The Third Ten

by Jacqueline Druga

  THE THIRD TEN

  BEGINNINGS SERIES BOOKS 21 – 30

  Jacqueline Druga

  THE THIRD TEN

  Beginnings Books 21 - 30

  By Jacqueline Druga

  Copyright 2019 by Jacqueline Druga

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Thank you so very much to Cindy P and Kira R for all your help with these books.

  CONTENTS

  FAULTED LINES – BOOK 21

  AND THEN … FAREWELL – BOOK 22

  CONSIGNING FATE – BOOK 23

  BLACK PARADE – BOOK 24

  JOE – BOOK 25

  ON BORROWED TIME – BOOK 26

  PLANET OF THE LEPS – BOOK 27

  ESCAPE THE PLANET OF THE LEPS – BOOK 28

  AFTERMATH – BOOK 29

  THE STRAIN – BOOK 30

  FAULTED LINES

  Beginnings Book 21

  CHAPTER ONE

  February 15

  It was one of those days for Joe. It started out alright. He was tired, having been pulled from bed at four in the morning to deal with the obnoxious antics of his sons over the dating game. Joe was ready to kill Danny Hoi. Of all things to bring back in a post plague world … reality television. He respected Danny, but wished he’d leave the apocalypse alone and let people just suffer a little. Unfortunately the ones that suffered were the ones tormented in the aftermath of the dating game. Joe included.

  Jason handled it, but the day only went down from there. The meteor that Frank was insidiously preparing for, the one no one took seriously, was actually coming.

  The effects of its impact were still unknown.

  No sooner did everyone go on their merry ways, Joe got a call to Containment. A mutiny. Joe didn’t think the residents even possessed ‘fair rules’ yet there they were screaming for justice.

  There was something wrong with the whole ‘lot’ of Beginnings people, from containment residents to normal residents.

  Not really wanting to deal with long drawn out mental negotiations, Joe figured he’d end it quickly.

  “Frank.” Joe called him over the radio. “Where are you at right now?”

  “Beginnings.”

  “Smart shit, where in Beginnings.”

  “I’m on my way to the Killer Toddler region.” Frank replied, driving.

  “Is there a problem?” Joe asked.

  “Might be. Small. Not emergency. What’s up?”

  “Well, when you’re done with the killer babies …”

  “Toddlers.”

  “Asshole.”

  “What?” Frank snapped. “You said it wrong.”

  “Whatever. But when you’re done, can you come to containment. We have a small problem here too.”

  “Can someone else handle it?”

  “Probably,” Joe said. “But I think you can do it quick, easy and with minimal damage.”

  “Okay, I’ll be down in about fifteen minutes.”

  “We’ll wait for you, then.”

  Frank lowered the mouth piece from his radio, and pulled closer to the gate where Dan waited. He stepped from the jeep.

  “Thanks for getting up here. I don’t know what to make of this,” Dan said as Frank approached

  “What’s going on?” Frank brought this mouth piece to his mouth. “Hey, down the perimeter on Region 32 …. No, that would be toddler, not babies, they’ve grown. Thanks.”

  “What are you doing, Frank?” Dan asked.

  “Something’s not right,” Frank said as he peered out. After the buzz of the perimeter, Frank opened the gate. “You coming?” he asked.

  “Um, yeah, sure.” Dan followed.

  After a few steps, Frank stopped. “Something’s not right.” He sniffed. “I smell ….” With a raised eyebrow and turn of his head, he looked at Dan. “Fear.”

  “Then that would be me, Frank. We’re in the Killer Baby region.”

  “Toddler, they’ve grown.” Frank sniffed Dan, then lifted his head. “Not you. Out here. Fear. What’s going on? Why did you call?”

  “Look.’ Dan pointed. “As usual, we brought some deer up here. Three to be exact. It’s feeding time. Look.”

  “Fuck.” Frank whispered out. “The deer are still here.”

  “Exactly,” Dan said. “So hence our problem.”

  Hand on hip, Frank shook his head. “Where are the toddlers?”

  ***

  Hal gave a tug of his coat into his body and shivered. “Temperature dropped,” he said as he walked with Elliott.

  “Brisk isn’t bad.” Elliott commented. “But it can be if we keep walking in it.”

  “My Dear, Elliott, learn to tolerate the cold.” Hal smiled. “Anyway, that’s where we’re at.”

  “So Creed’s entire population is moving this way.”

  “Or, be buried by the tidal wave.” Hal sighed out. “Won’t that be a sight though?”

  “The tidal wave.”

  “And the aerial view of afterwards.”

  Elliott curled a lip. “That’s really demented.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “I hope this meteor doesn’t affect us too much.”

  Hal shrugged. “If impact predictions are correct. It shouldn’t. Plans are starting for preparations for extra cold. Which....you can’t tolerate.”

  “It’s February. I can tolerate cold in July.”

  “Baby.” Hal chuckled, then stopped. His head cocked up and turned.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  With a turn of his body, Hal glanced down the street. “Why does it sound like we have a charging horse?”

  Elliott looked. “We do.”

  Within seconds, Hal and Elliott stepped back as a rider on horseback raced down the street. “They’re coming!” he cried. “Inside!”

  “Good God,” Hal commented “Who was that man? And what in the world …” Hal raised an eyebrow. “Tell me that doesn’t sound like a stampede.”

  “It is a stampede.”

  In the distance, moving fast, was a brown blur within a cloud of dust as horses barreled down the streets of Bowman.

  “Elliott that looks like our entire training brigade.” Hal said.

  “Coming our way.”

  “Is this a new exercise I didn’t know about?”

  “No, Captain, it is not.”

  Voices, yelling, meshed together carried to Hal and Elliott. Some had warnings.

  “Get back.”

  “Get inside.”

  The charging stampede of horses didn’t make Hal step back, it made him curious, then it made him concerned when he heard one his men scream in horror.

  “Captain?” Elliott questioned.

  “I haven’t a …Oh My God.” Hal exclaimed as he watched a horse, with rider, go down. “What in God’s name …”

  Another horse, another rider fell, and cried in pain.

  Three, four, five dropped.

  As the stampede flew by, it was then Hal saw the reason.

  Horrified, bloody, yet still riding on his fleeing horse, a UWA soldier struggled diligently with a Killer Toddler attached and attacking his back.

  ***

  Joe was enjoying a cup of coffee when he heard the buzz of the containment door. At first he hoped it was Ellen returning from her break, but the clumpy footsteps told him it wasn’t.

  The arrival of Frank told him two things. One, the situation would be over, and two Joe would be stuck waiting on Ellen and having to watch the containment residents.

  “Where’s El?” Frank asked, popping his head in the office.

&
nbsp; Disgruntled, Joe looked up. “I would think you’d like to know what the problem is.”

  “If I don’t see Ellen I assume that’s the problem.”

  “She’s taking a break.”

  Frank crinkled his face. “She just got here.”

  “Yeah, well, you know Ellen.” Joe took off his glasses and stood. “Can you handle this?”

  “What?”

  “The problem.”

  “Yeah, then I have to get up to sector thirty-two again.”

  “Not resolved?” Joe asked.

  Frank chuckled.

  “What was that for?” Joe led the way to the skills room.

  “I’ll tell you. Let’s handle this. Do I need my gun?”

  “You may.”

  Frank nodded. “Situation.”

  “They’re scared. They won’t come out until they get reassurance that the mutilator is gonna be caught.”

  “And!” The voice called from the skills room. “More carrots with meals.”

  Joe shrugged. “More carrots.”

  Frank tried the knob. “It’s not locked.” he gave a shove to the door. It moves slightly. “They have it barricaded.”

  “And we think they blocked the hatch too.” Joe said.

  “Not a problem.” Frank raised his fist and pounded once on the door. “Listen up! I’m handling the mutilator situation and you’ll get the carrots when you do. So, you have ten seconds to unblock this door. If you don’t, I break it down and start shooting, and I don’t give a fuck who I hit. One …. Two …”

  Joe smiled when the sounds of furniture moving rang out.

  “Six …”

  “What about four and five?” Joe asked.

  Frank shook his head.

  The door flew open. Chester stood there. “We’re sorry. We’re sorry.”

  Frank turned to Joe. “Situation resolved. Now back to Thirty-two.”

  “Wait.” Joe tugged his arm, “To the office. Talk to me.” Joe led him to Ellen’s office. “Now ...What is going on up there?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?” Joe asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “If nothing is going on, why are you going up there?”

  “Exactly.”

  Joe tossed out his hands. “I’m confused.”

  “So am I.”

  “What else is new?” Joe stated sarcastically.

  “Not, much, how about with you.”

  “Frank!”

  “What!”

  “What the hell is going on in thirty-two?”

  “Nothing. That’s why I’m going there. Fuck, yell at me, why don’t you.”

  “I will goddamn it, if you don’t tell me why they called out up there in the first place.”

  “They’re gone.”

  “Who?” Joe asked. “The killer babies.”

  “Dad,” Frank snickered. “The killer babies have been gone for a while, the toddlers are gone.”

  “What do you mean, gone?”

  “Gone. Missing. They didn’t eat their lunch.”

  “Maybe they’re dead.” Joe suggested.

  “Uh! That’s wrong. And sad. They’re children.”

  “Killer children.”

  “Toddlers and I looked. No bodies,” Frank said. “Gone.”

  “Can they be in here?”

  “We’d know.” Frank said. “No, we have bigger problems.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like, something scared them away.”

  “So bigger problems meaning they’re out and about.”

  “Who?”

  “The killer babies.”

  “We don’t have killer babies,” Frank said.

  “Fine. Christ. The toddlers. Our problem is the toddlers are about and around.”

  “No, our problem is something scared them away.”

  “Animal?” Joe asked.

  “I find that hard to believe seeing they’d eat it.”

  Joe paused for a moment. “Do you have any ideas?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “Go on.”

  “I think maybe there’s a monster up there.”

  Joe blinked. “A monster.”

  “Yes.”

  “A monster in Beginnings.”

  “Yeah,” Frank nodded.

  “What kind of monster, Frank.”

  “A big one.”

  “A-huh.” Joe was calm, then snapped. “What the hell is the matter with you? A monster in Beginnings!”

  At that second, an eruption of screams and pandemonium ensued from the residents. They all started screaming. “Monster in Beginnings.”

  “Christ almighty,” Joe swung out and smacked Frank in the arm. “What the hell is the matter with you?”

  “What? You yelled it, not me.”

  “There is no monster!”

  “How do you know?’

  “Because there’s no such thing as monsters.”

  “Yeah, well there was no such thing as killer babies at one time, now look. They grew.”

  Point taken. Joe nodded. “All right, you got something there. But I think, before we start searching for a …” he swallowed. “Monster. We should find the babies.”

  “Toddlers.”

  “Whatever Frank. Same difference.”

  “No, they aren’t. They move faster. Which means they make further distance …”

  Joe’s phone began to ring.

  Frank continued, “And can make it anywhere. Killing in …”

  “Hold that thought.” Joe lifted the phone. “Yeah, Hal.” His eyes raised to Frank. “We’re on our way.”

  “What’s wrong with Hal?” Frank asked.

  “Get this.” Joe shut off the phone. “He found our mutant children.”

  ***

  It looked like chopped meat.

  The seven bodies—or remains—lumped as one, and covered with a tarp.

  Robbie hid the hard swallow he made upon viewing the pile. He was grateful for the cold weather sparing him from the smell. Then he was grateful when Hal dropped the tarp.

  “We’re in the dividing stage,” Hal said, walking and leading Joe, Frank and Robbie toward the mess hall. “Horse parts from my men.”

  “Where are they now?” Joe asked.

  “The Dean-Ami knocked them out,” Hal replied, “We are hoping Frank will drive them back before they wake. Since they love him.”

  Frank asked. “How many toddlers?”

  “Twenty two.”

  “Fuck,” Frank said. “Where the hell are the other thirty?”

  Hal shrugged. “Maybe they returned home?”

  “They’re settling somewhere else. But I’ll check with tracking.” Frank stated.

  “Speaking of tracking, “Robbie added. “Why didn’t tracking pick them up? Is it down?”

  Joe answered, “Danny and Henry will check it out, but they’d rather have Frank do it. Especially with the Killer Toddlers running lose.”

  “Fuck, why do I have to do everything.” Frank asked.

  “Because Frank, you’re the one they worship.”

  “I am, true.” Frank nodded. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

  Hal opened the mess hall door. “Our beams would have fried them, but we lost two horses last week during this specific training exercise, so we downed the beams. We wouldn’t have done it if we knew tracking was down.”

  Joe laid a hand on Hal’s back. “Don’t blame yourself.”

  “Yeah,” Frank added. “It wasn’t that bad.”

  Hal turned. “Not that bad? Good God, Frank, seven of my men are dead.”

  “Yeah, well it could have been more. Fuckin’ Killer Toddlers missed lunch.”

  “I’d say they got lunch.” Hal replied. He then motioned his hand for his father and brothers to join him at the table.

  “Speaking of lunch,” Frank said. “When do they serve?”

  “My God, don’t tell me you’re hungry.” Hal said offended. “After seeing that carnage?”

  �
��Hal, please,” Frank snickered “I’ve seen worse, and yeah, I’m hungry.”

  Robbie spoke up. “Here’s my question. Why were the Toddlers in Bowman? They know we feed them. Why did they leave?”

  “I have a theory.” Frank said.

  “Christ,” Joe groaned.

  Hal sat back. “This is something I don’t want to hear, isn’t it?”

  Joe nodded.

  Frank didn’t see that. “No, this is something you want to hear. My theory is good.”

  Hal held out his hand. “Then by all means.”

  “Christ," Joe closed his eyes.

  “Something scared them from their region. Made them scared to be there, and they are only looking for a new habitat.”

  Hal nodded. “Makes sense.”

  Robbie said, “If it’s an animal, it would have to be huge.”

  “Not an animal.” Frank stated.

  Hal interjected. “You said you think our mutilator runs fifty five miles per hour, maybe our mutilator scared the babies.”

  “Toddlers.” Frank corrected. “And no.”

  Robbie said. “Same gene sequence. Like Frank.”

  “Exactly,” Frank pointed. “They’d welcome him to fear him. In fact, thinking about it, the mutilator could have disabled tracking for his own purposes.”

  Hal folded his hands and leaned into the table. “So if it’s not the mutilator, or an animal. What do you think it is?”

  “Christ.” Joe groaned.

  “A monster,” Frank said.

  Hal stammered his words a bit, then calmly blurted out. “A monster.”

  “Yep. What do you think?”

  “I think we should have let the short bus transport you more as a child. A monster.” Hal scoffed. “Frank, now you’ve gone off the deep end.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Hal, you don’t know anything,”

  “I know there isn’t a monster up there.”

  “How do you know?” Frank asked.

  “I know.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I know.”

  “How?”

  “Frank!” Hal sapped. “A monster! Listen to you. There are no such things as ...”

  “Stop,” Joe held up his hand. “Don’t say it.”

  “Why?” Hal questioned. “It’s true. There are no such things as Monsters.”