“Do they look bad to you? Does Keller look like a Damien?”
“No.”
“No.” Another kiss from Beck. “Go take a moment. Finish your lunch. Michael will be here soon.”
There was something so comforting about knowing Michael was arriving soon. But with the joy of his arrival came the sinking feeling of having to confirm to him and the others that Alex had died.
That approach to him alone, took my mind off of Keller.
11. SONNY
In one of my foster homes, I got to experience an ‘advantaged kid’ Christmas. Not that the family was rich, but they weren’t poor. The mother went to the grocery store and didn’t worry about a budget, they got me new clothes. Not really a prime requirement for good foster parents, but anything new I got back then was a treat. But not as much as being nine years old, standing on the street in my pajamas, snow boots and coat, listening to the sirens. I wasn’t even homeless, which by nine I was used to often being.
The sirens of the fire trucks meant Santa was coming. He was riding in on the big red truck through the neighborhood, waving and tossing candy. I was with that family only six months, then went back to my own. But I never forgot that magical feeling of waiting for something that was supposed to be a fantasy, a myth, not real. Yet there he was, riding a truck no less and pelting me with treats.
I experienced that same excitement, minus my pajamas of course, waiting on the convoy from Grace.
People started to arrive at the gate. I was the first one waiting until Mera joined me.
“You okay?” she asked. “I know it’s been longer for you since you’ve seen everyone.”
“I’m fine. Anxious. I want to see who made it. We don’t even know.”
“I’m scared to see who didn’t.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
At that instance, Beck approached on my other side. I didn’t need to look to see if it was Beck, his presence was big enough.
“Coming around the bend,” Beck announced. “I just got a crystal clear radio call. They had tire problems and then they blew a hose. Any second now.”
“Is it true, Beck?” Mera asked. “Miles said Michael stated they found survivors.”
“That’s what Miles told me too.”
To me, that was exciting. It showed not all was lost, and some humanity survived. In fact, even waiting on the trucks was exciting. We were waiting to see who had survived the massive Sleepers attack. Housing and taking care of everyone was a secondary worry at that moment.
Then I saw the first truck. Behind it was an old Mega Bus.
There has to be hundreds, I thought, hundreds. Please let there be hundreds of people.
The bus was followed by a pickup truck, and in the back were four men that I recognized.
I breathed out in relief. There were five hundred and seventeen people when last I was in Grace.
The beat up bus arrived with about thirty people, most of whom were children, and then another twenty in the tractor trailer.
So technically there were still four hundred plus unaccounted for. Unless the back of the tractor trailer was jammed packed like sardines, Grace lost a lot of people.
I still could hope for hundreds.
The airbrakes sounded wonderful, bringing the convoy to a halt. The tractor trailer driver stepped out.
“Yes!” I said, “Jenson made it.”
Mera looked curiously at me. “I didn’t realize you two were that close.”
“We’re not. He’s the guru on farming.”
Beck shook his head. “Well since you gawkers are doing nothing but watching, I’ll go with Miles and be the welcoming committee.”
I fanned out my hands, capturing the group in a frame. “I want the wide screen image of the arrival first.”
The moment Beck stepped toward the convoy, the children plowed in behind him, almost as if they were waiting on Beck to say it was alright to cheer and greet the newcomers.
Mera murmured like a schoolteacher doing a head count, announcing each person as they stepped into view. “Travis, Len, Carly. The Stilton Family, oh good they all made it. Where’s Patty? Patty, where’s Patty? Oh, there she is… whew. Thank God. Hey I don’t know him.”
“Who?” I asked.
“The guy standing with the soldier. Then again, I don’t know the soldier.”
“Beck does.” I pointed, watching Beck receive a salute from the soldier and then shake hands with the tall blond haired man who was unknown to me as well.
“Maybe they’re from the ARC. Where’s Michael?”
Danny rushed forward, a little out of breath. “Sorry, I just finished cleaning. Whoa. Look at all these people. The Stilton family all made it. Sweet.”
“I know.” Mera smiled.
“Where’s Michael?”
I was wondering the same thing. Of course, as the numbers dwindled from unloading, I felt a sense of sadness. There were a few men, very good men, that I didn’t see. Friends of mine I worked with, drank with, got to know.
Gone.
Then finally Michael stepped off the bus.
Words could not describe how grateful I was to see my friend and spiritual leader. The mysterious man of the cloth who defied a lot of odds with the Sleepers. I no sooner took a step when I felt a brush of my shoulder as Mera whizzed by me, followed by Danny.
Mera didn’t give Michael a moment to set his feet on the ground. She had her arms around him and was embracing him before he even got off the bus.
Michael had gone with Alex to rescue Jessie. It was the first time Mera had seen him since.
I kept walking, eyes focused on Michael. His dark curly hair was a bit messy, but the young pastor looked unscathed.
Danny then embraced him while, of course, Mera kept touching him. Beck, I suppose would eventually say hello. Right then he was too busy with the masses. But I needed to see Michael.
I was a pot of mixed emotions briefly. Glad to see Michael, disappointed that he was the last one off of the bus.
Michael took a deep breath when he saw me. “Sonny.”
“Mike.” I shook his hand and embraced him. “So good to see you. Welcome to your new home.”
“We are going to make this place work.” He looked around. I knew who he was looking for.
Mera squeaked out the words, hurt lacing each syllable. “He ... he didn’t make it, Michael. Alex didn’t make it.”
Michael closed his eyes and lowered his head. I watched his jaw twitched as he fought to stay in control. “I prayed. I prayed so hard, Alex.”
I firmly squeezed his shoulder.
“Michael,” Mera said, “when everything happened two years ago it was global. No one processed it normally, make sense? Alex’s death is so different because it was so long since we lost someone. We need to have a service for him. I need to have a service for him.”
“Absolutely. I’d be honored to perform that service. I think I need to do so, too.” Michael leaned forward and kissed Mera on the forehead and then kissed Danny as well. “I am so sorry for your loss.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, too.” Mera grabbed his hand. “Bonnie is in the cafeteria. She prepared a meal. She can’t wait to see you.”
“Dude,” Danny said, apparently trying to break the tense and sad moment, “this place is gonna be rockin’ when it’s done. There’s a nice chapel. All yours to clean.”
Beck just blasted his body between Mera and Danny and grabbed on to Michael. “Mike! I am so glad you made it out of there. So glad. Everyone’s moving inside.”
“Let’s go,” Mera said. “We’ll get the vehicles after.”
“Wait.” Michael held up his hand. “There’s something odd that happened...”
My heart beat faster, worrying about what he was going to say.
Michael scratched his head as he sought the words. “I didn’t say anything to anyone because they wouldn’t know. But you would. Just be prepared.”
“For?” Beck asked.
�
�Something ….” Michael grunted. “Just brace yourself.” He stepped back and looked in the bus. “It’s okay, now. Come on.”
A few seconds later we heard footsteps, and we saw what had Michael so rattled.
Danny grunted out, “Dude!”
Beck gasped. “Holy shit.”
Mera shirked, only briefly, and then she dropped to the ground and passed out.
Me? I grinned. Not because Mera fainted, but because Randy Briggs stepped off that bus.
12. MERA
I have no idea how long I lay on the grass at Michael’s feet. Beck said he immediately picked me up and scooted me away. Danny on the other hand said it was a good minute or two before they noticed and it took for Randy to say, Hey is that woman okay?, and then Beck scooped me up and took me to get help.
I woke up in the half put together infirmary with Javier standing over the bed.
“Finally,” Javier said. “You had me worried. I thought maybe you hit your head.”
I took a moment to tune into my body. Did anything hurt other than my face?
“Not my head. My chin.”
“Four stitches,” he said. “You fell face first.”
“Great.” I tried to sit up more.
“Easy. You were out nearly a half hour.”
“Is that normal?”
“Not really.”
I saw Beck and Danny enter the room, both popping in to check on me. Both telling me different stories about what had occurred. One fact remained true to both stories, Randy Briggs had stepped off that bus.
Danny didn’t stay long. He was taking over watch while Miles and Beck and a bunch of other strong hands hit the main detention building. Danny left as quickly as he came.
“My concerned son,” I said sarcastically.
“He’s concerned,” Beck said, “just busy. We had over a hundred more people arrive.”
“We lost half of Grace,” I said sadly.
“No,” Beck corrected. “Half of Grace survived. And Michael is here. He wanted to come in but Javier so no visitors.”
“Why?”
“Because you fainted,” said Javier. “I didn’t want any more shock.”
“She’s fine, right?” Beck asked.
“I believe so. But contrary to what fiction depicts, oftentimes shock is not the only contributing factor in someone fainting. There’s sometimes an underlying reason. So when I have this lab ready in a couple days, can you come back, Mera, and let me run some blood tests?”
Beck looked surprised. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Javier replied. “Her blood pressure is slightly elevated, but I want to make sure her sugar levels are alright and check a couple of other things. Not a big deal. She’s been through a lot, and this probably was just the icing on the cake. I just want to double check.”
“Just tell me when you’re ready,” I agreed. “What about the stitches?”
“Beck can take them out in a week.”
“Look,” Beck cocked his chin. “We have the same scar.”
I smiled sadly. “Alex had the scar too.”
Beck furrowed his brow. “Alex had a beard. How did you know?”
“He lost a bet and had to shave once. He looked so funny.”
“I missed a lot during those eighteen months.”
“You had good reason.” I yawned. “Can I go, Javier?”
“Yes, just take it easy.”
I turned to Beck. “I want to see Randy.”
“He doesn’t know you,” Beck said. “He doesn’t know me; he doesn’t know any of us.”
I gasped. “Did he hit his head? Is it amnesia?”
Javier answered, “No. He never met you.”
“Of course, he did,” I argued. “I watched him die. He was torn apart by Sleepers. I mourned him.”
“Mera,” Beck explained, “Randy Briggs died in a time when he wasn’t even born. His conception wasn’t even a thought.”
“Honestly,” Javier added, “I don’t know why this is such a shock. He came from the future. Unless he changed something about his birth, he can come back from the future to any point in time.”
“Well, I don’t care if he knows me,” I swung my legs over the bed and stood. “I…” suddenly everything spun.
Beck took hold of my arm. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, dizzy,” I grunted. “And that short spin made me sick.” I ran my hand over my belly, reminiscent of the flip flop feeling I always got from amusement park rides.
Javier suggested that Beck walk me to a rest area to sit. He held my arm in support, I thanked Javier and left with Beck.
“Can you tell Randy I want to talk to him?” I asked.
“Mera, again, don’t be surprised, he doesn’t know us.”
“Doesn’t matter. This point in history didn’t make Randy the great guy he was, life did. And that’s the Randy I missed.”
“You’re right. He can get to know us all over again. But let’s get you to the main area to sit. The kids want to see your boo-boo, they saw the blood.”
I cringed. “Were they scared?”
“Mera, please, they watched Sleepers attack. A bleeding chin didn’t scare them. Plus, I’m pretty sure Keller has a rock he wants to press against it.”
I stopped walking. “That’s not funny.”
Beck smiled. “Yeah, it is.”
I just shook my head and held on to Beck. As bad as his joke was, things seemed a tad better. Michael had arrived, Randy had returned, and suddenly, the new place that we had yet to name didn’t seem as bad.
13. SONNY
Summons by Levi elicited the same fluttering stomach feeling that I used to get when summoned by a principal or counselor.
Levi was considered old in his time. He was maybe forty, but looked like he was in his late sixties. When we first met him he was just learning our version of English. Now he was pretty fluent.
Levi certainly didn’t waste time making the side office next to the infirmary his personal space. I knocked, followed his instructions to ‘come in’ and stated, “You asked to see me?”
He slammed the door and pointed at me. “Sit.”
“Wow, okay.” So I did.
“What is that old saying?” Levi paced. “You can take the juvenile out of the center for delinquents, but you can’t take the delinquent out of the juvenile.”
“I believe the saying went, you can take the boy from the country but you can’t take the country from the boy.”
“Whatever, same difference.”
“Oh, I beg to differ.”
“Delinquent!” Levi yelled. “You are no more than that same old juvenile delinquent that was in and out of centers your whole life.”
“Seriously?” I stood. “I am a grown ass man. I made up for my past. I rode the straight and narrow. Where the hell is this coming from?”
“You are cheating. I bet you were the kind of person who got a book, and read the end first.”
“Well, yeah.”
“This is the same thing.”
“What are you talking about?”
Before Levi could answer there was a knock at the door.
“I guess someone else you are scolding?” I asked sarcastically.
Levi commanded, ‘come in’ and the door opened.
Randy stepped inside. He looked to me then Levi. “Someone told me to come here. Did … did I do something wrong?’
“Please shut the door,” Levi instructed.
Randy slowly closed it.
Levi pointed at me. “Him,” he stated.
“I’m… I’m sorry?” Randy stuttered. “I don’t know what is going on.”
Levi ignored Randy. “You summoned him,” he told me.
“What? Like a spirit?” I laughed.
“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” Randy asked.
“Cut the shit, Randy,” I said. “We know where you’re from. And I don’t mean Indiana. Well, maybe Indiana, but
Indiana a few hundred years from now.”
Randy chuckled nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t even know you.”
“See?” I nodded. “He doesn’t know me. How did I summon him?”
“By the pen. You asked.”
“And you were the one who told me how to do it.”
“I was being facetious!” Levi snapped, then grabbed his head. “I didn’t think it would work. You went and scribbled a few lines and hours later, poof, he appears.”
“I didn’t even know if I was actually the one who penned The Doctrines.”
Randy stepped forward. “You… you are Logan.”
“Yes. No. Yes.” I nodded. “They call me Sonny. But yes, I am writing the logs.”
Randy suddenly stood straight. As if he weren't a big man to begin with. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Cheater,” Levi snapped and then looked at Randy. “Tell me, did you bring The Doctrines?”
“I did,” Randy answered.
“Cheat,” Levi repeated to me. “You asked for Michael’s copy, and just to see how things were going you called for Randy because you knew he’d bring his. Cover all the bases.”
“Well, yeah.” I folded my arms. “I didn’t use the time machine. And if things were different, if they were better, if we succeeded in defeating the Sleepers in the Reckoning, then he wouldn’t have come.”
Levi asked Randy, “Was there something in The Doctrines that made you come right now?”
“I swore it was for me,” Randy said, fumbling with a sachet he carried. “They all thought I was insane and blasphemed—”
“Sonny, did you put something in there specifically for Randy?”
“Vaguely,” I answered. “Very vaguely.”
“How … why me?” Randy asked. “I am beyond honored.”
“You were here before, Randy,” I told him. “We were friends. You came to get the Phoenix child to the ARC, but you died before that happened.”
“I was here before? No wonder a few of you were shocked and the woman passed out when I got off the bus. The preacher was very kind to me. He embraced me when he saw me. I thought for sure it was a ritual.”
“No, that’s just Michael being glad to see an old friend who’d died.”
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