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headborg

~~~The Days After~~~~

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September 25th

 

Ouch…oh my aching head.

 

I don’t remember anyone helping me back to my room. But I vaguely remember two people dragging me off the bed, their dialog just gibberish in my haze of a memory. The first vivid sensation I recall was the icy cold water from the shower head as it blasted over my rotting dead-for-life body. With a scream, I was semi-awake…and remember Weareborg laughing in high hysterics. My next memory is of the smell and taste of fine leather…as my face plowed the surface of the back seat and the slamming of not only one, but three distinct car doors. My advanced condition required yet another jolt to return me to ‘the land of the living’ it came from the stereo speakers. The assault on my already pounding head came in the form of a guitar section then the lyrics of Willie Nelson, “….like a band of gypsies, we go down the hi-way, we’re the best of friends, insisting that the world keep going our way…and our way…is on the road again..” I raise up, and what to my blood shot eyes do I see. But DL6 driving , wearing my ‘hat’ and she and WeareBorg are singing along to the ‘too loud’ tune. I roll my eyes as WeareBorg grins at me, now I know it…I’m dead and I’m in ‘Music Hell’. post-820-1096843587.jpg

 

WAB (taps DL6 on the shoulder to get her attention): “that did it…..told you” as DL6 turned down the volume. I glanced down at my wrist, where my watch should have been. WeareBorg still amuzed, produced his arm with my watch on it.

WAB: “Nice watch, Rollex, it’s about 3 pm.

HB: “That’s my watch!”

WAB (turns the watch over and reads the inscription): “ To Donald, with all my love, Ivana. So your name is Don?”

Knowing he had no idea ’where’ I had came by the time-piece…I lied…”yea” I exclaimed as I took back my watch. Just then I looked out the front glass, as a road sign passed by, Exit 330, then another Robinson-city limit, and I saw a ‘Best Buy’ at the exit.

 

HB: “turn here…we got some shopping to do…” then I notice my clothes….”Why, am I soaking wet?”

Edited by headborg

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Sept. 16th

I got up early…didn’t get much sleep anyhow. I found a small café to make me some coffee and filled the largest Styrofoam cup I could find. All the way back to the campsite, I kept dreading that there still wouldn’t be anyone there.

 

Back at the campsite, I climbed out of the truck. I heard a noise in the tent and went racing over to it….”Honey, you’re not going to believe…” Just then a very BIG black bear poked his head out of the tent…. I skidded to a frantic halt and fell flat on my bottom! :clap:

The bear stared at me grumpily as he ambled out of the tent. Praying that the ‘experts’ knew what they were talking about, I fell over backwards to ‘Play Dead.’

I thumped my head on a rock, and although it hurt like crazy, I didn’t dare reach up to rub the lump. I held my breath as I heard the bear coming closer, and tried to ignore the pine cones digging into my back. The sunshine filtering through the trees wasn’t that intense, but I was really starting to sweat. I could feel the bear sniffing at my leg now…then...complete silence. It was as though the forest was holding its’ breath in sympathy for me. The tension was becoming excruciating. :clap:

 

Just when I was certain the bear was ready to take a bite out of a very vital part…all that coffee I had been drinking decided to make a sudden exit! The bear took one more whiff, snorted in disgust and headed for the woods.

 

As I lay there, sodden and embarrassed, but relieved (in more ways than one), I started to laugh…softly, at first, but as the enormity of the whole situation hit me, I think I probably sounded more like a madman… :clap:

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We sat at the table for hours. Just talking and eating. We found a chocolate layer cake in the freezer and nearly polished that off. I commented on his white mesh T-shirt. He told me he could only find that in the hardware store. I asked him why he shopped for clothes in a hardware store. He said it was a long story. I just let it go.

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"Want to see the animals Aaron?" I asked him. "I put them in a conferrence room down the hall. I found some huge punch bowls in the kitchen and filled them with food and water for them. I should go check on them. Want to come with me?" "Sure" He said "Let's go."

 

We walked down the hall and opened the door. They were all scattered around on the floor asleep. "Let's just let them sleep, O.K.?" I asked him. "Sure, we can see them in the morning." He answered. "How about a swim?" I asked him. "That sounds great. My skin is on fire and the cold water will feel good." He told me. We walked to the pool and he took off his t-shirt and I went into the ladies room and put on my suit I had left there earlier.

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We floated in the pool for hours. The cold water felt good to Aaron. "Want to try the whirlpool?" I asked him. "Naa, I don't want to push it. The hot water will start making my skin hurting again." He told me. Still not explaining what caused his skin to look so raw. So we just floated and swam and talked. Looking up at the night sky.

 

"I'm really tired Aaron. I want to go to bed. We have to get you in YOUR room too." I said. "MY ROOM??" He said with a shocked look on his face. "Yes, YOUR room." I answered firmly. "Aww Crap!" He said. "I thought, well, you know, we've waited so long already." He said in a whinnie voice. "Stop it, Aaron. Let's not spoil things. I don't want to fight with you. Especially now. We are all we've got in this world." I told him. "O.K. Whatever you want Lida." He said. :clap::clap:

Edited by Jeanway

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September 25th 3:30 pm

 

<Break-In at Best Buy>

 

DL6 pulled the Hummer up outside the deserted store, we climbed out and I directed her to pull up closer to the door. Although I kicked out the glass, it was the security-gating behind it that was the real problem. The alarm started to sound as soon as the glass broke. I then proceeded to unreel the cable from the winch, DL6 began to help me when all of a sudden WeareBorg seated himself behind the wheel, revved up the engine and yelled “…let me... I’ll show y’all how it’s done!”

DL6 and I glanced at each other and the image of WeareBorg’s last car buried in Victoria’s Secret must have came to both our minds simultaneously….we yelled “….No!” then with a smile of an angel, DL6 walked over and yanked the key out of the switch…killing the Hummer’s engine before WAB could put it in Drive… DL6 gave Weareborg a stern look then and said “….Ft Hood is a long walk.”

We attached the cable around the gating and then allowed WAB to slowly back the Hummer up pulling down the steel net/gate which prevented our entrance to the store. On the way inside, I picked up a long bar of steel which was once part of the security gate…handing it to WAB I yell over the alarm “….find that thing and kill it!” WAB got a crazy happy look in his eyes, and soon we had peace and quiet in the store. I headed over to the lap-tops and kicked the glass case in beneath the display models…”lets see 2 gig …2.2 gig..2.8.…3 gig now we talking…I loaded up 2 then decided we could use a spare or two or four more. Meanwhile, WAB had gathered up a arm-load of video games…and DL6 was over in Music somewhere between L and N. DL6 then went to the cell phones, she wanted a new one, I told her that probably wouldn’t work…no one left in the office to activate it…and it wouldn’t work until activated. We grabbed some PDA’s and Cam-corders and everything that looked like it was designed for the mobile “on the go” lifestyle.

WAB disappeared then..and minutes later came crashing through the window ...he had found the keys to the "Geek Mobile" since it had only suffered minor damage on it's way into the store, WAB started loading it up too! It was getting late and driving after dark was a real hazard with all the wrecks on the hi-way just waiting for us to run upon in the darkest with our limited head-light distance. We hit a Target while we were there too, got more clothes and some more groceries…the electricity still being on. We made it as far as Temple, Tx and settled down at a Holiday Inn for the night. We tried out the micro-wave that WAB insisted we “lift” and had Pizza…maybe the last frozen pizza we were ever going to have and played Video Games on “our “ new x-box . Tomorrow, we would look around Ft.Hood for my sister, and see what else we could find.

Click For Spoiler
post-820-1096859532.jpg
Edited by headborg

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Lida and Aaron walked to her room. "Come on in while I get the lap-top. Let's get onto the site and see what's going on." Lida logged in and looked at the active users list. "Hmm, HeadBorg is on and WAB and DataLover and Oh Look, Lenny and Bill are there too. Hey let me PM Bill and see where they are." She Pmed Bill and waited for his reply. In the meantime she looked down the threads to see what was going on.

 

As Lida waited she did a search for zoos in Indiana. She had plans for the next week or so they would be there waiting for Bill and Lenny to come back. She typed in A Zoo search on Yahoo and came up with the following:

 

 

Fort Wayne Childrens Zoo

Pet-A-Coat Junction Zoo

Columbian Park Zoo

Indianapolis Zoo

Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden

Potawatomi Zoo

Washington Park Zoo

 

Looking down the list she decided the first thing tomorrow they were going to visit Columbian Park Zoo in Lafayette and free all the animals. :clap:

 

After she finished her search she turned around and saw Aaron sound asleep on her bed. She covered him with a blanket, kissed his forehead then turned on the air conditioner and shut the light. She went to his room to sleep.

Edited by Jeanway

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Sept. 17

 

OK…I think I have myself pulled back together…. I’m heading for home.

~~~~

Sept. 19

I made it back home, but what a trip! Every town was eerily silent…No other traffic, just abandoned or crashed vehicles…….static on the radio.

 

I arrived at my mother’s house. I can hear her dog, a Welsh Corgi (inappropriately named “Killer Jones”), barking frantically as I approach the front door. It’s locked, but I know where she keeps her spare key…

“Mom?” I search the house, while Killer Jones joyfully nips at my heels.

“Alright, boy….glad to see you too.”

I entered the kitchen, and there I found her night gown & bathrobe draped in her chair. Her usual cup of coffee was sitting on the kitchen table.

I collapse into another chair and stare at the sad ‘remains’. Meanwhile, Killer Jones is scratching persistently at his food/water dish.

“ OK…OK …I’ll bet you’re pretty hungry…thirsty, too, huh?” We’ll get you taken care of, then how about a little road trip?” Killer Jones isn’t anticipating anything except his meal.

“We’ll gather up a few supplies for you, then go get me a few things….that sound OK to you?” “Terrific…now I’m talking to a dog….oh well, I guess that’s slightly better than talking to myself.”

Killer Jones lifts his head, and gives me a ‘Well! I should think so!!’ look, then goes back to eating.

We’ll gather up a few supplies for you, then go get me a few things….that sound OK to you?”

“Come to of think of it, I think I might stop & get a few cigars…apparently there isn’t going to be anyone complaining about cigar smoke….

Edited by Lt_Starbuck

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Lida slept very well after she retrieved Kes and Baby Tongue from the tree in the pool area. They snuggled up next to her in her bed and went back to sleep.

 

In the morning she headed down to the kitchen with the "Girls". She cooked up a couple dozen scrambled eggs and a few pounds of link sausage. The girls sat on a table near a window in the sun and ate their eggs and a handful of raw spinach. Lida ate and made a plate for Aaron for when he woke up. She brought the remainder of the food into the conference room for the animals.

 

As she tried to get in the door carrying two large punch bowls of food she tried pushing on the door with her back. The animals inside smelled the meat and eggs and piled up against the door making it nearly impossible for her to open it. But she managed to get it open and was pummeled by the hungry dogs, goats, cats and chickens who were trying to get at it before she was entirely in the room. She dropped the bowls then backed away and let them eat. Seeing that some of them didn't get any now she had to decide how to feed the rest of them. The parrots got nothing as did the hamsters gerbils and guinea pigs. :b-day:

 

She then left the conference room and walked to the lobby to look at the map of Lafayette which she noticed was on the wall when she first arrived. She wanted to see where the hotel was in relationship to the Columbian Park Zoo.

Edited by Jeanway

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I stood for a long time in the rain look on to my husband's truck I wondered if I had dreamt it all and somehow I was in a nightmare from which I couldn't wake up. I walked over to the truck as the rainfall turned into a down pour I climbed into the truck and turned the engine off.

 

The rain was cold and pelted me as I walked back to the truck stop sopping wet. I shivered as I step through the door with my wet dogs in tow. I looked about the entrance of the complex and carefully stepped over the clothes and shoes that were scattered throughout. I made my way to the laundry mat and stripped out of my clothes, if anyone was watching the security cameras they would have gotten a eyeful. I just didn't care, I had other clothes with me out in my car and still I had Daniel's shirt that I wore. I tossed my clothing into the washer and watched the machine go through it's cycles. It had a glass door so I could see the varies stages of cleaning. I thought I saw something but in looking again nothing was there, perhaps it was a reflection of one of the dogs as I allowed them to roam freely. I felt chilled but I wanted to put my clothes into the dryer and then make use of the truck stop's shower facilities. If I timed it right my clothes would be toasty warm when I return for them.

 

I found bath towels in a large closet and had took soap and shampoo from the store part of the stop and off to the showers I went. It felt good to have the heated water cascade upon my skin. I let out a sigh and washed my hair and tried hard not to think about my loss or the pain I was in. The steam and heat of the water rose around me enveloping as I bathed. Again I thought I saw something in the room move I looked towards a full length mirrored panel by the door and it was there that I seen something has been written on the steamed up glass.

 

In reflections is where I'll be, in the mirrors will you see me.

 

I cried out in terror. "Who is here?!?!?" I reached for the door and started to turn the knob as I saw a image coming towards me in the mirror I looked behind to the blank wall of the showers and then again to the mirrored panel. Daniel's reflection stood beside mine and he smiled. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you Pretty Girl but I just couldn't get your attention out there." I backed away from the mirror looking at Daniel as he stretched out his hand and pressed if against the glass.

"I...I thought you were...you were," I couldn't complete the sentence. I reach my hand up to the spot where his rested and pulled myself close to the mirror looking at him and fearing that I would lose him all over again. He whispered softly, "My Pretty Girl, you know better than that. In our faith you may go from one plain of existence to the next but there is no such word as 'death'." "I thought, perhaps you were haunting your truck." I said softly. Daniel laughed, "No, my dear, I'm haunting you." At that I had to giggle back as with my culture and beliefs we are taught to respect and love spirits, not fear them.

Edited by BlueCrystal

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OFF:

FIRST OF ALL I WOULD LIKE TO SAY: SORRY FOR TEMPORARILY REQUESTING THE THREAD CLOSED: as some of you already know-monday I was involved in a car/truck accident which has knocked me off balance and kept me very busy a couple days..sorry...but I trust it's given us all some time to work-out our stories some.

 

SECOND: welcome back all

 

third: this thread is of-course open to all members of Stf.net...and if anyone is interested in joining in....you need not fear the prospect of having to start on Sept. 15th....just start from the current date (please date your entry as you would a journal) and describe the scene where/when you're at...remember it's now been 3 weeks since nearly everyone 'disappeared'....For easy reference the most contemporary entry is Nik's on September 30th...(that's not when he posted....) but we are working on tieing together 3 separate story-lines and that's the earliest date we can all converge at.

 

forth: I've been enjoying everyone's writing....seems we have a very talented crew...talent on loan from God..as Rush would say...Hey, maybe we should call ourselves the E.I.R.P.G. network!

Edited by headborg

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Sept. 19 - later that day:

 

OK, Jones… no puddles on the floor,” I said as I opened my front door. Jones raced off eagerly to explore as I checked the answering machine. Nothing. I was hoping there might have been a message from my son, Adam.

 

I started upstairs to grab a quick shower and change of clothes. As I passed by my wife‘s sewing room, I noticed the quilt she had been working on. The pieces of the next block were laid out carefully on the table. She was always so happy when she was sewing….humming or singing along with the radio. I can’t let the emptiness envelope me completely , or I’ll never leave this house.

 

Brrrng…Brrrng….THE PHONE!!!!!!!!!!! … I nearly break my neck charging down the stairs….

 

I snatch up the handset…”Hello?…” A computer’s metallic voice replies: ”This is an independent survey…If you plan to vote Republican, please press…” In rage and despair, I slam the phone up against the wall. Killer Jones has come to investigate all the excitement. He stands with his head cocked quizzically to one side. “Oh, Shut Up!” I say, as I stomp back towards the stairs.

~~~

It was late when we left the house, but I just couldn’t stay there any longer…too many memories.

Columbia, Mo, where Adam attends college, is normally a couple hours drive from here, but with probable road hazards, it may take longer.

Click For Spoiler
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OFF:

request for a dialog on establishing a communications protocol.

I believe it would benefit the story if we can all agree on a set of procedures for establishing communications between our characters....we are for the most part separated in the story, not only by distance but by time as well. We each have our independent story-lines going and are on "different" days.

 

Live Communication: voice, phone, radio<<seems to me this would require for both characters to be on the same day. Or the character that's most current..farther ahead in the time line should be doing the "writing" of the communication...(writers should communicate behind the scenes and agree on the content of the dialog) then when the other character reaches that day...simply reference it happening.

 

PM's and E' and Notes/letters/recordings: these can be invented by a character that's on say the 25th....but of course they can't be received before they're written..

so for ex> person on 25th writes pm>>.to someone who's on the 30th...the person on the 30th would have to do a flash-back or the old "look what I found that I must have missed" thing<<which will become a cliche after the second or third time around. So I propose we agree to have whoever is "in the future" do the writing..and then send it then..unless it's a very urgent thing

Edited by headborg

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September 30th

07:00- I find myself setting here at my sister's breakfast table with a bowl of frosted flakes soaked in 'Pet' milk...yuck...guess I better get used to it. Been here now 4 days...didn't find anyone. We've been going thru the different Post stores, warehouses, armory, ordnance. We gathered up an assortment of equipment, supples and I'm getting restless again. I've been reading this flight manual on the UH-60 in secret now for the past 3 days...each day we drive by the Air Field and see them setting there...we could sure cover a lot more ground with one of those. Weareborg is getting better and better with his driving..and I've almost gotten used to DL6's. Aside from the bad food...crashing here at the General's house hasn't been bad.....post-820-1097210502.jpgbut I can remember all the kids and the back-yard barbeques...it will never be the same. DL6 has been working on her tan in her "daisy dukes" and Weareborg...Weareborg is always disappearing on us...playing video games and in the pool mostly...the heat and bugs are horrible around here.

Edited by headborg

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September 30th, 2004

 

10:00 A.M. I gather up some pictures and personal items of my sister's and stuff them in a duffel. It's time to 'blow this joint' . I slide open the patio door and step into the back yard were DL6 and WAB have been 'relaxing' this early morning. Before I can speak, DL6 raise the 'hat' and lowered her shades an inch down her nose, looking up at me from the patio lounger and inquires: "are we done here, HB, it's a real nice place to visit but we weren't planning on living here! We all lost people we love...but we got to go on." Just then as I stopped in my tracks..WAB chimed in from the floating lounger in the pool, "yea, we need to go check on those astronauts...remember, Hey guys, I've been meaning to tell ya'll I got a plan. DL6 and I together said: "Shut up, WAB!"

WAB:"But...."

HB (I adjust my SG-1 cap, don my shades) :"I was just about to say...let's load 'em up"

 

DL6 and WAB begin running for there rooms....obviously more that ready to "get out of Dodge"

 

Like all good house guests we had trashed the place, emptied the Fridge/Freezer/ Cabinets, left a lot of dirty dishes everywhere. I had sent WAB to "break' the fence and let the General's Prize horses have 'free range' the day we arrived. It was 2 p.m. before we were 'good to go' and the Hummer convoy of two pulled out the driveway. Weareborg insisted on driving 'his' Hummer, and we make him promise not to stay behind us and not to wonder off.

Edited by headborg

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The hours seemed only to pass like minutes as I sat cross legged on the floor in front of the shower's mirrored panel looking at and talking to Daniel. I was wrapped only in a towel and I was weary from the excitement and shock of seeing Daniel. I looked into his eyes, oh those eyes, how I remember the time he was on his knees looking up at me with those blue eyes pleading that I agree to a marriage with him. How could I refuse his request or anything with those blue eyes pulling me to his will. Daniel encouraged me to get my clothes and dress as there were thing that had to be done. I begged him not to have me leave the room and the mirror behind fearing that if I left he would be lost to me again. He was firm in his demand and I weakly yielded to his request. I pressed my hands to the mirror looking at him as I kissed him through the glass and reluntantly left for my clothes.

 

As I entered the laundry mat and walked to my dryer in the glass on the door was a faint reflection of Daniel. Daniel laughed and asked what took me so long. After that I had no fear of ever losing Daniel again. I dressed and listened as Daniel told me his plans for us, actually me, as he was limited to the things he could do. He said turning the CD player on in his truck was easy and it was just a matter of using his energy rather than his hands. Turning his truck off proved impossible as it was a fuel hauler and nothing within the engine could spark or ignite. He did notice that he could turn other machines on and off with little trouble.

 

During our chatting I went throughout the truck stop collecting the things Daniel was listing as he spoke. He wanted us to leave the stop and journey homeward but first I had to learn to drive his truck. I thought it was silly to have me driving the thing. Daniel was persistent in his demand that I drive his truck and finally I agreed to try to learn.

 

On a bright sunny day I walked out to the truck to see Daniel's reflection in the left wing mirror watching me approach. He instructed me to release the haul of gasoline and climb aboard in the drivers seat. I sat there with Daniel absent from my view then realized I had to turn the right wing mirror in to see the passenger seat. There Daniel appeared in the mirror. I giggled an apology to him. Daniel gave me a stern look and then instructed me to start the truck. It's engine roared alive and I listened to the instructions as Daniel explained the clutch and the dreaded double clutching. It must of been a sight if there would of been anyone there to watch as that handsome Peterbilt truck took the blunt of my learning to drive. It shimmied in the lot moving forward then having it's brake slammed down, the gears grinded then and Daniel voicing outrage at the top of his lungs to my attempts to control the truck. Finally after a few more attempts I had the truck going through the lot smoothly. I pulled in front of the truck stops door, gathered the supplies, and stored them on the top bunk of the sleeper in the truck. I was about to call the dogs when Daniel shook his head no. "We're not ready for the boys yet Pretty One." I looked curiously at his reflection as he nodded to the haul of another truck, "we need to find an empty one." I shook my head no. "Daniel, I learned to drive a bobtail and maybe I could drive a step-van but a 18 wheeler? No way!" It took me most of the day of finding keys opening the back of the trucks and looking for a empty truck or one that I could empty with not too much work. It was around 4 in the morning I had found a truck with half a loaded of 'White Cloud'. If anyone ever said toilet paper wasn't heavy they were lying. By 7:30 I had the toilet paper unloaded and the truck pulled out of the way. I sat in the drivers seat of Daniel's truck carefully backing it to the trailer watching the reflection of Daniel as we hook his truck to the haul.

Edited by BlueCrystal

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Sept. 20-

Well, it did take longer…darkness, combined with fog & abandoned vehicles was not a good combination for driving. We spent the night in a Holiday Inn Express, but Killer Jones didn’t seem any smarter, only more irritating. He woke me up bright & early, scratching at the door.

“OK, Jones…just let me get my pants on, will ya…hold on!” When I opened the door, he made a mad dash across the parking lot and out into the street. “At least I won’t have to worry about him getting hit by a car,” I thought to myself. He stood there, looking up & down the street, as though searching for something. He must have made up his mind, for all of a sudden, he raced away, barking happily.

“Jones…Get Back Here…come on, boy…we don’t have time for this…Stupid Dog…Stupid #%!* Dog!!!” I grumbled as I went to retrieve my shoes.

Back outside, I could still hear him, so I started to follow…”Haven’t even had my coffee yet…Dumb Mutt!” :biggrin:

When I finally caught up to him, he was scratching away at the door to the Police Station. “What could you possibly need in here?…Come on fella, I need my coffee…” He wouldn’t budge. “Well, alright, if you must insist.” As I started to open the door, he squeezed in through the crack, and started sniffing around the room. Then he sat down and looked at me, ears perked up and eyes alert. “Satisfied?” I growled. He looked over his shoulder, down a long hallway. Just then, I heard a strange, barely audible noise….

 

:fear:

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"Now let's see. Columbian Park Zoo. Where is that street? AHA! Here it is!" Lida said to herself as she traced the street on the map with her finger. Just then a ray of sun caught the pink diamond that sparkeled on her finger. One of the gifts Aaron had sent her for her birthday. She looked at it and thought it was time to go wake him.

 

She walked back to her room and she "tap, tap, tapped" on the door. "HUH!" She heard him say like she had awoken him. "It's me. You decent? Can I come in?" She called through the closed door. "Sure, come on in. I'm awake." Lida went in. "You hungry? I made breakfast. Yours in down in the kitchen whenever you want to eat. But we need to get going." She said. "Get going? He asked "Where are we going?" Since she had made this plan after he had fallen asleep he had no idea what she was talking about. "To the ZOO!" She told him. "What?" He asked. "WHY??" He said in a moaning voice. "We have to set the animals free. If we don't the ones that haven't already straved to death in there will die. We have to do this Aaron. Either you come with me or I'll go by myself. It's your choice. Now what will it be?" She said angrily. :biggrin: But I just spent the last two days driving, I'm tired Lida." He whined. She stood there with her arms folded arcoss her chest and tapped her foot on the carpet, waiting.

Edited by Jeanway

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Aaron flopped back down on the bed. "Do I have time for a shower?" He asked. Lida answered. "Yes, just hurry will you Please?" Lida left the room saying I'll meet you down in the kitchen. "K, Sweetie." He answered.

 

After Aaron ate, he and Lida went out to the parking lot to look for a new vehicle. The UPS truck she had driven loaded with the animals smelled so bad she had to park it away from the front door, way in back of the hotel. "Can you hot wire a car Aaron?" She asked him. "We don't have any keys you know." She told him. "No problem." He answered. They walked the lot for a minute until Lida spotted a little Miata Rag-top. "Oh, this will get us there quick. How about this one?" Aaron gave it a quick look. "Yea, ok, get in and pop the hood, let me take a look." Lida got behind the wheel and popped the hood. Aaron leaned in and fumbled around for a minute then it started. "Let's go." He said as he jumped over the door and into the seat beside her.

 

They headed out of town towards the Zoo.

Edited by Jeanway

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According to the map they had about a half hour drive to the zoo. About 15 minutes after they left the hotel lot, up ahead on the road, in the distance they could see something moving along the road ahead of them. "Look Aaron." Lida said as she pointed. Aaron had dozed off and she had to give him a shake. "LOOK AARON!" She yelled at him. "HUH? What?" He said. They both kept their eyes fixed on this odd looking vehicle up ahead of them. They could see it was being pulled by a horse. Lida downshifted and rolled up next to it and they both looked over to see an older bearded man dressed in a white shirt looking back at them. The man waved them over to the side of the road where he was stopping. Lida pulled up in front of the buggy and stopped. They both got out and walked back to the buggy.

Edited by Jeanway

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Lida said to Aaron quietly as they approached him. "I thought only STF.Net members were the only people left. This doesn't look right, does it?" She asked him. "Sussh now, let me do the talking, ok?" Lida nodded in agreement.

 

"Hello" Aaron said to the man. "I'm Aaron and this is Lida. We were on our way to the zoo." The man didn't say anything right off he just sat there. He cleared his throat. " My name is Abraham. Nice to meet you both." He answered. "You folks from around here?" He asked. "No, I'm up here from Kentucky and Lida here is from Wisconsin. Let me ask you something, Abraham, have you noticed anything strange around here in the past 4 or 5 days?" Abraham look relieved and said. "Golly, gracious young man, I thought we were going through the Rapture and everyone was gone except me and my family. They are all back at the farm." Aaron thought for a minute then asked him. "Are you Amish, Abraham?" "Why yes, yes I am." He answered. "Becka won't believe this when I tell her there are still people here besides us. Come on back to the farm with me and show her and my younguns." He asked. Lida spoke up. "Abraham, we have urgent business at the zoo, can we come to your place on our way back?" She asked him. 'Sure, I'll show ya where it is then you just come back down this same road and you'll remember where it is, that alright?" Aaron agreed and so did Lida. They followed Abraham in his buggy to his farm. Then waved good-bye and continued towards the zoo.

 

 

 

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Edited by Jeanway

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"Well, what do you make of that?" Aaron asked Lida. "Well, Sweetie, the only logical answer would be that they are STF.Net members too. The whole family."

Lida thought for a second then said. "Well, it IS a family site, isn't it?" They both laughed.

 

"There it is!" Aaron said as they approached the Zoo entrance. They drove in through the arch in down the pavement towards the enclosures and pens. Slowly they observed some dead or dying animals laying on the ground. A Peacock ran in front of the car an Lida almost hit it. "He must have flown over the fence." She said. Lida stopped the car and they both got out. "O.K., you go down that side of the walk-way and try whatever you have to do to free every animal you can and get those hoses going, fill up the water troughs and try to find the food, alright?" They set about for the next few hours releasing the smaller animals first making sure they ate something and drank before the gates were opened. The monkeys scattered in every direction. The goats, rams and elk rans like they were being chased. The giraffs and lemmings took off like a shot across a field. The Giant Apes were next . After the least dangerous animals were free they back tracked in the order of the least to the most dangerous and proceded to free them. The lions, bears and the tigers were the last to be let out. "Get the car running now and bring it here so we can get away quick, one of them might try to attack us." Lida told Aaron. He got the car started and drove over to the Polar Bear Pen and waited. Then around one side Lida came running like her pants were on fire. She jumped in the car and said "GO!" They took off out of there in a streak and a flash. :laugh: :biggrin:

Edited by Jeanway

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WOW that was fun!!!

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Can't wait til we do this again :biggrin:

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Edited by Jeanway

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September 30th, 2004

14:30 hours

 

We round the corner, and I take a left onto the air field, as DL6’s eyes start to get big...”oh no! You ant thinking what I think you’re thinking….are you?”

 

HB: “well…..their here….we’re here….it’s a bright sunny day….sometimes you just got to say…..what the f#$%!”

DL6 (looks at me with a ’ no’ look on her face shaking her head):”….. mmmmmm, what the !@#$, yea…right!"

We get out of the Hummer as Weareborg pulls up in the Best Buy Hummer.

HB: (grins at DL6): ‘come on….how hard can it be?….I just won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t at least try!”

DL6:”yea, it’s the ‘living’ part that’s got me worried…..no Hb!...it’s not worth it...come on now…”stomps her foot.

WAB (walks up): “kool guys…just…”

HB &DL6: “shut up, WAB!”

WAB: ”But…but…”

DL6:” hb, do you know anything about flying?”

Hb: “I got 16 hrs on a single engine piper. Here, hold on to ‘ditto’."

I hand the little dog to DL6. Start toward a UH-60a.

WAB: “guys…”

DL6( passes the dog on to WAB): "shut up WAB and hold this…hay…mister not so fast….I got friends that fly…I’ve got a better chance of handling that thing than you.”

 

We both climb in, and don’t notice WAB has climbed in too, taking up a position at one of the waist M-60 machine guns….where he proceeds to load it all without any notice from us as we fight over the correct ‘start up” procedure. We must have ‘accidentally” got it right, cause the chopper came to life.. I pulled back on the collective and increased rotor speed and the chopper began to lift off the ground…then we ran into a little trouble…the chopper began to “turn’ around in circles...and I noticed DL6 had her foot on one of the pedals.

HB: ”Do you mine?”

DL6:” Shut up, Hb, I’m driving!”

HB: ”like hell”

Just then, WAB decided to “get our attention” by clearing the chamber of the machine gun. The sudden sound made me glance back over my shoulder toward the sound of the machine gun fire but I glanced over the wrong shoulder and saw nothing but empty helicopter…and my foot hit the right pedal. The nose of the chopper made a sudden turn to the right…the aft section suddenly displacing to the left…WAB flew out of the chopper managing to just barely grab hold of the machine gun barrel and was holding on for dear life…we were about a 100 feet off the ground. There was no way of hearing Weareborg’s frantic screams of panic over the sound of the rotors.

HB to DL6: “Did you hear that? Sounded like someone shooting at us.” The chopper continued to spin and dip around…DL6 glanced back over her left shoulder and saw Weareborg dangling from the machine gun barrel. And directed my attention over my other shoulder.

 

HB: “WAB, get your rear back in here…stop clowning around” I yell over the com.

WAB( continues to scream in terror)

HB to DL6: “ go back there and get him in here”

DL6: “you go back there….why you always giving orders… you do it…I’m flying!”

Hb: get your !@# back there now!

DL6: "all right!" (she shoves the control stick to the left as she’s heading back there. And the chopper banks back to the left while spinning around .

Hb:" whoa..…horsey"

 

DL6 had the good sense to fasten a safety strap to the roof of the chopper but as she approaches WAB to help him back inside she grabs the machine gun by the pistol grip….Weareborg noticing this and the fact that the muzzle of the gun was aimed at his nose…..lets out a wild scream of “Nooooo” manages to land a kick of the bottom of his right foot squarely against DL6’s face, and simultaneously manages to remove his head out of the front of the muzzle just as DL6 accidentally squeezes the trigger. The blow to the face knocks DL6 unconscious and she slumps over the machine gun dangling from the safety strap, with her finger caught on the trigger. Weareborg continues to hang precariously from the barrel of a now firing wildly machine gun, screaming his head off trying to keep vital parts of his anatomy from being shot off while the chopper spins, and the machine gun swings around. The bullets meanwhile have found their mark in the gas tank of the Best Buy ‘geek mobile’- it explodes as the trail of bullets continue to strafe along the concrete and strike a stack of fuel drums near-by which begin to leak fuel which in turn begins to spill out on the ground and run towards the now burning Hummer. Meanwhile, I am busy trying to get the chopper under control and notice nothing but the sound of the machine gun fire.

HB:” Knock it off back there, this isn’t the time for target……..” I turn and see that Weareborg is now hanging head first out of the chopper with one leg tangled in the machine gun belt. Then I notice my little dog “ditto” dancing around on the pavement barking wildly as bullets impact all around her.

HB to DL6: “Don’t shoot my dog!”

Just then DL6 is coming to, and the machine gun jams as WAB’s ankle wedges itself against the feed port of the weapon. DL6 begins to drag the little guy in as I see his eyes get big again…there’s a pause in his screaming….then the start of huge scream of holy terror. I turn and look as the tail rotor dips inside a hanger and shears off the tail of the helicopter…I drop the collective…and the power…and we drop the last dozen feet like a rock…a landing gear is driven threw the floor, the chopper lays over to that side as the rotor blades strike the pad and come to a stop . This Blackhawk is down!

Edited by headborg

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We're all dazed, but ok as the smell of fuel brings us all around, we all evac the wrecked chopper and run toward a near-by ditch at the edge of the pad near the hanger and dive in as the whole mess explodes. My dog was already there waiting for us.

 

HB:"everyone o.k?"

DL6: O.K.!!???...o.k.??!!!

WAB: "wow...what a rush!"

 

DL6 pounced on me while I lay there in the grass, and began to slap me repeatedly, beating on me, and cursing like a sailer. Again, WAB got up and ran off without our notice....till we heard the sound of another 'Blackhawk' coming to life. DL6 stopped slapping me, and exclaimed "no way! you got to go stop him HB-he'll get himself killed." But it was too late by the time I got to my feet, crossed the field....WAB had lifted off and was starting to make his first circle of the field, somewhat ugly flying, but he was flying...I stood there waving my arms for him to bring it down....he just made low passes...buzzing me and forcing me to dive for cover. It was clear after the first 10 minutes....this kid couldn't drive...but he sure could fly.

DL6 had retreated to the tail of a nearby Army hummer, where she had broke out the camping stove and was grilling the last of our hot dogs and bologna..We set there watching WAB showing off for 10 minutes or so..then the smell or sight of 'food' brought him down...he landed the chopper smoothly in front of us...powered down, climbed out and started to swagger over toward us with a bemused look on his face. As he approached, I gathered my duffle and walked toward him...as he opened his mouth to speak...I shoved a hot dog in his hole and continued toward the chopper and began loading our supplies.

WAB(when he could talk with a mouthful of hot dog): "Thanks! May I have extra mustard?"

DL6 began squeezing the mustard all over him...still not over the kick to the face.

DL6:" when were you gonna tell us...you could fly that thing?...when did you learn?"

WAB: "I tried to tell y'all, but you wouldn't listen..l've been sneaking off practicing on the Simulator for 3 days now.

HB & DL6: "simulator???"

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