Yesterday, one of the hauls they’d made had been bringing in over two dozen goats and Beth loved chasing the four baby goats around. “I’m awake,” Beth said, rubbing her eyes.
“I thought you were sleeping with the girls,” Shawn said, shaking Kirk and Pat awake.
With her hair going everywhere, Beth yawned out. “I wanted my bubba.”
Leaning down as Kirk sat up, Shawn kissed his sister on the head. “Let’s get ready,” Shawn said and then grabbed his pants.
Walking to the next room, Shawn tapped the door and walked in to see Vicki and Jodi curled up to each other. “Time to get up, guys,” Shawn told them as he shook both.
When both opened their eyes, he stopped and stepped back. “Arthur is working on breakfast, so come on.”
“I’m awake,” Vicki mumbled, sitting up and slowly moving to the side of the bed.
“Vicki, we need to hurry so we can help Arthur with the babies,” Shawn told her as he walked toward the door.
Glancing back at the bed as she got out, “Where’s Robin?” Vicki asked lifting the covers up. Not finding Robin, Vicki rolled Jodi over to check under her.
“I don’t know, but Jim left my room around midnight to sleep with Arthur,” Shawn told her, walking out.
Heading back to his room, Shawn saw the others up and getting dressed. As Shawn moved to help Beth, Beth took off out the door, carrying her clothes in her hands. “Man, for a five-year-old, she can move,” Shawn mumbled.
Walking over to a gun rack on the wall, Shawn pulled down the AR Arthur had given him on the first day. Arthur had taught Shawn how to use it and then made Shawn drill after each meal. Shoving his feet in his boots, Shawn looked over at Kirk.
Kirk was looking at the AR in Shawn’s arms in awe. “When will Arthur teach me?” Kirk asked.
“He said soon, so you’d better be paying attention when I drill,” Shawn told him. “You’ve never been around guns and he has to teach you and Pat, so you’ll need to pay attention.”
“I will,” Kirk said with a grin and then pulled on his shirt.
Following Kirk and Pat out of the room, Shawn made a mental note to not look as tired as he felt. The last two nights they had sat around as Arthur had listened to the CB and HAM radios for several hours. Most were people calling out in sick voices for help, but not all.
From Little Rock, they’d heard a man talking about people running around and shooting anyone they came across. Men, women, and children were shot for no other reason than being alive. Other people talked about the raw violence.
One man from Clarksville was on the CB, talking about all the dead in the city and how he couldn’t find anyone alive in his subdivision.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Shawn headed for the kitchen as Vicki ran down the stairs and flew past him. Vicki skidded to a halt, seeing Robin on the floor playing with a doll.
Walking around Vicki, Shawn hung his AR up and turned to see Kirk and Pat already helping Arthur with breakfast. “I need to feed Lucas?” Shawn asked.
“Nah, fed him just before I woke you up,” Arthur answered, watching Kirk cracking eggs.
Shawn turned to see Jodi walking over while carrying a stack of plates and started setting them around the table. “What are we doing today?” Shawn asked, moving over to the counter and grabbing a coffee mug. He had never drunk coffee, but learned it really helped in the waking up process.
“Going into Clarksville to get more stuff,” Arthur answered, reaching into the bowl Kirk was cracking the eggs into. Pulling out a small piece of eggshell, Arthur wiped it off on a kitchen towel. “We have a lot to do around here and need supplies.”
Spooning sugar into his coffee, “Um, shouldn’t we wait?” Shawn asked.
“No,” Arthur answered, moving over and helping Pat with the dough for the biscuits. “People aren’t really moving around now and I think after the shock wears off they will. We need to be done by then.”
“How long do you think that will be?” Shawn asked, then took a test sip. Shaking his head, Shawn headed to the refrigerator, grabbing the milk.
Moving over to the stove, Arthur made sure Jim and Jodi were doing all right with the bacon. “Don’t know, but we will hear about it on the radios,” Arthur told him.
After adding milk, Shawn gave a smile after his next sip. “I’m tired of getting shot at,” Shawn admitted, putting his coffee mug down.
As Shawn started taking glasses down, Arthur looked over at him. “As you should be,” Arthur said. “But humans aren’t the only thing we have to worry about.”
Almost dropping a glass, Shawn spun around and gasped. “What else?”
Moving around the island, “Dogs, for one,” Arthur answered, bending over and helping Beth get dressed. “We have to get better fences up for the livestock and one around the house. Dogs have enough food now that they aren’t a problem but in a few months, we are going to be inundated with wild dogs.”
Giving a long sigh, Shawn carried the glasses over to the table. “Come on, Arthur. They’re just dogs,” Shawn chuckled.
When Shawn turned around, he saw Arthur stand up and look at him. “Shawn, you realize there were almost a hundred million dogs in the US? Let’s say only half were big breeds and the others die off to leave only fifty million. Most dogs give birth to large litters. By winter, there could be over two hundred million. I’m talking about huge packs roaming
