Jodi made lunch for them after the hard work they put in to keep their town together. Twitchell decided to show up as all of them were about to take a bite.
"What do we have here?" Twitchell was staring at the burgers and fries that were letting off steam. "Hey I'll have one as well." He ordered while grabbing files from under his elbow. "I have new information from the higher-ups." He handed out papers. "There will be new rules about how Perfection residents treat the new residents."
The group stared at one another with the same bewildered and confused look.
"New residents?" Tyler swiveled on his bar chair. "You mean Patricia, because last I heard that she is just going to renovate that place and resell it."
"This includes her," Twitchell continued. "With the steady increase in population and urbanization of the West, the higher-ups wanted to be ready. I'm just going to give you a quick summary. Number one, tourists are still on a need to know basis. Number two, those who become residents must go through a process unlike all of you who are grandfathered in. The four who are here for the government don't have to worry about things like that. Number three, the government is conducting certain drills for the safety of the town of Perfection."
"Woah, woah, woah," Tyler interrupted him. "Drills? Like what?"
"About damn time," Burt murmured. The rest of the town gave him scornful looks. "What? None of you concern yourselves with the safety and how to handle emergency situations. When I went off to handle the shriekers and came back to the assblasters, none of you had your gear working and didn't even care about your wellbeing."
"He does have a point," Jodi sighed as she set Twitchell's food down with his bill.
"You got that right," Tyler nodded.
"Anyways," Twitchell got back on track. "The drills will be made up by you, the town folk, but it must include certain criteria that the government mandated. There will be certain gear and emergency tools that will need to be included in all housing and buildings frequented by the town. You are to make copies of your drills, have them in these places I just mentioned and send copies to the government. New residents must be trained by the appointed safety and emergency volunteer." Everyone looked to Burt. "Looks like its unanimous that Burt Gummer is our appointed safety and emergency volunteer. Once all the drills are made, they will be practiced, and then the government will conduct mock scenarios so that the town of Perfection can handle any situation. Number four, this has nothing to do with me, but the higher-ups would like the town to be prepared for anything, and I am mean anything. Surviving for a year without outside help, learning to live without electricity, since Gummer's your appointed volunteer, I bet he has loads of scenarios and preparations."
The rest of the group stared at him with lack of amusement. Burt was smug about the situation. Twitchell didn't pay attention as he dived into his meal. The group looked to one another as if they couldn't believe that Burt was basically getting what he wanted.
Wes dropped off Larry in Bixby. He would have drove him anywhere but Larry insisted to be dropped off at the bus station. Wes parted ways with him to meet up with the correspondent who had an animal transportation vehicle that was adapted for this kind of use. Wes received the supplies Rose had ordered along with some other equipment the government wanted to have in the town. After finishing the exchange, Wes headed back to Perfection.
Larry had gotten a bus ticket to Vegas. He had overheard the hushed conversation from the gangsters to pick up where this key might open. It took him a while to figure it out, but he had a few places. The casino was dark with twinkling lights off the gambling machines, smelled of smoke, and was full of diverse crowds. Larry breathed in before walking to the lockers. He reminded himself that he was an undercover spy and that this locker was his so he shouldn't be afraid. The locker was huge. He didn't sense that someone was watching him. He put the round key into the slot and to his surprise it turned for him to unlock. His heart pounded inside his chest as his hand was frozen in that spot. What was inside was the next thing that he wondered. Drugs? Dead body parts? Weapons? Secret gang war map? The locker opened with a squeak that made Larry flinch.
Inside was a black duffle bag. Larry took it as if he had always own it. No one had watched him or paid any attention to him. He headed out back to his motel room. Larry didn't open it. He sat on his bed at first, paced around the room to figure out what he wanted to do with it. He then hid in the closet but decided to try under the bed before ordering some take out. Larry came back in, checked on the hideout before he started to eat.
It was trivial for Larry, he wanted to open it but what if it was something terrible. He had to think of the next steps, should he tell the authorities, flush it down the toilet if it was drugs, give the guns to Burt who would probably appreciate it. It took a bit more time for Larry to finally come to a decision. He mustered up his courage to open the duffle bag. Inside were stacks of hundred dollar bills. His jaw dropped as he saw the money. He kept unzipping to find a couple hand guns. He yelped in surprise.
"Okay, calm down Larry," he spoke aloud to boost his confidence. "There is lots of money in there that we would only see in movies and there are hand guns on top of it. That shouldn't be a surprise, this was originally the gangsters, of course they need more guns." Larry thought about what he should do with the money. He knew he should give the guns to Burt, since the town always had some trouble, maybe he would keep one for himself. Now, about the money, Larry should give it to the authorities but the bugs ate all the rubber, that was going to cost some money. He could also help the rest of the town with their problems. "Okay, we just use some of the money to get us back on our feet then we will decide to give it to the authorities then. Yeah. That's sounds good." Larry liked that idea. He started on his plan of action.
Burt looked through the information Twitchell had given them. There was a whole list, Burt had to plan and prepare. He felt a bit giddy about this. He had several ideas on certain scenarios. It took him all day to come up with each scenario. The escape routes were drawn out on the maps along with directions. Burt created safety binders for each household and frequented buildings. There were even daily, monthly, and yearly check sheets to accompany these binders.
Wes got into town that evening, only to meet the town in Chang's. They were gathered for a meeting from Burt. He handed out the binders and paperwork that were to be posted in locations that were most accessed by people.
"You did all of this today?" Rosalita flipped through the binder. "No pues. Wow. You got too much time on your hands. Do you have to participate with us too?" She saw Wes bringing in boxes.
"Thankfully, no," Wes set down a few boxes before heading out to get more.
"Ahh, these must be the equipment the government wants us to have," Burt started to open them. "These also go in each household and frequented buildings in an easy accessible location." Burt was taking out the packages. There were hazard suits, hazard masks, spill kits, ear plugs, and more emergency preparedness items.
"What kind of scenarios is the government thinking we are getting to come across?" Tyler helped divide up the items.
Wes brought in the last box. He heard what Tyler asked. "It's due to the lab. She's been getting memos and results back from the HQ on certain creatures. They are preparing for the worst possible outcome."
"Flood protection, fire protection, hazardous waste protection, deathly gas protection, blizzard protection, acid rain protection, and so on," Nancy was reading off the list. "Are they serious? I can understand sandstorms but this is going overboard."
"Not overboard," Burt corrected. "That lab is just a giant can of worms and the scientist is slowly opening that lid. Who knows what will happen when its fully opened?"
"Where's Larry?" Jodi noticed that someone was missing.
"He had somewhere he wanted to go since I had to drop him off at the bus depot," Wes helped Tyler and Burt.
"Where could he wanted to go?" Nancy thought out loud.
"He just visited his mom," Jodi answered. "He did need to get new tires for his RV."
Wes headed away from the group after he finished as Burt was explaining to them when they needed to go through the emergency plans and to perform practice drills when everyone had free time. It was most likely going to be during the evenings since the town would be busy with tourists.
Rose had been working on her research while she had some peace and quiet. Wes came into the facility with boxes. Rose swiveled around to help him. They left the replacement cages in the truck while the smaller cages were brought inside.
Wes surveyed her work area. There were several papers and files spread out along with a headset. Her laptop had an assortment of windows opened. "Been busy."
"Yes," Rose let out an exasperated sigh while opening boxes. "I am receiving more communication from HQ. My projects have increased. My research on each creature needs more details. The thesis on each of them is not enough. The gathered information I have on the lab so far is insufficient. Everything is insufficient."
"You are thorough on everything and HQ says your work is insufficient," Wes was trying to comfort her. "Do they remember who they as this the lead researcher, because Dr. Frankenstein does not mess around with science and research."
"Thanks S squared," Rose gave a brief smile as she took out a new camera with accessories.
"S squared?" Wes paused. "You are a geek."
"Correction, I am a nerd but I am a geek too," Rose grabbed GPS tracking devices.
"What's the difference?" Wes unpacked different types of nets.
"Nerd implies logical and fact based such as science, biology, and such, while geek implies fandoms such as movies, TV shows, games, and so on," Rose explained. "Sometimes I wish a blue box would show up to take me on an adventure."
"Yeah, I don't understand," Wes was confused.
"Maybe when we get some free time, we can binge watch on certain shows," Rose invited.
"The internet connection is only for work; have you been using it for personal use?" Wes raised an eyebrow.
"No," she scoffed. "Work, eat, sleep, repeat."
"HQ ordered to the town to have emergency plans for situations and have to do drills," Wes informed her with a teasing smile.
"Oh? Interesting," Rose broke down her box. "OSHA finally got through to HQ about this place. Good."
"Should we watch from the outskirts when they perform their drills? I'll bring popcorn," Wes chuckled.
"Sounds like a good break, especially when I am going to the lab tomorrow, I want to nab those pesky bugs and keep exploring each room," Rose mentioned her goals. The two were slowly getting used to one another.
Jodi and Nancy were discussing how troublesome this whole ordeal has become but it didn't stop there. They went through several topics as good friends would. They were sitting on the bar stools enjoying tea. Nancy had some new creations from her kiln. She was showing them to Jodi and the two got carried away.
"Have you ever been on one of those dating sites?" Nancy was curious about how effective it is especially with distance.
Jodi cocked her head to the side. "Depends on which one?"
Nancy let out a surprised laugh. "Which one? Are there that many?"
"Oh yeah," Jodi exaggerated her nod. "There's an array from phone apps to sites that you can use for free to a monthly fee. The websites are diverse enough for age specific. You could find a more mature man for your age or if you want a young feisty guy there's sites for those too." She winked.
Nancy gave a soft slap on her shoulder. "Noooo. Well, that does sound good. What am I thinking? I'll have to try it."
"I am on some already, but most have been more trouble than its worth," Jodi warned. "Majority just want the free milk, so do be careful."
"Well, I'll have to make sure that I get the free sausage too," Nancy winked at her. The two giggled while enjoying their time together.
Tyler and Burt were checking around the area for more bugs. Tyler stopped as he got a message on his phone.
"What's the holdup?" Burt thought there might be insects hiding somewhere.
"Oh, just a message from a beautiful southern lady," Tyler smiled at his phone.
"Is that all you do?" Burt shook his head. He started to remember a certain red head. He shook the thought out of his head. "This is the fifth time you've been smiling at your phone like an idiot."
Tyler whipped his head to Burt. "You've been counting?"
"It's distracting enough that I had to," Burt explained. He lifted some junk before setting it back on the ground.
"Well, don't knock it until you try it, you could find another lady," Tyler cooed.
Burt narrowed his eyes. "I don't want a lady; I want someone who can survive. Someone who can shoot a gun, self-reliant, adaptable, not afraid to defend herself…" He paused. He knew who he wanted but didn't want to say it.
"Here, we'll set up an account when we get back to your place and just try it," Tyler felt pity for him. Burt never talked about Heather. It was a rare occasion when he did. "You could just talk to them as well. Don't worry too much on a date, but it's just nice to have a conversation with the opposite sex."
"Okay, I'll try it if," Burt pondered on it. "You can stay off your phone for rest of the day. There might be more of these bugs lurking. I don't them to keep having a six-course meal from this town."
The two went through all the junk piles and didn't find any infestations that were made from Mixmaster. Rose and Wes had setup the traps for capturing the insects and more of the predators that ate them. The days passed by with the routine for each of the townsfolk. Tourists came bustling in, Tyler drove them around on his safari, Burt kept his watch over the town, Jodi held her ground with the influx of customers, and Nancy would use her creativity to sculpt new creatures and designs.
Larry came back with a new set of tires and replacements for the missing gaskets. Wes had picked him up from dropping off the insects and the creatures that were recently captured. He also had to pick up more equipment. Wes informed Larry about what was going on with the town. When the two got into town, Larry, Tyler, Burt, and Wes all collaborated to put the tires back on. Wes stayed in town to have a meal with all of them before heading back up.
Burt took this time to inform Larry on the emergency plan of action for each scenario. The specific time to train for the first few plans was tonight now that Larry had gotten back. Wes said his goodbyes to get Rose. He wanted her to see this. She was browsing through data to figure out her next course of action.
"Hey, Frankenstein," Wes swung the door open. "Grab your binoculars, we are going to watch them preform their drills." He had a brilliant smile.
Rose had her back to him. "Sure." She moved at her own pace which was too slow for him. He grabbed some snacks while she kept eyeing the screen while getting ready. She needed to focus on gathering more information. Wes closed her laptop. She blinked in surprise before all emotion drained from her face. "You're dead."
"After our break, let's go," Wes moved her along. The two got in his truck to travel to the top of a hill. He parked it with the bed facing the town. He set his tailgate down for the two to sit on. They got their binoculars out and watched to comedy unfold.
Burt had signaled with his radio to start the first drill. It was if there was a graboid attack.
"An unidentified graboid, not El Blanco, is heading towards the town from the east by north east at twenty miles per hour," Burt explained over the radio.
Nancy ran over to the market to follow Jodi up on the ladder. The two were up on the roof. Tyler and Larry hurried their way to follow suit.
"Good, you made it all in time before the graboid even made it into town," Burt complemented. "Now, on to the next plan of action, when that graboid turns into shriekers." The group dispersed. The group ran to Chang's again only this time, all of them ended up being in the freezer. Burt complemented them again. They went onto the third plan, when the shriekers turned into assblasters. It was the same reaction as the shriekers but this time they had food ready.
It was a few hours before the town took a break. They went through a toxic gas scenario which had them in certain suits with masks, a flood scenario where they acted as if there was water everywhere and the had to swim to high places, a fire scenario where they practiced escaping from each place, and a few more. It had Wes and Rose laughing until their sides ached. The two knew how much trouble it was to go through those action plans and that was just half of the cause of the laughter. Swimming in the phantom flood was the best scenario. They even practiced rescuing a drowning victim which was played by Larry.