Chapter 40 The Plague
JR and Melissa took the list of friends and neighbors that they'd put together around the kitchen table after dinner and started their visits. Sheldon knew that people wouldn't feel threatened if Missy was along to hold JR's mouth in check and to use her natural charm and charisma to make people see the advantages of relocating.
JR quickly realized that at the rate they were going, it would snow in Galveston before they got done with their list. Instead, the pair simply drove to each house or farm and told them of an important meeting at their Meemaw's place the next night to discuss the threats they faced and a possible solution.
It was almost dark by the time they got back home but they managed to reach 23 of the 28 on their list. Of those 23, six would never be able to attend. Their bodies were rotting in their beds, victims of the mutated Choker. The smell usually tipped them off right away and sometimes they didn't even bother pounding on the door. If it wasn't the smell it was also the dead or underfed stock that provided the first clue.
Sheldon and Raj had ferried two of the large motor coaches from a Galveston dealership up to their small community. It had taken almost the entire morning but the afternoon had been well spent beginning their modifications. Papaw had always believed that a ranch should be self-sufficient and so he put together a small welding and machine shop that would be the envy of small businesses.
"Sheldon, where did you learn such skills? Surely these weren't taught in the various schools and universities you attended?" Raj watched as Sheldon tack-welded metal grilles over the side windows of the big buses and explained the whys and wherefores of what he was doing.
"In various shops and locations in Pasadena. I suppose you would call it a crash course offered by the School of Hard Knocks." He wheezed a laugh. His ribs still hurt from where the 5-point restraints of his seat belt had squeezed him when his Cessna crashed.
"We'll cannibalize the fencing around the elementary school for the doors and windshields. What I'm most worried about is the availability of sufficient weapons to provide us with offensive capabilities along our route. I sure could use the expertise of Winkle and Bomber at scrounging. They found the most interesting things that invariably came in handy along out trek."
Raj left and then returned shortly with a large Yellow Page book for the 'Greater Galveston Area' and simply said, "We'll let out fingers do the walking, my friend. It clearly states that anything you can imagine is available within these pages."
Meemaw's Ranch
They held a meeting of all those families they'd made contact with at Meemaw's place and showed off the modified coaches and laid out the game plan.
Sheldon's involvement was limited to explaining the Colony and describing the Island and the two closest towns (deserted) and the advantages and drawbacks of relocating. He didn't take any active leadership role for the simple fact that to these people he was 'Sheldon the crazy/smart kid' who'd left at an early age and never really came home again.
Missy and JR had more standing in the community that he or Raj did so he left it up to his siblings to sell the program. It was a hard sell. Most of them felt like JR that this was their land, their past and future and they didn't want to tuck tail and run.
Things were getting loud and Sheldon hadn't really changed all that much. He still hated confrontation, especially when it was loud and emotional. He finally just stood up, waved at the group, and walked off to do some more tinkering on the coaches.
There were a lot of looks exchanged and a lot of whispering among friends and neighbors and finally one older man, Jeff Mattox, asked why their brother had left.
"Where'd he go? Don't he care what's happening here?"
"He left a family behind to come down here and check up on Missy. I think right about now he's thinking 'why the hell did I bother?' and I can't blame him. Look, either we build a central defensive point and we all run there when things get ugly like in Indian days or we burn our bridges and go North. The Choker ain't particular nor are those scum from the cities. Dead is dead."
Raj had slipped away during the yelling and arguing that followed and found Sheldon busy tinkering with 55-gallon drums and hoses for one coach.
"You know this is very hard for them, Sheldon. They have to give it all up and it is hard for proud people to run."
"Proud and dead if they don't listen to reason but I am not totally without sympathy. Tomorrow we need to investigate all these Army Reserve and National Guard locations and see what we can scrounge. The Air Force has a facility up in Loftus that we need to check out, too."
"So you're just going to turn your back on – "
Sheldon whirled around and Raj took a step back. The look on his friend's face scared him. He looked like he was ready to kill something. When he spoke, there was no doubt he was one of the people he was talking about. His accent, phrasing and language were not those of Sheldon Cooper, PhD but of Sheldon Cooper of Texas.
"I tried. That's all I can do. Some people just stick their heads in the sand and try to hide from what's comin' but that don't stop what's comin', just makes them feel good until they die. You can't change their minds. You can't force 'em to give up the 'known' for the unknown."
"Raj, tomorrow is another day I'm away from the Colonials and another day away from Penny. She probably thinks I'm dead or not coming back because of her ultimatum. I'm tired of being tired. I just want to go home."
"We need a radio, my friend, so you can find out what's happening on the Island and talk to Penny. Tomorrow we scrounge for one. Your balloon antenna is a good idea. You'll feel better once you know she still waits for you."
They bypassed the National Guard and Reserve Centers and headed for the Air Guard airbase since it was the farthest away. They'd work their way back to the Cooper ranch and if they had to overnight out on the road, they were prepared.
They drove up the long straight cement roadway to the front gates that appeared to be closed. From their vantage point, Sheldon could see the large tail assemblies of several aircraft but no people – in fact no signs of life at all.
He stepped out of the first coached they'd completed and walked towards the chain link gates intending to cut the lock off with the bolt cutters he'd brought along.
'Just once, just one time, I'd like someone to greet us with 'Hi, glad you're here. We could use the help', but no, it's always abandoned and picked over and…'
"HALT! This is a restricted area and we will use deadly force to defend ourselves. Get back in your fancy bus and get the hell out of here!"
'Interesting…defend ourselves not deter access or any other military jargon. Perhaps…'
"I am Dr. Sheldon Cooper late of CalTech and my companion is Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali, PhD in astrophysics. I am detached from the Colony and am here rounding up people to return north and rebuild. Our purpose here was to appropriate any equipment we might need for that purpose, specifically a long range radio."
"Get back on the bus! I won't tell you again."
"Perhaps you should contact your commander and tell him I'm here. Perhaps we can be of mutual aid to one another."
"I said – "
"And I gave you an order, airman, and I suggest you comply or face the consequences! Now, be a lamb and run and fetch your commander."
The guard knew the voice of command and this voice said 'I will be obeyed' despite the novel language. He keyed his radio and contacted the Tactical Ops Center and explained the situation.
A staff car pulled up at the fence and the guard saluted a small figure in Air Force BDUs. Sheldon hadn't known what to expect but it wasn't her.
"I'm Major Dawn Holmes and I am commander of this facility – what's left of it. Who are you and what do you want?"
TOC
"So let me recap to be sure I have a grip on the fundamental plan. You want to take a group of ranchers and their families and livestock nearly 2,000 miles to some island you and your 'Colonials' have taken over."
"Basically, yes."
"You're out of your mind! Do you know what's waiting for you? Do you – "
"The Select have been crushed by the Mormons who are friendly to our group. There are Sioux Indians in Wyoming and they are also friends. Offutt Air Force Base has been taken over by a self-styled warlord and should be avoided at all costs. They lure refugees in and, well, they never come out."
She made a movement with her fingers that said 'more'.
"We started out with 3 people and now we're almost 400. We swept up refugees as we went along, adding vehicles and people, scrounging, taking everything of value from the dead and moved north through Wisconsin. We defeated a para-military force and added a Coast Guard Cutter and large ferry to our convoy and settled in on Mackinaw Island."
She stared at him, wanting to believe him but afraid to.
"Oh, and we picked up a group from the Chicago area. Some of them are probably dead by now from radiation poisoning but we couldn't just leave the to die."
"And you came home to Texas to find your sister and brother and your Indian friend here?"
"No, just my sister. I didn't know JR survived and Raj was supposed to be in Delhi and how he ended up in Texas is a story in itself."
"Okay, suppose I believe you. What do you want from us?"
"Anything you can part with. But I'd ask to use a radio to contact my people on the Island and…and my wife. She probably thinks I'm dead and we didn't part on good terms but I couldn't break my word and so I flew here and – "
"And crashed that Cessna and almost got burned alive. Sheldon, perhaps…perhaps these people would join up with us. We have a navy of sorts. Why not an air force? Your friend Hideki would love to get his hands on a, what did you call them, oh, yes, a trash hauler again."
"We don't haul trash Dr. Unpronounceable, and I'll thank you to – "
"Would you, Major Holmes? Would you come with us, fly us to the island and join our rebuilding efforts? What purpose do you serve sitting around waiting to be overrun by the scum from the cities? Bring your people and their families and join us. There's more than enough room and…and we need skilled people who aren't afraid to work hard for a better life."
A/N: If I can finish it, there's an epilogue to this that ties up the loose ends as far as I'm concerned.