Pneumasites

By Myron Baughman

Ben Benard, after losing his family, is thrown into a strange new world, where he is opposed by interesting but dangerous characters and forces. He finds that his old world has been infected by horrible parasites that threaten the entire population of the earth.  In a series of attempts, he struggles against multiple dangerous opponents. By doing so he and his team are flung to the farthest edges of space and time. His quest for answers results in many twists and thought-provoking turns to a surprise ending that will keep you wanting more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Myron Baughman
• Release date: Nov 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223708254

Myron Baughman

Dr. Myron Baughman is a graduate of Bob Jones University with a degree of B.S. in Education. His Th.M is from the International Bible Seminary. He graduated with honors from the Andersonville Theological Seminary. Myron and his wife Denise live in Georgia and have four children. Myron is a published author and serves as the President of the King James Bible Seminary.  

Book preview

Chapter One

The Beginning

The storms of life can be many, the outcome of which determines the quality of life.

G et to the storm cellar ! Mom yelled at me above the roar of the wind. The twister was upon us almost without warning. I ran as fast as I could to the cellar door, and it blew open when I pulled on it. My two older brothers and sister had just made it there before me and had the door shut already. Our little white and brown haired dog named Theo was as far back in the storm cellar as he could get. Mom was still in the house, trying to grab a few things on her way out. We stood there inside the door opening waiting for Mom to come out, but she never did. The house blew away like a house of cards, disintegrating into the fierce wind. Dad was not there, he was in town getting supplies, but he hurried home when he saw the storm clouds. It was too late when he pulled up in his truck; Mom and the house were already gone.

We were still standing there in the cellar doorway when he pulled up, all of us crying. The twister was already in the next county. It was a terrible thing for a young person to see. It was like one’s life and love went with the wind, never to be found. Mom’s body actually never was found, though we, the sheriff’s department and neighbor’s all searched for weeks. She had disappeared off the face of the earth. I had a fear of what may come from the sky from then on. Since then, I have been determined to ride out any storm in life that may come along and be a better person as a result. This is my story of my struggle in the world. I handled it the best I knew how. The question of Why? set me on an unforgettable quest through both time and space. Come with me as I tell you of my fantastic adventures.

My story seems like the distant past, and it constantly verged on eternity. You will see what I mean as we go along. It is a strange journey filled with unusual events and people. There are parts so strange and unbelievable, I am not even sure I believe it actually happened. It starts out pretty normal, but later, it is nowhere near, what most would consider normal.  Nevertheless, it all is true, and maybe you will find it helpful, maybe entertaining, or maybe even disgusting. Try not to be judgmental as I tell you about my story, please. We are all imperfect, some more so than others, and I do not claim to have lived a perfect life, but an unusual one. I at the time wished I could go back in time and change it all. I am warning you that you need to be careful of what you wish.       

First, let me tell you a little about myself so I am not just some stranger running his mouth. I am Benjamin Benard. I grew up on a north central Texas cattle ranch. My dad, Rohn, was a true Texan. He was six foot three inches tall or two inches taller than I was, and wore the cowboy hat and the boots along with a wide belt and large belt buckle. He had the look down pat, along with a slight Texas draw to his speech. He had served in the last Iranian War, one of several, as a decorated hero who rescued the lives of sixteen stranded soldiers. He later was recruited by the Intelligence Corps for some rather top level operations with the government, which he never shared anything about with me. After that, he settled down to life on the ranch.

I remember the day that his right knee was broken by a wild horse kick that sent him flying out of the stable door. Dad had run into the stable to pull me out and save me from a semi-wild horse that was about to trample me to death. He walked with a slight limp afterwards that he hid well. It was a limp that I loved, because it was his limp. He was ashamed of it for some reason, as if it made him imperfect or something.

Mom, Darla, was a true sweetheart. She was the best of mom’s. She kept the house clean, and tended to us kids with a passion. She taught us kids to pray and read to us out of the Bible at an early age. My two brothers, Ken and John and a sister Diana, were all older than I was. I usually just called her "sis.  Mom’s Lord’s Day meals were something special. It was like a family reunion each weekend. Mom would rise early that day, put her apron on over her dress, out in the kitchen, and start the process of cooking. I remember the beads of sweat on her face from baking. I loved the fresh baked bread that she did. It filled the house with a pleasant aroma. After church, relatives from close by would come for the visit and the meal. Mostly, they brought a cooked side item with them to help out. Pleasantly plump Aunt June always brought a freshly baked cake. The best get-togethers were like family reunions at Christmas and Easter. Only a few people, though would stay to do any clean up, that usually fell on us kids. We each had chores, sometimes they rotated. I usually was stuck with barn clean up though, since I was the youngest. They all claimed that they had to do it when they were the youngest, so it was settled.

I complained once to dad about it, and I will always remember what he said, If you have tender feet in life, then things will hurt you. When you struggle, overcome, and keep going. It is then; you earn your iron boots. You can tread on serpent’s heads with those and not be hurt. Always conquer as you go, son. He showed me his steel-toed boots, and I was impressed. Therefore, I conquered the horse stable as well as my dislikes, one at a time.

That was good advice but I still secretly hoped mom would have a baby so that I would no longer be the youngest. Because of this, I learned at an early age not to be quick to judge other people’s decisions, even when they have a negative effect. I still have to brag on my mother, though, as great as Dad was. She was always there for us kids, waiting for us to come in from being dropped off by the school bus at the end of the driveway. She took a personal interest in each one of us, and gives us good motherly hugs and kisses when we came through the door.

Welcome home, Benjie. I love you, and just how was your day? she would always ask me as she hugged me. I think she did that each day to be sure each one of us were okay. Dad was different, as dads are different from moms. He was always busy with work. The ranch was time consuming, and usually wore him down by the end of day. He loved us, but his life’s duties kept him somewhat away from being really as close as Mom is.  

It was different after Mom went to heaven. I became rebellious in my heart, but not so much in actions. I kept asking myself why God had taken away my mother and home. I kept that deep inside, while all the time hoping to be free from the gives and takes of what Dad called the establishment. That is probably why I later became a psychiatrist. Right, that made me part of the establishment that I once hated. Figure that! It was shortly after Mom died that I started having dizzy spells. Dad took me to the doctor but the doctor said there was nothing medically wrong with me. I found out later in life why I had those dizzy spells.  

It turned out that the homeowner’s insurance we had didn’t pay for replacing the home destroyed by a natural disaster, and we only got a portion of what the house was actually worth. To make a long story short, Dad ended up giving up the ranch, and we had to move to the city so Dad could find a job. We ended up in a rather small three-room apartment in a nearby town. The town, I hated because I missed the ranch, my friends and especially Mom. Dad struggled to get a job that paid a living wage in that small town. He did have his government checks still coming in, but they always seemed like they just were not ever quite enough.

The Lord blessed me with a good mind and at seventeen; I won a full academic scholarship to the Texas State University upon my high school graduation. I went there and did well, the top of the academic ladder so to speak. At that time, Dad somewhat just drifted away, and I lost track of him. I think he had some sort of government job that he seemed rather secretive about, and that took him out of state often. He never wrote or called. His phone number eventually became disconnected. I missed that since he used to call once in a while to check on me. That stopped after my college graduation, and I have been sort of like an orphan afterwards. Ken, my closest brother, was crushed to death in a tragic car accident by a speeding drunk driver shortly before my college graduation. I felt rebellious against God for letting this happen. His funeral was the last that my family was together in one place from then on out. My brother John and sister seemed tied up with their own individual new families. They had children, and moved away. They failed to call except on occasional holidays. I did my best to keep in touch with them, but it just was not the same as it was before college. Sometimes I felt like a lost orphan in this regard, and I struggled with self-doubt because of it. Why did God permit all this to come into my life? Why were my mother and brother taken away? I learned to put this in the back of my mind and to overcome by achievement. Overcoming in a struggling situation, and having some sort of victory, encouraged me to never give up. Someday, I felt, I may just earn those iron boots dad used to talk about.  

I had studied pre-med and chemistry, and hoped to go into the medical field, but the Lord had other plans for me. Though there were schools wanting me to enroll, I got a job in a pharmacy upon graduation from college, waiting for the next step of going into medical school. I made what I thought at the time to be excellent money in this employment, surprisingly. Since I did not have any real expenses, I decided to stay with the pharmacy job on a temporary basis, probably for a year. By then, I had it figured; I would be more financially able to bear the expense of a medical education along with other things that I needed, like a new car.

Now a new phase of my life started. Denise was the young, vibrant woman of my dreams, and she just happened along as a customer who was picking up a prescription at the pharmacy for her father one day. I looked up from my table of prescriptions that were to be filled and saw her standing and waiting at the customer counter. There were no other employees available, being lunchtime. The only other employee was working at the drive through window and had cars backed around the building. Therefore, I stopped what I was doing and went over to wait on this shy and beautiful young woman. She had dark, thick hair, bright beautiful, round brown eyes, a nice smile with dimples included. Her teeth looked like shining pearls. She was small in stature, but very shapely and overall beautifully attractive, well dressed with a cheery brightly colored flowery blouse, and a knee length business like blue skirt.  Another young lady walked by, stopped at the counter, and simply stood there.  

Can I help you? I asked her with a big smile.

Well, I don’t know, can you? My momma always told us to say, ‘May I, not can I’ She replied with a shy smile that stole my heart.

I was floored by being corrected by a young woman who probably did not have a high school education, and me a budding doctor!

Do you always do what your momma says? I asked.

Well, yes. Momma knows best. I learned that a long time ago. You apparently didn’t learn that, sir.

Sorry, you are right, but I did learn from my mother, just the same. My mother died when a tornado destroyed our house. I wish none of that ever happened.

The other female customer who was waiting behind this one in front of me looked up, smiled and walked out of the pharmacy. I wondered if she got tired of waiting and had gotten upset. It didn’t matter now, she was gone.

Oh, I’m really sorry to hear that. I guess I need to be more thankful for both my parents being still with me.

"Do you still live with your parents?’

Why yes, Daddy says it’s only proper, being I’m still not twenty one yet.

Well, just how old are you? You look to be about fifteen or sixteen to me, and you are so little!

Here, Baby Blue-eyes, she said pulling out her billfold from her purse strapped to her shoulder. After looking in her billfold first, then fumbling through what looked like a purse stuffed full of clutter, she pulled out her driver’s license from it. See. She said handing me her card. She was clearly nineteen years old, just two years younger than I was.

Well, may I help you then, Miss Beckworth? I asked handing the driver’s license back to her.

"Yes, my daddy needs me to pick up his blood pressure pills today. They should be ready. He runs a business and is busy, so he needs me to pick them up for him.

Al-righty, what’s his name and date of birth?

John J. Beck worth and the dates are ten, eight, and twenty. Oh, I forget the year of his birth! I remember his birth days because they are exactly one month before mine.

Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. I have enough info that I can find it. Give me a second. I scanned through the October birth dates looking for a John J. It did not take me very long to find it, and the prescription had been already filled the day before. I have it! I’ll be right back. I hurried over to the prescription-filled bags that were hanging on a clip. I found his, pulled it and hurried back to my now favorite customer.

Just a second, please. I’ll ring it up for you. I began to think of ways of delaying the completion of the transaction so she would not have to leave. I got nervous thinking about it, and dropped the prescription, then the paper work, then the prescription, again. Oh sorry, I am so clumsy.

Oh you aren’t clumsy, you are nervous aren’t you, Blue Eyes? You are full of boo-boo’s. I can tell. It’s them baby blue eyes that are the problem.

Well, no... I’m not clumsy. I stood back up and looked her in her gorgeous face. I mean, Well, yes. My face must have turned beet red.

What in ever for? She was so innocent looking.

I began to stammer, and grasp for words, desperately trying to think of the right thing to say. Then, I decided just to say what I wanted to say, no matter how she took it.

I want to ask you out, you know on a date. Would that be okay? You are not seeing another person are you? I do not see any kind on ring on any of your fingers. What do you think? I blurted out, and thinking afterwards how stupid, it must have sounded.

She stood there expressionless for a moment, thinking about what I had just said. Then, a big smile came across her face. Yes why yes, that would be great! I get so lonely sometimes; I think that no one cares, but Jesus.

Jesus?

Yes, Jesus. You know Him don’t you?

Well, I heard of Him. He lived a long time ago did He not? I mean I have been to church and all... I actually do know a little about him from what I’ve picked up. I faked ignorance in the hopes of starting a longer conversation.

You must come and meet Mom and Dad when you get off of work, and we will all go to the revival meeting we are having at church tonight, at seven o’clock, okay Blue-eyes? I realized then, that she had endeared me with a nickname. I accepted the fact that she was religious. It was what kind of girl she was, so that was fine; I had no problem with that.

I was uncertain as to what to say to what she just proposed. I had not anticipated meeting family, and some sort of church meeting on top of that. It was rather too complicated sounding, and much too fast. I really did not want to go to the church meeting. She smiled and held out her hand with a slip of paper in it. It was her phone number. I took the piece of paper, and finished ringing her up through the register. His prescription was free due to his insurance, but I gave her the receipt just the same.

Call me when you get off, and I’ll see you at the house. She said with a beautiful smile before she turned and walked away. What a sweet young woman! Hmm, John J. Beckworth was a familiar name, for some reason. I thought about it for a while and wondered if He was not the big construction contractor who was in charge of doing all the local highway construction for the state, and was well established. If it was the same man, this person was a billionaire. Now I was nervous. He was an important man, and I was just a clerk in a drug store.  Later, I actually overcame this fear when I realized that all people are important in their own way. It’s a best policy, I concluded not to pre-judge anyone because I didn’t know them, their lives, and why they have made their decisions in life, good or bad, important or not. It seemed to me that some people are not given much of a chance in life, like Mr. Beckworth. He was a self-made billionaire, and surely had to struggle to get where he was. Therefore, I was okay with seeing what this young woman had in mind for the evening.

Okay, I will, Little Princess! I yelled as she went out the front door. She had given me a pet name, so I had made up one for her. That only seemed right.

Shortly, after I got home from work, I decided to call the number. I would be stupid not to. I was not sure of what to say, but I did want to see this bright young woman again, so I forced myself to call. I felt badly about not wanting to go to her church meeting for some reason, but I decided not to think about it for now. I would see if I liked it when I got there, but what if I did not like it. There was only one way to find out.

It however changed my life. I got together with her parents in their very large house, and we were instantly family. John J. and his wife Martha were wonderful people. John J. was in his early fifties, tall and somewhat chunky, and his wife was pleasant, late forties, short and a little overweight. They took me to the revival meeting and that changed my life. I was gloriously saved by the grace of God that evening. The gospel message was clear to me, and the conviction of the Holy Spirit urged me to Christ. I repented of my sins and confessed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior by faith, that very night, and my life went in a new direction from then on. The new life was a far better life, at least temporarily! Just months later, I married Denise in that same church, and I changed my major to theology and psychology. I continued to work at the pharmacy part time, but Mr. Beckworth somewhat looked after us financially until I finished my dual doctorate degrees. It was tough handling a job, a massive load of studies and family life. Sometimes it seemed to be just too much. Amazingly, by the time I was twenty-eight I had my two doctor’s degrees, a full professorship at the university and a clinic of psychiatry. I felt that I was a success in life, at that time.

Denise and I had many happy years together, having twins, Angela and little Benjie, Jr.  We lost one, a girl, in childbirth, a year later. We named her, Hannah. One of the saddest days of my life was when we stood in front of that little casket to see her laid to rest.

Someday, we will see our little girl, again, in a happier time. Denise wept as we left the cemetery.

Someday, I said with sadness and turmoil in my heart. The things that happen in life are quite often hard to understand.

Denise and I loved our kids, and took them places. A good marriage is like watching a beautiful sunrise; it gets more glorious in anticipation. The children especially enjoyed the park. Denise was an old fashioned, stay at home mom, just like my mom was. This was probably due to her Amish background. Denise taught little Angie to sew and make her own clothes along with how to cook. Her Amish grandparents had been close to her while growing up and she was taught to cook and sew.

Anyone who learns how to bake bread will never go hungry, Denise would occasionally say with a new batch of fresh bread.

I took the time to teach my boy how to be a boy. Hunting, fishing, and playing baseball filled our free time together, which he willingly liked. We were careful not to force things on our children. Force produces rejection and rebellion. We enjoyed going to the ball games as a family, and praising Angie’s clothing creations as she made them. Their teenage years were a challenge. Benjy became strongly stubborn, which was a problem that was handled with patience and loving discipline. Angie became more introverted, which was a challenge that we overcame by getting her involved in events, sports, and church clubs.

When the children were in their late teens, Denise got sick from the new unknown, unnamed disease shortly after that awful asteroid struck the earth, contaminating the atmosphere. Her immune system wasn’t strong enough to resist the on-going and ever worsening sickness. It was really sad to see what the disease did to her. It took away our everything. The disease stole away her beautiful teeth that looked like pearls. Her shape was gone when her weight went down to below a hundred pounds. Her beautiful thick, dark hair thinned and fell out. However, I still loved her, because she was still her own precious self-inside. She would look in the mirror and cry. Comforting words helped little.

The Lord is going to win this thing for me, I know, she said. We are victors in Christ. The words brought tears to her eyes, and some of the family had to leave the hospital room at that point. It was just too heavy.

Oh Baby Blue Eyes, I saw a doctor early this morning, whom I’ve never seen before, a Doctor Markus. He gave me this piece of paper to give to you. He said that you were to hang on to it until you knew what it meant, and then he left. I don’t know what it is or what it means. It’s just a bunch of numbers. But he insisted that I give it to you and that you keep it because it’s important.

I took the small, folded paper from her hands and looked at it. It was nothing but a series of numbers. I folded it twice and put it in my wallet for safekeeping. I kept it in my wallets for years, actually. It was what she wanted me to do, so I did it out of love for her as a memory. Little did I realize that someday, years later, it would save my life. The Lord then took her home to glory right after she said that. I know I will meet her again. I have the hope that I will see her. I miss her so!  This was the real beginning of sorrows in my life and my world. That same year, both my children moved out from home, I was forty-six. They both had full academic scholarships and were able to take care of themselves. Angie married, and moved out of state with her new husband. Benjie went into medicine. I once again was alone, and the sorrow of Why dwelled on me occasionally. Now I will tell you how I got here and am speaking with you today.  

It was a scary, disturbing time that came upon us that I am going to relate to you, like a different world. As I have mentioned before, the world changing started with a catastrophic event of a large asteroid hitting the United States. It had the energy of twenty-two atomic bombs. Yes, it was an asteroid three times the size of Mount Everest! Let me tell you briefly, about what happened.

Well, this massive asteroid, named 12P Pons-Brooks, entered the earth’s atmosphere, and everyone watched it come down. It crashed into the mainland of the United States with a deafening thunder that threw dirt and dust miles into the sky. The event was broadcast all over the world. What a shocking sight that was! It had crashed into the Yellowstone National Park area, almost dead on what had been called, Old Faithful. Old Faithful was gone, and