“She’s a whore!” an elderly man shouted walking past, heading to the dining room.
“Skannish, I’m not in the mood to hear about the princess!” Wendy shouted from the kitchen.
Stopping in the doorway to the dining room and spinning back to the kitchen, “Mario was right there, again! I went through twenty-one lives and that bitch couldn’t just run over to Mario!” Skannish shouted at her. Jason and Samantha just looked at each other, but heard stifled laughs and snickering all around them.
Storming over holding a pot of coffee, “You want me to take your Nintendo away?” Wendy threatened, and Skannish visibly paled.
“You wouldn’t dare, young lady,” he gasped.
“I most certainly will, and I’ll make you stand in the corner after we get finished working today,” Wendy warned.
Slumping his shoulders, Skannish turned around and shuffled into the kitchen. “Which Nintendo was she taking away from him?” Jason asked Andrea.
“The first one,” Andrea said, trying very hard not to laugh. “She wouldn’t really, though. He’s so funny to watch playing, everyone stops what they’re doing just to watch.”
Noticing Arthur heading out the back door without a baby and grabbing just his AR, Jason was about to start navigating his way through the kids when Samantha took Duke from him. When Jason turned to protest, “You can feed them all a bottle without equal, but it’s time to feed him and you still haven’t gotten the concept of how to use utensils yourself,” Samantha told him as Duke played with her hair.
Kissing her cheek, Jason made it to the kitchen through the sea of tiny bodies and grabbed his vest, just putting it on but not tightening the Velcro straps down and then slung his AR. Before heading out, he did grab a mug of coffee. When he stepped out, he saw Arthur just at the back side of the patio looking past some buildings buried in the side of the small hill just behind the house. “Sorry we just collapsed on you yesterday,” Jason called out, wanting to let Arthur know they weren’t pieces of shit.
Done taking a sip, Arthur didn’t even turn around as he spoke. “I wasn’t expecting you three to leave your rooms until this afternoon.”
Stopping beside Arthur and just looking at the small hill, “Make a list of what I owe all of ya for watching over the kids we dumped on you. Then carrying our asses to bed, washing our gear, the stuff to shower and clean up, not to mention the new clothes,” Jason said, just drinking in the quietness from the surrounding woods.
“Jason, Todd and the others already had you in the bed and were working on cleaning your gear,” Arthur said, pausing to take a sip of coffee. “I wasn’t surprised when he told me your weapons were spotless, but he was. I did get to help wash the kids, but I only think one woke up while they got bathed.”
“Duke?” Jason asked.
Finally turning to Jason, “Out-fucking-standing job on those name bands for the infants,” Arthur said, making Jason chuckle. “No, the teenage girl. Sorry, she didn’t have a name tag on yesterday and I haven’t seen her with one on today. I know I was told her name, but I just gave up on that.”
“Jill,” Jason offered, and Arthur nodded.
“Well, she woke up during her bath, but since it was Wendy and Andrea giving her a bath, they said she just opened her eyes and went right back to sleep,” Arthur said. “I was about to go in and start stripping you three down and just give you a ‘bed bath’ at the very least, but everyone said you could just do it in the morning. I told them if I was in your position, I would’ve been thankful to wake up cleaner than I went to bed.”
Hearing Arthur say, ‘bed bath’, Jason glanced over at him and then turned back to the hill, looking at the oak trees. “I would’ve been indebted to you more, and neither Samantha nor I would’ve cared,” Jason said, then chuckled. “Told Samantha that this morning and she gave me the look, and I told her no sane person on the face of the earth would’ve looked at us sexually with the way we smelled. I’m sure there might be one around on the continent, but I say we were in the top running for body odor funk.”
“Oh, if you would’ve come a few days ago, we had one here that could’ve beaten all three of you combined in funk,” Arthur said, making Jason freeze mid-chuckle.
“They were here?” Jason asked in shock.
“Oh, she still is, but she saw the error in her ways after Wendy and I dragged her ass outside and scrubbed her down,” Arthur told him.
Having seen filthiness on people before the outbreak Jason could understand, but not with the resources here. “Well, make a list of what we owe ya,” Jason said.
“You’re with LL, it’s all good,” Arthur said with contentment.
Stopping as he raised his mug to drink, “LL saved Wendy, we didn’t. You tell us how we can help repay that,” Jason said rather forcefully.
Turning to stare at Jason but grinning, “You helped him, so no debt. If you want to see a debt, then join up with us and you’ll quickly see we’re getting the better end of the deal,” Arthur said.
Nearly dropping his coffee, “How in the fuck can you say that?!” Jason cried out. “You have a paradise in this miserable world now and are making it better! You sound just like LL. Samantha and I know we bring a drain on any group we hook up with, hauling in eleven infants.”
“Jason,” Arthur said, turning away to look off. “We had over a dozen infants before you arrived, closer to two dozen. Sorry, can’t give you numbers because I don’t have my list. Granted, the youngest was eight months, or we think he’s eight months, the next youngest would be Nicole at nine months now. With you here, we have twenty-three adults here over eighteen and one hundred and fifteen kids sixteen and younger.”
Dropping his mug, “There are one hundred and thirty-eight people here?” Jason gasped.
Looking down at the mug, glad Jason grabbed a metal one, “Yep, you aren’t a drain on us,” Arthur said.
Trying to remember all those he had seen, Jason still couldn’t believe there were that many here, let alone over a hundred kids. “Um, any parents here with kids besides Joseph?” he asked.
“Nope, several siblings, and I’m not just talking about the twins we have,” Arthur told him. “We actually have one twin here who lost her identical twin sister but we, well, Wendy just found that out from Shelia last week. Shelia came in with Andrea before Wendy even got back home. But Todd was-,” Arthur stopped, realizing he went off topic and was about to start rambling. “Some days, I can’t stand her,” he growled.
“Huh?” Jason said, because it seemed like Arthur was talking about three different things at once.
Shaking his head, “My wife, she just knows me too fucking well,” Arthur snarled.
“I know how you feel. Samantha has told me to go piss when we were watching a movie before I realized I had to, I just held it to prove her wrong,” Jason said smugly.
“I like it,” Arthur grinned. “No, I have to take Adderall or my mind goes ten different directions and I can’t stay focused.”
Thinking about all he could remember seeing yesterday that had been accomplished and Wendy driving home the point that all this came from Arthur, “Dude, we need to go and get you more Adderall,” Jason told him, and got a hard glare.
“That shit kills my daydreaming and this is what you see around you,” Arthur told him.
Only giving a slight nod because he could tell this was a sensitive subject, “Well, it seems your dosage is right because you got your daydreams out into working ideas that have been built and are functioning,” Jason offered.
Pondering Jason’s words, Arthur perked up. “Damn, when it’s put like that,” Arthur mumbled. “Don’t let me forget to take my Adderall,” he told Jason. “Just don’t ever tell Wendy I said that.”
Acting like he was zipping his lips, “My lips are sealed,” Jason laughed.
“So you weren’t with LL when he helped out Wendy?”
“No,” Jason said shaking his head, and the back door opened. Trying not to grin as two boys walked up dressed ide
ntical to Arthur, he saw their ID badges read Shawn and Kirk.
Bending down and picking up Jason’s mug, Arthur turned around and introduced the two. “Kirk, can I get you to get us a refill?” Arthur asked, and Kirk smiled before taking the mugs and Arthur reached over to Shawn, speaking in a low voice. “Shawn, get my pill bottle from over the kitchen sink and bring me a pill, please.”
Holding out his hand, “Already got it, Pops,” Shawn said with a grin, and Kirk took off to the house.
“Damn, I must be a dumbass for not seeing it,” Arthur said, taking the pill and just swallowing it dry.
“So, do we need to locate some more?” Jason asked, somewhat worried because he knew it was going to be hard to find now.
“Nope, Shawn and Wendy got three years’ worth, and she told Sutton and Skannish they had until the end of the year to figure out how to make it,” Arthur said, and Jason saw Shawn shiver.
“You okay?” Jason asked Shawn.
“Oh, yes, sir. When we went to get the medicine, the hospital was flooded with ants and I don’t like thinking about it,” Shawn said.
Giving a long sigh, “Shawn, you’re a man just like me, the name is Jason.”
“Okay, Jason,” Shawn grinned.
“Wendy send you out?” Arthur asked.
“No,” Shawn answered, then thought Arthur wanted to be alone with Jason. “Just saw you out here,” he said, turning to head back inside.
“I was just asking, Shawn. You don’t have to leave,” Arthur told him, making Shawn puff out his chest. “I’m sure you’ve noticed it’s easier for me to do what Wendy wants most of the time just to avoid an argument.”
With an exaggerated nod, “Oh, yes, we’ve all noticed that,” Shawn said, making both laugh.
Coming out the backdoor carrying the mugs, Kirk walked over slowly. “Pops, Momma wants to know if you and Jason just want to eat out here?” Kirk asked, handing over the mugs.
Furrowing his brow and trying to figure out the ulterior motive behind that request, “She just asked that? Really?” Arthur blurted out, not able to come up with anything.
“Yeah, she was at the kitchen sink and saw you out here talking with Jason,” Kirk said, watching Jason take a sip and gave a surprised nod.
“Damn, and I didn’t even tell you how I like it!” Jason exclaimed.
“OH, Samantha,” Kirk started, “Your wife,” he clarified, just in case Jason forgot because he knew of two times that Arthur had forgotten Wendy’s name. “She fixed your cup.”
“I guess she wants to see if I wiped my ass,” Jason huffed.
Not sure how to process that, Kirk took a step back because he wasn’t checking. “She didn’t say that to me,” Kirk clarified.
Laughing, “I was being a smart ass, Kirk,” Jason told him, and Kirk smiled.
“Yeah, let’s go get a plate,” Arthur said, but Kirk held up his hands.
“We can get both of you a plate,” Kirk said, glancing at Shawn. “Momma did say, don’t forget to take your medicine, Pops.”
Wiggling his head side to side, “You tell her I already took it,” Arthur said in a nasal voice, making the boys laugh.
Shawn wanted to stay, but Kirk looked hard into his eyes. “We’ll be back in a minute,” Shawn said, following Kirk. “What?”
“Momma said for both of us to get their plates and ours to eat out here with them,” Kirk told him in a low voice. “Momma told me that we can eat out here with Pops, but to let him and Jason talk.”
“Maybe we should just bring them some food and go back inside,” Shawn suggested, but really didn’t want to.
Shaking his head, “Mom said if Pops ate out here for us to as well, but to just stay close and let them talk,” Kirk said, grabbing the door.
“Wonder why?” Shawn mumbled, following him in.
Smacking his lips after taking a sip, “Damn, my wife can fix my coffee perfect,” Jason said, savoring the taste. “This is great coffee, by the way.”
Pointing to the greenhouse, “The beans came from there,” Arthur told him, and Jason nearly dropped his mug again.
“You have producing coffee plants?” he asked in spellbound wonder.
“Yep,” Arthur grinned, taking a sip.
“Arthur, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re going to have to throw us out. LL, you’ll probably have to shoot him to get rid of him. We ran out of coffee three weeks ago. Coffee and his chewing tobacco are LL’s vices. He has plenty of chew, but has been touchy since we ran out of coffee. We’ve searched I bet a hundred houses, but someone beat us to it or there wasn’t any there.”
“You saw that many houses already searched?” Arthur asked, clearly not liking that.
“In Mississippi, you would be hard-pressed to find a house that hasn’t been ransacked by the Heavenly Disciples,” Jason said.
“Are they any part of that broadcast that’s, like, on every band?”
Nodding, “They are the broadcasters,” Jason told him as the boys came back out with four plates.
Moving over near the pool to use the bar next to the grill, Arthur helped with the loaded plates. “Pops, if you don’t mind, Kirk and I will sit at the table,” Shawn said, pointing at one of the umbrella covered tables.
“A man never tells another man where to eat,” Arthur laughed as the boys moved a few feet away and sat down at the table.
For several minutes Jason just stared at the bacon, eggs, sausage, and biscuits. Bending over, he just inhaled the aroma. “I’ve so missed real food,” he sighed, picking up his fork. “There’s lots of game around, but to start a fire and cook over it is asking for trouble. We used a propane stove and that cut down on the smell of fire but not the food. People can smell food from a long way off.”
Watching Jason savor the first bite, “You’ve seen that many people to be worried about?” Arthur asked, stunned. For them to move around outside the ranch, it was rarer to see someone.
“Only in Mississippi,” Jason said. “We went up to check on the Heavenly Disciples, but they’re moving around the entire state and ransacking for supplies. It wasn’t until we crossed the Mississippi River that we stopped seeing people. Even in Tennessee we saw groups, but they were heading south to join the Heavenly Disciples after hearing their broadcasts.”
Just seeing the way Jason’s face twitched each time he mentioned the Heavenly Disciples, Arthur knew Jason didn’t like them. “I take it, the message they put out isn’t what’s waiting there?” Arthur asked.
Wiping his mouth off, “Depends on what you mean,” Jason mumbled around his food, then swallowed. “They do help those that come, feeding them and such, but once there, it’s like a roach motel, you check in but you can’t check out.”
“Damn,” Arthur sighed, then took a bite of his biscuit.
“Back to what you asked, no, we weren’t there when LL helped Wendy. We, well, I ran into him just a week or so later. When he helped Wendy, LL only had Jill and one toddler at his house that he’d found. In the time until we met, he’d gathered up seven more kids. I ran into him in a dollar store in a hamlet north of Meadville, Mississippi. LL was in there for pull-ups for his toddlers and I was after diapers, formula, and whatever else I could grab for the babies.”
Not even wanting to think about the struggle Jason and Samantha had in taking care of eleven newborns, Arthur was in awe of the two.
Looking off as he remembered, “Needless to say, we scared the shit out of each other,” Jason chuckled. “LL came in and we drew down on each other. By then, Samantha and I had already been in five shootouts. It was a fucking running gun battle just getting our asses out of Birmingham,” Jason said, then became lost in the memory.
As he slowly ate, Arthur could see Jason was relieving the memory and didn’t want to interrupt. Jason would tell him what he was comfortable with. If he had to ask anything, it would only be about situations, not the past life of what was lost. Arthur only wanted to know about the shit floating around in the world.
Shaking the images from his mind, “Nah,” Jason answered.
“You sure? Because if I had been in your shoes, I’m sure I would still be asleep. I would hope someone would just drop an NG tube down me to feed me, but I would hope they would withhold the Foley,” Arthur laughed, and Jason just furrowed his brow.
“You were in the medical field, weren’t you?” Jason asked, but it came out as a statement.
Nodding, “Yep, Wendy and I were both nurses but thankfully, we worked PRN only, mainly to just keep our licenses,” Arthur told him.
“So, did your knowledge help you survive the flu?”
Still not realizing he’d had the supreme luck of the draw by getting a mutated much less lethal Rudolph strand, “Never got sick,” Arthur said.
“Then you’re part of the ten percent who were naturally immune,” Jason said, clearly envious. “I was an ER doctor.”
“Same area I worked,” Arthur nodded.
“Wouldn’t work anywhere else,” Jason grinned. “But I was working in Texas for several years when an offer came up that seemed too good to be true, but it wasn’t. I was offered a one year tenure in Birmingham. The salary was damn near impossible to believe, but after that one year I was going to be debt free from all our school loans. So I took a sabbatical from my job in Texas and we headed to Birmingham. Since we were only going to be there a year, Samantha and I just got an apartment, but I will say it was nice.”
Again, Jason paused for several minutes, then asked, “So, you were never in the hospital when the outbreak took off?”
“Never left here,” Arthur said, then looked down at his plate. “I got a message from Wendy from the cruise ship she was on. She told me she had Rudolph and half the ship was dead. I thought I was alone because Joseph was in the Navy on the other side of the world, and reports said all overseas bases were a total loss,” Arthur told him in a subdued voice.
Lifting his head up to look at Jason, “I was just going to leave but found Nicole and she gave me purpose, and I kept finding more kids and then the impossible happened, Wendy came home, then months later, my son returns,” Arthur said with misty eyes.
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