“Maybe a small chance.”
“A ha!” Henry shouted. “I knew it. I knew it.”
“Knew what?” Dean wondered. “We left a little feed outside. It’s just protein, that’s it.”
“Dean, those rabbits seem awfully strong. They jump pretty high too,” Joe commented.
“Yes they do and they are strong.”
“How fast are they?” Joe asked.
“Not very,” Dean answered.
“But they jump high.”
“Oh yeah.” Dean walked over to the cage and opened it. “They do that when they see someone in the lab. El and I usually let them out to roam. Because . . .” Dean took out the large rabbit. “We can catch them easily. Watch.” Dean set the rabbit on the floor.
Joe jumped back when he watched the rabbit fling himself up higher than any rabbit Joe had ever seen. “Shit.”
“Amazing huh?” Dean smiled. “But then . . .” The rabbit tried to jump again, this time only a little, then he looked as if he rested. The rabbit began to move across the floor, only instead of hopping, he sort of rolled. “See, Joe, They’re too big and too fat. They tire easily and can’t move.”
Joe grumbled in defeat. “So I suppose there isn’t a chance that the rabbits in the wild got a hold of your super feed and now are big and move over sixty miles an hour?”
Dean laughed loudly. “No way. The feed makes them big, yeah, but way too fat to even move a half a mile an hour. What is all this about?” Dean picked up the rabbit and carried him back to his cage.
Henry explained. “Something chased me, Dean. I couldn’t see it in the field but it was up at the under developed section and it squealed like your rabbits.”
Dean hesitated before putting the rabbit away. “You ran from rabbits?”
“No, Dean.” Henry was defensive. “They, or it, was fast. Zipped too. Radar picked it up.”
“Radar?”
Joe nodded. “Clocked whatever it was over sixty miles per hour. We thought it was a malfunction, but when Henry saw something moving in the high grass, we had to question. I’m going back to my theory on the computer was confused because there are so many rabbits in that area it can’t distinguish one small signal from another. It then blurs them together as one fast moving object.”
Dean closed the rabbit cage and looked serious. “How high and thick was the grass Henry?”
“High, about five feet and thick. There was a lot of brush there.”
Dean’s hand ran over his head to his neck. “And . . this was where?”
“Behind the under developed section, up behind the cliff. Sector Thirty-two. You know, where the tracking is. The field beyond that.” Henry told him.
“It chased you.” Dean watched Henry nod. “And it squealed.” Another nod from Henry and Dean shifted his eyes to Joe. “Clocked over sixty miles an hour? And that is the area with no perimeters?”
“What are you thinking, Dean?” Joe asked.
“I’m thinking.” Dean swayed his head. “I’m thinking we’d better talk to Melissa and find out where Marcus was.”
“Marcus.” Joe stated the name of the genetically enhanced child of Beginnings. The child who was thirteen months old but looked six years old. The child, who when younger had to be caged up, but now was given almost as much freedom as the rest of the children, treated like them even though he was so different from them. It being Marcus hadn’t even crossed Joe’s mind, but the mention of his name made Joe’s mind immediately start to race. If it was Marcus out in that field, Joe hoped it was only the rambunctiousness of a child who needed the area to expel his energy and not the surfacing of some genetic instinct that could breed worry in Beginnings.
^^^^
Bowman, North Dakota
Ellen watched, impressed as the men who lined the streets saluted Hal while he drove into the center of the small town. “Hal, this place is wonderful.” She peered out at the charm Bowman projected, it’s small town style buildings, and clean streets. “Oh Hal.”
“I live right on that corner.” Hal pointed to the vacant drug store. “We can unload your things. Are you wanting to rest before I show you to the clinic?”
“No.” Ellen shook her head. “I’ll wait if you’re busy.”
“Not at all. I’m all yours.” Hal grinned. “I had Sgt. Ryder assign men to help put the food away and help Herb set up our own distribution. Danny, well, I figured Sgt. Ryder can take him about seeing Danny and Herb are staying with him.”
“Oh so you and I are alone?”
“Works better that way don’t you think?”
“Yes, we need our privacy.” Ellen giggled as Hal stopped the truck. “Hey!”
“What?”
“I know him. I know him.” Ellen pointed to Sgt. Ryder. “Hal.” Ellen smiled as she reached for the door. “He saved Frank’s life.”
“Sgt. Ryder?”
“Yes.” Ellen excitedly jumped from the truck. “Hey!” She called to Sgt. Ryder. “Remember me?”
Sgt. Ryder grinned and stepped to Ellen. “You’re O.K.?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Shocking Sgt. Ryder, Ellen embraced him tightly, holding her arms around him for a little while. “Thank you for all that you did for me and Frank.”
“I’m sorry about what happened to him.”
“He’ll be fine.” Ellen broke from the embrace. “Did you know that you saved Hal’s brother?”
Sgt. Ryder took a double take. “Frank is your brother?”
“Yes.” Hal smiled as he answered.
“Amazing.” Sgt. Ryder shook his head. “Well, Ellen, welcome to Bowman.”
“Thank you.” Ellen looked around. “This place is very nice. Hal, help me put my things away?”
“Absolutely.” Hal walked to the back of the pickup. He saw Danny and Herb pull up. “Elliott, the young man in that truck is Danny. He’s the one who will get our communications up.” Hal lifted the bags from the truck. “Danny!” Hal called out as Danny stepped to the street. “Sgt. Ryder here will assist you.” He got an agreeing nod from Danny and lugged Ellen’s bag and medical box from the pickup. He led Ellen into his apartment building.
Sgt. Ryder saw the very upbeat Danny Hoi smile and wave to him. He grinned at Danny’s enthusiasm, and waved back. Then the smile fell from Sgt. Ryder’s face when he watched Herb step from the truck. The second Sgt. Ryder saw the frazzled, annoyed and tired looking old man, Sgt. Ryder knew he was in trouble.
^^^^
Beginnings, Montana
It would take some getting used to for Joe. First having to walk that far to get home, and second, the new home itself. He had lived in the same house since he arrived in Beginning. He checked out the modular home, pale blue in color. It was nice but it had its drawbacks. One of the biggest being the fact that Danny had Ellen and Dean’s home three doors up. Joe loved his grandchildren dearly but the days of peaceful after-work time would be gone. Joe could see it coming. In fact he did see it. He could see his grandchildren utilizing the large underdeveloped field behind the new modular homes as if it were one big backyard.
Stepping to his front door, Joe paused. He took another look. Did he just see Joey floating above the grass? Joe blinked and he saw the reason for it. Flying across the field was Joey but Joey was not alone. He rode on Marcus’s back. Marcus, on his hands and knees, moved at an incredibly high speed. Joe watched the grass bend and move and his mind flashed to what Henry said he saw. Joe whistled loudly to get the attention of the two boys. “Marcus! Slow it down, I don’t need Joey breaking anything.” He heard the grunt and squeal reply and Joe watched the rate of speed slow down. Marcus listened. Good sign.
Joe reached for his door. “Christ.” It teetered on the hinge. “I’m kicking his ass.”
“Whose?” Andrea asked as she unpacked.
“Danny’s.” Joe stepped in the house. “Looks good.”
“Getting there. You could have been here to help.”
“I could have, but I was working. I’m busy,
Andrea. And . . . I need to talk to you.”
“Sure. Can we talk while I unpack?”
“Yep.” Joe neared her. He had it on his mind all day. How he would handle it? Would he beat around the bush? Would he be direct? Subtle? Or would he be Joe? Joe reached into his pocket. “While I was looking for my cufflinks the other day, I found this.” Joe laid the note on the table. “I was wondering if we could talk about it.”
Andrea reached for the note and opened it.
Joe watched the expression. He swore if Andrea wasn’t a black woman she would have turned white. “Andrea? Can we talk?”
Andrea folded the note back up, slammed the box she was unpacking shut, and stormed off out of the room.
Joe heard the bedroom door slam. “Maybe not.”
^^^^
Melissa was silent, hesitating before saying anything to Dean. “Why?”
“I just need to know.” Dean questioned as they stood at the nurse’s counter. “Where was he today?”
“Dean, he was in school.”
Dean nodded slowly. “Melissa, I understand the protective instincts of a parent. I do. But . . . Jenny told me . . .”
“O.K.” Melissa held up her hand. “O.K., I couldn’t get him motivated this morning. So I figured since I was on the afternoon shift, I’d keep him home from school. Dean, he played, that’s all he did.”
“Did he leave the house?”
“Yes, but not for long.”
“Melissa.” Dean stayed calm. “What did I tell you? He’s either got to be around others or he stays in. Right?”
“But he wasn’t gone for very long.”
“He runs in excess of sixty-miles an hour which means alone for twenty minutes, Marcus ran from one end of Beginnings to the other.”
“What did he do?” Melissa asked.
“Nothing.” Dean shook his head. “We think he was wandering around the underdeveloped section, maybe a little further than he should.”
“He doesn’t know sometimes, Dean. Yes he’s big but you know mentally he’s still so young. I’ll keep a better eye on him,” Melissa said.
“Better? Melissa, you do fine. O.K.? I worry about him getting hurt. He’s a kid. Just keep him around someone if he wants to play. He tends to act like they do.” Dean began to walk away and stopped. “Which isn’t always good when he and Joey are together.”
“That’s all the time.”
“I know.” Dean smiled. “All right, speaking of Joey, I’m out of here. I’m on call so just reach me at home, I’m bringing stuff with me.” He started walking down the hall, turned, and walked backwards, speaking to Melissa. “Oh and uh I won’t say anything about Marcus running around today. We’ll keep it between us.” Dean spun back around, picking up his pace to his lab. He went over what seemed to be a million things in his mind, Dean hurried into his lab and gathered up the folders he was taking home. As he reached for the one stack he saw a note sitting on top. He briefly skimmed over the message that read, ‘The cat’s away. Does the mouse want to play? Find me. Bev’ . Not paying much attention to it, not thinking, he placed it inside one of his folders, secured the stacks in his arms, and left the lab.
^^^^
Bowman, North Dakota
“Dean has created pretty much everything we have,” Ellen explained to Blue. “There isn’t much that we can’t treat.”
“I appreciate this.” Blue stood by the small open refrigerator.
“Here is a little booklet Dean made up. He’s so anal.” She snickered as she gave it to Blue. “It tells you by symptoms what to use. We gave you basics. Anything else you can get from us. I have reqs for you to have on hand.”
“Reqs?”
“Requisitions,” Ellen explained. “As far as I understand, there will be frequent trips between us until you guys settle closer. Just send the req with whoever is coming up. Once you guys are close, you can have it immediately. Until then, you’ll have to wait so plan ahead.”
“I understand.”
“One thing you’ll have to get used to, everything in Beginnings, with the exception of food, is requisitioned. It helps keep track of things.”
“Like a purchase order.”
Ellen smiled. “Exactly. Any questions?”
“No, but I’m sure I’ll think of some,” Blue said.
“I’m here tomorrow too.”
Hal, who had been quiet in the back, stepped forward. “Get used to working with . . . Dr. Hayes. She’ll be the other doctor here in Bowman or wherever we end up. Of course, she’ll still live in Beginnings, but we get to have her often.”
Blue seemed to like that. “Excellent. I’m so glad to have the help. There’s a lot of people here.”
“We’ll do well together,” Ellen commented. “Hal tells me you have a woman here whose pregnancy is high risk.”
“Yes.” Blue nodded. “She’s at the house now on bed rest.”
“She’s been having contractions. Any dilation?”
“Steady at two for a while. I got her drunk and was able to sustain it.”
Ellen nodded. “I want to see her. I brought some medication that should help her. She’ll have to take it regularly.”
“The Captain can take you there.”
Hal shook his head ‘no’ at Blue. When Ellen turned to him, Hal stopped and smiled. “Sure, I’ll take you. Get your things, El.”
Ellen patted the black medical bag Dean had lent her that used to be his father’s. “Right here.”
“Then let’s get this over with.” Hal laid his hand on Ellen’s back, leading her out. He stopped in the doorway, looked back at Blue, mouthed the word, ‘you’ll pay’ and then he and Ellen left.
Blue stood alone in his clinic, a relieved and happy man. He had better medical supplies and . . . there now was a chance that he no longer had to make any more trips to that house.
She was either highly attractive or an oddity. Ellen was wagering on the latter as the reason for the stares she got while walking down the streets of Bowman with Hal. No matter what they did, the men stopped and watched her as she walked by with him.
They approached the large white house, guarded with two UWA soldiers out front. They both saluted Hal as he and Ellen passed by them.
“Big.” Ellen slowed her pace on the walk and looked up at the house.
“We believe it belonged to the mayor of the town.” Hal told her as they stepped to the porch. “This is going to be an experience for me.”
“You don’t come here?” Ellen asked.
“No, I do when I have to but I’ve never come here with a woman. I’m curious to see the reaction. So . . .” Hal moved Ellen to the door side. He laid his finger on her lips. “Shh.” He knocked on the door. “And the thunder rolls.”
Ellen snickered a silent ‘what’ as the door opened.
“Captain.” Grace said his name with a hint of hatred. “This is an unscheduled visit. You know how I feel about them.”
“My apologies Gr . . . Gr . . . my apologies, but I’m sure Sgt. Ryder told you the doctor from Beginnings is here to check on Monica.”
“Yes, he did.” Grace opened the door wider. “Is he with you?”
Hal looked to his left. “Yeah, the doctor is right here.”
“Then fetch your guards. We don’t know this person and I don’t want one of my girls in the hands of an animal.”
Smiling, Ellen poked her head around. “I’ll try to be gentle.”
Grace gasped. “You’re the Beginnings doctor?”
“Yes.” Ellen held up her bag. “May I come in?”
“Oh yes!” Grace answered the door. “Please, please.”
Hal’s eyes shifted. If he didn’t see it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it. Grace smiling?
Grace held the screen door open for Ellen, letting her in. “Captain, you’ve done so well with this. Thank you. That will be all.”
Hal had to quick be to stop the front door from closing. “No, that won’t be all. I believe I will
wait for her.”
“Oh.” Grace looked at Ellen. “You have other business in town?”
“I’m still helping Dr. Blue at the clinic.”
“Then I’ll show you to Monica.” Grace moved Ellen along, turning and looking back at Hal. “Captain, stay here.”
“I have no intentions of walking any further into this house.” Hal said. He felt that annoying, typical tickle in his nose when he went into that house, and he sneezed loudly. He laughed when he heard Grace’s gasp of disgust at him.
Like she just performed a difficult circus act, Ellen impressed all the resident women to the point of applause as they gathered tightly in Monica’s room. The baby’s heart beat was strong and loud through the Doppler that Ellen held on Monica’s stomach. “Sounds like a girl.”
Monica smiled. “How do you know?”
“Heart rate is relaxed. The faster the heart beat the more it tends to be a boy.”
“Have you any children?” Monica asked.
“Yes.” Ellen answered. “Many.”
“Where are they now?”
“Back in Beginnings.” Ellen put the instrument away, dancing around the words ‘my husband’ so not to ruin Hal’s new reputation. “My father has them.”
“Your father survived the plague?”
“Actually, my father died some years ago before the plague. Joe, Joe has been like my father for over twenty years. Joe is Hal’s biological father.” Ellen saw the lost look on Monica’s face. She turned and looked at the other women in the room. They all looked just as lost. “Hal. The Captain.” The woman all grumbled. Ellen snickered. “That’s funny. His brother has the same effect on women in Beginnings.”
Grace was shocked by this. “The Captain has a father and a brother who survived the plague and are in Beginnings?”
“No.” Ellen shook her head. “The captain has a father and two brothers in Beginnings.” She heard the gasp. “No, really. They’re all gruff but . . . I love them all. I’ve known them forever.”
The Big Ten: The First Ten Books of the Beginnings Series Page 409