She drew a breath before replying. “Who has time booked? Is it us, or Fujitsu, or whoever?”
“Fujiyama,” he corrected. “And we do. That whole group flew back to Japan a few days ago. They let us know before they left so we could take it out whenever we wanted. Ben Stephens and some of the tropics guys are sailing it up to Queensland starting tomorrow.”
“Rodney, this is very important. I’m coming back from the A-C-T with some important photos. When you and the bosses see them, I guarantee they will want to give me time with the boat, okay?”
“Sure, Dez, whatever you say.” He did not sound convinced, and she couldn’t take the chance he would ignore her.
“Screw it. I’ll text them to you. I have pictures of all kinds of extinct animals that I saw while I was out in the bush. Show them around, then tell me if anyone has a more important role for a naturalist to play than saving these things.”
“I’ll look for them, Dez, but I can’t make any guarantees.”
She sent him a picture of the Demon Duck of Doom.
“Crikey!” he said a few seconds later.
Her ego swelled for a moment when she heard his reaction, but she remembered the photo was necessary as a way to get his attention, not make herself look better. Before she could say anything more, however, the train jerked and began braking. She had to set the phone in her lap and hold onto the armrest to keep from hitting the seat in front of her.
The grind of metal on metal announced their unplanned stop.
“I’ll call you back,” she said to Rodney as she looked outside into the black of night. “Something is wrong.”
West Wendover, Nevada
Buck and Connie listened to the news as they finished getting ready for the day. They tidied up the small amount of gear they had brought in, stowed Mac’s food and travel dish, and moved around each other like a well-oiled machine.
“You would think we clear out of motels all the time,” he said to her after they had most things organized by the door, including the rifle.
She smiled and chuckled but didn’t reply.
“Do you mind if we skip the convenience store? I want to start logging some miles today. We can pick up what you need when we get to the next truck stop. Those places have everything.” He eyed her dress innocently. “Except stylish clothing for women. I’m not sure where you’ll need to go for that, but I do have some shirts you could borrow.” He waggled his eyebrows and pointed at his Hawaiian shirt.
She exaggerated a frown. “I’ll wear the same dress for a week before I wear one of those. I’ll find something better, but,” she paused for effect, “I won’t let it delay us getting back to Garth.”
“I didn’t think you would. But you can’t beat these shirts,” he remarked. “Nice pocket on the chest. Hangs down over your pistol to keep it hidden.” He patted his hip where his PX4 Storm Subcompact was ready for action. There was no way to see its imprint under his gaudy, low-hanging shirt.
“If I get a pistol, I’ll think about it.” She traced a finger over her hip as if to show how her knee-length dress hugged her body. There was no way to conceal a weapon under it. At least, that was the message he took away from the gesture.
“That’ll work,” he replied.
She brightened. “I would like a toothbrush at some point along the way. I used some of your little bottle of mouthwash. I hope you don’t mind?”
The whiteness of her teeth suggested she took care of them.
“What’s mine is yours, as they say, although I’m running light, too. We’ll both need to stock up at the truck stop.”
Connie grabbed the rifle and made as if to put it over her shoulder, but they both turned to the television when someone mentioned an attack.
“Turn it up,” she suggested.
They’d left the TV on while they packed to keep tabs on what was happening, but nothing had caught their ears or eyes until now.
“Reporters on the ground suggest a protester tried to get inside the SNAKE campus. The Air Force shot him for no reason.”
“The military doesn’t do anything for no reason,” Buck commented, standing too close to the screen.
“Your backside makes a delightful wall but a crappy window.”
Buck slid to the left so she had a clear view.
“Tensions are high here in Red Mesa, but no one in the SNAKE facility has come out to comment on the attack, nor have they said a word about any of the other rumors about what they do in there. Some people have said…”
He turned to her, suddenly overburdened by the heavy weight on his heart. “Everything that has happened the last two days has been wildly unpredictable. I hope we’ve seen the worst of it, but I don’t think it’s likely. Did I make a mistake telling Garth to go back home? Would you have told your son to stay at home, or would you want him to come to you? ‘Meet in the middle’ kind of thing.”
“You didn’t make a mistake,” she said right away. “Stay home. Stay safe. That’s good Mama Grizzly advice.”
What if nowhere is safe?
He looked at the screen again, and had a sudden strange feeling that the research facility was filled with evil geniuses trying to destroy his world. Suddenly he understood why the protesters had gone there, although he could never condone going full-on idiot and attacking the place like the terrorist jackass they shot.
“Fair enough,” he said as he clicked off the TV. “Let’s go talk to our convoy friends and then get out of here.”
“And let’s avoid any motorcyclists in the parking lot,” she teased.
“Those guys. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be together, but then again, if we run across them again…” He didn’t finish the thought.
He shared her laughter but checked through the peephole before he went out the door, nonetheless.
It was time to get back into sheepdog mode.
Three
Lewes, Delaware
Garth had no idea how to wake up a girl from 1849. Maybe he needed a rooster or a mooing cow. Both sound files could probably be downloaded to his phone if he cared to dig for them.
“Lydia,” he said in a soft voice, opting to stick with the traditional wake-up method.
“Hi, Garth.” She yawned. “What time is it?” She looked at the darkened shades. “It feels like midnight.”
“It says it right there on the clock.” He pointed to the red digits on the motel’s alarm clock.
She read what she saw. “Nine, zero, nine?”
“Nine minutes after nine,” he said in a helpful voice.
“Wow. Those numbers are so colorful. How do they change?”
He had no idea how to explain the workings of a digital clock.
“I don’t know.” He laughed. “I’ve used this type of clock my whole life, but I’ve never seen inside one.”
“Amazing,” she exclaimed. Lydia strained to see through the drapes, but they were solid save for a thin line of illumination down the middle. “And it is still dark at this hour in your time? I should have been up at sunrise.”
There was no way to resist showing her, so he walked over to the shades and pulled them apart like a circus showman. “I give you…daytime!”
She recoiled at the bright light and shielded her eyes. “Oh, my word!”
“I told you,” he pressed before remembering to be nice. He pulled the drapes almost all the way closed again to give her a chance to build up to it.
“Your world is beyond my wildest dreams. Your car. Your living quarters. Amazing.”
“I wish I could show you my real house. This is just a sleazeball motel, probably not even one-star rated. And the car is nothing, too. You should see some of the hotrods my dad has brought home over the years. My favorite is the Mustang.”
That captured her interest. “You have horses?”
He snickered. “We have Mustangs, Chargers, Broncos, and I think there are cars named after Colts.”
“Wonderful! Horses are important in keeping our wago
n train going. I’d see hundreds of them every day.”
He let her off easy. “Well, these aren’t real horses. They’re the names of cars, except ‘Bronco’ is the name of a truck.”
“Truck?”
“You saw lots of them yesterday. They are like cars, but look a little different. You might see them more as wagons because they have open back ends where you can store stuff.” He wasn’t sure if she would catch on, but she didn’t ask for more. It was unclear if that meant she understood what he was saying, or she was too shy to ask for clarification.
She hopped out of bed wearing only her undergarments, but she showed no shame in the act. She boldly walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
Wow. What was that?
She came out a minute later wearing her mud-stained pioneer dress.
“Ready,” she declared.
His shirt and jeans were also stained by the mud from the previous day, so he had no room to complain. “I guess I’m ready, too,” he said. “Let’s go eat, then we’ll leave.”
They had no gear other than the lone rifle case. He had made a big deal of bringing it in after it was dark outside so no one would see what it was. Dad often made a big deal about how it was dangerous to transport firearms in states with strict gun laws. He said crossing from one state to another could make you an instant criminal, depending on the laws of the new state.
However, Garth had no idea if Delaware was better or worse than New York and New Jersey, so he assumed it was worse. That was how Dad would play it.
He left the gun case in the room while he and Lydia went to the motel lobby for breakfast.
“I’m sorry this won’t be very impressive, but it will be enough to fuel us up for the day and get us back to my house. They’ll probably have a few types of cereal and some milk.”
Lydia practically drooled when she saw the spread.
“Bread. Eggs. Bacon? This is just like home.” She pointed at all the foods and beverages. “But we never had this much. We can eat as much as we want?”
He smiled and nodded.
Instead of grabbing a plate and loading up, she walked over to the tray of eggs and used the scooper to serve herself a huge mouthful.
“Whoa!”
He ran over before she managed to stick it back in for a second helping.
“You can’t do it that way,” he said in a low voice to keep from being noticed by the smattering of other diners.
“Are you sure?” she asked with surprise. “It seems so simple.”
Garth grabbed the scooper and was going to set it on the counter, but he ended up tossing it in a small sink.
Lydia scowled. “I wasn’t done!”
“No. You aren’t done. I had to do that so no one would eat from it. They’ll get your germs if they put it in their mouth after you’ve used it.”
“Germs?”
“Hmm. That’s going to be a tough one to explain. Remember how I told you yesterday that radiation was like little fires in each drop of water? Well, germs are like tiny crocodiles that swim around in drops of water. They also swim around in our mouths and all over our bodies.”
She spat on the floor. “Eww. Disgusting! In my mouth?”
There were so many things he took on faith, such as germs being bad, but he had little understanding of how they worked. She’d have to take it on faith like he did.
“You’ll have to trust me,” he whispered. “Lydia, let me get your food, okay? We don’t want to cause a scene.” He didn’t think it was too big a risk. There were only a couple other travelers in the eating area, and none of them seemed put out that she’d hocked a loogy onto the tiles. In any other scenario, that lack of concern for hygiene in an eatery would shock him, but not this time. He was glad to be ignored.
By the time he had her in a seat with a big plate of everything the motel kitchen had to offer, she seemed content.
“This is a feast fit for a king,” she commented before praying over her food.
“Amen,” he said when she finished the short verse.
Lydia used her fork to dig into the eggs and bacon, but something else needed to be said. “And I pray we and my dad all make it to our house.”
She stopped eating and looked at him with her sparkly green eyes. “Amen, Garth. When we meet up with your father, do you think he will be able to help me find my way home?”
Just let me find a time machine, then sure, he thought.
He pretended to consider it before replying. “My dad is pretty clever. He’s traveled all over the United States. If there is one person on Earth who knows how to get you back home, I’d be willing to bet on my dad.”
West Wendover, Nevada
Buck called the members of his convoy together and had them meet in front of his truck. While he waited for everyone to arrive, he checked again to make sure there was no damage from hitting Connie’s VW bug yesterday. On the front, there were deep scratches and streaks of yellow paint, but nothing serious. He made his way underneath.
“Looks like you had an incident,” Sparky suggested when he walked up and saw Buck lying halfway under the frame.
“You wouldn’t believe me,” he called back out. “Yesterday was the most stressful day of driving I’ve ever done.”
“Me, too,” Sparky responded.
Buck was about to slide out when someone walked over his stomach.
“Son of a...” he bellowed, almost banging his head as he lurched upright.
The culprit had four legs.
“Mac! Come on!”
“Sorry,” Connie laughed. “I gave him too much leash.”
He slid out to her smiling face and immediately realized she’d found it hilarious.
“Uh huh,” he said dryly while brushing himself off.
“We’re all here,” Eve interjected with mirth in her voice.
Buck stood and looked over the loose collaboration they’d put together. Sparky and Eve were nearest. Monsignor and Beans stood behind them. Mac sat next to Connie with what he imagined was a shit-eating grin.
He took it all in stride because it was funny—after the fact.
“Cool shirt,” Sparky added politely.
“Thanks, guys. The news is consumed with that place in Colorado, but we don’t have to worry about it because we aren’t going to touch that state.”
“Out here, we only have to worry about escaped prisoners and flooding,” Monsignor replied.
“They didn’t catch them yet?” Eve shuddered.
“Even if they didn’t,” Buck replied, “the point of being in a convoy is that we don’t have to be frightened by one or two bad guys. I promise you, if anyone has thoughts about attacking one of us, they are going to run for the hills when they see five of us in a line. Convoys work, people.”
“And the flooding?” Beans asked.
All eyes went to Monsignor because he’d brought it up.
“Well, they said Salt Lake has been filling with water due to heavier than normal rainstorms the past couple of days. I guess it can become a hazard to driving, because the highway planners never anticipated the lake would add water again. It has been drying up for thousands of years.”
Buck was impressed.
Monsignor went on, “That’s what they said on the telly. I’m just repeating what they said.”
“But the highway is open?” Buck asked.
“They never said anything about the interstate,” Monsignor answered.
“Good,” Buck said with relief. “Then let’s get the hell out of here. If things go well and none of you need anything, I don’t plan on stopping until Little America, Wyoming. I’ll fuel up when we get there, but we also need to go in and buy some supplies.” He pointed at Connie.
Eve interrupted before they could break away and go to their trucks. “Hey, before we go... Does anyone know what that red light was last night? They weren’t giving any answers on the television.”
She looked squarely at Buck, and the mantle of leadership hung heav
y on his shoulders. Keeping his people informed about what was happening fell to him, although he had the same amount of information access as everyone else.
“I don’t know,” he began, “but I can tell you almost for certain what the blue light did. It affected the sky, so storms got worse and weather became unpredictable. It brought things back from the past, like missing planes and stuff like that. It also brought people forward in time, like my friend Connie here. She is from seventeen years in our past, but I’ve seen even older things, like a Model-T Ford I’m pretty sure was mint. The weird light broke time, if you ask me.”
He had her attention.
“It is too early to say what’s going on with the red blast last night,” he went on. “I’m cautiously optimistic that it rolled back the effects of the blue light. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Eve flashed a frail smile. Her questions suggested she wasn’t convinced about being in his convoy and pressing forward with her delivery. He’d have to treat her delicately to keep her from taking off.
“We’ll follow you, boss,” Sparky chimed in.
He stood there for a moment, appreciative of his good fortune in having found them. “Guys, you don’t know how much it means to have you watch my back. I feel like we can do anything with the right people guarding our six, you know?”
“We feel the same way,” Eve replied. “I’m happy you know what you’re doing.”
He laughed because he didn’t know anything, not really. There was no way to know how to act during a time-crashing emergency like this one. He fumbled through it as best he could like everyone else. The only difference between him and them was that he knew he had no idea what was going on. They thought that because he was in charge, he had the answers.
I guess it’s always been that way.
“Nice and easy, guys. We get on the 80, cross the salt flats, go past the lake, punch through Salt Lake City, and then we’re in the mountains again. Once we pass the city, we should be clear of the threats created by people. That’s when we have to really pay attention.”
He didn’t want to frighten them any more than necessary, but he didn’t want them to blindly follow him without also paying attention to their own safety.
End Days Series Box Set [Books 1-4] Page 49