Escape the Planet of the LEPS: Beginnings Series Book 28 Read online

  Mission accomplished.

  Problem was, 9-B was stuck in the past fifty years before he was even born. He didn’t have the access to history that Fort had. He did know about Beginnings. Everyone did.

  He also knew he would die of thirst and hunger if he didn’t do something soon. He couldn’t stay in the warehouse, he had to leave it.

  9-B thought about wearing his mask, but then again, he would stand out. The best way for him to get food was to be smart and stealthy and go out and find some. Beginnings had many people, if walked around without his mask, he would blend right in. No one would know.

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  It was back to the clinic again for Joe. The call from Jason was a relief for Joe and also a worry. After telling Danny to ‘look for the ninja mask man”, Joe made his way to meet up with Jason.

  “Here’s what I don’t get,” Ellen said to him the second he stepped inside.

  No, “Hi, Joe.” Or “Can I talk to you?”

  Just … “Joe. Here’s what I don’t get.”

  “Not my problem, Ellen, I’m a busy man” he tried to walk by her in the hall.

  “Oh, no I am not Andrea. Don’t pull that line on me.”

  Joe kept on walking.

  “Five stitches in Roy’s head. Yet, why, if Dean is at the quantum lab with them, did Roy come here for sutures and why is Johnny beating up poor Roy.”

  Joe stopped walking and turned around. “Johnny beat up Roy because isn’t up to speed on Johnny, and Dean, well, hates Roy and refused to stitch him.”

  “I’m going to call him.”

  “Don’t call Dean. He’s busy, he probably is on his way to Creedville. Seems, Creed over did it at the rave last night.”

  “There was a rave last night? It wasn’t Thursday.”

  Joe tossed up his hand. “I don’t know, Ellen, now I have to find Johnny.”

  “Joe. I am suspicious.”

  “I don’t care.” He picked up the pace, then at the end of the hall, he stopped. “Ellen where is Johnny?”

  “I’m not saying.”

  “Ellen!”

  “Oh my God. Why are you yelling at me? He’s with Elliott.”

  “Thank you.” Joe’s head hurt, it was still morning, and he grew more concerned the longer his sons were lost in time.

  As he approached Elliott’s room, he heard Johnny’s laughter and he walked in.

  “Oh, hey Pap.” Johnny said. “I’m sorry I hit Roy. I was coming through swinging.”

  “Well, you’ll have that.” Joe walked over and kissed Johnny on the head. “Glad you’re okay. Now …” Joe pulled up a chair. “Tell me.”

  “You want the nutshell version or full version?”

  “Give me the nutshell and I’ll ask questions.”

  “I was watching my dad, I heard voices by the trailer, and I saw Henry. Got knocked out and woke up a thousand years in the future. Like some sort of bad Scooby doo, Fort told me he drugged me, left his buddy from the future here, Henry wasn’t involved, and he sent me back here while he went to 1984 to find Ronald Reagan and use the name Tenanay Fortutu.”

  Joe rubbed his brow. “How … how did he send you back here and how did he get to 1984.”

  “Check this out. When he got here he had a time kit, hid it in the underdeveloped area. After he killed my father, he had no plans to go back to his time. He had no plans to use Jason’s time machine. Just when you guys told him about it, rigging the machine, everyone following he thought it was a good idea to go through Jason’s machine, have everyone follow, he leaves, they keep looking for me and him...”

  “So it was a trap.”

  Johnny nodded.

  “Just so you know, your father is alive.”

  “Yeah, Jason told me. And that Dad, Uncle Hal, Robbie and Dean are all there.”

  Joe looked at Elliott when he gasped. “What?”

  “Frank, the Captain, Robbie, Dean and Henry are a thousand years in the future chasing Fort and Johnny, when he’s here in Beginnings.”

  “Apparently so,” Joe said.

  “Mr. Slagel, if they used a time machine, why are they not back?”

  “I haven’t a clue. Johnny left last night and just came back, so there’s some sort of delay,” Joe said. “I don’t know. I don’t understand it. Johnny? Did Fort say why he wanted your dad dead?”

  “Like we thought. Dad lives the Great War isn’t as bad. Dad dies … Fort lives.”

  “The Back to the Future effect,” Elliott said. “What about this other guy?”

  “9-B,” Johnny said. “That’s what Fort called him. He could care less about that guy. He left at the same time as Fort to help him, like his thug, and got behind somehow. Fort left him here because he didn’t want him around.”

  “Is he dangerous?” Joe asked.

  Johnny shrugged.

  “When did you hear them?”

  “I was watching the trailer and all of them were there. Dad, Uncle Hal, Uncle Robbie and Dean. They were there for a while. Going in and out. I have no idea what they were doing.”

  Elliott answered. “They stole the Danny Hoi book Roy brought from the future, made a copy and were reading it as a guide.”

  Joe turned to Elliott. “How do you know? You were in a coma.”

  “I don’t know how I know,” Elliott said. “Maybe they were in here talking about it and I heard it somehow. But that’s what I know.”

  “Like you knew it was a trap?” Joe asked.

  “Excuse me.”

  “You woke up from the coma warning them not to go to the future it was a trap.”

  “Wow, I … don’t remember that.”

  “Well, if it’s true, you knew about the book,” Joe said. “Anything else, say… you know.”

  Elliott scratched his head. “This is odd. But they’re fighting.”

  “LEP?” Joe asked.

  “No,” Elliott said. “Each other.”

  EIGHT – POLW

  After a series, of “Are you sure?” and “You’re joking, right?” Hal finally lost it.

  “Are you out of your mind?” he blasted Dean. “What in the world would possess you to do that?”

  “He asked.” Dean pointed to Frank.

  “I asked.”

  “Oh, I don’t care that you asked,” Hal said. “Why would you listen, Dean?”

  “I’m great,” Frank said.

  “Shut up, Frank.” Hal snapped.

  “No, you shut up and quit picking on Dean.”

  Henry interjected. “I don’t think he’s picking on Dean.”

  “Oh, look at you,” Robbie said. “Kissing ass to get someone to like you.”

  “Shut up, Robbie.”

  “No, you shut up.”

  Dean placed his face in his hands. “Oh my God.”

  Chaka tapped Frank on the shoulder and gave a quizzical look. “Oh, yeah,” Frank snapped his finger. “Let me catch you up to speed. Dean…” he pointed to Dean. “Is a mad scientist as well as a doctor. You were in his lab. He experiments on things. Well, Dean, wanting to conquer something decided to play God and make clones. But they aren’t made like in a movie, they are embryos, babies that go in the mother’s stomach and grow.”

  “Frank,” Hal said. “He doesn’t understand.”

  “Yes, he does. Don’t you?” He asked Chaka.

  Chaka nodded,

  “See,” Frank said. “Now don’t get confused or anything, Dean isn’t God. Just because he made a clone in his own image. God made man in his own image. We covered that the other day.”

  “Very confusing,” Chaka said. “I grew up believing that man was the less intelligent species.”

  “And while we’re here,” Frank said. “We’re gonna find out how it got switched. When we go back, I’m going to show you a movie called Planet of the Apes. You’ll love it.

  “Okay, enough,” Hal said. “Back to Dean and the fact that he lied about destroying the clones.”

  “No, I didn’t.” Dean argued. “I did d
estroy them. Just not all. So somewhere out there, was a Dean and Frank embryo just waiting to be implanted. God help us all.”

  Frank turned to Chaka. “Dean made one of me. He didn’t destroy it. He’s thinking that someone grew another me in the future.”

  “That is convenient,” Chaka said. “If this is true, and the other you is in Beginnings. You must capture him and keep him well, that way if you need a spare part, he can be of use.”

  “Use him for spare parts for me?” Frank asked. “That’s a thought.”

  “Whoa.” Dean stood. “That is a great idea. There are things the healing agent isn’t touching.”

  “Like my heart?” Frank asked. “You keep checking that.”

  “Why do you keep checking Frank’s heart?” Hal asked.

  “Because I have one,” Frank said. “Unlike you.”

  Hal grumbled.

  Dean explained. “Because in every future Frank dies young of a heart attack. I want to be on top of that.”

  “Wait.” Frank held up his hand. “If I need a heart and we get one from the clone of me, does that mean we have to kill it?”

  Everyone just looked at him.

  “What? It’s a viable question.”

  “The word you mean is valid not viable. No, it isn’t you asshole,” Hal told him. “He can’t live without a heart, so yes to get the heart he’d have to die.”

  “Whoa. That’s sad. What if I killed him?” Frank asked. “Would that technically be suicide? I wouldn’t want people to think I killed myself, but if I killed my clone, that would be killing myself.”

  Hal faced him. ‘If you killed the clone, then technically it would be murder.”

  “No,” Frank shook his head. ‘Think about it. Someone walks up to me and says, ‘hey Frank, who did you kill?’ and I said, ‘me.’ Then technically I am killing myself which is suicide.”

  “Technically he has a point.” Robbie said.

  “Technically my ass. Stop defending him” Hal barked. “It’s not suicide. Suicide is when you take your own life.”

  “Exactly,” Frank said. “My point. Suicide.”

  “No!” Hal shouted. “It’s not suicide.”

  “Hey, Hal,” Robbie said. “Ever notice how much you’re like Dad when he’s not around.”

  Hal bit his tongue and tilted his head. “Frank. If Dean killed Roy? Would that be suicide on Dean’s part?”

  “No. Totally different situation.”

  “What?” Hal laughed out in disbelief. “How is it different?”

  “Because Dean and Roy are different now. We made sure we surrogated their personalities.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Hal asked. “You surrogated their personalities?”

  “I don’t know, but it sounded good.” Frank nodded.

  “Oh my God.” Hal closed his eyes.

  Everyone turned and looked when Chaka laughed.

  “I don’t know what all they were saying,” Chaka said. “But you sound like me and my brothers.”

  “Oh, cool.” Frank translated. “Chaka said, even though he didn’t understand everything. We sound like him and his brothers. And you Hal, are an asshole like his brother.”

  “Oh, stop, he did not say that,” Hal argued.

  “Did to, didn’t you Chaka?”

  Chaka nodded.

  “If I can,” Henry said. “Why are we arguing about the clone? Why are we even discussing this? Dean only was tossing out a theory. Based on what? He lied. He never destroyed Frank’s clone. Just because this ninja guy came from the same time frame when they grew the clone Dean doesn’t mean they grew the Frank clone, as well. Think about. Really.” He looked around to everyone. “What are the odds, right now, that another Frank is running around in our time? It’s silly and absurd...”

  “No.” Hal shook his head slowly. “It’s not silly or absurd. It can’t be. It’s … Beginnings.

  NINE – BEGINNINGS

  “Oh boy,” Danny Hoi spoke the words as he breathed out slowly from his mouth.

  It had been a long morning; the day was far from over and things had just taken an obscure turn.

  He didn’t mind filling in for Joe. Usually though when he did, everything went crazy, as it was.

  At least he found the missing people. Now Joe had him looking for anyone new or different, in an attempt to find the ninja mask guy from the future.

  Danny figured if he was still in town, he’d find him, he wouldn’t be hard to spot. But the search was complicated by the fact that everyone wanted to know where Frank was.

  Dan from Security was the first one.

  “Where is he?”

  “He’s with Hal.”

  “Where?” Dan pressed.

  “I don’t know, off with Robbie and Dean.”

  That was the best that Danny could come up with since all of them were MIA.

  Dan gave a ‘hmm’ as he moved on. Danny didn’t think much more about it until he was approached by Jesse.

  “Did you see Dan from Security’s Hoi Book post?” Jesse asked.

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “You may want to look at it.”

  Danny pulled out his phone and looked. “Oh my God. Two hundred comments. When did he get so popular?’

  “He tagged Frank.”

  Danny read the simple post of, “Where is Frank. I can’t find him anywhere and I looked.”

  “The post isn’t bad,” Jesse said. “The comments however are a different story. They all think there’s a massive cover-up to stop panic because they think Frank is dead.”

  “No way.”

  “Go on. Search Frank’s dead. See what happens.”

  Danny did. And the search results were overwhelming. It seemed everyone had a memorial post to Frank.

  “Did you bring this up to Joe?” Danny asked.

  “You’re acting leader.”

  “Yeah, but he’s the father that knows where his son is.”

  “I’ll go speak to him.”

  Danny knew the rumor mill was off and running and wouldn’t calm down until Frank was found. What compounded it was Hal, Robbie, Dean and Henry were gone, as well.

  All that was in the first hour. The second hour the odd questions started.

  Gemma asked, ‘Can I try it next.”

  Jenny was like. “Will it hurt the baby?”

  Josephine grabbed hold of Danny and shook him. “I need it. I need it.”

  He didn’t know what they were talking about and in order to not have to deal with it, he simply told them yes. He thought, ‘really, he was the man, whatever it was, he was positive he could get.’

  They were excited to be told yes and were on their way with ease. However, soon text from every woman in Beginnings and Bowman was texting Danny asking to be put on the list to get it.

  Get what?

  Bleep.

  Cringing at the thought of another request for the mystery item. Danny was relieved to see it was from Joe.

  “We need to come up with a story. ASAP that explains my sons and Dean being gone.”

  While walking around the bend to the warehouse, Danny texted his reply. “I agree. Something believable.” he hit send and then … he walked right into a body. It was firm and strong and stubble Danny. “Oh man, I’m …” He paused and looked slightly up. “Sorry. I wasn’t looking. Wow. Ok. Oh Boy. Stay right here.” Lifting his phone again, Danny called Joe. “Hey, it’s me. Yep.” Danny grinned at the man. “I think I just found your ninja guy.”

  “Are you sure?” Joe asked.

  “Oh, Joe, I am positive and you...” Danny said. “Have to see this.”

  TEN – POLW

  “Fucking beautiful, isn’t it?” Frank peered up to the sky. “Whenever you’re ready, gentleman.”

  “Whenever we’re ready?” Hal asked sarcastically. “We’re on the trail waiting on you. And, put down the phone,” Hal told him. “You aren’t getting a signal.”

  “You never know.” He lifted his phone an
d took a picture. “That’s a good one, I’ll post it when I get back. I plan on getting lots of good pictures.” He put his phone in his pocket, adjusted the rest of his items over his shoulder, and walked with the group. “I’m fully charged. And fucking charging is three times the power.”

  “How do you figure?” Hal asked.

  “Solar charging, right?” Frank pointed. “Three times the strength. Three suns.”

  “What?” Hal immediately stopped to look, and he wasn’t the only one.

  In the sky were what looked like three suns. One big one, and two smaller ones to each side.

  “First one came up about an hour before the main sun,” Frank said. “The third one didn’t make a difference. Pretty cool.”

  “How is that possible?” Hal asked. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Uh, Hal, you just need to look up,” Frank said.

  “I mean …. How can there be three suns.”

  “Because the sky didn’t want three daughters.” Frank smiled.

  “Asshole.”

  “Hal has a point,” Robbie said. “It’s just weird for being only a thousand years in the future.”

  “Well, it’s there, so why worry about it,” Frank said, then took the lead of the group.

  “Because …” Dean added. “We don’t know what effects they had on this world. Their arrival probably caused global catastrophes, Disasters that the LEPS would survive over man. Which could have a lot to do with why they are the dominant species now.”

  Henry said, “That could explain the big lake where Kansas was supposed to be.”

  “Or,” Robbie interjected. “We didn’t even end up in Kansas. That could be it, too.”

  “Whatever the case,” Dean said. “The Great War didn’t cause the flip to LEP. We need to look for signs that something else did.”

  “For right now,” Hal said. “We look for Johnny and Fort.”

  “Trail stops cold,” Frank said. “Right here.” He pointed to the ground. “They stopped here. This is where he dropped Johnny. A few footsteps and nothing. No tracks going anywhere. They just stop. Another two hundred feet beyond this clearing, out of the woods is a drop off.”