Sleepers 2

by Jacqueline Druga

  I couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t get enough oxygen inside of me to make audible words.

  It wasn’t happening. It didn’t happen.

  The backpack was still in his arms, and that was covered in blood.

  I heard the cries and screams from Phoenix.

  I knelt beside Beck, but before I could roll him over, Alex arrived.

  “The baby, the baby,” I said, rattled. “I can’t look, I can’t look.” My hand hovered over the backpack.

  “He’s crying. He’s okay. Son of a bitch.” Alex examined him quickly. “Beck, stay with me. Can you hear me?”

  “Yeah,” Beck answered groggily. “The baby. Phoenix.”

  Alex yelled out, “Bonnie! Michael. Run to that med clinic stat. Start clearing a clean area and find anything that can be used to operate.” Alex took off his shirt. “Sonny!”

  “Yeah, Alex?”

  “Get the people from the ARC. See what they have.”

  I didn’t hear Sonny’s reply, or even look to see if he went. Beck reached up, grabbed Alex. “Phoenix.”

  Alex ignored him and examined the gunshot wound. “The bullet went straight through…” His eyes closed.

  “Oh my God.” My heart sank.

  Alex grabbed the backpack and reached inside, pulling out a bloody Phoenix. Alex’s eyes closed tight, and he rocked for a second, looking as if he were holding back a scream. “Someone, give me a shirt! Now!”

  I took mine off, whipping it to him. He immediately wrapped Phoenix.

  I didn’t know what to do, what to say, how to process anything that was going on. Danny had dropped down to Beck and started to cry, and Jessie was hysterical.

  “Mera,” Alex said out of breath. “I don't have time. Pick one. One has to be worked on stat. Either Beck or Phoenix. I can only help one right now, and I don’t know if I can save either.”

  I looked to Phoenix in his arms, then to Beck.

  Beck’s lips parted, and he stammered, “The b-baby.”

  My son’s aching cries of sadness rang in my ear. Jessie was hysterically calling Beck’s name repeatedly.

  I ran my hand over Beck’s face, then looked to Alex. “Save him. Do what you can.” And with that, I grabbed Phoenix from Alex’s arms and ran.

  Javier wasn’t far; in fact, he was making his way over when I raced to him and handed him Phoenix. “Help him. Please.”

  Javier looked down. “Oh my God, the injured Phoenix child.” I knew, at that second, he’d read the Doctrines.

  “Save him, please,” I begged.

  Cupping Phoenix in his grip, Javier nodded. “We’ll do what we can. I promise.”

  A second, just one second, and I prayed it wouldn’t hurt. I stopped Javier, leaned over Phoenix, and laid my lips to his head. “I love you. I love you, little man. See you soon. Please live.”

  As I kissed him once last time, Javier moved back quickly. He shouted out that he would be in touch, and with Phoenix in his arms, he raced as fast as he could to the closest chopper.

  I watched that chopper waste no time in spinning its blades and lifting off. It flew like a bat out of hell from that small town. In less than two minutes, Phoenix was gone.

  Out of my arms, out of my sight.

  I didn’t have time to comprehend what I had done to the child. All I knew was he was hurt. He needed help we couldn’t give him. If he was to have a chance to live at all, his only chance was with the ARC.

  I felt as if I didn’t say goodbye to him, as if it were forever going to be unresolved.

  I took a second and tried my damndest to gather my bearings.

  Turning, I watched as Alex was aided by Sonny, Danny and two ARC soldiers. They lifted and carried Beck. I rushed over as they approached the clinic doors.

  I needed to see him, speak to him, and touch Beck one more time before Alex did what he could do.

  The ARC soldiers muttered that they had a medic with them who could help Alex, and they were getting more supplies.

  My hand was on Beck’s arm. His eyes were struggling to stay open. They focused on me.

  “Mera,” Alex said. “Mera, we’re only going to field stabilize him. Okay? Then they’ll airlift him to the ARC.”

  So focused on Beck, it took a second for Alex’s words to register. “What?”

  “I can’t repair all the damage. I’m not good enough,” Alex said. “Me and the medic will stabilize him. He’ll have to go to the ARC.”

  “They have doctors there,” one of the soldiers said. “They’ll help him.”

  I only could nod. At that point, we were inside the small clinic. They were moving Beck faster than I could keep up.

  Michael emerged from the back. “In here. There’s a table. We got it as clean as we could.”

  Alex stared intently at me. “I’ll do all I can. I promise.”

  “I know.” I squeaked out those words, and then looked at Beck. “Fight. Please.”

  I wanted him to say something, anything. But he was losing strength, and he struggled so hard to breathe and keep his eyes open.

  They pulled him from me and into that back room. My hand grazed from his arms to his hand. I felt his fingertips grab for me as he looked at me one last time before he disappeared into that room.

  The moment he was out of my sight, out of my reach, I collapsed.

  The arms of my son and daughter held me up.

  In that hallway, I sobbed.

  I felt the gentle touch of a hand on my back, and looked up at Michael.

  At that second, I wanted so badly for the Doctrines to be correct, I wanted them to write that he had unusual powers, for Michael to be that Savior we all waited for. He wasn’t. I knew it.

  “Mera, I’m going to gather the children. I know this doesn’t mean much to you, but we’re gonna go pray. Okay?”

  There was something about his words that shot into my being. A shock radiated through me. And no, Michael wasn’t the Savior, but he certainly was remarkable in more ways than one. That, there was no denying. Perhaps God did have a purpose for him.

  “Thank you.”

  He leaned forward, placing his lips to my forehead for a moment. His gentle touch to my head then to my children was reassuring.

  He left with Bonnie behind him, and Sonny followed them both.

  I was alone with my children. That was what I wanted and needed. We were too emotional to do anything else.

  We would wait in the clinic reception room as long as we had to. Until we knew something. Anything.

  Our lives were in the balance right along with Beck. Because he was a part of our lives.

  42. MERA STEVENS

  Despite Alex’s best efforts, despite any help the ARC tried to give… Beck died.

  They were in that back room for a long time. And I knew.

  Telling me was probably the hardest thing Alex had to do, but his words were no surprise to me or my children.

  We heard Alex calling Beck’s name. He begged and begged Beck to hold on, to stay with him. He cried out to God and to anyone that could hear.

  Don’t go. Don’t die. Please stay.

  Damn it Beck, come back.

  We heard it all.

  His anguish and struggles ripped though my soul.

  Beck fought. Alex fought. We all fought.

  But in the end we all lost.

  Beck was gone. Randy, Marissa, David, Jillian …

  Gone.

  The ARC had arrived with six helicopters and about thirty men. By the time Beck had passed, only one chopper and three men remained.

  Then they left too.

  Nothing was said about the children. We weren’t asked if we wanted them to go.

  They left.

  Those of us who remained stood amongst the rubble of a small town, burning Sleeper bodies and the remains of those that we loved.

  We gathered what remained of Jillian, Randy, Marissa and David, along with Beck’s body, and we drove with our supplies out of that town. We drove a few miles, and ju
st before sunset, after hours of digging, we were able to bury our losses.

  Unfortunately, we couldn’t bury the pain.

  I cried the remainder of the day and into the night. I just couldn’t stop crying. My heart broke for Randy. For all that he went through to die such as he did.

  The sense of loss I felt over Beck was immense. I clutched tightly to his dog tags, the only thing of his I had. They were splattered with his blood. I would never clean them or be without them. In fact, I would wear them always. He had made such a deep impact on me.

  The pain was tremendous, and there was no closure. No goodbyes. No way for him to know how strongly I felt about him. How much he meant to me and my children.

  Danny, who barely shed a tear over his own father’s death, was inconsolable about Beck. I believe it was because his father was gone—in a way—before he actually died.

  Jessie didn’t understand. She cuddled close to me and wouldn’t leave my side. She knew Beck was gone, but couldn’t grasp it fully.

  Alex wouldn’t let Keller out of his sight or out of his arms. I wanted, needed to hold the baby because when I did, there was something about him that sent a message to me that he knew he was safe. He arched his body into us when we held him as if it were his newborn deliverance of the words thank you.

  Keller was home, and he knew it.

  The only bright spot to the dark day was the radio call from Javier letting us know that Phoenix was stable. They removed the bullet, and though he wasn’t out of the woods, they were optimistic.

  They’d keep us posted.

  I felt they would keep their word. They didn’t have to radio about him at all. But they did.

  I wasn’t able to make out Javier’s face through his biohazard suit, but he sounded honest. In his last transmission to us, he said, “If all goes well, he’ll back with you one day. I promise. One day.”

  I’d hold on to that.

  That first night, in the depth of our losses, I held on to my children.

  There wasn’t a single one of us who spoke.

  Next to the graves of those we lost, we lit a small fire and spent the night.

  Some dozed, but no one really slept.

  The next day was going to be our last day on the road, one way or another.

  New Jerusalem or not, we were settling. We would stop.

  The end of the road was near, and it was time to move forward. As hard as it would be without Beck, Randy, and the others, we would. We had to.

  43. ALEX SANS

  I remembered the newspaper pictures, those sprawled across the internet. Pictures of the white building, the cross upon it, and accusations of horrendous things that took place on the grounds of the Zion Ranch.

  Stories of torture and so forth. Stories that faded from the minds of the public, and the residents of the ranch moved back in and started their lives again.

  All that was surreal and fictional to me the second we saw the white building in the distance.

  I wondered if those in the cult-like community were alive, or if they were gone, dead, Sleepers.

  The area of Eldorado was clear. Gold stars were painted on the doors of homes and windows of businesses. I guessed the stars meant the building had been cleaned out.

  Not a body lined the street, not a Sleeper walked.

  There was a long dirt road with a cheesy gate just outside of Eldorado. That road led to the TPL ranch. The twelve foot high wall with its brass gate greeted us.

  It was closed.

  It was pushing late afternoon when we finally arrived in Eldorado.

  New Jerusalem or not, I knew the ranch would be a perfect point for all of us to start over.

  During our lunch stop, Javier radioed one last time. He asked us to let him know if there actually was a New Jerusalem. He eventually wanted to get there.

  He added Phoenix was doing better.

  She didn’t say much about it, but I knew, not only was Mera crushed by Beck’s death, she was burdened with guilt over Phoenix. Only time could help her to recover.

  And maybe getting Phoenix back with her.

  Our caravan of vehicles was down to two – the tanker we retrieved from that small town, along with another school bus.

  There was no need to hide anymore from the ARC. They stopped following us, and we stopped seeing choppers.

  We parked the tank inside Eldorado, and all of us together rode in the bus down the dirt road to the ranch.

  None of us knew what to expect.

  We had supplies in case no one was there, and a damn high wall to keep us safe.

  I stopped short of the locked gate and beeped.

  Sonny scolded me as if I were a child. “What if there’s Sleepers?” he asked. “You’re calling them.”

  “We’ll find out,” I replied, opening the bus door. “Okay, I know Sonny, and I don’t have a very strong track record, but stay put. We’re stepping out.”

  Sonny and I stepped from the bus. The moment we did, we saw a man, thin, in his thirties, and bald. He waved his hand high in the air, and then ran to the gate to greet us.

  The closer he drew, the more I knew he wasn’t a Sleeper. He was smiling.

  “He’s fine!” I hollered. “A survivor!”

  I could hear the cheers coming from the bus, and then the man unlocked the gate.

  He opened it, his grin wide. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words emerged. Holding up a finger, he reached to his pocket but halted when a child’s voice shouted.

  “Noah!” Nick, one of the children, cried out with enthusiasm. “Noah!” Nick leapt from the steps of the bus to the gate and into the man’s arms.

  The man ran his hands over Nick’s head and smiled again. Then he did speak. “Ta-ta get to a chu.”

  Nick said, “We picked up the Potter’s code. Was that you?”

  Noah nodded. He stepped back, spoke again to Nick, then waved out his hand.

  Nick faced me. “He can understand but can’t speak your language. He’s one of our people. He said come in. Bring the bus in.”

  Nick didn’t return to the bus with Sonny and me; he walked with the man.

  I immediately thought of Marissa. How she would have totally buried Nick, she was so competitive with him. They were older and the wiser of the bunch. She probably would have tackled him to get from that bus first to let me know she knew Noah.

  I got on the bus and informed everyone we were headed in. I didn’t know exactly how Nick knew the man. One of his people? That confused me. I’d find out. But one thing was certain I knew as we rolled the bus through the gate.

  We had arrived to the New Jerusalem.

  * * *

  It was overwhelming.

  At first, we saw only Noah. Then, as we moved further into the complex, there were more survivors, people who looked as if they had been there for a while. They paused to greet us, to wave.

  The number one thing that got me was the fact that when the bus stopped and the children stepped off, they knew these people.

  And there were a lot of people.

  None of us knew what we were going to do, where we would go. What exactly was happening? The welcome wagon consisted of at least one hundred people.

  Then another man enthusiastically broke through the throngs. He grinned and looked about.

  He grabbed Nick and another boy, embracing them quickly, but he searched our group, looking for someone. Nick pointed to me, and he approached me.

  “Levi Minx,” he introduced himself. “You are?”

  “Alex Sans.”

  His eyes widened. “You’re pretty famous over the radio. Your name is called daily.” He looked at Mera. “Is that the child they search for?”

  Mera replied. “No, he was injured. We had no choice but to allow the ARC to save him. I…” she lowered her head. “I handed him over.”

  “I’m sorry,” Levi said. “Where are the adults that were with this party of children?”

  I shook my head. “They’ve passed away.” />
  Bonnie clarified. “All of them were killed in Sleeper attacks. We also lost three children.”

  “The Reckoning, as they call it,” he said, “hasn’t taken hold. There are many still remaining.” He appeared to take a moment to compose himself. “The children are fine here. Please … come with me. I am sure you have a few questions.”

  He wasn’t kidding. A few questions? That was an understatement.

  Danny stayed behind with Bonnie, at my request, to watch Keller, Jessie and the rest of the kids. I know Levi said they were fine, but just in case… I really didn’t know these people yet. A part of me was fearful they’d throw a Bible at me and tell me that I had to act and think a certain way to stay there. I prepared for that.

  I wasn’t prepared for all that Levi told us.

  We followed him to a building that had a large gathering room, many couches and chairs in a circle. We sat as close together as we could.

  A woman brought us a beverage. It was red, and I didn’t drink it. It was a weird cult flashback to the stories of the Jonestown cult and the cyanide-laced drinks they gave their members.

  He asked us what we knew, and we told him. We told him about Randy and all that he had informed us about the Doctrines, Phoenix, and so forth. I kind of thought at first I was delivering a newsflash, but he chuckled.

  “Things, you know, get lost in translation.” Levi smiled. “Your people have the Bible. I am sure if Jesus Christ or any of his apostles or even Moses would come to this time period, they’d say, ‘That’s not how it happened.’”

  His words made me smile as well. “Kind of like we kept saying to Randy.”

  “Yes,” Levi replied. “See, we knew not of these Doctrines.” He swiped his hand over his mouth. “You have to forgive me; I’m not as fluent in your language as the children are. They have been taught their whole lives, to make it easy for them. There were two sets of time travelers. We’ll call them Group A and Group B. I am from Group A. We came 1300 years from this date. Randy, Demetrious, Anthony, they are Group B. They came from five hundred.”

  Sonny then stated, “So you’re Project Savior.”