Chapter 31
Against the Fall of Night
Making their way north, it was inevitable that they would find more survivors, some in dire straits and others 'sitting pretty', and they added those who wished to join their mobile community integrating the people and their supplies into the communal arsenal and stores areas.
Transportation suddenly became a critical issue. The bus from the Dells broke down several times until it finally became apparent to all that something had to be done or they'd never do anything other than wait along side the road while someone tried to fix whatever was wrong with limited knowledge and equipment.
They were passing a series of exits off the interstate when Sheldon radioed from the army fuel truck that they should pull over at the rest stop for a discussion.
Sheldon ran his idea past Penny, Wyatt and Bomber. Leslie would agree with anything the group agreed on and had busied herself taking inventory of their food supplies. The group stood around a picnic bench that Wyatt stood on and he opened the discussion with a summary.
"We're losing valuable time because the bus keeps breaking down. One of these times we won't be able to fix it. Our plan is to leave the interstate and begin searching for RV dealers and replace the bus with RVs that will be a lot more comfortable for all concerned."
There were a couple of cheers but mostly they'd follow whatever suggestions the team leaders made. There was a brief discussion and then the convoy of refugees began their search.
They found a dealership not long or far after leaving the interstate. Since Sheldon and Wyatt were the 'resident experts' because Sheldon had outfitted the Beast and Wyatt had his own RV, everyone settled in while the additional 8 RVs of various sizes and capacities were prepped for departure. An additional day was needed to add basic protective features such as chain link over the windshield and large side windows but they were finally able to get back on the road. There were the usual disgruntled people who didn't like where they'd been assigned to ride and live but overall, things went smoothly.
Tasha Myers had suggested adding trailers to each of the RVs since they were adding people and supplies at such a rate that storage was becoming critical and no one wanted to leave something behind that they might need in the future. They spent the next morning locating a dealership that handled farm trailers.
Suddenly, the 'bus people' wanted to put even the smallest decisions to a vote and after a few attempts at consensus, voting became a thing of the past and the original team became de facto leaders although they still had group meetings to explain changes and decisions. It reduced wasted time and with a few exceptions, proved beneficial. Sheldon hated public speaking and confrontation and so he allowed anyone else to assume the role of communicator.
Madison proved to be a disastrous decision. The entire urban area was little more than a battleground as groups vied for control of dwindling food supplies. The refugees had actually fought their way past a roadblock at one point before radioing a change of direction to the convoy.
They were going to attempt an end around and head for Milwaukee, bypass it, and push on to the Upper Peninsula, all the while scrounging for food and fuel and any technical manuals they could find.
Everyone noticed a change in Sheldon as they progressed further up the interior of the state. He seemed to keep to himself more, rarely joined the discussion around the dinner table and insisted on launching the radio antenna every evening. He sat there for hours each night listening to static as he scanned the dial for some evidence of people.
The morning coffee ritual took place as usual at the crack of dawn. Sheldon sat on the tailgate of the army fuel truck, Leslie wrapped up in her parka, leaning slightly against him as if to let him know he wasn't alone.
"Sheldon, the others are worried and so am I. What's got you down? You seem to be slipping back into 'Dr. Dumbass' again and we don't know why. Look, I'm worried about Bomber's insulin supply and I know you are, too. But that's a given and we both know we're doing the best we can but it's not enough to make you – "
"My sister is a Natural Immune, just like me." Leslie didn't say anything, just squeezed his forearm in quiet support. Now they were getting somewhere.
"I should have left you when I got Penny to Omaha and her parents joined our ragtag little convoy of refugees. It was a straight shot to Galveston by interstate and I could have been there in three or four days. I should have gone, Les. She's my sister and she's alone if she's still alive. What if she's being held by a slaver? What if she's some kind of – "
"Hush, Sheldon. You can 'what if' yourself into a depression if you keep this up. Is that why you listen to the radio every night searching for signs of life – hoping for someone from Galveston or nearby that can tell you something about your sister?"
He looked up at the gray sky and blinked back tears and nodded, not looking at her. They were twins and genetically she was a Natural Immune like him and so she must still be alive, or so he hoped.
"Sheldon, I promise you that when we get to where we're safe, I'll go with you to find your sister, or at least try to find her. If she's half as smart as you, she's probably Queen of Texas by now."
He snickered and she shoulder bumped him. "Missy has the IQ of a normal person but she has the charm and charisma to probably pull it off. Let's put that aside. What are we going to do about Bomber?"
"Why haven't you mentioned this to Penny?" He was good at deflection but Winkle was very good at ignoring him. She'd had almost 9 years of practice.
"Why? Because she'll feel guilty and be upset that I've given up my sister for her and her family. I made a conscious decision in Pasadena to get you two to safety and I do not regret it for one moment. I just feel guilty – if that's the proper term – guilty about abandoning my sister. If I feel this, and I don't normally have emotions as you all keep saying, then how badly will Penny feel? I can't hurt her like that."
"Sheldon Cooper, underneath all those layers and armor, there's a living, breathing human being after all. Don't let yourself slip back like you were. You were a colossal pain in the ass, Shel."
"I don't want to hurt her – "
"You're hurting her now because she doesn't know what's wrong. She thinks it's her. You need to tell her and you need to tell her now. Just don't mention us going after your sister, the Queen. She might not like it one bit."
"I'll do that shortly. I hadn't looked at it from that perspective. I would have thought my acceptance of her proposal of marriage and then telling her dad that I would make an 'honest' woman out of her would have put to rest her concerns. That was a weak assumption on my part."
"Did I just hear you admit to being wrong, Dr. Cooper?" She was teasing him and from the look on his face, he wasn't certain but fell back on his time-proven response. "Of course you didn't, Dr. Winkler."
After dinner, while the others were cleaning up and deciding which board game to play from the stash that each vehicle now carried thanks to Leslie's foresight, Sheldon whispered to Penny that she needed to dress warmly because he wanted to take a walk and talk.
"Talk about what, Sheldon?" She was worried that somehow he'd come to the conclusion that they weren't going to be the 'couple' that Penny wanted them so badly to be. It showed in her tone and her heart was racing in fear. 'This is why he's been so depressed. He made a commitment to me and now he's having second thoughts and he's trying to break it to me gently.'
"I'd rather do it in private, if you don't mind, and I thought a walk around the area would give us privacy and exercise we don't normally get cooped up in the vehicles."
Penny just sighed, now more certain than ever that her happily-ever-after was about to come to an abrupt and unhappy stop.
It was cold but the air held no hint of snow and Sheldon pulled off his glove and then pulled off Penny's and twined his fingers with hers and put the joined hands into the voluminous pocket of his field jacket.
'Maybe he's afraid I'll go all Junior Rodeo on him and he's protecting himself.' She couldn't help the negative feelings that enveloped her.
"Penny, I made a commitment to you in Pasadena to see you safe and reunited with your parents and – "
"And now you're dumping me? Why? I thought we were in love and going to get mar – "
He stopped and felt a deep sense of shame. He hadn't realized how his self-isolation had affected her in such a hurtful way.
"Penelope, I will marry you at the first available opportunity but I have a task to perform, a sort of 'moral obligation', if you will."
She looked up at him, relieved but worried now. What sort of task?
"My sister is a Natural Immune as am I. We share the same genetic makeup and I –"
She interrupted him when she saw how his eyes filled with anguish.
"Of course we have to find her, or at least search for her. We'll go together, honey. Missy's my friend and more than that, she's your family, baby, and I know that this will haunt you forever if we don't do it. Is this what's been bothering you since Omaha? I thought – "
"You think too much, Penny, worry too much. You'll get wrinkles and I'll have to find a younger woman to continue my lineage."
She poked him in the stomach and then pulled her hand out from his pocket and hugged him, trying to get close to him and let him know that they were together now and always.
"You even look at a younger model, my love, and I'll rip off your gadget and render you useless." She ground here hips against him and felt him recoil slightly at her threat…he was such a guy sometimes. His first thought was to protect the family jewels.
Another crisis averted for the time being.
Leslie glared at Sheldon when he climbed back into the bus but then smiled when he reached down and grabbed Penny's hand to help her up, pulling her into a quick hug.
"Shel, Bernadette has an interesting idea that might help Bomber with his insulin. Sit down, have some tea and listen to what she has to say." It wasn't an order, more like a plea so he sat and looked across the dinette table to his friend's blonde waif of a wife. She had lost weight and the loss did wonders for her figure and made her face even more elfin than before.
"Sheldon, when Howard and I left I'd been working for a company called Viridian Dynamics. I found out, quite by accident, that they were conducting highly illegal human trials on a substitute for insulin that would only need to be ingested annually. I shouldn't have been at all surprised. They froze one of their top scientists as an experiment. I saw the reports and they were 78% effective."
"Wonderful news, Bernadette, but that was in Pasadena and – " She interrupted him and continued.
"The main office was in Chicago but the trials were being held in a research facility in Sturgeon Bay. That's like only 4 days drive north of here given the problems we've run into. Sheldon, what if I can find the research data and maybe samples of the drug… I could duplicate it and he'd be free of his daily dependence and - "
Winkle was all smiles and she looked at Sheldon's face and knew that once again he'd sacrifice time for his friends.
"Okay, someone plot a route and let's go inform the others of our change of direction. It took Moses 40 years, this is a piece of cake in comparison."
They gathered around the dinette table several hours later and went over the details of their route. There were a lot of small towns along their route and they could break off several of the RV teams to search for fuel and other supplies – and possible recruits for what was rapidly being called 'The Colony'.
In his own mind Sheldon was computing the probabilities of finding Bomber help versus the probability of finding Missy alive. The odds were heavily in Bomber's favor and once again, Sheldon turned his back on his family until an errant thought made him sit up and laugh.
These people were his family, too. Winkle the Witch, Queen Penelope, Wyatt, Jennifer, Tasha and L'il Penny Blossom and Bomber – they were his family, too.
'Sorry, Missy, but the needs of the many…'