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

by Jacqueline Druga

  Henry held tightly to his pencil, his head faced the list of children and their weight, but his mind was on Ellen.

  Ellen’s fingers were locked in Frank’s as they watched Joe unfold the first name.

  “We just uh ... talked about this one. Walt Jefferson.” He placed the paper down. “What’s our next heaviest, Henry?”

  Henry cased the list with his finger. “That would be Lance at seventy-six pounds.”

  “That’s our next weight limit. Josephine.”

  She pulled out another name giving it to Joe.

  Joe opened it. “Sabrina McBride.” He looked back at Henry. “Henry, weight?”

  “Fifty-three pounds, Joe.”

  Another name was slowly handed to Joe. Joe opened it, his heart racing as the chances decreased. “Lance Carr.”

  If Ellen could back her body into Frank anymore she would have. “I can’t take this, only one more.”

  “No,” he whispered in her ear. “They’ll pick another. We have a chance.”

  Joe took the fourth sheet of paper, his fingers shook as he opened it, wanting so bad to see the last name Slagel or Hayes on there. A breath escaped him, a breath of disappointment. “Jimmy Reese.”

  Henry looked up from his list. “Fifty-five pounds, Joe.”

  Joe quickly turned to Andrea. “I know we can do one more, right? That doesn’t come nearly to four hundred pounds.”

  Andrea nodded then folded her hands. “Do another, Joe.”

  Joe handed the bowl to Josephine.

  Josephine pulled out a slip looking at the concern on Joe’s face. “I’m trying for ya, Joey.” She winked at Joe.

  Joe opened the name. He quickly spun to Andrea who had her eyes closed. He said the name slowly. “Katie ... Winters.”

  Andrea’s eyes closed tighter as she silently, at that instant, thanked God.

  Henry reached over his hand to Andrea, squeezing it. “Forty-eight pounds, Joe.”

  Through the deafening silence, Joe looked at Andrea with pleading eyes. “Tell me.”

  “One more.” Andrea grabbed her pencil again.

  With everything he had, Joe prayed as he handed out the bowl to Josephine.

  Josephine reached in.

  On his hospital bed, knees brought up to him, Dean pressed his forehead to that radio. He listened to the quiet of the hall as he slightly rocked back and forth. “Please dear God, please let it be one of mine.”

  Ellen turned around and buried her face into Frank’s chest. “Please,” she whispered. “Please.” She could feel the tense hold Frank had on her. He held her for strength as much as she held him.

  “Last one.” Joe took a second, closing his eyes as he unfolded the paper. He opened them to read the name and quickly shut them laying the sheet of paper on the table. “Virginia Ryan.” With a dropped head, he raised his eyes to Andrea.

  Andrea’s head swayed slowly as she mouthed the words ‘I’m so sorry.’ to Joe.

  Facing Josephine, Joe placed his lips to her forehead. “Thank you.” He re-faced the room. “We’ll need these six children at the clinic tomorrow morning. They’ll have to stay a couple days so our medical team can monitor the side effects.”

  Dean tossed the radio harshly on the bed next to him, so angry he was. “Why did I mention it? Why didn’t I just give it to them? Damn it!” Against his bent knees, he laid his head.

  Ellen held back her tears as her shaking body gave hint that she wanted to break down. “I thought for sure, Frank. I really thought for sure.”

  “I did too. Let’s just ... Let’s just go home.”

  “Wait!” Henry stood up shouting out as the people started to get up. “Joe, Virginia is a baby. That only totals three-hundred and twenty-two pounds. Our next largest kid is Marcus at sixty-five. That gives an eight pound leeway for dosages. Pull another name, Joe. Pull another name.”

  Grabbing the bowl in gratefulness, Joe carried it to Josephine, who was getting ready to sit. “One more, Josephine.”

  Ellen didn’t want to stay. She just wanted to leave with Frank, stop by the clinic to see Dean, and go home. But she did stay, turning around, facing the front and settling into Frank’s arms.

  Joe took that final name into his hand and set down the name bowl. This would be it. This had to be the last name. There wasn’t a child that weighed eight pounds or under. When he opened the sheet, a thickening filled Joe’s throat, his heart pounded, and his breath escaped him. Immediately he looked to Ellen and said the name in such relief. “Billy Hayes.”

  Ellen’s head dropped and her eyes filled with tears, her shoulders bounced as she brought Frank’s hands from her waist to her mouth. So much emotion and fright filled that little time when she wanted with everything to hear one of her children’s names. When she did, her body gave way and she could barely stand.

  Frank held her up. He planted his lips to the back of her head and closed his eyes tightly.

  Henry’s hands dropped the pen he held and he lowered his face into his hands. As his joined hands ran down the bridge of his nose, he lifted his eyes to look out to Ellen, who was crying.

  Dean lay back on the bed, his arm covered his forehead. Though he was filled with happiness that Billy’s name was chosen, Dean was also filled with sadness at the thought of the struggle his other three children may have to face.

  As in any game of chance, there were more losers than there were winners in that room. What made it more painful was the fact that those who lost were the innocents of the world, the children. And worse than any other raffle or lottery where the loser fails to get the prize that fate hands them, in this pull-of-a-name, the loser failed to get the chance of life that fate should so much be waiting to hand them.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  AUGUST 7

  Joe followed the beeping sound. It had to be close. He checked out the connecting waiting room next to his office because the sound was louder there, but it was not from there. “Where in the world?” Joe walked through his office and into the little receiving examining room, it didn’t come from there either. Needing to find out, for curiosity and annoyance purposes, Joe left his office and sought it out. It was a high squealing beep, changing constantly in frequency and in speed. It grew louder the closer he came to the empty office next to his. The door was ajar when he walked in. Henry and Danny stood there with the internal portion of a speaker laid on the empty desk.

  “Try it again,” Henry told Danny. The beeping changed. “Good. Let’s go with that one.”

  “I like it better too.” Danny looked at the control in his hand. “Let’s go.” As he spun from the desk, he saw Joe standing in the door. “Joe.”

  “What is that noise?” Joe asked.

  Henry stepped forward. “Oh, we’re just using this office as a test base. We still have to clear out that storage room near Security Monitoring.”

  “Test base for what?” Joe questioned.

  “The tracking,” Henry answered. “We’re putting the first test transmitter up behind the back gate. We placed the small satellite on the roof here.” Henry pointed up. “We’re going to see if we pick up the signal. We have the receiver hooked up to the speaker, which is basically how it will work in the tracking room when it’s done. The only difference being, Danny still has to make the monitor so we can get a visual on how many, if any, are coming. We need more than just an audio but today we’re just testing the system using the audio. Have I lost you?”

  “Just tell me this,” Joe said, “that damn speaker isn’t going to be in this office all the time, right?”

  “No.” Danny shook his head. “Just for today. If we get a successful test, I’ll finish with the monitor, and then finish all the transmitters for the other areas.”

  “Good.” Joe nodded. “Just wanna be sure. I don’t want to be sitting in my office working and having that thing go off every time a deer goes by it.” Joe headed towards the door again. “OK, good luck out there.”

  After Joe left, Danny looked at H
enry. “A deer?”

  “I didn’t think of that.”

  “Neither did I.”

  “That is really going to be annoying to the monitor.”

  “Tell me about it.” Danny shrugged. “Oh well, it’s not us.” He grabbed the control. “Shall we?”

  “Let’s go.” Leaving the speaker hooked up, Henry grabbed his bag and followed Danny out.

  <><><><>

  “Here.” Frank handed Dean the bucket that he gladly took.

  Holding and stepping away from Frank on the roof of the utility building, Dean up heaved once into the bucket. “God.” He caught his breath. “I am so sick.”

  “It’ll pass.”

  “It’s awful.”

  “I told you not to eat when I worked with you on this, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, it’s like I’m on an amusement park ride that I can’t get off.” Dean began to stand up straight from his hung over his knees position. “All right, I’m ready.”

  Frank brought his binoculars up. “Danny and Henry are out there placing the new tracking system up. Spot them.”

  Dean looked out. “Where?”

  “Straight on past the back gate.”

  Taking a deep breath, Dean focused, watching the trees that were so far away get closer and closer. As he scanned the wooded area for the mechanical two, watching things get bigger and bigger, all he could hear was the theme to the Six Million Dollar Man. ‘Steve Austin, a man barely alive. We can rebuild him, make him stronger. Do-do-do ...’ “Frank! Will you knock it off!”

  Laughing, Frank moved back from Dean’s ear where he whispered. “Sorry. It was funny. Do you see them?”

  “Yeah, I spot them.”

  “What are they doing?”

  “Danny is climbing up the tree. Henry is ...” Dean looked for a closer shot of Henry. “Scratching his head. But he’s ... hold on.” Dean moved from the edge, reached for his bucket, but stopped himself before he threw up again. He raised his head back up. “All right it looks like ... oh my God.”

  “What?” Frank lifted the binoculars.

  “Savages.”

  “Where!” Frank searched.

  “Beyond them, sneaking in. Shit, Frank.”

  “How many.”

  “Eight, ten. Shit.”

  “Stay here. Keep watch!” Frank threw his headset on, and in a run, picked up the rope they used to climb up, leaped off the roof of the utility building, repelling once off the side with a huge ‘bang’ and dropping to the ground below. He landed on his feet, hands meeting the ground shortly after, picking himself up still running, Frank jumped on his motorcycle. “Security, down the back gate ... Robbie,” he called as he rode. “Robbie, come in. We got Savages headed in the back gate region, S-14 by Danny and Henry.”

  “Copy, Frank. Tower hasn’t said anything. They didn’t spot them.”

  “Yeah but Dean did. Suit up, meet me there. I’m heading out. Bring my rifle.” Revving the engine and lifting to one wheel as he did, he sped to the back gate. When he got there he jumped off, hoped the perimeter was down, and unlocked the gate.

  <><><><>

  Henry shielded his eyes from the peaking sun as he looked up to Danny who was in the tree. “How’s it going?”

  “Good.”

  “Is it secure?”

  “It’s just fine.” Danny, rope around his waist, also braced himself against the ‘V’ in the branch.

  “How’s it going to hold up if it rains or snows?”

  “Henry, if you would have paid attention to me last night, I explained that.” Danny grunted, making a turn of his tool. “But your mind was elsewhere.” Danny let out another loud grunt.

  “Are you having trouble with that?” He shrugged. “Anyway, I wanted to watch the movie. I told you that.” Henry’s head turned to the sound of static on the radio and he lifted it up. “Yeah, Frank?”

  “Henry, pull back. Get out of there.”

  “What was that, Frank? Your motorcycle is too loud.”

  “Henry!” Frank yelled as he drove out to them. “Savages are coming your way. Pull back!”

  He heard Frank’s warning, and with that he knew he had to deliver his own. “Danny! We have to ...” As he raised his head to call his co-worker he watched Danny’s body, still attached to the rope, sail downwards, in a drop backwards from the tree, arms extended out, head first straight to Henry. With a spring action, the rope reached its end and Danny stopped in a snap, swinging outward to Henry, and heading back in to the tree.

  Henry tried to reach out quickly, stopping Danny from hitting into the tree again. As he grabbed him, moving with the force of Danny’s swinging body, he saw the arrow protruding from his gut. “Oh my God.” Henry backed up, watching the blood that flowed from Danny’s stomach wound run quickly over his face. “Frank ...” Henry spoke into the radio. “I need help.” He turned to make a run for it and ... Slam! ... something, Henry didn’t know what, bolted him in the side of the face so hard he spun around and rammed into the tree. Seeing the blurriness of the bark, feeling the coarseness, Henry tried to straighten his weakened legs ignore any pain, and that was when the hooting and the screaming of the Savages began. He didn’t even have time to run for it when he felt himself grabbed harshly by more than one and thrown with a vengeance, face first, to the ground.

  Quickly trying to lift himself from his stomach, Henry saw the multitudes of feet that surrounded him. He barely made it to his knees when another hit struck him in the back of the neck, sending him crashing back down. It was at that moment with the loud hollering around him, the most frightening turn to Henry occurred. A foot slammed down to the back of his neck, holding his face pressed to the ground. Another foot stood on his arms, and another planted firmly between his shoulder blades, all while he felt the horrifying sensation of them pulling at him, tugging at him, and ripping at his clothes. “No!” Henry grunted out trying to scream with everything he had, trying to fight despite the hits, kicks, and pulling at his jeans.

  He felt the air hit the bareness of his lower body, and hands that gripped to his hips. Just as he felt himself being pulled back, he heard the sound of gunfire. Not rapid and fast, but steady and selective. With that gunfire, Henry felt the heaviness of a body fall hard upon his back, and the warmness of the blood that flowed from the head of that body across Henry’s face. Screaming as he did, Henry flipped himself over, flinging the man from him. Pulling up his clothes, Henry saw a spear plunging for him. He rolled again, out of the spear’s way, swung out his legs, taking the Savage to the ground. Henry picked himself up then dove on him, beating the Savage without control as if Henry was a Savage himself. Finally, in a kneel above the Savage, Henry grabbed the spear that protruded from the ground, lifted it high, and rammed it speedily to the center the Savage’s throat. Out of breath, Henry heard no more gunfire. He stood up, looking around. Four Savages lay dead on the ground. Where were the rest of them? Where was Frank?

  His answer came with a mighty angry roar, followed by the vision of a dead Savage thrown through the trees and landing with a roll, stopping at Henry’s feet. His neck was broken so severely it was nearly severed from his body. Then Frank emerged, one Savage on his back and two others fighting to take him down. Seeing this, Henry ran to the body of the Savage he had just killed, pulled the spear from his throat, and raced Frank’s way.

  Frank let out a painful enraged scream as he felt the teeth of the Savage on his back sear into his skin between his shoulder and his neck. Engulfed with outrage, Frank reached back, grabbed the hair of the Savage, gripped his head, and snatched him so harshly from the bite, that the crack of the Savage’s neck rang out as Frank flipped him over his shoulder. He used him like a baseball bat, swinging his lifeless body out, knocking over a Savage that dove at him.

  Upon Henry’s run to Frank, he saw Frank’s revolver lying on the ground. “Frank!” he called out. He picked up the revolver as he raced with the spear to the Savage Frank had just knocked to the ground. Spearing the
downed Savage through the throat, Henry tossed Frank his revolver.

  Frank caught it, clicked back the hammer, spun around, and fired one single deadly shot into the head of the last remaining Savage who was inches from him, holding a spear. Frank lowered his weapon slowly, breathing heavy and staring at the last Savage he had killed. “Where the fuck is Robbie?” Shaking his head, Frank walked to the tree where Danny hung. He saw as the blood still flowed freely from the stomach wound. Frank lifted Danny’s upper body, bracing it against his shoulder, and feeling for a pulse. “OK,” Frank whispered, “you’re alive.” He reached down and pulled out his knife that was strapped to his thigh. With one single hard swing, he cut the rope from where Danny was attached, caught Danny’s falling body, and lowered him to the ground. As he laid him down, he heard the sound of a jeep’s engine. “It’s about time.” Frank stood up and saw Robbie running through the trees. “It’s about time you asshole! Where the fuck have you been?”

  “Fuck you, Frank.” Robbie dropped down to Danny. “I had to get a jeep. Dean said Danny was hit.” Robbie pulled out a cloth and laid it on Danny’s stomach.

  “So I take it they’re ready at the clinic.”

  “Getting there.” Robbie looked up. “So how many did you take out?”

  “There were ten. I got eight.”

  Robbie fluttered his lips. “So why’d you need me? Frank, are you losing your touch?”

  Waving his hand off at his brother, Frank spun around to see Henry sitting on the ground. His knees were brought close to his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around them as his head was down. “I’ll be right back.”

  Robbie looked up as he prepared to lift Danny. “Hurry up, Frank. We have to get Danny in.”

  “I will.” Frank walked slowly over to Henry. “Hey. You OK?”