The Freezer (Genesis Endeavor Book 1)

by David Kersten

  The room they entered was a firing range, about a hundred feet long by ten feet wide, with two lanes. There was a target set up fifty feet down range. “The target is paper in front, then a material about the density of bone, then a material the equivalent of half inch plate steel.” Chuck said. They lined up on a lane and Jack put the ear plugs in, worked the bolt to chamber a round, selected single shot, then shouldered and fired his weapon. It had less kick than a .22 rifle, and with the ear plugs, he never even heard it fire. He looked at the weapon for a moment, then at Chuck.

  “Did it misfire?” he asked. Chuck laughed and motioned for Jack to follow. Jack flipped the safety on and followed Chuck down the lane, keeping the weapon pointed away from both of them. His jaw dropped when he saw the backside of the target. The hole was about two inches in diameter with jagged chunks of metal-like material peeling around the edges.

  “Pretty impressive, eh?” Chuck was beaming. “Now go try full auto. It’s gonna kick harder the further you pull the trigger. The trigger is variable, so you get anywhere from thirty rounds per second to two hundred. If you pull it all the way and are not braced properly it will put you on your ass, so squeeze gently the first time.”

  They walked back to the lane and Jack reached in his ear and carefully extracted the ear plug. “I want to hear this without the plug first. He turned off the safety, shouldered the weapon, and fired a single round. He might as well have been lighting firecrackers instead of shooting a weapon that could punch a large hole in a half inch of metal. In the closed space it was just loud enough to make his ears ring. It was quiet enough, however, to hear the sound of the bullet passing the sound barrier and the ‘thwapp’ of it hitting the target. He put the ear plug back in, selected full auto, shouldered the weapon, leaned in and squeezed. The recoil gently but firmly pushed him back about a foot before he let off the trigger. The display just below the optics showed he had fired nearly a hundred rounds in just under a second. The target had a large hole in the middle that narrowed as it climbed up about seven inches, looking like a teardrop. Jack had fired quite a few fully automatic rifles in his time, and every one of them had climbed off a target twenty feet from him by the third round. Unless it was anchored by a bipod, it was only good for throwing a lot of lead out in a hurry. With this weapon, his grouping had remained relatively close at fifty feet while firing a hundred rounds per second!

  Jack looked at the folded screen, which was tucked into the side of the weapon at the moment. He flipped it up so it sat on the top of the sights. The screen showed the area in front of him with a cross hair in the middle. Chuck reached behind them and pushed a button, turning out the lights. The screen took on a green tint and in it Jack could see everything in front of the weapon as if it were in bright daylight. He shouldered and fired a small burst again. The muzzle blast was about two feet long and the flame was light blue instead of the yellow Jack was expecting. He turned sideways, flipped the screen to the side, pointed the gun down the second lane, holding his arms out in front of him with the rifle perpendicular to his body. He thumbed the selector to single shot, lined up and fired three rounds. The weapon barely moved in his hands despite him having almost no leverage to hold it still. He had just shot around the corner while only exposing his hands to the wrist! Chuck turned the lights back on and Jack turned back to the target, thumbed the selector to auto, leaned in deep and squeezed all the way. The last eighty six rounds were out of the barrel in less than half a second. It felt like a horse had kicked him in the shoulder, but the spot on the target he was aiming at had a hole the size of a watermelon in it.

  He thumbed the safety, worked the bolt to make sure it was clear, and handed the weapon back to Chuck. “I think I’ll name her Charlene” was all he could say. Chuck laughed wholeheartedly at this. He hadn’t lied; Jack had found a new best friend.

  “Now let’s go see to some body armor.” After the long day of learning, Jack just followed. His brain could no longer process anything new.

  They spent twenty minutes getting fit for chest, shoulder, arm, groin, hip, and leg armor. He was given a full body suit that fit skin tight and was very thin and flexible, much like a wetsuit for diving. “This is made of a material that is very resistant to small arms fire, although a direct hit from an M74 round will penetrate it. The armor segments will stop any light weapon’s fire and most forms of shrapnel, but if something hits you between the pieces of armor, it will hurt like hell. You might break a bone but unless it hits dead on it will glance off.” He was fitted with skin tight gloves and socks, lightweight boots that were surprisingly comfortable, and finally a helmet. The clear shield on the helmet had a heads up display that showed him a small view of what was behind him in the top right. There was an overlay display that showed night vision over the top of what he was looking at, and he could switch back and forth on the fly. There was a button on the M74 that fed the video and ammunition count to the helmet so he could see it without using the screen on the gun.

  He was finally given a pack to hold the armor, the rifle, ten magazines of ammunition, a sidearm that fired the same ammunition, five magazines for the sidearm, a holster for the pistol, and some webbing that allowed him to have it all stored neatly on his body and within easy reach. There was a strap that allowed him to put his PDP on his wrist, and of course he could link the display from it to the helmet as well. Also in the pack was two weeks’ worth of field rations, a water bottle, a medical kit, and packets of water purifier. Chuck showed him how he could fill the water bottle with the nastiest water he could find, put the packet of purifier in, and within five minutes he had the purest water you could imagine. The bad stuff that the purifying chemical took out of the water was flushed out a valve in the bottom of the bottle.

  Chuck looked at Jack and said, “Any questions?”

  “Yeah, does it only come in black?”

  Chuck grinned. “The nature of the material does not allow us to paint it or stain it, so we are stuck with this color. While we can repair the material, creating a full set of this armor is very difficult with the resources we have. Our supply of armor came from the urban police force of an EoS city. It would be nice to have it in camouflage, but I’m just happy we have a good enough selection to outfit a couple hundred people.”

  Jack didn’t have any more questions.

  “You are all set. I will see you on level one at 0700.”

  Jack’s eyebrows went up and he said, “You’re going with?” He hadn’t been told who the two other people would be.

  “Hell, I’m flying the boat,” he smiled and walked out of the room.

  Teague had been hanging back in the locker room the whole time, letting Chuck do his thing. “Ready for some dinner?”

  Oh crap! Dinner! “Actually, I have a date. Is there anything else you need from me tonight Teague?” By his internal clock, he was at least an hour late and felt bad that he had lost track of time like this.

  “Just one thing. Make me a list tonight of what kind of talent you would need to get started with the project we were talking about earlier. Just skill sets you would want on your planning team. We will use it to determine who to harvest next.” Jack was disappointed, he wanted to spend the whole evening with Wendy but now he had a ‘homework’ assignment.

  “Will do. I’ll get to it after dinner. Seeya Teague!” He was practically running toward the elevator, towing his pack, which despite being filled with all his new toys, only weighed about fourteen pounds.

  Chapter 21

  He found Wendy’s apartment and knocked. The door slid open and he heard her in another room saying, “You’re late! Is that any way to start a date?” Jack felt bad for being late and not calling to tell her.

  He dropped the pack in the corner and said, “I’m sorry Wendy, I was tied up with training and lost track of time.” The room was modest in size, had a couch and a chair facing each other off to the side with a coffee table between them. Two archways led into other parts of the apartment. It was
warmly lit, the walls painted in earth tones, and the floor was cushioned like carpet although it looked like hardwood. As he finished surveilling the room, she walked in through one of the archways. Her dress took his breath away. It was a simple cut that rode on her shoulders and hugged her curves all the way to her knees. The front was cut low and showed about three inches of cleavage. She had on earrings and the slightest hint of makeup. She smiled, stopped in the middle of the room, and turned around once to show off the dress. He got just a glimpse of her incredible body before she closed the distance between them. His knees went weak as her soft lips brushed his just before she pulled back.

  “Don’t sweat it, I figured you would be there longer than you anticipated. I just had to give you a little crap first. I couldn’t let you off the hook without making you feel a little guilty first.”

  “My God Wendy, you look fantastic!” Then with a feigned look of confusion, “What’s the occasion?” She punched him in the chest and they both laughed.

  “I wanted to do something special tonight. It is sort of our first date. I pulled out all the stops. Are you hungry?” Jack was ravenous, but he wouldn’t mind standing there for a few more minutes admiring her.

  He said, “Very, but for more than just food.” He put his arms around her and kissed her deeply.

  “Easy there buddy.” She said as she squirmed out of his grasp. With a wink she said, “I’m not that easy on the first date,” and headed back through the archway into the kitchen. Jack chuckled at the joke and followed, admiring her backside as he went.

  “So, lemme guess, jello with sawdust? What flavor tonight?” When he saw the table his jaw dropped. There was a steaming stew in the middle of the table, and next to that, a plate with what appeared to be vegetables simmering in a sauce. There was a bottle of what could only be wine open and sitting next to the food. There were two place settings with wine glasses in front of them, and a candle burning right in the middle of it all. “Holy shit, is that real food!”

  Wendy giggled. “Of course it is, do you think we eat that jello every day?” He moaned with pleasure as he inhaled the aroma of the stew.

  “That smells fantastic! Where do you get the food? Is there meat in there?” He had not had meat since before his surgery. Despite his memory telling him that had only been two or three days, he truly felt like it had been centuries since he had a decent meal.

  “It is. We trade with other communities and one called Deering in North Dakota has cattle. I had salvaged some old equipment on a patrol a few weeks back, and traded it for some steak and vegetables. I also scored this bottle of wine, but don’t be too surprised if it doesn’t taste like wine. It was made from some kind of fruit up in Washington at the Sunnyside community. I had been saving it for a special meal, but until now I didn’t have anyone to share it with me. I’m not that good of a cook, so I hope it isn’t too bad.”

  “Wow, I’m flattered. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.” Thoughts of his other hunger were forgotten for the time being. “Can we eat? I’m starving!”

  * * *

  After dinner, they sat on the couch nursing their full stomachs and sipping at the wine. The food had been absolutely delicious, and the wine wasn’t half bad either. Jack wanted to sit here for a while enjoying Wendy’s company, but he had some work to do. “I need to make a list for Teague tonight. I would rather stay here and do it, but if you want I will go back to my room. It shouldn’t take me more than an hour.”

  Wendy gazed into his eyes and smiled. “Of course you can stay here... and afterwards...” She left the thought hanging, sending a little electricity up Jack’s spine. He got out his big datapad, and sat back down on the couch. Bringing up the notes screen, he saw that his questions from earlier were still there. He read through what was left, and scratched out all but one. The remaining question was, “tell me about the war”. It was irrelevant but he wanted to know more, so it could wait until another day. He deleted the rest of the list and started a new list. He titled it ‘Skills’. He then made a column titled ‘required’ and one titled ‘requested’. He concentrated for a few minutes, then under required he wrote: Engineers, anyone from Army engineering corps, architects, pilots, heavy machine operators – crane operators specifically, carpenters, accountants, mechanics, electricians, plumbers, sheet metal workers, anyone with concrete experience. Under requested he wrote: Human Resources specialist, supply staff, interior designer, painters, cabinet makers, seamstress.

  He looked over his list, wondering what else he would need or want. He didn’t need a cook, just a machine to dispense the jello, and he didn’t need any secretaries, since he had devices like the datapad he was working on right now. He remembered what Wendy had said about bartering for the meat and vegetables, so he added ‘recruiters’ to the list. A military recruiter was a good salesman, and who better to barter for materials down the road?

  He decided it was good enough for now, so he hit the button to send it to Teague, then put the pad away and sat down next to Wendy. She’d been playing a game of solitaire on her datapad, which would have been amazing to him if he wasn’t already numb from the barrage of new technology. “So you’re heading to the Freezer tomorrow?” She was flushing a little and her breathing seemed to get shorter, as if she had just sprinted up a set of stairs. Jack knew the only strenuous activity she had done in the last hour was clearing the table, and was wondering why she appeared so out of breath. Is it nerves? She had been calm, even when undressing and climbing into bed minutes after having met him the other night, so he found it hard to believe that she was nervous about being intimate with him.

  “Yeah, I report in at 0700. I should be back before the end of the day though. Do you want me to come over to see you after I get back, or are you tired of me yet?” He said it kind of like he was kidding but he was also probing for a hint at how she felt about him. Wendy looked lost in thought, and he misinterpreted the silence, thinking that maybe she was indeed getting tired of him. “Look if I am being too... clingy, just tell me and I will back off a little. I like you Wendy, and I was hoping you felt the same way.”

  She looked up at him as if hearing what he said for the first time. “I’m sorry, I was sort of... not really there when you asked. I absolutely want you to come over when you return. I do feel the same way, Jack, probably even more so, and I wish I could spend the next month just being with you. But...” Once again she was talking like she was out of breath.

  But? That was a bad word when having a serious talk about feelings. Jack had heard that word a few times in his life in this manner and it now left him suddenly short of breath. “But... what? Is something wrong?” he tensed in anticipation of her next words, fearing it would be something about just wanting to get pregnant or something.

  “Jack, I have a confession to make, and I am afraid you will hate me for it!” She suddenly looked like she was going to cry. A million thoughts ran through his head trying to divine what she was going to say, and how he was going to react. He pulled back from her a little, trying unsuccessfully to steel himself against the words that would surely mark a change in their relationship.

  “A confession? Um, okay, let’s hear it.”

  What she said came out in one long sentence, and was so far from what he expected, it didn’t make sense right away. “I was the one who found your body at the facility. I read your records, and your personal documents, and you see, I never thought that you could be reborn because your tube was so old, but I was lonely and depressed and reading your diary made me feel so much better, and I didn’t know it at the time but I fell in love with you before I even met you, and then when Teague said he was successful, I sort of freaked out and decided to protect you from all the whores around here, and then I saw you and just melted, and...” she paused to take a breath, “My God Jack I am so sorry, can you please forgive me? I really do love you, and I feel so bad about this.” Wendy finally stopped talking, and when he didn’t say anything right away, she looked
like she was about to die from agony.

  Jack blinked and his brow furrowed. “You found a diary?” He was still trying to make heads or tails of what she had just said.

  “Jack, I swear I wouldn’t have read it if I had thought that you would be brought back, but reading about your thoughts, emotions, and fear of the unknown really helped me with my own situation here. You have NO idea how much pressure they put on us to hook up with men, and it was just too much, and... and...” She rambled on as if she didn’t know what to say. Jack was only half listening as he still sorted out her first words.

  “You found me? And got Teague to bring me back?” Between the lethargy from the full meal, a couple glasses of wine, and a long day of overwhelming learning, sorting through this was like trying to swim in cold molasses. “And you’re saying you love me?”

  “Yes, Jack, I know it sounds silly but after reading all about your last year of life, I couldn’t help but fall in love, at least with the idea of you, and when you were brought back, I just lost control. I made a total fool of myself, coming to you that first night like a tramp, seducing you like that. Oh my God I think I’m going to die of embarrassment! You must HATE me!” She buried her face in her hands, missing the look of pure pleasure on his face.

  She actually flinched when he reached for her and exclaimed, “That is NOT what I was expecting you to say! Wendy, why would you think I would be mad about this? If anything, I’m flattered. You fell in love with me without even meeting me, and after meeting me, you felt even more certain of it? The last few days have been an incredible whirlwind of emotions, and you have been like a rock that I could focus on to make sense of it all! You have no idea how good that makes me feel! I thought my life was over a week ago, and now I have a whole life ahead of me! I think we have something good going here, and quite frankly I’m just happy that you don’t want to run off with the next man that comes along.” The look of surprise on her face melted off when he kissed her long and deep.