But the Children Survived (47 page)

Gerald had decided to take samples from the first 10 children who had been brought to the biosphere.  That meant Maria Elena would be first.  Since they had been placed in houses in order, it was easy to go from one to the other quickly.  He was very careful to pack the slides so they would not move or break. 

He had an insulated lunch bag containing a small box with slots in it for the slides.  He carried the chloroform and a rag in another bag.  He put the sewing needles and sutures in another part of the lunch bag along with a scalpel. 

It was after midnight and the adults had finally gone to bed.  Gerald took off his shoes and walked in his stocking fee to the door leading into the city.  The metal floor hurt his feet so he had to move quickly. 

Gerald descended the stairs, always watching for movement and listening for the sound of voices or footsteps.  When he reached the bottom step, he quickly looked to the right and left.  When he was sure he was alone, he put his foot on the floor and turned towards the tiny houses. 

When he got to number 1, he listened for any noise coming from within.  He turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.  He looked inside and could see the sleeping form of Maria Elena on her bed.  He went inside and, after glancing around the street, he closed the door.

There was a night light burning near Maria Elena's bed.  It gave off just enough light for Gerald to do what he needed to do.  He took out the chloroform and put some on the rag.  He walked over to her bed and stood over her.  She was on her side.  He would have to turn her over. 

He put his hand on her arm and rolled her over on her back.  Her eyes moved as he put the rag over her face.  She had been deeply asleep and barely registered what was happening.  It had been easy knocking her out.

Gerald then retrieved his lunch bag and brought it over to the bed.  He rolled the covers back to expose Maria Elena's left thigh.  He went into her bathroom and found a towel.  He placed it under her left leg.  He had forgotten to bring a bottle of alcohol, but Gerald decided he wouldn’t have the wound open very long so infection would be minimal.  He really didn't care about hurting the girl; he only cared about her cells. 

Gerald cut into Maria Elena's flesh.  She didn’t move.  The chloroform had done its job. He quickly took a tiny portion of her flesh and placed it on the glass slide.  He covered it with another glass slide and placed it in the slotted box. 

Gerald moved quickly.  He didn't want a bloody mess to alert his victims as to what had happened.  He was hoping the children would be so frightened by the discovery of their involuntary donations that they wouldn't want to tell anyone. 

Maria Elena's wound wasn’t too deep and as Gerald stitched it up, the blood subsided.  He had to work fast.  His stitches were fairly neat considering the lack of light and speed with which he worked.  Since he’d also forgotten to bring bandages, he left the wound uncovered.  Gerald figured the air would help it heal faster. 

When he was done, he collected his tools and left Maria Elena's little house and entered number 2.  Gerald repeated the process 9 more times.  He then returned to his lab to run the slides through his microscope

Gerald was unable to discern anything unusual about the cells.  He decided to run them through Wilmer's machine.  He opened one of the slides to remove the tissue to prepare it to go into the machine.  Since this was something new, Gerald wasn’t sure how long the machine would process the sample. 

Gerald was very tired and his patience was thin.  He paced the lab floor and balled his hands into fists, hitting himself on the sides of his thighs.  The faster he walked, the harder he hit himself until his legs throbbed.  He forced himself to calm down by slowing his pace until he stopped and returned to his chair.  He decided to inventory the items he had hidden away in his lab until the machine stopped. 

When Christie had started haranguing Gerald about testing the air quality so the kids could go outside, Gerald had moved all the environmental detectors into his lab.  He had brought a locking device with him when he came into the biosphere which he’d intended to put onto a footlocker he kept in his quarters. Soon after he arrived, however, he saw that there may be a need to keep his lab secure and he didn't trust Andrew because the coding of the door locks could be overridden. 

He had installed a hook and latch on each side of the door.  If he was inside and wanted privacy, he locked himself in.  If he had to leave, he used it to secure his lab.  The device he used had been created to protect bicycles in New York City.  It claimed to be resistant to bolt cutters.  Gerald had spent a great deal of money on the lock, but his innate paranoia required absolute security. 

Gerald had attached the lock to the lab door when he came back from stealing the children’s cells.  He had a cabinet next to his computer station.  He opened it and took the detectors out.  There were three – one to test for radiation, one to detect radon and carbon monoxide, and one to detect poisonous gases. 

He turned them on to check the batteries, then he returned them to the cabinet.  He then did an inventory of the syringes and other medical supplies.  He had moved them in here when George abandoned his lab for the kitchen.  As he was replacing the supplies in their cabinet, Gerald heard the machine ding.

The digital panel indicated that a report had been sent to his computer.  Gerald walked over to his computer and sat down.  He clicked on the desktop icon marked “DNA Reports” and then clicked on “Sample Reports.”  There were several reports stored there from the blood tests he and Christie had run when the children arrived.  At the very bottom was the new report.  Gerald opened that report and confirmed his worst fears.

The cell samples indicated all the normal biological information.  Then, the very last entry indicated that there was an unknown chemical inherent in all the cells.  This chemical was unknown to the computer in the machine.  This machine was the latest model and would have every chemical known to man.  So, where had this chemical come from? 

Gerald's crazed mind drew the only conclusion it could; the children were not human.  They had to have come here from somewhere else. 

As Gerald continued this train of thought, he could see the whole dastardly plot set out before him.  Aliens had impregnated human women 11 years ago.  Those women gave birth to these horrible children.  Now, the aliens had decimated the population of earth and were set to take over, using these children.  Why, they were probably plotting right now to kill the adults and leave the biosphere.  Of course the poison hadn't hurt them.  But it had hurt his Martha!

Gerald began pacing again.  This time he used his hands to hit his head.  He just didn't know what to do.  These idiots he lived with would never believe his story.  But the report didn’t lie.  These children were inundated with some otherworldly chemical that enabled them to live while others died.  Gerald had to do something.  He had to come up with some way to kill them before they killed him. 

Gerald thought of his syringe full of Nembutal.  He didn't think he had enough to do them all in, but they were children so he could halve the dosage. 

Gerald took out the syringe he’d planned on using to kill Christie and put half of the Nembutal back into the bottle.  He could grab them one kid at a time.  He could visit them at night when they were asleep. 

Yes!  That's what he would do.  It was always best to do things at night.  Kids were sleepy then and had little fight in them.  He’d found that out the night before when he took the samples.  Not one of those drugged kids had any fight in them.

Gerald sat down and looked at Martha's picture.  He smiled at her and said, “They will pay for what they did to you Martha.”  He stroked her picture and he thought for just a moment that she’d winked at him. 

Chapter 59

When Christie woke up that morning, she noticed more hair on her pillow.  She had started noticing her hair loss a few days before.  The stress of being a mother to 200 kids was taking a toll on her.  For weeks the guys had been out on the road moving bodies and getting supplies.  She couldn't complain then.  But since Andrew had found the kitchen in the Wilmer basement, the guys had been hanging around playing with the kids and taking it easy.  She was getting fed up watching them go to bed while she made sure the kids were all put to bed at night.  Something had to be done.  They had to start helping her.

She was also upset about Gerald.  She had told the men that his erratic behavior had her really worried.  She didn't trust him around the kids.  They had blown her off, telling her that “old Gerry” was harmless and she shouldn't worry.  But they hadn’t spent time with him since the tragedy had occurred.  They’d been out on the road and now Gerald wasn’t even eating with them.  They didn't know what he’d become. 

Christie thought of going on strike.  She thought if she stayed in her quarters today they might notice what this place was like without her presence.  Maybe they would like to handle the daily fights, the constant bullying, the girls’ begging her for attention.  Let the men handle it for a change. 

Instead, she decided to go to the field.  She would stay there all day and if kids showed up, she would direct them to one of the men.  She looked at the clock and noticed it was just after 6.  She got up and showered quickly.  If she was lucky, she could get through the city unnoticed.  Then she could spend the whole day alone. 

She left her quarters and had to pass Gerald's lab.  She tiptoed past and saw Gerald gazing at Martha's picture.  She hurried by and went through the door to the landing and down the stairs.  She didn't see anybody so she ran through the city until she reached the door to the field. 

She loved to see the crops growing.  They had finally begun to grow as she had hoped they would.  They would have a wonderful harvest, and with the freezers they had found, they would be able to preserve them and have vegetables to eat while the next seeds were planted and harvested.  It was working the way Wilmer had planned. 

She walked down the steps leading to the field and made her rounds.  The sprinklers were working nicely.  She stopped and breathed in the air.  The smell of earth and vegetables mixed in the air and gave her the sense of being outside.  Oh, if only she could go outside she might be able to shake off this terrible tension. 

Christie had lost weight.  She was finding it difficult to eat, not only from a lack of appetite, but from constant interruptions caused by kids needing her for this or that.  Not today.  Today they would have to find Andrew, Simon, Pat, or George.  They were more than capable of handling a 10-year-old's problems. 

When she was done walking the field, she went to the animal room to find Calvin.  She wanted to ask him about Mindy and Mark.  She had been hurt when he took the kids away, but she understood now how those kids must have felt.  They had to get out.  She wanted to ask Calvin to take her with him when he went to visit them. 

She went down the stairs into the animal room and walked over to Calvin's quarters.  She thought it strange that he lived here and not with the others.  He’d told her it was his choice, that he liked the privacy. 

Christie knocked on his door and there was no answer.  She hated intruding, but she really wanted to talk to him.  She turned the knob and it was open.  She opened the door and didn't hear anything.  She called his name, but he didn’t answer. 

She went back to the field and walked to the back of the building.  She saw the hazmat suit was missing and knew that Calvin had already left to visit the kids.  She felt real disappointment. 

Christie was getting hungry and decided to find something in the ground that was ready for picking.  She sized up some tomatoes and peppers.  She decided on the tomatoes.  She picked two and took them to the shed to wash them.  After they were thoroughly cleaned, she took them into her office. 

She didn't have a plate or utensils so she decided to just bite into them.  The flavor of fresh food awoke all her senses.  The tomato was just right.  She savored every bite and then ate the other one.  Real, fresh food.  It almost made her dizzy.

Just as she was finishing her tomato, she noticed the clock said 9:30.  She had been here only three hours, but it felt like a whole day.  Even though they drove her nuts, she was actually missing the kids.  Maybe she should go upstairs and call a meeting on the PA system.  If she could get all of them, kids and men, into one place at one time, they could figure out how to handle their present incarceration without Christie losing all of her hair.

Christie walked up the stairs and out the door.  The city was alive with noisy kids playing and talking.  Christie walked past the tiny houses and into the town square.  She saw many familiar faces, but she also noticed some missing.  She saw Katie and Alyssa, but not Maria Elena.  That didn't happen very often.

Christie walked on to the cafeteria.  Breakfast for the kids was over and the men were all sitting around a table drinking coffee.  She came over and joined them. 

“Listen, guys, I need your help.”  She looked from face to face.  No response.  “I really mean it.  I need your help.”

“Then just tell us what you want us to do,” Andrew said.

“LOOK AROUND!  Don't you guys notice anything?  These kids need supervision, and I’m the only one who seems to realize it.  I need you guys to step up and help me with these kids!” 

The guys still didn't respond.  Apparently, they found nothing wrong with the way things were. 

“You know, I used to think you guys were great.  But now I think you're all useless, with the exception of George, who at least cooks.”  Christie got up and stormed out of the cafeteria.