But the Children Survived

by A. L. Jambor

  Gerald was so shocked that he fell back into the closet and to the floor. His eye hurt and he couldn't open it. She really landed that punch. With his good eye, he looked up at Arlene. She was smiling and started to laugh.

  “That’s what you get for waking me up!” She got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

  Gerald sat on the floor for a long time. He had dozed off for a few minutes. He hadn’t seen Arlene come back from the bathroom. Suddenly, he heard pounding on the front door and vaguely wondered who could be there at this hour. He thought it might be the mailman with a package. He heard Arlene open the door and say that Gerald was in the bedroom.

  When he opened his eyes, Gerald saw two police officers standing over him. They asked him to get up and to explain the slowly swelling eye. He said his wife had punched him when he tried to wake her for work. One of the officers went to talk to Arlene.

  The officers interviewed Gerald and Arlene for an hour and it was determined that Gerald had attacked his wife in a fit of rage. They concluded that he had attempted to drag her out of bed with the intention of raping her.

  Gerald denied the allegations vehemently while one of the cops put Gerald's hands behind his back and cuffed him. The two officers helped Gerald put on his pants. They had to drag him out of the house and put him into the cruiser. As they passed Arlene, he could see tears on her cheeks and a cigarette in her hand. She also had a black eye.

  While Gerald sat in jail, he tried to think of how Arlene had gotten a black eye. She had to have had it last night. It took a while for an eye to get that dark, at least hours. Had he hit her last night?

  He was beginning to doubt his sanity. Twice in as many days he’d found himself behind bars. Gerald Todd had never gotten so much as a parking ticket. Now he had a DUI, a Domestic Battery, and an Attempted Rape charge. Gerald Todd was still a very lonely man.

  After he was booked, Gerald had been given one free call. His bail totaled $26,000 and his triple A wouldn't cover that. He asked someone for the name of a bondsman and dialed the number.

  The woman who answered the phone asked Gerald if he had a family member or friend who could help him arrange bail. Gerald said no, and the sound of that no shook him to his core. She said the next best thing would be to get an attorney. She offered him the names of three attorneys, but she said that Neil Cramer handled their legal needs.

  Gerald dialed Neil’s number and talked to his legal assistant. She took his name and date of birth, and told him to call back in ten minutes. When Gerald called again, Neil answered the phone. He asked Gerald if he could afford to post bail if Neil could arrange it. Gerald said yes, he had the money, but that Neil would have to talk to Arlene. Neil told Gerald not to be surprised if Arlene was uncooperative, but that he would do what he could to help Gerald.

  Neil called Arlene and she answered the phone. It was obvious to Neil that she was either drunk or high. When he asked about the money, Arlene paused before answering. She said there was no money. She told Neil that she had been fired the month before and hadn’t told Gerald. She then told Neil that she had been using the money in their joint account to drink at Shorty's and score Xanax from her dealer.

  Then, since Neil seemed to really be listening to her, she told him that she had been hit in the eye by a guy she picked up and brought home the day before Gerald’s DUI arrest. She had covered the reddened eye with makeup before she picked Gerald up at the jail. When he woke her the next morning, she was so annoyed she decided to call the cops on Gerald. The eye had turned a nice black and blue by then.

  Neil asked if she was willing to sign a request not to prosecute and Arlene said yes. Neil drove to Gerald’s house and had Arlene sign the paper. He then drove over to the courthouse in time for Gerald’s advisory hearing. Neil immediately asked Gerald who owned their home.

  By some miracle or act of God, Gerald had failed to put Arlene on the deed to his house. Therefore, Neil could use Gerald’s home to secure his bail. Neil was also able to get Gerald’s bail reduced to $6,000. For another $15,000, Neil would handle all Gerald’s cases, and if necessary, his divorce.

  Over the next month, while Gerald slept on a couch in Neil’s office because he had to stay away from the “victim,” and he was broke. Neil haggled with the State Attorney’s Office and it was agreed that since there was no evidence of attempted rape, the State would drop that charge if Gerald agreed to plead guilty to the battery. Neil told Gerald it was a good deal because the battery was only a misdemeanor and that Gerald could still work as a vet. Neil also suggested he have Arlene removed from his house ASAP.

  Within the next two months, Gerald was fired from his job for having a DUI, had his wife evicted from their home, and divorced her. Gerald also found out about Arlene’s extracurricular activities, and the fact that she’d spent all his money on drugs and alcohol.

  Neil Cramer handled his divorce from Arlene. Since they’d only been married a few months, the Judge denied Arlene's claim on Gerald's house.

  Gerald sold his house in the middle of the housing boom and realized a cool $250,000. He converted half of it into gold and put the gold in a safe deposit box. He moved to a singlewide mobile home in a family park on the outskirts of Ocala.

  Gerald used his veterinary skills at the local farms just to keep his hand in it. One day as he pulled into his driveway after spending most of the night birthing a breeched calf, he found Jacob Wilmer sitting on his front porch.

  Chapter 8

  The Wilmer Biosphere, Palm Harbor, Florida

  Mindy woke up to Baby Girl’s cold wet nose nudging her hand. It was breakfast time, and the little dog had become used to nice meaty tidbits. Mindy opened her eyes and noticed that the artificial sun was up.

  "Give me a minute girl,” she said to Baby Girl, but the little dog insisted.

  "What is wrong with you?” Mindy said, as she put her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She put her hands on her hips. “I could have slept another hour you know.” She padded over to the bathroom. She took a shower and let then water run over her body. She hadn't realized how much she loved a shower until she couldn't have one.

  After Mindy got dressed, she took Baby Girl outside. Christie had told her to take Baby Girl’s poops and flush them in her toilet. Christie also told her she would get her some dog food. So far though, Baby Girl was sharing Mindy’s dinner every day.

  Mindy had been at the Wilmer Biosphere for a week. She knew most of the kids there, but sometimes she forgot their names. There were almost 200 of them. Her favorite was Maria Elena. Maria Elena was an eternal optimist, and her outlook was always positive despite their current situation. Mindy also liked the twins Katie and Alyssa.

  They ate together at every meal, and now they were attending “classes” together. Mindy had made an uneasy truce with life in the bubble, but she still dreamed of getting out one day and finding her parents.

  Mindy fed Baby Girl her morning scraps. She made sure Baby Girl had clean water, and spent some time rubbing her belly before heading to the cafeteria.

  "I'll be back, I promise. You be good, and no barking,” Mindy said.

  Baby Girl sat and stared at Mindy with her little brown eyes. Then she turned, jumped up on the unmade bed and curled up in the sheets. Mindy closed the door walked to Market Street.

  Maria Elena and the twins were already seated when she arrive. Mindy waved, and they waved back. She got her food, taking extra pieces of meat, and joined the girls. The conversation was lively as they discussed a new boy who had just arrived the night before.

  "I really hope he shows up this morning,” Katie said. “I heard he was kicking Andrew, and Simon couldn't get him through the door. But I didn’t see it so, well, you know.”

  "Coming through that door must be scary,” Mindy said. “I woke up in the hospital.”

  "Well that's what I don’t understand. Why was he even awake? I mean, I wanted to come and so did Alyssa, but when somebody fights, they usually put them to sleep.
” Katie’s freckles were bright this morning. Alyssa seemed a little catatonic.

  "You guys look tired,” Mindy said, and motioned to Alyssa with her fork. Alyssa had her head on her hands. She had pushed her tray to the side.

  "We woke up in the middle of the night. We saw the boy being walked to his house. He didn't seem too happy, but they managed to settle him in. He was kind of noisy.” Katie yawned as she spoke.

  "Does anybody know his name?” Mindy asked.

  "No,” Maria Elena said. “We'll have to ask Christie when we see her. Ah, there are the boys with the TV. We better get rid of these trays.”

  Mindy smiled. This “class” was held in the cafeteria, and consisted of watching old videos on a big screen TV brought in from the library on a rolling cart by the stronger boys. Jacob Wilmer had bought every episode he could find from the History Channel, National Geographic Channel, and some from the Learning Channel.

  Every day the kids would watch one, and write something about what they had learned. Wilmer hadn't bet on having 200 10-year-old children to educate, and there was a heavy emphasis on World War II. No math, no science, no English or Spanish, or any other language for that matter - just history.

  Everyone had emptied their trays and they all sat waiting for the show to begin. One of the TV boys popped a DVD into the player and another lowered the lights. The History Channel logo appeared followed by goose-stepping Nazis. Austin, a tall chubby boy with sandy blond curls and a low threshold for boredom, stood up and began to yell.

  "Nazis-I can’t stand Nazis. I hate World War II and I hate Douglas MacArthur. I hate Winston Churchill. I hate Franklin Roosevelt. But most of all I hate Adolph Hitler because if it wasn’t for that asshole, we wouldn’t have to watch these damn Nazis!”

  Mindy’s eyebrows shot up. The girl’s mouths fell open.

  "Nazis, always Nazis. I can’t stand to look at another Nazi!” Austin said, as he walked over to the DVD player and pushed the button.

  The disc came out and Austin grabbed it. Grunting and groaning, he bent the disc in half until it broke into two pieces. He hurled the pieces across the room and headed out the door of the cafeteria.

  Mindy looked at the girls and said, “Come on,” and they all got up and followed Austin out the door.

  The rest of the kids followed the girls. Austin was headed for the library. As the girls approached the library, they could hear Austin talking to himself.

  "I can’t believe that nutbag Wilmer. I HATE WORLD WAR II!” he said.

  Austin was pushing on the walls of the library. Suddenly, one popped open.

  "I knew it!” Austin cried. He then saw the sea of faces standing behind him.

  “I had panels like these in my bedroom. My mom used to store stuff behind them. I've wanted to check behind them ever since I came here. Look – the mother lode!” Austin pulled box after box of DVDs out of the closet.

  "Push on the other panels!” Austin shouted, and the kids started pushing on all the panels in the library.

  It seemed as though every third panel was a door leading to another treasure of DVDs. There were movies, documentaries, and actual school lessons.

  The kids began yelling titles at each other and dancing around the room chanting “NO MORE NAZIS! YAY!”

  Austin ran around the room and any movie about WWII, no matter how good or bad it was, was broken in half.

  Christie was on her way downstairs when she saw the wave of youngsters heading for the library. She followed the noise and heard the shouting. When she came to the library door, she saw the kids dancing around and throwing DVDs at one another. Christie clapped her hands to try and get their attention. Then she shouted at the top of her lungs.

  "HEY! What is going on in here?” she yelled. The kids stopped dancing and stood still. They all looked appropriately guilty. “Well?” she asked.

  "Austin found more DVDs. We were all so excited not to have to watch Nazis anymore, I guess we got carried away,” said a little girl named Jaclyn.

  Christie walked over to Molly, a small girl with curly brown hair. She held out her hand and Molly gave her the DVD she'd been holding.

  "Wow, an actual movie. Where did you find them?” Christie asked Molly. Molly pointed at Austin, who showed Christie how the panels opened and she frowned.

  "No one told us about the secret panels.” Christie said. “The box of WWII tapes and the box of Disney's were out when we came. We'd all been so busy; we never had time to look for any others. These look great. Well, guys, it looks like we’re gonna have movie nights here.”

  All the kids cheered.

  "And, no more Nazis,” Austin said.

  "I think we can burn the WWII collection,” Christie said. The kids cheered again. “But I think we should organize these DVDs. Let’s separate them alphabetically, and put them back in the boxes that way.”

  Christie saw the broken disc in Austin’s hand. She put out her hand and Austin gave it to her.

  "Oh Austin, not “Saving Private Ryan,” she said. Christie looked genuinely upset. Austin looked down sheepishly. “Do not break another movie. Is that clear?” Austin nodded.

  They spent the rest of the morning sorting DVDs and boxing them. Just watching how happy they were made Christie feel a little lighter. She'd had a bad row with Gerald that morning and she really needed this. The kids needed this too.

  Christie left them to finish sorting while she went to check the crops she'd planted a few months before. Mindy watched her leave and followed her to the door.

  Mindy peeked around the corner of the library to see where Christie was going. She then looked around and noticed all the kids were occupied with the DVDs, so she headed out the door to follow Christie.

  Mindy inched her way down the street past the tiny houses until the signposts ended. She’d never been this far down the street. When she saw Christie enter a door at the end of the street, Mindy crept up to the door and stood on tiptoes to see inside. She never noticed the boy following behind her.

  Mindy couldn't see much through the window. She decided to take a chance, and opened the door slowly. There was a corridor behind the door. Mindy could see Christie going through another door to her right as she entered the corridor. She could see out over a railing opposite the door. What Mindy saw astounded her.

  Chapter 9

  Mindy walked over to the railing, she put her hands on it, and pulled herself up on a railing to get a better look. Laid out before her were rows and rows of plants in various stages of development. The field had to be at least a mile long and half long and a mile wide. Mindy had seen farms before, but never inside a building. Mindy saw a tall black man watering the crops. She saw him look over his left shoulder, and then she saw Christie approaching him.

  They were talking, and the man pointed toward the field. Christie looked worried. She squatted down and was touching the plant in front of her. She then got up, touched the man’s shoulder, said something, and then walked away. The man nodded and turned off the hose. He turned and carried the hose to the left side of the field where he rolled it up. Mindy could see Christie walking to the far end of the field.

  Suddenly, Mindy felt someone standing beside her. When she looked up she saw a boy she'd never seen before. He was cute, with freckles on his nose, brown eyes, and straight dark, brown hair. He was wearing a tee shirt with a peace sign on it. He looked at Mindy when she turned to see him.

  "Who are you?” She whispered.

  "My name is Mark,” He said.

  They stared at each other for a few seconds and then back at the farm.

  "That thing is really big,” Mindy said. “How did they ever make that?”

  "They dug a big hole,” Mark said, and then he turned and went out the door. Mindy followed him.

  "My name is Mindy,” She said as she ran after Mark.

  "Good for you,” Mark said. “Now please leave me alone.”

  "You bothered me,” Mindy said, but Mark was already far ahead. She watche
d him going towards the library and followed him. She noticed him pass the library and keep going. She kept following him until she saw him go into the little store.

  Mark was picking up some toothpaste and soap. Mindy noticed his feet. He was wearing children’s Birkenstock sandals. His feet were very dirty. His jeans were torn at the knees. Mindy wasn’t sure if he bought them that way, or if they were just old. She watched him pick up some paper and pencils.

  "You didn’t have to be so rude to me,” Mindy said. Mark still wouldn't look at her.

  “Fine. Be that way.” She tossed her head and turned around. Mark looked up as she walked away.

  *****

  Women always seem to fall for the dark, dangerous rebel, and the girls of Wilmer Biosphere were no exception. Whenever Mark came into the cafeteria, all female eyes would follow him, Mindy’s included. She was young, but she was starting to have feelings that she didn't necessarily understand. She'd had a crush once when she was five, but not since then. She'd been more interested in studying than in boys. And the boys here didn't interest her at all.

  Not Austin, who always tried to make her laugh, not Tommy, who stuck straws up his nose, or the video boys who played video games six hours a day, until Christie pulled the plug on the TV. They were a boring lot, and Mindy would yawn when they spoke to her. But Mark, now there was an interesting boy.

  "Why doesn’t he eat in here?” Katie asked. “What’s wrong with him?”

  "Nothing,” Alyssa said. “He’s perfect.”

  "Oh, you always like the boys,” Katie said as she sneered at Alyssa. It was true. Alyssa always liked the boys.

  "Well, what’s wrong with that? Why shouldn’t I like the boys? Mark is super cute, and he's, ah, what's that word? You know, when you don’t know what someone is thinking?” Alyssa said. She looked at Mindy.

  "You mean mysterious?” Mindy asked.