Chapter 25: Burning Bridges
Both Frack and Bernie looked up at the source of the voice, a very large minotaur cow who looked back down at them. “I broke it to get in, looking for food. Found plenty here. Willing to share. Some storm, wasn’t it? Glad I found a building here to shelter in, so I wouldn’t have to swim. How bad is it out there?” the chatty minotaur asked.
“Bad enough. How many letters had come off the south side of the sign when you got here?” Frack asked in return. “And, who are you?”
“Me? I was Joan Tucker. I sure didn’t look like THIS before!” she said, indicating her two-meter-plus frame.
“I’m sure of that. I’m Frack, and this is Bernie. She’s local, I’m from Nebraska. How long have you been here?” Frack asked.
“Two full moons plus that I’m sure of. How much plus, I’m not. Just woke up one night on my bed up on the north side, and hunger drove me south. Got here I would say four, five weeks ago. Have you seen them big sinkholes?” Joan asked.
“Sure have!” Frack affirmed. “Saw one form up by Tarpon Springs. Maggots the size of rattlesnakes!”
“So that explains the swarm of flies I saw a while back,” Joan said. “Want to come in? Got some fresh fruit and vegetables that are ripe!”
“Fresh fruit? What’s fresh fruit?” Frack asked.
Bernie had a quick riposte. “It’s something that grows on trees that you can pick and eat.”
“I thought money grew on trees,” Frack countered.
“Not in this state. Maybe in Nebraska, but not down here,” Bernie replied.
“Are you two always like this?” Joan asked.
“How would I know? I arrived the day before yesterday!” was Bernie’s response.
Joan laughed long and hard, her ears turning a bit reddish. “Come on in, and let’s see what we can do for each other!”
“Plus, I have to call this in to the Captain. I would invite you to the boat, but, I’m afraid your horns will slice up our overhead storage,” Frack admitted. “It’s a pleasure trawler, not an ocean liner!”
Frack called in while Joan and Bernie chatted. Bernie found out just how much a thestral likes fresh fruit, especially mangoes. When he came back, he found Bernie with her teeth firmly sunk into a mango, sucking the juices out of it. “And you said you weren’t a vampire…” he said in mock-disgust.
“Just on low-hanging fruits so far. You’re not the right type to go snacking on, Bright-Eyes!” Bernie replied in a flirtatious manner.
“Okay, then, I’m going to put together a thick collar to protect my neck!” Frack snapped back.
“If you’re sure it will help, go right ahead! Just remember- thestrals can enter dreams, lover boy!” Bernie teased.
“I don’t think you’ll want a return visit to my dreams, young lady!” Frack fired back.
“HOLD IT!” Joan bellowed, getting the squabbling ponies’ attention. “Frack, what did your captain say?”
“Oh, he and Fred will be here within an hour, with the wagon. He’ll bring a few things you can use right off, while he dickers for trade goods, like fresh fruits, greens and medicinals, which are in HIGH demand by friends of ours.” Frack managed to say casually.
“Oh, really?” Joan said, drawing the last word out. “Just how can we manage a trading relationship?”
Frack sat down on a nearby rock, under the fruit trees. Finding an orange that did not look too bad, he quickly peeled it. “There’s more than one way to do it, depending on what YOU want to do,” he said. “You can stay here on your own, you can come with us in the fall, or maybe the WSU would want to leave a few ponies here just to grow medicinal plants, to be picked up a couple times a year.
“Frick will know more about the ideas. You think on what you want to do, okay?” Frack said as he took a bite of the orange- and squirted a stream of juice onto Bernie’s face.
“Only you can turn orange juice into a dangerous weapon…” Bernie snorted, juice dripping off her muzzle.
“Are you always this clownish?” Joan asked.
“No, just when we’re nervous enough about the future so that laughing is better than other options,” Frack said seriously, Bernie nodding in agreement.
“Good way to look at things,” Joan agreed.
“The world out there is not as nice as it was, Joan,” Frack told the minotaur. “While we’re waiting for Frick and Fred, let me tell you about the state of the world as we know it.” Between bites of oranges and grapefruit, Frack told the two about their trip from Nebraska to Saint Petersburg, explaining all the stops along the way and what they all have done at each stop.
“Do you keep in touch with all your back stops?” Joan asked.
“If not directly, then indirectly, through WSU radio. While we do check in with each other on occasion, we ALL check in with Sandra at the WSU, who’s on air most days at an inconvenient hour for us, but that happens, because they're based in Rotterdam, where we hope to go,” Frack said. “For instance, I know Kansas City has found three more ponies, Saint Louis North has four new members, and Memphis three wander-ins. In all places, we’ve helped them go from scrounging scraps to actually giving them hope for the future. Farms are being planted, lower-end tech is being refurbished to make life less of a struggle, and we’re giving ponies a sense of hope, a reason to go on living another day.”
“Been listening to Fred’s sermons?” Bernie quipped.
“For over fifty years, Bernie. Don’t tell him, though. He’ll never believe I paid attention,” Frack countered.
Frack told some more about the WSU, an organization that is trying to re-establish some sort of technological civilization, mainly so they can maintain the three ships in the fleet. “They’ve been a lot of help to us, over the radio and what’s left of the Net. They tell us what we don’t know, plus how to implement it. That’s one reason why we’re so hot to get to Rotterdam, via Havana.”
“Havana? Why there?” Joan asked.
“They found enough people there to make a viable colony, and after their fleet paid a visit last year, it’s become a link in the chain. There are colonies in Belfast, Norway, Brazil, Mexico and Savannah that I know of. Maybe something in Jacksonville. I know Kings Bay navy base has a bunch of sailors there, off a submarine that crashed last year. One of the ships has what was needed to rescue the crew,” Frack explained.
“Seems like I have a lot to learn about life today,” Joan mused.
“Cornhusker One to Cornhusker Four. Got your ears on, bro?” came from the radio.
Frack looked up at Joan. “Pardon me,” he said before getting his radio in a hoof. “I got ‘em, bro. Where you at?”
“In the parking lot. You and Bernie get your kiesters out here to help unload!” Frick snapped.
“I’ll bring the resident as well. Out in a minute! Cornhusker Four out!”
Joan had to smile. “Just have to love your radio discipline,” she said as she got up.
“Different, yes? When no one is around to enforce the rules, throw them out!” Frack laughed.
“Mostly,” Bernie added. “Some rules make sense.”
“That they do,” Joan said. “I was a dispatcher for a security company before this happened. I drilled all recruits in proper discipline. If they can’t, I had the authority to fire them almost on the spot.”
“No wonder you became a minotaur…” Frack said, fortunately not loud enough to be heard clearly, or so he thought…
After an hour’s chatting over coffee and rolls, Joan showed Frick, Fred and Bernie around the garden. Frack had to go relieve Frieda on watch. If he was late, his Vanilla Coke stash goes overboard!
The garden, overgrown as it was because of no maintenance or gardening for a year, still showed some sort of organization. Orchids, herbs, vegetables, fruit trees, all stayed in ‘territories’, but vines and leaves were everywhere. Frick kept himself busy, taking picture after picture of the various flowers, with signs if there were any. Frick and Fred kept a constant stream of talk going, asking Joan about her wants and needs, Bernie on where good scavenge could be found, and both about plans for Later On, as Frick put it.
After the tour, Frick asked for permission to pick some fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and greens. “In exchange, tomorrow, you meet us down at the boat when you’re awake and ready, and we’ll go out scavenging together, with the wagon. Tonight, you think of what you want to pick up tomorrow, and read about what a minotaur is on the tablet. We’ll leave the generator here for power. Deal?” he offered.
“You got yourself a deal! Let’s get your wagon unloaded and I’ll help you load up with what you want!” Joan said eagerly. “It’s just so nice not to be alone any more!”
“We know the feeling, Joan!” Fred said with a smile in his voice. “Just doing God’s work, spreading the good will and knowledge about. Helping others is our stock in trade now.”
After getting Joan set up, the three picked a mass of greens which barely covered the bottom of the wagon, but there was no hurry to strip the place bare. With an agreement to meet the next day, the three ponies headed back to the Deliverance and a fresh-greens dinner the likes of which they have not had since leaving Pensacola.
The next morning, Joan arrived bright and early, and after hot coffee and waffles with syrup, set out with Bernie, Frick, Frack, and after a bit of watch-trading, Fred and Fran. Frieda and Foster stayed behind to get the fueling underway and wait for the WSU to sort through the huge file of pictures they were sent the night before of the available produce from Sunken Gardens. Plus, Frieda wanted to see if she could make some preserves from some of the leftover fruit.
Their chosen target is a Wal-Mart about five miles away, at Thirty-Fourth Avenue South and Thirty-Seventh Street South. They chose there because Bernie’s house is less than a mile away from there, and she wanted to gather a few things. It was fortunate that they could take the Interstates almost all the way there. Fran got her bicycle free and oiled for use, along with the cart, and was able to ride scout ahead of the others.
The five chatted among each other as they walked down I-275, Joan asking questions about what she had learned overnight from the tablet, and the group offering answers as best they knew. Joan’s questions were thoughtful, detailed, and sometimes exceeded the knowledge base of the Deliverance crew, which they readily admitted to. Joan kept track of her Q and A’s in a notebook she brought in her shoulder bag.
“Recon Viper One to Commander Adama! We have a problem!” Fran’s voice came over the radio.
Frick, Frack and Fred stopped and looked at each other. Fran didn’t usually play radio games like that, especially when Frick had not outlined any for that day. Frick got his radio out. “Recon Viper One, this is Commander Adama. What’s going on, Starbuck?”
“Commander, I have spotted an intense concentration of large flies on Twenty-Second Avenue South east of the 275. It looks like a ball of flies, just swarming around each other. Big flies, too. I’m observing them from under the 275, off to their west. They just appear interested in swarming,” Fran reported.
“That’s like what I saw a couple of months ago up on the north side!” Joan said. “A big clot of flies, all flying and swarming around each other!”
“Did they do anything else?” Fred asked. “I can tell they’re not burrowing through the earth.”
“To be honest, Fred, I didn’t stick around to look. I just beat fleet feet south along Fourth Street until I could not see or hear the buzz ball. I just wanted to be far away!” Joan replied, a little bit of foam on her nostrils.
“Easy, Joan. They can’t hurt you,” Fred said quietly, moving closer to the minotaur. “They’re busy with each other. They don’t want you.”
“Yeah, but they are BIG flies! What are they doing here?” Joan asked, getting a grasp on her fright.
“We don’t know yet, Joan,” Frick said. “But we’ll try to find out.” He picked up his radio in his glow again. “Starbuck, do you want assistance?”
“Roger that, Commander. Four and Seven will be of help, especially Seven’s ears. I’m under the freeway at our exit. I won’t go anywhere!” Fran reported.
“Okay, then. Four and Seven are on their way, and the rest of us will be along soon enough. See you soon! Adama out,” Frick said as Frack and Bernie took off in a whir of wings.
“Starbuck out,” Fran said before going quiet.
Fred snorted as he started walking. “Maggots lead to flies, I can see. But, what do the flies do?” he asked no one in particular.
“For all I know, flies make more maggots to dig through the earth for whatever reason,” Frick mused.
“But why do the maggots dig through the ground?” Joan asked.
“Maggots are used to eat dead flesh out of wounds that have festered, in some places,” Fred said. “Maybe the maggots are swarming to places in the ground that are suffering some sort of contamination of a sort we don’t know about?”
“I’ll send that off to the Admiralty. Let them stew about it. All I know for sure is that we don’t know enough about it, and we don’t even know what questions to ask nor make the right readings,” Frick said.
“Sounds like a plan to me, Frick,” Fred replied to the statement with one of his own. Frick has become much better as a pony since they started this expedition, but he still has his moments of ‘Henry Blake-ism’ which still requires some support.
Frack and Bernie saw the fly-ball shortly after taking wing. They decided to fly on the north/west side of 275, just to stay away from the flies. It wasn’t long before they spotted Fran and her bicycle, filming the flies from under a bridge. “Not an everyday sight, is it?” Frack commented upon landing.
“Not hardly,” Fran said. “I think the swarm is getting a bit thinner. When I got here, I could not see through the center of the ball.”
“There’s a whole lot of buzzing going on,” Bernie said. “But, I can hear when buzzing stops.”
“I just saw a fly drop into the sinkhole!” Frack said excitedly, pointing with a wing. “There goes another!”
“Let’s watch and wait until the others get here, then decide what to do,” Fran suggested.
“You want to stick around, Bernie, or head home, get what you want, and meet us at the Wal-Mart?” Frack asked.
Bernie looked around a bit, pointedly not looking at the others. “Sounds like a pretty good idea. I’ll have to come to terms with this my own way. If you don’t hear from me in two hours, call, okay?” she sighed.
Frack went to Bernie and put a wing over her. “We know it’s hard. You have us, when you’re ready. I have your address and I know the directions. If you need help, I’ll be there to guide you back. Deal?”
Bernie met Frack’s gaze, her slitted gold eyes looking deep into Frack’s red round ones. “Thank you, Frack. May you not have to,” she managed to say before taking wing, tracking south.
Both Fran and Frack watched her fly off. “It’s harder on some than others,” Fran said.
“It is. We all had each other to lean on. You had us. She has a lot of history. Not all of it is pleasant,” Frack replied.
“She has us. She knows it. We’re here for her,” Fran said. “She just has to be ready for it.”
By the time Frick, Fred and Joan got to where Fran and Frack waited, the fly ball was much thinner, maybe a couple of dozen flies buzzing about, one or two falling into the sinkhole every couple of minutes. “Let’s take a look inside when we’re done scavenging, film everything and you can send them off later tonight,” Frick told Fran.
“Sounds like a good plan, Frick,” Fran replied, because she was far better at working the computer than anyone else aboard.
“Where’s Bernie?” Fred asked.
“Home,” Frack answered. “If we don’t hear from her in an hour or so, I’m to go after her.”
“Sounds good to me. Let’s go shopping, shall we?”
The five walked (or flew) the additional mile to the Wal-Mart, which, after Frick got the doors open, proved rather fruitful for Joan and her needs. One thing that made her particularly happy was a large hammock, durable enough to take her weight without shredding or tearing. The additional cooking gear helped, too.
While loading up the wagon, Bernie returned, an old backpack between her wings. “Get everything you wanted, Bernie?” Frack asked.
“I did, and finally did one thing I wanted to do. Bought the house back in ninety-four, got married there, had a daughter there, got divorced, and lived there because alimony and child support precluded me moving to a better area,” Bernie said bitterly, waving a wing to the southwest.
“What did you do?” Frick asked.
“I took what I wanted, piled everything up that I hated, and planted a firebomb atop the stack. It should be going off right about... now,” Bernie said quietly as a puff of black smoke climbed up into the air.
Everyone stared at the smoke plume as it curled up into the sky. “Damn, when you burn your bridges, you don’t mess around!” Joan said quietly.
“Ponies, let’s head back to the boat. We got what we were looking for,” Fred said in a no-nonsense voice as he got into harness.
“Right, Fred. Let’s do this,” Frick confirmed, tearing his sight away from the smoke rising into the noontime sky.
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hum Fly balls this is getting interesting. and a new friend i hope.
a grate chapter team.
i wish you and your friend the best down in Texas.