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

by Jacqueline Druga

  “You know something.” Joe pointed, then hesitantly brought his hand to the frost. “And I’m gonna find out.” His hand moved to the glass of the cryogenic case.. The body heat from the palm of his hand melted away the frost in his swipe. “Dear God.” Joe gasped and stepped back. “It’s Brian.”

  ^^^^

  “It doesn’t look good. I didn’t get it,” Rev. Bob told George on the phone as he looked up to his open office door. “Here.” Rev. Bob extended the phone to the hand that still wore the black gloves.

  George coughed again. His left hand pained him from clinging to the phone, but he needed to talk to his closest Beginnings contact. “No luck?” George closed his eyes. “No . . . .no. Don’t worry about. Don’t take another chance. Please. My doctors are working on this. Yes . . .” George closed his eyes. “Lay back for awhile. I mean it. They’re gonna be heating up the search for you. This disease is nothing. If they get you, they’ll kill you on the spot. So stay low. Because as always, your life means more to me than mine . . . Johnny.”

  ^^^^

  NEXT BOOK IN RETROSPECT

  BONUS EXTRAS

  Primary Characters in the Beginnings Series

  Joe Slagel

  Patriarch of the story. Leader of Beginnings. Father to Frank, Jimmy, Hal and Robbie. He is strong and tough. Crass at times. He was a widower at 28 with four boys and had a slew of wives to follow. He is CIA, and good at his job. When we are introduced to Joe he is 52 years old. He and his partner Brian, chase the ‘deliverer’ of the virus into the New York Subway where it was released. Joe heads to Ashtonville when he realizes it’s the ‘big one’. He is our chief witness to man’s demise and he organizes survivors for the new dystopian society. It is often said Joe’s perfect world is a post apocalyptic society.

  Frank Slagel

  Oldest son. Active Duty Army, E-8, Infantry division. Prior to the plague, Frank was married but continuously cheated on his wife with Ellen. Has known and been in love with Ellen since they were eighteen. Has four children. Three of his children, the youngest three died during the plague time frame. However, it was Frank’s wife Kelly who poisoned them then took her own life. Frank is cold, strong and the hero of the story. Often times unlikeable, he is the most often redeemed character.

  Jimmy Slagel

  Second oldest of the Slagel clan. He is active duty Navy, we never really see him at all. But we hear of him.

  Hal Slagel

  Active duty career Army, Captain. Works in Hawaii is a recruiter. We only hear of Hal during the Silent Victor. Family roots are vital to the series even though we don’t see them.

  Robbie Slagel

  We meet and see Robbie briefly in The Silent Victor. This is the son Joe never spoke to before the plague. We know little about him in Silent Victor, only that he is the baby, in the Army and an E-6. Special Forces. The last we see Robbie in Silent Victor he is still alive and trying to find his family. Robbie was the youngest, protected his entire life by Frank. Idolized his big brother. It is often said Robbie has an air of innocence.

  Johnny Slagel

  Is Frank’s only surviving child. When we meet Johnny he is on the cusp of being a teenager. Young and innocent, but the world took that away from Johnny. At the end of Silent Victor we see him at sixteen and wise beyond his years.

  Dean Hayes

  The mind and science of it all good and bad in the post apocalypse world of Beginnings. In Silent Victor he tries to cure the plague and nearly succeeds. Dean is a boy genius, career Army, which he joined late in life. He is 36 years old when we meet him, and has been in the Army only a few years hence why he is only a lieutenant. Back ground to him, he was recruited by the Army for weaponry. Dean took the recruitment to pay off his student loans. He is a wonder boy with viruses. In Silent Victor, he is called upon to work on he virus. He is brought to Ashtonville by his father who goes there to help. Dean finds a semi cure and takes it to Ashtonville. He nearly saves Ellen’s daughter, and sequentially falls in love with Ellen. They have an affair, start a relationship. Their brief physical encounter results in her pregnancy and birth of the twins..

  William Hayes

  Dean’s father. We meet him when he goes to an aid station to help his son. While there William is recruited by Dean to go to Ashtonville to help out there. William stays. He is charming and knowledgeable and down to earth. Often sarcastic, William delivers a dose of good truth like medicine. He is talked about often in the series even though he succumbs to a heart attack in Silent Victor.

  Ellen Callaway

  Ellen has known the Slagel clan forever. Nearly twenty years. Joe treats her like a daughter. But her roots run deep with Frank. Ellen is a nurse by profession and when we meet her she works for the town doctor. When the plague hits she opens up an aid station in Ashtonville, despite the fact her own children are sick. Her husband, Peter is the ground zero patient in town. He is the first one inflicted with the virus and passes it on. Peter is killed by Joe in an act of humanity. Ellen’s has a son, Josh who dies in the plague as does her daughter Taylor. She is the most hated woman in the series and most misunderstood. Josh and Taylor were Ellen’s life. When they died, she did as well. Ellen never recovered true life or love after they passed away. Ellen fails to recognize what is important and who she cares for. With the exception of Joe. She remains selfish and cold and protects only her own feelings.

  President George Hadly

  A Republican President in his late fifties when the plague breaks out. He learns before the fall of civilization about the Garfield Project. A government complex designed to house the new civilization, giving them a ready-to-go start on life if an extinction level event took place. During the plague, he is locked in an air tight room. He and another man search for life signals and find the strongest in Ashtonville. They go there to find survivors and join up with Joe and the others. He and Joe put together the project to make it workable. Before becoming president, George worked in congress and served in the military. He is a decorated war pilot.

  Andrea Winters

  An attractive black woman who was a nurse in New York City. She stayed at the hospital until the very end, working with the CDC. When she left the hospital she arrived home to find her husband on the brink of death and was able to be with him in his last moments. While in New York, she finds two children. Denny and Katie. Denny is eight, Katie a baby. Her quest to get off Manhattan Island is aided by Joe who receives her call for help. Andrea never had children and takes on the two as her own.

  Henry Kusakari

  When Dean Hayes sets up a expedient lab at the university, he is helped by Henry, a 28 year old Asian man who is head of maintenance. Henry is a reluctant volunteer at the aid station. By Nature Henry is a mechanical genius. He can fix anything and is very creative. He is crucial to the story because Henry is crucial to inventing things for Beginnings. While many find Henry whiny and annoying, he becomes best friends with Frank, and his methodical thinking puts him as one of the leaders of Beginnings.

  Miguel Sanchez

  is a Mexican American truck driver with no other family aside from his mother. Seeking help for her, Miguel pulls over to a make shift camp because his mother is too ill to travel any more. It is there, he meets Joe. Joe is recruiting help for the new aid station in Ashtonvbille. Miguel joins Joe and helps.. He is silent, but speaks when he must. A strong man with tough morals, Miguel is probably the nicest man in Beginnings. He marries Andrea between Silent Victor and Cain.

  Jonas

  Jonas was at the same makeshift camp as Miguel, looking for help for his ailing family members. He too was recruited by Joe. Jonas is a gay black man who serves no real storyline purpose in Silent Victor. However, it is a catalyst in Cain. Through him we learn of what became of the world. He too is very close with Frank.

  John Matoose

  A specialist in the Army. He was assigned to stay with the president when the president went down into the air tight bunker. He is mechanically inclined and very youn
g when we meet him. John’s character grows in importance as the series moves on. He, along with Henry, run the mechanics division. Everyone in the community loves John except Ellen. She has no real reason.

  Jenny Matoose

  When we first meet Jenny, she is seventeen years old. A happy, perky, semi clueless teenager. Even though she is slightly overweight, her self confidence as the series grows makes her a beautiful woman to many in Beginnings. She is a pioneer for the women in the Post Apocalypse world and often seeks women’s rights in Beginnings. Women want to be her, Men adore her, Joe tolerates her. Everyone loves Jenny, except for Ellen. Ellen used to like her, but somewhere between Silent Victor and Cain, Ellen lost her ‘liking’ of Jenny for no really good reason.

  Robbie’s Tale: The Lost Ripples

  Robbie’s Tale

  Beginnings Series

  By Jacqueline Druga

  Copyright 2013 by Jacqueline Druga

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover photo courtesy of © CURAphotography – fotolia.com

  Thank you so very much to Cindy P for all your help with this book.

  Author Notes:

  This book, Robbie’s Tale: The Lost Ripples, is intended to be read after Book 5, The Ripple, because it contains what can be considered ‘spoilers’.

  When I first wrote, The Ripple it was close to two thousand pages long. It was so long that I used to joke and sing the song, changing the words, ‘This is the book that will not end’. After some time and after I had rewritten Silent Victor for the third time, I went back and made changes to the series.

  A big change was for The Ripple. I made the decision to break the book in two and totally toss out the second half. I started from scratch and incorporated the storylines of The UWA’s humble beginnings.

  The Ripple was still too long and I took the preverbal knife to the ‘ripple’ sections. Originally, every time Frank went back and messed with time, I showed ‘why’ things happened and why they were different, giving the reader a visual of how ‘Robbie’ affected the time frame of the plague by rewriting the history.

  There were two ‘ripples’ that stand alone, and those are what I share with you.

  I will set up each ripple for you just in case it’s been a while since you read, The Ripple and State of Time.

  I’ll try to explain why Frank’s action and screw up with time caused the reaction and consequences that they did.

  I hope you enjoy … the lost ripples.

  The First Ripple

  What Frank did

  During what was only supposed to be an information run back in time, Frank thought of his baby brother, the one who didn’t show up in Beginnings for five years. The world had made him bad. When Robbie did show up, things were bad. Frank faced a nightmare of regret and never let go of the fateful day that his youngest brother was killed.

  Frank’s thought process was innocent enough and so were his intentions. What if … Frank got him to Ashtonville at the time of the plague? What if he got in touch with Robbie and told him, without giving too much away, to go to Ashtonville? Really, what could happen? Robbie would live.

  Frank called his brother and told Robbie he had to get to Ashtonville. His words were … Ellen would need him. What Frank didn’t realize was it was still years before the plague.

  What it caused to happen

  Robbie Slagel listened to his big brother and high tailed it to Ashtonville long before the plague ever hit. This is what happened four years before the plague.

  FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA

  April 4

  FOUR YEARS PRE-PLAGUE

  With a smirk that ran across his boyish face, Robbie Slagel stared at the receiver of the telephone in the small office of the garage on base.

  “Slagel?” Another young soldier walked in. “Everything all right at home? I can’t ever remember your brother calling.”

  Robbie grinned as he faced him. “Yeah. That was odd.” He spoke so softly it was if he was only speaking to himself.

  “What was?” The private asked him.

  “You know what? I’ll be right back. I have to make a phone call.”

  “Use your cell outside. The Sarge will have a fit.”

  “I will.” Robbie left, running out of the garage. Pulling out his phone, he lifted it and began to dial the telephone number he had embedded in his brain despite the fact that it was listed in his contacts. He listened to it ring with anxious breaths. “El?” He spoke her name with a smile. “Hey it’s me, Robbie. How are you?” He leaned against the wall. “Things all right?” He listened to her answer as his fingers played with the side of the phone. “Listen, I um ... I really was wanting to come to Ashtonville this weekend to see Kelly and the kids. Do you ... do you think I can stop by and see you. It’s been awhile.” Another smile bigger than the last. “I’d like that too. See you in two days.” Almost with arrogance, Robbie hung up the phone. “Thanks, Frank.”

  ASHTONVILLE, CONNECTICUT

  April 16

  “Get out!” Ellen screamed in her loudest, deepest voice at her husband Peter as she stormed down the steps of her home. “I want you out!”

  “This is my home, Ellen, I am not leaving!” Peter followed her, his anger matching hers as she stormed away from him in the kitchen. “You want to end this marriage over one mistake that I made then you should be the one who leaves.”

  “One mistake!” Ellen shouted at him. “Well how long has this one mistake been going on, Peter?”

  “It’s over, El. I’m not seeing her anymore. I swear to you.” He noticed the scoffing look upon her face. “But that’s a hell of lot more than I can say for you.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, Pete?! Don’t even try to put this one on me.” Ellen just wanted to get away from him. She stormed to the hall.

  “Frank.” Peter grabbed her arm. “You want to deny the Frank and you thing.”

  “We are friends.”

  “Bull shit! The letters, the phone calls, the three in the morning visits when he fights with Kelly? What’s that shit?”

  “It isn’t an affair! I want you out of my house. I want you out now!” She tried to get past him. “Fuckin prick.”

  “What …” Pete pulled her back. “… did you call me?”

  “You heard me.” Ellen shoved him from her, and in his anger, Peter returned the shove. She slammed into the hallway wall. She glared her eyes at him, her upper lip twitching as she did. “I’ll tell you what, Pete. You want to concern yourself with Frank? Well if you aren’t out of this house, when he’s in town next weekend, you’re a dead man when he finds out you just pushed me like that.” Holding on to the back of her head, Ellen grabbed the hall phone. As soon as her fingers began to dial, the phone was snatched from her. “Give it back.”

  “Who you calling, El? Him?” Peter held up the entire phone. “Run to a man hundreds of miles away?” He stared at her. “You know what? Go ahead.” He spoke with vengeance. “Call your hero.” Instead of handing Ellen the phone, Pete slammed it with a throw into the wall, causing plaster to spray about.

  “I’m out of here. You’ve lost it.”

  “No, you’ve lost it.” Peter grabbed her, clenching her face. “Where you gonna go, El? How you gonna live?”

  “Better off …” Ellen grunted as she struggled to free herself from him. “Without you.” She gasped in surprise when she saw it. A blur of a motion passed her in that hall. With a wide stare she watched Robbie Slagel snatch Peter and sail one hard punch into his face. Peter flew backwards.

  Robbie pointed to Peter who lay on the hallway floor. “Don’t you ever touch her again!” Restraining himself, Robbie laid his hand on Ellen’s back. “Come on, El. Where are the kids?”

  “They’re at Kelly’s while this …” She felt
him move her toward the door.

  Robbie stopped before they stepped out, looking one more time at Peter. “You’d better be gone when I bring her back or I will remove you myself” He slammed the door and picked up his duffel bag which sat on the porch.

  “Robbie, stop.” Ellen quit walking.

  “El.” Robbie took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Maybe I overreacted. I just ...”He stopped speaking when her arms wrap tightly around his neck.

  “Thank you,” she spoke muffled into his shoulder. “You couldn’t have come at a better time.”

  ASHTONVILLE, CONNECTICUT

  June 9

  THREE YEARS PRE-PLAGUE

  “I’m home!” Frank blasted angrily and with an edge as he walked into his house, dropping his duffel bag on the floor by the door. “Kelly!”

  “Daddy!” Johnny, nine years old, ran to Frank.

  “Hey John.” Frank bent down, giving him a quick hug and a pat to the head. “Where are your sisters?”