New World Chapter 2

Holly was restless and it made it hard to sleep. She kept getting on and off the bed and pacing around the house. Finally got to sleep around 6 and was just starting to dream when the entire house shook and all of the dogs started barking. Holly had already jumped off the bed and was at the kitchen door barking. Throwing off the blankets I could hear the fire whistle going off at the local fire hall and what sounded like a lot of wrecks on the main road nearby. Got my butt off of the bead and ran to the kitchen to let Holly out and see what was going on.



Holly burst through the door when it opened and I stepped out on the deck to check out the goats as they were bawling and running around the front of their pen. In the distance there was smoke rising from the main road. Holly was running around the big dog pen and checking out each corner. The other dogs were still barking loudly downstairs and it was chilly out so went back inside to grab a jacket and go check on the dogs downstairs. Rock and Nahya were both barking at the back door so I opened it up to let them out. They went charging out around me and headed to the gate. There was a large red oak tree down in the back that had just missed the goat fence and the house. It was blocking the back gate of the goat pen and  was going to have to get someone over to start cutting it up to bring my firewood in from the front.  Then while looking over the back of the property the fire whistle suddenly stopped.



Whistling for Rock and Nahya to come back in, went ahead and cleaned up the pen and put out some more food and topped off the water bucket. It was a little chilly down there so got a fire going in the woodstove and headed back up stairs to let Holly back in and feed the goats. I made sure the gate across the basement was securely latched and called Holly back inside and after locking the kitchen door, went over and unlocked the gate for the dog pen.



The goats were still bawling but had stopped running around and were at the front fence looking out toward the main road. There was even more smoke coming from that way but no sirens at all. I thought that was a little strange as I hauled hay and feed out to the goats and checked their water. Had just finished and was getting ready to go back inside when the two kids from across the street came running out of their house crying and headed straight for me.



Little Cindy was being dragged along by her brother Jack and almost fell as they crossed the road. I hurried to the gate to see what was wrong.



"Ms. Jackson!" Cindy cried, "Something's wrong with Mom. She won't wake up! Daddy won't wake up either!"  Jack had tears running down his face. He was 12 and Cindy was only 6.



"I think they're dead Ms. Jackson," Jack said in a choking voice. "Could you please come and see?"



As I opened the gate and took their hands to go across the street the wails of other children on the road began to reach my ears. Looking up and down the dirt road I lived on there were children running out crying. As the children spied me along with Jack and Cindy they all came running toward us. The Graff kids reached us first as I waited in the road holding Cindy's hand and hugging Jack close to me by his shoulder. Tommy Graff was 12 like Charlie, but his sister Carla was 16. Carla spoke up first, "Ms Jackson something awful has happened! Mom and Dad are dead! I was getting ready to go to work at the store when they both just dropped down in the kitchen!"



By now at least 20 other kids from the houses nearby were there and they were all crying and saying the same thing. All of them had dead parents in their houses.



Looking around, realized that I was the only adult out in the road and it was going to be my job to get things under control. Cindy was still holding tightly to my hand.



"Okay kids," speaking in a shaky voice. "I'm not sure what happened this morning and I need a few things from all of you now. I need to go and check all of your homes to see if your parents have really died or are just passed out from whatever happened. Also need a head count and some help if anyone here has had any first aid training in school at all."



A tall dark hair boy near the back of the crowd pushed his way forward. "I'm Mike Stewart and I had first aid and CPR in Eagle Scouts. I'm sure that my Mom is dead. There was no pulse and the CPR didn't work. She was drinking her coffee when she collapsed in the kitchen."





The children were getting more upset as they heard him. I had to do something quickly to get things under control. "First things first," telling them more calmly. "It's chilly out here and I want all of you to come inside my house so I can get you out of the cold. Carla and Mike, keep everyone here while I go inside and move Holly out into the big pen and put the other two dogs in their pen downstairs. Just be a few minutes."



Carla took little Cindy's hand and Jack went and stood next to her brother Tommy. Mike began doing a head count as I went back inside and secured the dogs. Flew back up the stairs and let all of the children into the living room. Some of the younger ones were staring at the goats as if they wanted to play with them but were having a hard time coping with what had happened.



It was a tight fit but all 24 of the kids were in the living and dining room. Rock and Nayha were barking downstairs and one little boy began to sob that the dogs were going to bite him. "Everybody up here knows that you have mean dogs Ms Jackson. Mommy told me to stay away from you!"



I kneeled down in front of him as he sat on my couch sobbing. "Sweetheart," saying gently as I touched his shoulder. "I don't know your Mommy but my dogs aren't mean. They are penned up and are just barking because they know that there are strangers in the house. They will quiet down in a few minutes. They know that there are a lot of sad people in here and they just want to comfort you."



Like a miracle at that instant Rock and Nayha quieted down. "What's your name?" asking gently. He raised up his head, scrubbing at his eyes and whimpered, "Toby."



Looking at Carla who was standing between the dining room and the living room asked, "Carla would you please grab a legal pad from the desk that you are standing next to and a pen? Write everyone's name and ages down along with their addresses so I know where to check. Mike and I will start across the street with the Pattersons. IWe need someone else to try and call 911 and everyone on the road to see if anyone else is around."



A young boy sitting in the recliner stood up and said, "My name is Henry Jacob and I'm a volunteer at the fire hall after school. I can start doing that if you want, just need the phone and a phone book."



I set him up at the desk with another legal pad and a phone book. The other kids started to join in and as Mike and I left the house. They were trying to get news on the television and someone had started to fix some breakfast for the younger kids.



As Mike and I headed across the street, he told me, "I hope you don't have your hopes up. They are probably dead like my Mom."



"Let's not borrow trouble Mike and see what we find."



The front door was still open where Jack and Cindy had come running out. I had been in the house a few times and knew that the bedrooms were upstairs. As I opened the bedroom door, the lamp was on next to the bed and the covers had been pulled back from the Pattersons. They both looked like they had just died in their sleep. Checked for a pulse but they were gone. Mike and I pulled the covers up over them and headed over to the next house. The Jones family didn't have any young kids as the older Jones were retired but they had a son living with them. We could hear a vehicle running in the garage and had to break the door to get inside. The son was in the car dead. I held Mike back. As he watched, held my breath and then went back and turned off the ignition. We both waited a few minutes and then went back inside and raised the garage door for the carbon monoxide to clear out from the garage.



We waited a few more minutes for the fumes to clear out when Mike looked at me and said, "Ms Jackson, he didn't die from carbon monoxide. His skin wasn't red."



"I know Mike but we need to check on his parents," I replied. "Let's use his keys to get into the house." Using the son's keys we got inside and found both of the older Jonses dead in bed along with their toy poodle.



By now we had been gone about 45 minutes and  was worried about the kids at my house. "Let's go back to my house and see if they have gotten anything over the phone or found any news on the television."



We walked out of the Jones house and relocked the doors. I put the keys for the home and car in my jacket pocket and we headed back across the road. As we walked into my driveway Mike touched my arm and pointed toward where the main road was. The smoke was billowing up from there pretty good by now. There wasn't much of a wind but someone needed to go and get the fires under control. As I opened up the front gate Henry threw open the front door and waved us in excitedly.



"Ms Jackson!" he called, though he was trying to be quiet about it, "please hurry!" Mike latched the gate behind us and I hurried into the house. One of the teenagers that I hadn't been introduced to yet had the television on and it was showing pictures of mass destruction all over the country. The young man had thought to set up the recorder so everything was being taped. The older kids were all in there watching except for Carla who had started serving breakfast to the younger children.



I could hear her in the kitchen trying to comfort a small child that was crying. Henry came over and whispered to Mike and myself as we stood spellbound by the screen. "Randy got your television working but Carla asked us to keep the volume down so the little kids won't hear it. The phone is working but I can't get any answer to 911, it just keeps ringing like there's nobody there. Nobody on this road is answering the phone except for the answering machines and I can't get anyone at the fire hall or the sheriff's department either. Somebody has to get down to the main road and get those fires out!"



Looking at Henry who obviously ready to bolt out the door. "Henry," replying quietly. "I know we need to go and check on the fires but I can't let you go down there by yourself. You may be a volunteer but you are not strong enough to hold a fire hose and you can't drive a fire truck by yourself. Now we have an entire house full of kids that just can't be left alone, especially since I hardly know any of you so just calm down and take a deep breath."



Glancing over at Randy who had looked up when Henry was whispering to me, I motioned him to come over. He checked the recorder and whispered something to a young girl that was on the floor next to him and she nodded. He carefully made his way through the small crowd that was glued to the set. I reached out and shook the hand that he offered me as I asked him his name.



"I'm Randy Brill Ms Jackson. My sister Tonya and I live in the house on the ridge above your pond in the back.Tonya is keeping an eye on the recorder for me. I figured you want to see as much of this as you can when you get the time."



I motioned to Mike and the younger boys to follow me, and had them wait at the head of the basement stairs while I went into the kitchen to check on Carla. She was sitting in a chair holding a little girl on her lap that had cried herself to sleep. The other kids had finished eating their cereal but were just sitting there looking numb. Speaking quietly as Carla looked up, "Why don't you go ahead and put her in my bed and leave the door open. You can take the other young ones in the library room and maybe try to read them a book or get them working on some school type stuff. I need to talk to these boys downstairs and then be back up to check on you."



As Carla picked up the little girl, who couldn't have been more then 4 years old, the boys help round up some of the younger kids and we took them back to my library room. My library room is full of books, my computer, games and art supplies. It's a sunny room in the afternoon and there is a 75 gallon aquarium that has live plants and small colorful freshwater fish. There were about 10 kids ranging in age from 6 to 9, boys and girls. The girls pretty much sat down at the table as I handed out paper and chalk for them to draw pictures, asking them to draw what they were feeling. One little girl looked at me and said, "Chalk is messy!" She was happy enough though to settle in with a horse book. Randy and Henry set two of the boys up at the computer playing a game and the other boys grabbed books or sat by the aquarium watching the fish. Carla joined us in a few minutes and told me she would keep watching the kids until I got done talking with the boys downstairs. "But Ms Jackson what is going to happen to us?" she asked trying not to cry.



"Right now I can't tell you anything except that I will take care of all of you and get some answers," I said giving her a hug. You and Tommy are the only two that I really know and have been here and know the dogs. There are a lot more houses that need to be checked out and I need someone here that can keep an eye on things. Did you get that list made up for me?"



"Yes, but I left it in the kitchen on the table," she answered.



"That's fine, I'll pick it up on my way downstairs. Need to get more wood in the stove and get up to date on what they have seen on the news. If there is somebody in the living room that you know that can help keep the kids entertained, grab them and ask them to help. We need to get some kind of schedule going here for meals and such, as well as showering and all of that. Sooner or later I'm going to need more information about the kids and the families. We also are going to need a way to stay in touch and I haven't bothered to see if my cell phone is working," I told her getting ready to leave.



Henry had been standing close by getting ready to leave with me and he spoke up.



"Ms Jackson your cell was on the desk next to the landline and you still have service but I only tried to call the fire hall with it when the landline phone didn't work."



Carla grabbed my arm and said, "I left my cell phone in my purse in the kitchen when Tommy and I ran out of the house!"



"When I get done downstairs I'll go and get it for you so we can keep in touch. In the meantime see how may more of these kids have cell phones that we need to retrieve."



Gave her another hug and she settled down at the table with the girls drawing, and the boys and I headed to the gate for the basement. I unlatched the gate and motioned them to go ahead of me. As I was latching up the gate Tonya walked out of the living room and asked, "Can I come too?"



I smiled at her and requested, "Would you mind staying up here and seeing that everyone else gets something to eat? Just pile the dirty dishes in the sink and we'll sort out the chores later. If the tape is done, put it somewhere safe so I can watch it later and the rest of you can go back to the library and see if there is something there that interests you while I talk to your brother and try and get a plan going."



She frowned a little and grumpily said, "Boys get all the fun." I looked right back at her and answered, "Boys do not get all the fun, they get stuck doing the chores they can handle. Women get the real work, and the real fun, trust me! Now as soon as we get the woodstove loaded up and I get briefed on what your brother and the other two know then I'll see about getting you into something more then housework."



That put a grin on her face and I headed down the stairs to meet up with my three young men.



Henry had already started dealing with putting more firewood in the stove. Mike and Randy were at the dog pen trying to pet Rock and Nahya through the chainlink. I was shaking my head as I walked over to them. "Aren't you afraid of those mean dogs biting you?" I asked.



Randy and Mike both turned and said at the same time, "Heck no!" Henry had closed up the woodstove and walked over to us shaking his head, "Well I'm not real comfortable with them so let them stay in there. We got real work that needs to be done. Why are you wasting time playing with those stupid dogs!"



Frowning at Henry, shook my head as I replied, "They aren't stupid dogs and maybe someday you will learn to appreciate that. But you're right, we have work to do so let's start with what I don't know. Randy please fill us in as to what was on the television."



Randy leaned up against the dog pen with his fingers inside letting the dogs lick them as he spoke. "From what I was able to see, the United States got hit this morning with some kind of new weapon that killed a lot of people but not like buildings and stuff. All of the network news that we could pick up was being broadcast by kids, I mean teenagers or younger. College students doing intern work, or kids just grabbing cameras and shooting pictures. There are pockets of people alive all over the country but right now there is no way to connect to them. From what I saw on the television Ms Jackson you ought to be dead along with the rest of the adult population. Kind of like that book they made us read last month at school, Lord of the Flies. You know, just kids surviving."



Mike looked at all of us and spoke up. "From what we have all seen there are a lot of dead people on this road and we are going to have to get them buried and try to contain whatever killed them.You are probably at risk Ms Jackson and you ought to be more careful about going outside."



Henry then snorted in disgust and asked, "What about those fires on the main road? If they aren't put out and soon they could move this way if the wind shifts! We have to take care of that first!"



"Enough!" I said. "Now yes, we have to take care of the fires Henry, and you and I will be going there shortly. Mike is right as well though, and we have to do a house by house search on this road to bury anyone that has died. That means finding and operating a tractor that will open up a hole big enough for a commen grave for all of them. I can run a bobcat and unless anyone else in the house has experience doing that I'll be the one digging the hole. We also need to get a team together to collect food and supplies from the homes that no longer have living residents. These homes also need to be checked to see if there are any other children or infants around that need shelter now. I also have a house full of kids that I don't know anything about! Until we can get more information about any surviving government, all of us are going to be living off the land. Sooner or later the phones, electric and fuel for the vehicles will run out. Whatever nation attacked us will be sending in troops and we need to have an escape plan in place.I can't do all of this by myself and I need help. Most of you attend the public schools here and you know what your classmate's strengths and weaknesses are. Until a better option comes along you can all consider yourselves students of the New World training school. My house, my rules! First priority is secure and protect. I need someone that is familiar  with the children here to list everything that is known about them; hobbies, what they like to do, what they hate or are afraid of, and where they are in their education. Internet and software experience, living out in the open, hunting, farming, cooking, sewing, anything that our ancestors did when they first came to the country. Regular schooling will also be a part of what you do here. Reading, writing, math, science, history and everything you were doing at school when this hit. We have a lot to do and I need all of you to think about what I just said. Henry and I need to go and check out the fires. Is there anyone else here that has had any training in fire control? I've had some at work but I can't hold one of those hoses by myself."



Mike looked at me and said," I can drive the fire truck and Randy can do the rest of what you need."



I sighed and looked at the three boys. "Okay Randy, I want you to go the desk and get another legal pad and start compiling everything  about who is staying here right now.  Get all of the information about each family as completely as you can.  Carla has gotten started on that. We'll need all of the family members each kid knows about and where they are living. It doesn't have to be an exact address, the state will do for starters. We need to know about where the parents and relatives work if they know."



Randy looked at me and groaned, "I wish I had my laptop. This would be easier." I smiled at him and answered, "Well now you have the next chore as well, but maybe your sister can help with that. Have her and the other older girls make up a list of all the stuff that you kids are going to need and laptops will be very important. We also need to retrieve all of the cell phones so we can stay in touch with each other for as long as they work. I'll need a list of who has had any camping or scouting experience and who knows how to cook and what grades each of the kids are in. Once we have our living situation under control then I'll get some kind of schooling started for everyone. Classes though will be more about to how to survive right now, then world history. I need to know if anyone has any farming experience at all. There are several farms on this road and if the adults are dead all of that livestock needs to be cared for as well as any other pets we find. If we are going to make it we'll have to start planning on growing our own food like the pioneers did centuries ago."



Mike spoke up then with a little more enthusiasm, "We have a couple of scouts here and at least four of us know how to hunt and fish. There are plenty of rifles and shotguns at my place and I know the combination to Dad's gun safe." He got a troubled look on his face as he went on, "Dad left early this morning to go to work.  He said if he was there by 5 he could get off at noon and we could go ride our four wheelers at the hunt club."



Looking at him said, "I know this is hard for you Mike, but there will be time to mourn later. Right now we need to get started."



Henry looked at all of us with tears starting as he said in a shaky voice, "My dad would have been at the fire hall. He was on duty last night and Mom was dead in her bed when the boom woke me up. I was up kind of late because it wasn't a school night and I had been listening to the fire calls on the transmitter in my room. Mom didn't like me being up so late and I told her I was going to bed but I didn't."



I reached over and hugged him to me wiping the tears from his eyes. "Like I said, we need to get started and we all need to stay busy. Let's go to the fire hall and see what is going on there. Can't do this by myself and I need all of you to help the best that you can."



The boys all shook their heads in agreement and we headed up the stairs.