The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20

by Jacqueline Druga

  Frank held out his hand and wiggled his fingers in a count. “Fourteen.”

  Joe looked quickly at Jason who nodded approvingly at Frank. “And how, Frank, did you derive at that answer.”

  “It just popped into my head then I confirmed it by counting.”

  “Counting?” Joe asked.

  “Yeah the letters in the words ‘the pi alphabet.”

  Hal was not the least bit amused. He turned in his chair and faced his brother. “Frank, did Dean tell you his pill would make you smarter?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did he tell you it didn’t work?”

  “It worked. Dean gave me a math fact. I’m a vat.”

  Hal looked back at his father. “I like Dean and all, but this isn’t right, Dad. He’s taking advantage of the fact that Frank has brain swelling and he really is temporarily mentally disabled.”

  “Yeah,” Frank agreed. “Or I wouldn’t have qualified for the smart pill.”

  Joe held off rubbing the skin off his face in frustration. He saw Jason preparing to spew another question Frank’s way and Joe stopped him. “Enough quizzing Frank. He’s already the star of Beginnings Day today. Frank can we get off the smart pill and on to this meeting?”

  “Yes, but I want to take advantage of it. It only lasts twenty-four hours and I have . . .” Frank looked at his watch. “Twenty-three hours and seventeen minutes worth of smart time left. Go on.”

  “Thanks,” Joe tried to continue.

  “Of course I wish he made a pill for ghosts.”

  Joe’s hand slammed down hard on the desk. “What the hell are you rambling about now, Frank? Are we back on seeing Jimmy’s ghost again.”

  “Nope.”

  “Good.”

  “William’s.” Frank nodded.

  “You saw William’s ghost?”

  “No.”

  Joe closed his eyes. “Then why in Christ’s name are you bringing it up?”

  “Because he possessed my mind.”

  Robbie didn’t want to be at the meeting. He wanted to save it for later and get on to Beginnings Day, but Frank was making his trip to the office well worthwhile. “William’s ghost is possessing you, Frank? No wonder you’re so smart.”

  “Yeah,” Frank nodded.

  “Frank,” Joe cringed. “Why would you think William’s ghost is possessing your mind?”

  “Dad,” Hal interrupted. “Why is this important?”

  “I want to know what’s wrong with your brother,” Joe answered, “so shut up.”

  “Yeah, shut up, Hal,” Frank came back.

  “You shut up, Frank,” Hal snapped.

  “You.”

  “Boys!” Joe ran his hand down his face. “Christ. Frank. Why? Why do you think William’s ghost is possessing your mind?”

  “I called Dean, Dino,” Frank nodded, “out of the blue on William’s birthday.”

  “Did you ever stop to think William was the only one who called Dean that name and now that you and Dean are getting closer . . .”

  “No, we aren’t.”

  Joe stayed calm and held up his hand. “Let me finish. It was a special nick name William called him and now, subconsciously, you’re seeking out a special name for Dean.”

  Robbie saw the lost look on Frank’s face. “He means like a pet name, Frank.”

  “A pet name?” Frank asked his father. “You mean like Dean’s my lover or something?”

  “No Frank, that ‘s . . .”

  “Dad, are you implying that Dean and I are lovers?”

  “Frank!”

  “What!” Frank yelled.

  “Forget it.”

  “Oh I can’t.” Frank sat back and huffed. “I can’t believe you think Dean and I are gay.”

  Hall closed his eyes briefly and opened them very calmly. “Frank, Dad is saying sometimes we have names for our friends that no one else calls them. It’s part of our friendship bond.”

  “I never thought you and I were all that bonded, Hal, to have a friendship bond,” Frank replied.

  “I give up,” Hal said.

  “Can I?” Robbie asked.

  “No,” Joe replied.

  “Then may I?” Jason tried.

  “Go on.” Joe held out his hand.

  “Frank.” Jason turned his body to look at Frank. “I know why this is. See, you went through such a series of time machine trips that bits and pieces of that vat mind of yours picked up knowledge from other time frames and stored it and now they are just popping out. Like seeing your brother. You did see your brother, but it was an image left over from a time machine. It’s like an air pocket that your body inadvertently expels.”

  “So like my mind is burping out the unnecessary garbage from time it picked up?”

  “Yes.” Jason nodded.

  “Got it.” Frank understood with a thumbs up. “So I should expect to see other weird things?”

  “Yes.” Jason nodded again, hoping to end the whole entire conversation.

  “Good. I just hope I don’t see Ben Franklin or something like that. He was a scary looking . . .”

  “Frank!” Joe yelled. “Can we move on? I would like to enjoy Beginnings Day which starts . . . .” Joe looked at his watch. “In an hour. Now . . . Robbie. The tape.”

  Robbie stood up and walked over to the television set up. “You may want to move in for this. The picture isn’t the best. It’s better viewed on a little screen, but this will help visualize what I saw.”

  ^^^^

  The tape stopped. There was silence.

  “Frank?” Joe called his name, bringing his son from the intense stare of the screen.

  “Could I have that to view?” Frank requested. “I want to look at it some more, in detail and on a smaller screen.”

  “Sure. Did you see something?” Joe asked.

  “I don’t think they’re our Savages. I can’t be sure, but from what I saw right away, I’m getting the feeling they aren’t.”

  “Impossible,” Hal stated. “That much damage would suggest a large band of them. We know the ones that hit us fed from a larger camp. They were the same ones.”

  “I doubt it.” Frank gave a single tilting twitch to his head. “Look.” He leaned forward, turned on the tape, backed it up, and paused it. “It’s hard to see. If we could get black and white stills from this, it might be better. I’ll speak to Henry but check this out . . .” Frank hand moved in a hover over the screen. “Tire tracks. These are George’s men. There are at least a hundred dead. Heading where? Home. East. Right? There aren’t enough vehicles here to transport that many men. The tire tracks go at a thirty degree angle northeast.”

  “Maybe some escaped,” Joe stated, “and headed home.”

  “Why northeast?” Frank questioned. “Southeast, yes. I’ll have to view all the details of this. I’ll know in a few day but my guess is they took more than the truck. And their camp is more north.”

  Robbie spoke up, “Then we have to worry if they are the same, I don’t know, tribe? If so, do they communicate?”

  Joe shook his head. “I’ll have to say no. Hal?”

  “They’re Savages. If they are a different group, they aren’t with the others.”

  “I don’t know.” Frank shrugged. “The attacks are too similar. We strike differently, you strike differently, and the Society strikes differently. The savages strike the same. It’s not a case of ‘I saw this once so let’s do it’,” Frank commented. “I think they’re in communication.”

  “Setting up strategy,” Joe added.

  Frank shrugged again. “If that’s what you want to call it. Until we know what they want and why they are doing these huge attacks, we have to just have to agree they are Savage hits.”

  Joe took a deep breath and leaned back. “All right. Take the tape and view it. Don’t rush, Frank. I want to see concrete points you bring up. We have these people in Manitoba we have to get in touch with. They’re in danger, but how do we get them from there to here if they want to
come?”

  “I’ll work on something,” Hal interjected. “But first, let’s work on a way to get through to these people even if it’s dropping some sort of communication.”

  “Work on that as well,” Joe pointed. “Jason, you haven’t said anything.”

  “I was thinking, Joe. May I say something and risk the chance of Slagel ridicule since I’m outnumbered?”

  “Sure.” Joe leaned back further in his chair.

  “The Savages are a problem. We agree on that?” Jason looked around. “They may not be a big threat to the land of Beginnings or New Bowman now. If some get through, the damage is minimal, but . . . they’re a threat to supply runs, scout runs, and survivors out there. They are also a threat to the Society, which in turns makes it a threat to us.”

  Joe was a little confused. “Eliminating the Society helps us.”

  “They’re big boys with big toys. We lost men beyond our walls to the new plague. Robbie, how did they get it?” Jason asked.

  “The Savages had it.” Robbie answered.

  “And how did the Savages get it?” The next question came from Jason.

  “They hit the SUTs with it.” Robbie closed his eyes.

  “Point taken,” Jason continued. “What happens if these things hit, let’s say, a George bio-lab. He had one in Binghamton. How far is it from this attack? What happens if they get something and then carry it to us? Hence we have another bad situation on our hands.”

  Joe breathed heavily. “I never thought of it like that.”

  “We’d better,” Frank interjected. “Thinking like Jason, because I’m smart now, means if these Savages are banning together, communicating, starting a civilization then . . .”

  “We have to find them,” Hal finished for Frank. “Take them out?” He asked Frank.

  “Take them out.” Frank stated.

  “One more thing” Jason held up his hand. “This no longer is just our problem. It’s the problem of the survivors out there and the problem of the Society. Joe, I think it may be time you got in touch with George.” Jason hunched at the unison gasps. “No, I am very serious. Say this was the old world and we were the US, George was Russia, and we were at war then all of a sudden, Japan jumps in and starts throwing us both through a loop. Would we, the US, take them out for Russia? Would Russia, take them out for us? No. The elimination of the threatening third party would be a joint effort. Trust me. Yes we are sort of at war with the Society, but whether we win or they win, it won’t mean shit if we can’t leave the sanctity of either of our walls if the savages grow and lurk. Think about it, Joe . . .” The room had drawn up a silence of contemplation during Jason’s words. “Think about it. It just might be time.”

  ^^^^

  Elliott stared at the waist of his jeans after he had put them on. How long had it been since he had worn jeans? He had become so accustomed to wearing his UWA uniform or camouflage to relax in, jeans never even crossed his mind. In his clinic room, he reached for his shirt which lay on his hospital bed. It was long sleeved, almost a long-john underwear material. He chuckled at the tag, that read ‘Ben and Todd creation’ along with the tiniest words that read, ‘made in Beginnings.’. Lifting it slowly to pull over his head, he heard the knock on his door. “Come in.” He looked and Ellen walked in with a smile. Elliott quickly turned his back to her to place on his shirt.

  “How’s my favorite patient?” Ellen asked as she laid the chart on the foot of his bed.

  “Fine, Dr. Hayes. I’m much better today.”

  “Geez, Elliott.” Ellen saw him struggling with the shirt and helped pull it down for him. “Call me Ellen. We’re friends.”

  “I’m just trying to show respect.” Elliott faced her.

  “Elliott, trust me. You show nothing else but respect. I don’t think you know how not to.” Ellen lifted his chart. “Let’s sit.” She sat in the bedside chair while Elliott sat on the bed. “So you’re feeling better.”

  “Much. My leg doesn’t want to move. I don’t have much control over it.”

  “Feels sort of like it’s in a perpetual state of falling asleep?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Does it hurt?” Ellen asked.

  “No. It’s just bothersome.”

  “That’ll come back with physical therapy which I have you scheduled for twice a week. That’s not to say you don’t do the exercises every day. Got that?”

  “Yes.”

  “We want full movement back.”

  “Worse case scenario?”

  Ellen took a breath. “Really, some numbness and not the agility you used to have though I’m confident you’ll be sprinting miles and jumping off horses again. There was no permanent spinal cord injury.”

  “Your husband saved my life.”

  Ellen looked up with bright eyes. “Dean doesn’t surgically give himself credit but I won’t argue. He’s brilliant. He operated twelve hours. He wanted to make sure it was right. You’re strong and in good health. You . . . you could have died, Elliott.”

  Elliott blinked long. “It’s so funny. I didn’t even feel like I was dying.”

  Ellen flipped open the chart and took a pen from her coat pocket. “I’m releasing you today because it’s Beginnings’ Day, our foundation day. It’s so much fun. I’m hoping for great things this year. Danny Hoi is the social coordinator.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “I wish all the men of Bowman felt that way.”

  “Dr Hayes, I mean Ellen, they would love to be here,” Elliott explained. “We’re new. It’s not that we don’t want to be a part of Beginnings, but some of the men are just . . . shy?”

  “I’ll accept that.” She peered up at Elliott. “You look good, but I didn’t want to let you out today but Hal promised me tomorrow he would see that you are on house arrest for another two days and then . . . light duty for three weeks.”

  “Three weeks!” Elliott was aghast.

  “Three weeks, maybe longer. Let’s see how the therapy goes.” Ellen winked. “Enjoy the break. I know the Slagels. I know how hard they work you. Let me see . . .” Ellen reviewed his chart. “Melissa said your weight dropped. We have to get that up. And she says you vitals are strong.”

  “Good. Melissa is very nice.”

  “Yeah.” Ellen smiled. “She is. All of our, well most of our women are. Melissa is having an illicit affair with a twenty-year-old paraplegic former Society soldier turned defector named Tom.”

  “Huh?”

  “O.K., well she hasn’t spilled her guts about it. I think she should. Tom, the twenty-year old, former Society soldier turned defector paraplegic, loves her. Melissa is already involved with Glen, who’s like ninety. Go figure.” Ellen rattled as she read. “And she’s married to Mark, who’s become quite the Security bore since Frank named him the man of Tracking. That happens to Security guys. She only occasionally, how can I say this, fulfills or helps out other men, but that’s when no one else will. I think she should get involved with Tom. I’ve been encouraging it. He’s cute, young, energetic, and . . he’s twenty. Of course, personally I’d feel like a pedophile since my step son is nineteen, but that’s me, not Melissa. She should go for it, don’t you think?” Ellen turned another page in the chart. “Don’t mention pedophile, especially around Trish. My sort of pseudo son Frank gave me is claiming she answered the door only wearing a towel on her head. I don’t believe it. Gemma the Bible thumper is giving her hell about it. Of course, my son thought nothing of it at first but now he and his friend sit in front of her house everyday waiting for her to answer the door in the towel.” She finally looked up to a quiet Elliott. His mouth was open and his face a slight shade of red. “You’re blushing.”

  “You rambled about things I haven’t heard come from a woman in some time.”

  “Get used to it.” Ellen shut the chart. “Especially if you’re gonna be my friend and hang about Beginnings.”

  “I look forward to the conversation.”

  A sin
gle light tap on the door brought in Andrea. “Ellen?”

  “Oh hi, Andrea.” Ellen stood up. “I’m just finishing up.”

  “Do you have a minute to spare?”

  “After I’m finished. I have two more patients,” Ellen answered.

  “Good. Please stop and see me before you go off to Beginnings Day. It’s important.” Andrea gave serious, yet solemn look.

  “I will.” Ellen had question in her voice. “Andrea what . . .” Andrea had left without another word. Ellen turned back to Elliott. “Was that me or was she upset?”

  “I’m not in tune with women, but I’d guess she was sad.”

  “You may be right.” Ellen gave a swat to Elliott’s arm. “I have to finish up. Hal will be by to get you for our Day.” She backed up.

  “Will I see you there?” Elliott asked.

  “Without a doubt.” Waving once more, Ellen, in an upbeat, carefree mood, walked from the room.

  ^^^^

  Danny Hoi was busy. In fact, he thrived on having things to do, the more the better. But Beginnings Day was heavy on his mind. Soon it would start and his worries on whether he did his Social Coordinator job well would be behind him. Danny had boasted and bragged that it would be the best Beginnings’ Day ever and then he began to worry if his mouth was going to be big enough to hold his foot. However, self confidence was never a lacking on Danny’s part.

  Danny moved across Main Street. It was so busy and filled with the smell of food. He had two stops to make and then it was back to the big ‘BD’ as he called it. Stopping by Henry, who stood before a large, plastic vat of water, Danny patted him on the back. “Good job.”

  “This . . .” Henry wiped the sweat off his head, sweat that shouldn’t have been there considering it was October. “This was the biggest pain in the ass yet. I missed a Council meeting.”

  “Yeah but . . .” Danny grinned. “It’s gonna be so entertaining and worth it.”

  Henry tried to look serious, but he couldn’t. A grin that matched Danny’s crossed his face. “You are so right.”