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

by Jacqueline Druga

  Ellen did want to leave him, but had to chance it. She swiped up the gun and reached for the elevator button. Seconds seemed like an eternity for the doors to open. It was all happening in slow motion, looking at the doors, glancing down the hall, waiting for the elevator, watching a guard run to her.

  The doors open. As Ellen went to step inside, a doctor was stepping out. Shoving him harshly, she held the gun pointed to him as she pressed the number one. Just as the guard reached the doors, they shut. Ellen breathed heavily watching the digital numbers decrease. Praying as the elevator moved, that they wouldn’t down the power. As the numbers counted down to one, she lifted the gun high and calked back the hammer, ready and waiting to fire at anyone who stood there.

  The elevator stopped, and the door opened upon the halt. No one was there. Cautiously she stepped forward, holding up her guard. That was as far as she got. The last thing Ellen saw through the corner of her eye was the green of a uniform and the butt of a rifle crashing to her. The searing pain to her head, didn’t last. It was lights out.

  ^^^^

  ‘Stay clear of Frank’ was the word around Beginnings. Frank too would have like to stay clear of himself, however that would be impossible. He didn’t like the mood he was in either. Snapping at everyone. Getting pissed off at the slightest thing. But he was handling himself well, he thought. When he felt that sensation start to happen, that burning under the collar, gonna scream like an idiot mood, Frank backed off. Saving the poor soul from any unnecessary verbal lashing.

  But as Frank neared the helicopter hanger, he felt that sensation begin to happen. He didn’t walk away. The poor soul he viewed walking into the hanger was going to get it full fledged. Johnny. Frank had been looking for him all morning. Finding him wasn’t a relief, but rather another reason for his temple to throb. “John!” Frank bellowed into the hanger, the loud hard sound echoing.

  “Hey Dad.” Johnny wasn’t even seeing what was coming, as he grabbed a box and walked to the helicopter.

  “What are you doing?” Frank asked demandingly. “Cole tells me you didn’t show up for field work this morning.”

  “I slept in. So I figured I’d just work on the bird for an hour before my classes.”

  “You slept in? You were late yesterday, too. This is your job. You do your job. Take it serious Johnny! I hope to God you aren’t taking advantage of the fact that Miguel is gone to act like this.”

  “Why not.” Johnny threw his hands in the air. “You’re taking advantage of the fact that Ellen’s gone to act like you are.”

  Frank’s arm came down pointing out to him. He opened his mouth with a deep breath, then paused. “You’re right. Forget it. I’m sorry.” He turned. “Go back to your bird.”

  Johnny watched his father walk away, his big body swaying with his every step. “Dad! Wait.” Johnny ran to catch him. “I’ll walk with you.”

  “I thought you wanted to work on the bird?” Frank asked.

  “Nah.” Johnny pulled the hanger door closed. “Since I blew off work this morning, I’ll head down there now, pull an hour or two.”

  “Good.” Frank looked up to the sky and to the sun. “Sorry I came down so hard on you.”

  “I expected it. You’re tired Dad, you miss Ellen. And since she’s not around, who else are you gonna take your bad mood out on? Pap? Pap wouldn’t take it, he’d kick your ass.”

  Frank laughed. “Pap could not kick my ass.”

  “You don’t think? Pap’s the only man in this community that can do it. For now that is. In a couple years. I’ll be able to take you too.”

  Frank slowed down on the edge of the field where he and Johnny would go their separate ways. “John, it won’t matter how big you get, or how old I get. You’ll never be able to take me, just like I’ll never be able to take my Dad.”

  “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

  “Respect.” Frank said matter-of-fact. “I’d never take a swing at my father.”

  “And I’d never take a swing at mine.” Johnny saw the look on his father’s face and he knew he had said the right thing. “I’m gonna head to the fields and apologize to Cole for blowing him off. Are you gonna be O.K.?”

  “Yep.” Frank nodded. “I just want her home, John.”

  “Me too.”

  Frank pulled his son to him, and kissed the top of his head as he rubbed it. “Go to work. And uh, thanks for the talk.”

  Johnny backed up, fixing his hair. “And thank for the kiss.” He smiled at his father then trotted off to the field house.

  Frank felt somewhat better, even if it was momentarily, Johnny helped. His slide of bad mood didn’t last that long. As soon as he hit the edge of the fields, he began to think of Ellen and his emotions returned.

  ^^^^

  The voices sounded so far away, almost faded to Ellen. But she soon realized they were so very near to her as she returned to consciousness. Lifting her head slowly and feeling the knot in her neck and the pain from the side of her head. Finally opening her eyes, Ellen saw her hands bound to the chair she sat in, along with her feet. In focus, came Joanna and Jeffery Barnett.

  Joanna noticed her awakening. “You’re up.” She neared her. “Good. In case you’re worried about Miguel, he’s alive. Better shape than you.” She picked up a vial and a syringe. “We need him in good shape for when your father arrives.” She inserted the needle into the vial. “Can’t have a bruised up Miguel telling your Father that you’ve decided to stay, can we?”

  “He’ll never believe you.” Ellen watched her fill the needle. She tried her best to move, but failed.

  “Of course he will. Now hold still or you’ll make it worse.” Joanna injected her. She plunged the fluid into her, emptying the contents of the syringe. “Done.” Joanna removed it, tossed the needle and checked out her watch. “Just about a minute.”

  Ellen looked down to the tiny blood bubble that formed at the vein that was just injected. “What did you give me?”

  “It’s our equivalent to Sodium Pentothal. Don’t worry, Ellen, we’re not going to kill you. You hold valuable information in that tiny mind of yours, and you are a female who is capable of reproducing. A very valuable commodity.” Joanna looked again at her watch. “Ten more seconds.”

  “It won’t work on me. My mind’s too strong.” Ellen felt the drug take effect. Her pain in her head was gone, a sleepy feeling began to hit her as she fought to keep her eyes open.

  “It’ll work.” Joanna grabbed a clipboard. “We’ll start with some easy questions. Ready?”

  “Won’t work . . . yes.” Ellen felt out of control. She fought with everything she had, but the drug felt too strong.

  “All right. What is your name?”

  Don’t say it. Fight it. “Ellen.” Her words were slow.

  “And what is your last name?”

  “When?” Ellen asked. “Last name now? Last name before or last name awhile ago?”

  “Now.”

  “Slagel. Ellen Slagel. I married Frank Slagel. I used to be Ellen Calaway when I was married to Peter. Before that I was Ellen Martin. That was the time before Calaway, way before Slagel.”

  “Ellen tell us . . .”

  “But . . .” Ellen couldn’t stop from rambling. They wanted the truth about her name. “I could have had the last name Hayes. But who wants to walk around being called Ellen Hayes. Ellen Hayes, not Helen Hayes. Imagine what people would say. They’d make fun of your name. But that’s not why I didn’t marry Dean. I could have married Dean. I don’t think Frank would have let me. Of course I was living with Dean for so long everyone thought we were married. We acted . . .”

  “Ellen!” Joanna grabbed her forehead. “Answer my questions.”

  “I did.”

  “Next question. What do you know about the embryos.”

  “Embryos are what a baby is called before they become a baby. Embryos are the product of conception. When during intercourse the sperm meets the . . .”

  “No. Our embryos. The fro
zen ones. What do you know about them?”

  “They were in a case.” Shut up Ellen, just shut up. She kept telling herself.

  “Where are the embryos now, Ellen?” Joanna questioned with little patience.

  “In Beginnings.” Ellen answered.

  “Where in Beginnings.”

  “In a case.”

  Grunting loudly Joanna slapped her clipboard down on the counter. “Where is the case?”

  “Hidden.”

  “Where is it hidden?”

  “Away.”

  Joanna turned away from Ellen to Jeffrey. “This isn’t working. You try.”

  “Ellen.” Jeffrey spoke softer, more calmer. “Have one of the embryos been implanted at all?”

  “Yes. Mother and child are fine.”

  “We know that.” Confirmed to Jeffrey that Ellen’s baby was one of theirs. “Now Ellen listen carefully to me. We need to know where in Beginnings the embryos are.”

  “In a case.” Ellen answered.

  “Yes but where is the case?”

  “Hidden.”

  “Joanna, her mind is too strong.” Jeffrey pulled Joanna out of ear shot. “We’re going to have to try something else. Something drastic.”

  “I agree. I’d like to know where they are. I’d rather not march into Beginnings and have to tear apart a place we need. We need the original batch.”

  “I’m well aware.” Jeffrey signaled to the guard to get Ellen. “We’ll try again tomorrow.” He watched the guard untie Ellen and proceed to drag, not carry the rambling little woman back to her room.

  ^^^^

  The dream from the night before truly stayed on Dean’s mind all day. He carried with him that feeling as if he just woke up. He could still see Ellen’s dead body lying on that table, as if it were real, like it hadn’t been a dream. Paranoia was what he thought was happening. Ellen had been gone for three days. And with each passing hour Dean felt more and more helpless. The longer she was away, the more wrong he felt Beginnings was for letting her go. The worse that fear in his gut grew.

  His work wasn’t getting done. Things were piling up and he still hadn’t replenished the medical supplies. He hadn’t even worked on the cryo-data since before Ellen had left. He found himself spending his time staring blankly into a microscope or at a computer screen. Horrible visions in his mind.

  After wasting the day stewing, Dean knew it was time. It was time to stop the madness that went through his head and heart. And though he and Frank were borderline mortal enemies, Dean felt strongly that they shared a common ground. However unsuccessful his attempts to talk to Frank over the past few days were, it was time to try again. And no matter what, no matter what it took, Dean was going to make Frank listen. Dean hoped with everything he had as he sought Frank out, that what he had to say would not be anything new to him, but merely a confirmation of the fears that Frank already had. Dean needed an ally in the battle of what he feared. Little did he know, so did Frank.

  ^^^^

  Not a soul would go near him as he sat at that table in the social hall. Frank sat alone. A drink perched in front of him, one he nursed. One he barely sipped. It wasn’t quite midnight. Though the noise level in the hall was high, Frank heard none of it. His stare was forward as he slouched downward, arms reaching outward across the table, holding onto his drink.

  Frank saw the bottle set down on the table, followed by a glass. He didn’t look up to see who it was. The small frame person standing before him could only be one man.

  Dean pulled out a chair and poured a drink. “You once said to me, that if I wanted to talk to you, I had to have a drink with you. I need to talk to you, Frank. I really do.” Dean brought the glass to his lips, he hated alcohol, and he sipped it hesitantly , trying not to show the distaste as he swished in his mouth.

  “I’m sitting here alone. I’m not in the mood for talking.”

  “I need to talk to you about Ellen.”

  The drink he had nursed slipped in its entirety into his mouth, Frank slammed his empty glass down. “I don’t talk to you about Ellen.” Frank began to stand.

  “Tough.” Dean stood also, he was determined, his face showed it as he leaned quickly into Frank, facing him off. “This is important damn it. I need you of all people to listen to me. Listen to me Frank. Please.” Dean’s voice softened. “Please.”

  Without saying anything Frank sat back down, he poured another drink. “Talk.”

  “Thank you.” Dean grabbed his own glass and held it in his hands. “Just hear me out, and don’t get mad about what I say.” Dean knew exactly what had to come out. “I’m having a hard time with this. With Ellen being gone. I . . . I can’t eat right. I can’t work. I’m not sleeping right. She is on my mind constantly. And I’ve kicked myself trying to figure out why. I know why now. I had this dream about her, and it scared me. It really scared me.” Dean knew he had Frank’s attention, and that somewhere in that far off look, Frank was listening. “I have a bad feeling, Frank. A really bad feeling.” Dean leaned inward. “No one is going to tell me that they didn’t sabotage my lab. Or they didn’t try to get you out of the way. They need you out of the way, because they are scared that you’re going to go get Ellen. And what makes matters worse . . . they have her now. She hundreds of miles away from us, no way to talk to her, no way to find out how she is. I can’t shake this fear. Now this is coming from me. I need to know, aren’t you feeling it too? I can’t be the only one. My God, you’ve known her over half your life. You know her better than anyone. Am I crazy, am I overreacting? Tell me what you think. What is your gut telling you?”

  Frank’s eyes lowered and he breathed heavily through his flaring nostrils. His long fingers tapped on his half empty glass. “My gut is telling me . . .” He leaned to Dean. “Something is wrong, something is really wrong. And she needs me.”

  Dean’s body dropped in relief. “Then why are we just sitting here then. Why are you just sitting here?”

  “You know what?” Frank released his glass. “You’re right. Thanks Dean.” He jumped up.

  “Wait.” Dean blocked his way. “I didn’t mean for you to jump right now. Where are you going? I still need to talk to you.”

  “I’m going to get her.”

  “Great. Fine.” Dean tried to reason. “But it has to be thought out. It has to be done right. Let’s you and I put our heads together now and figure it out right.”

  Frank listened to Dean. His inner-soul told him that now was not the time for petty differences between them. Frank pulled out a chair and joined Dean. For as much as they’ve always been against each other it was time to pull together. It was time for both ends of the spectrum to meet.. As they sat talking, preparing for what they would say to Joe, they never stopped to realize how powerful a force they were actually going to be for Ellen.

  ^^^^

  The guard was not gentle. He tossed Ellen into the room like a newspaper. It was fortunate for her sluggish body that Miguel was there to stop her hard fall to the not-too-soft floor. So drugged she was. So talkative. But it wasn’t long after that she passed right out. Miguel had used his time wisely. Both before they had brought Ellen back and after. He did a lot of thinking. He had to try to make what they were going to be doing first thing in the morning, perfect.

  Making him and Ellen hand weapons was foremost. Not much, but a way to break out, or at least go down swinging. Turning over his bed, and removing support bars from the bottom, took a lot out of his hands. He had no tools, and turning the screws caused his fingers to start to bleed. Miguel was strong and that worked in his favor. Four bars, two each tied together with the top sheet of his bed he ripped. Miguel had shown his bars to Ellen, telling her what to do, to use it as a club. She giggled at them, of course at the time she was still under the influence of the serum. He was still trying to figure out who they were trying to torture giving Ellen that drug. Him or Ellen. He had known her for six years and now he knew her differently. Of course Miguel was certain now he knew t
hings about her both Frank and Dean didn’t know.

  Miguel sat on the floor in between the beds. His club under his pillow, Ellen’s under her pillow. He watched Ellen mostly. As the night progressed she began to toss in her sleep. He knew it had to be the pain, because not long before she had cried out. He felt helpless. How many times would he fail her. He broke his promise to Frank even inadvertently. And Miguel swore at that moment it wouldn’t happen again, even if it meant his life.

  ^^^^

  Joe groggily stumbled into his office half dressed. As he made it to his desk, he saw Frank and Dean shut the door. Frank turned the latch. “You’re locking me in my office at four in the morning? This better be important.”

  “Dad, it is.” Frank moved with Dean toward the desk. “We’ve been working on something all night.”

  “Together.” Dean added. “And we think you should listen.”

  “With an open mind.” Frank continued. “We . . . we have a bad feeling. A real bad feeling.”

  Joe sat down. “You want to get Ellen now, instead of waiting a few more days.” He saw he impressed them with his Houdini style guess. “Can’t say I haven’t been boggled with bad feelings myself. But we have no proof. We’ll look like fools if we rush down there like a Rambo squad and storm in.”

  Frank shook his head as he pulled p a chair and sat. “We’re not pulling a siege. We actually have a plan.”

  Dean took over. “Leave a few days early. You, Greg, George and . . . Frank.” He saw Joe getting ready to object and Dean held up his hand. “Listen. This will work. I know the installation and area well. About a mile from the compound, on the road you take there, is a picnic area. Frank and I are going to get supplies ready, survival supplies. You drop off the supplies at the area then you and Greg drop George and Frank off at the compound.”

  “What are you nuts?” Joe blasted. “Those two can’t take them on alone. Especially if there is trouble.”