Part 22 - May 21 - The Colony

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Helen and the children headed for the food court to prepare lunch. Nancy smiled at the retreating boys as they planned their menu. They were so cute, wanting to take over the lunch counter and start a restaurant. The task would keep them busy at least for a while. At least it would delay their having to face reality for a while longer, but the two boys would have to deal with the facts soon enough—that their lives would never be the same. None of their lives would ever be the same. She so wanted to allow them to just be children as long as they could, but that wish was no longer possible. She needed to accept that the world as they knew it had just been turned upside down, and what she wanted was a moot issue.

Helen estimated that it would take about an hour and for Nancy to bring the rest of the group in to have lunch at that time. Nancy wondered how she would be able to keep track of time when she noticed the large clock on the campus clock tower. It appeared to have the correct time. She’d have to ask Carl about it, but for now she took note of the time and watched the children.

She had walked over to relieve the girls who were taking care of the babies. “Go play, you need some time to rest.” But within a few minutes the girls wandered back to the tree, whining that they were bored and wanted to play with the babies. Every time Helen and Nancy took the babies away and insisted that the girls go get some exercise, the girls insisted they’d rather spend time with the babies. Nancy now relinquished the toddlers back to the girls’ care and went to walk around the quad to check the rest of the children. But she intended to keep encouraging the girls to go socialize as often as possible. They were a great help, though.

Nancy walked over to Frank as he scanned the scattered groups of children. “Nancy, how do you keep track of everyone?”

Nancy looked up at the man and smiled. “I can’t. There are too many children in this group to keep track of everyone. But there appear to be a few that I need to keep a very close eye on missing. I’ll ask the rest of the children to let me know if someone is missing.” She scanned the area and quickly counted known groups and faces. “And yes, we are missing three—specifically three boys: Jayden, Ryan, and Randy. Those three boys I pointed out to you that I worry about.” She scowled, wondering where to start looking. “They’re not bad boys, but they have very active imaginations and are always coming up with ideas that often aren’t safe.” Nancy’s brow furrowed as she scanned the quad searching for the boys.

Frank smiled. “Relax, I’ll take a walk around and see if I can find them.”

“Thank you, Frank. Those three are always up to something. At school, we all agreed that watching those three was a full-time job.”

Nancy continued scanning the group as she walked around checking on the children. She asked if anyone had seen where the boys had gone as she continued watching for anyone who needed to be comforted or needed a hug or just a kind word of encouragement.

Time seemed to pass slowly, and she finally decided that it had been about an hour. She looked up at the tower clock and found she had not been too far off, if the clock was correct. I should have asked Frank; he’d have been able to tell me if the clock worked correctly. She started to walk around the quad, directing groups of older children to help gather up the younger children and lead them to the food court for lunch. The children were all emotionally tired and traveled in clinging clusters with their friends.

Nancy watched proudly as the older children took the smaller children by the hands or put an arm around a shoulder here or gave a hug there. There were a couple of children that she was concerned for more than the others—one child in particular had made a reputation for himself as a spoiled, pampered pain in the ass. The other children avoided him on the playground, and he constantly complained that the other children wouldn’t play with him. But she spotted him with a group that was walking to the food court, and she could put that worry to the side for now.

Her concern was growing about Frank and the three boys. Quite a bit of time had passed and still no sign of them. This incident pointed out just how important it was that the children had to be taught how to take care of themselves. I’m going to have to lay down some strict rules. If Frank had not gone off to find the boys, there would be no way I could have. Carl was right; they needed to learn to survive. As hard as it was for her to let go, she had to. But how? How do you just stop protecting children left in your charge and let them learn about real life? They were supposed to grow into independence slowly, not be catapulted into adulthood overnight. This situation with the boys pointed out lesson number one: everyone had to stay together or let others know where they were going. She would have to come up with a system of rules and safety checks to ensure that everyone would stay safe.

As Nancy herded the final groups back into the student union, she glanced down the main drive. Carl had said that he and Sam would be back around lunchtime; she hoped they were all right. She continued down the stairs with the children and into the food court, where she found the lunch counter stacked with three different kinds of sandwiches and a fresh pot of chicken noodle soup. There were pitchers of fresh chilled milk with a handwritten sign on a piece of cardboard announcing:

REAL milk
From
REAL COWS
not the stuff from
a box from a store

The sign brought a great deal of discussion about what real milk tasted like and whether or not they would like it. One of the children tasted the milk and commented that it tasted better than store-bought milk.

Another child frowned. “It’s the same milk we had at breakfast.”

After the first child had given a positive review, more of the children followed his lead. Many of the children also gave positive comments about the milk, and the lunch continued on without any major issues.

Helen came over to sit with Nancy and the toddler group. “I skimmed some of the cream off to make butter, whipped cream, and maybe ice cream later. If I had left all the cream on the milk, they would not have believed that it was what they call real milk. I’m sure that not one of these children has ever had raw whole milk until this morning.”

“Can’t you get sick from raw milk?” Nancy asked.

“Before modern agricultural practices, maybe. Our cows are very healthy, and I have complete trust in Carl to keep all the farm products safe,” Helen answered.

Frank walked in with the three boys in tow; they were looking very sheepish. Nancy looked at the boys and asked Frank, “What did they do?” The whole school had known these boys for eight years, and they were always up to something. They were good boys, really—just too much energy and overactive imaginations that generated too many ideas, and not always good ones either.

“Well,” Frank started, “our young men here decided it would be a good idea to climb a very old ginkgo tree and try to get into a second-story window of the chemistry building that they had clearly been told was off-limits.”

Nancy frowned at the boys, who were putting on their best contrite performance.

“You can’t fool me with that look—you three have just inspired me to establish the first major rule for this group. Now, when I start to make up the new rules, you three get the credit for the first one!”

“That’s not fair,” Ryan complained.

“Oh, the cry of the downtrodden. Well, if you had gotten into trouble and needed help, how was I supposed to find you and come to your rescue?” Nancy stated. “And besides, everyone was told that certain buildings were off-limits, and that was one of the buildings that was very clearly listed as off-limits. You deliberately disobeyed a direct order.”

“No, we didn’t, Mrs. Jackson,” Jayden said. “We didn’t get into the building.”

Nancy just leveled “the look” at the boy, who cast his eyes downward. “Your intent was clear. You intended to enter that building. You realize that there are substances in that building that can harm you.” She paused. “We’ll speak more about this later. Go eat lunch, and DO NOT leave MY sight for the rest of the day! Understood?”

The boys scowled at the floor and scuffed their feet.

“All of you look me in the eye and repeat after me that you will NOT leave my sight!” Nancy growled.

They looked up and mumbled that they would stay within her sight and stay out of trouble. She shooed them away with her hands. “Go eat.” She turned, grinding her teeth and mentally counting to ten. Most of the other students had not even stopped to look up at the commotion—they had seen these three in trouble repeatedly, and this at least was normal according to them.

Helen asked, “How long will that last?”

“Just as long as it takes until the next harebrained scheme pops into their heads,” Nancy answered as she shook her head. “Those three are always in the principal’s office.” She barked a laugh. “Ha! The Three Musketeers. We would have more laughs about their antics at lunch. There has been an ongoing bet as to which one might actually survive to adulthood.”

A routine was already starting to be established—food was served and the group fed efficiently. Nancy noted that most of the children only ate about half of the sandwich they were served. She made a note to tell Helen and the boys to cut all the sandwiches in half in the future. She was starting to worry about where the next meal would come from and how the children were to be fed in the future. Where would they get the food?

Suddenly there was a very loud male voice from the stairwell. “All hands on deck! We have supplies to unload and some surprises,” Carl shouted.

An excited buzz quickly spread through the children about what the surprise could be. Helen and Nancy tried to get the children to tidy up, catching some on the run and some just getting out of their seats. The women gathered up the babies and toddlers as the girls excitedly asked to go see the surprise. Nancy smiled and nodded, happy to see the girls follow the rest of the children up to exit at the stairway.

Sam stood in front of the bus door with a self-satisfied smile and Cyndy in her arms. The children approached, looking at Sam and the new child. One of the children asked, “Is that the surprise—a new kid?”

Carl had walked toward the back of the bus and crooked a finger, motioning the group of children toward the back of the bus. He opened the door, and the sounds of puppies barking and whining, kittens mewling, issued out of the back of the bus. Sam watched the faces of the children as they all froze, eyes open wide with surprise. There was complete silence for a few brief moments, then the first squeal: “Puppies! You brought back puppies!” Then someone else crowded in and another child shouted, “There are kittens too!”

Carl held his hands up and had to shout to be heard over the boisterous chatter of the children as they all started pushing in to get a look at the young animals. “Now listen and quiet down.” He waited for the group to quiet down. “These are young animals and they need to be taken care of. We will have to organize a schedule for feeding, cleaning, and THEN playing. There aren’t enough pets for everyone to have a pet all to themselves, so I think that we will have to assign a group to each pet.” He looked around to gauge the children’s response to his statement. “First, you can thank Sammie—this was all her idea.” Many of the children turned beaming faces toward Sam, thanking her but immediately turning their attention back to the sources of the mews and barks.

Carl called for the older children to step forward and help unload the supplies so they could get to the pet carriers sitting in the seats. Finally, the pet crates were gently arranged on the grass beside the bus, and the children were closely monitored to make sure that the pets were handled carefully. The four adults walked around the clusters of children, watching as the children cooed and awed over the baby animals. For a while, the oppressive weight of the current events vanished in the giggles, yipping, cooing, mewing, and the rolling and romping of carefree play of youth—human and animal.

Nancy turned to Carl. “Uh, Carl? Do you have a plan on how and where these pets will be kept?” She looked at the man, waiting expectantly for his response.

He smiled back. “Yes, woman, I have a plan.” He pointed to the building next to the dorm they had taken over. “I figured we would use that dorm next door as a pet kennel and play area. There are going to be days when the children will need to be kept inside and, well, I just thought a whole dorm could be revamped into a building just for them.”

Nancy smiled up at him with her arms crossed in front of her. “Well, don’t you just think of everything. I guess I could set up a few rooms upstairs as classrooms to teach the children how to live in our new world as long as we are at it.” Her smile faded as she lowered her voice. “Did you see any other survivors—any change?”

Carl shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

Nancy looked away and stared sadly at the children. Carl put a comforting arm around her shoulders. He waited to see if she would pull away from him. He was very aware of that “Mrs.” attached to her name, but he was also surprised at how quickly he was becoming attracted to this brave lady. He let out a relieved breath as she leaned into him and accepted the friendly gesture. They stood and watched the children play with the small animals for a while longer, letting this time stretch on as long as they could.

Sam elbowed Frank and smiled as she tipped her chin in the direction of their friend and Mrs. Jackson, and they shared a knowing smile as they watched the two standing together. Frank gave Sam a knowing wink and walked over to Carl. “Well, what did you have in mind, my friend?” Frank asked.

Carl reluctantly removed his arm from around Nancy’s shoulders and laid out his plan to Nancy and Frank. “If we take the rooms at the far end nearest the supply closet and a bathroom, we can create a puppy room, a kitten room, and then a room for the rabbits, hamsters, and guinea pigs. We’ll have to renovate a room just for the ferrets. You go in and direct the children into the specific rooms for each pet and divide the children as they come in. Nancy, if you would help direct children as I call out instructions—”

Nancy smiled and nodded as she turned to watch the children.

In his booming voice Carl announced, “I want everyone’s attention, front and center!” He paused, waiting for the children to turn his way. Nancy walked around directing groups to turn and listen to Carl. Once everyone appeared to be listening, he continued.

“Everyone with a puppy will take the puppy and their crate into the first room in that dorm.” He pointed to the building he expected everyone to go to. “Frank will show you which room to take your puppy into.” He waited while everyone with puppies collected the pets and equipment and proceeded to the building. “Now, everyone with kittens and the crates, follow the puppies but go into the next room Frank directs you to.” Carl watched as children and animals filed toward the building. “Now, everyone with a ferret, I want you to go into the next room, and everyone else goes into the next room Frank tells you to go to. Whatever you do, DO NOT put the ferrets in the same room as the rabbits, hamsters, and guinea pigs.”

A little girl cuddling a hamster asked, “Why shouldn’t we put the ferrets in with the bunnies, hamsters, and guinea pigs, Mr. Carl?”

Carl looked at the little girl and considered how graphic to get, then decided to be blunt. “Because the ferrets might eat them.”

The little girl hugged the hamster tighter and looked up at Carl, her eyes wide with horror, and took a step back. “Really!” she squeaked. She glared at the children playing with the ferrets. “That’s gross!” she exclaimed.

Carl frowned and nodded his head. “That’s nature,” he told the little girl. “I’d advise that you small pet people keep your pet room door shut at all times. And I’ll instruct the ferret group to keep their door shut at all times as well.” Carl chuckled as the indignant little girl stormed off to share her information with her fellows.

Carl turned to comment to Nancy. “Now the children will have to be taught to clean and care for the animals, and the chores come before the play. The large common area will make a great play area for the little ones to play with the puppies and kittens. We’ll have to keep the ferrets locked up and separated from the small animals, though. But I think the best thing to do with the small animals is to assign separate rooms for the children to play with them.”

Helen joined the men. “We can stock the other rooms with games and toys for the children to play with during inclement weather.”

“We’ve brought back some things for the children. If there isn’t enough, we can go back to that big store and bring back another load of games and toys. I love playing Santa Claus,” Carl finished with a very broad smile.

“Well, I guess you have thought this through,” Frank replied. “We’ll get the children to bed down their pets in these rooms. Have you two had lunch?”

“Yeah, we grabbed some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fed us and the little girl,” Carl answered. “Right now, we need to get all this stuff unloaded. I’d love a cup of coffee, and I want to watch these kids have some fun. What I’m really concerned with is getting back to that store and securing as much of the food as we can. The solar backup refrigerators are working fine so far, but the perishables will start to go bad in a couple of days. If I can rig that system to be dedicated to just the freezers, we should be able to save most of that food to help us get through this winter.”

Frank was nodding as he listened. “We could set up the campus food service freezers to operate full-time on our solar backup systems as well. The food court is operating full-time on the emergency backup system, and so far, it’s holding up fine. With some adaptations, we should be able to get the most important systems on campus to run full-time,” Frank said.

More squeals issued from the back of the bus as the children discovered the carts full of toys. Sam suggested they get more stuffed animals and other toys for the children as long as they had the room to shove a few more carts onto the bus.

The children were kept busy for the next couple of hours unloading, organizing, and playing with pets and toys. They all had ideas as to how the new dorm should be arranged and how the rooms should be utilized. The girls demanded that the boys stay out of their room. In retaliation, the boys adamantly announced that they would not be caught dead in the girls’ room and no girls were to be allowed in the boys’ room.

“Well, sounds like the children are adjusting just fine,” Nancy said as she waded in to break up the shouting match.

Carl and Frank stood back and watched as the women and children finished organizing the supplies from the bus.

“We need to decide what to do with the bodies that are starting to pile up,” Carl quietly stated.

Frank nodded. “We’ll have to go through the campus and make some decisions. I told the kids at the athletic center that I would come down and help them. Sam has had some experience with these implants with her research animals. So now that the ladies have this under control, I better head down there and see if anything can be done for the athletes.”

“I’ll come with you.” Carl frowned. “I don’t see Tim.”

Frank looked around. “The last time I’d seen him, he was helping the two boys and some of the girls who wanted to run the food court. Nancy gave them permission to go work on some idea they had as long as Tim was with them.”

The men strolled over to tell the women that they were going to the sports center and motioned for Sam to come along.