Part 2: The Not-So-Completed Project
Having completed the project, the Frith's found they had much more time on their hands for other activities now. Phineous completely engaged himself in his study of the planets and space with his new telescope.
Gaibel impatiently passed the time waiting for the effects of the serum by taking up painting. He became quite good at it, even selling a few to a local general market, which they sold to different townspeople not long after the artwork was hung in the market's home deco section.
One night, Gaibel awoke to find himself alone in bed. Thinking that Phineous had merely went downstairs for a drink of water, he fell back to sleep.
But it continued to happen, Gaibel waking up in the middle of the night, alone in bed. After three nights of awaking alone in one week, and Phineous's lethargic behavior around the house, Gaibel couldn't resist bringing it up. But when he questioned Phineous about his late night disappearances, Phineous was clueless.
"I must be sleep-walking," he said, yawning.
He must have fallen asleep on the couch. He remembered Gaibel asking him about leaving the bed at night, and then he just woke up and it had to be at least an hour and a half later. Maybe he should go see a doctor...
The door to the laboratory was open just a crack and Phineous could hear Gaibel inside. They hadn't been in the lab all week, not since the serum had been finished.
"Finally awake again?" Gaible asked when Phineous pushed the door open.
"Yeah. I think maybe I should go see a doctor. I can't get any rest, plus I'm apparently sleepwalking. That's not safe, and after so much time without actual rest, it can take a hard toll on the body. What are you doing in here, anyways?"
Gaibel giggled excitedly. "I wouldn't recommend going to see that doctor just yet."
"Why not?"
"It worked, Phin! It really worked! I figured that a week was long enough for it to really get into our system, and I just couldn't wait any longer, so I ran the test on myself, and it worked!"
"Gaibel, that's great!"
"Do you know what this means? I mean, really know what this means? For us, for others like us, for the world...gosh, Phin, for our bank accounts! Let's celebrate! There's a nice bottle of wine in the cabinet. Oh, but first I'll get your sample and let it run while we're pouring our drinks."
The couple once again toasted to life, love, each other, their serum, and their future while the lab machines hummed in the background, running Phineous's sample through.
Phineous awaited anxiously as Gaible studied the results in silence. "Phin, I'm sorry," he said finally.
"What - what do you mean, you're sorry?"
"Phin, it doesn't look like it worked the same for you. I mean, there is definitely something different in your test, but it doesn't look like my results. This looks...I'm not sure. Honestly, I'm almost worried. You might want to look at our samples and compare. It looks like we have more work to do in here now. I'm so sorry, Phin, but your results look like something that we didn't predict or prepare for."
After seeing his results, Phineous couldn't hide his disappointment. He retreated to the backyard, requesting to just be alone for a while. What did his results mean? Was this why he had begun sleepwalking? Was this why he was so exhausted all the time? Did his results mean something bad had happened to him afer drinking that serum? How could they have missed that such a drastic difference in effect was possible during all their tests and preparations? Had they rushed into this all too quickly? Phineous's disappointment soon faded away to an overload of questions and worry about what was happening in his body and what would end up happening to him as a result of the serum. His telescope was the only thing that seemed to bring him any comfort in the middle of his worries.
Once again that night Gaibel awoke to find Phineous not in bed with him. He reached over and felt that Phineous's side of the bed was cool, instead of warm like it should be if he had recently gotten up. Gaibel was beginning to get tired of Phineous's constant fatigue, and he was getting worried that something really might be wrong after seeing Phineous's test results.
He decided to find Phineous and bring him back to bed. The lights were all turned off downstairs. The den was empty.
As was the living room. Gaibel's thoughts that maybe Phineous couldn't sleep in bed and had come downstairs for the couch or loveseat were quickly erased. The door to the laboratory was locked, as they always kept it when they weren't working. He could out the window that both vehicles were still in the driveway.
All bathrooms were empty, as was the spare room across the hall from their bedroom. Gaibel could see the telescope from the kitchen windows, and Phineous was not with it. He was frustrated and worried and didn't know what to do. He filled a glass of water and sat at the kitchen table sipping it, listening for any noise. Forty-five minutes later, no sound had been made or heard in the Frith household.
Phineous had to force himself out of bed the next morning. He had laid down before Gaibel had even went to bed, yet it seemed like he night had gone by in a flash. Remembering that he was working the second shift at the hospital, he decided to spend some time in the laboratory doing research on his results. Minutes quickly turned into two hours without him having any luck on making a breakthrough. The results were so strange, he almost couldn't wrap his mind around them. Saving the little progress he had made, he reluctantly locked the laboratory back up and began to get ready for work.
When Gaibel got home from work, he grilled hotdogs on the back porch and waited for Phineous to get home. He knew Phineous had been stressing out first over the project, then over his odd results, but his disappearing act at nigh was becoming more frequent. Every time, Gaibel would search the house; every time he would find no clue as of where Phineous could be. Not only was he worried, but he was beginning to get angry as well. When Phineous got home from work, he headed straight out the back door toward the telescope, but Gaibel stopped him. "Phin, I think we need to talk."
"Okay. Is something wrong?" Phineous asked as he sat down next to Gaibel.
"I am trying to be understanding, and I know that you are worried about your results. But are you jealous that my results came back the way we had hoped and yours haven't?"
"Gaib, what are you talking about? That's ridiculous! If it worked on one of us,then it worked for both of us! We were in this as a team. Of course I wish it would have worked for me, too, but it didn't. It worked for you. And that's good enough for me. Why would you say something like that?"
"Phineous, where do you go at night?" When Phineous's reply was a dumbfounded stare, Gaibel continued."At night, quite often you aren't in bed when I wake up. I searched the house for you. You weren't here."
"Gaib, I am not upset that it worked for you and not me. I'm just so glad that it worked for at least one of us. I don't know what you're trying to say about me not being here at night, but I swear to you I am not going anywhere or to anyone else."
"I'm so sorry to sound like I was accusing you of something," Gaibel said, feeling hsi face flush with his embarrassment of acting so immature. Of course Phin wasn't cheating on him. That's ridiculous. Especially after the good news they had found out from his results.
The next few days were spent focused on finding information on Phineous's results. Both Phineous and Gaibel would find partial evidence and clues, but nothing that could be tied together to give them real clues. Phineous's excited voice broke the silence on the fifth night of researching.
"Oh...my...god," he said in disbelief. "This can't be true."
Phineous ran straight to the laboratory, not saying a word of explanation. "Just let me run this test through to see if I am on the right track, okay,Gaibel? Why don't you check your other tests to see how things are going."
Both of them worked furiously to run their tests through and stopped within minutes of each other.
"Oh, Phin, my results! It is such good news, Phin! It's all positive! The serum is working! What about yours?"
"Gaibel, I think I've figured it out. I think I know what's wrong with me. Why the serum didn't work, why I'm so tired all the time. Gaibel, this may even tell us where I've been at night these past few months. I still have some more tests to run and investigating to do, but Gaibel, if I'm on the right track, this is going to almost be bigger than our project or anything that we've ever dreamed of!"
