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headborg

~~~The Days After~~~~

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Hi Aaron, is that you? She answers.

I usually call her later in the day but for some reason she knew it was me.

"Is anything weird going on that you know about?" I asked her.

"I've been at work, I haven't heard anything unusual, why?" She asks."But I wouldn't hear anything in the empty apartment anyway. But it has been unusually quiet around here this morning."

"I'm at work and this place is deserted. There were people here a little while ago but now everyone's gone." I tell her. "There should be someone here. The security guards at least. Something's wrong. I'm heading home. I'll call you again when I get there." I continue.

"Ok. I'll look around here on my way back to the apartment. Be careful." She says. "I will. I Love you." I reply. "I Love you too."

 

I hang up and go get in my car. I stop at the traffic light. I sit there for a few seconds, then I notice there's a car off the road in the ditch across the street. I get out of my car and go over to see if anyone's hurt. The car is wrecked pretty bad but there's no one inside. I look around to see if someone was thrown from the vehicle but I can't find anyone. Driving home I see more cars sitting in ditches, smashed into trees. They all still have their engines running but there's not a soul around. A few cars are tangled together in a wreck in the middle of the road. I have to drive into someone's front yard to get around them.

 

Lida goes from door to door in her building knocking on doors but no one answers any of them. She walks outside and looks up and down the street. A lot of cars are parked but there are no people walking around. Only a few dogs, cats and a pair of squirrels chasing each other up and down a large tree. She goes back inside and turns on the computer. She logs onto StarTrekFans.Net and goes to the chatroom. The few people in there were discussing the Romulans and who was the Room God right now.

She types in. "Anyone know anything about anything strange going on right now?" She waits and no one answers her. So she logs off and calls Aaron.

 

"Hello" He says.

"Hi, it's me.I went outside and around the building and there isn't anyone around. Is that what's going on there?" She asks.

"Yea." I answer. "There were cars all over the road and off the road. It's like everyone just disappeared. I haven't seen any people since I walked into the breakroom. You're the only person I've been able to get in touch with." I explain. She tells me about the chatroom on the site. We hang up and I log on to the site.

"Does anyone know what's going on?" I type.

"Wesley Crusher sucks." Someone types.

"What's do you mean what's going on?" Someone else asks. A few know what we're talking about. As the minutes tick by more and more members enter the chatroom.

Everyone's asking, "What's going on?"

No one knows.

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Friday Sept. 24, 2004

 

Yes, right now the dallas-ft. worth area is empty. Headborg is coming down here. He coming to find his sister. After we stock up on weaponry at Ft. Hood, we'll drive to Nasa down in Webster... Let's see if those astronauts are still there...

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24 September 2004 A.D.

Time: Eh... Noon-ish?

Place: The Monolith Tower, Rod SerlingVille City, California...

I sit here on the top of the tallest building of the metropolis I know rule.

I have managed to hack into the computer-systems that have been running the city... I now control this city, despite it having many tall buildings... It's rather quite small..

 

Being content of the territory I now dominate, I spend my time rewatching some monster-movie DVDs, and re-entering the chat room...

DrWho42 Salutations everyone. :lol:

Cleetus *SPAMS on relentlessly*

DrWho42 *sigh* :hug:

lastresort.jpg42.gif

Edited by drwho42

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Lida logs back onto the site and goes to the chatroom again. She types " Did you find out anything yet?" To Fenriz. "No nothing." I type. We type back and forth for nearly and hour. We decide to get off and look around some more. As the day goes on Lida tries to get the television to work, all she gets is snow on the screen on all the channels. On the radio nothing but static. She calls Aaron.

"I'm scared now.What should we do?" She asks me.

"I don't know Sweetie. Why don't we just try to go to sleep and maybe in the morning we'll know more." I tell her. "Alright, I'm exhausted anyway. Been walking around the neighborhood and driving around town all day. There is no one around." She says.

 

The following morning Lida wakes up just before dawn and gets up.

She calls me."Aaron, you know anything yet?" She says as soon as I answer.

I had nothing new to tell her. I could hear the fear in her voice.

"Sweetie?" I said to her. "How about we get together somehow? I mean, I know we've never actually met but if this goes on we may have to eventually.

"Where should we meet?" She asks.

"How about somewhere halfway?" I suggest.

"I'll look at a map." She says.

 

I wait for a few minutes at the other end of the phone.

"I can't find a ruler." I hear her yelling from across the room.

"Found it." Was the next thing I heard. I wait. She comes back on the phone.

"O.K., halfway, right? she asks me. I agree."Well, as close as I can tell, Lafayette, Indiana would be half way.Have you ever been there before?" She asks me.

"No I haven't." I answer. "But it looks like I'm going to. When should we leave? Now or in the morning?" I ask her.

"I think the morning would be best. I'm going to try and stock up on some supplies today." She answers.

"That's a good idea." I agree.

 

Lida spends the rest of the day preparing for the trip. She is all out of food and decides to take a ride out to the grocery. She pulls into the parking lot and parks, gets out of her car, and goes into the store. There is no one there but the doors are open. She grabs a cart and starts walking up and down the aisles, throwing whatever she wants into the cart.

"Mmm, nice greens." She thinks as she peruses the produce department.

"The lizards will love these." She fills the cart then zips out the door and piles them into the back of her car then goes back into the store.

"Fruit, got to get fruit.Again she begins to load up the cart. Then back out to the car. Now noticing that there isn't much room left she decides she'd better get some other stuff and now makes her third trip back into the store.

 

She now zips through meat, then dairy.

"Cheese, got to get cheese, love cheese, need cheese." She says as she walks the aisles talking to herself now, outloud. The cart now filled for the third time she goes back out to the car.

"OH MAN." she says as she tries stuffing everything in and rearranging things so it will all fit.

"I'm going to need a bigger vehicle." She says to herself. She manages to cram herself back into the tiny car and tries to find the stick shift under a pile of spinach and brocoli.she starts the car and drives home. Eyeballing every unoccupied vehicle she sees along the way.

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Once back home she goes in and calls Aaron.

"I got some food." She tells me.

"O.K, enough for the trip?" I ask.

"UM, Oh yea, I think there's enough." She says in a strange voice.

"I had to get some greens for the lizards too, they took up a lot of room in the car. I may borrow a car for the trip. What do you think?" She asked me. Lida hangs up after agreeing to go to sleep. I had no idea she would be out looking for a vehicle for the trip in the middle of the night.

 

Lida walks her neighborhood carrying a flashlight. The street-lights weren't on so the only light was from the full moon and her flashlight. She approaches a Lexus wagon. Tries the door. It's locked. She flashes the light up onto the front porch then walks up the steps to the front door. The door is unlocked, she walks in. Quietly she walks down the foyer to the kitchen. There she finds the table set. Pots of food on the stove but only piles of clothes on the chairs and one in front of the stove. She looks for the trousers and picks them up off the chair and fishes through the pockets for the keys.

"YES!" She says outloud and she leaves the house and goes to the car, starts it and drives home.

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Lost entry: September 17

 

The car crashed into the mall. My, my I'm stuck in the Victoria's Secret store... :lol:

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I go to bed and fall asleep right away. I can't believe after all this time we are going to finally meet, face to face. Meanwhile..................

 

Lida has returned home and parks the 'borrowed' vehicle. Goes inside and plops into the bed and falls asleep.

 

In the morning she calls Aaron as soon as she wakes up. "Hi, you ready to leave yet?" She asks me. "No, I have to find a map. I've never driven up there and I have to find the quickest route." I tell her. "OH" She says. "I have a book of maps someone gave me. Maybe I could look it up for you and tell you which way to go?" She says. I tell her. "No, I'd rather have a map in my hand so I won't get lost." She agrees with me. "Lida?" I ask. "Yes" She says. "Have you looked at a map yet?" She hesitates. "No, not yet. I'll do that right now, alright?" She mumbles something about Route 94 South then East on something, I couldn't understand her. "OK, I got it." She says. "But I'll be a while yet. I have to pack the car and get the lizards up and um, you know." She says. "Yea." I answer. "Let me get off now. I'll call you back when I'm ready to go, alright?" She tells me. We hang up.

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September 24th 2004

 

What a waste of a day! I rolled out of bed, literally, around noon. I didn't get much rest last night...this morning, whichever it was. We hadn't "checked in" until late/early and after many years of sleeping in the sleeper of a truck, strange open rooms disturb me. Is there an opposite of claustrophobia? As I lay there, fighting with the "joke" of a pillow these roadside motels provide, I struggled to surrender to the black. But the subdued yet still annoyingly audible rhythms of "Daybreak", and the occasional "bark" of my dog "ditto" emanating from the room next door made sleep elusive. I guess those two hit it off, or maybe DL6 just needed a "friend". I pulled the other pillow down over my head, and tried to rest.

 

Noon: I step outside into a quiet world.....Hey!!!!Where's The Car!!!!.....That little ##$$$%! .........Where's my Dog?

 

Just then the Hummer came tear %ssing into the parking lot as if Satan himself were chasing her. With one wheel jumping the curb. She roared up in front of me, and came to a sudden stop. DL6 jumped out.

I'm startled and still half asleep: "What's wrong?"

DL6 just gave me a blank 'What are you talking about?' look: ..."you need a shower! I've been out shopping, come on now.....the day is wasting away..you've had plenty of sleep ol' man." ( She got my dog out the car and a bag of groceries and headed for her room..."You shower, NOW.... I 'll get some coffee going. Come over after you get cleaned up..I did some other shopping too...got some new clothes for me....and a....HAT!!.... for you.

HB: A HAT!??!!??!!!!

I started to say I don't wear "hats", when she produced a white cowboy hat...

DL6: We're going to TEXAS!!!... and you got to "look" the part.

I'm speechless as I stand there holding my new... "hat".... another woman giving me orders...it never changes...I look down at Ditto......"What are you looking at?" and retreated back into my room. As I shower...I catch myself humming "Mandy".

 

We reached the Red River Bridge at 4pm, and found that both bridges were blocked. One with a multi-car pile-up, and the other was worse. A barge had ran into the supports and collapsed it. Without hesitation DL6 took us "off road", down along the bank of the river .

HB: "You know.... We could have just back-tracked till we found another bridge.."

DL6: "SHUT Up, Hb, I'm driving..... this is faster!...we'll find a place to cross a lot quicker this way!"

I give her a 'lady... you are insane' look

 

We reached the East Town Mall, Dallas, Tx 11pm.

Click For Spoiler
post-820-1096119094_thumb.jpg
Edited by headborg

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September 18

 

I wake up, this 3rd morning. Knowing I need to shower and get the car packed up for the trip. I shower as usual and go through my regular morning routine. Bump into the wall a few times trying to go in and out the door with my arms full of stuff. The map, where's the map. Of course the first thing I need is the last thing I look for. I don't have a map :lol: The gas station on the corner must have maps. I'll gas up the car with free gas then go in and get one, I think to myself. My cell phone rings. "Hi" I say, knowing it's Lida. "Hi" She says with her usual giggle. Then another "Hi" from me. We go back and forth for a few more "Hi's" Then finally I say. "You ready to go?" She hesitates. "Um, I just woke up. I need to pack up he car now, and shower and get dressed." She answers. "Did you find your map?" She asks me. "UH, yea, I got it." I answer. Not wanted to sound like the Absent Minded Professor. "Let me call you back when I'm ready to leave." She asks. "Alright. I have my cell with me so call when your ready to leave." I ask her. "O.K." she says. Then we hang up. I log onto the site while I wait for her call. In the chatroom everyone is talking about what's going on. It's obvious to me now that the members of STF.Net are the only people I am able to reach. But where did everyone else go? No one knows but there is alot of speculation going on. HeadBorg says it's like a movie he saw once. "Left behind", and I tend to agree with him.

Edited by fenriz275

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Lida is now packing. She gets her survival kit ready. A small overnight bag with all her 'products' and brings it out to the Lexus parked outside. Then begins transferring everything from her car to it. "Mmm, lots of room in here." She says. As she jams the remaining bags into the back. She goes back inside to tend to the lizards and get them leashed and into the car. Baby Tongue is compliant but Kes gives her a very bad time. Trying to claw her and run off. But after a few minutes of coersion they are both in the back seat, covered with a blanket and gone back to sleep. "Map, where'd I put the map?" She says to heself. Then runs back inside and grabs the 'Deluxe, Motor Carriers Guide 2002 she had laying open on the coffee table. :wink2:

Edited by fenriz275

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September 19, 2004.... Lost archive...

 

I'm sitting in the East Town Mall, Dallas eating two big macs that I made myself in the McDonalds here.... :lol:

 

It's kind of freaky that no one's here...

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After trying to start the car for about ten minutes I have managed to flood it so I sit and wait a few minutes then try again. She sputters then starts with bang and a huge cloud of smoke from the exhaust pipe. I head out to the gas station. Once there I fill er up then go inside to see what how much pilferring has gone on and hope there are some maps left. "EUREKA!!!" A map of the mid-West. I stand there for a minute before I go back to my car, spread it out on the counter and grab a few snacks, a handful of Slim-Jims and a liter of Mountain Dew. "Ah, ok, North on 65 will take me right into Lafayette, should take me about 2 hours.

 

Out on the highway now I'm cruising at about 80. My car is trying to tell me something. When suddenly something crashes up through the hood from the engine and I swurve and land up in the ditch. :( Now what? Well, I can't hitch-hike if there's no other cars, so I grab my duffel-bag and start walking up route 65 with it slung over my shoulder. There are no cars in sight. I walk for about 15 minutes when up ahead I spot a car with a covered trailer on the back. I hear banging sounds coming from the trailer as I approach it. There are two horse rumps visible over the backdoor. "Take it easy now" I say to the horses as I unlock the latch and open the gate. I put down the ramp, go in and back them out one at a time. since they had been inside the trailer for days now they had no food yet had left piles of horse poop on the floor which I got stuck in up to my knees as I tried to get into the trailer.

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I see a stream on the edge of the highway and lead the two horses over to it for a drink. As they drank I searched in my duffel -bag for a few candybars for them to eat. I wasn't giving up my Slim-Jims. They each ate 6 bars then started licking my face. "Come on, let's go" I said to them as we walked back to the road and started walking. The stench from the poop up to my knees made me abandon my pants and shoes right there. And since it was hot, over 90 degrees, I took off my shirt too. So now I'm walking down the high-way, in my boxers being lead by one horse in front of me and one behind me who keeps nipping at my butt. I guess he or she, no it's a he, wants another candybar. :blink: Now my feet start to burn. So I decide it might be a good idea to ride one instead of walking. I turn and try to mount the stallion. He stands still as I climb up onto him wrestling with my duffel-bag. Finally, I 'm up, and we continue down the high-way. We saunter down Route 65 for about a half hour when up ahead in a ditch I see something odd. Not a car but something that looks like a giant wiener. As I approach it becomes clear to me what it is. :( My childhood dream before me in a ditch, the "Oscar Meyer WienerMobile" and it's all mine!!! :laugh: I jab at the horse to hurry up with my bare heels and he breaks into a gallop and we over shoot the WienerMobile. I tell him to turn and he bucks me right off and onto the grass, Duffle-bag landing on top of me. The two horses run off down the highway. :(

Edited by fenriz275

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post-691-1096170551.jpgI get up off the grass and walk back to it. The door is closed and I look in the window, there is no one inside. I open the door. In the drivers seat there is a pile of green cloth. I pick it up and look at it. :( A pickle suit. The driver was dressed as a giant pickle. I don the suit. Fits me perfectly. I think to myself. "Wow, wait til Lida sees me in this!!" :blink: Never thinking it might scare her off. I sit in the seat and turn the key. It starts right up and I continue down the high-way, honking the horn and waving like I'm in a parade in the Wiener-Mobile. :laugh: :( Edited by fenriz275

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Lida is now on I94 heading South. She grabs the map on the seat beside her for one last look and notices on the floor a satchel. She reaches over and pulls it up onto the seat and snaps it open. "EWWW, nice." She says. Inside there is a lap-top and a cell phone. She quickly dials my number. Back in the Wiener-Mobile I hear my cell phone ringing inside his duffel-Bag and reach for it. I answer "Hi". Lida asks me. "Where are you now?" I tell her I haven't seen a sign yet so I don't know exactly where I am but I'm on 65. "O.K. Well, I'm in Illinois right now, coming up on Chicago in a few minutes. Let's get off and I'll call you when I get to the Indiana border, OK?" Let's not wear the batteries down." I tell her, "Good idea." We hang up.

Edited by fenriz275

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In the car as Lida drives south along the "Bottom of the Lake" the lizards wake up and crawl into the front seat with her. Kes decides she wants to look out the front window and jumps onto the dashboard. Baby Tongue sits on Lida's shoulder and helps her drive. Lida pops a CD into the player and the song "Green Things" is playing on the Kick-A** sound system. Baby Tongue opens her mouth towards the on rushing blast from the air conditioner. Lida places some fresh spinach on the dash for Kes and feeds Baby Tongue by hand.

 

As Lida notices the empty Mall just off the highway she decides to make a brief stop. She gets off at the next exit then comes back and gets off at the right one to get there. She cruises the parking lot looking for something. "AH, there it is." She says to the lizards. Pulls up to the entrance and parks in the shade. "I'll be right back" She tells the lizards and gets out of the car and goes in. She looks back at the car to see them both, their little faces pressed up against the windshield watching her. "So cute" She says to herself.

 

Inside she walks down the empty mall heading for "Hav A Hart". She enters the store and looks around. :( All the animals were either barking, meowing, crowing or screaching. Some lay in their cages weak from hunger and thirst. She sets about feeding every creature in the store. Opening cages and letting them free. She stands in the middle of the store and watches them all run around, happy to be free. Knowing in her heart she must take some of them with her, especially the babies. She leaves the store and goes back out to the parking lot to look for a larger vehicle.

Edited by fenriz275

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post-691-1096210447.jpg

Now back outside Lida walks the parking lot looking for just the right vehicle for her needs. something not too big yet bigger than the Lexus Wagon. "AHA" :( There it is. PERFECT!" She says as she climbs inside, removing the brown pile of cloth from the seat and looking at it. She starts the truck and drives it to the entrance and backs it up behind the Lexus, then opens the back door and starts throwing all of it's contents out onto the parking lot to make room. Then goes back into the mall. Grabbing a couple of shopping carts she enters the pet store again. Carefully she begins loading small animals and bedding filling both carts she goes back out to the truck. This went on for quite a while. Until the back of the truck looked like a pet store on wheels. She unloaded the Lexus of all the food she had packed in there then brought Kes and Baby Tongue into the truck and placed them on the seat beside her. "OOPS" She said as she jumped out and retrieved the lap-top and the cell phone. She called me and told me she had to make a brief stop but was back on the road again now and should be nearing the Indiana border soon.

Edited by fenriz275

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Nearing the Indiana border on I 94 she is distracted for a moment by what sounded like some sort if riot in the back of the truck. Kes had gone back there and met a large male Iguana who seemed to have a "Fatal Attraction" for her. Two Iguana's mating can appear to an onlooker as a fight to the death, but this was normal as he chased her around in the back of the truck, tails whipping and running over all the other animals in his pursuit. When Lida realized that this was happening she turned her attention back onto the road then swurving and screeching on the brakes. She almost ran over a goat that was on the highway. It still stood there. She stopped the truck, got out and went back to see if it was alright. It had a collar and a lead on it. She led it back and lifted it up into the truck. It sat down right next to the driver's seat. As Lida began driving again it decided it was going to put it's front feet up on the dash and watch bleeting all this time. So now she had a navigator, a Billy goat. She dialed the cell phone. I answered only to hear a "Baahaaa" on the other end. :( :( :laugh:

Edited by fenriz275

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~East Town Mall~~

We arrived at the mall around 11:00 PM. After circling around the complex, we saw nothing but a deserted parking lot. Then we noticed the West wing entrance--it had been transformed into a drive-thru! We stared at each other in disbelief...

 

DL6 dropped the Hummer into low range and we followed the path of destruction inside the building and down the corridor. On either side, the shop's security gates had been rammed and breached in several places. Small bits and pieces of automobile were left behind at each location.

 

We turned the corner, following the path of distruction and drove up a few stairs to the next landing. There before us was the suspect vehicle, buried in Victoria's Secret. It had finally given up the ghost and its' Reign of Terror had ended there.

 

DL6 and I cautiously exited the Hummer and proceeded to search for WEAREBORG. I approached the demolished vehicle and directed my flashlight beam inside.

 

DL6:"Find anything?"

HB:"Maybe...."

I retrieved what appeared to be a family photo album from the passenger seat and glanced through it quickly. I handed it to DL6 and she did the same. She looks up at me and exclaims,"THEY'RE ALL BORG!!!!"

 

Just then, we heard a rustling in a far corner. We quickly pointed our flashlight in that direction. There was WEAREBORG, sleeping peacefully amid a bizarre collection of ladies silk undergarments. An army of female mannequins, attired in hunting gear (obviously acquired elsewhere) were arrayed around the sleeping prince, keeping watch over him.

 

DL6 nudges him with her foot and yells,"Wake Up!"

Click For Spoiler
Edited by headborg

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After nearly an entire weekend of communications with ISS and fumbling through manuals and 100-page memos, I had gotten to the point where I rerouted MC readouts and status indicators from Houston to Kennedy consoles. I had learned more top secret passwords in two days than I had in my entire (albeit short) career working at national laboratories. We all agreed that the return of the ISS crew would be a top priority - the only priority. During a scheduled sleep break aboard ISS, I took the opportunity to hop in the Mustang and go grocery shopping. I also "bought" a pair of rollerblades so I could get around the cavernous launch control room easier to read individual consoles. I noticed that the grocery store had lost power, and had an awful thought on the way back to LC. With noboby to maintain power plants across the country, it would be a matter of days before the coal and oil plants simply ran out of fuel.

 

Back at LC, I was a bit surprised that everything was still powered. I went through the emergency power proceedures and found that - in addition to a very large generator which would power the LC itself for several days - the center was directly on the grid for the St. Lucie #2 pressurized water reactor. I guessed that power fluctuations and outages forced an interlock on the "non-essential" loads, and initiated an automatic shutdown of the other grids, leaving plenty of power for LC. Checking the emergency console, I saw that the generator was not powered. I relaxed a little with the idea that LC would most likely continue to run indefinitely.

 

I strapped on the Rollerblades and made some rounds of the LC, checking individual consoles and noting - as best as I could tell - that everything seemed OK. I planned to spend the rest of the day reading up a bit on the 757 parked in the hangar. In my research I was surprised to find that Kennedy space center had a helicopter on site. Maybe I could figure this out a bit as well. Propping my rollerblades up on the comm

panel, I continued reading until I fell asleep, my head filled with strange dreams of a lone car on I-94 and a strange message from the inside of the 747.

 

I was awakened by the sharp pinging of the comm panel. Nearly falling out of my chair, I put on the headset, and spoke.

 

"ISS. Kennedy. You are on VOX-One. Please go ahead."

 

"Kennedy. ISS. Soyuz-1 reports a discharge loss on parachute canards two and three. Please confirm." I jump to my feet, forgetting wheels I am still wearing, and fall on my back. I release a string of vulgarity getting up.

 

"Kennedy, we didn't copy that last transmission. Could you please repeat."

 

"Uh...." I stuttered, "Please stand by ISS for confirmation." I roll around to the auxilliary panel and see the red flashing light indicating that the pressure in the cannisters holding the explosive charges which would eject the parachute from the Soyuz emergency capsule had dropped significantly. I stare for a minute and speak slowly.

 

"ISS, I copy your pressure reading. Can you get visual confirmation on charge leak?" I ask.

 

"Standby Kennedy..." Was the reply. I wait for several minutes. After 10 minutes, the reply comes back on my receiver.

 

"Kennedy. ISS. Gennady just went down to the capsule and had a look out the port. It looks like a meteoroid impact destroyed the outer shield and penetrated the parachute cannisters. Chutes two and three have been destroyed. We are sealing off the Soyuz to prevent station breach."

 

The silence hung heavily in the air as we all thought the same thing. Without parachutes, the capsule could re-enter with no problem - assuming that the heat shield was not compromised in the collision, or they would all burn up. However, the capsule would drop like a rock, and implant itself firmly into the Russian permafrost.

 

My mouth is dry as I speak slowly. "Uh.... ISS.... Please stand by for options...." The voice in my head told me there weren't too many ways back for the crew of the ISS, and one involved picking bits of flesh off the smoldering wreckage of a Soyuz capsule.

 

ISS just lost its lifeboat.

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Lida smells something coming from the back of the UPS truck she is driving. After the encounter with the goat on the road, the Iguana Love Fest and the ensuing commotion in the back she decides to pull over and feed the flock. She pulls onto a field on the side of the 'I' and opens the back door to the truck. A wave of animals come flowing out. Covered in all sorts 'animal waste'. "YUCK!" She says outloud to them. She climbs in after the truck is empty. Starts throwing bags of food out the back onto the grass and they all decend upon it. Over in the distance she sees a farmhouse. She decides to walk over and take a look. She enters the barn only to find nests of chicken eggs and a few dead chickens. The live ones were running around the yard. But she sees a hose attatched to the side of the barn. Not long enough to reach the truck so she goes back and drives the truck to it, all the animals follow her across the field. She goes in a looks for the feed barrels for the chickens and begins throwing cracked corn out all over the ground for them. Then she turns on the hose and begins hosing out the back of the truck.

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My cell phone rings. "Hi" I say, knowing it's Lida. "Where are you?" I ask her. "UM, not really sure, Aaron, been having a bit of trouble. I ditched the Lexus in a mall parking lot and boosted a larger vehicle. I've picked up a few travelling companions along the way." She tells me. "OH, and what kind of 'vehicle' are you driving now?" I ask her. "UM, it's, well, it's a truck." She answers. "And who are these travelling companions?" I ask her. "Just a few animals." She answers. That sounded alright with me. Gave her someone to talk to, I thought. A few nice little animals would be a good I idea, I thought. "Well" I told her. "I've got me a new vehicle too. My car died on me a few miles back and I found me the car of my dreams in a ditch." I told her. "Really?" She asked "What is it?" I didn't want to spoil the surprise so I said. " OH, Sweetie, it's a real 'Meat-Wagon'. When you see it you'll know it's me." :(

 

"How far are you from the Idiana border?" I asked her. "I have NO idea." I've sort of had my hands full and haven't paid attention to the signs. I will once I get back on the InterState, I'll call you again soon, alright?" She said. "Alright" I agreed. "Where are you?" She asked me. "OOPS" :( I don't know either." I said. "We aren't very good travellers are we?" I asked her. We both laughed.

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Well, now neither of us know where we are. :laugh: As I 'm driving, finally I see a sign up ahead. it says "Hitchcock, Next Exit". I look at my map and try to find Hitchcock. I don't see it anywhere along route 65 so I start looking at the routes around it on the map. "AHA! Here it is. UH OH. :blink: Looks like I'm on Route 60, NOT Route 65 and I'm 50 miles off course. CRAP!!! :( I watch for the next exit , get off and turn around in the opposite direction. Well, now that I've added 100 miles to the trip I have to find some way to take my mind off it. I look around on the floor and see a box of tapes. I pull over for a minute to see what's in there. UH OH, someone I never heard before. "Box Car Willie". "Who the heck is that?" I say to myself. Tape after tape is this Box Car Willie. The last tape in the box is "The Worst Music Ever". :( "Some choice" I say to myself. I pop one of the Box Car Guy's tapes into the tape player. As I cruise down highway 60, heading back to 65 I listen. "Hey, he's not bad." I say as he sings "Walkin a Hole in my Shoes", then "Bummin Around" then "Jesse James Robbed Trains". "Yea, this is good stuff." I said "I like this guy, he's got heart." I found myself playing this one song, over and over again "Mister, Can You Spare a Dime." :nono::eek:

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Meanwhile, back on the farm...........................................................

 

Lida is having a great time. She has hosed out all the poop from the back of the truck and is now going after the animals with the hose. "Come here, quit runnin" She yells as she chases them around laughing. The chickens are running in circles and clucking away. The goat was very co-operative and let her hose him down. The ferrats, guinea pigs and gerbils were now back in the truck. When she tried to get the goat back in he ran behind the barn and she chased him. "OH, I see." She said to him as she rounded the corner just in time to see him trying to mount another goat. "Lordy, lordy, I hope it's a girl." She said outloud. She pulled him off her and dragged him AND her back to the truck and lifted them both up into it. Then closed the door. She got Kes and BT out of the water trough and back in the truck too. The dogs jumped up into the truck by themselves. The kittens cowered under Lida's seat. The Parrots squawked loudly as she retrieved them from the porch railing and put them back in the truck as well. Now, the chickens. :( If you've ever tried to run down a chicken, you know it ain't easy. But she gave it a good try and managed to catch 6 of them then threw them in the back of the truck. Then she got back into the drivers seat out of breath. Now the lizards look at her from up on the dashboard. The two goats stare at her too. "What are you all lookin at?" She said to them. :(

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A little while later Lida notices a sign as she's driving, between refereeing the squabbles between the animals and keeping Mr. Amourous, the goat off her lap. "Kankakee", the sign says. She reaches for the map. "O.K., I'm on route 57, I'm ok." She says to herself. 57 South then to 74 East, ok.

 

When all of a sudden the female goat starts moving around and flapping her tail, right in Lida's direction then..............SPLOOOOCH!! All over Lida. :( It seems all this excitement has caused this little female to get, well, stimulated. :( Lida tries frantically to control the truck and gets off at the next Exit to try to find a gas station where she can wash herself off.

 

 

Now in the wash room she has to remove everybit of her clothing and wash herself off. She had grabbed the UPS uniform she had found in the empty truck and brought it in there with her to change into. Now all clean she comes out of the rest room dressed in a pair of UPS brown shorts and an UPS brown shirt, which was too big so she tied the front up in a knot at her waist. Forget the shoes, so now she is barefoot as well.

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After that long ride, sleep was good, but the prospect of shopping was refreshing. Of course with no one around, one could hardly call it shopping. So at six o'clock, I'm up and ready for action. HB is still sound asleep. Prefect. I'll just "borrow" the Hummer. :( My first stop is a Starbuck's. Life is good when you don't have to wait two hours for your coffee. Yeay! A western store across the street is my next stop. "We need some fun clothing" I thought. What a nice hat. Prefect for HB. A local shopping mall is next in my journey. Bell bottoms, bondage pants, some rock shirts, a few new pair of shoes, all prefect for my look. I stop at a Barnes and Noble to grab some good reading material, because who knows when a good time to read could just pop out and some Barry Manilow CD's to add to my collection. Better get groceries. Men aren't always that reliable with food. All natural veggies, lean meat, some seasonings, and of course herbs and a portable grill and charcoal.

When I get back HB is waiting outside looking quite frazzled. Of course I did take his dog and the Hummer.

DL6:..."You shower, NOW.... I 'll get some coffee going. Come over after you get cleaned up..I did some other shopping too...got some new clothes for me....and a....HAT!!.... for you.

Poor guy, he looked so confused. He walked off shaking his head and talking to his dog.

I start on lunch. We're going to need a good meal. Soon I have spiced steaks and salad ready and a pitcher of tea.

After we eat, it was about time to head out, "Can I drive? Please??!?!?!?!

:( I'll be careful, I promise."

HB: "Ok, and you better be careful"

Dl6: "yeay!!!!"

I love driving and soon we are at the Red River Bridge and there is no way to get through. Oh well, guess I'll have a little fun while i'm alive and I procede to go off road. "this is fun!" we got to the Mall around 10

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Weareborg, opened his eyes..and "just like business as usual" he said "hi...can we go now?..." crawled onto the backseat and went back to bed.....

DL6 and I gathered his personal belongings...what few he seemed to have....I climbed in the driver seat..for it had become "standard practice" each time we stopped to switch drivers. I backed out of the mall the way we had came...DL6 looked at me...with a concerned look...and asked..."were to now? it's late, and we can't just run off with this kid..without picking up some of his things in the morning?"

I said...."you're right, we better find a place to hold up for the night.....a good place...high class...all the way... "

DL6: "do you know your way around Dallas.....but of coarse ,,,you do..truck driver.

Hb: (I smile) "but, I don't usually get to stay 'up town' I know...lets ask 'on star'"

with that i reached down and pressed the 'on star' button.....DL6 looked at me as if she thought I was being sarcastic....which I was!!!!

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Now driving along Route 74 Going East, Lida decides she's better find a shoe store. She forgot to pack an extra pair of shoes. She sees a sign that says "Danville Mall" and gets off at the Exit. Since she is right on the Illinois/Indiana Border she decides it's time to give me a call. She dials my cell and I answer.

 

"Hello."

"Hi." Lida's voice says.

"How are you doing?" I ask her. She fills me in on her new passengers and the goat "incidents", we both laugh about that for several minutes.

"I'm stopping to do some shoe shopping." She says.

"I take it your last pair were goated?" I ask.

"Yep." I tell her about my directional misshap.

"I have to make up some ground but I am getting hungry. Hey, if I find a McDonald's I think I might stop and make myself a MegaMac." I tell her.

"EEWW, a MegaMac sounds good. I might do that myself. I see a McDonalds right across the street." She tells me.

 

"Hey if you see any shoes I might like grab me a pair. You know my size, ok?" I ask her.

"Sure." She answers. I see a sign that reads, "McDonald's 6 miles on the right. My stomach growls, apparently it can read too.

"I'm going to pull off a few miles up the road and eat." I say.

"I'm getting out of the van to eat now. I'll call you again later ok?" She says.

"Ok Sweetie." A few miles down the road I pull the Weiner Mobile into the parking lot of the McDonald's.

 

Lida drives into the McDonald's parking lot across the street. She sees the parking lot is full, but no one inside. She gets out and goes to the door. Looking back now she sees the two goats and the two iguanas faces pushed up against the windows watching her and two dogs sitting in the driver's seat.

"Cute" she says to herself. Once inside she looks around. apparently a lot of shoppers were here when whatever happened took them. There were department store bags all over the place. She rifled though a few of the ones closest to the door when she heard something.

 

From back in the kitchen area she heard two male voices. They seemed to be arguing about something. These two voices sounded VERY familiar to her. She ducked down behind the counter and creeped along the floor to get a look at who ever they were. When to her utter amazement she saw two costumed men. One tall and dark, the other shorter and more rotund. Instantly she recognized them.

Lida: It was Shatner and Nimoy!!!

"What the H*ll are they doing here??" she said to herself.

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As she watched and listened she heard Shatner telling Nimoy how to make a Big Mac.

"NO, no, no, Lenny. You have to put a piece of bun in the middle between the two all beef patiies, it's not three patties on top of each other. What's wrong with you?"

"Bill, I want three patties in mine. I can eat whatever the h*ll I want, your not my Mama! Don't tell me what to eat!!!"

"AHHH, why do I even bother? Talking to you is like talking to a Klingon!!" Shatner yelled.

"You're talking to me because you're too cheap to rent a car on your own and Takai won't ride with you after the incident in Toledo." Nimoy answered. "By the way. Your fries are burning."

"Aw Crap!" Shatner ran over to the fryer and pulled out the fry basket.

 

Lida could hardly compose herself. To see two StarFleet officers arguing about making a hamburger. They heard her and Shatner said.

"Who's there?" Lida stood up.

"Well, well, well, and who do we have here?" Shatner said to her, eyeballing her up and down.

"It's a woman Bill." Nimoy said dryly.

"I can see that Lenny. I was trying to add some drama to the moment." Shatner replied.

"Give it a rest Bill." Nimoy said.

Shatner ignored his friend's "direction". As he walked towards Lida she didn't know what to say or do.

"Leave her alone Bill, she's just a kid." Nimoy said to him. Shatner looked over his shoulder at Nimoy who was now chewing a mouthful of burger. He was starting to say something when Lida spoke.

 

"Hi, I'm Lida. She said timidly. Ambassador Jeanway on the StarTrekFans.Net Website. Shatner stopped for a second. then asked her. "

Are you alone?"

"Nope" She answered.

"Well, who's with you?" He asked.

"I've got a truck full of animals outside. We are on our way to meet another member of the site in Lafayette." she told him.

"Hey, can we hitch a ride with you Lida? all we've had to talk to for the past 4 days is each other. What happened anyway? Everybody seems to have vansihed." Shatner said.

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"Sure, you can ride with me." Lida answered.

"Great" Shatner answered. "But we're starved. We we just making burgers for ourselves. You hungry Lida?" He asked.

"Starved." She answered." I had a whole truckful of food but all the animals got into it and there is nothing left out there." She told him

"Well, come on back here with us, lets make some Big Macs. You know how to make them Lida?" He asked

"I think so." She answered. He lead her back to the grill area. Now Lida, Lenny and Bill were side by side making lunch.

 

"Where's the 'Special Sauce' Lenny asked .

"Huh?" Bill answered. "Oh yea, I forgot about that. Let me take a look around." He said. He walked over to the industrial size refrigerator and opened the door.

"Hmm, let's see." He said as he searched the huge jars.

"Is this it?" He said as he help up a large clear jar filled with something yellow.

"Let me see?" Lida said. "Open it for me will ya Bill?" she asked. "Sure thing, anything for a Lady, My Dear." He said leeringly.

"Keep it in your pants Bill. This isn't a sound stage." Lenny grumbled. Shatner was about to say something to Nimoy when Lida cut him off again.

"Nope, that's mayonnaise." She said as she gave it a sniff.

"Are you sure?" He asked. "Looks like Special Sauce' to me." He said.

"Look, there aren't any things in there. Special Sauce has stuff in it."

Bill took a bit on the tip of his finger and tasted it.

"Yep, it's mayonnaise. But I had my mouth all set for the special Sauce. Now what do we do?" He asked her. Nimoy squirted some ketchup on a bun.

"Mustard Bill?" He asked.

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