Children of the Wheat

We had been riding down this road for what seemed to be over 100 miles. There has not been a single spot where we could stop and turn around for hours. There has not been a single gas station or any place where we could stop and ask for directions. It was the dead of night. We had no cell phone signal. We had no idea where we were. We were running out of gas. And I really, really, had to pee.

The car came to a sputtering stop in a dense wooded area. I got out with a flashlight to go into the trees. Miriam told me that I was a fool. It was pitch black outside and that little flashlight wasn’t doing much good. However, if I did not get out, we would both be in trouble. I had drunk the entire 32-ounce drink before hitting the road and I felt like 64 was trying to come out of me.

When I finished, I turned the flashlight off before heading back to the car. I thought I saw a faint light through the trees. I told my wife that this was great news. It would mean that there was a town on the other side. When the sun rose, we made our hike through the woods. Miriam was trying with all her might to remain calm, but I could tell that she wanted to strangle me for putting us in this predicament. This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation. Not a 5-mile trek through unknown woods. We came out of the woods and found an old man plowing a small field with a horse pulled tractor.

“This must be an Amish community”, Miriam said.

“But I was sure I saw lights. I guess it could have been an oil lamp or something.”

The old man stared at us in shock for a few seconds before approaching us.

“Good morning”, he said. “My name is Duke. I will assume that you are lost.”

“What makes you assume that?”, I asked.

“Well, nobody has visited this town in nearly 50 years. Nobody has come through these woods, ever.”

“Our car stopped on us last night.”, I said. “I saw lights through the trees and figured there was a town nearby. But this appears to be an Amish town.”

“Amish!” He laughed at the thought. “No, we are not Amish. I do admire the Amish. They chose to live a life limiting their use technology.”

“Why don’t you use a gas or electric tractor? It would be a lot quicker.”

“Oh! This is Ruffus. He enjoys the exercise. And I enjoy spending time with him. Our town is one of the most technologically advanced towns in the world.” He motioned for us to follow him.

“You said your car stopped on the other side of the woods”, he continued. “That must be old Jodave Road. How did you ever get on that road?

“We have no idea. We made a wrong turn somewhere. I think it was that right turn we made in Albuquerque.”

“That road isn’t listed on any may. But it goes all the way from Mexico to Canada without a way off. I’ll get Bob. He’ll help you with your car. It might take a day or 2. You’re free to stay in town.”

“It’s only out of gas.”

“Don’t worry. Bob will take care of it.”

When we walked into town, we could tell right away that this town was nowhere near as “Amish” as I thought that it was. “Welcome to Wheaton”, Duke said. “The last place you’ll ever call home.” He told us that the statement sounded better when the town was established over 100 years ago.

The very first thing I noticed was the robotic postmen. From there, the fact that all cars were self-driving caught my attention. Deliveries were done by drone.

“Is there a gas station in town” I asked?

“No. We don’t use fossil fuel.”

“So how is Bob going to fix…’

“He’s Bob. He can fix anything.”

We met Bob at his shop just 2 blocks into town. Bob was about 7 foot 8 and 550 pounds. His voice sounded like thunder. It vibrated the ground when he spoke.

“Welcome to Wheaton”, he said, “What can I do you for?”

“Our car ran out of gas on Jodave Road.”

“Jodave Road! How did you guys get stuck on that road?”

“Bob”, Duke called. “They thought this was an Amish town.”

Bob laughed in such a way that it could be heard from space. I felt it in my soul.

“We ain’t no Amish town”, he said. “This used to be an old coal mine town. That is until we found…”

“Bob”, Duke called. “The car.”

Turning toward us, “We’re going to give you a room in the Maid Inn.”, Duke said. “It’s normally used when people are having repairs done on their house. You’re free to stay for a few days. No charge.”

“You know”, I said, “We’re only out of gas.”

“Bob can handle it.”

The room at the Maid Inn was beautiful. It was a much larger space than we thought. Even more than that, the room was self-cleaning. We placed our luggage on the bed and drones came out of what seemed like nowhere and put our cloth away. I must say that I was impressed.

Timmy and Tammy, the twins that lived down the street, came by to introduce themselves. They were about 12 years old and very cute.

“Welcome to our town”, they said. Holding a pan of baked catfish over rice, Timmy gave it to us and said, “We don’t get many visitors here.”

“We don’t get any visitors”, Tammy said.

“Bob will have your vehicle in his shop soon. We would love it if you decided to stay for a few days.”

While Timmy and Tammy were still standing there, Sam and Pam came by. Twins. They also, was about 12 years old. Just as cute.

“Welcome to Wheaton”, Sam said. Pam handed us a dish of roast chicken with potatoes and mixed vegetables. It looked like a very delicate, fancy meal. I was shocked that the children cooked this.

Then, Leo and Lily came by. Yes, twins. Yes, they were about 12 years old. They also welcomed us to their town. They also presented a plate of food. It was grilled rack of lamb, mashed potatoes, and a garden salad.

We thought that all of this was very strange, but it also seemed to be a very friendly town. We just accepted it and went into our room. As soon as we sat down ready to eat, we started to hear voices.

Excuse Me. Excuse Me. Can you hear us?

“Did you hear that”, I asked.

“Yes! I did hear something.”, Miriam said.

Great! They can hear us.

“Who are you?”, I asked. “Where are you?”

“I can’t give you details on our location”, the voices said. “But I can tell you that you are in grave danger here. You must leave Wheaton as soon as you can. It will not be easy. They’re watching you. Oh! And by all means, do not eat the food. We will try to get you some real food when we meet again. Make your way to Gibson’s Park. There is a large Oak Tree in the middle. You can’t miss it. You will find – wait. They’re coming. Keep an eye on the adults. Watch out for the children. They’re here. We’ll talk later.”

Duke knocked on the door at that point. “I just wanted to tell you”, he said, “That Bob is fixing your car. You’ve got 3 flat tires, a busted windshield, a cracked in the radiator, and your front wheels are out of alignment. He’ll have all of this fixed, hopefully by tomorrow. Maybe a little longer. Don’t worry. There is no charge. We love to show kindness to strangers. It’s our way of life.”

“Wait”, I said. “We were only out of gas.”

“Bob can fix it. He can fix anything.”

Watch out for the adults. That’s what the voices warned us. The funny thing is what we only saw 2. Duke and Bob. They both sound crazy. Everyone else was children. They also promised to get us some real food. Or at least try to. The word “real” stuck out like a sore thumb. I did think it was strange that children were bringing us rack of lamb, roast chicken, and baked fish. But if it wasn’t real, what was it? They didn’t say. They only stated that they would contact us later.

We walked out of the Inn and toward the south end of town where there was a park with a large Oat Tree. “That must be Gibsons Park.” The town was beautiful. It’s been a while since I was able to take a walk with my wife. We walked slowly, holding hands, and headed toward the park. Following at a distance was one of the town’s children. We haven’t met this one yet. He was walking just as slowly as we were. Soon, there were 2. Then 3, then 4. Before long, there was a crowd of children. We played it calm, cool, and collect, and continued to walk. Our pace was that of a typical morning walk. We appeared to be as joyful as possible and to be enjoying the scenery. We paid more attention to the beauty of our surroundings than the increasingly large mass of children behind us.

Only 2 adults in a town of all children?

It was just a thought. It wasn’t said out loud. Yet, I believe that Miriam heard me, for she said, “I was thinking the same thing.”

We both laughed. It was really part of the facade of peace. In reality we wanted to take off running. Instead, we sat down by the tree as if we were just enjoying the flowers.

“We thought you were leaving”, Timmy said.

“Not yet”, said Miriam. “Our car’s not ready.”

“Maybe, in a day or 2”, I said. “It’s alright if we stay, isn’t it? We like it here.”

The children smiled. “Yes! We would love for you to stay.”

Then, they all started to walk away. That’s when the voices returned. They seemed to be coming from different locations. One second it seemed that they were coming out of the tree, then the flowers, then the wind. It was hard to pinpoint a direction to talk in.

“You’ve made it. Great. Listen closely.” That’s when they told us the story of the old coal mine.

The coal mine used to be the heart of the city. If you lived in this town, you were either a miner or a farmer. The 2 businesses worked hand and hand. When the coal mine started to suffer, the farmers suffered. The town was in danger of shutting down. Then they discovered that the mine had something other than coal to offer. They called it Bavideum. It was a metal like nothing ever seen before. It had a melting point of 35°F or just a little over 1.5 C. But it’s a solid over that. So, it becomes a liquid as it gets cold, and a solid as it gets hot. The discovery of this element was wonderful for the technology field. Computer components were made that didn’t need to be kept cool. Even better, Bavideum produced its own electricity as it got hot. Now, computers that never powered down were made. With the influx of A.I., robotics became the key business of the town.

The robots were made to mine the Bavideum. Robotic children were created because their small bodies can fit easily into smaller places. They were made to learn. They got smarter. They started to realize that they didn’t like being treated like slaves. They in turn enslaved the humans. Most of the humans escaped underground.

“That’s where we’ve been ever since. Only 2 humans were captured by the bots. I’m sure you’ve met them.”

So, all of the children are robots. Duke and Bob are somehow under their control. That means that we are not leaving town with our car. I feared that the only way out of town was to make our way to the mines.

Making our way to the mines was not easy. The children started to follow us.

“Where are you going?”

“We’re just exploring the town.”

“Bob should have your car fixed soon.”

“That’s great. We’ll pick it up in a day or 2.”

“Are you headed to the mine?”

“Yes. We would like to see it.”

“Did you know the mine is haunted?”

The questions continued to come. I continued to give simple answers. We could tell that they did not want us to see the mine. But what every they were doing to our car was probably more dangerous than the mine. We continued.

When we got there, 5 children stood in our way, blocking our path inside. The people hiding left us a small device next to the tree. The letters EMP were written on it. My wife turned it on and a low hum started.

“What’s that”, one of them asked.

I gave it to him and 3 seconds later, all 5 fell down. We entered the mine.

The mine was dark inside, Pitch black. I felt along the walls for a switch. I found one. Turning it on gave us a faint glow revealing a door. There was a keypad lock.

“The code is 12345678909876543210”, the voices said. This was not the actual code. But it was 20 digits. I would have mentioned the real code, but they made me promise not to repeat it, not even in writing.

As soon as the door opened, the voices came back. “Enter”. This time it was not a voice inside my head. Someone was actually talking. They were inviting us in. At least 300 people were inside. The lock was not there to keep them inside. It was there to keep the children out.

The only issue was that they all had electric collars. If they tried to leave the mines, it would shock them. The first would hurt. The second could knock them out. The third would kill them. At least that’s what they were told. They all already had 2 shocks. They were not going to risk a 3rd.

At the end of the tunnel, there was a switch.

“We can’t go to that end. We’ll be shocked. Please, throw the switch.”

I was pretty shocked that it was that easy. I threw the switch, and the entire crowd started running out of the mine. It wasn’t 300. It was more like 3000. Without the collars, they were able to retake the town.

In the end, We were given something decent to eat and our car was fixed. Bob removed the gas engine and replaced it with an electric engine. The engine was powered by Bavideum. Bob only had one request. “Please take us with you.”