Unearthly Snowbound

by Waggoner, Robert C.

  Hilary was watching him and said, “Greg you look in deep thought. What are you thinking about? I know the terrorists are on your mind. Do you think they are waiting for us when we leave here?”

  “Yes I do,” he replied. “I think they figure we will head to St. Louis because it is the next big city east of the Mississippi. My plan is Kansas and then down in Colorado. Once we are clear of Chicago we should have clear sailing. We will stop in Kansas and see what is available for food stores and such things for the trip across the plains.”

  Hilary liked what she heard and said, “I think you are, excuse the pun, on the right track.”

  Everyone laughed which broke the tension around the table.

  The captain returned to report directly to Greg and the president. The colonel was with Chuck and at last report, the refueling was almost complete. The captain, after stripping down from his snow suit and rubbing his hands together said, “I think it is colder now than ever before. The wind is so strong I almost couldn’t walk here. Anyway, the people at the station are about the same condition as we saw before. Some hardy folks went out and packed in a lot of can goods and juice. It appears they are keeping warm with barrel fires and a few of them are with Chuck to show them how to fill up some diesel after we leave for fuel. They found some piles of plywood and are going to build a large room around the generator and they should be all right for awhile. How long is anyone’s guess? In the meantime we gave them what we could of medical supplies and a doctor gratefully thanked us.”

  Greg thanked him for his report and said, “When the colonel comes back have him come and see us here in the president’ car.”

  Greg had a map in front of him and concentrated on the route coming up. Now he felt more than ever the bad guys would be thinking they would head to St. Louis. He looked at his watch and they had been at the station for more than two hours. He looked out the frozen windows which were starting to ice up on the inside like the trip to New York. How could it get any colder he thought to himself. If this weather doesn’t break soon no one will be left alive after a month or two. His thoughts were interrupted with the colonel coming into the car. Like the captain he was cold even through his snow suit and helmet. It took the colonel a few minutes to shake the cold off and talk without his teeth chattering.

  He said, through red cheeks and a tight mouth, “Man I hope when we get further west away from the Lakes it warms up a little.”

  He blew into his hands and a hot coffee was placed in front of him while all waited for his report. He looked at the president out of respect and turned to Greg and said, “The refueling went smoothly. And we are ready to depart when you give the signal.”

  He went on to tell them about the generator and the plan for a large room for the people in the station. Greg nodded and picked up the phone to talk to Chuck in the front engine. Chuck sounded all in and his voice was raspy. Greg feared he might get sick. Chuck said he was fine and after a cup of coffee he would be ready to pull out and head westbound.

  Greg said, “Chuck I want to head to Kansas and not down to St. Louis. Do you think the track is open or will we have a switch problem?”

  “It should be no problem, but I will slow down as we approach the intersection to make sure we are fine.”

  Greg told him to pull out when he was ready as all were aboard.

  Blackie was ecstatic as he found what he was looking for. It was a main line headed to St. Louis. He knew the higher rail signified a main line. He had followed it for a mile or so just to make sure. He was sitting in the jeep putting the final touches connecting the boxes of explosives and a five minute fuse. He would have one of his boys light the fuse and another jeep would take him away for safety. Blackie heard from the jeep that went to the station reporting the train was sitting with its lights on running. No people were seen, it was just sitting there.

  Blackie smiled and knew he had a winner. Soon he would be the king of the east in his armored train. He would make his way to Joliet and recruit some bad guys who were probably holed up at the prison. From there make the rounds of the banks and down to Fort Knox and take over the nations gold supply. Nothing would or could stop him controlling the east.

  Blackie was parked a block away and in CB radio contact with the bomb car which was parked at the intersection. All was ready and now waiting was the easy part. Blackie figured the train for about ten miles an hour and just a little ways before the train came he would light it off and blow the track as the engine passed through the intersection. By now the bomb car was covered in snow and you would have to be on top of it to see the jeep. He sat back with a smoke and waited filling the car with cigarette smoke. The heater was on full but it was so cold inside from the wind blowing might look like an igloo in the middle of a blizzard in the Arctic.

  Greg and company left the station around noon. Chuck kept the speed at fifteen miles an hour. Chuck had told Greg that it would take about an hour to reach the intersection where the main line split. One line south and one headed west. Greg had everyone on alert and the president was in her room with the girls. Anything could happen between now and when the train cleared the Chicago area. There was no let up in the weather; if anything it was worse. The train was buffeted by the wind it was blowing so strong. Inside the train it was growing ever colder. The passengers were wrapped up in blankets and mumbling to themselves. Bubba was worried. He remembered the previous train ride and feared the passengers would get frostbite unless the wind died down somewhat. He knew the plan and looked at his watch knowing the next forty or so minutes would tell the tale. He had all the passengers in their seats protected the best he knew how.

  In Greg’s room, Becky and the kids were very cold lying on the floor. She had taken the mattresses off the beds and put them over the top of them making a nest of sorts. She told the kids a story of when she was a little girl ice skating in upper Vermont with her boyfriend and her skate broke crashing them both to the ice. The kids thought it very funny and laughed at their mother. Sandy quieted down and asked, “Mommy how much longer do we have to hide under the bed?”

  “Honey, not much longer now. Daddy said on the phone it would only be a little while before we could get up and have something warm to eat.”

  Blackie was looking through the windshield with the wipers going full speed. The wipers were unnecessary as it was so cold the snow just blew away and more replaced it. He squinted through the windshield and thought he saw a light coming down the tracks. He got on the radio and told the guy in the bomb car to get ready the train was coming. No sound was heard as the wind carried the sound of the train to parts unknown. Now he could see the light and said to the car bomb to light the fuse and get the hell out of there. Blackie saw the jeep coming down the street towards them and now it was up to the snow gods what happened next.

  Chuck called Greg and told him they were at the intersection and all was well as they had passed the switch and he was going to pick up speed to twenty miles an hour.

  Just then a flash on Chucks left and then a sound that hurt his ears from the five boxes of dynamite went off. He felt nothing from his position in the engine. The passengers both felt and heard the blast and Greg stared out the window seeing nothing but blowing snow after a glimpse of orange in the air. The sound was deafening and everyone ducked down even closer to the floor. Greg felt the train continuing on and some relief crept back into his body and mind. After the passengers took stock and realized they were fine, a high five yell went around the entire train.

  Blackie stared at the disappearing light on the other side of the tracks about two hundred yards away. The blast rocked the car and what remained of the jeep came down not far from his jeep. Rocks and chunks of dirt rained down on his jeep. One large rock went through the windshield and a blast of cold air swept over him. He swore to high heaven and climbed out of the jeep and got into one of the other undamaged jeeps and sat there fuming. He sat there watching the red light blinking on the end car until it disappeared into
the storm.

  In the president’s car everyone was back sitting at the table laughing and telling Greg how great he was making the right decision. The president came in and sat down and said it was time to celebrate with a glass of brandy to warm the cold bones up a little. Greg called Chuck to see how they were doing up there and Chuck said in a very raspy voice all was well.

  Greg said, “Chuck, when you feel it is safe to stop I want you to come back to the president’s car for a meeting.”

  Chuck replied, “Give me an hour and we should be far enough away from terrorists.”

  Greg hung up and said with a serious voice, “I’m afraid our head engineer is not well. He’s gone beyond the call of duty and without him we would have never made it this far. I want him to take a rest and have a doctor check him out.”

  The president said, “Consider it done. I will bestow a medal on him; the highest award for a citizen is the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It will be my pleasure to have him receive it and go down in history as a great American.”

  Greg excused himself and said he wanted to check on his family. He left and rapidly walked to his room. He knocked on the door and announced his arrival. The door opened to a bunch of happy faces and welcoming sounds of warmth. He sat down and told them all the story and what the next leg of the trip would be. He didn’t want to tell anyone except Chuck he would make a plan to go to Omaha instead of Kansas City. If somehow the terrorist made their way to St. Louis and then over to Kansas City trouble could still be on the horizon. This way he could make a straight line to Denver and then down to Colorado Springs and on to Cheyenne Mountain. When he was through with his story he said they were all invited to the president’s car for dinner. The kids were excited and thrilled to have dinner with the nice lady president.

  Greg noticed how cold it was in the room. Becky had put blankets over the thick windows. Greg sat down on the bed, laid down and immediately fell asleep. Becky covered him up and told the kids to be quiet and let him sleep. Becky lay next to him and the kids piled on where they could and soon everyone was sound asleep.

  Four hours later the phone rang. Greg struggled to answer it amid the pile of bodies gathered on and around him. He smiled and held the phone to his ear. Chuck told him he was on his way back to the dining room where he would meet Greg in about thirty minutes.

  Greg told him that would be fine and then said quietly into the phone: Omaha. Chuck knew exactly what he meant and said, “Fine I hear you and will take care of it and then meet you in the dining car.”

  Greg signed off and by then the kids moved back on their own beds and Becky had some water and a wash rag for a sponge bath for him. He did the best he could and a shave made him feel better. He put on some sweat pants and sweat shirt with ‘I love my Wife’ on it and left with his coat on to meet with Chuck and he would find Bubba and ask him to join them.

  Walking through the cars he found the passengers kind of quiet wrapped in blankets. He found Bubba in the car next to the dining room standing up front doing jumping jacks to some passengers in the aisle. Most of the exercisers were kids and young mothers. The older folks sat huddled up together trying to stay warm. Bubba needed to motivate them all. He would talk to Bubba about this later. He told Bubba to meet him and Chuck in the dining car when he was finished jumping up and down shaking the car.

  Bubba smiled and said, “Let’s see you do a few jacks.”

  Greg punched him in the ribs and went to the dining car where he found Chuck sitting there drinking a cup of coffee and coughing. Greg sat down and said, “Chuck we could never have accomplished what we have without you and your expertise. The president would like for you to come to dinner in about an hour or so.”

  Chuck smiled through tired eyes and said, “I’ll be there with bells on. Who would have ever thought that an old retired engineer would be having dinner with the President of the United States?”

  Greg laughed and drank his coffee. Bubba came in and sat down with an out of breath smile. He clapped Chuck on the back and said, “Hey old timer, you did it again.”

  Chuck dropped his head in embarrassment and said, “Shucks, it was nothing.”

  Both Greg and Bubba cracked up over Chuck’s expression. Greg dropped the smile and asked Chuck, “Will we be able to make the switch to Omaha all right?”

  “The engineers up front know when the switch is coming up from the mile markers next to the track. I’ve slowed the train down to ten miles an hour. Anytime now we should be coming up on the intersection.”

  They chatted for a while longer talking about Omaha and seeing what supplies could be had next to the train station. Bubba said he had been around Omaha for a stint at a small college teaching and knew a little about the area.

  Greg said, “Well, maybe a passenger knows something like where we could find some much needed supplies of can goods for soup and sandwiches and other things we might need.” Greg left it there and told them it was time for dinner at the president’s table.

  Chapter 19

  Sitting around the conference table sipping some brandy, small talk filled the air while Chuck was being examined by the president’s doctor. The doctor reported he had a slight case of lung infections and put him on antibiotics and expectorant cough medicine. The doctor prescribed some rest for him and the president said, “He is confined to his room for ten hours after dinner.”

  That brought on around the table laughter and applause. With the president and Chuck at the table were, Janet and Carol, Greg and his wife, the colonel with his captain of security; Bubba of course and her Chief of Staff. The chef had gone all out with a clam chowder soup with canned crab sandwiches. A potato salad with real eggs made a nice side dish. A simple meal as the president said all, including her and staff would eat the same as the rest of the passengers and crew. What meat was aboard was used for soup and stew. There were ample boxes of powdered milk for the kids and old folks.

  After dinner, the president said she had an announcement to make. “Chuck,” as her secretary handed her a box, “I have here something I would like to give you. It is with real gratitude and pleasure I award you the President Medal of Freedom which is the highest civilian award our country can honor you with.”

  Hilary got up and walked around to where Chuck was sitting and he stood up to receive the medal. She placed it around his neck and all at the table warmly clapped their hands for him. Chuck was totally embarrassed and struggled to say something. Nothing would come out so he sat down and smiled around at the table. Greg proposed a toast and all drank to his health. Hilary said, with real warmth and friendship to Chuck, “When you finish your brandy, please retire to your room and don’t come out until you are fully rested.”

  Chuck stood up and tears started flowing down his weathered face. He waved and with a straight back, which probably hurt, walked out of the car to his room.

  Dinner over, Hilary asked Greg to come for a breakfast meeting tomorrow morning. Greg said he would be there when she was ready and everyone got up and left for their rooms for some much needed rest. Greg felt the train stop and he knew they were making sure the track was opened in Omaha. Once inside their room and all warm in their beds, the last thing he remembered was the train moving again. He smiled and drifted off to sleep.

  Blackie, besotted with failure, decided to head to St. Louis. He would stop off in Joliet and see if he could replenish his gang. He decided he would find a train of his own. He would build an armored train. A plan was forming in his wicked brain and he would not let this failure get him down. He would find the National Guard armory and outfit his gang with what weapons he could find. “I’m not through yet,” he screamed out loud to his driver.

  His driver by now was used to his tirades and took it in stride. He hated Blackie but the guy was smart and he was used to following orders.

  The following day, after more than ten hours of sleep, Greg woke up with his wife snuggled next to him. His kids were quietly reading a book under a pile of blanke
ts. A dim light was showing around the blanket over the window. He thought that there was no change in the weather and let out a sigh of exasperation. He crawled out of bed and made his way under the kid’s blankets to their delight. They were still reading the history book and the book was open to George Washington crossing the Delaware River in similar weather.

  “See daddy,” Sandy said, “our first president had the same weather we are having and he lived through it. Don’t you think we can too?”

  Greg replied with a soothing voice, “Yes kids, we can do like old George Washington and live through this and make a new life for ourselves.”

  He told them about living for a while in Colorado. After that he told them the truth and said, “Kids we don’t know what is going to happen in the future. The weather will tell us how we are to live. We must learn to live with this kind of weather like the Eskimos are doing. They have learned to live in cold weather and so can we. Maybe you can find a book or some information about Eskimos and tell me about them because I don’t know much about their lives. Now I must go visit the president.”

  Becky was sitting up now and had a loving look on her face as she dearly loved her family.

  Chuck was waiting for him and Bubba too. They were drinking coffee and chatting with Janet and Carol. Jasper came up to him first and laid his head on his lap. Greg petted Jasper and the dog whined at the door to go see his family. A secret service agent let him out and Jasper went home to visit the kids. Hilary came in looking much refreshed and full of enthusiasm. First she looked at Chuck and saw he was looking much better and asked about his health. Chuck said, “Madam President, I’m fit as a fiddle and at your disposal.”