The Freezer (Genesis Endeavor Book 1)

by David Kersten

  He turned to the younger man, sizing him up. Aside from obviously being in excellent physical shape, there wasn’t much to distinguish him from any other soldier Jack had met over the years. “What’s your name, soldier?” he asked.

  “Thomas Parker, sir. I died when I was almost sixty, and served for over thirty years. I was a Command Sergeant Major, assistant to a colonel who led my battalion in the first Iraq war.”

  “Your battalion was led by a full bird colonel?” Usually a battalion was led by a light colonel.

  Thomas grinned and shrugged. “He was a career officer, perhaps had a couple bulbs out upstairs. His old man was a Medal of Honor winner, and quite frankly that’s the only reason he ever got as far as he did. Let’s just say that a lot of his tactical decisions were made by his assistant.”

  Jack knew from experience exactly what Thomas was talking about. He motioned for the man to continue.

  “I was injured toward the end of the war, so I ended up riding a desk for most of the rest of my career. I finally retired in 2005. Since being reborn, I have spent the last three years running patrols.” Jack nodded. Thomas could become a great asset.

  He turned to the last man. He would have said this was a fair skinned black man at first, but as he studied him, he noticed characteristics of many races. The thought occurred to him that the past few hundred years would have finally seen the ‘melting pot’ that the forefathers of America had foreseen. There was now only the racial distinction of being a regular human, or a Mute... with the exception of the reborn, of course.

  The man was older, which was further confirmation of being a native. “And you?”

  “Just call me Red, I never had a formal name. I been leading patrols since I was found by New Hope bout twenty five years ago, never lost a man. Before that I spent my days fightin off Mutes or huntin for my nex meal.”

  Jack nodded. Although he hadn’t really familiarized himself with the ‘native’ population, he assumed this man had no formal training of any kind, but probably knew how to survive and probably how to keep others alive. He wondered briefly if the mention of never losing a man was a jab at Jack’s earlier encounter or just a bragging point. He didn’t give it much thought beyond that, they would find out soon enough if he had what it took to lead men.

  “Okay, Thomas, I would like you to get together with Teague and discuss what it would take to get into S.C. and acquire what we need. Red, I would like you to get with Tiny and help him plan the forward landing strip. Chin, I want you to organize a rescue squad, in case any of the patrols or scavenging teams run into trouble.” Everyone nodded and sat back down.

  “Engineering. Who among you was in the engineer corps in the military?”

  Two men stood up. Both were young, as Jack expected. “I want you two with Tiny’s group. You should be able to help with the building of the strip. If you come up with any materials that are required, I want you to liaise with George here and see if anyone knows where to scavenge it.”

  He looked at Tiny, who was still lost in thought. “Tiny, do you have any immediate concerns?”

  In his incredibly deep voice he said, “Aside from getting a dozer on site, it should be pretty straightforward. I would also like to set up some kind of defensive measures, maybe a ground to air missile if we have it. You know, as a deterrent, just in case our friends from Cali decide they want a piece of what we are doing. Once on the ground, we are gonna be vulnerable. What kind of time frame are you asking for here?”

  “I need you ready to go in a week. I think it will all hinge on the dozer. Does anyone know if we have the kind of defensive equipment he is asking for?”

  Teague spoke up, and with a slight grin that suggested he knew of something that would work perfectly, he said, “I think we can accommodate him

  Jack turned to the whole group and said, “There is one more task we need to discuss. We will need a way to harvest and transport about fifteen hundred human heads.” The room went silent. Jack was not surprised, in fact he couldn’t think of a better way to silence a room full of people.

  “We need engineers to come up with some bins that can be kept frozen, enough to haul approximately fifteen hundred heads. We need anyone who is not needed on the other tasks to plan on being there to harvest the heads. It is not a pleasant task, but necessary. We will need to be able to get in there, collect and properly label each one, and store them on the plane. All this needs to be done in the shortest amount of time possible. The longer we are there, the more chance we will draw unwanted attention.”

  He turned back to Teague once more. “Teague do any of our flyers have weapon systems?”

  Teague nodded. “The small two and four man flyers have light air to ground arms, but are not much good in a dogfight. The medium transports have both air to air and air to ground systems, and the large transports have air to air systems.”

  “When we fly in, we need to defend the heavy transport with whatever we can. It’s all for nothing if we can’t get it back here safely.” The room was once again more serious. “Does everyone here know what they need to do? Are there any questions?”

  “Just one. Who put you in charge?” Jack turned to the voice and saw Chuck standing in the doorway to the room. The room erupted in laughter, and people started getting up, ready to go to work.

  Chapter 26

  “What the hell are you doing out of bed?” Jack was surprised to see him alive, let alone walking.

  “Bah, I heard Mad Dawg was staging a coup up here and had to come see for myself.” He turned to Teague, “And don’t say a damn word Doc, I’ll go back to bed in a few minutes.” Teague just smiled and shook his head. “I just wanted to come up here and thank you for saving my ass, Jack.”

  Jack colored slightly at the compliment. “I just did what I needed to do, Chuck. Besides, I couldn’t just let my human shield die.” They both laughed while Teague and Wendy stood there looking confused. Jack filled them in the details of those first few seconds when they were caught in the entrance to the facility.

  “Chuck, you’re the one who needs to be thanked. I’m just glad we made it out of there in one piece. Besides, if it weren’t for Emmet, we would probably be in Cali right now being interrogated.” They looked at each other in silence for a moment, reflecting on Emmet’s sacrifice.

  Wendy broke the silence. “Chuck, I need to thank you too. I would have killed you myself if you had come back without Jack.” His look of surprise was quickly followed by a sly smile.

  “Damn, I really thought you were full of shit, Jack. Congratulations.” Wendy’s face clouded with anger and she shot Jack a look that said he would have to do a lot explaining. Jack pretended to not have seen her.

  “Uh, thanks. Look you better get some rest. The last time I saw you there was a large hole in your shoulder. That can’t be healthy.”

  “Christ, you sound like Teague. Just make sure you include me in your plans here. After this morning, I don’t want to see the Calis get a damn thing from the Freezer.” That statement brought back the full weight of the situation at hand.

  “If you’re up for it, I want you to fly the big transport.” Chuck just nodded. He suddenly looked weary.

  “Looks like you’re the boss, I’ll do what I can. Right now, I think I’ll take a nap, in my own room, not some medical ward.” He turned to leave the room.

  Wendy said, “Hang on, we can walk you up there together. Mad Dawg needs to get some sleep too... alone.” Chuck shot a look of apology to Jack, fully aware that he shouldn’t have said anything.

  * * *

  Chuck had just settled in to bed and was already halfway towards unconsciousness when his door opened. He was instantly alert, but settled back down when he saw it was Wendy. He had halfway expected her to come back after walking Jack to his door, and wasn’t particularly surprised to see her. The trip up the elevator with her and Jack had been somewhat icy, and not much was said. “What can I do for you, Wendy?”

  “Sorry to i
nterrupt your sleep, Chuck, I know you need the rest, but I have to ask you a question.” He nodded, knowing what she was going to ask. “What exactly did Jack say about me today?”

  Chuck tried to put on a little smile and said, “Relax, it wasn’t his fault. You know Emmet just got burned pretty bad by a local?” Wendy nodded. “Well, Emmet was asking if he had, well, you know, been with any locals. Jack said he had found someone special, but it wasn’t a local. Emmet couldn’t let it go at that and grilled him for a name. Jack figured he wouldn’t stop nagging, so he said it was you. To be quite honest, I thought he was full of shit. He didn’t seem to care what I thought and sat back to read some old book he had.”

  As he talked, he could visibly see her deflate. This woman had a chip on her shoulder regarding men since the day he had met her, and she was always quick to anger when she suspected someone was objectifying her.

  In fact, it was out of character for her to hook up with a man, particularly one she didn’t know a thing about. Whether she felt something for Jack or just caved under the pressure this community had put on her, he figured this was her last hope of integrating herself into this new world. If she was putting herself in a situation like this, he knew it was tenuous at best and the slightest problem could push her over the edge. Although it was seldom mentioned, there had been a couple reborn that simply couldn’t live in this world. Chuck only knew because he had been the first successful reborn. He had been there to clean up the mess when they decided they had been better off dead. The last thing he wanted was to be the catalyst that led her to an end like that.

  She looked him square in the eye and said, “If you’re just covering for him, I will kick your ass after I kick his.” If she hadn’t been dead serious, he would have laughed.

  “Wendy, not all men are assholes. I may not know shit about Jack’s personal life, but after today I think I can honestly say there isn’t a man I have ever met who has a stronger character than Jack. I may be a little biased there, but I have never met anyone quite like him. Personally, I wouldn’t hesitate to follow that man anywhere.”

  She dropped her gaze, looking a little ashamed and embarrassed now. “Shit, I’m sorry Chuck. I shouldn’t have come in here like this.” She looked like she was going to leave, but she turned back to face him. “One more question: why didn’t you believe him?”

  He felt his bowels loosen up a little. You stepped in it now Chuck. “Uh... Well, you know. You aren’t exactly receptive to men Wendy. You sort of have a reputation here, you know...” He was sweating bullets now. This was not exactly the thing any woman wanted to hear, and this woman in particular was known for her quick temper. At least he was in bed and injured, so she wouldn’t take a swing at him.

  She blushed and looked away from him, which was not exactly the reaction he had expected. “Christ, have I really been that bad?” He didn’t say anything, waiting to see what she would do next. “Look, I meant what I said earlier, Chuck. I can’t thank you enough for making sure he got back safe. He means a lot to me. If you ever need anything, just ask.” With that she gave him a quick but gentle hug and left the room.

  For the second time that day, Chuck felt he had narrowly avoided death. Jack would have his hands full with that woman. She was incredibly attractive and incredibly volatile all at the same time. He thought about sharing his concerns with Jack but realized he trusted the man’s character and knew he would do right by her.

  The situation had been diffused, and he felt a little of the burden of debt toward Jack being eased off his conscience. Sometimes telling the truth was the best course of action. He sank back into the bed and was asleep in seconds.

  * * *

  Wendy felt like an ass. Why had she jumped so quickly to the conclusion that Jack had been running around bragging to the first men he met about scoring with her? He was not like that and she knew it. It made her realize how vulnerable her emotions really were, and she didn’t like that at all.

  Furthermore, she had really kept herself closed off from everyone here in her effort to stay away from a relationship with men. Most people here were just trying to survive and ensure that humanity would outlast the hell that their ancestors had created here on earth. True, there were a few, like that asshole Jeremy, who deserved what she gave them, but most of these people hadn’t done anything but help her. They deserved better, and she intended to start delivering.

  She exited the elevator and turned toward Jack’s room. Jack would be sleeping by now, after all the stress and excitement he had endured today, and he really needed the rest. She slowed as she got closer to his apartment, torn between apologizing right away and letting the man get some sleep. A couple seconds of hesitation turned into a minute, and she decided it was best to let him sleep and apologize in the morning. Despite this decision, she rounded the last corner, just in time to see Cat leaving his room. She quickly ducked back, wondering if the woman had seen her. Anger flared anew.

  Indecision paralyzed her. Should she go confront him? Surely nothing had happened between them, she had only dropped him at the door ten or fifteen minutes ago. Had it been longer than that? The questions piled higher and higher, and her anger and anxiety grew with each one.

  In retrospect, she had been rather cold toward him when dropping him at his door. She simply told him to get some sleep, and let him know they would have some things to talk about in the morning. How well did she really know the man? Despite her conversation with Chuck, she had too many doubts about her own judgment of his character. There had been so many times in life she had trusted her instincts about a man and been proven wrong just when she thought she had it all figured out. Why should this be any different? The weight of depression slipped over her, and suddenly she was tired. She no longer had the energy to deal with this. In the morning, she decided, they would have a talk, and she would get the answers she needed, if she had to beat them out of him.

  Wiping a tear from her cheek, she turned back to the elevator.

  * * *

  Marcus leaned back in his chair. He was seated in his living quarters with the three other councilmen, and they had been discussing the attack earlier today. There had been other skirmishes with Cali in the past, but this was very disconcerting. If New Hope had a chance of surviving the next ten years, they would need the metal ore they were getting from Cali. He had hoped, for the last twenty or so years, that they could patch things up without any incident, but those years had shown that it was more and more unlikely. The reaction to today’s attack would likely determine the future of relations between the two communities.

  War was out of the question. The reason humanity was on the verge of extinction was because of situations just like this one. Marcus had no intention of starting another war. They had worked way too hard the last hundred and fifty years and he was not about to let that all fall apart. The problem was, if they had any chance of recovering the precious genetic material in the cryogenic facility, they couldn’t even contact Cali and try to smooth the situation over. Joshua would want to know what they were doing up in Montana before he would ever try to make reparations for his people’s actions today, and if they knew, the place would be empty before they could get up there again.

  However, if he didn’t contact Joshua and Cali attacked while they were working to recover what they could from the facility, he feared it would permanently kill any hope of reconciliation. It seemed to be an impossible situation. He had to make a decision, and it appeared the decision was between risking the precious lives of his people and the future of New Hope. He was unwilling to sacrifice either.

  Theodore sighed and said, “Look, I just don’t see any other options here. We have to either cut a deal with Cali, or push forward with joining the other communities. Either way we are going to have to share the facility with the others. We will still get at least four or five hundred more for the gene pool, and it’s more than enough to ensure humanity’s survival.”

  Caleb shook his head. “We have the
chance to build a population that nobody can match. If we had a thousand fertile men and women, we would not have to worry about Cali or even the Yanks, let alone the other communities. They would be forced to join us and live under our rules. If we share that with other communities we would not be exclusively in power, and you know how I feel about that.” Caleb had the opinion that every war starts when you have two factions of equal strength vying for ultimate power. Everyone in the room more or less agreed with him, but not everyone shared his opinion of keeping New Hope isolated from the rest of the world.

  William leaned back in his chair and said, “I stand by my opinion. We have an opportunity here to go out and secure that which belongs to us. If it means permanently severing diplomatic ties to Cali, then I say we are better off. They are in no better position to attack us directly than we are to attack them. We can find more ways to acquire the resources we will need. Don’t think for a second that Cali will happily increase the resource trade with us by a hundred times when we start to build a new home. Joshua is not that stupid.”

  Marcus agreed with William. Joshua would not allow them to expand that easily, regardless of what they offered in trade. And if he knew why they needed to expand that quickly, he would make sure it took them twenty years to build a new home, leaving New Hope with no choice but to take their chances living out in the open while they were at their most vulnerable point. In twenty years, they might have the population to be able to live on the surface without fear of anyone, but until then they needed the shelter – and the secrecy – if they were to survive.

  The door chimed and Teague walked in and took a seat. Marcus turned to his friend and asked, “How did it go?” Teague was a good man and a loyal friend, even though he was not much of a leader. He only had a seat on the council because of what he had done for them, sacrificing everything he had to protect them and get both the council members and the technology safely out of Saber Cusp. New Hope would not exist if it weren’t for his actions, and it was only fair that he have a hand in governing the community. The others were grateful as well, but didn’t quite feel the way Marcus did. In particular, Theodore didn’t think he should be on the council at all. Of course, Theodore wanted Marcus’ chair on the council, and Marcus knew it.