The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20

by Jacqueline Druga

  “Hal’s running late? That’s odd.. Are you sure I’m not early?”

  “No, Frank. You’re on time.”

  “Because my watch could be fast.’

  “Frank, your watch isn’t fast. Hal’s just running late.”

  “Are you sure, because . . .”

  “Frank!” Joe yelled.

  “All right!”

  “Christ Almighty, how in God’s name am I gonna take you for four days out there?”

  “That’s why we’re having the meeting, remember?” Frank sat down and pointed to his own temple. “So we can figure out how we can all go without being missed too much. Oh, hey, Dean, didn’t see you there.”

  “Frank,” Dean grumbled.

  “Fuck. What happened to your lip?” Frank asked.

  Joe answered. “He was mobbed, Frank.”

  “By the women?” Frank questioned.

  “No. Why would you say that?” Joe stated.

  “The women hate him.”

  “The women didn’t do it. The men did.”

  Frank shook his head amazed. “The men hate him too?”

  Joe grumbled. “Not anymore, Frank.”

  “So they beat him and got it out of their system.”

  Joe growled loudly. “No, Frank! They mobbed him and then apologized!”

  “That was big of you, Dean,” Frank said. “So it’s over?”

  Exhaling, Joe sat back. “I hope. Now, don’t you want to know why the men mobbed Dean?”

  “No, I don’t need to. I know.” Frank stated. “They hate him.”

  “No!” Joe barked. “They mobbed him because of you!”

  “Oh fuck!” Frank gasped out. “They hate me and mobbed Dean? Man, Dean, you took a beating for me?”

  “Frank . . .” Joe tried to intervene.

  Frank continued, “Is that what you meant by . . .”

  “Frank!” Joe screamed. “Enough! They went after Dean because they thought he bent the spoons.”

  “Well, if he bent the spoons, how is it my fault?”

  With a whine, Joe’s head dropped to the desk. “No, no, no.” Calming himself, he lifted his head. ‘You told the men Dean bent the spoons.”

  “No, I did not,” Frank defended.

  “Frank!” Joe snapped. “I was standing right here. You told them.”

  “You lie.”

  “What!”

  “Either that or you’re just getting old.” Frank tilted his head. “Either way . . .” He looked at Dean. “I didn’t tell the men that.”

  Confused, Dean looked at Joe.

  Frank spoke, “Billy did.”

  With fluttering eyes, Joe tried not to lose it again. “Frank, why . . .”

  “He did. He stood right there.” Frank pointed. “You know it's true, Dad. Billy said it. He hates you Dean. What can I say?” Frank shrugged.

  After a single knock, with a gliding move inside, Hal walked in the office. He stopped, looked at the faces, took in the silence and the feel of the room, then with a smutty grin, he turned to Elliott. “See, Elliott. What did I tell you? Be a little late and we save ourselves the Frank antic rumblings.”

  “All well, and fine, Captain, but . . .” Elliott said softly. “What do we do when we’re out there with him?”

  Hal glared. “I hate you.” Hal then replaced the glare with a cordial grin and entered the meeting.

  ^^^^

  Being told that Ellen was having dinner with God was not a problem for Robbie. He was fed. Also being told he could speak to Ellen later was not a problem either. But when it was added by the head Drune guard that ‘later’ constituted the next morning, then the problem began.

  There was no way Robbie was going to leave Ellen alone all night with Creed. Aside from the fact that he felt his responsibility to protect her, he had made the promise to her that he would get her out of the situation and them out of the weird imprisonment they were in.

  And it was a weird imprisonment. Robbie was absolutely without a doubt free to roam around the city. By old things left about, Robbie had a pretty good grip on where they were in Los Angeles. They were somewhere in the vicinity of Wilshire Boulevard.

  A single guard had stopped Robbie when he approached the third floor apartment of Creed. An entire third floor had been gutted out to make a palace apartment of sorts. Getting past that guard and to Ellen was not going to be difficult at all, Robbie knew. It was in what he would do with Ellen and where they would go, that his difficulty laid.

  What had been sub-level basements and parking garages were transformed into living sections and businesses. Homes were ingeniously designed and constructed using old car bodies as walls. Actually, to Robbie, a typical home was pretty impressive. The Drunes worked, lived, learned, and played in their city.

  Blocks upon city blocks, recognizable years before as empty space, was a maze to Robbie with no way in or out. He couldn’t find an inkling of where an exit ramp once was.

  He figured he had time until his gut told him he’d soon interfere in Ellen’s evening and he planned on using that time to silently walk around and search out an exit. But there were difficulties in that. To the Drunes, Robbie was a God. People stared, watched, and then bowed as he passed. But more so than respect, Robbie bred curiosity from the young and the children. Like the Pied Piper, they followed Robbie around, seemingly picking up more and more followers as the minutes and hours moved on.

  Robbie searched with a pack behind him. They were massive in numbers. He made it appear as if he were taking a curious stroll. No one asked him any questions because they were aware he couldn’t speak. That lasted until Robbie saw a Drune style dog and when he jumped out at him, he made a peep of a scream. Not only had Robbie’s voice returned, it had returned, without warning, to its fullest extent.

  The questions ensued.

  They literally rushed him. They children, teens, and young adults, pounded him with questions about Heaven, being a God, and the devil’s wasteland. Their youthful over-innocence and naivety annoyed Robbie until he realized that they could actually help him. They seemed eager, but the obvious attempt to ask where the exit was, was in vain. They literally seemed appalled when Robbie asked them, ‘hey, how do I get out of here and to the street above’.

  Seeing how that wasn’t going to work, Robbie decided to use their innocence and play them. He would be that friend and godly figure they so much wanted.

  They sat in a large circle, almost in amphitheater style, with Robbie the center of attention. He sought to gain their trust, their adoration, and then move in for the ‘kill’ or rather information that he sought.

  “Utopia,” A young boy, Robbie guessed about sixteen, spoke. “It is sunny, yet it is not the devil’s land?”

  “No,” Robbie answered. “Zeus, the head God of gods, A.K.A. Joe Slagel, is far too powerful.”

  “Is . . .” The child paused to pronounce the name. “Jaslagal more powerful than our God?’

  Robbie fluttered his lips. “Fuck yeah. Fear him. Fear him, big time.” He enjoyed the gasps he heard. “He’s my father.”

  At that instance another teenager moved to Robbie.”Then may I touch you?”

  “Sure.” Robbie held out his hand.

  “How did it happen, God of T.F.?” A boy asked. “How did the devil end up with the land?”

  “What did God tell you?” Robbie quizzed.

  “God said the great book tells that the devil tossed his fire into the sky and when it joined the sun, it burned out the land.”

  Another spoke, “But I hear the land is not fried.”

  A female scolded, “Mind your tongue, Jeremiah. The gods with crush you for your doubt. You know there is nothing left up there.”

  “But I’ve not seen it,” Jeremiah spoke. “Others have.” He looked at Robbie. “Others have too.”

  Robbie looked quickly when he watched the female nudge Jeremiah hard. “Why did you hit him?”

  “He speaks of what he does not know.” She gave a hard loo
k to Jeremiah. “No one leaves the city. If they venture out, that cannot be told or God will get angry. You speak this to a god.”

  “He’s not going to get angry,” Jeremiah defended. “He is different.” He returned to speaking to Robbie. “You are different God of T.F. I do not fear you will strike me down. Why is that?”

  Robbie shrugged. “I’m cool.”

  A boy reached up and touched him. “Your flesh is warm.”

  “No.” Robbie chuckled. “I’m cool. That means I’m nice, I laugh a lot, I can be a friend, and . . . I don’t tell on people so secrets are safe with me. I’m a god, so I speak the truth.”

  “Then can you tell us the truth?” Jeremiah requested. “Is the world burned out up there? Is what I hear from others true or false?”

  “In some places . . .” Robbie explained. “It is burned out. But for the most part, the land above is beautiful, green, growing, and . . . almost free.” Robbie winked.

  “The devil did not toss fire into the sky?” Jeremiah asked. “Did our God lie?”

  Robbie thought about it for a second. “No.” He shook his head. “He didn’t lie . . . per se.” He nodded. “He told the truth in a way, metaphorically speaking, I suppose. If you want to say, I mean, if you want to label the bad men as the devil, then his story is true. Yes, the devil in the form of many men called the Society, with the head honcho devil George Hadley, tossed something into the air and they’ve destroyed the land. There are still many devils running about. Some are in uniforms, some in loin cloths. You guys are pretty safe down here. Protected.”

  “We will perish out there,” Jeremiah stated. “God says so. Why? How did it come to be?”

  Again, Robbie thought. “Well . . .” He looked about at the many faces. “Eight years ago, within a few months, every dog and cat in the world died. It was like a plague. The disease that killed them was a mysterious virus, brought back from outer space by one of the astronauts “

  “Didn’t the disease affect humans?

  “No, no we were immune . . . . and so it was discovered . . . were simians. Even the smallest ones. That’s how it began. Humans wanted little household pets to replace the ones they had lost, then when people realized how quick they were to learn . . . . how easy to train, the pets became larger and larger until now . . .”

  Jeremiah gasped. “They’re monstrous . . .”

  “Now you understand why God kept you away.” There was a long silence and a girl raised her hand. “Yes?” Robbie pointed to her.

  “What are simians?” she asked.

  “Apes.”

  Taking a second, she deducted the story. “People had apes as pets?”

  “Yes and the apes are what really aided in destroying the world.”

  “What happened to the apes?” she questioned.

  “Many of them are still there.” Robbie dramatically sighed when the children vocally reacted in shock. “Yep, there are millions running about. They are led by a man named Doctor . . . something or other. Not sure. Damn filthy apes. Now . . .” Robbie slapped his hand to his leg. “Joe Slagel, God of all gods has asked a favor of me. I have daily work, and earth cleansing to perform. I have yet to do this today. I must secretly do this ritual. If anyone knows . . .it could be deadly so none of you are to speak of this.” He waited for their zealous agreement. “However, in order to do so, I must go to the street above. Where and how would I do that?”

  “Being a god,” Jeremiah said,“ don’t you know?”

  Refraining from saying, ‘you know, you have a lot of questions for a subdued little skinless man,’ Robbie shook his head. “Joe Slagel is testing you. He wants to see who would be the one to help him out. He who does that will shine favorably, possibly even become an adopted son. So knowing that . . .do I have any volunteers?”

  Robbie smiled brightly when he saw every hand go up.

  ^^^^^

  Concrete, perhaps, was the first solution that Michael thought of when he peered into the old jail cell. He believed that eventually they would have to build some sort of concrete construction by the bars because viewing the way that killer baby slash child banged with passion against the metal, and the speed and strength in which he did so, it would only be a matter of time before those bars were no good.

  Michael thought God help the person in the child’s way.

  He was about two feet tall, the height of an average toddler. However, his weight was more than the norm. By far, he didn’t look anything like a normal child. The rows of sharp teeth were just one aspect. The other thing that set him apart was the fact that his large, muscular, and grotesque body was covered with a leathery, almost scaled, type of skin.

  He slobbered when he paused at his attempt of escape. Saliva seeped froth from his open mouth as the child stared at Michael as if he were some sort of dinner item.

  “Raphael,” Lars said as he approached the cell.

  “Excuse me?” Michael asked.

  “Raphael. That is his name.”

  “You named it?”

  “Him, I think. His genitals are not really formed that I can see, but while he was subdued, I was able to detect testicles in my examination.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Michael said with a slight roll of his eyes. “But why did you name him?”

  “We can’t be calling him the killer child all the time It would be a bit much, don’t you think?” Lars looked at Raphael. “Here, killer child, here.”

  Raphael slammed into the bars.

  “See?” Lars pointed. “Even he doesn’t like the name, so Raphael it is. I needed to name him something since we’ll be friends soon.”

  “Friends? You mean this thing, I mean, kid, whatever, is gonna stay alive?”

  “And well if I can help it,” Lars said. “I want to train him.”

  “Train him?” Michael nodded. ‘He’ll kill you first. How do you suppose you can train him?”

  “The way Beginnings did. With shock therapy.”

  Michael snapped quick look at Lars. “You want to shock therapy this child?”

  “I’ll use low voltage. It won’t hurt.”

  “I’m not concerned about that,” Michael said. “I’m more concerned about whether or not it will really work.”

  “Stew says it will. I have to go by what he says. He’s been right on a lot of things,” Lars commented.

  Michael took another look at Raphael. “Man.” He shook his head. “What the fuck? Killer cannibal children? How does Beginnings handle it?”

  “Well, I think they’re used to it. Bet me anything there’s a lot more odd things Beginnings has seen that we wouldn’t even begin to be able to comprehend.”

  Michael had a sense of ‘doubt’ to his voice. “Oh, I don’t know.” He glanced at Raphael. “We have a killer baby right here, Lars. What else could there be?”

  ^^^^

  If it wasn’t for the fact that skinless people were so easily fooled, Robbie probably wouldn’t have had such an easy time making it to ‘Heaven’, or rather, the hotel where Creed lived. That was the one place in the entire city that Robbie wasn’t free to roam.

  But he made it in. In fact, to Robbie, it would be labeled a piece of cake and a chuckling moment he would reflect back on in his old age. The six skinless guards that blocked the underground staircase held their post firm–with sticks–and with diligence. There was no way, god or not, that Robbie was making it through them.

  So Robbie told them he would vanish but the bright light that made him disappear was so bright it would blind them, Robbie informed the Drunes that they had to cover their heads and huddle to the ground.

  They agreed, not wanting to be blinded by the light of the god. When they huddled with their eyes closed, Robbie walked right by them.

  There were six door guards and six guards protected the ramp that led outside. There were other hidden exits that the young Drunes had shown him but the path of quickest ‘out’ was definitely the parking lot ramp in the garage under the hotel. If that faile
d, then Robbie would try the other routes.

  But first . . . to Ellen’s room. The question, ‘I’ve been summoned to the queen’s quarters to do a blessing. Which way do I go?’ worked brilliantly with the servant Drunes. Robbie knew it was the right place when Elizabeth, the chamber maid Drune, told him that he had to hurry with the blessing because ‘God’ gave strict instructions that when he and his queen returned to those quarters, no one was to be around.

  That worked in Robbie’s favor and so did the line, ‘I will disappear when I am finished’. Elizabeth bought it hook, line, and sinker. She didn’t even search the room when Robbie hid in there. It wasn’t the best hiding spot but Robbie had no plans to stay hidden all night. He just had to be out of sight until he could make his move and steal Ellen from Creed. He had a plan, in a sense, and all Robbie had to do was wait for the opportunity. He knew that opportunity wasn’t far away when he heard the door to the bedroom open.

  “Well, thank you very much for the wonderful meal.” Ellen tried to close the door, but Creed’s hand, flush against the surface stopped it. “Yes?” She questioned innocently.

  “I would like to come in,” Creed said.

  Ellen yawned. “I’d love that, but really I’m tired.” She stepped back when the door opened wider. “Hello. I’m tired.”

  “It is my hope to revitalize you.”

  “Really, unless you plan on pumping me with about two hundred and fifty milligrams of caffeine, I don’t think that’s possible.”

  Creed smiled and stepped to her. “Why do you fear me?”

  “Isn’t that what we’re suppose to do? Fear God?”

  “I think it’s more.”

  Ellen took a step back away from him. “No, actually, I’m quite comfortable with you,” she said with some nervousness.

  “Good.” He reached out his hand and laid it on her face. “Then it will make things all the better.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Better. Easier,” Creed said as they stood center of the bedroom. “I believe, my Queen, that you know what I want.”

  “I’m . . . .I’m a little fuzzy on that.”