Miracles

by Thomas A. Watson

  Resting her head on Arthur’s shoulder while they walked, “Do you think Joseph is all right?” Wendy asked in a low voice.

  “I pray,” Arthur answered, thinking about their son.

  Reaching the back porch, they found all the kids were waiting on them. “I’m almost done,” Shawn stated proudly.

  “Good man,” Arthur grinned, and Wendy walked out from under his arm.

  Picking Ryan up out of one of the swings, “I thought you were little till seeing you next to Nicole,” Wendy cooed, and Ryan giggled.

  “Yes, we have a two-month-old, a four-month-old, four six-month-olds, a seven-month-old, and two nine-month-olds,” Arthur chuckled, holding the back door open.

  “Nicole is a little over three months now, babe,” Wendy said, walking in.

  Letting out a gasp, Arthur looked down at Nicole to see her just looking up at him. “And I didn’t even get you anything,” Arthur cooed, and Nicole smiled.

  Putting Ryan in a highchair, “Oh, I’m so glad Joseph was a boy,” Wendy mumbled as Arthur walked through the kitchen. Already hearing the kids moving to prepare lunch, Wendy started making up bottles for the other babies.

  When she sat down at the table and started feeding Lucas, Arthur came in carrying notebooks and maps. “Ready?” he asked, sitting down and folding out a map.

  “Wow,” Wendy said, looking at several drawings and then to the topographical map Arthur had spread out. Taking a deep breath, “Don’t tell me the ‘why’, just tell me ‘what’ we are doing,” Wendy sighed deeply.

  Grabbing a bottle for Nicole, Arthur started going over his plans, and all the kids eased toward the table to listen. The kids over seven, picked up a younger one just to keep them quiet and were soon blown away at the projects Arthur told Wendy about.

  “The man is a genius,” Shawn mumbled, holding his little sister Beth.

  Chapter Two

  Asshole Hunting

  It was after three when Arthur finished and handed off Nicole. Grabbing his gear, Arthur kissed Wendy and called for Donald and Daisy. When Arthur closed the door, Shawn stood up to help clear the table. “Where’s Arthur going?” Shawn asked.

  “To get some supplies for our run into town tomorrow,” Wendy answered and Shawn froze.

  “I can go with him,” Shawn offered.

  “He wants us to keep working,” Wendy said, getting up. “Don’t worry, Arthur can take care of himself.”

  “We know that,” Andrea chuckled, loading the dishwasher. “So does anyone else that’s close by. ‘Don’t mess with the Caravan Man’,” Andrea ended ominously. Every night they listened to the CB, and there was constant chatter about the Caravan Man.

  “But I could watch his back,” Shawn protested.

  “He knows, Shawn,” Wendy insisted, getting up. She carried a sleeping Lucas into the living room and placed him in his playpen. Walking back in, Wendy moved over and put her hands on Shawn’s shoulders, then hugged his neck.

  “Shawn, Arthur can move faster without us. I shouldn’t have to tell you, but he was a bad boy,” Wendy chuckled. “Probably why I was drawn to him,” Wendy admitted. But what she wouldn’t tell the kids was the few times Arthur had left them before she got back, he’d hunted, and it hadn’t been wild game. He’d hunted trouble.

  That first night back, he’d told Wendy what he wouldn’t say in front of the kids. Wendy had understood all but one time when Arthur had ‘scouted’ and taken Nicole with him. Leaving Nicole in the truck with Daisy, Arthur had crept up to a house where a group had been in near Russellville. It’d been one of the groups the two men he’d killed in the hardware store had told him about. Sneaking in, Arthur had shot the four men and two women and then strung them up beside the road. The three women and one kid the group had been holding, Arthur had told them to move the supplies the gang had gathered to a new location, and then he’d left.

  The idea he’d left Nicole in the truck was what pissed Wendy off when he’d gone off hunting. But Arthur had told her he’d needed that road open, just in case they’d have to use it to get home. After Wendy had calmed down, she’d made Arthur promise not to do that again.

  Knowing Arthur better than anyone, Wendy was amazed Arthur hadn’t become a major crime lord.

  “You think he’ll take me sometime?” Shawn asked hopefully once Wendy stopped hugging him.

  Pulling Shawn back into another hug, “Yes, but not until he thinks you’re ready,” Wendy explained. “He didn’t take me because I’m still not a hundred percent.”

  Mollified by that, Shawn nodded. “Pops is the coolest person I’ve ever known.”

  “Me, too,” Wendy laughed, letting Shawn go. “Tell you what, you can go with me tomorrow. We’re going to the hospital to get some medication.”

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Wendy. “That’s where the sick people are,” Kirk gasped, and his little brothers nodded.

  “No, baby. Nobody still alive is there,” Wendy corrected.

  “Um, why the hospital?” Andrea asked.

  “Like I said, need medicine,” Wendy repeated.

  Giving a nod, “I’ll go with you,” Shawn grinned.

  Giving Shawn a smile, “Have any of you noticed ants when you’ve gone out with Arthur?” Wendy asked.

  “Not really,” Andrea finally said.

  “I’ve noticed ant mounds in yards when we went through a neighborhood a few weeks back,” Shawn admitted. “But in all the stores and buildings we’ve been in, I’ve only seen a few.”

  Shaking her head, “I think my husband is crazy,” Wendy said softly. “Let’s get back to work,” she told everyone and headed outside.

  ***

  It was late afternoon when Arthur parked on the side of a fire station in Russellville. He had passed a few cars and had seen several people outside of houses. What struck him as odd; he didn’t see any kids with the adult groups. He wasn’t stupid and knew not everyone would take care of stray kids. And just because someone didn’t have a kid didn’t mean they were a threat. A kid was a huge drain on resources.

  Opening the driver’s door, Arthur climbed out. “Donald, Daisy,” he called softly, and the dogs scrambled over the front seat of the Blazer and jumped out, looking around.

  Checking his AR, Arthur headed to the side door while giving a hard snort, already smelling the rotting bodies. “I hate this smell,” he mumbled, opening the door and nearly gagged up his balls when a wave of putrefaction washed over him. Even the dogs backed up shaking their heads while Arthur let the door go and stumbled back.

  “Oh man, I better get some awesome mind-blowing sex for this,” Arthur panted, using his gloves to wipe the moisture from his eyes. “Never been near something with a stinky funk so bad my eyes watered.”

  Taking a few deep breaths, Arthur pulled his shirt over his nose and grabbed the door. The dogs just looked up at Arthur when he just walked inside and held the door open. “Daisy, guard. Donald, heel. If anyone can live with this funk, they’re fucking tougher than me.”

  Letting his AR hang at his side, Arthur pulled a flashlight off his belt and turned it on. Only one firetruck was inside and where the second truck should’ve been parked, Arthur saw the source of the funk. Bodies were wrapped in sheets running the length of the bay and laid neatly in three rows stacked four high.

  Shining the light around, Arthur shook his head at a two-foot-wide stream of ants near the bodies, going under the roll-up doors. Trying not to breathe deep, he moved around the building and finally found the storeroom. In it, he spotted a line of rubber duffel bags with HAZMAT SUIT printed on the sides.

  Almost running over, Arthur grabbed four and bolted out of the room. Donald took off after him, not understanding why Arthur was running. Bursting out the side door, Arthur dropped the bags and gasped for air while moving away from the door. “There’d better be whipped cream involved in the payback sex,” Arthur panted.

  Trying to keep his lungs from inverting out of his mouth, Arthur mov
ed over and opened one of the bags. “Just my motherfucking luck,” he cursed, kicking the bag when he didn’t see a closed circuit breathing mask or air tank.

  Taking more deep breaths, Arthur headed back inside and found three. Running outside, he set them with the bags, checked them over and found all three tanks were full. Grumbling under his breath, “I’m already here,” Arthur headed back inside and grabbed med kits and supplies from the supply room.

  When the back of the Blazer was packed, Arthur looked down at Daisy and saw her staring down the road. Following her gaze, Arthur gave a startle to see a black bear coming out of a house as the sun was setting. “Yeah, mankind is in for some ball-busting shit. Surviving the flu is just the beginning. In a few years, just going outside will prove a grave danger,” he nodded, noticing the house’s door had been ripped off.

  “You guys want to kill some assholes?” Arthur asked, looking back at the dogs.

  Both Rottweilers looked up at him panting, and Arthur swore they were smiling.

  Opening the driver’s door, Arthur motioned and the dogs jumped inside. Climbing in and starting the Blazer, Arthur headed toward the hydroelectric dam as darkness settled over the land. Driving through the neighborhoods without his lights on, Arthur wasn’t shocked that he didn’t see lights from candles or lanterns anymore. People had learned fast, light brought trouble, so now blankets were hung over windows and at one house, someone had painted the windows.

  “You’re still telling people someone’s there,” Arthur mumbled, turning off the road that led to the hydroelectric dam. Heading west upstream from the dam, Arthur rolled his window down while he crept along at ten miles an hour. With a clear sky and a half-moon, he had no trouble seeing. He just didn’t want to let people know a vehicle was driving around. The houses around him started getting larger, opulent, and more spaced out, but Arthur had been here before the virus and knew where he was heading.

  Seeing a house set apart from the others and the front door wide open, Arthur turned into the driveway and then pulled onto the grass, circling around to the back. Turning the Blazer off, Arthur let it coast to a stop and heard faint music off in the distance. “Glad the idiots make it easy,” he said, opening his door.

  Getting out, Arthur just glanced back at the dogs and they followed him out. Leaning back in, Arthur grabbed a small backpack and pulled it on. Checking the four AR magazines on his belt in dual holsters, Arthur let his AR hang after checking the suppressor before he pulled his 1911 out and press checked it. Seeing brass, he let the slide go and holstered the pistol before patting the mags for the pistol on his belt. “I’ve been waiting to kill that little cock-sucking bastard Dean,” Arthur grinned, easing his door closed. Just thinking of the evil sixteen-year-old that had tried to join them pissed him off. Using his keys, Arthur walked around and locked all the doors, just in case.

  Heading into the trees behind the house, Arthur soon walked into another backyard before heading toward an upscale subdivision a quarter of a mile away. One of the doctors he’d worked with had a house there, and he and Wendy had been to several Christmas parties at it. But the actual house he was looking for was the largest house that sat on the bluff overlooking the dammed-up river.

  Crossing a pipeline, Arthur walked through the backyard of the first house in the subdivision. Like he owned the planet, Arthur strolled through the backyard and into the front yard, then walked along the side of the road.

  A woman stepped out of a house ahead and froze, seeing a shadow walking down the road with a large dog on each side. Then she noticed the fedora and gasped, “The Caravan Man! He’s real!” Slowly, the woman crouched down and almost took off running when the Caravan Man nodded toward her, but he kept on walking.

  Still weak and recovering from Rudolph, a thin smile parted the woman’s dry, chapped lips, “Someone’s about to die,” she whispered.

  Leaving the woman behind, Arthur crossed the road to walk on the right side, then moved deeper into the yards. Empty lots in this neighborhood cost six figures and that’s all they were; lots. Walking past the massive dark houses, Arthur just couldn’t see spending that kind of money to have neighbors so close, you could reach out and touch them.

  Seeing movement ahead on the right, Arthur barely slowed when two small figures moved out of a house and crept toward him. The music in the distance was louder now and Arthur could hear the hum of a generator. Watching the two forms creep closer he stopped and Donald and Daisy sat down, watching the two kids get closer.

  “Mr. Caravan Man,” one whispered. “You need to hide. There’s a bunch of bad guys up there.”

  “That’s why I’m here,” Arthur replied in a normal tone, tilting his head toward them. “I cut through this yard, and the house they’re in will be only two hundred yards away.”

  Able to see them now, Arthur saw both were young boys around twelve. “You know how many they have?” Arthur asked, and both boys shook their heads. “Why are you here so close to them?”

  The one that had spoken pointed around at the houses. “They searched all these already so if you stay hidden during the day, you can search for food at night,” he answered, and Arthur gave a smile at the gall and reasoning the two showed, hiding right under the gang’s noses.

  The brim of Arthur’s hat hid his eyes from the boys, but they both saw the small smile and each gave a shiver. “You boys may want to hide while I go pay them a visit to make them my bitches,” Arthur advised. “I’m sure they aren’t going to like it.”

  How casually he’d said it stunned the boys, and both stared at him with gaping mouths. “I know there’s more than ten,” the other boy finally said, and Arthur saw his hair was a very deep black.

  “Oh, good,” Arthur sighed with relief. “I hate making stops that don’t pay off.”

  Very unsettled by Arthur’s lack of fear, the boys took a step back from him. “Go hide,” Arthur told them, tilting his head toward the house they’d snuck out from. Not waiting, Arthur walked around them and across the yard into the backyard of the next house, and was soon lost in the shadows.

  The woman ran up to the two boys. “What did the Caravan Man say?” she asked.

  “He’s paying that gang a visit to make them his bitches,” one answered. “And he’s not scared at all.”

  The two boys told her what’d been said and she held out her hands to them. “We need to leave,” she told them.

  “No way,” the other replied. “He told us to hide, so we’re hiding.”

  Before the woman could move, the boys darted back inside the house. “I’m hiding on the other side of town,” she mumbled, and took off as fast as she could out of the subdivision.

  Pausing at the corner of the house across the street, Arthur stared at the lit-up house with three massive four wheel drive trucks and two SUVs parked in the driveway and in the front yard. “Nice rides,” Arthur mumbled scanning around, and he wasn’t surprised not to see anyone standing guard. “Bullies never believe there are motherfuckers who’re worse and scarier than they are. Well, time for a lesson,” Arthur said, taking his left hand off the foregrip.

  Reaching down, he patted both dogs while he scanned the windows, then turned toward the hum of the generators and saw two large ones sitting near the garage. From the generators, he saw streams of extension cords running into the house. “Either one of those generators would power that house, dumbasses,” he scoffed, shaking his head and grabbing the foregrip of his AR. “You’re too stupid to even wire them up to the house so you wouldn’t need extension cords.”

  The front door opened, and the music got louder when a figure stepped out before closing the door, muffling the music again. Moving to the edge of the porch, the figure lit a cigarette and then unzipped his pants. From across the street, Arthur caught the whiff of marijuana and knew it had come from the brief time the door had been open.

  “Smells like primo shit,” he huffed, and flipped his AR off safety. “Heel up, follow,” he commanded, and strolled a
way from the corner of the house with both dogs staying just behind him. Reaching the street, Arthur lifted the AR and put the red dot on the urinating figure’s head.

  Squeezing the trigger, a muffled cough and sonic crack sounded off, but Arthur barely heard either over the muffled music. Urinating man jerked as the hollow point punched in at the bridge of his nose and the back of his head exploded, coating the brick exterior and front door. Like magic strings had been cut, he dropped off the porch and into the puddle he’d made.

  Keeping the stock pulled to his shoulder, Arthur lowered the muzzle but kept his eyes on the house while he moved to the porch. Easing up to one of the windows, Arthur peeked inside. “Whoa,” he mumbled, seeing four men sitting around a coffee table with a mound of white powder in the center and the biggest bong he had ever seen sending out a thick column of smoke. “That damn bong could hold pounds. It would take two stoned bitches just to move the damn thing.”

  The room was lit up by a lamp, and he saw a stereo next to the lamp with extension cords running through the living room, down the hall, and up the stairs. Pulling back and moving in front of the door, Arthur pointed behind him and Donald and Daisy moved just behind him.

  Reaching out with his left hand, Arthur opened the door and slipped in while bringing his rifle up. A man in his forties sitting across from the others and facing the door was taking a hit off the bong and saw the figure walk in. His eyes barely grew in alarm before a hollow point punched into his face and blew out the back of his head. Blood and chunks of brain covered the wall.

  Before the body even moved to fall over, Arthur was shifting his aim while squeezing the trigger and watched a young man jerk when his head exploded. The last two stared transfixed for a brief second when their buddies’ heads had just exploded, spraying the walls with blood and gore. Neither had a chance to turn before joining their buddies at the great bong party in the afterlife.

  Moving past the dead quartet and through the thick haze of smoke, Arthur had a serious case of munchies hit him. For some strange reason, he craved Taco Bell and wanted the entire menu while he moved through the living room and saw the extension cords entered the house through the kitchen, and there wasn’t anyone there. Seeing a door to the backyard, Arthur cursed himself for not circling the house before entering.