Giving a big yawn, Arthur picked up Pam and put the bottle in her mouth. Pam latched onto the bottle like she was starving, trying to hold it herself. “Oh, come on, I fed you four hours ago when I fed Nicole and Lucas,” Arthur moaned through the yawn.
After chores the last two days, Arthur had taken the kids out visiting several houses around them and then the church he and Wendy went to. He grabbed every bottle, diaper, and can of formula they came across. The nursery at the church was now bare.
Even though Arthur knew he needed the stuff, he was very reluctant on leaving the house. It seemed every time he left, he added kids. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind, Arthur felt like shit and had told the kids to load up. He’d let Shawn drive his Blazer with Kirk and they’d followed Arthur around as he drove the kids in the Suburban.
Bringing back the trailers filled up with the stuff they had gathered, Arthur would tell the others where to unload as he fed the babies one at a time. They had only made two trips out before running out of daylight and Arthur was worn out.
They never found or saw another living person the last two days, but they had seen a bunch of dogs and dead bodies that had been eaten on. Most bodies looked like they had been eaten on by dogs, but there were other bites as well. One body, Arthur was certain had been eaten on by a bear.
Hearing air being sucked on, Arthur glanced down to see Pam had finished with her bottle and was fighting to keep her eyes open. Putting Pam on his shoulder, Arthur patted her back as he leaned his head over onto Pam’s. “Give up the burp,” Arthur hummed softly with a smile.
When Pam burped, Arthur gently laid her down on the bed as Lucas started fidgeting and getting louder, with his coos turning to angry grunts. Picking up Lucas, Arthur grabbed the ‘L’ bottle and cradled Lucas in his arms. “Pam cries louder than you do, so she gets fed first,” Arthur laughed as Lucas attacked the bottle.
Looking around the room, Arthur saw the three baby beds that needed to be put together with a sigh. “They will be put together tonight,” he vowed.
When Lucas was finished, Arthur laid him down and saw Nicole looking at him with wide eyes contently. “Hey, blue eyes,” Arthur cooed and scooped her up, making her smile. Feeding Nicole the bottle, Arthur walked around the bed to see the dogs asleep on the floor with the cats curled up next to the Rottweilers.
“Weird,” Arthur mumbled. Glancing at the clock, Arthur gave a sigh seeing it was time to get up.
After Nicole finished her bottle, Arthur put her up on his chest, patting her back and Nicole let out her now customary earth-shattering burp. Putting her on the bed, Arthur changed her and then grabbed the baby sling and slipped Nicole inside.
Moving down the line, he changed Pam and Lucas and then put them in bouncy chairs and carried them to the kitchen. Putting them on the kitchen island, Arthur headed upstairs. Tapping on the first door where Shawn was sleeping, Arthur walked in and found Shawn asleep with his sister beside him. Also in the bed was Kirk and Pat. “Shawn,” Arthur whispered, shaking him.
Shawn opened his eyes and sat up. “Get the others up while I start breakfast,” Arthur said and then left.
Looking down at the bed, Shawn grinned at his little sister. “Beth, time to feed the animals,” Shawn said in a soft voice and Beth’s eyes shot open.
Yesterday, one of the hauls they’d made had been bringing in over two dozen goats and Beth loved chasing the four baby goats around. “I’m awake,” Beth said, rubbing her eyes.
“I thought you were sleeping with the girls,” Shawn said, shaking Kirk and Pat awake.
With her hair going everywhere, Beth yawned out. “I wanted my bubba.”
Leaning down as Kirk sat up, Shawn kissed his sister on the head. “Let’s get ready,” Shawn said and then grabbed his pants.
Walking to the next room, Shawn tapped the door and walked in to see Vicki and Jodi curled up to each other. “Time to get up, guys,” Shawn told them as he shook both.
When both opened their eyes, he stopped and stepped back. “Arthur is working on breakfast, so come on.”
“I’m awake,” Vicki mumbled, sitting up and slowly moving to the side of the bed.
“Vicki, we need to hurry so we can help Arthur with the babies,” Shawn told her as he walked toward the door.
Glancing back at the bed as she got out, “Where’s Robin?” Vicki asked lifting the covers up. Not finding Robin, Vicki rolled Jodi over to check under her.
“I don’t know, but Jim left my room around midnight to sleep with Arthur,” Shawn told her, walking out.
Heading back to his room, Shawn saw the others up and getting dressed. As Shawn moved to help Beth, Beth took off out the door, carrying her clothes in her hands. “Man, for a five-year-old, she can move,” Shawn mumbled.
Walking over to a gun rack on the wall, Shawn pulled down the AR Arthur had given him on the first day. Arthur had taught Shawn how to use it and then made Shawn drill after each meal. Shoving his feet in his boots, Shawn looked over at Kirk.
Kirk was looking at the AR in Shawn’s arms in awe. “When will Arthur teach me?” Kirk asked.
“He said soon, so you’d better be paying attention when I drill,” Shawn told him. “You’ve never been around guns and he has to teach you and Pat, so you’ll need to pay attention.”
“I will,” Kirk said with a grin and then pulled on his shirt.
Following Kirk and Pat out of the room, Shawn made a mental note to not look as tired as he felt. The last two nights they had sat around as Arthur had listened to the CB and HAM radios for several hours. Most were people calling out in sick voices for help, but not all.
From Little Rock, they’d heard a man talking about people running around and shooting anyone they came across. Men, women, and children were shot for no other reason than being alive. Other people talked about the raw violence.
One man from Clarksville was on the CB, talking about all the dead in the city and how he couldn’t find anyone alive in his subdivision.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Shawn headed for the kitchen as Vicki ran down the stairs and flew past him. Vicki skidded to a halt, seeing Robin on the floor playing with a doll.
Walking around Vicki, Shawn hung his AR up and turned to see Kirk and Pat already helping Arthur with breakfast. “I need to feed Lucas?” Shawn asked.
“Nah, fed him just before I woke you up,” Arthur answered, watching Kirk cracking eggs.
Shawn turned to see Jodi walking over while carrying a stack of plates and started setting them around the table. “What are we doing today?” Shawn asked, moving over to the counter and grabbing a coffee mug. He had never drunk coffee, but learned it really helped in the waking up process.
“Going into Clarksville to get more stuff,” Arthur answered, reaching into the bowl Kirk was cracking the eggs into. Pulling out a small piece of eggshell, Arthur wiped it off on a kitchen towel. “We have a lot to do around here and need supplies.”
Spooning sugar into his coffee, “Um, shouldn’t we wait?” Shawn asked.
“No,” Arthur answered, moving over and helping Pat with the dough for the biscuits. “People aren’t really moving around now and I think after the shock wears off they will. We need to be done by then.”
“How long do you think that will be?” Shawn asked, then took a test sip. Shaking his head, Shawn headed to the refrigerator, grabbing the milk.
Moving over to the stove, Arthur made sure Jim and Jodi were doing all right with the bacon. “Don’t know, but we will hear about it on the radios,” Arthur told him.
After adding milk, Shawn gave a smile after his next sip. “I’m tired of getting shot at,” Shawn admitted, putting his coffee mug down.
As Shawn started taking glasses down, Arthur looked over at him. “As you should be,” Arthur said. “But humans aren’t the only thing we have to worry about.”
Almost dropping a glass, Shawn spun around and gasped. “What else?”
Moving around the island, “Dog
s, for one,” Arthur answered, bending over and helping Beth get dressed. “We have to get better fences up for the livestock and one around the house. Dogs have enough food now that they aren’t a problem but in a few months, we are going to be inundated with wild dogs.”
Giving a long sigh, Shawn carried the glasses over to the table. “Come on, Arthur. They’re just dogs,” Shawn chuckled.
When Shawn turned around, he saw Arthur stand up and look at him. “Shawn, you realize there were almost a hundred million dogs in the US? Let’s say only half were big breeds and the others die off to leave only fifty million. Most dogs give birth to large litters. By winter, there could be over two hundred million. I’m talking about huge packs roaming around. How many could you shoot before a pack of a hundred were on you?”
As his mind went into overdrive, Shawn felt goosebumps spring up as a vision of a hundred dogs charging him filled his mind’s eye. “What do we do?” Shawn mumbled in terror.
“They will die out till they reach equilibrium with the environment but I hate to say it, they will see us as food,” Arthur told him as Pam started crying. Before Arthur could get her out of the bouncy chair, Vicki walked over. “If a pack wipes out our animals, we will be hard-pressed to make it.”
Picking up his coffee mug, “Let’s go to town and get three times what we need,” Shawn said with a shudder.
Watching Vicki take Pam out of the bouncy chair, Arthur nodded. “That’s my thinking,” Arthur said and then moved over to check on the kids cooking.
“So, you don’t think people are going to be a problem?” Shawn asked, moving over and watching the others work on breakfast.
“Hardly,” Arthur scoffed. “But we are way back off the beaten path and they will have to look for us hard, and it’s a big world. Dogs and other animals can sniff us out.”
“Other animals?” Shawn mumbled, looking up at Arthur.
“Yeah, the day before I found you, someone called over the radio saying that someone had let all the animals from the zoo in Little Rock go free,” Arthur said in a low voice. “I hope they won’t be able to sustain breeding populations, but I’m not holding my breath.”
Nodding, “That makes sense,” Shawn said. “They didn’t have that many animals in the zoo.”
“I’m worried about all the zoos doing that,” Arthur told him, moving over to help Kirk. “There is a big cat sanctuary south of Little Rock…”
Shawn interrupted while watching Arthur help Kirk. “Yeah, mom took us there.”
Looking off, Arthur gave a long sigh. “Yeah,” he mumbled and then spoke in a normal voice. “I took Joseph and Wendy there when we first moved here. Went back a few years ago and it had nearly doubled in size. There were over fifty large cats there and, I know because I asked, most weren’t sterilized. I know animals, and those cats can get out of those cages if someone doesn’t let them out.”
“Whoa,” Shawn said, leaning over and grabbing the kitchen island when he felt his legs get weak. “That’s not cool,” he said, realizing the implications.
Bouncing Pam on her hip, Vicki stepped over to them looking a lot older than her ten years. “But we are people and animals are afraid of us,” she said.
Reaching down, Arthur caressed her cheek as he smiled at her. “True, but there aren’t that many people to be afraid of now,” Arthur pointed out and Vicki stopped bouncing Pam. “Cats in the wild breed at certain times of the year. In time, I think those will as well but until then, they will breed as each litter grows up. The big cats are hunters so they will secure food and when they have litters, they’ll have large litters.”
“So, we have to worry about tigers?” Vicki asked and the older kids stopped and turned to Arthur.
“In time we will, but there will be other things as well,” Arthur said, looking around at the scared faces. “But by then, each of you will know how to shoot, work the farm, and our farm animals will be protected.”
They all relaxed at hearing the confidence in Arthur’s voice.
Hearing a squeal, Arthur turned to see Robin chasing the cats. “Robin,” Arthur moaned. “I just put your clothes on you.”
Stark naked, Robin chased the fluffy cats into the living room. All four dogs looked up at Arthur as kids moved around the kitchen and dining room. “Don’t start, bitches,” Arthur told the dogs and then bent over, grabbing Robin’s clothes off the floor. Shawn snickered when Arthur swore at the dogs.
“Robin doesn’t like clothes,” Vicki told Arthur, putting Pam back in the bouncy chair as Lucas started crying. Before Vicki could grab Lucas, Shawn came over to take Lucas out of the bouncy chair.
“Figured that out in the first hour on the day we met,” Arthur sighed, walking into the living room with Robin’s clothes.
After breakfast, the older kids helped the younger ones get ready and Arthur put Lucas in a baby carrier. Making sure Vicki had Pam strapped into her car seat, Arthur let his AR hang under his right arm as he picked up both car seat carriers and Kirk opened the back door. Looking down in the baby sling, Arthur found Nicole looking up at him with a smile. “I know, blue eyes,” Arthur said.
Vicki got in the backseat of Arthur’s side by side with Jodi. Arthur put the baby carriers on the backseat and used bungee cords to hold the baby carriers in. He glanced to the driver’s seat and saw Kirk climbing behind the steering wheel.
Looking over at the new side by side they’d hauled back, Arthur saw Shawn in the driver’s seat as the other kids piled in. “Make sure they are holding on and don’t go fast,” Arthur called out and Shawn nodded.
Counting heads, Arthur felt his pulse quicken only counting ten. Counting again as he named off kids and touching Nicole in her sling to make sure he counted her, Arthur again reached ten. Turning around and realizing he was missing Robin, Arthur let out a groan to find Robin standing behind him with her clothes on the ground. “Oh, come on,” Arthur cried out, throwing his hands up.
Picking up a naked Robin, Arthur grabbed her clothes. “You keep on and I’m taping them on,” Arthur grumbled as Robin giggled and then kissed his cheek. “Let’s go, Kirk, but drive slow because we have little ones.”
As Kirk followed Shawn down the small road cut in the steep slope to the barn, Arthur redressed Robin who was actively fighting him. By the time they reached the barn, Arthur had only managed to get Robin’s panties on. “Fine,” Arthur finally snapped and grabbed Robin’s sandals, putting them back on her feet.
Arthur let Robin run off as he moved around and watched the kids tending to the animals. Everyone could tell Kirk, Pat, and Jim had done it the most, even though Jim still freaked out when the lambs came near him.
After finishing up with the chickens, Arthur turned around to see a naked Robin chasing the baby goats. “Robin, stop chasing the kids,” Arthur called out, looking around for Robin’s panties but thankful she still had on her sandals.
“Kids? She’s chasing the baby goats, not us,” Vicki said, closing the chicken coop.
“That’s what baby goats are called,” Arthur answered, not seeing Robin’s panties anywhere. Giving up, Arthur reached down and pulled a bottle from his cargo pocket when Nicole announced that she was hungry.
“Shawn, grab the nudist,” Arthur said, putting the bottle in Nicole’s mouth and her cry stopped.
“Um, she’s naked,” Shawn said, turning and watching Robin chase the goats. “I’m a boy,” he offered, but moved toward Robin.
As Lucas and Pam started crying in their baby carriers, Arthur turned to the buggy and let out a sigh. “Vicki, start feeding Lucas and Jodi, feed Pam. Just leave her in the baby carrier and hold her bottle,” Arthur said, feeling a headache coming on and the sun was barely up for the long day ahead.
Turning around, Arthur saw Shawn scoop up Robin holding her at arm’s length like she was contaminated, he carried her back to the buggies. Really wanting to go back to bed, Arthur piled in the buggies with the others as Kirk and Shawn drove them back to the house.
�
��Shawn, Kirk, make sure the trucks are full of gas,” Arthur told them, climbing out. “Everyone else, get in and stay with your buddy.”
Seeing Vicki carrying Pam to the Suburban, “Pat, get Pam’s baby carrier,” Arthur said, walking over to the Suburban. When he opened the back door, Arthur looked down to see a naked Robin climbing in using the running board as a ladder.
Arthur didn’t move until Nicole had given him a burp, then he strapped her in the car seat carrier in the backseat. The car seat carriers just snapped into the car seat mounts and Arthur was certain the person who’d invented it had more than one kid to deal with.
When all the kids were loaded, Arthur started having thoughts of leaving Shawn here to babysit and going to get the stuff on his own. “Can’t do it,” Arthur finally sighed and let Donald and Daisy in the back of the Suburban. He had already left the kids alone the night before last. Only taking Nicole, Arthur had driven into Clarksville and then east to Russellville to scout. Russellville was three times larger than Clarksville with a population of over thirty thousand, but Arthur had spotted more lights from houses in Clarksville. Since the power was out, lights meant people.
Only gone for four hours, the kids had waited up for him, even after working their asses off all day moving stuff.
Holding his AR to his side, Arthur climbed in the driver’s seat and glanced back counting. After counting heads in his Blazer, Arthur grabbed his radio. “You ready, Shawn?” he called out.
“Yeah, I have Kirk, Pat and Beth,” Shawn answered. “I put Kit and Kat back in the house.”
“Okay, and stay behind me. If we have problems, we are coming home,” Arthur called out and then released the transmit key.
“Understand, take back road home and get everyone inside,” Shawn called back.
Nodding, Arthur pressed the transmit key. “Tell your guys to keep an eye out,” Arthur reminded him, then turned the truck on.
Viral Misery (Book 1) Page 21