Ghost Detectives B. 02: Virus 26-Final

Chapter Twenty-Six

That evening, James was resting, watching the news channel when Carolyn and John walked through the door. He felt more himself, his bruising fading fast. After giving James an injection which would hopefully kill off the tardigrades, they sat together to discuss what had happened and what would be their next move.

"How much of the vaccine and antidote do we have so I can take it through?"

"Hold a moment. You're in no fit state to go anywhere and until you are clear and a lot stronger you stay here."

"I don't mean immediately. Come on love, the other side is sinking or it was the last time I was there and it could only have gotten worse."

"You are lucky to be alive, and may still have the virus inside you. So, until we are sure, you are staying here; besides, what if you are a carrier? You could pass the virus on to others and kill thousands." He had passed clear and he had repeated the test twice more but she knew the virus could stay hidden and inactive in the testicles for quite a while and re-emerge without warning.

What she said jolted him into a reality he hadn't contemplated. "I'll be up in my room," and he walked out.

"He's annoyed. I didn't mean to upset him."

"Not annoyed, worried after you said he could be a carrier; add concern for the people the other side and you have a very worried person."

"I'll go and talk with him."

"Leave him for a while but you need to answer his question about taking through the antidote and vaccine, you just ignored him."

"I didn't mean to. I'm just so worried about him." She went to his room and lightly tapped on the door.

He opened it and stood in the doorway. "You could have walked in without knocking." He moved from the door keeping his distance. Tears were in her eyes as she moved towards him and opened her arms making to hug him. He quickly pulled himself away and moved towards the window. "Get back, I could still carry the virus."

She stood back from him. "Love, please, I didn't mean to sound sharp. I get paralysed with worry. I thought I lost you. You are clear, I was just making a point that the virus can stay dormant in the testicles for a year or more."

"I know you are worried for me, and I feel the same way towards you and worry about passing the virus over. You were there every second for me. I just need to be sure I'm not a danger to you and John. The three of us have been through hell and back the last few weeks and the pressure is showing on us. You more than myself. I was unconscious most of the time while you were the one nursing me wondering if I'd get through the ordeal. I want to hold and love you but we must be sure," his eyes filled with tears. "I should be the one apologising and thanking you. I'm here and alive because of you. Let's take it one day at a time. I was foolish to even mention going into the other dimension until my strength returns. You have a right to be annoyed at my foolishness. You need to rest. I'll see you in the morning and to be sure I'll have sperm, saliva and faeces samples ready for you to analyse. You will have to take the blood sample."

The following day she analysed the samples proving James was clear of the Ebola virus but still showed live tardigrades in his blood but that was to be expected at this stage. One test was not sufficient and he would need to be retested at least a few more times over the coming weeks. Going to the other realm played on his mind. The work undertaken at the university proved successful and they were confident they had a tool to battle the virus and protect via immunisation. She analysed several more samples from James over the coming weeks until she felt comfortable he was clear of tardigrades and other contaminants and that evening the three of them sat together over a celebratory meal with plenty of wine while avoiding the obvious of when James was going back to the other dimension.

While the Canarias proved to be a major problem for the multiple organisations involved, they had gained control of the crisis but the cost had been high. In the UK, infections were in the hundreds but because of the quick responses from the authorities acting on the warnings given, the terrorists had been thwarted virtually at every turn and most of those involved were either dead or in prison. One disturbing piece of news was that a bomb at Abisali's flat killed ten residents and one female terrorist and they realised he had gotten away.

At breakfast the following day, Carolyn mentioned how the university had been given a ten million pounds grant to carry on research into Ebola and to set up a facility to produce the vaccine and antidote for mass distribution, with further grant money promised in the future. Donald and his team had been nominated for a special award and he had become something of a celebrity.

"When I spoke with him yesterday, he wanted to mention our role in the project but I reminded him of our agreement that we are to be kept out of it and not mention our names when giving his acceptance speech or print our names in any document or report. He wasn't happy about taking full credit, but I assured him it is what we wanted and are happy to stay anonymous so he reluctantly agreed.

James now felt the time was right. "Could I have a hundred vials and the final formula to take through in the next few days?" He looked at Carolyn, "it's time."

She nodded. "I've been expecting you to say something since you've had your final all clear and wondered why you've waited. I'm fine with it, well not fine, more resigned to the situation. I'll get everything arranged over the next few days. You're still a long way off full strength and need to get plenty of rest."

Five days later, James, carrying a backpack filled with vaccine, walked into the other realm at two in the morning. Streetlights were out, rubbish piled at the side of houses waiting for collection. The moon shone bright and a crispy chilliness cut into the air. No sound was heard as he made his way to his flat. It had been a while since he was last here and he collected his mail from the mailbox, mostly junk. He poured himself a whiskey and went to turn on the television but decided to leave it and took his drink into the bedroom, undressed, drank it in one swallow and was soon asleep.

He waited until after breakfast before he turned on the television. A lot had happened since he was last here but even he wasn't prepared for the utter chaos and suffering spewing forth. The virus had spread around the world, not one country, from what he could see, had escaped. The Canarias were a write-off, no one allowed in and no one allowed out on pain of being shot. Europe was in a mess, rioting, murder and civil disobedience were commonplace. Bodies left were exposed for days until they were bundled away little more that refuse to be collected and dumped. In the UK, over half a million had been reported as victims of Ebola with a high proportion already dead. No figure of deaths had been given but he suspected the authorities to be underplaying things by trying to minimise panic but the population was not fooled. Rioting was quickly stamped upon, often with violent outcomes, using high powered water cannons. The police were not coping, the army was out in force. Public assembling of more than five people was made an offence and any gathering was immediately broken up often resulting in more violence. Shooting of looters had become an everyday occurrence and often it went unreported, a situation that would have been unheard of a few months ago.

In India, the army had opened fire on a large crowd of protesters; casualties were in the thousands creating even further unrest resulting in an escalation of violence. Some cities were abandoned by the authorities leaving the population to fend for themselves. Bodies were buried in mass graves, thrown one on top of the other and quickly covered. He'd hear one report saying that hundreds of bodies had been stacked and burnt in one giant bonfire in China. The middle east was a hotbed of unrest as different factions struggled to get the upper hand. Hard-line Muslims rose against passive Muslims, classifying them as apostates. The world had gone mad. The authorities closed churches and mosques as congregations were considered a public gathering causing yet further unrest. Food was in short supply. Many refused to work, staying inside their houses but they had little to eat. Food stores were raided and had to be protected by armed guards. Schools had not actually closed but they might well have as attendance was practically zero among pupils and teachers. With the volume of people around the world dying, a cold shiver shot through James' body. Eventually, there must be equilibrium within the two dimensions, and that would mean a large loss of life in his dimension. Only those people that would not change the timeline of history would survive.

He phoned Debra and left a message. Within the hour she replied asking where had he been as they had all but given up on him. He asked if she and Jennie could meet him as soon as possible at his flat. They arrived at two that afternoon. With what had happened over the last few months Jennie's work had consumed her, kept her mind focused on saving others and catching the perpetrators of this despicable crime, pushing her grief into the background. At first, they were cold and rather indifferent towards him for leaving it so long but after he explained he'd been an Ebola victim their attitude warmed towards him. He told them about the vaccine and antidote and they needed to contact a laboratory but to have kept him out of the frame, handing Debra the formula.

"Inject a living creature into the bloodstream?"

"It works. There are other elements in the mix and you need to purge the body afterward of the creatures. Follow what I've given you and it will work."

"I will never be able to get this accepted. It will take years to get this through the system."

"Normal no longer applies, Debra, the world is falling apart. Million are dying, we are talking of survival."

Jennie's thoughts were the same at Debra's. "How do we get this into the system and keep you out of it?"

"Within the next few months, unless law and order is re-established and the population is given hope, we'll be in anarchy and the vacuum will be filled as dog eats dog in the battle to survive. This has come about by fanatic Muslim terrorist cadres that wish to change the world into a giant caliphate and these extremists are starting to consolidate their power base. Look what is happening in Leeds, Birmingham, and Cardiff and to a lesser extent London. In some countries, whole communities are abandoned to lawlessness.

"I get the message, James."

"Do you know doctors or anyone from a research laboratory with whom we can share this information?"

"We'll be asking them to abandon all safety protocols and just take our word for it?"

He was getting frustrated with all the obstacles they were coming up with. "Better that than dying," he snapped, "I have the answer here and you argue protocols."

"I'm with you all the way. We need to get it into the system, I'm not trying to be difficult," retorted Debra.

He handed them the vaccine telling them he could get more and what had happened in his world. They sat together discussing the best way to get it into their system.

"As an aside, if you licence this, you'd be billionaires." He joked with a wry smile.

"You do it and you make the money."

"I'm to be kept out of it but first you need to get yourselves inoculated."

"You say later I need to administer a second injection to get these creatures out of my system but surely that negates the vaccine."

"No, after a few months our research tells us your body builds up a tolerance to the Ebola virus but you need to wait a while before the second injection is administered. Nothing is foolproof, but something is better than nothing and a lot more testing is needed but we don't have the time. Set up a company, get Courtney and Caroline involved and anyone else with whom you work and move it forward. I'll go back tonight and get more vials."

They'd been talking for hours and it was early evening before they left. After midnight James returned to his world and found Carolyn asleep on the settee in the library. He kissed her lightly on the forehead not intending to wake her but she opened her eyes. "I'm not sleeping. James, I get so worried when I can't contact you."

"I know love, come to bed."

They were soon asleep. The following morning James was awake first and out of the house heading towards a florist coming away with a display of pink roses. Back home he made Carolyn breakfast, placed one of the roses on the tray and carried it to their bedroom. He kissed her awake and she opened her eyes with a smile on her face. "What a wonderful way to wake to a warm kiss, a loving smile and look into the eyes of the man I love." She sat up in bed, placed a few pillows behind her back and he put the tray on her lap and went to go. "Aren't you staying?"

"I'm running you a bath. This morning I want you to do everything I tell you without question. You are my slave until midday. No questions, no asking, my submissive. Can you do that?"

"I am your slave every day and every night seven days a week, for ever and ever James. No need for me to do that, I'm already there, my love."

He smiled. "I'll call you when it's ready." James knew patience and detailed attention to his wife's sexual responses were important in bringing her to a high state of ecstasy and emotional release as opposed to physical release. Passion runs through everything in life, and he intended to distil that in his love for her and take her in a journey into a feeling of oneness, to share her spiritual essence with him. This experience he wanted them both to feel; it was not about positions, sexual performance, or orgasms, but about pure enjoyment, the enjoyment of just being. In their large bath, he created loads of bubbles, sprayed the room with essence of lavender, played relaxing music and beckoned her.

Her face lit up, "Thank..."

"Don't talk, you are under my command until midday," he emphasised. She started to get into the bath, "Stop!" Modifying his voice, "stand in front of the bath until I tell you to move." He gently caressed and massaged her shoulders and back rubbing lavender oil over her body. She tried to talk. "Shush, into the bath please," he whispered. She stepped in and stretched out her body, the water just below her neck. James removed his clothes and stepped into the bath and began to massage her feet and legs, gently rubbing them with a sponge, paying detailed attention between her toes. She tried to speak and he shushed her again, placing his finger over her mouth in emphasis. "Watch my face, always my face."

He carried on washing and caressing the rest of her body, focusing his eyes on her eyes, with a gentle caress here, a light stroke there. He sat behind her, his legs each side of her body massaging and stroking her head, face and neck using the tips of his fingers, softly touching her breasts, gently washing around her stomach and vagina. She relaxed back into his body. "Close your eyes," he whispered, blowing into her ear. She grabbed his hand and directed it toward her vagina. "No, you are not allowed. I am the master, stay relaxed. Think pleasant thoughts."

She couldn't help herself as her arousal built. "I need your fingers inside."

He blew in her ear. "No, you are mine for me to do with as I want. I say relax, you are not allowed to have an orgasm or talk. Do you understand? Nod your head, you are my slave and slaves do as they are told." She nodded her head again and snuggled against his shoulder and stayed that way practically in a trance as he carried on gently stroking her skin and tenderly whispering every minute how her beauty entranced and how much he loved her, filling her ear with his calming hypnotic voice with loving compliment following loving compliment. "You are the hedonist. I am the hedonist provider, you the receiver."

He stood, dried himself off and asked her to stand and dried her body by patting the towel over her nakedness and instructed her to go and lie on the bed face down legs apart. He followed and massaged her back and legs with lavender oil, turned her over and did the same to the rest of her body asking her to focus on his eyes while he locked his into hers. Smiling, gazing at each other in silence for several minutes, saying nothing, doing nothing, as his fingers daintily moved over her body, focusing on each other's eyes; watching, staring, feeling the love shining forth through facial expressions and eye movement. Their body movements low, slow and calm, synchronised, minds tuned, two people inexorably growing into one. They started breathing in unison. He gently rocked his body while moving hers to match his harmonious movements. Her legs opened like a flower coming into bloom exposing her vagina as if to say, come to me and drink my nectar. He held her, telling her not to move, face to face gazing into each other's eyes. He touched her head, cheeks, placed his finger into her mouth slowly moving it in and out as she deftly sucked while rounding her mouth fully around his finger making little indefinable pleasure sounds of joy.

He slowly pushed her onto her back, moved his hands to her breasts and, using the palms of his hands, touched her nipples and circled his palms around them; using his fingertips, he circled her areolas. She started to move her body to the rhythm of his hands. He moved his mouth closer to her nipples yet giving her time to absorb what he was doing and to build anticipation. Sucking on one and then the other lightly he nibbled the nipples and moved his tongue around her areolas. Always slow, always keeping tempo with her body movements, listening for sounds, concentrating on every nuance of movement as he blew his warm breath against her skin. She moved her hand between her legs and started to circle her clitoris with her finger. "No," he whispered, moving her hand away, "relax," and placed her hand around his penis. "Hold," she started to move her hand but he stopped her. "Keep your hand still," he demanded. "No movement. Concentrate on holding not on movement. You are under my control." She was going to talk but he stopped her again. He placed his ear next to her heart and listened and asked her to do the same for a few moments. "Listen to the beat."

"Hold my testicles, both hands." She submitted to his will and gently cupped his penis and testicles. She needed all her resolve to stay focused to his demands. She so wanted to feel his penis inside her mouth, to taste his sperm, to feel it inside her body, but she had to obey him and the open flower between her legs began to give up its pollen and she felt her wetness trickling away from her. "You are not allowed to climax." He placed his mouth near her vagina, puckered his lips and blew and circled his tongue upon her clitoris, down her vaginal opening, gently inserting his tongue inside, kissing her perineum moving back to her clitoris. He was magnetic, charismatic, hot, sexy, perfect in the way he'd connected with her innermost consciousness. She was in a trance experiencing a total body orgasmic experience; pleasure beyond pleasure, he had hypnotised her into an orgasmic trance as the open flower between her legs flowed its honey over his face. He lay next to her spooning her in his arms and soon he too fell into a gentle sleep.

She opened her eyes and gazed, studying his face as he dozed. No words could describe the love she felt for this man. She knew every part of his body; there was not a part of it she hadn't kissed. No man or woman came anywhere near what she experienced when with him. What he had just done with her blew her mind. His eyes opened, not speaking a word, he looked at her and smiled, cupped her body and she did the same to him; face to face simply looking at each other waiting for the other to speak both afraid to break the magic they'd just experienced. She smiled at him, a burst of energy shooting through their bodies until both had tears in their eyes.