by A. L. Jambor
*****
Shawna Jackson had converted her Atlanta boarding house into a senior group home three years earlier. At the time, she had to install a large, walk-in cooler. In order to save money, Shawna had her brother scour the junkyards to find an abandoned walk-in that they could refurbish. Terrell had found just what she was looking for and installed it in the basement.
He was able to install a new motor and clean out the inside like new. The only problem was the handle on the door. It was old and loose so Terrell tightened it until it held, but it had a tendency to loosen up over time. Shawna would call him to come over and tighten it. Over the next three years she would call on Terrell 14 times. After his last visit, he told Shawna that she had to think about getting a new box.
“I can’t tighten the thing anymore,” Terrell told her. “I looked for the part in the junkyard and can’t find one. You really have to think about gettin' a new one.”
Shawna told him she would, but her finances promised something else. There was no way Shawna could get a new walk-in box, and with an inspection coming up, she didn’t know what she would do. She decided to let it go another week or so until she could think of something.
Julius Beadle lived in Shawna Jackson’s group home. He was a 68-year-old black man whose daughter had placed him with Miss Jackson. Julius didn’t think he belonged there. He was well able to care for himself. But he thought it was a nice enough place and Miss Jackson kept it clean. His food was always hot and good.
Julius was not allowed to have the things he loved to eat like fried chicken and gravy. Miss Jackson would give him lots of his favorite vegetables boiled and baked, but Julius longed for sweet potato pie.
When everyone went to bed, Julius would don his coat, gloves, and scarf and sneak down to Miss Jackson’s walk-in box to eat a piece of pie. He did this most nights after he heard Miss Jackson’s door close. The handle on the walk-in door was a little loose, but Julius would place a box in the way so the door wouldn’t close behind him.
The night before the tragedy, Julius had donned is coat, gloves, and scarf as usual. He had felt really cold last time, so this time he also added a hat. He opened his door a crack and saw that Miss Jackson had turned out her light. He tiptoed out of his room and down the stairs. He carried a small flashlight to light his way. He was careful to hold on the railing so he wouldn’t fall and wake up the house.
Julius made it to the bottom and rounded the corner heading for the kitchen. The basement door was off the back of the kitchen. Julius didn’t want to turn on the lights here in case someone woke up. He did turn on the basement stairs light though. It was dark and spooky down there.
When Julius got to the bottom, he walked over to the walk-in box. He was in a heightened state of anticipation. He pulled on the handle. The door opened, but the handle came off in his hand. Oh, no! Now Miss Jackson would be mad. She would know it was Julius.
Julius opened the door wide and put the wooden box he always used in front of it to prop it open. The box wasn’t pushed back far enough and began to slide. He entered the walk-in and searched for the pie. Julius’ hearing was not what it used to be and with the hat pulled over his ear as well, he didn't hear the box shifting and the door closing with a good slam.
Julius' back was to the door so it took him a while to notice it was closed. He found the pie and took out his mini-pocket knife to cut a slice. He had a fork in his pocket so he could eat the pie right out of the pan. He ran his finger around the bottom of the pan, gathering any crumbs left behind. When he was done, he savored the last, sweet taste of it on his tongue and turned to leave the box. Then he noticed the closed door.
There was no way to get the latch open. He pushed and pushed on the knob inside the box. The knob went all the way in, but the door didn’t open. He left the knob stuck in the hole. Julius knew they would come in the morning to get food for breakfast, but he would get caught. He didn't know what to do.
Julius woke up and was shivering. He was sitting on a wooden pallet on the floor and he must have fallen asleep. He didn't know what time it was. No one had come for the breakfast food yet. His legs were cold and stiff.
Julius had to relieve himself. Miss Jackson was gonna be real mad if he pissed in the walk-in. He found a half-filled bottle of apple juice and poured it onto the floor. He used the bottle to relieve himself and put it on the floor next to the door in case he needed it again. Hopefully he wouldn't have to do a number two.
Julius slept a lot during his stay in the walk-in. He took boxes off the shelves and emptied them. He ripped them open so he could use them to keep his legs covered.
At some point, the electricity went out and the box warmed up. Julius then took his coat, gloves, scarf, and hat off. He was very worried. It was dark in the walk-in, and his little flashlight wouldn’t last very long if he kept it on all the time.
No one had come for a very long time and he was afraid he would die in the box. There was plenty of food so he had been eating, but he also had to defecate and used a pie plate inside a plastic milk bottle crate so he could sit while he answered nature’s call.
Julius was getting tired of being stuck. He figured if he was going to die, he would go down fighting. He searched the walk-in for anything he could use to push open the latch.
He tried the pocket knife but it was too short. He found a screwdriver stuck in the back of one of the shelves holding the cans of food. It was below the fan so whoever had fixed the fan last had left it there. It must have been Terrell.
“Thank you, Terrell,” Julius said when he found it.
Julius would have to pull the knob out to get the screwdriver into the hole so he could push the latch open. There were no screws around it. Whatever held it in place was inside the door. He would have to break the knob off and stick the screwdriver into the door.
Using his flashlight, he looked around for something heavy. There were large cans of soup on the shelf, and Julius picked one up. It felt heavy to him. He used all his strength to lift it up and bring it down on the knob.
Julius had to do this several times and would pause between each hit to sit down and catch his breath. It was hot in the box. Finally, after striking it 10 times, the knob broke off. Julius then used the screwdriver to push whatever metal was left in the hole outward to get it out of the way. He could now see the basement through the hole. There was light coming from the basement windows. It gave Julius hope.
Now came the hardest part, getting the screwdriver in just the right position to push the latch so the door would open. Julius tried and tried, but he couldn't get the right angle. He was getting so mad that he just started stabbing at the door. He broke through the metal and kept stabbing.
Pretty soon he had a good size gouge in the door. He could see where the latch was secured and was now able to push on it and open the door. When the door swung open and after catching his breath, Julius hurried out as fast as his old arthritic legs could carry him.
He was very tired and took the stairs one at a time, stopping for breath many times over. He finally made it to the top and saw Miss Jackson lying on the floor.
She had obviously been there for a few days. Her face was pulled back and her teeth were exposed. She also had a very distinct odor. Julius shuffled past her to try and find the telephone. He was going to dial 911 for help.
When he finally found the phone, it was dead. He wondered if the other residents had seen Miss Jackson. There were three people living there besides Julius. Even though he didn't feel like it, Julius began the long climb up the stairs to see if they were up there. Julius took the stairs one at a time and paused at each step.
Julius found the other three residents dead in their beds. They, too, had a distinct odor. Julius had to decide what to do. He knew he needed to get them all out of the house or it would be unbearable.
One by one he pulled them out of their beds on their sheets and then pushed them down the stairs. He had to follow the bodies down the stairs, kicking t
hem if they stopped. He then pulled them on their sheets out the back door, kicked them down the stairs, and rolled them into the yard. That's where he left them, wrapped in their bed sheets.
Then Julius picked up Miss Jackson’s legs and slowly pulled her out into the yard with the other residents.
Now that he had taken care of the bodies, all Julius wanted was a shower and a good night's sleep. It was daylight, but that didn't matter. He climbed back up the stairs, pausing at each step, went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
There was no hot water. He had to use a wash cloth to clean himself so he wouldn’t have to stand under the cold water. When he was done, he changed his clothes and got into bed. After many hours of sleeping on a pallet in the walk-in, he felt so happy to be in his own bed.
Julius wasn't very fond of the other residents. In fact, he barely knew their names. But he would really miss Miss Jackson's homemade pies.
Chapter 52
During the next couple of weeks, Julius would drive around town in Miss Jackson's car looking for other people. He began spotting kids wandering around town, all kinds of kids. There were Asian kids, black kids, brown kids, and white kids. They all looked to be around the same age.
Julius would ask them if they wanted some help. Some would shy away while others would run to him. Julius decided the best place for them was the new Granger's store across the street from his house. It hadn’t been opened yet, it didn't smell bad, and there was plenty of food.
He asked the kids where they lived. He would take them by their houses and have them grab some kind of bedding or sleeping bags if they had them. If their houses smelled, he would find a clean store and the kids would grab something to use for a bed. He showed the kids how to set up a bunk on the grocery store shelving. He liked this arrangement because the store was so close to his house that he could check on the kids every day.
“I'm not sure, but I think there are about eighteen kids in there,” Julius said.
“Wow, eighteen! That must be really hard for you, taking care of them I mean.” Joe was thinking of how hard it was for him, and he had Dani and Jenny. “Listen, I have to go back to my family. We’re taking a bus load of kids to Florida. That's where we live. Do you want to come with us?” Joe couldn't believe he was saying this. But he couldn't leave this poor old man with all these kids to care for.
“And the kids?” Julius asked.
“Yeah, of course, all of you.”
“You go and I'll think on it,” Julius said.
“We'll stop by Granger's on the way out of town,” Joe said.
Joe walked back to the car. The kids had gotten up and were out in the parking lot. They watched Joe as he got in the car and drove away. When he got back to the hotel, he noticed that his kids were up and he asked some of them to help him bring in the food. Dani was sitting on the sofa like she had just woken up.
“You're not gonna believe this, Dani,” Joe said.
“Where were you?” She yawned.
“I went into town to find food and I found something else.”
“What?”
“Eighteen kids and an old man.”
Dani was speechless. She sat on the sofa thinking about eighteen more children. Then it registered in her brain that Joe had said “old man.”
“An old man, how?”
“I'll tell you over breakfast. Anyway, I asked the old guy if he and the kids wanted to come with us.”
Dani's eyebrows shot up. “You asked him?”
“Yeah, I surprised myself. He said he would think on it.”
“I don't know if I can do it, Joe. Eighteen more kids. We'd have to get more name tags and another bus.”
Dani got up and headed for a bathroom. Joe sat looking at the kids as they grabbed something to eat from the pile of toaster pastries and fruit snacks he’d picked up at Granger’s. He tried to imagine 18 more of them milling around the hotel lobby. It blew his mind.
When Dani came back, she was cleaned up and looked pretty good. It was amazing what clean hair would do for you. She looked at Joe and sighed.
“You know, we never even counted the kids we have now,” she said to Joe.
“Maybe we should. Why don't we take a head count?”
Dani told the kids to go outside and line up. They groaned at having their breakfast interrupted.
“Take your food with you. We just want to count you.” Dani said as she followed them out the door.
The kids lined up in the parking lot. Dani told the first girl to count out “one” and then the next “two” and so on. The kids were counting well and when they finished the last little boy shouted “sixty-two”.
“Joe, we have sixty-two kids here. I never imagined there were so many.”
“They do take up the whole bus,” Joe said.
“But with the others it would be...eighty. Eighty kids.”
Dani felt overwhelmed. Before she knew the actual number, she’d been able to think that maybe there were forty. Forty seemed like a doable number. But sixty-two! She didn't know how they’d been handling that many kids. Now Joe was talking about adding another eighteen. She didn't think she could do it.
“Julius should know where the school is, so we can get another bus.” Joe said. He didn’t seem to mind the idea of that many kids. What was wrong with him?
“Joe, I can't do it. It's enough. There has to be someone else. I can't do it.”
Dani got up and ran. She went up to the second floor and found an empty room. She closed the door and locked it. She didn't know Jenny was in the bathroom.
Dani sat on the bed and started to cry. Jenny came out and saw her.
“Dani, what's wrong?” she asked.
“Joe found eighteen more kids. I can't do it.” She put her face in the pillow.
“Jeez, eighteen more kids.”
Jenny sat down next to Dani. Dani thought about Jenny. The young woman had been so helpful throughout the entire trip. She never complained and she had even befriended one of the little girls. Dani began to feel guilty about her outburst.
“Dani, we can do it together.” Jenny put her hand on Dani's shoulder. Dani felt her hand and turned to her. She held onto Jenny and cried into her shoulder. “We can do it. We'll be all right.”
Jenny was remarkably calm. This trip had to have been just as hard for her, but she was ready to take on more kids. Was Dani the only one who saw just how crazy that was?
“What else can we do?” Jenny asked.
Dani sat up and hand-brushed her hair. She looked at Jenny. Jenny smiled, and made a face, causing Dani to laugh.
“I will need to get away and scream every now and then,” Dani said. “But you’re right, what else can we do? Joe said they had an old man taking care of them. He’s all alone. So if he could do it…I guess we can.”
Dani and Jenny walked back downstairs and saw that Joe had gotten the kids on the bus. Jenny and Dani packed up the leftover food and carried it outside. Joe said he would drive the bus to give the women a break.
“You'll have to follow me to the Granger's,” he said as he climbed into the bus.
Dani and Jenny got into the car and they all turned onto the highway. When they got to Granger's, Julius was standing in the parking lot with the eighteen Atlanta kids. Each kid had their bedding neatly wrapped and ready for travel, and Julius had packed his satchel.
Chapter 53
Wilmer Biosphere, Palm Harbor, Florida
Calvin had to wait until the hurricane passed before heading to St. Petersburg to check on Mark and Mindy. The biosphere had suffered no ill effects from the storm. It had actually benefited from it.
The pasture had been almost completely cleared of all traces of the poor animals that had died there. The storm had been over for two days when Calvin decided to make the trip to St. Pete. He got up early and donned his hazmat suit. He climbed out of the hatchway and walked over to the Mercedes he had decided to keep.
He’d taken quite a bit of heat fro
m the team when they found out he’d taken Mindy and Mark back to Mark's house. Gerald had been absolutely apoplectic. But Calvin said he’d had enough and if the kids wanted to go, then he would help them. He told the team that the kids were still suffering no ill effects from breathing the air and they had everything they needed at home.
Gerald still wanted to study the kids and had Andrew program all the locks. Andrew had given Calvin the code for the back hatchway so Calvin could come and go as he pleased. There was a general mutiny afoot, and the team no longer regarded Gerald as the commander in chief. Gerald continually took his frustrations out on Christie, and she was reaching the end of her patience.
Since Mark and Mindy had left, the kids of the biosphere were asking when they, too, could leave. They all missed the outdoors and were tired of the mall-like atmosphere of the biosphere. Christie kept putting them off, and when one would ask, it would prompt her to go to Gerald to beg him to test the air quality.
“It has to be cleared by now, whatever it was that killed those animals, it must be gone, Gerald.”
Whenever the animals were mentioned, Gerald would feel the sting of pain and guilt that always rose up whenever he thought of Martha. Martha had been a sweet, tan little heifer when she was brought into the biosphere with the rest of the cattle and sheep. When Gerald saw Martha, he immediately took a liking to her.
Gerald would visit her daily, spending time brushing her and talking to her by the hour. Calvin would joke with the others that Gerald seemed to be in love with the cow. Gerald did indeed love the cow as he had never loved any animal before. His attachment surprised even him.
The other animals were just patients to Gerald, but Martha, whom he named after his grandmother, was special. She seemed to have affection for Gerald as well. When Gerald would visit her in the animal room, Martha would nudge his hand to make him pet her. Then he would brush her soft tan coat and give her special little treats.
Gerald had been awake the night before the tragedy, working with a pregnant cow who was suffering from uterine torsion. He had been trying to untwist the cow's uterus. He and Calvin had to rock the cow until they were able to flip the uterus. By the time they were done, they were both exhausted. Calvin had eaten his breakfast and gone to bed.