Sleepers (Book 6)

by Jacqueline Druga

  He lowered his head. “Do you mean that?”

  “Oh my God, how can you even question that?”

  “Really? You have to ask.” He shook his head and looked at me. “Never mind. Anyhow, it’s moot. I made up my mind. “

  “That’s not what you want.”

  “That’s how it has to be. You’re with Beck. Beck is…. Beck is baby daddy.”

  “Beck lost that right,” I said.

  “Why? Because he left to go on the Reckoning?”

  “No, because he broke up with me before he left.”

  Alex did a double take. “I’m ... I’m sorry. He what?”

  “He broke up with me. Left me a note.”

  “He left you a Dear John note?”

  “Yep.”

  Alex laughed.

  “Why is this funny?”

  “Because it is. It’s the apocalypse. Who gets dumped in the apocalypse?”

  “Apparently me.”

  “Man,” he shook his head. “You must be a horrible girlfriend.”

  I playfully backhanded him. “Asshole.”

  “There it is. Maybe if you were mean to him, abused him some, stopped treating him with hero worship, he would have stuck around. So funny.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Yeah it is. How are you not seeing the humor in it? He was gone eighteen months. Granted, you and I both thought he was dead, but still, you were there for him when he came back. He leaves again, you are right here, and he still dumps you. Is there someone else?”

  “What? No.”

  “Maybe some soldier chick?”

  “No.”

  “Think he’s gay?”

  “Alex.”

  “Did he say why?” Alex asked. “I’m just curious why he runs around calling you his wife, yells at me about you, and then just dumps you.”

  “He said he needed to focus on the mission and not home, and he didn’t want to hold me back.”

  “Hold you back?” Alex asked in shock. “From what?”

  “I asked that. And he replied, ‘from who’.”

  “Meaning he thinks he’s holding you back from a person.”

  “Yep.”

  “Damn Sonny.”

  I laughed so hard at that I choked, coughed, and in my pregnant state, nearly peed my pants.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, you can’t make me laugh like that though. My bladder can’t handle it.”

  “I do have that gift. Speaking of which… want yours?”

  A shot of excitement hit me and I felt like a kid. “Yes, and I have one for you.”

  “Then let’s go in.” He reached back for the door. “Mera, do you think Beck was right? Do you think he’s holding you back from someone?”

  I was just about to answer and he cut me off.

  “Don’t answer that. But answer this. If he broke up with you when he left, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I was embarrassed.”

  Alex nodded slowly and opened the door for me. “Yeah, I would be too.”

  “Asshole.”

  <><><><>

  “Alex, come on,” I called from inside the bathroom. “Can I come out?”

  “One more minute.”

  Then Danny yelled, “Dude, let her out of the bathroom. If she wakes the kids you’re dealing with them.”

  “With all your screaming, I won’t be the one waking the kids,” Alex said.

  The door to the bathroom opened. Alex held out his hand. “Ready.”

  “What were you doing?”

  “If you take five steps you’ll see.”

  I walked into the main room, over to where we had our sofa, television, and tree. On the table in front of the tree were two glasses, and the best surprise was the movie playing on the television of a roaring fireplace.

  “Oh, wow!” I said in shock. “We have a fireplace.”

  “Sonny found it.” He handed me a glass. “Javier approved a quarter of a glass of red wine. Have a seat.”

  “Fire, wine… are you trying to seduce me, Alex?” I asked jokingly

  “If I was, I’d pull out the Heston flicks.” He sat down next to me. “Believe it or not, this is not a seduction. I had this planned to just be and feel like normal parents on a Christmas Eve night.”

  “Well I love it.”

  He handed me a wrapped box. “Merry Christmas.”

  I bit my bottom lip and excitedly tore into it. I gasped when I opened the box. “Oh, Alex.” It was one of those instant cameras and a bunch of film.

  “There’s only ten packs of film so use it sparingly,” he said. “I thought about this after you and I were looking at pictures. We need printed memories. This will do it.”

  “We’ll start making them. Or rather, recording them. Thank you.” I darted a kiss to his cheek, stood, and grabbed his present from under the tree. “Merry Christmas. I feel much better about giving this to you now.”

  Alex took the gift and started to unwrap it.

  “I mean, it was gonna be a sort of bribe or a guilt—”

  “Mera, part of gift giving is surprising the recipient.”

  “Sorry. Open it.”

  He did and when he saw it, he froze. Alex was in a rare state, speechless.

  “You like?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “When Sonny brought back that huge ass Three D ultrasound, I knew I was going to be the test subject. It took thirty tries and Noah finally figured out how to get a picture of the baby without her looking like a monster.”

  Alex held the small frame in which was a 3D ultrasound image of our daughter.

  “Alex?”

  He still said nothing, only stared at that picture, then brought his forefinger and thumb to his eyes and lowered his head.

  “Beck knows the baby is yours. I confirmed it after we got back from my house. I also told him it wasn’t fair to you to deny your parentage. He agreed. You are the only one, Alex, that ever wanted her to call Beck Dad. Understand?”

  He sniffled hard and ran his hand under his nose. “Thank you.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  “I do.”

  “She is beautiful.”

  He looked at me.

  “You don’t think she’s beautiful?”

  “The essence of her is.”

  “What?”

  “Well, look at it. It’s kind of… I don’t know.”

  “Creepy?’

  “Yeah.”

  “I thought so too.” I took the picture and placed it on the table “But I always thought 3D imaging was creepy.” He was trying to regain his composure and return to non-serious Alex. “So what now? We exchanged gifts, got a little emotional, made fun of our unborn child. What now?”

  “We sit and watch the fire.”

  “Sounds good to me.” I leaned into him and again kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for being here.”

  He didn’t let me pull back. Alex laid his hand upon my cheek and brushed his thumb against my skin. He was so close, I swore he was going to kiss me, and he did. He pressed his lips to my forehead, holding them there a few moments, then pulled back. After flashing a smile, he handed me my glass, lifted his, and we both sat back and watched the video fire. I felt there was a lot of resolution, spoken and unspoken that night.

  A sense of moving forward came over me. I basked not only in the fake fire, but in an overwhelming feeling of positivity, even if it was for that one night. The world had not ended, it had just changed.

  THIRTY – SONNY WILSON

  “We’re following them,” Beck said over the radio, “but that’s not what we want. We want to draw them in. Can’t figure out what is pulling them in whatever direction they take on a particular day.”

  I happened to be in the war room gathering maps when Beck’s radio call came in. All the radios we had to monitor was insane. I was glad I was there to get a progress report.

  “So something’s calling them?” I asked.

  “W
e think. We can’t attack them because there aren’t enough of us. We are wearing down.”

  “Despite what we want to think, I am starting to believe there is more pre-Event instinct in them than we give them credit.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “They’re surviving. If they were drones or like they were early on, they’d all be dead now by starvation or the elements. They aren’t.”

  “There are Sleeper babies, now, Sonny.”

  “More evidence proving my point,” I said.

  I thought about our situation and how everything was changing. At Christmas we were pelted with snow, I was settling in for a hibernation of sorts, then not long after the New Year it stopped snowing, warmed up, switched to rain, and stayed mild. It reminded me of the winter I went out and bought my first four wheel drive, bound and determined never to get stuck in the snow again.

  I expected to be Sleeper free, and the weather hadn’t broke more than a day or two and one wandered near the fence. They saw the smoke, sensed the heat… the food.

  “When are you coming home?” I asked.

  “Finished or not, I’m heading back in two weeks, that will put me back before the first of March.”

  “That’s good. Because I’m not so sure about that date anymore.”

  “Why do you say that?” Beck asked.

  “Because of the weather. I don’t know. Just don’t cut it close.”

  “I won’t.”

  “We miss you Beck.”

  “Thank you. I miss you guys too, and the kids.”

  “Mera?”

  “Mera, too. Sonny, be honest, okay? I’ve been gone almost three months. Has Mera moved on?”

  “You mean to someone else?” I asked, looking up when Alex entered the library.

  “Yeah.”

  “Why would she do that? She’s waiting on you.” I sat up. “And Alex just walked in. Did you want to talk to him?”

  “Nah, I’m good. You can convey the update, I have to go. Take care of my family, Sonny.”

  “I will, and take care of yourself.” I set down the microphone. “That was Beck.”

  “So I heard. Anything different from yesterday?”

  “Not much. He didn’t want to speak to Mera. Or rather, he didn’t ask to.”

  “Yeah, she’s busy anyhow yapping away to Hank like it’s an online friendship. Don’t tell her he didn’t ask. Despite what she projects, it makes her feel bad.”

  “I won’t.” I stood. “Oh, I found the maps. Now I look for where the Sleepers may be hiding out in the cold.”

  “And you’ll have plenty of time to do that.” Alex smiled.

  “What are you not telling me?”

  “Just got back from talking to Javier. He thinks he has the cloaking serum down and needs to see you.”

  “Me? Why me?

  “Not because you’re Mr. Resourceful.” Alex gave me a shit-eating grin. “He needs a guinea pig. You’re it.”

  I stared at Alex. I wanted to say, ‘ha, ha, ha, okay funny’ but I didn’t. There was no way Javier would use me as a guinea pig. So I played along with Alex’s charade until I figured out where we were really going.

  THIRTY-ONE – ALEX SANS

  Once we stopped at the greenhouse and grabbed Randy, Sonny finally believed me, lost the smug expression, and whined like a big old baby all the way to the medical building.

  “I should have been asked first,” Sonny griped. “This doesn’t seem right. There should have been volunteers.”

  “No one knows exactly what we’re doing,” I told him. “You’re the reasonable choice,”

  “Why me?”

  “Because he thinks so. Do you hear Randy complaining?”

  “I really don’t want to be sick, Alex. It wasn’t that long ago I had that horrible flu,” Sonny argued.

  “Yeah, it was called the Genoa.”

  “I have no idea what that means,” Randy said. “But I am betting that was really funny.”

  “It was,” I explained. “Genoa was a type of salami.”

  “You’re not funny, Alex,” Sonny snapped.

  “What choice do we have, Sonny?” I asked. “I can’t be a guinea pig, neither can Ed. Not many others know what’s going on.”

  “What about Danny?”

  “Oh my God, he’s still a kid in so many ways. Man up.” I opened the door to the medical building and led them inside.

  Like we were at some sort of Tupperware demonstration, Javier stood before us in his office, all kinds of stuff on his desk. I guess we were supposed to be impressed.

  “I have been working day and night on this,” Javier said. “But there is only so much you can do with blood samples. To test success we need subjects. One we do this, we chart the course of the serum, then take you guys out to truly test it. If it works, then I need time to produce it. A couple of weeks.”

  “A couple of weeks?” I whistled. “That is really pushing it. I want to move you out before the first of March and put you in a safe place.”

  Javier shook his head. “If it’s my time, Alex, it’s my time. We are already ahead of where we were in Ed’s time. We know Michael is the cure. Anyhow, after I make enough, I want to distribute the cloaking serum in waves. We have two hundred and fifteen people. Thirty four are children. Only twenty-three will not receive the serum. Mainly because of immunities, pregnancies and health conditions. I figure ten a week.”

  “Can’t happen,” I said. “That is too long. Can we hit everyone at once? I need everyone immune before the first of March.”

  Javier grumbled. “I firmly believe this is going to cause flu-like symptoms. That’s a lot of people down for the count all at once.”

  “Better than spreading it out.” I looked at Randy then Sonny. “What do you think?”

  “I agree,” Randy said. “Maybe after we prove it’s working, the health workers can receive it, then the general population.”

  Sonny raised his hand. “What about testing it before trying it out on me?”

  We all just looked at him.

  “Sonny,” Javier said with a scolding tone. “Be a man about this. You’ll be fine for a couple hours, then fevered, maybe… just maybe. You may not feel a thing. It’s for the good of all and very few know we have been experimenting.”

  “Fine,” Sonny reluctantly conceded. “Fine.”

  “Good.” Javier clapped his hands together. “And here is the really nifty part.”

  Nifty part?? I thought. There’s a nifty part?

  Javier continued and held up two syringes. “One of these is a serum from Phoenix. The other is from Michael. Each of you will get one.”

  I was impressed. A serum from Michael could conceivably mean the individual could gain more than a cloaking effect.

  After hearing that Sonny, jumped up. “No. No Michael serum. I don’t want to morph.”

  Javier laughed in ridicule. “You aren’t going to morph.”

  “Michael does, that’s what Ed says.”

  “Ed is wrong, that is not possible,” Javier argued. “You won’t morph. You can turn into a Sleeper but you won’t….whoa, wait.”

  Sonny had bolted to the door.

  For a big guy, Randy was fast. He jumped up, grabbing Sonny. He nearly carried him to the chair and sat him down. “Behave. This is what you have to do. And I may be the one to get Michael, who knows? Am I frightened? No. It’s for the better of all.”

  I had to ask. “Is there a chance they can turn Sleeper?”

  “Yes,” Javier stated. “There is that chance. There’s that chance for everyone. But it’s slim. I really think I found the way to do it. And if we see the transformation, we will start to combat it.”

  “If not and you turn,” I said, “we’ll put you out of your misery.”

  Man, did Sonny sulk. I understood a little why he felt that way. It had to be done.

  Randy was ready and Javier took them both to clinic room where they would be injected, and stay so Javier could chart their pr
ogression… or digression.

  It was risky, yes. However, it was a chance that had to be taken. If it worked, and I had a feeling it would, then ninety percent of our community would not die at the predicted Sleeper attack on the Haven.

  To me, that was already a victory.

  <><><><>

  It was gonna be a long night.

  Sonny and Randy were admitted into the medical facility midafternoon, out of the blue and without warning. Which meant I had to cover for their absence. Plus we still had to deal with the Sleepers that were spotted on Sonny’s watch.

  The four pm sword training session was in full swing, no pun intended, and was held in the center of our yard. It was nice to see them outside instead of making mess in the gymnasium.

  Every available man, and a couple of women, who were not working was out there.

  They had been at it for months and for the first time I really saw the massive improvement.

  I witnessed firsthand why Ed kept saying he learned everything he knew from Danny. More than anyone else, Danny had a talent for it. He was smooth and precise, he didn’t look awkward. I guess those fencing classes in military school gave him the foundation he needed.

  If I could have I would have watched for a while, but I knew work had to be done and I had to inform those who relied on Randy and Sonny that they were indisposed for a day or two.

  Ed must have spotted me watching and he waved his class to continue and headed over to me.

  “You alright?” Ed asked.

  “Oh, yeah, just watching. Danny’s doing great, or is that only my paternal pride?”

  “No, he’s doing great. He gets... put it this way, if you think I’m good, I’m nothing compared to how good he gets.”

  I whistled. “That’s good to know. Listen …” I looked over Ed’s shoulder, “we got a report that we have a couple of Sleepers in the east field. Can I send you out?”

  “Sure. After class?”

  I nodded.