The Strain
Page 7
“You want to go.”
“Of course, I do, Elliott. Who wouldn’t?”
“Me.”
“Then there’s something wrong with you.” Hal reached for his drink. “I want to go back and feel the world. Besides, out of everyone that will be at that meeting, I probably look the least apocalyptically worn.”
Elliott said nothing.
“You disagree?” Hal asked.
“Well….”
“Good God, Speak up. You agree or you don’t.”
“Well, Captain, while I agree you aren’t nearly as worn as your brother, if I were to pick a least worn person, it wouldn’t be you.”
“Okay.” Hal set down his pencil. “Who would you say is the least worn?”
“Are we talking about everyone or only those who could go?”
“Only those who could go.”
“Danny Hoi.”
After a second, Hal slammed his glass. “Damn it, you’re right.”
“He is in impeccably good shape, and doesn’t have a scar on his face.”
“Probably because the man has secretly invented Botox again and is …” Hal paused as he picked up the pencil. “You don’t think he did, do you?”
“No.” A pause. “Maybe.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“He does invent a lot of things in the future.”
“Does he? I mean, does he really? Or does he just take credit for something that came from the future.”
“His name is on them. Besides, Captain, the future that Roy knows of, the one that Chaka lived, is all different. It’s completely different. Or it will be. Everything we do now, we do with the knowledge of what is going to happen in the future or what we think is going to happen.”
“And we inadvertently change it.”
“Correct. That is why we need to be extremely careful about going back in time. We could change so much.”
“You know, Frank said, a simple information time trip run was why Robbie was in Beginnings,” Hal said. “Frank, Dean and Henry went back and made sure Robbie made it to Beginnings. He didn’t originally. I don’t know. We weren’t here. But they made sure Robbie was here.”
“You sound bitter.”
“I am,” Hal said. “A little. I mean, there was never a mention of going back to make sure Jimmy got a message to be here or me.”
“They knew for certain Robbie survived the plague,” Elliott said. “They thought you and Jimmy were dead. Besides, how do you know they didn’t? How do you know they didn’t go back and make sure we knew about Utopia?”
“You give them far too much credit, Elliott. My brother did no such thing. Frank is …” Hal stopped talking when his phone buzzed. “Speaking of which.” He lifted it, read his message and responded as he grumbled.
“Everything okay?” Elliott asked.
“Yes, just my brother wanting to know when I was paying him his ten Danny dollars. Asshole.” Hal set down his phone and pulled his notebook forward. He was even more determined to come up with the plan to get those antibiotics. Even if he wasn’t the one to go back in time, he for sure, didn’t want it to be Frank.
<><><><>
“Fuckin Dean.” Frank put his phone back in his pocket. “And he uses El’s phone to trick me.”
“Is there a problem?” Hank asked.
“You mean about him using El’s phone?”
“No about …”
“Because he knows I won’t answer if I see him calling.”
“Frank, I mean, why does he keep calling.”
“Fuckin stupid. He’s acting like an over protective father. Doesn’t want me to hurt you.”
Hank laughed. “I don’t get hurt.”
“Me either. That’s why I’m training you. By the way, you’re doing really good. But this part … this is important. It will define you. Makes you stand out because no one else but me can do this. Now there’s you, so since you are technically me, you should be able to do this too.”
“Night training?”
“What?” Frank asked.
“Night training.”
“Whoa.”
“What?” Hank asked.
“That’s pretty fucking awesome.”
“So this is night training?”
“No.” Frank shook his head. “That was like only in King Arthur times. Plus we need horses, I guess I could get them from Hal. But thinking about it, knight training would be pretty cool.”
“It would be. I thought for sure this was night training.”
“No it’s something else. But I’ll make a mental note on the knight training.”
“So what is it?’
“Something even better. Ready? Okay.” Frank clapped his hands together. “Here we are.” He took a deep nostril breath. “Sector Thirty-two.”
“It is a fence.”
“It’s more than a fence, it’s what’s beyond the fence.”
“Sector Thirty-Two?”
“Otherwise known as,” Frank said. “The Killer Baby Region.”
“Ah, I see. As I was trained from infancy on to be a soldier, these children are trained to be killers. That’s why they live in the wild.”
“Um, no, they are killers.”
“Then they learn early?” Hank asked.
“No. Yes. They are born to kill. Put it this way, if they get into Beginnings, it wouldn’t be pretty. They would pretty much gnaw every man, woman and child.”
Hank’s eyes widened as he peered out into the field.
“It’s my job to make sure they are fed and happy. When they are fed and happy, they stay put.”
“Why don’t they … gnaw you?”
Frank scoffed a laugh. “Because I’m me.”
“You are.”
“I am. And they love me. They know me. I was the only one who could go out there and handle them. Now I’m not. Now there’s you and you can help me do this. Be like my stand in baby sitter. Although they’re more like Killer Toddlers now.”
“What do they look like?” Hank asked.
“Chaka and Marcus. Chaka is from the future so he’s an evolved Marcus. Marcus was born in Beginnings.”
“Why did he not … gnaw people?”
“Oh, I guess he wanted to. Fuckin was the hardest fuckin baby to keep track of when he was a kid. Would eat the chickens because he could catch them. Chickens, rabbits, Dean’s lab experiments. It was a mess. He’s been domesticated. Once and a while you’ll catch him snacking on a deer or mouse.”
Hank winced.
“Old habits die hard. Anyhow ….I want them to get to know you. So we’re going out there.”
“I don’t see anything.”
“It’s dark. You have your spotlight, right?”
Hank lifted it.
“Good.” Frank spoke into the microphone. “Dan, down thirty-two.”
“Roger that, Frank.”
The perimeter buzzed.
“Now we’ll go in. But we will be armed.”
“So we shoot them.”
“What! No. They’re like my children.”
“But they’ll gnaw me.”
“No. No. No they won’t. You’re good. You’re me. Sort of. If you feel threatened, just run. You run fast, right? You said you did.”
“I do,” Hank answered. “I have won many awards for being super swift.”
“Seems almost unfair,” Frank said. “I mean, of course you would win for being fast, you’re like me, I’m fast. Ready?”
“Ready.”
“Now first.” Frank lifted his phone, swiped the screen and tapped his finger. “The thing I love most about having phones again.”
The song, ‘Lights started to play through his phone’s speaker.’
“Fuckin Journey,” Frank smiled. “Oh yeah.” He reached for the gate and opened it.
Hank followed him and stopped. “Frank, I hear young voices. Are they … singing?”
“They are.” Frank led him through the gate. “Now, I want you to walk out there.
About a hundred feet.”
“Straight out there.” Hank pointed.
“Yes. Go out there. Introduce yourself.”
“Yes.” Hank nodded and walked forward.
“Any signs of problems …”
“Run. I got it.”
Frank gave a thumbs up.
Hank moved forward, his spotlight lit.
“You’re doing good. You’re good,” Frank said. “There. Stop.”
Hank did.
“Now introduce yourself.”
“Hello,” Hank spoke up, “My name is Nine B. It is nice to meet you all.”
Frank nodded, impressed. He smiled and then the smile dropped from his face when he heard the fast rustling sound and the slight grow. “Fuck. Hey, Hank.”
“Yes?”
“Turn around and … Run.”
“Run?”
“Run.”
Hank did.
The rustling grew louder.
“Run faster!” Frank aimed his light on Hank as he ran back toward him. “You can move faster than that.” With the loud sound of group snarling and a short squeal of a scream, Frank watched Hank disappear. “I guess not.” Frank raced forward calling out, “Stop. Stop. Stop.”
The growling ceased and with another rustling sound, Frank heard the Killer Babies race away.
Frank swung his flashlight back and forth looking, he didn’t see anything. “Where are you?” He kept looking. “Guys, what did you do with him?” He moved farther from the gate, farther than the hundred feet, he zoomed in on listening. Slight movement, some slurping. “What the …” Frank came to a sudden stop when he felt a softness beneath his boot and heard a squish.
Slowly he lowered his head and light.
“Fuck.”
TEN
It was a weird dream. Ellen wore a flowered dress and stood in a field far from Dean. She waved her hand with a smile on her face. “Dean.” She called him.
“Hey, El!” Dean waved in return.
“Dean.”
“What?
“Dean.”
Dean moved toward her. Arms outstretched, like some sort of movie.
“Dean.”
He picked up the pace when suddenly something flew through the air and hit him in the head.
Dean woke immediately and sat up on the couch.
Ellen stood above him. “You awake?” she asked.
“Yeah. Barely.”
She handed him her phone. “Frank.”
“Frank?” Dean squinted and looked at his watch. “It’s three in the morning.”
“Yeah, I know, he woke me up.” She shoved the phone to him.
Dean took it. “What’s he want?”
“You. And honestly, talk to Danny about getting a phone.” She folded her arms and walked off.
Dean sat up all the way and cleared his throat. “Hey, Frank.”
“Dean, did I wake you?”
“Um, yeah, but it’s okay. What’s up?”
“Come to the cryo lab.”
“Now?”
“Now. I’ll meet you there. I have something for you.”
“Alright, I’m on my way.” Dean hung up and placed the phone on the coffee table. It was the middle of the night and if Frank was calling and he had something, then Dean figured it had to be really good.
He made it down to the cryo lab and surprisingly, Frank wasn’t there. He thought about calling him, then remembered he didn’t have a phone … courtesy of Frank.
Instead he opted for the old fashioned way and lifted the radio.
“Frank, come in. You there.” Pause. “Frank.”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Hey, I’m in the cryo. You said you had something for me. I figured it had to be interesting to get me out of bed.”
“It is.”
“What’s your ETA?”
“Just a couple minutes, I’m headed into the tunnel now.”
“Roger that.”
“And Dean?”
“Yeah.”
“You might want to break out the gloves.”
Dean nodded. Of course, Frank didn’t see. He set down the radio, excitedly grabbed for his gloves, and waited on Frank. It was only going to be a few minutes.
<><><><>
Too much had happened in Beginnings, and with the early morning meeting, along with knowing Elliott and George had things under control in Bowman, Hal decided to stay with Jimmy.
They were bunking in Jess and Robbie’s house, which Hal loved. He swore he could still smell his little brother.
Getting older for Hal meant a lot of things. One of them, not sleeping through the night. He typically got up, used the bathroom, checked his phone to make sure he didn’t miss any calls or messages, and then got some water.
On this night, he was hungry and he made his way to the kitchen.
It was impeccable timing. Just as Hal filled his glass with water, he heard the call of Frank’s name. He dismissed it, then he heard it again mid drink.
It came from the dining room.
He walked in to see the radio.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Frank was still working? Good God, Hal thought, did the man never sleep?
“Hey, I’m in the cryo. You said you had something for me. I figured it had to be interesting to get me out of bed.”
Slowly Hal lowered his water. ‘He called for Dean at three in the morning?’
“It is.”
“What’s your ETA?”
“Just a couple minutes, I’m headed into the tunnel now.”
“Roger that.”
“And Dean?”
“Yeah.”
“You might want to break out the gloves.”
Hal set down his glass. “Is that so?” he spoke out loud.
“Hal?” Jimmy called out.
Hal nearly jumped from his skin. “Jimmy. Sorry. Did I wake you?”
“No, I was getting up for water. What’s going on?”
Hal pointed to the radio. “Seems our brother not only was up running around at three in the morning, he found something interesting and is taking it to … get this ... the cryo lab.”
“How do you know?”
“I heard Dean call him on the radio. Apparently Frank called him to meet him.”
“Wow, must be something. Oh, well,” Jimmy exhaled and walked into the kitchen for his water. ”What do you think it is?” he spoke over the running water.
“I don’t know, but Frank told Dean to have gloves.”
The water stopped and Jimmy hurried back to Hal. “Gloves.”
“Gloves.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Jimmy asked.
“I’m thinking we need to get dressed and head down there.”
“I was thinking the exact same thing.” Jimmy set down his glass and hurried from the room and to the stairs.
Hal was right behind him. He’d get dressed quickly. If Frank and Dean were meeting in the cryo and gloves were needed, it had to be good.
<><><><>
“Whoa,” Dean said, stepped back when Frank dropped the black storage bin on the counter.
“It’s heavy.”
“It looks it.”
“You may want to get a step stool or something,” Frank said, “so you can look inside.”
“Normally, I would be insulted, but I think that’s a good idea.” Dean walked to the back hall and returned with an actual stepping stool.
“Why do you have one here?”
“For moments like this.” He brought the stool closer and stepped on it.
“Ready?” Frank asked.
“Ready.”
Frank opened the lid.
Dean peeked inside. Then, with a screaming, “uh!” startled, he jumped back. The step stool tilted and flipped and Dean tumbled backwards to the floor.
“Dean.’ Frank put the lid on and ran over. “You okay.”
“That’s … that’s … that’s a body Frank.”
“What
’s left of it?”
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Dean said.
“What were you expecting?”
“Not that!” Dean took a breath. “Okay. Now that I know what’s in the box.”
“It’s like a game.”
“Excuse me?” Dean asked, positioning the step stool and stepping on it.
“A game. What’s in the box?” Frank said. “You know, is it a car, a weapon, remains. A new game in Beginnings.”
Dean lifted the lid and took a better look. “Oh, God, Frank. Killer Babies?”
“Well, yes and no. Toddlers. I didn’t kill him Dean.”
“Obviously not.”
“But would it technically be suicide.”
Dean just looked at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Suicide.”
“Why would you say that?” Dean asked with a chuckle.
“Because even though he is his own person, he’s still me, so really, I killed myself, by accident.”
“Frank … wait… is this …”
“Hank.”
“Uh!” Dean screamed loudly.
“What!” Frank blasted in return.
“No-no-no-no-no.”
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. We were training in the Killer Baby field.”
Dean reached in the bin. ‘You took him to the Killer Baby field.”
“Yeah, I thought he was my fucking clone.”
“He is.”
“Uh, Dean, he can’t be. They didn’t smell him and he didn’t run fast like me … obviously.”
“Because he was cloned before you were mutated.”
“Oh,” Frank said. “That makes sense. I wish someone would have told me.”
“I thought you did know.” Dean touched the remains. “This cannot be happening. Wait, they’re still warm.”
“It just happened.”
Dean jumped from the step stool, spun and raced to the back.
“Dean?” Frank called. “Man,” He looked into the bin. “You should have moved as fast as Dean. You could have not been the box.”
“It’s here somewhere,” Dean called from the back.
“What are you looking for?”
“Found it.” Dean raced back and set a silver case on the counter next to the bin. He popped it open and it hissed.
“You got bloody hand prints on that.”
“That’s the least of my worries.”
“What is it?” Frank asked.