It was late the next day, when the caravan moved through the college town. The community college and the lake was supposed to be on the far side of town. The town was like most that they had traveled through, rotting away and deserted. So many of the towns in west Texas were old and dying before the big event happened. They were already barely surviving on travelers, construction and pipeline workers that stayed through big projects. As the map promised, there was the lake. It was maybe at least half full, a long line of calm and surprisingly clear water flowing down the center. It looked so welcoming to the hot and weary road warriors. They pulled up and immediately unharnessed the horses and let them drink.
Cody said, “Listen, we can't pass up this opportunity for a bath. Tell you what, we men promise not to look. You women go down to that east end and we will go down to the west end. We will give a warning when we are getting out.” The women agreed and Ashley pulled out the not sufficient but better than nothing, thin towels. The horses grazed near the edge of the lake. Bull danced around in the muddy wide shore line, following the women. With one last look to see that the men had their backs to them, they removed their clothes and eased into the cool water. It was such a treat, they were soon all laughing and splashing. The men on the opposite end were just pale figures of nakedness.
The women were lounging, only their heads and shoulders peeping above the water and saying they needed to get out of the water and make camp but not wanting to. The shepard had dog paddled around them for a while and was out at the edge and shaking as hard as he could, water spraying around him in an arc. Then there was that high pitched yelping alarm from him and Pat turned to see a long dark snake slinking into the lake. “SNAKE!” she yelled. The three women exited the water and were holding up the thin square towels to cover themselves. In an instant three naked men with pistols stood on the shore. The women sort of squinted their eyes and scuttled away towards the cover of the wagon and clothes. Bull still barking frantically, they fired a barrage of shots at a slithering line moving across the lake. They didn't know whether they got it or not.
The women having covered themselves and with damp clothes clinging to them, made a show of turning away and letting the men get their clothes. Shawna giggled and said, “Don't peek, Pat.”
Pat's face turned bright red and she stammered, “I wasn't peeking.”
They all three fell into that hysterical laughter that sometimes attacks you, when you are uncomfortable or very tired. Cody said, “Damn, we ain't that ugly, are we?” Then they all six laughed and the mood for the evening was set.
They filled everything they could with water and that evening Pat was talking to everyone, but s not to Sarge. She was still watching him though. Maybe not as much with suspicion, as with the memory of earlier swimming glimpses. They agreed they would check out the community college facility before they left the town the next day.
At first the college complex did not hold any big surprises. Ruin and rot was taking over. In one area, a sad collection of skeletons littered a large room with fading hints that some had tried to survive there. Human skeletons were so common on the landscape and in the eroding buildings that survivors gave them not much notice any longer. There was no food of any sort in the cafeteria stores or anywhere. One soda vending machine was intact but when they broke into it, the cans of soda were just plain nasty. In a large lab type room, they found a cabinet with dozens of small drawers and in these drawers were thousands of seeds. They had no idea if any of these seeds would possibly grow but they found small glass containers with lids and filled about two dozen of them, labeling them...green beans, peas, squash, corn, etc. It was worth a chance.
In a room that was evidently a coat closet at one time, they found rain gear and rubber boots, probably used in the fields. The best find was coats. As they had moved farther along and the summer months were going by, Cody had become concerned about them getting caught in winter weather and not having protective clothing. Some the jackets had heavy pile or quilted linings. They each found a coat that fit them closely, if not perfect. In some of the pockets and scattered on the floor, they found gloves. He was relieved to have some winter wear.
At the time of the world change, there had been much emphasis on alternative energies. Wind and solar power and all kinds of alternative fuels were being experimented with. In a lab, a refrigerator stood and when Cody reluctantly opened it, the light came on. “I'll be darned, look...the refrigerator has been running.” It wasn't cold but it was cool. It was filled with medicines that were evidently for animals. They must have had a veterinarian school. The others looked at the vintage appliance with wonder. Something, solar or a wind generator was still making the refrigerator come on at least on occasion. Of course, the medicines were likely completely useless, they took them anyway. They also found what looked like a fish farm. The waters were evaporated and the scum was horrid. If it had not been enclosed under a dome, the birds would have probably ate what had become hundreds of fish skeletons. Some of the medicines in the frig had been fish antibiotics. Cody remembered that Beth swore that fish antibiotics were the same as human. They took those, too.
They were pleased that they took the time to check out the college, but they had spent more time than they intended there. David looked down a long hall, an exit was heavily secured and on one side of the hall was a door. The friends decided to look in the one last room and be on their way. At the door, they realized it was also secured, a hazard sign was on the door and big letters read, NO ENTRY—EXPERIMENTAL LAB. Shawna said, “Okay then, let's go.”
David didn't move. He was intensely curious. What kind of experiments? Plant...animal, maybe genetics or disease or.... He remembered a TV program he has seen as a teen, before the event. A program about military experiments in remote locations that were dealing with chemical weapons, weather manipulation and spreading disease through animals or ticks. “I am going in there,” he said.
Shawna said in a high pitched voice, “Why! You don't need to go in there, David. God knows what is in there. C'mon, lets get out of here.”
Suddenly the whole place felt creepy and the friends began to look around them nervously. David was determined. He walked back to a room they had just come from and brought back a hammer he had noticed. He started pounding on the bar that was down and locked across the door. He finally said, “Stand back,” to the others. He stepped back and shot at the door knob and lock. The door swung back.
The room looked like a typical lab. There were microscopes on long stainless steel tables, notebooks and file cabinets, computers and other unrecognizable equipment. Vials were lined up in holders and some were broken. You could tell that things had been spilled but any remains were dried up. And along one long wall, cages. David said, “Don't touch anything.” He walked to one of the cages and it was empty. The next one had a small pile of bones in the corner. The next one had a nearly intact skeleton of an animal. David peered in, what kind of animal? He said to Cody, “Come here, what kind of animal do you think this was?”
Cody looked in the cage. “I don't know, some kind of mammal. Maybe a raccoon or a small dog?”
David studied the skeleton for a minute. “No, look at the skull. It's weird, nearly like a beak and big eye sockets. The legs are real short and the body is kind of long. I have seen raccoon and dog skeletons, they are not like this.” There were about ten other cages. Some empty, some more normal looking bones and some more strange ones. The worst one, what seemed to be the skeleton of a monkey, the long finger bones locked around the bars.
“Okay, I am not s---ting you now...I've had enough. I am outta here,” said Pat. The others mumbled agreement. When David reached the last cage, he saw around the corner that a heavy back door was standing ajar. In the opening and on the floor, two human skeletons. One of the bony hands had a broken vial in it's grasp. David was then spooked and started backing up.
He said, “Let's go, back out the way we came. Let's get out of here.”
Th
e six travelers quickly gathered up their found treasures and exited the college building. At the wagon, after the new supplies were loaded, Shawna looked at David. “What do you think all of that was about?”
David said, “I sure as hell don't know. It appeared to be some experiments with animals for one thing. I just think those skeletons were not like anything we have ever seen. Maybe there were tryng to clone...I am baffled.”
Sarge, who had been pretty quiet, said, “Look, if any scientists in the world were doing experiments, then you know we were doing them. We might have claimed that it was in our own defense and that motive might have been true. Problem is, when you start messing with dangerous things, screwing around with nature, things don't always stay under control....know what I mean?”
They were all shaking their heads. Cody said, “You think that something like this could have anything to do with what happened to the world?”
David said, “Probably not. There was plenty of disease but it did not seem to be the cause of the disaster, more the after effects. We have been hunting and scouting around in those deep east Texas woods for years. I have never seen anything other than the forest animals that were always around.”
Ashley said, “We already have seen that animals, like the mountain lion have moved into new territories. Who knows what might have been being experimented with and what was being developed in the world.”
“I have also read that species like dogs, coyotes, wolves do breed. Those are canine breeds, though. Thing is...the only way really different species would mix is with artificial means. That skeleton in there was definitely a mystery.” said David.
They all gave a shudder. Ashley said, “I am in favor of getting out of here and as far away as we can today.” She climbed up on the wagon seat and snapped the reins, the caravan left the college town. It would take four more days to reach Pat's small town and it would be the middle of August. The water remained scarce, they were glad they had found the lake, refilled and got a good bath. They had felt a moment of panic about the water in the lake, after finding the lab. David had settled them all down, “Think about it, there were no skeletons or dead animals around or in the water. I think the water was fine.” Close to four months out from Unity and closer still to the beginning of winter in the high country.
When they reached the very eastern side of Amarillo, where the loop takes you around the big city, the travelers left the long western road that they had been on for weeks. The now caravan of six were moving around the loop, hoping to avoid what could certainly be trouble in the city. They had just left the western road and took the old exit ramp to the loop. A huge gas station that had been a truck stop complete with showers and all kinds of food and souvenirs, even a restaurant, sprawled along the loop. Dozens of big rig trucks hunkered over the paving at various angles...they had been coming into the station, going out of it, filling up at the diesel gas pumps and parked to eat or take showers, etc.
A door of one of the rusting and faded rigs opened and an older man jumped down from the high seat. He was wearing a plaid shirt, jeans and boots, a cap perched on his long shaggy hair said Pet-rbil- on the front. “Where you folks headed?” said the voice. Cody saw several other doors open. There was obviously a truck compound here. That could sure be trouble. He and all of the others put their hands on their weapons.
“Just heading on north,” said Cody. “This your home? How long you people been here?”
The man grinned with a mouth that had random placed teeth. “Oh, I been here since the day the S—hit-the-fan. A few of the others, too. Course, some that were fueled up moved on down the road. Most of us had no place to go. Truck sleepers stay pretty warm during the winter. The food held up for a while.” He looked over at the store and cafe. “But then, we had to start going out and you know...borrowing things.”
“Yeah, I understand,” said Cody. “Well, we can't hang around. We're going further north this afternoon.” They started easing away. The man followed a little.
“Hey man, what cha' got in there? Got anything to share or maybe we could trade,” he said.
Cody dug around in the back of the wagon and came up with the bottle of vodka, about two thirds full. “Tell you what, bud. You just take this and go on back to your truck and we will go on ahead. We will part friends, deal?” “That's a deal, son.” He snatched the bottle from him and turned hurriedly towards the truck. Some of the other residents followed him.
The friends started moving out as fast as they could move along. David had moved into the seat of the wagon, Sarge and Cody were jogging along beside and the girls had their weapons ready. Sarge said, “We better keep a close watch for a while, they might want to come borrowing from us.” Everyone spoke agreement.
A mile or so away from the truck stop they finally slowed their pace. Cody was counting on that if Sarge could follow them so skillfully without being seen or heard, he would be able to detect someone following them. He asked Pat, “How are we doing Pat?”
She looked around at empty fields. “We are close. Our place was just before you get into the small town. It's around that corner, past the old water tank.” Pat stopped and stood at the road beside a mailbox that was hanging off of the post. Down a dirt trail sat a weathered gray house, a house that had once been a neat white frame house with a dark green roof. The shingles were turned up on the edges and some windows were broken out. The friends followed her down the trail, stopping in front of the house. Pat stepped up on the porch, the screen door dangled from it's hinges. She placed her hand on the porch post and looked around for a moment, more emotion clouding her face than the friends had seen since they met her. Then an aroma of food cooking drifted out through the door. Pat turned to the door and spoke with a catch in her voice, “Bubba, are you here...is that you?”
A figure emerged from the darkened depths of the house. A tall and very thin man with only one arm and scars on the side of his face, stood in the doorway. His hair was gray and his voice wasn't very strong, “Sis? Oh god...Pat”. He pushed the wobbly door open and she was sobbing and hugging him and patting him on the back. He looked out at the five strangers standing in the yard.
Pat said, “These are my friends, Cody, Ashley, David and Shawna,” she paused, “And this is Sarge.” They all nodded and Bull went dashing up on the porch to Pat. She smiled, “This is my brother. We just call him Bubba.”
The aroma drifted out again, “Oh, damn, I've got something on the cooker...ya'll come on in Sis.”
The friends walked in the dim front room of the house. It was a sad mess here. As the man hobbled away, it was obvious that he was barely taking care of himself, much less able to care for a house.
Even though Cody was very anxious to get back on the road, they stayed for a couple of days at Pat's old home. They helped her get the house in a little better shape, cleaned and organized. There were stories told. Bubba and Sarge spent a lot of time, sitting on the back porch and talking about the war experiences. Pat asked her brother, “How are you eating, how are you surviving?”
Her brother told her that a couple of cousins still survived and they helped him out with food. They were able to hunt a little and they had a garden. She looked at how thin he was, he wasn't getting much food, for sure.
The night before the friends were planning to head out, Cody talked with Pat. “You know, we could take Bubba with us. You could both go,” he said.
Pat gave him a really sad look, “That's more than kind of you, Cody. But, I don't think he could even make it from here to the road. He is weak and he is tired. I have to be here with him, to take care of him.”
Cody reached for her hand, “I knew that you would say that. You listen, I have drawn you a map to Beth and Jack's cabin. If your situation here changes, you come...you come. I know you can because you have already been many more miles than that. I am placing all my hope in being there with the others.” He said more quietly, “If we don't make it there, for some reason, you go there. Promise me Pa
t, will you?”
She squeezed his hand, “I promise.”
The morning came and another sad separation hung over the friends. Pat's brother was too ill and happy to see her, to even realize that she could travel on with her friends. The wagon was ready, they had been able to fill their water containers from an old well in the back of Pat's house. The hugs and goodbyes had been done. Sarge stood on the porch, leaning against the newly repaired post. Pat looked at him and stuffed her hands down in her pockets. Sarge grinned his wide and toothy smile.
He said, “Don't worry Pat, you don't have to give me a goodbye kiss. I am not going.”
She looked from her brother to the others to Sarge, “What do you mean you are not going? You can't stay here,” she was shaking her head, “No, no...you certainly cannot stay here.”
Sarge and Bubba exchanged a look, “Your brother and I still have things to talk about. He said that I could bunk out in that shed. I'll just stay around for a while, I think.”
Cody was climbing up in the wagon seat, Bull sprung right up beside him. Pat looked out and swallowed a lump in her throat. “Bull, come...now Bull.” The shepard was really pulled, he looked at Cody and at Pat and finally jumped down and went to her side.
Sarge walked out to the wagon and Cody got his rifle and .45 from the back of the wagon and handed them to the soldier. Of course, he could have taken them anytime he wanted and Cody knew it. They exchanged a few words that Pat couldn't hear. He shook hands with everyone and returned to the house. The three figures were frozen on the porch as the wagon pulled away. When Cody giddy-upped to the horses, Bull raced out and barked. He stood for a moment watching them roll away. As the wagon rocked along, all of the friends waved and watched until there was no sight of each other.
No Normal Day III (West) Page 10