“I guess he didn’t want me yelling.”
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Michael asked.
I exhaled. “I can’t talk loud, I hear myself really well. What brings you here?”
“Certainly not the décor,” Michael said, pulling up a chair next to me.
“Hey, I have a Jesus nightlight though.”
Randy, hand on hips, looked at the posters. “Why do you have half naked men with fur on their chest hanging on your wall?”
“Mera hung them. I guess she was just trying to decorate for me and it wasn’t a joke either, so I didn’t want to make her feel bad.”
“I’m not getting these.” Randy touched the posters. “What are these paper decorations?”
Michael explained. “Posters. People bought them for decorations. Usually because they liked who or what was on them.”
“And people liked furry men?” Randy asked curiously. “That much hair on the chest is odd. We just don’t grow it like that anymore. Who are these men? Why would they pose in their underwear and without shirts?”
“For real?” Michael asked.
Randy nodded.
“These men in particular were sex symbols in the nineteen eighties.”
“Sex symbols?”
I took over. “Yeah, part of pop culture. Every ten years or so a new breed emerges. Women worshiped these men.”
“Like false gods?” Randy asked.
“No,” I said. “Not like that. It gave them something to look forward to. To enjoy and watch with decent storylines. I’m sure you had them in your era.”
Randy shook his head.
“No movie stars? No pop singers. No TV shows that had handsome men and women?”
“No. We didn’t have any programs that weren’t news, educational or religious. Movies were a thing of the past and not considered part of God, so says The Doctrines.”
“Ha!” I scoffed. “Please, I would never write that.”
“You didn’t begin the movement; The Doctrines mentioned it was started not long after this time.”
“By who?” I asked.
“Michael.”
“Figures,” I said.
“Oh, no,” Michael said, shaking his head. “If I were to start anything, it would be a pop culture movement to really cool Christian music. You probably did that on purpose, Sonny. Or really, there were no more movies because no one made them.”
“And a segue was created,” Randy said. “The reason we are here.”
“The Doctrines?” I asked.
“Yes. Because I know the ones that I brought and Michael is familiar with the ones that were left behind. Alex wants us to compare and analyze both for this Sleeper battle.”
“That actually sounds like fun.”
“Should breed some good conversation,” Randy said. “We compare. We break down; make a list of what was done and what wasn’t. And it keeps you busy.”
“Mind if I open your Minnie Mouse Curtain?” Michael said, walking over to the long, narrow window.
“Be my guest. Another Mera idea.” I didn’t understand why the curtain. T But again, she was being nice.
Michael reached to the curtain that gave the illusion of a bigger window. “It’ll add a little more light in here for—” He stopped when he slid the curtain back.
Randy asked. “What’s wrong?”
Michael turned from the window. “Sleepers beyond the fence.”
Randy dropped his computer thing on my bed and moved to the cell door. “We’ll be back, Sonny. You can start.”
I swung my legs from the bed. “I’m going.”
“No,” Michael said. “You aren’t. I promise to report back.” He laid his folder down. “Watch these. And stay put.”
The second they were out of my cell, I stood anyhow and inched my way out. I heard them tell Mera to keep all the kids inside the cell block. By the time I made it out of the cell and into the main area, Mera was securing the big metal interior door with a tiny security window.
“Sonny get back to bed.”
“I feel so useless.”
“You’re injured, and we don’t know what’s going on.”
“I want to do something.”
“You are. You’re here. I feel safer.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Sonny, you can be a help without being out there.”
Mera was right. I could and I would, by starting on The Doctrines. I returned to my cell, but before I sat on the bunk, I looked out the window.
Sure enough there were Sleepers about fifty feet from the fence. A frightening sight. I couldn’t see too much to my left or right or how far the single line of Sleepers expanded, but there were more than we had seen at our fences since our arrival. They were just standing there, watching. It was a new thing. After the truck attack, their new method didn’t surprise me, it just made me wonder what they were planning.
I hoped that Beck remembered I had electrified the fence and used it, if needed. More than that, I really hoped it worked if he did have to use it.
36. MERA
Two hours after we locked down, Sonny finally came from his cell and with a weakened stride made his way to the door.
“You can’t leave, Sonny.”
“I need to know what’s going on out there, Mera. Don’t you?”
“Sonny, you aren’t in any condition to fight.”
“Look out the window. There’s no fighting. Sleepers are standing there, at every angle.”
“Do you think they are peaceful as long as we are?”
Sonny laughed at that, one of those ridiculing laughs. “Hardly. I just need to talk to Alex, before any mistakes are made.”
“You read The Doctrines.”
“What I needed to.” He exhaled sharply. “There’s a section entitled “The Three Days of Death”. I’m just hoping this isn’t day one.”
A shock raced through my bones, momentarily paralyzing me. “Sonny, Did they attack?”
“There are differences,” Sonny said, “but the others have to be aware. Hopefully, Randy already told them.”
Before he left, I stopped him. “When Alex died, he told you something. Can it possibly have anything to do with this?”
“What he told me had to be put in The Doctrines somewhere.”
“Can that information stop this?”
“Doubtful.”
“What was it? He’s isn’t dead so it’s not a deathbed promise any longer.”
“I know,” Sonny said. “But I’d really rather not say. Not yet. It’s a big deal but not in this picture and it is something we can change. I can change. But I need to go, it’s gonna take me long enough as it is to get there.”
I nodded nervously and wished him luck, and walked to the door to unlock it just as I saw Ed approaching with two boxes.
“Hold that, please,” Ed called out.
I held the door for him and he entered.
“Why is Sonny leaving? He’s hurt.” Ed set the items on the table.
“He wanted to find out what was going on. Is the lockdown done?”
“Hardly, that’s why I’m here. Helping out,” he said. “Here is some food and a hot plate. Alex wants everyone to stay in the cell blocks for safety’s sake. But I think we’re fine; they aren’t moving.”
“Let’s hope you’re right.”
He opened the flaps of the boxes. “I put dishes in here, too.”
“Thank you for looking out for us. That’s really nice of you.”
“Well, three of your crew are my students.”
“Three?” I questioned. “I thought you only worked with children under five.”
Ed winced, almost embarrassed. “Please don’t take this wrong, but I asked Michael for Jessie. Seeing how… seeing how Keller is her brother too and she is very young mentally.”
“That’s fine, how is she doing?”
“Ah, she’s doing great. Really grasping sign language with Keller. Keller is doing well. He’s understand
ing well and signing like a two year old.”
“What about Phoenix?”
Ed laughed. “He really doesn’t like to sign. He talks like a six year old and insists that he doesn’t need to sign to Keller. He says he can tell me what Keller is saying.”
My first thought was ‘oh no’. “What do you think of that?” I asked cautiously.
“I’m not one to judge or say it’s crazy. My brother was deaf and I swore I knew what he wanted too. It’s a bond thing.”
“Thank you so much for working with them. You’ve been a godsend.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” Ed smiled. “But you’re welcome. I still want to work with the rest of the family too.”
“Absolutely.” I caught Ed staring at me. “Something wrong?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way. And knowing how women are, don’t take this as me calling you old.”
“What?” I laughed.
“You remind me so much of my own mother. So if you catch me staring that’s why.”
“Really?
“Yeah, time was her friend. She was beautiful now matter how old she grew. And she lived her life for us.”
“Did she pass away?”
“That’s the hard part,” he sighed. “I don’t know. I had a chance for a good job out West. We were so close, I hated to leave. She asked me please not to go. My brother asked me not to go. I went and… I don’t know what happened to them. We lost contact. So when I heard the pilgrimage was moving East, I was excited. My mother was from Pennsylvania.”
“Oh, wow,” I gasped. “I’m from Pennsylvania. Ed, maybe after this Sleeper situation is over with, me, you and Beck, maybe even Danny, can take a ride East. I would love to go back to my home. Just see it one more time.”
“You will. I’d like to go East as well. Maybe, like you said, when this is done.” He looked at me one more time and gave me a peaceful smile. “I have to go. I have more boxes to pass out.”
“You’re welcome to come back.”
“Perhaps I will, thank you.”
I followed him to the door and secured it. Once again, I was alone with the children, but I felt safe. I knew our concrete walls would keep them out. After I opened all the boxes, I called for the children. Perhaps together we would prepare the meal. If anything, it would keep their minds off of what was going on just outside our fence.
37. SONNY
“Sonny, what the hell?” said Alex.
It wasn’t exactly the greeting I expected. After all, I did hobble my way there. It was quiet, no one said a word. No one was doing anything.
The Sleepers kept their distance but there were a lot of them. All shoulder to shoulder. Watching.
Beck and Randy were with Alex on the south side of the main building where the cafeteria was located.
Randy sighed. “Oh, good, you brought it.” He extended his hand for his computer that I had brought.
“What’s the situation?” I asked.
“Steadily showing up,” Beck said. “No more for the last half hour. They haven’t moved, haven’t done anything. We have men positioned on the buildings.”
“As soon as we know the last of them have arrived, we’ll take them out,” Alex added.
“You can’t,” I told them.
“I was trying to tell them that,” said Randy.
“The new Doctrines,” I said, reaching for the computer.
Alex groaned and rubbed his eyes. “New? I learned the old ones. This wasn’t in it.”
“And neither were the soldiers, but they are in the new ones.”
“See? See?” Alex spun to Beck. “I told you I didn’t ask for them.”
“Well, now you have them and you should be glad,” Beck argued.
“How do we know they didn’t cause this?”
“Does it matter?”
“The soldiers didn’t cause this,” I said. “I know what did. I think.”
“What is it?” Alex asked.
“I can’t say, because what’s in here is not what you told me on your deathbed.”
Beck peered around Alex. “Excuse me? Did I miss something?”
“Yes. I died. Brutally too,” Alex said. “Like, I left a trail of body parts after voluntarily becoming a Sleeper. And Mera and these two decided to bring me back over a game of Boggle. Told you that game was bad news.”
Beck brought his hand to his forehead. “Then The Doctrines mean squat. If Randy changed things, then his doctrines—”
I “Have Alex in them,” I cut in. “Something got screwed up. Whatever. But I will not mention what Alex told me until I figure out why the two are different. But this situation is not different. How we handle it right now will determine how it plays out.”
“Go on,” Alex said.
“The sections are called “The Three Days of Death”. I looked over to Randy. “Read what you can, Randy.”
“‘On the first day,’” Randy read, “Three hours after sunrise, the Palers arrived at New Eden.”
I interrupted. “That’s what they call this place.”
Alex said. “That’s what we call it now.”
“Really? Wow. Okay,” I said, shocked.
“My death again?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, sorry, go on, Randy.”
Randy continued. “‘Shoulder to shoulder they stood, fifty paces from the metal walls. A single row. When the last of the Palers arrived, New Eden cast the first shots of war. The Sleepers that were not hit retreated.’”
“So they left when we fired?” Beck asked.
Alex replied, “I take it there’s a reason that it is called the three days of death? Go on Randy.”
“‘On the second day, three hours after sunrise, the Palers arrived again. Shoulder to shoulder only this time, they stood three rows deep. They stood waiting. New Eden fired upon them. Many Palers fell; the ones that did not, retreated.”
“They didn’t fight, they came back with more,” I said.
“Maybe because we shot at them?” Beck asked.
“Sleepers aren’t passive aggressive,” Alex said. “They ain’t here to visit. Go on, Randy, read the third day.”
“‘Three hours after sunrise, the Palers arrived in masses, fifty paces from the iron walls, and as far and deep as the eyes could see. Eden had used the firepower in the first two days. When the last of the fire rang out, the Palers did not retreat. They merged onto New Eden with might, forcing the residents to take cover for sixty days until the Palers had taken with them the last of the sacrifices they sought.’”
Alex held up his hand. “So, give and take any translation problems, they basically ran us dry the first two days, and on the third slaughtered us because we were defenseless. We weren’t expecting the multitudes that came. Now, what do we do?”
“Nothing,” I said. “We need to use today and tomorrow to plan for when they all come. They’re gonna come the third day, whether we kill fifty today or not.”
“They’re baiting us,” Beck said. “We can’t take the bait. Right now, we’re positioned to fire on them and use the heavy artillery. We use that today and tomorrow, what do we have when they hit us like at Grace?”
Alex was deep in thought. He bit his lip, shaking his head. “I don’t know. I don’t. This could go on for days.’
“Yeah,” I nodded. “And eventually we’ll call their bluff. They’ll keep coming, waiting for us to be careless. They’ll all show up and come for what they want.”
“Honestly,” Beck said, “if they are shoulder to shoulder, sardine deep, we can kill a lot more with explosives in one pop.”
“No, no.” Alex paced. “We are putting this camp at risk. Should we wait until they charge?”
“Yes,” Randy answered. “Yes, we should. This mass that’s coming; it’s not all of them. It’s just a small fraction. This isn’t the end of it, Alex. It’s the start of the Paler War, and how you handle this will certainly determine the outcome. You said you want to do things differently. Firing on them now or
tomorrow is not doing things differently.”
“What do you think, Beck?” Alex asked.
“I think we wait until we can hit as many as possible with as little firepower as possible. We have men positioned and waiting. Should the three day thing not pan out and they attack, we’re ready. But I think we should wait.” Beck then looked at me. “Sonny, any mention in The Doctrines at all about your little secret back up?”
“Nope. Not one bit.”
Beck smiled. “Then we’re already ahead of the game. Keep a front line, but we wait until we know they are all here or gonna attack.”
Another long growl from Alex and I saw he had made a decision. “Beck, get on the radio, give the order to hold tight.”
“Roger that.” Beck lifted his radio.
Danny came from around the building. “Dudes, what’s going on? We taking them out or what?”
Alex placed his hand on Danny’s back. ”We’re gonna try a little experiment. Pick one.”
“Pick one what?” Danny asked.
“A Sleeper. Pick one.” Alex directed Danny’s gaze. “See that one in the blue, looks like Magnum PI? Take him out. Just him. See what happens.”
Beck got on the radio and announced. “We’re firing one shot. Be ready if they attack. Do not shoot unless I order.” He lowered the radio.
Danny raised his rifle. “The big guy in blue?”
“Yep.” Alex patted him on the back. “One good shot. Sonny might be traumatized since we know his love for Magnum PI, but go on and do it.”
I didn’t know what would happen; I may have suggested the wrong thing. Danny fired, a single, accurate shot to the head of the Magnum PI Sleeper, and as soon as he went down, as thought, the rest of the Sleepers, slowly turned and almost robotically, began to file away.
“Whoa,” Danny lowered his weapon. “Did we scare them that easy?”
“Nope,” Alex said. “They’ll be back, same Sleeper place, same Sleeper channel, and they’ll bring friends tomorrow too.” He shifted his eyes to Beck. “I hope to God I didn’t just make us sitting ducks.”
Sitting ducks.
No matter which way we looked at it, whether we killed them today, fought tomorrow, battled on the third day or did nothing, we were sitting ducks. We were always sitting ducks when it came to the Sleepers.
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