| General Fiction posted September 21, 2024 | Chapters: |
...38 39 -40- 41... 
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Progress and end-of-year party
A chapter in the book DUEL with the DEVIL
DUEL with the DEVIL - Chapter 40
by Jim Wile
| Background A brilliant young chemist creates a new painkilling drug with unknown benefits and pitfalls. |
Recap of Chapter 39: Brian performs animal testing with Dipraxa, which proves to be quite successful. Fran and Mike, who are now married, pay Brian and Julia a visit. Mike is actually a Homeland Security agent (not a utility lineman, which was a cover story), and Fran is now an FBI field agent. She and Brian discuss his new drug, and he reveals to her that he is planning to test it on himself with Julia’s full knowledge.
Julia tells them the story of how she came to enjoy bluegrass music and joined a local bluegrass band for fun. She has also been learning to play the banjo.
Chapter 40
September 2021
My human trials began by administering Dipraxa to myself. I kept meticulous notes in a daily journal, recording my experience taking it. I would have to include this in the Investigational New Drug application to the FDA.
I was able to pack the chemical—a white powder—into hard gelatin capsules with 100 mg in each. The starting dose for testing would be 200 mg per day. I didn’t expect to see any improvement for at least a week due to the nature of the targeting mechanism. In simple terms, my body had to train itself to allow delivery of the drug efficiently to the site of the pain.
I began to notice a slight improvement between weeks 1 and 2. The pain relief was gradual and stretched out over a three-week period, but by the end of that first month, I felt better than I had felt in the 13 years since the accident in 2008, when the pain began. It was not complete relief, but I considered that I had achieved my goal of level 1 pain, which is the mildest of the “mild” category.
I was ecstatic about the results because I didn’t feel ecstatic, if that makes any sense. I had all the pain relief I sought, but with none of the euphoria you get from the production of endorphins. The whole point was to divorce feelings of great pleasure from pain relief. The true goal was to achieve what Raffi called the opposite of pain, which was no pain, and that’s what I believe I had accomplished.
I just felt normal again. We all have minor aches and pains from time to time, and what I felt in my back now was just a minor, hardly noticeable pain. Would this last? Would I develop side effects that would preclude its use? I didn’t know yet, and that’s what testing over the next few months would be all about.
The initial dose of 200 mg per day was quite satisfactory, so I held off varying that for now. I monitored my pulse, blood pressure, and temperature every hour, weighed myself daily, kept track of my hours of sleep, and recorded all this information in a spreadsheet.
I said to Julia one day, “Have you noticed anything different about me since I’ve been taking the drug?”
“Well, there is one thing. You do seem a lot hornier. I’m not complaining, mind you, but do you realize we’ve made love every day this last week? That’s quite a bit higher than our previous frequency. It’s probably because you’re in less pain and feel better.”
“Hmm. That sort of raises the chicken or egg type question. Do I feel better because we’re having more sex, or are we having more sex because I feel better?”
“Seems like the only way to test that is to quit having sex and see if you still feel better.”
“Well, that’s a bummer, but I think you’re probably right. Okay, no more sex for at least a week,” I said.
“Hey, speak for yourself. Just because you stop doesn’t mean I have to.”
“What are you going to do? Go find a lover to take my place?”
“How do you know I don’t already have one?”
“I guess I don’t. Is he any good?”
“What makes you think it’s a he?”
“Well, you’ve got me there. Is she any good then?”
“Mm, not as good as you.”
“Maybe I could show her a few things.”
“Ooo, a menage a trois, huh? Sounds kinky.”
As fun as that exchange with Julia was, she had made a fair point, and I decided to hold off having sex for a week. I’m pleased to report that my back still felt great after the week was over.
Most businesses had reopened by now as the pandemic was winding down. Julia also began preparing to go on tour again. In fact, because she had been off for so long, she was planning a two-month tour of 20 cities, both national and international. She had missed it, and the music world had missed her. She would be leaving right after the new year.
During the final week of the year, we threw a combined Christmas, New Year, and going-away party. We invited Fran and Mike and also Willy Stubblefield and his wife Shannon. Julia had begun practicing with The Clark Creek Drifters, who had welcomed her into the band, and she’d become quite friendly with Willy, who played guitar and was the lead singer, and Shannon, who played the drums. Julia played both fiddle and sometimes banjo along with the other regular banjo player, who was teaching her to play. Willy had brought his guitar to the party, planning on playing a few numbers with Julia.
The highlight was one they had practiced together called “Dueling Jingle Bells,” which was a takeoff on “Dueling Banjos” made popular by the movie Deliverance. It was very amusing. In the short time Julia had been learning the banjo, she had progressed well and could hold her own in the “duel” with Willy.
Of course, everyone wanted to hear and play “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” so Julia brought out her fiddle for that. Shannon Stubblefield had a pair of drumsticks out in her pickup truck and got those, while I found some pots and pans for her to use as drums to beat on. I did the vocals, and Fran and Mike just sat back and clapped their hands to the music.
Following that, Julia played a violin solo for us—the always popular Eine Kleine Nachtmusik first movement by Mozart. Then she finished out the program with a medley of Christmas carols she had put together.
It was a fun evening but ended on a sad note. Fran and Mike announced that they were both leaving on missions in a few days but could tell us neither where they were going nor for how long. And, of course, Julia was leaving for a two-month tour in three days’ time. I would be on my own for a while without my favorite people. Perhaps that was for the best, though, because it would afford me the time to fully concentrate on the last bit of testing on myself.
I still needed to test different doses of the drug, something I’d put off doing but could no longer wait on. I had found that the dosage regimen mattered little—two capsules per day taken at any time, together or singly. I had no desire to mess with the quantity because the results I desired were already achieved with 200 mg per day. Why mess with success? But I knew I probably should.
Fran and Mike had left on their respective missions, and we’d finally reached the day Julia was to leave on her tour. She would be flying on an early morning flight to St. Louis, so we arose at 4:00 AM to get ready. This was very early for me, so I stumbled through my regular routine upon waking. Following a quick breakfast, we packed all of Julia’s luggage into our SUV and headed to the airport.
I pulled up to the curbside check in area, and we said goodbye in the car. “I’ve gotten so used to having you around, that your not being here is going to feel strange now, Sweetie,” I said to her.
“I know, Babe. Now that it comes right down to it, I’m a little hesitant to go. I love my career, but I’ve loved being at home with you too. And even joining that bluegrass band has been really fun for me. Kinda makes me wonder how much longer I’m going to want to keep touring.”
“Maybe two months apart this time will give you some perspective. Who knows? This will be the longest we’ve ever been apart since our undergrad years. Far longer than any tour you’ve been on before. I’m going to take advantage of this time apart and put a real push on my work. By the time you return, I hope to have completed all testing and have my application in to the FDA for the Phase 1 trials to begin.”
“I know you’ll do a thorough job and get a lot done.” She paused, and surprisingly, tears began to flow down her face.
Seeing her like that made my throat tighten. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. All of a sudden, I’m having trouble with this. It’s a feeling I’ve never really had before on leaving. It just seems like… I don’t know, something is going to change this time. It’s not a good feeling.”
I pulled her closer and kissed her. “It’ll be fine. We’ll both be so busy; the time will fly by. Besides, we’ve got our laptops and Skype, so we’ll see each other often.”
“I know you’re right. I’m just being silly. Okay, I guess it’s time to go. I love you so much.”
I wiped a tear from her eye. “I love you so much. Call me when you get there and get settled in your hotel room.”
“I will.”
We kissed then—a soft, sweet kiss—then we exited the car and got her checked in. One final kiss, and she was off.
 Recognized |
Brian Kendrick: The narrator of the story. At the beginning of the story, he is 12 years old and in 6th grade in Kernersville, North Carolina. The story traces his life into his 30s.
Julia Kendrick: Brian's wife whom he met at rehab when they were 16. She becomes a premier violinist.
Francine (Fran) Kendrick: Brian's older sister. She is 18 at the beginning of the story and goes to junior college, where she studies law enforcement.
Rafael Ortiz (Raffi): Youth therapy group leader at the rehab facility.
Robert Entwistle: Julia's father.
Dr. Marie Schmidt: Julia's mother.
Mike Pekarsky: Fran's boyfriend who she met on her Caribbean cruise.
Daniel Molebatsi: Brian's undergrad college roommate. He is from Botswana and is a business major.
Dr. Paul Rieke: Brian's organic chemistry professor.
Kimiko Yamada (Kimi): Brian's organic chemistry lab partner. She is from Japan and also resides in his and Daniel's dorm.
Willy Stubblefield: The leader of the Clark Creek Drifters bluegrass band that Julia joins.
Shannon Stubblefield: Willy's wife and the drummer of the Clark Creek Drifters.
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