Where Have All the Dragons Gone?

by Alden MacManx

Chapter 5: Interlude, Parkersburg, WV

“Captain’s diary, October twelfth, twenty seventeen, seventeen hundred hours. Cincinnati has turned out to be a bust. The only ones still in the city are an Abyssinian couple and an earth pony, who live outside Paul Brown Field, having converted the practice field there to cropland. They didn’t like us asking questions of them, so, after leaving a first-aid kit and some tools, we left them be.

“Checking Vladimir’s lair, we found a bunch of melted metal and fire-scarred jewelry. He must have really lost his temper! We did find a message from Nebulous Nimbus, saying that the colony here is being transported to Pittsburgh, and whatever anyone found here, they can have IF Vladimir didn’t come back to take it first. We spent several hours peeling up melted metal and scorched jewels, figuring even such metal as is there could find a use somewhere. It’s in Cargo Five now. Push comes to shove, it can be melted down, separated, cleaned up, and offered to Zvezda in exchange for meteor metal.

“Tomorrow, we will start making our way upriver. The weather is definitely taking a turn for the nasty, getting colder, windier and rainier. I won’t be surprised to see ice by the end of the month. One thing that’s going to slow us down is the amount of locks and dams between here and Pittsburgh. Twelve of them. We can handle it, it just takes time. I can hope we beat snow and ice back to the Mississippi. Not counting on it, but I can hope.”

Captain Howard Crane sighed as he put his pen down, rubbing his aching fingers. “I’m going to have to ask Jessica if she can find a voice-writing system and download it into my laptop. With the Internet the way it isn’t, I’m lucky to remember where I’m supposed to send my reports to!” he grumbled, getting the pain out of his hand.

---

October 26, 2017, 1000 hrs, approaching Parkersburg, WV.

“That’s the plan, big bro. In Parkersburg, the Captain knows of a Wal-Mart near the river, so we’re going to stop there and do some scavenging. It’s not that we’re low on anything, it’s more to get off the boat and look about. It’s been two weeks since Cincinnati, and we want to do something other than fight locks!” Frack told his big brother Frick over the phone, Frick being on duty in the radio room of the WSU.

“How’s that new guy doing? Learning his way around?” Frick asked.

“Yes, he is. He’s learning both ship handling and engineering. He was in the Army after high school, he knows computers almost as well as Fran, but had issues after getting out. When he found himself turning to drugs to cope with Afghanistan PTSD, he managed to find a Buddhist temple that would take him in to dry out. The only lingering effect is enjoying a pipe or two of tobacco every couple of days. At least he has them outside. Nobody’s complained yet,” Frack reported.

“Yeah, we could use another good IT specialist. How’s his language skills, and how is that pegasus lady doing, the one from Evansville?” Frick asked.

“He knows French, but not as good as you. He also knows some Sanskrit, but even he uses a dictionary to translate some of the texts he brought from the Temple. Barbara’s much improved. In fact, she flies high guard, inspecting the river from above when the weather’s fair. Gives her practice flying. She’s passed my tests,” Frack said with a chuckle.

Frick laughed as well. He knew what Frack’s flying lessons were like. “Oh, some other news for you. Seems like a few of the sailors off the Georgia down in King’s Bay want to go to Evansville to crew the LST. I know they’ve talked to Captain Reynaud, but no details yet.”

“We’ll find out when we pass through on our way back to New Orleans. At least the trip will be faster. We’re leaving all the locks set to go from up to down. Easier than the other way!” Frack said.

“I can see that, little bro! Give my best to Bernie and Harry. Everyone here sends their love, and may we meet in the springtime! Now for me to put together the news podcast for tonight, then I can head home! Call when you get to Wheeling, okay?” Frick told his brother.

“You forgot about me, Screwball!” Capo squawked, loud enough to make Frick wince.

“Yeah, the albatross sends his regards, too. Later!” Frick grumbled before hanging up.

“Some things never change…” Frack said as he hung up and put the phone on the charger.

---

1230 hours, Parkersburg, WV, near the Wal-Mart

The Mississippi Voyager pulled up alongside a rather dilapidated dock on the east bank of the Ohio River. A line of trees obscured the Wal-Mart which several crew members knew was further inland, plus the back of a rather expansive house was there, with a path leading to the dock.

Once anchors were dropped, the starboard gangplank was extended to allow the scavenging party to head out. The scavenging party consisted of Carroll, Harry, Jessica, Brenda, Liz and Chad. Harry had the list of supplies the ship needed, while Liz had the tools needed to break in. As they walked around the house, Brenda noticed something about the front of the house. “Is it just me, or is there a path MOWED across the yard to the front door?” she asked.

Carroll took wing to look over the yard. “There is, and there’s a push mower by the front door. Looks like someone lives here,” she called out to the working party, and also to the Captain, via crystal link.

“Just go on with your raiding, Chief. We’ll be watching the back door. Watch the front door as you cross the street,” Howard told his exec.

“Will do, Captain,” Carroll said as she flew back to the working party. “Brenda, Chad, keep an eye on the front door. The place may be inhabited.”

“Okay, Chief,” Brenda said as she spread her wings and took off. Not high, but enough to allow her flight room. Chad just nodded and walked backwards until they got to the railroad tracks.

“Chief, there’s a garden patch up that way!” Brenda sent, pointing north. “Not much of one, but it’s there!”

Carroll, still in the air, flew to look at it. “Looks harvested already. It is getting rather late in the season for crops,” she sent to her crewmate. “Maybe an earth pony? We’ll find out soon enough.”

“Okay, Chief!” Brenda sent back, circling above the main group, watching the house.

At the Wal-Mart, they found a back door that had been kicked open. “Definitely an earth pony,” Harry said after inspecting the hoof marks. “Had help, too,” he added, noting how the lock had been punched out.

“There’s also a latch here, to keep it shut,” Liz observed. Said latch was open, hanging down along the door, a holder bolted to the wall. The door was open, leading into the back area of the store.

Passing into the store proper, the only light came from the skylights. Dim, but useful. They could hear music coming from the front of the store. “Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons, Opus 17,” Chad said.

“You a musician? Harry asked the unicorn.

“Not hardly. I just like listening to music. Never learned to play an instrument,” Chad replied as the one song ended and another began. “Beach Boys. Kokomo.”

The group wandered through the store, approaching the music. They noted where some places on the shelves were disturbed, other places left alone. A light was visible ahead, where the music was coming from. The song changed to the Romantics, ‘What I Like About You’. A voice was heard joining in with that song. “A New Yorker!” Harry said with delight. “North side, with some Jersey.”

“How do you know that, Harry?” Brenda asked.

“I’m from Brooklyn. Got an ear for accents,” Harry replied as they went to the light.

The singing abruptly stopped, along with the music. "You might as well come closer. Be warned, I have a weapon!” a voice called out from the light, which came from the money center.

“No need to worry. We’re here to do some scavenging. Care to talk?” Carroll called out.

A dark-furred Abyssinian came out of the money center, tallish and a bit chunky for a male of the species, wearing sweatpants and a New York Yankees jacket and hat, as well as the butt of a pistol protruding from a pocket. “Care to talk? You damn well better believe it! Luke and I have been here for over a year like this, and we ain’t seen nobody! Coupla times someone drifted by down the river, but by the time we noticed, they was well past! Who is yas?” he said, almost in a babble.

“We’re off the riverboat Mississippi Voyager. I’m the Chief Officer, Carroll Milsap. With me are second officer Harry Bell, engineer Liz Ruiz, Doctor Jessica van Alten, and crewponies Brenda Jourdain and Chad Randall,” Carroll introduced the group. “Just how long have you been here, and who are you?”

The Abyssinian blinked, his mind slowing down some. “Oh, I’m Carlo DiBiasi, but just call me ‘Chopper’. Been called that since I was a kid back in New York. As near as we can figure, Luke and I came to as we are now in July of twenty-fifteen. What day is it now? My watch battery died a while back,” he finished lamely.

“October twenty-sixth, twenty-seventeen. You and Luke have been on your own now for two years?” Jessica asked in her Dutch-flavored English.

“Sure looks like that, lady. Luke’s napping right now. We figure we got enough veggies and grain socked away to last us till thaw. For me, well, I got used to canned and dried meat and fish. Don’t have to like it, but it keeps me going,” Chopper said. He then waved around the store. “Help yourself, both here and at the surrounding shops. I’m just indulging in my hobby right now, sorting and counting the money I find. Winter work is pretty much done, so now I can relax.”

“I know that feeling,” Harry said. “I was a Navy aviation stores keeper before the Event happened, and when I wasn’t working to survive, I would haunt the various supply offices in Key West, just trying to stay sane.”

“I did something similar but in the Air Force way back when. Did my time, got out, then went back home to New York with my folks. Together we ran a convenience store in Blauvelt until they got too old to run it, so I did with some cousins. Luke and I struck up a friendship online that lasted a long time. He lived here, caring for his folks. When they died, and my folks passed a bit before his did, I sold my shares of the store and moved here to be with him. That was six months before we became what we are now.” Chopper said in a rush, just glad to have someone else to talk to.

Harry, realizing Chopper’s need, held up a wing to stop the rush of words. “Let me give the list to my boss, and let everyone shop while we chat, okay?” he said to the now-silenced Abyssinian. The cat nodded, and Harry dug the list out of a saddlebag and gave it to Carroll. “You go shop, we’ll sit here and chat. Let Howard know about the sleeping pony.”

Carroll took the list. “He’s aware. He also extends a dinner invitation for tonight at sunset for both of them,” she said before looking at Chopper. “How about a hot meal that doesn’t come out of a can?”

“That, lady, sounds heavenly! Let me see if I can wake him up.” Chopper said, picking up a walkie-talkie that was on the desk. “Wake up, cool hoof! We gots company!”

A sleepy voice was heard from the speaker a few seconds later. “What do you mean by company, whiskers?”

“Look out the back window to the dock. We got company!” Chopper shot back.

After a short pause, all heard “Where did THAT come from?” The astonishment was audible to every hoof.

“Down river, obviously! They’re offering dinner! So shake the sleep out of your eyes, run a comb through your mane, and go out and give them a proper welcome! I’m with a working party at the Wal-Mart, so go out and do your share, landowner!” Chopper said sharply to his friend and housemate.

“All right, all right… I’m on it. Wonder if they have some coffee…” Luke mused.

“You won’t touch mine, yet you’ll have theirs? Thanks a lot, pal! Rem One out!” Chopper snapped before putting the radio down a bit firmly. “So I like my coffee strong, whenevah I feel like makin’ it! Stickin' to tea is easier!” he grumbled, his New York accent coming out, whiskers twitching in annoyance.

“Hey, Chopper, chill down, okay? You got me to talk to now, so how about we catch each other up on the state of matters now? Chief, try to find a shortwave in electronics and batteries for it, bringing it up here. We can at least listen to WSU podcasts, if Captain Frick isn’t doing nights,” Harry said, getting Chopper calmed and suggesting to his boss. Carroll just nodded, realizing Harry had a good idea.

“Okay, crew, we have the lists. Take a piece and start searching. Meet back here in an hour or so,” Carroll told the group, who headed off to their designated search locations.

Harry sat there in the money center. “To start things off, on May the 23rd, twenty-fifteen, at about six-fifteen in the morning…” he started off, telling the tale of the Event as he knew it, Chopper listening intently, his money-counting forgotten.

---

Mississippi Voyager, 1800 hours

The two residents of Parkersburg sat back from the table, after their first satisfying hot meal in quite some time. “Captain Crane and others, thank you for a wonderful dinner,” Luke said with a smile. “Makes me unwilling to go back to the way we were.”

“You don’t have to, Luke,” Howard told the earth pony. “We have a mission to accomplish in Pittsburgh, but we’ll have to come back this way after. If you want to come with us and resettle elsewhere, you can. From what you said before dinner, this was your childhood home. I know how hard it is to leave.”

“Hard it is. Will there be room for my possessions?” Luke asked.

Harry Bell answered that, being the Cargo Officer. “Not everything, of course. Pick what means the most to you and bring that. I’ll find space. You should have what, a week or two to decide?” he asked, looking at Howard and Carroll.

“About that, yes. We’ll stick around tomorrow, helping out getting some comfort items set up for you,” Howard said, addressing Luke and Chopper.

“Not tuh mention gettin’ the two of yuh into mah office fo’ a thurrow examination. Yuh been alone fo’ some tahm. Let me make shuah you both is healthy!” Lucien declared. Yes, he had three drinks during dinner, but that was his limit. He was still lucid, just slurred some.

“Something we’ll both appreciate, Colonel Macombe!” Chopper said firmly. If there was one thing he hated, it’s public intoxication, or the appearance of it. His father had crawled into a bottle after his mother passed, and never really came out.

Howard got to his feet, signaling the end of dinner, officially. “Meet at shortly after dawn, for a hot breakfast?” he asked his guests.

“Not knowing when that is, how about seven-thirty? We have a couple of wind-up alarm clocks, so we can wake at seven and meet you here?” Chopper suggested.

“Even better, why not invite them to stay aboard and sleep warm for once? We got some passenger rooms available,” Carroll suggested.

Luke and Chopper looked at each other. After a few seconds of silent communication of ear twitches and whisker wiggles, Luke said, “Sounds like a plan to me! Wake us at seven, okay?”

“Consider it done. Crew, nighttime in-port chores, then your time is yours. Let’s help with the dishes, then go relax,” Howard ordered. The crew scrambled to get the table cleared and the Lounge set up for night ops, meaning a card game. The visitors were invited to join, and they did. The crew later found out the offer was a bit of a mistake, because the two were long-time poker players, and they ‘cleaned the crew’s clocks’! All legally, because they were just that good at it! They later confessed they regularly played cards to pass the time.

Author's Note:

Just something that I came up with, a pleasant interlude before heading to Pittsburgh and facing off against a potentially angry crop of dragons. The Voyager crew don't want trouble, but are ready for it.

Until next chapter, friends. I'll fill you in later, Kyle.

Comments

[Booster Spice]

How much longer without regular desilt gate openings before teh dams either straight fail or fill and fail through erosion? Or wont really reach that point because the locks will fail first, leaving the ship to run the rapids once more?

[Alden MacManx]

11809368
Good question, one which I am totally unqualified to answer.