The elixir

[Dave]

I can honestly say that's the first time I have ever seen cirrosis of the liver described as "fortunate".

[Sgt. Howard]

I can honestly say that's the first time I have ever seen cirrosis of the liver described as "fortunate".

cirrosis is scar tissue, as such it is tougher than healthy liver and holds a stitch much better...
so if you are likely to do stuff where your liver will get physically rent, you might want to drink like a fish for a few years prior...
... but then again, if you have a few brain cells to rub together you might forego both activities...

[Sgt. Howard]

It was nearly three thirty when a nurse came into the room... Bud was asleep, curled up on Nudge (who was annoyed by this) while Phix stared at the dead TV. She turned her head towards the nurse.
"Mrs. Howard? He is now in recovery. Dr Bloom, Dr. Stalker, Dr. Sherck and Dr. Burton will be in here shortly to talk to you. Your daughter might want to wake up for this,"
Nudge poked Bud in the ribs in a less-than-gentle manner. She awoke with a start.
The nurse, totally nonplussed by this performance, addressed Bud-" Your Father is in recovery right now- the Surgeons who have been working on him will be out shortly... you might want to hear what they have to say,"
"Thank you,"

The four walked in, poker-faced as they assessed the three women. Dr. Bloom spoke first-
"Mrs. Howard, Acacia, Noreen... Ah am Dr. David Bloom- as y'all knaow, we'd been in surgery since... 'bout eight thurty. Mr. Howard has been through a very, tryin' ordeal, an' Ah reccon he might be a long tahm recoverin'... "

The next hour was spent with three paranormals learning more about the limits of mortal medicine than they ever wanted to know. All three shed tears, gasped and registered shock as the extent of Neil's injuries were explained along with the corrective measures used to save his life. Seven hours of surgery had removed one lung, patched the aortic arch, his liver, his diaphragm... four plated ribs, one plate on the clavicle, two in each lower leg... each one with a handful of screws... a sophisticated nail-and-bolt repair to his hip, a rod in his humerus, twelve units of blood, two of packed cells.... and involved over eighty hours of nurses' wages. He would be paralyzed, chemically, to control his use of his lung- for a while, anyway. He would now be on a daily regimen of drugs to prevent blood clots from killing him, to maintain his blood pressure, to control the pain... and therapy, to regain the use of his limbs.
The four Doctors fielded their questions, offered their sympathies, advised them as their trade taught them. In the end, they made their goodbyes and went back to their craft... leaving three totally drained ladies...

Phix looked at the other two... Nudge had a blank stare while Bud gaze at the floor with half-closed eyes. Between the emotional turmoil and the fight to remain in human form, she was totally spent.
"Get up," she said as she herself rose to her feet,"Get up, c'mon... we're serving no purpose here. He won't be out of that coma for at least three days. We need sleep, food... and a plan," Nudge and Bud looked up, "... we need to get him on the elixir, do a rejuvenation... but we can't do it here,"
Nudge spoke up, "But you heard that big Doc- 'Months of physical therapy' is what he said,"
"That's the beauty of the cover story- MIB will do the transfer under the guise of 'witness protection', the hospital won't argue,"
"But what happens when they try to get the federal government to pay the bill?" Bud asked.
"That's the beauty of who WE are... if Neil survives, I say we buy this place a new wing..."

Four days later...

There was a regular, high-pitched beep. Sorta. It was like it wasn't really there. But it was there. Something man-made. It was annoying. He took inventory as best as he could, but there was a fog between him and the outside world. He recognized it- opiates. Probably morphine sulfate. He was somewhat familiar with that one over the years.
He chanced opening his eyes. It wasn't pretty.
Both lower legs were in splints. There was a bulky dressing over his right hip. His right arm was in an immobilizer. There were bandages over his chest where the wires held his sternum together, an after product of the removal of a ruptured lung. There were also bandages over his belly, covering a mid-line incision. There was a tube in his throat as well as in his side and in his bladder- The one in his throat allowed him to breath... by a machine. The one in his side prevented the remaining lung from collapsing. The one in his bladder... self explanatory.
There was also a face- squarish, short red hair and glasses in front of green eyes. Like the girl who hit him, the area under the eyes was shiny.

He tried to talk, but the tube didn't let him.

"Hush- you can't talk, and you need your strength. They 'pronounced' you twice, but you refused to die," her voice choked a bit on this,"You are in real bad shape- there was a ... what did he call it...?... "hydro-static dissection" of the aortic arch... they only JUST caught it in time. They... they thought you had jumped ..."
Phix broke down. Neil tried to remember how to move his left arm... THAT was a struggle, between the drugs and the IV. He tipped her chin up with his hand and blew her a kiss... sorta. Hard to do with a tube in your mouth.
She smiled and her cheeks got very shiny.
He pantomimed for a pencil with the left hand. She produced one and held the paper for him.
Writing left handed was never a strong point for Neil- add to that the awkward arrangement and the drugs... well it took a while before Phix understood.
"Take me home. Find the old satchel. Elixir and instructions there. Get a 30 cc syringe and a veries needle, sterile,"
The effort put him back under.

[lake_wrangler]

Loving every minute of this. Masterfully done, a beautiful mix of medical procedures entwined with the paranormal world of Wapsi Square.

"What about Naomi..." HA! I smirked, when I read that.

By the way, I hate to say this, but it's "Elixir", not "Elixer"...

I look forward to reading the rest of this story. I like how you are reusing your character from your previous fanfic. Nice touch.

[jwhouk]

By the way, I hate to say this, but it's "Elixir", not "Elixer"...

Good, I wasn't the only one who was getting a nervous tic from the title.

[Sgt. Howard]

By the way, I hate to say this, but it's "Elixir", not "Elixer"...

Good, I wasn't the only one who was getting a nervous tic from the title.

THANK YOU!!! For some reason, spell-check went south on this WalMart special...

[Sgt. Howard]

It was another week and a half before Neil was strong enough to go 'home'- if separate quarters in the library could qualify as such- where he found an annoying amount of help and attention. Bud had taken a month's emergency leave from the dance studio to act as a private nurse-maid (Neil had already forgiven her many times over), Brandy and Jin became part of the retinue, introducing Monica as well. Shelly became aware of and curious about her Grandmother's paramour. Of course, Tsillah made her presence known and became a regular irritation along with her Mother. Atsali dropped in from time to time, as she found Neil's memories of the times he lived in very interesting as a rare human perspective ... as did Euryale, ever the student. Bia introduced herself and tried (in vain) to find out about the elixir, but settled for good conversation and helping to dispose of the mountains of cookies and delicacies that well-wishers brought him. Calista would occasionally peek in at the mortal... but did not completely trust him... or any other mortal for that matter, as is the nature of Fey. Castella, on the other hand, wanted to immediatly adopt him as a 'Grampa'.
Even Nudge came by- the two might never be... close ... friends, but they made a decent peace between them as she grudgingly admitted that he had to be of SOME stamina to survive what he went through, and had to be of a CERTAIN caliber to so hold Phix's trust and attentions. He commented that a Lady like Phix deserved to have friends who worry about her as fiercely as Nudge. Nudge liked that...
There were those who's presence were always welcome- Nicodemus came by routinely, as did Justin after being introduced by Shelly. Several of the patrons of the library would visit this mortal oddity, and many of the masculine variety seemed to enjoy his company. Neil seem to fare better with a healthy dose of male companionship- not that the ladies offended him... but they certainly tired him.
And then there was Phix- Phix whom he dearly loved, whom he had 'mortally wounded' TWICE now, Phix who would wake up in fear that his return was but a dream, Phix who was once the foundations of the earth itself and now could become a frightened toddler without warning. Her visits were very frequent and very demanding. Neil understood that this would change... but like his own recovery, it seemed to take forever.
There finally came the day that Neil hobbled over to the leather satchel that held his secrets- the one he had carried since his days as a Centurion. Despite constant use, most of the original item was still there- and the contents had been updated over the centuries, but the purpose had remained the same. Fourteen glass phials of elixir, two notebooks, an 18 gauge nickle-plated brass spinal needle and an old glass 30 cc syringe.
He smirked as he considered how it had been done in days past... and how hopelessly out-of-date THIS ensemble is.

"You're going to do it?" came Phix's voice from behind. He did not hear her arrive, yet he knew she was there. He knew she would show up the moment he touched the satchel- such was their connection. Of course she would be there- how could she NOT be there?
"Yes... it is time... there is nothing I might create in me that would be harmful,"
"I couldn't make sense of your book- we have a copy, you know- your empty book has nothing but moth holes,"
"Allow me- " he took the one book and opened to the first page, which was filled with random Assyrian words in cuneiform. He took the second book, folded it over to fully expose the first page and held the first page, upside-down, over the page of the first book.
The holes lined up with words that gave instructions.
"Oh my!!! No WONDER we never deciphered it!!!"
"Not even necessary, actually- at this point, I simply do the procedure and we await the results. Let's see here," he held up one of the phials, filled with an amber fluid, "This one is good, and that is about 12 cc," he rummaged through the others and pulled up one that was more of a chartreuse, "THAT one is no good- THAT has turned to solanum- VERY BAD ju-ju," he found another of amber, "here we go- there's at least 14 cc here, I only need 24 to cover four decades. I load... " he pulled the cork on first one, then the other and drew up the fluid into the syringe, " ... 24, no 25 cc here- did you get a veries needle?"
"OH! YES!" she scampered to the bedside and pulled open the drawer, retrieving a long, skinny object in a peal pack.
"Sterile! Excellent! OK, peal that open and allow me to grasp it,"
She did as asked, and watched, fascinated, as he grabbed it by the hub and mounted it on the syringe. He carefully placed the whole device on a counter with the needle hanging over the edge. He then pulled a small lancet out of the satchel as well as a brass cigarette lighter. Striking the lighter, he heated the blade of the lancet. He then allowed it to cool while he contemplated his own belly.
Without warning, he plunged the one inch blade into his own flesh just to the right of his naval.
"NGYAAA! I HATE that part!"

[Hansontoons]

It was another week and a half before Neil was strong enough to go 'home'- if separate quarters in the library could qualify as such- where he found an annoying amount of help and attention. Bud had taken a month's emergency leave from the dance studio to act as a private nurse-maid (Neil had already forgiven her many times over), Brandy and Jin became part of the retinue, introducing Monica as well. Shelly became aware of and curious about her Grandmother's paramour. Of course, Tsillah made her presence known and became a regular irritation along with her Mother. Atsali dropped in from time to time, as she found Neil's memories of the times he lived in very interesting as a rare human perspective ... as did Euryale, ever the student.
There were those who's presence were always welcome- Nicodemus came by routinely, as did Justin after being introduced by Shelly. Several of the patrons of the library would visit this mortal oddity, and many of the masculine variety seemed to enjoy his company. Neil seem to fare better with a healthy dose of male companionship- not that the ladies offended him... but they certainly tired him.
And then there was Phix- Phix whom he dearly loved, whom he had 'mortally wounded' TWICE now, Phix who would wake up in fear that his return was but a dream, Phix who was once the foundations of the earth itself and now could become a frightened toddler without warning. Her visits were very frequent and very demanding. Neil understood that this would change... but like his own recovery, it seemed to take forever.
There finally came the day that Neil hobbled over to the leather satchel that held his secrets- the one he had carried since his days as a Centurion. Despite constant use, most of the original item was still there- and the contents had been updated over the centuries, but the purpose had remained the same. Fourteen glass phials of elixir, two notebooks, an 18 gauge nickle-plated brass spinal needle and an old glass 30 cc syringe.
He smirked as he considered how it had been done in days past... and how hopelessly out-of-date THIS ensemble is.

"You're going to do it?" came Phix's voice from behind. He did not hear her arrive, yet he knew she was there. He knew she would show up the moment he touched the satchel- such was their connection. Of course she would be there- how could she NOT be there?
"Yes... it is time... there is nothing I might create in me that would be harmful,"
"I couldn't make sense of your book- we have a copy, you know- your empty book has nothing but moth holes,"
"Allow me- " he took the one book and opened to the first page, which was filled with random Assyrian words in cuneiform. He took the second book, folded it over to fully expose the first page and held the first page, upside-down, over the page of the first book.
The holes lined up with words that gave instructions.
"Oh my!!! No WONDER we never deciphered it!!!"
"Not even necessary, actually- at this point, I simply do the procedure and we await the results. Let's see here," he held up one of the phials, filled with an amber fluid, "This one is good, and that is about 12 cc," he rummaged through the others and pulled up one that was more of a chartreuse, "THAT one is no good- THAT has turned to solanum- VERY BAD ju-ju," he found another of amber, "here we go- there's at least 14 cc here, I only need 24 to cover four decades. I load... " he pulled the cork on first one, then the other and drew up the fluid into the syringe, " ... 24, no 25 cc here- did you get a veries needle?"
"OH! YES!" she scampered to the bedside and pulled open the drawer, retrieving a long, skinny object in a peal pack.
"Sterile! Excellent! OK, peal that open and allow me to grasp it,"
She did as asked, and watched, fascinated, as he grabbed it by the hub and mounted it on the syringe. He carefully placed the whole device on a counter with the needle hanging over the edge. He then pulled a small lancet out of the satchel as well as a brass cigarette lighter. Striking the lighter, he heated the blade of the lancet. He then allowed it to cool while he contemplated his own belly.
Without warning, he plunged the one inch blade into his own flesh just to the right of his naval.
"NGYAAA! I HATE that part!"

Has Neil spent a considerable amount of time in East Texas? The way he pronounced "peel" makes me think so. Or maybe his ears are still ringing from the impact...
And thank you for sharing your imagination with us.

[Sgt. Howard]

"OH! YES!" she scampered to the bedside and pulled open the drawer, retrieving a long, skinny object in a peal pack.
"Sterile! Excellent! OK, peal that open and allow me to grasp it,"

Has Neil spent a considerable amount of time in East Texas? The way he pronounced "peel" makes me think so. Or maybe his ears are still ringing from the impact...
And thank you for sharing your imagination with us.

more likely the fact that I was at one time married to a British subject and that the spell check on this thing does not always work

... and... it is my pleasure to have an audiance. I love to tell a good story

[Sgt. Howard]

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?" Phix screamed at Him, "WE JUST GOT YOU OUT OF THE HOSPITAL!!!"
"EASY GIRL! I... ohh damn that hurts... easy... I ... have to get through the skin... yeouwch... and the veries needle won't do it... ugh.... now... help me... grap a bit of my belly right here- just pinch a fold and pull it out,"
She stared at him, totally dumbfounded.
"PHIX!!!" he bellowed. She started, but still had a dumb-struck expression on her face. Looking down, she saw blood in a heavy trickle going down from the puncture site and puddleing on the floor.
"What... what do you want me to do?"
"GRAB BELLY HERE- PULL OUT- I have to squirt this stuff into my abdominal cavity and I DON'T want to violate bowel!"
"... you're kidding..."
"Sure Phix, I'm always stabbing myself in the gut as a joke... GRAB the DAMN BELLY!"
She reached down and pinched a chunk of his flesh where he indicated- "There's not much here to grab,"
"Never been a problem before... (she looked at him with a slight blush)... OK, I have the other side, now PULL OUT and I insert this thing like... so... urgh... grahh... thankfully I only do this once every fourty to sixty years on the average,"
"Yeah, well... next time, you will do this under local anesthesia... the peritoneal cavity? No wonder nobody got it right... wait a minute- HOW DID YOU DO THIS BACK THEN?!?"
"Heh... it was pretty brutal... ah, there's the 'pop'... aspirate... no poop, no blood... inject... yeah, next time we use local and I'll have a trained medical type administer the stuff,"
He withdrew the needle and stuffed a dressing into the wound, holding pressure against the bleeding.
"Usually I go midline, but as I have been cut there already some time ago, I am likely to have adhesions that might interfere with the injection,"

"Now what do we do?"

"We wait- three weeks at the outside. I will likely go unconsious at some point... do not worry, just part of the program. Put me on a bed with plastic sheets and be prepared for a mess if that happens, I will loose control of all bodily functions. Have an IV hooked up, I might be out for three days and don't want to dehydrate. Also, if things start coming up from under my skin... and unless I am mistaken, there will be quite a bit... just cut the skin and pop them out like a zit. The skin will heal almost immediatly. I will be ravenouse while awake, running a metabolizm on par with four teenaged boys. Until the elixir runs it's course, I will emaciate like a gulag prisoner. Again, do not worry- just keep feeding me while I am alert. Heh... look... the wound is already spitting the dressing,"
Phix looked down at the site- sure enough, flesh was pushing the cotton dressing out of the gap that the lancet had made. Neil removed the dressing completly and Phix watched in amazement as the skin closed itself and removed all evidence of injury... except the blood. Neil sat down on his bed and started pulling off the dressings from his multiple surgeries... indeed, the skin was reclaiming itself along the incisions while several dark spots appeared just below the surface.
"Sutures- they will spit momentarily, or I can pop them. OH! One other thing, and it won't be easy- If I go under, always check that I am breathing. Do not enter the room until you are aware of my status- if, I 'die'... that is, my heart and breathing stops... isolate the body. If after I 'die', I get up and move around, get me to say something. If all I can do is moan, and I go after you... cut the head off, smash it, burn everything, DO NOT LET ME BITE YOU!"
"... now you are joking... right?"
"That other batch I showed you? THAT's what would happen if I used it- I've never misjudged a batch before, but you never know," he stated, quite deadpan-

"Yeah, THAT's where they come from," he finished.

Phix gasped. To her amazement, Neil's mustach fell, hair by hair, off his face. He grinned. With a quick brush of his hand, he removed the remaining hairs.
"I was a 'late bloomer', and really couldn't grow facial hair until I was twenty-two," he shot her a sly look, "Right now I am itching where I should have you scratch,"
"Uh... how ... 'young'... will you be?"
"Somewhere between seventeen and twenty,"
Big eyed and open mouthed, Phix thought this out... then closed her mouth and contemplated the man before her.
"Hmmm... boytoy... I could get used to that... "
"Here I thought Sphinxes were part LION, not part COUGAR... "
She sauntered up to him- "COUGARs are ALSO known as MOUNTAIN LIONS... just where was this ... itch... you were talking about...?"

[Sgt. Howard]

Now we will go into 'Part Two', where the history of the elixier is discussed. There will be Biblical referances, some that might be considered heresy... I am a practicing Christian, and this is strictly a fiction within a fiction, not gospel... so if such derivations are offensive to you, you might forgo further reading.
Otherwise, enjoy this little warp of reality and to all, thank you for reading.
Gregory F. (the Old Sgt.) Howard

[TazManiac]

Dude.

Thanks for the disclaimer, prior too, but on behalf of those reading your submissions-

Post away.

[lake_wrangler]

Now we will go into 'Part Two', where the history of the elixier is discussed.

If your spell-check is out, you'll have to always be on the alert for this one...


I'm very impressed by the quality of the descriptive text. I guess that's why they say "write about what you know"... it's so much better than reading something where they didn't do the research...

[Dave]

I'm very impressed by the quality of the descriptive text. I guess that's why they say "write about what you know"...

I'd say both the author and the primary character are following the same excellent principle: "do what you know; suture self".

[Sgt. Howard]

I'm very impressed by the quality of the descriptive text. I guess that's why they say "write about what you know"...

I'd say both the author and the primary character are following the same excellent principle: "do what you know; suture self".

You leave me in stitches...

Four packages of 3-0 vicryl on an FSH cutter in the pun vault

[jwhouk]

I suspect I know what the heresy is. A certain itinerant rabbi from Nazareth via Capernaum got a hold of a vial?

[Sgt. Howard]

Where it started....

The man and the woman both trudged east through the endless sand that was once a paradise... THE paradise... but now held no life or promise. East was the direction they had been pointed in, so east they went without any idea of what they would find.
The man carried only a staff, the woman nothing. Both wore garments made of skins, and both were constantly fussing at they way they draped... until recently, neither wore garments of any stripe and the sensation was ... unnerving... to say the least. Their uncertainty and discomfort was overshadowed by guilt- they had been evicted. They had broken a law and been thrown out of their home. And it was a beautiful home that they would never see again.
The woman was particularly grieved by her garment- tied as it was around her waist, she kept trying to figure out why it was so uncomfortable. She rummaged with it, shifted it, pulled and tugged... all to no avail. Then her hand went to the small of her back where something pressed... and she FOUND that something!
"ADAM! There is something in this that is not me!" she yelled in surprise.
Adam turned to his mate to investigate. There was a lump, and it could move- but not of it's own. For the sake of his mate's modesty, he would not reach inside to find it- yet she could not do it herself. He studied it for a time, then came to a solution.
"Loosen the tie around your waist and allow this thing to fall- then you can tie yourself back up and we shall see what it is that bothers you,"
She did as he said, and sure enough an object fell out of her garment onto the sand... a golden, ripe fruit that they both recognized.
"EVE! WE ALREADY SINNED BY EATING THE FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE! WHY IS THIS HERE?!?" the man exclaimed.
Eve was stunned- she picked up the fruit of life in wonderment and fear.
"Adam- I DID NOT PICK THIS! I DO NOT KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED!... what are we to do?"
Looking at each other, the response was simultaneous- "WE CALL ON THE LORD!"
They did, and so the LORD came to them and asked, "Why do you have the fruit of life in your possession?"
"We do not know, My LORD," said Eve.
"It was in the folds of Eve's skins," said Adam, "But Eve did not put it there... nor did I. Please take it from us that we will not be tempted- we do not want to sin any more than we already have,"
The LORD contemplated it for a time... "I know you to speak the truth- this must be the work of the serpent. I have another idea in mind for that fruit, since you were so willing to turn it over to me rather than be tempted... and in so doing, you have thwarted the efforts of the one who would snare you- this has caused me to repent of my anger towards you. As it no longer is in Eden, the pulp of that fruit would actually make you very sick if you were to eat it- but if you squeeze the juice and drink it, it will prolong your days and restore your health. Use it sparingly, as too much can reduce you to small, helpless creatures... and, unless I miss my guess, you will have more of those than you know what to do with in due time anyway,"
Adam and Eve looked blankly at each other, then turned their attention back to the LORD.
"In the absence of Eden, only THREE trees of this fruit can exist at any given time- inside that fruit are small pips that grow into such a tree if you place them in the dust and provide water. It will take three years for the tree to provide fruit- once it does, it will provide year 'round. Use the fruit juice fresh- it should be clear or yellow or gold- once it turns slightly green, do not drink it, but instead throw it onto a roaring fire and do not breath the fumes. At most, the fruit juice should last three days.. do not trust it after that... and you will find a river just a little bit further. Make your home there, plant the pip just above the river and use your hands to water it every day until three years pass. From there, it will drink from the river with it's own roots,"
"Go now, be fruitful and multiply,"
And with that, the LORD was gone.

"Fruitful and multiply- what do you suppose THAT means?"
"I have no more idea than you- let's go find this river,"

[Hansontoons]

I'm very impressed by the quality of the descriptive text. I guess that's why they say "write about what you know"...

I'd say both the author and the primary character are following the same excellent principle: "do what you know; suture self".

You leave me in stitches...

Four packages of 3-0 vicryl on an FSH cutter in the pun vault

Yeah, that Dave guy, he's such a cut-up!

[Sgt. Howard]

They found the river in less than an hour- they started on 'fruitful & multiply' that night... and got the equation right three weeks later. Nine months after that Able showed up. By the time Cain appeared, they had figured out what was causing it. Little Cain was learning how to walk when the tree first bore fruit- by trial and error, they learned that even the smallest amount of the juice would heal most wounds and cure most illnesses. By then, Adam had figured out the basics of farming and Eve had gathered much in the way of livestock. The use of fire for heat, light and cooking became mastered, as did the skills of harvest, slaughter and butchering, dairy, the use of herbs to flavor and to heal... many times did the LORD show up and instruct, encourage as keep a watch on his creatures.
Then came that mighty blow when Cain, in a fit of jealous rage, killed Able. In one felonious act, Adam and Eve lost both their children. Cain took a fruit of the tree when he exiled himself, that he might plant a seed once he settled.
There, after his death, his generations continued to use... and often abuse... the juice. One thing Cain's descendants found was that too much of the juice would not only make you younger, but would remove your knowledge and memory by the number of years you regressed. One old lecher purchased a young girl from her parents and used the juice to 'return her to innocence' several times over. Others would force it down the throat of an ancient goat or sheep to renew the stock or feast on kid or lamb. Matrons kept their youth and old men their vigor... at the cost of their wisdom. Such became the norm. Excesses compounded to the point that the LORD despaired of creating man.
On the other side of the known world, the proper use of the juice was maintained by at least one family, that of Noah. A stock of seeds went into the ark with all the other works of the LORD's creation.
After the flood, Noah planted three trees. By the time of Joseph, those three trees were the secret of Hebrew longevity... but when all of Israel moved to Egypt, they cut down the trees and took seeds with them.
After the Exodus, and the claiming of the promised land, the Hebrews (who had been using two trees in the desert by having runners bring the fruit) planted near what would become Jerusalem... but it did not grow. Where Joseph's family had cut down the trees before, Philistines had settled and found a sapling... when the fruit made them sick, their wise men experimented with the juice to see if it was an effective poison. They found otherwise. Meanwhile, the Hebrew nation then had to cut down their two trees and re-plant in Jerusalem... by then, the Hebrews were of such number that two trees could only give the barest supply of juice. Slowly, the lifespan of the Hebrews began to drop to that of other nations.
Well before the time of Saul the King, the Philistines found out about the peritoneal injection- they would take an eighteen-year-old and give him enough to regress twelve years- the boy would go through another twelve years of growth, becoming anywhere from nine to thirteen feet tall... but at a price. The brain could not keep up with the body... the resulting creation would be incredibly violent and stupid. And expensive to feed. One giant per army was enough to cow any enemy... until they crossed a young shepard boy named David. Perhaps you have heard the story...
Many of the Philistine experiments ended in abject horror... particularly when they tried injecting with juice gone bad. Had they only consulted Egyptian scrolls (assuming they could read them) they would have learned about the High Court's experiments along the same line. One burial chamber held twenty-six corpses that tried to claw their way out after the stone was rolled shut to seal them- the Philistines were not so clever about containing the problem and wound up putting three villages to the torch before they resolved the issue.
During the Babylonian exile, the trees had been cut down never again to be planted in Jerusalem. All mention of them was purged from scriptures, for fear of what the Babylonians might do with such knowledge. When Israel returned, the nation was without any memory of the trees of life.
As for the tree in Philistine, it was destroyed after the first horrors of the walking dead.
Only a few seeds remained...

[AmriloJim]

Sarge, your tale is an exception read... bravo!