Blink of an Eye: Beginnings Series Book 8

by Jacqueline Druga

  “No way.”

  “Yes way and I’m good at it too. I ought to be. I’ve been working with these people for years.”

  “Tell me about me.” Danny stopped walking.

  “Give me your hands.”

  “A palm reader.”

  “No.” Ellen giggled and took his hands in hers. “Now keep in mind, I didn’t read Joe’s stupid report on you, and you haven’t told me anything.” She ran her fingers over Danny’s hand and snickered at his dramatic shiver. She bent his fingers back and forth. “You lived civilized for a very long time post-plague. You work hard, very hard and take pride in everything you do because you take pride in yourself. Um ... the work you do is difficult and tedious but it’s not your typical laborer work. You work with your hands, quite a bit. Intricate work because the muscles in your fingers are firm. That tells me you use your fingers more than your hands. Someone that uses their fingers tend to have strong muscles in them. Someone who doesn’t has soft hands, calloused but soft.” She gave him back his hands. “How did I do?”

  “Amazing.”

  “Thank you.” Ellen smiled.

  “You are totally wrong.”

  “Shit. I’m never wrong.”

  Danny laughed loudly. “Just kidding. You’re pretty much right on the nose. I work with electronics and fixing things.”

  “Really?” Ellen held the door to her office open for him. “Henry will be glad to hear that. He runs Mechanics and he does so much on his own because he’s the only one who really knows how to fix the big things that break. Trust me, things break around here. You’ll like Henry. Everyone likes Henry.” Ellen motioned her hand to a chair for Danny then she sat down behind her desk. “Any questions so far?”

  “Explain social skills classes. What exactly are they?”

  “Oh gees. Um ... like I said, we teach Survivors how to be civilized again, from eating with a fork and using a toilet again to trusting people and giving them stressful situations to handle. Checking them under pressure. Trusting one another is a big problem with Survivors. I think we’ll use Bentley to help in a class. He’s a barber, right? I think we’ll make Bentley give some haircuts. Even though our Survivors do need it done, it will be good to see their reaction when some stranger is over them with a pair of scissors. Then again, we’ll have to bring Frank in just in case there is trouble.”

  “Why Frank?” Danny asked.

  “Frank runs Security. He is Security. Everyone’s afraid of Frank.”

  “Frank? The big guy with the black eye? Everyone is afraid of him?”

  “Oh sure. He’s the meanest, toughest, strongest man in Beginnings.”

  “This is your ex-husband you’re praising here.”

  “Oh sure, I always praise Frank. I’ve known him all my life. He’s my best friend.”

  Danny looked curiously at her. “And people fear him? You’re kidding? He doesn’t look that tough.”

  “Ask anyone. They’ll tell you. Watch out for Frank. Ask anyone.” At that second Robbie walked into Ellen’s office.

  “Hey, El.” Robbie grinned. “Hey, Danny. My Dad will be here soon to talk. In fact, he’s on his way.”

  “Thanks.” Danny looked up to him. “Hey, Robbie, is Frank the meanest, toughest, strongest man in Beginnings?”

  “Nah.” Robbie waved his hand at him. “Frank’s a pansy.”

  Ellen gasped loud. “I cannot believe you are talking about your brother like that. No, I believe it, but who was the one last night that couldn’t control Frank when he was beating up poor Henry? You.”

  “Yeah well, who was the one dying here not long ago? Me.”

  “I’ll give you that.” Ellen lifted her shoulders with a drop.

  Danny was confused. “Frank was beating up Henry? I thought you said everyone likes Henry.”

  “They do. Frank was being a jerk.”

  “You said ‘poor Henry’.” Danny tilted his head. “You’re with Henry?”

  “Well sort of, not really. We thought we were married but we weren’t, so around here, Henry is considered my primary relationship even though we’re just friends. Although we are planning a wedding, but if that happens remains to be seen.”

  “Oh.” Danny nodded with agreement. “I see, so Frank was beating Henry out of jealousy?”

  “No. Henry and Frank are best friends. It’s a long story. Like I said, Frank was being a jerk. I was pissed at him. I shot at him to break up the fight.”

  “You shot at Frank?” Danny asked with shock.

  “Yeah, but I hit my father instead.”

  “You shot Joe?”

  “Not seriously. I shot him in the ...” Ellen snickered and so did Robbie, “in the ass.”

  “I see,” Danny said. “And here I thought he had hemorrhoids. So let me get this straight. You shot your father inadvertently in the rear-end when you were shooting at your ex-husband who was beating up your friend who is your primary relationship and may or may not be a husband one day.” He saw he was on track. “Why were they fighting?”

  “Because of Dean,” Ellen stated.

  “Who’s Dean?”

  “My other ex-husband. Actually, he’s my first ex-husband. Frank is my second. I was with Dean last night.”

  “OK.” Danny blinked several times. “If you were Dean, why weren’t Henry and Dean fighting?”

  “Because Henry knew, he became my primary so I could be with Dean and have a say so about it, it’s called an understanding.”

  “So if you’re allowed, why did Frank and Henry fight?”

  “Because he wanted to have the understanding with Henry. He thought he was going to be with me, and he was mad that I was with Dean.”

  “So why didn’t Frank beat up Dean?” Danny asked.

  “He wanted to, but he opted to beat up Henry. Somehow Frank thought it was understood that he and Henry were going to have the understanding. Understand?”

  Danny tossed his hands in the air. “It doesn’t happen much to me, but I’m lost.”

  Ellen grinned at him and folded her hands on her desk. “Then welcome to Beginnings.”

  <><><><>

  “Frank! You’re an asshole. Will you shut up?” Henry requested loudly as they entered into the entrance office of Containment.

  “Just curious, Henry.”

  “I’m not listening to you.” Henry covered his ears and motioned his head to Dan to buzz them in.

  “But what if she does that, Henry?” Frank talked to fast-walking Henry who still held his hands on the side of his head. “What if this guy fixes things, invents things, and Ellen gets confused and thinks he’s you. You guys do look alike.”

  “I can’t believe you’re saying that. God, you are such a racist!” Henry peeked in the sleeping quarters then in the dining room.

  “I thought you weren’t listening,” said Frank, agitated.

  Henry stopped walking. “How can we even remotely look alike? We won’t, especially if he’s Chinese. I’m Japanese.” He moved to Ellen’s office and looked in there.

  “Henry, I’m Caucasian. And it is a well-known fact that us Caucasians are racially ill-informed.”

  “Frank, you’re just intellectually ill-informed.”

  “Hey ... George Washington,” Frank called out to Henry as he approached the skills room.

  With a curled up face, Henry spun to him. “What? What did you call me?”

  “George Washington.”

  “Now why on earth would you call me George Washington?”

  “Because ... you’re history, pal.”

  “Oh I am not.” Henry faced the skills room. “You’re such an ...” He stopped cold in the archway. Immediately he saw Joe and Robbie sitting at a table with the two new guys. But that wasn’t what made Henry stop from going in. Ellen was. She sat next to one, very next to one, and she smiled brightly.

  Frank walked up to behind Henry, leaning in toward his ear. “What were you going to say I was, George?” With a nudge to Henry’s back, Frank bod
ily moved Henry inside while motioning his head in toward the group.

  “Henry!” Ellen called out his name the moment she saw him. She stood up. “I’m glad you’re here.” She ran over to him. “Come here, Henry, you have to meet the two new men.” She grabbed his hand and led him to the table.

  Henry walked slowly and he grew even more annoyed at Frank who trailed so closely behind him.

  Ellen pointed. “This is Bentley. He’s a barber.”

  As Henry extended his hand he felt the nudge of Frank to his arm. “Ow, Frank ... Nice to meet you.”

  Frank nudged him again. “He’s a barber, Henry. Maybe you can get him to cut off some of that long fuckin hair.”

  Reaching back, Ellen smacked Frank. “Leave his hair alone, Frank. Some men look good with hair. And this, Henry, this is Danny Hoi.”

  “Henry.” Danny stood up shaking Henry’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you. All good.”

  “Thanks.” Henry retracted his hand.

  “I hear we have a lot in common. I have to say I was shocked when you walked in the room and Ellen called your name. Somehow with the way she’s been talking about you, I thought you’d look more like Tom Bosley. You know, the dad from Happy Days.”

  Henry hurried and looked at Ellen. “What did you tell him?”

  Ellen giggled. “Danny’s teasing. He teases, Henry.”

  Henry grabbed hold of the back of his arm when he felt the nudge to it again. “Ow, Frank, knock it off. Don’t you think you’ve bruised my poor body enough?”

  Seeing the annoyance of Henry’s face, Joe knew that Frank had been working on him. But he also knew Frank was far from subtle about it, so Joe took over. “Danny, Henry here is on Council as well, next in line for the leadership position. Anyhow, Henry, you’ll be happy to know that it looks like Mechanics is finally gonna get that steady person you need.”

  “Really.” Henry kept his views on Danny, especially when he watched Ellen sit back down next to him.

  “Really,” Joe continued. “Seems he has a degree in architecture and electrical engineering.”

  “Really.” Henry raised his eyebrows at Danny. “Where did you go to school?”

  “UCLA.”

  “Frank said you made some sort of tracking device.”

  “Oh yeah.” Danny nodded. “Against the um ... SUTs, that’s what you guys call them.”

  Henry looked down as Joe handed him the tracker. “This is it?” Henry asked looking at the video game. “How is this it?”

  “I gutted it and redid the inside,” Danny answered. “I just thought using the game gave it a neat appearance.”

  Henry laid it on the table and turned it over. “May I?”

  “Sure,” Danny said.

  Henry reached into his back pocket and pulled out a screw driver and began to undo the back.

  Frank had to get his comments in. “Careful, Henry, don’t break it. Danny worked real hard on that.”

  Danny snickered. “Don’t worry about it, Henry. I’m sure you know how to put it back together.”

  “No he doesn’t,” Frank said and received a sour look from Henry.

  Henry removed the back of the unit. “Fuck.” he spoke softly, slowly sitting down as he looked. “Where did you get these parts?”

  Danny leaned in closer. “The board here I got from one of those radar trackers people used to use to detect the cops. Here ...” Danny’s finger pointed in the unit. “Here’s the microchip I got from one of those SUTs.”

  “You’re using it as a conduit.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Impressive.” Henry began to replace the cover. “And you actually made this?”

  “Yes. It was fairly simple, as you can see. But it took the idea first and that was difficult. As you know, Henry, putting it together, finding the right parts, that takes time.”

  “Of course.” Henry handed the unit back.

  Frank gladly took it. “Yeah, these little things are gonna be part of a grand scale beef-up to our security system.”

  Henry faced Frank. “How do you mean?”

  “Danny here is gonna work on making these things large scale. You know, stick some trackers in the trees. Pick up the SUTs miles away. Man, those things won’t have a chance.”

  “The whole entire perimeter?” Henry asked. “Frank, that is gonna take a power supply to run it. We could make the battery units but that could take time. You’re talking one hell of a system.”

  Joe stood up—slowly. “That’s where you come in, Henry. You’ll help out, won’t you?”

  “It’s a big project, Joe.” Henry looked at Danny. “Do you realize how big of a project it is?”

  “Yeah I do,” Danny stated, “but putting the project together won’t be as difficult as finding the parts to do it. By the way you’re talking, that’s a lot of microchips and detectors.”

  “Not to mention,” Henry interrupted, “the reception unit. Right? It would have to be built larger scale then the handheld unit.”

  “Yes and then like you said, there would be the power supply. We could use the battery units.”

  “But you run the risk of having them fail or die,” Henry stated.

  “True. What about channeling the power supply that powers the perimeters now?”

  Henry shrugged. “Possible. Again, a lot of work.”

  “I don’t mind.” Danny looked at the faces. “Really, I don’t. I mean I can start designing it now while I’m in here. Correct me if I’m wrong, but by what I saw when I came in here, you guys run off of hydro and primarily solar energy. That’s the only problem I will have when I design the system. I have some knowledge about those energy sources, but hardly enough to work with it.”

  Joe gave a pat to Henry’s back. “Henry knows all about it. He’ll teach you. Won’t you, Henry? Henry is the king of solar energy.”

  “You’re kidding?” Danny’s eyes widened brightly. “Wow. Is that what your degree is in? Where did you go to school for it?”

  “I didn’t.” Henry looked crossly at Danny. “I taught myself.”

  “Man, that is impressive.” Danny nodded. “Do you have blueprints of the power system here? I’d like to look at them if I could while I’m designing the new system.”

  “Yes we do,” Henry told him, “but I can’t give them to you to view.” He saw the stares from everyone over that, especially from Joe. “No, Joe. Sorry. We go to great lengths to protect this community. We go to great length to ensure that those who walk amongst are a part of us. I’m sorry, Danny, you just arrived here. In my opinion, though you gave us something that possibly works, you still just got here. We don’t know you. I for one, will not be responsible for showing where we can be vulnerable to someone who has yet to prove themselves.”

  Everyone was silent. Danny felt the awkwardness in the room. He lowered himself back down to sit, holding his hands up. “I completely understand. I would be the same way. Really I would. But I’ll still work in the design of that system and possible things we can use to create it. I’ll do that while I’m here.”

  Joe was glad to hear that and glad that Henry’s blunt tactlessness didn’t frighten him off. “Good, Danny. I’ll get you some things to start. But Henry has one point. You do have to prove yourself fully. To me, proving yourself mentally is where my concerns lie most. Not with trust. I’m pretty good at the trust part. My gut instinct never fails me. Nor does Frank’s, and Frank’s gut is not in doubt of you. So ...” Joe clapped his hands together once. “I’ll let you get settled into Containment and I’ll see you this evening for our skills class for which you’ll be here, right, Ellen?”

  Ellen smiled. “Oh without a doubt.”

  “Good.” Joe backed up. “Danny, we’ll work on the tests and get you and Bentley where you’re needed, out there with us. Hopefully no longer than a week. Ellen, opinion?”

  Ellen shifted her eyes to Danny. “No offense, Danny, but I’ve been burned, so I’ll hold off judgment or opinion at least for another da
y.”

  “No offense taken.” Danny laid his hand on Ellen’s with a pat. “Joe, there’s no problem with me staying here in Containment. I understand your rules. I’ll abide by them because I want to stay. And ...” He smiled at Ellen. “Ellen’s here with me, right, so how bad will this place be?”

  Frank snickered, stepping into Henry and whispering into his ear as low as he could get, “He touched her, Henry. Ellen let a Survivor touch her on the first day.”

  Henry didn’t need for Frank to tell him that. He saw it and his eyes never left Danny.

  Frank watched Henry and the expression on his face. He thought that maybe it wasn’t a good idea at first to egg Henry on, that his instigating only caused Henry to not give Danny the chance he should have been given. But after Frank thought about it, he chucked that thought right out of his mind. The look on Henry’s face made it all worthwhile, and not to mention, brightened his spirits. Frank knew he’d needed his spirits to be up, especially if within an hour, he was going to begin living with Dean.

  <><><><>

  “Here we are, Dean ...” Frank opened the front door to his house. “Home sweet home.”

  Dean stood there in the doorway, hesitating, really hesitating before going in. “I’m not too sure about this, Frank.”

  “Sure you are, Dean.” Frank gave him a pat to his back and carried Dean’s small bag in for him. “Come on in. Don’t just stand there, and watch that step.”

  “OK.” Dean stepped forward ready to take that first step as Frank put it, and his foot hit hard on the carpet. He stumbled a little. “Frank, there isn’t any step there.”

  “You should know that.”

  “I’m going home.” Dean began to turn around, but stopped. “Where’s Henry?”

  “I thought you were going home.”

  “I can’t get there alone, Frank.”

  “Sure you can.” Frank set the bag down.

  “No I can’t. I’m blind or did you forget.”

  “Now how can I forget that? But there should be no reason you shouldn’t be able to make it home. You’ve lived in this place for almost seven years. Just like there should be no reason that you didn’t know there wasn’t a step in my house. These houses are all alike. Blind or not blind, eyes open or closed you, Dean, you should have no problem getting around because you should know this place like the palm of your hand.”