Reset

A part of me wants to run, too. I just want to take the supplies John gave, grab one of those buggy type vehicles that Malcolm is fixing and go. Run. Head home.  That was not a possibility. Over our evening meal we decided that we would pair off.

Malcolm and Amy would head west toward their homes. Jason and I would go straight north. Grant, John, and Meredith would head northeast. But there also was a secondary plan. Three weeks. We had three weeks to find our answers or family and make it to a meeting point. It was the only way if things were truly bad and everything gone.

We had to stick together.

With Amy living as far west as Albuquerque and John living as far north east as Stamford, Malcolm found a center point on the map between us all and the meeting place was set for a little town called Champaign, Illinois.

Grant and Meredith were both familiar with the town and believed it to be a good meeting point. It stood a good chance of being there. After all, war had broken out. To what extent remained to be seen.

Was it nuclear war? Biological war. Was it a ground exchange overseas? We just didn’t know.

Three weeks to return. To start things over and follow through on the objective of the Genesis Project. That’s why we were saved, that was the intention.

Four hours after sun up, the vehicles will be charged enough to go. Malcolm gave us instructions and we will depart.

The questions remain, if we find our answers, will any of us really care enough to return? Will our journey for answers bring us life, or take so much from us that there is really no reason to begin life again?

TWENTY-TWO – Journey

Nora marked the words ‘Two AR’ in the journal, scribbled ‘journey’ and closed the cover. She’d write later when she had the time. The course was set and the first destination was Jason’s home in Louisville, Kentucky. At nearly three hundred miles away, in a vehicle that moved no faster than 40 MPH, they were looking at a nine hour trip. But that wasn’t happening, because they had to stop and recharge after six hours. A simple drive would turn into a three day trip and a very uncomfortable ride. The dune buggy type vehicle had the name NASA Mite-2 on the side, and was small with little room. A back area hatch for supplies and two very exposed seats. It didn’t offer any protection from the elements at all and Nora through it felt flimsy. Malcolm assured her it wasn’t.

They were the last ones to leave, because theirs was the last vehicle to charge.

At noon, they were fully charged. Nora took the driving position, Jason rode in the passenger seat. She quietly said a prayer, and pulled out of Redstone Arsenal. They had a direction, but which route they’d end up taking was all in the air. They hadn’t a clue what was ahead. But it was a journey they had to take.

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There was a tad of guilt on Malcolm’s part, just a tad. After all, he got the buggies up and running so he deserved to have the souped-up one. While the others slept, he had taken the fourth vehicle apart, and enhanced the NASA Mite-3. The dual batteries allowed for nearly eight hours of travel and the buggy moved near fifty MPH. Although, he didn’t go that fast. He just didn’t trust it. It moved and felt like a golf cart to him.

Three hours into their trip they were half way to their first destination of Memphis.

It was the next biggest city off the highway. Perhaps if any civilization remained it would be in that area.

They didn’t see much of Huntsville. They got right on the overgrown highway. The grass was high in some spots, and the thick tires of the buggy cut through. There was a traffic jam of sorts, a graveyard of cars outside of Redstone and the Huntsville area. The nimble and small buggy zigzagged on and off the road to get around it.

Despite all the abandoned cars, there still was no sign of people.

He and Amy had the longest journey. Twelve hundred miles of roadway, at least. He took the first two batteries that hit a full charge and he and Amy were on the road before nine AM.  They moved with the hot sun, so there was no relief, which also told Malcolm it was summer. The nights weren’t cool, they were still muggy. The skies were clear. If he were to guess, he’d say it was probably July.

Malcolm conveyed his theories on the weather, and the seasons, and Amy laughed

“Why are you laughing at me?” Malcolm asked. “Is that funny?”

“Well, yeah, it is.”

“How is that?”

“Well, finally, I can say I am an expert in something going on around here.” Amy proudly stated.

“What do you mean? Explain.”

“Okay. I may be a star and sun person. And study solar weather. But, I did my internship on the Weather Channel for two years.” Amy said.

“How does that make you an expert?”

“Really? Seriously? You are asking me that.” Amy laughed. “For starters, you are forgetting Where we are geographically. We are south and west which means seasonably these areas are warmer this time year.”

“This time of year?” Malcolm asked. “What time of year is it?”