I Need a Hero, Chapter 4 by patricia51

(Plans)

Donna looked sideways for an instant. Amazingly Sheldon had finally stopped screaming, moaning, whimpering and complaining. He DID look like he was in another world, somewhere safe from the earthquakes and the toppling buildings and the crevasses that were opening big enough to swallow whole city blocks. An irrelevant thought struck her, she had once read that regardless of what disaster movies showed earthquakes did not open cracks in the earth any deeper than a couple of feet. Well those scientists had never thought of anything like this.

She could almost envy the physicist next to her. He was out of it. She glanced in the rear view mirror. He didn't have to force down the panic she felt, the terror that she would not be able to save her two children, much less the friends that were counting on her. Being the one everybody depended on was getting old very quickly.

Enough of that. Turn to the task at hand. The road descended, blocking the view behind them, and she saw the sign indicating the turn off on her left. Taking it as fast as she could she saw the rest of the group's vehicles in front of her on either side. Good, they had left her a clear shot at the imposing metal gate.

"Hang on," she instructed the other three. Steel grill guard first the truck slammed into the gate and tore it loose. Immediately she turned the wheel and raced down the road till she came to the right berth. A quick check behind her showed Penny was leading everyone else to her.

"Out, out, out!" she yelled as she jumped from the truck. She reached in and strapped the heavy belt around her waist, knowing she should have done that before. Her boots thundered dully on the wood of the dock as she raced towards the boat.

Penny Hofstadter had no mind for science but she could clearly see the world around her, something her beloved husband and his friends were often unable to do. She also could read the subtle nuances of people's speech, body language and attitudes. She had quickly noticed when Leonard had become distracted and worried far beyond how she had seen him before even in the midst of his Nobel Prize winning labors.

She wasn't famous for her patience but she did manage to refrain from tackling him on whatever it was that was occupying all his waking hours; and some of his sleeping ones judging from the tossing and turning in bed and the sudden awakening from nightmares. Finally she couldn't stand it anymore and sat him down.

"Leonard, what's wrong?"

"Why nothing," he had replied in a voice that could not have been less convincing if he had tried to make it that way.

"Leonard, we're married. No secrets. Please."

Slowly and halting at first Leonard had tried to explain. Once he got started though the words began to pour out. In his haste and desire to explain everything he soon lost her completely and she had held up her hand to stop him.

"Honey, I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about now. You don't need to prove your theory to me. Which is, if I understood it correctly, is that things are leading up to a world-wide catastrophe."

"So what are we going to do about it? Is there a safe place we can head for?"

"Nowhere that we can think of." He went on to explain how it was possible the entire continent of North America might be destroyed by earthquakes and massive volcanic eruptions and that so far they had found no place that they could say would, or even might, escape the same fate.

While it was true that Sheldon Cooper, of course, thought that Penny was at least two and possibly three levels below him on the evolutionary scale it had to be admitted that most of the rest of the group, fond though they were of her, didn't think of her when it came to solving problems. Leonard knew better. Penny could put two and two together and rarely came up with five involving real world, down to earth problems.

Scared by the prospect of what her husband was telling her Penny never-the-less determined to help find a way out for them. Then she had an idea. If no place on earth was safe than what about out at sea? Fortunately she knew someone she could ask about that thought.

Her cousin Donna had moved from her East Coast assignment just a few weeks ago. Born and raised in South Carolina half a continent away from Penny's Nebraska the pair had still become friends at an early age during shared summer vacations at each other's homes and family get-togethers. Married and then divorced at an early age she and her twins became a fixture in her and Leonard's life in short order. Because Donna's rotating twenty-four on/forty-eight off schedule made child care difficult Penny had taken to rearranging her Cheesecake Factory hours so she could keep the kids. Surprising even himself her husband had taken to them and proved to be a superior "Uncle Leonard". The experience had made them talk more and more about having some of their own.

"After all," she teased him, "they would be smart AND beautiful."

Now she was glad that so far they hadn't followed through on that. It would be too frightening. She had seen Donna's reaction to the carefully worded and guarded news she had told her cousin about. Immediately Donna had thought of her kids. But she had taken a deep breath and bent her mind to figuring out how they might all find some possible safety.

The group had been astonished at their next meeting when Penny brought Donna in and explained she had told her some of what was feared to be happening soon as well as the stern warning to keep it all to herself. Donna listened to a full summary by Leonard and then explained her idea.

"As I understand it, there really is no safe spot to be found on land, especially not in any place you all feel we can reach."

"Right now Donna we can't say for sure that any place in the world is safe. All we can be sure of is that where we are now is probably going to be one of the first places to go."

"I understand. Therefore I am proposing that we take to the ocean."

Silence greeted her proposal at first. Then Leonard began to nod, very cautiously. Penny nearly giggled at the thoughts she saw rushing through his mind. How much Dramamine would he need to survive an ocean voyage for, well, however long it took? The guys DID say their calculations told them that eventually the temperature of the Earth's core would stabilize and things would return to normal. Well, not NORMAL normal. Not like it was now but all of the solid earth would not be swallowed by the seas.

"What are you proposing?" Howard asked. "And what dangers do you foresee?"

"I'm suggesting we get a boat. A boat with sails as well as a motor. I can handle a schooner rigged boat and teach a couple of you how to do it as well. We need one with a motor to help us avoid some dangers and of course to get us as far away a possible from land when the destruction begins."

"Why away from land?" Leonard inquired in fascination. Penny sensed he was asking because he really wanted to know, not because he was objecting or thought her statement was wrong.

"The biggest dangers on the ocean generally are when you are closest to land. Storms at sea can be bad but you are much more likely to be driven aground on a reef or indeed the shore itself and pounded to bits than you are to be swamped out to sea.

"Also I'm sure those earthquakes and such you all have been describing will cause tsunamis. A lot of them. Far out at sea you can ride over a tsunami and not even know that it's passed you. It isn't until the seafloor rises to meet the land that the water is forced up and becomes the tidal wave we see crashing over buildings and people.

"Of course there are storm waves that can suddenly build to great heights. Think the 'Andrea Gail' in 'Perfect Storm'. And then there's the threat of mega tsunamis."

"I don't like the sounds of THAT," said Bernadette and Amy nodded her agreement.

"Neither do I," admitted Donna. "Think 'Deep Impact'. Imagine a huge wall of water, maybe a hundred meters high, maybe more marching across the face of the ocean, sweeping everything before it. They are the very rare, thankfully, tsunamis that start with a wave height far above normal rather than build to that height as they approach land."

"Do they really exist?"

"Oh yes. There are recently recorded ones. They are caused not by underwater eruptions but by landslides into water and possibly of course a meteorite strike. The good news about them is that first they tend to occur in confined areas of water. In 1958 at giant landslide at the head of Lituya Bay in Alaska gave rise to the largest wave ever recorded; 524 meters. Additional good news is that two men in a fishing boat actually managed to ride the wave and survived. So perhaps we can do it too if we are confronted by one."

"How do you know all these things?" asked Raj.

A pensive look crept over Donna's face. "Once upon a time I had dreams of attending the Coast Guard Academy, majoring in Marine and Environmental Science with a specialization in Geophysics and getting my commission. I missed the cut the first time I applied, not surprising as normally there are over 2000 applicants annually for 240 positions. So I enlisted, thinking the training and experience would count heavily when I applied next. But then all of a sudden I was married and pregnant and divorced and the Academy doesn't accept single parents. Or parents at all."

"Not that I regret a thing," she hastily added. "I wouldn't trade Daniel and Tiffany for anything. Even my ex-husband and our time together. I'm sorry he bailed rather than be a father but that was his decision and loss. But I've continued to study and work on my degree. So that's how I know these things. Besides, the Coast Guard DOES have some experience dealing with problems at sea you know."

"So we get a boat. Where will we find one? And how can we afford it?"

"I'll find what we need. As for affording it," she had shrugged. "We'll find a way to rent it, lease it or buy it on time. After all, money is not going to be worth a lot soon and credit reports will be a thing of the past. However, we might pick up some gold and silver coins. Stored properly they could make good ballast and they may be worth something in the world after all this."

Working together they had found a boat meeting Donna's specifications and leased it. It had been carefully stocked with supplies, non-perishable foodstuffs and survival gear such as fishing lines and nets, solar stills and other stuff. A powerful diesel engine was available for emergencies and Penny, Bernadette and Howard worked with Donna to learn how to use the sails that would drive the boat most of the time. They all rehearsed driving from Pasadena to the marina where the boat was docked, including alternate routes.

And now it was happening and now they were here. Everyone parked in a line as close as possible and formed a human chain to unload the last minute items. As soon as a vehicle was emptied it was driven away.

Sheldon stood with his mouth open watching in astonishment. He shook his head vigorously.

"No, no, NO! I am NOT getting on a boat."

"You don't have to Sheldon," Donna told him.

"I don't?"

"Nope. You can stay here and die." With that he climbed into the boat and disappeared into the cabin.

Everyone tumbled in as the last car was emptied. Donna started the engine and called out "Cast off forward. Penny dashed down the dock and freed the front hawser holding the bow to the wood. She ran back to the aft rope. Next to them she saw a woman with two teenagers struggling to free a slightly smaller boat.

"Hurry," she screamed at them. "You need to get to sea."

"My husband isn't here yet!" the woman shouted back.

"Cast off aft," Donna commanded. "Now Penny!" She shot a look over her shoulder. "Quickly! The gates are open and here come the hounds."

(To be continued)