Sleepers (Book 6)

by Jacqueline Druga

  Neither Alex, Ed, nor Randy looked worn or beaten, so that was good, and Scout happily raced over to me as if he hadn’t seen me in weeks.

  “Wonderful. Oh my God,” Javier looked at all they got. “This is wonderful! May I drive this to the medical building to unload? This is exciting.”

  “Be my guest,” Alex said.

  “So, I have to know,” Javier asked. “How did it go?”

  Alex gave a thumbs up. “They didn’t even care if I was there.”

  In a seldom seen act of excitement, Javier clapped his hands and did a tiny skip. “Yes. This is excellent. Excellent! I have direction. So, to be clear, were they the same with you as they were with Ed?”

  “Without a doubt. But… there is something for you to think about. They looked at me and Ed, saw us, but didn’t see us as a threat. They looked at Randy and Scout as their next meal. When we last went out with Michael, they looked at him as… someone they could challenge on some level. But they feared him. I spoke to one of them and they didn’t even seem to hear me. Michael scared them away.”

  One arm draped across his waist, Javier rubbed his chin. “That is interesting, the effects of the cloaking is different. Is it the virus or the person?”

  Alex shrugged. “You tell us.”

  “And I will, I will,” Javier said, enthused. “I have a basis for my theories now, I have what I need.” He took the keys to the truck. “I’ll do this. Six weeks tops, we’ll be ready for testing. By spring, the Sleepers will no longer be a problem to us.”

  Other than being a closet professional wrestler, I knew Javier as a reserved man. He was beyond excited. His motivation was more than any of us could realize. He’d created the Sleeper virus, and I was pretty sure he wanted to be the one to stop it.

  I was confident he would. Six weeks, a couple of months, that wasn’t long at all. Winter was upon us, and if it was slow Sleeper season in Texas, I could only imagine how slow it would be in the treacherous winters of Ohio.

  TWENTY-EIGHT – ALEX SANS

  Really, Sonny? Really? That was my first thought and my expressed emotion to our newly appointed ‘Mr. Resourceful’, a title he took way too seriously.

  Two weeks after our successful turkey day, Sonny started blasting Christmas music though the house speaker system of the facility. It was like working at a department store.

  I remember when we had to explain Christmas to Levi and the future kids. I was pissed at myself because I had to explain it to Ed. What happened that I had given up all hope?

  When Ed told me he didn’t recall celebrating a thing called Christmas, I vowed right here and then no matter what, no matter the circumstances, tragic or not, Christmas was not getting lost.

  Michael was in charge of bringing out the spiritual side of it and I quietly took charge of bringing out the spirit.

  Hope.

  Yeah, hope.

  That and a jolly heavy man in a red suit, thanks to Renee, who found her love bunny mate in Randy and started to feed him extra helpings of pumpkin pie to add extra pounds to his already stocky frame. Patty made the suit, mainly because we couldn’t find one. It wasn’t Christmas season when the Event occurred. We did find a wig shop that gave us some white wigs, and with some tweaking, Randy would have a beard.

  When I explained the aspect of Saint Nick to him, he was puzzled at first and then he embraced it.

  It was getting colder, the Sleepers had migrated somewhere, and we were able to make supply runs without incident.

  Danny joined Roy in becoming our resident hunters. Damn, I was proud of Danny. He and Roy brought back something every time they went out.

  The best find was the abandoned gas tanker just off of Interstate 70, filled to capacity. The gas was on its way to being bad, but we’d use it up.

  The year before, on our first Christmas, Sonny and I really tried to make it cool. I really wanted this one to be one to remember. The one that set tradition back on track. However, I wanted most of what I was doing to be a surprise.

  Mr. Resourceful actually pulled through on Christmas decorations.

  “What did you do with yours, Alex?” he asked. “I mean, after your family took them down. What did you do with them?”

  Like everyone else, we had stored them.

  We picked some houses, went into basements and attics and found what we needed.

  Christmas Eve was upon us before we knew it and I fielded the questions on whether I would make runs to get gifts for the kids. Excuse were made that we’d do what we could do.

  We called ourselves the S. SOSH - Secret Society of Santa Helpers.

  Some things had to be let out, like the Christmas Eve party. We thought long and hard about that, and decided pull the community together for one big bash. Behind the scenes we worked hard, I even tried to get a hold of Beck.

  I spoke to him a lot. They were playing a sort of Civil War soldier game against the Sleepers. Tens of thousands, he said, kept moving. They were chasing some, holding down a fort on others, and for as much as he wanted to be home, he was in Colorado again.

  He promised to keep in touch and said he’d make it home soon.

  The party had already started, and the four of us - me, Randy, Sonny, and Bonnie - were still in the radio room for the final touches, even though I still had a lot to do.

  One important thing I had learned was that clear tape goes bad. It gets tacky, hard, and not easily manipulated. Try wrapping presents with that.

  We had thirty-four kids, and each was getting four things. That was a lot of wrapping.

  “Ho, ho, ho!” Randy bellowed.

  “Again,” Bonnie told him.

  “This is insane.”

  “It’s Christmas.”

  Finally, I looked up from my seat on the floor to see our newly crowned red suited man. He looked good.

  “Did you take your nap?” I asked him. “Cause you know you’ve got to go back out and deliver the gifts at four in the morning. The kids are hyped.”

  “Yes, Alex, I know,” Randy stated. “I go give each kid a gift now and tell them to go to bed.”

  I gave a thumbs up.

  “Then can I try to lose the eight pounds? I can’t believe I put myself in a heart attack risk zone. I was heavy to begin with,” Randy griped.

  “Now you’re perfect,” I told him. “And just wait. When you see their expressions, you’ll know it was worth it.”

  Sonny groaned as he stood. “I’m done wrapping. I’ll come back later to help you. Patty radioed, they wanna serve dinner.”

  “Go on,” I told them. “I’ll be there.”

  “Alex, this can be finished later,” Bonnie said. “We’ll all help. Come down, eat, enjoy your family.”

  She was right. My entire family was down there.

  “And,” she said, laying her hand on my shoulder, “you did really good, Alex. This is amazing. I even have a spark of life back. You went above and beyond. Can I ask why?”

  I shrugged, telling her that I didn’t know why. According to Ed, a world of hurt was heading our way in a few months, and if it happened, I wanted something really positive for everyone to have to look back on.

  They all filed out. Randy promised he’d wait for me, despite how hot his red suit was. Truth was, I needed a moment alone. As silly as it was, I had something I wanted to wrap for Mera. It was the first time I could really recall, since childhood, being excited for the holiday.

  I knew I had to be fast, lord knew I didn’t want Sonny bitching at me. My knees hurt when I stood. There was still a lot left to do, but it would have to wait.

  Before I left the room, I saw the time. It was top of the hour, and I grabbed the radio to check in with Hank and South Bound.

  We had been in contact daily. I worried about them. They had their pride and didn’t want our help. A part of me understood that. They weren’t doing much for Christmas. In fact, he was surprised we were. I wished him well, then after grabbing my own Santa hat, I headed downstairs to the cafeteria. B
efore I went in, I popped by the library where a sweaty, sack holding Randy waited.

  “Give me a minute, then pop in,” I instructed. “You know the line, right?”

  “Ho, ho, ho?”

  “You got it.” “You look festive,” Randy remarked.

  “Thanks.”

  Before I even got to the cafeteria I could smell the food, and the music was playing a lot louder there than anywhere else at the compound. Hearing what was playing made me wonder what Sonny’s obsession was with Neil Sedaka, because I swore that was who was singing, ‘Winter Wonderland’.

  More than the food, more than the music, was the laughter. It felt good to hear and I watched for a minute before stepping inside.

  Kids ran about the giant cafeteria, which comfortably held our whole community. Off by the food table were Javier and Levi. They were drinking moonshine, I was certain.

  Ed, I guess, was getting to know himself by hanging out with his toddler form.

  Michael was laughing as he watched a very decorated Scout lead Keller around. Keller held that leash and little Linc stayed close behind like a brother.

  Speaking of brothers, the one I couldn’t figure out was Danny. He was on the other end of the food table talking to Patty. She barely spoke to anyone, yet she was smiling while talking to him. I made it a point to ask Mera about that.

  Before I could find her, she found me. Approaching me from behind, she startled me when she called out, “Hey you.”

  I jumped and spun around. “Hey.”

  “I was wondering where you are,” she said. “I haven’t seen you much the past couple of days. I was getting ready to call you a recluse for not being around.”

  “As long as you don’t call me Beck.”

  “Oh my God, that was wrong on so many levels.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She smiled. “I like the hat. It works for you. It looks cute.”

  I took it from my head and placed it on hers. “Now it looks cute on you.”

  “Are you done, now?” she asked. “Free for the night?”

  “Almost.”

  “Alex,” she whined, “it’s Christmas eve. I want to spend time with you.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “We will. Speaking of spending time,” I pointed to Danny. “What’s up with him and Patty? I don’t recall them ever laughing.”

  Mera shrugged. “I don’t know.” She grabbed my hand. “Come on, let’s eat.”

  “I will. I’ll help you get the kids fed. I want to hang back and watch for now.”

  “Alright. But please join the party. I almost feel guilty.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Well, Hank and the crew aren’t celebrating. We should have insisted on getting them.”

  “They’ll join us when they’re ready. Mera, we went all out this year. Last year was perfect and we didn’t do much outside our walls. Christmas is about the feeling, not what you do. It’s what they make it.”

  “That’s true.”

  “I know you feel bad about Beck not being here, and probably guilty for having a good time when he’s out there. I’m sorry I made that joke.”

  “Don’t be,” she said. “He made his own decisions.”

  On that comment, she walked away, heading straight to the food line. Of course, lately Mera was always heading to where the food was. That didn’t surprise me. Her nonchalant comment about Beck did though.

  He had been gone for six weeks, he was missing a lot. Even if he did check in, he wasn’t seeing the dog bond with Keller or how big Mera kept getting. He wasn’t seeing the look on everyone’s face when Randy burst through the cafeteria doors with a mighty and chesty, “Ho, Ho, Ho!” He was missing everything.

  It was a good night. Even if it was just a blip in time in a dark world, we managed to find a spark of light.

  In that moment, there really was a reason to hope for better times ahead.

  TWENTY-NINE – MERA STEVENS

  After the party, Michael had a special service, then everyone returned to their blocks,. The music stopped playing and a hush of quiet took over the entire complex.

  The kids were excited, even more so than last year because they knew what would happen in the morning. Michael helped me get the kids settled. It was funny listening to them asking how Santa had anything to do with Baby Jesus. It was a question I gathered Michael had answered many times in his ministering. He traced the tradition to the three wise men.

  Not a single child put two and two together about Randy. It was great.

  Unlike when Danny, Jessie, and Jeremy were little, the kids trucked away without problems. No sneaking about, trying to stay up.

  Alex wasn’t around. I hadn’t a clue what he was doing, but Bonnie assured me it was all good and I had to promise her I wouldn’t give him a hard time. I guess she knew the entire Beck thing was heavy on my mind.

  No one but Sonny knew that he wasn’t coming back until just before the predicted attack on Haven. I did break down and ask Ed if he knew about mine and Beck’s relationship before the attack. If we broke up before or after.

  “I honestly don’t know,” Ed replied. “In my recollection you two were never really a couple. He was just around for me and the kids.”

  Actually, it made me wonder if Beck ended it in Ed’s version as well. Ending the relationship, staying out longer, and coming back too late. Blaming himself.

  Beck was heavy on my mind. Was he happy, sad? How was he spending Christmas? Did it even matter to him? When he radioed, we spoke briefly. His spirits were good, however, he sounded tired.

  I finished wrapping my gift for Alex, and noticed the snow had started to fall.

  While playing wardens of the slumbering children, Danny and Michael were in an intense chess game in the sleeping room. Knowing it was under control, I decided to take advantage of the quiet and check out something I hadn’t seen in a long time. Snow.

  There was a front entrance and emergency entrance to every building. Our block was near the emergency exit which led out of the rear of the building. The metal door led to a small concrete porch with a red railing.

  Wearing Danny’s canvas coat, I propped open the door and went out onto the porch. At the rate it was falling, I guessed in a few hours it would be shin deep.

  I pulled the hood up to the coat and leaned against the railing. Listing to the quiet and absorbing the peace. It was hard to conceive in that moment that the world as we knew it had ended and a deadly dangerous world was just outside our fences. I planned on staying outside until I couldn’t take the cold any longer, then I would go in.

  Beck had said there was no reason we couldn’t make it a home and we really did that. Pictures hung on the walls, we stopped using the cold fluorescent overhead lighting and opted for table lamps.

  For the holiday, the entire main section of our block was strung with colorful lights. While out on a run, Sonny brought back a sofa, rearranged the main area of our block, and we broke out the movie player again, something we hadn’t done since we were in Grace.

  “Well, there goes that.” Alex’s voice echoed in the yard.

  I looked to my right and saw him making his approach.

  “I was trying to sneak in the back door,” Alex said. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Would you believe I was waiting on you?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, I wasn’t.”

  “I figured.” He approached the porch, holding a bag.

  “I wanted to enjoy the snow. It’s so beautiful.”

  “And cold. Also wet…” he shucked off flakes from my hood. “I can’t wait for the bus kids to see this. They’ve never seen snow.”

  “They’ll love it.”

  “So, like, do I have to stay out here with you or are you coming in?”

  “You can go in. I want to hang back a few minutes.”

  “I’m not leaving you out here.” Alex placed his bag inside the door and stood next to me
at the railing. “Are you really enjoying the snow or is this an excuse for being depressed?”

  I turned my head his way. “I’m a little sad. I miss Jessie.”

  “Me too.”

  “I was thinking of Jeremy as well. He loved Christmas. I lost a lot, but… for some reason this year, I am also seeing all that I have gained. I still have Danny. I have so many friends. I didn’t have friends before the world ended, you know.”

  “Would you hate me if I said that didn’t surprise me.”

  I laughed. “No. I have them now, though, and I have you.”

  “I’m not a friend?’

  “You’re more than that and you know it. You’re my rock, Alex.” I looked at him, locking eyes with him. “Who would have thought that night on your porch when I believed you were such an asshole, that I would come to rely on you and need you so much?”

  His lips pursed and he swallowed. “Thank you. I need you too.” He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead.

  “I know.”

  “And you still think I’m an asshole.”

  “Yep.” I smiled. “But you’re the asshole who gave me the greatest gift of all.” I lowered my hand to my stomach.

  “Well, there goes me thinking my Christmas gift to you was gonna be kick ass.”

  “Alex, I’m being serious. It’s amazing. We’re having a baby, Alex. A beautiful, healthy baby girl.”

  He turned his head.

  “Stop it,” I told him. “Why do you do that?”

  “Mera…”

  “No, you make me feel really bad.”

  “I don’t mean to. You have to understand where I am coming from,” Alex said. “My whole life I thought it would be great to be a dad. I never thought I’d be one. Then Keller and Phoenix and the slew of bus kids came about, and it was… I’ll tell you, it is pretty awesome to be the one they look up to. And this baby… it’s part of me. I want to love it. I want to be Dad. But I know I can’t. so I have to keep reminding myself of that. I keep my distance to protect my heart.”

  “Alex, I told you, from the get go, this is your child. I will not deny you this child. If you want her to call you Dad, if you want to be the main father, then you are. That is your right. It wasn’t like this child was created out of a drunken mistake. This child was created out of much more.”