Sleepers | Book 8

by Druga, Jacqueline

  “Alex,” Beck grumbled my name.

  “She’s fine.” Renee nodded. “Just a girls’ bonding thing, I think. They went for a walk. Danny was with the boys, now Michael has them. They were talking. In fact, after I heard your radio call, I sent out my Randy Pandy to make sure she’s fine.”

  “Randy Pandy?” I asked with a laugh.

  “Alex.”

  “What, Beck? I swear to God you just like saying my name. Christ.”

  Patty gasped again. “Blaspheme. Add that to the list that paid for your one way ticket to damnation.”

  “Oh my God,” I laughed out the words and looked at Danny. “And she let you father her child.”

  “Dude!” Danny yelled.

  “Alex!”

  “You’re having a baby?” Renee asked. “I thought you were just gaining weight. That’s wonderful news.”

  “I am cast into shame, because of Alex Sans.”

  Renee reached out and laid her hand on Patty’s back. “Many people are, honey, look at poor Mera.”

  “What the hell?” I quipped.

  “We can get through the shame,” Renee said. “Danny’s gonna have to make an honest woman of you.”

  “Sure, why not.” Danny shrugged.

  “Wait. What?” I looked at him. “Sure why not? What the hell kind of response is that?”

  “Enough.” Beck held up his hand. “Back on track. Have you heard from Randy?”

  Just as he asked that, Randy’s voice came over the radio.

  “Beck.”

  Nodding assuredly, Beck lifted the radio. “What’s up, Randy.”

  “We have a situation.”

  

  Admittedly, at first, I got a swirl of concern in my gut when Randy said to Beck to get to the pier. He didn’t sound panicked or worried, but still. Visions of Mera’s body floating in the water flashed in my mind.

  We all high-tailed it to the pier where our resident big boy, Randy waited. His body was like a curtain dramatically opening when he stepped out of the way with a pointing wave of his hand, but I didn’t see a body.

  “What am I looking at?” I asked.

  “What the hell?” Beck asked.

  “What…am I looking at?” I repeated.

  “Dude, the boat,” Danny pointed. “Across the bay.”

  “She got on a rowboat?” I asked. “She can’t even swim.”

  “Not a really good view.” Randy handed Beck binoculars. “But you can see she’s fine. You can see enough through the trees.”

  Beck looked then handed me the binoculars. “Okay.”

  When I got a look, I saw Stacy sitting on the edge of an inground pool, feet dangling in the water. Mera was there and I could see a set of legs. It looked like a man. They appeared to be chatting and relaxing. “She’s sunbathing?” I handed off the binoculars to Danny. “Who’s the man?”

  Danny looked and handed them back. “Can’t see but I bet it’s the man across the bay. The one that brings over the crab.”

  “Really nice guy,” Randy said.

  “Alright,” Beck said. “Are you going to be hanging out?”

  Randy nodded. “I was about to go back and sand the Melanie.”

  “Good. Just keep an eye out for when they come back in case they have trouble. Thanks.” The Beck turned and walked away, Danny started to follow.

  “Wait. Stop. You’re just gonna let her stay there?” I asked.

  “Yes, Alex, the man across the bay has been there for a while. Obviously, he’s Sleeper free or knows how to handle himself. She’s fine. Give her some space.”

  “Oh so now you let go of that possessiveness.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you. I have a storm of Sleepers I need to contend with and plan against.”

  “Well, I’m going to get her.”

  “No, you’re not,” Beck said, firm. “Let her go. Come on Danny, we have things to discuss.”

  And just like that, they walked away.

  I stood there.

  “Really.” Randy walked up to me. “I’ve met him. He’s a good guy. Mera’s fine.”

  “I know.”

  “You can go. I’m here.”

  “I know.”

  He stared at me for a second, saw I wasn’t moving, then walked to some old crimson colored weather-worn boat.

  I didn’t care how confident everyone was that Mera was fine or that Randy Pandy was on standby, I wasn’t going anywhere until Mera returned. And she had an hour to do so or else, not giving a shit what Beck said, I was going for her.

  NINE

  MERA

  A person’s smile was not determined by the muscles in the face. I believed it came from the soul of the person. A smiled showed goodness and personality.

  Peter looked like Daniel, sounded like Daniel but when he smiled…I knew he wasn’t Daniel.

  Their smiles were different. Every moment I spent with him, he became a new individual and less the husband I adored.

  We visited for a short while, moving our talk outdoors so Stacy didn’t feel too left out.

  I knew Peter’s agenda and I wasn’t the help he thought I’d be. He was confident he’d figure out who the Sandman was and I was confident the mission shouldn’t be to kill him, rather cure him so he wouldn’t become the monster that made a difference in it all.

  He explained we were still in the infancy stage of the Sleepers. How they attacked on instinct, mauling, maiming, violently ripping people to shreds before eating what was left.

  A time when they were easier to kill and control.

  I didn’t want to say he was wildly misinformed. The people in the future probably had this misconception that we dropped the ball.

  Sleepers outnumbered us thousands to one—there was no easy control.

  It was nice to talk to Peter. I invited him to Haven Two and he declined. He’d stop by, get familiar, just not yet.

  He gave me some milk and told me he would show us how to get more, then Stacy and I got in the row boat and headed back. I was excited. My memory flooded back and I wanted to tell Beck, Danny and Alex. I wanted to tell Sonny, as well and I wanted us to get back before anyone knew we were gone.

  Too late.

  Even though I waved excitedly, Alex didn’t wave back. He stood on the dock, arms crossed like an angry parent waiting on a child who missed curfew.

  “Wow, he doesn’t look happy,” said Stacy.

  “I know.”

  “Is it because you left?”

  “Probably.”

  “You were with me. If he’s mad about that, he’s being silly.”

  I didn’t reply. Randy came to us and helped us tie the boat, then extended a hand to help us out.

  “You okay?” Randy asked. “Something didn’t happen that made you go over there, did it?”

  “No, I went for…” I lifted the jug. “Milk.”

  “Good. The kids will be happy.”

  “Unlike Alex?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’m not getting it.”

  “Neither do I. And…I got my memory back. It all just came flooding back to me,” I said.

  “That’s fantastic news. All of it?”

  “Not sure, but I think so, yeah. Excuse me while I deal with him.” I walked up to Alex. “Is there a reason you’re staring me down.”

  “Is there a reason you just went traipsing off on a boat with the former reality star.”

  “Yes, actually. I went to get milk.”

  “The other side of the bay is not the corner market, Mera. You can’t just run out when you want,” Alex scolded. “I know you don’t remember…”

  “Ah, but I do.”

  “What?”

  “I do. My memory came blasting back.”

  “You’re shitting m
e.”

  I shook my head.

  “That’s…that’s great. When?” Alex asked.

  “Not long ago. Everything is still playing on fast forward, but I’m catching them. It hit me like a ton of bricks, Alex, the moment I met Peter.”

  “Who is Peter?”

  “The man across the bay.”

  Alex tilted his head. “This stranger triggered your memories? I wonder why.”

  “Oh, I know why. He looks exactly like Daniel.”

  “Your deceased husband? He resembles him?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “He doesn’t just look like him. In fact…get this. He’s his clone. Go figure.” Before Alex could say anything, I cradled my jug of milk and walked away. I figured if he could act like he was my father, I’d let him wallow in that little cliffhanger for a while.

  

  “Oh, will you look at this,” Renee said. “It’s cream.”

  “Yep.” I nodded. “Fresh, too. Now we can make that into butter or use it in our coffee.”

  “And he said he’ll direct us to more?”

  “That’s what he said. Obviously it’s on his little island. No Sleepers.”

  “I’m up for that. I can wrangle an udder with the best of them, and believe you me, that takes talent.”

  That made me laugh, then the short chuckle turned into a smile when Beck called out my name.

  “Hey.” I turned to face him as he entered the dining room. “I was dropping off milk and cream. You gonna yell at me, too?”

  “Why would I yell at you?” Beck kissed me on the cheek.

  “For going to the corner market for milk, or rather that’s what Alex said.”

  “Don’t worry about Alex.”

  “Good Lord,” Alex shouted from the doorway. “We playing good cop bad cop? You’re the one that sent out the cavalry for her.”

  “Why don’t you mind your own business?” Renee snapped.

  “Why don’t you go wrangle an udder or something?” Alex replied. “Yeah, I heard you claiming your talent.”

  “When you want some butter on your biscuit, I’ll remember your sarcasm.” Renee folded her arms.

  “Mera, tell him about clone boy. In fact, tell me about it too,” Alex said.

  “In a minute.” I faced Beck. “I…remember.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I remember. I remember it all. The rooftop, the warehouse, everything.”

  “Mera, that’s fantastic.” Beck threw his arms around me.

  “While you’re at it,” Alex said. “Do you happen to remember a little commitment ceremony with you two?”

  Beck released the hug with a huff. “Alex.” He then turned his attention back to me. “When?”

  “When I saw him. The man across the bay. His name is…ready? Peter.”

  “Are you shitting me?” Beck asked. “Same one.”

  I nodded.

  “Who’s Peter?” Alex asked.

  Beck answered him. “It’s a name Ed gave. A man we would meet and were to give the time device to if Ed died.”

  “I didn’t know about that,” Alex said.

  “Ed failed to mention,” I said, “that Peter looks identical to Daniel. Scary-identical. That’s what caused my memory to flood back.”

  “How is that possible?” Beck asked.

  “He’s a clone. Well, clone is not a good word,” I replied. “They learned how to extract whatever it is from DNA that makes people get the Sleeper virus. They traveled back in time for DNA of people they knew died so they wouldn’t cross paths. Like I guess if they created a clone Alex, they could run into the original. And because a bottleneck in population wouldn’t allow a good gene pool. Whatever.”

  “Makes sense,” Beck said. “About the genetic diversity. So he came back for what?”

  “He’s been preparing for this for a while,” I answered. “They believe if they can stop the Sandman before he helps evolve the Sleepers they can change the future.”

  “That’s kinda of what we’re doing,” Alex said. “That’s why Hot Doc is working on it.”

  I nodded. “I know. Only Peter and his team aren’t wanting a cure. There are fifteen of them, and they want to kill the Sandman before he even turns.”

  “And his team?” Beck asked.

  “Yeah, they’re spread about.”

  “Wait.” Alex held up his hand. “Are you telling me fifteen of them came from the future to kill the Sandman before he becomes the Sandman like some sort of plot from Terminator?”

  “Exactly.”

  Alex shook his head. “If they can clone, manipulate DNA, time travel, extract the Sleeper vulnerability, why in the hell do they care about the Sleepers? Hell, they should have the brains to wipe them out.”

  “They took over,” Beck said. “They don’t have the people in the future to do it. We don’t have the people, but we have Sleepers that aren’t evolved. This is on us.”

  “Well, you dropped the Beckoning.”

  “Oh, stop, I did not,” Beck argued.

  “We can’t let them kill the Sandman,” I said. “We can’t. Because he is not the Sandman yet,”

  “They won’t,” Beck assured me. “We’re gonna find another way. Javier is on this.”

  “That’s right,” Alex added. “Hot Doc was not around in their future, he is now. We got three brilliant minds—dicks as they may be, they’re brilliant. They’ll figure this out.”

  “And,” Beck said, “we may not have enough people one on one to take out the Sleepers, but we do have enough to take out their fifteen-man team if needed.”

  “If,” Alex added, “we know who they are. I sure we will.” He scratched his head. “I wonder who exactly they all cloned?”

  That was a good question, but probably one we’d never get answered and even if we did, what were the chances we’d recognize another clone?

  TEN

  SONNY

  Magnum P.I. Tom Selleck.

  Holy cow, when did I become such a fan that I was hallucinating?

  They weren’t Sleepers that ran into the woods. They had been walking the road, and when they saw us they hurriedly darted off. I could tell by the way they moved they weren’t Sleepers. But seeing them wasn’t what cause me to hard brake. It was the one looked like a younger Tom Selleck. From his “sensitive hot man” days or bushy mustaches, hairy chest and arms. Not that I saw the hairy chest and arms, I only assumed.

  A flash of that brown hair, mustache, chiseled look…Tom Selleck.

  “Sonny, what the hell?” Javier asked, grabbing on to the “oh shit” bar.

  “Did you see them?” I asked, gripping the steering wheel, foot still firm to the brake.

  “The Sleepers?”

  “They weren’t Sleepers.”

  “Of course they were.”

  “No, Jav, I know Sleepers, they weren’t Sleepers. Besides, Sleepers wouldn’t have run off the side of the road. They’re stupid enough to think they can catch a truck.”

  “Strange. Survivors?”

  “Looks that way,” I said.

  “Maybe they don’t want to be found.”

  “Maybe they thought we were dangerous,” I suggested.

  “Possibly.”

  “Should we go after them?”

  “They don’t want to be found. I think if I had not been with a community,” Javier said. “I would avoid large groups. You never know who to trust.”

  “True, but if I were Tom Selleck, I’d use that to my advantage.”

  “Sonny, what the hell are you talking about?”

  “Did you see that guy? That was Tom Selleck.”

  “Tom Selleck the eighties heart throb? The one you wear on a shirt and hang posters of on your wall?”

  “Yeah.”
<
br />   “That wasn’t Tom Selleck. That guy was young, Selleck is long gone.”

  “Still…”

  “Not ‘still’, Sonny. It wasn’t. It could have looked like him, but it wasn’t. You just have Tom Selleck on the brain.”

  “Maybe. Maybe because I haven’t worn my shirt in a few days.”

  “Maybe. But right now I have a great idea.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Drive.”

  

  Not since the days when living with my mother had I come home to not only find my laundry clean and folded, but smelling really awesome as well.

  Everything seemed to be alright—Miles told me Mera was fine and Alex overreacted.

  I was glad to see my Tom Selleck “I’m bringing Macho back” shirt was clean—I was always careful not to wear that when I went Sleeper hunting.

  It smelled so good that I couldn’t help but sniff it as it brushed over my nose, when placing it on.

  “What in God’s name are you doing?” Alex asked.

  “Why are you watching me get dressed?”

  “Trying to see why all those Sleeper women find you a sex symbol.”

  “You just will not let that go, will you?”

  “Would you?”

  “Yes, I would. It was traumatic.”

  “At least everyone babied you and you got that shirt.” Alex pointed. “The one you were sniffing.”

  “Renee washed it. It smells good. Smell it.”

  “No.”

  “Smell.” I stepped closer to Alex.

  “That does smell good. How do you know that Renee washed it?”

  “She does nice things for me. She just invited me down to try butter.”

  “She made butter?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, that sucks. I want butter.”

  “Maybe if you were nice to her.”

  “Oh, I’m nice to her. I wouldn’t be as nice as you wearing a corny shirt.”

  “Hey!” I snapped. “Don’t make fun of my shirt. I love Tom Selleck.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “Yeah, I do. I’m a huge fan.”

  “Sonny, you’re not.”

  “I am. Didn’t I have posters on my wall?”