The Call

by Michael Yep

Frank looked down. It was hard to hear much against the sharp noises in the battlefield. Explosions surrounded the area, and bullets were whizzing from every direction. He had already partially lost his hearing during his first assault when a comrade fired a .50 BMG right beside him. However, he was able to feel the little nudge at the side of his foot. What he saw was the one thing he wished he would never have to see. Like in the movies, Frank desperately grabbed the grenade and tried to chuck it as far away as possible. It was too late.

“Where am I?” Frank called out.

“Don’t worry Private. Everything’s gonna be alright.” The medics on the helicopter couldn’t do anything more. While Frank was under anesthesia, they had bandaged the remaining portion of his right arm. The floor of the helicopter bore the unsightly color of red, and the air smelled of burnt corpses. The flight was not smooth enough to perform the needed amputation. Frank couldn’t feel the pain in his arm, but he knew something was missing from his body. Soon enough, Frank fell back into the cot and slept into friendly borders.

The phone rang. It was around seven o’ clock, so Mary decided not to answer it. Stupid telemarketers. Where do they get my phone number anyway? Mary waited by the phone, just in case the call actually mattered. The answering machine came on: “Hello. This is the Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City. We are calling to inform you that your husband, Frank Jones…”

“Hello?” Mary answered.

“Yes. Is this Mrs. Jones?”

“Yeah, is there something wrong?”

“I’m afraid your husband is here in the hospital, suffering from an accident which occurred in Iraq.”

“What happened!?”

“I am not familiar with the accident, ma’am, but his right arm has just been amputated. I suggest that you come and visit him.” Mary exploded out the front door. The drive from Philadelphia was a long two hours, but she drove fast.

Mary pulled up onto the sidewalk, ignoring all of the empty parking spaces designated for visitors. She stepped out of the car and didn’t bother to lock the doors. The hospital seemed empty. Very few lights were on, and there were only staff vehicles parked outside. As Mary rushed inside, the receptionist already knew who she was.

“Hi. Are you looking for Private Jones?” the receptionist asked.

“Yes. Where is he?”

“He’s just down the hallway in room 119.”

“Thank you.” Mary ran half way down the hall and stopped at Frank’s room. “Frank. Are you alright.”

“He’s fine,” someone replied from the corner of the room. The man was in his mid forties. His face was hard to resemble since his glasses were much too bold and created a shadow over his face. Mary squinted when she looked at him, and he did the same. His head was bald and the light on the ceiling reflected directly into Mary’s eyes. Before Mary could ask him who he was, the man spoke. “I’m Frank’s doctor. You can call me Gruel, short for Dr. Grueller. Frank’s asleep.”

Mary was not sure what to say. She was still studying the doctor’s face. She didn’t feel safe being stared at by such a mysterious person. The doctor started to stand up, and Mary hesitated to speak.

“Were you the person to, uh, were you in charge of Frank’s operation?” Mary said.

“Yes, I was. And I do have to tell you that it was a success.”

“How long has he been asleep?”

“Oh, about two hours. He won’t wake up until tomorrow.” Mary left the room feeling uncomfortable. She didn’t trust the man who just operated on her husband. She would wait until the next day to judge the doctor. In the mean time, Mary stayed at a nearby hotel and planned to visit Frank in the morning.

Mary walked into Frank’s room and was glad the doctor wasn’t there. Frank was already up eating breakfast.

“How’s your arm. I mean, how do you feel?” Mary asked.

“It feels fine. I feel like I still have an arm though. I keep on trying to grab the TV remote with my right hand.”

“You’re probably not used to it.” Dr. Grueller walked into the room. “It’s going to take a long time to get used to your new body. Well, Private Jones, it seems that your body has fully healed from the operation. You’re free to go home now.” And with that, Mary packed Frank’s things, and the two headed out the door. “Oh, one more thing. I would like you to come by next week to see how you’ve adapted to your new body. I’ll give you a call.”

The first thing Frank wanted to do outside the hospital was to stop at McDonald’s. “Don’t you think that food was kind of nasty?” Frank questioned.

“You mean the healthy hospital food that helped your recovery?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. I haven’t had anything greasy for days.”

“Well, I guess one cheeseburger won’t hurt.”

Frank woke up the next morning in his comfy bed, well rested after the memorable supper of Big Macs and fries. “Is the hot water on?” Frank asked Mary.

“Yeah, why?”

“I’m gonna take a shower.”

“Well, let me help you. You can’t do everything by yourself anymore.” Mary undressed Frank and pulled him into the shower. Frank was not expecting a full service wash, but Mary was eager to help.

“You know, I could get used to this real fast,” said Frank.

The phone rang. Frank walked over to the phone and answered. “Hello?”

“Hey Frank. This is Dr. Grueller. Just wanted to know how everything’s going.”

“Everything’s fine. It’s just harder to do things with only one arm.”

“I’m sure. I was wondering what your diet has been over the last couple of days. I forgot to tell you that during your first week back at home, you shouldn’t eat anything fattening.”

“Okay, good, cause I’ve been, uh, pretty good with that sort of stuff.”

“That’s good to know. I don’t want to tell you what could happen if you did eat something fattening. Listen, I need you to come in and get some x-rays and talk about your recovery plan. You think you can be here at three?”

“Yeah, we’ll be there.”

On the way to the hospital, Mary drove while Frank blankly stared at the lines passing on the road. They were moving awfully fast. Frank looked up at the speedometer. It read 95 miles per hour. “Aren’t we going kind of fast, dear?” Frank asked.

“That’s the point. The faster we get there, the sooner we get back.”

“Please, please slow down. I don’t want you to kill anybody,” Frank said. “I’ve already seen enough of that.”

“Okay, okay. I’m good. Only 85 now,” Mary said.

When Frank and Mary arrived at the parking lot, Dr. Grueller greeted them outside. “Come right this way. I need to show you something.”

“What do you think he’s gonna show us?” Mary whispered to Frank.

“I don’t know,” Frank whispered back. Dr. Grueller showed the two into a section in the building they hadn’t seen before. It was a small structure hidden by the entirety of the rest of the hospital. There was a sign on the door that read “Warning: Radioactive Chemicals.”

“Is it safe in here?” Mary asked.

“It is now, because there is no activity inside. You don’t even have to wear gas masks,” remarked the doctor.

“Okay. Well that’s nice to know.” The doctor opened the door to what seemed like a laboratory. There were rows of chemicals along the sides of the walls and strange machines in the middle. There was a small table in the corner of the room with a box on it. The contents could not be seen, and there was a black cloth over it.

“I’m about to show you something that no one has ever seen before.” The doctor showed them to the box. He quickly grabbed the cloth and revealed the object.

“A mouse? You made us drive all the way from Philly for a mouse?” Mary exclaimed.

“Not just a mouse. No. This mouse happens to be very special. Do you notice anything special about this mouse?” Dr. Grueller asked.

“It’s just a regular mouse. Nothing’s wrong with it,” said Mary.

“Exactly,” agreed the doctor.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Frank

“Well, you see, Freddy here used to be a crippled mouse. He had only three legs when I first saw him.”

“What’re you trying to say?”

“We operated on Freddy using one of the newest technologies available. In fact, it has never been used on a human yet. Stem cell research.”

“They got that to work?” questioned Frank.

“Yes. We removed stem cells from a mouse fetus that would create one of its limbs and injected them into Freddy where his fourth leg would be. Would you like to become part of the experiment?” the doctor asked.

“Absolutely not! I don’t trust it,” Mary replied. “Frank does not want to grow back his arm and risk all those things that might go wrong.”

“Frank?” Dr. Grueller asked.

“Um…are there any side effects?” Frank stuttered.

“The drug is completely harmless. And it’s just a simple shot in your shoulder.”

“What about the mouse? Did anything happen to the mouse?” Mary asked.

“Absolutely nothing. It has been a month, and Freddy has shown no signs of side effects. So, are you up for it? You’ll be the world’s first man involved in this type of stem cell research.” With the doctor’s assurance, Frank considered the experiment. To Frank, life with two arms was much easier than with one.

“I think I want to do it,” Frank said.

“Great! I just need you to step over here a second, and we’ll be done real quick,” said the doctor.

A month later, Frank had gotten used to his new arm. It performed as well as his first and maybe even better. He was back to doing normal things. He even joined a basketball league at the YMCA and his arm strengthened as he practiced shooting three-pointers. Frank’s arm had healed so well, that he was considering rejoining his unit in Iraq.

“Hey, honey. What do you think about me returning to my unit in Iraq? Would you be okay with that?” Frank asked Mary.

“Nope, it’s too much of a risk. Look what happened last time,” Mary said.

“I feel pretty good about it. I mean, look how strong my arm is.”

“An arm might be able to grow back, but what if next time, your head gets blown off? What would you say to that?”

“I would say maybe I should stay home.”

“Good answer.” Frank was sure that he wanted to return to his unit. He felt strongly about serving his country, and he was now able-bodied again. Frank had to find a way to get back. It was his duty.

“I’m gonna be gone for a couple of months,” said Frank.

“What for?”

“The military wants me to go to Virginia and be part of this rehabilitation experiment.”

“That sounds interesting. But I’ve never heard of that before.”

“Yeah, it’s something new. They just started it to provide for the recent veterans like me.” Mary asked many questions about the rehabilitation center. She was hesitant about letting Frank go, but she let in after she became assured that it existed.

He left the day after next.

“We need more reinforcements!” Frank yelled to no one in particular. Back on the battlefield, things had changed. The U.S. military was no longer in the offensive position, but was surrounded by the Iraqi troops. The only air support came from the opposing side, and bombs were dropping everywhere. Frank looked around to see how many of his men were alive, and he noticed only a few. Frank’s unit could not hold out much longer and his men were considering surrender. Frank would not let that happen.

Frank’s team of now 24 comrades held their position for a mere three days. U.S. headquarters planned to send in an evacuation squad to get his men out of enemy territory. The evacuation would have to act extremely fast, as the battlefield was full of gunfire. Frank desperately hoped that the evacuation squad would come quickly. Ammunition was short.

They finally came. The helicopters formed a perimeter around the surviving men, and they quickly boarded the safe vehicles. Frank greeted the squad and hurried up onto the lead helicopter. But as Frank climbed aboard the helicopter, a bright light appeared in the distance. The light came closer and closer until…

The phone rang.