Jack wiped his brow with his forearm, gauged the sun and decided dinner was a good idea just as one of the women hollered. “Nice timing,” Mitch observed, laughing. They slapped each other’s shoulders and head off to get cleaned up. The convoy called in, letting them know they were through the pass and were making good time.
“That was fast,” Jack commented.
“They probably didn’t want to stick around the pass with those creatures, especially when it was getting so close to nightfall,” Axel replied. Jack nodded.
One of the women paled. “Yeah, good point,” Jack said quietly and pointed to her with his chin and changed the subject.
The farm crew came in as the sun set, as did the copper miners. Axel’s lumberjacks, thinned by the convoy leaving returned, glad to be inside, saying they were a bit jumpy because a raptor pack had made a kill nearby. Terri paled and shivered.
In the night they heard a battle of screams, yowls, yips and tussling plants. The guards were jittery. Jack and Mitch made some rounds, and looked out to see the bushes and grasses sway. It wasn't the nearly absent breeze that was causing it either. A raptor suddenly came out of the night to the side of the wall, thrumming in fear; it turned in place, not even looking at them. Out of the darkness the hammerhead creatures came, strolling apart. One of them, more massive than the others chittered. The raptor seemed to curl into itself, fluttering its wings before hissing and thrashing its claws out.
They watched as the hammerheads charged, one feinted to the front while the other circled and pounced to the rear. It triumphantly tore into the raptor. One of the guards muttered an oath and fired a shot into the air. Jack belted him, calling him a moron for wasting a shot. The hammerheads turned to view the humans on the wall, giving off wailing yips. The fallen raptor was now forgotten. “Oh shit...Oh shit...” the guard and Jack exclaimed in dismay as one of the creatures seemed to gather itself for a leap. Suddenly sounds in the tree line followed by angry snarling made them stop and turn in a flash, pulling the raptor into the darkness.
“Damn... I mean, damn,” the guard commented, clearly shaken.
“Amen,” Jack said, patted his shoulder. “Amen. Just be glad we are in here and they are out there.” Mitch nodded.
They managed an uneasy sleep, sleeping in a few hours past dawn. After breakfast they surveyed the perimeter, wincing at the blood splattered around the area. Jack had a couple of the ladies bring buckets of water to try to wash it off the wall and away from the perimeter before more flies found it. TJ and CJ yawned and went out, chopping and cutting the trees too close to the perimeter.
Mitch had them leave some selected trees. He asked Axel for outdoor lights; Axel looked up from the motor project and pointed to a clipboard. They pulled out a few lights with solar panels. “What are you up to?” Jack asked curiously.
“We can use the trees as poles and mount these to them. Point the lights to the ground with perimeter sensors. If one of those creatures or anything else comes into its field and it will turn on.”
Jack nodded. “Ah. I get it. Good thinking.”
When the “J” brothers were done with the cutting Mitch brought out a lunch pail and then explained what he wanted as they ate. Muttering they shimmied up a tree and hoisted up tools and the gear. It took some fumbling before they get the first one set up. Once they figured out what he intended, they get enthused by the project and moved off on their own to the next tree. Jack pointed out that they would only have enough for a dozen trees; there would be spots all along the perimeter for them to slip through. But Mitch shrugged it off. “Some are better than none.”
Mitch dug a pit on either side of the gate, and stuck a surplus oil barrel in each. He stuck in a pad of Semtex, electric squib in the bottom, and then packed it with gravel and waste oil from Axel’s supply. Axel muttered about this, until he noted Mitch burying a line to the base. “What is that?”
“Fougasse cannons,” Mitch said, burying the line.
“For what?? Sounds French,” Axel said wrinkling his nose. Ned came over, handed him a pair of wire strippers Mitch had asked for.
Mitch looked over to Jack and Axel. “It is a nasty mortar. Shoots napalm, gravel, whatever you want. Stick an explosive in the bottom, top it with whatever you have on hand and set it to face the enemy. Like grapeshot or a fireball when it went off.” Jack nodded thoughtfully. “I set up a bunch of these at base,” Mitch added with a hint of a smirk.
Axel got an evil grin, smacked his hands together, startling Mitch who growled and looked up. Axel was rubbing his hands together in glee. “I like it! I LOVE IT! Serves the evil sum bitches right! Hammerheads on TOAST!”
Mitch snorted. “I will leave you a pound of Semtex Jack and a sketch of how to rig it.” Jack and Axel nodded.
“We haven’t found large deposits of sulfur or nitrates, but we have charcoal. The chickens you have can give you a small supply of nitrates.” Mitch waved his hand to them. “The Dinosaur dung might have it as well.” He wrinkled his nose. “If we can find a volcanic area, or even a hot water spring we should find sulfur. Nitrates are the key though. With those three you can make black powder,” he explained. Axel grinned.
“That copper you're mining is copper sulfide, so somewhere around here, most likely upstream is a hot spring or volcanic deposit. There should be sulfur there. I will ask the UAV crew to take a look,” Mitch said. Axel nodded.
Cassie came up; she informed them with a smile that Nicole’s fever had broken. Axel nodded, tipping a finger to his hat in salute and took himself off to play with his tools. Jack got a call from one of the guards and went to investigate. “Cassie, how much longer?” Mitch asked, searching her face. “I don’t want to travel this countryside that distance outside the convoy,” he warned.
Cassie nodded. “Yeah, not a good idea. I will check with mom,” she replied. After the incident with the shark things she really didn't want to be all alone with them at night. She trotted off.
Mary Anne called him, letting him know Pete was on the radio. Pete reported the convoy was working on a steep stretch and would be therefore a day or so. “Piotr told me to tell you the Doppler is reporting a weather front moving in with the wind, South by South east. Should be overhead Copper town tomorrow night,” Pete said. A squelch of static ends the report.
“All right, thanks Pete. How goes things at home?” Mitch asked, sitting in the driver’s seat watching the nearby kids playing.
“Janet is driving us nuts, while Kathy and Jolie have stunk up the place after messing with some chemicals. Janet is PISSED,” Pete said with a disgusted sound. Mitch chuckled at this. “We had to air the base out, it was BAD! Um, one piece of bad news, Maggie said those scorpion things got four more turkeys. Also the ones in the outside range all disappeared, but there are feathers everywhere. She isn’t sure we will be having turkey dinners much longer.”
“Roger that,” Mitch sighed, then thumbed the transmit button again. “What about the other animals?”
“Well right now she said the cattle and goats are okay, some of the horses still have colic, whatever that is. She lost a mare too it. The raccoons are driving everyone nuts... boss I gotta ask, why did you bring them?” he asked exasperated.
Mitch chuckled. “Well, I like them, and they have nice fur.”
“Ooookay, whatever. Well, Sean is about ready to kill you, these varmints are smart!” Pete said. Mitch chuckled.
“Tell Sean to look in the green section, tote three hundred and twelve I think, maybe three thirteen. Check inventory if I've got the number wrong. There should be locks in there. Lock the cages if he can.” Mitch waited as Pete jots the information down.
“Yeah that should work, the damn things have figured out how to untwist the wire ties we were using on the latch.”
Mitch chuckled. He should have known with nothing to do the racoons would figure it out. “Roger. How is the farm?”
“Well Ivan and the others have finished planting, and the botany team is harve
sting the greenhouses now. We are itching to make the first production greenhouse; we have plenty of glass and plastic panes now. Hejira’s wants to do a run of veggies in the first,” Pete replied.
They left the next morning, less than twenty minutes before noon. The sky was ominously dark. Doc and Cassie were subdued, eyes scanning the sky and horizon. They made it to the pass two hours before sunset. They rushed through the pass, warily watching the caves on either side. With the sun almost down, the low valley pass was shaded, making them all nervous. Luckily nothing popped out to try to bite them. Relieved they continued on.
Sam called, they were fifty kilometers ahead. They followed the dirt road, crunching through the occasional gravel patch. Doc was reluctant to pull over; swapping with Mitch to drive in the dark, but was finally forced to give up after a few close calls with snoozing animals. She stopped under a tree and they got as much rest as they can.
The next morning Cassie had a close call with a pack of tiny therapod scavengers while answering a call of nature. A little unnerved her mother tried to talk her out of driving but Cassie insisted. “We could have KITT drive,” Mitch said, then shrugged, “or not.” After he got a look at Doc’s face. They moved onward. Pete called in, the storm had made landfall. They race on, trying to catch up to the convoy. “Safety in numbers,” Mitch said, and smiled.
Doc grimaced and apologized. He looked to her. “Don’t apologize Doc, every life here is precious.” She blushed and nodded, turned her attention to their path. After stopping for lunch Doc insisted on taking the wheel while Cassie rode shotgun. Mitch stretched out in the back and took a snooze.
Pete called in, “The storm is getting worse, they are predicting the creeks and rivers to rise.”
Doc smiled, “We just forded the last one between us and Sam I think,” she reported. Pete sounded relieved.
“Good, glad to hear you’re catching up,” Paul called in; they were stopping for the night on high ground.
“Good idea,” Mitch replied from the back, not even opening his eyes. “We might have to do that too. Cassie you may want to plan ahead just in case.” He heard the rustle of fabric and then the soft beep as she turned the navigation on to check the terrain.
They took a break an hour before sundown for a quick sandwich. Mitch glanced at his fuel, then grimaced and switched tanks. “Okay last tank. We have about forty kilometers left; I think they are only twenty kilometers ahead,” he said. The solar panels were only providing a trickle of power during the day. Doc nodded. He pulled out his NVGs, and kept them in his lap.
While Cassie and Doc ate he kept them going. The darkness, occasional animal calls, and the sometimes jerky ride had both girls awake and alert. “The wind is picking up,” Doc muttered.
“There is a rise nearby,” Cassie said looking longingly at it but Mitch shot it down.
“We passed it. I don’t know about you, but I am not going back to play king of the hill with the raptors on top of it,” Mitch said dryly. The women both grimly agreed it wasn't worth it.
They noted the light on the horizon, just as the first big plops of rain hit the windshield. Muttering a curse Mitch flipped the wipers on, while he maneuvered around a rock and then up a defile. They spotted the lights of the convoy perimeter and Cassie sighed in relief. “Doc let them know we are coming,” Mitch ordered.
She called Paul who sleepily acknowledged, then hollered to the guard to let them in. Mitch flicked the headlights, and Paul said they had a fix. He warned them around a warren of gopher creature dens, a natural pit trap, impossible to see in the dark even with goggles. When they entered the perimeter the rain began to pour, making them sigh and slump in relief. Paul came up, wearing rain gear and patted Mitch’s arm as Mitch opened his window.
“I know you ladies want a shower, but I am not going out to get wet just yet,” Mitch observed. They groaned but agreed. Paul started to give his report but Mitch waved him off. “Paul, it is pouring out! Go get some rest, it’ll keep till morning,” he ordered. Paul a little chagrined agreed with a choppy nod. He made his way through the sudden slippery mud; the trio guffawed as he slipped and fell on his ass. He had a hard time getting to his feet, but when he did he gave them a dirty look and then climbed into his cab. Doc snorted.
Out in the darkness they heard the muffled crunch and thump of something big moving. The wind screeched and howled, making many had a restless sleep. One of the guards called in, something was moving out there. He suppressed a scream as a giant lobster centaur creature moved through the rain, antenna wiggling as it moved. The arms were up like a mantis, but suddenly lashed out, striking a sleeping hammerhead herbivore to the ground, then cutting off its bawl of terror with a wet crunching snip of its claws. He shuddered and called it in, making sure he filmed it.
The south perimeter called, one of the creatures was approaching fast. Nervously he fired a few shots off but it kept coming. Paul hit the flood lights, bathing the thing and the rainy night in a white glare, it stopped. Mitch got a look; it was a pale almost white armored leviathan. Its shell rippled in colors after a moment, and the creature gave off a low vibrating moan before it turned and moved off. Sighing in relief they turned the lights down, and added more along the perimeter to cover all directions. Animals began to converge into the light, instinctively seeking it out as protection against the leviathans.
“Think it has anything to do with that creature Vanessa and Phyllis spotted?” Doc asked.
Mitch nodded. “Could be. Could be,” he said. They spent an uneasy night there.
The next morning, the rain continued remorselessly. Animals around the perimeter moved off to graze. Paul quietly told Mitch that they used up a lot of juice with the lights, and were low on fuel even before they had to recharge the batteries. With the sun blocked by clouds the solar blankets were working at ten percent.
“We are going to have problems tonight,” Paul finished.
Grimacing Mitch nodded as he thought about the situation. “Okay, here is what we do. Dig through the back of the lead truck. You’ll find a spout on the side by the fuel line. We are going to have to catch rain water, filter it the best we can, then pour it into that tank.” He paused in thought for a moment.
“We can take the charge from the wind generators and solar blankets to power it,” Mitch said and then nodded to himself.
“It?” Paul asked.
“The micro electrolysis chamber. I had one built into every other tractor.” He pointed to the lead truck. “Dump water in there and it will split it with an electrical charge. It won’t be much, it isn’t very efficient, but the best we have. Sara knew about it, sick her on it,” he ordered and then sighed. Sara had the portable hydrogen maker already working but it wasn't keeping up with demand.
“Then it feeds the hydrogen to the compressor and engine, while the oxygen is dumped. Make sure no one has anything electric or flammable nearby,” Mitch explained as he finished. Paul looked up in the rain then back at the boss as if he said something stupid.
Mitch smiled. “Yeah well, I had to say it.”
Sam came up, slapping Paul on the shoulder. “Heard about your trip, did you have a good fall?”
Paul grimaced. “Very funny smart ass.”
“Thought it was your ass that was smarting?” Mitch laughed.
Paul snorted then chuckled. “Okay, you got me there.” Mockingly rubbed his fundament. “Okay, boss we will try it your way.” He went off, whistling in the rain.
“So that is it?” Sam asked. “Doesn’t seem like it will work.”
Mitch shrugged. “Well we don’t have much energy, but we do have plenty of well...” He pointed to the sky. “Water.”
Sam chuckled. “Yeah, got more of that then we need.”
Mitch nodded. “Yeah. Split it and we have hydrogen. Compress it and run it through the engines and they can recharge the batteries.”
Sam nodded, now catching on. “Okay, sounds good. Pete called and said we might have a couple days of this.
” Sam grimaced. “Glad we are on high ground.”
“Yeah, crossing the waterways between here and home isn’t going to be fun,” Mitch said, already thinking about the next step in their journey. Sam sighed. Stretching as he got out of the truck, Mitch left to check the perimeter.
“I want to get a better look at our intruder.” Mitch said, picking up a camera the guard had used and heading to the truck. He found the girls stretched out in the front and back, muttering about being homeless he headed to the nearest cab. Paul looked up as he walked up, waved and let him know they were using the water filters to handle the water. Mitch nodded hefting the camera.
“I am going to take a closer look at our lobster friends,” Mitch said.
Paul chuckled. “If they only made a pot and pad of butter big enough. “
Mitch chuckled. “Yeah, well just remember, it is probably thinking the same thing about you.” Paul snorted. Mitch got into the cab, and fishing around pulled out an usb cable and hooked it up.
He angled the LCD display to view the movie. Paul stepped up, hands on the grab bars so he angled the monitor so they both can see. Paul whistled softly as the creature attacked the herbivore. “I must have missed that part,” he said. The approaching one made him shake a bit.
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