Infinity's Reach

By Glen Robinson

Life was pretty simple for Infinity Richards as a teenager in a private school in Baltimore. Then she woke up to discover that she’d spent the past two years in a prison camp. Now she and her friends are faced with a trek across a forbidding landscape scarred by a surprise nuclear attack on the United States. Their journey will lead them past hot zones, warlords, “crazies,” occupying Coalition forces and an assortment of allies and foes.

It may take her years to get to Camp Zion in the West where her father is reorganizing American forces to take back their country. But in the meantime, her journey across apocalyptic America will turn her into someone stronger, smarter and more courageous than she ever imagined she would be.

More than three centuries ago, John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, second only to the Bible in readership. Now Infinity’s Reach revisits the challenges and lessons of the original Pilgrim’s Progress in a totally new and exciting setting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Glen Robinson
• Release date: Mar 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301371785

Glen Robinson

Glen Robinson is the author of 24 books. He lives in north Texas, where he is a retired professor of communication. He writes in several genres, including Christian suspense, historical fiction, nonfiction, science fiction and fantasy.

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INFINITY’S REACH

By

Glen Robinson

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Prevail Publications on Smashwords

Cover Design by Wicked Book Covers, www.wickedbookcovers.com

Infinity’s Reach

Copyright © 2013 by Glendal P. Robinson


This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is also available in a print edition at most online retailers.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters in this story are fictional.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. The Stranger

2. A Life Forgotten

3. The Wiseman and the Obstinate

4. No Rest for the Weary

5. Burgers with No Fries

6. Get a Horse!

7. Howls in the Night

8. The Lunatic Fringe

9. Water, Water Everywhere

10. On Our Own

11. Separate Ways

12. Regrets

13. Rescue

14. Survival Skills

15. Duck Hunt

16. Out of the Frying Pan

17. Into the Fire

18. Days of Wandering

19. Into the Breach

20. Salt of the Earth

21. Buried Treasure

22. House of the Interpreter

23. Damien's Task

24. Crossroads

25. Jumping to Conclusions

26. Suspicions

27. Ambush

28. Second Chances

29. The Vale of Megiddo

30. The Second Coming

*****

INFINITY’S REACH

*****

THE STRANGER

ELLIE: EASTERN TENNESSEE: DAY 712

The sun baked our brown bikinied bodies, and we reveled in it. Four of us—Marcie, Kimmy, Infinity and me, Ellie—were on permanent spring break. School was out, and we had no plans to ever return—ever.

The resort that Kimmy had found was just yummy. The pool boys brought us towels when we got too warm or too cold—which was like, never, but we loved the attention anyway. The bartender brought us champagne—champagne, no dope—and we nibbled on crab cakes, lobster bisque and sampled fruit cups that wandered our way on trays carried by the most handsome young college boys imaginable.

But the best part was the sun. We lay in it for hours and hours each day, and the amazing thing is that we never got sunburned. Marcie thought it was because of the special cocoa butter that the resort gave us. Kimmy said it was that the sun was different here, wherever it was we were. I didn’t worry about it, but just enjoyed it.

At night we danced under the full moon with a long line of hot guys waiting for each of us. Marcie and Kimmy disappeared every once in a while, and I would hear them giggling in the bushes or up on the veranda or not hear them at all. But they always returned, a small smile on their lips.

Right now, the two of them were whispering and pointing at the buff hunk of man meat who was cleaning the pool and smiling at them. He was tall, dark and Hispanic, and I knew that was Marcie’s weakness. Me? I was more into the Viking look.

I turned and looked at Infinity, who was staring off in the distance, and shook my head. We had been friends for a long time, and even though Infinity was always a part of our little escapades and adventures, I could tell her heart and mind weren’t in it. She sat with her floppy hat pulled down over her gorgeous blonde head and stared off to the west, a slight frown on her lips.

What is it, Finn? I asked her.

She didn’t answer right away, but kept staring off into the distance. Then:

Do you see that man standing over there?

Where?

She didn’t point, but raised her chin slightly. Across the ravine. Over on that rise of ground.

I exhaled and pulled myself up to a sitting position, turning as I did so, and looked where she was gesturing. It was a ways away, but I did see a figure standing on the rise.

Yeah, so?

She frowned again. I think he’s trying to get my attention.

I giggled. You have half the resort after you, and you’re worried about one guy half a mile away? Must be some guy.

Infinity didn’t respond to my joke. Instead, she turned to the other two.

Anyone have a pair of binoculars?

Marcie smiled and Kimmy laughed out loud.

Sure, Kimmy said. Let me reach down into my bikini top and pull a pair out.

I’ve seen what you have in that bikini top, Kimmy, said Marcie. They’re not binoculars. The two girls giggled, and Infinity shook her head.

Maybe the bartender has a pair of binoculars, I suggested. Infinity nodded, and got up from her chaise lounge and wandered over to the bar. I watched her ask the bartender, who nodded and reached down under the bar, producing a pair of small opera glasses. Infinity smiled and nodded to him, then brought them back. She stood next to me, adjusted the glasses and looked at the figure so far away.

So? I asked finally. What do you see?"

In response, she handed me the opera glasses. I raised them to my eyes: funny, I remembered a time when I had worn glasses constantly and was blind as a bat without them, but here I didn’t need or even have them. I looked through the eyepiece and waited for my eyes to adjust to the brightness.

There on the ridge stood an ordinary looking man—very plain looking in contrast to all the eye candy around the resort—standing in military fatigues and looking at us. He was obviously trying to get our attention. As I looked at him, I got the feeling that he could see me just as well as I was looking at him. He had a stubbly beard, a dirty face and big puppy-dog eyes. I looked at those eyes and found myself wanting to know him better.

What’s he doing? Marcie asked, suddenly interested.

Nothing, I said. Just standing there. Wait…. I paused as I saw him turn and reach behind him. He lifted up a large white pad and held it up for me to see. Written on the page I could read: ITS NOT A RESORT.

He has a sign that says ‘It’s not a resort,’ I told them.

What’s not a resort? Kimmy asked.

What do you mean, ‘what’s not a resort.’ He’s talking about this place, stupid, said Marcie.

That’s ridiculous, Kimmy said.

Wait, I said. He’s writing something else. It says ‘Don’t drink the champagne.’

The man held up the white pad across his chest so I could see it, and looked at his words, then back at me. His sad eyes looked into my soul.

Guys, I think he’s serious, I said.

This is stupid, said Marcie. He’s just some ugly guy trying to get a rise out of us.

Well, he got my attention, said Infinity. Ellie, let me see those glasses. I gave her the binoculars and she started to lift them to her eyes. I saw her hesitate and watched as still another young gorgeous boy came to us with another tray of champagne. We each took a glass, and the boy smiled back at us.

Salsa dancing tonight at nine, ladies, he said, flashing very white teeth at each of us in turn.

We waited for him to leave, then Marcie raised her glass to take a drink, but Infinity pulled her arm down and stopped her.

What? Marcie asked.

What if he’s right? Infinity said.

Right about what?

What if there’s something wrong with the champagne? What if this place really isn’t a resort?

Kimmy laughed out loud. Now you’re really trippin’. That guy is just some crazy man up there on the hill. And you’re going to believe him?

I don’t know. Maybe, Infinity said, the frown returning to her face. Tell me, Kim. You paid for our rooms, right?

Uh, yeah?

How much did you pay? And did you pay cash or credit card?

I…I don’t remember.

Marcie, how long have we been here?

Now Marcie frowned. Weeks?

Isn’t a spring break only supposed to last a week? She turned to me.

Ellie, do you remember how we got here? Did we take the train? Fly? Drive?

I couldn’t answer her.

Something is definitely wrong here, she continued. It’s all exactly right. I’ve been worried about it for several days now. Nothing is this perfect. Nothing.

I turned and saw that Kimmy was already drinking the champagne, and as I watched I saw Marcie raise her glass as if to drink too.

Sweetie, you worry too much, said Marcie, the drink poised an inch from her mouth. The boys are gorgeous, the sun is wonderful, the pool is clean…and the champagne is the most tasty I have ever had. Even if something is wrong, I don’t want to know about it. And then she joined Kimmy in drinking the rest of her champagne.

Kimmy and Marcie wandered off in search of escorts for the evening, but I stayed with Infinity, who continued looking off into the distance at the stranger. I watched her for a long time, the two champagne glasses still held in my hands. Finally she handed the opera glasses back to me. I looked at the man on the hill and read his message:

I CAN HELP YOU ESCAPE.

That evening we went to the dance, but Infinity and I weren’t in the mood to participate. I had a lot of respect for Infinity, and even though I was confused by what she said versus what I saw around me, I trusted her. We sat on the edge of the crowd, watching others dance and saying no to boy after gorgeous boy who wanted to salsa with us. Marcie and Kimmy were having their usual fun, flirting and dancing with guy after guy, and occasionally disappearing with a particularly sexy one. Kimmy spent most of the night with the bronzed Hispanic pool boy she had been ogling all day. After a while, we both grew bored of watching the others having fun, and we went back to our bungalow.

I had restless dreams that night. Nightmares, in fact. There wasn’t any particular theme to them. Just jumbled images of grotesque people, brutal men and scary places. But they were nothing compared to the nightmare that confronted me when I woke up.

I’d gone to sleep in a white bungalow overlooking a pool and decorated in white rattan and bamboo furniture. My bed was covered with silk sheets and a delicate lace-edged comforter. I’d thought the room dreamy over the time we had spent there, with each of the four of us having our own rooms.

When I woke up, I lay on a stained mattress with a brown Army blanket with holes in it. I looked around me and didn’t recognize the room. I gasped as a rat scurried across the edge of the room. Sunlight filtered in from a hole in the roof. Bare, rough boards made up our floor, and the door to my room was simply a heavy sheet of plywood.

And my vision was blurred. Startled, I found a dusty set of eyeglasses beside my bed and put them on. They seemed oddly familiar.

I heard noises from the other rooms. In one direction, from Kimmy’s room, I heard snoring. I’d never heard her snore before. I tiptoed to the door and peeked in the partly opened door. She lay in bed with a heavy Hispanic man who I realized vaguely resembled the pool boy. But this man was at least 40, with a week’s growth of beard, a pot belly and scars on one side of his face. I cringed and stepped back in the hallway.

Then I heard crying coming from Infinity’s room. I pushed her door open and almost didn’t recognize the girl sitting on the cot. Her hair was matted, her skin was gray, and she was underweight by at least 30 pounds.

Finn? I asked weakly. The girl took her tear-stained face out of her hands and looked up at me. It was her, but Infinity was no longer the healthy, gorgeous girl that I’d always envied. She was a skeleton.

I watched the look on her face as she looked at me, then I realized that she wasn’t the only one who’d changed. I looked down at my stick-like arms, my bony legs, and felt the ribs that stuck out from my sides. I quickly wished for a mirror, then just as quickly was glad I didn’t have one.

Infinity stood up. Together we walked to the front door of what we had called a bungalow. Now we realized that it was merely a shack. We looked out at what we had thought was a pool and the area where we had spent our days sunning.

Instead we saw a pool of stinky green water covered with scum, surrounded by dirt. What we had seen as handsome college boys we now saw as plain, and often ugly, soldiers in uniform. They walked across a dirt area that we had seen as tile covered, and above us in the distance I could see both a guard tower and a barbed wire fence surrounding the compound.

It must have been the champagne, Infinity muttered, and as she said it, I saw one of the uniformed men passing out Dixie cups of something to other women who looked just as emaciated as we were.

I stared up at the sun. A day ago it had seemed warm and inviting. Now it was hot and scorching. My eyes traveled from the sun down to the tower and then to the distant rise beyond the ravine. The stranger stood there, waiting for us.

I’m ready, I said. Let’s get out of here. Back to ToC

2. A LIFE FORGOTTEN

ELLIE: EASTERN TENNESSEE: DAY 713

The next few minutes were surreal. The stranger had said he would help us escape. I don’t know what I was expecting; maybe for him to come riding down on a white horse and sweep us up, or maybe ride in on some kind of tank.

But he didn’t come in at all. Finn and I wandered around the compound—what we had once called a resort and now recognized as a concentration camp—and people acted like they didn’t see us at all. Maybe it was the fact that we hadn’t drunk the Kool-Aid—excuse me, champagne—that made us think we were invisible to them. I don’t know.

What I do know is that Infinity and I—stick figures and all—shuffled our way across the dirt road in front of our bungalow, around the stinky green pond that we once thought was an Olympic pool, past the veranda where we’d danced last night, and the night before that, and right out to the gates.

I’d looked to gather up my belongings before we left the bungalow, and found that I had none—other than my glasses. The fact that we were dressed in rags, looked like scarecrows and were locked behind a barbed wire fence sobered both Infinity and me up pretty good. In fact, I saw that Finn was on the verge of tears and I felt a few drip down my face as well. I felt Infinity put her arm around me as we walked, two lost little girls in a phantasmagorical world of scary men and scary places.

I’m not sure what I expected to happen when we got to the front gate. It was scary just by itself. Men in uniform with automatic weapons stood staring out into the countryside beyond. Two towers stood, one on either side of the gate, with heavy machine guns attached to them. The gate itself was about 15 feet tall, and looked like it was made of reinforced steel with barbed wire wrapped around it.

Standing with me in the middle of the road, Finn turned and looked at me without saying a word, and I understood. We were to wait. Sooner or later they would open the gate, and we would walk out. I nodded silently.

I looked at the lines on the otherwise thin but beautiful face of my girlfriend. What had happened to us? Even now, my mind seemed foggy and unsure. I remembered yesterday, lying in the sun at poolside with Kimmy and Marcie, looking at cute college boys. And now this nightmare had taken its place. Where were Kimmy and Marcie? Why hadn’t they come with us? I knew the answer before I asked the question. They didn’t want to know the truth. And now that I was faced with it, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know it either.

What would happen if I pretended that all of this hadn’t happened, if I were to go back to our bungalow, join my two friends and start another day at poolside, drinking champagne? Would I slip back into blissful ignorance? Before I could think about it much more, there was a clanking sound and the massive gates began to open.

I watched Infinity for a cue to move ahead, but she just stood there like a monument to teenage stupidity. As usual, we’d really screwed up. But if this Stranger was who Finn thought he was, maybe he was our ticket to