Miracles

by Thomas A. Watson

  “Sixteen, but not the one I wanted.”

  Letting out a sigh, “Arthur, Dean is a sixteen-year-old boy. Let it go,” Wendy advised.

  “Huh,” Arthur huffed. “He’s Satan’s spawn trying to infiltrate us. I’m bringing syrup and he’s playing my rusty trombone after I take a greasy shit, then I’ll remove his lungs via his ass.”

  A light knock sounded and they looked toward their open door to see Shawn knocking on the door jam. “Um, there’s two boys sleeping on the couch.” He blinked his eyes rapidly and then glanced around at the baby cribs, then back at the bed, seeing a new baby.

  “Yeah, they joined up last night,” Arthur told him, taking the empty bottle from Nicole. Putting Nicole on his shoulder, Arthur gave a chuckle at Nicole as she furrowed her brows like she wanted more. “Wake them up and take them upstairs to the showers. Find someone who’s close to their size and let them borrow some clothes. We have a full day of shopping, so we’ll stop and grab them some stuff.”

  A thousand questions were on Shawn’s mind when Wendy spoke, “The boy with black hair is Lewis. The other one is Jerry and they’re both twelve. The baby is Allen and he was Jerry’s neighbor.”

  “Okay,” Shawn nodded slowly before turning and walking away, wondering what happened last night.

  A loud burp sounded and Wendy couldn’t help but giggle as she glanced over at Nicole on Arthur’s shoulder. Even at three months, Nicole could still wear newborn clothes, but she was healthy. Nicole’s mom hadn’t even been five feet tall and her dad had barely been five four. Unless there were lost genes in her DNA, Wendy knew Nicole was going to be tiny. “Okay, she does burp better than any baby I’ve ever heard,” Wendy admitted.

  Getting out of the bed, Arthur laid Nicole in his spot before he moved to the closet to pull out clothes. “I’ll feed Pam breakfast. You can feed Ryan. When he gets older, that’s one kid I’m not having a farting contest with,” Arthur told Wendy.

  Shaking her head as she got out of bed, “Ryan’s going to be the size of a linebacker,” Wendy laughed, putting a sleeping Lucas in his crib. Moving back to the bed, she shook the other kids awake.

  “I’ve warned you about shaking Robin awake,” Arthur remarked getting dressed and true to form, Robin woke up grumpy and swatting at Wendy’s hands. “Robin, you hit her and I’ll punt you like a football,” Arthur warned. Robin glared at him and started mouthing gibberish.

  Rolling her eyes, “Arthur, don’t antagonize,” Wendy moaned.

  “Oh, I wasn’t. I spanked her butt when she bit Vicki, and I’ll spank her butt if she hits you,” Arthur declared while he returned Robin’s glare. “Keep your pull-ups on and I’ll carry you to the kitchen,” Arthur offered.

  Hearing ‘carry’, Robin let out a squeal and jumped up, holding out her hands. Putting the baby sling on, Arthur loaded Nicole in and picked up Robin, setting her on his right hip. He turned back to the bed and saw Noah looking at him with a wanting stare. “You keep your clothes on, I’ll carry you anywhere,” Arthur said and Noah jumped up, running across the bed. Moving Nicole to the center, Arthur picked him up and set Noah on his left hip.

  “Robin will grow out of that,” Wendy laughed, getting dressed.

  “I’ll believe it when I see it. I think she’s going to be a perpetual nudist,” Arthur mumbled, walking out.

  “What’s a nudist?” Jo Ann asked, stretching.

  “Someone who doesn’t wear clothes,” Wendy answered, helping the twins out of the bed.

  Nodding emphatically, “That’s Robin,” Sally stated, then turned back to the bed. “Where’s Jim and Beth? They were here last night.”

  “Shawn came and carried them upstairs after they went to sleep,” Wendy said, laying out some clothes for them.

  Jo Ann and Sally looked at each other and then turned to Wendy. “You want us to sleep upstairs?” they asked in a worried tone.

  Leaning over, Wendy hugged both of them tight. “You can sleep with us as long as you want,” Wendy assured them.

  Blinking the sleep from her eyes Sally stopped, looking at a new baby. “Um,” she said, pointing at the new baby and Wendy explained.

  After dressing, they took Ryan out of his crib and Allen from the bed, but left Lucas and the other babies because they were still sleeping. They walked into the kitchen to see everyone up, with some working on breakfast and others setting the table. Walking over with Ryan on her hip, “Pops, will you put Ryan in his chair? It’s too tall for me,” Jo Ann asked.

  With Noah and Robin sitting in the chair beside him, Arthur leaned over to take Ryan and put him in his highchair. “As long as I don’t have to change him,” Arthur stated.

  “Wait till he eats green beans and bananas,” Sally warned, looking around and trying to figure out how she could help. “It stinks and sticks to everything.”

  When Wendy walked in, Arthur turned to face her. “Green beans and bananas are banned from the house until Ryan is potty trained,” he announced. Wendy and everyone laughed while they worked.

  After breakfast, Shawn moved over to explain the routine to Lewis and Jerry.

  True to form, Vicki came down and assumed care of the newest baby without missing a beat after giving him a thorough inspection.

  Grabbing his AR and glancing down to see Nicole asleep, Arthur headed for the door. Stepping outside, he saw all four dogs sitting in a line and looking at Kong. “Don’t fuck with the cat,” Arthur warned, heading to the line of UTVs.

  “He’s not kidding. That goes for everyone,” Shawn told the new boys.

  After morning chores, everyone got what they would need and Arthur walked around to check on all the kids who were carrying weapons. Jerry and Lewis looked at the kids carrying ARs, knowing they were already older than the twins, Pat, and two others. “You have to earn the privilege of carrying a weapon around the family, but we’ll all help,” Shawn told them as everyone loaded up on the UTVs.

  Heading to the Wright farm where all the vehicles and trailers were parked, “Wendy, load the kids up in the first MRAP,” Arthur called out, and the kids looked around at each other with wide grins. The 6x6 MRAPs and Strykers, Arthur had taken both from the checkpoint on the interstate. They had all been inside them, but Arthur had never taken them back out.

  “Vicki, set up a playpen in the back,” Wendy said, opening the door and tossing in her backpack. There were already car seats strapped onto the bench seats and Wendy moved to the back to start strapping babies in. Since an MRAP was never designed to equip a car seat, Arthur had used a welder to add attachment points for safety straps.

  Turning to look at the empty car seats since Arthur had put in more than they’d had babies for, he’d just told her they would have extra just in case. Wendy let out a sigh, wanting all the babies in the MRAP. “She’ll just cry if you take her away from Pops for very long,” Vicki told Wendy, having already put Allen in a car seat. Wendy just nodded, having experienced that many times and again yesterday after Arthur had left.

  Everyone had tried to console Nicole after Arthur had left until Vicki had walked in, carrying a sopping wet Robin after getting her out of the swimming pool. No clothes on, of course, just a wet Robin. “That’s an Arthur cry,” Vicki had told Wendy, walking through the kitchen and heading to the master bathroom to get a towel to dry Robin. “Only Pops can make her stop, so just lay her down and let her cry herself to sleep.”

  Wendy had watched the ten-year-old Vicki march into hers and Arthur’s room and really thought Vicki was much older. That had only solidified Vicki’s nickname, ‘Little Momma’ in Wendy’s mind.

  Checking on the little kids while she moved to the front, Wendy found the twins sitting in the passenger seat with wide grins. “Don’t pull the trigger because the gun is loaded,” Wendy told them as they looked at the remote firing station that controlled the fifty-caliber machine gun on the roof.

  “I thought we had to flip this safety switch to shoot the gun?” Jo Ann pointed at a covered switch.


  “You do. But never trust a safety, remember?” Wendy asked, raising her eyebrows.

  Both nodded, still looking at the fire control station and Wendy leaned over, turning it on and the screen came to life. Looking out the window, she saw Shawn hooking up the gooseneck trailer to the dually. Other kids were moving around and getting in Arthur’s SUV which pulled a trailer or Andrea’s truck also pulling a trailer.

  “We ready back there, Little Momma?” Wendy asked.

  “Ready,” Vicki answered and then shouted, “Robin! Leave your clothes on or you’ll stay here by yourself!”

  Cranking up the engine, Wendy turned around to see Robin sitting back down, looking at Vicki with fear. “Vicki scares me,” Sally whispered, and Jo Ann nodded.

  “Me too,” Wendy mumbled, turning back to the window and saw Arthur letting Donald and Daisy into the cargo area of the SUV. Seeing she had a full tank, Wendy grabbed the steering wheel.

  “I wish we would’ve had this to ride in from Florida,” Jo Ann laughed, patting the dash of the MRAP.

  “I’m in the lead, with Andrea next, and then Wendy. Shawn, you have our backs, so keep a sharp eye out,” Arthur called over the radio as he shut the driver’s door.

  “Copy,” Wendy answered, followed by Andrea and Shawn.

  Pulling out, Arthur glanced over at Kirk in the passenger seat and smiled. Glancing in the side mirror and seeing the caravan following, Arthur picked up speed before setting the cruise at forty. They actually saw two cars driving before they reached Russellville and over a dozen groups of people. Many acted scared because they knew who it was but waved anyways. Several took off running at the sight of the SUV leading the caravan, now traveling with the massive MRAP.

  Over an hour later and one bottle for Nicole, Arthur pulled off the main road in front of the hospital to the side road, but didn’t pull into the parking lot. He just stopped on the road. “Keep an eye out, Kirk,” Arthur said, opening his door. “If you want, you can open the sunroof and stand up to look around or get out,” he offered.

  “I’ll stand up,” Kirk cheered, reaching up and pressing the button to open the sunroof.

  Getting out, Arthur walked to the back of the SUV and was proud to see the kids cradling their weapons while they scanned around. “Shit, it smells,” Andrea gagged out, walking up behind Arthur as he let Donald and Daisy out.

  “The building is full of dead bodies, not to mention the stack outside the ER door,” Arthur commented, pulling out two of the rubber cases.

  “What’s that?” Andrea asked.

  “HAZMAT suits,” Arthur replied, unzipping the cases.

  “Yeah, Pops, I can read,” Andrea chuckled. “Not those. That.”

  Arthur glanced up to see Andrea pointing at a metal trunk in his trailer. “An airtight box with a vacuum pump connected,” Arthur told her as Wendy walked up with Shawn.

  “Shawn, watch how Wendy puts hers on,” Arthur said, moving to his trailer and pulling out a backpack bug sprayer. Pumping the handle to pressurize the tank, Arthur walked around the line of vehicles spraying a line of fluid on the ground while circling the caravan. Then, he sprayed the wheels of each vehicle.

  “You know how to wear those?” Andrea asked, watching Arthur.

  “Yes. As nurses, we had to be prepared for hazardous response after 9/11,” Wendy answered, pulling on heavy rubber booties.

  “Leave your ARs,” Arthur said, walking back and putting the sprayer back in the trailer.

  Pushing her arms in the suit, “You’re going a little overboard, aren’t you?” Wendy chastised.

  “Wendy, we’ve worked here,” Arthur snapped. “You know that’s not vines running up those walls,” he pointed at the hospital.

  Everyone turned to look through the cloud of flies and saw black tentacle-like lines going up the brick wall to the windows. Some windows had several tentacles to the ground. “That’s not vines?” Andrea whispered.

  “No. Ants,” Arthur sang out. “Look at the parking lot near the stack of bodies. That’s not an oil spill.”

  “Fuck me,” Shawn gasped.

  Out of reflex, Wendy reached out and popped Shawn’s arm as she turned to Arthur. “Don’t,” Arthur warned, knowing he was next. “He used it in the proper context and selected his words to convey his connotation very eloquently.”

  Thinking about it, Wendy nodded. “Remember, we have little ears around,” Wendy finally offered while Arthur pulled out a roll of duct tape.

  Ripping a length of tape off the roll, “Don’t open your suit for any reason,” Arthur advised.

  “How do I get to my pistol?” Shawn asked, watching Arthur wrap tape around the top of Wendy’s bootie.

  “I’ll put a belt with a holster on both of you, but you won’t need it,” Arthur assured them. “You’re only taking two duffel bags, so no more than you can stuff in those, understood?”

  “Arthur, dead bodies don’t pose that big a health risk since we’ve been exposed to the virus. Yes, there’re ants, but come on,” Wendy said as he sealed the other bootie off with tape.

  After Wendy pulled on the rubber gloves, Arthur wrapped tape around the cuffs, sealing them off. “If you fall in there without these suits, I’m sure you would receive tens of thousands of ant bites in seconds. I’ll be surprised if both of you aren’t covered before you reach the pharmacy.”

  Glancing at the building, “Arthur, I’ve been stung by fire ants, I’m not allergic,” Wendy told him.

  “Neither am I,” Shawn said.

  Moving over to Shawn and sealing his suit up with tape, “Anybody is allergic with enough stings. Look at the small dirt area near the road. You know that used to be grass. It’s now one big ass ant mound,” he told them. “I’ll go in if you want,” he offered.

  “Screw that,” Wendy huffed. “I know your ass. You’d get enough medicine for one month.”

  Glancing over at Wendy with a grin, Arthur pushed the front of his fedora up. “You’re right, I would.”

  “I’ll go,” Wendy laughed, then stopped when she saw Donald and Daisy weren’t walking over the line of poison Arthur had sprayed around the vehicles. “In and out, Shawn.”

  “I don’t want to stay any longer than I have to,” Shawn assured her.

  After pulling on the breathing masks, they pulled the straps tight to seal them to their faces before pulling the rubber hood over their heads, and Arthur turned the tanks on. Using the tape, Arthur taped the seam of the hood to their suits. When he was done, Arthur tossed the empty roll of tape away.

  “You used a whole roll of tape?” Andrea mumbled, but was looking along the brick wall and could see an ant mound that ran along the entire edge. “It’s barely been three months.”

  “With millions of dead bodies,” Arthur said, buckling a belt around Wendy that had a 1911 in a holster before putting one on Shawn. “In this case, I’m sure there’re over a thousand dead bodies inside. Just using rounded numbers, that’s seventy-five tons of food for ants. Large food supply, insects can respond very fast. One colony can produce a hundred thousand eggs a day if there’s an adequate food supply. Again, that’s very conservative numbers. You would be hard-pressed to find a colony now with less than a million strong.”

  Hearing the numbers, many were ready to head back home as Arthur turned to Wendy and Shawn. He looked each one in the eyes, “You only have enough air to last one hour.”

  “We’ll be back in fifteen,” Wendy replied, reminding herself this was her idea. Otherwise, she was going to kill Arthur if he didn’t quit bouncing around. Arthur put a harness on each of their heads that had small flashlights mounted on each side. When Arthur turned them on, Wendy nodded and turned around.

  Reaching into the back of Arthur’s SUV, Wendy grabbed the powered wedge that Arthur called his ‘key’. “I’ll carry that,” Shawn said, taking it.

  Letting Shawn carry it, Wendy headed to the door. When she stepped over the line of poison she started itching, but only saw a few scattered ants in the par
king lot, until she looked over at the bodies stacked outside. Nearing the steps, Wendy controlled her breathing while seeing many more ants, but they just ambled around.

  “At least the masks help with the smell,” Shawn said behind her.

  Walking in the door, she saw bloated bodies on stretchers lining the hallway. Moving deeper into the hospital, the light from the windows didn’t reach them, and they were very thankful for the flashlights on their heads. “How can he think of all this shit?” Wendy mumbled, passing a bloated body on the floor that was covered with ants.

  Fighting off a shiver, Wendy opened a door to a stairwell and headed down. “The pharmacy is to the right, down the hallway,” she told Shawn who just nodded. Everywhere he looked, the flashlights lit up the area, and ants were everywhere.

  Reaching the bottom of the stairwell, Wendy slowly opened the door and stepped into the hallway. “Fuck me,” she gasped, looking down the hallway. Ten feet away, bodies were stacked several high on each side, but the floor was a solid carpet of ants. The carpet extended down the hallway as far as their lights shined, and they couldn’t see any tile on the floor.

  Staring at the thick, living carpet, “Yep, fuck me,” Shawn agreed, smacking his lips and trying to get his dry mouth wet.

  Taking a deep breath, Wendy stepped forward and bumped into a small cart. She let out a cry when a large rat darted away from under the cart. The rat hit the carpet of ants and tried bouncing along. Fifteen feet into the living carpet, the rat started squealing and bouncing around in a circle while the ants covered it. Watching in horror, Wendy saw the long fleshy tail of the rat turn black as ants engulfed it.

  Giving a last jump, the rat just decided to run and bounced from side to side off the stacks of ant-covered bodies. Thirty feet away, the rat just spun in a circle and they watched a living mound form over the rat’s body. “Let’s get the shit and get the fuck out of here,” Shawn panted.

  “We’re sealed up, so don’t run any risk of tearing the suit,” Wendy advised, and Shawn could only nod with his dry tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.