by Boris Licina
"What does the map say? Is there anything on the road to hide us for a while?"
"A lot of small towns. But, we should avoid them. We need something in the middle of nowhere, a forest to go deep in. There could be something for us in about ten miles."
A little later, they took a side road. Large meadows on the right hand side, the forest and occasional hidden houses to the left. Here and there there would be a farm with a large grain tank and barn. None of them showed any signs of life. There were horses grazing grass on one of the meadows they passed. Some of them raised their heads and briefly looked at them.
Amanda took the path leading to the woods. She drove slowly on the bumpy road; there were some sun rays visible through the tree tops. The path lead them to the river. One fork of the road went deeper into the woods, the other straight to an opening beside the water. It looked like an ideal fishing spot.
Amanda stopped the car.
"I think this would do", she said.
Rachel just nodded and closed her eyes. Amanda curled up in her seat, extended her arm towards Rachel and leaned it on her arm. They fell asleep to the murmur of the river.
46.
Sandusky in Ohio was a town with a little more than twenty thousand people. Located on the lake Erie, it had cold and windy winters, cozy springs and nice summers. But, more importantly, Sandusky had an amusement park and the largest number of roller coasters in the world! Cedar Point was opened in 1870, and several million people visited it every season. Life in Sandusky was good! According to one recent national survey, the inhabitants were satisfied and happy. If the amusement park and the roller coasters had anything to do with this, it was hard to say. Still, the park had a key role in spreading the Snow Flu. A young family from Kentucky, two daughters of only three and five, brought the virus to the lake Erie's shore. The youngest daughter, Ann Marie, was the carrier that infected the student who worked at the park as an entertainment. Then the virus was spread over to Suzanne, his girlfriend who worked at the largest roller coaster. She took the virus to a fast food restaurant on the Perkins Avenue, where she worked the second shift. In only two weeks the virus destroyed the town and everything alive.
Morris was at the wheel again. Josh was sitting next to him, Oliver silently behind Morris, watching the town. He wanted to send a message to Eli, but they had agreed on the radio silence. It was too risky to communicate. He hoped they were well.
"I never liked roller coasters", Josh pointed at one of the highest in the distance, visible even in front of the entrance to the NASA's center.
In Sandusky, NASA had a large testing facility, used by the world's space community. They were testing future travels that were supposed to take humans to distant planets. One of the latest methods were solar sails. The entire scientific community was interested in that option. After a series of successful tests and some real flights, the solar sails proved to be the answer. Still, the final result was to be given by the two Solar 1 and 2 vessels that resembled long haul truck trailers, by size and form. The vessels were rounded at the edges and, naturally, technologically, much more sophisticated. Both had one giant sail that was supposed to open in space like a harmonica. The idea was to take those two vessels to orbit and connect them to the ship waiting for them. But the vessels and the sails never went to space. The ship was still in production, the sails were waiting for their turn.
Morris stopped at the small ramp and watched it. He planned to enter the guard's post and lift the ramp, but could not know who had been touching the controls. He pressed on the gas pedal and started towards the ramp. He climbed the middle isle between the entrance and the exit and passed between the two ramps. Both scratched the car on both sides, leaving two long white lines on the car's sides. All the testing buildings were in one place. Morris passed them and continued driving on a narrow road. Some five hundred meters farther there was a giant hangar with Solar 1 and Solar 2 vessels. The hangar and the vessels had been finished as he returned after his longest trip to space. With all the positive news around him, it was logical that the public would love the idea of interplanetary travel and solar sails. He had his picture taken in front of the open hangar, gave a couple of interviews and a short speech.
Morris parked their car next to the hangar. Everybody left the car and started towards the hangar's west side. By the end there was a small spare door.
"Besides the main door", Morris remembered the director's words, "there is the door on the west side as an emergency exit and spare door."
Morris did not expect the door to be open. Actually, it was half-locked. As if somebody did not finish the locking. Morris pulled the door and it opened. They entered in silence. Two trucks dominated the interior of the hangar, parked close to each other. This was not odd, the trucks had been designed by NASA after all. They had the purpose to transport Solar 1 and Solar 2. Each truck carried one vessel. They were not inside the trailers, the vessels were trailers. The trucks looked mighty and well-designed, so that several leading truck manufacturers picked up that NASA's design.
"OK, team, here we are. Now this", he pointed to the trucks, "has to be taken up. The plan is as following: Oliver and I are in truck 1, Josh in truck 2."
Both of them nodded.
"We have seventeen hours to Kennedy. We'll avoid Jacksonville, so we'll go towards the west at Savannah and over Orlando to Kennedy. But, this means a lot of driving. Both trucks are autonomous, so we'll program in the route and be ready at any moment to take up the wheel."
"When do we break radio silence?", Oliver asked.
"When we pass Jacksonville", Morris sighed. "Unfortunately, not before that. It's too dangerous for everybody. We also won't communicate unless it is really necessary, meaning, somebody attacking us and we get separated. Josh, if you want to "say" something, full beam means danger behind us; all four is danger in front of us; the right indicator means slow down, left means speed it up! Except when we take a turn, when the indicators light up automatically. All clear?"
"All clear", Josh confirmed. Oliver just nodded.
They boarded the trucks and started their engines. Both were filled up with fuel. The control boards lit up, a small holographic display rose up from the boards with the most important information. They entered the destination address, added a note to avoid Jacksonville and not to mind the speed limits. The trucks started their journey. Oliver was surprised how quiet the engines were! Their truck was first, Josh drove behind them. Trucks knew they were driving in the convoy and they "talked" to each other. The first truck sent valuable information to the other, so that both were ready for fast reactions if necessary. It was possible to communicate with the other autonomous truck, but that option was turned off. Morris stood up from the driver's seat and showed Oliver where to sit.
"You're driving", he said, "follow the road and everything happening in front of us. Don't relax, concentrate as if you were really driving. If necessary, take the wheel. You're the captain of this ship."
Oliver smiled a little. He knew that Morris was driving his attention from the fact that he had ran over one robber. And Oliver was grateful. He had better watched the road than buried himself in dark thoughts. And it did sound good, to be the captain of a ship!
The trucks turned to one of the side roads towards the main road and the highway. As the road got wider, the trucks slowly accelerated. The front window darkened as a reaction to the rising sun. Oliver leaned forward and told himself very quietly: "Engage!"
47.
The Hunter 20 was sailing on the Intercoastal Waterway, the engine purred lightly, the sails were down. Eli was still at the steering wheel, she found it natural to steer a boat. Lika was sitting next to her, Benjamin lying on the other side. He could no longer be in the cabin, he needed some fresh air. The part of the river where they sailed was wide; even larger ships could go by. But, there were no ships, the ICW was mainly used by smaller vessels avoiding the ocean. The Florida part of the ICW was a smartly maintained canal system o
ffering peace when the sea went wild. They would sail right down to the runway where the Falcon was waiting! It was incredible such a way even existed, who would not want to take it?"
With all the trouble they had been trough, Eli enjoyed the jiggling boat. She remembered every moment and every wind gust hitting her face. The wind was not strong, but enough to notice. She would have liked if Oliver had been with them. The thought of seeing him again, made her smile. She recalled the time she fantasized about the return home, the nature, before they went to Rene 9. And at that time they had not even started towards Rene 9! But, she would not trade moments spent with Oliver at the hotel for nothing. She had to admit it to herself, she had not expected that. His sweet geekness won her over. He was so good and normal, the exact opposite to all the boys she had been meeting before.
The warship they saw did not upset them. They believed to have entered the ICW at the last moment and lost their sight. When Eli pointed her head slightly towards the ship, Lika just waved her hand and pointed south. We go on, it might have meant. Eli did not ask.
The boat entered the part when the river was significantly wider and touched the first houses. It was getting warmer, but not too hot. The wind was mild, and if it had been a normal day with the Snow Flu out of the way, the river would have been full of small sail boats and water games. Every house in this area had at least a small boat. Some of them chose sail boats, but motor boats prevailed.
"We'll have to find something faster", Lika said. "On this sweet sail boat it would take us fifty hours to Kennedy."
"When does the Falcon arrive?", Eli asked.
"If everything goes according to the plan, earlier today or during the night. I believe the sails will be on the runway in ten hours", Lika estimated.
"This is too soon", Benjamin cut in. "The trucks would take a lot longer."
"Actually not. My Ben wrote about them, I took some pictures. The trucks were designed by NASA and they look great! It was the first time I actually wanted to be a trucker", she laughed at her own joke.
"Maximum speed when fully loaded - mind you, very heavily loaded - is 136 miles per hour! Of course, they would not drive the max, but even at 118 miles per hour, and no trouble, they would reach the runway in ten hours."
"Unbelievable!", Benjamin concluded shortly. "Technology!"
Lika pointed her finger towards the south east.
"The map says there is a marina there. We need something that doesn't spend a lot of fuel, but is relatively fast. And has a cabin."
Eli sailed into the marina and stopped at the dock, right behind a larger yacht with two decks and looking perfect. Still, it was too big for them. Benjamin stayed on board, Eli and Lika went on a search for a new, faster boat. Most of the vessels in that marina were larger and intended for longer travels of several weeks. There were only several smaller boats, among them the Beneaeau Antares 7, exactly what they needed! Small enough to pull through everything, with a cabin and an engine to take them to Kennedy in less than ten hours. The dashboard and the wheel were in the cabin, where also was a bunk bed. It was a good boat for excursions, but could withstand even rough seas. The company that manufactured the boat, brought it to the Australian market as well, and that meant the boat could endure a lot. Still, most of the owners did not take it to longer voyages. These accidental information Lika remembered when she recognized the ship from the newspaper she had worked for. Several weeks before the trip to the hotel, there was a review, she was surprised that she had read it since she generally did not have much interests in such topics.
Eli returned for Benjamin, Lika rushed to the marina's reception desk to find the key to the Seven. Seven had a name, Antares, but Lika did not like it. Beside the keys, she decided to fill the boat up with fuel at the marina's gas pump. She had to find several canisters of twenty liters and fill them up. Without sails, if they got stuck in the middle of the river, they would not end up well! Luckily, every marina had enough canisters. It was odd, Lika thought, with so many boats there, nobody decided to find refuge in this waterway. If they had only stayed on the boat, they would have been safe. In some cities the Snow Outbreak was fast - people did not have the time to take a breath, the epidemic was already full blown and it was too late. Perhaps the same happened in that marina, she thought.
They filled up the five canisters that Lika had found deep in the marina's building and loaded them onto the boat. Benjamin did not want to take the cabin, so he sat outside behind the cabin, sunbathing, and Lika and Eli sat on the two driver's seats. Eli sat at the steering wheel.
"Hold our speed at fifteen knots", Lika was instructing her. "That should be enough to take us safely to Kennedy in the next few hours."
"When we go back to Earth, I'd like to sail the ICW from top to bottom", Eli said, "it's incredible! I didn't know something like this existed. The Hunter would be ideal for such a trip. It's all … retro. And ideal for two."
Eli had hard time separating from the small sail boat.
"Ben and me, we took the train from New York to San Francisco", Lika told her, "it was wonderful! We had our own little cabin. Two chairs made one bed, the other was above. The train had a special lounge car, all glass, and beautiful deep armchairs to sit, drink beer and watch the world go by. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, everything was perfect! Ohio, Indiana and Illinois surprised me with the number of corn fields. Never ending", she laughed while the Antares slightly bounced on the water. "Colorado was unbelievable, we rode along the Colorado river. Nebraska and Utah like from the westerns. California is beautiful, climbing the Sierra a special experience. Sometimes they hired local guides to tell us local stories in the lounge car."
"Sounds fantastic!", Eli liked the idea. "I hope Oliver and me would have the opportunity to take such a trip, too."
Lika sighed deeply.
"So do I."
The Antares was splashing on the water and scaring small and large fish away. They were sailing pass the area rich in golf courses. First, there was one on the right, then a much larger course on the left hand side of the waterway. After the golf courses, there were settlements like Palm Valley, Odom's Mill, Plantation Oaks … From the boat, everything seemed so idyllic. Rows of houses, large trees offering their shades. A swing on a branch. A small playground for children. Here and there a pool, outdoor or indoor. This idyllic landscape was tainted only by large red letters X on most of the houses.
48.
NASA's trucks were passing through Hawthorne. It was a small town with a little over a thousand and five hundred inhabitants, located some seventy miles from Jacksonville. They had avoided the dreaded Jacksonville and took smaller roads towards the Kennedy Space Center. Hawthorne would have been like any other small town, had Bo Didley, the legend of rock and roll not been born there. Besides that fact, there was nothing special about that town. The trucks rushed through and left it behind.
The trip was going fine. There were no robbers, no obstacles, no barricades. It helped that it was already night time, so probably the bandits were sleeping as well. Although Oliver was sitting in the driver's seat, Morris was equally concentrated on the road. A few hundred miles before Jacksonville everybody was more focused. Now that the city was behind them, they rested a little. There were only some two or three hours to Kennedy. It was a soothing thought.
"Time to break radio silence", Morris said.
Oliver smiled a little. Morris called Lika and put her on speaker.
"Morris", Lika replied. The sound of the boat's engine could also be heard.
"Where are you? Are you OK? How's Benjamin?"
"We're just passing Guano Wildlife, along the Tolomato river. We should be in Kennedy in about six hours", she said, "right at dawn. Benjamin's fine, but a doctor would be advisable. The bullet went through his leg, a flesh wound luckily, no bone damage. Eli and me are fine. Oliver?"
"Hi, mom", Oliver responded, "I'm driving a truck!"
"What?!"
"Joking. It drives itself, I only monitor
everything from the driver's seat", he laughed.
"I'm driving a boat", Eli added, "and am good at it."
"Captain Eli!", Oliver exclaimed. "A boat today, a space ship tomorrow."
Eli laughed. Who knows? She had already learned that everything was possible.
"How's my dad?", she asked.
"Josh is in the other truck and OK. He'll call you when we're done. How's your trip? Any trouble?"
The trucks slowed down, jumped over a bump in the road and sped up.
"Well, the bandits followed us to the marshes. We had to leave the first boat and find another. As we were entering the Intercoastal Waterway, we saw a small military ship on the river", Lika told him, "but I don't think they saw us. I hope not."
"Did you have a good look at that ship?"
"A small patrol boat …
"… Ours?"
"… I'm not sure. But it's not important. If those people shot at us, whatever it is, we better not communicate with them."
"I agree", Morris confirmed Lika's plan, "better not even try. Once we're on Rene 9, maybe. And as soon as we leave Earth, the better."
"How's your trip?", Eli wanted to know.
"Well …", Morris started and looked at Oliver who indicated with his head that he did not want to discuss the robber he had run over. "Great! Without problems. After we had cleared Jacksonville, everything was more or less fine."
They were passing Marion Oaks; some houses still had lights on. It was not easy to tell from the highway and the rushing truck, whether there were living beings, or somebody just forgot to switch the lights off.
"Excellent", Lika was happy, "we'll all be together soon."
Morris left the speakers on and called Rachel. The phone rang five times. Morris was just about to hang up, when Rachel responded.
"Hey … I never even registered the phone. It hasn't rung for a long time so I forgot that was one of the options", she laughed.
