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CLAIRE O’DELL AWOKE with a start. It took a moment to realize where they were, but the bus had long since stopped moving. She sat up, swinging her legs off the side of the bed, and checked Tracy on the other side of the mattress where she’d nested in the purple comforter.
Yawning, Claire consulted her watch, and started. She had to hurry. Orientation began in less than ten minutes.
They’d arrived at the Legacy Center a little after 10:30 that morning, only an hour and a half late for the official check in time. The complex looked more like a refurbished motel than a medical facility, but was clean and felt luxurious after so many hours bumping on the drafty bus. She’d lain down beside Tracy for only a moment to settle her, and drifted off.
Quickly she stood, donned the lanyard with her registration number and name tag, and jostled the bed to rouse her daughter. “It’s time, sweetie. Let’s go see the other kids, okay? Grooby is awake and ready to go. Shall I take Grooby and you’ll come later?” Claire held out the green and purple stuffed toy just out of reach. Tracy rubbed her eyes and strained to grab the now-shapeless dinosaur. “Ready to go? Need the potty?” Claire smiled when Tracy rolled out of bed, snatching the toy to her chest and ignoring the potty offer as she followed Claire to the door. Claire grabbed the folder with her daughter’s medical records and clutched it to her chest.
Several other parents and children filled the hall, all moving in the same direction. The adults offered tight-lipped nods of acknowledgement, identical hopeful expressions stamped on their faces even as often beautiful youngsters registered very little. Each kept a respectful distance from one another and spoke in whispers, if at all; cognizant their children were in a strange, and therefore stressful, environment.
The tide swelled as it spilled into the lobby area, and began to flow into an adjacent meeting space that held classroom-style seating. Claire urged Tracy to a nearby spot where the little girl began play with one of the pens, rolling it back and forth, back and forth. Two enormous screens hung at the front of the room, with a slide of the Rebirth Gathering logo centered on each display.
Claire saw Elaine enter with Dwayne and Lenny. She waved and stood to catch their attention, not wanting to cry out and break the taut atmosphere. Her heart thumped as they hurried to join her at the table. She and Elaine silently embraced, and Dwayne wiped his eyes and grinned. She guessed every parent in the room felt the same excited anticipation.
The lights flickered, and the soft murmurs fell silent as everyone took their seats when the room grew dark. Her stomach flip-flopped, and Claire saw Dwayne hug his wife with excitement. She wished Mike could be here, holding her hand and sharing this special time as a family. Tracy rolled the pen back and forth, finally picked it up and began drawing circles within circles within circles, cloning the window art from the bus. Claire wondered if Tracy’s fascination with circles would stay with her, after the successful treatment.
An hour later, Claire felt dazed but happy. She watched the clinic personnel escort Tracy and Lenny along with four other children out of the meeting area to a nearby examination room. The treatment sounded so simple: twice daily medication for six weeks, dosed specifically to each child’s age, weight and metabolism, monitored by home-care visits every two weeks to adjust the dosage based on individual improvement. Claire eagerly signed the authorization for the off-label protocol, and handed over Tracy’s medical records to the nurse. Not a single parent balked at the opportunity.
Claire had counted 178 children in the room. She figured the storm had prevented some of the 200 from keeping their appointment. Her heart ached for the absent parents and their missed opportunity.
The children were processed in shifts by last name. Tracy and Lenny had to wait until they reached “O” and “P” to be examined and cleared for the treatment by staff physicians. Claire felt comforted that the doctors were so careful.
“So far, none of the children have been turned away.” Elaine spoke aloud what the other parents also worried about. Claire wouldn’t be able to breathe, either, until Tracy returned and had received her first dose.
The treated children were returned to their parents in the large meeting hall, and served a light meal. The orientation explained that the medication should be taken with food to prevent upset tummies.
“Mac and cheese. Tracy loves that, thank goodness. Does Lenny like it?”
“It looks like they’ve got two or three options.” Elaine pointed to a distant table where the children were offered hot dogs or chicken nuggets. “Lenny likes chicken, so we’re okay.” She hesitated. “Did they mention the side effects? I mean, just so we could watch for them, just in case?” The presentation emphasized the importance of sticking to a strict regimen, and that side effects could occur if doses were missed or given too close together.
“No. I didn’t hear any details about side effects.” She wouldn’t have cared if the consequence was growing a tail, though. Side effects would never touch Tracy. Once she got on the medicine, Claire was determined to follow the directions to the letter, and give her child the best chance for success.
“Randolph, Ronald, Rudd, Rudd, please proceed to the exam room. After them, please have Salk, Salk, Schultz, Simmons and Sultani take your turn. We will take the Ts in three groups of three each, and then the Ws. Thanks for your patience.”
The PA system announced the children’s names as Tracy, Lenny and the other two kids were escorted back into the room. Tracy clutched Grooby, and it was all Claire could do to keep from hugging her daughter. Instead, she urged her back to the nearby table, requested the mac and cheese, and watched with a happy smile as Tracy ate. She knew not to expect any change for two or three days—the reason for staying at Legacy Center for that period—but couldn’t help thinking that Tracy already seemed calmer and more focused. Claire couldn’t wait to call Mike. Once again, she wished he was here. Lenny eagerly munched chicken nuggets while Pastor Dwayne hugged Elaine as she sobbed happy tears.
The lights in the room flickered, and general conversation died when the screens at the front of the room lit up once again. Claire frowned. Why would the presentation begin before all the children received their first treatment and were back in the room?
“What’s going on?” Elaine voiced her concern as murmurs from other parents grew louder. “That’s not part of the presentation. That’s some sort of broadcast with Skype.”
A broadcast of not particularly good quality flickered on the twin screens, and a pale face pulled back from a laptop video-cam. One of the assistants herding children in and out of the examination room stuck his head out the door, glanced at the screen and his mouth dropped open. “That’s Dr. Baumgarten. What’s going on?” He rushed to the side of the room and checked the AV connections, tapped keys on a keyboard, and suddenly the figure on the screen could be heard.
“ . . .unexpected events beyond our control, this session of the Rebirth Gathering has been suspended.”
“What?” Claire felt heat rush to her cheeks. “What’s he talking about?” Her words joined the cries of denial from other parents. “We’ve already paid for the treatment. They can’t take it away from us, not now!”
“Shush, be quiet. Let’s hear what he’s saying.” Dwayne’s pastoral voice boomed over the assembly, immediately silencing the discord.
Claire noticed the attendants had gathered in a knot, heads close together, urgent hushed discussion too quiet for any of the parents to hear.
“Again, my name is Dr. Gerald Baumgarten, and I developed the treatment that will give your children their rebirth. But as I speak, forces are at work to stop this miracle. Those who don’t understand seek to stop me, and will go to any lengths—even fabricating lies about me—to discredit this medical marvel.” He paused, his face an icy mask. “I know that it works because I myself suffered from autism the same as your children. The treatment gave me a rebirth, and it will for your children, too.” He held up a vial of bright pills. “I have instructed the attendants to dispense the medication immediately. You must be responsible for dosing your children appropriately. I cannot caution you strongly enough to follow your dosage instructions.”
Elaine covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide. She looked as shocked as Claire felt. Tracy continued to stir circles into her mac and cheese, oblivious to the growing tension.
Dr. Baumgarten continued. “My apologies that the full three-day Gathering and training isn’t possible, but we—you—must work quickly if you want your children to receive their legacy and their right to a healthy future.” He paused, and the parents in the room once more began to murmur. “I will not let you down. Never fear, I will find you, help your children to recover from their affliction. Have faith, they will be healed. And don’t let anyone’s lies persuade you to betray your child’s future. I am their only hope—and I won’t let them down! Tell the authorities nothing about me. Protecting me protects your chil—” The connection was broken.
Immediately the room erupted. Parents called to their children, attendants rushed out with trays laden with medication vials. The PA system spat to life. “In an orderly fashion, please line up according to alpha-list and wait for your name to be called. Stay calm. Your children’s medication will be dispensed per Dr. Baumgarten’s orders. You must show your identification number, to ensure each child receives the proper dosage.”
Despite the called-for order, tempers flared, and shouts and shoves grew more frequent. “Stay with Lenny.” Elaine barked the order to Dwayne, and moved to the line forming at the mouth of the exam room.
“Please watch Tracy, too.” Claire rushed after her friend. The ten minutes they waited seemed like hours, but finally they each claimed a precious vial of pills—enough for six weeks—for Tracy and Lenny. The two women hurried back to Dwayne. Claire felt like she’d run a marathon.
Dwayne’s face was gray. “What? Is Lenny okay?” Elaine immediately turned to her son, but the boy sat quietly having finished the last chicken nugget.
“It’s Dad.” Dwayne swallowed, and gestured with his cell phone. “I just got a call from the hospital.”
“Oh, no. Was he shot?” Elaine held Lenny’s pills in her fist like a talisman that could wipe out all horror. “I’ve always worried he’d end up shot. Is he okay?” She turned to Claire. “Dwayne’s dad is a cop.”
“He wasn’t shot.” Dwayne rubbed his eyes, and pulled out a chair and collapsed. “He was bitten by a dog.”
“A dog?” Claire almost smiled at the outlandishness of the situation. It sounded like the punch line to some weird joke, but Dwayne wasn’t laughing.
“He’s in the hospital and under arrest. For kidnapping.”
“What?!” Elaine gasped.
A police car, siren blaring, pulled up outside the Legacy Center. Claire carefully tucked Tracy’s precious vial of pills into her bra. Parents all around her secreted their own vials and fell silent, arms crossed and lips tight. None would risk betraying their children’s miracle.
