The Horse Soldier: Beginnings Series Book 10

by Jacqueline Druga

  Joe stopped laughing. He stood up. “Let’s find, Dean.”

  ^^^^

  “Oh Hal, we can have so much fun with this,” Ellen stated as she sat in the truck, riding with Hal.

  “You really will do this?” Hal asked.

  “Oh sure, I’ll play along. I’ll do it good too.”

  “El, I appreciate this. I’m hoping that maybe if the men see how you are, perhaps we can stop fearing any woman we run into.”

  “But Hal.” Ellen held up her hand. “You guys are such gentleman compared to our Beginnings men.”

  “Really?” Hal was shocked. “They don’t treat you with respect?”

  “Some do, but for the most part, they treat us like expectations.”

  “You have got to be kidding me.” Hal was offended. “My brothers too?”

  “Not Robbie. Frank does. Snaps his finger at me and expects me to run.”

  “Do you?”

  “Well, yeah. It’s Frank.”

  “You’re gonna have to stop that, El.” Hal was disgusted. “And wait until we get my big brother back. I think I’ll sit down and have a word or two with him.”

  “Won’t work.”

  “It won’t?”

  “No, he’s Frank and I’m Ellen. He’ll never change the way he treats me. You can try though.”

  “I will,” Hal stated strongly.

  “O.K. . . . Hal, this is so much fun, this ride. I want you to know I’m enjoying this immensely.”

  “Thank you. Me too.”

  “I feel very safe with you and I don’t feel safe with many people.”

  Hal smiled. “Thanks again.”

  “And . . . that uniform and bandana.” Ellen gave a thumbs up. “Kicks ass for your sex appeal.”

  Hal blushed some, but he blushed with arrogance.

  “I wonder if Danny and Herb are having this much fun?”

  Herb tried to pretend he was sleeping, but that didn’t work, nor did it stop Danny.

  “No, no , no Herb. Didn’t you hear me?”

  “I’m sleeping.”

  “Oh no you aren’t.”

  “Danny, I am.”

  Danny peered at Herb closely, swerving the truck and causing Herb to scream. “Sorry.”

  “Just . . . Just drive.”

  “Sing with me.”

  “No,” Herb said annoyed.

  “Just one song. Sing with me.”

  “No.”

  “O.K.” Danny tapped his hands on the steering wheel. A bright smile then hit his face. “Hey, I know.” He reached down and grabbed the radio.

  ^^^^

  Dean had just finished checking on Jeremy in his post -release from the clinic exam and then found himself in Ellen’s office, grinning from ear to ear, laughing softly as he listened to the radio. He laughed at what he heard, but most of all he laughed at the thought of Hal’s face, Herb’s face, and just about anyone else that tuned in to listen to the nonstop duet between Danny and Ellen.

  Danny’s voice led the song. “Mock . . .”

  “Yeah.” Ellen sang.

  “Ing.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Mocking Bird.” Danny went off singing like he was some sort of super star. “Now everybody have you heard . . .”

  “Dean,” Henry called to him.

  Dean, who was deep in listening, jolted at the call and shut the radio off. “Joe, Henry. Wasn’t that funny?”

  “A killer,” Joe stated, “but we need to talk to you. We need a favor.”

  “What’s wrong?” Dean stood up looking at Joe and Henry.

  “Nothing really.” Joe pointed to the door. “Feel like taking a walk with us?”

  “Sure,” Dean said. “To where?” he asked as he followed.

  “Your little cryo -lab.”

  Dean stopped walking. “Why?”

  “Dean.”

  “Joe.” Dean grew firm. “It’s my lab.”

  “And it’s my community, Dean.” Joe snapped back. “I’m not demanding here, I’m asking. If this was the old world you wouldn’t get away with one tenth the shit you do here. Now instead of the FDA, animal rights, human rights and any other goddamn organization breathing down your neck, you have me. I barely bother with what you do there. Today there’s something I need to see. Now do you take me or do I just go check it out?”

  Dean shook his head as he walked by Joe. “Fine, but let me get in there first. O.K.?”

  “That’s fine. If I don’t see what I need then I’ll ask. It’s nothing that you did, Dean. It’s just something I need to see.”

  Dean had a sort of pouting storm to his walk. “It isn’t right, Joe. What we do in that lab is really Ellen and mine’s business.”

  “Yes it is,” Joe agreed, “until it becomes something that affects the community. Then it’s my business. You are way too defensive about this. Why is that?”

  “It’s just . . . it’s my work.” Dean lead the way across the street and to the entrance if the tunnels. During the whole walk, he kept wondering to himself what it was that he was doing that actually effected the community. On that, Dean was baffled.

  Joe stared at his watch, then at Henry, and then at the closed cryo-lab door. “What is he doing in there?”

  “Hiding evidence.”

  “Of the killer bunnies?” Joe asked.

  “Joe you shouldn’t joke around like that. Really, what if they are?”

  “Henry, for crying out loud,” Joe scolded and the cryo-lab door opened.

  Dean ran his fingers through his hair and opened the door wider. He looked frazzled. “All yours.”

  Joe’s first step into the lab was slow and with shifting, suspicious eyes. “Dean, what took you so long?”

  “I was uh . . . cleaning up.” Dean tried to hide the long breath he let out.

  A slight gagging sound came from Henry. He spoke muffled as he pulled his shirt over his nose. “Joe, just ask him so we can leave.”

  Joe sniffed outward harshly. “What is that smell, Dean?”

  “Smell?”

  “You don’t smell it? It smells like rotten flesh.”

  “Yes.” Dean said. “It is.”

  Henry gagged. “Joe, why does he have rotten flesh down here?”

  “I moved it to the back,” Dean explained. “It’s something me and El are working on.”

  “Rotten flesh?” Joe questioned. “May I ask whose?”

  “Um, yeah. Robbie got it for us. It’s a piece of a deer. We’re trying to work on skin surface infections and we need some big tissue samples. We can’t get any human volunteers.”

  “Gee, I wonder why.” Joe looked around. “Is that what you were hiding?”

  “No. I mean, yes.” Dean took another breath. “What is it that you wanted to see?”

  Before Joe could answer, he heard the bang of the cage. He looked to the counter to the six cages. “Them.”

  “My rabbits?” Dean smiled. “Why?”

  Joe moved to the cages. “They make noise, do they not?”

  “Um . . .” Dean scratched his head. “Yeah. Oddly enough, yeah.”

  “Can I ask why?”

  “Yeah.” Dean answered. “But I can’t tell you exactly. We’re working on that. We’re kind of working on so much we can only do so much at a time.”

  Henry nudged Joe. “Tell him Joe, Tell him.”

  “Shh.” Joe silenced Henry. “Dean, are you doing something to these rabbits?”

  “Of course,” Dean replied. “That’s why they’re down here.”

  “What?” Joe asked.

  “Well, these babies . . .”

  “Babies?” Joe was shocked. “How much of babies are they?”

  “Three weeks.”

  “Christ!” Joe exclaimed at the six of the rabbits that looked full grown. “What did you do to them?”

  “While their mother carried them, I injected this serum I’ve been working on that speeds up the metabolism. It re
ally doesn’t work well. We have a lot of bugs to work out.”

  “And that’s all you’ve done to them? This is how they got this way?” Joe questioned further.

  “No.” Dean shook his head. “We created this high protein feed to help their weight, make them bigger. That’s sort of working. That’s what they eat. Is this why you’re here Joe, about my rabbits?”

  “Yes. How loud do they get and do they squeal all the time?”

  Dean was a bit surprised by Joe’s line of questioning but he didn’t mind answering it. Obviously someone besides him and Ellen found some interest in his ‘special’ work. “They squeal loudly when they are upset. Actually, making noise isn’t new to rabbits. It’s just usually not that loud. Their vocal chords do seem to be larger. That’s what my best guess is on the sounds.” Dean tossed his hands up. “Is that it?”

  Again Henry, with his nose still covered by his shirt, nudged Joe. “Go on, Joe.” A bang at the cage startled Henry. “See Joe.”

  “Henry!” Joe yelled. “Dean, how big will they get if they’re that big now?”

  “Not very,” Dean explained. “They probably won’t live another week.” He saw the shocked expression on Joe’s face. “See, no matter how much we change the serum, the outcome is still the same. Their hearts are huge and they are growing faster than their bodies. I’ll show you what I mean.” Dean walked to a small fridge, opened it, and pulled out a cloth covered tray. He carried it over toward Henry and Joe and set it on the counter. He lifted the cloth.

  Henry screamed in disgust when he saw the large rabbit without its fur. The rabbit’s chest was open and spread apart. “Dean, put that away.” Henry began to gag.

  Dean snickered as he showed Joe. “See the heart? It’s nearly the same size as his body. It gets too big and eventually it explodes from within. Too much exertion will cause premature cardiac arrest.”

  Joe nodded. “I’ve seen enough.”

  Dean shrugged, grabbed the cloth, and carried the tray to the fridge. He stopped to show Henry the rabbit before covering it and placing it back.

  Joe rubbed his chin, peering up at Dean. “So was the serum that caused the heart condition? What about just the feed?”

  “The feed makes them heavy. See, we’re trying to get more meat on the rabbits for better food consumption.”

  “I see. Dean, any chance any of that feed got outside this community.”

  Dean didn’t answer.

  “Dean?” Joe raised his voice along with an eyebrow. “Any chance.”

  “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.