Project Osiris

“This is madness.”

“Shhhh, be quiet.”

“Quiet? You expect me to be quiet, Drew?”

“Well, yeah, Vivian, we are breaking and entering, being quiet is sort of a requirement.”

Vivian suddenly became more aware of the noises around them. She heard the crunching of grass and leaves underfoot. She picked up on an owl hooting nearby. There was an occasional car on the distant road, their wheels and engines whirring past the graveyard without a second thought. “Can’t you test your new machine on a goldfish or something first? Why do you even need a dead human body?”

Drew turned, shining the flashlight towards his sister. “Because I have to ask it questions. It’s the only way for me to find out if it’s true resurrection rather than reanimation. I don’t speak goldfish, do you?”

Shielding her eyes, Vivian sighed. “This is so wrong in a million ways. If Nanna knew what you were doing-.”

“Well she’s dead, Vivian. So that’s a moot point, isn’t it? Besides, this is the Doe Cemetery. No one cares about these guys.” Drew turned away from her and pressed on to the gravestone that was freshly laid. “If their own family wouldn’t come to identify them, what makes you think they would care if one little body is missing? They laid this guy down just this afternoon. Soil is still soft, the casket is a cheapo government one so it should be easier to open, the body is still fresh, it couldn’t be more perfect.”

Vivian took a look at the other gravestones. Most were just small squares to mark where the body was. On the one hand, she was glad that their community built a grave site for the homeless and the anonymous. On the other hand, seeing so many empty squares with one date and at best a nickname like ‘Highway Joe’ caused her chest to tighten. She couldn’t imagine being buried and having the only thing left of her life to be an empty slab of marble and a death date. She turned to the site of their own target. Not even a nickname.

“Hand me one of the shovels,” Drew snapped her back to reality. Vivian mechanically tossed a shovel to him.

“If your machine works,” Vivian asked while she started digging. “And this guy does come back to life, what do you think he would tell you?”

“He’ll say, ‘Oh thank you Mr. Fenton. You brought me back to life. What an amazing scientific breakthrough! You deserve all of the awards and money.’”

“Hm,” Vivian rolled her eyes. “Somehow I doubt that.”

After hours of uncovering the body, getting it in the trunk of the car and filling the hole back up again, Vivian drove her excited twin home. “The second we get home, I’ll need help hooking this guy up so it’ll start pumping his blood and hopefully reverse his rigor mortis. With any luck, it’s not too late.”

“Fine, then I’m taking a shower and going to bed after that,” Vivian replied. “And don’t forget, you promised that if I helped you do this, you would help me with my little project.”

Drew sighed loudly. “Yeah yeah, I know. I’ll get your website made for you no problem, Pro Bono. It’s the least I can do for your help. Thanks, by the way.”

“You’re welcome,” Vivian grinned. Drew returned her smile with a tired one of his own.

Reviving the dead isn’t something that can be done in a day. The Machine, or ‘Osiris’ as Drew called it, took a week to go through the entire process. He made his sister a website for her freelance photography. “Now you just need clients,” He joked to her.

“Right, but to get clients I’ll first need some examples of more than some flowers and sunsets. I’ve tried to get together with friends but, you know, they all got kids and work and school so it’s hard to meet up.” Vivian wished her brother would let her take photos of him, but despite his handsome features, he was self-conscious about his weight. He barely tolerated candid photos with family and friends. Hers was going on a website for everyone to see.

Later that evening, the siblings headed into the basement where Osiris had stabilized John Doe’s body. “The heartbeat is faint, but it’s pumping on its own now. Let’s just hope that the brain hasn’t gone too dead for him to become conscious.” Drew turned away to begin the recording. He was giddy in his preparation for the awakening of his experiment. Vivian looked at the man’s face for the first time in the daylight. He had a thin, upturned nose. The face was angular, a beauty mark on his chin just below the left side of his full lips. His complexion was dark, but she could still see some light freckling on his nose and shoulders. His hair was unruly and shoulder length. It covered half his face as he lied down in the machine, yet even though she was aware it was like that because he’d been dead for at least ten days and was likely homeless before then, he had the sort of bedhead one would see on a fashion magazine and only a light mustache rather than the bearded face she would have expected. “He is quite beautiful, isn’t he?”

“Vivian, unless you plan on kissing him alive I’m gonna have to ask you to stop staring at him like a creep and help me with this camera.”

Vivian felt her face flush and she backed away. “Whatever, I can appreciate how a person looks without wanting to kiss them, thank you very much.”

“Nobody cares, press record.”

With an annoyed sigh, she got to the camera and began filming once Drew got in front of Osiris.

“Today marks the first human test for Operation Osiris. I just have to administer enough shock in the body for the exact amount of time to hopefully fire the nerves into awakening the nervous system. If I can do that, the test subject should be able to wake up. If I can manage to do this, then this would be a huge step forward for science.” He hurried to the switchboard and started pressing buttons. Small arcs of electricity started to surround the body, but it wasn’t responding. “Okay, maybe I have to raise it up a bit more.” More arcs of energy started to surround the body. Vivian noticed smoke just a little further behind where the body lay.

“Uh, Drew, is it supposed to-,” Drew cut her off. “Shh, Vivian, it can wait.” He raised the electricity higher and the smoke started billowing out. “Drew, the smoke!” Vivian shouted.

“What?” He looked up just as there was a ‘bang’ and a sputtering. “Take cover!” He shouted, and as he did, there was a loud ‘BOOM!’

There was a dizzying ring in her ears. Vivian didn’t know if she got behind the desk on time, but aside from some bruising on her leg, she didn’t feel any pain. “Vivian! Are you okay?!” She could faintly hear her brother’s voice.

“I can’t hear very well but I’m okay!” She shouted back, hoping he could hear her. As she was able to ground herself, the dizziness faded. In replacement of the ringing, she started to feel warm. She heard roaring.

“My data!” Drew screamed. Vivian looked behind her and saw that all of his equipment had gone ablaze. She watched as he rushed over with his fire extinguisher. Still trying to gather herself, she turned to the now inoperable machine. There was a large, black hole in the center, as if something blew out like a cannon. The tank that the body was in had tipped over, the plastic covering partially melted and unhinged. Fluid spilled all over the floor. The body was still on the ground, on his side, an arm draped over his face. Vivian wasn’t sure if the disappointment she felt was for her or on her brother’s behalf.

As she got up to help Drew with putting out the fire, she saw movement on the ground. She froze, watching as the body slowly turned towards his stomach. He pressed his hand against the ground to lift his torso. He put his other hand over his eyes, as though he was trying to adjust to the light. He propped himself up against the fallen tank, his breath hollow, labored and wheezy. Vivian excitedly turned to her brother, but he was busy with recovering the documents from the ashes of his hard work. She looked back at the man. He was looking back at her. His eyes were an acorn brown. His intense, terrified gaze had her breath catch in her throat. She had to calm him down. He looked about ready to run.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay,” She cooed. The woman went around the desk and lowered herself as much as she could. She inched closer to him until she was about six feet away. “My name is Vivian. The man cursing over by the charred computers is my twin brother, Drew.”

His voice was raspy and quiet, but he attempted to speak. “Am I in a hospital?”

“No, you’re in a basement.” She raised her hands up gently. “I know this is all weird, but I’m sure my brother will explain once he realizes you’re alive. Want me to get you something? I bet you’re hungry. You haven’t eaten in more than ten days. Maybe some water?”

The man took a moment to consider the offer and to try to make sense of what she was saying. He nodded. “And some clothes?”

She gave him some finger guns. “You got it. I’ll be right back. I promise my brother is harmless. You’re safe. Try to calm down, okay?” She stood up and only then did she realize how bruised her leg really was. She limped a little bit, but tried to act cool until she was out of sight.

After the fire was put out, Drew whimpered. “So much of my data is lost. Osiris is ruined. It could take years to fix this.” His head lifted towards the ceiling. “Grandma, I’m sorry. Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a world famous scientist.” He pivoted his angle to say something to Vivian to realize she wasn’t there. His eyes narrowed before they caught movement by the spilled tank. The body on the ground. It was upright. What’s more, he was waving.

“Is this some sort of mad scientist laboratory?” The man’s voice was stronger than before. “I couldn’t help but overhear you.”

“You’re alive!” Drew’s cry caused the man to jump.

“Yes, was I not before?”

“You’re alive and you’re responding to me!”

“Your surprise on this fact is concerning me, not gonna lie.”

Drew took a second of keeping his gaze on the once dead body as though he was waiting to see if it was an illusion. Slowly, his expression changed to grief. “And the camera is busted so I don’t have this recorded.”

“Drew, right?” The man asked. “Can you please just tell me what I’m doing here? Why am I so sore and weak? Have I been in a coma or something?”

Drew sighed. “Something like that.” Realizing he had nothing to use to record, Drew forfeited the wondrous scientific evidence and gave his full attention to his creation. “You were dead for a little under two weeks from now. You don’t remember?”

The man’s face fell. He searched Drew’s face for a joke, a mistake, anything. Finding nothing, he forced himself to think of the last memory he had. “I remember that my name is Bishop.” His gaze begged at Drew. “It's weird. I have memories but I can’t place what happened when.”

“Don’t stress yourself out too much,” Vivian came down with a plate of leftovers and a bottle of water. “Let’s start with getting your strength back and then we can worry about everything else.”

Vivian and Drew got Bishop to a chair. While he ate, the three started talking. Bishop would interrupt every so often when he remembered something else. Bishop was 34. He had two sisters. He played soccer in high school. He would go to the bar with his friends on Fridays. After Bishop was able to move around on his own, Drew gave him a shirt to wear. He was much thinner than the twins so Vivian gave him a pair of her skinny jeans and a belt. Every memory that Bishop shared, Drew and Vivian would look towards each other. With everyone he told them about, he seemed to live a pretty average life. So what happened that made his fate end up alone and unidentified? They weren’t the only ones wondering about it.

“Hey Drew?” Bishop asked while drying his hair with a towel after a much needed shower. “Do you happen to know what I died from?”

“I’m afraid the report was incredibly vague. They just put down ‘natural causes.’”

Bishop’s curly hair covered half his face, but Vivian could see quite easily how troubled he felt.

“Hey, Bishop? I actually need a few photo examples for my website. If you’re cool with it, can I take a few photos of you? I thought it might be nice to, you know, have something to remember you by.”

She witnessed the light return to him. He straightened his posture. “Yes, actually, that sounds like a lot of fun. I could be a model for a day.”

“Exactly!” His excitement was infectious as the looming unanswered questions faded for another time. Vivian guided their guest to her studio in the attic, her brother lagging shortly behind. Vivian set up the backdrop and gave him a few red roses to hold and a ring of them to wear as a crown. Bishop took stock of the attic.

“Boy, Drew has his lab in the basement, then your studio in the attic, this is a nice house.”

“Well the house was owned by our grandmother,” Vivian explained. “She looked after us our entire lives, so when she passed, we both decided to just stay here. That way, it’s cheap and we can keep the house our grandmother owned.” Drew quietly sat at a chair by the door.

“That is so sweet,” Bishop told her. “This is a cute house, too. I wouldn’t mind having a little place like this.”

Throughout the photo shoot, Vivian used a number of props and backdrops. Bishop enjoyed every minute of it. “It was a dream of mine to become a model,” Bishop remembered. “It’s a little sad to see that it never happened.”

“Well, now you have a second chance,” Vivian responded. She noticed his expression dull again. She turned to her brother who sat with his arms crossed, somewhat spacing out. She turned back to Bishop.

“I don’t know. I appreciate this a lot you two. Really, I do. But I just have this feeling that this isn’t going to last. Everything feels like a dream to the point where I’m not convinced that I’m really ‘all here.’”

“Something I didn’t want to mention,” Drew forced out his words. “Is that, since Osiris blew up, there is a chance that it didn’t complete the process of reviving you. I’m really sorry.”

“What, Drew what does that mean?” Vivian demanded.

“There is a chance that your body won’t be able to keep going on its own. It might start to sort of just slow down until you fall asleep and then you simply won’t wake back up again.”

“Well that’s just a possibility, right? He could be just fine. And maybe not on his own, but there are life support machines. We can take him to the hospital.”

“We can’t afford to keep him on life support, Viv.”

“We’re responsible for him now, Drew. You’re the one that wanted to test the laws of nature!”

“Actually,” Bishop chimed in. “That sounds horrible. Being on life support, I mean. It’s okay you guys. I know you expect me to be upset, but I don’t know how to describe it. I would rather die again then live forever in a hospital connected to wires and tubes. Just, if I could have one request. I would prefer not to die alone this time.”

“Bishop,” Vivian hurried to him and wrapped her arms around him. “You won’t be alone. I can promise at least that much, you are not going to be alone.”

Bishop wrapped his arms around her as her breathing labored. They knew each other for a few hours and yet she was this upset about him. It was sad, but it also felt like a relief for him. He hugged her tighter.

“Well, I still don’t think you’re going anywhere,” Vivian wiped her tears away and straightened up. “But I still think we should make the most of the time we have. Why don’t we go to the park? I can take a few pictures of you in natural light.”

“While we’re at it, do you think I can convince you to answer some questions for me and my research? I’ll have to buy a new camera to do it.”

“It’s the least I could do,” Bishop replied with a nod. “The park sounds like fun.”

The trio spent the rest of the day doing whatever caught Bishop’s fancy. Vivian got a few more photos at the park. Drew got his new camera. They fed frozen peas to some ducks, stopped by an ice cream kiosk, went out for pizza, and watched a movie together at the theater. When they got home, Drew had his interview with Bishop. He asked how he was feeling, if he remembered anything while he was deceased, how it felt when he woke up again, and if there was anything new that Bishop remembered.

“Actually,” Bishop admitted. “I remembered the bridge at the park.”

“What about it?”

“I died under that bridge.”

There was a beat of silence. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Whatever was there now is probably gone. That’s where I used to sleep. I remember why I was alone now, Drew. The memories I had with my family, they started out good, but then I began remembering the bad. Of course they weren’t there. They disowned me a long time ago.”

Drew said nothing in response.

“I was so angry and filled with hate because of them. No one bothered to be around me since, and I was so messed up that I couldn’t hold a job. The emotions I felt and who I was before today all seem like a separate person, now. Now it all seems so meaningless. I fed into my anger and resentment but never myself, and so I starved.”

“I’m sorry, Bishop.”

“You know what the weirdest thing is? I don’t feel any sort of way about it at all. All I feel is thankful. I’m thankful you and Vivian found me. I’m thankful that I got to spend this time, no matter how short, with people who actually want me around. For your research, you know what happened to me. But really, I don’t care about the person I was before at all.”

Drew reached over and turned off the camera. “Bishop, were you being honest when you said you’d rather die than be on life support?”

Bishop felt the question was rhetorical.

“Our grandmother was on life support before she passed away. She stopped responding, it was my decision to let her go.”

There was a moment of silence. “You built Osiris for her, didn’t you? It’s because you felt guilty.”

“I can’t ever bring her back. But I thought that if I made a machine that could bring the recently deceased back to life, then maybe it will prevent some other sad loser from having to make the same decision I did.”

“I don’t know if this matters,” Bishop chimed in. “But I think you made the right decision. I also think that your grandma thinks you made the right decision.”

Drew sighed, and then looked up at Bishop with a gentle smile. “I did need to hear that actually, thanks.”

With the end of the interview, they got ready for bed. At Bishop’s request, they set up sleeping arrangements together in the living room. He really didn’t want to be alone. Drew was asleep almost immediately. Vivian tried to sleep, but she was too anxious. She sat up from her sleeping bag to find Bishop leaning against the couch, gazing at the stars. “Bishop?”

He looked her way. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

“A little bit,” She confessed. “What about you?”

Bishop chuckled a little before resuming his business out the window. “I just wanted to make sure I’m still here when you two wake up.”

Vivian scratched the back of her neck. “Want me to make you some champurrado?”

Bishop turned his head to her. “Some, what?”

“Champurrado. It’s a chocolate drink.”

“Like hot chocolate?”

“Um,” Vivian made a weighing motion with both hands. “More like porridge? Grandma used to make it for Drew and me when we were upset. Hold on, I’ll whip us up a batch.”

The two left the sleeping twin in the living room and made their way to the kitchen. She made champurrado and reheated churros. With their late night meal, they talked and played card games until the roosters began their crowing outside. Drew began to stir until he groggily stumbled into the kitchen. “Vivian made champurrado. I’ve never had it before but it’s delicious. There’s some left over,” Bishop offered.

Hours passed with the three of them eating, talking and playing card games. “Is there anything special you’d like to do today?” Drew asked.

“I think we’re doing it. We can just enjoy each other’s company here. Though if you’re tired of playing canasta, we can do something else.”

They settled on bingeing a series that Bishop had always wanted to see. Drew and Vivian were fans of it too and enjoyed re-watching the episodes. Bishop sat between them on the couch, his head resting on Vivian’s shoulder. During the show, Vivian felt Bishop’s head droop more. “I think this is it,” He whispered. The twins looked at each other. Drew held Bishop’s hand. Vivian leaned closer to him and held his arm.

“We’re going to miss you, Bishop,” Drew hissed through his straining voice.

“We’ll never forget you. You were a great friend. I’ll keep my photos of you forever.” Vivian’s tears fell onto his hair which rested like morning dew.

“Thank you,” Bishop muttered. He was too tired to cry and he felt sick as his chest struggled to breathe. The show they were watching was the last thing he saw, and the sobbing of his two best friends was the last thing he could hear. Love was the last thing he felt.

Drew and Vivian had Bishop buried in the same graveyard their grandmother was in. They visited the grave sites at least once a year. They made sure to always bring some champurrado and churros. Drew put Osiris to rest and went to college for science and engineering. Vivian continued her pursuit of freelance photography and did well enough to make ends meet. The photos she had of Bishop stayed in her gallery.

They thought of him every time they fed ducks at the park. They thought of him when they watched the movie they saw in the theater or the show they binged together. As time passed, the siblings moved on. But whenever they reminisced, they revived Bishop with their memories of him as they shared their story of the man who lived once and died twice.