//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Above Snakes 
// Story: TCB: Among the Stars (Part 1: Absquatulate) 
// by Herr Director 
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	"If we keep moving at this speed, we will certainly reach the base by nightfall." Ralph said, studying his map. We were trekking through the forest, the trees sheltering us from the hot Florida sun. Unfortunately, the humidity made up for it. It had been about an hour, and we had no food or water with us. My brow was slick with sweat. We were all dripping with perspiration. The only good thing was that the ground was fairly flat, making it easy to take the suitcases through the wilderness.
It wasn't as big of a deal for Sally and I. Throughout the years, Mom and Dad took us on hikes and camping trips quite often. Mom made it a point to take us on at least one each month after Dad passed away and after she retired. She cared a lot about her health, and she always did some kind of hardcore activity to keep in shape. Sadly, after Mom got arthritis and had to use a cane, we couldn't go on any more trips with her, but she made sure that we went on our own.
"It's strange, Jack," Sally caught up with me. "It seems like everything Mom has done for us has led up to this. The gun, the wilderness survival stuff. Don't you think it's weird?" 
"Yeah, it is kind of funny." I said. "Do you think she knew about this all along or something."
"No, that's impossible," Sally shook her head. "But it is a bizarre coincidence, isn't it?"
"Uh, guys?" It was Ralph. "We might have a problem." In front of us was a large swampy area. Muddy water covered the ground. Trees grew up out of the water as if it was regular land. It would be very hard to transverse.
"How far is the base from here?" I asked.
"It's right on the other side of the swamp, I think."
"Can we go around?"
"It'll take about another day to do that."
"Dang." We didn't have that time. We had to go through the swamp, or we were done for. "Okay." I said. "Looks like we have to go through the swamp." With that, I waded into the muddy swampy water. It was by no means cold, but it was cooler than the hot forest area. Still wouldn't dunk my face under it, though. Who knows what kind of bugs are in this stuff. "It seems safe enough, but we should still be careful." I reported. One by one, the other members of our group waded into the murky liquid, Ralph taking point.

I don't know how long we moved through the swamp, it was at least a few hours. I just know that it was dusk now. By this point there was a low fog in the swamp. You could see up into the sky, but not very far anywhere else. I lost count of how many times we had to stop to pick off the leeches that had infested the swamp water. And the smell. It got into all of our clothes and hair. At least Mom had the suitcases waterproofed when we got them.
"We're not far, guys." Ralph assured us as we pressed on through the muck. "We'll probably get there within the hour."
"Good!" I heard Joey pipe up from the rear. "I can't take the smell anymore."
"Too bad Mom didn't take us camping in the swamp, huh Jack?" Sally remarked.
"You know... I think I would have passed her up on that." I replied. Truthfully, I probably would have gone anyways, mainly because I wouldn't have known how much the swamp sucks. And it does. The mud grabs at your shoes. Sally got stuck a couple of times. It was pretty funny, but I dared not laugh. She would find a way to get even, and she always did without fail.
"I suppose it's good that we have this tree cover." Joey commented. "It would be impossible to make progress if there were Equestrians on out backs- EUUGH!" Joey groaned as he took in a breath of stench. "I think the smell is getting worse. I sense there are... feces near by." He was right. The stink was increasing in intensity. The thought of feces completely made me loose my appetite. I prayed that there wasn't any of the crap in the water. My head hung low, praying for this to end. As we waded through the bayou, I noted an incline. We were approaching a shore bank.
"Okay everyone," I announced. "We're coming up on shore. Check yourselves for leeches." I looked down at the water for a brief moment. My face was not the clean man I was at the start of this. I was covered in bug bites, and I was beginning to get some stubble. Dang it, I knew I should have packed a razor. Maybe there's one at the rocket or something.
I kept looking down. The water changed slowly to muddy ground, and from that to... wooden planks? I perked my head up. We now stood on a small platform made of boards. On the platform was a small shack.
"Well, Joey," I said jubilantly. "You were right about the smell. I think this is an outhouse!"
"And if there's one of these," Sally grinned in excitement. "I bet the base is not too far away!" Sure enough, there was a pathway made of boards that led away through the trees. There was a light in the distance, probably from a house of some kind.
"I think we found the base." I took the lead from Ralph. I brought out Mom's gun, just in case things went south. As we approached the light, we discovered that it was indeed, a house. I saw a figure move from withing the window. "Hello?" I called out. "Is someone there?" The door of the house opened. A man with grey hair and a goatee stood in the doorway. He pointed a shotgun at us.
"Don't make me put a bullet in yeh, you prancing show pony." The man threatened.
"No, wait!" I called back to him. "We're human! Don't shoot. We're just trying to get to the HLF base."
The man rubbed his eyes. He squinted at us. "Oh, oh!" He lowered his gun. "My goodness, more survivors!" He quickly beckoned us to enter the house. "Come on in!" he said. One by one, we filed into the house.

The house was small. There was a kitchen, a small living room with some old, beat up couches, and a door to what I assumed was the bedroom. Crates of supplies were stacked in a corner of the living room area. A bulky looking radio sat on a table near the crates.
"Please forgive me for the cold welcome." The man said. "My eyesight ain't so good anymore." The man set down his gun by the door and went into the kitchen. He emerged a minute later with some bottles of water and a plate of ham sandwiches. "You four must be tired and hungry, huh?" The man said. "Have a seat and eat up while I radio the base, m'kay?" I took a bottle and a sandwich, and sat down on a ratty old couch in the living room I drank the water first. It tasted more refreshing than it ever had before. The sandwiches were a bit dry, but they were the only food we had to eat all day since breakfast at the diner. The man went over to the radio. He turned a few knobs and spoke into the microphone. "Outpost two to base eighteen, outpost two to base eighteen, come in base eighteen."
A male voice spoke tinnily from the radio. "This is base eighteen, go ahead outpost two."
"We have four survivors that just came in, they need to be escorted to the base."
"Copy outpost two. Can you verify that they were not followed?" The man glanced up at us. I shook my head.
"They were not."
"Confirmed. We're sending an escort out. ETA twenty minutes. Base eighteen out."
The man stood up from the radio and sat down in an armchair across from us. "They're sending some folks to take you through to the base." he explained. "Them ponies suspect that the base is around here, and they've been trying to find it. Been seeing squads of their fliers around looking for it."
"Have they made any progress that you can tell?" Joey inquired.
"Not yet," the man replied. "And we intend to keep it that way. So," The man took out a bottle of alcohol from behind his armchair. "Tell me your stories."
"She and I are brother and sister from Tallahassee." I said simply. "Our mother was with us, but she was captured when we tried to leave the city."
"I'm Joey Hoppner and this is Ralph Siegland." Joey introduced himself to the man. "We came from the HLF base that was raided last night. They took my father, Dr. Fredrich Hoppner."
"That's right." The man said, stroking his goatee. I've heard that name before. Worked with Dr. Chesterfield on a few things, didn't he."
"Yes, he helped plan the Colonizing Initiative." Joey affirmed.
"I see." The man said. "Well, finish up your sammiches." He stood up from the armchair. "The HLF Escort will be here soon." He came over to me. "As a word of caution," he spoke softly, just above a whisper, as if there was someone else in the room that he didn't want to overhear us. "I suggest you hide that piece of yours, lest they confiscate it. You need all the protection you can get in times like these, am I right?"
I nodded. After finishing the food and drink provided, I stood up and looked out the window. The fog had lifted slightly, and I could see farther than before. A gravel road passed in front of the house. Beyond that was more swamp. I was hard for me to believe that anyone could actually live out here, but this guy who was offering us some respite did a pretty good job at it. At least, I assumed he was the owner of the house.
A few minutes later, I saw a light come from down the road. The light split off into a total of four as it got closer, like cells dividing. The man came over to the window and looked out. He now wore a pair of wire glasses. "That's them!" He said. He turned to the rest of the group. "The escorts are here! Pack up your things!" I grabbed my suitcase slipping Mom's gun into the front pocket. Sally grabbed her suitcase, as did Joey with Mom's. The man picked up his shotgun once more, and led us out the front door. The escort vehicles pulled up in front of the house. A truck and a minivan. The truck had a machine gun mounted on the back, and the minivan had one sticking out of where the windshield used to be. The passenger side door of the van opened. A young man with a hunting rifle hopped out. He wore a blue trucker hat, and looked like he was only in his twenties.
"Howdy there Frankie." the trucker said. "You got people that need saving, huh?" He spoke with a clear southern accent.
Joey stepped forward. "Hello, I am Joey Hoppner." he introduced. "These are my friends, Ralph Siegland, and Jack and Sally Crest." he gestured to each of us in turn as he listed our names for the trucker. The trucker grabbed Joey's hand and shook it vigorously, bursting with enthusiasm. It was more like he was working a water pump rather than shaking hands with someone else.
"Well howdy sport." The man said. "People just call me Ed 'round these parts." He gestured to the van. "Put yer stuff in the back and hop in. We got a schedule to keep up with now, dont'cha know?"
Ed popped the trunk and I helped him load up the suitcases. He shut it with a slam. "Go on, git!" he said as he ushered me into the back with the others. He hopped in the passenger seat and took hold of the machine gun. "Here's to the first day of the end of the world! Yeehaw!" The van started to move. As it turned around, I saw Frankie wave to us from the porch. I rolled down my window to wave back.
"Thank you," I called to him. He smiled as we passed him. As he faded out into the fog, I saw him turn around and walk back into his cabin. We had made it to safety at last

The ride was rather uneventful. Ed kept jawing about all the stuff he had to deal with, living in the swamp. He told numerous stories about killing various animals, many of which, were "Crocs and Gators" as he called them. Soon though, we reached the base. The entrance was rather simple. A metal door that was wide enough for vehicles to pass through was fixed into a large mound of land. Ed jumped out of the van and went over to a small keypad that was previously concealed with vines beside the door. He entered in a code, and then got back in the gunner's seat as the door opened to reveal a dimly lit tunnel. Our convoy moved into the tunnel, and the door was closed behind us. The tunnel sloped downward, taking us below ground. Eventually we came into a large warehouse type area. Crates and vehicles lined the sides of the room, except for one, which had a larger door covering most of the wall space. People armed with assault rifles flanked all the doorways in the room.   
"This place used to be a missile launching facility." Ed explained as we got out of the car. "It was abandoned during the cold war. That door leads to the rocket silo." We were approached by another man. He wore a dirty policeman's uniform, complete with the hat.
"Hello Ed," he said. He looked at us. "These are the survivors from up north, aren't they?"
"Sure as sugar." Ed replied. "You here to take them to their room?"
"Yes, that's right." I was surprised. I had the impression they would ship us down there right away. Sensing my shock, the police man put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get you down to the Amerigo in time." he assured. "It's too dark out for us to take you now. Those ponies have some kind of night vision or something like that on them, and we can't risk it. We will take you there first thing in the morning, so get ready. In the meantime, you can stay in one of the rooms here, so grab your stuff and follow me." He turned around and led us through a doorway. Ed waved back to us from the convoy. "Happy trails, pardners!" he called out happily. He turned back to the van and took out a personal radio from the glove box of the van. "Heya base, this is Ed. What's that? Really? How many? Okay, we're on the way. He hopped back in, and with a loud "Yeehaw!" he jumped back in the van and sped back up the tunnel, the truck following behind him.
"Come on, Mr. Crest, let's go." Ralph tugged on my sleeve. I shook my head, recovering from my space out, and followed the rest of our group into the doorway.
Inside was a small room, and an elevator. It opened up its doors with a "ding". We filed behind the man into the elevator. The doors closed.
"Uhh sir?" the officer asked me. "Can you press the button for H1?" I looked behind me. There was a button panel. I pushed the button marked H1, and, with a small jerk, the elevator slowly descended into the base.
"We'll leave first thing in the morning. We already sent out our last party of the night to Base 17 down by the Canaveral Evacuation Zone. They'll take you to the spaceport" He stated as the elevator descended. Another small ding rang out and the doors opened up onto a long hallway with rooms on each side. "And here we are!" The officer showed us to a room about four doors down on the left side. The room was rather small. Two rumpled bunk beds were at the end of the room, and a footlocker was at the end of each one. Other than that, the room was bare. "Here's your room." he said as he ushered us inside. "Bathrooms are at the end of the hall by the elevator. We'll send you someone that will wake you up and feed you in the morning, so get as much sleep as you can, now." With a small smile, he left and closed the door behind him.
Joey sat on the bottom bunk of the left bed. "I suggest we do as he says. We will no doubt need the energy tomorrow."
"I agree." Sally hopped up on the top bunk of the other bed. "Let's go to bed now. That way, we'll be all ready to face whatever the next day will bring." I put our suitcases in the other corner of the room and got into the bed below Sally. My eyes closed as sleep overtook me. The last thought I had that night came at that moment. We're safe now. We made it.



Okay, Celestia's raid on the Orlando base was a setback, but not to worry. I will be able to come into contact with Dr. Chesterfield soon, and all will be fine. I still can't let these people know my secret. NO! I have to tell them. They trust me, they deserve to know. They did get me this far, and I have no doubt they will make it to the Evacuation Zone. But how will they react? Will they kill me? Oh, don't worry about that, now you're just being silly. I have grown to trust my new friends. I know, I'll wait until we arrive at Canaveral. Then, I am sure they will be ready to learn the truth, and even if they aren't, I will be under protection. We just need to get there. And soon. Dr. Chesterfield is counting on me, and I cannot fail him now.



There was a sharp knock on our door. "Wake up! Wake up in there!" A female voice rang through the door. I rolled out of bed. with a groan and sat on the edge.
"Man, when they say first thing in the morning, they aren't kidding, are they?." Ralph complained as he hopped down from his top bunk. I looked at my watch. It was 6:30 in the morning. 
"Watch out, Jack, I'm coming down!" Sally warned. I stood up and went to the door, giving Sally room to jump down. I opened the door to find a middle aged woman standing in the hall. She held a tray with four bowls of hot oatmeal, and four plastic spoons. Raisins and brown sugar were scattered on top of the oatmeal.
"Better eat fast people, we're heading up to the air boats in fifteen minutes!" The woman spoke with a loud and obnoxious voice, which was probably why she was stuck waking people up. I thanked her and took the tray from her. I sat the tray down on one of the footlockers.
"Eat up," I said. "We're going to the Evacuation Zone in 15 minutes." We each took a bowl and a plastic spoon, and ate hastily. Even though there were raisins and sugar on the oatmeal, it was still rather flavorless. None the less, everyone finished their bowl completely. We were going to need the energy. I passed out the luggage to their respective bearers, and we walked out into the hallway, leaving the room behind.
In the hall, there were about 40 others standing in line. About 12 more people filed in behind us. The obnoxious woman who had brought us our oatmeal was standing at the front by the elevator.
"If you don't have suitcases and can take the stairs, go up to floor B3." Her loud voice carried through the hallway. "If you do, wait in line for the elevator. Six people at a time!" Some people who were wearing backpacks stepped out of line and walked up the stairs. Ralph stayed with us, not wanting to split up the group. The line moved as people got on the elevator, and others moved up to fill the spaces left by the backpackers.
"Wonder how fast this line is going to move?" Joey asked. "We need to get to the Evacuation Zone as soon as possible."
"Don't worry now," Sally reassured him. "I'm sure this is all on schedule." The line moved forward a few steps as the elevator returned to carry another group.
"Wonder how long the journey is?" A man and a woman, probably husband and wife, talked amongst each other.
"What I'm worried about," the wife replied. "Is the safety of this whole thing. What if one of those Pegasi teams or something swoop down and convert us and whisk us off to Pony-land or wherever they live? The river is open to the sky, we'll be easy to see!"
"Now, now, don't worry about that, dear. These people have done this many times before, I'm sure they know how to remain unseen."
The line moved forward again as the elevator returned. We were very close to the elevator now, probably getting permission to board within the next two groups. "It's hard to believe how many people are taking this in so many ways," Joey remarked. I was a bit surprised. Wasn't he a part of the HLF. I thought on this for a bit. It was a bit strange. A ding brought me back to reality, as I realized the elevator had arrived to take us down. We got on with the worried couple. The police officer who had shown us to our room last night was at the button console.
"Going up!" He said as he pushed the button marked B3. The doors slid shut and the elevator rose upwards. After a minute, the doors opened again, and we stepped out into another dim hall. At the end was another metal door, like the one that was on the outside of the warehouse upstairs. Another HLF member who stood by the door input the passcode into a keypad, and the door opened up. We moved on through to the boat house.
The boathouse was a large hangar type area, but on water. A concrete docking area ran around the bay. One side was taken up by a set of huge metal doors. At the bottom of the doors, a retractable grate was there to let water flow in and out. Motor boats, as well as air boats were lined up around the docking area. Most of the boats already had people on them. The civilians stayed on the air boats, while HLF members armed with machine guns took the motor boats Each air boat also had a smaller machine gun on it. A young woman in an orange life vest with the letters HLF stenciled on the back helped us into one of the air boats. It was just us four and the couple from the line in there. The seats were arranged in rows of two. Sally and Ralph sat up front, Joey and I sat in the middle, and the couple sat in back. The woman in the life vest took out a hand held radio as she strapped down our luggage in a small depression near the rear of the boat.
"This is water convoy number one, we're loaded up and ready to move out." She spoke into the radio. The radio squawked something back which I couldn't hear, but it sounded like a go-ahead. She got up front behind the wheel. A short man in an army uniform boarded the boat and manned the machine gun. "Okay people, life vests are under your seats. Put them on quickly and hold on to something, because we leave NOW!" I reached under my chair and pulled out a life vest. It was exactly the same as the vest the woman wore, stenciled letters and all. I put it over my head and buckled and tightened the straps. The air boat fan chugged to life, causing a slight sucking at our back. Around the docking bay, motors buzzed and fans whirred. The convoy was ready. The doors opened and the grate retracted. Outside, the river water was green, and gold, reflecting the sunrise off of the surface. One of the motor boats went out first, followed by an air boat, and they alternated. Our boat was one of the last to leave. We left the dark base and came into the sun once again.

The water sprayed up in and around the boat as we rode down the river. The boat bounced up and down, shaking up us up like a prankster with a can of soda. Behind us, the wife of the worried couple was complaining and crying to her husband, his attempts to assuage her falling on deaf ears.
"Oh, Hugh, hold on tightly, this is really bumpy. AH! It's too bumpy." I groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long ride.
The driver was apparently fed up with the woman's antics as well. "Don't worry, miss." She shouted. "We know what we're doing here, so keep calm, and we'll be there before you know it." Then the woman started complaining about how rude the HLF people were. Geez, some people you just can't please, I suppose. I tried to tune her out and looked around. Trees lined the riverbanks. The sun peeked over the treetops. It was fairly beautiful, but it wasn't as sweet as it used to be. I suppose that it's from Celestia proclaiming that she's goddess of the sun back on her own world. Since a lot of people are fed up with her nowadays, the sun had also lost a bit of respect as well from us humans. Up in the sky, I saw some strange shiny objects. They couldn't be stars, it was already too light out.
"Uhh, miss?" I hailed the driver and pointed up. As I did so, her radio spat out a message. She picked it up with one hand, and looked worried. Things were about to get ugly.