Sleepers (Book 6)

by Jacqueline Druga

  I leaned into Sonny and whispered, “We are never going to Vermont, despite what Ed said.”

  “What is up with you?” Hank asked. “I would think you would take this more seriously.”

  “Not much I can do like this, now can I?”

  “Why?” Randy questioned. “Why are you taking our stuff? All that we have we built, you could do the same. If you needed help, we’d give it.”

  “You may have enough but not enough for us all. There are too many of us. We wanted to go south, but we know for sure there’s a good place north. We just need to stock it.”

  “There’s an entire country out there,” Randy argued. “Raid that.”

  “With spoiling food and Creepers. Creepers aren’t north. Now, I’m gonna leave you with Reefer here. We’ll assess, move in, take what we need and we’ll be gone. As long as you all just hang tight, no one gets hurt,” Hank said. “Shouldn’t take us long. We have three hundred hands to do the work.”

  Cocky and arrogant, he walked out.

  I was confident that Mera was safe. I was able to get a radio call to her to stay put. That all went out the window when instead of Mera, Hank told me he found her.

  The sound of his voice using the radio, knowing Mera was with him made me sick to my stomach.

  What made matters worse was she sounded jolly and happy to give him the grand tour. Show Hank where all our stuff was so his people could roll right in and take it— and her.

  Was she that naïve or was she being that smart?

  Not long after, Reefer got a radio call saying they were on their way in. He was a skinny, annoying looking man who probably was a junkie before the world went to shit. He told us not to try anything funny, that his people would have every building surrounded in a matter of minutes and it would be over in a few more hours.

  A part of me wanted to feel helpless, but I couldn’t I was angry. I at least knew Ed and Bonnie were out there.

  With each passing minute, we heard more people outside. I couldn’t gauge how many there were.

  They laughed and shouted, sounding like thugs or looters.

  “This is insane,” Sonny said. “There has to be something we can do.”

  “What?” Randy said. “We’re tied up on our knees. Outnumbered.”

  “Plan B,” I whispered. “The backup.”

  “What backup?” Sonny barked. “Really. What can we do? It’s a little late now for a backup plan. Perhaps the backup plan would have been best implemented, I don’t know, before they tied us up maybe?”

  Michael nodded. “Sonny’s right. They have our compound. They have our weapons. We have no defense.”

  “I strongly disagree. We have the best defense inside of us. Well, most of us,” I said. “We have to hope for the ones that don’t. We also have the greatest weapon not far from our gates.”

  “What are you talking about, Alex?” Michael asked.

  “Sleepers. They’re our saving grace right now. Call them.” I said to Michael. “Call the Sleepers now.”

  THIRTY-EIGHT – MERA STEVENS

  When Danny was fourteen years old, deep into his troubled youth phase before he went to military school, he stole my car. For hours I tried texting him, calling him, all his friends. I even sent a message to him and his friends that said, “I am not mad. Just worried. Please call.”

  Nothing.

  I had felt frantic like never before, believing my son was lying in a ditch somewhere.

  I had that same skin crawling, gut twitching, heart racing feeling as I paced in the block right now. While I was displaying cool, calm, and aloof, I wasn’t.

  “Home,” Keller said.

  “Yes, we’re home, Keller.”

  “Alex. Home.”

  “I want him home too.” I peered out the , sick to my stomach. How many were out there? I was pretty certain Hank thought I was none the wiser. He had truly pegged me for some ditzy type of woman. Granted, I was the reason they were there. I was too naïve, but I wasn’t giving up and I was bound and determined to be the one to get Alex out of trouble. If he was okay. If any of them were.

  After telling Hank I would take him for a grand tour, I played sick, asking him if he minded if I went back to my block and rested. The babies were due for their nap and I wasn’t feeling well.

  He was congenial. After all, what kind of threat did I pose? A very pregnant woman with two children, one of whom was special needs.

  They had most of our radios, but I was pretty sure they weren’t on channel 13. That was our private channel. I had radioed Alex previously on channel one.

  Hoping not to set off that I was aware we were being invaded, I placed my radio to thirteen and called out. “Clinic. Clinic, come in.”

  “Mera,” Javier responded. “Where are you?”

  “I’m in my block. I think I have that flu that everyone else has. Is that possible? Are there any new cases that have come into the clinic?”

  “No new cases in the clinic, but the is flu is everywhere. All around us. Stay put. This epidemic is bad. Stay inside and rest.”

  “I will.”

  If I understood what Javier was saying, it was we were surrounded and it was bad.

  I obviously new there wasn’t any ‘flu.’

  “Home,” Keller said again.

  “Keller, I know.” I brought my hand to my head. Think. Think. Where was Alex? How could I help?

  “Alex Home….” Keller paused. “Ec.”

  I slowly turned to him. “Alex home Ec?”

  Suddenly Phoenix spoke up. “He’s praying. Funny. Sonny prays.”

  “Wait a minute. Can you guys see them? Sorry, Keller. I mean sense them? Where is Alex?”

  “Home… Ec,” Keller said.

  “Oh my God, they have Alex and Sonny at the old school building?”

  “Randy,” Phoenix replied. “Michael too.”

  That was it. If I could reach them, it would be a start to turning the tables.

  With Keller saying Home Ec, it made perfect sense. Not that there was an old school, but half the education building wasn’t used at all. I remember Alex teasing Sonny about finding the Home Ec room.

  In my error I had told Hank so much about Haven, but there were a few things I left out. Like the basement route and the tunnels that went between the buildings.

  When Ed and I left to go to my home, we used the basement tunnels, came up in the education building, and snuck out the back to the blind spot in the corner.

  I was confident they knew nothing about the basement and tunnels and I could make it there.

  I had to think things through. What if there was a guard on their door or in the room. What would I do?

  Play dumb. I would play dumb and do what needed to be done.

  Before leaving the block, I grabbed one of Danny’s knives. It wasn’t a huge one, an eight inch switchblade, and I tucked it in my back pocket.

  I untied Scout from Keller, set him loose in the block, and lifted Keller to my hip. Extending my hand, I reached for Phoenix.

  “No.” He backed up shaking his head.

  “Phoenix, come on.”

  “No!” he shouted. “Stay.”

  “We have to go.”

  He kept shaking his head. “No.”

  “Why?”

  His little eyes widened. “Sleepers come.”

  <><><><>

  When Phoenix says ‘Sleepers’, I listen. It would figure that in the middle of a takeover, the Sleepers would come. Then again, it was also a blessing, most in Haven were cloaked now.

  I had to get to Alex, Sonny, Michael, and Randy, then hide, because I wasn’t fortunate enough to get the serum. We made it out of the bunker, to the stairs, and had barely made it to the basement when the first pain hit.

  A strong, knifelike cramp seared across my belly as it tightened up. It made me stop and bend over.

  “Seriously?” I shook my head. “This is a joke. It’s just stress.”

  Two more steps, another searing pain.


  The baby was five weeks early and more than likely it was false labor brought on by my nerves and anxiety, but I couldn’t take a chance. As much as I wanted to help Alex, I had to find another way.

  We took the tunnel across the yard and quietly crept up the stairs that led to the medical building. I peered out, saw it was clear, and emerged into the main stairwell. I hadn’t felt any more pains, and that was a good sign. I was horribly winded, and toting two babies didn’t help. If I was spotted coming in the main staircase, I would be fine; I could fib my way out.

  From what I could see through the window, the South Bound people were outside helping themselves to our things, loading their trucks and forming human perimeters around our buildings.

  I got to the second floor and again had to stop. Carrying the boys was wearing on me. Danny was in room four and I made it there. I set down the boys as soon as I walked in.

  “Mom!” He jumped up from the bed. My son looked ready to go, waiting on an opportunity.

  I caught my breath and handed him the switchblade. “You are faster than me. Go, take the stairs to the under tunnels, get to the school. Help Alex, Sonny, Randy and Michael. They’re in the Home Ec room.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Keller told me.”

  “Good boy,” Danny said.

  “If you go now, it’s clear. No one is in the stairs or the tunnels. And tell Alex Phoenix says the Sleepers are coming.”

  “Got it.” Danny kissed me on the cheek.

  “Be careful.”

  He stopped before leaving. “Mom, you okay?”

  “Yes. Out of breath and hoping I’m not having this baby right now.” I slid my hand to my stomach.

  Danny flashed a panicked look then took off, moving faster than I ever could. I took a moment to say a short prayer and then I sought out Javier. I wanted to tell him what Phoenix told me and I had to know – was I having the baby or was it false alarm pains?

  Another shot across my gut and I tightened up. I didn’t have a good feeling. She was too early. I ended up having to go back downstairs and I found him. I looked in each room as I passed. No one looked ill. They all lay in the beds, covers on them, but I sensed every single person was ‘fake’ ill and like Danny, waiting for the moment to get up and charge to save the day. They were limited in what they could do, however. They could take the basement way, but had no weapons. The swords were outside and hidden, but they’d have to make it through the people walking around.

  Knowing those I lived with and the mentality of the men, the pride, it wouldn’t be long before they said screw it and went out.

  They had to also know the Sleepers were coming and the arrival of the Sleepers would be the diversion they needed.

  Javier was in a front room, watching out a window. He saw me and called my name as if scolding me, “Mera! I told you to stay put.”

  “I couldn’t. Keller told me where Alex was. I just sent Danny. And Phoenix told me the Sleepers are coming. We have to get the ones not cloaked and keep us together.” I cringed. “And I think I’m in labor.” His eyes widened. “Could it be the anxiety?”

  “It could be.” He reached down to touch my stomach. “Things are hectic, you’re stressed.”

  “It’s early.”

  “We’re ready,” he said.

  “I’m not. I can’t have this baby in the middle of all this.”

  “You don’t have a say so.”

  “This is all my fault,” I said. “All of it. I believed Hank was nice and sincere. I talked to him like a friend and while doing so, I gave him all the information he needed. I knew when I saw him, he was lying.”

  Both Javier and I looked at each other when I heard the slow clapping. Hank stood in the doorway. “I applaud your Academy Award winning performance, Mera. You had me fooled. Now tell me how you got here without me seeing you. I was out front.”

  I huffed. “It’s called a back door. And unless you have super powers you can’t watch both doors.”

  He reached out and took hold of my arm. “As long as you’re here. You’re coming with me.”

  “Stop.” Javier stated. “You can’t take her. She’s in labor.”

  Hank laughed. “Mera isn’t due yet. I fell for her lies once. Not again. Let’s go.”

  Hand gripped to my arm, Hank led me out of the room.

  “Where are you taking me?” I asked, hoping he’d bring me with Alex and the others. “And you’re walking too fast, I can’t keep up. Stop it.”

  He didn’t slow down. I did when we stepped outside.

  How dare they? How dare they just laugh and carry our things away. Furniture, food, whatever they could get their hands on.

  He gave me another tug and I hauled off and kicked him in the shin as hard as I could. His grip released and I took off.

  Unfortunately, another pain hit me and I slowed down enough for him to regain his grip.

  “Mera, Mera. If you are in labor, when we get this done, I’ll take you back to that medical building.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “We’re gathering everything, and that means weapons. We need that powerful one or whatever it is you’re hiding,” he said. “We’re going to Storage Three.”

  THIRTY-NINE – SONNY WILSON

  Had it been the movies, we wouldn’t have been tied up for so long, the ropes wouldn’t connect our wrists to our ankles, and an escape plan would have happened.

  But it wasn’t a movie.

  We were tied, bound, and on our knees. Every part of my body hurt. My knees from the kneeling, my back from being pulled, my shoulder from arching back. I wasn’t a young man; neither were Alex, Michael, or Randy. We talked about what we could do, what would happen. We worried that the South Bound people would leave and then the Sleepers would show up. They made the mistake of telling us their course. If the South Bound people did leave and take our women, we’d find them. We were already plotting that.

  I was about to give up completely, sunk emotionally and physically, when Danny raced through the door, shutting it behind him.

  “Oh my God!” Alex gushed. “How did you know we were here?”

  “Mom.” Danny didn’t waste time; he immediately cut the ropes on Randy. “Keller told her you were here. And Phoenix said the Sleepers are coming.”

  Randy groaned when he was free, not in relief, but in pain. He could barely stand up. Having been in one position for so long, he had stiffened up. I knew the same thing would happen to me.

  “So it worked,” Michael said. “We called them... it’s the only way to get the jump on these guys.”

  Alex was free, and like Randy, moaned in agony when he tried to stand. His body was crooked and Alex was moving like an eighty year old man.

  “How did you get through them?” Alex asked.

  “The basement.”

  Alex wrung his hands and moved to the window to peek out. “At least that’s one thing your mother didn’t tell them.” He leaned against the wall, looking out.

  As Danny cut my ropes, I could feel the ache of my bones with each pull.

  “Most of them aren’t armed,” Alex said. “Not from what I can see.”

  I didn’t have an easy time, I tried to stand and fell back down.

  “We don’t know how long it will be until the Sleepers arrive,” Michael said. “Once they do, those without weapons will be doomed.”

  “If we go through the basement to the main building, we can hit that hatch with the swords,” Danny said.

  Alex reached for Danny’s radio. “You’re right. Ed’s out there, if he comes in, he can start taking them out with us.”

  “Wait!” Michael said. “These are people. Do we want to slaughter them? Do we really want that on us? Isn’t it bad enough that we called the Sleepers in to do our dirty work? Just let it happen. We don’t need blood on our hands. Once the Sleepers arrive, we can do what we want.”

  Alex stared at him and after changing the channel on the radio, brought it t
o his mouth. “Ed, can you hear me?”

  “Loud and clear.”

  “What do you see?”

  “Alex, you have Sleepers on the horizon. They aren’t more than a thousand feet away. Bonnie and I are returning. I think if we bring the news of the Sleepers, they may scatter, or at least change their focus.”

  “Or be a diversion. Head in when the Sleepers are about five hundred feet out,” Alex instructed and lowered the radio. “Okay, who all do we need secure? Who didn’t get the serum?”

  “I think everyone is at the clinic,” Danny said. “Even Lance, and he was on guard with Randy.”

  “Your mom?”

  “She’s at the clinic.”

  “Even better,” Alex said and moved to the door. “Let’s head over that way through the tunnels and wait for the Sleepers there.”

  Finally I managed to walk. What the hell was the matter with me? It was like I had been cramped in a box. “Why don’t we wait until Ed is on his way in to create the diversion?” I suggested. “That way there’s no trouble at the clinic. South Bound will be too busy getting ready for the Sleeper attack.”

  Alex rubbed his face in thought, peered out the window again, then cocked back. “What the hell?”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Why is Javier running with a sword?” Alex asked.

  Randy said, “Looks like he’s chasing someone.”

  At that second, Danny darted across the room to the other window. “Oh my God. He’s chasing after Hank. Hank’s got my mom!”

  Danny started to go to the door, but Alex beat him to it. “I’ll get her. She’ll kill me if anything happens to you. Get everyone to the clinic and get ready for the uproar.”

  “Alex, it’s my mom.”

  “I got this.” He snatched the switchblade from Danny’s hand and ran out.

  We left the Home Ec room and headed toward the stairs. I believed we were going toward the clinic. Instead, once below, Danny went in another direction.

  “Danny!” Randy yelled. “This way!”

  “No, man. No.” Danny shook his head. “I’m getting weapons. I’m not going down against these guys without a fight. I’m not hiding, this is our home, and I am fighting for it.”