The Big Ten: The First Ten Books of the Beginnings Series

by Jacqueline Druga

“Oh nothing. I just have something on my mind.”

  “Wanna talk about it?” Dean moved closer to her.

  “No. Go to the lab.”

  Dean adjusted the collar on his coat. “Is that a ‘I want you to go to the lab’ answer? Or is it an ‘I want you to get the truth out of me because I’m a female’ answer?”

  Ellen smiled at him. “I want you to go to the lab, Dean. I just have Robbie on my mind. Don’t worry about it.”

  “So it was a little of both. What’s going on with Robbie?”

  “I don’t think he’s ready to leave containment yet. I know I’m going to get heat on it.”

  “Looks like you already have. Are you arguing with Frank about this?”

  “Fighting with him about this.”

  “You mean arguing. You and Frank don’t fight.”

  “We are now.”

  Dean tried to hide the smile that was nearing out. “Well, for what it’s worth I don’t blame your decision. Robbie’s going to go through every adjustment and emotional change that any other survivor we bring in goes through. The only difference is, he’s Joe’s son. We have to forget about that. There’s nothing wrong with Robbie, he’s as normal as we can expect from a survivor, but he’s just not where everyone thinks he is.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He kissed her on the cheek. “I won’t be too late.” He walked to the front door. “See you in a little bit.”

  Ellen nodded and smiled sadly when Dean left. Finding the living room too quiet, Ellen chalked up ‘a drink’ as to what she needed. She went to the cabinet to pour herself some of that scotch Johnny brought her back from the last run. As she reached for the bottle, she heard a tapping at the door. Thinking it was Joe, she walked to the door and opened it. Frank stood there, his arm leaning on the doorway, his expression, humbled. “Frank? What are you doing here?”

  “I’m sorry.” He held out his hand. “Buddies?”

  “No.” Ellen shut the door on him, then quickly re-opened it, to a surprised looking Frank. “Did you believe me?”

  “No.” He walked in. “I rescind my apology.”

  “No you don’t.”

  “No, I don’t.” He leaned down to her and kissed her. “I won’t argue or fight with you about it. It’s not worth it. Even though I don’t agree with you, that’s your job, not mine.”

  Ellen heard his words, but she also knew Frank. After a few days, if Robbie was still in containment, then the argument would return. Ellen let Frank believe that she thought he’d keep true to his word. Frank was as stubborn as she was. The one fault that they both had in common, would be a deadly one for them while Robbie stayed in containment. Neither of them ever wanted to be wrong about something, and in the Robbie situation, one of them would be.

  CHAPTER NINE

  May 8th

  “Paul!” Joe called loudly across the tractor noise to Paul who was lifting bundles of hay. He waved his hand in a ‘come here’ motion to the young man who seemed to fit into Beginnings so perfectly. “Need you for a few minutes.”

  Paul wiped his forehead with his gloved hand, took the gloves off, and informed Miguel he’d be right back. “Yes Mr. Slagel.” He approached Joe who stood by an idling jeep.

  “Feel like taking a ride into town with me?”

  “Sure. Why?”

  “There’s some things I want to discuss with you. Hop in.” Joe slid into the drivers seat and waited for Paul to join him. He turned the jeep around and sped off. “So how are things going?”

  “Good. Real good. These past five days have been smooth. My house is a little quiet, but I guess that will change when Robbie lives with me..”

  “That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Actually, I have a couple favors to ask of you. Now they’re only favors so don’t think you have to do them.”

  “What are they?” Paul asked.

  “Well, I know I need you out in the fields, but I’d really like to utilize some of those talents you listed. One, at the school, we have a lot of kids in Beginnings. They’re the survivors we never pass up. They could use that musical instruction.”

  “No problem, I’d enjoy that. I don’t know how much patience I’d have, but I’ll learn.”

  “Good. Second . . .” Joe smiled. “Yeah, there’s more favors. Interested in providing the hall with some live music once a week? Maybe you and Robbie can get together, he’s played since he was a kid.”

  “I’d love it. That’s what I like to do most.”

  Joe slowed the jeep down as he pulled up to the main street of town. He pulled over and parked it. “Can you get enough material together for tomorrow night? We’re having a party for Robbie.”

  “He’s getting out? That’s great. I couldn’t figure out why he was in there so long.”

  Joe huffed. “Me either. None of us could. Ellen insisted he stay. Let me tell, you this past week has been hell. But hey, I gave her the position because I respect her judgment.” He stepped from the jeep.

  “So she’s finally giving in?”

  Joe slowed down as they approached a small silver building at the end of the block. He looked at Paul and took a deep breath.

  “Ellen doesn’t know?”

  “Well, let’s just say we got tired of waiting and went over her head. She’ll find out shortly.” Joe paused as he opened the door for Paul. A spine chilling fear struck him when he realized how shortly it really would be before Ellen found out she had lost.

  ***

  Ellen basked in the oddity of the really great day she was having. She moved to containment after stopping to see her children at the school. She was still on a ‘high’ after the fun, fur-less rabbit experiment she did with Dean. Great days were few and far between for Ellen, so she was on-guard. The fact that she was on time for every place she had to be, was a sure sign that things were headed toward an avalanche. And the sight of Frank, confirmed that.

  Frank stood as if he was waiting for her outside of containment. Leaning against the wall, blocking the door, arms folded, that snide look on his face. She had to wonder, was it going to be round 751? Another confrontation with Frank was not what she wanted. Every day it was the same routine. The day started out fine, and then somewhere, somehow, Frank would bring up Robbie. No matter what the topic of conversation, Frank made it fit into a Robbie one. ‘El, I scratched my finger . . . . when is Robbie getting out of containment?’. Robbie was a closed subject to Ellen. He had to be. She had made a promise to Robbie. A promise that would be impossible for Ellen to keep if she kept arguing with Frank. So she decided after four days of fighting, making up, and fighting again, avoidance of Frank would be fundamentally necessary. At least until the Robbie crisis was over.

  Ellen paused as she drew closer to the containment center. Frank was blocking the doorway. He was smiling. That pissed her off. He was going to say something, she just knew it. She took a deep breath and headed straight to the door. “Frank. Move.”

  Frank smiled at her, and did not say a word. He placed his hands behind her neck and pulled her to him and kissed her. “I miss you.”

  “Yeah-yeah, right. Move.”

  “El, please. Let’s not do this. You haven’t even sat down and talked with me in the past two days. I’m going through withdrawal here.”

  “When the Robbie situation is over, then we can go back to normal. Move.” Ellen tried to get past him. Frank didn’t budge.

  “El, I promise you, I promise I will not argue with you over Robbie ever again.” He held up his right hand. “Please stop this.”

  Ellen knew Frank never broke a promise. But she also knew Frank hated to lose an argument and he was making a promise that would be impossible to keep. Something was going on. She knew it, but didn’t want to get into it. “I can’t be around you, Frank. Let’s just wait it out. Besides, you have no idea what it’s like to have everyone in town harp on you constantly, everyone. I have had no support this week. The only person who hasn’t judged
me is Dean. When I told him you and I . . .”

  “You told Dean we’ve been fighting? Oh that’s just great. No wonder he’s being supportive. I would be too if I were in his position. What’s he doing? Being the . . .”

  “Frank!” Ellen silenced him. “You promise not to argue about Robbie, so does this mean everything else is fair game?”

  “Fine, I won’t argue.” Frank drew closer to her. “I give up, you win. Be nice to me again.” Frank tilted his head with a quirky smile. “El, you’re looking at me really funny.”

  Ellen folded her arms. “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know what you mean. I’m just here to make up.”

  “No, we’ve made up lots of times this week. You were never like this.”

  “Can I see you tonight?”

  “You have changed the subject.”

  “I did not.”

  “You did too.” Ellen tried to get by him. “Can I go to work now please?”

  “Now you changed the subject.”

  “Frank you’re getting on my nerves. Move!” Ellen waited for him to step off to the side. “Thank you.” Ellen opened the door to go in.

  “El are we friend again? El . . . El . . . El . . are we friends again . . . El.”

  “Frank!” Ellen took a breath and calmed herself. “I know you better than anyone. I’m not buying it. Either you’re acting like the babbling idiot right now because you truly missed me, or you know something I don’t. I’m opting for you know something I don’t.”

  “If I did. What does that mean for us tonight?”

  “I knew it!” Ellen stormed into containment.

  “El.” Frank followed her in.

  Ellen faced him quickly, before Greg buzzed her in. “I will deal with you later. I promise that.” Angry, and annoyed, Ellen knew in her gut what was going on. Frank, all of the sudden giving in, waiting for her, making promises he’d find hard to keep. Her instincts told her she had been crossed, and she knew she was right the moment she spotted Andrea at the far end of the containment hall. With the security door still held open by her, she looked over her shoulder at Frank. Anger, not hurt, lit up her face. “Why couldn’t you be straight with me? Huh Frank?”

  Frank’s head hung low, he looked at her through the tops of his eyes. “I’m sorry, El. I wasn’t allowed to tell you.”

  “Who all knows about this?”

  Frank didn’t answer.

  “I’m the only one who didn’t know this? For how long?”

  “Just this morning.”

  “Well, screw you.” Ellen let the door slam behind her. Trying to keep herself in control, she walked toward Andrea who appeared to be waiting on her. Ellen expected the situation; she knew it would come eventually. She knew she couldn’t hold off the forces from Robbie very long. But that wasn’t what bothered her. It was the fact that it was a big conspiracy. In her storm down the hall she began to feel bad. She didn’t feel bad for herself, she felt bad for Robbie. She let him down. Robbie still wasn’t ready to leave. He was going to have to, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  “Ellen, I can see that you’re upset.” Andrea tried to reason with her, but Ellen gathered reading material into stacks on her desk. “I understand why.” Andrea knew she was ignored, but then she became annoyed at Ellen’s banging of the papers she collated. “You cannot be that angry, Ellen. This is not the first time I was brought in here to double check on someone you refused to release or wanted to release.”

  “That’s correct.” Ellen dropped what she was holding, letting it fall to the desk. “However, it is the first time you came in here without my knowledge. That’s what pisses me off. That’s why I’m fired-up. That with the fact that everyone knew but me.”

  “For that I apologize, I really do. Not telling you was wrong. Joe said he had his reasons and he’ll tell you when he comes in this afternoon.”

  “I can’t wait to hear it.”

  “Ellen.” Andrea moved closer to her. “I have apologized to you. I am sincere in that. But I have to tell you, I saw nothing, nothing wrong with Robbie. Which brings me to a question that has been popping up on everyone’s mind.” Andrea, somewhat apprehensive, folded her arms tightly to herself. “Now don’t get too upset. This question is not entirely unfounded. But, I’ve seen Robbie. He’s the best looking guy I have ever seen in my life. Are you sure that perhaps there isn’t an attraction there, maybe you kept him here for personal reasons?”

  “What?! You can’t be serious about this?” Ellen waited for a response, she didn’t get one. “You are serious.” Almost in a dramatic disgust Ellen snarled her face. “I’m not even going to justify that with an answer.”

  “The question was brought up.” Andrea shrugged. “By who, I don’t know. Forget about it, all right? Look, I know you’re mad. If you need to vent, vent on me. I can take it.”

  “I’m not going to vent on you, Andrea. There are certain people in this community I don’t lose it on. You are one of them. However . . . there are those who I do vent on. So in order to save a few survivors from an unnecessary Ellen lashing . . .” She sniffed, twitched her head and spoke in a high tone as she turned. “Excuse me.” Nose in the air, and mind full of speeches she was going to give, Ellen left the office.

  Andrea could have stopped her, but saw no reason to, since she herself had been spared.

  Ellen walked out of containment. As she did she noticed Frank perched out front like he was on detail. She growled as she walked briskly past him, down the sidewalk, and straight to her destination with Frank following her. “Don’t you have a job or something?”

  “I’m working.” Frank kept up with her. “I’m in security. My job is to divert any possible dangerous situations from occurring. With the mood you’re in right now, who knows what could happen.”

  Ellen stopped cold in her tracks, taking Frank by surprise and causing him to walk right past her.

  Frank noticed she was no longer beside him. He looked back, Ellen wasn’t smiling at his joke. “Come on El, lighten up. I’m kidding you.”

  “I’m not in the mood.”

  “Well, get in the mood.”

  Ellen rolled her eyes at him and began to walk again. “Frank, just leave me alone. I told you I’d deal with you later.”

  “Fine. Tonight?”

  “Yes, Frank, yes.” Ellen approached the door to the clinic.

  “Will you be in a better mood later?”

  “Probably not.” She opened the door.

  Frank wasn’t giving up, he was bound and determined to irritate Ellen until she smiled. “El, just so I’m mentally prepared for you. On a scale of one to ten, how mad are you?”

  Ellen turned once again to face him. There was only one way to get her anger across to Frank, and a number just wasn’t going to do it. “Michelle.” Ellen sarcastically smiled. “Michelle, Michelle, Michelle!”

  Frank’s body jolted with the words like he had just been hit with rapid gun fire. “Uh!”

  “Michelle is wonderful.” Ellen took one step closer. “Michelle is nice.”

  “Stop!”

  “Michelle didn’t take the van, you gave it to her and forgot about it.”

  “Enough, enough, I get the point.” Frank backed up. He scrunched his face in a painful look and pressed his finger tightly to his closed eye. “Now see, you’ve gone and gave me a Michelle-grain. Thank you very much.”

  Ellen was not going to smile at him. Even when he peaked out from behind his hand to see if he had her. “Frank!” Ellen snapped. “Go to work.” Saying no more, Ellen went back up to the clinic doorway. She opened the doors and stood there for a second to let her rage return, let her blood pressure rise, and when it did, she stormed into the clinic for her brief, but painful assault on . . .

  “Dean!” Ellen growled out as she flung open the laboratory door.

  Dean sat across the lab, a rabbit lay in front of him. It laid on its back, its little paws spread eagle. He looked up at her from hi
s mini bunny autopsy. “Hey El.”

  “Don’t you hey El me!” Ellen’s voice was, cold, harsh, and deep. “Did you know?” She scolded, putting one hand on her hip.

  “Know what?” Dean knew that he blurted out a dumb question. But it was his best response.

  “This morning. Did you know about Robbie?”

  Dean returned to look at his rabbit. He debated, play dumb, or be honest. He opted for neither. Ignore her, and hope the moment that was just about to transpire, would be over soon.

  “You did! You son-of-a-bitch! You sat here with me this morning and you knew. You looked me in the eye, talked to me. You listened to me bitch about how everyone was on me, and you said nothing?”

  “El, I couldn’t say anything, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad.”

  “Don’t be mad?” Ellen’s height increased along with her voice as her anger brought her to her tipped toes. “Don’t be mad? Fuck you.” She flung her arms with her grunt of frustration, and in one swift turn, she stormed from the lab as quickly as she entered, then raged from the clinic.

  Stepping outside, Ellen let a sigh of ‘feel good’ hit her at the same time as the sun. Walking back to containment that feeling left her when she saw Henry and he was smiling at her.

  “Hi Ellen.” Henry walked up to her.

  “Kiss my ass, Henry!”

  “O.K.. What did I do to deserve that?” Henry was calm and logical, as usual.

  “Like you don’t know.”

  “No, I don’t. Feel like telling me?”

  “Robbie.”

  “O.K. Robbie . . . Oh.” Henry caught on. “They must have reached a decision.”

  “You don’t know about this, Henry? I find that hard to believe.” Ellen wanted to argue, but Henry just wasn’t cooperating.

  “Really I don’t. I left the council meeting at four in the morning. I had electronics work to finish. I just got up. I told them last night, whatever they decide to do.”

  “But you knew they were bringing someone in. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Henry scratched his head. “Funny, El. I don’t recall seeing you at all today.”