The Inner Struggle: Beginnings Series Book 7 (28 page)

“Nothing really. I slept with Ellen. Anyhow, I’m heading to find him. You said he’s in Henry World?” Frank walked backwards.

“Wait a minute!” Joe trotted back to him. “You just don’t say something like that and walk away. You slept with Ellen?”

“Last night.” Frank continued to walk.

“Are you two having an understanding? I thought he was having the understanding with . . . never mind. So why would he be mad?”

“Because even though he won’t admit it, he’s upset about the marriage thing.”

“So why did you sleep with Ellen then if you’re that concerned. What’s wrong with her giving in?”

“She didn’t have a choice. I beat her.”

“What!” Joe reached out and grabbed his son back. “You beat Ellen?”

“Bad too. But I had too or how else was I gonna get her to sleep with me.”

“You son of a bitch, Frank. How can you stand here and talk like this is nothing. I have to do something about this. You realize this.”

“Not now. I have to find Henry.” Frank found the topside entrance to the underground tunnels. He lowered himself and looked up while his father followed. “Why are you trailing me?”

“Because, you asshole, I’m making sure Henry kicks your ass and when he’s done, I am!”

“Why? All because I beat Ellen?”

“Oh you just have attitude. If you weren’t my son, I’d shoot you right now! Right now!” Joe stormed in his walk with Frank.

“Fuck Dad, she deserved to lose once. She’s been fuckin beating me in Scrabble since we were kids.”

“Scrabble? You’re talking about a game?”

“Yeah, what else was I gonna beat her …oh my God.” Frank started to laugh. “You thought?” He laughed again. “And they call me dumb.”

“Call it a momentary lapse of my senses, Frank.” Joe watched Frank put in his code to the cryo-lab. “And since there isn’t going to be a fight. I’m . . .”

“Fuck!” Frank saw it as soon as he walked into the lab. The sparks and smoke behind the glass of the special Henry lab. “Find a fire extinguisher!” Frank raced to the door. “And please, please don’t let him be in here.”

Joe scurried for a fire extinguisher, trying to reason where Dean may have put it, when he spotted Henry’s things. His heart dropped. “Frank.” Panic filled Joe’s voice.

“The fuckin door won’t open.”

“Frank he’s in there. We have to get him out,” Joe spoke rapidly.

“Come on!” Frank tried the code again . . . nothing. “Son of a bitch.” Frank switched on his radio. “Security! I need a team at the cryo-lab. A fire squad . . . STAT!” He raced to the window. “And get me . . .” His fist hit against the glass when he saw Henry laying on the floor. “Henry!” He banged again. “Henry!” He stepped back. “Get me a medical team down here. Henry’s down! Henry’s down!” Out of control, Frank felt his emotions boiling as he grabbed a free table, lifted it up, and hurled it at the glass. The table bounced back.

“It’s bullet proof and shatter proof, Frank.” Joe pressed himself flush against the window. “He’s not moving.”

Breathing deeply through his nostrils, Frank pulled out his revolver and charged back to the door. Extending it out, he unloaded his entire clip into the metal door and at the handle. Dropping his revolver he pushed on the door. It didn’t budge. Clenching his fist, Frank’s head flung back. He let out an emotional frustrated growl and charged back.

“Frank, the flames!”

With his heart, Frank dug deep inside of him and pulled at his every emotion as he used all that he had in racing forth, full speed at the door. The weight and strength behind Frank made the loudest of crashes as he plowed shoulder first into the metal object, cracked it from the hinges, and sent himself into a spin into the back lab. A blast of heat caught Frank as he raised his left arm upward. It was so powerful that Frank flew back off his balance and out of that lab. Picking himself up off the floor and shaking off the pain that should have brought him down, Frank plowed himself into the lab, slid in on the floor, and landed next to Henry. Just as he lifted him, he could hear the sound of a fire extinguisher and Frank carried Henry from the lab, leaving Joe to battle the electrical fire that began to flourish from all the oxygen that poured into the room.

As Frank laid Henry’s motionless body on the floor, the cryo-lab door burst open and six men raced in but Frank paid them no mind. “Henry.” His hand felt his neck. “Henry. Oh God.”

“Frank!” Joe came from the back lab. “How is he?”

“He’s . . . he’s dead, Dad.” Frank’s hand ran across Henry’s face and as he looked down at his friend, his jaw began to twitch. “No!” He shook his head. Positioning himself better, Frank tilted back Henry’s head and listened for breath sounds. None came out. Covering Henry’s mouth with his, Frank began to breathe into him, four breaths to start and then he listened again. Still nothing. “You got a new kid, Henry and I will not let you die on him.” Cupping his hands over Henry’s chest, Frank began to do compressions, counting them out loud as he did, and breathing into Henry’s mouth at the end of each cardiopulmonary cycle. “Henry, come on!” Frank moved back to his chest, delivering the compressions with every ounce of hope he had. “Henry!” It was like a race against time for Frank, a mission and a fight he wasn’t going to lose and a fight he wasn't going to let Henry wasn’t going lose. If it was the last thing Frank did, he would make sure of that.

A choking cough stopped Frank from administering any more air into Henry. Frank’s body shook and he gave a simple laugh of relief as he lifted Henry’s head up. “We have to get him to the clinic.”

Joe closed his eyes and reached his hand over to his son. “Unbelievable.” He felt his son’s shoulders rise and fall from his heavy breaths. “Good . . .” Joe opened his eyes and saw the painful look on his son’s face as Frank began to lift Henry,. The white tee shirt he wore was completely black and parts of it burned. Joe’s eyes skimmed upward to his son’s face to the deep red mark that went from part of his left cheek, across his chin, and to his neck. The same injury was on his arm. “You’re burnt, Frank.”

“I’m fine.” With a grunt, he stood with Henry in his arms.

“Let one of the other men take him.” Joe gave support under Henry’s back to help ease the weight for Frank.

“I’ve got him.” Frank walked to the door.

“He’s too heavy, Frank. You’re injured.” Joe looked back at the men who finished putting out the fire. “One of you . . .”

“I got him!” Frank said strongly. “Just let me take him up.”

Joe ran his hand across his sweaty face and smeared the blackness that laid there. He watched his son move ahead of him, carrying the weight of his friend. Joe could see each step Frank took was a painful one, but he also knew his son was determined. Frank was determined to be the one to bring Henry up to the clinic, just as he was determined to be the one to bring Henry back to this earth.

<><><><>

“Finally.” With Nick fast asleep again and Alex still out, Ellen knew she could catch a little nap before she would have to do another round of newborn motherhood. She thought she’d get a nap earlier. Perhaps she shouldn’t have taken that shower after Frank left, but she wanted to get one in during the day and who knew when Nick would go back to sleep. Even though this was only Nick’s second day at home, he was fast proving himself to be a pure Henry off-spring with his lack of a need for slumber.

After laying Nick in the cradle in the living room, Ellen walked to the closet to get the quilt they kept in there so she could lay on the couch. Reaching in the closet, the oddity of a knock on the front door startled her. Checking first to see if it woke the baby, she turned and opened the front door. “Jenny?”

Jenny Matoose, holding her daughter, walked into Frank’s living room. “Check your cell phone, Ellen. Your father’s been trying to reach you.”

“Reach me?” She chuckled. “He could have walked over if it was important.” She went to the dining room and picked the phone up from the table. “Shit, it needs charged. You came all the way over here to tell me my phone isn’t working? Gee, Jenny, that’s awfully nice but it’s awfully early.”

“I came here to watch the kids. Ellen, you have to get to the clinic.”

Ellen felt her heart drop. “What’s wrong?”

“There was some sort of electrical problem in the cryo-lab. Henry got hurt bad and Frank, he’s hurt too.”

“Shit.” She flew to the door picking up her shoes that sat there. “Jenny, do you mind staying here?”

“No, that’s why I came.”

“Nick, he just fell asleep, he shouldn’t need to . . .”

“Ellen, go. I can handle them. Go.”

With little information, and not wanting to take the time to find out more, Ellen sped off for the clinic.

“Joe!” Ellen raced to him the second she walked in. “Where are they?”

“In the back.” He reached to stop her when she flew down the hall. “They want you to stay here until they know more.”

“What happened, Joe? What?” Ellen sounded so desperate.

“Come with me.” Wrapping his arm around her, Joe led Ellen into the waiting room. “As near as we can figure right now, there was a problem with the electric in the lab. There was an electrical explosion and Henry got shocked, and then the fire started when he was out.”

“Was Frank with him? Is that how Frank got hurt too?”

“No. Frank got hurt when he broke into the lab to get Henry out of there. Henry, Ellen, Henry had . . . he was dead.” He heard Ellen gasp. “Frank brought him back.” Joe gave a proud smile. “But” With a twitch of his head he returned to a serious mode> “We don’t know how Henry is. He’s alive, I can tell you that and Frank got burned. I’m hoping it looked a lot worse than it actually was.”

“Is Henry burned too?”

“From what I saw, no.” Joe led her to the couch. “But he hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”

Sitting down with Joe’s arm still around her, Ellen leaned into him. “And we have to wait?”

“That’s all we can do. Wait.”

The age old saying, ‘no news is good news’ didn’t feel like it held true for Ellen. She sat there with Joe, taking comfort in his hold. She kept trying to convince herself that all that mattered was that Henry was alive and Frank was fine. But the fact remained, no amount of convincing herself or hoping for the best would make her feel better. Seeing Henry and Frank for herself and hearing for certain that they were fine was what she needed.

Robbie’s tired and exhausted body carried the last man into the small church he had spent all of the night cleaning out. Though there wasn’t any power, it was shelter from the hot weather that teetered between rainy and dry causing the insects to feed on the helpless bodies of his fallen ill men.

Though most of them had slipped into remission, they still needed help. They still couldn’t control their bodies as well as a two-year-old. The weakness brought on by dehydration and lack of eating the food sent to them, hindered any possible fight they could have had in them.

How long had it been since he had spoken, really spoken to any of them? None were talking. Greg and the other first two exposed were dazed said things that made no sense. They talked about events and called out people’s names that Robbie hadn’t a clue who they were but he answered them. He tried to take care of them the best he could, but he could feel his body weakening too. It wasn't from any virus but just from giving all that he had. Every second of his day was spent taking care of them but Robbie had no choice. He was alone and each passing day that went by, he felt more and more alone. The only thing that made it tolerable was when he spoke to home on the phone. More so than that was seeing his brother when supplies were dropped off. Even from a distance, watching Frank standing in the helicopter door told Robbie one thing. He wasn’t forgotten. Something so simple as that, meant so much. The grueling day he had to face ahead of him would be a little less grueling because he would see his brother in a few hours and a little bit of home would come floating down from the sky, bringing him the little bit of hope amidst the madness that surrounded him.

<><><><>

“This will serve just fine. You can leave,” George instructed a man who had walked him into a living room of a home located in the town that was once known as Quantico City. He dropped his body down on the sofa to relax and rest before he had to continue his work. His day has started early as he waited at the gates of their training center for the troops that were about to come in. Twenty-two squads arrived back at Quantico as expected. They brought with them, between the squads, sixty-three survivors, survivors that were being processed and readied to be sent to different division. Some were viable; some would have to be made viable. All of them believed they were somehow saved from the cruel world and they would be fed, cared for, and given jobs to do. George chucked when he thought of that. How much like Beginnings his world sounded only his world wasn’t secluded to a secured perimeter. It spread out, further than Beginnings realized.

But George was at a loss. His communications with his men had to be kept at a minimum and only at the times that he was instructed by John Matoose that were safe and unable to be detected by the monitors in the newly found communications room of Beginnings. That wasn’t very often, so George’s information had to be sketchy until his people arrived back to base.

He knew ten more squads were due back on this day and another fifteen the next. Aside from his troops returning, George had to send out his rested warriors. They were ready to go north, well into Canada and south as far as deep Mexico. A shipment of food was due at Quantico from the farms not far away, farms that reported a flourishing crop. For George it was a busy day as he waited for all to arrive, sent out what he had to send out and, not to mention settle into his new home. To George, it wasn’t going badly at all. All he waited for now, to top off his day, was to hear that the program for the CMEs was destroyed along with the man who tried to figure it out . . . Henry. George rested his head back, closed his eyes, and waited for that good news because he was certain the good news was coming.

<><><><>

“Frank, hold still,” Dean spoke so annoyed as he finished bandaging Frank’s burns.

“Dean, come on. I’ve been here long enough.” Frank’s head tilted to the side so Dean could finish up on his neck. “Why are you bandaging me up?”

“I want these burns kept clean. I don’t want them to get infected, especially . . .” Dean finished up and stepped back, “the ones on the face. If they get infected, they’ll scar worse.”

Frank’s eyes caught Dean’s. “You think I’m worried about that?”

“No, but I am.” He walked over to the sink to wash his hands. “I want you on light duty for a week.”

“What?” Frank laughed. “No way. I can’t right now, not right now. We’re in the middle of training the next batch of guys to go out. We have a run in a couple weeks. We have tactical maneuvers. I can’t spare a week.” Frank looked down at his watch. “How about a couple hours?”

“How about not?” Dean dried his hands. “You dislocated your shoulder, Frank. It was a bitch to pop back in.”

“I do have to say that impressed me when you did that.”

“Gee thanks, but getting back to that shoulder. It needs time to heal. Do you mean to tell me you can’t train your men without lifting or being Superman?”

“I guess I could.”

“Good, then you will. Since you won’t let me brace that shoulder, you have to not use it. Got that?” Dean instructed. “And refrain from doing things will keep those burns from getting infected too. Walk your perimeters, train your guys, but physical participation has to be limited.”

“All right, all right.” Frank shook his head. “Anything else?”

“I mixed you up some medication for the pain. The topical I put on will wear off in a few hours and they’ll hurt.” He walked over to the tray and picked up the small bottle. He handed it to Frank. “No drinking when you take this.”

“Yes, Ellen,” Frank said sarcastically.

“I’m serious, Frank. No drinking if you take this. I’ll instruct Ellen about it.” Dean picked up Frank’s chart and a pencil. “I also wanted to tell you, you did a good job today with Henry.”

“Thanks.” Frank slid off the table and looked around for his shirt. When he found it, he saw he couldn’t wear it because Dean had cut most of it off of him. He tossed the remnants over his shoulder as if it could be some use to him and began to leave.

“Frank?” Dean called out to him. “What happened in that lab today?”

Frank stopped just at the door. “Problem with the electric.”

“Do you really think that?”

“Nope, I think it was set up. I think . . . let’s just say I don’t think Henry’s accident was an accident.”

“Can you prove that?”

“Me personally? No. I don’t know enough about electronics and I don’t trust anyone else’s opinion. Henry can tell me. That’s why I have a guard on the door down there with strict instructions not to let a soul in there until either me or my Dad can go down there and reprogram a code no one knows. That way everything will be untouched and the same until Henry is well enough to look it over.”

“Henry was working on the SUT program. Is that gone, do you know?” Dean asked.

“No my dad has it. It was outside the lab when the fire started. At least Henry will be glad about that. Hey Dean, when do you think he’ll be up and about?”

“Hard to say, Frank,” Dean said. “The thing in Henry’s favor is he’s not one to be down for too long. So a good guess would be few days or so in the clinic and another few days rest at home, but we wouldn’t be talking about him being up and about at all if it wasn’t for you.”

Frank quietly nodded once and reached for the door handle of the examining room.

Finishing writing in the chart, Dean walked across the examining room to begin to clean it up. “Frank, tell Ellen when she gets a chance I want to talk to her. I want to instruct her on the follow up care for those burns.”

“I’ll tell her.”

“I mean she might as well do it. She is still staying with you this week right?”

“Right.” Frank started to leave. “And . . . hopefully, with the way things are with me and her, she won’t leave after this week at all. See ya’ Dean.”

The few items that Dean held in his hand toppled with Frank’s words the moment he left. If Frank saw things going well between him and Ellen now, how much better would he insure them to be while Ellen lived there? If Dean didn’t feel threatened before in his new understanding with Ellen, he certainly was feeling a twinge of it right there.

<><><><>

Ellen ran her fingers across the glove styled bandage placed on Henry’s hand. The tips of his nails were the only portion poking through. Even the area surrounding them were red. “Look at his hand Joe. He’s burnt.” She stared down at a sleeping Henry, lifting his hand gently. “How badly is he burned? His hands are so nice. He gets manicures from Cindy.”

“Oh my God. They’ll be nice again, Ellen. You heard Andrea. They’ll heal. Henry is going to be fine. He’ll get those manicures.”

“I can’t believe he almost died.”

“Ellen.” Joe rested his hand on her shoulder. “He did die.” He could feel the tension fill her body with his words . “It was scary. The look on my son’s face when he pulled Henry out . . . panic. When do you know Frank to panic?”

“Never, and speaking of Frank . . .” Ellen turned from the bed. “I think we should find out what’s taking him so long.”

“They had to clean his burns.”

“Is it bad, Joe?” Ellen asked.

“He could have been worse.”

Looking back at Henry, Ellen bent down and kissed him on the cheek rand ran her hand across his face after she did. “I’ll be back, Henry.” Holding on to Joe’s arm, she let him escort her out of the room. When she stepped out she saw Frank walking down the hall. He didn’t wear a shirt and his bandages showed predominantly because of it. “Frank.”

Frank smiled when he saw her release Joe and walk toward him in a quick pace. Before he could say any words, Ellen had thrown her arms around him and he returned the embrace.

“Thank you for saving him.”

“El . . .”

“I’m sorry. I’m probably hurting you.” She pulled back. “Look at you. How bad are the burns?”

“Bad enough for you to have to be my nurse. Dean says they’ll need cleaned out or something like that. You have to check with him.”

“Are you in pain?”

“Not much. Dean gave me some medication.”

“No drinking with that, Frank.” Ellen pointed her finger.

“No drinking.” He raised his right hand.

“What took you so long?”

“Oh fuckin Dean. He used every excuse in the book so he could keep looking at my chest.” Frank snickered. “So how’s Henry?”

“Sleeping. Andrea says he’ll be fine. He’ll wake up soon enough.” Ellen saw him peeking in the room. “Are you going to go in there and see him?”

“I will, but not now. I want to take care of something down in the lab. Dad? Can you come with me?”

“Sure Frank,” Joe answered.

“Good.” Frank leaned down to Ellen and kissed her on the cheek “I’ll be right back.”

“Frank?” Ellen grabbed his arm as he began to walk away. “Why are you going down to the lab?”

“To take a look. I was so consumed this morning I didn’t look at the lab.”

“But why are you going to look at it? To assess damage?” Ellen asked.

“No El, to try to find out what happened this morning. What really happened. I’ll be back.”

Ellen watched Frank leave with Joe as she stood in the corridor right outside of Henry’s room. She knew exactly what Frank meant by his tone and what he insinuated with his words. She thought for sure they knew what happened, a faulty electrical system. She had sat for two hours with Joe and he said nothing about it being anything else but an accident. Obviously, with Frank’s demeanor and insistence at that moment, it was more than they let on. It was bad enough that Frank was injured and Henry lay in a bed unconscious and lucky to be alive. But now it was worse, scarier, because now something she didn’t think of had popped into her mind, the possibility that someone had done it on purpose.

<><><><>

For the first time since he was a kid, Robbie felt like a child. He stared up into the blue sky watching the Beginnings’ helicopter pull away and felt that lost aching pull in his chest. Where was Frank? Since the whole thing began, Frank had been the one who dropped off the supplies. Even just his presence, had given Robbie the push to go on.

Robbie felt like the kid who longed to tag along with his big brother. But now, with Frank not showing up, Robbie felt much more left behind than he had. Perhaps it was the exhaustion he was feeling that exaggerated what was going through his heart, but Robbie felt down. What could Frank have to do that was more important than taking the twenty minutes out of his day it took to drop off supplies? Robbie spoke to his father and he hadn’t said there was trouble. Hoping that he was overreacting, Robbie moved with his supplies back to the church where all of the men were.

Stepping into that church with his bags across his shoulders, Robbie’s mind flashed back years earlier. The church reminded him so much of the one that sat on the street corner in downtown Ashtonville. He remembered walking into that church, St. Michael’s, three days before they were to begin the runs to pick up supplies for Beginnings. Maybe it was the reality back then that made him seek out the feel of God and maybe it was the reality of what was happening to Robbie now that made him think of that. But whether it was God’s doing or not, it was his brother back then that made him feel better...