Sleepers | Book 8

by Druga, Jacqueline

  The nifty, annoying speaker system announced last call for lunch, and I’d decided to make my way there when I received word to return to the security building and radio room.

  When I got there, Beck spoke to me over the radio. “It’s work-ing, Alex.”

  When I heard those words, I had to sit down.

  “They’re going right in.”

  “Jesus, they’re drowning?”

  “Yep, they aren’t coming out of the lake. It’s taking a while. We’ll get there.”

  “Are you coming back tonight?” I asked.

  “We’ll be back.”

  “This is amazing in a fucked-up way,” I said.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” Beck asked. “That little plan we discussed….”

  “You think it will work?” I asked.

  “I do. Alex, the Doctrines say I stopped the Reckoning and that was another thing that gave the Sleepers an advantage.”

  “Yeah, but you argued that you still were doing it.”

  “But I think I have to be an integral part. Our plan will call for me to be back out with the Reckoning. Not all the time, but regularly.”

  “We have to do what we have to do. I’ll help too.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “I’m gonna go. I have to take Sonny his lunch. Tell Mera I’ll be home tonight, just a little later than I thought.”

  “Will do. Good luck.”

  “Out.”

  I set down the radio.

  Lunch.

  That was what I needed, but no sooner did I make it from the building I heard the familiar tones ringing out that let me know lunch was done.

  “Fuck,” I said. I was really hungry.

  I had to get a message to Mera so I headed back to our home. She wasn’t there and neither were the kids or any remnants of lunch.

  Since I was still on Renee’s good side, I headed to the dining hall to see if could sweet talk her into something to eat.

  On my way, I spotted Mera.

  She was in the little playground park. The kids were running around, and she sat on a bench next to Stacy, the former reality star.

  They chatted away like old girlfriends, heads bobbing, smiles flying, hands moving about. I walked over to the bench and took Hope from her arms, smiling at my daughter.

  I noticed Keller and Phoenix. Keller was just doing his thing, sitting there while Phoenix played around him. Only it looked like Phoenix was holding a phone.

  “Does Phoenix have a phone?” I asked.

  “He does,” Mera answered.

  “Is that Allie’s phone?”

  “Yeah,” Mera replied. “She was such a nice girl.”

  “You don’t even know her.”

  “I looked through her phone. He’s taking pictures.”

  “He’s two.”

  “Still,” she said.

  “I heard from Beck,” I said.

  “And?’

  I sat down. “He’ll be home a little later than he said. But all is good. Really good. It’s working.”

  “So you’re right about Sonny.”

  I wanted to say “Aw jeez, Mera” in regards to her saying that about Sonny in front of Stacy, but not only did the general population not know about the Sandman, it was only Stacy—even if she did, she wasn’t bright enough to put two and two together.

  “Yes,” I replied. “I was right.”

  “Wow.” Then Mera turned to Stacy. “See, Sonny is a great guy. He has like these hidden talents and right now he’s out there taking down Sleepers that could come here. Taking them down because he has the ability to.”

  I cringed.

  “Sonny is a hero?” Stacy asked.

  “Yes, and a well built hero at that. We still haven’t figured out where the muscles came from, they popped up all of the sudden.”

  “Maybe he is working out and not saying anything.”

  “Maybe. So you see…will you give it some thought?” Mera asked.

  “I will. And I have to go. I have potatoes to peel.” She stood up with a smile. “It is such an amazing concept. Have you ever peeled a potato, Mera?”

  “Many times.”

  “Lucky you. I’ll talk to you later.” Stacy did that dense and ditzy smile and wave to me and walked off.

  “She doesn’t want to date Sonny,” I said.

  “How do you know?”

  “She just gave you the brush off for potato peeling.”

  “She just likes peeling potatoes,” Mera said.

  “Yeah. Any food at the house that you have hidden? I’m hungry.”

  “You just missed lunch.”

  “I know.”

  “Next week we’ll have peanut butter.”

  “Next week don’t help me,” I said. “Sonny is eating his lunch while wiping out Sleepers. So why are you desperately trying to fix him up? Wanna make sure an old flame isn’t lonely?”

  “Alex, stop.” Mera saw me lift Hope to my eye level. “And I asked.”

  “She has blonde hair.”

  “So did you remember. I asked Levi, he said it was impossible. And…” She looked outward. “Peter.”

  “Who?”

  “Peter,” she repeated.

  “Peter who looks like Daniel and lives across the bay?”

  “Yep. He’s here.” She pointed.

  I saw the man carrying a box, a small black box and he walked our way. “Guess Randy Pandy isn’t doing all that good of a job watching the pier.”

  “It’s Peter. He’s going to let him over.”

  Peter, who did look remarkably like the pictures of Daniel, approached us. “Afternoon, Mera.”

  “HI,” Mera responded brightly. “What brings you across the bay?”

  “Seems Logan…or…Sonny, the Doctrine writer swiped his magic pen. I’m looking for Alex Sans.”

  “You found him.” I raised my hand.

  “This is for you.” He extended the box to me. “Seems some red haired man, who swore he was at my house before, came back to make sure you had that. I didn’t even know I had it. The red haired man is at my house by the pool, so thank Sonny if we are out of peanuts.”

  I handed Hope to Mera and took the box, lifting it to check the weight. It was light. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know. But I am told to tell you, it is from the future and is something that will help stop the Palers.”

  My eyes widened. “Bet it’s the future DNA shit.”

  “Sonny said he’d get it. Although I don’t know how manipulating the DNA can stop the Palers. Maybe cure the virus for future inhabitants, but the Palers, no.” Peter said. “If that is it, I am impressed.”

  “I think this is it. I gotta go. Feel free to stay and talk. They’re peeling potatoes in the dining hall if that’s your game.” I kissed Hope, then Mera on the head and hurriedly took off.

  I wanted to run it straight to Javier at his lab, but it was from the future, and if anyone had any understanding of it, that would be Randy.

  After securing a replacement guard for the pier, one who wouldn’t just let anyone ashore, Randy and I loaded into the truck and took off for Javier’s lab.

  

  Randy studied the contents of the damn box all the way there. I found myself acting like a nervous parent, telling him, “Well, don’t break it.” More than once.

  The Hot Doc for all the smarts he had looked baffled when he opened the box. There were a few small handheld instruments in there, along with what looked like a plastic baseball card.

  Randy was up on it. He showed him the baseball card, swiped his hand over and said, “These are notes for you.”

  “Wow. Okay,” Javier said. “To what.”

  “If I’m not mistaken….” Randy lifted one of three long back ob
jects. They looked like rulers. He also lifted his own Doctrine reading computer and inserted one of those rulers into it. “You have a blank wall?”

  Javier looked around his lab, then led us out into the hall. “Will this do?”

  “I believe so,” Randy said, then after some maneuvering of his tablet, a beam of light emerged, projecting a three-dimensional drawing on the wall.

  I didn’t need to be a rocket scientist or rather a genetic scientist to know I was looking at strands of DNA.

  I watched the strands swirl and turn, as numeric sequences that looked like math formulas popped up and certain parts of the DNA brightened.

  I may not have known exactly what it meant, but Javier did.

  He let out this seep of a sound that sounded almost like a moan or simple sob. I looked at his face, he had tears in his eyes.

  Was it that moving?

  “Doc?”

  “This is it.” He pointed. “This right here is it.”

  “So he did it,” Randy said. “He wrote what he needed in the Doctrines and it was delivered?”

  Javier nodded and looked down to the card in his hand. “Some of this language I don’t get.”

  Randy looked at it. “I do.”

  Javier huffed out an emotional laugh. “This would take decades for me to get. Decades.”

  “The message we got, Doc,” I said, “was that this information can be used to stop the Sleepers.”

  “Not in the way you think,” he replied. “I can use this to help future generations. Maybe work on a cure. But the best way we all know to stop the Sleepers is to stop their evolution.”

  “Stop the Sandman,” Randy said.

  Javier nodded. “Help Sonny.”

  “Can you?” I asked.

  His head went from left to right in almost a debate while his eyes shifted from the card to the projection on the wall. “It is a well-known fact that your DNA can change and does change over the course of your life. This talks about changing DNA through a therapy. A manipulation and such, that…wow, is so far in the future. It would be like chemo. Sonny would have to get treatments constantly.”

  “But can you help him?” I repeated the question.

  “I don’t know. But I have more help and information today than I did yesterday. So I can honestly say, it may or may not work,” Javier replied. “I can try.”

  THIRTY

  MERA

  They stumbled in, late and loud. I swore they sounded like they were coming back from a bachelor party. All of them were loud: Beck, Danny, Sonny and Alex. I thought they were all drunk, but dismissed that thought because Beck didn’t get drunk.

  Until he got into bed and I smelled the alcohol. Which was bad considering I drank all the time.

  “It’s over, Mera, that entire future we were told about. Warned about. A future where our children run for their lives and fight. Not happening. We beat the fucking future.” He didn’t say much more, he just rolled toward me, slung his arm over my waist and was out.

  While I appreciated the optimism, one winning battle over a thousand Sleepers didn’t end the war.

  Unless he knew something I didn’t.

  Chances were he did. Beck seldom spewed forth optimistic words unless he was certain. And Beck had been drinking. Some-thing had happened.

  I wanted to know.

  But I didn’t think I’d get it out of any of them.

  The next morning, they were gone. I caught Danny who promptly handed me Hope and told me Alex bailed.

  Danny told me they were working out a plan, and to let Sonny rest. He was worn out.

  I gave him my agreement, but after my coffee and realizing Sonny was the only one who could give me answers, I went to his room.

  His door was partially open and I knocked before stepping in.

  He wasn’t sleeping and if I didn’t know better, I swear he was staring at the Tom poster.

  “Hey,” I said. “I heard you’re exhausted.”

  “Not really.”

  “Big night?”

  Sonny nodded.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I mean, you were pretty hyper last night.”

  “You heard us, huh?” Sonny sat up. “We celebrated. I mean, things look good, Mera. I’m not sure what you know.”

  “Enough. I know what most people in this community don’t.”

  “I hate that,” Sonny said. “I hate that I am this monster.”

  “You’re not.”

  “I am. But hopefully, that will change. Javier thinks he can help me.”

  “Oh, Sonny, that’s awesome. Is that what Beck meant last night when he said it was over?”

  “We’re hoping it’s over. We may never be able to give these kids the life we had growing up, but we can give them a better life than what we thought they’d have.”

  “Sounds easy.”

  “It’s not.” Sonny shook his head. “It’s really so far from easy. But I think we can do it. We’re starting the planning phase today. I just wish, you know, we didn’t have to worry about these fourteen clone people from the future.”

  “Why do we have to worry about them? Their whole mission is to take down the Sandman. If they don’t know who he is, they aren’t a concern.”

  “They’re on base, Mera,” he said.

  “I figured as much. I mean, Beck has everyone out in full force looking for them. Although we don’t really know what the clones”—my words slowed down as my eyes gazed to the poster of Tom Selleck—“look like. Can I…can I borrow your Tom Selleck poster? I’ll bring it right back.”

  “Sure.”

  I walked over to it, carefully taking it down from the wall. “Sonny, for what’s it worth, I’m really sorry if I hurt you in any way.”

  “Mera, it’s okay. I always knew when Beck came back, I was out. I just never thought it would be this Alex situation and you and I never happened, at least to you.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “We’re good, though. We always will be. What did you need that for?” he asked.

  I rolled up the poster. “I don’t do much. But I think I can come up with a way to help at least a little.”

  “How?”

  “By trying to identify our fourteen clones.” I leaned down and kissed Sonny on the forehead. “Get some rest.”

  “I will.”

  “And good job yesterday. I’m proud of you.”

  “Even if I’m the Sandman?”

  “It’s temporary.”

  With the poster in my hand, I left Sonny’s room. I hated to ask Mrs. Stilton to watch the boys and Hope, but I needed to do my investigating. I gathered a few items and headed down to the pier.

  In my mind, I figured if we could identify the fourteen clones, maybe that would be one less thing for Sonny and the others to worry about.

  The Tom Selleck thing just clicked.

  I swore up and down that he saved me, but how in the world would Tom Selleck be alive and in young form in our time to rescue me unless he was one of the fourteen?

  Their selection process of DNA from the past was limited to who they knew from history and the Doctrines.

  I was willing to bet if they cloned Tom Selleck, there was one or two others that were recognizable as well.

  After all, Peter looked like Daniel.

  Randy was on pier patrol and was hesitant about helping me untie the rowboat and shore off, but after I assured him I was fine, he did get me going.

  Rowing that boat was harder than I thought. I didn’t know how Stacy did it with such ease. It took me longer to make it across the bay than it did that day with her, but I got there.

  When I arrived at Peter’s he wasn’t there, but some big guy with vibrant red hair was sitting by the pool, eating.

  His name was Max.

  I aske
d him about the fourteen and he didn’t have a clue.

  “All I know,” he said, “is that I was to bring something back. I did. Now I’m stuck.”

  I sat by the pool with Max. He was nice, a little backward and he kept eating peanuts like he had never had them before. He hand a mound of shells next to him that would rival any ant hill.

  “Mera?” Peter called my name with question.

  “Hey,” I replied.

  “What are you doing here? And Max, I said pick up those damn shells.”

  “Sorry,” Max said and immediately started to clean them.

  “So, I had this idea,” I said, “and I came over hoping you can help.”

  “I can try.”

  “You said fifteen of you came through.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Do you know them?”

  “Some. Not personally. Why?”

  “They’re on base. They are over at our home.”

  “They aren’t supposed to be there.”

  “They are,” I said.

  “How do you know?” he asked.

  I slowly unrolled the poster. “Do you know if he is one of them?”

  “Tom Sell-Lack!” Max said excitedly. “A hero.”

  “Yes,” I replied. “Peter?”

  “I believe he is.”

  “That’s what I thought. Now, we have been looking for them for a few days. We can’t find these people hiding. I know it’s a big base, but my theory is, if Tom is one of the clones, maybe others may be among us and we just don’t know.”

  “Why are they sending you?” Peter asked.

  “They aren’t. I’m following a thought I had. I do nothing over there, Peter, but play homemaker. I want to contribute. I think if I can help out with this, I can.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out Allie’s phone. “My son was taking pictures yesterday. Can you look to see if you recognize any of the fourteen from your time?” I swiped through, pulling up the pictures Phoenix took all around base. Some bad, some blurry, but some good. I stood next to Peter. “Here. If you recognize any, let me know.”

  “Sure. But Mera…I must tell you, they are not supposed to be inside. If they are there, if they infiltrated, it won’t be long.”