ll see. Sometimes from death, we create new life.”

End. Chapter 13.

Amanita – Chapter 12

12

“He offered how much?”
“Twenty million, not much from the captive tower, but he knows we’ll pass on that amount,” Artemis said. She sat across from Wylie in his office. “But, I think he might get it, if he gets us into a courtroom up there, locals stick together. Maybe a lot more…”
“Not sure I agree, assuming we can get that far, likely move to change of venue,” Wylie said. He sucked in a deep drag of air from his former smoker’s mouth. “If they can prove no intent to harm, it’s a reasonable standard of care – we’ll get our experts to corroborate it – we’ll be all right, I hope. Unless our witnesses blow us up?”
“I don’t think juries like seeing innocent human beings on life support,” Artemis said. “Right?”
“I understand,” Wylie said. “But they didn’t execute a DNR before they walked into that hospital, bad on them.”
“He’s got something else,” Artemis said, flatly. “He knows twenty million for a global settlement seems like a steep number, but after it gets hashed out, not much left, he’s waiting for a bigger pay day.”
“That’s my thinking,” Wylie said. He gripped his nose with thumb and forefinger. He paused. “He knows we’ll deny him the offer, something else out there, bigger problem.”
“Trying to set us up for bad faith?” Artemis asked.
“If it’s just what you’ve seen,” Wylie said. “He’d have taken the per occurrence limits, what’s it, a million per? Twenty millions just enough to temp us, he’s smart.”
“Yeah, he’s also hooked into all the locals,” Artemis said. “Hospital takes the first million per with a ten million aggregate, we’ve reinsured past with a million buffer, towers a half billion over all the coverages. We split the liability tower, two hundred fifty million. At least we don’t have to put up with other reinsurers looking over our shoulders, all ours.”
“About ten percent of the overall liability tower?” Wylie said. He crossed his legs, he started to rock back and forth gazing past Artemis. “He’s not interested in settling, he’s waiting us out.”
“Get back up there?” Artemis said.
“For sure,” Wylie said. “Go poke around without asking for permission, find this, what’s his name?“
Wylie leaned forward, and put on his eyeglasses.
“Demetrius,” Artemis said. “A Dr. Demetrius.”
“Yes, that’s it,” Wylie said. “Never heard of a Greek doctor practicing in Appalachia.”
“They think he invented planet earth,” Artemis said. “Staff whispers his name like he’s all powerful.”
“Well, he’s likey are key witness,” Wylie said. “Figure out if he’s useful, or, if we need to hide him. I don’t need that type on the stand, or at a mediation, sinks us even if the facts say otherwise.”
“Got him lined up,” Artemis said. “Meeting with him, and the general counsel, who, by the way, I do not trust.”
“Part of the job,” Wylie said. He grunted. “They don’t need to like us, now its our money exposed.”
“I know,” Artemis said. She almost stood up, but then sat back down. “Question, you have a recommendation for a pediatrician?”
Wylie leaned forward quizzically looking up at Artemis with his hands on his desk.
“You need an OB first, got something to tell me?” Wylie said. He stared over at Artemis. “Maybe you mean a veterinarian?”
“Little girl I came across,” Artemis said. She crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling tiles. “I know, I know, but I couldn’t just leave her to the streets. She’s with me, until I can find next of kin and the like.”
“You know,” Wylie said. He pulled open his middle desk drawer, he picked a leather folder from the paper mayhem. “Most people do that at animal shelters, reason I don’t go inside them. I’d take the entire inventory.”
“I know, it’s stupid, she’s about seven or so, I think,” Artemis said. “I need her checked out, I don’t have any custody. But, you know, I just want to help her out before she ends up in the system. Make sure she’s as healthy as possible, kid needs a break. You know, get her a full physical, bet she’s never been treated, and all.”
Wylie dabbed his forefinger and thumb as he turned the pages for his old school expert witness catalog.
“I know who’ll help you, keep it quiet,” Wylie said. He turned the folder around and pushed it toward Artemis. “Take her to Dr. Langendorpher, I’ll call her. Good physician, knows how to keep things quiet, and for the right reasons, you know?”
“You know I do,” Artemis said. She snapped a photo of the contact information with her smartphone. “Thanks Wylie, I appreciate you sharing.”
“Thirty years in this business should be worth something,” Wylie said. He snapped the folder closed, and stuffed it back inside the desk drawer. “Where is she?”
Artemis opened her purse, and dropped her smartphone inside.
“With Alan over at The Moon, I don’t want to deal with a daycare, like I know anything, they’ll turn me in,” Artemis said. She shrugged. “He’s ex-military, he’ll look after her, safe place for her.”
“Well, bring her in next time,” Wylie said. “I love little kids, they’re honest, they lack a filter. Wish I could have kept mine at that age.”
Artemis got up for the chair, and she hesitated at the office door.
“Wylie, she’s my dead lovers child,” Artemis said. She glossed her fingers over the door knob. “I have a responsibility to protect her, I cannot fail her, or Benjamin.”
Wylie nodded. He got up and sat on end of his office desk.
“I’ll help you,” Wylie said. “Just be careful up there.”

End. Chapter 12.