Published: 17 Sep 2018

“Mommy, I don’t feel good. My tummy hurts.” Stephanie looked up from her morning coffee at Chris as he entered the kitchen in his pajamas and walked over to her. She hugged him to her side and felt his forehead. She thought it felt like he seemed to have a faint fever. “Well it does feel like you have a little fever.” She looked at Cheryl who had joined her for a cup of coffee before leaving for the hospital. She gestured to Chris. “Come here sweetie.” Stephanie gave him a gentle push and he walked over to her. Cheryl put the back of her hand against his forehead for a few moments. “He does seem a little feverish.” Cheryl saw Patrick entering the room. “Pat could you grab my bag, it’s near the front door. Chris isn’t feeling very well, I want to check his temperature.” He nodded and changed direction returning moments later with her bag in hand. He set it on the table and went to grab a cup of coffee for himself.

As Cheryl opened her bag Charles entered the kitchen. “Morning everyone.” He smiled as he went to get his own cup of coffee. Damian, dressed like Chris, was right behind him. “I’m hungry.” He announced. Stephanie smiled at him. “Cereal okay honey?” He nodded and smiled at her. “Thanks Aunt Stephanie.” She stood up and ruffled his hair as he sat down while she got the cereal, milk, bowl and spoon for him. “Would you like juice or milk to drink?”

“Juice please.” She poured him a glass of orange juice as he opened the box of cereal and filled his bowl. She set the glass next to his bowl. He smiled at her. “Thanks.” She nodded and resumed her seat. Cheryl had Chris sitting in the chair next to her and placed the digital thermometer in his mouth. “Just hold that for a little bit.” She checked when it was done and gave a little nod when she looked at Stephanie. “100.2. A little fever.” She looked at Chris. “Would you like to eat some cereal?” He shook his head. “No, I’m not hungry, and my tummy hurts.” She nodded. “Okay, we’ll get you some medicine to help you get better.” She looked at Stephanie. “We can give him some pepto bismol for his upset stomach and some children’s Tylenol to help bring down the fever. That should help. Charles would you be able to watch him?” He nodded. “Sure, I have nothing much to do today.”

Cheryl and Patrick finished their coffee. “If he gets any worse call me, or just bring him to the hospital and we’ll get some tests done for him. He’s probably just coming down with a cold but we’ll check him out and make sure there is nothing more serious going on.”

She and Patrick left for work, getting a hug and kiss from Damian. Stephanie soon followed them. She gave Chris a kiss on the cheek and a hug and the same to Charles. “If you need to take him to the hospital give me a call too.” He nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s just a little cold. I think the boys and I will veg out here on the couch maybe watch cartoons or something.”

“Okay, see you later.” She looked at Chris. “Take care honey. Get some rest and try and eat something, it will help you feel better.”

“Hey buddy, how about some toast and juice. D’you think you could eat that.”

“Maybe Daddy.” He smiled and went over to start some toast. “Can I have some too Uncle Chuck?” Charles smiled at Damian. “Sure bud. Toast a la Chuck coming right up.” Stephanie gave them all a smile. “Take care everyone. Be back this afternoon.” She left for the house to head over to the refugee center where she was working with those coming in who needed someone like her to talk to.

“Excuse me Doctor Kelly.” Cheryl looked away from the computer where she was making her notes. “Yes Grace?” The nurse, Grace Arce was holding a phone in her hand. “It’s for you, Charles Badger?” Cheryl nodded. “I’ll take it. Thanks Grace.” Grace handed her the phone. “Hi Charles, everything okay?” She listened for a few moments, nodding from time to time. “Okay, bring him to the hospital and we’ll take a look at him. Let Steph know too. I’ll meet you down in emergency.” Cheryl hung up and quickly finished her notes so she could get to the emergency room.

Fifteen minutes later Charles came in carrying Chris. Cheryl met them at the entrance and had them follow her into the back. “I left Damian with Claire.” She nodded as she led them to an empty cubicle and had Charles lay the bundled up boy on the gurney. She looked at Chris and placed the back of her hand to his forehead. He seemed to be warmer than he had been earlier. She began hooking up the Pulse Ox, blood pressure cuff and heart monitors to him. As she finished up, a nurse entered the cubicle. “Hi Keith. Can you get an IV, normal saline started on Chris here and get a CBC, electrolyte panel, and get a BUN and Creatinine as well along with a UA. Also could you ask them to make the test STAT. I need those results as soon as we can get them so we can get an idea what’s going on with this little guy.”

“Sure thing Doc.” Keith went to a nearby computer and started entering her orders. Keith went to some nearby drawers and pulled out a few supplies. He hooked the IV line into the bag, bled out the air and then quickly got the IV started. Chris winced a little from the needle stick for the IV and then again for the blood draw. Once the catheter was in his arm and the fluid was flowing, he quickly filled a few tubes with blood and left the room to send them to the lab for the tests. While he was doing that, Cheryl checked Chris’ temperature. It read 101, a little higher than before at home. She looked at Charles. “Did he get some Tylenol?” He nodded. “I had him lying on the couch in the living room while Damian and I played Go Fish. I heard him moan and went over to check him and he looked more feverish and sweating a little. When I asked him how he felt, he said that his tummy really hurt. When I asked him if it was hurting more than before and he nodded. So I called you.”

“Good. We’ll get this figured out.” She smiled at Chris. “Chris honey. You said your tummy hurt?” He nodded. “What kind of hurt is it? Does it ache or is it a sharp pain, like if you got stuck by a needle or something like that?” Chris thought about it for a moment. “Kind of aches, but all over my tummy.” Cheryl nodded. She began examining him. Listening with her stethoscope and pushing on different areas of his belly and asked him if it hurt. There was no area where he was especially tender. “I guess we’ll need to wait for the tests to get a better idea of what’s making your tummy hurt.” She walked over to the tray where Keith had placed the supplies he needed for the blood draw and picked up a small cup with a lid and an alcohol wipe. She brought it over to Chris. “Okay last thing, do you think you could pee in this cup for me. Your Dad can help you with it.” Chris blushed a little but nodded. She smiled and patted his arm. Keith returned. “The blood is on its way, just need the urine sample.” She nodded and looked at Charles. “Keith can show you to the restroom so you can do that. Charles you know what is needed for the sample?” Charles nodded. “Okay then. I’ll leave you in Keith’s capable hands.”

Just as Cheryl was leaving the cubicle, she saw Stephanie being escorted by one of the EMTs. “What’s wrong Cheryl?” She shook her head. “I don’t know yet, except his fever has gone up a little. I’ve ordered blood and urine tests to be taken and now we’re waiting for the results. Everything else looks good other than his fever is a little elevated and he says his stomach is hurting. I’ve got fluids going in, plus he has some Tylenol onboard, so maybe the fever will start going down. Until I have the test results we’ll just have to wait.” Stephanie nodded and went over to Chris. “How are you feeling honey?” He shook his head. “My tummy hurts but Doctor Cheryl says she’ll take care of me.” Stephanie smiled. “Yes she will. Where are you and Daddy going?” He pointed at the small cup in Charles hand. “I have to go an’ pee in that cup.” Stephanie gave him a hug. “Okay, go with Daddy, I’ll wait here for you.” As they followed Keith out of the cubicle, Cheryl gave Stephanie’s arm a gentle squeeze. “We’ll get this taken care of. I’ll be back once I get the lab results. That should give us a little better idea what’s going on. I’m thinking it’s just a touch of the flu. His BP, heart rate, respiratory rate, O2, all look good.” Stephanie nodded. “Thanks Cheryl.” Cheryl nodded and left the cubicle.

About an hour later, Cheryl pulled the curtain back. Chris had dozed off. Stephanie and Charles were quietly talking. They looked up when she entered. “Hi. Well I have the test results. Not sure what they all mean but it is a little worrying. His white blood cell count is up, and his red blood cells are a little low. It could still be flu. The white blood cells could be up because his body is fighting off a virus like the flu. But his BUN and Creatinine are off as well. All of this could be because of a flu virus, but I am a little concerned and I’d like to admit him at least overnight, and maybe do some more tests to help me figure out what is going on. I’m mostly concerned that so many of his levels are not normal. It’s not like they are way off, but they are not within the normal range that I would expect.”

“What other tests are you going to do?”

“We’re going to draw some more blood for a liver function test. His urine was a little darker than normal, that could mean that he was dehydrated which is possible if he had the fever all night, but maybe that was taken care of by the IV fluids, so we’ll get another UA as well. It could also mean problems with his liver not filtering out all the waste products too, so that is why the liver function test. But first let’s get the paperwork taken care of to get him admitted.” She handed them the clipboard she was carrying. Stephanie took it. “Thanks for everything Cheryl.” She paused at the cubicle. “I’ll send a nurse in to get Chris ready to be transported to the floor. I have another patient to check on, but I’ll be back before Chris goes upstairs.” She left them to fill out the paperwork.

Chris was all settled in a room on the children’s floor of the hospital before they saw Cheryl again. She looked at Chris and noted he seemed to be sleeping. “Well, I have the test results for the liver function test, and some of his levels are off there as well. I was trying to figure out why so many of the levels in his test were off and then I remembered that talk we had with Janet Hayes. It seems so long ago, but it’s only been a couple of weeks. Do you remember that?” Charles and Stephanie both nodded. “Well we’ve been so busy that it slipped my mind. Anyway, remember when she scanned the boys and we were talking about how they came to be with us and all. After the scan, she told us that it looked like the people who did the experimenting on them didn’t do as good a job in their genetic manipulation. She told us then that she thought that when they entered puberty that they might start having problems that could lead to a possible organ shutdown that could lead to their deaths. I was wondering if maybe the transition from where we were to where we are now, caused an adverse reaction to their genetics. Janet thought we would have time to probably fix the boys’ genetics with her and Brett working together, but now, I’m not so sure.”

“So you think that it is starting to effect Chris now instead of later?” Cheryl shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I wanted to let you know my thoughts about it. If it is, I want to make sure we get ahead of it for all four boys. I’m going to go over to the UNIT headquarters and see if they can connect me with Janet. I think she is probably wherever our boys are or nearby, so I’m going to call her and get her take on what I’ve found out so far.”

“Okay, let us know what you find out?”

“I will.” She left the room and she requested a ride to UNIT headquarters. She thanked the driver and walked into the headquarters. She saw a teenage boy sitting at the desk in UNIT BDUs. She noted that one of his hands was bandaged. “Hi, I’m Cheryl Kelly, my son Ian Kelly is with The Red Dragons.”

“Yes Doctor Kelly. My name’s Cooper. How can I help you?”

“I need to talk to Doctor Hayes. I know she’s back east with everyone else, but this really is important, perhaps even life or death and I need her expert knowledge on genetics. Is there any way that someone here can put me in touch with her?” Cooper nodded his head. “Sure Doc. Not sure where she is, but I’m sure Daisy can find out for us.” He got up from the desk and headed down a nearby hall. “Come on, I’ll take you to Comms.” Cheryl followed him down the hall to another room. The teen held the door open for her. Inside she saw one of the G Cats sitting in a wheelchair at the main station. “Hi Gemini. This is Doc Kelly. Ian in the Red Dragons is her son.” Gemini looked up from the computer in front of him at her. He gave her a little smile. “Hi Doc. I think we’ve already met. It was in California when we came with Adam to meet with you folks soon after we all first arrived.” Cheryl nodded. “I do remember. It seems so long ago but it’s been less than a month.” Cooper turned to leave. “I better get back to the desk. Gemini will take care of you Doc.”

Gemini turned his wheelchair so he could face her. “So what can I do for you Doc? “

“I need to talk with Doctor Hayes about a potential problem I have with a patient. He is my friend’s son. She and I talked about this a few weeks back and I’m concerned about the results of some tests I just ran on him, genetic tests, and I want to ask her opinion about the results, since genetics is one of her specialties.”

“No problem. I’m pretty sure she’s at Offutt.” He looked at Cheryl. “Have a seat Doc.” Cheryl sat down in the indicated chair. Gemini looked at the main monitor. “Daisy, can you help us out?” Daisy’s avatar appeared a moment later on the monitor. It looked like they were teleconferencing with wherever Daisy was, behind her was a plain wall. She was probably the young lady on duty where Doctor Hayes was located. “Yes, how can I help you?”

“This is Doctor Kelly.” He waved toward Cheryl. “Doc, this is Daisy, she should be able to help you find Doc Hayes.” Cheryl noticed the girl on the screen seemed to look in her direction before she said anything. “Hello Doctor. Are you related to Ian?” Cheryl nodded. “Y..yes, he’s my son.” Daisy smiled. “I thought so, you have the same eyes. Give me a few moments and I’ll see if I can connect you.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Cheryl looked at the duty person. “I don’t think I’ve met Daisy before, but I guess I haven’t had time to meet all of you yet. I know there was that group of young ladies that were here for a while helping to protect the Vice President. Is she part of that unit?” Gemini chuckled. “No, Daisy is kind of special. Has Ian told you about her?” Cheryl shook her head. “We haven’t had a lot of time together other than a day here and day there what with his team running all over the place.” Gemini nodded as he thought for a few moments. “Well since you are a part of the UNIT, I can probably tell you about her. Just don’t talk to anyone outside of the UNIT. Daisy is an AI.”

“AI? I don’t know what that is.”

“Oh. Artificial Intelligence. She was kind of an accident.”

“I am not an accident.” Cheryl and Gemini looked at the main monitor where Daisy was frowning at him. Gemini held his hands up. “You know that’s not what I meant Daisy, but if you are truthful, you sort of were. They didn’t mean for you to be here. That is what I meant. I’m glad you’re around though, it’s kind of like back home, where we had several AIs like you.”

“Wait you mean she’s not a real person?” Gemini glanced at Cheryl and shook his head. “No she is real, she just doesn’t have a body in the conventional sense. Back where we, the UNIT came from we worked with a bunch of AIs. The only difference between them and what other people call a “real” (he brought his hands up to make air quotes) person, is that her body is a computer, not human. Other than that, she is another type of sentient being. She feels everything like we do, she is of course extremely intelligent.” When he glanced at Daisy, she had a little smile on her face. “A week or two ago a bunch of the more computer savvy, geekier people around here got together, led by Logan, and they were working with a computer system that Carson had put together. Well one thing led to another and they accidently…” He glanced at Daisy’s image. “…woke Daisy up. So she is a fully sentient computer, an AI. It was an accident because Logan and Dalieass said they wouldn’t make any AIs in this universe because we couldn’t give them a body and they would be stuck in the computer. They would be unable to move around.”

Cheryl looked back and forth between Gemini and Daisy. “That is remarkable. And you say you interacted with a lot of other AI’s where you came from?” Gemini nodded. “You have to realize where we came from our version of Earth was part of the Federation of Planets and we worked and traded with other sentient species from many parts of the universe. Our biggest problems were caused by people much like this Army of God we’re dealing with now. They called themselves the FCC, but they were just as religiously fucked up as the AoG is here.”

Cheryl just sat there a moment. “I know we’ve heard a bit about this, but I haven’t really had a chance to realize how advanced your universe was. It makes sense with the knowledge and the equipment you have, but I don’t think I ever talked extensively to any of you about this. Hopefully we can hear more about the place you all came from. It sounds fascinating.”

“Maybe we’ll get a chance, once we can relax for a little while, but I’m guessing that Daisy is ready and we’ve been making her wait.” He looked at Daisy. “Sorry, we were just chatting away and ignoring you.”

“That’s okay Gemini. Doctor Kelly, I have Janet for you.” A window opened up and Janet’s face appeared. “Hi Cheryl. Daisy tells me you have something important you need to ask me?” Cheryl nodded and pulled some papers out of her pocket. “Yes. Remember a few weeks ago when you scanned our younger boys with that thing you have and you noted some genetic anomalies. You were saying that you thought that the boy’s genetics had been messed up by the people who created them and that it could mean that their bodies may shut down by the time they reached puberty. Well, one of the boys came down sick this morning and I ran several tests. The results came back and they are all over the place. So I wanted to ask you if it is possible that because of how we arrived here in this version of earth, that maybe that caused them to be affected now rather than later.”

“Can you send me copies of your results?” Cheryl nodded. “I think so. What email address should I use?” Janet chuckled, “I guess you can call it Daisy mail. Gemini can you scan Cheryl’s paperwork?” He nodded and put out his hand for the small stack of papers that Cheryl had been shuffling through as she talked to Janet. She handed them over and he put the sheets through the scanner. On the screen they saw Janet looking down at something and nodding her head. After a few moments she focused back on them. “I’m going to talk to one of my colleagues. Can you wait a few minutes?” Cheryl nodded. “Good, then I’ll be back. Daisy can you find Doctor Ziegler and ask her to join me.”

Daisy nodded and turned away for a moment to look at something else and then turned back. “She’s on her way Doctor Hayes.” Janet smiled. “Thank you Daisy.” Daisy returned the smile. “You’re welcome.”

A short time later, they saw Doctor Ziegler enter the room. Janet waved her over. Sabrina pulled a chair over and Janet showed her the test results. Sabrina was quiet as she studied them. When she finished the two doctors looked at the screen. “Sabrina, this is Cheryl Kelly. She’s Ian’s mom.” Sabrina nodded. “Yes, I had a chance to work with him on Carson’s leg surgery. May I call you Cheryl?” She nodded. “First may I ask what your specialty is? I know you are a doctor, since your name is on the test results as the ordering doctor.’

“Neurosurgeon, but I’ve been helping out at the hospital however I can.” Sabrina nodded. “Can you give me a little history on this boy?” Cheryl nodded and told her the story about how Ian and the other boys had been conceived and gotten their powers while they worked with the GRA in their world. She told about how they had reconnected after faking their deaths and going into hiding so the GRA couldn’t exploit their boys. She finished with Josh’s kidnapping by the GRA and the rescue of him and the other young boys who were the result of an attempt by the GRA to replicate Brett’s work with their boys.

“Okay, so these younger boys were genetically enhanced like the older ones and from the readings that Janet has shown me on her PADD, this GRA apparently did a poor job in replicating the work by Doctor MacLeod.” Cheryl nodded. “Yes. My concern is with these lab results. I worry that they may be indicating the changes are starting early.” Sabrina nodded. “I believe it could be possible with them being another group that crossed dimensions. That stress on their young bodies may be part of the problem. It is possible my people can help you, but I will have to talk to my superiors. It may take a little while. Continue to monitor the boy and if he gets worse before you hear from me, then please have Daisy contact us here.” Cheryl nodded. “Thank you both.” Janet smiled at her. “Talk to you later.” Daisy appeared in the screen. Cheryl looked at her. “Th..thank you Daisy.” Daisy smiled. “You’re welcome.” Cheryl thanked Gemini and left the room. On her way out she thanked Cooper at the desk and asked if he could arrange for a ride back to the hospital. He made a quick call and a Gator pulled up in front of the building. She thanked him once again and was soon on her way back to the hospital.

That evening Charles, Damian, Patrick and Cheryl were finishing dinner. Charles had come home to clean and change, then he was going to relieve Stephanie, so she could come home and do the same. They had stayed by Chris’ side all day, except for minor breaks. “He still complains that his tummy hurts, but he said it isn’t as bad as it was and the nurse said his fever has gone down to 99.”

“That’s good. I’ll make sure and check on him first thing in the morning when I get in. Maybe we can discharge him home.” They were interrupted by the doorbell. Charles got up to answer it. Standing at the door was a well dressed, very tall and well-built teenager with long black hair in a single braid. An Eagle feather was tied into his hair. He towered over Charles who involuntarily stepped back. “Um, can I help you young man?”

“Is this the home of Doctor Cheryl Kelly?” Charles nodded. “Yes, please come in.” He stepped aside to let the teenager into the house. “We’re just finishing dinner. Can I get you something?” The teen shook his head. “No thank you. I just need to speak with Doctor Kelly.” Charles led them to the dining room and saw that they were clearing the dishes away. Damian saw them come into the room and froze where he was, holding a plate in his hands and stared with a look of awe on his face. “Wow. You’re really tall. How tall are you? Why do you have that feather hanging in your hair? Wow, your hair is really long like Dakota and his dad. You kinda look like them too. Are you an Indian like them?” He got a sheepish look on his face. “Oops sorry, I forgot I’m supposed to say Native American, cuz Indian is the wrong name.”

There was a low chuckle from the teenager. Charles smiled. “Go on Damian and bring the plate to your mom. Cheryl, there is someone here to see you.” Cheryl turned around and paused for a moment partly due to his size. “Yes, can I help you?”

“My name is Marko. Sabrina, Doctor Ziegler, contacted me about a patient you have at the hospital.” Cheryl nodded. Patrick nudged her. “Why don’t you two go talk. Chuck and I will finish up here.” She nodded and had Marko follow her to the study. “Please have a seat Marko.” After he was seated. “So what do you need to know about Chris?”

“Sabrina told me about him and a little of his background. She said there were four boys who were part of an experiment. I assume the boy out there is one of them.” Cheryl nodded. “Yes, Damian is adopted. We rescued him and his brothers from a bad situation and adopted them. There were eight of them originally, two of them are back on the Earth we came from and two were killed the first day we arrived here when we were attacked by a bunch of soldiers and convicts.”

“Yes she explained some of that. I have been in contact with my superiors and they have agreed to let me take them to the Citadel, so we can try and help them.” Cheryl gave him a relieved smile. “Do you think you can help them?”

“We won’t know until we examine them, but we will do what we can.”

“When should we be ready to go? Oh, I should probably call the others and tell them what is going on.” Cheryl said as she was leading him back to the others. “We’ll be leaving right away.” Cheryl paused. “Oh. I’ll call the others. Please have a seat in the living room.” He gave her a nod and took a seat on the couch. Damian was sitting there coloring in his book. “Hi. My name’s Damian. What’s yours?”

“Hello. I’m Marko.”

“Hi Marko. So are you a real Indi….Native American?” Marko gave the young boy a slight smile. “Yes, we call ourselves First Nation. The feather in my hair is an Eagle feather. It was given to me for a brave deed.”

“Cool, can I see it?” Marko lowered his 6’7” frame to the ground next to the younger boy, crossing his legs. He gestured for Damian to look at it. Damian got up on his knees and shuffled over to his side and leaned in close so he could look at it. Damian brought his hand up and gently touched it. “That’s really neat.” He sat back on his heels and looked at Marko who even though he was sitting, towered over the smaller boy. “Do you want to color with me?”

“I would like that.” Damian smiled and dragged the coloring book over and placed it on Marko’s leg. “You can choose which picture to color.”

When the three adults entered the living room they saw Marko and Damian sitting on the floor coloring in his book. Marko looked up at them and then returned to coloring with Damian. He finished the part he was doing, then put the crayon back into the pile. “I’ll let you finish the rest of the picture.” Damian nodded absently as he continued coloring, the tip of his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

“I’ve called the other families, they should be here in a few moments. As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Charles went to open the door and welcomed the other families. Behind them he saw Stephanie climbing out of a Gator and thanking the driver. He went out to greet her. “How’s Chris doing?”

“He’s okay. He’s sleeping now. His fever has gone down, so I thought it would be fine to come home. They’ll call if there is a change. The two of them entered the house behind the others. Marko stood up when the families entered the living room. When Wyatt saw him, he stepped forward. “Hau, Kola.” Marko gave him a slight smile. “Hau, Kola. What nation?”

“Tsitsistas.”

“Ah, Sahiyenan. I am Lakota. Waste, brother.” As everyone filtered into the living room, the two other young boys went to join Damian. Cheryl walked over to them. “Damian why don’t you go into the dining room and do your coloring on the table so all three of you can work on the pictures. “’Kay momma.” He looked at his brothers. “C’mon, let’s go color.” Cheryl turned to face everyone. “Everyone this is Marko. He is here to talk to us about the boys, the younger ones. The older ones are fine as far as I know. As you know, Chris is in the hospital right now.” She saw Stephanie. “How’s he doing?” She smiled. “Better, his fever is about normal and he was sleeping comfortably when I left.”

“Good. The reason Marko is here is because I think the genetic issue that Janet Hayes spoke to us about a few weeks back, might be starting in the boys. I contacted Janet, earlier today and I’m guessing she talked to others and the result is that Marko is here to take the boys for treatment.” She looked at Marko and he nodded. “The leaders of my group have agreed to allow me to bring the boys to the Citadel, where they can get the treatment to heal the genetic anomalies in their bodies. Doctor Hayes, sent us the information she had on them. The sooner we treat this the better. So we need to leave as soon as we can. We would prefer that not everyone come along, so we wish to keep the number of people going with me to the minimum. If you will please pack a small bag for the boys and the parent who will accompany them. We can leave right away. We will also be stopping by the hospital to pick up the boy that is there.”

“How long will the treatment take?” Marko shook his head. “I don’t know. A few days at least, maybe longer. That is not my field of knowledge. They will be well taken care of, I can assure you.” Stephanie stood up. “Very well. Chuck, I’m going to go pack a bag for Chris and me.” That seemed to be the signal to the others and those who were the parents of the boys, called them and left to get ready to leave with Marko. They all returned a short time later with bags in hand. Each boy had one parent going with him. Even though Cheryl really wanted to go, she knew she was needed at the hospital, so they agreed that Pat would go with Damian, Russ was going with Paul, Stephanie was of course going with Chris and Julie would go with Braden.

When everyone was ready, they went outside where the Gators that had been assigned to them were parked. Wyatt, Charles and William got into the drivers seats and they left for the hospital. At the hospital Cheryl signed Chris out. His dad carried the bundled up boy out to the Gator where he placed him in Stephanie’s lap. He stirred a bit and opened his eyes for a few moments. He looked up and smiled at his mom and snuggled against her as he closed his eyes. Marko then directed them to an open area near the UNIT headquarters. They wondered why they had stopped in this empty area, there was nothing here. Marko brought his wrist up and spoke into the device he wore there. He then gestured for them to follow him and he started walking. They looked at each other for a moment, not sure what he was doing. Wyatt shrugged and followed Marko. Moments later they were all stunned at what appeared out of thin air. It looked something like a flying saucer. There was a ramp leading into the craft. The three boys looked up in awe. “Cooooool.”

Everyone was standing underneath it staring up at it. A couple stepped back a few steps until they couldn’t see it and looked all around trying to see if they could see it. They would then step forward into the cloaking field until they could see it. “This is amazing.”

“We are ready to go, so if you will please board we can be on our way.” The families nodded and quickly said their goodbyes. Those going walked up the ramp. The three boys practically ran up because they wanted to see what it looked like inside. Marko turned to the others. “You may want to get clear.” Marko then turned and walked up the ramp. When it started closing, those left behind took one last look and then walked back to the Gators.

Inside, Marko watched as his crew helped the passengers get buckled in before heading to the bridge.

Outside the rest had climbed back into the Gators. They looked at the place where the ship was, but couldn’t see anything. A few moments later, some of them thought they heard a low thrumming sound, followed by a sudden small gust of wind, but they could still see nothing. However, there was now something different in the feel of the area. It felt bigger somehow. Wyatt looked at the others. “Well, I guess they’re on their way. Let’s go home.”

It had been a couple of days since they got back to Offutt after breaking through the Mississippi River line. Brett walked over to the command center and although he expected to see Eve, she wasn’t there. Normally, it seemed that every time Brett came in here, Eve was there. He was starting to get worried that she wasn’t getting enough down time. She was taking her responsibilities very seriously. Now that Adam was back, Brett figured that once he was back on his feet, Eve could step down and Adam would resume his position. Then maybe she could relax a little. Well at least as much as she could. Relaxing was not really in her DNA, literally. He thought he might need to have a talk with her. Maybe she was relaxing a bit and that’s why she wasn’t here. He looked at the large monitors on the wall. Not that he was any military person, although he had learned a lot about it in the last few weeks. From what he could see it appeared that President Bryce’s forces had completely broken the siege of Chicago and although fighting was still going on along the Mississippi River line, Bryce’s forces were slowly pushing north and south of the breakthrough. General Rose was pulling as many troops as possible to both exploit and widen the hole in the line. President Bryce and Secretary Larkin were doing everything they could to support him.

There were some stories that some of the Ashwood troops were surrendering rather than fighting fellow Americans. Brett heard that the front line troops were attempting to contact the opposing Ashwood forces and telling them that Ashwood had been arrested, so there was no longer a reason for them to keep fighting. The person whose orders they had been following was under arrest now for treason to the United States. The UNIT had received word that Ashwood had been assassinated, but they were keeping a tight lid on that information as Bryce’s forces tried to figure out who was behind that. They all knew who probably was behind it, the Army of God, but they got word that Admiral Norris wanted to keep that knowledge from getting out to the general public until they had more information. One reason was that we didn’t want people to find out about it yet, and think that Bryce had him executed out of hand. That was not their way or they would have just shot him instead of arresting him. It would have been easy enough to say he died in a fire fight when Bryce’s force attempted to arrest him and he fought back. Luckily the reporters who were there and witnessed it were reporters that supported Bryce, otherwise the news would already be out he was sure. So they still controlled that info for now. Brett was sure the AoG would probably release that info at some point and possibly try to spin it so that it looks like he was executed by Bryce’s orders. Brett shook his head, he sure was glad he didn’t have to deal with politics. His only concern was his people. He turned and left the command center and walked outside, nodding to the UNIT members on duty at the building entrance.

Brett decided to stroll over to the hangars where the UNIT helicopters were kept. He went to his room to grab a jacket, since it was cool outside. It was about a half a mile walk. At one time he would have tried to find a way to get a ride for a half mile walk, but now his knee didn’t bother him at all. It had healed up without him giving it any thought. He didn’t even limp anymore. It wasn’t long before he walked into the hangar and saw people working around the helicopters. He wandered over to Dragon and saw it was being serviced just like the others. He could see Christina sitting in the cockpit, leaning down and fiddling with something. She looked up, saw him and smiled. He returned her smile and waved as he walked back outside. He looked toward the flight line where some of the fighter jets were parked. He stood there just looking around and thinking.

He knew there was no chance of getting back home. This was their home now. He wondered what people thought about what happened to all of them back at home. He guessed that there had probably been an earthquake up there at the same time that looked like it left only a destroyed house. Well whatever happened there, had no bearing on what was going on here. Hopefully this war could end soon. He knew Ashwood was just the tip of the iceberg, and there were a whole lot of misguided, evil bastards behind him that needed to be stopped and the UNIT was the group that could do it. Brett thought that if they were completely unleashed and not held accountable for anything they did, they could be very ruthless in their chase, but he was glad that they were in control of themselves. Although he had never seen it, he had seen Chase and Robin sparring and he was mesmerized and thought that if that was what they were like when they did full out sparring, he could only imagine what Chase was like when he was fighting someone for survival. He remembered being told by Janet that Chase was a force of nature, that if he completely let loose it would be a terrible sight. It was hard for Brett to match the Chase he knew, with that version of Chase, but after getting to know all of them, he had little doubt of it. He was glad that they were wonderful disciplined young people, otherwise who knows.

He turned around and headed back to the Inn. Inside he looked at a bulletin board that was there. Underneath it was a small rack that had several pamphlets. The pamphlets were about things to do around the area. Some were about things to do on the base as well. One of them caught his eye. He pulled it out and read through it. A smile came to his face. Now he just needed to find Building 362. He went to the desk and asked for one of the maps that they had for residents. He finally found the building and smiled once again. He looked at the guys at the desk. “Hi, would it be possible to get a ride somewhere. I’d walk, but where I want to go is on the other side of the runway.”

“If you’ll wait here Doctor MacLeod, I’ll see if I can scare up a ride for you.” Brett smiled. “Thank you. I’m going to go up to my room and I’ll be right back.” The boy nodded and picked up a phone. When Brett returned to the lobby the teen at the desk looked up. “Doctor MacLeod, someone will be by with one of the SUVs that were assigned to us in a couple of minutes.” Brett stood up. “Thanks, I’ll wait outside.” He left the building and stood out front waiting for his ride. He saw a blue Air Force SUV pulling into the parking lot and watched as it stopped in front of him. Smiling at him from the driver’s seat was Gabe. He returned the smile as he climbed in. “I heard you needed a ride somewhere Brett.” Brett held out the map and pointed to one of the buildings on it. “This is the building.” Gabe looked at the map for a few moments. “No problem. We’ll be there shortly.”

Gabe only took a few minutes before he turned into the parking lot of a long building. Gabe parked and they got out. They read the sign.

Gabe gave Brett a questioning look. Brett just smiled and walked to the door. He paused at the door and looked at Gabe. “Not a word about this Gabe.” Gabe nodded and they entered. Brett walked up to the counter where an airman was sitting. The young man smiled as they walked in. He saw the colonel insignia on Gabe’s collar and stood up quickly. “How can I help you, sir?” They stepped up to the desk, Brett spoke up. “Good afternoon. I understand you rent equipment for outdoor recreation?” The airman turned to Brett and nodded. “Yes, sir we have a wide variety of outdoor equipment for camping, fishing, boating and many other sports for example.” Brett smiled. “That sounds great. I would like to talk to you about renting a few things for a couple of days.” The airman nodded. “Of course sir. I will gladly assist you with that. What would you like to rent?” Brett was looking at the rental price lists that were under the glass of the countertop. After looking at them for a few moments, he looked up at the airman and smiled. “You’re right you do have a lot of good stuff.” Brett then started pointing at the items on one of the lists, the airman leaned over so he could see what Brett was pointing at. “Okay, let’s see.” He perused the lists for a few moments. “I’ll take three of these, twenty of those, twenty of those, I think three of those.” He paused a moment as he looked at the list. “Oh, how many of these do you have?” He looked up and the airman was staring between Brett and Gabe. It looked like he was watching a tennis match. There was a rental form on the counter and his pen was poised above it not sure what was going on. Gabe chuckled a little. “Son you might want to get some help. I have a feeling this is going to be a big order.” Brett nodded. “Gabe is right. You’re going to need some help.” The airman looked around and spotted a sergeant who supervised the rental office. “Sergeant Burke? I may need some assistance with this.” The man stopped from entering an office in the back and walked up to the airman’s side. “Is there a problem Durant?”

“No sir, but these two officers wish to rent a large amount of our outdoor gear and they said I may need some help to get it all down.” The sergeant looked at the two men. “Are you planning some sort of recreational event, sir?’ Brett nodded. “Yes that is in fact what I am doing and I will need enough items for maybe up to thirty or forty people, teens and adults.” Sergeant Burke nodded. “Very good sir, I’m sure Airman Durant can take care of you. He’ll get your order down and we’ll make sure you have what you need, sir. Go ahead Durant.”

The airman reached under the counter and started pulling out multiple pads and placing them on the counter. Sergeant Burke watched him for a moment before saying anything. “What are you doing Durant?” the sergeant asked. “They are ordering items that are on different rental pads, plus there’s the RV rental forms, that I’ll need too.” Sergeant Burke looked at the two men. Brett smiled at him. “It might be best if you write it all down on a plain pad of paper what I want and how many of each and then we can put them on the forms when we finish the list. Burke studied Brett for a few moments, but he merely smiled at him. Burke glanced at Gabe who was also smiling. “Durant, just do as he says.” The airman nodded and grabbed a pad of lined paper. “Okay sir, can we start again?” Brett nodded and started on the first list, naming the item and quantity. When he finished with one list, he would move to the next and started doing the same. Sergeant Burke stood there overseeing the process. As they went through the lists, Brett had to change the amount of items that he wanted when they didn’t have the amount he wanted, but it didn’t faze him, he just continued listing items and quantity.

On one of the lists he paused and glanced at Gabe. “What d’you think Gabe. If we get some of these, would the guys like to go through these in some sort of a fun obstacle course race?” Gabe leaned closer and looked at what Brett was looking at and started smiling. “I think it would be a helluva a lot of fun. I think Me, George and the rest of the guys could come up with something.” Brett had a big grin. “Good, help me pick out which of these we might want.” The two men looked at the list for a moment and then Gabe started picking what he wanted. When they finished they looked at Durant. “Okay read me back what you have.” Durant glanced at his sergeant before going back to the first page and began reading. When he finished Burke looked at Brett. “Sir, meaning no disrespect, but this is going to cost several thousand dollars to rent all of this.” Brett waved him off. “None taken, Sergeant. Now, I need to talk to you about where I want all of this delivered and I will be renting this for two or three days.”

Brett pulled out the brochure he had picked up at their lodgings. “I want to rent this place for three maybe four days.” He looked at Gabe. “We’ll probably need an extra day for set up and tear down, don’t you think?” Gabe nodded after a moment of thought. Sergeant Burke looked at what he was pointing at. “The pavilion or the shelters, or both?” Brett shook his head. “No you don’t understand. I want to rent all of this. The entire area for three days.” Burke’s mouth dropped open. “The entire area sir?” Brett nodded. “Yep, all of it. Is there anyone currently using any of it?” Burke was still staring dumbfounded. Gabe spoke up to get his attention. “Sergeant?” Burke glanced at Gabe. “Sorry sir. No one’s ever asked to do that, so I’ll have to check with the rental office manager about it. I don’t think anyone other than day trippers are using it. It is off season for the most part.” Brett nodded. “Of course, I understand. I’m in no hurry, I’ll wait.” Burke nodded and turned to go to his office. He glanced at Durant. “Go ahead and start filling out the order forms, Durant.”

Burke returned a couple of minutes later. “The manager is on his way.” Brett nodded as he made sure Durant got all the items filled in properly. A few minutes later a civilian entered the building and walked up to the counter. “Hi, I’m Jason Ehlers, manager for the Recreation Facilities. Sergeant Burke tells me that you wish to reserve the recreation area for…” He glanced at Burke. “Four days.” Jason gave him a smile of thanks. “Four days. We’ve never had such a request. I’m not sure if we can do that. I’d probably have to speak to someone on the command staff to even be able to accept the reservation. If you give me a couple of days, I should be able to get an answer for you.”

Brett shook his head. “I’m sorry Mister Ehlers. May I call you Jason?” He nodded. “Jason, I want to get this figured out right now. Not sure how you are going to do that, but you need to do that now. Call whoever you need to, but please call them.”

“Brett, he could call General Rhynerson.”

“The new Base Commander?” Gabe nodded. He turned to Burke. “Do you have the phone number of the Base Commander’s office?” Burke nodded. “Why don’t you call him for me?” Burke glanced at Jason, who could only shrug. He pulled a thin book out of the shelf underneath the counter and flipped through it until he found the number. He dialed the phone number. When it started ringing, Gabe held his hand out and Burke with a surprised look, handed it to him.

“Good Afternoon Sergeant. This is Colonel Patterson….Yes, the very same. May I speak with General Rhynerson. Thank you.” Gabe looked at Brett and gave him a smile. The other three just stared at Gabe, obviously trying to figure out who these two were that they could so easily be put through to the Base Commander. “Good afternoon, Sir. Yes, that’s me. Overall, I think everything is going well. Yes, sir. Thank you for everything. The reason I’m calling is I am here with the manager of the outdoor rental office, Jason Ehlers, and we wish to rent the recreation area for a couple of days just for our use. We would prefer to not have anyone outside of our group on site. The group needs to blow off some steam, been kind of busy for the last few days. No sir, we intend to pay for everything. We don’t expect anything like that. Yes, sir. Trust me it will not be a problem for us. Just four days. Plus we are also renting a large amount of your outdoor equipment as well. It would be helpful if the recreation office here could take care of delivering everything where we want it and then picking it up when we finish with it. They may need some extra help, sir. Just a moment sir.”

He looked at Brett. “When would you like to start?” Brett thought quickly. “Tomorrow morning, we can set up everything we need and then go from there.” Gabe nodded. “Tomorrow sir.” He listened for a few moments. “Just a moment.” He held the phone out to Jason. “He would like to speak with you.” Jason took the phone. “This is Jason Ehlers…..Yes General…No problem sir. I just wasn’t sure what….yes sir. I will take care of everything. Yes sir, sorry to have bothered you, sir. Thank you sir. Goodbye.” Jason handed the phone back to Burke, and turned to face Brett. “I’m sorry for the holdup, sir. General Rhynerson said to give you every courtesy and that whatever you deem as a reasonable rental rate for everything will be sufficient.” Brett nodded and reached into the leg pocket of his fatigue pants and pulled a stack of $10,000 that he placed on the counter, followed by another, then a third and then a fourth. As each one was placed on the counter the eyes of the three men grew wider and wider. “That is what I deem reasonable for what I’m requesting.” The three of them stared at the stack of bills. “Sergeant, let’s put this in a secure place. I’ll help you with getting everything signed out.” While Sergeant Burke took the stacks of money to the office where they had a safe, Jason hurried behind the counter and assisted Durant in getting all the paperwork filled out and signed. Once the money was secured, Burke returned to assist them. When they were done, Brett thanked them “Please do what you can and get everything delivered over by the Pavilion tomorrow morning. I believe Colonel Patterson and some of his men will be there to meet you.” He glanced at Gabe and seeing his nod, Brett continued. “Thank you gentlemen. It has been a pleasure working with you.” He shook all of their hands and left.

He looked at Gabe as they walked back to the truck. “I want this to be a surprise, so don’t tell anyone.”

“I’ll need to talk to George and the rest of the guys so we can put together that obstacle race and figure out where we want everything else.” Brett nodded. “Alright, but no one else. Especially the kids.” Gabe nodded and they were soon on their way back to the Inn. That evening Brett went over to the hospital and met with Janet. They talked for a little while and she agreed to help him in any way she could.

The next day, the Red Dragons were tending to their equipment, washing clothes, doing some PT. Throughout the day, each member or group was visited by Jamie. He had been asked to make sure everyone would be at dinner. When Jamie delivered the note to Eve, she had just returned from meeting with Admiral Norris and was looking in on the command center. When she took the note, she asked what it was about. He could only shrug. “My dad asked me to give this to you. He wouldn’t tell me what it was about, just that it was important that everyone be there for dinner tonight.” She nodded. “Very well. Tell him I will be there.” Jamie nodded and left the command center. No one really noticed that Gabe and the rest of Brett’s security team were nowhere to be seen.

That evening at dinner, Brett would not say anything about why he wanted everyone there. At one point he looked at Ethan and noticed the smile on his face. He shook his finger at him. “Not a word, young man.” Ethan bit his lip and nodded.

When everyone was about done, Brett stood up and clinked his knife against his glass. Once he had their attention he began. “I know you all have questions why I wanted you all here. Well we’re going to take a short trip tomorrow morning.” He looked at Christina. “I assume Dragon is ready?” She nodded. “Yep.” Brett smiled. “Good. Luckily we won’t need it.” That caused several confused looks directed at him and each other. “I said it was a short trip and all of you will be there, no excuses, no ifs, ands, or buts. There will be trucks at the front entrance tomorrow morning to pick you up.” Eve raised her hand. “Sir, I have duties at the command center.” Brett shook his head. “No, actually you don’t. You are relieved starting tomorrow morning for two days.” He looked at everyone. “That means all of you are relieved of all duties for the next two days. We are all taking a little R & R. Orders from Doctor Hayes. She said that Adam and Logan will back up her decision if necessary. So enjoy the rest of your evening. The trucks will be at the entrance at 8 am. You will be getting breakfast when you arrive where we’re going, so don’t eat anything. If you are not there waiting, I will send someone to drag you out kicking and screaming if necessary.” He sat down and finished his dinner. He refused to say more and admonished Ethan from saying anything he knew either.

At 8 am the next morning, the team started trickling out of the inn. A couple of personnel trucks were parked at the front. Leaning against them were Jim and Patrick. When they saw the team coming outside, they straightened up. “Okay everyone climb aboard, time’s a wasting.” Figuring the two men wouldn’t tell them anything, they climbed into the back of the trucks without any questions. Brett climbed into the cab with Jim. Once everyone was onboard, the tailgates were locked in place and the men climbed into the cab and they were quickly on their way.

The trucks headed south until they reached the perimeter road where they turned to the east and stayed on the road until they reached a place with a sign stating Bass Lake Recreation Area. They had to stop at the entrance because the gate was closed and locked. Jim jumped down and unlocked the gate, they drove through and then Patrick closed and relocked the gate. The two trucks drove around the south end of the lake and pulled into a parking lot. Once the tailgates were unlocked the team quickly jumped down and looked around at where they were. Chase was the only one who had seen this area when he was on his little exploration of the base the other day.

Brett came around in front of everyone. “Okay, this is where you are going to be staying for a couple of days.” He pointed to several RV and camper trailers parked around the parking lot. “You will not be returning to the base, so the campers will be your quarters. This entire area is ours. No one else will be here, so that means Chase, you don’t have to hide from anyone. You all can do whatever you want. Down at the boathouse I have secured canoes and kayaks for those that would like to go out on the lake. I also have a few motorboats. If it had been summer I would have gotten some ski boats but the water is pretty cold right now. There are plenty of fishing poles if you’d like to drown some worms. I was told that the lake is well stocked with large and smallmouth bass, walleye, etc, so enjoy and if you catch something and want to eat it, we’ll make that happen. There are some baseball fields, basketball half courts, horseshoe pits, a couple of sand volleyball courts and an archery range here. I want everyone to just relax, enjoy themselves and do whatever you’d like to do for the next couple of days. We’ll need people to assist with the meals during meal time, but other than that, Gabe and the other adults are going to do the cooking but they would appreciate some help. We have been really busy running from one end of the country to the other, and I thought and Janet agreed with me, you guys need a break. So this is it.”

All of the kids started to cheer and Brett held up his hands. “Oh there is one other thing.” He pointed to an open area nearby. “See all those brightly colored piles of material on the grass over there. Well that is an inflatable obstacle course put together by Gabe and his team. There will be a competition tomorrow afternoon to see who can finish it in the best time. For now, let’s all head into the pavilion and get some breakfast, then we’ll have fun.”

After breakfast, everyone split up to look things over and decide what they wanted to do first. In no time at all, there were the sounds of young people having fun. As Brett walked around the place, he smiled as he saw his kids acting like kids. At the archery range, he saw that Dakota was teaching others how to shoot a bow. Looking at the lake he saw a few of the canoes and kayaks out there paddling along. There were a couple of the group lounging at the lakeside, fishing. Brett smiled with satisfaction. Yep, this was needed he said to himself. When he wandered over to the horseshoe pits, Gabe called him over to join them.

Brett had never played horseshoes but found it to be very relaxing and enjoyable. What surprised him was when Gabe reached into a cooler and handed him a beer. “Where did this come from?” Gabe pointed at Jim. “Ask our scrounger, or better yet, maybe you shouldn’t. When we came over here yesterday to meet the airmen and get things set up, Jim showed up with several flats of beer. He said he found them?” Brett glanced at Jim who had adopted an innocent look. “They were just laying around and no one seemed to be needing them, so I thought it would be okay for me to take them for our R&R.”

“Okay, I won’t ask, but will someone be asking us about this?” Jim thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Don’t think so, especially if there is no evid…I mean if we drink all of them, properly dispose of the cans, and perhaps burn the cardboard, there should be no questions at all.” He gave Brett a cheeky grin before taking another sip of his beer before making a throw. Brett chuckled a little and turned his attention to the game.

The six adults had a good time. Gabe and Doc were great horseshoe players and after everyone played one on one, they chose teams. Gabe was with Brett, Doc with Jim, and Patrick with George. During one of the games, Brett made some pretty outstanding shots, he seemed to have acquired some expert skills all of a sudden. They even surprised him. After the game ended and he and Gabe had completely destroyed the competition, Brett noticed something out of the corner of his eye by some trees. It was Jamie. He gave him an impudent smile and wave as he ran off to rejoin the others. Brett nudged Gabe and pointed with his chin at the running figure, as he whispered. “I think we may have had a little help.” Gabe chuckled a little. “All’s fair in love and war…and horseshoes is war.”

It was quickly apparent that this is what the team needed. By the end of the day, everyone looked so much more relaxed than they had in the last month. They had been constantly on the go pretty much the entire time, since they arrived here. They had been involved in eight battles, had been on the move across the country multiple times as they moved to different bases from one side of the country to the other. So all the activities really helped them all relax and just be kids. Brett arranged for them to contact Kettle Falls and talk to their parents. They found out about their little brothers being taken by the Sciereans to get their messed up genetics fixed. When he learned about that, Brett decided that after they finished with the R&R, he would try to meet with Janet and discuss with her what was happening so he would have a good understanding of the problems.

The evening meal was big, thick, steaks, cooked by the adults with baked potatoes, corn or green beans. After eating, most of the team were almost in food comas, but when they heard there would be a campfire with s’mores, they perked up and somehow found enough room to stuff a few inside, along with some hot chocolate to help keep them warm. The long active day began to take a toll on everyone and it was starting to get pretty cold as well, so the campfire broke up and they retreated to the RVs and Camper Trailers that had been rented for them to get some sleep. In a short time, everyone was asleep. Outside, the adults sat around the fire for a little while longer. Gabe did a check of the area and the adults put together a quick night watch schedule to watch over everyone while they slept. Saying their goodnights, the place soon became very quiet. The only noise was some faint noise coming from the base nearby.

The next morning most of the team slept in a little bit. After breakfast they were once again enjoying the activities available to them. During lunch Brent looked around and he could see a difference in everyone’s face. Vanya whose normal mien was a bit somber and Brett knew it had to do with the loss of his dads, even he looked more relaxed and was smiling more than normal. Even Eve was a little less serious and looked slightly more relaxed than normal, of course that could be because of the person sitting next to her, Apollo. Brett chuckled a little when he looked at Chase who scampered everywhere, currently not confined to having to hide who he was all the time. He moved from person to person. Sometimes to just jump in a lap and get or give a hug, other times, to swipe some bacon or sausage off someone’s plate and then quickly moving out of reach before they could grab him. He was all smiles. Yep Brett thought, they all needed this. He felt less tense as well. He knew this was short lived, but it was something he would have to try and interject with the team as often as it was possible to arrange.

This morning was a repeat of the previous morning. Kids getting a chance to be kids for a little while. Lunch was hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and a variety of drinks. Brett watched their animated faces and smiled. As lunch was winding down, he picked his knife up and rapped it on the table. Everyone quieted down as they gave him their attention. “Good afternoon everyone. I hope you all have had a great time. Now on to more serious matters.” There were several groans around the table. Brett smiled at them. “Okay not too serious. It is time for the obstacle race. I will let Gabe explain how we’re going to do this.” He sat down as Gabe stood up. “Alright. The others are out there making sure everything is set up and ready to go. We talked it over and we have decided we will have two competitions. One for the Genesis team members, and one for the “Squishies” as you call us.” Gabe made air quotes when he said Squishies. Several of them laughed. “Anyway, we’ve made a double elimination chart. Each person will get two chances. Once you’ve lost twice you’re out. So once you are done with lunch and everything is cleaned up we’ll head outside to the obstacle course field and let the best one win.” That got everyone up and moving to clean up.

When everyone gathered at the obstacle course area, they saw that the multicolored material was now inflated showing them different obstacles. The course included four inflated courses. Each had some climbing, running, sliding and jumping obstacles built into them. Gabe waved his arms to gather everyone together. On a stand next to him were a couple of boards with the elimination brackets drawn in. One was labeled ‘Genesis’ and one was labeled ‘Squishy’. “Okay, here are the boards. I want everyone to work together to add your names, you get to choose who you challenge in the first round. Christina as Red Dragon commander, you get to put your name up there first.” She smiled and took the marker adding her name on the top line. She then turned and looked at Eve holding out the pen. “You game sister?” Eve walked over and took the pen before adding her name at the bottom of the list. She then smirked to Christina. “This way you can feel like you’ve won a few before I take you out at the final.” Christina nodded, “Fair enough, I just thought to put you out of your misery early on, but if you think you’ll beat me, ain’t happenin’, but you can have your delusions for a little longer.”

“We’ll see.” The two exchanged evil smiles. The others started filling in the rest. Apollo matched with Christina and Oliver matched with Eve. The rest of them added their names in the empty brackets. On the Squishy side, the eight boys teamed up against their boyfriends to start. Jamie and Josh, Sean and Dakota, Ethan and Dylan, Ian and Logan. Ivan looked back and forth trying to figure out who he would run against. Gabe saw the look on his face and handed his whistle to Brett. “I’m your partner for this Ivan.” He then put his and Vanya’s name into the two empty slots. Once the boards were filled in, Gabe grabbed the whistle that was now hanging around Brett’s neck and blew it. “Now for the rules. No use of mental shenanigans allowed. It is just your physical abilities. Anyone caught playing patty fingers with their mental abilities will be disqualified.” He pointed at the adults. “They will be the judges and they will be watching for any shenanigans. Understood?”

Everyone nodded. “Alright follow me and I’ll show you the course. You start on this closest obstacle. Climb up, and then slide down into the water at the bottom. Then run to the next obstacle and you go through those low arches, through the pillars, jump through those narrow bars, through the holes, over this climb, through the inner tube looking obstacle, a slightly higher climb, slide down and through those pillars, then a higher climb and slide down to the bottom. Run to the next obstacle. Here you jump through these holes, through the bars, through those pillars, jump and grab the rope and swing across the water, through those pillars, climb the slope, slide down, and here’s a hard one, the spiderweb, you’ll have to make your way through the strands of the spider web and then climb the end hill and slide down the other side. Then we come to the last obstacle. You have to jump through those holes, through the pillars, slip through the bars, run the tires, crawl through the arches, more pillars, jump through the holes, climb the slope, slide down and run to the end.”

He looked at everyone with a smile. “Simple huh?” Everyone cheered. He looked at the adults. “If you guys will go to your stations. Brett you will be at the finish line. Chris why don’t you and Apollo start us off?” The two nodded and stepped up to the starting line. When they were ready to go, Jim was ready to blow his whistle, until Gabe tapped him on the shoulder. “Wait a moment.”

Gabe had stopped because something had caught his eye near the entrance. His pause got everyone’s attention and they all turned to see what he was looking at. Christina and Apollo stood up from their ready stances. They all saw one of the Air Force SUV’s pulling into the parking lot. One of the older UNIT members jumped out and trotted toward them. When he saw Eve, he ran over to her and handed her a message. She read it and then looked at the team. “It appears we’ll have to cut this short. We have orders to be in Virginia as soon as possible.” She looked at Christina. “We’ll have to do this again sometime.” Christina nodded. “Let’s go and take care of business.”

If you are enjoying this story, please write and let the author know: Eric at CastleRoland dot Net