Them-2 - Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two –Near Greenbriar State Forest, Tuckahoe, West Virginia

Angel walked softly down a steep incline towards the sprawling camp below. She was twenty and considered herself a mature and well-educated person. After two years at West Virginia University in Morgantown, she had met Theopolis and her outlook on life changed dramatically.
Her chosen majors, Psychiatry and Pre-Med, were now ancient history, although she still used her medical training occasionally. Theopolis was the man of her dreams, and ironically, the man she would never have dreamed of being with a few short years ago. He was a total dropout from society.
Theopolis was raised in a commune among people that were generally called hippies, although that was an old and not often used title. His formal education was nil but he was a very educated man, having learned philosophy, medicine, chemistry, science, art, literature, and many other fields of academics from members of the commune who were experts, even teachers in their subject fields.
Angel moved around with Theopolis for several months, then the commune settled in a quiet little valley in the Greenbriar State Forest, well away from civilization. The Park Police or local sheriff’s office never harassed them, because Theopolis’ grandparents were also well known in the area and highly respected. Besides, this was considered to be moonshine country and police and federal agents were not exactly welcomed.
The commune grew over the months and easily topped over sixty couples with their kids. They grew most of the food they needed, but made occasional trips to town to supplement their needs. Everyone was vegetarian, except for a very few and mother earth was highly respected, but not worshiped as a deity. They were hippies, but they were not ignorant. Most had been raised in the country and preferred rugged living and a simple lifestyle. Anyone was welcome to join provided they lived by the simple rules, which included no fighting, stealing, or cheating.
“Interesting news, Theopolis,” Angel said, plopping a sack of beans down on a rough cut table where he was carving something from a tree limb. She reached down to peck him on the lips before continuing. Angel was tall for a woman, five-ten, very slim, long straight hair the color of ripe wheat, and sparkling blue eyes. “Grocer in the store said some giant ants were terrorizing and killing people in Bowling Green. He said the military men they sent in to get rid of them were also killed.”
“Giant ants?” Theopolis put his carving down on the table and looked at her. He was in his late twenties, tall, long brown hair flowing gently in the breeze, and he had a strong square jaw that reminded Angel of the actor Clive Owen. His given name was Asklepios Theophylapos, the grandson of Greek immigrants. His name was so difficult for most people to pronounce, they simply called him Theopolis.
“Are you certain Angel? This is not a publicity hype or something like that?”
“Man said some queen ants escaped the nest and are scattering around the country. He even mentioned that the government people in Washington City were under attack.”
“That is serious, man!” Theopolis blurted. “How big and dangerous are these ants?”
Angel inclined her head in thought. “Bout the size of a horse and if the Army can’t kill them, they must be very dangerous.”
“Gotta let the people know, man.” Theopolis stood and headed down hill towards a large central fire that the commune kept burning at all times. Each family took their own fire starting brands from this fire as they needed it. For the most part, the commune ate as one large family, cooking their meals at this central location and eating at half a dozen large rough cut tables. Although Theopolis was not the oldest in the group, he was considered the central organizer and most looked to him for leadership. The commune disliked government of any kind, believing that individuals had a right to make their own decisions without government interference. Someone was needed to attend to the needs of the group as a whole, so Theopolis was asked to do it.
Theopolis banged on a large tin can that hung on a pole near the fire. This was the signal they used to call the commune together to pass out information or to get everyone’s opinion on something. As soon as the majority was gathered, Theopolis passed on the information Angel had learned.
Dennis Hardy, a heavy set bearded man looked around the group.“ Think these big ants will find their way here?”
“Don’t know.” Theopolis replied. “If they’re all the way in Washington, chances are good they might.”
“We don’t have guns,” another man stated. “How will we protect ourselves?”
“Don’t like guns, man,” Theopolis slowly replied. “But you do have a good point.”
“Crossbows!” another man shouted from the rear of the group. “This crossbow you made for me, Theopolis, works beautifully.”
“I don’t know, man. Crossbows against big ants?”
“Crossbows with poisoned darts,” Myles Anderson stated. “We’ve cooked up some pretty nasty stuff in our experiments.” Anderson had a Doctorate in Chemistry but joined the group with his wife because he was dissatisfied with the university scene and the government. He was well respected and liked in the commune.
Theopolis grinned at the remark. They had experimented with some wild concoctions over time. Several batches were made using Dioxin, another from Black Widow venom, and the latest was from the venom produced by the Brazilian Wandering Spider or Banana Spider. They used these in extremely diluted portions to make mild forms of hallucinogenic drugs. Each contained neurotoxin, which causes loss of muscle control as well as respiratory problems. The reason they were so interested in the latter was because it also caused priapism, an erection that won’t go away. They were peace-loving people, but they were also human with human desires and human needs.
“Might work, Doc, if we made the potion strong enough to kill very quickly,” Theopolis replied. “I’ll need help making more crossbows and we’ll need some chemical supplies from town. The bows will need to be much more powerful than the one Floyd has so we’ll need to go to the scrap yard and find some leaf spring from old trucks and some round iron for bolts.”
“What about an early warning system around the camp?” a grizzled old man asked. His name was Jackie Hopper and he was a veteran of the Vietnam War. As soon as he returned from war he joined a commune and had been a free-living man ever since.
“Guess you can come up with something, Jackie. No one should be out hunting mushrooms or other plant foods for a spell, at least not until we have protection.”
For the next hour or more they discussed various poisons, made a list of supplies not available in camp, decided on the distribution of labor, and selected several caves for backup defense. Anyone who wanted to could leave the commune and seek safety elsewhere, but no one chose to leave.