Viral Misery (Book 1)

by Watson, Thomas A

  Turning to the kitchen island, she saw Kirk and Pat already at work and starting breakfast with Vicki and Jodi. Taking a deep breath, Andrea moved in and started the coffee and then moved over, helping and learning.

  After Betty pushed him back from doing the bacon, Shawn moved to the cabinets and grabbed the plates. Carrying the stack to the table, Shawn started setting the table.

  Smelling coffee, Arthur’s eyes struggled to open up. When his eyes finally opened, Arthur looked down at Nicole sleeping peacefully. Feeling bodies next to him, Arthur looked at the little kids beside him and groaned. “Robin, you don’t sleep in your cowboy boots.” Robin, nor Jim and Beth moved when Arthur groaned.

  Looking at Robin’s pink cowboy boots, Arthur wondered if he found her pink clothes, maybe Robin would keep them on. As that thought bounced around in his head, Arthur stood up and felt Nicole squirm in his arm. As a yawn erupted from Arthur, he glanced down to see Nicole giving a small yawn.

  With her yawn finished, Nicole opened her eyes and saw Arthur looking down at her. “Hey, blue eyes,” Arthur smiled and Nicole let out a coo. Setting Nicole on the bed, Arthur took off his shorts and pulled on his pants. Shoving his feet in his crocs, Arthur changed Nicole and then walked out of the bedroom and stopped.

  The kitchen was a buzz of activity. Kids were moving everywhere. He would follow one with his eyes for a few minutes just to make sure progress was being made and to his surprise, each one was doing a task. Tony was feeding the dogs and cats. Shawn was setting the table. Shelia was putting the dishes up from the dishwasher and the others were cooking.

  “Your mug is fixed,” Arthur heard Andrea call out and turned to see her closing the waffle maker.

  “Thanks,” Arthur said, grabbing his mug and heading for the back door.

  The eastern sky wasn’t bright yet as he stood out on the patio. ‘Meow’, Arthur heard and glanced over and saw Kong approaching him. Stepping back, “You just go on,” Arthur snapped, thinking about throwing his mug at the monster cat.

  When Kong sat down, Arthur noticed a mound of fur beside the patio and made a wide circle around Kong. “How in the hell can you kill a raccoon that big?” he asked, looking at the huge dead raccoon. “The dogs can’t even kill one that big, I’m sure.”

  Turning back to Kong, Arthur saw him cleaning his paws. “Okay, thank you,” Arthur said, but still didn’t get close to Kong. Hearing the back door open, he turned to see Shawn and Andrea walking out.

  “Arthur, I’m sorry,” Shawn started as he walked toward Arthur and then jumped back, seeing Kong. “Nice kitty,” Shawn said, glaring at the cat and side-stepping around it. If the cat scared Arthur, Shawn would run from Kong and would feel no shame whatsoever.

  “It’s just a cat,” Andrea huffed, throwing up her hands and saw Arthur pointing at the side of the patio.

  As Andrea looked over and saw a mound of fur, Arthur spoke. “That is a thirty-pound raccoon that Kong killed and carried to the house. Coons that size, kill dogs.”

  Jerking her head back and staring at the cat in shock, Andrea side-stepped around Kong with Shawn. “Are you sure it’s a cat? I’ve seen bobcats at zoos that weren’t that big,” Andrea said when she was standing beside Shawn and Arthur.

  “Not sure, but he kills shit that tries to hurt the animals on the farm so he can stay,” Arthur said, taking a sip and then smacked his lips. “To be honest, I’m scared to shoot him. It might just piss him off.”

  Shawn’s body jerked as a shiver ran down his spine and then he turned to Arthur. “Arthur, I’m sorry. I should’ve heard Lucas and I don’t know why I didn’t. I’m…,” Shawn stopped as Arthur raised his coffee mug up.

  “Shawn, you’re fourteen and have been busting ass since you joined this family. You have nothing to be sorry for,” Arthur told him. “You wanted to try and did feed Lucas once. I’m head of this family and I heard Lucas crying after I fed Nicole. So, I went and got him.”

  “I’m eighteen!” Andrea snapped. “And Pam doesn’t cry, she screams. I should’ve woken up.”

  Turning to Andrea with a huge grin, “Andrea, anyone can tell, you’ve never been around babies until now. You tried to get Pam to use the toilet two days ago. Granted, if you had gotten a six-month-old to use the toilet, I would’ve been impressed,” Arthur chuckled and Shawn snorted, turning away. “Vicki did get up when Pam cried because she’s been around babies, but I knew she was tired so I took Pam and fed her.”

  Cocking her head to the side, “Vicki got up?” Andrea asked, clearly confused.

  “Andrea, Vicki alone took care of her group until she found us. She went out looking for food for Jodi and Robin, then fed and changed Pam,” Arthur told her with a serious face and then turned to Shawn. “If you think back, Shawn, Beth is the one that woke you up when Lucas cried. I know because the first few days here whenever Lucas cried, Beth ran and grabbed you.”

  “I’ll get Beth to sleep in my room again,” Shawn nodded.

  “If she wants to,” Arthur said and then took a sip of coffee. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never had to sleep with more than one little kid at once. One beats you half to death; a group beats you into submission.”

  Watching the way Arthur cuddled Nicole, Andrea gave a soft smile as she sighed. “Arthur, can I ask you something?”

  “Sure,” Arthur said, jerking his head to see movement and watched Kong walk over to the corpse of the raccoon. Grabbing it by the neck, Kong carried his trophy off.

  “Eeww,” Andrea shivered, seeing Kong carry something off that looked bigger than him. “Sorry,” Andrea mumbled turning to Arthur and then asked. “I know you love and care for all of us, but Nicole is special. Can I ask why?”

  Looking down at Nicole chewing her fist, Arthur smiled at her. “Nicole saved my life,” Arthur answered bluntly. “I had given up and was looking for a fight. Rudy came along and any other time would’ve gotten the drop on me, but not that day. I went down in the valley and in my heart, knew I wasn’t coming back to this house. Even though my wife’s dying wish was for me to stay alive and keep the farm ready for our son to come home.”

  Hearing the sorrow in Arthur’s voice, Andrea wiped tears off her face and then saw Shawn do the same.

  Still looking down at Nicole, “Then I reached Tammy and Ted’s and felt even more guilt because I’d never checked on them,” Arthur said, smiling as Nicole closed her eyes slowly. “That’s when I heard her crying out weakly. She had held on long enough for me to find her. Picking Nicole up that day, I knew I had a purpose. I had met Nicole on the day she was born and even then, knew she would always be special to me.”

  “Wow,” Shawn sniffled. “Nicole saved all of us.”

  Arthur looked up from Nicole and over at Shawn. “Nicole saved you, so you could save all of us,” Shawn explained, dragging his forearm across his nose.

  “Never thought about it that way,” Arthur nodded. “But Andrea is right; I care for all of you the same,” Arthur said with a wide grin.

  Hearing the back door open, they all turned and the grin fell off Arthur’s face. “Robin, will you please wear some clothes?” Arthur whined just like a kid, even stomping his foot.

  “No,” Robin said, stomping her pink cowboy boot on the patio.

  “Can you say anything besides ‘NO’?” Andrea chuckled, walking over.

  “No,” Robin said, stomping her foot again.

  When Arthur had brought Vicki and them to the house that first night, he’d checked all the kids over. Being a nurse, Arthur had plotted all of them on growth charts and had made sheets up for each one. Vicki’s group had been easy because he had gone back to the daycare and gotten the files on them. Kirk and his brothers were harder, but he had the birthdays and found a medical emergency card in the mother’s purse that gave basic health information. Shawn, he had asked and Andrea’s group was old enough to answer.

  Giving Robin her physical, Arthur had found out she was thirty-two inches tall which was perfect for her age, but on
ly weighed twenty-four pounds. That gave her a lanky appearance which made her look smaller and younger than she was. The one thing that put him at ease was in the daycare file, it had clearly said that Robin didn’t like clothes.

  Andrea picked Robin up and brushed Robin’s light brown hair out of her face. “Are we working out today?” Shawn asked as Andrea walked back over.

  “No, everyone’s too sore from the work and working out would do more harm than good,” Arthur answered.

  “Are we going out to get more loads?” Shawn asked with a grin, ready to drive the huge truck and trailer again.

  “Not today,” Arthur said and then drained his cup. “Today, we are working on the southern road that leads into the valley.”

  “Okay,” Shawn said, remembering Arthur talking about that. “How in the hell do you hide a road?”

  Grinning, Arthur glanced at Shawn, “Easy, if you’re a sneaky motherfucker.”

  “Arthur, keep on with the language and I’m sure Robin, Pam, Lucas and Nicole will pick it up,” Andrea sighed.

  “Joseph’s first word was ‘Fucker’,” Arthur chuckled and then stopped. “Holy shit, I didn’t know Wendy could punch that hard.”

  Bending over and slapping his thighs as he laughed, “What happened?” Shawn asked.

  “Someone cut me off in traffic and I rolled down the window and called him a Fucker. Sitting in the backseat in his car seat, I heard one-year-old Joseph say, ‘Fucker’,” Arthur said, then sighed. “Wendy didn’t think it was that funny. When we got back to the apartment, she walked around the car as I got out and decked me. For a second, I’d thought she’d broken my jaw.”

  “You earned that,” Andrea chuckled.

  Nodding, “Yep, but I don’t watch my mouth. I curtail it at times for fledgling ears, but I’m not limiting my vocabulary because others take offense to certain linguistic vitiations. They are only words; words that express unambiguous connotation and can relieve pent-up stress for the speaker which makes others that are around said speaker much happier because speaker isn’t acting like a asshole,” Arthur said and Shawn stopped laughing.

  “Huh?” Shawn asked.

  “Exactly,” Arthur said.

  “How can you go to church and talk like you do?” Andrea asked. “I hardly ever went, so I’m just asking.”

  “Andrea, language just conveys meaning. If it’s the interpretation of that language that offends, don’t interpret those words,” Arthur said. “Am I religious? That depends. Do I believe in God? No, I know there is a God. I’ve seen too much in my life to even entertain that thought. Do I believe in the religions that are taught? No, what I believe is God is so much more than man’s feeble mind can comprehend.”

  “But you went to church?” Shawn mumbled, trying to understand what Arthur was saying.

  “Damn straight,” Arthur nodded. “Church teaches something more than the Bible. It teaches morals and guess who goes there? Other people who believe in right and wrong, so we get along. But I’m selective on my churches. Wendy was raised Catholic but I’m sorry, they are a bit uptight for me. I like the structure, but we came to a compromise on Joseph; he was raised Baptist.”

  Shawn’s mouth was hanging open as he gawked at Arthur. “Wow,” Shawn mumbled.

  Nodding, “Yeah, that sums it up rather nice,” Andrea admitted.

  The back door opened again and Kirk stuck his head out, “Breakfast is ready,” he called out.

  “That fast?” Arthur asked in mock surprise.

  “You don’t have any boxes so it takes a long time,” Kirk huffed, ducking back inside.

  “Why don’t you have boxed food and stuff?” Shawn asked.

  “Don’t want the extra shit they put in,” Arthur told him. “Many of the things that companies put in food here, other countries won’t allow for human consumption. Besides, I would’ve had to buy those and that meant the government got money from me just because I wanted to eat. Wendy and I learned to do everything we could on our own. Hell, we make serious money selling stuff from here.”

  “Yeah, even a crop of marijuana,” Shawn said, opening the door.

  Stopping and giving a long sigh, “Shawn, I told you. That’s hemp, not marijuana,” Arthur groaned.

  “It looks just like it,” Shawn cried out. “Our neighbor grew it and I saw it.”

  “Why grow hemp?” Andrea asked, walking in and Arthur and Shawn followed to see everyone at the table waiting.

  “Because I can make so much from it,” Arthur chuckled, heading for his chair. “Fuel, paper, cloth, rope… Hell, it’s a one plant shopping center.”

  “Clothes?” Andrea asked, putting Robin in her highchair.

  “Hello?” Arthur said, sitting down. “Canvas is called ‘canvas’ because it first came from ‘cannabis’.”

  Sitting down Andrea nodded, clearly impressed. “Now that is cool,” she said. “And you do that?”

  “Are you kidding?” Shawn chuckled. “They have silkworms.”

  Giving a remorseful sigh, “Yeah, that was Wendy’s pride and joy, being able to produce silk,” Arthur mumbled, rocking Nicole in his arm. “I only helped, but I guess I’m going to have to learn so I can teach all of you.”

  Leaning over, Andrea looked at Arthur’s pants. “That’s why the material for your clothes look so different, you made it,” she gasped.

  “Duh,” Shawn sang out from across the table and Andrea cut her eyes toward him.

  “But even you got boots the day we met,” Andrea said.

  Giving a regretful sigh, Arthur started loading his plate with his right hand as his left arm cradled Nicole. “That’s one thing I’ve never done; shoemaking. I’ve got the books and tools, but never put the time into learning or doing it. Maybe one day.”

  Kirk and his brothers, along with Shawn stared at Arthur in shock. “But you can do everything!” Kirk cried out. “You sewed that sling up for Nicole to make it bulletproof and then showed us how to make boxes and wire those batteries up to those solar things and hundreds of other things.”

  “I wish I could do everything,” Arthur said, trying to butter his biscuit with one hand. “What I know, I will and I am teaching all of you because you will need it now more than ever.”

  “Are we going to shoot guns?” Jim asked hopefully.

  “If we get done early, we will,” Arthur said and Jim pumped his fists in the air. “Jim, if you could recite the gun commandments from heart, I would be more willing to give you the chance to carry the AR I made for you.”

  Closing his eyes, Jim concentrated so hard his face was turning red. “One: Treat every gun as if it is loaded. Two: Always keep your gun pointed in a safe direction.” Jim paused, squinting his eyes closed so hard his eyelids were turning white. “Three: Never point your gun at anything you don’t intend to shoot. Four: Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. And five: Be aware of your targets foreground and background before you fire.”

  Jim opened his eyes and slumped sideways in his chair and his brother Pat reached out, catching Jim before he fell out of the chair. “My head hurts now,” Jim mumbled as he rubbed his face.

  Arthur just stared across the table at Jim. “Never seen that kind of effort in reciting anything,” Arthur mumbled.

  “Shit, I’m willing to let him carry my gun after watching that,” Shawn chuckled.

  “Jim, if you do good on the range today, you will get assigned your AR but it will be probationary,” Arthur told him. Jim forgot about his head hurting as he bounced in his chair. “Jim, don’t run from the lambs anymore.”

  Jim froze in midbounce, gasping at Arthur. “They attack me and try to eat my clothes to get to me!” Jim whined as the others turned away and snickered.

  Looking up at the ceiling, “You can stop with the challenges any time now. I have learned humility,” Arthur announced, then went back to eating.

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  You can’t hide a road

  After breakfast, the morning carav
an of buggies descended the slope to the barn and tended to the animals. Pat drove Arthur and Nicole down in the lead with six buggies following behind. This was by Arthur’s design, he wanted all the kids to know how to drive.

  So far only Beth, Robin, and the babies hadn’t driven. Beth had driven sitting in Shawn’s lap a few times. The one time Robin had left her clothes on for half an hour, Arthur had tried to let her drive him around, but that stopped fast. Robin tried to run over the goats. The next trip into town, two electric kid cars came back to the farm, one for Beth and one for Robin.

  Shawn moved to the milking area since they now milked four cows at a time. Shawn would empty the pumps as new cows were brought in. Now, they had twenty more dairy cows and that was when Shawn had learned what Kit and Kat were good at. He had thought they were just dogs and he heard Arthur talk about the dogs retrieving when they went hunting. What Shawn never expected was Kit and Kat could herd.

  When they stopped at the farm with the trailers, Shawn actually felt a little fear about herding the cows into the trailer. All Arthur did was open one trailer and turned to Kit and Kat. “Load ‘em,” he commanded and the labs took off.

  The labs made it look really easy until one bull decided he didn’t want to go and charged the labs. That was when Donald and Daisy ran over and had words with the bull. It only took the bull a few seconds to figure out that leaving wasn’t so bad.

  Keeping an eye on the kids as they worked, Arthur moved over to the playpen that held the babies. The barn and hydroponic greenhouse had playpens he’d left there so the babies could be put down. But if worst came to worst, Arthur had a chest carrier he had sewn up that held Nicole and Lucas in slings on the side with Pam in a pack carrier in the middle.

  Watching the kids with the sheared sheep, Arthur chuckled at remembering Vicki dragging a bag of wool. “They are going to get cold now,” Vicki had pouted.

  The sun was well up as they headed to the chicken coops. Even though the one they had moved from Jack’s farm could automatically feed and water, Arthur had turned it off and they fed and watered the chickens.