The Big Ten: The First Ten Books of the Beginnings Series

by Jacqueline Druga

  As Ellen reached her hand to his back, he stood up. His nude body, walking with a seldom seen slump, moved across the room slowly, searching for his clothes. “Frank, are you going back to the clinic?”

  “Yeah.” He pulled on his pants and grabbed his shirt.

  “I’ll get dressed.” Ellen slid from the bed, her clothes laid on the floor by her, right where he had taken them off. She started to get dressed, listening to him fasten his shoulder harness on. She stood up, bringing her shirt over her jeans, flipping out her hair, bending down to pick up her shoes. “I’ll go with you to the clinic.”

  “No.” He answered her soft yet gruff.

  “Then I’ll wait here for you.”

  “No, you can go.”

  “I can go?” She walked around the bed to him. “What do you mean I can go?” Moving closer she saw he wouldn’t turn around. “I thought you needed me, I thought . . .”

  “You thought wrong.” Frank’s whole body faced her. He raised his hand to his forehead and stared off to the side away from Ellen.

  Ellen’s mouth dropped open letting out the sound of her shock. She blinked her eyes several times, tilting her head, rewinding the night. “The way you were with me . . . boy, did I get it wrong. I assumed you were just sad, hurt . . . but . . . it was bitterness and anger. Wasn’t it Frank?” He didn’t answer her. “You took your anger and bitterness out on me when you made love to me.”

  Frank’s face turned red, his top lip quivered as his voice bellowed. “Don’t call it making love, El! I did not make love to you tonight!” He softened his tone. “You did what you were supposed to. You can leave.” Maybe at that moment if he hadn’t closed his eyes, he would have seen it coming. Ellen’s cold hard slap stung not only his cheek, but his whole body as well. Frank never did open his eyes. He couldn’t… not until he heard her leave.

  ^^^^

  Working was not something Henry wanted to do, especially with Joe so heavy on his mind. But with Joe ill, he had to. The thought alone of getting out of his warm bed in the middle of the night was disturbing enough, let alone to go out and chase after the paranormal activities reported by an obviously inebriated eighty-six year old Josephine. But Josephine pounded on his door and insisted she would do so until Henry answered or she passed out. Henry actually debated on covering his ears and letting her just fall into a drunken stupor on his front step, but for peace in the neighborhood, he emerged.

  After paying a social visit to one of the lonely men in the community who needed the comfort of an attractive older woman, Josephine said she saw it. She was a little lost on her way home when she spotted the flicker of a light in one of the vacant homes in the last row of houses. Drunk and brave, Josephine started to investigate until she heard the ghostly noises and then she staggered in a screaming run all the way to Henry’s.

  When Henry arrived at the house, he didn’t see a light, but he did hear the noises seeping from the home. They weren’t ghostly, they were more heart wrenching. Sobs.

  Flashlight in hand already illuminated, Henry opened the front door. The sobbing stopped. The beam of the light sought out where the sniffle came from and it lit upon Ellen huddled in the corner of the empty living room. “El?” Henry hurried over to her.

  “Can . . . Can I be alone?” Ellen asked, her head buried to her arms.

  “Sure. But just tell me you’re not hurt.” Henry’s answer came in the form of another sob. “El?” He sat down on the floor next to her. “What is it? Are you concerned about Joe?”

  “Yes. But that’s not the reason I want to be alone. Please leave me alone, Henry. Please.”

  “Something has happened.” Henry moved closer. “Did Frank . . .” Henry’s eyes closed, her cry answered his question before he asked it. “What did he do?”

  “I did it. It was me.” Ellen spoke through her tears. “I . . . I was with him, Henry. With him tonight.”

  “El.” Henry laid a hand on her back. “It’s all right. He’s your husband. He needed you.”

  “He didn’t need me.” Ellen lifted her head. Her face was so red it could be seen in the dark. “He really hates me.”

  “That’s not true. He was with you.”

  “He said I could go, Henry.” Ellen broke down and cried again, only this time she fell into Henry’s chest. “He said . . . I could go.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “Feeling better Joe?”

  Joe heard that question, that distinctive voice. It laughed as the question was asked. George. As Joe opened his eyes, the realistic sight of the clinic room came into focus. George stood at the foot of the bed, directly in Joe’s view. He tried to move, but he couldn’t. He felt like a soul trapped in a shell, a shell that was dead and lifeless.

  “Oh, I see you can open your eyes now. Perfect, now you can see everything as well. Just thought I’d let you know.” George moved closer to the bed. “They’re voting tonight on who will run the community while you’re down.” George laughed.

  Go ahead George, taunt. I will get out of this bed. And when I do, you’re a dead man.

  “Strange thing though. Henry said this morning that he’s going to ask the people if they’ll accept him to fill in. I told him to try, but you and I both know who will be voted.”

  You think you have it all wrapped up. People will object, Dean will . . . Joe saw Dean enter the room, slow down and smile. Dean! Dean get him out of here!

  Dean smiled at Joe. “Your eyes are open.” Then the smiled dropped as he saw George. “We really want only family in here George. You’re gonna have to leave.”

  “My apologies. I was just concerned. Andrea confirmed it was a stroke, I hear.”

  “Andrea can be wrong.” Dean wrote in the chart. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m checking on Joe.”

  George stepped back. “I’m sorry for intruding. I’ll leave.” He moved to the door. “But I have to say, I’m sensing a bit of hostility coming from you to me.”

  “George, I’m worried about Joe. I just don’t know what this community is going to do.” Dean turned back to Joe. “Bye.” He mustered up a look of disgust waiting for George to leave. “Joe, your pupillary response is great.” He flipped a page to the chart. “It just isn’t normal.”

  Of course it’s not normal Dean, what the hell do you think. Come on! Don’t be so stupid, Joe mind-argued.

  “Something’s up.” Dean set the chart down. “And the lab results aren’t here. Shit.” Dean walked to the foot of the bed. “I’ll be right back, Joe.”

  Joe saw him leave and closed his eyes again. He just wanted to pretend it was a nightmare. Maybe if he fell asleep, he’d wake up and it would all be over with. But that wasn’t going to happen. He heard footsteps. They moved slowly. No, not George again. He opened his eyes. Ellen.

  “You opened your eyes!” Ellen smiled excitedly, running to him. She grabbed his face and kissed him. “Oh, Joe this is great, this is so great!” She pulled up a chair and sat next to him. “You look pissed though.”

  I am pissed. Wait. Let me try to look worse.

  Ellen noticed the shift in his eyes. “Are you looking around?” She saw him blink slowly. “Joe? Are you understanding me?”

  Joe blinked slowly again.

  Ellen looked to the door and then back at Joe. She whispered, “I’ll tell you, Andrea and Dean will think I’m nuts, but . . . One blink for yes, two for no.” Ellen edged closer. “Your communicating means so much for your recovery.” She grabbed his hand, and began to bend the fingers. “I’m exercising you, in case you’re wondering. O.K., question. Do you like cats?”

  Joe blinked twice.

  “Oh, right answer.”

  Joe rolled his eyes slightly. Ellen this is dumb, ask me something important.

  Ellen began move his hand in a circle. “Now that we established you understand me . . . I have to talk to you.” After a few bends she rested his arm down and stood up. “It’s important, and I know you are sick. But . . . you are my father.” She kissed him
. “This is gonna make you angry and if you could, I know you’d scream at me. Things are bad, Joe, really bad with Frank. And I have decided to leave Beginnings. I took some of my things out to the tunnel. You know, where there aren’t any beams. And I’m just gonna leave. For a while. Give Frank space.”

  Son of a bitch bastard, what the hell did my son do. You can’t leave this place, you’ll get killed.

  “I know it’s dangerous,” Ellen continued. “But, it’s what I want to do. I’ll be back. I hope. The twins will be fine. Not like they care much for me anyhow,” Ellen spoke sadly. “And Brian. I thought I’d have a chance with him. But I’m not allowed around him.”

  “Since when aren’t you allowed around Brian?” Dean asked sternly as he walked in the room.

  “Dean.” Ellen spoke startled. “I was just . . .”

  “Answer me.” He stepped closer.

  Joe felt relieved. Talk to her Dean. Talk to her now

  “I haven’t been allowed around Brian since Frank and I split up.”

  “What! That’s two weeks? He won’t let you see him?” Dean’s face turned red and he grabbed Ellen by the arm. “Excuse us, Joe.” He pulled her from the room. “That is bullshit, El.”

  “Dean, lower your voice.”

  “Fine.” He led her into the next room. It was empty. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because Frank was angry and I thought he’d let me, eventually.”

  “Let’s go get Brian.” Dean insisted.

  “No, Dean, he won’t give him to me.” Ellen pulled away.

  “Then we’ll take him,” he scolded, “because he has no right to do that to you. None. That is not his kid, El. He’s ours. Ours.”

  Ellen went silent in the painful reality of another way she hurt Frank. “No, Dean. He’s Frank’s, no matter who supplied the genetics. You know what we decided. The baby was made to be Frank’s. And, I’ll see him. Eventually. Then Frank will just find another way to hurt me.”

  “Like he did last night? What happened last night El? Why were you so upset when you came home?”

  “Please don’t get mad at me.” Ellen turned away.

  “Why would I get mad at you?” Dean turned her to face him. “What happened?”

  “I was with Frank. I thought he needed me. I thought he wanted comfort. It meant nothing to him and that’s why I was upset.”

  “He told you that?” Dean asked almost shocked.

  “No, he was blunter than that. He said I did what I was supposed to do, and I could leave.” Ellen recognized the error in telling him. Dean’s face became so outraged, his eyes actually glared. “Dean.”

  “That’s it.” He flew for the door.

  “Dean stop it. Don’t go after Frank.” Ellen grabbed his arm. “He’ll kill you.”

  Dean pulled his arm away from her. “Then he’s going to get one hell of a fight. I can’t let him do this to you. I can’t. What kind of a man does that make me if I just stand around and let him hurt you.”

  Before Ellen could stop him and grab him, Dean was gone. After a moment, Ellen seized the opportunity and went her own way.

  ^^^^

  . The simple ‘hi’ Ellen gave him as he passed her on the street really bothered Henry as he made it back to his office. She wouldn’t look at him. The more Henry wandered from where he saw her, the more he regretted not going back to ask if she was all right.

  “Henry?” Mark ran up to Henry just as he passed the security building.

  “What’s up?” Henry stopped in his walking. “I’m heading to my office. Is it important?”

  “It’s weird. Come in here.” Mark led the way.

  “What is that beeping?”

  “That’s why I brought you in here. It’s a motion detector. A motion in the tunnel.”

  “Holy shit!” Henry snapped upright in a panic. “Someone’s getting in. Seal the tunnel, turn on the perimeter, I’ll go get . . .”

  “No.” Mark stopped him. “I would have done that. Look at which detector it is.”

  Henry looked. “The second one?”

  “Yep. Henry, someone’s not coming in. They’re going out.”

  “Someone’s going out? But . . .” Before the word ‘who’ could leave his mouth, Henry knew the answer. “Shit.”

  ^^^^

  The hour it took Dean to find Frank did not help him to calm down, it made matters worse. The more he searched, the worse he grew. Dean thought a person of Frank’s size would be easy to spot. But Frank was outside the perimeter, and even Dean couldn’t go and find him there. So he waited by his office, because that’s where he was told Frank was going.

  Rationality and calmness were not the emotions Dean conveyed when he saw Frank approach. He stormed up to him, calling out his name in complete and utter anger. “Frank!” He moved closer. “You and I have to talk.”

  “Move out of my way.”

  “No.” Dean placed his hand on Frank’s chest pushing him back. “You’ll listen to me.”

  “Don’t touch me again, Dean!” He scowled at him.

  “Frank, first off, you will give Brian to Ellen. You will let her see her baby.”

  “No, she has no right, she lost her right.”

  “Bullshit! She has every right. I will be by to get him tonight. You hear me?”

  “Dean!” Frank snapped at him then brushed by him. “You will not. He is not your kid, Dean. Stay away from him.”

  “Then stay away from mine!” Dean came back, stepping with rage to him. “You wanna play these games, Frank. We’ll play them. You don’t want Ellen to see Brian, then don’t you ever go near my kids again.”

  “I don’t make deals with you.”

  “This is not a deal. This is a threat.” Dean marched closer, his face red, near Frank’s. “Don’t piss around with me! I’m sick of your shit!”

  Frank’s hand came down pushing him away. “Who the hell do you think you are, walking up to me, getting in my shit, and defending her? Yeah, you can forget what she did because you were part of it. She was wrong!”

  “And so are you, Frank. So are you. You can’t sleep with your wife then treat her like she’s your whore.”

  “No I can’t. I treat her like she’s your whore.”

  Though Dean knew it could very easily mean his life, his gut took over. With a closed fisted hand, he gave Frank everything he had. The hit was loud and it seemed to echo as Frank’s head flung to the side.

  Blood? Frank, still looking away, could feel it. He moved his tongue to the corner of his mouth and felt the taste of it. He brought his hand up and looked. The sight of the red smear drove through him. He turned with abrasiveness and snatched up Dean, rearing back his fist to hit him. He saw Dean wasn’t backing down. He saw no fear in Dean’s eyes. “I’m warning you right now. The last time I hit you, I took it easy on you. Don’t make me hit you, Dean, ‘cause I swear to God, I’ll kill you. I will kill you!”

  “It won’t be as easy as you think, Frank. I will give you everything I got.”

  Frank released Dean harshly shoving him back. “Walk away!” Frank backed up. “Do you realize how close you are? You took part in destroying my life! I’m not with my wife anymore because of you.”

  “No, Frank, you aren’t with Ellen because of you! If you weren’t such a fuckin’ asshole you would see that.” Dean only had a second to think, the frightening sight of Frank raging to him was a warning. With all of his weight he raced to Frank, slamming his body into him and crashing with Frank to the ground. Frank rolled from where he fell, stood in a charge, reached down with a grunt, and lifted Dean by shirt. As his hand reached back to deliver a blow, he stopped when he heard Henry shouting.

  “Knock the shit off! Knock it off!” He separated the two men abruptly. “Knock it off.”

  Frank’s head spun to Henry. “Stay out of it. This is between him and me.”

  “I will not stay out if this!” Henry stepped further between them. “I’m not going to let you guys fight. Not now!” He
looked at Frank. “Calm down. And Dean . . . you too. Listen . . .” He stepped back to face both of them. “Ellen’s gone.”

  Frank shrugged, and started walking away. “Then tell her lover to seek her out. I’m not searching the town for her.”

  “I telling you, Frank!” Henry shouted. “I’m telling you because you’re her husband. She’s gone. She left Beginnings.”

  Frank stopped and turned around. “She didn’t leave. She can’t get out.”

  “The hell she can’t. The tunnels?” Henry knew at that moment he had Frank’s attention. Frank came running back.

  “When?” Frank stepped to Henry just as Dean opened his mouth.

  “At right now, we’re looking over an hour.” Henry looked at his watch. “I looked for her to be sure. And I am. She left.”

  Dean started taking off. “Henry, tell Andrea to watch my kids. I’ll be back.”

  Frank’s head turned. “Dean, you won’t go find her.” He extended his arm out stopping him. “I will. And she’s going to fuckin’ hear about . . .”

  “Frank!” Henry scolded. “What is wrong with you?” He stood toe to toe. “I will go after her. I will! Dean . . .” He looked at him. “You can’t. Stay here. I’ll find her.”

  Frank halted Henry. “I can’t let you do that. I have to go . . .”

  “And what Frank?” Henry asked sharply. “Make her never want to return.”

  “It’s dangerous out there, she can get killed.”

  “I know this.” Henry stepped back. “And if anything happens to her it’s on your head.” He pointed. “Because you’re the one that caused this!”

  Frank closed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips. “Wait.” He ran after Henry. “Let me at least arm you and give you the proper supplies.”

  “I know what to bring.” He kept walking. “Dean?”

  “Yeah?” Dean caught up to him.