Viral Misery (Book 1)

by Watson, Thomas A

When he put his eyes back to the binoculars, he saw the smallest boy had run into the store. After a few minutes, the boy came out eating something. The other two looked up and ran into the store and soon came back out, eating whatever the smaller one had gotten. “Well, I know they have formula there. I made a comment to Wendy when we stopped here after duck hunting this February. Wendy laughed because she said the formula was ten dollars more there,” Arthur told Nicole, but Nicole didn’t stop eating to answer.

  Hoping he wasn’t heading for a trap, Arthur dropped the shifter into drive and put the binoculars down on the seat. He eased up the road and when he was a hundred yards from the store, the boys turned to see the jacked-up Blazer heading for them and ran to the side of the store. They ducked down watching as Arthur stopped by the single pump and put the shifter in park.

  Turning the engine off, Arthur glanced around and saw a minivan parked at one of the cabins. Opening his door, he held his AR to his side so it wouldn’t bang around and held the bottle with his left hand. Finding coordination that he didn’t know he’d had, Arthur climbed out easily while keeping his right hand on the pistol grip of the AR and Nicole never stopped drinking.

  Letting the AR go, Arthur stepped away from the Blazer door and left it open, but held the bottle with his left hand. He could shoot with his left but was much better with his right. “Hey, guys!” Arthur called out and waved toward the boys, then headed to the store. “Donald, Daisy, stay,” he said, hearing them move over the backseat.

  The boys peeked around the corner as Arthur walked in the open door. Trash was scattered across the floor and from the looks of it, all of it was candy wrappers and soda cans. Having a good idea where that had come from, Arthur moved down the aisle he remembered and stopped.

  “Oh, come on, one can?!” he cried out, grabbing the can of formula. He looked down at Nicole, shaking his head. “You believe this? They only have one can of your milk!”

  Nicole didn’t seem to care as she continued drinking. Moving further down, Arthur saw several diapers but all of them were too big. “Two of your little ass could sleep in these,” he told Nicole who only wiggled, changing position in the sling.

  Grabbing the smallest size, Arthur moved to the front and found the three boys standing in the door. Three very muddy and soaking wet boys. “Hi,” Arthur smiled, still holding the bottle with his left and the stuff he wanted in the sling with Nicole. His right arm hung at his side casually near the pistol grip of his AR.

  He wasn’t worried about the boys, but who they might be with.

  The two younger boys moved behind the oldest as he lifted his hand up. “Hi,” he said in shock.

  “Old Man Turner around?” Arthur asked and the boys looked at each other and then back to Arthur. “The old man who runs the camp?” he clarified.

  “No, sir,” the oldest answered, staring at Arthur like he was a ghost. “Is that a real gun?” he asked, pointing at the AR.

  “Yes, it is. If someone tries to hurt my baby, they will learn quickly that is a bad idea,” Arthur told him and was shocked when the three boys stepped into the store.

  “Are you sick?” the oldest asked and Arthur noticed his lips were starting to quiver.

  Cocking his head to the side, “Not that I know of, are any of you?” he asked.

  “Jim and I was, but we got better,” the oldest told him.

  “Where’s your family?”

  The oldest boy pointed out the door and up at the cabin with the minivan. “Dad brought us here when people started shooting around the house. We camped here last summer.”

  “It’s a good spot,” Arthur said, pulling his wallet out and putting some bills on the counter and the boys looked at him in shock. They all turned to the stuff on the floor.

  “We have to pay?” the oldest asked in shock.

  Laughing as he put his wallet back, “Well, your dad will,” Arthur said and all three got a scared look on their faces. “Old Man Turner will make you clean up your mess.”

  He was shocked to see the three relax, then the oldest spoke. “No, he got sick.”

  “You saw him?”

  The oldest nodded, “When daddy wouldn’t wake up, we went in the house behind the store and found him on the floor. He had bubbles on his mouth like everyone else after they get the Rudolph nose,” he said.

  “Anyone else in your family have bubbles like that?”

  “Momma, our sisters, Judy and Gwen, then daddy,” the boy answered.

  Turning to the boys, “Son, how long have you been here?” Arthur asked.

  “Four days.”

  “How long have you three been out here alone?” Arthur asked as Nicole finished her bottle.

  He set it on the counter and pulled her up to his shoulder, patting her back and the boys moved closer to look at the tiny baby. “Daddy wouldn’t wake up after we got here,” the oldest told him.

  “Momma and our sisters wouldn’t wake up on the ride here,” the youngest said with tears welling up in his eyes.

  “Boys, are you telling me that you’ve been alone out here for three days?” Arthur gasped as Nicole let out a loud burp, making the three grin.

  “Yes sir,” the oldest said.

  “It’s scary at night,” the youngest whimpered with quivering lips from fear and the cold mud and water covering him. “Can you stay here with us?”

  “Boys, I can’t because Nicole,” he said, shifting the baby on his shoulder, “would get sick.”

  The three dropped their faces in despondency. “Please? It’s scary at dark,” the oldest begged in a breaking voice.

  Moving to the back wall, Arthur sat down on a bench and patted Nicole’s back as she slept. “Boys, come over here,” he said and the three slowly moved over, hanging their heads low. “What’s your names?”

  “I’m Kirk,” the oldest said and then pointed at the middle one who hadn’t spoken yet. “He’s Pat and he’s Jim,” he said, pointing to the youngest.

  “How old are you guys?’

  “I’m ten,” Kirk answered, looking up with hope since Arthur was asking questions about them. “Pat is eight and Jim is six.”

  “You have any family close?” Arthur asked and all three shook their heads. Looking at the filthy boys, Arthur took a deep breath and let it out in a long-dejected sigh. “Okay boys, I want you to listen and don’t say anything until I finish and ask for your answer,” Arthur told them and all three looked up with hopeful smiles.

  “I will take you with me, but you will do what I say because you will have to learn to work on a farm, ride horses, and learn how to shoot guns, not to mention a million other things. If you don’t want to work, I can take you to a hospital and they can find you a place to go,” Arthur said and at the mention of ‘hospital’, the smiles fell off to be replaced by looks of terror.

  “Please, no hospital!” Kirk shouted and Nicole gave a jump.

  “Shh,” Arthur whispered, patting Nicole’s back and rocking back and forth. Kirk clamped a hand over his mouth.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled around his hand.

  “Okay, if you don’t want a hospital, I will find you someplace else,” Arthur said and Pat raised his hand, looking at Arthur timidly. “Yes,” Arthur said, feeling Nicole drift back to sleep.

  “Can’t we just stay with you?” Pat asked, but it sounded like begging. “We’ll be good.”

  “Boys, if you stay with Nicole and I, you will have to listen and work. There is no way around that and I’m the boss. I will work harder than you, but each of you will work and learn. I will protect you, but you will show me respect and I will show you respect,” Arthur told them.

  “Will bad men find us at your house?” Jim asked.

  Arthur turned to Jim. “Jim, a bad man has already shown up at my house and I shot his ass,” Arthur told them and all three stepped up, almost touching Arthur’s knees.

  “We want to go,” Kirk said and his brothers agreed with wide grins.

  “Have you guys seen lots of bad gu
ys?” Arthur asked.

  “Yes sir,” Kirk answered. “They shot at our house in Memphis and at our car when we left.”

  Slowly, Arthur stood up and moved Nicole until she hung across his chest in the sling. “My name is Arthur, and we are now family,” Arthur said and the boys took off, running out the door. When they were outside, they started jumping up and down and cheering. “Well, they waited till they were outside,” Arthur nodded.

  Stepping behind the counter and grabbing a bag, Arthur moved down the aisle and grabbed a can of the soy formula, just in case he ran out. Walking around, he filled the bag as the boys came back inside. “Thank you for not waking up Nicole. She gets cranky if you wake her up after eating,” Arthur told them and started filling another bag.

  When he had six bags filled, he walked past the boys and put the bags in the Blazer. “You have clothes?” he asked and they nodded, pointing at the minivan. “Have you boys been up to the cabin since your dad hasn’t woken up?”

  They all shook their head and Kirk pointed at the store. “We been sleeping in a closet in there,” he said.

  “Where are your clothes?”

  “In the van,” Kirk answered.

  “Okay, follow me. You don’t have to go up there, but I need you to tell me if it’s yours,” Arthur sighed and started walking.

  The three boys ran up beside him and Jim reached up to hold his left hand. “We aren’t scared if you go with us, you’re big,” he said and Arthur looked down at the small kid and smiled.

  “And I’m mean when someone wants to hurt my family,” Arthur informed him.

  With a look of excitement, Kirk looked at Arthur. “That means us now, right?” he asked.

  “You said you wanted to be part of mine and Nicole’s family, so that means you three,” Arthur chuckled and the boys grinned so big their white teeth seemed to glow against their muddy faces.

  Getting closer to the minivan, Arthur’s pace slowed at seeing the bullet holes in the back door and side panels. He opened the back hatch and was almost knocked over by the smell of rotting flesh. Stepping back, he blinked his watering eyes and looked down at the boys who were looking up at the front seat.

  Following their gaze, Arthur saw brown hair. “Are any of these suitcases yours?” he asked, pointing at the pile shoved in the back. The boys dove in and Arthur saw he would’ve been able to pick their cases out, seeing superhero emblems on each one.

  When each had a suitcase, they reached back in and pulled out backpacks with the same emblems as each one’s suitcase. “That it for in here?” Arthur asked and they nodded. “Anything in the cabin?”

  “Our camping backpacks,” Jim said in a low voice.

  “I want you three to wait here while I look in the van to make sure,” Arthur told them gently and they nodded. He moved around to the driver’s side and saw a woman in the passenger seat that was starting to bloat. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and saw a purse in the floorboard. Yanking it out, he stepped back letting out the breath that he’d been holding and dug around inside, pulling out a pocketbook.

  Opening it up, he found pictures and put it back. Closing the door, he moved back and handed the purse to Kirk. “So you’ll have pictures and I’ll know where you came from,” Arthur told him as Kirk took the purse. “Guys, when we get to the cabin, stay on the porch. I’ll get your packs.”

  “Thank you,” Pat said with a weak smile.

  “That’s what family does, Pat,” Arthur said, walking toward the cabin. Seeing the cabin door was cracked open, Arthur gave a thankful sigh. The boys stopped outside as Arthur walked in, trying not to breathe. Feeling Nicole moving from the smell, he scanned around and saw three small hiking packs and moved over to grab them quickly.

  Arthur stopped, seeing a man on a bed. In his arms were a young teen girl and another girl that couldn’t have been older than five. Not being in a hot car, their skin was only gray. Turning away from the sight, he saw a wallet on a bedside table and grabbed it.

  As he headed for the door, Nicole gave a grunt as she wiggled in the sling. Stepping out into the clean air, Arthur looked down and saw Nicole relaxing and settling back down, drifting back to sleep. “Put this in the purse,” Arthur said, handing the wallet to Kirk.

  He watched Jim trying to lug his Superman suitcase. Moving all three of the backpacks to his left hand, Arthur picked up Jim’s suitcase. “Guys, let’s go,” he said and the boys took off running to the Blazer.

  With only his small Superman backpack on, Jim quickly pulled out in the lead as his brothers struggled with their suitcases. When Jim touched the Blazer, he turned around and raised his arms high, “I finally won!” he cheered out and then started jumping up and down.

  “You weren’t carrying your suitcase,” Pat popped off.

  Opening the passenger side, “Boys, don’t worry about the dogs,” Arthur chuckled at them and the boys looked in and saw the huge Rottweilers in the backseat. “Donald, Daisy, get in the back, right now,” Arthur commanded and the dogs let out groans as they climbed over the seat to get in the cargo area.

  Tossing the boys’ stuff into the backseat, Arthur was very glad he had seat covers. “Boys, all of you need to sit up front because you’re muddy and the backseat doesn’t have a cover,” Arthur told them and they just smiled at him.

  Helping the boys in, Arthur closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in. “Boys, am I the first person you’ve seen since you got here?” he asked, starting the engine.

  “No, sir,” Kirk answered as Arthur turned around. “We saw a sick man the day after we got here and another man yesterday.”

  “Did you talk to either of them?”

  “No, sir. The man yesterday saw us playing in the creek and stopped,” Kirk told him. “He tried chasing us, but we hid in the woods. He drove away but came walking back later, but we were still hiding.”

  “Why didn’t you talk to him?” Arthur asked, glancing over at the three.

  All three turned to look at him as Kirk spoke. “He was scary.”

  “Guys, don’t you think I’m scary?” Arthur chuckled, glancing at the road and then back to the boys who were all shaking their heads.

  “No, sir,” Kirk answered. “You look nice and then we saw you had a baby.”

  “Would you have talked to me if Nicole hadn’t been with me?”

  “Yes sir,” Kirk said and then turned to look out the window. “The other man gave us scary feelings. Even if he’d had Nicole, we wouldn’t have talked to him.”

  “And never talk to sick people,” Jim pipped in.

  “Why?” Arthur asked.

  “Dad told us they sometimes act crazy from the fever,” Pat told him.

  Very impressed, Arthur turned to the road. “Guys, you’re very smart but from now on, you see someone, you come get me. You’re right about trusting bad feelings, but I don’t want a bad man hiding his bad feelings from you. I’ll talk to them and if they’re bad, you won’t have to worry anymore.”

  Sitting next to Arthur on the bench seat, Jim leaned his head over to rest it on Arthur’s side. “Thank you, Arthur,” Jim said in a tired voice.

  Glancing back at the boys, Arthur saw Kirk’s head resting on the window, sound asleep. Pat was leaned over asleep, laying on Kirk. He looked down and saw Jim’s eyes closed and his mouth hanging open.

  Looking up at the road, Arthur gave a sigh, “Three little boys terrified out of their minds for three days. I’m willing to bet none ever slept more than an hour.”

  When he reached the gate, Arthur slowed and hit the remote. “Guys, we’re home,” Arthur said and the boys all sat up yawning as he pulled through the gate. When they saw the huge house, they all gasped as Arthur pulled into the garage.

  “Boys, you’re going to strip to underwear and get in the tub. I don’t like mud all over the house,” Arthur said, turning the engine off.

  “Yes sir,” the boys said in unison and climbed out.

  They helped A
rthur pull their stuff to the front door and all of them froze as Donald and Daisy walked up to them, sniffing. “They are getting to know you,” Arthur explained, unlocking the front door.

  Kit and Kat charged out and Donald and Daisy took off after them as Arthur ducked inside, turning the alarm off. Stepping back outside, he found the boys stripping down. Seeing the mud caked under their fingers, toenails, caked in their hair, and packed in every crease of skin, Arthur knew the mud wasn’t going without a fight.

  He led the boys into the house to his bedroom and they all gasped at the huge garden tub. “Don’t get in till I get back,” Arthur told them, turning on the water and leaving. When he came back carrying a sleeping Nicole in the baby carrier, Arthur grinned at the boys who were leaning over and looking into the tub.

  Setting Nicole down, Arthur reached over and squirted some of Wendy’s bubble bath in and the boys grinned wider at seeing the bubbles.

  Taking off his weapons, Arthur pulled his shirt off. “Get in and let’s get you three cleaned up,” he sighed, grabbing a rag. When the boys climbed in, Arthur had to admit for their size the tub looked like a small swimming pool.

  Arthur handed a rag to Kirk and to Pat as he got on his knees, leaning over the tub. Starting on Jim, Arthur never remembered having to work so hard to get a body clean. Working on a farm and being a nurse, that was a statement.

  When the tub was full, Arthur turned off the water and then turned on the jets, making the boys laugh as he grabbed the baby shampoo and finishing Jim off by washing his hair. Seeing Pat hadn’t made much progress knocking the mud off, Arthur took over. He was halfway done when Nicole announced it was feeding time.

  Arthur stopped and fed her and then put her back in the carrier. Undoubtedly, Nicole thought the boys taking a bath was hilarious because she squealed and laughed as they splashed around. When he reached Kirk, Arthur was pleasantly surprised that Kirk done a fair job. But Arthur grabbed a nail brush, going after the fingers and toes.

  When he was done, Arthur let the water out and the boys all let out a moan. “Boys, we have a swimming pool that you can swim in but not for a few days, we have work to do,” Arthur told them while standing up and grabbing towels.