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

by Jacqueline Druga

  Jess shrugged. “Had to do it. Sorry.”

  “Ok.” Robbie pointed. “This here is a shot of Frank’s fine work buried in a hole. Thanks, Jess, for slipping that in there.” Robbie clicked the mouse again. He smiled “Here’s Frank behind the building with Dean.” He clicked again. “And here’s Frank posing like Hulk Hogan.”

  Joe grumbled and ran his hand down his face.

  “Here’s Frank posing like Mr. Atlas. Frank being Elvis. And here’s Frank . . .”

  “Stop,” Hal said as he stood up slowly. “Robbie, can you zoom in. I want to see my brother.” Hal moved closer to the computer screen. His face lit up in awe. “I need to see my big brother. Please.”

  Jess, seeing how computer illiterate Robbie was acting at that moment, stood up and helped out. He zoomed in as close as he could get. It was close enough to cause an emotional gasp from Hal.

  Hal’s finger touched upon the screen. “Frank.” As his index finger ran down the face, Hal tilted his head. “Frank?” He turned around and looked at his father. “Dad? Did they do something to him?”

  Joe placed on his glasses and looked. “His hair grew some, but nope. Why?”

  “His face. It’s so . . . so . . .”

  “Mean?” Sgt. Ryder tried to finish the sentence.

  Robbie snickered. “No, scary.”

  Again Hal looked. “What the hell happened to him?”

  Very solemn and very serious, Joe answered. “Life.”

  ^^^^

  What was the big deal with this Sgt. Ryder guy? That was the question that kept popping into his mind along with the question. Why does he keep having to hold my kid? Henry pondered those and other questions that seemed to be the center of his universal thoughts as he wandered the streets of Beginnings. He wanted to be at El’s, but oddly enough, she was at the chapel. Henry wasn’t a church goer so he just waited. But the second time he went to Ellen’s, that Sgt. Ryder guy was there. Ellen bragged about him. Henry couldn’t figure out why. She wasn’t specific, just that he made the list of her heroes. In his thoughts, Henry closely examined the situation and debated if he should start to get jealous of this newcomer. If Henry was a woman, he’d find the Spanish looking gentleman attractive, but would El?

  Knowing that being alone with Ellen would be next to impossible while she was playing hotel hostess, Henry went on a search for someone to talk to. He walked into the social hall figuring if all else failed, at least Josephine would be there. She was the bar fly, attached to the second to last stool and it was still early enough that Henry could carry on a conversation with her before she lost all ability to speak clearly.

  Henry knew he may be out of luck when he walked in. Four people were in there. Johnny, who really looked like he had too much to drink was slumped on his hand staring at Bev, none the less, who was across the room. Josephine was there as usual and so was Cole the pervert. He was hitting on Josephine.

  It was either leave or interrupt Johnny’s stare at Bev, so Henry made his way to Johnny.

  “Hey, John.” Henry pulled out a chair, awaiting the drunken conversation.

  “Oh hey, Henry.” Johnny sat straight up.

  Henry did a double take at Johnny. No slurring. Not glossy eyes. “You aren’t drunk.”

  “No. I’m on call. Why?”

  “I thought you were drunk.”

  Johnny snickered. “Why would you think that?”

  “You’re staring like a lost puppy dog at Bev.”

  “Oh, not lost. I’m confused and grossed out.”

  “Huh?” Henry asked.

  “She has this thing on her neck behind her right ear, a little purple mark. Wait . . .” Johnny whistled. “Bev.” He waved his hand for her to join them.

  “Johnny.” Henry hunched.

  “Yes, Johnny?” Bev hurried over smiling.

  “Show Henry that gross birthmark you have . . . Hey!” Johnny lifted his hand when Bev turned on her heels and walked away. “Anyhow, Henry, she has this circle mark there.”

  ‘O.K.”

  “Have you see it?”

  “No.” Henry shook his head. “Why do you care?”

  “Aside from the fact that it is really gross, I have seen it before. I just can’t figure out where.”

  “Oh, I saw that movie.” Henry snapped his finger. “Space Invaders. All those people had this mark on their neck.”

  “Yeah!” Johnny said. “But it isn’t where Bev has it. I have seen it before. God.” He ran his hand down his face. “You have to see it.”

  “That’s O.K. Hey, Johnny. Wouldn’t that be so sci -fi if Bev was an alien and that mark was her mark and . . . and she was the one eating people up in the woods?”

  “Oh my God.” Johnny looked back at Bev. “What if she was attacked by something, not an alien, and she became one herself and now she is attacking others.”

  “Good thing we buried Marv.”

  “But we didn’t bury Hank.”

  “Who?”

  “The other guy that died.”

  “Shit.” Henry looked horrified. “We should stop talking about this. I’m getting scared.”

  “We should go to the morgue and locked the drawer Hank’s body is in.”

  “It’s not locked?” Henry asked.

  “Why would it be.”

  “Oh, it should be locked. As leader, I think that should be a new rule.”

  “Then you should go lock it,” Johnny said. “Just in case that awful mark is the mark of some sort of demonic beast. I mean, look at her, Henry. She’s like a vixen. She has that look.”

  “I’m gonna go lock that drawer right now.” Henry stood up. “You wanna come?”

  “Nah.”

  “Come on, Johnny. Come with me.”

  Johnny raised his dark eyes. “Are you scared, Henry?”

  “Well, yeah. What if this Hank guy comes back to life.”

  “O.K.” Johnny finished his drink. “Let’s go.” Johnny stood up. “We really should find out where Bev was when those killings happened.”

  “That could be her feeding ground and if she turned into a bat or an animal, that could be the cause of the wacky signal.”

  “Oh.” Johnny gasped in thought. “It just hit me.”

  “What?” Henry asked as they walked to the door.

  “Vampires cannot see their reflection nor can you take a picture of them. No movies were ever made about tracking devices. What if that’s why the tracking goes batty.”

  Henry took one more look at Bev. “This is all making sense now. Joe is right. It is like a Stephen King novel.” They walked outside and moved to the clinic. Henry noticed Johnny had stopped. “What’s wrong, Johnny?”

  “What is Rev. Bob doing?”

  Henry looked across the street to where Johnny stared. Rev. Bob stood off to the side of the chapel doorway, peeking in, but seemed as if he didn’t want to be noticed. “I don’t know.”

  “Is someone in the chapel?”

  “Last I passed, your pap and Hal were.”

  Johnny snickered. “Praying. Is something going down that we don’t know about?”

  Henry quickly looked at Johnny. “I don’t know.”

  “Well whatever the reason is that they’re in there praying, seems like Rev Bob is just as curious as we are.”

  Henry swallowed and started walking, looking back at Rev. Bob. A preacher staring at two people praying? It made no sense. If something indeed was going down with Joe and Hal then, like Johnny commented, Rev. Bob sure looked curious. But there was a problem with it. Henry would have to tell Joe about it. Being curious was one thing. Being curious and a number one suspect was another.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  September 30

  Beginnings, Montana

  Ellen’s hand shook so badly she could barely measure the coffee into the basket. She had to keep stopping, staring at her shaking hand, and calming her heart that beat out of control. She hadn’t slept. She had no intentions of sleeping. How could she? In les
s than nine hours it all would be going down. And to Ellen, every single person she cared most about in Beginnings, had their life at stake. She could lose them all. Then what would she do?

  So deep in thought, Ellen never heard him walk into the kitchen. Just the feel of a firm hand laying over hers, taking the scoop from her made her look up. Sgt. Ryder smiled at her, but it was a smile of concern.

  “Here, let me,” he told her.

  “Thanks.” Ellen move back, folding her arms.

  “You were awake all night.”

  “How did you know.”

  “I slept on the couch, remember. I could hear your clicking fingers coming from that little office. You must have been working on something important.”

  “Yeah, I was. I was working on keeping my mind off of everything. I am so sorry if I kept you awake.”

  “No.” Sgt. Ryder swayed his head as he placed the lid on the coffee pot and then put it on the burner. “I never sleep completely when there is something like this about to happen. Any raids we have made with the UWA, I paced all night.” He turned on the burner. “It’s normal. Any person that’s worried about something they are about to embark on the next day, cannot sleep right before doing it. Their mind is in a million different places, thinking a million different things. What if this? What if that?”

  “You are so right.”

  “Want to know what the shame of it is?” Sgt. Ryder asked her.

  “What is that?”

  “The shame of it is, everyone worries. No one sleeps, yet everyone paces alone and it gets worse.”

  Ellen blinked in surprise at Sgt. Ryder perception. “That is so true. Why is that?”

  “You don’t want to bother another with your fears. Perhaps we don’t want to sound any less than we want other to perceive us to be.”

  “If that’s such a shame, Elliott, if you weren’t sleeping and you knew I was awake, why didn’t you talk to me? You thought I was working, huh?”

  “No, not at all. I knew you were worried. I just figured the last person you needed to tell you they were restless was one of the two people who would be guarding your life.”

  Ellen looked at his serious face then she watched a smile. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He watched Ellen turn somber. “It will be all right.”

  “I hope so.” Ellen rubbed the chill that swept up her. “Because I have a lot to lose if anything goes wrong. No wait, I have everything to lose.”

  ^^^^

  Joe was still sipping his coffee when Henry arrived, earlier than he should have too. Joe figured Henry hadn’t been to sleep yet either. Dressed so unlike himself in the very pre-dawn hours, Joe, wearing brown camouflage looked into the hall to make sure no one was there.

  “Sit down, Henry.” Joe pointed to the couch. “Then I’ll head to El’s.” He kept his voice low and sat at the same time as Henry.

  “What’s up, Joe?”

  There was so much hesitation. Joe stared at his folded his hands. “A lot can happen today. You know this.”

  “Joe, look . . .”

  “No Henry, hear me out. A lot can happen today. You know this. I wanted to talk to you before I left. This is for real, Henry. Today, you have to take everything serious. You are on your own today and if something should go wrong . . . you can be on your own for a very long time.”

  “Joe, nothing is going to go wrong.”

  “I hope and I feel it won’t, but I just wanted to make sure you fully understand something. I worked my ass off for Beginnings. I helped build this place and I would die for this place. Goddamn it, Henry, don’t you screw it up. Now this past week of you being leader was all fun and games, all the big show. But come this afternoon, it may end up being real. I know you have it in you to be strong. You have to run this place strong. Promise me you will.”

  “I promise, Joe.” Henry lowered his head.

  “Good. And one more thing, Henry. I broke the trust of my son, Dean, and anyone who’s involved with this rescue operation by telling you what was happening. I trust you. You, as leader, need to know. It’s wrong to leave you in the dark. But . . . one person knows I told you the details of this plan. And if something goes wrong, if we get set up out there, it’s on your head. This person will inform Robbie of this and I can’t guarantee what my son will do to you.”

  Henry looked nervous. “What do you mean, Joe?”

  “You know you’re a viable suspect in this George thing. You know no one wanted to let you know the plan for fear of you telling George. I told you the plan. You know, Henry, others may suspect something when they see we’re gone, but only you know the full details of what’s going down today . . .where we’re going and what we’re doing. If something happens that it gets leaked to George, it will look like you were the one.” Joe stood up. “I’d better go.”

  Henry stood with him and they walked to the door. “I want you to know, Joe, I understand fully. My heart and my prayers are with you guys today. And every detail is safe with me, on my life,.” He opened the door. “Just . . . just bring Frank and Dean home.”

  Joe gave Henry a single slow nod and they left the house, never seeing Andrea, still in her robe, standing in the hall by the living room. She dropped her head and walked back to the bedroom.

  ^^^^

  Binghamton, Alabama

  George stared at the short scientist who reminded him a lot of Dean with dark hair. He stared at him for a long time before speaking. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” He adjusted his glasses. “He went for a walk last night and never returned.”

  “Lt. Murphy as well?”

  “Haven’t noticed him in days.”

  “Any clue where they went?”

  “We don’t know.”

  George nodded. “All right. Go on back to work as usual. I’ll get Sgt. Landers, the sergeant that came with me, to program a search party to look as soon as it gets light enough in the woods.”

  “Thank you.” The scientist rose up from his seat.

  George thought as he leaned back in his chair and tapped into his inner feelings. As much as he hated to admit it, something just wasn’t right and, unlike the chopper noises and the thumping, this wasn’t his imagination.

  ^^^^

  Just as Dean tossed his tee -shirt over his head, he heard the familiar knocking coming from the bedroom closet door. Shaking his head and then glancing with a look of concern when he saw the time, he moved to the closet and opened it. Frank walked in. “Frank. What are you doing here? I thought this was the time of day you do whatever it is you do to make yourself look busy.”

  “Something is up,” Frank told him.

  “What do you mean?” Dean asked.

  “O.K. I’m with them, doing the training thing, and two of the sergeants that came with George suddenly joined and started to watch.”

  “Yeah, so.”

  “So, they take the men off somewhere according to George’s instruction.”

  “They took them from you?”

  Frank shrugged. “They told me they had a training video to show them,. I was going to go watch when I saw that Landers guy. He grabbed about a dozen SUTs and took them with him.”

  “Again . . . so.”

  “So, this Landers guys is a programmer. He took a dozen of them to program them to do something, I think. I got a feeling, Dean, that something is going down. There’s too much movement on base today. Get that chemical ready and get it ready fast.” Frank backed into the closet. “I have to go before they see me over this way.”

  “Frank, wait. It’s not ready.”

  “Then get something ready because I’m not wasting any time. If I see anything suspicious happening, we hit George, take out as many of these higher ups as we can, grab Richie, get a Jeep, and get the hell out.”

  Dean watched Frank vanish though the closet. He worried. If Frank’s gut was singing to him then Dean better listen because Frank had that instinct. With that, Dean hurried and got dressed. Ju
st to safeguard anything, he had to get to the lab and find a way to get rid of his test subjects he had frozen in the freezers at the lab.

  ^^^^

  Beginnings, Montana

  Ellen’s throat swelled and she could barely breath as she stood by her front door. They had gathered their maps and plans. Robbie called and the chopper was ready. Joe, John, Jess, and Hal slowly walked through the door.

  Trying to appear brave and hopeful, Ellen gave a proud smile to Jess and Hal as they walked out then lost it totally when Joe laid his hand on her cheek. Immediately she gasped emotionally, grasping his hand, and then clenching Joe into an embrace.

  “Easy Kiddo,” Joe whispered. “Everything will be all right.”

  “Be safe, Joe. Please be safe out there.”

  “I will be. And I’ll be back . . .” He kissed her on the cheek then stepped back. “I promise you that. I’ll be back with your husband.” Joe smiled. “And Frank.”

  THE RESCUE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Beginnings, Montana

  Robbie’s return to Beginnings was signified by the chopper noise. Hearing this alerted Sgt. Ryder to proceed with the plan to meet Robbie at the hanger and he did. He watched the chopper land and he waited by the hanger structure. Robbie looked a little tired to Sgt. Ryder as he walked from the chopper, tossing his sunglasses inside, running his hands through his hair, and walking with a slight slant to Sgt. Ryder.

  But Robbie grinned. “Just dropped off the four horsemen.”