Mrs. Kelly Wise is the spitting image of Cynthia and Leighanne. Her skintight red pencil dress accentuated her unmistakable womanly silhouette, thin waist, prominent bust, and impressively curved broad hips that emphasized her seductive look. She stood over five inches taller than her statuesque daughters. A pair of black stockings and red heels accentuated her slender legs. They looked like a power mother-daughter combo with Lisa, the in-training third member. Her sexy, curvy, glamorous beauty would make any man fall passionately in love with her. The silky blonde hair hung freely down her back, with several thick strands draping over her substantial breasts. Her daughters got the oval faces and wide-set eyes down-turned vivid blue eyes from her. Kelly's deep, royal blue eyes set the color grade for Cynthia and Leighanne. Her slenderous button nose and pouty but puffy lips were the matriarchal traits given to her children. Straight, broad blonde eyebrows brought any admirers' attention to her chiseled cheekbones and angular jawline. Then there is her flawless milky white skin, which she gave to her daughters. I would have difficulty telling who the mother was among the three and who the daughters were if I met them for the first time. The Wise family inherits the blessing of lasting youth from generation to generation.
"Mr. Thomas, as it is, you are the only person in town with such an extended military career besides the sheriff. Therefore, as I see it, he should deputize you as soon as possible. We are at a shortage!" the blonde woman said with such confidence.
"Mother! We need to focus on the now. Not what if!" Cynthia replied, putting her hands on her hips, mirroring her mother's.
"And we will focus on the now, but let's not forget long-term preparations," Kelly countered.
The way she spoke her words seemed to imply a truth I'd not even considered. Its long-term implications were sorting I would need to contemplate later. If I had anything to say about Pineford, something in the environment is a mysterious and unquestionable enigma. Here, one will find women of insurmountable beauty. A fact that has bought much fame across the nation. Nowhere within the United Territories was a larger population of favorable women of beauty. All women born here or who have spent a considerable amount of time here became fuller busts and curvy but slender in their bosoms. Their hourglass physiques appear supernatural because they are mathematically precise and near-predictable. Women here matured at a younger age and seemed to maintain their youth quite longer without medical intervention well past their mid-forties. A feat many attributed to some magical influence. 'Someone can likely find a better explanation in the environment.' There have been times when I thought our small but moderately sized town was some breeding ground for exceptionally beautiful women and men. However, the alluring beauty did not fall short of the opposite sex. The male population of Pineford is in the top three in the republic. Pineford was the home to several celebrities, both male and female. I can not escape the subtle fact that the proportions of every adult female in Pineford possessed such slim yet curvaceous and voluptuous 'hourglass' body types. They were the epitome of beauty, able to maintain a dainty thin outline regardless of their age. The men of Pineford had all the hallmarks of the classic perception of a gentleman and men of success. Another undeniable fact about Pineford as we had the lowest unemployment rate on record. We also had the lowest number of disabled people as 97% of the town is in perfect health. It is not uncommon for retired residents to develop near-perfect health and vigorous fitness in our town after retiring. Of course, this lured many from all over the nation to move to this region.
"Let's just focus on finding as many townspeople as we can!" Leighanne said, stepping between her mother and sister.
"That is the plan. Sheriff Orkan is planning an entire grid search of the town at some point today," Emma added.
"Yes, and once done, we'll move on to the next priority," Rhonda said.
The women all seemed to radiate some unseen force between them. Being surrounded by five drop-dead gorgeous women is beginning to even make a navy seal feel inadequate. So I decided I should inquire more about the situation at the hospital.
"How many pregnant women do we have here?" I asked.
Cynthia's gaze met mine the moment the words left my mouth. It's an uncomfortable observation. There's no hiding the shortage of the male sex. Coming to the hospital made that abundantly clear. Cynthia's well aware of the implications. I hope she isn't getting the wrong idea about my concern.
"Well, straight to the point," Cynthia said. "There's over one-hundred on this floor if you must know," she said. She's a very smart woman, but she knew the relevance of my question.
"On this floor alone?" I questioned.
"Yes… and that's not all. We have another hundred more on the floor below and the same on the flooring floor. Our town, as seems, is going through a pregnancy boom. It is not the highest, but the highest in such a short time frame. With that being said, over three-hundred pregnant women are here out of the eight-hundred we had last night. All having girls, if you can believe that," an elderly male voice said, coming up from behind.
"Oh, do pardon me, if you will. I'm Doctor Timothy Klaine," the man said, holding his hand out for me to shake.
His age is definitely up there, around 55, if I had to guess. The salty, thinning gray hair is a giveaway. The ivory cane he walked with caught my attention. Behind his glasses, I spotted his deep honey-brown eyes. My gut tells me he's worried more than the others let on. Too worried if I had to guess, but he probably had reasons for his grim expression, and If I'm being honest, I agreed with him. His tall, slender build hinted at his days as a well-kept competitive man. His stature is quite athletic for his age. There was an air of intelligence about the Doctor's hooded brown eyes, and he kept a full beard. Thick, straight salt and pepper eyebrows with wrinkles on his forehead told of a man with years of experience. His height is typical at 6 feet 1 inch, but he had the trademarks of being a native of Pineford. In addition to his chiseled cheekbones and prominent square jawline, he also had a square face like my father. His long, prominent nose overshadowed his thin lips. I shook his hand, and he gave me a pleasant smile.
"So, where are the rest?" I asked, looking between them.
"At one of the university dormitories at the base of the mountain. Don't worry, I sent a group of nurses to bring them here," he said.
"That's really unnecessary. We're already at capacity," Cynthia said.
"I think it is prudent that we use the lower floors as housing. Besides the elevators of each tower, only four stairwells give access to each floor. We can prioritize those with more pressing needs in this tower and spread the rest between the other three towers. Considering the circumstances, this would be the most defensible position in all of Pineford," Doctor Klaine explained.
"We should set up a party in the ER to receive any townspeople coming in throughout the day," Leighanne said.
"That is a good idea. I'll see if we have anyone to spare as security," Emma said, looking at me.
"As far as I can tell, we can account for only seven of the law enforcement personnel. The rest of them are… gone. Including a majority of the town. Something bad is going on, and it's better to get those who can't defend themselves here. Everyone else is being directed to the high school. You better start locking down the hospital. Barricade anything you can. This is the only other viable place to hold up when and I stress if help comes. We very well might be on our own here," I explained.
My tone got the message across. The gravity of the situation is sinking in. As far as we knew, there were no police, firefighters, or EMS. There may still be others to find, but these are the only ones for now. Neither state troopers nor the sheriff found anyone. That means we are all that here. 'But something is not adding up. The population size of Pineford and the current survivors doesn't make logical sense. There has to be another element I am missing.' I look at all the people here. None of them are ready for this new world. To be honest, neither was I. 'I need to get back to the cabin.'
"What about children?" I said.
Other than the junior high school and high school girls' clubs, I hadn't heard about other children.
"Well, the daycare is full. This is because so many of the pregnant mothers had other young children, too. It is the same story at the dormitories," Cynthia said.
"Then we will do a thorough search looking for children. Daycares should be a priority. There's a good chance a lot of mothers with children are here. We just need to get in touch with them," I said.