Sleepers (Book 5) Page 13

  Even with a vehicle, driving more than forty miles an hour was impossible on the roads. Sure, you could go faster, but why chance popping a tire when running over raised concrete at a high speed?

  Making an escape, they’d be careful in driving. My best guess had them over three hundred miles if not more, away from Haven.

  People talked. Everyone had their guesses as to what happened. The general consensus was that Mera and Danny packed up with the kids and went west to find Beck, taking Ed along for the ride.

  Another quickly circulating theory was that Mera and Ed were having some sort of steaming affair and they all ran away together. That one made me laugh.

  Then there was the one theory mild mannered, quiet Patty tossed out at me.

  “You don’t think that Alex killed them, do you?” she asked.

  That one was my favorite, even though I didn’t believe it. I figured once things settled, and we found Mera, I’d share with Alex how Patty thought he not only killed Mera and all of them, but possibly cut up their bodies and fed them to Sleepers.

  The simple truth was, I didn’t know. I just didn’t know, and something didn’t make sense.

  It was too easy for them to disappear. It also would be easier to believe their leaving wasn’t forced had Danny not been drugged.

  The entire situation was a puzzle.

  Even though I deeply believed that no malice had taken place and my gut didn’t scream desperation, there were two factors that played in my dismissing the theory that Mera left on her own.

  One was the kids, the kids from the future. She had taken on the role of mother and mentor to them. Mothering was what Mera did best. In fact, at Grace, we were once all asked by Javier to list our most useful skills and Mera listed mothering and canning fruit.

  The other reason was Alex. He had said to me she wouldn’t leave him. I know how hurt she was when he died. I know how that destroyed her. Mera wouldn’t leave Alex, at least not without saying goodbye.

  Unless she wanted to go and knew he’d stop her.

  Mera had lost her daughter and last we heard, Beck possibly was on the death list.

  I couldn’t blame her if she did want to run away.

  We tried to rebuild. We tried to have a community. In Grace we ran smoothly and were getting there. However, here, in the aftermath of the Grace Sleeper attack, things weren’t clicking. Not at all.

  If Mera really did leave on her own accord, I had to wonder how many people might just follow her lead.

  34. Alex

  Sonny was waiting for me when I arrived back at Haven through our hidden exit. He was pacing, looking at his watch. I saw him long before he saw me.

  I realized I had been gone for an hour, but I needed a good solid direction and I wasn’t returning to Haven until I had one.

  Problem was, I still didn’t have a clear idea on their direction. I could only guess.

  The tire tracks went through the woods, into the fields, avoiding the Sleeper trap, and directly to the main road which used to be the Ohio Turnpike. That told me they definitely headed east. There were exits and ramps. My only hope was that they left a trail somewhere.

  I returned to Haven but I wasn’t going to be there for very long.

  “Okay, so what are we talking?” Sonny asked. “How long are we going to be gone? Because this community, despite what you think, needs us.”

  “I know this,” I told him. “So I was thinking, you stay back and man the station.”

  “Alex, you can’t go out there alone.”

  “I’m not.”

  “You can’t trust just anyone,” he told me.

  “I’m not. I’m gonna ask Mike to go,” I said. “The padre has that special gift. I might as well use it instead of worrying about running out of ammunition out there.”

  Sonny shook his head. “I’d rather leave Michael in charge with Miles and I go. Or take Randy.”

  “Ain’t gonna take Randy. He’s started being the cuddle love bunny around here. Not taking that from him.”

  Sonny looked concerned. “Beck took the long range radios, Alex. You can’t be out there running around without communication. What if Mera comes back? What if she just stepped away for the day and needed some time?”

  “I won’t go and not come back,” I explained. “I’ll leave in the morning and come back at night. Unless I find them.”

  Sonny lowered his head. “Why don’t we get a few groups together and send them out? All at once. North, south, east, west.”

  “I know they went east. It’s a big country out there. You wanna take any of our strength away from this place when we don’t’ know when and if a Sleeper attack is gonna happen? No. I go, I take Mike, we keep looking.”

  Sonny conveyed a look that he understood. Did he really though? I knew we could find them sooner if more people went out to look. I couldn’t take a chance on short handing our security, not with Danny and Beck both gone.

  Other than that, it was personal. I had to be the one to find them. Even though I cared about everyone in the community, they weren’t Mera, Danny, and the babies. With them gone, so was a part of me.

  They were my family and I wanted to be the one to get them back.

  35. Mera

  There wasn’t a Sleeper around. Nowhere on Hawthorn Street or in our borough did we see a single Sleeper. When we were last there, the neighbors had ‘woken’ and moved aimlessly across the lawns. Daniel had tried to kill me.

  Yet, there were no bodies of Sleepers other than Daniel’s.

  Another thing was strange.

  My home.

  When I stepped inside, I expected the worst. Maybe an animal in there, mold growing up the walls, and layers upon layers of dust.

  However, it was impeccably dust free. Almost as if when I shut the door that last day, I caused a vacuum seal.

  More than dust and dirt, I had expected to be overwhelmed with bad memories, Jeremy’s death, and the horrible day the world ended.

  I wasn’t. I was overwhelmed in a good way.

  Ed walked in after me. “Diapers are in this box. I know one of the babies needs to be changed,” he said. He pushed the front door closed with his foot, and set down the two boxes. “There is one more in the car. I’ll get it, but it’s cold in here.”

  Still, I couldn’t speak. I just looked around. It was like a dream. I was really back at my home.

  My couch that I had bought from a neighbor was in perfect condition. I ran my hand across the back to feel the fibers. The television was the only thing that was broken. The screen was shattered....probably from the change in temperature.

  I placed Keller on the couch and Danny did the same with Phoenix.

  Bad mothering or not, I’d get to their diapers. At that moment, I had to take in my home.

  I glanced at my son, who stood like me, in awe of being back.

  We had left in such a rush that day, we’d taken nothing. Back then, on that fateful day, nothing held any value to me. Now, as I looked around my home, I realized I had left everything of value behind.

  More than I ever realized, I needed to be there.

  On the stairwell wall was the collection of pictures that crept decoratively as a timeline up the steps. I had framed them and hung them. The bottom of the stairs were the beginning of our lives. The wall was covered with photos. That was the only place there was really any dust.

  I remember only making it halfway up the stairwell with those photos. My plan was when I reached the top, pictures of my grandchildren would be there.

  Life had never let me get to the top of those steps.

  I walked to the staircase and looked at Daniel’s and my wedding picture. My eyes welled and the first tear fell with Jessie’s baby picture. My fingers traced across the dust to show her beautiful face. I wanted to see her, I needed to see her.

  My eyes continued upward and I saw the picture we took as a family at Walmart. Bad sweaters and all. Physical proof of my life before the Event was finally before
my eyes. It was no longer just a flash of a memory I couldn’t touch.

  It was real again. I never thought I’d be back, yet here I was.

  I didn’t just see those pictures and memories; right there and then, I felt them and heard them. The laughter, the kids joking and screaming. I wanted to take every single one of those photos into my arms and hold them. Embrace them as if holding my life again, just one more time.

  In fact I did. I took the family picture from the wall. My index finger circled around Jeremy’s face. I had forgotten what he had looked like. He had become an impression and now I saw him, like Jessie, again.

  “Danny,” Ed said, walking up to us, “your father had extra wood in the shed left from winter. We can get a fire going, but we’re gonna need more.” He then looked at me. “If we seal off the unused rooms, this place will be warm.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Danny asked.

  “I promise. We get settled in and I’ll tell you.”

  “Are we staying here?” Danny asked.

  “Just until your mother gets everything she needs and wants to take. She needs these memories here, Danny. Then we’re heading to Vermont. There’s a colony up there. A safe colony. However, there are physical things here Mera needs, other than pictures. Baby clothes and stuff in the basement. The Christmas ornaments you made. Your toys.”

  I gasped. “I forgot about all that.”

  “Yeah,” Ed nodded. “Get it now, then you don’t have to keep coming back.” He turned to leave. “I gotta get the fire started.”

  “Ed,” Danny called out, he didn’t say his stock ‘dude’, “how… how do you know all this stuff? How do you know our house so well?”

  “I’ve been here a lot.”

  “How?” Danny asked.

  “Haven’t you figured it out? I’ve brought your mom here a lot. This trip, Danny, I did this for you guys. For us. I would never hurt any of you. I just want to help. We’re family. I’m your brother.”

  Danny laughed. Not the reaction I expected, but he laughed. “You are whacked.”

  “No, Danny,” Ed pointed to Phoenix. “I am him.”

  36. Sonny

  Gasoline was going to be a problem, and I told Alex that. We already were tapped for a few five gallon cans before we knew Mera was gone. When I went into storage, even more was missing. I told Alex, that with the vehicle they had getting about 24 MPG, they had over a thousand miles they could travel.

  This left a problem.

  We needed gasoline and it was going badly. People generally take for granted that gasoline will be gasoline forever. That was untrue, unless it’s a military vehicle. We’d run the gauntlet. It was at the point that any gas we got from tanks or reservoirs was gonna kill any vehicle we had.

  Alex didn’t seem to care if he used the last drop of gas we had. He was going to find Mera.

  While he was focused on Mera and the kids, packing up for his first day out to find them, I had to focus on the community.

  We had six kids that lived with us in the cell block. Six kids that depended on Mera to take care of them. Randy said he’d be happy to move into our block and help.

  I asked him if he was prepared to do so long term.

  “Yes, without a doubt,” he replied.

  I had Michael dismiss class early, give the kids a project to work on, and I sent them to the cafeteria. Renee and Patty said they’d keep an eye on them.

  Unknown to Michael, he was drafted into going with Alex to search for Mera.

  He didn’t mind.

  “I’m glad you asked,” Michael said. “I know that Alex and I don’t always see eye to eye. However, we agree on this one. A part of me feels she left on her own, but …” Michael shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s not like Mera to do that.”

  “Do you think she’s in harm’s way?”

  “I don’t get that feeling, then again, I don’t know. Are their weapons missing?”

  I didn’t know.

  “You need to dig into every single survival thing we have and see if there are things missing,” Michael said. “Not just gas and food, Sonny. Medicine, firearms, you name it. Plus, no one just up and leaves without leaving something behind. There have to be clues. Why did Ed go? Did he take her? Who is he? Where did he come from? Who knows him?”

  Michael was right. He also gave me an idea on where to start.

  After double checking on what Alex had packed, I wished them good luck, reminded them to get back by sundown and they left through the back gate. They were heading east, in hopes of picking up a trail.

  Meanwhile, I knew the trail I was going to follow. Ed’s.

  I asked Randy to go back to the cell block and go through it with a fine tooth comb and look for what was missing. I had one stop to make, then he and I would meet up back at Beck’s office.

  Beck was pretty diligent about keeping track of new people, where they came from and so on. My plan was together, Randy and I would go into Ed’s place and check it out. After leaving Randy, I headed to the medical building, where I knew I would find both Javier and Levi.

  “What can we help you with, Sonny?” Javier asked.

  “Ed. He took Mera. Are we sure he isn’t grown up Phoenix?”

  Levi asked with a hint of defensiveness, “Are you saying we made a mistake?”

  “Um, yeah, actually I am. Because the whole thing would make total sense if he was.”

  “Really?” Levi asked. “If he were Phoenix, it would confuse things. Why would he want to harm his mother?”

  “Maybe it’s not harm, but protection.”

  “Don’t the Doctrines say he’s bad?” Levi questioned.

  “Why are you getting shitty with me?”

  “Because between you and Alex, I am being badgered about this,” Levi said. “You want this man to be grown up Phoenix. Did I not tell you that we tested his blood when he was in here? Twice.”

  “You did. However, you’re not the DNA guy.” I winked. “So please. Can you give his blood to Javier?”

  “I did.”

  I turned and looked at Javier. “Did you test it?”

  “Really, Sonny.” Javier exhaled. “I did test it. Twice. And when he disappeared with Mera, I ran it again. He’s not grown up Phoenix. He’s just some survivor that happened upon us. That’s all.”

  Levi asked, “Have you ever talked to him? Sat down with him ever? He’s a really good guy. If Mera didn’t leave on her own and he did take her, his intentions are good.”

  “So he likes her. Maybe he has a crush?” I asked.

  “Your mind is in the gutter,” Levi squealed. “He looks at her like a mother figure.”

  “Kind of odd, you know,” I said. “Considering she’s not really old enough to be his mother. Unless of course, he sees her as a mother because he’s Phoenix. Could someone have switched the blood?”

  Levi’s hand slammed to the counter. “You conspiracy theorist, you! It’s just like you to look for an easy answer.”

  “Oh my God. You hate me.”

  “No, Sonny, you do things. Need I remind you about the return of Randy Briggs? No,” Levi argued, “you just irritate me. No one switched the tubes. No one made a mistake. We tested the blood. Ed is not grown up Phoenix.”

  I raised my hands in surrender. “Fine. Fine. Thank you.” I gave up, internally I wasn’t convinced.

  Beck’s office was next. I called our block through the inter-community phones and told Randy to meet me at Beck’s.

  “So you know,” Randy said, “from what I can tell, nothing is gone. Not a stitch of clothing. Well, there was one thing I didn’t see.”

  “What was that?”

  “That purple maternity shirt Alex got for Mera.”

  What an unusual item for Randy to notice was missing. Unless he was thinking like me. What was sentimental about Mera?

  That shirt meant a lot to her. Then again, she could have been wearing it.

  I arrived at Beck’s office and a part of me was immedia
tely hit with an abundance of sadness. Beck had been gone nearly three weeks. It had been two weeks since we heard from him and the last report had him missing in action.

  I started searching his office. Beck logged everything like a good soldier. In his top desk drawer he had a log of people that came and went.

  “Yes,” I said out loud and lifted the log. I didn’t want to stay in Beck’s office and would wait for Randy right outside.

  As I shut the drawer, the radio crackled and hissed.

  “Alex, you there? Alex come in, over.”

  Beck!

  I froze.

  “Alex, do you read? Anyone? Over.”

  I spun round and looked at the radio. Oh my god, Beck was alive! It was great news. If I answered the radio. What would I say? What if he asked? I couldn’t say, ‘Hey, Alex is out looking for Mera who disappeared with Ed last night after we buried Jessie.’

  I cringed.

  However, I couldn’t ignore the radio call. I couldn’t. As I reached for it, Beck called out again.

  “Okay, just in case you are responding and I don’t hear you. Successes, Alex. I’m leaving now. Be home in a few days. Over.”

  I brought my fingers to my mouth, tapping them against my lip in thought.

  “This is Beck, out.”

  Dilemma over.

  I missed my chance to reply, and it wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to Beck. I didn’t want to tell him the truth. I was terrible liar.

  Turning from the radio, I jumped when I saw Randy in the doorway.

  “Why didn’t you respond?” he asked me.

  “Because I didn’t know what to say,” I replied. “I didn’t want to lie and I didn’t want to tell him the truth.”

  “He needs to know the truth.”

  “He will, when he gets home. Until then, let him travel safely.”

  “For what? To expect everything to be fine, get home to find out everything fell apart?”

  “Pretty much so, yes.” Leaving it at that, with Beck’s log in my arms, I walked past Randy and out of the office.

  It was time to find out more about Ed.