But the Children Survived (17 page)

The fruits, vegetables, and meats that had been there were gone.  But the smell of their decomposition lingered on.  Again, who had cleaned them out?  Mark contemplated this as he walked out of the store with the shopping cart. 

If there was someone else there, he would have to keep his door locked.  He would also have to find a store that sold guns so he would have some protection. 

For the first time, Mark wished he’d gone to the home schooling parties and met some of the kids.  He wished he had made a friend, someone whose voice didn’t sound like his mother’s or father’s; someone who may have survived and could be with him now. 

Mark’s loneliness overwhelmed him.  He was really all alone, except for some neat freak living within a mile of his house.  He pushed his cart fast up the road and pushed it right into the house.  He locked the door behind him and ran to the kitchen to lock that door too. 

After he emptied the cart, he put it out on the porch and found a stick to put in the bottom of the sliding glass door to keep it from being opened.  He checked every window to make sure it was closed tight and locked.  After he had finished, he sat in the corner of the living room, and listened to see if he could hear anyone moving outside. 

*****

A week went by without Mark seeing anyone, and then another week went by.  He worked outside on his garden and kept close to the house.  His vegetables would be ready soon, maybe another two weeks.  His mom would have been so proud. 

The next morning he woke up and heard something outside.  He ran to the window.  He could see a truck stopping in front of his house.  He saw four hazmat-clad figures exit the truck. 

"Jeez, looks like somebody’s been busy here,” one of them said.  “No bodies.”  

They were walking towards Mark’s house.  Mark panicked.  He ran upstairs and closed the bedroom door.  He locked it and put a chair in front of it.  He forgot the connecting door in his parents’ room. 

He heard them talking in the living room.  How had they opened the door so fast?  Then Mark remembered he had walked outside last night to look at the moon.  He must have forgotten to lock it.  Mark backed away from the door.  He tried to be really quiet. 

"But Gerry said there was a kid here.  We have to look or he’ll be impossible,” one of them said.

There were footsteps on the stairs.  He heard them go into his parents’ room.  Mark looked at the connecting door.  It was unlocked.  He heard the knob being turned.  His feet were frozen to the floor.  He couldn’t move.  A man entered his room. 

"Hey, there you are.”  The voice sounded friendly.  But Mark was freaked out, and he made a run for it.  The man grabbed him.

"Hey, it’s all right.  We’re here to help you.  We want to take you where there are other people so you’re not alone.  We won’t hurt you.” 

Mark was kicking and punching, trying to get away.  One of the other men grabbed his arms while the other tied a rope around his hands and feet. 

"Sorry kid, if you calm down we’ll take them off.” 

Mark kept moving, trying to get the rope off his hands.  One of the men picked up his feet and the other his arms, and carried him downstairs and out to the truck.  The other two men were waiting by the truck. 

One opened the door of the truck while the other slid inside.  The two men carrying Mark gently placed him in the truck while the third slid in beside him and closed the door. 

"My vegetables are gonna die, you morons.”  Mark stared at them furiously.

The one on his right just looked at him and his eyes smiled.

“What a shame to lose fresh vegetables, but they were probably contaminated so it was for the best,” he said. 

The one on his right kept telling him jokes to try and get him to laugh.  All the way back to Wilmer’s, Mark refused to talk. 

When he got to Wilmer’s, Christie greeted him by squatting down and looking him in the eye.  She asked him his name.  He wouldn’t talk.  She stood up and held out her hand.  He wouldn’t take it.  She asked him to follow her and he did, anything to get away from the hazmat idiots who put him through a decontamination shower without a change of clothes. 

Christie led him past one tiny house after another.  He saw a lot of kids walking around and talking.  At the very last house, Christie said, “We’re here,” and opened the door to Number 200.  Mark wasn’t impressed. 

Christie told him she would get him some things from the store and that dinner was in a couple of hours.  She said there was food at the store if he was hungry now, but he would have to get that himself. 

After she left, Mark took off his wet clothes and sat naked on the bed.  He then fell into a sleep so deep that he never heard Christie come back with a change of clothes and soap.

When he woke up, he changed into the new clothes and walked outside.  He saw Christie walking his way.  He didn’t think she saw him, so he went back inside and closed the door.  He watched out his window until she had passed.  He was going to open his door when he noticed someone following Christie.  It was a girl with wavy blond hair.

She was cute for a girl, and she piqued Mark’s interest.  After she had passed his house, he cracked the door open and looked outside.  He saw her going into a door at the end of the building.  She was obviously sneaking into that room. 

When she shut the door, Mark walked outside and ran to the door.  He opened it and saw her hanging on the railing overlooking something.  He quietly walked over to the railing and stood next to her.  She was looking at a big field full of vegetables.

She turned suddenly when she felt him near her.  He looked into her blue-gray eyes and thought she was an angel.  He couldn’t let her know that he liked her. 

“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.”

*****

Calvin noticed the lack of bodies littering the street where Mark lived.  He mentioned it to Mark.

"Yeah, the beach is clean too, but just around here.” 

They all got out of the car and walked toward the beach.  Baby Girl ran ahead with her ears flapping in the wind.  When they got to the beach, Calvin surveyed the area.  It really was strange that the beach was so clean.

"See, down there,” Mark said.  “You can still see stuff on the beach.  And look down there.” 

Calvin agreed it was weird.  He wished he could strip off this suit and smell the salt air and feel the wind on his face. 

"I gotta get back, kids.” And with that he walked back to the car.  The kids followed behind him.

When they got to the car, Calvin turned to look at them. 

"I wish I could hug you, but I’m afraid to rip your suit,” Mindy said.

"That’s okay, little lady.  I can imagine it.  Now, you hear me, big man, you take care of this woman, you hear?”

Mark nodded. 

"I’ll come back in a couple of weeks to check on you.”

Calvin climbed into the driver’s seat.  He looked at the kids and waved.  He then started the car and drove away.  Mark and Mindy with Baby Girl at her feet, walked up to the house. 

"Wait till you see my vegetables,” Mark said as he let her inside the house.

PART TWO

ANTONIO RUSSO

Chapter 21

Florence, Italy

Antonio Russo was a good boy.  His mama always told him so.  He was a kind, loving boy with a keen interest in science.  Even at the age of 6, he was already astounding his teachers with his keen observations.  This made his papa very proud. 

Antonio was devoted to his mama.  He would follow her around the house and when someone asked him a question, he would whisper the answer in his mama’s ear so that she could relay his response.  He would often stand behind her when he was with strangers.  Even though his mama scolded him for being too shy, secretly she enjoyed his dependence.  It made her feel needed. 

Antonio was born with a gift for persuasion.  He could talk his papa into anything, but his mama not so much.  When his papa asked Antonio why he always came to him with his requests, Antonio would reply, “Because mama always says no.”  Then his papa would look into Antonio’s big brown eyes and give in. 

As he grew older, he was able to talk most people into doing what he wanted them to do, and they wouldn’t know how he had done it.  He was charming and attractive, and he frequently used his powers of persuasion on the ladies, young and old. 

When Antonio was 8 years old, his mama suffered a miscarriage.  This was the latest of several she’d experienced over the last 8 years since Antonio was born.  The doctor had warned her against having another pregnancy, but Ramona Russo was a devout Catholic who loved her husband very much, so another pregnancy was inevitable.

This was her fourth miscarriage.  She was making lunch for little Antonio when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.  Ramona was familiar with the pain and she cried out for Antonio to call the ambulance.  She fell to the floor and passed out while little Antonio ran for the lady who lived next door.  She ran to Antonio’s apartment, shielding him from the sight of Ramona bleeding out on the kitchen floor. 

The men from the ambulance tried to revive Ramona without success.   Antonio grabbed her hand and held on tight as they removed her body to the ambulance.  That night, and for many nights thereafter, Antonio cried himself to sleep grieving for his mama. 

Antonio’s papa owned a small bakery in Florence.  His shop was near the university and, between the students and the tourists, Guido Russo was kept quite busy.  When Ramona died, Guido began spending more time at the bakery and less at home with little Antonio. 

He gave some money to the neighbor, Signora Calabrese to care for Antonio.  Signora Calabrese was a widowed grandmother who indulged Antonio as if he were her own child.  She encouraged his interest in science, and when he said he wished he could have saved his mama, she told him to learn his lessons well so he could find a cure for the loss of babies.  With Signora Calabrese, or Nona as he called her, Antonio had been able to overcome his feelings of loss and was able to remember his mama with love and peace. 

Antonio excelled in school, and at sixteen he entered the University of Florence to study biochemistry.  His professors were impressed at the speed with which Antonio learned and were forever challenging him.  Antonio would make a fine doctor one day they would tell him.  But Antonio didn’t want to become a doctor.  He wanted to find a cure for the condition that caused his mother’s continued spontaneous abortions.  He decided to visit his mother’s doctor, Dr. Fabiano, and ask him what he believed had caused his mother’s miscarriages. 

In the waiting room of Dr. Dominic Fabiano, Antonia was surrounded by pregnant woman.  The women were all smiling at Antonio and occasionally would talk to each other and giggle.  When he was called into the Dr.’s office, Antonio turned and bowed to the ladies. 

Dr. Fabiano was a large, handsome man with a huge mane of gray hair.  His eyebrows were bushy and his face was quite red.  He stood when Antonio entered and told Antonio to sit down.  Dr. Fabiano had delivered Antonio 18 years before and was delighted to see what a fine young man he had become. 

"Ah, your mama would be so proud of you.  You are so tall and handsome.”  He beamed at Antonio. 

"Thank you, doctor.  I came today to ask you something about my mother. I am studying biochemistry at the University and I wanted to know the cause of my mother’s miscarriages.” 

Antonio watched Dr. Fabiano.  He could see a cloud come over the doctor’s face.

"Well, you know, Antonio, that is private information.  I don’t know if I should share that with you.”  Dr. Fabiano put on his most serious face.

"But surely when someone has passed away, it’s okay to discuss these things with their families.”  Antonio flashed a smile at Dr. Fabiano.  “My mama had a dream, Dr. Fabiano.  Her dream was to help other woman to have children.  I was with her when she died, Dr. Fabiano.  With her last breath she said, ‘Antonio, you must help the ladies’ and then she died in my arms.  I couldn’t promise my Mama to her face, so I promised her in my prayers.  Please, Dr. Fabiano, you must tell me.” 

Dr. Fabiano was truly moved by Antonio’s plea, however fabricated it may have been.  He could see no harm in sharing a dead woman’s medical history with her adult son.  He had followed protocol at all turns, even advising Ramona to use precautions to avoid pregnancy. 

"You have argued well, young Antonio.  Let me ask my nurse where your mama’s file would be.” 

Dr. Fabiano slowly rose from the desk and walked to the office door.  He opened the door and called to his nurse.  He spoke to her in low tones and then turned around and closed the door. 

After he sat back down, he told Antonio that he would have to order her file and would have it for him in a couple of days.  He stood again and put out his hand, indicating to Antonio that the interview was over. 

Two days later, Dr. Fabiano’s nurse called Antonio to tell him the file was ready.  He picked it up after school and read it on the bus home.  His mother had a condition called cervical insufficiency.  Her cervix would begin to dilate too early in the pregnancy.  Her miscarriages would occur while she was well into her second trimester.