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

by Jacqueline Druga

  Dean stayed behind at the clinic. His hands shook as he worked, dreading the news that he knew would soon come. It had been fifteen minutes since Robbie landed. No phone call, no radio call, nothing. Then he heard them, the unison footsteps walking down the corridor of the clinic. Combat boots. It had to be Robbie. He could hear the others with him and Dean, in the last room of his rounds, froze solid. The pounding of their footsteps went through him, aching him the closer they drew.

  “Dean,” Joe called him, peeking his head in the room. “Can we talk to you?”

  Every bit of Dean’s insides trembled. He knew his face was pale. “Um, yeah, Joe.” Dean grabbed his chart, took a long breath and stepped out of the room. The minute Dean stepped into the hall, something about Robbie’s look, not Henry’s, made a lot of his fears disappear. Robbie flashed him a quick smiled.

  “You found them?” Dean tried to contain any premature happiness.

  Joe shook his head. “Not yet. But . . . .” There was a sense of relief to Joe’s tone. “We believe they are fine and possibly on the way home.”

  Dean’s eyes closed he backed up and leaned against the wall. “How do we know this?”

  Henry answered “We found a camp that looked like it belonged to the Society, about a hundred miles from where Frank and Ellen disappeared. Frank and Ellen weren’t there. All that was left was about one hundred and twenty soldiers.”

  “Frank?” Dean asked. “Could he have done that?”

  “We know he helped. He left his signature,” Robbie said.

  Dean nodded slowly. “A single shot to the forehead. So where are they now?”

  Robbie raised his hands. “We think they’re on their way home. It had been a minimal of four hours since the soldiers were killed. We circled and didn’t see them. My gut tells me they got away, but how far is the question. That’s what we need to know from you. When I last spoke to Ellen she said Frank was ill, fevered, coughing. You know Frank. How far would he be able to go?”

  “If his pneumonia relapsed,” Dean explained, “which is possible, and then he was, let’s say, beaten? Didn’t sleep much.” Dean thought for a moment. “He’d go a couple hours before he’d get to the point Ellen would make them stop. She knows how bad this can get without rest and treatment.”

  Joe agreed. “My guess too. I’m thinking they found shelter and are letting him rest up. That’s why we didn’t see them.”

  “So what happens now?” Dean asked.

  “We send out choppers,” Joe said. “First light, waves of them. Robbie, Dan, Johnny in alternating shifts, circling the area. If they move, we’ll spot them.”

  Dean’s hand clenched his chart tighter in gratefulness. He didn’t want to let himself get too excited, but this was the first good sign or news he had heard since Frank and Ellen disappeared the day before.

  ^^^^

  Bowman, North Dakota

  Eight men, wearing grey uniforms, sat on the long front porch that early evening. Hal emerged from the house. He carried a tin cup filled with coffee and took a seat on a wicker rocking chair joining the circle of men who sat around for after dinner talk. They talked of the victory, the minimal losses, and their ability to save the Beginnings people. They also talked of the six men going up to the Anderson farm at sun up.

  “I think it could work in our favor. It’s a good idea.” Sgt. Ryder spoke “Don’t you, Captain?”

  Hal snapped from his day dream state. “I’m sorry. What’s a good idea?”

  “An open door policy with Beginnings,” Sgt. Ryder said. “The man made mention if we need anything just stop by.”

  “It could work in our favor,” Hal spoke, “since we do know for sure we’re on the same side, especially with winter coming. We know they produce more food than they need. Obviously they drop it to the wildcats. Maybe with all our manpower we can work a deal. They have all those fields they don’t use because they haven’t enough workers. I am thinking we could exchange workers for food. I’m working on a deal to present to them soon. At least now I feel at ease about dropping off our people if medical attention is needed.”

  “The woman said she was a nurse there . . .” He saw the stunned expression from the other men including Hal. “Yes, a nurse. She works there.”

  “Their women work?” a soldier questioned. “Really?”

  Sgt. Ryder shrugged. “I’m guessing so. She said she works with a brilliant doctor. They would assure the best care. There was something very familiar about her though. I don’t know why.”

  “She woman Elliott. You want her to look familiar. I know you’re secret.” Hal smiled, then shook his head quickly. “As far as women working, she’s probably the exception to the rule. Her skills are needed. You did mention she is the wife or will-be-wife to this Neanderthal. That’s probably why she can interact. Would he let someone near her?” He raised his eyebrows. “I’m curious now to see how many other women loan their skills to that community and how the Chief handles it.”

  “Carefully,” Sgt. Ryder commented while sipping his coffee. “Of course anytime I’ve heard him on the radio, he seems to get annoyed rather quickly. What do you think Captain? You listen to the radio quite a bit. As a matter of fact, if you don’t mind me asking sir, why is that? You are so intrigued by it.”

  “I don’t mind you asking. It’s a little embarrassing.” Hal smiled. “It’s just I find a little bit of familiarity in their voices. You know, your mind plays tricks on you. But I just like listening. The family-style bickering they have reminds me of my childhood.” He noticed the odd looks on the men’s faces. “My brothers and I always bickered. We fought, we beat each other up. You name it but I loved it.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I loved it.” He leaned back in his chair with a look of remembrance.

  ^^^^

  Beginnings, Montana

  Alexandra sat on the kitchen counter. Andrea stood before her, holding the little face in one hand while wiping it with a wet towel.

  “Oh just let Grandmommy clean this precious face for you.”

  Dean leaned in the doorway cringing.

  “So pretty,” Andrea wiped. “Maybe daddy will let you stay tonight with me and Pap, so you can play longer with Katie.”

  Alexandra looked to Dean. “Can I, Daddy?”

  “Um, sure.” Dean tossed his hands up. “I’ll run home and get your clothes for school.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Alexandra said. “I want to get my doll.”

  “I can get your doll.”

  “Daddy, you never get the right one.”

  Andrea lifted Alexandra from the counter and set her on the floor. “What does mommy teach you about that?”

  Alexandra nodded. “He’s a man and he doesn’t know better.”

  Dean rolled his eyes at Andrea. “Must you encourage Ellen style thinking in her?”

  “Someone has to until Ellen’s back.” Andrea softened her voice and walked to Dean, laying her hand on his cheek. “Which will be soon. I believe it. We prayed in services for her and Frank today. God will answer those prayers.”

  “I know. I have hope.” Dean felt the tug to his jeans. Alexandra looked impatient. “Let me walk her home. We’ll be right back.”

  Alexandra darted through the living room, kissed Joe who sat on the couch reading reports, and shrieked when Robbie intercepted her, lifting her up. “I have to go.” She told him.

  Robbie, still holding her, extended her out. “You aren’t gonna pee on me, are you.”

  “No silly.” Alexandra laughed. “I’m staying with Pap tonight. I’m going with daddy to get my dolls.”

  “Oh.” Robbie brought her closer and kissed her then set her down. He looked when he heard Henry whine. “Why do you sound disappointed she’s staying here Henry?”

  Henry held Nick as he talked. “Andrea doesn’t do her hair well which means I’ll have to stop by the school and fix it and listen to Jenny bitch at me that I’m anal.”

  “You are,” Robbie stated.

  �
�Thanks.” Henry looked at Jess who had joined the festivities. “How do you live with this guy?”

  Jess smiled. “Robbie? I love living with Robbie. He’s a great guy.”

  Immediately Joe lowered the reports and his eyes lifted above his glasses. He stared outward for a second, shook his head, shrugged, and went back to reading.

  Henry laughed. “Joe, what was that for?”

  “Huh?” Joe looked up again. “Nothing.”

  The smiled dropped from Henry’s face when he saw Dean walking out with Alexandra. “Dean, what about Nick? He’s getting fussy.”

  Dean stopped before opening the door. “Hold him for a little while longer, Henry. I’ll be back.” He grabbed Alexandra’s hand and left with her.

  Dean loved holding his daughter’s hand so small and lost in his. Her little arm swung happily as they walked to their home right down the street.

  “Daddy, we won’t be this close to Pap when we move. Will we?”

  “Nope, closer to Uncle Frank. Not that it’s a good thing.”

  “I’ll have to stay longer at Pap’s when I visit then, because he’ll live so far away.”

  Dean smiled at his daughter’s perception of distance. Six rows of houses was not that far. But he supposed in a world as small as Beginnings, to Alexandra it could have been miles. He slowed down walking when he got to his house. “Shit.”

  Bev sat on the step then stood up. “They said you get home about this time from Sunday supper.”

  “Excuse us.” Dean tried to get past her.

  “Dean, if you aren’t busy tonight, I’d love to just sit outside and talk to you. How long has it been since you’ve had female company do that?”

  Dean said nothing, He gripped Alexandra’s hand and moved to his door. “Come on, Alex.” Dean tried to pull the little girl who wouldn’t budge. “Alex.”

  Alexandra stared hard at Bev. “You know, there was a reason my mother burned you.”

  Dean’s eyes widened and he quickly spun around to look at his daughter and the shocked expression on Bev’s face. Bev just gasped and walked away. Dean hid his chuckle while he took Alexandra into the house. “There are times when that Ellen-type mouth you have comes in so handy.” He bent down and kissed his daughter in appreciation.

  ^^^^

  Quantico Marine Headquarters

  “It’s about an eight hour drive from our Sioux Falls location.” Jeremy explained to George. “They should be at that farm in the morning.”

  “What about our Alabama team? That’s the bigger sight.”

  “On their way to Sioux Falls. They’ll escort Frank and Ellen to Alabama. You’ll have to get the CME team there though.”

  “The train returns tomorrow. I’ll get two men on that and ship them out. I’ll head out in a few days,” George said. “Medical staff, you thought ahead when you spoke to them?”

  “Yes,” Jeremy answered. “Nothing is happening in Alabama so the two doctors are on their way to Sioux Falls with the escorts, just in case, we know Frank. If we need to injure Ellen, they’ll be able to help.”

  “You gave the Sioux Falls troop strict orders if injury is necessary they are to shoot only to injure?”

  “The sergeant in charge is sending his best two snipers.”

  George grumbled, “Yeah well, sorry that’s not a reassurance to me. The best two snipers we have are the equivalent to Beginnings worst.”

  “But that will change,” Jeremy said with a smile. “Isn’t that one of the reasons we’re doing this?”

  “That and others. The biggest reason,” George spoke, “is leverage to get what we want. Remember what I told you. Take them down from within. Hurt them from within, and that’s exactly what we are doing.”

  ^^^^

  Anderson Farm

  It was so quiet as Ellen sat on the front porch of the farm. The loudest noise she heard was the flapping of the signal bed sheets in the wind, the ones she hung from two of the second floor windows. Occasionally Frank’s cough would carry down to her. The rocking chair creaked some as she sat holding a towel to her blistered hands. Never did she imagine pumping well water would be so difficult, but she had to do it. Frank had done nothing but sleep since she got him to bed, something he desperately needed. She stared out into the bright moonlit yard ahead of her, so peaceful and safe she felt. As she sat there, staring out, it dawned on her, she didn’t quite understand when she met the UWA, why they were doing what they did. Why they were now fighting so hard, but she did as she enjoyed the porch. Exactly what Ellen was doing was the exact reason they fought, to live in a world without worry, without safety walls. To live in a world with freedom again, to live in a world that wasn’t just safe to move around, but safe enough to do something so simple as to sit on the front porch of a home.

  CHAPTER TEN

  September 1

  Bowman, North Dakota

  Kicked back in the early morning, Hal sat with his legs on the table, listening to the radio. A tablet rested on his lap and he switched between the pen in his mouth and the coffee he reached to. He smiled as he listened and wrote. The male voices went back and forth so much, it sometimes was hard for Hal to distinguish them.

  “So what do we do?” The one voice asked.

  “I’m doing stupid head of security paper work. Figure it out.” The second voice answered.

  “No, I need an answer.”

  “Bring them in the back gate.” The second voice said.

  “Then where?”

  “To the living section. You aren’t gonna prop them in the middle of fuckin town.”

  “Which route?”

  “Why is this important?”

  “Because the trucks are too big to take through town.”

  “Then take it around the fields.”

  “Yeah, but that’s ten miles out of the way. What about gas?”

  “Why are you using gas?” The second voice asked. “Bring the alcohol with you. It’s under forty miles round trip.”

  “Yeah but Danny said it’s gonna mess up the fuel injection. We can’t do that because we have three more trips.”

  “We’ll flush it out. Besides, I checked it with anal Henry and he says it’ll be fine. We do this all the time. What’s the problem?”

  “Danny says . . .”

  “I’m going with Henry.”

  “Danny’s smarter.”

  “Hey!” A third voice entered. “He is not.”

  “Yes I am. And . . . and . . . I have better hair.” The fourth man snickered.

  The second voice huffed. “Get off the radio. This is important. O.K., we’ll let the Chief handle it. Chief? Chief. Chief!”

  “What! I’m not a goddamn Indian for crying out loud.”

  “Yeah but Chief we need you to decide. Gas or alcohol?”

  “Go with whatever Henry says.”

  The third man came back on. “Oh yes! Ha!”

  There was a loud grumble from the Chief. “Is that it? Good.” He sounded so annoyed. “Don’t bother me again for this stupid shit. That’s Henry’s division. Let his skinny ass handle it. You got it.”

  “Yeah Chief, but I knew you were listening so it really wasn’t bothering you and while I have you on the line . . .”

  “Does it have to do with running this community, the divisions I’m working or my division?’

  “No.”

  “Then either deal with it on your own or find the person it deals with.” The Chief said. “Otherwise, can you leave me alone I’m doing work schedules.”

  “But . . .”

  “Handle it, Robbie.”

  SPLASH! The tin cup toppled from Hal’s hand, and hot coffee splattered across his tablet and lap. He sprang up, flicking the hot liquid from himself as he stared at the radio. “No.” Hal closed his eyes and shook his head. He bent down to pick up his fallen cup. “No, my mind is playing tricks. Wishful thinking, that’s all.” He let out a shuddering breath and returned to listening to the radio.

  ^^^^

&n
bsp; Beginnings, Montana

  A single knock on Joe’s door, loud and hard, brought in a peeking Johnny with Joe’s ‘come in’.

  “Pap?” Johnny stepped inside. “I’m back.”

  “Nothing?”

  “Nope. Would have radioed.”

  Joe huffed and tossed his pencil. He rubbed his eyes. “Which direction?”

  “Due east from where we found them. I even scaled more south. Nothing.”

  “All right, I’ll send Dan more south and if that ends up with nothing, we’ll send Robbie even further.”

  “But Pap, wouldn’t they just head due east. My Dad knows direction.”

  “Yeah, but your dad is sick. Anything can throw him off.” Joe sat back. “Let’s just hope that it doesn’t throw him off enough to leave him vulnerable.”

  ^^^^

  He was wearing a baseball cap, an unusual occurrence because Danny hated to mess up his hair. He was the first thing Dean saw when he raised his head to the light knock.

  “Dean?” Danny looked into the lab.

  “Oh hi, Danny. What’s up?”

  “Just wanted to let you know, we’re off to get it now.” Danny grinned.

  “Really!” Dean excitedly stood up. “Is it the one you told me about?”

  “Yep, deluxe model modular home. Joe said ‘no’ but I said they only had so many finished there and it was one of them.”

  “Excellent.”

  “Oh and Dean.” Danny held up four fingers. “Four bedrooms. Of course two of them are really small. And . . . there’s a small room off the kitchen. This place is decked out.”

  Dean clapped his hands together once. “O.K., I have this feeling Ellen’s coming back soon, so when will it be ready?”