“Me. I didn’t think to spell things wrong. Man, people are all over his posts.”
“I know. But Dean, you and I both know, Frank can’t be gone that long. He’s never gone that long.”
“Joe thinks we can pull off that Frank is still in Beginnings.”
“How? By posting on his Hoi Book?” Ellen asked.
“Um, no… we have another problem. One you and I are kinda responsible for and it goes hand and hand with making it look like Frank is in town until … he gets back from the future.” Dean walked to the door. “Outside.”
After looking at him curiously, Ellen walked to the door and Dean opened it.
“He’s right there.”
Ellen blinked several times, looked at Dean and then out to the figure standing in the grass. “Oh wow.”
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.”
“Is that B-36 Subject 2?”
“It is. He popped in from the future, lost in a time loop, was supposed to arrive with Fort. His name is 9-B something we’re calling him Hank.”
Hank turned around.
“Holy shit he looks like Frank ten years ago.” Ellen walked to him. “Dean, you know what this means, right?”
“I do.”
“We really nailed this cloning thing. We should not have stopped.”
“I know, right.”
Ellen inched closer. She smiled at Hank. “Hello.”
“Hello.”
“Don’t touch him,” Dean said. “He doesn’t like to be touched.”
“Oh that’s weird.”
“You are very female,” Hank said.
“I am.”
Hank looked at Dean, “I thought you told me I was the one who said that.”
Dean shrugged innocently.
“Dean are you trying to pass him off as Frank?” Ellen asked.
“That’s what Joe wants. He says it’s on me because I made the clone and didn’t destroy it.”
“Technically it is your responsibility.”
“And yours,” Dean said. “Can it be done?”
Ellen stared long and hard at Hank. “It’s gonna take all night and we’ll have to watch him constantly. Let’s take him inside and work with him. But to really make him realistic, run to the lab, grab the healing agent Chaka brought from the future, a scalpel and the laser.”
“Wait. Are you wanting to cut him, burn him and heal him to give him lots of scars?”
“Bad idea?”
“No, that’s brilliant.” Dean darted a kiss to her cheek. “Make him look rougher.”
“Exactly.”
“Wait,” Hank said. “You are going to cut me and burn me?”
“Yes,” Ellen answered. “See we need you to pretend to be someone else while he’s gone. Someone that people look to for protection. They’ll get scared if they know he’s gone.”
“Is this person a hero like Captain America?”
“Oh, absolutely.” Ellen nodded. “And runs just as fast.”
“I want to be like that. Will this hurt?”
“A little. But you’ll be better for it,” Ellen said. “Just try not to scream.”
“Very well. Let’s do it.”
Dean clenched his fist. “Yes. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll take him inside.” Ellen held out her hand. “This way.”
“Oh, El?” Dean called out. “This is going to be so much fun transforming him physically. We can really put that healing agent to a test.”
“Like an art project.”
“Is it right?”
“Oh, please, Dean, technically Joe said, he’s our responsibility. We made him, so we can do what we want.”
Enthusiastically, Dean gave a thumbs up, turned and moved quickly away from the house.
Ellen escorted Hank.
“So you are going to make me look and act like this person?” Hank asked.
“Yes, his name is Frank.” Ellen opened the door. “I’ll teach you how to be just like him.”
“I will be a good student. I was top of my class. I strived to be the best.” Hank said. “Is there anything else I need to practice saying besides, ‘I am’.”
“Yes. One word. One simple word Frank uses all the time. If you don’t use it, people will know you aren’t Frank?” Ellen walked in the house.
“And what is that word?”
Ellen smiled. “Fuck.”
SEVENTEEN – POLW
“Fuck,” Frank said. “So Me and Danny really did start this?”
The conversation about Danny Hoi’s future book began once they crossed the bridge and began their journey to Bowman and deep into the heart of LEP territory.
“To an extent,” Hal answered as they walked. “When Roy said you and Danny caused it, he was right. When you asked if you’d do it again … he said yes..”
“But did he really?” Robbie asked. “I mean, he made choices out of fear of human extinction. He had no idea the embryos were LEP. They didn’t all survive implantation. His one act didn’t cause an entire evolution.”
“True. But there had to be a big drop in human growth. The infertility plague.” Hal said. “Didn’t Dean and Ellen claim to cure all that when they went through the Aragon window.”
“Yeah,” Robbie said. “But, Dean and Ellen said Frank was old in that future. So … all that using the embryos probably already happened.”
“We don’t know if they went to the future in Danny’s book.”
“They did,” Robbie argued. “It’s the chain of events. Dean didn’t die in the explosion, Dad lived. So they did go to the future and cured the infertility virus, but that was after Frank implanted the two thousand embryos.”
“I did that?” Frank asked.
“Yes,” Hal answered. “You and Danny.”
“Where did I plant them?”
“In women,”
“Me and Danny planted two thousand embryos in woman. Man, I must be smart in the future. Wait …” Frank said. “How do you know all this?”
“Frank.” Hal snapped. “We read the book.”
“The whole book?”
“Yes.”
“In one night? That’s impressive. I only read the Great War parts, that’s all I care about. I mean, yeah, fucking world is turned upside down. No offense Chaka,” Frank looked at Chaka. “But it’s a thousand years past our time. Who the fuck cares.”
“Why are we so excited about being here, then?” Hal asked. “I mean you were gung ho about seeing it.”
“Seeing it. Who the hell doesn’t want to see the world in a thousand years? If we can stop it, sure, I want man to have the upper hand,” Frank replied.
“It’s all a moot point,” Robbie said. “If you think about it. Danny’s book may have been spot on when he wrote it, it’s out the window now. It was written in a time before Roy came back, before Chaka, everything in that time line as changed. Including the Great War. According to the book, it should have been started already. In the thick of things. We haven’t even traced a ship coming over yet.”
Hal asked. “Are you saying it isn’t happening?”
“Oh, it’s happening. Just different,” Robbie said. “Big factor is George. He was dead in Danny’s book. He’s alive. Frank’s always said that makes a difference.”
“Absolutely,” Frank said. “In the book we didn’t have the ability to gather his troops. We do now. We’re training them. The invasion is going to happen whether George is alive or not. I just can’t figure out how him being alive delayed it.”
“Dean says the dates are way off,” Hal said. “That could be it too. But it is different. If Bowman is still standing, it wasn’t hit in the Great War. In Danny’s book this entire region was destroyed.”
“It’s been a thousand years, Hal,” Robbie said. “Think about it. This would have grown back.”
“But would the buildings still be standing if destroyed by war?” Hal asked. “No, something about the Great War changed. Frank?”
Frank stoppe
d walking. He looked over the hillside the lush and thick forest. “As hard as this is to say…” He looked over his shoulder to Hal. “You’re right.”
“Gee thanks.”
“Seriously, something is different. I feel it,” Frank said. “The time line went different. Even Chaka said it’s different. We have to figure it out.”
“Hey, can we take a break?” Robbie asked. “We’ve been walking for hours. Not that I’m tired but this air sucks.”
“Little brother I am going to agree,” Hal said. “Let’s break. Chaka, are we safe here?”
“I believe so. I will keep watch. Rest, the air is not too much for me. Now the air in your time was difficult.”
Hal plopped down. “Frank, can I have a cigarette.”
“Where are yours?” Frank asked.
“You know damn well mine got wet.”
Frank tossed him a cigarette. “Don’t inhale too deeply. It feels weird.”
“Speaking of weird.” Robbie sat down on the ground. “What are these flowers? I have never seen them. They actually are pretty cool.”
“Whoa.” Frank walked over with his phone and took a picture. The patch of wildlife looked like a hybrid between a flower and plant. On the bottom, the leaves were thick like Aloe Vera, and the stem rose high producing a sphere shaped, baseball size flower, the salmon colored pedals encompassed the entire ball.
“Looks like a Ball Dahlia,” Frank said. “Only those pedals are cone like they’re more inverted.”
“A ball what?” Robbie asked with a snicker.
“Ball Dahlia.”
“How the hell do you know that?” Hal asked. ‘Seriously.”
“What? I can’t know my flowers?” Frank grabbed his chest. “I’m hurt.”
“Oh, stop. It’s just not you to know a flower called Ball Dahlia. I didn’t realize you also specialized in botany.”
“What?”
“Botany,” Hal explained. “The study of flowers.”
“I don’t study fucking flowers,” Frank said.
“Then how do you know that looks like a Ball Dahlia.”
“Because it’s poisonous, you should know it too. One word. Sergeant Pletcher.”
Robbie tossed back his head with cheerful remembrance. “Oh my God, I forgot about that. She made us know every single poisonous household plant. Hal don’t you remember the field trips to find plants.”
Hal smiled. “And the one time I had the bad case of poison ivy. I collected a whole bag of poison Ivy to just to rub it all over the Wesley Brothers. What a wonderful memory, even though I was covered head to toe.
“I really miss her,” Robbie said. “She was such a big part of our lives. I am really glad she passed right before the plague. Although she would have loved these. Hey, Frank, give me one of those bags.”
“What are you doing?” Hal asked.
“I want to take one back. Have Dean look at it. He’d like it. Maybe it has some sort of strange medicinal power.”
Frank handed him the bag. “That’s good thinking.”
“Do we want to do that?” Hal asked. “This flower here belongs in the future not in the past. We could cause a problem.”
“How?” Robbie placed the flower in the bag and sealed it. He had some pollen on his fingers and he wiped it on his pants. “It’s not like we’re planting it. It’ll be dead by the time we get back anyhow.”
“Give the bag here.” Frank held out his hand. “I’ll carry it in my pack.” He took off his backpack, set it down, unzipped it a little and put the flower inside. He placed it back on his back, readjusted his rifle, stood next to Chaka and stared out again. “Yeah, we’ll head down, cross that field. Just beyond those woods should bring us pretty close to Bowman.”
Chaka spoke in a low voice. “Down there. Movement in the fields.”
“Where?” Frank asked. “I’m not …” Then he thought he saw it, a split second later, Frank heard it. He caught sight of the arrow sailing their way full speed. He didn’t have time to warn anyone. It was a reaction, almost instinct, like a parent protecting their child in the front seat of a car, Frank reached out with the ‘extended arm’ to block the arrow from hitting Chaka.
It hit into the inner part of his forearm, impaling him as it extended through narrowly missing Chaka.
“Fuck!”
“Frank!” Hal called out.
“Get down!” Frank called out, trying to see who or what shot the arrow.
Another arrow flew at them and he shoved Chaka out of the way of that one.
As he got down low to the ground, Frank grabbed hold of the arrow. It didn’t just impale him, it cut and burned into him causing his skin to bubble. It hurt and not much really cause him pain. He withdrew the arrow quickly and blood poured out.
Hal crawled his way to Frank. “Frank, are you alright? That’s bad.”
“Nah, give it a minute.” Frank watched his wound, the bleeding started to slow and then he looked at the arrow.
“What is it?” Hal asked.
“I know this. It’s our invention. The stuff we made that cuts into LEP.” He lifted his eyes to Chaka.
“Primal tribe,” Chaka said. “They want me. I will divert them and run the other way.”
“Fuck that.” Frank pulled forth his weapon.
“Frank, what are you doing?” Hal asked.
“They’re shooting fucking arrows, Hal. They don’t have guns.” Frank stood and without hesitation, sprayed a line of fire into the dirt as a warning. “Shoot at me again and next time I hit you.”
“They won’t understand you,” Chaka said. “Primals don’t understand that language.” He raised his voice and hollered. “I am his prisoner. He warns you not to shoot again. Cease attack. He has great power. He comes from the stars. He is a God.”
The corner of Frank’s mouth lifted in a grin. “Oh, yeah.”
Hal rolled his eyes. “Oh for the love of God.”
Robbie laughed.
Frank aimed out. He still didn’t see anyone. “Tell them to come out. Arms raised.”
“Show yourself!” Chaka called. “Lift your limbs high. He will not reign the power down on you.”
A few seconds after Chaka called out the order, closer than even he thought, eight people rose from the high foliage in the fields, arms in the air. The stood there, wearing only simple coverings, reminiscent of cave men.
“Wow, they’re crafty,” Frank said. “Like the killer babies in my time. They hide well. Hal, Robbie, you can get up, you should see this Planet of the Apes shit.”
Robbie, Hal and Chaka stood, they then followed Frank as he made his way down the small grade toward them.
“Chaka, what made you say the stars thing?” Robbie asked.
“It is a legend,” Chaka said. “About a man that came from the stars. Even Primal know it.” Chaka followed, he had his hands raised.
“Tell them I won’t hurt them. Do not attack,” Frank said.
“He will be forgiving if you do not attack!” Chaka said.
An older man, probably not as old as he looked, moved his hands in almost a sign language.
“What is that?” Hal asked.
“They do not have ability to speak words. They understand language just not physically able to make a noise.” Chaka reached out to Frank’s arm, then aimed his voice at the Primals. “He has a weapon no Primal or Hubra has. Also … your mighty weapon struck him. He heals.” He lifted Frank’s arm. “Look.”
At that moment, all of Primals dropped down to their knees, bowed their heads and lifted their arms high in praise.
“What’s going on?” asked Hal.
“They are humbled,” Chaka replied. “They believe. They think he is a God.”
Frank nodded arrogantly and gave a thumbs up to the Primals.
“Don’t say it,” Hal said. “Please.”
Frank grinned. “I am.”
They were fearful of Chaka, until Chaka explained as if he were speaking for Frank, that he was a fri
end and not foe.
There were probably more than Frank saw, but they were hiding in fear. They only felt safe, when near water. However living on the water’s edge, left them in the open.
“He thinks in pictures,” Frank told Hal. “I’m tapping in but it’s gonna take me a bit to figure out what he is saying and thinking.”
“Say, Frank,” Robbie said. “In any of those pictures does it show them killing us?”
“No.” Frank laughed.
The leader, who Frank just figured he’d call ‘Harry’, led them into the woods. In wasn’t far into their journey where Frank figure out where they were. A residential area, suburb, that was located about ten miles south of Jordan and north of Bowman. There were no houses at all. Only thick wooded areas, but the basements of those houses remained and that was where Harry and his people lived and took cover. Until they felt danger, they stayed in the open.
They passed a garden with fruit and vegetables
When Frank and them arrived, Harry informed his people that they were safe and within minutes those in his village brave enough to come out, brought food to them as gifts.
Chaka explained that they probably would feel insulted if Frank and his brothers didn’t eat their food and it was perfectly fine.
“How do you know what they’re saying?” Hal asked Chaka.
“We have a pet village near our own where we take great care of our Primals. Plus, I have been to the labs where they experiment on Primals as well. I know their sign language.”
“Experiment?” Hal questioned.
“Don’t judge us. Not when you have Dean and Ellen and you put me in a pen like an animal.”
Hal lifted his hand. “No judging.”
Harry’s hands moved frantically.
“What’s he saying?” Frank asked.
“He recognized my clothes but says I am different as well from other Hubra.” Chaka nodded to Harry. “I am. My mother was part Primal.”
Harry sniffed Frank and pointed.
“Yes,” Chaka told him. “He is part Hubra. The gods want all Hubra and Primal to live as one.”
Harry signaled to his people and they cheered.
“Oh, this is fucking weird,” Frank said. He looked up when a female Primal placed food in front of him. Frank nodded, “Thanks.”
Escape the Planet of the LEPS: Beginnings Series Book 28 Page 8