End of Days | Book 5 | Beyond Alpha Read online

  “Now, there’s one more thing I need to talk about with all you fine people. I’ve been informed there are some among you who have been blessed with the wonderful opportunity to get sucked through time so they could join us in the present day. I’d first like to welcome you with open arms but also reassure you that the United States government will do everything in its power to keep you safe, and with a little luck, get you back where you belong.”

  She forced a chuckle, which got some of the crowd to laugh with her.

  “But the first step in that long process will be talking to each of you newcomers so we can establish your origins, what you were doing when you shifted from your homes, and if you’ve experienced any ill effects from the journey. After all, how can we send you back if we don’t know where you came from?”

  More laughter all around.

  Connie leaned in his direction. “I don’t mind telling them where I’m from, but I’m going to make it clear I do not want to go back. Everything I ever want or need is standing within ten feet of me in the here and now.”

  Buck took her hand.

  “I don’t really trust them, but—” Buck started to say.

  “Mom, don’t you dare raise your hand,” Phil whispered.

  Buck and Connie glanced back.

  Phil’s sour face was even worse than Faith’s.

  Outside SNAKE

  Garth listened as Phil talked quietly to his dad’s new girlfriend. Since he stood next to her, he didn’t have to lean far.

  “Mom, trust me when I say you don’t want anything to do with these people. They were doing funny business up in the woods when I arrived, they didn’t seem happy to help the new people cross the fence, and this general of the Army person isn’t a real rank in the military. Nothing about it feels right, and I want you nowhere near them.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me.” Connie craned her neck without turning around. “I was just telling Buck I’m perfectly happy in this time, so they don’t need to bother with me.”

  “Don’t volunteer a damned thing,” Phil stated with finality.

  Garth was happy to hear her fight back against these self-proclaimed authorities. He was positive his dad felt the same way since he often complained about stupid government regulations cutting him off at the knees in the trucking business.

  He turned to face forward to see the general looking at him.

  Almost at him.

  “You, young lady. When are you from?”

  He whipped his head to the side, aware for the first time that Lydia held her hand aloft as if desperate to be called on in class.

  “Oh, shit,” he blurted.

  General Strauss turned her dark eyes toward him.

  “Sorry,” he said with mock humor. “What I meant is that she’s not from a different time.”

  “Then why is she dressed like she just fell off the wagon?” Strauss snarked.

  He tried to think fast. There was no way they were going to interview his fiancée, not after what Phil said. “She and I work at one of those old-timey farms. I’m the concession guy. She’s the cow, uh, milker.”

  “Garth, no,” his dad thundered.

  “Well, this is interesting.” The general put her hands on her hips and looked at him and his dad. “I would love to know more about you folks, but sadly, there isn’t time, you know? Funny, right? These time nomads come through from their eras, and here we are in a time crunch ourselves. All we want to do is get a little information about them and make sure they’re in a good place.”

  She looked at the crowd, which had pressed in a little tighter as people raised their hands and stepped forward. “Some of you may feel unsafe or need medications or other support. This interview will ensure you get exactly what you need. That’s our role in the government. We take care of you.”

  More people filed forward.

  “You can trust us,” Strauss said to Lydia.

  Garth looked at his father. Behind him, Phil was vigorously shaking his head. Connie had her arms crossed as if to ensure she didn’t accidentally give herself away.

  But Lydia was already exposed. As the general had rightly pointed out, she was the only one near the front who stood out because of her pioneer dress. His attempt to fall on his sword only drew more attention to her.

  “I don’t mind going with them,” Lydia volunteered to Garth, “but I would like you to come with me.”

  “I’m sorry, but that won’t be—” the general started.

  “I’m going,” he blurted. “I’m her fiancé, and I’m not leaving her side.”

  “Garth,” his father growled. He knew his dad well enough to read the subtext of his growl. He didn’t want him to go with Lydia, but he also acknowledged the eventual decision was up to him. They’d recently had a conversation about how he had become a man with man-like responsibilities. His dad would not look kindly on him if his first act as a man was to abandoned the girl he loved.

  I do love her, Garth thought.

  The realization made him grab Lydia by the arm. “Where she goes, I go.”

  Strauss took a step back, surprised.

  “Son, there’s no need to worry.” She got close. “Because you two seem like you’re in love, I’ll make an exception. You can both come with us.”

  Garth happened to look at the lab coat woman behind the general in the camo uniform. He couldn’t remember her name, despite her introduction a few minutes earlier. She was a classy-looking older woman but she appeared sad, as if the bully had taken her lunch money. Unlike the general, she didn’t seem happy to see those who voluntarily stepped forward.

  Including Lydia, there were fifty or so heading past the Humvees.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to walk up the road, but it isn’t far.” Strauss motioned for him and Lydia to follow the others.

  He took a few steps out of the crowd but turned back. “Sorry, Dad. I can’t leave her, even for a little while. You understand, don’t you?”

  Dad wanted to stop him. Everything in his posture suggested that was what was on his mind. However, Connie held his arm, and Phil seemed to have a grip on his shirt.

  “I’ll keep an eye on him,” Phil said under his breath to Buck. “I wanted to get inside anyway.”

  “You can’t,” Connie complained.

  Garth listened as the adults argued about who should go with him and Lydia. He made sure the general had backed away to greet the other arrivals, which gave him a moment to listen. In the end, Buck made a decision.

  “I didn’t travel all this way just to see you go off on your own, but I guess I can’t watch you every second of the day, either.” Buck stepped closer. “Be careful wherever they take you and watch over Lydia while they ask her questions. Never let her out of your sight.”

  He smiled at Lydia. “And you watch over my boy.”

  “We’re courting, sir. I have no one else to watch out for now.”

  “That’s right,” Buck agreed.

  After an awkward pause, Buck reached out to hug Garth.

  “Dad, come on!” he protested, but he accepted and returned the hug.

  “I won’t let anything happen to you,” Buck whispered.

  They separated, and Garth realized their relationship had changed in a subtle way. His dad had told him something he now recognized as impossible. His dad was no longer in charge of his life.

  He was.

  It scared the hell out of him.

  Four

  Search for Nuclear, Astrophysical, and Kronometric Extremes (SNAKE). Red Mesa, Colorado

  “That could have gone better,” Faith said to herself as she picked through the broken things in her office. The damaged computer had been confiscated by the latest round of military takeovers of her beloved workplace, but she still needed notebooks and pens to do her daily chores. Those were intact if scattered from the concussive blast which blew out her windows.

  It could have gone worse, too.

  Strauss had been furious with her on t
he drive back. She’d threatened to throw her in the darkest holding cell at the lowest level of SNAKE for the trouble she’d caused for the general and her people. However, by the time they’d arrived at the front door, the unpredictable woman had changed her mind and offered Faith her old office with the assignment she’d given her in the speech. She was to work with those outsiders in any way she could, without making any specific promises on behalf of the military without first consulting the general or her staff.

  She crunched over broken glass to the window, which gave her a view outside. Far down the hill, there were a few thousand civilians she’d somehow become responsible for. By contrast, Strauss had refused to call her Doctor Sinclair to those people. It meant her role as the leader of the scientists inside the complex had come to an inglorious end.

  Probably for the best, she reasoned, since she’d presided over disaster after disaster. One more calamity would make it impossible to ever find a job in the theoretical physics community again.

  Faith guffawed.

  “There’s no one out there to hire me!”

  “Excuse me?” a woman called to her from the doorway.

  She spun, embarrassed she’d been caught talking to herself.

  Luckily, it wasn’t Strauss, so her guard lowered half a degree.

  “Doctor Sinclair?” The woman was ready-to-burst pregnant. “I’ve been looking for a doctor since I arrived, but no one has been able to help me find one. Then I saw the sign.” She tapped the nametag on the doorway.

  Faith strode across the office, tossing a notebook on her desk as she went.

  “Hi, I’m Doctor Sinclair. Unfortunately, unless you’re looking for advice on string theory or gamma rays, I’m the wrong type of doctor. You’re looking for the infirmary, which is further inside the complex.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Faith added. “I love that blouse, by the way. It looks great on you.” It wasn’t a lie. The breezy red and white top couldn’t hide her maternal girth, but it did keep the woman looking stylish.

  “Thanks. I guess for a whale, I’m not doing too bad.”

  “Are you with someone who works here?” She was curious how the woman had shown up at the end of the world.

  “No, I’m with them.” She pointed behind her at a large group of women who were also deep into the third trimester of their pregnancies.

  Faith became uneasy.

  “Wow, are you a club? How did you all end up here?”

  The sight of the women made her think of her sister Destiny since they had often joked about the far-off day when they would both be pregnant. It wasn’t something they had planned, and Lord knew their luck in men never ran the same, but it was something they discussed. Getting pregnant at the same time, having a pair of carpet grubs together, then having those ankle-biters grow up playing with each other. So many plans…

  “Not by choice, I’m afraid. Most of us were kidnapped.” She’d said it matter-of-factly, which made Faith blink in disbelief.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded. “We were all in a Lamaze class in Fort Collins when these Army dudes shoved their way in and said we were in danger. Of course, we all waddled to the bus, assuming they had no reason to lie about something like that, but they did.”

  The implication was too bad to avoid speaking it out loud.

  “Why did they take you?” she asked.

  “At first, I thought they wanted to save our lives because we were vulnerable. Now, after seeing how they treat us and how many of us there are, I think they just needed a group of babymakers for when the rest of the world disappeared.”

  The woman was young, perhaps mid-twenties. Her demeanor was calm, which made it hard for Faith to reconcile her situation and why she wasn’t hysterical while talking about it. Faith had had her share of raw panic over the past couple of weeks.

  “Did they let you bring your families?”

  “Nope,” the woman replied. “That had a lot of us upset, as you might guess, but now they’ve mostly come to terms with it. They’re sad, yeah, but look out there. At least we got to save our babies.” She patted her plump midsection.

  The other women didn’t appear to be as upbeat as the visitor in her office. Many had obviously been crying, and a few still were. The young woman had become the leader of the group.

  “I see,” she said slowly. “So, what are they having you do now? It looks like you’re going somewhere.”

  “Well, they said we need to stay in here until they clean up the people down the hill. I don’t want them to hurt anyone, none of us do, but they said we need to keep those others out of this complex so our babies will have enough food to survive. Seems legit to me.”

  Faith took a stab at the girl’s background.

  “You didn’t lose anyone when the world changed, did you?” Faith stayed positive. “I envy you.”

  “You shouldn’t. I’m just floating along with the party. That’s kind of what got me this prize.” She pointed at her child. “But then again, it’s also what got me to this secret base, you know? Not sure if I’m worth the envy, but I guess I have to admit I’ve been super lucky.”

  “I know exactly what you mean,” she agreed.

  The pregnant woman couldn’t have known she’d given Faith a critical piece of information about the fate waiting for those outside, and there was no reason to tell her. However, knowing and doing were two different things. All her power to put the staff of SNAKE on a task had been stripped away not one hour earlier.

  All she was allowed to do was talk to the refugees.

  So that was what she would do.

  Buck’s Rock

  “I don’t like this one bit,” Buck said to Connie as they stood by the dying campfire. It had gone down while they were listening to the general, and Lydia was no longer around to tend it.

  Nor was Garth.

  “Phil said he would keep an eye on him when he goes inside the base to check in, so that should put your mind at ease at least a little bit, shouldn’t it? Phil is capable.”

  “It does.” He exhaled. “But it’s my job to worry about him. It’s my job to keep an eye on him.”

  She cracked up.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked with mild annoyance.

  “I guarantee Garth is in there thinking with certainty there is no help you or anyone else could give him that he really wants. Couldn’t you tell how smitten he was with Lydia? He didn’t even think twice before volunteering to go with her.”

  He relaxed.

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about. That boy doesn’t have a lot of experience dating, and Lydia is from the 1800s. Put the two of them together, and I’d expect them both to be in the stockade within the hour. They need to stay focused and reasonable to survive. And with lying scum like that general, that means Garth and Lydia need to become experts at lying.”

  “Well, that’s impossible with young kids in love. You just have to hope for the best and maybe put some faith in your girlfriend’s kid.” She pinched the upper part of his arm to get his attention.

  Phil had barely given him any time to think of alternatives. Once the general had marched off the time nomads, as she called them, Phil had said his goodbyes and dropped in behind them. They couldn’t plan a rendezvous, nor could they create fallback plans if the first one failed. Phil had simply looked him in the eye and said he’d protect Garth with his life.

  “I trust Phil completely,” he finally said. The man was a lieutenant colonel with real war experience.

  “Then let him do his job. You know, I talked to him about what he’s been doing. It scares the bejeezus out of me, but it sounds like he’s been in combat several times over the past decade. I’m sure he can handle two kids inside a science lab.” She pointed at his truck. “And he can do a pretty decent job cleaning, too.”

  He spun. “Shit, I didn’t even get a chance to thank him.”

  “You will,” she assured him.


  “I’m sure you’re right.”

  They spent a few minutes walking around Lorraine, appreciating how much better she looked without the bugs crusted on her front grille and bumper. It wasn’t long before a woman approached.

  “Excuse me, you’re the guy who volunteered his truck earlier, aren’t you?”

  The woman, a middle-aged brunette who could pass as a librarian, came up to them.

  “Yes, I’m Buck. This is Connie. And you are?”

  “I’m Missy Paulus.” She held out her hand. “I work with Doctor Sinclair.”

  “That was the woman with the general, right?” Connie asked.

  “The uncomfortable one,” Buck added in an ominous tone of voice.

  “I needed to find you.” Missy nodded and got even closer as if she didn’t want to be overheard. “I would like to tell you Faith would like very much to talk to you.”

  “Why couldn’t she tell me that herself?” He searched behind the woman as if Faith was hiding somewhere.

  “She can’t get out of her office just yet. General Strauss and her guards have the place locked down. Only certain people can get out through the front door.”

  Buck took an involuntary step backward. “Then how did you get out?”

  “I’m no one special.” She chuckled. “I worked as an administrative assistant for the last boss of SNAKE, so I’m highly sought after for my typing and organizing skills. I’m mostly invisible to any of the leaders, except for Faith. She’s always seen me.”

  “So, you want to help her?” he asked.

  “Of course. And because I can walk out at will, she had to send me to tell you she’ll be by later this evening.”

  “She can get out?” he wondered.

  “She’s planning on giving it a try.”

  He didn’t say what was on his mind, which was that it had appeared as if Faith were the general’s number two. However, she’d never looked happy during the general’s speech, and apparently, she wasn’t trusted with any real responsibilities. If the woman had to sneak out after dark, there was no trust.