Oscar nodded at her.
“Nah.” Ellen shook her head.
“Sorry, pal.” Frank took Ellen’s hand. “Thanks for the offer though.” Tightly he gripped Ellen’s hand and began to walk with her.
Oscar ran to catch them, walking backwards in front of them. “Two-two deer.”
“My wife is not for sale.” Frank began to get perturbed.. “Beat it.” The little man didn’t. “I said . . .” In his loudest meanest voice Frank shouted at him. “Beat it!”
Oscar, though not extremely bright, was smart enough to see it was time to run, and run he did. He took off in the opposite direction, running all the way.
Frank shook his head. “Why didn’t you call me when he showed up?”
“He was harmless. I work with enough survivors to know that. So, what did you get me?”
“Jeans. We’ll knife them off, so please don’t start bitching.”
“You’re gonna find me a place to get cleaned up won’t you.”
Frank tried to shun the irritation he felt. “El . . . If I’m right, by this map, we should hit a river, or rather stream that heads north. We’ll follow that.”
“Hurrah, we’re going north.” She started moving faster, because Frank seemed to be.
“Maybe I should have sold you for a deer.”
“Fine.” Ellen stopped and turned around. “I’ll give myself to the group of guys.”
“Get back here.” Frank reached out pulling her back, he wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled Ellen to him to give her a hard kiss to her cheek. He smiled and kept walking.
“Oh, yeah now be nice to me.” Ellen rubbed her cheek. “A little insecure over Os-Oscar, huh?”
Frank shook his head with a chuckle. There was a sense of relief that was evident as they started heading north. It was apparent in the way they talked, and joked some. They felt safer--and they were--being so far from the main road. They headed forward, though still boggled down with all of their supplies, they had a little less weight to carry on their shoulders.
^^^^
“So what am I reading?” Jason Godrichson asked Dean as they sat reviewing printouts in the lab.
“I want to have a sort of cliff-notes version for when Joe gets back. However, I need you to read about cyborg-physics. I can’t make heads or tails out of it. I’m going to read over the correspondence. See if there’s anything in the letters that helps.” Dean began to flip through the pages. “And . . . if there is anything you can remember on your own, it’ll be helpful.”
“I’ve told everything I could remember to Joe.” Jason flipped a page with a ‘hmm’.
“Your father didn’t say anything to you about the master plan of the society?”
“Nope, just that he was part of it. And about being frozen.” Jason continued to read as he spoke.
“Didn’t the thought of being cryogenically frozen frighten you?” Dean made a face at a letter he read and placed a big red ‘x’ over it.
“No, not really. The plane ride frightened me more. With all that snow I thought for sure we’d crash. I truly feared the landing.”
Dean laughed and shook his head. “Where in the world were you that it was snowing at the end of May?”
“May?” Jason dropped the page he held up. “I wasn’t cryogenically frozen in May.”
“Yeah, you were.” Dean quite enjoyed the sudden lapse of memory of the doctor. “Maybe you just lost track of time.”
“I’m a quantum-physicist! I highly doubt that. And I remember the snow vividly. A blizzard to be exact.”
“In May?” Dean asked doubtfully and sarcastically.
“Why do you keep insisting on May. I ought to know.” Jason argued.
“And I ought to know too. The Plague started on May 29th.”
“The plague started in May?” Jason rubbed his face in bewilderment. “If that’s the case. Then why was I frozen in January?”
^^^^
“See El, isn’t this nice.” Frank motioned his hand outward to the stream that ran behind him. A wide one, clear waters, running over the rocks. “Big enough to purge in.”
Ellen peeked at it. “Sure if I lay on my back.”
“Then lay on your back.” Frank set down the gear. “We’re stopping here for the night. We’ve hit about thirty-two miles today . . . good job. Right now, let’s just both sit down and stop.” He plopped to the ground. “And, we should eat. It’s been awhile.” Frank handed her the food.
“I don’t feel like eating. Not this stuff.” Ellen handed it back. “It’s gross. And what was the meaning of feeding me that brown thing today, you called a brownie. You didn’t eat it.”
“It’s because I don’t weigh fifty fuckin' pounds.” He tossed it to her. “Eat.”
“No.” She shook her head and tossed it back.
“Ellen.” Frank grabbed the brown bag and crawled to her. He knelt, his arms extended to both sides of her, and his face close to hers. “El, listen to me. You will survive this trip. And not only will you survive it, you’ll be healthy too. I will see to it. Now, if I have to pin your skinny ass down, hold your mouth open and feed you like a two year old, I will. But you will eat!” He handed her meal back to her, less than gentle, then scooted back.
“Fine.” Ellen opened up the bag and looked into it. “Gross. And you don’t understand. My legs hurt, my feet hurt . . .”
“El . . .” Frank tilted his head with closed eyes, trying to block her out, but not succeeding.
“No Frank, you’re used to this walking shit. It’s hot Frank. I feel gross. Everything around us is spooky. And you yell and snap at me, barking orders. So why do you yell at me so much?”
“Why do you bitch so much!?” Frank asked in a yell.
“Because I don’t wanna be here! I want to be home!”
“I’m doing the best I can, El!” Frank slammed his hand to the ground then brought it to his face. “Fuck. I’m trying! Can’t you see that!?” From over his knuckles cupped just beneath his nose, he watched Ellen turn her back to him, bring her knees up, and place her head down on them. Her shoulders bounced. “Don’t.” Frank shook his head. “Don’t pull that fake crying shit on me.”
Ellen held up one hand, her head moving from side to side.
“Quit it. I know you better. So stop it before I get even more pissed.” Frank stood up and walked over to right before her. “Talk to me. Talk to me . . . El!” Frank grew annoyed. “Quit with the games and look at me.” He saw her lift her head, and Frank saw her face. He knew at that moment she had to feel really bad. For Ellen to be actually crying, something was wrong. “El.” Frank spoke his words as his heart sunk. He knelt down. “Hon.”
“I’m sorry Frank. You are trying.” She tried to hide her face. “I just . . . I just miss my family. And I’m scared out here . . . I just want to go home.”
Frank sat down with her and took her in his arms. “I’ll get you there.” He held her tight. “I promise. I’ll get you home.”
^^^^
It was all Dean waited to hear. The truck was on its way back. Right on schedule, a definite good sign--no problems to hold Joe up. Henry came to Dean to tell him personally that Joe had reached radio range. The news made him smile, he wanted to be at that front gate to watch them all pull up safely. He had so much to tell them, so much they probably didn’t want to hear.
When they saw them it was like a breath of fresh air. The truck moved fast and stopped at the end directly in front of Dean and Henry, almost hitting them. Dean ran to the side of the truck with Henry, the huge smile he had, dropped from his face when he looked in the truck.
Leaning out the open driver’s window, Joe’s serious face said it all. “Henry, get John Matoose, and Johnny. All of you meet me at my office stat, you hear?”
Dean nodded. “Joe, where’s Ellen?”
Joe didn’t answer, he sped off almost taking Dean unwillingly with him.
“Henry, something’s happened.” Dean turned to Henry who was still
watching the truck. “Something went wrong . . . Henry? . . . Henry?”
Henry turned his head, but his eyes still focused on the truck. “Who do you suppose the new guy is?”
Dean opened his mouth to speak, but words failed to emerge. Henry left him dumbfounded. Giving up, Dean went ahead to follow Joe’s orders. The sooner he did that, the sooner he could find out what had happened.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
With a slam of his office door, Joe strolled in. The look on his face told everyone what they had guessed. He took the rolled map he had, and tacked it up to the cork board he had hanging. “All right.” Joe took a deep breath and ran his hand over his face. “I guess you can all tell by now that Greg and I came back without our people. We’ve got trouble and that’s why I want you all here.” Joe pointed to the map as he spoke to the requested ones in the room, along with Jason Godrichson. “We believe that George and Miguel are still in the compound. Frank got Ellen out of there and they now are on the run. I estimate by now they are somewhere past Castle Rock. There’s a new breed of survivors out there. Coincidently they appeared with our scientists. So, first plan of action, get the choppers up in the . . .”
“Can’t, Pap.” Johnny stood up. “Maybe not for another day. There’s something you should know.”
Dean lifted a large and heavy stack of papers from the floor and set them on Joe’s desk. “No, Joe. There’s a lot you should know.”
Joe looked at the stack, then at Dean. “This gonna be worse than I’m imagining.” He didn’t need a response from everyone, their silence and expressions confirmed his fear. Joe sat down.
^^^^
Frank had to admit he did feel better after getting cleaned up. The water in the stream was cool, but even though it was shallow, he managed to make the best of it. He watched Ellen, as he bent down to pick up his clothes. She combed her wet hair, staring kind of blankly off. She looked better after the surprise of the century Ellen outburst. Of course she fell asleep for an hour right afterwards. Frank figured exhaustion added some to her mood. “Hey El.” He smiled, rushing to the ground with her, leaning in. “Feeling better?” He kissed her.
“Yeah . . . I am.” She smiled at him. “Just missing the kids. How were they?”
“Oh they’re great.” Frank began to pull at the grass next to him. “Dean . . . Dean has Brian.” He hunched because he knew it was coming.
“Dean! Why in the world would you do that?” Ellen saw him try to speak in his defense, but she just wouldn’t let him. “You know bad he wants a baby. Talk about being cruel, rubbing it in, gloating . . .”
“Whoa.” Frank held his hands up. “Dean offered to take Brian. I didn’t see a problem with it. Things are a bit different with Dean and me now. Just a bit. And you’re forgetting. Dean doesn’t just want to have a baby. He wants to have a baby with my wife.”
“He wants to have a baby with the same woman who gave him his last children. You just aren’t seeing the point. You are so immature about this whole situation.”
“Immature?” Frank brought his knees up to him. “I don’t want you walking around knocked up by some other man.”
“Try this. Let’s say for arguments sake, that . . . Henry was never going to find a woman. And let’s say Henry really wanted to have a child and he came to us. Would you let me have Henry’s baby?”
“That’s different. Yes.” Frank said.
“Why could I have Henry’s baby and not Dean’s?”
“Because Henry is not Dean.”
“Henry . . . Dean. No Difference, Frank. I wouldn’t be sleeping with them.”
“Dean is different, El. I don’t want to have another reason to share you with him.”
“Why do you insist you share me with Dean?” Ellen asked. “Dean and I have become very good friends. Yes we have children, and because of that there will always be a connection between us. But I’m married to you. I’m your wife. And I just wish you could see that your wife would like to do something for her friend. A friend that she feels she owes a lot to.”
Frank lowered his head. “This is a big thing. You want to carry his child. I can’t give a part of you up, even if it’s just for a little while. No matter how you look at it, that’s what I’ll be doing. I can’t share you.”
“I love you, Frank.” Ellen spoke softly and lifted his chin. “I don’t need your permission to do this. But I want it. So would please, please just think about it.”
Frank closed his eyes. He could at least give her that.
^^^^
Amidst the complete silence in the room following Dean’s explanation, Joe shocked, looked up. “So much sabotage.” he shook his head once. “Altered fetuses. Large amounts of trained assassins. Mock Caceres societies. Elimination of the weak. Cyborg enhancements? Who do they plan to do that to?”
Dean lifted his hand. “From what we can figure, those they want to train to be killers, workers, but most of all . . . the women. Any woman born of the old world or pre-society, will be used for farming. Or if they’re older, they’ll be enhanced to be a worker. But that’s not the worst part.” When Dean saw Joe raise his eyes, he motioned his hand to Jason. “Dr. Godrichson, tell us when you were frozen.”
“Same year as the plague, but . . .” Jason added that dramatic effect. “January fourth.”
It caused a loud eruption of questions, especially from Joe. “Hold it. Why were you frozen so far before . . .” Then it hit Joe. “No.”
Dean nodded. “Oh, yeah. It was planned. They didn’t expect it to be so devastating though. They planned on a fifty percent population decrease and diminishing of society. They awake, they’re heroes, they start the world over to their specifications. But it gets better.” Dean hid his snicker at Joe’s mumbling stock ‘Christ’. “Ready. The plague was planned to be released on June 1st. But here’s what happened. An underground group called the Mohemians discovered this little ‘end the world’ plot and set out to stop it at all cost. The Society, found out who the Mohemians were, set them up as the bad guys and led . . . the CIA directly to their main US guy . . . Barat Ashrad. Barat’s warnings to the CDC were real. He did have the virus. But he wasn’t trying to start it, he was trying to stop it. And you Joe, did your job. You chased him, you got him, but you also inadvertently started the early release of the plague. You, Joe, started the world’s end.”
With a tilted head Joe looked at Dean with a hint of irritation. “Could you have any less tact, Dean? I started the end of the world?”
Dean snickered then stopped “Sorry. Yeah. It’s kind of ironic since you and your boys had this big end of the world contingency . . .”
“Dean!” Joe’s hand hit on the desk. “It’s not funny.”
“No, Joe.” Dean looked serious. “Not at all.” He cleared his throat. “And you really didn’t start the end. It would have happened in two days anyhow. But when word got out of the early release, the suicide droppers released it at the other designated sites.”
“These sons of bitches deserve everything we give.” Joe stood back up with a rush and moved to his map. “And we’re gonna give it to them. First thing first, fix those choppers, get them in the air, I’ll figure coordinates, find Frank and Ellen, and get them home. Doesn’t matter how many if those soldiers there are, we can take them out by chopper.. John . . .” Joe turned to John Matoose. “I want top shooters on each bird, enough ammo, you guys fire at anything in a uniform, except Frank.” He got agreement from John. “ Second, George and Miguel, we have to get them out of here. When we infiltrate the compound we’ll take out our little brainiacs. I’ve been given this a lot of thought. I think it may work. Dean, are our scientist immune to our plague?”
Dean’s head bounced in thought. “Somewhat. However, a mutated form, or stronger form would definitely have an effect on them, probably fatal. That is not a guarantee though.”
“Then I need you to work on it, Dean.” Joe smiled widely. “Immediately. We’re bringing them down that way.” Joe turned to J
ason, ignoring Dean’s open mouth. “Jason I’m taking you out of plastics and putting you in the clinic to work Dean’s patients. Dean, you’ll need an assistant. When Ellen gets back, I’ll put her with you. Is Ellen all right? You two worked on the virus before. I’ll pull her from containment to work on this with you. Day and night, got that, until you come up with it. Greg . . .” Joe’s attention turned to him. “You’re in containment, you and I will split that . . .”
“Wait!” Dean spoke loudly holding up his hand in a halt manner. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but did you just ask me to create a biological weapon to take these people out with?”
Joe and everyone else in the room grunted. “Yes Dean I did. That’s how we’re going to do it. We can’t just go bursting in there and chance them killing our two men. You and I are immune to this virus. You create something that we can dump into their air filtering system. They die, George and Miguel and any other survivors there, will walk out. But don’t create anything that you can’t have an antidote.”
“It’s wrong.” Dean spoke up interrupting him. “It’s morally wrong and I won’t do it.”
The enthusiastic smile wiped from Joe’s face, immediate tension daggers were thrown at Dean as he peered at him. Only raising his eyes, Joe looked to everyone else in the room. “That will be all everyone. I’ll check on everyone’s progress in the morning.”
One by one, almost immediately, everyone left the room. Waving to Joe, feeling sorry for Dean as they passed him. Dean hadn’t been told directly to stay. He stood up, the last one, but didn’t make it very far. With a firm hand pressed down on his shoulder Joe shoved him back in the chair.
“Dean, you want to repeat what you said to me just a minute ago?” Joe folded his hands waiting for a different answer.
Dean’s fingers nervously tapped on the arms of his seat. Feeling like a child awaiting a scolding. But he had to speak his mind. “I said, it’s wrong. Morally wrong and I won’t do it Joe.”
The Big Ten: The First Ten Books of the Beginnings Series Page 115
