After The Disaster

[steve]

UPDATE : The story has now been completely ported over.

I am porting my stories over to this forum, of which "After The Disaster" is one of them. As the stories are large in nature, I will not be porting an entire story all at once but a few sections at a time. These stories are complete, which is why I am posting them in this section.

If you would prefer to read this particular story in full before the porting is complete, please follow the following link:

afmdwellersofthewastes.yuku.com/topic/473/After-the-Disaster

So, without further ado - AFTER THE DISASTER...

[steve]

PART I

"That was a really bright light, man," Jojo slurred as the sudden flash lit up the midnight sky.

"Maybe they're aliens or something," Wally replied, equally slurred, nearly falling out of his cheap folding chair.

The two men sat around a small campfire. Dozens of partially empty & completely empty bottles of liquor sat with them, their purpose in life now fulfilled having their contents drained from them.

After an awkward pause, Jojo said, "Maybe we should go greet the aliens. They could be lost in the woods, man. It's all dark & stuff out there."

"I don't feel like greeting the aliens," Wally said, just as another brilliant flash of light painted over the sky.

"Holy crap!" Jojo screamed, falling off his folding chair & knocking over a few bottles, "There's another one!"

"Nah," Wally reasoned, pointing up to the sky, "The aliens must have left. See, they flash when they land & they flash when they leave. Yeah. That must be it."

"So, what do we do, man?" Jojo asked, trying to stand up in spite of his intoxication. He failed miserably on three consecutive tries, finally compromising by crawling over to Wally on all fours.

"Fall asleep," Wally deadpanned, finishing off yet another bottle & chucking it lazily off into the blackened wilderness.

Jojo began to laugh hysterically & Wally joined him after a moment.

"Man," Jojo said, finally being able to sit up, "I can't believe that we're running away from the draft. I mean, don't they kill draft dodgers now or something?"

"We'd be killed if we joined," Wally remarked, "Besides, how many corpses does it take to decide who wins a world war?"

"That is so deep, man," Jojo said, "I mean, what do they need us for anyway, right? I mean, if you want to nuke the guys, what do they need people like us for, anyway? You know how to speak...Heck, what do they speak over there?"

"Something other then English," Wally said, almost a silently as a whisper.

"Yeah, man," Jojo continued, "I'd be useless over there 'cause I can't even speak English all that well. Heck, I had to cheat off of your tests just to pass 10th grade. Hey, remember that time..."

Jojo looked over at Wally & found that Wally had fallen asleep. Just then, another flash of light lit up the sky. Then another & another & another. Jojo, his mind still addled by alcohol, tried to concentrate & count the flashes that he saw. He lost track at 6 & eventually fell asleep.

Over a faltering campfire & two drunk men in the middle of a forest, the flashes of light continued...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

PART II

"Hey."

Silence.

"Hey."

Silence.

"Hey, man, wake up. OK?"

Jojo fluttered his eyelids open to see a fuzzy rendition of Wally standing over him. Jojo put one of his hands up in an attempt to block the daylight.

"Dude," Jojo slowly said, his voice groggy, "Please tell me that nothing...intimate happened last night. I've got a bad feeling I did something that I shouldn't have."

Wally just sighed as he walked out of Jojo's line of sight. Jojo attempted to slowly get up as he heard Wally speak.

"Come on, man, we've got to get moving. The sawmill is, like, 15 miles away. That's over hills & stuff. It'll be late before we even get there," Wally explained, shuffling all the empty bottles into one pile.

Jojo heard the hard, loud 'clink' of the bottles as they fell on top of each other. Each time the bottles clinked, it sent a piercing wave of pain through Jojo's head until he scrambled up into a standing position. Even then, he slightly wavered as he continued to blink his eyes into focus.

"Dude," he stated as loudly as he could, clearing his throat, "That noise is serious pain. Can you tell the bottles to keep it down?"

"I'll do one better," Wally said, smiling, "I'll leave them be. Now that you're up, we can get moving."

"Yeah," Jojo said, looking at the huge pile of empty bottles, "Leave the bottles alone, man. This is our old life. Our new life starts today. I like that. It's like a monument or something, you know?"

Wally & Jojo began hiking slowly through the forest towards an uncertain destination & an even more uncertain future. In his mind, Wally wondered if he had made the right decision.

It was too late, though, to go back now. He was criminally absent from his mandatory check-in for entry into the Army. One kangaroo court session later, he'd be found guilty of deserting the military in absentia.

Desertion in these times meant only one thing : The death penalty. It wouldn't be like the death penalty of the old days, where prisoners had years & years of appeals. It was more like, "Found guilty on Monday morning, pushing up daisies by Tuesday afternoon."

If Wally was going to escape, he'd have to escape to a far away place where they'd never find him. The farthest place he knew was the abandoned sawmill. Hopefully, the sawmill was still there. Hopefully, it was still in fairly good condition. Hopefully, the war would be over soon so the madness would end & people would start thinking like people again & not as savages.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

PART III


"Dude," Jojo said, his voice dry & straining, "Man, I've got to stop for a moment." Jojo nearly fell to his knees at the same moment he took off his backpack. Wally could tell that Jojo was tired.

"What are we doin', man, walking to Mexico or something?" Jojo asked, almost rhetorically, as he hurriedly opened a canteen & started drinking from it. His relief was short-lived; Wally could see the final drops that the canteen held fall into Jojo's parched mouth.

"Yeah, let's take a break," Wally relented, putting his backpack down & leaning against a tree.

Jojo turned to Wally & asked, "So, out of curiosity, what are we going to do when we get there?"

"I don't know," Wally mused, "Fix the place up, grow stuff, eat stuff, get babes...Stuff." The two of them laughed, with Jojo injecting, "Smoke stuff." That made them laugh even more.

"What about Laura, man?" Jojo asked, a serious tone sobering up his voice, "You tell her about your Houdini act from reality?"

Wally remained silent for a moment, looking down at the ground. Jojo knew instantly that he touched a nerve but Wally spoke before Jojo could apologize.

"Laura's my girl," he said, picking his backpack up & placing it back onto his back, "But she's a big girl & can make decisions on her own."

Jojo slowly got up off of the ground, using every bit of strength that he could to fling his backpack back onto his shoulders.

"Yeah," Jojo meekly replied, "Well, I've decided I'm going to sleep at the sawmill tonight. I'll race you to it."

"You don't even know where it is," Wally replied, smirking.

"I said I'd race you, not beat you. I may have almost flunked out of 10th grade, but I'm not stupid," Jojo said with a forced smile.

The two slowly began walking again. Wally looked up at the sky & wondered if they'd make it to the sawmill tonight. It was going to be close; Jojo would have to make good on his desire to "race" & Wally would have to match him stride for stride.

The sawmill would hardly be the finish line, though; It would just be the beginning.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

PART IV


"Dude, this is it," Wally said.

The moon as their only flashlight, Jojo saw the silhouette of a modestly-sized sawmill in front of them. In the darkness, he couldn't tell whether the structure was on the verge of collapsing or if it was as solid & stable as it was when it was built over a century ago.

"I think it's time to go to bed," Jojo declared, dropping his backpack straight to the ground.

"Dude, you don't want to sleep in it?" Wally asked, turning to look at Jojo. It wasn't as though Wally could see Jojo's expression - Only his outline as it was reflected by the moonbeams.

"Wally," Jojo stated, as he hurriedly got out his sleeping bag, "I am glad that we are at the sawmill. In celebration of this momentous event, I am going to bed now. If you wake me up before noontime tomorrow, I swear to God I will kill you."

"Yeah, well," Wally stammered to say, "Aren't you going to at least put up your tent first? I mean, it might rain or something."

Jojo, having already kicked off his shoes & climbed into his sleeping bag, answered, "I will just have to place my faith in Mother Nature. Wally, I'm out. Good night."

Wally could hear the signature light snore of Jojo not a moment later.

Wally took off his backpack & set it down at a nearby tree. He hung up their food & began pitching his tent. Against the backdrop of night, he fumbled for a few extra moments to set up the tent but he accomplished the task.

As he rolled out his sleeping bag, a wave of thoughts began to hit him. Their food was going to run out in a few days. What then? Was the water safe enough to drink here? If not, what then? What if the sawmill really was a disaster? Wally & Jojo weren't inept at carpentry but they wouldn't be able to rebuild an entire sawmill.

They'd have to start planting the garden tomorrow. Inspect the sawmill tomorrow. Gather firewood tomorrow. Start checking the maps to see where the nearest town is. See if the place was even remotely friendly to "refugees."

Wally came to the realization that he was now a criminal. His state considered him a criminal. The federal government considered him a criminal. The military considered him a deserter (which was the same as a criminal). It was weird to be thought of as a criminal, considering he had stayed clear of the law for most of his life.

Jojo, on the other hand, couldn't ever seem to get out of trouble. He had always, to borrow a phrase, taken from Paul to pay Peter. Or, even more accurately, taken from Paul, gambled that away in an attempt to make twice as much, lied to Peter that he'd get the money soon, borrow more money from Paul, traffic some questionable goods to pay Paul for the first amount of money he borrowed, pay Peter about 20% of what he actually owed & swear that he'll give both of them their money soon.

Maybe, Wally thought in his last few moments of consciousness before sleep overtook him, all that Jojo needed was a fresh start. Nobody is owed anything. The reset button would be pushed & everything from the past would be erased.

Wally hoped that the sawmill was still viable. He hoped that there'd be a town nearby who didn't mind a few deserters. He hoped that Laura would understand his decision not to die in some foreign land because some politician told him to.

Wally wasn't used to being on the lam, always having to look over your shoulder. Just like Jojo, he had pushed the reset button, too. Now, though, he would have to live with the consequences for the rest of his life.

He only hoped that those consequences wouldn't be as severe as he was fearing. He'd begin to find out just what those consequences were tomorrow morning.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

PART V


"Dude," Jojo said, sweeping his arms through open space to clear the cobwebs in front of him, "At least the place looks solid."

Wally looked behind him to see Jojo slowly walk around the inside of the abandoned sawmill. For the first time since he had awakened, Wally could afford to smile.

Everything seemed to be in order. Floorboards that didn't look completely rotted away. A roof that didn't appear to have too many leaks. Siding that hadn't corroded to the point of uselessness. A chimney that looked fairly clean.

The sawmill, though, did need work. As it stood now, it was little more then a wooden tent. A place where someone might sleep for a day or two if they had to but not a home. It wasn't a place where someone would 'live.'

Jojo exerted a loud sneeze, which interrupted Wally's train of thought.

"Dude," Jojo said, "I'm going to go out &, like, start chopping down the wheat field for a front yard. Maybe see if there's a place to plant a garden."

"Withdrawal symptoms already?" Wally asked mischeveously.

"Revenue, man," Jojo replied, "If there's a town nearby, then there's going to be demand. You think the hardware store is just going to give us stuff for free?"

"Happy planting," Wally said.

Wally wasn't concerned with the 'wheat field' out in front of the sawmill. The grass was tall but it wasn't an insurmountable burden. There were other priorities to worry about.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"You look tired," Wally said to a sitting Jojo. Jojo, sitting down inside the sawmill, had curled up his sleeping bag to turn it into a 'faux' pillow for his head lean against.

"Dude," Jojo said in an exhausted voice, "This is so not fun."

"The front yard looks nice," Wally commented, "Now all we need is to properly mow it."

"Yeah," Jojo agreed, "As soon as I take a 2-year nap, OK?" Jojo added, "By the way, what's for dinner?"

"Whatever we have left," Wally replied. Jojo simply sighed heavily.

"Is it possible for the rest of me to be asleep while my mouth eats?" Jojo asked, followed by a weak laugh.

"Absolutely," Wally said with a grin, "I can't even count the number of times you used to talk while your brain was asleep."

Wally laughed as Jojo found the energy to throw his balled-up sleeping bag at Wally. The two of them laughed for a moment.

"Dude," Jojo asked, "Can I have that back? I still need to rest."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

After dinner, Jojo & Wally made a fire in the sawmill's fireplace.

"So," Jojo asked, "What's on tomorrow's agenda?"

"Go meet the nearby town," Wally began, "Try to get a garden in, continue to clean this place up, determine what we'll need to get this place ready for Winter..."

"Woah, woah, woah..." Jojo interrupted, "Winter? Dude...Winter?"

"You really think two deserters like us can stay at a motel the rest of our lives?" Wally asked. "Fake IDs can only go so far," Wally concluded.

"I'm all for screwing over the government whenever the chance," Jojo stated, "But Winter?"

"It ain't so bad," Wally said reassuringly, "As long as the town is cool with it."

"Yeah," Wally said, "If the town is cool, then we've got it made."

As Wally & Jojo went to bed, Wally wondered what they'd do if the town 'wasn't' cool. If the town was a 'by-the-books' place where you needed to show a current National ID card just to say "Hello" to someone.

There was always Mexico. He'd heard about a lot of people heading to Mexico.

"Plan B," if they even needed it, would have to wait, though. For now, Wally allowed himself to go to sleep & temporarily forget all the troubles that lay ahead of him.

[steve]

PART VI


"Jojo," Wally whispered.

Silence.

"Jojo," Wally whispered, this time shaking Jojo.

"Hey, man," Jojo mumbled, not even opening his eyes, "It ain't even daylight yet. OK? Go back to bed."

"Jojo," Wally said, louder but still in a soft voice, "I think someone is outside the sawmill."

"Well if he doesn't knock," Jojo mumbled, half-asleep, "Don't let him in. Damn inconsiderate people... Don't even know when to let people sleep."

Wally just sighed in frustration. Short of picking Jojo up & shaking him, Jojo wouldn't wake up. Maybe, though, Wally could use that to his advantage.

Wally took another peek outside the sawmill. His eyes, adjusted to the darkness of night, could see the faint outline of a person with a flashlight walking around. Whomever it was had a sizeable backpack.

Another camper? Possibly. How many campers were still hiking at 1 AM in the morning? Perhaps it was a hunter. If that was the case, then where was the rifle? Better still, why was the person seemingly roaming around the area & not going in one direction?

Wally couldn't even fathom the possibility that it could be... A "Tracker." That was the slang word used for military truant officers. The Protection of Liberty Act gave them powers even U.S. Marshals didn't have. They could shoot first & ask questions later. They could use interrogation tactics on anyone. They could hold anyone for up to one week before placing them under formal arrest. As long as they were working under the framework of hunting down deserters, they could do whatever they wanted to.

Then, Wally saw the person's flashlight swing towards his direction. He ducked away from the window but could still see the person through a crack in the sawmill's wall. Wally's heartbeat jumped when the person began walking towards the sawmill.

They'd see the "cut" lawn in front of the door. They'd still see & smell the smoke coming out of the chimney. They'd have no problem breaking into an old, wooden place like this. Worst of all was the person was now less then fifty feet away.

Wally didn't have a firearm & neither did Jojo. The Protection of Liberty Act barred normal citizens from owning firearms unless they owned them prior to the act, were law enforcement officers, were military veterans or were active military personnel.

Wally picked up a somewhat rotted piece of wood lying nearby. The weapon was better then nothing but not by much. Wally heard the person slowly walk towards the door.

Suddenly, though, the footsteps stopped. Wally could see pinpricks of light from the person's flashlight come through the walls & hit him in the legs & torso. Wally could hear the person breathing. Wally could hear the grass crunch underneath the person's feet as they shifted their weight.

Moments felt like hours as the person slowly scanned the sawmill with their flashlight. Then, almost hesitantly, the person began to turn to walk away.

Wally breathed a sigh of relief as the person slowly began to walk back towards the forest.

"Dude," Jojo said in a normal voice, standing just a few feet from a startled Wally, "What's with the two by four? A mouse scarin' you or something?"

Wally quickly looked up at Jojo, just in time to see a beam of light hit Jojo's face.

They had been found.

================================

PART VII


"Jojo! Get Down!" Wally demanded, reaching over to pull Jojo to the ground. Jojo was already reacting to the light in his face, though, and instinctively stepped away from Wally to get out from the light.

Thinking fast, Wally wedged one end of the piece of woof against the door & the other against a nearby support beam. It wasn't perfect but it would surprise the intruder for the first few seconds in their attempt to get in through the door. That would give them enough time to think of an escape.

Wally stood up & grabbed Jojo, fully prepared to make a run for it, even if that meant abandoning everthing except for the clothes on their backs.

"Jojo?" The person remarked, just before the two of them heard knocking on the door.

Jojo knew that voice. So, too, did Wally. They froze in their tracks for a moment while they continued to hear the person knocking.

"Hey," the person said, "Let me in. Come on. It's, like, midnight out."

Wally walked over to the door & kicked the piece of wood loose. He was actually disappointed, in a morbid way, that a quickly-thought plan had worked so well in keeping someone out. Even a determined person would have had difficulty getting through the door.

Wally opened the door to find Laura. Laura, decked out in bargain-basement hiking gear, immediately hugged Wally as soon as she walked in.

"Oh my God," she stated, "I never thought you'd go through with it. I mean, I knew you would, but I didn't know if you really would. You know?"

"Laura," Wally asked, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be..."

Laura took off the bandana she was wearing to reveal a standard-issue military haircut. She beamed a smile at Wally.

"I told them I had to go to the bathroom," she said with a certain tone a maliciousness, "I didn't tell them which one."

"Dude," Jojo interrupted, "We're digging the outhouse tomorrow. You can use the bushes for now."

Laura laughed as she walked over to Jojo & gave him a playful swat on the arm. Wally & Jojo laughed along with her.

"Oh my God, this is fantastic," she said wistfully, hugging Wally again.

"Did you bring a sleeping bag?" Wally asked.

"Yeah," Laura replied, "But I was wondering if we could share yours."

"Thank God for happy endings," Jojo stated, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed. It's nighttime."

Wally & Laura watched as Jojo shuffled away back to his sleeping bag.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"They shipped Phil out already," Laura explained to Wally, "And Mike went to 'Me-South,' Middle East, Southern Theatre."

"Where were you supposed to go?" Wally asked Laura.

"Asian Theatre," she answered, "Don't know if it was going to be North or South, though. Like it'd matter."

"You didn't have to do this, you know," Wally told Laura, "It was all my..."

"And this was my idea, too," Laura interrupted, "To be with the one I love. I don't care if they haul me away now. We'll make it work. I know we can."

"We will," Wally replied, "Now that you're here, I know we will."

The two continued to talk for a few more minutes before their fatigue, one from walking & the other from a lack of sleep, took it's toll. Holding each other, they fell asleep.

For the first time in days, Wally slept without a worry. A criminal & a deserter he may have been but, with Laura there, he didn't care.

Tomorrow could only bring happiness.

===============================

PART VIII


Swish.

Chop.

Swish.

Chop.

Wally ever-so-slowly began to wake up to sounds that resembled leafed-branches hitting the sides of the sawmill. He looked over at Laura, who was in the final stages of denial about waking up. Wally took the initiative & got out of the sleeping bag.

Looking out the window of the sawmill, he saw Jojo working outside with the machete. He was continuing to chop away at the grass. Swish. Chop. Swish. Chop. He smirked at recognizing where the sound was coming from.

Jojo quickly saw Wally as he was looking out the window.

"Dude," Jojo said, walking over to Wally, "Sleep a little later & it'll be noontime."

"Really?" Wally asked, "What time is it?"

"I think it's like 10 o'clock, or something. I made a sundial & stuff while you guys were sleeping," Jojo explained, motioning with the machete where the general location of the sundial was.

Wally revealed his grogginess by saying, "So, you feel up to a walk to the nearest town?"

"Got no choice," Jojo remarked, "I was hungry when I got up. Ate the rest of the food."

Wally slowly nodded.

"Looks like we'll be eating out for lunch," Wally merely said, wandering away from the window.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"You ready to go?" Wally asked Laura. Wally inadvertantly saw Laura's naked backside as she pulled a T-shirt over her braless frame. He blinked for a moment, startled at what he saw.

"Wow," he gasped, catching the attention of Laura.

"You're a freakin' bodybuilder," he said, grinning from ear-to-ear. Laura returned the grin.

"Yeah," she said with a tone of pride, instantly taking off her T-shift. She flexed her bicep muscle while grinning.

"Third strongest in my class," she said with pride, turning her back towards Wally so that she could strike another bodybuilding pose. Although not nearly as tone as a professional bodybuilder, it was clear that Laura had gained both mass & form since he had last seen her.

"I thought women weren't training to be front-line soldiers," he said, gently grabbing her from behind to hug her. Suddenly, she twisted around & grabbed him. Kicking one of his legs back, she flung him over her shoulder & he landed on the ground behind her. He barely had the time to let out a yelp.

"The Military Equality Act," she stated with a grin, "All soldiers regardless of gender must be prepared to serve in all facets of the conflict."

"I'm glad that you excelled in your training," was all that Wally could muster as he laid on the floor, flat on his back.

"I didn't really hurt you," Laura said, her face & voice softening, "Did I?"

"Only my ego," Wally answered, smiling.

"I promise not to tell Jojo," Laura said, lifting Wally back up into a standing position.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Jojo," Wally said, walking out of the sawmill with Laura, "We're ready whenever you are."

"OK," Jojo replied, placing his machete back into the sawmill.

The three began to walk away towards the town. They had already plotted a course on a map & expected to take about an hour to arrive at it's border.

==============================

PART IX


"Dude, that's really weird."

Jojo stood there for a moment, still holding the car door handle while the car door was open.

"Jojo, come on. Whoever owns this car...," Wally began to say but was interrupted by Jojo.

"Dude," Jojo stated, "Whoever owns this car must be in some big time trouble. I mean, look - The keys are still in the ignition, man! Door's unlocked! I mean, the car ain't even really pulled off to the side of the curb. Any old car can come around the corner & plow into this thing, man. Total carnage!"

"He's got a point, Wally," Laura stated, "Whoever left this car here is just begging for trouble. The least they could have done was pull it off to the curb."

"Yeah," Wally said in resignation, "Let's push it to the curb. That's the least we can do."

Wally looked around the forested landscape. The road seemed more like an asphalt serpent, dodging & weaving from the various geographic landmarks that made up the region. They had been following the road for about 2 miles now & had yet to see a single car until they spotted this one.

"Jojo, see if it has a power door unlock button so we can open up some car doors & push it," Wally recommended. Jojo climbed into the car & looked around. What they heard next weren't the car doors unlocking.

"Holy crap!" Jojo said, after turning the key, "This thing purrs like a kitten. Who'd ever abandon this car, dude? I mean, seriously?"

"Look," Wally tried to reason, "After you pull this thing over onto the curb..."

"Dude," Jojo started, "I think we were destined to find this car, man. I think this car needs us, you know? Think about it. Most other people would be ripping this car off. Us, man, nothing but peace & good feelings for the machine. Check that out. I think we should drive this into town. Drive it into town & leave it for the locals to find, you know?"

Wally was getting upset at Jojo. What was supposed to have been a nice, quiet entry into a town that may or may not be hostile to deserters like them was being hijacked into a noisy collision by Jojo. Wally thought desperately of a compromise that wouldn't land them in jail before their first week or illicit freedom was up.

"Dude," Jojo reasoned, sensing the silence, "What's the point of being a criminal if you can't do something illegal every now & then?"

"Drive the speed limit," Wally deadpanned, "And make sure everyone wipes everything they touch down. Last thing we need are the cops figuring out who we are."

Wally got into the front passanger seat while Laura took the rear right seat. As soon as they were in the car, Jojo gunned the engine.

Jojo turned on the car radio but only found static. After flipping through the stations for about five seconds, he tuend to Wally.

"Wally," Jojo asked, "I know I'm asking for a lot but do you think you could find a station for me? Cars without music are like chicks without breasts. No offense, Laura."

Laura smirked as she replied, "None taken, Jojo."

Wally fiddled with the radio for half a minute before giving up. "It must be the forest," he reasoned, turning it off, "Besides, there probably isn't a local station around for miles."

"No tunes, no tube," Jojo whined, "This desertion business is really getting on my nerves. How bad could the front lines be?"

"You could be getting shot at," Laura deadpanned.

"That's the problem with the military," Jojo mumbled, almost to himself, "It's just so darn violent. If it was more mellow, I probably would've joined up."

"Let's change topics for a moment," Wally started, "We get to town, we ditch the car, we find a source of food. Good deal?"

"Yeah," Jojo agreed with Laura nodding.

As Jojo continued to drive, Wally wondered about the town. Already, it was six miles away from where they lived & it wasn't getting closer with each passing moment.

As much as he hated taking the car, Wally was beginning to think that maybe having a car, even a stolen one, might not be such a bad idea after all...

============================

PART X


"Hello?"

"Hel-loooo!"

"Dude, Hello."

Jojo wandered around the aisles while Wally went straight to the counter. Larger then a convenience store but much smaller then your standard supermarket, the three of them were perplexed with the absense of anyone in an otherwise open grocery store.

Outside, there were about five other parked cars in the parking lot besides theirs.

"Check these prices out. Total rip-off!" Jojo commented out loud, "I thought everything in the country was supposed to be cheap."

"Or expensive," Laura said, turning to Jojo, "Because we're not in an urban center where there's a lot of competition. It's probably the only gig in town. This place is about as expensive as it can afford to get."

"Keep it down," Wally tried to say without it sounding whiny, "It's not polite to talk about that kind of stuff while you're IN the store."

"Yeah, well," Jojo replied, "If you haven't noticed, we're the only ones IN the store. Bad practice, if you ask me, since anyone can rip off this place. I don't even see any detectors beside the doors. Real, trustintg people..."

"Where do you suppose everyone is?" Laura asked, almost rhetorically.

"Out in back taking a whiz," Jojo replied, cracking a grin at the thought. Laura couldn't help but envision five male supermarket employees all urinating on the side of a wall simultaneously. She tried to surpress a grin from Wally by turning away & walking down one of the aisles.

"Let's check the back," Wally said slowly, "To see if anyone is truly here."

"And if they ain't?" Jojo asked, looking up from one of the aisles.

"The car's got a trunk," Wally said, his facial expression series, "Let's fill it."

Jojo smiled at Wally & gave a thunbs-up. Laura looked at Wally for a moment, expressionless, but then looked away. They were, she reasoned, on the lam; Money was going to be tight from now until who-knows-when. She hated to admit it but they were right. Losers weepers.

Their search of the grocery store was relatively quick. The store didn't have much for inventory; Whatever was on the shelves was what they had. A small break room had a vending machine & a radio tuned to nearly-silent static. A mostly empty glass of soda was still on the break room table.

"Dudes don't know how to pick up after themselves," Jojo commented.

As they walked back into the customer area of the store, Jojo began to run to the front of the store.

"I'm going to get a carriage, man. This'll be great!" Jojo exclaimed, letting out a small yelp of glee as he ran through the aisles.

Wally turned to Laura & said, "He's cheaper then a dog."

They both laughed & Laura replied, "At least he's house-trained." That made them laugh even harder.

As Wally laughed, his eye caught something. His facial expression changed suddenly & he stopped laughng just as fast. In hindsight, he should have seen it sooner. The fact that he hadn't spoke volumes of his experience as newly-minted crook.

Laura also saw it & realized that their little escapade was about to get a whole lot harder.

[steve]

PART XI


"Is that thing even on?"

Jojo joined Wally & Laura to look up at the security camera that was staring right back at them. Jojo waved his arms at the camera.

"Dude," he said loudly, "We come in peace. Don't shoot!" He finished with a hearty laugh, turning to Wally & Laura.

"Dude, you had me worried for a moment," he confessed to Wally, "For a moment, I thought you two had seen a guy with a shotgun or something."

"We need the tape from that security camera," Wally reasoned, "Or else the authorities will know we've been here."

"NOBODY knows we're here," Jojo exclaimed loudly, "Because NOBODY is here!" Jojo shook his head in frustration & then turned to Laura.

"I'm going to start loading up the car with stuff, OK?" Jojo said, turning & leaving before Laura could say anything.

Wally started opening all the doors that he could, trying to find the security room. After a few moments, he found a closet that held all of the video recording units for the grocery store.

"Bingo," he muttered & proceeded to shut all of the units off, one by one.

"Which one of those units were we in?" Laura asked.

"Probably all of them," Wally explained, "It looks like there are five or six of these cameras throughout the store. Best if we took everything & dumped them. Don't know which ones are incriminating & which ones aren't."

"Wait," Laura said suddenly, pulling Wally's hand away from the units. Continuing, she said, "Maybe these tapes will help us find out what happened to all the people."

"Jojo's right," Wally said, "What happened to these people is that they aren't here. Look, we'll take the tapes but we can't watch them here. It's too...public."

Laura slowly nodded her head, knowing that they couldn't afford to be caught watching a store's security videotape in the store they were robbing.

"I'll go tell Jojo that the coast is really clear to clear out the store," Laura stated, turning to leave.

Wally finished turning off the units & collecting the tapes. Since there were only six recording units to begin with, it was only a modest handful of tapes to carry back to the car. Any TV / VCR combination would do for reviewing the tapes later (An activity dependant entirely on Laura, since Wally had no interest in doing so).

As Wally was about to walk out of the store, Laura came back into it.

"Wally," she asked, "Have you seen Jojo?"

"No, I haven't," Wally confessed truthfully, "Why?"

"He's not at the car," she stated with a hint of nervousness, "And the trunk is open."

Wally thought for a moment where Jojo could be. What could have drawn Jojo away from pillaging a perfectly defenseless store? Or was Jojo drawn away by choice?

========================

PART XII


"Great," Wally muttered to himself, out loud, "Where could Jojo be?"

Placing his hands on his hips, he surveyed the immediate area outside the grocery store. No sound, no movement... Nothing.

"Come on," Wally said, "Once we fill the car, we can go look for him."

"What if he's in trouble?" Laura asked.

"We're already in trouble," Wally quipped, "We're deserters, we've stolen a car & now we're robbing a store in broad daylight. How much worse can it get?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jojo could hear Wally & Laura talk about something but it was mumbled from where Jojo was standing. He flipped the both of them 'the bird' & then went back to smoking his joint.

Jojo had no interest in dealing with "Whipped Wally," "Chained Wally" or "Domesticated Wally." That was, in Jojo's eyes, what Wally became whenever Laura entered the equation. Quite frankly, that's all that Wally had ever become since puberty hit.

Whatever happened to the Wally who secretly painted his 6th grade teacher's house a different color while that teacher was away on vacation one summer? Or the Wally that overinflated the tires on the left side & deflated the tires on the right side of that other teacher that Wally really hated so that the car would constantly steer to the right? Or the Wally that replaced the basketball rims in their gymnasium with smaller rims so that all the jocks would look really bad during that semi-finals game?

That Wally became obsolete when the hormones kicked in. That Wally was replaced with "Hey, let's see what Laura wants to do," "Gee, I'm not sure if Laura wants to do that tonight," "Why can't we just sit & watch a quiet movie with Laura?" "I can't go with you tonight, Jojo, 'cause I'm going to be making out with Laura," "Laura," "Laura," "Laura," "My balls are owned by Laura," "My world revolves around Laura"...

"F*** LAURA!" Jojo wanted to scream but didn't. Instead, he just took another drag on his joint. He took it out of his mouth for a moment & stared at it. 'Now this is a TRUE friend,' Jojo thought to himself, 'Always there, always reliable, always willing to pick me up when I'm down...'. Jojo placed it back in his mouth & continued to smoke it.

He had come so close to resurrecting the REAL Wally, the Wally he once knew. Two nights ago, during that campfire, he could see glimmers of Old Wally. Mischievous Wally. Wally without the Succubus Otherwise Known As Laura surgically attached to him.

REAL Wally would've snapped that car up without so much of an afterthought. REAL Wally would've ransacked that store without batting an eyelash. Heck, REAL Wally probably would've taken a bite out of every single apple in the entire store just to piss off the manager. That would've been CLASSIC Wally, VINTAGE Wally.

Which Wally was he stuck with now? "Let's push the car to the curb" Wally, "Let's check to see if anyone is around" Wally, "We better remove the videotape" Wally.

Jojo had had enough. REAL Wally wasn't going to come back. Not now, not with the succubus in tow.

Jojo hated to ditch out on a friend but it was OLD Wally who was his friend, not the "Domesticated" Wally that currently existed. "Domesticated" Wally had played his hand; Laura would be a part of the equation until either one of them had died.

Jojo thought about how he'd ditch them. If he could, he'd find another car & simply drive off into the sunset. Better still, drive off in 'their' car! Ha! He'd steal the car twice! Once from whoever ditched it in the first place & again from Wally & Laura! Now wouldn't that be a treat to see the expression on their faces!

He wondered if he'd go back for his stuff at the sawmill. Nah. It was just a bunch of old family camping gear / Boy Scout garbage that he had collected over the years. A bunch of old clothes that he could easily replace with any trip to the local bargain store.

Jojo finished his joint & flicked it harmlessly aside. Just as effortlessly, he resolved himself to ditch Wally & Laura for good. He turned towards their general direction & gave a sharp farewell salute.

As he walked away, he couldn't help but hear what seemed like a garbage can being overturned in the distance. It rang hollow to his ears, blinded by their newfound sense of freedom.

========================

PART XIII


Wally closed the trunk gently, making sure none of the food was squashed. He looked over at Laura, who simply shook her head.

"I haven't seen him," she merely stated, glancing around the area. She sighed heavily, then quickly added, "I haven't seen ANYONE! Anyone in over an hour! No one going down the road, no one coming into the store, no one..."

Wally walked over to Laura calmly & gently placed his hands on her shoulders. By then, he could see that Laura was almost in hysterics.

"I'm sure Jojo just went out for a walk & will be back soon," Wally claimed, "And just like he's probably exploring the town right now, I think we'd better do the same."

Laura stared at him for a moment with a neutral expression, then suddenly jerked away from him.

"What are you? Crazy?!" She demanded, "We have a trunk full of stolen merchandise! In a stolen car! And we're all AWOL in one way or another - Myself directly & the two of you indirectly. We can't just wander off to window shop!"

"Someone has to go find Jojo, then," Wally tried to say calmly but was interrupted by Laura before he could finish.

"We can find Jojo AFTER we get this stuff back to the sawmill," Laura countered.

"What if Jojo is injured?" Wally said, adding stern seriousness to his voice, "Or he comes back & finds the car missing?"

"Wally..." Laura exasperatedly said, holding back what she really wanted to say. Her facial expression, though, said it all.

"Why don't you," Wally suggested slowly, "go back to the sawmill with the car & start unloading it? I will stay behind to find Wally. When I find him, I will bring him back with me."

"I get to unload all of this," Laura deadpanned, "by myself?"

"You're a big, strong woman," Wally said, schmoozing her with a grin, "And wouldn't you rather be hauling food then ammunition?"

A smirk emerged from Laura's face, followed by, "I'll be looking for you guys in the rearview mirror the entire time."

"We'll run the entire way," Wally said, watching Laura get into the driver's seat of the car.

"With Jojo? Hah!" Laura exclaimed with an uncharacteristically phony laugh, starting the car, "What on Earth would ever inspire Jojo to run except from the cops or to an open field of marijuana?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

'Seven,' Jojo thought to himself in amazement.

He closed the car door with a modest slam. That was the seventh car in a row - All unlocked & most of them with their keys in the ignition.

He looked down the street & saw nothing but emptiness. He heard nothing but silence.

"Dude," he muttered to himself, "What kind of a bender did this place have last night?"

Jojo saw a small apartment building not too far away. Certainly, by now, someone had to be awake in this 'Podunk, Nowhere' town.

As Jojo began walking towards the apartment building, he never realized that he had just been spotted by someone.

===========================

PART XIV


An empty hair salon. An empty dentist's office. An empty military recruiting office.

Empty cars that were parked. Empty cars by the side of the road. Empty cars in the middle of the road.

A sense of dread fell over Wally as he continued to walk around the town. A clock in a store he searched said that it was now just after 12 PM. Noontime, even in a town like this, had to have meant that someone, ANYONE, had to be around.

Wally knew that there had to be a logical explanation. People just didn't sleep in this late. People didn't leave their cars lying around like this. Towns just weren't this...deserted.

Wally walked into a small pizzaria. Seeing a television over a small bar area, he quickly ran over to it & turned it on. There was static on channel, signal bars (complete with annoying tone) on another. A cartoonish picture of a man with a perplexed look on his face with the words, "Sorry - Technical Difficulties," graced another. Wally flipped a few more channels before admitting defeat & turning the television off.

Spying a telephone, he grabbed the receiver & held it up to his ear. Sure enough, there was a dial tone. He hesitated momentarily & sighed before quickly dialing his parent's phone number.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri...

"Hi. You have reached..." The answering machine began to say before Wally slammed the receiver back down onto the handset. Looking over to a vending machine, Wally saw his reflection in the vending machine's glass front. He looked worried. He looked perplexed. Most frightening of all, he looked scared. Not "A tense moment while watching a horror movie" scared. Not "pulled over by a cop" scared.

Wally could feel his face reddening & heating up with anger, sadness & fear all simultaneously.

Where was Jojo? Had he disappeared, too?! Where were these people in this town?!?

Most importantly...How did they vanish?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

'Jojo,' Laura thought to herself with a frown, 'Was a four-letter word.'

As she drove the car back to the spot where they had found it originally, she couldn't help but think of how it was Jojo, AGAIN, who had forced them into another tight spot.

If it wasn't for Jojo, they'd all be driving back together to unload the car.

If it wasn't for Jojo, Wally wouldn't be a deserter & on the lam.

Wally had shown glimpses of what a real man could be like, in spite of continual exposure to Jojo.

Laura tried to envision a Wally without a Jojo but just couldn't. The two were practically inseperable. Try as she might, she'd just know that somehow, Wally & Jojo would be foxhole buddies in the war if they hadn't gone AWOL.

It was as though there was some cosmic law that said that every halfway-decent man had to have a complete butthole loser of a friend. A 'ying' to a 'yang.' A man who took pride in belching, farting, smoking, drinking & generally being a complete leech. A man who walked in on the two of you during any sort of hard-fought intimate moment.

'Jojo had to go,' Laura thought, smirking at the unintentional rhyme. Wally was a nice guy. He was caring. He was considerate. He had his head screwed on straight & knew when it was time to make the big decisions. After all, he went AWOL for chrissakes! How many men were brave enough to do that?!

As soon as Laura could pull Wally aside, she figured she'd let him have it. No more Jojo. Jojo either shapes up or ships out. It was either her or him. She wasn't going to sit on a block of ice while Wally tried to come up with some silly compromise to make everyone happy.

Wally was, to paraphrase her Aunt, "A nice steak dinner served in a dirty trash can lid." That 'lid' was Jojo.

Jojo had to go. It was just t...

Laura slammed on the brakes as her eyes told her instincts to stop the car as a "something" quickly crossed the road. As her Drill Sergeant would scream, "Focus! Focus! Focus!" The car started sliding to the left but she pumped the brakes & managed to keep the car straight.

Her first thought was that it hadn't been a deer. Deer were huge. Deer walked on all fours. It wasn't a bobcat or a coyote or even a bear.

Then, she saw it. It stared right at her. Laura wasn't sure if she was supposed to be frightened or relieved. Somehow, though, she knew that something was terribly wrong.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude, some security," Jojo said, walking through the front door of the apartment building.

"HEY!" He shouted, nearly at the top of his lungs, "You people awake yet?! There's like, no one in this freakin' town!"

Jojo quickly walked over to a corkboard to glance at the fliers attached to it with thumbtacks & push-pins. There was nothing unusual - A band was playing at some center in a week. Take-out food fliers of varying types. Someone's dog was missing. Guitar lessons.

Suddenly, Jojo heard a door slam. He walked to other side of the lobby & looked upwards through the rectangular spiraling staircase. The door slam sounded pretty distant, like it had been on the top floor.

Then, he could hear someone running down the staircase, their feet stomping with furious energy.

Something made Jojo uneasy as he heard the sound of pounding footsteps come down the spiraling staircase.

Jojo swallowed & forgot all about how his joint fell from his mouth & onto the ground. He began backing up towards the lobby door but was too late.

He saw it & it saw him.

========================

PART XV


"We're sorry - All lines appear to be occupied. Please, stay on the line & a 911 operator will assist you at the soonest possible moment."

Wally hung up the phone, defeated.

Nothing on the TV. Nothing on the radio. Not even 911 was operational.

'Maybe we've been invaded,' Wally thought to himself, desperate for a reasonable answer. 'Maybe a large area was evacuated because of...radiation,' he continued, looking around for anything that could be a clue.

Wally resolved himself to look for Jojo. Jojo, he reasoned, had to be in some sort of danger. They all were. What sort of danger, though, remained a mystery to Wally.

Looking around, he found a baseball bat. Instinctively, he picked it up. He wondered to himself what he was going to protect himself against with such a limited weapon. A little protection, though, was better then nothing at all.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jojo knew what he was seeing was wrong. It just didn't compute in his brain, abused by marijuana & alcohol as it was. Yet, there it was, only a few yards from him.

On the one hand, there was nothing overtly wrong with her. A woman, roughly Jojo's age, staring at him from the top of the first bend of the staircase. Neither waif nor sumo-wrestler in stature, she was casually dressed for the weather. Score "one" for normalcy.

On the other hand, though, there were several things wrong with her. The lack of footwear stood out. Her severely disheveled hair was also discouraging. It looked as though she had slept in her clothes. Her heavy, almost labored, breathing without saying a single word to him. An emerging odor that he couldn't immediately place his finger on.

"Dude," he muttered in bewilderment, so softly that it was almost a whisper, "You OK?"

The woman grunted & began advancing towards him down the stairs. Instincts guided Jojo's body out the door. It propelled his legs to run ever faster. It forbade him to look back.

As he ran, though, he knew that such speed would not last. Years of smoking, years of drinking, years of considering "finding the remote control" as a legitimate form of aerobic exercise were going to take their toll on his body in only a matter of moments. Already, his legs felt hot & heavy with activity, his forehead sweaty.

Looking back, he saw the one sight he hoped he wouldn't see - She was gaining on him. Fast.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

'You are not angry,' She heard her Drill Sergeant say in the back of her mind, 'You are a soldier. Anger does not drive your mission. Your objectives drives your mission. What are your objectives?'

"To help him," Laura muttered to herself, almost in spite of her own emotional thoughts.

She slowly opened the car door & stood just outside of the car.

"Sir," she said loudly but politely, "Are you OK?"

She could barely see more then his head & shoulders from where he was, across the street. It looked like he was in a business suit but she couldn't immediately tell. The man's head jerked upwards, revealing more of his attire. He was in a business suit, she could tell instantly.

More importantly, he appeared to have an injury to his face. As he slowly stepped out from behind a nearby tree, Laura became confused. It had looked as though he had just hiked through 20 miles of the worst swamp in his finest business suit. He didn't say a word as he slowly walked back towards the road. He jerked his head around quickly a few times, as though surveying the entire area that he was in.

'He is in shock,' she tried to reason with herself, 'There was an attack & he became injured & that is the reason for his injury.' 'No,' another voice inside her declared, 'There was a NBC (Nuclear-Biological-Chemical) attack, he was disabled & the result of the attack has led to his inability to efficiently communicate.'

"Sir," she said loudly, trying to avoid having her voice shake, "Do you know your name? Have you been injured?"

The man jerked backwards suddenly at the volume of her voice, then tiled his head slightly. At this distance, Laura could see that the nature of the man's "injury" : There was blood all over the lower-half of his face but the face itself didn't look damaged.

The man began to growl at Laura, contorting his face into anger.

At exactly the same moment, the man began running towards Laura just as she got back into the car. Slamming the car door, she threw herself over towards the front passanger door to lock it & the rear passanger door. She was met by the angry slaps of a palm on the front passanger window by the man, now growling very angry. She could hear him also kicking the door as well.

She turned to lock the rear driver's side door when she heard a dreadful sound - Glass shattering from the front passanger window. She felt small pieces of glass spray her as she locked the rear driver's side door.

Her next decision had to be quick, as the man began lunging into the car through the shattered window.

[steve]

PART XVI


'Experience,' she could hear her "Inner Drill Sergeant" say, 'Is the backbone of focus. Focus is the backbone of discipline & the more disciplined will always win the fight.'

A panicky woman would have attempted to get out of the car. She would have attempted to run as fast as she could away from the car. In her episode of panic, she would forget that the man would be able to run faster then her. She would forget that the man would catch her. She would learn too late that the man would kill her.

Laura was not a panicky woman. An unarmed man was trying to attack her. She had been through self-defense training. It was either him or her & it would never, EVER be her.

She took the still running car out of park, shifted it into reverse & began to drive.

The man, still standing on the outside of the car reaching into Laura, attempted to lunge into the now moving car but couldn't. His failed attempt resulted in him landing on the ground & rolling to a stop. His defeat was only temporary, though; He quickly got back onto his feet & began chasing the car.

Laura, through the windshield, saw him stand up & began to run towards the car. Quickly, she slammed on the brakes & shifted the car back into drive. Gunning the engine, she lurched the car straight towards the man.

For but a split second, she could see his indecision. Somewhere, amidst his delusional haze (whatever that might have been caused by), he finally realized his predictament. He realized that, in that occasional battle of "Man vs. Car," the car rarely lost. This time was no exception.

Laura felt the 'bump' as the grill of the car slammed into his mid-section. Physics took over, causing his body to slam into the windshield & bouncing over the roof & onto the asphalt behind her.

Laura skidded the car to a stop, then shifted the car into reverse. From the rear view mirror, she could tell that the man was now clearly injured & virtually immobile. Training & instincts, now, had taken over. She gunned the engine & the car careened backwards towards the man. Laura was oblivious to the slight sneer that had crept onto her face.

The car jerked upwards as she went over the man with both the rear & front left tire of the car. The car shook for another moment as the shocks attempted to calm the ride back down. Quickly stopping again, she placed the car in park & got out of the car.

Laura's eyes never left the man, now slumped on the ground & motionless, as she walked over to the side of the road. She grabbed a dead but sturdy tree branch that had fallen to the ground. It was no baseball bat but it was better then her fists & it was sharp.

Walking quickly over to the man, she raised the tree branch over her head to swing it not unlike a golf club when she suddenly saw it - A mortal wound. Half the man's skull had been cleaved off, most likely when she had backed over him.

The man was dead & 30 seconds later, with the stick still poised to deliver a stinging blow, he was still dead. Slowly, she lowered the stick & tossed it back over to the side of the road.

The man was dead. Laura had killed someone. She had killed a man.

Laura just stood there, the revelation finally beginning to sink in. The man was dead. Laura had killed him.

Suddenly, she began to weep uncontrollably, covering her mouth as her eyes teared up & her face reddened with emotion. What had she done?

'Oh, God,' she thought, slowly walking back to the car, slightly hunched over, her hand still to her mouth. Leaning against the car, she continued to cry.

It looked so easy in the movies. Good guy, bad guy, pull the trigger - Bang! No more bad guy. The end. The hero jumps in bed with the lady & the bed keeps on rockin' until the credits stop rolling.

Laura got control over herself after a moment & looked over at the man. He was still dead.

'Pull yourself together, Laura,' a voice inside her said, 'It was either him or you. YOU decided it would be him.'

'You have to warn Wally & Jojo,' another voice pleaded, 'You have to protect them just like you protected yourself. You had a car; They don't & won't if they meet up with one of these...these people.'

'What is your objective?' Her inner Drill Sergeant screamed.

"Warn Wally & Jojo about the danger," she muttered to herself in between sobs.

'Blubbering is not your objective!' The inner Drill Sergeant continued to scream, 'Now get in that car & drive! DRIVE!'

As though her Drill Sergeant was actually there, Laura reacted by quickly getting into the driver's seat & backing up the car to turn it around.

Wally & Jojo were in grave danger if they met up with one these people. What she didn't realize was that it had already happened.

=========================

PART XVII


50 yards... 40 yards... 30 yards... 20 yards...

Jojo knew that the crazy woman was gaining on him. Years of aerobic neglect were catching up to Jojo by the moment. His legs ached, his chest was hurting, his throat felt tight & hot.

He saw a building with a fire escape not too far away. The fire escape had a ladder to access the bottom of the fire escape. He knew the crazy woman could climb stairs but could she climb a ladder? He'd find out one way or the other. At the rate she was gaining on him, he didn't have much of a choice.

Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the fire escape.

In a blur of motion, Jojo stumbled on some uneven terrain. Quickly falling, he tumbled to the ground & then tumbled to a stop. In the back of his mind, he bacme terrified.

'Oh, Christ, man,' he thought, rolling to a stop, 'God help me.' As he rolled to a stop, he could hear her impending footsteps grow louder along the ground.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Jojo looked up only to be greeted by the sight of the woman, staring back at him only a few feet away. Hunched over with her mouth slightly open, he could hear her make sniffing sounds.

"Dude, man," he said, holding up his hands slightly in a sign of surrender, "I'm cool. Alright? I'm cool."

The woman stepped back about a foot, repositioning herself, still looking at him & making sniffing sounds. Suddenly, she lurched forward, touching one of his legs. Just as suddenly, she retreated, her gaze locked squarely on Jojo's face.

Jojo just looked at the woman with a mix of amazement & fear. There was nothing holding her back from beating on him except for distance & air. If she had wanted, Jojo would be dead right now or, at the least, injured.

Jojo ever so slowly began to stand up, still holding his hands up.

"Dude," Jojo stated in a calm & quiet manner, "You are on some serious stuff. You know that?"

The woman just stared back, shifting her weight uneasily. Ever so slowly, she lifted her arm towards Jojo. In a lightening flash move, she touched one of Jojo's arms & then quickly backed away.

Jojo took one of his arms down & pointed it at himself. "Jojo," he stated loudly. He then pointed at her, tilting his head. Silence. He repeated the process over but, again, she didn't respond.

He slowly put the other hand down & simply stood up straight, looking at her.

"You are seriously coked out," he stated in a normal voice, "I can relate." He smirked for a moment, thinking back to when he was at a concert & was completely stoned. From what the police later told him, he had quite an adventure.

"OK," he started, being slow & articulate, "My name is Jojo. What is your name?"

The woman began mimicking what Jojo had done. She pointed to herself, grunted & then pointed to Jojo.

"Jojo," Jojo stated, once she pointed to him. She pointed at him a number of times & each time he replied, "Jojo."

Just then, a smile began to creep onto her face. She looked around & clapped her hands a few times.

Suddenly, she froze in her spot, motionless. With lightening fast reflexes, she started sprinting in the opposite direction.

"Jojo! Jojo!" Jojo heard from behind him. The voice was from Wally, running quickly towards him with a baseball bat in hand. Wally slowed to a stop near Jojo, looking in the general direction of the woman who had run off.

"Who was that?" Wally asked, catching his breath.

"Dude," Jojo replied, torn between telling Wally that he wanted to diss out on him & his encounter with the woman, "She's one seriously messed up chick."

"Did she tell you anything?" Wally asked, "Like where everyone has gone off to?"

"I don't think she could speak," Jojo replied, "She was on some serious stuff. She lifted off our planet long ago."

"We've got to go find Laura," Wally stated, "This entire place is deserted. Something really wrong must have happened here."

Just then, they heard an approaching car. Immediately, they saw that it was their car. The grill was smashed. The windshield had a spider's web smash pattern on it.

Behind the steering wheel, they could see a clearly upset Laura.

=======================

PART XVIII


"Dude, man," Jojo said, raising up the telephone book, "I found it."

He walked over to Wally & pointed the listing out to him. Wally, having just finished re-packing all of their supplies into a new car, read the listing out loud.

"Oscar's Outdoor Sporting Goods," Wally read, then looked up at Jojo, "Is this close by?"

"I checked the map," Jojo replied, "It's the next town over. Closest one there is."

Wally shook his head in agreement & said, "Then Oscar's it is."

"Where's Laura?" Jojo asked.

"She's back in the store," Wally replied, keeping his voice down, "She's still kind of frazzled over, well, you know..."

"Dude," Jojo asked, "We going back for our stuff at the sawmill or are we ditching it? Doesn't matter either way to me 'cause my stuff is junk but, well, your stuff was pretty top-grade, you know? Laura's stuff, too."

"I think we need to arm ourselves before we consider what our next move should be," Wally reasoned, "A car might not cut it the next time we encounter one of those...guys." Wally motioned his head in the direction of their previous car. Jojo had seen the damage it had taken from the encounter with the crazed man.

"Yeah," Jojo agreed, "Maybe we'll get to see more of those chicks instead. She was freaky."

"Yeah," Wally said, smiling, "I'm surprised you didn't try to ask her out or something, you know? Maybe you guy's would've had something in common."

"Oh, yeah," Jojo agreed sarcastically, "The only thing we had in common was being in the same species."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Laura kept telling herself that it was self-defense. It was either her or him. He wanted to kill her & she defended herself.

Plain & simple.

All throughout training, she thought she'd be ready. She'd be ready for the first mortar round that landed next to her. Ready for the first fellow soldier shot right next to her in the heat of combat. Ready for the first offensive assault taken by the enemy. Ready for the first grenade to be thrown her way.

Ready for her first "ECK" - "Enemy Combatant Casualty (aka Enemy Combatant Killed)."

Each theatre had their own tradition for celebrating someone's first "ECK." In Asian South, it was 10 shots of rice whiskey (if you could even hold 10 shots without falling flat onto the ground). Asia North had the ceremonial cupcake, complete with lone lit candle & everyone singing "Happy Kill-Day To You...". She heard that in ME-South, you got to keep the combatant's firearm (as long as it wasn't larger then a submachine gun).

He was dead; She killed him. The image of his crumpled up, mortally wounded body continued to be singed into her mind. She looked at a wall & saw his corpse. She looked down at the ground & saw his blood splatter.

"Laura," Wally said, interrupting her delusions, "Laura, we've got to get going."

"Yeah," she said with a heavy sigh, "OK."

Laura got up & walked out of the store with Wally. She saw Jojo in the driver's seat. It was good that someone else was driving. She wasn't feeling up to driving. In fact, she wasn't feeling up to doing anything.

===========================

PART XIX


"Man, this is some funky music," Jojo declared, listening to an extended guitar solo. The other two were mute.

"You know," Jojo mused, changing subjects, "I've been thinkin', why do you think the chick didn't attack me & the guy attacked you, Laura? I mean, that's weird."

"Nobody knows, Jojo," Wally said, looking back at Laura. As far as Wally could tell, Laura was still in La-La Land. She was just gazing out the window, watching the scenery go by.

"You think they're zombies or something?" Jojo asked.

"I don't know," Wally confessed, "You & Laura are the only ones who saw them up close. If I had to take a stab at it, though, I don't think they were."

"Yeah," Jojo smiled, "'cause, like, in all the zombie films, all the zombies ever want to do is, like, eat your brains & stuff. The chick, like, completely ran away the moment she saw you. Very un-zombie-like, if you ask me."

"Self-preservation," Laura quietly said, still staring out the window. Laura added, "It means they have intelligence. Food wasn't their primary concern."

Wally & Jojo stayed silent for another minute, wondering if Laura would say anything more. When she didn't, the conversation continued between Wally & Jojo.

"You got any thoughts on what caused this?" Wally asked Jojo, just to spur along the conversation.

"Expired peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, man," Jojo said, snickering, "It's the bane of all existance, man."

Wally couldn't help but laugh. Wally even caught Laura trying to suppress a smile. Everyone needed a good laugh.

As they drove towards the next town, Wally thought about why they had been spared. Spared from disappearing. Spared from becoming one of those 'weird people.'

Wally wondered if they would ever know the answers to any of their questions. Life wasn't a story that where everything became all wrapped up, nice & neat, with a bow. He had to start thinking about the reality that they'd have to live "stranded" like this for the rest of their lives.

===========================

PART XX


"Dude," Jojo expressed, "This is like that game 'Pole Position' we used to play." Jojo gently swerved the car around yet another immobile car in the middle of the street. Wally had lost track of how many cars they had to manuever around.

"Good news," Jojo exclaimed, "Is that we're...Woah! Dudes!"

Jojo quickly stopped the car & pointed his finger across to an area on Wally's right.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jojo asked, pointing to a person lying on the sidewalk. A massive blood stain decorated the brick wall behind the body.

"I think it is," Wally replied flatly, "But we should still keep on driving."

"I don't know how to tell you all this, but we're pretty much done driving anyway," Jojo explained, "There's so many of these cars on the road that it's getting impossible to swerve around them all."

In the back of his mind, Wally knew that Jojo was right. What if they had to suddenly back up? There were already a few occasions where it had been a tight squeeze to go in between cars. The farther into the town they had gone, the more packed in the cars became. They had managed to wiggle into the town but would they be able to wiggle out?

"Yeah," Wally agreed, "There's no point in threading needles anymore. Just park it & we'll walk the rest of the way."

Wally peeked over to Laura. She was still in a daze but at least she seemed more responsive since they had drove into town.

"We're here," Wally lightly said to Laura, "Are you feeling up to some hiking & carrying?"

"How 'bout some packing?" Jojo said with a grin, placing the car in park & turning off the engine.

"Yeah," Laura said quietly, "I'm OK. Don't worry about me."

The three of them got out of the car. Jojo instinctively locked the car & Wally just smiled at him.

"Worried about crime?" Wally asked with a smile. Jojo caught on.

"Dude," Jojo said, "We got 2 weeks of meals in this ride. I don't want it to become 'fast food,' if you get my drift."

"Let's just remember where we parked," Wally reasoned & the 3 began to walk away.

"So, dude," Jojo asked, "That dead guy we saw a little while ago... You think someone else is alive who's sane?"

Suddenly, a loud shot rang out. All three flinched in startled fright as the bullet's impact came perilously close to where they stood.

[steve]

PART XXI


"It's all mine, OK?"

"Can you hear me?"

Wally, Laura & Jojo all cowered in a nearby alleyway that they had managed to duck into. After the first few shots, there had been nothing but silence until they heard the distant, screaming voice. It sounded like he was on an adjacent, nearby rooftop.

"Should we answer him?" Laura asked Wally.

"We can't afford not to," Wally reasoned, "Unless there's a way out of this alleyway."

"Jojo," Wally commanded, "See if there's a way out of this alleyway. I'll try & stall him." Jojo nodded & left.

Seeing Jojo leave to go to the end of the alleyway, Wally inched his way towards the opening of the alleyway.

"Hey," Wally shouted, "Don't shoot, alright? We're humans, just like you."

"I don't care," the man immediately answered, "My town, my food, my guns & ammo. You've got the rest of the country to roam around in."

"You could've told us that without the fireworks display," Wally countered. Wally saw Jojo run back, shaking his head.

"I'm telling you now," the man replied angrily, "You've got a minute to get out of that alleyway, get into your car & drive away. I see any of you back here again & I'll shoot to kill."

"Dude," Jojo quietly told Wally, "It turns a corner & completely dead ends. No way out."

"Any doors? Fire escapes?" Wally asked.

"One door but it's locked solid. I tried breaking into it but it wouldn't budge," Jojo reported.

"OK," Wally said, "I'll give it a try. Stall him, OK?"

Wally began running back down the alleyway. Jojo cautiously approached the opening of the alleyway.

"You've got half a minute left," the man replied.

"Dude," Jojo shouted, searching for words, "So, uh, how's your day been?"

"Fine," the man replied, "Yours is about to be lousy in twenty seconds. That's when I blow the back of your brains out."

"Can we at least take a leak, first? That's why we pulled over to begin with," Jojo asked.

There was a pause, then the man said, "You've got two minutes."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally had heard the conversation that Jojo had with the man.

He saw the door that Jojo had mentioned was "locked solid." Kicking at it a few times, he realized that he wouldn't be able to open the door without using a battering ram.

Then, he saw a second story window.

It was their only hope.

=======================

PART XXII


The window was too high - For one man standing on the alleyway ground. With desperate strength, Wally lugged over a metal trashcan & stuck it underneath the window. He climbed onto the trashcan & reached up to the window but knew he wouldn't be able to reach it.

With as much courage as he could muster, he made a daring vertical leap towards the window sill. He was still a foot too short. Upon landing, he nearly slipped off of the trashcan.

'However...' he thought, though, looking up at the window...

Getting off the trashcan, he hurried back around the corner & into the main alleyway. He motioned over to Laura & Jojo.

"Come on," he quietly said, "I've got a plan."

"Mother Nature has one minute left," the man yelled from the rooftop.

All three of them rounded the corner. Quickly, Wally took a nearby rock & threw it at the window. The rock smashed through the window with amazing speed. As Wally spoke, he took off his shirt.

"Jojo," he said, "I'm going to get on top of that trashcan. When I do, I'm going to hoist you onto my shoulders. Knock out the remaining glass with my shirt & climb through it. Laura, you're next."

Wally didn't give them a chance to respond. He quickly got onto the trashcan. Jojo gingerly ascended the trashcan as well, considering there was already barely enough room for one person to stand on it. With some initial difficulty, Jojo made the ascent onto Wally's bare shoulders.

"Knock out the glass, Jojo. Hurry!" Wally said, struggling to balance Jojo's weight on his shoulders while standing on the trashcan. Even with a full & heavy load, the trashcan had an uneasy wobble as Wally could hear the tinkling of glass shattering.

Finally, Wally could feel Jojo's weight lift from his shoulders as Jojo said, "Dude, I'm going in." Wally looked up & saw Jojo climbing into the window. Laura needed no prodding; As soon as she saw Jojo's legs lift up through the window, she was climbing onto the trashcan.

"Twenty seconds!" The man yelled, "And don't think I don't know about that corner in the alleyway! I can get you there, too!"

Wally was relieved that, despite Laura's physical fitness, she weighed less then Jojo. Wally quickly looked up to see Jojo reach down for Laura.

"Time's up!" The man yelled, "If you don't come out of there, you're dead!"

Wally saw Laura's legs lift up through the window. A moment later, Jojo reached through the window to grab onto Wally.

Just as Wally grabbed Jojo's arms, he heard something rattle down the alleyway.

It was a grenade.

=============================

PART XXIII


Wally closed his eyes &, for a moment, time was in suspended animation.

The grenade bounced wistfully down the alleyway. It took a hop on the ground, then headed towards its left. It bounced off the wall & started to spin. For but a brief moment, it almost looked as though all of it's forward momentum had stopped. Almost.

"Wally," Jojo said quietly, "Wally, come on."

Wally opened his eyes again & found himself lying, face up, on the second-story floor of the building they had climbed into. His breathing was rapid but he couldn't control it. Looking towards his left, he saw his left hand shaking fiercely & uncontrollably.

"Oh, crap," He could hear Laura say, "He's coming down the alleyway."

Wally could feel himself being lifted off of the ground. In his delusional state, he figured it'd have to be Jojo doing the lifting.

"Come on, Wally," Jojo said tersely, "The dude is coming!"

"Yeah," Wally said slowly, standing up, "OK."

"I know you're in there!" The man yelled, "You haven't escaped, you just delayed the inevitable!"

"That's what you said the last time, dude," Jojo yelled back, looking quickly over at a still shell-shocked Wally, "And we're still here!"

Wally had vaguely remembered that Laura had told Jojo something but he couldn't remember what it was. Everyone was mumbling loudly & his vision just seemed so cloudy & slow.

Wally could see Jojo point angrily out the window, mumbling loudly & he could hear an unfamiliar voice mumbling loudly back. Wally looked towards the wall & walked over to it, leaning against it. He knew they had to escape. With every available synapse in his brain, he leaned against the wall & began to walk along it, scraping his shoulder against it to give him support.

"Jojo," he mumbled, so softly that it couldn't even be called a whisper, "We have to go. They're after us."

"You think you're so tough," The man yelled, "Avoid this one!"

Jojo looked over & saw a framed poster hanging nearby. Grabbing it off the nail it was hanging from, he placed the back of the framed poster over the window.

He heard a "D-oonk" sound & felt something hit the back of the poster.

Then, he heard an obscenity.

Then, he both heard & felt an explosion. Jojo instinctively dropped the framed poster on the ground when the explosion occurred. Looking over at Wally, he could see Wally's knees easily buckle at the sound of the explosion, causing him to fall harmlessly backwards & onto the ground, flat on his back.

Silence. Stillness.

"Oh my God," Laura asked, "What happened?"

She saw Jojo just slightly shake his head for about half a minute before he finally said, "I think he might be dead."

"Wally?!" Laura quickly asked, horrified.

"The dude," Jojo replied slowly, beginning to walk over to Wally.

"Dude," Jojo said, leaning down towards Wally, "I think we got him, man."

"Yeah," Wally slowly said, not quite sure what he was agreeing with.

As Jojo lifted Wally back up into a standing position, Laura merely replied, "The stairway to the exit is this way."

Placing Wally's arm over his back, Jojo supported most of Wally's weight as they moved slowly towards the staircase.

Not a word was spoken until they had walked back to the car.

=========================

PART XXIV


"Isn't that guy going to get us?" Wally asked, some life finally creeping into his voice.

"Nah," Jojo replied, "That guy is toast, Wally. We bounced the grenade right back at him."

"No, you didn't," Wally replied, almost comically shaking his head, "It exploded right as I was climbing into the window."

Jojo remembered it well; With a lift that defied Jojo's strength, he had managed to get Wally partially into the window before the first grenade exploded. The sound & strength of the actual blast percussion gave the both of them the motivational "push" to pull Wally through in one final shove. Fortunately for all of them, the grenade had taken a bounce towards the wall on the inside corner of the alleyway before it exploded. A majority of the shrapnel had a short, fast & harmless journey into a brick wall.

"Cripes," Laura said slowly, looking down at their car's tires, "Look at what that jerk-off did!"

Jojo looked down, too, to see all of the tires on their car flattened.

"That is totally un-cool," Jojo hissed as he looked from the tires back to the alleyway.

"I need to make sure this guy is a ghost," Jojo proclaimed, a mean streak running through his voice, "I'll be right back."

Laura almost wanted to stop Jojo but decided against it. All that Jojo would have seen was a mixed facial expression, brought on by confusion over whether to confront Jojo or let him slip past her without incident.

Perhaps, she thought to herself as she saw Wally rub his temples in an attempt to regain intellectual consciousness, it was all for the better - Jojo needed to "vent" after all that had happened today. She wasn't too stable herself, her attempt at finding a way to the roof once she had climbed through the window being an utter failure.

As she saw Jojo walk into the alleyway, she had to think about the "mission." The mission was to ultimately find someplace safe from danger. They weren't going to achieve that with a car that had 4 flat tires.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

By the time Jojo got to the end of the alleyway, he felt angry. Angry that his life had been threatened twice in one day. Angry that the world had been turned upside-down. Angry that his friend was nearly killed. Angry at himself for nearly walking away from a lifelong friendship. Just angry.

He walked past the point of impact where the first grenade exploded. A chunk of the brick wall was missing but the grenade hadn't punched a hole into it. Then, he saw him.

The man was lying on his side, faced away from Jojo. A small pool of blood had formed around the man. There was no escaping it - The man was dead. Jojo wasn't about to perform an autopsy; He figured that the numerous pieces of shrapnel that had carved the man's head open had probably done the dirty deed.

Without even thinking about it, Jojo grabbed a piece of wood from a rotting pallet & started smacking the dead guy with it. He grunted slightly with each swing. After fifteen or so spirited swings, Jojo tired out & threw the piece of wood aside.

Then, he noticed something near the dead man.

===================================

PART XXV


There was no reason for Jojo to be curious over such a small thing. After all, they had larger concerns to worry about. They had encountered two towns that had been seemingly abandoned overnight. The few people they had met along the way had gone completely wacky. Their car had 4 flat tires. Jojo's friend was in a state of shock over nearly being killed by a grenade.

In any other world, Jojo wouldn't have cared less about a little slip of paper that had fallen out of the dead man's breast pocket.

In this world, though, Jojo paused as he watched the white, folded piece of paper get pushed by the breeze towards the end of the alleyway. The paper wasn't flying away; Jojo quickly closed the distance between himself & the paper without so much of a rise in pulse.

He unfolded the piece of paper & scanned it's contents. Looking up, he began to walk back out of the alleyway. He almost felt like running.

"Dudes," he said, waving the piece of paper in his hand at them, "Check this out."

Jojo had found both Laura & Wally loading their items into a new car not 10 feet away from their old car. Jojo was oblivious to the fact that Wally had recovered enough to be coherent again. Instead, he showed the list to Laura, handing it to her.

"I found that on the guy," he commented, adding, "It looks like a shopping list or something."

"Yeah, OK," Laura said slowly but diplomatically, "But what is it about?"

"Dude," Jojo emphasized, "Read it."

Laura looked at the piece of paper. It looked, for all the world, to be a task list of some kind. Scribbled in pencil, the list had various but odd tasks consistent with the dead man's demeanor :

Clean rifle.
Siphon more gas (At least 5 gallons).
Patrol town center.
Get more ammo from store.
Grocery items : Powdered drinks (lemonade, grape), sports drinks, TV dinners.
Lady wants : Fish sticks (any brand, biggest box), apples (green-skinned only, not moldy ), diet soda (any brand, cans preferred).

NOTE - Need more diapers for lady. Smallest ones available. Current ones "too baggy."

Jojo looked over at the both of them. "Dudes," he said, "What the hey? Is he shacking with a Grandma or what?"

"Ewww," Laura said, handing the list back over to Jojo, "No thanks for the visual. Didn't need it."

"What if she's shacked up against her will?" Wally asked, looking at the both of them. "Why isn't she with him? Armed, at least?"

"Maybe she doesn't want to be outside with these crazies running around," Laura countered.

"Dudes," Jojo intervened, "This guy was mondo possessive. What if he was possessive about everything? You know...Women? A harem?"

"You honestly think this means he's holding some woman captive?" Laura asked, slightly incredulously. She couldn't believe that Wally or Jojo could read so much into the list.

"Lady wants," Wally read back from the list, "Why not 'girlfriend wants,' 'Mom wants,' A name wants...?"

"Dude," Jojo added, "Why do they need diapers, man? Everything still works around here. Lights are still on. If the chick has a butt problem, then just hang by the toilet, you know? I mean, what's she doing where she can't slip behind a bush for a moment?"

Laura had to concede to herself that the list was awkwardly worded. However, she couldn't bring herself to the level of conspiratorial hostage-taking. Nevertheless, she could clearly see that it was 2-against-1.

"Alright," she relented, "Just how are we going to find our captive? It's too late to ask Rambo what his street address is."

"Jojo," Wally asked, "Did the guy have a wallet?"

"I can check," Jojo said, after thinking for a moment.

"Do that," Wally commanded, "And we'll keep loading everything into this new car here."

"OK," Jojo replied, running off down the alleyway.

Once Jojo was out of earshot range, Laura muttered, "Disappearing people, crazy people, violent people & now captured people. I always knew you were a good time, Wally, but I don't think I can keep up with you."

Wally just smiled at her, replying, "Just wait until the evening."

Laura just looked at him, then slowly began to smile, "I don't think there'll be anything left in my tank by the evening."

"You can always siphon some out of mine," Wally replied, smirking. Laura attempted but failed to stifle a burst of laughter.

Before either of them could say anything, they heard Jojo run back up from the alleyway.

"Dudes," he said, "There is nothing on this guy. No license, no anything."

Wally looked at Laura for a moment, then at Jojo. Without some form of identification, they'd never be able to find where this guy was living...or where he may be holding someone captive.

[steve]

PART XXVI


Wally grabbed a stick &, unconsciously making a face, used the stick to turn the dead man over.

"Gross," Jojo exclaimed quietly, almost to himself.

Laura just looked on, half-interested.

"Look," Laura reasoned, "I'll finish loading the car. I'll call you if I need anything." With that, Laura walked away. 'Men,' she thought to herself as she walked back to the car.

"Alright," Wally summarized, "There's nothing in his pockets. Now what?"

"Dude," Jojo said, "What if he wrote his name on his clothes? You know, like what we used to have to do for camp?"

"It's a possibility," Wally reasoned, not liking how they'd have to go about removing the clothes, "So who gets to strip him?"

"Dude," Jojo said, "This is going to be gross."

"Think of it this way," Wally replied, gingerly pulling the man's shirt out of his pants, "We're potentially saving someone's life."

"And if we aren't?" Jojo asked.

"Then I am going to bill you for all my electro-shock treatments so I can rid myself of this memory," Wally deadpanned.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Laura packed the last of the boxes & shut the trunk. She could hear Jojo & Wally talk while they searched over the body. The distance & their volume relegated her to merely imagine the topic of conversation. Clearly, no one had run up the alleyway, waving a driver's license or the such, yelling "Eureka!"

Laura looked around where they had parked, playing over the entire incident with the crazy man with the rifle (now dubbed "Rambo" by her). She looked over to where she had thought Rambo had been shooting from.

'Maybe,' she thought to herself...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude, if there's nothing on his pants," Jojo began, "I am NOT touching the underwear."

"Well, there hasn't been anything yet. Not on his shirt or vest, nothing in his socks or shoes...," Wally summarized.

"I'm all for being a hero but I am NOT touching the underwear," Jojo reiterated.

"What if the hostage is cute? Hmmmm?" Wally asked, goading Jojo. Then, in a false female voice, Wally spoke, "Jojo, Jojo, you've come to rescue me. How can I ever repay you?"

"Dude," Jojo answered the false female voice, "Got any joints? It's been one bad day." The two of them laughed as they began to pull off the man's pants.

"Help!" They heard Laura's distant voice. It sounded too distant to be near the car.

Both of them ran out of the alleyway &, at first didn't see Laura.

"LAURA?!" Wally shouted.

"Over here," she shouted, "I'm slipping!"

Jojo pointed to where he thought her voice was coming from & ran over there. They saw Laura, hanging from the ledge of one of the buildings in an alleyway.

===========================

PART XXVII


"Wally," Laura said, a dollop of pleading escaping her voice, "Sooner is better then later."

Laura was holding on to a brick's width of edge around the building that she was hanging off of. Even having locked her arms & stopped swaying to reduce stress on her arms, she could feel her grip slipping.

"Jojo," Wally said, running down the alleyway, "Stay here & watch Laura. I'm going around back to see if there's a ladder."

"Dude," Jojo asked, looking at both Laura & Wally, "What am I supposed to do? Catch her if she falls? She's, like, twenty feet up!"

"Find something soft!" Was all that Jojo could hear Wally say as Wally rounded the corner to the back of the building & out of the alleyway. Jojo just looked up at Laura. He could see her feet start to claw away at the building to get any amount of traction they could.

Jojo ran to a nearby dumpster & opened it up. The dumpster was full of black garbage bags. Jojo tried to lift one of the garbage bags but found them too heavy. In desperation, Jojo began to see if he could push the dumpster underneath Laura. Instead of falling twenty feet, she'd only fall fifteen feet. It wasn't much, but it was all Jojo could do as precious seconds ticked by.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally found the ladder behind the building & began to climb it furiously. He scaled the ladder in mere seconds & was on top of the roof next to the one where Laura was dangling off of. He ran over to the edge of the roof & saw that the distance between rooftops was deceptively long.

In an instant, Wally thought back to High School track & field, specifically, the running long jump event. People just didn't understand that they weren't Olympians; There was a reason why the current world record was just over twenty-three feet for a woman - Because it was tough. Even half that length would be exceptional for someone not accustomed to any training.

Wally knew what he had to do. Using the entire length of the roof, Wally ran as fast as he could & jumped as hard as he could when he reached the edge. He held his breath as time stood still while travelling over the expanse of the alleyway.

A part of Wally was relieved when he realized that he was going to make it across. Another part of Wally braced for a rocky impact as he realized that he wouldn't have a controlled landing.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Laura's grip was slipping. Even with her beefed-up arm strength from her military training, her hand grip strength was getting weaker by the second. She knew that if she even let one hand go, she'd fall moments later. Yet, her hands & wrists absolutely burned with pain. She gritted her teeth & tried desperately to hang on, knowing that a fall would snap both of her legs at the least & probably kill her at worst.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally tumbled to a stop on the rooftop. His right elbow stung but he quickly got up & ran over to where Laura was.

Grabbing onto her left arm with both of his hands, he braced his feet & lifted with all of his might.

"Pull!" He exclaimed to Laura, almost rhetorically, the initial lift getting her shoulders slightly above the edge. Quickly, he scraped one of his hands along her back & grabbed ahold of the back of her bra. He attempted to lift her again &, in the chaotic lift, managed to get one of her legs up over the edge. With her own strength from that leg, she thrusted the rest of her body up, causing both of them to tumble back onto the roof. They fell on top of each other, Wally on his back.

"Ow," Wally exclaimed after a moment of silence.

"I'm sorry," Laura said, rolling onto her back.

"What's a little excitement amongst lovers?" Wally deadpanned, slowly sitting up. He looked over to find Laura already standing & walking over to another section of the roof.

"Holy Crap," Wally heard her say, "I knew that's what it was!"

"What?" Wally asked, turning around in a sitting position.

Laura held it up for Wally. For a moment, Wally didn't get it. After a moment, though, he smiled.

============================

PART XXVIII


"You think...?" Wally asked, taking the object from Laura.

"Think about it," Laura reasoned, "You didn't find anything on him. Not even..."

Wally nodded his head slowly, looking at the object. "It doesn't give us much to go on," he mused.

"Gives you more then what you've got," Laura explained, adding, "Which reminds me..."

Suddenly, Laura quickly took off her shirt & bra. Just as quickly, she put her shirt back on.

Picking up her bra, she held it up to Wally & said with a fair amount of amusement, "You broke the strap on my bra. You owe me a new one."

"Hey, Jojo," Laura yelled, "Catch!"

She threw the bra down into the alleyway. All Jojo had heard through the entire exchange was Laura yelling "Catch!" Then, he saw a bra flung from the top of the building to the alleyway. Jojo picked it up, then looked up towards the top of the building.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo said, "A key ring? Laura nearly fell off a building for a key ring?"

"Think about it, Jojo," Wally replied, "What would this guy do? Walk the groceries home or drive them home?"

"Yeah, I could see that," Jojo admitted, "But, if you haven't noticed, this key ring has, like, 40 trillion keys on it. Even going after the keys that are, obviously, car keys could take us all day."

"We each take some keys & start finding the cars that they belong to," Wally instructed, "If we split up & hurry, we should find the car fairly fast."

"Woah," Jojo disagreed, "We still have to worry about those psycho people running around. Remember? The business man dude that Laura ran into? The psycho chick that I encountered?"

"Jojo's right," Laura said, "We can't take that sort of risk, becoming separated again. We're going to have to stick together."

Wally knew that they were right. Even if that guy had killed a lot of those brainless violent psycho people that they had encountered, it was no guarantee that there weren't more lurking around.

Wally needed to come up a plan, so he thought for a moment. He didn't like his new plan very much, but it'd have to do.

Turning to Laura, he asked her, "How good are you with a rifle?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Couldn't you have wiped this off any better?" Laura asked, trying hard to not sound as though she was whining. Laura handled Rambo's rifle awkwardly, praying that Rambo didn't have any diseases. She made a mental note to wash her hands very thoroughly afterwards. She made a mental note to get out of the alleyway & away from the "cadaver" smell that Rambo was now exerting.

"You could take your shirt off & use that," Wally suggested, trying to make it sound innocent.

"You'd just LOVE that, now wouldn't you?" Laura quipped, not holding back on a quick but sarcastic smirk.

"How do you even know if that thing works?" Jojo asked, "It could have been damaged by that grenade blast."

"There's only one way to find out," Laura muttered to herself, pointing the rifle's barrel towards Rambo. Loading a shell, she aimed & fired the rifle at Rambo's corpse. The rifle had a strong recoil but the bullet struck Rambo's torso & the corpse jolted.

"It works," she deadpanned, "And I suggest we get going. There's only eight more bullets from where that came from."

"Let's go find that car," Wally said, as the three of them started to walk out of the alleyway.

==========================

PART XXIX


"Nope."

Jojo got out of the driver's seat & shut the door.

"How many cars is that now?" Laura asked, not really caring what the answer would be.

"Fifty-seven," both Wally & Jojo said, almost in unison.

"We're, like, almost a half-mile away from the alleyway," Jojo observed, "You really think this guy would've parked so far away?"

"I don't know," Wally said in a defeated tone, "We're getting nowhere fast, though. I think we should take a break."

"Agreed," Jojo chimed in, his frustration overflowing into his voice, "I think a brew or two is in order."

"What about our damsel in distress?" Laura asked.

"There's no point in searching on an empty stomach," Wally suggested, "A snack won't hurt. Don't you feel hungry?"

"I'm getting tired of holding this filthy rifle," Laura admitted, "I think it's going to be someone else's turn to feel manly after our break."

"Anyone have any suggestions on where to eat?" Wally asked.

"There's a convenience store just around the corner," Jojo said.

"Mmmmmm," Laura responded with slight sarcasm, "Fine dining. Let's hope the slurpie machine isn't broken."

"Hey," Jojo replied, "Don't underrate the slurpies. Especially on a hot day."

The three of them walked around the corner & spotted the convenience store. They stopped at the store's front door & peeked through the large, glass windows that faced the front of the store.

"Looks clear to me," Jojo said.

"OK, Laura," Wally said, "Let's see if the coast is clear."

All three of them cautiously walked into the store. They slowly but methodically went down each aisle, ensuring that no weird, violent people were hiding somewhere. They even went into the backroom to make certain that the store was completely empty.

"Great," Jojo said, "We've got the run of the place."

Jojo quickly jogged to the drink section & looked at the selection. He took out a sports drink, calling out to Wally & Laura.

"Dudes," he said, "Every single freakin' flavor, dudes! What do you guys want?"

"I thought you were going for beer," Laura observed, opening up a big bag of snack chips.

"I'm trying to drink healthy," Jojo quipped, "At least for today."

Wally walked past Laura, who offered him the chips. He took a handful & walked around the store, more bemused then determined. His hands landed on some granola bars.

Jojo walked to the counter & went behind it. After fiddling with the cash register for a moment, he managed to open it up to get to the drawer. Laura, with her bag of chips still in hand, walked over to the counter.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a fairly innocent tone.

"I'm just augmenting my finances," Jojo replied, taking all the $20 dollar bills out of the counter.

"Why not just take the scratch-off tickets," Laura reasoned sarcastically, "So you can claim the winning tickets later?" Jojo didn't pick up on her sarcasm.

"Good deal," Jojo said, walking over to a rack of scratch-off lottery tickets. After a moment of looking over them, he found the most expensive ones.

"Dude," he said, "$20 dollar scratch-offs. I've always wanted to play these." Jojo unspooled about 12 of the tickets & separated them from the spool on the perforated line.

"Hey," he asked both Wally & Laura, "Anyone got a quarter to rub these things off?"

Laura rolled her eyes, saying, "You could just take one from the cash register."

"Why not just use the car keys instead," Wally chimed in, finishing up a granola bar. He quickly got out the set of car keys from the dead man & slapped them on the counter.

As Wally looked at the keys for a moment, a thought suddenly dawned on him.

"I don't think we need to find this guy's car to find out who this guy is," Wally suddenly said, causing both Jojo & Laura to turn for him.

========================

PART XXX


"I don't get it," Jojo admitted.

"Look at the back of this key," Wally explained, holding up the key, "It has the words 'Mall - Office' etched onto it."

"Why couldn't we have noticed that BEFORE trying to match those car keys with actual cars?" Laura asked in frustration, not realizing how much she was whining.

"It's the lighting," Wally reasoned, "I guess the etching must have faded over years of use..."

"Or years of rust," Jojo interjected, "That thing could be a keepsake for all we know. Like the time I took all those plastic cups from the drive-in theater once they fired me. Remember that, Wally?"

"Like, disposable cups or cups with some value?" Laura asked with some hesitation.

Before Jojo could answer, Wally took control of the conversation.

"Look," Wally started, "The key looks well-used. We have to check it out. Otherwise, for all we know, it's back to finding cars & we all know how successful that's been."

'Or we could just abandon this wild goose chase,' Laura thought to herself, hating herself for even thinking of it.

"Is there a phone book nearby?" Wally asked.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"West River Mall," Wally announced, pointing to the entry in the phone book, "And it's right on the edge of town."

"Lucky us," Laura deadpanned, "Are we going to walk there or drive?"

"I vote for driving," Jojo quickly announced, raising his hand, "My feet are killing me."

"Same here," Laura declared, "Let's get this over with. We can take the tour of this place later."

"OK," Wally said, "Jojo drives, I'll take the rifle & Laura, here are the keys. Jojo, did you find a winner in any of those scratch-off tickets of yours?"

"Nah," Jojo replied with some sarcasm, "They're all losers. This place must've gotten a defective batch. Can't understand it."

"Then let's roll," Wally commanded. They walked out of the convenience store & headed for the first car they saw.

They weren't selective; They chose a mid-sized four-door that looked like it had travelled 100,000 miles more then the odometer read & rode much worse.

"Dude, I so seriously want to drive on the sidewalk," Jojo stated as they drove along, weaving amongst cars stopped in all various positions on the street.

"There's too much car for us to do that," Wally reasoned, "We'll pick a compact later on."

"Let's," was all that Jojo said, with enthusiasm.

A few moments later, they spotted the mall sign while driving down the road.

"Joy. We're here," Laura said, failing miserably to inject some enthusiasm into her voice.

Jojo drove carefully around the cars & eventually parked in a handicapped parking spot.

"If I can't drive on the sidewalk, then at least I get to park here," he declared, turning off the engine. No one complained.

After getting out of the car, the three took a moment to look at the mall. While a two-tiered mall, it was not very large. The exterior made it look rather old, as though it were at least two decades old or even older.

"I sure hope this is the mall that fits that key," Laura said.

"There's only one way to find out," Wally suggested. Without anyone saying anything else, they began to walk towards the mall's front entrance.

[steve]

PART XXXI


"Dude," Jojo said, looking at a backlit diagram of the mall near the front entrance, "There's, like, more then one office in this mall. Security, Administration, Maintenance..."

"We'll just start with what's nearest," Wally suggested, "Which one is that?"

"Maintenance," Jojo stated, "Up a ways & to our left."

Laura looked around in the general vicinity while Jojo & Wally looked at the mall's diagram. It looked no different then on any other day. The signs were all lit up; The elevator was running; The escalator was running & even a small water fountain was functioning.

What was eerie was that there were no people at all. There wasn't even background music that some malls played. Except for Wally, Jojo & the tinkling of water in the fountain, the mall was as silent as a tomb.

"Come on, Laura," Wally said, "We're going to go see if this guy was a janitor."

"We were being assaulted by a janitor?" Laura asked, almost rhetorically. She began to walk with Jojo & Wally.

As they walked down to the maintenance office, Jojo commented, "Man - To have the run of a mall. I mean, a mall!" He paused, then added, "You think they wouldn't mind if I do a little 'five-finger shopping,' do you?"

"Let's find our office, first," Wally suggested, adding, "Besides, there doesn't look to be any closing time nowadays."

Jojo thought about that for a moment, then announced, "Woah! You are so right! Dude, I completely forgot about that! This place is a 24-hour store!"

"Not to cut in on the excitement," Laura said, "But we're here."

A simple sign above a non-descript hallway pointed towards the hallway as the entrance to the maintenance area. The three went down the hallway to a set of double-doors. Wally positioned himself with the rifle to go through the door.

"Wally," Laura deadpanned, "What are you doing?"

"Well," Wally said, "We don't know what could be behind these doors, that's all. I'm just getting ready in case one of those crazy people jumps out."

Wally slowly began to open the door, then, as soon as it was unlatched, kicked it open furiously & walked in quickly. He pointed the rifle in several directions, inspecting the room.

They had walked into a short part of the hallway with several doors. A humming sound could be heard coming from behind one of the doors. It was marked "Generator."

"Jojo," Wally said, "You're the key guy. See if any of these doors matches that key."

"Right," Jojo said, casually walking to the first door he found.

"Nope."

"Nope."

"Nuh-uh."

"Nope."

"And nope."

"Sorry, Wally," Jojo reported, "Maintenance ain't it."

"However," Jojo declared, putting a dash of intrigue into his voice, "The key does fit perfectly into the lock. So, it's the right kind of key."

"What's next?" Laura asked.

"Administration," Jojo stated, "Second floor."

"Let's go," Wally said & the three walked out of the short hallway, into the non-descript hallway & back out into the mall.

==========================

PART XXXII


"Dude, I have so always wanted to do this," Jojo stated, getting into a running stance. Then, he started running towards the descending escalator. Furiously, he tried running up the descending steps of the escalator, eventually getting to the top with a little bit of difficulty. He raised his hands in the air as a sign of victory, a clear smile beaming from his face.

Laura refused to say anything but her facial expression said it all. Fortunately for her, Wally's back was turned & Jojo was too far away to notice. Even a small headshake was unnoticed.

Wally & Laura used the ascending escalator to get to the second floor.

"Did you see that, man?" Jojo asked, "I totally ruled that escalator! Totally!"

"Sure did," Wally agreed, "I'm sure you'll be feeling that tomorrow morning."

"Dude," Jojo stated, "I don't think I'll be moving tomorrow morning. Everything is starting to ache. It's been one stupid obstacle course after another today."

They walked on the second floor until they got to the administration offices. Just like maintenance, it was also down a non-descript hallway. Wally carefully opened the door, then sprang in quickly to check out the area.

They had entered the lobby of the administration offices. The lobby was functional with reasonably nice decor. There were padded chairs for a waiting area, a water cooler, some magazines on top of a low-lying table near the padded chairs.

Various framed pictures adorned one of the lobby walls. What picqued Wally's curiosity wasn't the pictures themselves but what wasn't there.

"Look at this," he mentioned to the others, walking over towards the wall.

"What?" Laura asked, looking at the wall. Just as Laura noticed it, too, Wally said it.

"All the pictures for the administrative staff are missing," he stated, pointing towards a row of small gold-colored plates. The plates had names & titles etched into them with some form of calligraphy.

"See?" He continued, wiping a finger across an area where two pictures would be spaced on the wall. The dust that accumulated on Wally's finger was the smoking gun to tell that pictures had been there previously.

"Dude," Jojo said, "Those pictures must have been taken down within, like, the last day or so. I mean, you pulled some serious dust from those outlines."

Wally was silent for a moment, thinking about the missing pictures. Then, he spoke.

"Jojo," Wally stated, "Let's see if we can find a door for that key of ours."

"Got it," Jojo replied.

"Nah."

"Nope."

"Uh-uh."

"Double nope."

"Nah."

"Not even the maintenance closet."

As they walked back to the lobby, Wally just looked at the area of that wall that should have had those pictures.

As though she read Wally's mind, Laura asked, almost rhetorically, "Why would someone take down those pictures?"

"I don't know," Wally said, after a moment of thought. It didn't make any sense, removing those pictures. Was it merely chance that those pictures were removed around the time that everyone disappeared? Or, did "he" remove those pictures?

Wally looked at each of the little gold-colored plates that should have ben underneath pictures. Then, he turned towards Laura & Jojo.

"I think I know who our mystery man might be," he said.

==========================

PART XXXIII


"So, Wally," Jojo said, trying but not succeeding very well in keeping up with Wally's urgent walking pace, "You mind revealing the secret now or after the race?"

Wally, a few paces ahead of both Laura & Jojo, looked back & stopped.

"OK," he stated, "There were five pictures that were supposed to be on that wall. Five little gold plates, five pictures. Right?"

He looked to both Laura & Jojo, who simply looked back at him.

"Right," he continued, "Well, one of those pictures belonged to, like, the head of maintenance. We've already been to maintenance. The key doesn't work. So, three of those other pictures are administration guys. We were just there. The key didn't work up there."

Wally could see Laura's facial expression change as he finished talking. Her eyes suddenly came into focus & locked onto Wally's.

"Security!" She blurted out, "The head of security!"

"Exactly!" Wally replied, "Jojo said it himself - The key fits perfectly into all these locks but we haven't found the right door yet. That door, I'm betting, is for the head of security here at this mall."

"Woah," Jojo interjected, "Stop the train!"

Jojo continued, "If we know who the guy is, let's just look his name up in a phone book & head on out to his home, you know? I mean, OK, I'm all for double-checking but time could be of the essence, you know?"

"Exactly," Wally countered, "Time is of the essense. If it is his office, he might have his home address already there. Other personal information. Why have to look it up if it's already there?"

"Dude, man," Jojo reasoned, "You should have been a detective or something. I'm buying you a keg or something if you're right about this."

"You could always just 'steal' the keg," Laura slowly reasoned, wondering if Jojo would understand the irony.

"Not with my fat wad of $20s right here," Jojo countered, pulling out the $20 dollar bills he took from the convenience store.

"Which you stole..." Laura again slowly reasoned.

"Come on," Wally commanded, hoping a decisive tone would defuse a potential argument. It worked & all three of them were slowly jogging towards the security office.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally slowly approached the door to the security offices. He slowly opened the door, then kicked it hard & ran in.

"Clear," he yelled & the others quickly followed in behind him.

Wally was nearly gratified by the sight of empty cans of beer that were strewn about, open boxes of ammunition lying around & adult magazines stacked on top of ordinary magazines on a small table next to a padded sofa.

"Jojo," Wally said, cracking a grin, "Let's see if that key fits." Wally & Laura began investigating other offices & hallways within the security area.

Jojo walked straight to the head of security's office. The door was already open, the office strewn with canned goods, non-perishable drinks & a variety of firearms.

Jojo placed the key into the lock, closed the door & attempted to lock it. It locked. Quickly, he turned the key to unlock the door & it unlocked.

"Dudes!" Jojo yelled in excitement, "We've found our man!"

Jojo looked around, a smile beaming from his face. The smile weakened, though, as he realized that Wally & Laura weren't coming. His shoulders slumped a little bit as he began to walk back to the security lobby.

Suddenly, Jojo saw Wally run towards him. He didn't have the rifle.

"Jojo!" Wally said quickly, "Was that the office? Did the key fit?"

"Yeah, dude," Jojo said, part of his smile re-emerging, "A hundred percent. I shouted it but you guys must not have heard me."

"We found the woman," Wally exclaimed, "But she's handcuffed in a cell. We need handcuff keys to get her free!"

Wally & Jojo ran back to the office.

===============================

PART XXXIV


What could Laura say? She was at a complete & total loss for words.

Before her was a petite woman, sobbing & shaking uncontrollably, wearing nothing but an adult diaper that used duct tape as an impromptu belt. Laura could easily smell that the diaper had been "used."

The woman was handcuffed to a bar on a pseudo-prisoner cell that some larger malls had. The cells were used to hold people that mall security had detained, for whatever reason, until the police department arrived to pick them up. As it was not a legal jail cell, there were no amenities - No toilet, no bed & not even an overhead light. The door, a series of vertical & horizontal bars that anyone would recognize as a jail cell door, allowed enough light in so that the apprehended would ever be completely in the dark.

"They're going to get the keys to unlock the handcuffs. OK?" Laura said politely & softly.

The woman simply sobbed & whimpered, her face completely red with emotion, her cheeks soaked in tears.

"They touched me," the woman meekly said in between sobbing, "They touched me & I couldn't do anything to stop them." After a pause, she screamed, "I'm not his wife! I'm not anyone's wife!"

The woman had screamed it so loud that Laura took a step back. Unless Wally & Jojo were deaf, they heard the woman's outburst. Laura just swallowed hard & tried to keep as much of her composure as possible.

"It's OK," Laura said slowly & politely, "The bad person is gone. He's not coming back."

Just then, Laura could hear two sets of footsteps running down the hall. She quickly stepped outside & saw that it was Wally & Jojo. Jojo had a small ring of handcuff keys. Laura pulled them off to the side.

"Did you see any of her clothes?" Laura quietly asked Wally.

"No, I didn't," Wally replied.

"Dude," Jojo asked quietly, "She's naked?"

"We need like a huge blanket or something for her," Laura quickly said, quietly. Laura took the keys from Jojo & slipped back inside the cell.

"Come on, Jojo," Wally said, "Let's look for a blanket."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It didn't take long for Laura to find the correct key. There were only six handcuff keys on the ring that Jojo had brought from the office.

Laura didn't know what to expect when she uncuffed the woman. Would she bolt out of the cell & into the mall? Cower in a corner? Start tap-dancing? Laura's training went as far as one day of emergency medical care for wounded soldiers on the battlefield. That training amounted to "Apply pressure. Stay with the patient. Call for back-up. Drag them with you if absolutely necessary."

With the cuffs off, the woman immediately sat down on the ground & continued sobbing. Laura threw the handcuffs aside. She wondered how long it would take for Wally & Jojo to find a large towel.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo said, "This'll cover an elephant." Jojo threw the folded blanket at Wally & began to run out of the store they were in. Wally followed behind him.

"Aren't we going to pay for this?" Wally snidely remarked.

"Dude," Jojo replied, "They can put it on my tab."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"My name is Laura," Laura stated, sitting down to be at the same eye level as the woman, "What's your name?"

The woman paused, then said, "You killed them?"

Suddenly, Laura had realized that the woman had been saying, "They" & "Them," not "He" & "Him." Her expression changed immediately.

"Them," Laura said to herself quietly, an expression of shock slowly rolling over her face.

"There's two of them," the woman said with sudden clarity of voice, "'The Sheriff & the Deputy.'"

Laura sprang up from her spot & immediately pulled the woman up into a standing position.

"We're leaving this place. Now," Laura stated with authority.

==========================

PART XXXV


"What the...?" Jojo remarked, upon seeing Laura & the woman as they hustled quickly out of the security area. Jojo's jaw was slightly agape at seeing Laura with a mostly naked, hunched-over young woman.

"There's two of them," Laura tersely said to both Jojo & Wally, trying not to sound mean, "And we only got one of them. The other one may be back at any minute."

"Two...of...," Wally quietly said to himself, trying to piece together what Laura was trying to say. Finally, he nodded his head quickly & said, "Right. Let's go."

Laura took the towel from Jojo & quickly wrapped it around the young woman.

"Jojo," Laura said, as politely & quickly as possible, "Hold on to her. Wally, give me the rifle."

Wally gave Laura the rifle & she inspected it for a brief moment, checking to see if there was a round chambered & whether the safety was on.

They all quickly began to walk, Jojo putting his arm around the hunched over woman & telling her softly, "Come on, dudette, we'll get you to safety."

Running down the escalator, they began running towards the entrance where they arrived at.

"You guys stay here," Laura said, "And I'll scout the entrance to see if it's all clear."

Wally held the others back while Laura raced to the entrance.

Laura peered out the clear-glass doors of the mall entrance. Were there any new cars parked out there? Anyone hiding behind a car? Laura gritted her teeth as she made a gut decision.

"Yeah, it's..." She began to say, then stopped suddenly.

She saw movement. She saw a car come into the parking lot entrance in the distance.

"Stop!" She said, turning around & holding up her hands.

"Go back! Go back!" She said, pushing her hands towards them as though she were performing a fast push-up.

"Go back where, Dude?" Jojo asked instinctively.

"Another exit! Quickly!" Wally commanded, waving for people to follow him. It took him every ounce of willpower not to break out into a full sprint. Instead, it was more of fast jog. He looked behind him & saw everyone running close behind.

Wally & the gang rounded a corner towards another exit. Wally sprinted towards the doors & pushed on them.

The doors wouldn't budge.

Incredulously, he pulled on the doors & they wouldn't budge either.

"Wally," Laura exclaimed, catching up & stopping just behind him, "Are you kidding me? They're locked?!"

"They must have locked all the doors except for the ones we came through," Wally reasoned out loud.

Wally had to think of a plan & fast. It would be their only hope.

[nancy1340]

A very good story. Different.

Thank you.

[steve]

PART XXXVI


"Dudes," Jojo interrupted, "Wouldn't the guy just have a key to open the doors on his keyring?"

Wally took a look at the keyring. It had to have over 40 different keys on it. Wally simply gave the keyring to Jojo & said, "Start searching."

Jojo grabbed the keys & started going through them as Laura peeked around the corner down the long walkway of the mall. She could see a car slowly park next to their own car. She leaned back from the corner.

"He's parked right next to us," she whispered loudly.

Wally turned to Jojo.

"Jojo...?" He asked.

"Dude," he replied softly, "I've only tried 5 keys so far. Give me a break."

Laura peeked around the corner again & saw a single figure make his way up to the mall's entrance. Just from the outline alone, she could tell he was carrying a long-barreled firearm. At such a distance, though, she couldn't tell whether it was a rifle or a shotgun.

"He's coming through the doors," Laura reported, ducking back behind the corner.

"Dude," Jojo replied, "15 keys. No luck."

Wally walked over to Jojo & placed his hands over the dangling keys.

"It's too late," Wally whispered, "We can't have him hear us trying out keys."

Wally put his finger to his lips & motioned Jojo to follow him to the wall beside the corner, next to Laura. Jojo escorted the young woman to the corner with him. They all stayed as silent as they could while they heard the first footsteps of the person walk into the mall.

"Hey, Sheriff!" the person yelled, walking towards the ascending escalator, "Love your new wheels! Thanks for parking them in my spot!"

The person paused, then continued, "Got some new clothes for the doll. You do know that it's my day with her, right? Better not be like the last time. I don't want her to be all tired out for what I have in store for her!" He then giggled as he continued to walk.

Laura dared a peek around the corner. For a moment, she didn't understand what she saw. Was he wearing a long white-sleeve shirt underneath a short-sleeve uniform?

Taking a second peek around the corner, she realized, to her horror, that he wasn't wearing anything unusual. His skin color was grossly pale, from his forearms to his head. She also saw him weaping a hip holster with a six-shot revolver.

"Wally," Laura whispered, "He's armed!" He nodded in agreement.

It was then, as he got closer to both the escalator & to their position, that Wally knew what he needed to do.

===========================

PART XXXVII

In one world, the man goes up the escalator, doesn't spot them hiding nearby & begins to walk towards the security area. Wally & his friends sneak out of the mall & never step foot in the town again.

In the other world, the man gets close enough to the escalator to spot Wally & his friends. He pulls out his six-shooter & shots are fired. Maybe Laura is fast enough to get off an aimed shot; Maybe not.

Wally sighed to himself & closed his eyes for a moment as he heard the man whistle happily for a moment.

It was now or never to make a decision between bad & worse.

Wally quickly snatched the rifle from Laura's hands. All Laura had time to do was look back at Wally with a mixture of shock, confusion & fright. She didn't even have time to let out a yelp.

Wally quickly jumped out from behind the corner & aimed the rifle at the man.

The young woman let out a yelp & jumped off her feet as the sound of a rifle went off. There was dead silence except for a single, spent rifle cartridge hitting the tiled floor of the mall. It rattled for a brief moment until gravity allowed it to roll to a stop.

Laura ran out to survey the scene. Her words mirrored Jojo's exact thoughts.

"Holy sh**!" was all Laura could say in a slightly soft, slightly stunned voice. She looked back at Wally to look at the expression on his face. All she saw was a neutral expression.

"Here," Wally said, turning to Laura & handing her the rifle. She took it from him, her face a tutorial on confusion.

"It had to be done," Wally merely replied, as though trying to answer the most likely question that would come out of Laura's mouth.

"Dude," Jojo said, holding onto the young woman as they looked at the dead man on the floor of the mall, "Are you sure he's dead?"

In the movies, the villain always rose again after receiving a lethal amount of punishment. It was meant to be a literary device to signify that, in order to defeat evil, good had to be more then just 'good' - It had to be extraordinary. The preseveration of decency had to be more focused the the single-minded hatred of destruction. It also gives the naive audience one heck of a cheap but potent scare.

In reality, though, a rifle shot in the chest kills it's victims. Often times, the victim is dead before the body has a chance to hit the ground. More often then not, the victim barely even knew what hit them; They hear a loud noise & that's it.

"He's dead," Wally reported, watching an emergent pool of blood form underneath the man.

Without being spotted by anyone, the young woman suddenly rushed out & began kicking the dead man. She growled & cursed with every kick. Jojo was the first to respond.

"Woah, woah, woah," Jojo said softly, slowly walking up to the young woman & turning her around. Her face was immersed in a crowd of tears & she was on the verge of wailing. Instead, she sobbed into Jojo's shoulder.

"The dude is dead," Jojo softly said, rocking back & forth as the young woman continued to sob into Jojo's shoulder, "He ain't going to harm no one anymore."

"Laura," Wally said, some life finally coming back into his voice, "I think there was a shower in the maintenance area. You should have her take a shower. It'd probably be better for her to be with you because...Well, you know..."

Laura feigned a sarcastic glare & attempted to use her most serious voice, "What? You guys have been getting a free show from her for the past, like, 15 minutes or so & she hasn't seemed to mind."

Wally returned the sarcastic glare but followed it up a knowing smile. Laura finally relented & smiled in return.

"Yeah, I know," Laura replied to his look, breaking off to go to the young woman.

"Hey, honey," Laura said softly, "We need to get you washed up. Come on, there's a shower over this way."

The young woman nodded & walked off with Laura.

Wally turned to Jojo.

"After we take out the trash," Wally said, motioning his head over to the dead body, "We need to find that key that locks all of the mall entrance doors."

"What for?" Jojo asked, "Dude, the guy is dead. He ain't going to bother us anymore."

"I don't want to be disturbed while we're shopping," Wally replied, a slow grin creeping onto his face. Jojo slowly nodded, a grin appearing on his mug as well.

========================

PART XXXVIII


"Dude," Jojo said, "You think this is far enough away from the mall?"

Wally, standing next to the rectangular, industrial-sized trash bin, looked over towards the mall. The mall's entrance doors were no larger then the ants on the ground due their distance away from them.

"Good enough," Wally replied, looking back at the trash bin.

"Think the janitors will mind if this is the dude's final resting place?" Jojo asked.

"Better then the ground floor of the mall," Wally said, "Better then he deserves."

"Yeah," Jojo stated, "Let the crows dig through the trash for him."

As the two began to walk back towards the mall, Jojo asked, "So, what's next on our list?"

"Lock up the mall," Wally reasoned, "Clean off the lasting impression this guy made on the mall's floor, wait for the ladies to do their shopping & then leave."

"Woah," Jojo stated, almost stopping in his tracks, "We ain't paying rent on this place, Wally. Last I heard, we ain't getting a paycheck to mop up after the lights are off."

"It's respectful," Wally said, "Besides, if you want, you can shop around while I do the mopping."

"Nah," Jojo replied, "Knowing my luck, something going to jump out at me while I'm alone roaming around. Besides, we can see who has the fastest mop on the planet."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"How are you doing?" Laura asked, peeking into the industrial shower.

After a long pause, the young woman merely said, "Better."

After another long pause, the young woman added, "I'm almost done."

"Take your time," Laura replied with a friendly smile, "I'll be right out in the hallway if you need me."

Laura walked away & back out into the hallway. She had already taken the liberty to throw out the young woman's adult diaper. It wasn't as gross as she thought it was going to be but she still washed her hands VERY thoroughly afterwards.

Laura saw Wally walking down the hallway towards her.

"She's almost done," Laura stated to Wally.

"Great," he replied, "I'm just here for some mops & buckets."

"Mops &..." Laura began to say, confused, before realizing what Wally was intending to use them for. "Aren't you a good citizen," Laura said in conclusion.

"Afterwards," Wally said, opening a closet door & finding the required items, "We're going to see how much beer we can pile into the car. Does our new friend mind if she rides on the roof?"

Laura replied with a sarcastic smile, then said, "We'll take two cars."

"Have fun shopping," Wally said, taking the mops & buckets with him.

"Have fun mopping," Laura replied. Wally waved as he left.

Just then, Laura heard the water turn off. A moment later, the young woman emerged, fully wrapped in the large blanket they had acquired earlier.

"You know," Laura stated, "I really don't know your name yet. If you want, I suppose you don't have to tell me."

"Cindy," the young woman replied.

"Cindy," Laura stated, "I'm Laura. When you feel up to it, you can introduce yourself to Wally & Jojo. For now, though, let's go shopping for some clothes."

==============================

PART XXXIX


"Dude," Jojo stated, "We should have some of those orange cones or something. You know, to make sure that no one slips or anything when they walk by here."

"I think it'll be dry before then," Wally replied, beginning to mop a new area.

"That chick is pretty hot," Jojo blurted out after a pause.

Wally looked up from mopping & hesitated to say anything. Finally, he replied, "She's stacked, alright."

"I mean," Jojo said, "I feel all bad that those two guys treated her all wrong & stuff. Don't get me wrong. Still, though, I can see why they'd...Well, you know..."

"Well," Wally said, "Her freedom is 100% because of you. You killed what's-his-name, you found the piece of paper... None of this would've happened if it hadn't been for you."

"Nah," Jojo said, standing up from mopping, "Come on. Wally, you were the one who found the mall key & Laura found the keys to begin with."

"All of which," Wally stated, "Wouldn't have happened had you not done what you did. I'm just saying you ought to give yourself some credit. You did a good job today. Appreciate the gold star that's been given to you, that's all."

Jojo thought about that for a minute, then nodded.

"Yeah. I guess you're right," Jojo said with a congratulatory smile, going back to mopping.

"Hopefully, the women are getting dressed quickly," Wally stated, "I don't want to hang around in case any more trouble shows up. We do need to arm ourselves a little better."

"Dude," Jojo stated, "Women take forever to get dressed. I mean, it's like - Come on. A t-shirt, pants, shoes. Done. That takes, like, what? A minute?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Laura almost began taking the bra off when she realized that she didn't have to pay for it. It was hers. No clerk to give her grief if she walked out with it. No detector to go off if it walked out with her. No security to deal with.

With that realization, she quickly put her shirt back on. She was already done with her "shopping" & wanted to see how Cindy was doing with hers.

She found Cindy in another section of the store, trying on pants. With no one else around, Cindy felt no need to use the dressing rooms & used a full-length mirror attached to a support column in the store.

"Found anything you liked yet?" Laura asked.

"Getting there," Cindy replied, looping a belt through the pair of pants that she was wearing. Except for shoes, her wardrobe was complete. She was wearing a long-sleeve shirt with conventional blue jeans. Laura was indifferent about Cindy's fashion sense but it was better then merely walking around in one's birthday suit.

"I'm going to walk around for a bit," Laura stated, "Just holler if you need us."

"OK," Cindy said & Laura walked away.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally closed the closet door, putting away the mop & buckets for good.

"What? We're not going to clean off the mops? Wally, you're such a rebel," Jojo declared.

"They probably have a lot more gunk on them then what we're responsible for," Wally cracked, "Anyway, the floor looks better now. Now we can have some fun."

"That's what I'm talking about. There's a sweet gaming store on the second floor that SO has my name all over it," Jojo declared, beginning to run away as he was speaking.

"Meet you there in a bit," Wally yelled out to the running Jojo.

As Wally walked to the escalator, he noticed something. It reminded him of something he had been meaning to do ever since they had walked into the abandoned grocery store.

=============================

PART XL


"I figured I'd find you here," Laura quipped with thinly-veiled disappointment, walking into the video game store. Jojo turned around from the video game console to see Laura. He paused the game with the controller.

"Have you seen Wally?" Laura asked.

"Dude," Jojo replied, "I thought he was with you guys. I figured that's why he never showed up."

"No, we haven't seen him either," Laura replied, getting a little concerned.

"Well, I wouldn't worry," Jojo stated, "The place is locked down like Fort Knox. Except for us, there's nobody else here. I'm sure he's just bugging through some store or whatever."

"Yeah, well," Laura said, "I need to find Wally. Cindy is in the clothing store about 5 stores down. I'd like you to hang out with her, just so that someone is around. She's been through a lot & she might like the company."

"No prob," Jojo replied, "The game is on hold. I can always get back to it. Say 'Hi' to Wally for me." As Jojo began walking out the store, he added, "Just tell him not to continue that game, man. I'm right before the boss on that level."

Laura just smiled & nodded as she saw Jojo walk away. As soon as Jojo had turned away, her smile vaporized & she quickly left to find Wally.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Hey, there," Jojo said, walking into the clothing store & finding Cindy trying on baseball caps, "You must be Cindy."

Cindy turned around suddenly & took off her baseball cap. The expression of surprise on her face made Jojo put up his hands.

"Woah," he expressed, "Calm yourself, there, Cindy. My name is Jojo. I come in peace."

Cindy relaxed & slowly put the baseball cap back on her head.

"Nice to meet you, Jojo," she stated, slowly turning back around & seeing if the cap fit her head snug. Jojo watched as she tried on a few caps.

"You ought to curve the brim a little more," Jojo stated, pointing to the brim of the hat she was currently wearing, "To make it fit a little better. Like this."

He took the hat off of her head in one quick move & began bending the brim. Then, just as quickly, he placed the hat back onto her head. Brushing away the hair in front of her face as a result of the cap suddenly being placed back onto her head, she looked into the mirror.

"See that?" Jojo demonstrated, pointing into the mirror, "A perfect fit."

She slowly nodded to herself, looking back at Jojo.

"Thanks," she said. Jojo nodded in response.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Oh, good," Wally said, quickly walking towards Laura, "I found you."

"I was about to say the same thing," Laura replied, "I never expected you to be back in the security offices again."

"I found something that we all have to take a look at," Wally stated with an unusual air of seriousness, "It has to do with everyone disappearing."

"Are you serious?" Laura asked.

"Just look," Wally stated, walking over to a pile of VCR tapes. "Each tape has the day marked on them," he demonstrated, pointing to the tapes in chronological order, "Except for the last two days. The tape for the day before yesterday is still in the machine."

"So, whatever happened occurred 2 days ago?" Laura reasoned.

"Right," Wally said, "And when I back up the last known tape..."

Wally rewound the tape slightly. It was evident that he had already re-wound the tape for demonstration purposes, to quickly show others what he had found.

Wally saw Laura's jaw drop as she watched the tape. She looked towards Wally.

"Is this for real?" She asked, rhetorically.

"I don't know," Wally said, "But we need to find out."

[steve]

PART XLI


"Dude," Jojo commented, "That is so totally weird."

Jojo watched it over again & still couldn't fathom what was on the security tape that Wally had found. He saw everyone walking around on the tape as normal as can be. Then, as though someone had cut a portion of the tape out, everyone was suddenly sprawled out on the floor, as though unconscious. Again, with a suddenness that defied logic, most of the people lying on the floor simply vanished.

Had someone spliced portions of the tape together, it wouldn't have made much of an impact on anyone. Yet, the tape's time counter, which had stamped each frame with the correct time, went smoothly from one frame to another. The likelihood of someone tampering with this particular tape was highly unlikely. Their very situation demonstrated that, whatever was on the tape most likely occurred.

"The tape reads around 8 o'clock when this happened," Laura stated, "Does anyone remember anything from around 2 days ago during this time?"

"Nah," Jojo said, "Me & Wally were wasted somewhere out in the forest. Then, the next day, we found that sawmill or whatever."

Wally made a face at Jojo in order for him to keep quiet about their earlier drunken binge. Making the face hadn't worked; Jojo spilt the beans anyway. Wally, though, had no trouble reading Laura's face...or tone of voice.

"Really?" She said simply, the icy tone projecting exactly the type of disapproval her face also displayed.

"And yourself, Laura?" Wally asked, "Did you see anything unusual that night?"

"I was in bed by then," Laura stated, a fair amount of frost still on her voice, "I was tired after having gone AWOL to catch up to you two."

Jojo, oblivious to Laura's subtle disappointment, turned to Cindy & asked, "Cindy, dude, were you awake during any of this?"

Cindy looked uncomfortable for a moment, finally answering, "I don't want to talk about it, OK? I'll be outside." Cindy quickly walked out of the security offices.

After Cindy had left, Jojo turned to the other two & said, "I'll smooth it out." He walked out of the security offices.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Cindy, man, hold up for a minute. OK?" Jojo said, lightly jogging over to a quickly walking Cindy. Cindy stopped & he could clearly see that Cindy was on the verge of crying.

"Hey, Cindy," Jojo said in his most sympathetic voice, "They're both, like, really sorry. They didn't mean to act like real doofs in there, dragging you back there & such. You know?"

Cindy tried to wave him off but Jojo grabbed her shoulders & slowly embraced her into a hug that she didn't try to get out of.

"Hey, man," he softly said, "We've all been through a lot, you more then anyone else, OK? It wasn't fair what happened to you &, like, if you don't want to talk about it, then that's perfectly cool with all of us."

"I just want to go home," Cindy meekly replied, "I want to see my Mom."

"Yeah," Jojo replied, "You & me both. All of us."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Look, Wally," Laura said, "I've got no problems with staying in a mall overnight but we've got to start making decisions. It's going to be nighttime soon."

"Yeah," Wally said, slumped in his chair, "I know."

"If you've got any bright ideas," Laura suggested, "I'm open to them. I'm fresh out of ideas concerning where to go from here. I mean, what are we going to do? Really? What are we going to do?"

Wally sighed deeply & looked up at the ceiling for a moment. All of his life, he hated being the one responsible. Responsible for taking out the trash; Responsible for keeping Jojo out of trouble; Responsible for anything & everything.

In another hour, it would be dusk. In another hour after that, it would be dark. Their next move would be their last for the day. Should they even move at all?

Wally closed his eyes & thought about their next move. Go back to the sawmill? Collect more weapons to defend themselves with? Stay in the mall? Something else?

Ultimately, they would need to find out more about how everyone disappeared. More then just a grainy security tape. What, though, if anything, could they do about it if they learned the truth?

What, Wally feared, would they do if they were stuck with a world filled with silence, pockmarked only with occasional bursts of madmen?

========================

PART XLII

Only when Wally laid down to rest did he realize just how truly tired he was. He felt as though nothing short of a nuclear blast would get him out of bed.

"They didn't even leave a mint," Wally observed, as he saw a freshly showered Laura step out of the bathroom.

"At least we get to keep the bathrobes," Laura said with a smile, drying off her hair, "Cheap as they may be."

Wally managed to wiggle his way up to a sitting position, watching Laura as she ditched her bathrobe & climbed into the bed on the other side.

"Don't you think you'll be a little chilly in that?" Wally quipped, his fatigue clearly vocalized even if he hadn't meant it to be so transparent.

Laura smirked & appraised her bedtime attire - A pair of panties & a smile.

"That's what I have you for," she replied, her own fatigue now clearly evident in her voice.

"Think we should've stayed in the mall?" Wally asked plainly.

"No one was using this motel," Laura reasoned, "So why let it go to waste? Showers still worked. Lights still work. Heck, there's even a swimming pool & exercise room."

"Think it's safe enough to stay here?" Wally asked, his voice barely modulating beyond a monotone pitch.

"Wally," Laura stated, a bit of seriousness creeping into her voice, "We'll be fine. The doors are locked & barricaded with a propped up chair. I've got the six-shooter. Jojo has the rifle next door. We pushed the beds away from the window. Short of an invasion, we'll do fine."

"Yeah," Wally simply replied, "Nothing to worry about. The end of a really, really, REALLY awful day."

Wally looked over at Laura, who was already snuggling into her side of the bed. Wally was too tired to do anything else but turn off the light in their room. They were both fast asleep inside of a few minutes.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo said, "I'm done with the bathroom."

"I'll tell 'Dude' that, then, Jojo," Cindy meekly replied.

"Oh yeah, right," Jojo said, "Sorry, Cindy. Figure of speech."

Jojo turned on the television set & flipped through a few channels. Static. Static. Multi-colored test pattern. Blank screen. Static.

Jojo stifled a belch & proceeded to lay on the sofa.

"So, uh, Cindy," Jojo asked, "Mind if I ask you a question?"

"What?" Cindy replied.

Jojo thought for a moment, then spoke. "Don't worry about it," he said, "I'll ask you tomorrow. I'm thirty seconds from slumber. Shut the light off whenever."

"OK," Cindy replied, "Good night, Jojo."

"Good night, Cindy," Jojo said.

Cindy turned the light off. He heard her shuffle around in bed, getting into a sleeping position.

'Great,' Jojo thought, 'First chick who didn't run in the opposite direction when I said 'Hi' & I don't even have the balls to ask her if she's willing to share the bed.'

Just before Jojo went to sleep, he continued, 'The sofa's not all that bad.'

With that, Jojo fell fast asleep. It was the end of a long day for all of them but only the start of a perilous journey to come.

========================

PART XLIII


Men.

Cindy merely rolled her eyes as she walked through the crowds at the mall. If she caught one more man looking down at her torso... She shook her head & simply walked on.

She walked into her place of employment, a clothing store called Gifted Physique. The store was geared towards young women, much like herself, & wasn't afraid of offering a few racy choices amongst it's contemporary clothes.

"Hi," she said to Rachel, who was at the cash register.

"Yeah," Rachel replied, snapping her bubble gum before proceeding to re-chew it.

Cindy quickly walked into the backroom & placed her purse into one of the small cubby-hole lockers available. Technically, she was following store policy by securing her personal belongings. Realistically, no one ever touched anyone else's stuff, punishable by the all-deadly "silent treatment," followed by a smear campaign that would make negative advertisements by political parties look like amateur night.

"Hi," Dawn said cheerfully, finishing the last of her beer. It was against store policy to drink alcohol on the job. As long as the manager didn't see you do it & customers didn't complain, no one really much cared what you did in the break room. Cindy once heard that Rachel had brought her boyfriend (now her ex-boyfriend, not that that was any big surprise) into the break room & they "did it." Of course, Rachel denied it. She denies everything, though, so how good was her word?

"What are we doing tonight?" Cindy asked plainly.

"Stocking. Re-arranging. Inventory. Vacuuming. Something about helping customers. All the usual sh**," Dawn stated flatly with her usual dry humor.

"I take it Valerie is not here?" Cindy asked, wanting to know where the manager was.

"You're a fu**ing genius," Dawn replied, "Why the heck are you working here?"

It was well known that Valerie, their manager, was notoriously lazy. Apart from taking phone calls on her cell phone (most of them personal calls), she did nothing. NOTHING. Stock shelves? No. Re-arrange? No. Count the cash drawer down? No. Clean up? No. Help customers? No.

Valerie did nothing & she could get away with it because she & the regional manager (who managed all seven stores for one-fourth of the entire state) were best friends. Above them was the corporate office & all they wanted to hear about were sales figures. Complaints? The last three who even dared open their mouths were fired within a month.

Dawn & Cindy left the break room & headed on out to the sales floor. Cindy started re-arranging blouses while Dawn worked near her on pants. Their customers, young women aged 16-24, were notorious for not placing things back where they should. Only the children's books section at a local library could be in worse disarray.

"So, how's Frank?" Cindy asked Dawn.

"You mean, Mr. Jumpinbed?" Dawn asked.

"That good?" Cindy replied.

"We might go see a movie tomorrow. 'Might' is the operative word," Dawn stated.

"Anything special?" Cindy asked.

"He wants to see...Oh, I forget. It has what's-his-name in it. Oh. Keith Arlon," Dawn said, concealing a smile.

Cindy returned the knowing smile, saying, "Ohhhh...Your second boyfriend."

"Shut up," Dawn quickly stated with a heavy dollop of humor, "I can dream, can't I?"

"I think he's fighting aliens in that one," Cindy stated matter-of-factly. She had seen the movie poster for it.

"He can fight lost luggage for 2 hours as long he's topless & sweaty," Dawn tried to say in a serious tone but couldn't. They both broke down & quietly giggled with each other.

Cindy didn't realize that Dawn had suddenly stopped giggling. Cindy giggled for another moment or two when she looked over at Dawn.

Dawn was standing still, her eyes as wide open as they could possibly be. It was as though she was frozen in time.

Cindy's smile quickly faded.

Suddenly, Cindy heard an awful, electronic wailing sound. The sound was indescribable. It sounded electronic & yet it had a mechanical tinge to it. It was neither grating nor pleasant. Yet, the noise sounded as though it was originating right next to your ear.

Cindy found herself, lying face down on the floor, still listening to that noise. The noise was getting louder & louder. Cindy couldn't move a muscle on her body.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Cindy suddenly sat straight up in bed in the motel room. She was breathing heavily. She was sweating profusely. She grasped at her chest as though she were gasping for breath.

The sound of Jojo snoring on the couch pushed her back into reality. She smirked to herself, laid back down on the bed & slowly went back to sleep.

=========================

PART XLIV


"Jojo," Wally quietly said, shaking Jojo's shoulder, "Jojo, wake up."

"Man," Jojo slowly hissed out in almost a whisper, "It better not be before 10 AM or you are a dead man."

"It's 8:40 AM. Can you merely wound me instead?" Wally quipped.

Jojo ever so slowly crawled up into a sitting position on the couch.

"Dude," Jojo said, trying to shake the grogginess out of his voice, "My legs are so fried it's not even funny. I'm serious. I think I'll need, like, a week to recover from yesterday."

"You & me both," Wally replied quickly, "Do you know where Cindy is?"

"Cindy...?" Jojo slowly said, noticing Wally quickly walking over towards the bed. It was only then that he noticed Laura was also in the room. She was near the bed & had motioned Wally over to her.

Just as Jojo realized that Cindy wasn't in bed, he asked, "Where is she?"

Jojo could have answered his own question had he been reading what Wally was holding in his hand. It was a short note written on motel stationary. It read -

"Thank you for saving me. I want to see if my parents are still 'alive.' No hate for you guys. If I'm not back by noontime, go to 112 East River Road. Dark blue house.

I've taken Jojo's rifle just for protection. No offense. I'll give it back."

"Apparently," Wally replied after reading the note, "She's on a short field trip."

"Who can blame her?" Laura rhetorically asked, adding, "I suppose we can wait around for her until noontime."

"What are we going to do until then?" Wally asked.

"Dudes," Jojo interrupted, "Anyone know where breakfast is?" Both Wally & Laura watched him ever so slowly get up into a standing position.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Onion rings?" Laura asked Jojo, incredulously.

"Hey," Jojo replied, "I used to make the best onion rings at the drive-in. The other guys would always put too much oil in, or not take their time...I knew how to make onion rings. The onion rings were always good when I made them."

Jojo walked across the motel's tiled kitchen floor & turned on the deep frier. In barefeet, he winced at every step because the tiles were so cold. Ripping the industrial-sized bag open, Jojo counted out about 30 onion rings & dropped them into the wire basket that was immersed in the deep frier.

Laura walked away & out of the kitchen. She saw Wally sitting in a large, sparsely decorated room that could easily be converted into any number of functions that a large, sparsely decorated room could be used for. In one moment, it was a dining area. In the next moment, a dance area. The area could be used for a speaking engagement. For all Wally knew, they probably had held weddings here.

"Our cuisine is Elvis-inspired," Laura said with a bit of sarcasm, sitting down next to Wally.

"Let me guess - Onion rings & burgers," Wally said with a smile.

Laura arched up an eyebrow, asking, "You were expecting this?"

"You've never had Jojo's onion rings before, have you?" Wally asked, giddiness creeping into his voice.

"Really?" She asked.

"You'll like them," Wally simply stated, "They're that good. He can even make the crappy brands taste good."

"Well I'm glad he's found his niche in life," Laura replied diplomatically. She paused for a moment, getting back up out of her chair. "I'll be back in a moment," she said, walking towards the ladies' restroom.

With Laura gone, Wally's attention strayed towards a community bulletin board on the far side of the room. Getting up out of his chair, he wandered over to it. Various fliers advertised various things - The pool was used for swimming practice by a local school. Free guitar lessons in the room. A jazz band was coming to play to entertain the senior citizens.

As Wally looked over the bulletin board fliers, one flier in particular caught his attention. It made him pause & run his chin.

'Hmmmm,' he wondered to himself, 'Now there's a thought...'

=========================

PART XLV


The car smelled.

For ten minutes, Cindy tried to identify the rather strong odor that slowly wafted throughout the car. Even with all the windows open & the car's fan on, she couldn't pinpoint what the smelled reminded her of.

Finally, she realized what the stench was - "Old Woman Perfume."

She shook her head &, had she not been in a more serious mood, might even have laughed. Instead, she merely drove slowly as she weaved her way through endless piles of cars stopped right on the road.

What should have taken a thirty minute drive, at tops, was quickly turning into an hour-long drive. She began to wonder if setting a noontime deadline for returning to the motel was becoming a bit too tight.

'If my parents are home,' she thought, reflexively, 'I'm not going to return.'

'Of course you'll return,' her conscience told her, 'those people went WELL out of their way to rescue you. For all you know, you'd be dead without them.'

"Yeah, I know," Cindy mumbled to herself, "I owe it to them to at least return to say thanks."

'And to say goodbye to Jojo,' her conscience slipped in before she realized it.

Her upper lip suddenly stiffened as she nearly slowed the car to a stop. Why, she suddenly asked herself, was that such a 'bad' thought? Why did she react so adversely?

Driving the car at regular speeds again, she shook the thought from her mind. 'Jojo's a nice guy, but he's not dating material,' she reasoned to herself, adding 'Dude!'

A smirk that grew into a smile crept onto her lips as she continued driving onward to her parent's house.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Live & in person," Jojo stated loudly, walking out of the kitchen with a batch of freshly fried onion rings. He saw both Wally & Laura waiting for him at their table. With flourish, he lowered the plate of onion rings onto the table.

"Enjoy," he merely said with a devilish smile.

Wally immediately grabbed two onion rings & stuffed them in his mouth without hesitation. Such swiftness caught Laura off-guard but she still slowly grabbed one onion ring. She waited to see the facial reaction of Wally before committing to a bite.

All Laura saw was Wally quickly swallow as he grabbed two more onion rings. Slowly, she took a bite.

"Laura, man," Jojo said, the smile still on his face, "They're not poisoned."

"No, they definately aren't," Wally quickly said, "Jojo, these are fabulous. I could eat these all day."

Laura, begrudgingly, had to agree. Her facial expression gave Jojo all the response he needed. His smile, already bright, became absolutely beaming.

"These are good," Laura blurted out, almost in spite of herself. She simply couldn't fathom Jojo having any talent beyond annoying people.

"How do you do it, Jojo?" Wally comically asked, rhetorically with a smile, tearing through yet another onion ring.

"Ancient Chinese Secret, Dude," Jojo laughed, "A magician never gives away his secrets."

Laura's facial expression immediately changed.

"Jojo," Laura asked seriously, "There isn't anything gross in these, is there? Feces, urine, pot..."

"Laura," Jojo replied, "I'm almost insulted. To answer your question, though - No, there's nothing in here that I wouldn't serve to myself. Honest."

Jojo accentuated his remarks by grabbing a few onion rings of his own & began eating them as he walked back to the kitchen.

"I've got burgers on the grill as well," he stated, "And another order of these coming up." He walked back into the kitchen without looking back.

"After Cindy gets back," Wally said, grabbing another onion ring, "I've got an idea of what I think we should do next."

"Really?" Laura asked, "What's that?"

Wally paused & then grinned. "What's your favorite music?"

[steve]

PART XLVI


No lights were on. Bad sign.

With some trepidation, Cindy got out of the car. Walking towards her parent's house, she looked around her. Cars were stopped right in the driving lanes. Swimming pool toys were floating in a nearby above-ground swimming pool. A few garage doors were left open. It looked to Cindy that the world, literally, had stopped in mid-stride.

Cindy reached the front door & rang the door bell. She heard the muffled door bell ring inside.

Nothing. No walking sounds. No unlocking door sounds. No talking sounds.

She pushed the door bell again. Again, she heard the door bell go off on the inside. Again, no response to the door bell from the inside of the house.

Cindy walked around to the garage & peeked through the garage window. Her Mom's car was in the garage, as well as her Dad's pick-up truck. Her Dad's car was in the driveway.

Cindy walked around to the backyard.

'If Mom was home,' she reasoned to herself, 'the back door will be unlocked. It's always unlocked.'

Sure enough, the back door was unlocked. Cautiously, Cindy entered her parent's house.

"Hello?" She called out, "Is anybody home?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"This," Jojo stated with an air of authority, "Is living."

Sitting in a reclined lounge chair with a small table by his left side, Jojo casually sipped a beer while munching on a burger.

"Until your arteries give out," Laura quipped, asking, "How long have you been making those onion rings, anyway?"

Jojo looked over at Laura & casually answered, "Back in my drive-in days, they always stuck me on the deep frier. Always. So, naturally, I got to experimenting."

"But the onion rings," Laura asked with genuine curiosity, "they're pre-made. It's not like you batter them yourself or anything."

Jojo raised a finger to accentuate his point. "Ah," he said, "You must be one with the batter in order to improve upon it, though."

Laura rolled her eyes & heaved a sigh.

"They were good onion rings," Laura confessed, "But don't write yourself a blank check just yet. Besides, whenever Cindy gets back, we're out of here. Start thinking about getting ready to leave."

"To where?" Jojo asked.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Empty. The entire house was empty.

The rifle weighed heavily on Cindy's arms as she casually carried herself back to the kitchen. There were no notes left behind to tell Cindy if they had gone anywhere. Her Mom's jewelry wasn't stashed in her usual "secret location" whenever they went on vacation. Dad's wallet was in the top drawer of his dresser drawer.

Her parents, like so many others, were gone.

Cindy tried not to start crying but she could feel the tears welling up.

Her parents were gone. Everyone was gone. She had been "used" by two perverted, weird men in the mall. The only people alive were a bunch of strangers she didn't even know.

What was she going to do? What COULD she do?

Admist her sobs, she had completely ignored a flash of movement that went right across the kitchen window outside.

==============================

PART XLVII


This time, she saw it.

Quickly picking up the rifle & trying to wipe away her tears, she hurried out to the back door.

Nothing. There wasn't even a gentle breeze blowing.

Suddenly, she heard it. Erratic but fast footsteps going away from the house.

Quickly, she closed the back door & ran to the front side of the house. She peered out a window, hoping to spot whomever was making the noise. She caught a glimpse of a woman running away with an erratic pace. Was one of her legs injured?

Cindy went to the front door & unlocked it. However, by the time she opened it & looked out in the direction she was looking out in the window, the woman was gone.

"Hey!" Cindy screamed, "Is anybody out there?"

Her question fell on deaf houses, cars, fences mailboxes & trees. Not even the clouds acknowledged her question with a simple breeze. She looked out upon the immediate landscape & suddenly felt frightened. Frightened that a woman had snuck up on her. Frightened that the same woman could vanish just as easily & even while Cindy was being attentive.

She had to leave so that she could get back by noontime. At the least, she wanted to leave a note for her parents on the slight off-chance that somehow, somewhere they had not disappeared like so many others.

Returning to the kitchen, Cindy fumbled for a pen & small sheet of paper clean enough to write on. The back of a business envelope became sufficient, along with a stray ball-point pen found on a counter-top.

This time, though, she WAS being attentive. She stopped writing, in mid-letter no less, upon seeing the back door of the house wide open.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Cut the mystery, Wally," Jojo asked, "Where are you taking us?"

"Where we need to go," Wally stated, "Where we have to go if we're going to try & find somebody."

"Which is?" Laura asked.

"A radio station," Wally stated matter-of-factly.

"Dude," Jojo interrupted, "No one's going to be listening to tunes at a time like this."

"But they are," Wally replied, "Going to be listening for anyone who survived. Also, it'd be nice to have some audio on what exactly happened. We've got a videotape showing us what happened but not any audio."

"Wally," Laura started, "What are expected to do if we even find audio of what happened? It's not like we can do anything about it."

"We might not," Wally admitted, "But someone we find might. At the very least, we need to know for ourselves what happened. I don't like being in the dark. I mean, why are we around & so many aren't?"

"We aren't going anywhere without Cindy," Jojo stated, "How long before noontime?"

"Just under an hour," Laura said.

"Cripes," Wally grumbled, "Does she live on the other side of the state?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Hello?" Cindy asked, her voice trembling as she raised the rifle up to her shoulder.

She could hear someone breathing & slightly mumbling, walking around the house with determination.

Cindy's request for a response was ignored by whomever was inside the house. Quickly she entered one room & then the next. Wherever she went, the person was one step ahead of her, entering the next room just before she could catch a good glimpse of them.

"Stop!" She suddenly screamed, so loud that she actually startled herself.

The figure stopped & turned around, in full view of Cindy.

Cindy's jaw dropped open at the sight of who it was.

================================

PART XLVIII

"Mr. Anderson?" Cindy asked rhetorically, incredulous at the sight of her parents' next-door neighbor.

She was, of course, the daughter that he never had & her "unofficial" uncle. Mr. Anderson's wife had passed away when he was young & he had never re-married. He sported ever middle-aged cliche one man could afford to have - Mostly bald, somewhat out of shape (but not overweight), dressed unfashionably, conservative spender & always thinking he had more carpentry & mechanical skills then he actually had.

How many times had her parents left her in his care for an overnight stay? She can remember when she was fourteen & her parents were going away for a week. Did her parents give her the authority to stay at her own house every night? No - They wanted her to stay with Mr. Anderson. What did Mr. Anderson do? He had her stay in her own house. Every night, he'd come over to see how she was doing & "chase out the boys." Nothing bad happened that week. It gave her such a boost of confidence that she could be so independant, albeit for only a week.

Mr. Anderson was the "unofficial" Uncle every boy or girl should've had. Impartial when he had to be, supportive when he knew it was right. Did he tell her parents about the sex-ed questions she asked him about boys when she was around ten to twelve years old? No. Did he threaten to tell her parents about the marijuana joint he found her smoking when she was thirteen? He had her crying he was so fierce. However, she never smoked again afterwards, tobacco or marijuana.

Cindy just couldn't reconcile the two conflicting images - The one in her head & the one standing just yards away from her at that moment. He LOOKED like Mr. Anderson but his mannerisms were all wrong. He was slightly hunched over. He was as pale as a ghost. His eyes were rimmed with red, swollen flesh. Drool glistened from the corners of his mouth & he exhibited the most foul odor she had ever possibly smelled.

"Mr. Anderson?" she asked yet again, now more meekly. She prayed that he would straighten up & reply in proper English, "Oh, no, my dear girl, you must have me mistaken for someone else." She prayed that he'd say, "Ha! Fooled you!"

She knew, though, the answer to her question even before she asked it. She KNEW it was Mr. Anderson. She KNEW that he had been...what? Shell-shocked? Zombified?

Before she could think any further, Mr. Anderson lumbered towards her, knocking into a cabinet so hard that a few items fell off from on top of it. He produced a grovelly growl that meant business. It was the type of growl a dog made before it jumped at it's opponent.

The next thing that Cindy knew, a gunshot went off.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo stated, pointing at the map, "This place where she went is, like, ten miles away at the most."

Wally looked at the map as he continued to hear Jojo talk.

"Two of us goes," Jojo proposes, "One of us stays behind in case she comes back."

Wally & Laura looked at each other.

"Laura," Wally said, handing over the gun to her, "You've got the fort. We'll be back."

Wally turned to Jojo.

"Let's go," Wally said.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

What Cindy saw just didn't compute. It didn't make sense.

She re-wound the events in her mind & played them over & over again.

Smoke was coming from the rifle's barrel. Mr. Anderson was down on the ground, an exit wound in his back the size of a compact disc.

She couldn't have shot him. Did she? Did she shoot Mr. Anderson?

"Oh God," she said to herself, her jaw shivering & her knees suddenly weak as she came to the realization that she had shot Mr. Anderson.

"Oh my God," she nearly yelled, dropping the rifle & rushing over to Mr. Anderson.

"Mr. Anderson! Mr. Anderson! Oh God! Oh God! Mr. Anderson, speak to me! Mr. Anderson, Oh God, I am so sorry..." She said, quickly being reduced to tears.

She started shaking Mr. Anderson's shoulders violently, shouting, "Mr. Anderson, wake up! No! Wake up! Wake up!"

Just as suddenly as she had dropped the rifle & lurched over Mr. Anderson, she stood up & realized it was now a lost cause. Mr. Anderson was dead & she had killed him. She couldn't even remember pulling the trigger. She couldn't even remember making the thought of "I'm going to pull the trigger."

Completely engulfed in tearful remorse, Cindy slowly began to back up, muttering, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Anderson. Oh, God, please forgive me. I'm so sorry..."

Suddenly, she ran. She had to run. Run out of the house. Run off of the property. Run away as fast as she could to wherever she could.

She bolted out of the back door & around the back towards the front of the property. The thought of bringing the rifle never even entered her mind. The thought of driving back to the motel never entered her mind.

She needed to leave everything all at once & she needed to leave it forever.

=========================

PART XLIX


"No wonder it took so long for her to drive out to here," Wally remarked, swerving to avoid yet another stopped vehicle on the road.

"This is one packed road," Jojo confirmed, "We might as well just drive on the side of the road."

"Yeah," Wally agreed, "I think, for once, it's time to do a little cross-country off-roading. Hold on."

Wally swerved the car off the road & started driving across the lawns of a string of residential houses. This lasted for about five hundred yards before Wally found an acceptable patch of road absent of vehicles to merge back into.

"How far are we to this place?" Wally asked.

"We need to stay on this road & then take a left at the next intersection," Jojo replied.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

She swerved to avoid hitting another car, the tires screeching & the car lurching. Her tears obscured her vision as she slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting another car that she almost hadn't seen in time.

Mom was gone. Dad was gone. She had killed Mr. Anderson.

In two days, her world had fallen completely apart. What could she do? What should she do?

She didn't want to stick around with those other guys. They had no incentive to come back here. For all she knew, they'd cross the country & never come back.

They didn't know what was going on. Nobody knew what was going on.

Everyone was missing. Those who weren't missing were crazy, or demented, or something that made them seem really demented. Those who weren't demented or crazy or whatever were complete strangers.

Cindy snapped back to reality long enough to slam on her brakes to avoid back-ending a sports-utility vehicle. She veered the car off the road & kept driving, hyperventilating & wiping away tears at the same time.

She completely ignored, amongst the crowd of cars that now stood as still as tombstones, one car coming towards her at a distance.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Is that Cindy?" Jojo asked, partially to himself.

Wally slowed the car down & checked. He saw a car heading right in their direction, erratically avoiding cars. The car's constantly oscillating speed made the driver seem reckless at best & outright dangerous at worst.

"Could be," Wally determined, "We better pull over & flag her down."

Wally pulled the car over to the curb & turned it off. They both jumped out of the car & began running in the general direction of the oncoming car, waving their hands in the air.

"Cindy!" Jojo yelled, "Cindy! Dude! It's us!"

"Cindy!" Wally yelled, "Over here! Over here!"

The car kept lurching forward, bobbing & weaving through cars as though it was on an eternal obstacle course. Wally began to wonder what they'd have to do in the event that Cindy wouldn't stop. It certainly didn't look like Cindy was slowing down.

"Jojo!" Wally yelled, "She ain't stopping!"

The car was now a few hundred yards away from them & closing fast.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was all her fault, she thought to herself.

She could've been more aggressive looking for another job. She had "outgrown" working at Gifted Physique & she knew it.

If she hadn't been working there, she wouldn't have been abducted by those two...guys. Those two...people who looked like people but acted like slobs. They acted like...they acted like Mr. Anderson had.

None of this would've happened if she had only had her priorities straight. If she only had...

Suddenly, Cindy looked up. She saw Jojo & Wally only yards away, waving their arms at her.

Panicking, she slammed on the brakes & desperately swerved off the road, drastically over-compensating. The car veered off the road with a lurch as it slammed over the curb.

Cindy's last thought was wondering if she was going to stop in time before she hit the...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally & Jojo watched as the car lurched over the curb & rambled it's way towards a small pond.

Jojo's jaw dropped as he saw the car plunge into the pond.

===========================

PART L


Laura sighed deeply as she looked at a clock. 'Thirteen hundred hours' she thought to herself, before smirking & simply thinking 'One o' clock.'

After drumming her fingers on the table a few times, she sighed again & started pacing around the room.

'Where could those two idiots be now?' She reflexively asked herself.

'The little hussy is probably at it again,' she reasoned with herself, 'Probably threatening to slit her own throat or some other stupid, kid thing.'

She hated herself for thinking that way but she couldn't help it - These weren't ordinary days. What the three of them were going through weren't ordinary circumstances &, in any operation, everyone had to be "on the ball" if the operation was to be a success.

Without Cindy, they'd be at the radio station, doing whatever. Maybe they're past the radio station at this point. Maybe they met someone at the radio station who fixes all of this with a wave of their majestic hand.

If Cindy was going to be a constant problem, then maybe it was best that they just dump her, Laura reasoned. How would Cindy have reacted to when they were pinned down in the alleyway by 'Rambo' (aka "The Sheriff")?

Weakness exposed any group to failure. When failure means "You get vanilla instead of chocolate" or "You get acne on your forehead," then it doesn't really matter if you succeed or fail. If failure means "Your boyfriend is shot & killed" or "You're shot & killed," then it doesn't matter if you're young & you've been raped - You're a detriment to the group, honey.

'God,' Laura thought to herself, 'First, Jojo & now her. Doesn't anyone take this situation seriously?'

These weren't ordinary times &, as Laura began to reason with herself, perhaps it was time to take some un-ordinary measures to ensure herself & Wally's safety.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jojo ran to the car as it was beginning to become submerged into the pond. He caught up to Wally, who was already at the front driver's side door of the car.

"It's too late!" Wally reported to Jojo, "There's too much water pushing against the door! It won't open!"

"Dude, I'm getting a rock!" Jojo declared, "Tell her to open the window. She can still climb out!"

Wally tried to keep following the car down into the pond. Already, he was waist-deep in water. He hissed as the more sensitive parts of his body became acclimated to the suddenly cold, somewhat murky pond water.

"Open the window!" Wally yelled to Cindy, who looked as though she was frantically trying to unlatch herself from the seat belt. Her nervousness & emotional state were not helping matters.

Wally tried to peer inside the car & noticed, to his unfortunate horror, that it was a modern car with electrically-powered windows. There'd be no rolling down the windows in time.

Suddenly, Wally heard the sound of glass splintering. He saw Jojo at the back of the vehicle, hitting the back window with a rock that was half the size of Jojo's head. The glass was splintering but not breaking. As with all modern car windows, it was safety glass. It would take more the Jojo's rock to shatter the glass.

"There's not enough time for that, Jojo!" Wally shouted.

"No, man!" Jojo replied, "Just tell her to hold her breath! Tell her to hold her breath!" Jojo went back to slamming the rock against the back window.

Wally saw that Jojo's efforts were having an effect; Water was seeping into the car through the multiple cracks of the back window.

In a moment, the entire car was going to be completely submerged.

[steve]

PART LI


Jojo threw the rock away from the pond, content on the damage he had done to the back window. Water was now pouring into the car & the car was but a mere moment away from being completely submerged.

Wally sucked in a deep breath & plunged himself underwater. He'd have only a few moments to operate before he'd need to come back up for air.

The car was already one foot under water when Wally reached the handle on the driver's side door. To his shock, it opened up without any difficulty whatsoever. Cindy, though, still in shock over being in a quickly submerging car, had not yet unfastened her seat belt. It was clear to Wally that she was on the verge of suffocating.

Wally unfastened the seat belt & flung it back. Cindy, now released from the seat belt, flailed wildly as her body began to spasm for air. Her arm smacked into Wally's head, causing him to lose concentration & a significant portion of his air.

Just then, both Wally & Cindy felt hands grabbing them & pulling them upwards.

Jojo, in a fit of strength, yanked on Wally's leg & Cindy's arm until both were practically inches from the surface. Natural buoyancy of the human body took over & all three heads were above the surface just fractions of a second later.

Cindy violently gasped for air, her limbs still flailing. Wally, having recovered from Cindy's inadvertant strike, began pushing Cindy towards the edge of the pond. They weren't in an ocean; Only moments later, all three were close enough to the edge to stand up & walk out. Both Jojo & Wally dragged Cindy out. Now fatigued from her flailing, she could do nothing else but desperately grab for each breath.

Wally collapsed by the side of the pond, soaking wet.

"Cindy," Wally said, "You sure know how to show a couple of guys an exciting time."

Jojo looked over at Cindy, saying quietly, "Cindy, you all right? You want to take a minute to just chill?"

Jojo looked back at Wally, who was now standing & shaking the excess water off of his clothes. Wally began taking off his shirt & ringing it out when Jojo looked back at Cindy.

"I'm sorry," she meekly apologized, "I'm so, so sorry. I...I don't..."

Jojo motioned her to be quiet.

"Cindy," Jojo replied, "All's cool, OK? We just need to get you into some dry clothes. OK? You got clothes at your parent's house?"

Jojo could see a flicker of horror sweep over Cindy's face when he mentioned her parent's house. He quickly changed the discussion.

"Hey," he stammered, "Been there, done that, you know? I think going back to the mall for some outfits would do us all some good, including Laura. I think we ought to do that."

Jojo turned to Wally, nodding his head as he talked.

"Don't you think that'd be a good idea, Wally? Going to the mall for some dry clothes?" Jojo asked loudly.

Wally caught on, looking back at Wally as he began wringing his pants out.

"Yeah," he said slowly, catching on, "I think we're going to need some supplies first before we decide on what we do next."

Jojo looked back at Cindy.

"See? No problem. We're going shopping again. That's all. Going shopping. Come on. This time, I'll help you pick out clothes. I'm good at that," Jojo said quickly, pulling Cindy up to a standing position.

Wally quickly put his pants back on, wondering how he was going to explain all of this to Laura. They'd have a car trip back to figure it all out.

As Wally saw Jojo assist Cindy to their car, Wally began to walk back to the car as well.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Yeah," Laura said, "We need supplies at the mall first. Let's go."

Wally studied her reaction but couldn't tell whether she was being sincere or not. The suspense ended when she passed by Wally, close enough to whisper without the the other two hearing her.

"We need to talk later," she merely said, walking out of the motel & towards the cars.

Wally sagged his shoulders slightly & followed her out to the car. Finding a new change of clothes suddenly became Wally's last thing on his mind.

===============================

PART LII


She was attracted to weirdoes & losers. That had to be it.

As Cindy stripped down to her bra & panties to try a pair of jeans on, she suddenly realized that she had done so right in the company of a man. Without blinking. Without so much as a flinch.

"I'll come back when you're decent, OK?" Jojo stammered to say, amazed at what had just transpired in front of him.

'Man, she's loaded,' was the first thought that entered Jojo's head.

'I can't believe she just did that in front of me' was Jojo's second thought.

"Decent enough," Cindy quickly said without much emotion, jumping into a pair of dry pants.

Cindy couldn't understand what she was saying or why. She hated killing Mr. Anderson & yet it had been like eating a single potato chip - Ten minutes later, it didn't matter anymore. For two days, she had been tormented & abused by slobbering rapists & yet the store she was in was only yards away from the security center she had been holed up in.

"Yeah," Jojo replied, keeping his distance from Cindy.

'Is this a test?' Jojo thought to himself, 'Like, in those magazines, those ten questions you ask a guy to see if they really like you or not?'

"So, um, Cindy," Jojo slowly said, trying hard not to say the word "Dude," "Look, I know you've been through a lot & all..." He was interrupted by an unusually cheerful Cindy.

"Hey," Cindy interrupted, grabbing two short-sleeve shirts, "Dark green or plain blue?" She placed each one in front of her briefly. Jojo tried hard not to stare directly at her chest but didn't succeed very well. He tensed his upper lip as he tried to read her eyes.

'Oh, man,' he thought, 'This is definitely some sort of test.'

"Why don't you try both on?" Jojo slowly suggested, "Maybe one feels better then the other, you know?"

Cindy nodded & began trying the green shirt on.

"So, is Wally & Laura married or something?" Cindy asked with a bit too much innocent curiosity in her voice.

"They're pretty committed to each other," Jojo replied diplomatically.

"I think that Laura pulls the reins. Don't you?" Cindy asked, taking the green shirt off & placing the blue shirt on.

Jojo suppressed a smile. 'A woman after my own heart,' he thought to himself.

"Yeah, well," Jojo stalled, searching for a 'correct' answer, "I suppose in any relationship there's a certain amount of give-and-take. I mean, you're not dating a mannequin or anything like that."

Cindy quickly took off the blue shirt & placed the green shirt back on.

"This fits better," she merely said, "But I hate the color. I suppose it'll do."

"Isn't that what's most important?" Jojo replied, "Is that you're comfortable with it?"

Cindy paused for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah," she said.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"We need to be safe," Laura told Wally, "We need a base of operations."

Wally briefly looked back at the entrance to the store. He knew what Laura was suggesting was true. Still, he wasn't entirely convinced.

"We also need to understand more about what's going on," Wally said before being interrupted by Laura.

"No, we don't," Laura interrupted with some bite in her voice, "We know we're in danger. We know people disappeared. That's enough for now."

"Enough for now but enough for tomorrow? Enough for when we find others?" Wally countered, a bit incredulously.

Before Laura could react, he continued, "I'm all for finding someplace to hole up for a while. I'm not going to be in a prison, though. If this is our lot in life, paradise isn't going to be four people with chairs underneath door handles & bars over windows. We need to try & contact survivors. We need to move cars off the road so we can travel down them without it resembling a slalom."

Laura's facial expression said it all.

"I need some target practice," she quickly said, bolting before Wally could even flinch to block her, "I'll be outside practicing. Just tell me when it's time to go."

===========================

PART LIII


Men.

That's all she needed to think to herself. That was all the explanation she really needed.

People were gone. The few people they had seen had tried to kill them. The one sane person they had managed to find couldn't be left alone for one half-hour without endangering the life of her boyfriend.

She pulled the trigger & watched as the small cardboard box was jettisoned into the air by the gunshot blast.

She went AWOL for a man who was more interested in meeting people then with basic survival.

'You can only write books about it, honey' she thought sarcastically as she lined up her next shot, 'If you're still alive to tell the tale.' The thought was ripped, almost verbatim, from what her Drill Sergeant said once to another soldier.

She went AWOL for a man who was more interested in studying the problem then doing something about it.

The second target burst into several, fragmented pieces.

She wanted to be with Wally. Wally without Jojo. Wally without this little, sissy bi*** who couldn't hold her own fighting a kitten, much less one of these crazy people they kept running into.

She began to aim at the third target but stopped. She lowered her weapon, just staring at the target.

Wally, the Wally that is, wasn't the man she loved. Wally, without the baggage otherwise known as Jojo, without feeling that he has to solve whatever cosmic problem had been foisted upon them, without feeling that he had to rebuild society simply because it was no longer there, was the one she loved. Was the only one of Wally that she loved.

She wanted attention. She wanted "Wally" time. Why couldn't he just spend more time with her, damn it, & less time worrying about the state of civilization?!!

Without even thinking about it, she raise the weapon up & fired a quick burst of three shots at the target. They all hit, sending the target careening across the parking lot.

She lowered her weapon again.

'Maybe,' she thought to herself as she reloaded the weapon, 'If all those things disappeared, I could get the Real Wally back...My Wally back.'

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"You think it's OK for her to be target practicing?" Jojo asked.

"She's just blowing off steam," Wally stated, loading batteries into the radio, "No one likes this situation, especially her."

"I don't know about that," Jojo replied, "I like the fact that I can walk into a store & take anything that I like. Play any game that I like. Steal any game that I like."

"So what happens," Wally asked, "When you break your leg? Need a new prescription for your glasses? Your teeth cleaned? An engine belt replaced?"

Wally continued, flipping the radio back around & turning it on, "What happens when you get bored of all the games available? Are you going to program a new one, all by yourself?"

"Dude," Jojo relented, "You are such a downer. No wonder Laura's venting."

Wally smiled, listening to the radio for a moment before turning it off.

"Don't worry," Wally declared, "I have a plan that'll satisfy everyone. Hopefully."

"Yeah?" Jojo asked, "And what's that?"

"Get Cindy & bring her to the administration part of the mall. I'll go get Laura," Wally said.

=========================

PART LIV


"OK," Wally began, "We all know what's going on. Something weird happened & everyone is gone. We all have different responses for this & we need to start airing them out. Who wants to be first?"

Silence.

Wally looked around the board room in the administrative section of the mall & was met only with three blank faces. Laura's was sarcastically blank, feigning moderate interest.

"Fine," Wally said with a sigh, "Then let's start with an even simpler topic : Do we want to stick together? Yes or no."

"Dude," Jojo said, after another awkward moment of silence, "I'm all for whatever you want to do."

"But what do WE want to do, though, Jojo? That's the question. We need to decide on what we are going to do about this," Wally said, straining not to show frustration, "If we are going to stick together, then we need to start making decisions as a group. What does the group want to do?"

"We need guns," Cindy stated plainly. She continued, "These crazy people aren't like zombies or whatever. You can just shoot them like a normal person."

"That's a good point," Wally exclaimed, turning around to a white board behind him. The successor of the chalk board, the white board was written on using washable ink markers & the white board could be wiped clean with either a wet rag or a specially made "eraser."

"Who here also would feel safer with a gun?" Wally asked. "Jojo," Wally continued, "Gun or no gun?"

"Gun," Jojo said quickly, "Definitely gun."

"Laura?" Wally asked, "I presume you're in the gun camp?"

Laura had to fight the word 'guess' from coming out of her throat. Instead, Laura merely said, "Yes."

Wally turned around & wrote "Guns" on the white board. He just as quickly turned back around to the group.

"OK. We want guns," Wally stated, "Where are we going to get the guns?"

"Gun store," Jojo quickly replied.

"The security area has an armory of pistols & rifles," Laura chimed in, "And all the ammunition we'll need for at least the next couple of days. We will, though, need to go to a gun store for cleaning supplies for the guns."

"OK," Wally said eagerly, "Jojo, Cindy... Any complaints thus far? We get the guns from security & then head on over to the gun store for supplies."

Jojo & Cindy just shook their heads.

"Great," Wally stated, writing it down behind him on the white board. He turned back around to face the group.

"The second big issue is where we're going to stay. Thoughts?" Wally asked.

"For now, the mall," Laura said, "It's secure. For later, we should scout around."

"The motel," Jojo countered, "It has everything we need to actually live with some comfort."

Cindy just shrugged.

"OK," Wally reasoned, "What is it about the mall that we like as a place to live?"

"It's secure," Laura stated, "We control all of the openings, it's made of concrete & steel, it has height so we have high ground for surveillance & combat situations, it's large so we can hide & most likely escape in case of intrusion, we're surrounded by asphalt instead of trees so any intrusion attempt would have to be overt."

Jojo & Wally just looked at each other, then back at Laura.

"Dude," Jojo said, "Who can argue against that?"

"I think we have our plan for the next 24 hours," Wally said, "We acquire the guns & fortify our position here at the mall. Tomorrow, we meet again for more topics. Anyone have anything else to say?"

He looked around & once again saw three blank faces.

"Meeting dismissed," he merely said.

==============================

PART LV


"Done," Jojo said to himself, finally putting the tent together. It gave him some satisfaction that he had put the tent together completely by himself with no assistance from anyone else.

Just as he was admiring his work, he noticed Cindy walk by.

"Hey, Cindy," Jojo said, "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Cindy said, turning around to face Jojo, "Is that your tent?"

"Yeah," Jojo said, not trying hard to conceal his pride, "Just finished putting it together. It's great that there's a sporting goods store here in the mall. Those benches don't look too comfortable."

'It's now or never,' Jojo thought.

"Hey," Jojo asked, slightly quieting his voice, "Have you thought about where you're going to sleep tonight?"

"Oh, I don't know," Cindy replied, "I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I'm just going outside now. Laura's going to show me how to handle a gun. Wanna come along?"

'Damn!' Jojo thought, maintaining an easy smile.

"Can't," Jojo replied, "I still have to help Wally out with making sure we're all locked in tight so no one can sneak up on us. I'll try & catch you later, though."

"OK," Cindy said. She proceeded to walk away. Jojo took an extra moment to watch her posterior sway as she walked away before shaking his head in frustration & walking away himself.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jojo found Wally right where Jojo had last seen him - In an electronics store. Wally was examining a shortwave radio & tuning it to various stations.

"Hey, Wally," Jojo declared.

"Hi, Jojo," Wally said, turning off the shortwave radio & turning his attention to Wally.

"Hey," Jojo stated, "This place is nothing but one big concrete block. You'll never get a signal in here."

"Yeah," Wally agreed, "I just found that out the hard way. I'm going to have to find a way up to the roof to see if this thing will really work."

"Yeah," Jojo replied, as though he was going to say more but decided not to. Wally picked up on it immediately.

"So," Wally asked politely, "Something on your mind?"

Jojo let out a sigh before speaking.

"Wally, man," Jojo said, "How'd you get in with Laura? I mean, really in?"

Wally beamed a smile, replying with a bit of blush, "Jojo, are you implying what I think you're implying?"

"Dude," Jojo said, "Cindy is hot. I mean, come on! We're, like, the last four people on Earth or something! This isn't fair!"

"Jojo," Wally said with more then a bit of seriousness, "Just be yourself. That's all. Just be yourself &, if it works out, it works out. If you try to be someone that you aren't, they'll pick that up in a heartbeat. They consider that like lying & then you'll never be 'in.' Just be yourself."

"That's it?" Jojo asked, deadly serious.

"That's it," Wally stated, giving Jojo a playful pat on the shoulder, adding, "I'm heading out onto the rooftop."

Wally walked away, leaving Jojo to think for a moment over what Wally had said.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Cindy unchambered a round in the pistol, took out the magazine clip, pushed the unchambered round back into the magazine clip, placed it back into the pistol & chambered the round. She looked over at Laura, who had a stop watch.

"Very good," Laura said, stopping the stopwatch.

"Now," Laura instructed, "Aim & fire at those soda cans out there. Remember to anticipate the recoil. The firearm isn't going to kill you."

Cindy turned, aimed & fired off a round at one of the soda cans that stood about thirty feet away. She nicked it on the lower-right corner but it still went flying as a result.

"Cripes," Laura exclaimed, "How'd you avoid the draft?"

"I didn't," Cindy admitted, "I was going to be called up in about five weeks."

"So why weren't you called up the first time?" Laura asked, generally curious.

"My parents filed a dependancy form. I was indispensible at home," Cindy stated with some sarcasm. Laura shared the smile; It had been a common tactic towards avoiding the draft until the Congress took it away one year ago.

"Can I ask you a question?" Cindy asked Laura.

"Sure," Laura replied.

"What's up with Jojo?" Cindy asked.

"What do you mean?" Laura replied.

"I mean, is he a flirt with everyone or am I just getting the special treatment?" Cindy asked, watching Laura produce a smile.

"Honey," Laura replied with some swagger, "I can say this with certainty - Even though we may be the only people on the planet, I STILL wouldn't do it with Jojo. Even if I was paid to do it. Jojo's been on the wrong side of 'slacker' since he was able to crawl."

"Oh," Cindy said with a bit of disappointment, "I just wanted to make sure. He seemed kind of nice."

"So are cats," Laura replied, "But at least you can litter-train them."

This caused Cindy to instantaneously burst into laughter which, in turn, caused Laura to laugh. It was the first time since this all started that Laura could just laugh without being responsible, laugh without caring, laugh without worrying.

Then, they both heard something...Something strange.

[steve]

PART LVI


'Damn,' Wally thought, 'Still nothing on the radio.'

Wally shut the radio off & looked around. He had found his way to the rooftop of the mall. The view, predictably, was nice as he was so high up. However, he wasn't there for the view & what he had come up to the roof for he hadn't received.

Dejected, he began to walk back to where he had climbed up to the rooftop when he heard a noise.

Wally looked up. He couldn't see it but he could hear it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Is that a jet?" Cindy asked, looking up at the sky.

"Sounds like it," Laura replied, "Can't tell if it's military or civilian."

"Think we should tell Wally & Jojo about it?" Cindy asked.

Laura paused - Adding fuel to the fire wasn't high on Laura's list but not telling Wally of the possibility that there were other people around, people smart enough to fly a plane, would definitely irritate Wally even more.

"Yeah," Laura grudgingly replied, "Let's."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"I heard it, too," Wally said, as Wally, Laura & Cindy stood inside the mall.

"I couldn't catch which direction it was coming from," Laura said factually, "Odds are, it was above cloud cover & wouldn't have seen us anyway."

"Laura," Cindy asked Laura, "You wouldn't know of any National Guard bases around here, would you?"

Laura shook her head negatively. "Nah," she replied, "I wouldn't know about that. Depending on the jet, it could've lifted off at any airport within a five hundred mile radius. It's be a wild goose chase to find it."

"Maybe we should make a sign on the rooftop," Cindy suggested, "So that if they pass low enough, they could see it."

Wally was suddenly struck by inspiration. A smirk crept onto his face before he could suppress it. Neither Laura or Cindy noticed it.

"Perhaps you & Jojo," Wally said to Cindy, "Could go up to the rooftop to see where we could put such a sign. It'd give you guys something to do until the evening & I'm sure we'll trust whatever opinion the two of you eventually form."

Laura immediately gave Wally a sideways glance & tensed her jaw but remained silent. She then looked over at Cindy & smiled.

"That, in all honesty, sounds like a good idea," Laura stated, "If there's a large enough area on the rooftop to place a sign like that, it'd give us incentive to stay here longer. Otherwise, that's a very critical point we'll need to make when we look elsewhere for a long-term base of operations."

Cindy looked at both Wally & Laura for a moment, then said, "OK. I'll go up there with Jojo. Does anyone know where he is?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

'Damn,' Jojo said, standing outside the mall, 'Where could they be?'

Standing with a plate of onion rings, he munched on one while he looked around the general area for either Laura or Cindy. Clearly, they weren't anywhere around.

As he began walking back towards the mall, he thought he had heard something. Something from the sky.

'It can't be a jet,' Jojo thought to himself, 'Who'd possibly be flying a jet after what has happened? And why?'

==========================

PART LVII


"You...SO...owe me for that," Laura stated after Cindy walked away, trying to fake being seriousness but falling short.

"What?" Wally asked, his innocence falling as short as Laura's faux seriousness.

Laura just smirked, then replied, "You're trying to hook Jojo up with Cindy, aren't you?"

"To my understanding," Wally replied, failing to keep a smile off of his face, "It is Cindy & Jojo who have no problems being near one another. All I'm doing is...assisting the situation."

"Mm-hmmm," commented Laura, the smirk still on her face, "Well, you still owe me big time for helping convince Cindy that it's a good idea being alone with Jojo." Laura decided not to mention to Wally what her recommendation of Jojo was to Cindy.

"And just how am I ever going to repay this monstrous debt that I now so graciously owe you?" Wally asked with as much faux politeness as he could muster.

Laura's smirk grew larger as she stared directly into Wally's eyes.

"Hey," Jojo asked, startling the both of them by walking up behind them, "Did you guys hear that outside?" Jojo stuffed another onion ring into his mouth before either Laura or Wally could respond.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"It's hot up here," Cindy commented, a bit uncomfortable at the thought of being on the rooftop of a mall, "And windy."

"Relax, Cindy," Jojo replied, walking past her & stepping into a huge open area, "We're on a mission from Wally. Onion ring?" Jojo presented a still mostly-full plate of onion rings to Cindy. She delicately picked one out & held it as Jojo turned his attention to the huge open area.

"So, I figure," Jojo started, "We could have a huge 'SOS' sign right here, you know?" He waved his arms towards the huge open area. Cindy began chewing on the onion ring.

"What are we going to make the 'SOS' sign out of?" She asked.

"Paint," Jojo answered, producing a grin, "There's, like, a lot of it in the maintenance area. Even if we use that up, I'm sure we could find, like, a hardware store or something that sells paint."

Cindy nodded her head affirmatively, finishing the onion ring & unconsciously grabbing another one.

"Sounds like a plan," Cindy commented, adding, "Whose going to be doing the painting?"

"You are," Jojo replied quickly, "My penmanship sucks."

Cindy nearly spit up a part of the onion ring she was chewing on, trying to prevent herself from laughing.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"I like that one," Laura said, pointing it out.

Wally looked at the rings in the display case. All of them, normally, would have been well out of his price range. However, in the newly vacated world that they occupied, they were now on sale for 100% off.

"I'll buy it for you," Wally said, holding Laura at his side, "If you promise to wear it."

"Don't be silly..." Laura said, a genuine smile forming on her lipsas she looked towards Wally. Wally looked back at her.

"I'm not," he stated, "When everyone re-appears, I'll buy you that ring from this store as long as you're willing to wear it."

Laura just looked at Wally for a moment. For but a moment, she saw it. She saw 'Real Wally' shining through, the Wally she left the military for. The Wally she was now a deserter for.

"What if they don't come back?" She asked, "What if it's like this forever?"

"That's why we have to try & find out if we can get them back," Wally replied, "That's why we have to learn as much as we can about how they disappeared."

He embraced Laura in a loose hug, whispering, "If no one comes back, then how are we ever going to get married? I know you'll freak out if I suggest that we use Jojo as our Justice of the Peace."

Laura couldn't help but laugh over the thought of Jojo presiding over a theoretical wedding.

They continued to hug as they stood in the jewelry store. A wedding in an empty church wouldn't be a wedding, she thought, it'd be a farce. Was she prepared for marriage? Was Wally trying to propose to her "through the back door"?

She closed her eyes for a moment & wondered what it would be like to be "Mrs. Wally." It was easier to conceptualize then she thought it would be.

Then, they heard the jet fly over the mall again. This time, it was much louder then before.

=========================

PART LVIII


"Jesus!" Jojo reacted, hunching over reflexively at the suddenly loud blast from an overhead jet. Cindy was hardly any more stoic, dropping to her hands & knees while looking up to see where the noise had come from.

As the noise faded, Cindy looked over at Jojo.

"Do you think they were low enough to hear us?" Cindy asked, still not able to see where the jet came from or where it went.

"Dude," Jojo replied, "Any louder & I thought they'd land on us."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally & Laura ran out of the mall as fast as they could to catch a glimpse of the jet. Laura was in luck; Just before it had slipped back into the clouds, Laura managed to catch a glimpse of it.

"Wally!" She exclaimed, "That's a military transport jet!"

She pointed towards where she had seen it but, by the time Wally turned to see where Laura was pointing, the plane had vanished.

"Are you sure?" Wally asked.

Laura thought for a moment. Was she, in fact, sure it was a military transport jet? It was definitely large & wasn't colored like a commercial passanger jet. What else, if not a military transport jet, could it have possibly been?

"We better see if Jojo & Cindy are OK," Wally suggested. They both began to walk back inside the mall.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"I think we're safe here," Cindy stated, all of them now back at the administration meeting room, "And that we shouldn't deviate from the plan we've already established."

Jojo looked over at Cindy, replying, "She's right, man. We've had far too much excitement lately. I think we ought to just turn it down a notch & chill out for awhile."

"But this is our big break," Laura disagreed, "We've found someone intelligent enough to fly a plane & a big plane at that! Maybe we've even found a whole crew!"

"Maybe we've found a joy rider," Jojo replied, "Hey, man, what do you think we've been doing with the cars ever since we've found them? They ain't ours but we're driving them! So the dude's got a piloting license or maybe he just plays too many flight sims to know the difference."

"I think we ought to stick with the plan for now," Wally chimed in, continuing, "We're safe, we're secure & we've got provisions to last a while. Our next step will be contacting people, not hunting them down. We can't search every single airport. If the normal roads are as clogged as they were just getting to this mall, how do you think the highways are going to be?"

Wally paused to let that sink in. He attempted to put on a smile.

"Look," he reasoned, "I'm all for finding out the truth but I also need a break. We've all...we could all use a break from reality, even if we know it's just a break. I say, we take tonight off, let our hair down, have a good time. Tomorrow, we start advertising the fact that we're alive. Any objections?"

Three blank faces met his own. As far he was concerned, that meant they were all in agreement.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"What do you think?" Laura asked, pressing the lingerie up to her body so that Wally could envision what it'd look like on her.

He walked over to her & took the lingerie. Casually, he crumpled it into a ball & tossed it on the floor.

"Yup," he replied, "Looks good to me."

Laura just laughed & swatted him in the shoulder.

"You jerk," she muttered, picking the lingerie back up, "So, what do you think I ought to wear this evening?"

'Birthday suit,' was the response that almost escaped from Wally's lips but he knew that would be pushing it too far.

"Whatever you want is happy with me," Wally said with a smile.

"I bet," Laura countered with some sarcasm, placing the lingerie back onto the rack.

"I wonder what Jojo & Cindy are up to?" Wally asked, trying to change the subject.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo said, "Wally & Laura are going to be shocked when they find out we're doing this."

"Hey," Cindy replied, "They can always paint over it if they don't like it."

"That is so true," Jojo agreed, "And what won't they like about a huge 'SOS' sign right on top of the mall?"

Jojo placed another two cans of paint down on the roof of the mall. The two of them had gathered all the tools they'd need to create a fairly simple but tidy rendition of the letters 'SOS'.

'Wally is going to be so proud of us,' Jojo thought, 'This thing'll be so large that they'll see it from the space station!'

=========================

PART LIX


"Too bad there wasn't a furniture store in this mall," Laura commented just before she yawned.

"What's the matter?" Asked Wally, "Sleeping bags are just as cozy. This one is built for two."

Wally, inside the sleeping bag, checked his watch. Even though it wasn't even eight o'clock, it felt like two A.M. in the morning. For a second straight day, he had found it hard just to keep his eyes open past seven o'clock. Laura had shared his observations, looking close to falling asleep herself.

Their tent was inside a department store in the mall. Wally had set it up himself although it's size had made it a formidable opponent for assembly.

"I wonder what Jojo & Cindy could be doing?" Wally asked, partially rhetorically.

"You don't think...?" Laura asked, a smirk on her face.

"Oh, sure," Wally replied, "I'm sure they're just rolling around as we speak."

They both laughed as Laura crawled into the sleeping bag with Wally.

"Are they going to remember to lower the security gate to the store when they come back?" Laura asked sleepily, adjusting herself into a sleeping position.

"We'll find out in the morning," Wally yawned, "'cause I'm not staying up to watch them walk through the door."

Wally, so tired, could hardly finish the sentence. As soon as he did complete it, though, he yawned again & fell fast asleep. Laura feel asleep shortly thereafter.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Done," Jojo exclaimed proudly, getting up off his knees. All sweaty, he looked down at Cindy. Cindy also got up into a standing position.

They both looked at their grand accomplishment - Painting a large, red "SOS" sign on the roof of the mall.

Cindy looked at the horizon & saw the last wisps of sunlight vanishing. Up on the roof, it was already dark enough to be dusk.

"Come on," Cindy said, "I don't want to be up here when it's dark."

"Neither do I," Jojo agreed, "We can put all this stuff away tomorrow."

Cindy & Jojo walked across the roof to the roof entrance & climbed back into the mall. After walking through a employee-only corridors, they were back inside the mall proper.

"I feel grubby," Cindy complained, "I think I'm going to take a shower first before going back."

"What'cha goin' to wear?" Jojo asked, "Are you going to put grubby clothes back onto you once you shower?"

Cindy thought for a moment, then said, "Why can't I just walk back through the mall in a towel? It's not like anyone is going to see me."

"Didn't answer the question, though," Jojo said, now slightly being witty with his tone, "Unless you've got something already stashed away."

"No," Cindy replied, playing along with Jojo's playful tone, "I don't have any sleeping wear planned."

With a wry smile, she said, "Why don't YOU pick out something for me in a store so I have something to wear when I get out of the shower?"

"You're going to trust me to pick something out for you?" Jojo replied with a grin.

"It's going to cover all the areas a normal bathing suit would cover," she said in a semi-serious tone, "And don't forget slippers. These tiles are cold."

Suddenly, Cindy broke out into a sprint towards the maintenance shower. She shouted, "You don't have much time!"

Jojo just saw her run away, too slow to really react except to snap his fingers in frustration. Quickly, he looked around for a clothing store & began to run towards it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He was cute. Scraggly but cute. Irresponsible but cute. Playful but by no means smart.

Why were guys always such a mixed bag? Why couldn't they, for once, be "the entire package"?

Cindy took her time in the shower. There was no need to rush. She was sweaty & dirty from having been on the roof for a while with Jojo, painting their sign. She had bits of paint on her.

Did she really want to keep flirting with Jojo? She respected Laura's opinion but Jojo hadn't slacked off once while painting the sign. In fact, he had been more into it then she was.

Her mother had once said, "You never knew how much you needed something until it's no longer there."

How much would she miss Jojo? More then her parents? More then Mr. Anderson?

The world had become so abstract so suddenly that she couldn't even begin to feel the terrible pangs of loss one would normally have. Normally, she'd know that she'd have set up a psychological "wall" around her psyche so that the complete loss of life on the planet wouldn't upset her as much. However, she just couldn't fathom that what they were facing was permanent. There HAD to be a way to reverse whatever had happened.

People just didn't vanish suddenly. They just couldn't.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jojo was waiting for a dripping wet Cindy to come out of the shower. Once out of the shower & with a towel wrapped around her, he presented her bedroom garments.

"Light pink," she commented, looking at the pajamas, "How dainty."

"It felt very soft," Jojo replied with a smile.

"Mmmmm," she said, feeling the fabric.

"Oh," Jojo added, "And these."

Cindy couldn't help but laugh when she saw them.

"Those?" She asked Jojo, looking directly at them.

"They match," Jojo meekly argued.

Cindy paused for a minute, lokoing at Jojo. Finally, she said, "Well? Aren't you going to give a woman her privacy?"

Jojo's face suddenly went blank. "Oh, uh," he stammered, "Right." Jojo quickly left.

Jojo would see, after a few moments, a woman dressed in light pink pajamas wearing the gaudiest fluffy pink bunny slippers ever created.

"You can keep the bunny slippers," Jojo attested, which caused both of them to laugh.

As they laughed, they failed to hear a distant jet flying overhead.

=============================

PART LX


"Jesus," Laura muttered to herself, standing at the entrance of the store where they had "camped" out. It wasn't what was there that upset her, it was what WASN'T there.

The security gate to the store was open.

Laura walked back to her's & Wally's tent. Wally was still asleep but not for long as Laura shook him awake.

"Guess who forgot to lower the security gate last night?" Laura asked rhetorically.

"Huh?" Wally asked, just emerging from his slumber, "Uh, oh. Well, maybe they got up early or something." Wally fell immediately back to sleep.

Laura got back out of the tent. She could envision Cindy getting up early, but Jojo? Jojo wouldn't even flutter his eyelids unless he had to before 10 AM.

Just then, she could see Cindy walk into the store, fully dressed. Laura felt a little sheepish, having run to Wally for nothing. Cindy noticed Laura & walked over to her.

"Oh, great," Cindy began, "You guys are up."

"I am, at least," Laura smiled, "Wally's still snoozing."

"Oh," Cindy replied, her tone changing, "Well, breakfast is ready if you guys want to eat."

"Breakfast?" Laura asked.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally looked, felt & acted as though he had been dragged out of bed two hours too early. The menu in front of him was out-of-focus. He tried & failed to stifle two obnoxious yawns.

"What's the special?" He asked with a tired smile.

"Bacon & scrambled eggs," Cindy replied, a bit too cheerfully for the time of day.

"Sounds wonderful," Wally replied, placing the menu back on the table.

Within ten minutes, all four of them were eating breakfast at one of the restaurants inside of the mall. They sat in a four-person booth, with Wally & Laura on one side & Cindy & Jojo on the other.

"Jojo," Wally said, slightly more awake then before, "The home fries are excellent. My compliments to you."

"Dude," Jojo replied, "Much thanks but that was Cindy's idea. She spotted them in the cooler."

Laura was personally amazed but didn't show it. First, onion rings. Now, breakfast. Maybe it really did take a crisis to bring out the best in people.

'Probably because no one else would do it for him,' she thought to herself, concealing a quick little grin as she continued to eat.

"When you guys are ready," Cindy stated, "We'd like to show you something."

Laura & Wally stopped eating & just looked at each other. Then, they looked over at Cindy & Jojo.

"What?" Wally asked, his mouth half-full with eggs & bacon.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Wow," Wally stated, looking at it.

"Took us the rest of the day but we did it," Jojo stated proudly.

Wally looked at the 'SOS' sign that Cindy & Jojo had painted on the roof of the mall. There was no doubt that, anyone flying lower then one-thousand feet would be able to see it as clear as day. Heck, maybe even as far up as a mile.

"Well," Wally said, looking up at the rest of the group, "That's one item we can scratch off our 'to-do' list."

"What else is there to do?" Cindy asked.

"Guns & advertising," Wally replied, matter-of-factually, then repeated in a much quieter voice, as though deep in thought, "Guns & advertising." He began to walk back to the roof entrance.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo whined, "Why do THEY get the cool job?"

"Because," Wally replied, "Laura knows more about weapons then all of us combined. Besides, it gives the chicks a chance to be chicks & me a chance to grill you on how you're doing with Cindy."

Jojo looked over & saw Wally smiling a big smile. Jojo returned the smile.

They both walked over to one of the mall security vehicles & got in. After a few guesses as to which key started the vehicle, Wally found the right one.

Wally & Jojo drove away.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"So what happens if someone tries to enter the mall with all of us gone?" Cindy asked.

"They can't get in," Laura replied, "Unless they break a door down. Don't worry, our shopping trip won't take that long."

"So," Cindy asked, driving out of the mall's parking lot, "What are we going to be shopping for?"

"Lots of guns. Lots of ammo," replied Laura, matter-of-factually, "As much as we can stuff into this car."

"What about grenades?" Cindy asked, slightly sarcastically.

Laura looked over at her, smiling.

"If there's a military base nearby," she said, "Why not? Ever throw a grenade before?"

"I threw out my back once," Cindy quipped, "Threw a pajama party when I was ten. Neither of them went as well as I had hoped."

Laura laughed & Cindy couldn't help but smile as they artfully dodged cars still eternally stuck in driving lanes. With the interior car noise, their attention on dodging the stationary vehicles & their ever-increasing distance from the mall, they failed to hear a jet fly directly over the mall...A mall with a very large sign now on it's roof.

[steve]

PART LXI


"This sucks."

Jojo & Wally got out of their vehicle. Wally locked the doors & they both began to walk.

"Well," Wally replied, "Just be thankful that we got as far as we did. The bridge up ahead is packed with cars & there's no way we can get across it, short of removing all of the cars from it."

"So, why don't we?" Jojo asked.

"If we have time after we get to the radio station, we will," Wally said, "I'm getting tired of all these stagnant cars blocking our way & slowing us down. If we're going to live in this area for any length of time, then we've got to start being able to move around a lot more conveniently then we have been. That means, these cars have got to go."

"Good thing the radio station isn't that far away," Jojo commented out loud.

"What?" Wally asked, "You don't want the exercise?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Finally," Laura said, seeing the outdoors sporting goods store up ahead.

They drove into the parking lot & parked the car. Getting out, hey began to walk to the sportings goods store's entrance.

"Remember," Laura said, checking her pistol, "This place might have those crazy people in there. Just follow me & back me up. Are you ready?" Cindy nodded, also holding a pistol.

The store, predictably, was empty. This didn't prevent Laura from still calling out, "Hello? Is anyone in here? Hello?"

The storefront was empty. The inventory room was also empty. So, too, was the office, the bathroom & a utilities room. After a few tense moments of searching for anyone, they both lowered their weapons.

"OK," Laura declared, "Let's load up."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Here it is," Wally said with more then a bit of sarcastic enthusiasm. They both looked at the squat, two-level brick office building. It couldn't have been more non-descript if it had tried.

"Great," Jojo replied, "I've been meaning to listen to some tunes."

They both walked up to the building & cautiously walked through the front doors.

"Hello?" Wally announced, "Anyone in here?"

Silence.

"Dude," Jojo stated, "Do we have to go into 'SWAT' mode & check every room?"

"We should," Wally said, "If we want to make sure we're safe in here."

From room to room, Wally & Jojo searched for anyone. Nothing. No one in the lounge. No one in the on-air studio. No one in the offices. No one in the bathroom.

The entire building, both floors, were completely empty.

"You know," Jojo stated, "I almost wish that there were more of these crazies running around so at least we'd have the expectation that they might be around. This is too suspenseful, always having to check everywhere."

"I like the fact that they're so sparse," Wally countered, "It keeps us safe & gets our job done easier."

"Maybe there's so few of these things around because those two security guys at the mall shot them all," Jojo conjectured.

"Maybe," Wally reasoned, "Or maybe there's less sane people around because of that as well. After all, look at what they were doing with Cindy."

"Yeah," Jojo said quietly, "I guess you're right."

They went back into the on-air studio. Neither of them knew the first thing about operating radio station equipment.

"This is going to take awhile," Wally commented to himself, out loud.

"Dude," Jojo said in an upbeat fashion, "We've got all day. Can't be that hard. Not like DJs are rocket scientists or something."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Cindy's arms were getting tired. Sweat was beginning to bead & roll down her forehead. She swore that she had pulled something in her back.

Fortunately, before Cindy could publicly throw in the towel & complain, Laura said the magic words.

"OK," Laura stated quickly, "That's it. Time to go home."

'About time,' Cindy thought to herself. They had left just enough room in the car for themselves & that was it. Cindy couldn't believe that they would ever need all that ammunition & spare firearms.

Just then, Cindy thought she heard something. At first, it sounded like a steady breeze.

Just before she was going to mention it to Laura, Laura said, "Sounds like a car coming."

Cindy's eyes lit up. It DID sound like a car slowly driving down the road. Laura ran to the road & she could glimpse a vehicle manuevering around the stagnant cars on the road.

"Should we signal them?" Cindy asked, beginning to walk towards Laura.

Laura darted away from the road & towards the car.

"Go behind the store!" She commanded, "Now!"

Cindy was incredulous, watching Laura leap into their car & begin to start it. The vehicle, whatever it was, was getting closer to the store.

========================

PART LXII


"Hello. We are survivors of the disappearing phenomenon which has apparently occurred worldwide. This phenomenon appears to have caused most humans to have disappeared by a means that we have yet to identify. Not all humans disappeared, though; Some appear to have been driven mad by this phenomenon & will attack any living human."

"Our best hope for survival in these new conditions, as well as it's understanding, lies in all of us banding together in one central location."

"Please meet us at West River Mall during the daylight hours."

Wally & Jojo listened to the recording. They looked at each other to gauge each other's reaction.

"Dude," Jojo tried to say in a serious voice, "You have such a sweet, dulcet tone."

Jojo began to grin & then laughed.

"Shut up," Wally said, trying to stifle a giggle, "That could have been your voice, you know."

"Nah," Jojo replied, "My voice sucks. You sound like one of those TV announcers or something."

"Well," Wally said, "Let's see if we can get this equipment to play it in a loop over the air. The sooner we can get back to the mall, the better."

"Yeah," Jojo replied, "I bet the ladies are already back from the gun store, wondering what's taking us so long to make a recording & loop it."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Cindy & Laura could both see the vehicle now. It was a black sports utility vehicle with tinted windows. It dodged the cars when it had to & drove slowly along the curb when it was more convenient. It was only moments away from driving past the store.

It was remarkable how quickly Laura had managed to drive their car around & behind the back of the store. Of course, the mystery vehicle was by no means breaking any speed records.

"What happens if they stop at the store?" Cindy whispered to Laura. She felt foolish, whispering when the vehicle was still hundreds of yards away with it's windows rolled up.

"We run," Laura deadpanned, no sarcasm in her voice.

"But I thought we wanted people to notice us!" Cindy replied.

"I want to know who is noticing us, though," Laura reasoned, "And why."

They both watched as the vehicle kept driving down the road. In another moment or so, they'd witness whether or not the vehicle would keep on driving or stop at the store they were behind.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Success!" Jojo exclaimed, throwing both of his arms into the air.

They both listened as the recording replayed itself over & over again over the airwaves. Wally turned off a car radio from a car sitting in the middle of the street.

"Let's go home," Wally declared, overacting with a false sense of bravado, "Our work here is finished."

"Now if we could simply flood all the other stations as well," Jojo remarked.

"One thing at a time," Wally reasoned, "We should go back to the mall to see if the ladies are back yet. No doubt that they are."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Thank goodness," Cindy said with relief, "They didn't even slow down."

"If they're not not coming here, though," Laura wondered out loud, "Where the heck are they going to?"

"Maybe they're just driving through," Cindy deduced, "And this is our only chance to flag them down."

"Let's follow them," Laura declared suddenly, "See if they're really heading out of town."

"How?" Cindy asked, "We can't use the car, that's full of ammo & stuff. We can't use a car in general, they'd spot us easily."

"We run," Laura merely said, turning around & beginning to jog in the direction that the vehicle was going in. Cindy couldn't believe it; She attempted to say something but simply started jogging behind Laura.

They were both fortunate that the stagnant traffic was keeping the vehicle from reaching a speed above 15 MPH.

'Maybe Cindy was right,' Laura thought, desperately trying to both keep up with the vehicle & yet keep her distance, 'Maybe we just missed our chance to make some new friends... Or we just avoided having to deal with a new enemy.'

As the two of them tailed the vehicle, they wondered if they vehicle would ever stop. They certainly wouldn't be able to tail the vehicle on foot forever. Worse still, they would still have to go back for their ammunition-laden car later anyway.

=============================

Laura looked behind her & saw Cindy, running between cars. Laura then looked in front of her & saw the black sports utility vehicle off in the distance.

'We're going to lose them,' she thought to herself, realizing that the vehicle had a nice stretch of open road ahead of it. As badly as Laura wanted to see where the vehicle was going, they weren't cheetahs & they couldn't pursue the vehicle any farther.

Laura allowed Cindy to catch up to her. Cindy sounded exhausted & Laura thought to herself that it was probably a good idea to stop now before Cindy collapsed from exhaustion. Laura stifled a smirk, visualizing herself carrying Cindy over her shoulder.

"We lost them," Cindy said, a mixture of exhaustion & disappointment leaking out of her voice. She sagged her shoulders to accentuate her comment. To Laura, Cindy looked legitimately ashamed at not being able to keep up.

"Look," Laura began to say, "We didn't know who was in that vehicle or..." She was soon interrupted by an unfamiliar noise. It came from in front of them.

Laura & Cindy both turned towards the direction of the vehicle. Off in the distance, they saw two red tail-lights. The vehicle appeared to be leaning & then the tail-lights were turned off. The vehicle was stationary.

Laura just looked back towards Cindy.

"I don't know if we're lucky or cursed," She muttered out loud.

"Depends on who's in the vehicle," Cindy replied.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"I don't see their car," Wally commented, parking their vehicle near the mall.

"Maybe they're at the loading docks. You know, because of all the stuff," Jojo replied, asking, "So how much should we lean into them that we beat them back to the mall?"

"When you're dating someone," Wally said, "You tend not to joke around like that. Just a little tip in case you & Cindy get a little more serious."

Both Wally & Jojo got out of the car & began walking towards the mall.

"I take it we do the manly thing by unloading the stuff for them when they come back?" Jojo asked.

"Yeah," Wally answered, "That's the manly thing to do."

"Well that sucks," Jojo said, unlocking the door to the mall & entering it.

Wally just resolved himself to remain silent. Jojo would learn, Wally thought to himself.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Yeah," the man said tersely into a headset, "We've got a delay. Flat tire."

Laura & Cindy could see the two men in the distance. They both looked large, muscular & didn't sound very pleasant. They didn't look "crazy," though, like the people they had seen previously.

The other man was jacking up the vehicle to change the flat tire.

"Look," the headset man said, "We're five minutes ETA to the destination. Yeah, the mall."

The headset man paused, then said, "We can handle it. Look, we can handle it." After another pause, he replied, "If there's more, then there's more. Look, you're going to get what you're going to get. I can't guarantee that there won't be casualties. They shoot first, we're going to shoot back. They don't want to come with us, we're going to shoot back."

There was another pause, then he said after exhaling, "Yes, sir." He then looked over at the man changing the tire.

"It's still a go," the headset man said to the man changing the tire. The man changing the tire just shook his head.

"F***ing eggheads," the other man muttered, putting the spare tire on, "Do they still want us to use tranquilizers?"

"We're going to use whatever it takes to bring these guys in," the headset man replied tersely.

Laura & Cindy didn't need to hear any more of the conversation. Laura turned to Cindy & whispered, "Run back to the mall. Warn Wally & Jojo not to let these people see them."

"What about you?" Cindy asked.

"I'm going to tail them. Just go. Go to the mall. Run," Laura commanded.

Cindy looked back at the black sports utility vehicle. In another moment or so, the tire would be changed & it would be back on the road.

Cindy began to run towards the mall. If she was lucky, she'd have enough of a jump to get to the mall before the other guys did.

If she didn't get there in time... Who knows what could happen?

=======================

PART LXIV


Her legs felt like they were burning. Her chest felt like it was burning. Cindy felt as though, literally, she was going to collapse & die.

Cindy, however, saw the mall in the distance. Her fatigue-addled mind narrowed her vision to one target & one target only - The Mall. She ignored the cars sitting silently in the parking lot. She ignored the a slight breeze whistling across her path, pushing the occasional soda cup or promotional flier around nearby.

By cutting across streets, lawns & even over a few fences, Cindy was now close enough to see the mall in detail.

If she could only make it before the SUV did...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Laura watched as the SUV continued to dodge the idle cars blocking the streets. Fortunately for her, the SUV was taking it's sweet time swerving around the traffic. Perhaps it was because they had already blown out one tire & could ill afford a second occurrence. Perhaps they simply didn't feel that time was of the essence. Perhaps it was another choice altogether different.

Regardless of why the SUV was slowly driving along, it was giving Cindy the chance to get to the mall first. That was the important thing. That was the only thing.

As Laura followed the SUV, she noticed the SUV was slowing down again. She laid low, crouching behind a vehicle & peering at the SUV from underneath the vehicle she was hiding behind.

Suddenly, the SUV stopped & began to back up as much as it could. She saw one of the front doors open & one of the two people get out.

'Spotted!' ran across her mind like an instinct.

She was outnumbered. Odds were that she was also outgunned. Worse then being outgunned, though, was that she was probably out-trained as well. These people didn't look like they were new to the handling of a gun & she definitely wouldn't be able to flip them like she had playfully flipped Wally what felt like so many years ago.

She had only two choices : Fight or flight. She needed to have made that decision seconds ago but still needed the decision as soon as possible, nonetheless.

'There is a third choice,' her instinct told her, 'Risky...but rewarding.'

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

She fumbled with the keys, nearly dropping them at the glass entrance doors to the mall. Her biggest fear, that the SUV would spot her as she was running towards the entrance, had not materialized.

Her legs absolutely ached & her chest felt like it was on fire after having run so hard for so long. Miraculously, she managed to slip the key into the lock & unlock the door. Instinctually, she entered the mall, locked the door behind her & began to run, screaming all the way.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo said, manipulating his game controller, "This game is awesome."

"I can't believe you actually had this game on pause for...How long?" Wally asked.

"From like, yesterday or the day before," Jojo stated, "I hope I didn't burn the screen out. That'd suck."

Wally watched as Jojo deftly dodged pixelated enemies, blasting them to smithereens while avoiding damage of any kind. It looked to Wally that Jojo had practiced to the point of near-perfection.

"Too bad the ladies aren't back yet," Wally commented, "I really can't rest until they've come back safely."

"Games are an excellent stress-reliever, man," Jojo commented, "Just take out your anger on something that doesn't exist. If the day pisses you off, grab something powerful & just blow it to bits."

"Yeah," Wally began to agree, "I suppose..."

Just then, both of them heard something.

They heard Cindy screaming out their names.

Wally & Jojo just looked at each other before bolting out of the gaming store.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Laura ran as hard as she possibly could into the forest. She could hear at least one pair of footsteps following her. By her aural estimate, she had about a twenty second lead on whomever it was chasing her.

The secret, Laura knew, would be to get out of sight as quickly as she could.

The next big secret would be to make sure that there would be only one of them chasing her.

Laura looked back & saw the faintest glimpse of the man chasing after her. A pistol was in his hand. In a guess, she figured it was the man who changed the tire.

Laura, racing through thick pine branches & scraggly underbrush, saw a slight hill up ahead with a huge tree.

"Perfect," she muttered.

It would be perfect...Either in executing her plan or getting herself executed.

=========================

PART LXV


"What do we do?"

Jojo looked over at Wally, waiting for a response.

Wally paused, thinking about what a nearly hysterical (not to mention virtually exhausted) Cindy had to report.

Wally looked over at Jojo & merely said, "We wait for Laura."

"And if the SUV comes first?" Jojo asked.

"It's three against two," Wally reasoned, "And they don't know that we know that."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

'One chance,' Laura thought, 'And only one.'

As she raced just past the hill with the large tree, she quickly spun around & began to climb the tree. She climbed the trunk on the side facing away from her pursuer. She concentrated all her energy with climbing about thirty feet off the ground, using only those branches that faced away from the direction of the pursuer.

As soon as she had climbed as high as she had wanted to, she saw the pursuer run past the tree.

Quickly, she aimed her rifle on the back of the man.

She saw the pursuer pause, briefly stopping to survey where Laura may have gone.

Just as he turned around to face the tree, Laura fired one shot.

She had aimed for the chest, as she had been trained to do in the military. It was the largest target on the human body.

In her excitement to get off a round, though, she had aimed too high.

The bullet tore a chunk of the man's head clean off. In a flash, Laura saw the upper-left part of the man's head disappear in a cloud of red mist.

Laura didn't even realize how long she was perched there, on a tree branch about the thickness of a rolled-up Sunday newspaper, with her mouth open. Two men dead, she thought, as she shook like a leaf. This one could have killed her easily. This one was like her - Trained to kill.

Snapping back into reality, she quickly climbed down from the tree. There was no sound. No footsteps. Not even tree branches rustling.

Laura walked over to the man she had just shot. Sure enough, he was dead. You can't miss a chunk of your face & still manage to live. That's just not how the laws of nature worked.

Instinctually, she looked through his pockets. A matchbook. Car keys. Some slips of paper. A wallet. A...

"Hey!" She heard a male voice say off in the distance.

Laura froze immediately, nearly laying down on the ground.

"Hey!" The voice repeated, "Did you get her?"

Laura could hear him slowly walking towards her location.

'He can't possibly see me,' She asked herself, beginning to crawl backwards, 'Can he?'.

Suddenly, Laura had an inspiring thought. It was also a risky one.

[steve]

PART LXVI


Laura knew that he'd find the body. The question would be, though... WHEN would he find the body? Laura was hoping that he was a slow, cautious walker. As she continued to dash through the woods, she concentrated on her objective.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dead. There was no mistaking it.

He was a professional. He knew the risks. He knew the rewards. So did the other guy. So did they all.

All of them had learned to make partners but never friends. To act as though they had just met each other at a friendly baseball game. All of them knew that tomorrow might be the end. You lived for today & if you were smart, you stashed a little something away for tomorrow. Stash enough away & you could escape a life of first names, shady objectives, shady partners & equally shady superiors.

So few of his kind ever received the type of burials a normal man or woman ever got - The casket, the wake, the ceremony & so forth. Often, there was a casket but not a body. Sometimes, there wasn't even a casket... Just a letter from someone high up explaining how he was a good soldier & served his country proudly.

The man turned around to go back to the SUV. The mission was compromised.

He would need back-up.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Laura waited. She waited for what felt like forever.

With her adrenaline gone, she felt her eyelids grow heavy. The sweat on her arms was beginning to dry up & feel sticky. The rifle felt as though it had been carved from stone.

Then, she saw something moving in the woods. It was a man, walking casually back towards his SUV.

Bingo.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The man saw his SUV & began to walk towards it. Walking from the clearing, he began to wonder what he would say to that other person on the other end of the receiver.

It would be a distraction that he would never regret... Because he would never get the time to regret it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Laura stood up, ignoring the hot shell casing beside her that was still rolling on the ground.

There was no sound. Nothing. Laura slowly aimed her rifle again at the man, now lying on his back, now lying in a pool of his own blood.

The head shot was just for insurance. It was to convince those foolish enough that getting back up into the fight was no longer an option.

Laura had had enough. The rifle, already feeling like it was made of stone, now felt like it was a barbell - A heavy barbell.

She didn't have the energy to do anything anymore. She had lost the will to fight. The will to breathe. The will to function coherently. She was trained to act like a killer but not to live like one.

The rifle fell from Laura's hands down onto the ground. It didn't even bounce, it's resignation reserved to a lowly, single thump. It's final resting place was only a few inches away from the shell casing that had been inside of it only moments earlier.

Slowly, Laura began to walk down the road. She knew she was unarmed. She knew the crazies might get her. She knew there might be more black SUVs with more shady men with more firearms. However, she didn't care anymore.

She was through with everything... This time, for good.

==========================

PART LXVII


Laura tried to sleep but she couldn't.

Laura was tired, it was the evening & she was sleeping in a real bed.

Laura still couldn't sleep.

She almost muttered to herself, "I want to go back to the sawmill." She could see herself there, with Wally, as they fixed the place up. She saw happy townspeople willing to turn a blind eye towards the fact that they wanted to live rather then fight another useless, pointless war that some politicians dreamt up just to stay in office.

Laura & Wally would be hiding from the government but they'd be happy. They'd be living a rustic, anachronistic life, but they'd be happy. She'd have to put up with Jojo & all his crappy antics... But they'd be happy.

Why would they be happy? Because they would be together. They would be together & be able to affect their lives however they wanted. They'd...They'd...

Laura touched just underneath her eye & felt tears. The tears told her what her heart didn't want to admit - It was all a lie. A big, big lie that she could live happily ever after with Wally. They'd be hunted down by trackers at the sawmill. Either the trackers would get to them directly or a disgruntled (or patriotic) townperson would tell the trackers.

All she wanted was to be happy. She wanted to be happy & be surrounded by happy people.

How did it go so wrong? How did it get from hiding out from the trackers to having to kill crazy people & people who sounded like they came from the government?

Her nose felt stuffy & she could feel it clog up.

She wanted to go home. She wanted to be with Wally. She wanted to be happy.

She just didn't want to be here.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally's dream played back like a weird tape recording of the day's events. He saw himself in third person. He saw close-ups, he saw wide angled shots, he saw weirdly-angled shots. Voices were muffled; Voices were booming. Some shots were foggy while others were crystal clear.

There was Laura, leaning against the SUV, numb to the world.

There was Jojo, driving the "Ammo Car" back to the motel.

Cindy was talking softly to Laura about...something. They were mumbling.

Wally's big plan for advertising their existance had backfired. The government, or someone acting just like them, wanted them dead. He replayed a warped version of Jojo repeating, "I didn't find no darts, Man. No darts, man. No darts, man. No darts, man. No darts, man. No darts, man. No darts, man..."

No darts. How were they supposed to be brought in alive? Bullets aren't trained to be non-lethal. They hit what they hit & that's all there is to it.

Wally had failed at being a leader. He had jeopardized everyone's safety. Most importantly of all, he had jeopardized Laura's safety.

He pictured, in his mind, the sawmill. The abandoned sawmill with the waist-high grass. If only they had stayed at the sawmill...

A smile slowly crept onto his face... It was a smile that he didn't deserve to have & a smile he knew wouldn't last...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jojo looked over at Cindy. She was sleeping like a log. She was sleeping next to him.

Four months ago, Jojo would've killed for a moment like this - A total babe sleeping with him. A total babe stripped down to panties & a T-shirt, sleeping with him...in a bed...knowingly. She had even briefly cuddled his arm before rolling back over onto her other side.

'If we hadn't painted that sign...' Jojo thought to himself, 'None of this would've happened. No planes seeing it overhead, no car with deadly people driving up.'

Good intentions, Jojo reminded himself, paved the road to Hell. All he wanted to do was to show the rest that he could work. He wasn't lazy. He wasn't stupid. He was just...reserved. He was laid back.

It was bad enough encountering the occasional crazy person. The people Laura shot, though, weren't crazy. They were just regular people who had tried to gun them down.

For all Jojo knew, they were alive because of Laura's persistence & a flat tire. They weren't alive because of Jojo. They weren't better off because of Jojo.

Jojo looked over at Cindy, still asleep. What had he done to deserve this moment with her? How much had he sacrificed or nearly sacrificed?

Tomorrow was a new day. Tomorrow would be a different day. Unfortunately, though, tomorrow would always be a deadlier day because now they knew that normal people were after them, too. No crazy mall people pretending to be a Sheriff. No crazy people acting like some zombie.

Jojo closed his eyes & tried to think of the beautiful marijuana garden that he was going to build next to the abandoned sawmill. It would be perfect...Except it wouldn't have Cindy in it.

Jojo opened up his eyes again. The sawmill wouldn't be worth it if it didn't have Cindy. The motel, where they were staying for the night, had Cindy.

As Jojo went back to sleep, he wondered what they would do tomorrow. Tomorrow, though, would have to wait.

===========================

PART LXVIII


"I figured I'd find you here."

Jojo saw Wally searching the black SUV in the motel parking lot where they were staying.

"Did you figure you'd find me here around 5 AM?" Wally asked.

Jojo paused before finally saying, "I dunno."

After another awkward pause, Jojo asked, "You find anything exciting in there?"

"Nothing obvious," Wally reported, "But these guys had to be close by. I mean, the roof sign went up the night before last. You figure that with all the cars blocking the road, these guys couldn't have been more then one hundred miles away."

"I talked with Cindy," Jojo said, "And she said that the car was coming from the opposite direction from where the planes were coming from."

"I couldn't find any maps," Wally replied, "They could've taken a wrong turn or had purposefully circuitous route to hide from where they were truly coming from."

"Or maybe they had a stop along the way," Jojo stated.

Wally just shook his head & stayed silent, leaning up against the car & staring into outer space.

"Dude," Jojo asked, "How's Laura doin'?"

"She's doin'," Wally replied, "I think she's gotten tired of killing people, regardless of whether it's in self-defense or not."

"Yeah," Jojo replied, not saying anything else.

"So," Wally asked, going back to looking through the SUV, "How come you're up so early?"

"I dunno," Jojo replied, "I just felt...Well..."

Wally leaned out of the SUV to look at Jojo as he finished his response.

"I feel so tired," Jojo replied, as though a weight was finally off his shoulders, "I mean, for the first time, I'm, like, really scared. There's normal people after us. I mean, that's how it sounded to Cindy. They're hunting us 'cause we're still...normal. Or something."

Wally thought out loud for a moment, "These people knew they were going to survive this...process...Or whatever happened to us. They were prepared for it. They were taking orders from someone else."

"Yeah," Jojo stated, "But who? And from where?"

Wally thought for a moment, his eyes slowly widening. Jojo didn't pick up on it.

"I think we'll be able to retrace their steps," Wally stated with a degree of certainty.

"How?" Jojo asked.

"Find a gun & some ammo," Wally stated with certainty, "We're going hunting."

======================

PART LXIX


"We're going to be gone for a while," Wally told Cindy.

"OK," Cindy replied, "Where to?"

"We don't know yet," Wally said, "But I think we can find out where these guys were coming from."

"Have you told Laura?" Cindy asked.

"She's still asleep," Wally stated, "And I don't want to wake her up. Once she wakes up, just tell her we'll be gone for a while."

"Sure," Cindy replied.

"In case anyone tries to infiltrate this place, I'd rather you guys flee then fight," Wally reasoned.

"OK," Cindy agreed, "But where to? I mean, if we flee, you won't know where we'd go."

Wally thought for a moment, trying to think of any place distinctive nearby.

"How close is your parent's home?" Wally asked.

"By foot?" Cindy asked, "That's a distance."

"Regardless," Wally stated, "If anything bad happens, drop everything & head to your house & stay there."

"OK," Cindy replied, adding after a pause, "Do you guys really think you can find this place?"

"Maybe," Wally admitted, "I hope."

"What are you going to do if you find it?" Cindy asked.

"That's a good question," Wally answered after thinking about it for a moment, "I hope I'll have to ponder that for real before the day is over."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo asked, climbing into the front passanger seat of the SUV, "You going to tell me how we're going to retrace their steps?"

Wally, sitting in the driver's seat, started the engine & shifted the vehicle into drive.

"We're going to find out just how much of an off-roading vehicle this actually is," Wally replied, cryptically.

Cindy watched as the SUV drove off. She didn't much care for being a babysitter but she didn't have much choice. 'At least,' she thought, 'Laura was still asleep.'

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"OK," Wally stated, stopping the vehicle & turning off the engine, "Here's how we're going to try & find these guys."

Wally pointed to the instrument panel on the SUV. "See the trip odometer?" Wally asked.

"Yeah," Jojo replied, "So?"

"OK," Wally began, "We drove the SUV all the way back to the mall & back to where Cindy & Laura said they first saw this thing. We've used the exact route up to this point."

"OK," Jojo replied.

"Right," Wally acknowledged, "We used this many miles to get back to this point," scribbling the miles down on a piece of paper.

"Now," Wally continued, "We subtract that number from the trip odometer, that leaves us with the miles from wherever they started the trip odometer to the motel. We subtract that exact same number again & that puts us right back to this point here. That leaves us with..."

Jojo finished the calculations before Wally said it.

"Sixty some-odd miles," Jojo replied, before adding, "But this proves nothing, Wally. I mean, sixty miles until they started using the vehicle. Maybe they drove to someplace to use this vehicle. Maybe the trip odometer is useless."

"I have a hunch that it isn't," Wally replied, "I bet these people wanted to know how many miles it'd be to the mall."

"Look at this," Wally said, pointing to the gas tank, "That's a relatively full tank of gas. Most people, when going someplace they've never been before, fill up the gas tank before heading out. It's just practical sense. They filled up the gas tank & started out. The trip odometer & the amount of gas in the gas tank roughly match."

"Fine," Jojo stated with a slight bit of frustration, "But even if all that is correct, we still have sixty miles to cover &, after this point, we have no idea where they came from. How are you going to figure that one out?"

"That's where the off-roading comes into play," Wally figured, "These people probably weren't one for backtracking. Cindy & Laura told us how they'd swerve up onto the shoulder just to keep moving along all these roads jammed full of cars."

"You figure they made tracks on the shoulders?" Jojo reasoned.

"This is a big, heavy vehicle with big, heavy tires & an even larger clearance. I don't think they were worried about leaving footprints behind," Wally summarized.

"Well," Jojo said, "Let's hunt for these bigfoot tracks. Sixty miles of them."

"Let's," Wally said.

===========================

PART LXX


"Where's Wally?"

Cindy looked over at a sleepy Laura, on her feet but just barely awake from her sleep.

"Wally & Jojo have an idea about where those two guys had come from," Cindy explained, "And they went out there to investigate it."

After a pause, Laura sleepily replied, "Great. So, what are we to do?"

"Well," Cindy replied, "If anyone other then Wally & Jojo comes near the motel, we're supposed to fall back to my parent's house & stay there."

Laura just nodded her head slowly.

"Great," she replied, "So, what are we to do until then?"

Cindy thought about that for a moment.

"There's a plaza down the street from this place," she mused, "Why not head there, grab some bathing suits & take a swim in the pool?" Cindy shrugged to accentuate her suggestion.

"Given what we've already been through," Laura reasoned, "That actually makes sense. Let me get some shoes on."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"There," Wally pointed out, noting the swerving tire tracks that jutted out briefly onto the grass by the side of the road.

"Not bad," Jojo remarked, "Four miles down & how many to go?"

"Too many," Wally said, "Let's just hope our luck keeps up."

Wally's words were soon to be short-lived. After another ten minutes of following the road, they came upon the entrance & exit ramps to a highway.

"Please tell me they didn't come here from the highway," Wally whined quietly.

"I think our trail just turned cold," Jojo commented.

"It sure didn't get any easier," Wally complained.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The plaza was a good half-mile away from the motel. They both carried firearms but neither of them used them or even had a thought that they'd have to use them. The plaza, like everything else they had encountered was empty & barren of life.

The only store that sold bathing suits was a generic clothing store. With their options limited, they wasted no time in selecting their suits.

"A two-piece?" Laura asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Hey," Cindy replied, "If you've got it..."

"Yeah, yeah..." Laura answered.

"What are you complaining about?" Cindy asked, "I know a lot of guys who go for the toned, chiseled look."

"I guess I've always been one of those types who want just a little more then what they've got," Laura confessed.

Cindy revealed a knowing smirk, saying, "It's not any prettier from where I'm sitting. Believe me."

"That's hard to believe," Laura said.

"Trust me," Cindy confessed, "As soon as you grow, you know; Because the guys won't stop looking at you."

"Yeah," Laura said, "I suppose you're right...," adding, "So, who do you want to be looked at by?"

Cindy paused for a moment, realizing the question was loaded. Slowly, she couldn't resist a smile.

"I'd have no problems if Jojo saw me in this," Cindy tried to say politely but her smile betrayed her.

Laura just gave Cindy a look, smirking the entire time.

"Ten bucks says you can make Jojo not say 'Dude' for an entire day," Laura said.

"Starting tomorrow," Cindy replied.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo asked, "I don't get it. What do you see?"

Jojo had followed Wally up the exit ramp of the highway. They had left the SUV at the mouth of the exit.

Wally looked in both directions of the highway, briefly running over to the middle of the highway which was separated by low, concrete barriers.

"I think we've found something better then tire tracks to follow," Wally commented with excitement.

"What?" Jojo asked.

[steve]

PART LXXI


Wally saw it & so did Jojo. Only Wally, though, understood what it meant.

"So, the car's banged up," Jojo admitted, looking at the front passanger side panel of the car. The dent was huge & Wally suspected that the front axle was bent as well.

"No, Jojo," Wally stated, pointing down the highway, "ALL the cars are banged up. ALL the cars have been pushed aside."

Jojo looked down the highway & saw that, indeed, it looked as though a path had been made through the stationary cars on the highway. Cars that should have been between the lines were, instead, strewn about. None were flipped over but all were now haphazardly shoved to the side & given a dent for a badge that they had been so.

"Dude," Jojo said, looking both up & down the highway, "It's in both directions."

"It's clear in both directions," Wally corrected Jojo, "But the path was cleared from one direction."

"Which one?" Jojo asked.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Wow, that's cold," Cindy said quickly, coming up from underneath the water & pushing back her hair.

"Brave soul," Laura commented, stepping onto the springboard. A standard springboard, it sat just two feet above the water's level.

"Look who's talking," Cindy replied, turning around to see Laura at the edge of the springboard. Before Cindy could say anything else, Laura assumed a diver's pose, jumped up & dived into the pool with authority. It was clear to Cindy that Laura had some prior training in diving.

As soon as Laura came up from under the water, Cindy asked, "You took diving lessons?"

"Our high school had a diving team," Laura stated, "It's a good way to rid your fear of heights."

"How high did you jump off from?" Cindy asked, genuinely curious.

"Olympic competition height," Laura replied.

"Wow," Cindy said, impressed.

Just then, they thought they heard a convoy of vehicles going down the road.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"See how all the cars have been pushed a certain way?" Wally asked, pointing to a few of the cars.

Jojo looked at Wally's examples & saw what Wally was saying. The cars had been pushed from behind, in the direction that the traffic had been going in.

"Yeah," Jojo replied, "It looks like they plowed the lane from behind the cars."

"Right," Wally confirmed, "Which is why we're going to go in the direction that it came from."

"Into the lion's den?" Jojo asked, rhetorically.

"Hopefully," Wally retorted, "To get some answers."

"Whomever did this," Jojo observed, "Probably won't like us walking up to them, asking them questions."

"Come on," Wally said, "I want to find out more before we go back to the ladies with what we've discovered."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was a convoy.

Laura & Cindy peered through the blinds of a window that looked out towards the street. Five olive green humvees drove past the motel & kept right on going. Neither one could clearly see inside any particular humvee.

"Oh my God," Cindy exclaimed quietly, "They're going in the direction that Wally & Jojo went off in. You don't think that they'll find them, do you?"

Laura watched as the humvees roared off into the distance.

"This is our chance," Laura muttered to herself, "They tried to find us. Now, we have to find where they go."

"Laura," Cindy objected, "We were told to stay here. We have to stay here. Wally & Jojo..."

"Wally & Jojo didn't have this opportunity," Laura interjected, "They're following tire tracks. We can follow the actual thing."

"Remember what happened the last time..." Cindy warned.

Laura made a face, stiffening her upper lip in frustration. The thought of pulling a trigger again made her uneasy. The thought, though, of letting this opportunity to discover a big truth behind an even larger mystery was too great to pass up.

"We'll leave a note," Laura stated, "And then we'll leave."

======================

PART LXXII


"Hey," Jojo said, "I just thought of something."

"Shoot," Wally said, watching the road while carefully driving through the open lane.

"What if they were sneaky & plowed past where we're supposed to exit? I mean, you'd think that they'd have some sense to cover their tracks or something, in case people like us ever showed up," Jojo said.

"That's the chance we take," Wally replied, "But I don't think they realized that we'd be out here. I'm beginning to suspect that we weren't meant to survive whatever process happened."

"So," Jojo asked, "How did we survive whatever happened?"

"That's a good question," Wally responded, "One that can best be answered by whomever is at the end of this very intriguing path that's been made for us."

Wally thought back to Laura & Cindy. He envisioned that they were still at the motel, probably sipping drinks & engaging in whatever women talked about when they knew men were not within earshot. The thought of them being safe made him smile for the briefest moment.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Laura," Cindy asked, "Aren't you going to change?"

"I am changed," Laura replied hastily, "Let's go."

Cindy had quickly gotten out of her bikini & had thrown on the first pair of jeans & short-sleeve shirt she could find. Laura had not bothered with such an elaborate makeover, settling to put on a pair of shorts over her existing one-piece bathing suit.

Laura, in the driver's seat, started the car & the two roared off in the direction that the convoy had been heading.

Cindy commented on what they both noticed immediately once they got out onto the road.

"I don't think they're getting out of the way for anything in their path," Cindy said as they drove past a car with a very recent gouge in it's side.

"Maybe they're in a rush," Laura stated, "That's good. That means they'll be paying attention to what's ahead of them instead of who's behind them."

"Yeah, well," Cindy reasoned, "We need to start paying attention to what's ahead of us. We can't even see them."

"But we can hear them," Laura replied, "And that's all that counts."

"I hope the guys are safe," Cindy commented out loud. It was a thought that Laura also shared.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"How many miles have we gone so far?" Jojo asked.

"We still have a ways to go," Wally reported, driving carefully down their opened lane. If someone was coming in the opposite direction, there would be no room for passing. It would be like two people meeting on a narrow bridge.

"Is there anything out here of any significance?" Wally asked, "Any airports or military bases? You have the map."

Jojo wrestled with the map but, after looking at for a moment, shook his head & looked up.

"Dude," Jojo replied, "We're moving away from the only military base in the entire area."

"So," Wally asked rhetorically, out loud, "What could be out here that's so important that someone made a lane through crowded but stopped traffic?"

"It's not like we're getting closer to a city," Jojo commented, looking back at the map.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"There they are!" Cindy exclaimed, pointing towards the line of humvees off in the distance.

Laura saw the faintest image of a line of humvees go up the exit ramp of the highway.

"That's weird," Cindy commented, "They're going up the wrong way."

"Not for them," Laura replied, "They must know what they're doing. Can you see if they're going down the wrong way on the highway?"

"Yeah," Cindy stated, "That's so weird. I've never seen anyone drive down the wrong side of a highway. Except in a movie, of course."

"We're going to have to follow them from the secondary roads," Laura replied, "Following them up there would be useless. They'd see us immediately."

"How are we going to do that?" Cindy asked.

"Drive fast & hope the shocks on this car hold up," Laura stated, adding, "Hold on."

==============================

PART LXXIII


"I think this is the exit," Jojo deadpanned.

A number of cars had been pushed, much like a snowplow pushes snow, to create a clear area just after the exit. It was the only spot on the entire highway that had all the lanes cleared of traffic.

"We've only got a couple of miles to go," Wally reported, "So we'd better start looking for something...Unusual."

"Like...?" Jojo asked.

"Anything that could have caused Earth's population to disappear," Wally said, half-joking.

"Right," replied Jojo, "I'll keep my eyes out for the aliens."

Wally smirked as they took the entrance ramp off of the highway.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Ow."

"Sorry," Laura quickly said, "You OK?"

Cindy was more injured by the seat belt strap holding her tight in her seat then the cosmetic tap she felt from her head hitting the roof of the car.

Laura had driven like a maniac down the secondary roads in an attempt to keep in sight of the highway. In some cases, she had slammed on the brakes or gone into heart-stopping turns where the wheels had left the pavement.

"I'll live," Cindy meekly replied, asking, "So, when do we check up on the highway to see if they're still driving down it?"

"We'll swing by it in a moment or two," Laura stated.

"If the car makes it," Cindy added.

"Yeah," Laura agreed, "If the car makes it."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo said, "Maybe we should ditch the SUV. I mean, what if 'they', whoever they are, are looking for it? You know?"

Wally stopped the vehicle, pulling it off to the side of the road. He looked over at Jojo.

"That's not a bad idea," Wally remarked, causing Jojo to be genuinely surprised, "We're only about two miles or so away, according to the odometer. I suggest we walk the rest of the way."

"Walk?!" Jojo exclaimed, even more surprised at Wally's recommendation then at accepting his advice of ditching the car.

"Sure," Wally reasoned, "Look, these guys are after us. Until we can get the drop on them, we need to lie as low as possible. Driving around in this big SUV, we're going to stick out like a sore thumb."

"So what do we do if they get the drop on us & we're hiking it?" Jojo asked.

"We simply lose them in the nearby woods," Wally suggested, "Or run away through some other landscape. Look, we'll ditch the SUV & come back to it so we can drive it back."

"Yeah," Jojo meekly agreed, not wanting to cause an argument with Wally. The thought of performing more walking was reprehensible to Jojo but Wally was right; They were marked men & being in the enemy's SUV wouldn't make things any better.

Wally drove back onto the road & headed for the nearest parking lot.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Holy crap!" Cindy exclaimed quietly, "We were ahead of them!"

Both Cindy & Laura, hidden inside the stopped cars on the highway, watched as the convoy barrelled down the opened lane. They cautiously poked their heads out after the convoy had passed them by about ten seconds.

"Come on," Laura said, opening the door of the car she was in, "We've got to catch up to them."

Cindy got out of the car she was in & the two ran off of the highway so they could continue their pursuit.

"Where could they possibly be going?" Cindy asked.

"Wherever it is," Laura said, getting into the driver's seat & starting the car, "They're doing it in a hurry."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"We're near some sort of industrial park," Wally commented, flipping through a local map.

"What?" Jojo asked, "A friggin' business did this?"

"Maybe," Wally admitted, "Or maybe not. Look, the street ahead is plowed just like the highway was. Clearly, whomever did this came from the industrial park."

"Out of curiousity, do we have any sort of plan once we get there?" Jojo asked.

"Observe," Wally answered simply, "The last thing we need to get into is a firefight."

"Yeah," Jojo replied & the two of them started cautiously walking near the plowed street towards the industrial park.

=========================

PART LXXIV


"Look at that," Wally said in stunned amazement.

"What?" Jojo asked.

"I think we found our building that these guys are operating out of," Wally reported.

"How can you tell?" Jojo asked.

Wally picked up a cigarette butt that was still smouldering. He held it up to Jojo's face.

"Oh," Jojo merely stated as Wally flicked the cigarette butt away.

Jojo looked at the building they were next to. There was nothing overly impressive about it. For the 1960's, it must have looked like your typical modern structure. A symphony of windows & brick siding, the five-story structure hadn't aged very well, either in appearance or in style.

"Shouldn't we hide or something?" Jojo asked, "After all, if this is a smoking area..."

"Right," Wally agreed, "They set a trap for us...I think it's time we set a trap for them."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"OK, turn here," Cindy stated. Laura turned the corner & they could see the highway again.

"Look!" Cindy exclamed, pointing a finger in their direction, "We beat them to the exit again!"

Both of them watched as the humvees slowly got off the highway in one continuous line. They were enough of a distance away so that only the most eagle-eyed observer would notice two women slouched in a car far away from the highway.

"We can't follow them in this," Laura stated, getting out of the car quickly.

As Cindy got out of the car, Laura continued, "And we've got to hurry up because they're leaving us in the dust!"

Laura & Cindy began to run in the direction that the humvees took off in.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"The power readings are way out of whack again," the bald-headed lab coat man complained.

"We were supposed to be back twenty-four hours ago, you know," the other lab coat man reasoned.

Wally & Jojo, hiding behind a nearby car, listened to the two men as they groused about their work. The men were near where they had found the cigarette butts earlier.

"You know what I heard?" the bald man said, "I heard they found all the coordinates to the enemy bases yesterday. Every single one of them."

"Whoop-de-freakin'-do," the other one replied, "Won't matter a hill of beans if we can't get back, though."

"It's too bad that we couldn't take a field trip or something," the bald man complained, "Damned if I couldn't go to the bank just once..."

They both laughed, with the other man replying, "I hear you, I hear you."

"Or load the next building to ours with centerfolds," the bald man said & the two of them nearly hit the ground with their knees they laughed so hard.

"At least some of them would've turned out normal," the other man said, with the other man replying, "What? I think the hunt would be better!"

The two giggled as they flicked their cigarette butts away & turned to go back into the building. Wally & Jojo just looked at each other for a moment as they heard the building door slam shut, followed by a locking sound.

"Why didn't we grab them up, man?" Jojo quietly seethed, "I thought that's what we had wanted!"

"We've got to go back & tell the women what we've seen! It's too risky as it is. The building ain't going nowhere. Look, if we had tried to snag them, we'd have had to drag them across how many miles before we got to a car. How were we supposed to keep him imprisoned? For how long?" Wally reasoned.

"So, dude," Jojo asked, "What now?"

Wally took one last look at the building.

"We leave," Wally announced, "And come back with a plan."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"I don't like this," Laura deadpanned as the two hid just at the edge of a clearing.

They saw five humvees stopped, two blocking a parking lot. At least ten people with automatic rifles drawn, slowly crept forward towards the black SUV that Wally & Jojo had driven.

A moment later, they saw people open up the SUV's doors & look inside. When Laura & Cindy didn't see anyone dragged out of the SUV, they turned towards each other.

"Where's Wally & Jojo?" Cindy asked.

"It's not where they are," Laura replied, looking back at the SUV, "It's 'will they know that their ride has been taken.'"

==============================

PART LXXV


"Clear," Laura & Cindy heard one of the men authoritatively say as he began to walk away from the SUV.

The scene looked ominous & threatening to the two young women. About a dozen well-armed men encircled the SUV like angry hornets who had just had their nest disturbed. A few were talking into walkie-talkies while others began what looked like a search of the surrounding area.

"Come on," Laura said, "We have to go before they find us."

"We can't leave Wally & Jojo to fall into this trap," countered Cindy, "They'll be killed for sure!"

"We're going to be killed if we stay much longer," Laura reasoned, "I doubt their search is going to be limited to just that parking lot."

"Where are we going to go?" Cindy asked, "We don't even know where they left to!"

"I think I know someone who does, though," Laura countered, pointing to a humvee that was leaving the parking lot.

"Follow me," Laura commanded, tugging at Cindy's shirt to follow her. The two silently marched away from the area, keeping the departing humvee in sight.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Ow," Jojo exclaimed, reacting to a tree branch that had snapped back into his face.

"You OK?" Wally asked.

"Yeah," Jojo replied, stopping for a moment. Wally looked back & saw that Jojo had wanted to say something more but was keeping silent.

"What is it?" Wally asked. Jojo's expression resembled a kid being caught trying to shoplift a candy bar from a convenience store.

"We have to go back," argued Jojo, "This is our one opportunity to learn what the heck is going on!"

"We can do that tomorrow," Wally stressed, "We need to tell Laura & Cindy what we know. They're probably already worried about us & I don't blame them. I'm worried about us! Worried enough to get back & come back with a concrete plan on how to infiltrate that place! On how to...to capture someone & ask them what the f*** is going on!"

"We lose everything if we try to go in there now & get caught. Cindy loses you, Laura loses me & they both lose out on what we know. We can't let that happen, Jojo. We need to make sure that someone other then us knows about this place," Wally said.

"Yeah," Jojo replied, defeated, "We can come back tomorrow."

The two began walking away & Wally's thoughts turned to how they were going to get back to their SUV. He wondered if they should even use the SUV at all.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"I don't think we need that humvee after all," Cindy observed, pointing towards the road, "Look."

Laura saw what Cindy had intended to show her - One lane of a two-lane road maliciously cleared of all traffic. Cars had clearly been violently pushed out of the way to clear the lane out. Being inside a forested area, Laura shifted her view around some trees to get a better look.

"Not very subtle, is it?" Laura rhetorically asked.

"No," Cindy began to reply, "I..."

Suddenly, they heard something. A tree branch snap. Some rustling of dried leaves.

It sounded regular. It sounded consistent. It sounded as though it was coming closer.

"Quick!" Laura whispered, "We have to hide!"

"Where?!" Countered Cindy, "There's no place to go unless we cross the street! We'll be in plain sight if anyone's looking anywhere close to our direction!"

"We have to do it!" Laura replied, pulling Cindy along by the wrist, "Let's go!"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Laura?" He muttered to himself as he saw the two young women hastily cross the street.

Unfortunately for both Laura & Cindy, Wally wasn't the only one who spotted the two's hasty escape.

[steve]

PART LXXVI


"Oh my God," Laura exclaimed, "I can't believe we just got away with that."

Laura & Cindy had just run across one lane of the road, scampered over the wrecked cars pushed into the other lane & ran all the way across another property to hide behind the wall of another building.

Cindy instinctively sat down, her chest heaving for oxygen. Laura wiped her sweaty brow with an equally sweaty palm. As expected, it made little difference in her condition to cool down.

Cindy peeked around the corner of the brick wall to see if anyone had followed them. She quickly snapped herself back behind the brick wall.

"If anyone's following us, I can't see them," Cindy reported.

"That's good," Laura replied, "Let's take another moment & then start to move again."

"Move where?" Cindy asked.

"Down the road to see where this line of piled-up cars ends," Laura said.

Amidst the heaving & gasping for air, they failed to detect the faint snapping & crackling of leaves coming from the edge of the forest that they hid near.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"That was Laura & Cindy!" Wally exclaimed, finally realizing what he saw.

"Wha...?" Jojo replied incredulously, running up to Wally.

"I just saw Laura & Cindy!" Wally repeated himself, "They dove across the street there and...And over to that building over there," pointing in the general direction they had run off to.

"Why'd they be here?" Jojo asked, not knowing whether to be excited, scared or angry.

"I don't know!" Wally answered truthfully, "But I saw them!"

"Why'd they run?" Jojo asked, "Why were they afraid of us?"

"Look," Wally slowly said, trying to calm himself down, "We have to go after them. We have to try & stick together. Once they see us, we know they're not going to shoot us."

"So let's go!" Jojo replied, beginning to walk towards the two-lane road & out of the forest.

"No!" Wally countered, jogging up to Jojo, "We have to make sure the coast is clear first! We can't just go & run across the road! We might be seen! They might've been seen!"

The two slowly went to the edge of the forest & peered out of it. No cars were coming in either direction on the 'one-lane' road.

"It doesn't look like there's anyone around," Wally surmised, "Let's go."

The two got out of the forest & began to cross the road.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Did you hear that?" Cindy asked.

"Hear what?" Laura asked in response.

The two had not moved more then thirty yards when Laura finally heard what Cindy had suspected.

They both realized too late what they heard.

"Stop!" They heard a male voice say, "Stop or I'll shoot."

========================

PART LXXVII

"Don't force me to shoot you. I mean it. I will."

Standing before Laura & Cindy stood the least likeliest man ever to hold a pistol. He was too small in stature to appear menacing; His voice was too high, for a man, to sound intimidating; With his greying sideburns & ever-growing bald spot, he looked too old to appear young or energetic.

Yet, he wasn't the one at the business end of a pistol. That end belonged to two young, energetic women who were just now beginning to catch their breath.

"Mister," Cindy meekly began to say, holding her hands above her head, "We just want to know what's going on. Honest." Laura looked over, not knowing whether Cindy was acting meek or if she had resoundedly chosen 'flight' over 'fight.'

"And what's your story, missus?" The man asked, quickly pointing his pistol at Laura, "That's a gun you're carrying, not a microphone. The only interviews conducted with a gun are called interrogations. So who you planning to interrogate?"

Laura slowly lowered her weapon to the ground & held her hands up much like Cindy.

"Like she said," Laura slowly & calmly replied, "A lot of weird stuff has happened. We just want to know the truth."

"The truth?" The man quickly replied, "The truth is that we're all in a huge heap of trouble. You, me, everyone here. The worst is yet to come so, if you've got a lucky man in your life still here, you might want to spend the next twenty-four hours with him."

"Why?" Wally suddenly asked, his voice startling the three as they all looked in his direction. They also saw Jojo, his weapon raised & aimed directly at the man.

Cindy glanced over at the man, whose face had suddenly turned five shades paler. His hands slightly shook as he loosed his grip on his pistol. The weight of the pistol made it flip upside-down as his index finger was still inside the trigger guard. Laura carefully but quickly grabbed the pistol out of the man's hand.

"Jojo!" Cindy blurted out quietly before her senses got the better of her. Her smile quickly vanished as she paid attention back to the man.

"I...wasn't really going to shoot you," the man quietly replied, nervousness evident in his voice, "It's not loaded."

The man's face clearly showed his surprise at Laura while she quickly & proficiently checked the weapon to see that it was, indeed, unloaded.

"It's empty," Laura replied, "And the safety was on."

"I told you," the man said matter-of-factly, oblivious to three other weapons being pointed at him.

"Why are we in danger?" Wally repeated, "What is this place?"

"I'm expected back in ten minutes, probably less," the man stated, "Unless you want those guys to tear this entire area apart, you're going to have to let me live."

Wally advanced on the man, pushing the barrel of his weapon into the man's ribs.

"That didn't answer the question," Wally stated, a streak of genuine anger racing through his voice.

"The question can't be answered so easily," the man quickly replied, his voice quivering, "You don't know the physics behind it; I can barely understand it myself!"

"Understand what?" Laura asked.

"The end of the world!" The man blurted out, "This world!"

They could see the frustration on the man's face & Wally backed off.

"I've got to get back to my post," the man stated quietly, "If I don't..."

"What's your name?" Cindy asked, out of the blue. Everyone remained silent as the man stumbled for an answer.

"Harold," the man replied.

"Harold," Cindy said calmly, "We all have names, too. We'd like to know what happened to our friends, our families, our co-workers... We deserve answers."

"All I can tell you is that they're not really gone," Harold said, searching for words, "Not in the way you think."

Harold's tone quickly changed & he began speaking very rapidly.

"I have to go right now," he rapidly stated, "They perform security checks & they know I don't smoke!"

"We still want to know the truth," Wally reminded Harold.

"Stay here!" Harold suddenly said, his eyes widening, "I'll be getting another break after dinner! I can speak more then! After dinner, they loosen up the restrictions! I can speak more then!"

"You're going to meet us back here?" Wally skeptically asked.

"After dinner!" Harold replied, "Seven o'clock. Seven o'clock tonight. I always take an after dinner walk. They expect it."

"And then you'll tell us the truth?" Wally asked.

"As much as I know," Harold pleaded, "As much as I understand it."

"Go," Wally commanded, waving his weapon towards the building that Wally & Jojo had seen the other people at.

"We'll be waiting," Wally reminded him, as they saw Harold scurry away.

"Great," Jojo said, "Our one chance to find out the truth just ran off."

"I don't think so," Wally stated, "I've got a hunch that he'll be back."

"Are we really going to be stupid enough to wait here the entire time?" Cindy asked.

Wally looked over at Cindy & said, "Anyone know a good place to chill out for the rest of the day?"

===========================

PART LXXVIII


"So," Jojo asked, "What do you think he meant?"

About two miles away from where they had met Harold, they had holed up at a bar. At the moment, they were in the employees' lounge, enjoying free drinks - Courtesy of the unattentive management.

"He said, 'this world,'" Cindy stated, frustratedly, "But what other world could he have meant? Of course it's going to be this world."

"I think Jojo might have been right," Laura admitted, causing Jojo to quickly glance over at her, "This guy would've claimed he was a centerfold if it meant he could get away from us."

"Then why the empty gun?" Wally asked, "Why the safety being left on? Why did he even bother to stop you two in the first place?"

"Easy," Laura answered, "We caught him off-guard. We were in a place he thought we wouldn't be."

"That gun wouldn't have helped him from the crazies, being empty & all," Cindy replied, "Why'd he even have it in the first place?"

"You know," Jojo stated, "That conversation we overheard earlier... There was something not quite right about it..."

"They mentioned enemy bases," Wally explained to both Laura & Cindy, "And how they wanted to have a field trip so they could load up nearby buildings with stuff."

"It's just so weird," Jojo commented, "It made them sound like they were going to be doing some travelling or something. Like they had come from somewhere."

"They said that they weren't able to take any trips outside," Wally clarified, "They weren't ALLOWED to. Why?"

"Crazies," Laura chimed in, "You think these geeks could really handle themselves against them? The few times we've encountered them, they've been a handful." Laura didn't see Cindy slightly flinch as she recalled her own experiences.

There was an awkward pause as each of them thought about what Harold had said.

Jojo broke the silence.

"This is nuts," Jojo exclaimed, "Dwelling on this is going to make me nuts & this situation is already nuts. I need to take a breather. I promise that, if I go outside, I won't let the bad guys spot me."

"Be careful," Wally told him.

"I'll go, too," Cindy quickly said, jumping up to join Jojo. The two walked out of the store, leaving Wally & Laura alone.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Hey, Jojo," Cindy asked, "Mind if we talk for a moment?"

"Sure," Jojo said, quickly correctly, "I mean, no, we can talk. What do you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about...us," Cindy slowly said, locking her eyes on his.

Before Jojo could reply, Cindy continued, "I'd like to know if, maybe, we get out of all of this...If, maybe..."

There was an awkward pause & Jojo could clearly see the frustration on Cindy's eyes.

With a heaving sigh, she bitterly muttered, "Maybe later." She began to walk away.

"Yes," Jojo stated plainly, "I want to be your boyfriend."

Cindy froze in her tracks, practically in mid-step. Her back was still to Jojo as he continued.

"Cindy," he continued, "I know I haven't been the...shining example of what a knight in shining armor should be. I've never really been anything close. I don't think I've ever really tried, even now. That's my fault. You just...you make me want to try a little harder to be..."

As he searched for words, he realized for the first time that she was now standing right in front of him, looking right at him. Her look caused him to lose all train of thought as though he had amnesia.

Simultaneously, they hugged & kissed. It was for a brief moment but, for them, it felt like an eternity.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"We should start heading back," Wally told Jojo & Cindy as they re-entered the store.

It escaped neither Wally or Laura's attention that Jojo & Cindy were holding hands.

=======================

PART LXXIX


"Oh, thank goodness," Harold nervously said with enthusiasm, "I didn't think you'd show up."

"You're early," Wally flatly stated, "It's not seven o' clock yet."

"I got out early," Harold quickly explained, "No one's paying any attention anymore. The guards are going nuts. The soldiers are going nuts. We're going nuts. Everyone is going nuts!"

"Stop!" Laura commanded in a firm, sudden voice, "What is going on?"

Harold took a deep breath, then began.

"Think of that building back there," he said, pointing & leaning towards back to the building where Wally & Jojo had seen the two scientists outside, "As sort of like a copier."

"You mean," Jojo asked, "Like a Xerox machine?"

"Exactly!" Harold excitedly answered, pointing towards Jojo, "A Xerox machine! Think of it just like that!"

"Um, OK," Harold continued in a normal voice, "Now...Um, imagine that the copier can only print on one side of a single sheet of paper. Just one. No others."

"I don't get it," Cindy blurted out, "Can't you just tell us what's going on?"

"He's trying," Wally intervened, then turning to Harold & saying, "Continue."

"Right," Harold replied, "That building can only copy one thing & that's it. If we want to copy anything else, we have to white out the entire piece of paper & then copy again."

Wally's face turned ominous, as though he had just put enough of the pieces together to form a general picture of what Harold was trying to say.

"What has your building copied, Harold?" Wally grimly asked.

"Um," Harold rambled nervously, "We copied Earth. This place."

"So what's that got to do with everyone disappearing?" Jojo asked, peeved.

"They didn't disappear," Harold blurted out, temporarily coming out of his nervousness, "They never did."

"So where are they?" Jojo asked.

"They're still on Earth. They never left," Harold replied.

"We left Earth?" Laura asked.

"Everyone...," Harold began to say before pausing to think for a moment, then continuing, "Everyone except for us, the people who run the copier, is still on Earth. Everything here, this planet, you folks...You're all...copies."

There was an awkward silence that seemed to have lasted whole minutes. Jojo broke the silence.

"We're clones?" Jojo asked.

"In a way," Harold replied, "But there's a catch."

"What's the catch?" Cindy asked.

"You know what happens whenever you copy something from a copier?" Harold asked.

"It's not a perfect copy," Laura stated, her eyes beginning to stare out into space as the reality of their situation began to sink in.

"Everything copied has a flaw, even if it's a tiny one," Harold tried to delicately stress.

"The crazies," Wally replied, "The crazies are the flawed copies."

"Everything," Harold corrected him, "Even all of you, to a degree, but not so much."

"You mean," Jojo reasoned, "That on normal Earth, there's me running around as though nothing ever happened?"

"No one outside of the building should have been copied," Harold explained, "It's not how the copier was designed to work but it copied you regardless."

"We weren't supposed to be copied," Cindy said, trying to confirm that.

"Right," Harold replied, "All of you, these 'crazy' people we've encountered...They're all...Accidents."

"So what happens to this Earth? The copied Earth?" Wally asked.

"Our predictions show that it will self-destruct in about seventy-two hours from now, probably less," Harold replied gingerly, anticipating the response he'd likely to receive.

"So how do we get off copied Earth & onto normal Earth?" Laura asked.

Harold winced at the question.

"Well," he began to respond, "That's a problem."

His pause was not met with a response so he filled it himself.

"I need your help for that," he revealed.

========================

PART LXXX


"Why do you need our help to get us back to normal Earth?" Wally asked, "You guys have this...copier machine."

"Think of one tiny piece of that paper..." Harold began to say, before Laura interrupted.

"Screw the copier analogy," she nearly yelled, her frustration showing, "Just tell us what the problem is."

"It's like an airplane...there's only so many seats!" Harold replied.

"We emptied out two of those seats," Cindy explained, "So all we need are to empty out two more."

"Not exactly," Harold corrected, "You see, we never intended to have... copies running around. Our main objective in this experiment was to copy Earth so we could find all of the enemy bases in the war. With no one there, we could fly out, do terrific surveillance & then take that surveillance back to normal Earth & use that to our advantage."

"This is all about the war?" Laura asked.

"Of course it is! How do you think it ever got funding? Got green-lit? Got constructed so fast? Our main objective has been a phenomenal success!" Harold explained, getting excited momentarily at the end.

"However," Harold continued in a more somber tone, "When we realized that there were actual, live copies running around...Well, that's when our secondary objective kicked in."

"Collecting us," Wally reasoned, causing Harold to nod in confirmation.

"We've already collected a sample or two of the crazier people," Harold explained, "But they're not going back alive. We've already performed autopsies on them."

"Stop," Jojo said, "Were you guys..."

Harold nodded sadly.

"No one from this Earth can go back to normal Earth alive," Harold explained, "They won't allow it. No one knows what might happen. Maybe nothing. Maybe something disasterous."

Harold's words were still sinking in as Harold continued, "That's why if you guys want to go back, you'll have to sneak back."

"How do we do that?" Cindy asked, the faintest hint of sarcasm creeping through into her voice.

"Well," Harold began, "There's not very many options & none of them are good."

"Explain," Wally demanded.

"A few of us," Harold began, "A few of us have really lobbied hard to get good copies...You guys...To go back alive. We were thinking of...Well, there's no way of saying this delicately..."

"A coup," Harold blurted out.

"A coup," Wally repeated flatly. Harold nodded.

"A coup against trained, armed soldiers," Laura stated blankly, her voice trailing off.

"You wouldn't happen to have a plan to execute this coup, would you?" Wally asked.

Harold nodded, saying, "We can take control of the machine but we're going to need a decoy to persuade enough soldiers to leave the area so we can get away with powering up the machine & escape in it before they come back."

"We're stranding soldiers here?" Laura asked.

"They'd prefer to strand you here," Harold replied, "Or bring bits of you back in a petri dish. It's your choice."

"Who's going to be the decoy?" Wally asked, partially rhetorically.

Jojo blurted out, "I will."

Everyone looked back towards Jojo, including Harold, with a bit of surprise.

[nancy1340]

I like everything about this story............except the Roman numerals. LOL

[steve]

PART LXXXI


"Do you WANT to be the decoy?" Wally asked.

"Dude," Jojo replied, "How hard could it be? I mean, I just distract these guys. These guys go searching for me. I give them the slip & come back to you guys. Right?"

"Harold," Wally asked, "You have thought all of this out, haven't you?"

"Well...," Harold slightly whined, "We were hoping we could get inspiration on the decoy part...We're scientists, not con artists."

Wally thought for a moment.

"What is the rest of the plan, Harold?" Wally asked, trying not to sound critical, "I mean, suppose ALL the soldiers are gone. Irreversibly gone. Are all the scientists in on this? Most? Some? What happens after the soldiers leave?"

"It depends on how many soldiers we get to leave," Harold explained, "We have all the scientists we need to operate the machine. We don't need anymore. I suppose if the rest were given an option of staying or going, they'd go with us. There's only one or two that would be a real problem, in my opinion."

"So, in other words," Cindy remarked, "There's no plan."

"Harold," Laura asked, "How long is it going to take for this 'copying' process to occur? To go back to normal Earth?"

"Oh," Harold instantly answered, "It's near instantaneous once the process starts. We're not creating anything by going back. It'll be the start-up process that takes awhile."

"Which is...?" Laura asked.

"About an hour," Harold replied, "Maybe less if we cut corners but I wouldn't do that unless absolutely necessary."

Wally thought while a few other questions were fielded by Harold. He looked over at Jojo & Harold, then went back into a deep thought. He spoke suddenly & loudly when he finally had something to say.

"I've got a plan," Wally merely stated, interrupting everyone. Everyone stopped talking & turned towards Wally.

Wally spoke about his plan. When he was finished, everyone thought about it & slowly began to nod in approval.

"When do we begin?" Harold asked.

"Now," Wally replied.

==========================

PART LXXXII


"You're late," Martin spat, perspiration moistening on his forehead.

Martin would die with a head of short, black hair no matter how old he would eventually become. The unusually youthful hair hid his age well; Most thought he was younger then Harold but, in fact, he was nearly a decade older.

Martin & Harold walked quickly through the hallways of the building. They walked past security cameras that displayed their images in black & white on tiny security monitors that no one cared to watch anymore.

"I couldn't help it," Harold replied, "We were hammering out a plan to save our hides."

"Save our hides," Martin chewed, "I've been trying to save your hide from Wallace for the past half-hour. You're lucky he's still being distracted by the gorillas or he'd have both our hides right now!"

"Look," Harold sharply remarked, "We need to disable the machine & we need to do it now."

"Disable the..." Martin began to say, so incredulous he looked like an amateur thespian overacting.

"Yes," Harold replied matter-of-factly, "Martin, those soldiers & the senior management are going to go back without us & you know that. We all know that. We're expendable. We've seen far too much & there's too many of us for them to think that we'll all stay silent forever."

"Just how do we disable a machine with triple redundency?" Martin tried to ask without it sounding sarcastic.

"Whoever said it had triple redundency?" Harold quickly asked, "Only on it's main systems. The secondary systems are held together with tape & glue, metaphorically speaking."

"We don't need the secondary systems to operate it," Martin replied, this time, the sarcasm shining through.

Harold stopped in his tracks. He looked Martin dead in the eye.

"Does Wallace know that? Or the gorillas?" Harold asked quietly.

A smirk crept onto Martin's face.

"You sneaky little troll," Martin quietly replied, "And to think I trust you while playing cards."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"They're a lost cause," Wallace replied, sitting at his desk.

The man sitting at the other end wore camoflauge & had a short haircut. His eyelids flinched at Wallace's statement. Wallace noticed this & softened both his tone & response.

"Please try to understand that we are already twenty-four hours behind schedule. In another twenty-four hours we go into uncharted territory that includes the destruction of this entire environment," Wallace reasoned.

"Two of my men are missing," the man replied, "One of whom is an officer. We know that whoever captured them is nearby."

"You recovered the vehicle nearby," Wallace corrected him, "And there's no indication of a hostage-taking whatsoever."

"How else would they have known where to go?" The man asked.

"Interrogation?" Wallace asked, half-rhetorically.

The man sucked in his breath, then asked, "All I'm asking for is another twelve hours to canvas the area."

"You have six," Wallace replied, "And only six. After that, there's no guarantees that we can actually go back at all."

"We'll do it in four," the man said, "Thank you."

Wallace declined to respond, merely letting the man leave. As soon as the man was completely gone, Wallace dialed an internal number on his telephone.

"I'd like to see you in my office. Immediately," Wallace told a man on the other end of the line.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"If we cut the main power, the back-ups automatically kick in," Chow stated to Harold, "What's the point in that?"

"What if they both fail?" Harold asked, "There's no back-up to the back-up generators, are there?"

"Conceivably," Chow stated, "There's power stored in the actual transporter itself. Conceivably, someone desperate enough to activate the transporter could use it to transport a small amount of items or people back to Earth."

"We need to drain the transporter of power, then," Harold commanded, "Power it down, say whatever we need to say. Take the back-ups off-line."

"Easier said then done," Martin chimed in, "That's a four-hour task right there...With everyone helping out. With everyone having the perfect cover story not to get their heads ripped off by Wallace or one of his camoflauged goons."

Harold shook his head slightly, blurting out, "We need a way to make the transporter look disabled or we need to disable it for real. How can we do that?"

"We disable this in any way, it's our heads," Chow observed, "Wallace isn't going to care who did it or why. We're in charge of the transporter & Wallace is in charge of us & the soldiers."

"Wallace..." Harold said with a sudden sense of realization.

Both Martin & Chow looked at Harold with a puzzled expression.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"We need to move up our plans," Wallace stated to the mysterious man.

"The next meal won't be for another twelve hours," the man replied.

"We need something sooner," Wallace demanded, "The soldiers are driving me nuts & the scientists aren't far behind."

"What do suggest we do?" The man asked.

"It's time to scrap the genocide by meal & go for something a little more...airborne," Wallace stated.

============================

PART LXXXIII


It was a simple equation - The more people who knew a secret, the less likely it would remain a secret.

Wallace hadn't been promoted to project leader because he was nice or smart or diplomatic. He was promoted because he knew how to keep a secret first & deal with the moralities of his decision second.

He had no moral qualms with what he had to do. Soldiers were expendable. Scientists were expendable. They all, including Wallace, were expendable.

What was important was that the mission would be kept secret. No one would know that they had the incredible ability to "copy" the Earth, to map out their enemies' bases with precision impossible by any other standard or practice.

With the information they had, they could win this war. Hidden ammunition depots could be destroyed. Secret enemy bunkers could be raided. Train routes disrupted. Encrypted messages deciphered.

The intelligence coup would be so devastating that the enemy would have to surrender. To use a poker analogy, they had just seen all of their opponent's hands, read their minds & even the rest of the deck as well. Now, they just had to communicate it back to the real Earth...And keep quiet about it.

Wallace knew there was a chance that he'd be killed after he gave over the information once he was back on the real Earth. Just as he thought of the scientists & the soldiers, so too must someone would be thinking of him. Wallace, in someone's mind, was a liability...A liability to reveal the largest secret of the war...The largest secret EVER.

With a sigh, he knew what would have to be done. Dozens dead so that millions more could be killed & tens of millions more could be saved. More importantly, dozens dead to keep one secret...The hidden knock-out punch that the enemy would never see coming.

Now, he would need to execute a knock-out punch of his own...On a much more smaller & personal scale.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Just act natural...," Martin whispered to Chow as they began to walk closer to the guard.

"This IS natural," Chow whispered back. Martin could see the sweat begin to glisten on Chow's forehead.

The two scientists stopped a few yards away from the soldier. The soldiers was oblivious to their presence.

"Did you overhear what Wallace said?" Asked Martin in a normal conversational voice.

"No," stated Chow, "What?"

"He wants us to disconnect the transporter! Cut the main lines! Disable the back-ups!" Martin replied, over-expressing with his facial features.

"That's crazy...," Chow replied, "There'd be no way we could transport everyone back on the power inside the transporter. There'd only be room for...A dozen people at most! Not even!"

"It's going to take us four hours to disconnect everything & another four to put everything back together!" Martin emphasized.

"Not to mention the power-up procedure," stated Chow, "That'll take at least two hours."

Martin & Chow both shook their heads & walked away.

Out of the corner of his eye, Martin could see the soldier visibly shaken after overhearing their "conversation." Just as Chow & Martin rounded a corner, Martin saw the soldier pick up his walkie-talkie to speak into it. Martin hid behind the corner & strained to overhear what the soldier was saying. A moment later, he smiled widely.

"He bought it," Martin reported. Chow grinned at the news & they both quickly walked away.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Are you ready yet?" Wallace asked, speaking into his telephone. On the other end was the mysterious man.

"Let me secure the doorways first," the man replied, "I don't want this stuff seeping out. We only have one shot at this."

"Let me know when you're ready," Wallace replied, hanging up the telephone. Wallace opened up a desk drawer. Inside was a gas mask. He closed the desk drawer, knowing that at the next telephone call, he would be needing it.

============================

PART LXXXIV


"I want to assemble everyone for a meeting," Wallace spoke slowly & flatly over the loudspeakers, "So that I may present the schedule for our departure & entertain any opinions about it. Everyone should start assembling in Meeting Room 'A' immediately. The meeting will begin in fifteen minutes, sharp. That is all."

Harold listened to the announcement with nervousness.

Their timetable had just been moved up involuntarily.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"What should we do?" Laura asked Wally.

They had overheard the announcement as well. Speakers in the basement of the building had advertised the meeting as clearly as speakers on the ground floor & all the other floors.

Hiding in the basement of the building, the four of them sat quietly as they contemplated their next move. As Harold had predicted, no one was watching the cameras anymore; Walking into the building was no less a hazard then walking into a store.

"There wasn't supposed to be a meeting," Wally stated, "I hope that Harold has the sense to come down here so we can coordinate our next move."

"If not?" Jojo asked.

Wally stiffened his upper lip. The machine, the 'transporter' as it had been called, was only a few floors above them. Their ticket home was as easy as walking through the front door of a house. All they needed to do was to walk through it. To walk through it, though, they needed to walk towards it.

"In fifteen minutes," Wally replied, "We shadow that meeting."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"What?!" The military officer exclaimed back into his walkie-talkie.

The officer thought for a moment, a million thoughts running through his head all at once.

He could no longer ignore the circumstantial evidence - Most of his men were out looking for murderers. They were away from the transporter, a device that could be used without difficulty by the scientists &, more importantly, Wallace. No one knew who the murderers were or if they even existed.

'A trap,' the officer thought to himself, 'They're going to leave without us.'

'Not if I can help it,' the officer thought just as he got back onto the walkie-talkie.

"You listen to me carefully," the officer replied, "No one is to go into the transporter. Do you hear me? No one. You shoot to kill under my orders. Got that? Shoot to kill. I will be right there."

'If that egghead thinks he can pull the wool over my eyes,' the officer thought, 'He's about to be surprised.'

Little did the officer know what had been planted underneath all the military vehicles.

=============================

PART LXXXV


Martin sat nervously next to Chow. Most of the scientists had already been assembled inside the room. Harold was still absent.

"What do we need this meeting for?" He quietly asked Chow, semi-rhetorically.

"We could always skip out of it," Chow reasoned.

Martin eyed one of the remaining soldiers as he slowly walked around the room.

"I doubt very much that would be an acceptable option," Martin replied, continuing to watch the soldier.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Five engines running. That's what the sensor indicated. Five engines running & all of them were heading back to the building.

Wallace flipped open a switch guard, not unlike the switch guard often found on the control sticks of modern jet fighters. The switch guard, nor the switch itself, was neither labelled nor red. Unlike in a Hollywood movie, there was no need for such gaudy visual theatrics.

With the flip of a little metal switch, Wallace initiated the first part of his plan. He didn't even blink or hesitate when flipping it.

Now, it would be up to his partner to complete the rest of the plan.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

They were all sergeants or of higher rank. Every last one of them were professionals. No one needed to be told to brush their teeth. No one needed to be told to stop slouching.

In one vehicle was Sergeant Joseph McKorzie. His favorite hobby was fishing. In that same vehicle was Jesus Rodrigues. He had three children & a wife who wanted one more.

In a brief flash, McKorzie's dream fishing trip ended. Rodrigues' wife suddenly became a widow.

In fact, in that brief instance, five engines stopped running permanently. Kevin Johanson was thrown from his vehicle fifty feet straight into the ground. He snapped his neck & died within moments, his final vision being a close-up view of the grass growing up from the ground.

Robert Mackerly, sitting underneath one explosive, only had time to get the sensation as though his butt was on fire. He was spared the agony of realizing that his legs would be oliterated milliseconds later. A piece of red-hot shrapnel entering just below his belly button & exiting out his left shoulder ended his life milliseconds later.

Had the two soldiers not gone missing, Wallace would have found other ways to dispatch the remaining soldiers. Food poisoning had been his primary choice; A quick & fairly painless process with no chance of resistance.

However, a wise leader always was prepared for other contingencies. Wallace looked at his watch. In another moment, he would be executing the second part of his plan.

Wallace picked up his gas mask & a taped-up shoe box.

It was time to leave.

[steve]

PART LXXXVI


It was quiet...Too quiet.

"Man," Jojo whispered to Wally, "What do we do if someone spots us?"

"If they have a gun," Wally deadpanned, "Shoot back."

"And if they don't?" Jojo asked quietly.

"Show yours," Wally suggested.

The two quietly moved down a hallway, inspecting every window & listening in on every door. Every sound felt amplified but they resisted bolting at the first creak or crackle of noise.

After minutes of walking while crouched, running while crouched, peering through windows while crouched & listening to doors while crouched, Wally stood up. His knees informed him that it was a wise move. He sighed heavily as he gestured to Jojo to stand up as well.

"The place is a ghost town," Wally commented, "If we were bad guys, we could have a field day with this place."

"You're telling me," Jojo replied, his voice still quiet, "All this computer equipment & stuff...How can you tell what's needed for this transporter & what isn't?"

"We shouldn't touch anything, regardless," Wally said, rendering his verdict on that topic.

Jojo had raised a valid point; Almost every room had some sort of fancy electronics in it. Wally knew what a personal computer looked like; He even knew what a computer server looked like. What he was seeing, though, was far beyond what either of those two common items resembled.

"We have to find out where everyone is," Wally mentioned to Jojo.

"What for?" Jojo asked, "That's like we're begging to be spotted."

"This meeting that all these scientists are attending might have information we need to get back to 'normal' Earth," Wally replied.

"Won't Harold just tell us what was at the meeting?" Jojo asked.

"I don't completely trust Harold," Wally blurted out, "And I don't completely trust the situation we're in. I'd feel a lot better knowing that we know something rather then just being told about it."

"Yeah," Jojo admitted, "With everything we've been through, who knows what's real & what isn't."

"Come on," Wally said & the two continued to walk down the hallway.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Harold," a soldier outside the meeting room said, exasperated, "Didn't you hear the announcement?!"

Harold quickly walked into the meeting room & took one of the last seats available. He looked at his watch nervously. Spotting Martin & Chow, he waved to them while giving off a quick smile.

A sound came from Harold's left - It was the door being shut from outside. The quickest glimpse revealed that it was the soldier closing the door.

Harold, in his standard white laboratory coat, wiggled his shoulders slightly. Slowly, he worked something that he had smuggled inside the meeting room.

It was a loaded gun.

Harold prayed that, somehow, he wouldn't have to use it. He didn't want to die on "copied" Earth. However, he'd be damned if he was going to let Wallace make that decision for him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was quick & painless.

Had the soldier turned around, the man would have been ready with a variety of scenarios. He was prepared to use distraction on the soldier. He was prepared to use violent, sudden force.

In the end, though, the man simply walked up behind the soldier & stuck a knife right into his neck as the soldier was closing the door behind him. Simple, silent & efficient.

There was no point in hiding the dead soldier, bleeding profusely all over the floor. No one other then himself & Wallace would ever see him. After they left, it wouldn't matter, anyway.

Taking a pair of handcuffs, he 'cuffed' the door to the frame so that the door would not open.

The second part of the plan was all set to be executed...As well as a lot of other people.

========================

PART LXXXVII


"OK," Wallace said, speaking into the phone, "I'll be right down."

Wallace hung up the phone & got up from his desk. He brought his gas mask & the taped-up shoe box.

He disagreed with his partner's position that they would need to confirm the deaths of the scientists before using the transporter. After all, even if the scientists were left alive, the transporter wouldn't be that much use to them anyway. That, though, was yet another part of his plan...A part he hoped would never have to be realized.

Hurriedly, Wallace walked out of his office for the last time.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The man had no problem standing next to a dead body, even if that dead body had now amassed itself a rather sizable pool of blood. The dead soldier was going nowhere &, in another moment, neither would any of the scientists in the meeting room.

The man looked at his watch & noted the time. If all went according to plan, a timed device would go off & began to emit a poisonous gas directly through the vents of the building, straight into the meeting room. The potentcy of the gas would be greatly dissipated in the open hallways, reducing it to nothing more then a nuisance. However, in the confines of a meeting room, the poisonous gas would take it's tool & take that toll very quickly.

As the man waited, he instinctively looked down the hallway for a moment. Something had caught his eye. Years of training had honed his instincts to the point where he simply trusted them blindly. In his profession, he HAD to react instinctually. He had to react & had to react with certainty.

Although he didn't know what had caught his eye, he knew that something did catch his eye. Something that shouldn't have been there.

The plan, in his mind, was being threatened - A threat he would take care of very seriously.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude," Jojo whispered, "Did he see us?"

Jojo & Wally, crouched just behind a corner leading to the hallway with the dead soldier, paused for a moment in complete silence. Wally had just glimpsed the terrible scene - A man standing next to the slumped body of a soldier. The man, standing casually, had looked at his watch when Wally spied him for but a brief moment before slipping back behind the corner.

"Whoever that is," Wally whispered back, "I don't think he's a good guy."

Suddenly, Wally & Jojo heard running footsteps coming from down that hallway. The footsteps were coming towards them & coming towards them fast. Lost amongst the footsteps was the slide of a pistol being pulled back, chambering a round into a firearm that already had it's safety off & a finger inside the trigger guard.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Practically all of the heads in the meeting room turned in unison towards the meeting room door as they all heard what sounded like shots being fired.

Harold tried to stand up to walk to the door but his legs felt like they had been carved in stone. Instead, the momentum of his attempt to stand forced his body to crash to the ground helplessly.

'Oh God, I'm dying!' He thought instinctively, feeling his lungs begin to burn.

The gas had been released.

=========================

PART LXXXVIII


Wallace heard the shots.

The same cold, calculating mind that nullified the soldiers with an explosion & was gassing the scientists now had to make another cold, calculating move.

Wallace quickened his pace & hurriedly turned a corner. He was taking a different route now - A route that would take him directly to the transporter. In his mind, he no longer had a partner... He was on his own.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Dude!" Jojo shouted, "You OK?"

Wally's right shoulder was awash in red. Just twitching caused Wally to grit his teeth in pain. He knew he was bleeding but didn't know how badly. He looked up at Jojo & then at the door to the meeting room.

"Why ain't anyone coming out of that room?" Wally asked, his breathing erratic & sweat beginning to form on his forehead.

"I'll be right back, dude," Jojo said, slowly leaning Wally up against a nearby wall. Wally heard but didn't see Jojo run off.

Wally re-played the brief gunfight in his mind. The entire episode had begun & ended inside of ten seconds. They saw an arm lean past the corner & spray bullets. Wally was hit on the very first shot, slumping down in pain.

In hindsight, Wally's misfortune turned out to be a lucky break for both Jojo & Wally. The man's fatal mistake was assuming that Wally was the only combatant. He saw, from his limited vantage point, Wally falling over. That led to him coming briefly around the corner... To be shot by Jojo.

The man did not have time to reflect upon the error of his ways. The bullet entered just underneath his heart but it may as well have struck it head on. The man's last thought was that his chest suddenly felt extremely tight, as though he had sucked in his breath & couldn't release it. Unconsciousness hit him just before he hit the ground. He was spared the indignity of suffering a minor concussion, his head hitting the hard-tiled floor with the same force as a child accidentally dropping a book onto the ground.

Wally, now somewhat delirious because of shock & the loss of blood, began to slide down the wall, causing a small streak of blood to be smeared on the wall behind him. As his butt slowly descended to the floor, he realized he was becoming light-headed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jojo saw the handcuff locking the door. A half-second later, he smelt a putrid odor being emitted from the other side of the door. Backing up, he aimed his rifle, turned his head partially sideways, winced & fired.

The handcuffs, designed to restrain the arms of a person but not to withstand the impact of a rifle round, broke apart.

Jojo looked up & immediately kicked the door open.

The smell gave him an instant headache & almost made him vomit right on the spot.

After recovering himself, he could see some movement amongst the pile of bodies slumped onto the meeting tables & onto the floor.

Instinctually, Jojo sucked in his breath & began pulling bodies out of the room.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Yeah," Cindy replied, "I know."

With Laura following her, Cindy boldly crept down the hallway. She was tired of waiting for Wally & Jojo to return. She was tired of being kept in the dark. She was tired of men being men, thinking that women couldn't handle their own.

She wanted to go home. She wanted to see her family. She wanted to be with Jojo. She was tired of taking orders from someone other then herself.

For once, she had been surprised with Laura's ability to take an order & swallow it whole. Laura had always been the aggressive one, the 'manly chick' who could handle a firearm & spit as far as a man could. The only way she had convinced Laura to follow her was to merely walk away on her own.

"People will see us," Laura pleaded, not certain of how to handle the situation. Laura was convinced that Cindy had finally snapped. As much as she wanted to punch Cindy unconscious, she knew that such an act could just as badly backfire.

"That's exactly what I want," Cindy exclaimed, almost in a normal conversational voice, "I'm tired of playing games & being coy about it. If they want us, they can have us!"

In the background, they could hear footsteps approaching.

=========================

PART LXXXIX


He heard murmuring.

It felt as though pure acid was falling out of his mouth. He dared not even attempt to close it, the mere thought sending waves of nausea splashing throughout his entire body.

Harold could see Jojo. Harold could hear Jojo. Harold could even understand what Jojo was saying. Harold just couldn't bring himself to move his mouth, his jaw, his lips...Anything.

Harold then discovered he could nod.

"Dude," Jojo nearly yelled, "We've got to get to the transporter, alright?"

Harold nodded affirmatively, his mouth opened comically wide.

"Wally's been hit bad. We need to get going right now. You up for some walking?" Jojo asked.

Harold shook his head to affirm 'no.'

"Then you're about to be carried," Jojo replied, "You can sue my a** later."

Jojo didn't even give Harold time to think. He picked the man up off the ground & began dragging him along. As he passed Wally, Jojo asked, "Wally? You OK?"

"Yeah," Wally meekly said, "I'm good for now."

"I'll be right back," Jojo replied, dragging Harold off with him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Someone's coming down the hallway," Laura protested quietly, "We've got to hide!"

"Not anymore," Cindy growled back, "I'm through playing games."

Before Laura could respond, Cindy yelled, "Hey! You!"

The walking stopped immediately but Cindy continued yelling.

"I heard your footsteps! Don't hide from me!" Cindy yelled with a bravado completely contrary to her personality, "I want some answers!"

Laura hated to admit it but, perhaps, Cindy was onto something. All the secrecy, all the running around, all the crap they had gone through... It had been enough. Playtime was over. Someone would have to make a bold move to begin resolving it all, not just make tiny little baby steps.

Cindy began moving towards the corner where she heard the footsteps, her own footsteps loudly announcing her arrival. Suddenly, she crouched down & slowly approached the corner. She quickly peeked around the corner, still crouched.

A gunshot rang out.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Martin could barely move. It felt as though he had gotten eighty hours of sleep &, yet, only slept for fifteen minutes of it.

His throat felt as though it was on fire. Even moving his eyeballs hurt when they moved. Martin didn't know if minutes, hours or even days had passed. A part of him particularly didn't care.

How he ended up in the hallway outside the meeting room was anyone's guess.

Chow was lying on the ground beside him. Martin felt for a pulse on Chow's neck but couldn't find one. The fact that Martin couldn't find Chow's pulse just didn't register in Martin's fumigated brain.

Lazily looking over, he saw two things that didn't make sense. He saw a man he didn't recognize lying face down on the ground, lying in a pool of blood. He saw another man he didn't recognize, his shoulder nothing more then a mess of red, sitting on the ground, his back up against the wall.

Martin continued his labored breathing, trying desperately to focus enough of his brain to figure out what had happened. Neither of them reacted to the sound of a gunshot fired.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"What was that?" Jojo asked, hearing the gunshot.

At this point, Harold was cognizant enough to attempt speaking. He mouthed the word, "Wallace," but no sound came out.

Jojo began dragging Harold towards the source of the gunshot.

========================

PART XC


"Hey," Wally asked Martin weakly, "You OK?"

Martin just sat there, breathing slowly. To Wally, Martin looked like the 'walking dead' - Sweat pouring off his body, pale complexion, hair disheveled & red-rimmed eyes.

Compared to the other scientists lying in the hallway, though, Martin was a picture of perfect health. Wally couldn't help but notice that only Martin was sitting up & apparently alive. All the other scientists were lying down & it wasn't obvious that anyone else was breathing.

Wally tried to stand but became dizzy the moment he attempted to get into a standing position. He slumped back against the wall, quickly sitting down again.

"We...," Wally said weakly, pausing so he could let the dizziness subside before continuing, "We need to get to the transporter. You know how to get there?"

Martin merely nodded in approval.

Wally slid across the hallway on his butt, pushing himself along with his legs. He slid up next to Martin.

"Then we've got to get there. Come on. Don't resist," Wally said, straining to speak at a conversational tone. He grabbed Martin's coat & shirt at around the neck & began pulling. The two slowly shuffled down the hallway, pushing themselves across the floor on their butts with their legs.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wallace was many things - A marksman, though, would never be one of them.

Expecting someone to peek around a corner at a normal height, he was surprised to see Cindy peek around the corner at approximately knee height. A quick adjustment in aiming & an equally quick trigger finger was no match for inexperience. The bullet sailed a foot short of Cindy's face, hitting & ricocheting off the corner.

Cindy's aim was equally inexperienced but she had the advantage of cover.

Thrusting her arm around the corner, she aimed at Wallace's torso & fired. Wallace felt the 'woosh' of the bullet so close to his shoulder that it jerked him aware of his precarious situation. Only a carefully aimed shot would hit either the part of her head protruding from behind the corner or her arm; Wallace's entire body was open for target practice.

Cindy fired two more shots off at Wallace, who broke & ran down the hallway in the opposite direction. Only one of the shots even barely grazed Wallace before he disappeared around the corner. Cindy couldn't help but be disappointed; Laura would've been able to have hit Wallace from twice the distance.

"Come on!" Laura commanded, "We've got to catch him before he alerts somebody!"

Laura sprang around the corner & Cindy followed. It would be a footrace now between themselves & Wallace.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He was being shot at. He couldn't even believe he was being shot at.

By the luck of God himself, he hadn't been shot by what had appeared to be a woman. Was it a crazy? It couldn't possibly have been a crazy. Crazies weren't even capable of rational thought.

For a split moment, he wondered if these were the people who had set up the "SOS" sign that the pilots had spotted earlier.

Despite his present predictament, he couldn't help but smirk for but a brief second. If they were the "survivors" that they had originally set out to capture, it was deliciously ironic that they were here now. It was also an equally cruel irony that they were going to come so close to escaping their plight...only to be stuck here for the rest of eternity...

[steve]

PART XCI


"Dude," Jojo asked Harold, "Can you talk yet?"

"Yeah," Harold barely whispered, his throat feeling so dry that his deepest, darkest desire at the moment was to be permanently hooked up to a water fountain. He wouldn't have even cared if the water was hot or cold.

"So," Jojo asked, "Do we go up the stairs or not?"

Jojo was facing a stairway that went both up & down. After hearing all the gunshots, he was praying that both Laura & Cindy were safe.

'Actually,' he instinctually thought, 'I just hope Cindy is safe.'

Jojo mentally slapped himself for thinking like that. Just as he was about to repeat the question to Harold, Harold replied.

"Up," Harold's incredibly hoarse voice whispered.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wallace had chosen 'flight' over 'fight.' That fact couldn't have been made more clear when Cindy & Laura ran right past Wallace's firearm on just one of the faceless hallways that had been involved in the chase so far.

Although Cindy would have thought that they'd have caught Wallace by now, they had underestimated his speed & determination. He was, after all, taller then the two young women & had so much more to lose if he lost the footrace.

For their part, though, Cindy & Laura were keeping pace with him. They weren't giving Wallace enough of a lead so that he could attempt anything sneaky, like quickly duck behind a corner or lock a door behind him. As soon as Wallace had run through a door, Cindy & Laura had run through it a second or two later.

Cindy, the more aggressive runner of the two women, was beginning to feel her legs give out from under her. In another moment, she would have no choice but to stop & catch her breath. She would have to try something risky if they were going to break the stalemate... Something that could potentially cause them to lose & lose big.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"We're here," Harold hoarsely said, his scream in spirit registering only as a whisper in reality.

"Like, this place is the transporter?" Jojo asked.

Harold nodded affirmatively.

Jojo looked around - The entire place looked technical but nowhere near as futuristic as a science-fiction movie. It was, in essense, a two-story room devoted towards a small meat-locker styled chamber in the center of the room. The second story had a walkway encircling the entire room, with a few ladders to go up & down between the stories.

"So, Dude," Jojo asked, looking all around the room, "What do we need to do to get this thing, like, started?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Cindy would need a quick burst of speed, followed by a quickly aimed shot to accomplish what she intended. At best, she'd kill whomever they were chasing. At worst, she'd be permanently left in the dust by both Laura & Wallace.

She considered, for the briefest of moments, to try & shoot Wallace while she ran. Perhaps an expert at firearms could accomplish this but, for Cindy, it would prove impossible. The act of keeping an arm steady while running to keep up with Wallace was something for a Hollywood movie, not reality. Had she tried it, she would have found her arm bobbing up & down so violently as to render the entire attempt a comical failure.

Cindy, having just rounded a corner, noticed that Wallace was heading towards a door at the end of the hallway. It was now or never on Cindy's bold plan.

Sprinting, she closed the distance between herself & Wallace. Then, she held up, raised her arm, aimed & fired a shot at Wallace. During this time, Wallace had reached to open the door.

Even with a carefully aimed shot, she had managed to nearly miss him again. Instead, she shot him in the upper leg.

Wallace instinctually grabbed for the wound as he pushed his way through the door & slammed the door shut just before Laura could get there. A second later, they both heard an audible, mechanical 'click.'

It was a door lock.

Wallace had won the footrace.

============================

PART XCII


Wally's eyelids felt so heavy that shutting them would be... would be... Wally felt something shaking him. It was the arm of Martin doing the shaking & Wally nodded in appreciation.

"Thanks," Wally spurted out softly.

For all their effort, the two had not pulled each other very far. Wally estimated that they were no more then seventy feet from where they originally began.

From Martin's perspective, the two "crawling wounded" had finally crossed paths on the 'consciousness' scale - Martin finally feeling cognisant enough to perhaps stand up & Wally being so delirious that staying conscious was becoming a moment-to-moment struggle.

Martin attempted to stand up, using the wall as his "third leg." To his amazement, he found that if he leaned against the wall as though he was 'pushing' it, he was fairly stable.

"Grab," Martin hissed weakly, taking Wally's arm & placing his hand on Martin's overhanging lab coat. Martin repeated the word two or three times before Wally understood.

"Hold on," Martin tried to say but his vocal cords wouldn't obey. At a pace that felt lightening fast to both of them, Martin began walking against the wall, his legs working not unlike an inchworm's. Wally seemed as though he was up to the challenge, pushing himself along on his butt at a faster rate then the two of them had previously gone.

In the back of his mind, Martin knew that it was now a race against time - Not to get to the transporter, but to save Wally's life.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Harold began to shake his head in frustration. Jojo looked up & walked over to him.

"What is it?" Jojo asked.

"Wallace," Harold felt like screaming but his voice could only register a whisper, "Wallace has changed...has changed the codes. We can't start the transporter."

"Where's this Wallace?" Jojo asked, "I'll go get him, regardless if he wants to come with me or not."

Harold just shook his head, mouthing, "That bast***..."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Pain. Sharp, searing pain.

Wallace gritted his teeth as he grabbed for the wound. That area of his body now felt like it was on fire. He could see blood slowly pouring out of the wound. He was feeling thirsty & could feel sweat on his forehead.

"B**ches!" He nearly screamed, not caring that the door was far from sound-proof.

"F**king b**ches!" He repeated at nearly the same volume as he staggered on the second-story walkway of the transporter room. The walkway, ringing the second story of the room, had no other means of getting to the first floor except for unassuming metal ladders at various points of the walkway.

Wallace knew what he had to do, even though he hated it. He would need to let go of the taped-up shoebox that he had been carrying & drop it to the first floor of the transporter room. Wallace prayed that the contents would not spill out of the box as a result of the fall. He quickly shoved it over the side of the walkway & watched it fall with some trepidation.

The box struck the floor with a thud...And the contents didn't burst open.

Wallace's face was nearly gleeful & he nearly forgot about his gunshot wound for a moment as he began to carefully climb onto the ladder so that he could descend it. With one usable arm & leg, he slowly descended the ladder. He realized that he would have to hurry; There was more then one entrance to the transporter room & he would have to hurry if he was going to permanently evade his pursuers.

As he touched the first floor, he was beginning to feel victorious.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Harold," Jojo whispered to Harold, "What is it?"

A moment earlier, Harold had pulled Jojo towards a corner to hide once they had seen someone enter the transporter room.

"Wallace," Harold said as loudly as he could, his voice still registering as only a whisper.

"Bad guy," Harold continued. Jojo got the message, looking up to the second-story walkway at a man gripping one of his legs in obvious pain.

"What do we do?" Jojo asked.

"We can't...," Harold began to say before his voice went out on him momentarily. Harold waited for a moment to regain his voice, then continued, "We can't let him into the transporter."

"But we also can't start the transporter without him," Jojo countered.

Jojo thought desperately about what to do. He thought about what Wally would do in a situation like this.

Then, Jojo saw something on a counter nearby.

Jojo had a revelation that could save all of them...

==================================

PART XCIII


"Come on," Laura growled, pulling Cindy away from the door, "There's got to be more then one entrance to that stupid room!"

Cindy was frustrated at herself. The one chance to kill that man & she screwed it up. For all she knew, she had just blown her chance to save everyone or just opened the door getting everyone killed.

Grudingly, Cindy pulled away from the securely-locked door & began running behind Laura. They needed to find another way into that room... And fast.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wallace worked quickly at the controls of the transporter. He winced a few times, gingerly standing on a leg that was not getting any better.

As Wallace finished his work, he couldn't help but smile & make a little laugh. In his mind, he was going to escape. He was going to actually escape.

Wallace began hobbling over to the meat-locker styled chamber in the middle of the room, the grin still on his lips.

That's when he saw Jojo, rifle in hand, in plain sight. The rifle's barrel pointed straight at him, Wallace knew his speed would be no match against a rifle round shot only yards away.

"Move & you're dead," Jojo simply said.

Wallace straightened up, turning to face Jojo.

"We're both dead, anyway," Wallace stated, matter-of-factly.

"Don't play games with me," Jojo replied, stepping forward a bit.

Wallace replied, "I'm not," backing up a step in response, "We need to leave this dimension immediately."

"Why aren't you taking all those scientists?" Jojo asked, "What about the soldiers?"

"Scientists?" Wallace asked.

"Don't f**king play dumb with my as*!" Jojo screamed at the top of his lungs. Wallace looked visibly shaken, nearly falling to the ground.

"I couldn't," a shaken Wallace replied, "It's not possible!"

"Not...?" Jojo tried to say, trying to comprehend what Wallace had said. Wallace finished his thought for him.

"Duplication of dimensions is far from efficient & it's very asymmetrical," Wallace nervously explained, "It takes more power to leave a duplicated dimension then to arrive in one."

Jojo merely shook his head faintly, staring at Wallace.

"So...," Jojo stammered, "Why...Why did they all come here? Why...Why did they all come here if they knew they weren't going back?"

"They didn't know," Wallace stated, "We needed them to operate the machinery. We needed the military so that they could perform their wartime surveillance tasks. Without all of them coming, none of this would have been possible."

"So," Jojo merely replied, "You lied to them. You lied to them & you killed them. Didn't you? They certainly didn't come here expecting to die, did they?"

"There are very few educated people willing to perform a suicide mission," Wallace dryly summarized, "Even if it may end the war in doing so."

"You didn't intend to die, did you?" Jojo darkly asked. Even a deaf person would have heard Jojo's shift in tone.

"Every operation needs it's leader..." Wallace slowly replied, backing up a few steps. Jojo slightly raised his rifle, causing Wallace to immediately stop all movement.

"How many," Jojo asked, "How many can go back?"

"Including the two of us," Wallace stated, "Maybe a few more. Certainly no more then eight. Six is probably a more comfortable number."

"So where's the other five?" Jojo asked, starting to aim his rifle a bit more formally at Wallace.

"Well," Wallace said, swallowing hard, "Only four were ever intended to go back. Two of them are missing; Perhaps you know about that, they were in a black SUV when they disappeared. A third also seems to be missing, perhaps your handiwork as well."

"And what were those two in the black SUV supposed to have done?" Jojo asked.

"Collect specimens," Wallace factually stated, "Specimens like you. Copies."

"Alive?" Jojo asked.

"Dead," Wallace stammered, beginning to realize his fate, "Artifacts fron a copied world."

Before Jojo could respond, Wallace spoke up, saying, "The transporter is on a ten minute timer. I do hope we can continue this conversation back on the real Earth..."

"Got it," Harold said weakly, coming out from a hidden corner.

What Harold held in his hand startled Wallace more then Jojo's rifle did...

It was a camcorder.

======================

PART XCIV


"Hey," Martin asked a very pale, very tired-looking Wally, "You still alive?"

"Yeah," Wally murmured, almost as though he was in a trance. His grip on Martin's coat was still tight despite Wally's deteriorating physical appearance.

"Good," Martin replied, "Because it's time to go up a flight of stairs. Think you can handle that?"

"Yeah," Wally murmured again.

Martin paused for a moment, sighing.

"Bunnies are flying out of my butt. Can you see them?" Martin asked matter-of-factly.

"Yeah," Wally murmured, exactly as he had the previous two times.

'He's not going to make it,' Martin thought to himself. His conscious replied, 'You're not a healthy man right now, either.'

"Wally," Martin hissed, trying to sound as mean as possible with a voice that was stil weak & crackled, "You say 'yeah' one more time, I will beat your balls in with a sledgehammer. Do you hear me?"

"Ye...," Wally began to say, only to correct himself by saying, "OK."

"Good," Martin said as firmly as he good, "We're going up the stairs now. Show me how young you are by helping me up these stairs. OK?"

"OK," Wally replied.

As Martin slowly began to ascend the stairs, he noticed that Wally was showing a bit more life. It would still take them a while to walk up the flight of stairs but at least, in Martin's mind, he was no longer dragging a dead weight.

'Maybe,' Martin thought, 'Just maybe, we can make it.'

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wallace looked both angered & incredulous at the same time. A sarcastic, smug smile formed on his face as his eyes darted from the camcorder to the Jojo's grim face.

"You think you can blackmail me with THAT?!" Wallace demanded.

"I have no intention of blackmailing you," Jojo growled, suddenly walking up to Wallace.

With one swift motion, Jojo swung the butt of the rifle at Wallace's jaw. Wallace was completely caught off-guard, the butt of the rifle smacking him clean against the jaw. He fell to the ground like a ragdoll, his head smacking against hard tiled floor.

Just then, Jojo & Harold heard a door open up. It was Laura & Cindy, running into the room.

"Jojo!" Cindy excitedly blurted out, running up to Jojo. They hugged briefly as Laura asked, "Where's Wally?"

Jojo's face turned concerned as he pulled away from Cindy.

"We're getting out of here right now," Jojo stated, "As soon as we get Wally. Cindy, guard the idiot on the ground. Harold..."

Harold was already over at the controls where Wallace had once been. He turned around & said, "We've got five minutes left & I can't stop it, Jojo! It's now or never!"

Jojo placed his rifle on the ground & ran over to Laura, pulling her arm.

"We're getting Wally now, come on!" Jojo commanded.

The two raced out the door, running full tilt towards where Jojo had left Wally.

Harold looked down at the counter, now reading less then five minutes left. It was going to be close...

================================

PART XCV


"Where are they?" Cindy asked, her voice whining.

"They have to hurry," Harold commented, his voice finally beginning to show signs of normalcy from having been exposed to the poisonous gas earlier.

"Wait," Cindy said, noticing a taped-up shoebox on the ground. Walking over & picking it up, she couldn't help but notice that it had a certain weight to it. It felt solid & was firmly taped up.

"Is this that...surveillance stuff the military was doing?" Cindy asked, tossing & turning the box in her hands.

Harold glanced at the box from where he stood.

"Hardly," he quickly replied, "The surveillance information that the military gathered is stored inside the transporter itself so it can go back whenever we go back."

"Are you sure?" Cindy asked.

"Positive," Harold replied, a bit of nervousness escaping his voice, "I just checked it myself. It'll be a windfall of information...If we can get it back in time."

"Then what is this?" Cindy asked, holding up the box.

"Ask him," Harold replied, pointing to Wallace, "Or open it up yourself, once we're back on normal Earth."

"How much time is left?" Cindy asked.

"Less then 3 minutes, I'm afraid," Harold replied.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"He's not here!" Jojo exclaimed, quickly looking around at the hallway where he left Wally.

"Oh my God!" Laura blurted out, "He could be anywhere & there's almost no time left!"

"WALLY!" Jojo yelled out, running a few steps back towards the hallway intersection.

"WALLY!" Jojo yelled out again, running a few yards down another hallway.

They had no time to search for Wally. Even with a sprint, they would only be able to get back to the transporter room with a little under one-half minute left.

"Look!" Laura shouted, pointing down to the ground, "Blood!"

Sure enough, there were blood drops on the ground that led away down the hallway & back the way they had arrived.

"Come on!" Jojo exclaimed, running at full speed while following the blood drops. He heard Laura running closely behind him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Footsteps. Martin heard the footsteps first & then the shouts second.

"WALLY!" He heard, sounding as though it came from two hallways over.

"OVER HERE!" Martin replied weakly, taking a gamble that these people were friendlier then those who had tried to poison him.

Recognizing the weakness in his own voice, his hands fumbled quickly inside his pockets for something to throw & cause noise. He took pens from his pocket protector & threw it down the stairs as well as some pocket change.

Instantly, the footsteps & voices grew louder. In another moment, Martin saw two people emerge at the bottom of the stairway.

Jojo was heartened for two reasons - That Wally was with this man & that they were halfway back to the transporter room.

Now, though, it really would be anyone's guess if they could make it back to the transporter in time. With a sprint, they would've made it with seconds to spare. Carrying two people under their shoulders, though...?

[steve]

PART XCVI


There was no time to think, only time to "do." That meant not wasting time asking questions. That meant gambling on the best game plan Jojo could think of in a five second timespan & hoping it would be the one that worked.

Laura grabbed Wally & began pulling him along with her as fast as she could run. She could hear him howl in pain but his protests would be futile if they couldn't get back to the transporter in time.

Jojo grabbed Martin, put his arm over his shoulders & ran. He insisted on having Laura & Wally in front of him, knowing that he had the capability of running past them & helping Laura out in a pinch if it absolutely, positively came down to it.

Short hallways felt like an eternity to run down & long hallways felt even longer. Laura could feel her knees begin to strain the longer she carried Wally. Jojo was beginning to underestimate his ability to drag along a man nearly fifty percent heavier then he was.

'There are no more stairs,' Jojo thought to encourage himself, 'Just running. Run fast, run fast.'

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Come on," Harold beckoned, grabbing Cindy's arm, "We have to get in now."

"There's thirty seconds left," Cindy protested.

"It takes ten seconds for the door to seal. If it doesn't, we're as good as trapped!" Harold nervously exclaimed, doing what he could to hold back his mounting anger. Harold wasn't going to die on some copied planet because a few kids couldn't see through the reality of their desperate situation. Harold was far too old to be that naive & optimistic.

Harold glanced at the timer. Twenty seconds left.

That was when they both heard the sound they had wanted to hear. A door being kicked open. Four bodies rushing through the door.

Cindy instinctively picked up the taped-up shoebox & ran into the transporter room. Harold needed no encouragement, yelling to Jojo & Laura, "Get in here!" as he walked as quickly as he could into the transporter.

With a final surge of adrenaline, the two of them dragged their wounded comrades into the transporter, with Harold slamming the door shut immediately after Jojo & Martin were inside.

Eleven seconds to spare.

Harold was so excited about escaping that the counter was down to four seconds before he remembered something important.

"We have to lie down on the ground!" He shouted as loudly as he could. His voice carried well in the enclosed chamber.

Everyone lied down on the ground just as the counter reached zero.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Darkness. Silence. Weightlessness.

It felt like forever & yet, men like Harold & Martin knew that it was anything but.

The human body had adapted to the natural world, the world in which it was forced to live in all the time. The world was surrounded by smells so the body grew a nose. Different light waves bounced off different types of objects, giving color to objects & eyes to the human. Things made noise & ears grew to take advantage of that.

What, though, was the human body to do with this weird, new form of transportation? What sensations could it possibly feel?

When humans first went into space, naive scientists feared that eyeballs would explode. While some theories were proven correct, several more (And, thankfully, more drastic) theories never became reality. After decades of space travel, scientists no longer feared exploding eyeballs & began focusing on the real issues of weakened bones & shrinking muscle mass.

Harold wondered, in that fraction of a second that it took for them to go from "copied Earth" to "real Earth," what unknown effects would be bestowed upon them for this unique travel? Was it as harmless as taking an airplane from one city to another or as deadly as walking into the center of malfunctioning nuclear power plant?

Almost as suddenly as the door was closed, the door to the transportation chamber was opened from the outside.

None of the occupants of the transportation chamber were conscious to witness the event.

======================

PART XCVII


His daughter worried about whether a boy named Kevin was going to ask her out to the next school dance.

His son got mad because he couldn't defeat the last "boss" in some video game that he had bought two months prior.

His wife wanted a new kitchen because the refrigerator was too far from the sink & the sink was too close to the oven.

To each of them, these were "real" problems... Front-page crises that needed to have been resolved yesterday.

To Major General Oscar Smith, all of those problems were dwarfed by his day-to-day struggles with keeping a sixty-five person department in order. The department "didn't exist," in classic cloak-and-dagger fashion that most spy pulp novels used to use. Oscar didn't oversee bleeding-edge technology projects. He didn't develop weapons currently in use by special forces commandoes or elite fighter plane squadrons. He didn't have weekly &, sometimes, daily meetings with five-star generals with pleading looks in their eyes, practically asking if he had some magical formula that would win them the war in a day. Some of those meetings weren't hostile & all of those meetings (if they even existed) didn't contain accusations & obscenities.

At the exact same desk that Wallace occupied on the copied Earth, Oscar Smith sat at his. His pulse was hardly above normal but he was the only person in the entire building who was not on pins-and-needles.

Just one moment ago, about forty or so people had crammed into what the scientists had lovingly called "The sardine can." Anyone who was claustrophobic or homophobic need not have applied for the mission - It involved lying grown men on top of each other & sending them into a "copied" dimension. There had been an argument about whether to build bunks for the men to lie on. The argument was rejected, for it would have taken too much time & effort to do so. Comfort, time & effort were not considerations for the mission... Results were.

In theory, it would only take one moment from when the door closed to when they would be signalled to open the door again. On this Earth, the "real" Earth, no time would pass at all between the start, implementation & completion of the mission. On their Earth, the "copied" Earth, it would take about one week.

Everything, of course, was capable of going wrong. Planes designated for pilots to fly might have some unforeseen mechanical problems. Surveillance equipment could malfunction. Physical ailments could occur in relation to the transportation process. The transportation process might not even work.

Worse still beyond physical & mechanical failures would be the psychological failures. The system was idiot-proof to a fault; Only a complete moron wouldn't be able to initiate the transportation sequence. What if someone went crazy? What if there was a mutiny? What if...?

'What if they found out?' Oscar thought to himself, flinching for just a moment.

Only the top people knew the dark secret of transportation, that going to was so much easier then coming from. Even mid-level managers had been left in the dark over a debilitating limitation of the transportation process - For every unit of energy it took to go to the copied dimension, it took nearly forty units to come back.

Had they been given another year, maybe they would've been able to crack that problem wide open. They didn't have a year, though; They had yesterday & yesterday is never enough time for anything except a half-hearted apology.

Oscar watched forty or so corpses go into a sardine can, knowing full well they wouldn't be coming back out. Knowing that only a chosen few would come back. Oscar had watched people seeth in anger over not being chosen to go on the mission, scientists & soldiers alike. He hated giving people the illusion of choice but knew he wouldn't be able to give them the reality of fact.

His pulse didn't jump even in the slightest when he received a phone call - THE phone call - At his office.

"Smith," Oscar flatly replied into the receiver.

"Sir," a voice stated, "We have a mission conclusion anomaly."

"Explain," Oscar asked, deeply sighing.

"Six people have returned, none from our expected guest list. Surveillance information has been successfully retrieved & is being processed now. Unidentified returning contraband has been confiscated," the voice stated in a very practiced manner.

All of it was code, of course, in case someone was listening in on their telephone call. It meant something to the uninvited but they wouldn't know just what it meant.

"I'll be right down," Oscar replied, "Get the meeting room readied."

Oscar hung up the phone & dialled a new, outside telephone number. As he did so, he flipped open a small, hardcover book that had light red pages with dark red text.

"Tango Alpha Niner, Tango Alpha Niner," he spoke after hearing a beep. Promptly he hung up the phone & ripped the page out of the book. He shoved the page into a shredder & left his office.

He had yet to hear the gasps, the cries & the howls from soldiers & scientists alike who had recovered the "uninvited guests" & couldn't believe that there weren't more people... Who knew that no one else would be arriving...

=======================

Part XCVIII


Oscar flipped through the hastily prepared dossiers on four of the individuals who had come back through the transporter. He had been told the other two were personnel who had been assigned to the project. Their files, in nauseating detail, could be accessed at any time.

"All of these people are clones?" Oscar asked, tossing the dossier back down onto the table with a light flick of his wrist.

"Yes, sir," an anonymous officer replied, "They were not part of the personnel who had left our facility."

"This changes everything," a nervous Dr. Venderton blurted out, gesturing with his hands.

"Would you care to elaborate?" Oscar asked.

"If the subjects truly are clones & there's no doubt that they aren't, this means that we're capable of more elaborate duplications then were conceivable!" Dr. Venderton explained with sincere excitement.

"I thought clones were supposed to have errors & mistakes in them that would render them as invalids," Oscar asked in an innocent tone. It was an ascertain that Dr. Venderton had passionately made before the mission had begun.

"We're beginning our interrogations of them now," Major Johan Sachez stated, "One of the subjects of inquiry will be their intellect & ability to reason."

"What about this contraband that came back? Is it cloned or genuine?" Oscar asked.

"We're still drawing up a list of all items that came back," Meghan Black reported, "But we are certain that a majority of non-living items transported back is cloned."

Oscar sighed, then blurted out, "Can someone tell me if that intel we received is genuine?"

There was a pause in the room, the sound of a few pages being flipped. Finally, someone spoke up.

"Planes scrambled about three minutes ago to pursue seventeen likely targets. More missions are being prepped in the event the intel is valid," an anonymous officer said.

"Christ," Oscar cursed, "What do they think we did? Lie?"

Oscar shook his head, continuing, "In two hours, that meal's going to be colder then a corpse. I'd like to know that thirty-seven people didn't just die so we could bomb some out-of-the-way ammo dump that no one knew about."

Before anyone else could speak, Oscar concluded, "I want to know the story of our mystery guests before the end of the hour... All six of them. Keep me up to date on how our intel is being used. I've got a few phone calls to make. Everyone dismissed."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

His wife didn't enjoy the phone call. It just wouldn't be another long day at the office; He'd be there until he could leave. He couldn't say any more then that & wouldn't have anyway. His wife was too used to these occurrances to even bother asking why. They were at war & he wore too many metals on his coat to be able to swing a nine-to-five shift.

His wife told him that his son finally beat that video game of his. A friend told a friend told a friend told a friend of his daughter's that Kevin liked her... Maybe. That still hadn't resulted in her getting asked to the dance & her daughter was beginning to get all bent out of shape as a result.

"That's nothing, honey," Oscar wanted to reply, "A top-secret project sort of went haywire today. We've got excellent intel on the enemy but none of the people we expected back ever got back. We may have just violated or re-written one of the major laws of physics, depending on which scientist you ask. Hopefully, we haven't started a chain reaction that'll destroy the planet as we know it. Love you lots, honey. Goodbye."

Instead, Oscar simply laughed at what his wife had told him in a loving way. He hung up the phone soon after, followed by another phone call... To the Secretary of the Defense.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jojo didn't like what was going on. They had all been separated & placed into separate rooms that, for all intents & purposes, looked like a jail cell. He had seen them take Wally away on a stretcher.

Their guns were confiscated & now they were being asked to strip off all of their clothes to put on new clothes. He bet that that request must have been going over well with Cindy & Laura.

Jojo begrudgingly stripped off all of his clothes so that he could wear what felt like hospital clothes. They felt paper-y & were colored a very light blue.

Jojo wondered what would be next. Most likely, an interrogation of some kind.

Sure enough, a few moments later, Jojo was led out of the room & down the hallway to be interrogated.

==========================

PART XCIX


The project name had been randomly generated : Orange Lightning.

The pilots were told that it was just like any other mission - Fly to the target, shoot the missiles, fly out before you're killed.

Pilots all over all the theatres of war were given these instructions. The enemy is here... Kill them. Fly back.

Special forces were given similar instructions. The enemy base to infiltrate is here. Go get them. Take no prisoners.

The intelligence agencies were given reams of confiscated cyphers, transmissions, maps & other paperwork. Here are the enemies' codes. Start cracking them. Start listening to their transmissions.

Fifty minutes after Jojo, Wally, Cindy, Laura, Harold & Martin had transported back to the "real" Earth... Project Orange Lightning began. Everyone who knew the source of the intelligence given out for Project Orange Lightning was wishing & praying that this would be the break they needed to end the war.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The interrogations proved more entertaining then useful.

The interrogators for Jojo could've made a drinking game out of how many times he had said "Dude" during their questioning.

Cindy, uncomfortable in the light blue clothing provided to her, never once uncrossed her arms from her chest. She wanted, in no particular order - Jojo, her parents, to know if Mr. Anderson was alright for real, to know if Wally was alright, to know if she had been given and sexually transmitted diseases when she was sexually assaulted by the security officers at the mall.

Laura had no trouble with the light blue clothing or the fact that her male interrogators could see the outlines of her nipples. Per her training, she stared right back at her interrogator's gaze with one of her own as she answered the questions.

Wally was in no condition to be interrogated. He was in emergency surgery.

Harold & Martin were also in the hospital, recovering from attempted gas poisoning. They were expected to recover completely but were in no condition for interrogation.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

By the time the first round of interrogations were over, Project Orange Lightning had been a complete success. Ammunition depots had been destroyed. Secret bases infiltrated. Manufacturing plants crippled. New intelligence was being gathered as a direct result of the old intelligence that had been initially received.

The geography of the front lines wouldn't change overnight. They wouldn't be able to take the bullets out of the enemies' guns. They wouldn't be able to suck the gas out of the enemies' tanks. What had been occurring, though, was the next best thing. They would be no reinforcements for the enemy. After their bullets ran out from the guns they already had, they would be out for good. Hoodlums & gangs would form but not a concentrated army.

The enemy, as a trained army, was at an end. The enemy, as small groups of guerilla fighters, would be their next potent stage.

The first signs that Project Orange Lightning was a success came in congratulatory phone calls from various government units. The phone calls never let up & other staff members had to start fielding those calls.

Oscar, however, had other pressing concerns on his mind.

What was he going to do with four cloned humans?

He knew what he had to do. He just didn't know whether or not he could justify it in his own mind...

=============================

PART C


Wallace never got to see the answer.

He never got to witness what would happen to a copied dimension when it's parts finally stopped working together. When the fallacies of the copy, however small, mounted up to something much larger & much more fatal.

The destruction of the copied dimension had neither explosions or grueling sound effects. The sun grew colder until all combustion within it stopped. The loss of a gravitational pull flung the Earth outward to the edge of the solar system. The Earth initially kept on spinning but it soon lost the forces necessary to maintain it's spin.

If it wasn't the sudden drop of about five hundred degrees Fahrenheit that killed Wallace, it was the equally sudden loss of gravity. Both dissipated to nothingness within an hour.

Earth, as we knew it, no longer existed. It's conversion to an asteroid was cut short when the rest of the copied dimension collapsed in onto itself.

No one would know that, besides Jojo, Wally, Laura & Cindy, there were two hundred other completely normal "copied" humans on the planet.

A little less then eighty thousand "crazies," those copied humans who had severe defects but could still walk & function, also perished.

No one would know that, thirty-seven hours after the transportation back to the "real" Earth occurred, "copied" Earth had been erased out. The only refugees of the "copied" Earth now resided in the hands of the military... Their fate to be decided by a simple conversation...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Oscar had his orders. He had had his orders for weeks now, prior to when the copied dimension was even created.

Nothing copied that lived was supposed to survive.

There had been an entire committee created to decide what to do in case of all sorts of wacky contingencies. What if monsters jumped out of the chamber? What if everyone was acting weird when they jumped out of chamber? What if nothing came back? What if they were all physically deformed but were completely rational? What if...?

Most of the answers were synonymous with what you did to a horse if it had a bum leg - Shoot it. Shoot it until it was dead. Then, burn the ashes & if anyone asked any questions, stonewall until everyone involved died of old age. That stalling tactic had worked so well with other government f**k-ups, so why not this one?

"Hi, Jake," Oscar said, waving the janitor in. The janitor closed the door behind him.

Who'd have ever thought that a man such as Oscar would talk about something so important to someone as lowly as a janitor? It was exactly why Oscar was having the conversation right now.

"Hi, Oscar," the janitor replied, sitting down eagerly.

Oscar just stared at the janitor for a moment. The janitor's name was Mark. He lived about four miles down the road. They had his fingerprints on file. They had his mug shot. They had a DNA sample from him. They had a criminal background check, a credit report check, & a psychological profile all on a man who's only job was to empty wastepaper baskets, buff the floors & keep the place from smelling like a sewer.

"Mark," Oscar asked slowly, "I need an answer."

"Sure thing, Oscar," the janitor replied eagerly, "What do you need?"

"Do you play videogames, Mark?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah, kinda," the janitor replied, "My roommate has one of those consoles. I play that on occasion."

"They have these videogames," Oscar explained, "Called 'First-Person Shooters.' You've heard of those, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Mark replied, "I've played those. What about them?"

Oscar paused for a moment, then asked, "Have you ever regretted shooting a character in one of those games?"

"What do you mean?" Replied Mark.

"I mean," Oscar tried to clarify, "My son, he plays those games all the time. I don't understand much about them except there's a lot of shooting & jumping & all of that..."

Oscar paused again, trying to find the right words for what he needed to say.

"If you had a chance to not kill someone in one of those games... Would you do it?" Oscar asked.

Mark thought about it for a little while, then replied, "Well, they're not real. I mean, it's not like you're killing a real person."

"But that character, that enemy," Oscar inquired, "They think that they're real. In their world, to themselves, they're real. So, would you respect that reality or would you kill them because you think that your reality is better then their reality?"

"Woah," the janitor replied, standing up for a moment & walking around, "That's pretty deep. I never knew you thought that deep, you know?"

The janitor thought about the question for a moment, then replied, "Well, they're meant to attack me, you know? I mean, that's how they're programmed. If they spot me, they're going to shoot me. So, I have to shoot back."

"What if they weren't automatically programmed to shoot at you, though?" Oscar asked, "What if you could try & reason with them? Would you shoot them, then?"

"Well," the janitor answered, sitting back down, "I've never played a game like that before. You know, where you can convince your enemy not to kill you. I mean, I wouldn't kill anyone neutral in a game, a bystander or anything like that. I know of some games where you can do that, though."

"Would you not kill them because you respected their life or would you not kill them because that's the way you were brought up? Because it's not a part of the mission?" Oscar asked.

"I wouldn't kill them...I wouldn't kill them because I wouldn't want to be thought of as a murderer, you know? I mean, when you kill an enemy, they're just another bad guy. You're meant to kill them. The game is programmed that way. I wouldn't kill someone who wasn't trying to kill me, though. You're just cruel & if a game allows you to do something like that, well, then the game makers are cruel," the janitor replied.

Oscar shook his head affirmatively.

"Thanks," Oscar replied, standing up from his chair. The janitor responded in kind, standing up & going for the door. A moment later, the janitor was gone.

Oscar had his answer.

Now, he just needed to find a way to implement it.

[steve]

PART CI


"Dr. Venderton," Oscar said, gesturing the man into his office, "Please have a seat."

Dr. Venderton walked in, closed the door & sat down.

"How are you proceeding with the DNA analysis of...Um, Cindy's...," Oscar began to say, before being quickly corrected by Dr. Venderton.

"Laura's," Dr. Venderton politely corrected, "Laura's DNA, sir."

"Right," Oscar said, "How are you proceeding with the DNA analysis of Laura's samples?"

"It will take weeks before we get the full results back," Dr. Venderton stated, "Even with top priority clearance."

"Of course," Oscar plainly replied, sighing. Oscar paused for a moment, then looked at Dr. Venderton.

"Off the record," Oscar started, "What will be the extent of the tests that we will be able to run before the...subjects are disposed of?"

"Well," Dr. Venderton replied, "The tests can only be performed on one of the subjects - Laura, because she was in basic training & as a part of her induction into the military, we took a DNA sample from her. We just don't have normal DNA from the other three normal subjects. The two male subjects, Jojo & Wally, are draft dodgers & there are no civilian DNA samples on file. The other female subject, Cindy, has yet to be inducted into the military & there are no civilian DNA samples from her."

"Would it be beneficial to have those three normal DNA samples?" Oscar asked.

"Tremendously," Dr. Venderton replied, a grin unconsciously creeping onto his face, "It would be a bonanza of information. Granted, we would only have four test cases but it would be so much more comprehensive then only one."

"If it was possible, would you want to perform more then just DNA analysis between the copied & normal subjects?" Oscar asked.

The smile on Dr. Venderton's face answered Oscar's question visually but he received a more traditional verbal response as well.

"I must ask if these questions have any bearing on any possible realistic scenarios," Dr. Venderton replied, "I'd hate to be pressing my nose up against the store front, only to be pulled away."

"Dr. Venderton," Oscar said, "I know what other people say is right & I know what I feel is right. When those two match, I don't have a problem. When they don't, then I have to make a decision. As it stands, those copied subjects should have been destroyed by now. That's what is right according to other people. I'm asking you, from a scientific viewpoint, if that's the best thing for science. Is it?"

Dr. Venderton looked away from Oscar for a moment, his eyes darting around the office. Just before Oscar spoke up to force an answer, Dr. Venderton replied, "No. We would be missing out on a great deal of scientific exploration & discovery if the copied subjects were destroyed. Biologists, astrophysicists, psychologists... All these people & all these fields would not be able to validate potential questions concerning a wide range of topics, amongst them the perceived effects of copying process."

"In your opinion, Doctor, would it be a fair & reasonable presumption that, if these copied subjects were to remain alive, that it would be a contribution to science without it compromising the safety or integrity of this Earth or dimension?" Oscar asked.

"Yes," Dr. Venderton replied, "I think that it is a safe assumption that our dimension has not been influenced by objects from a copied dimension. I was never one for the theory that such influences could ever take place..."

Oscar interrupted Dr. Venderton by holding up his hand. Dr. Venderton immediately ceased talking.

"Start writing up what you want to do," Oscar told Dr. Venderton, "But I make no guarantees & keep it quiet. OK?"

Dr. Venderton shook his head affirmatively.

"OK," Oscar said, "I'm going to call you later about something else. Dismissed."

After Dr. Venderton left the office, Oscar picked up the phone. He paused before dialling, realizing that the consequences of this next conversation may end his career.

=========================

PART CII


The geography of the front lines were finally starting to move. The enemy, starved for supplies, their communications both infiltrated & dismantled, began to buckle under the weight of an army with more then ample supplies that could readily communicate amongst itself.

Lt. Gen. Oscar Smith would never receive the credit, of course. He understood that whatever medals or awards he received would be in private ceremonies lasting no more then a few minutes at most. Already, the public relations machinery of the military was hyping up the actions of a few commanders out in the fields who were following through on intelligence gathered from the entire transportation episode.

It was then & only then that Lt. Gen. Oscar Smith made that fateful phone call. It would be the phone call that decided whether or not his final resting place was Arlington or some random spot in the middle of non-descript forest.

"Oscar," the voice at the other end exclaimed happily, "Aren't you the unofficial man of the hour. Have you been watching the news? They're folding like a lawn chair out there! The news channels don't even know the half of it! Wait until they hear that we recovered those POWs from...Um...Cripes...I knew that name just a moment ago...".

"Phil," Oscar replied, "I'm always glad to put a smile on your face."

"Oscar," Phil stated, "If they don't give you a blank check after this, I don't know what a man needs to do to get one. I'm serious. They're folding, Oscar. Folding. We've got field reports saying that some units have surrendered en masse. Can you believe it?! We haven't told the news channels yet who we've captured. They are going to brown their shorts for sure once we tell them!"

"Well," Oscar said, clearing his voice, "About that blank check...."

"Yeah," Phil said, his tone calming down to normal, "You definitely deserve a vacation. The whole family. You name it, we'll make it happen. Cruise ship. Theme park. Around the world. Out-of-the-way seclusion..."

"I was thinking of another use for that blank check," Oscar replied, matter-of-factly.

"Well, sure, Oscar," Phil replied, "What do you have in mind?"

When Oscar was finished with the conversation, he was the one with a smile on his face.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

They were officially called "Personnel Acquisition & Recovery Specialists." The polite acronym to call them was called "PEARS." However, they had so many derogatory aliases that it was an exercise it futility to count them all.

One of their aliases boiled it all down into one word - "Trackers."

When people didn't show up for basic training, they tracked them down. When people left basic training, they tracked them down.

When they found those people, they brought them to justice. Most of the time, justice was a courtroom. Some of the time, justice was a body bag. Trackers never seemed to use up the number of body bags that they wanted to.

"Gentlemen," a man said as he walked into a briefing room. Sitting before him were twelve trackers, all of them veterans, none of them under one-hundred seventy pounds of muscle & all of them young enough not to be considered "old" be tennis-playing standards.

"We have a top priority tracking assignment," the man stated, passing out identical red folders to each of the trackers. The trackers began opening the folders to learn the basics of the assignment.

"I am sorry that you have been pulled away from your various cases but people with no last names have given this to me & I am now giving this to you. Until this assignment is completed, there is nothing else in your life," the man stated.

The man held a small remote control which controlled both the lights in the room as well as digital projector. The lights soon dimmed & the trackers began watching the images being flashed across a blank wall in the briefing room.

"You have been assigned to capture the following two individuals, so stated in your folders. The fantastic news is that we have excellent intel on where they have been, where they probably are & most definitely where they are going," the man stated.

"So why not just the normal trackers assigned to the area in question?" One of the trackers asked.

"Because, gentlemen," the man said, "These people want the best. They want an absolute, positive guarantee that these people are brought in alive & unharmed. Yes, that does mean no body bags. In fact, if you kill either of these two subjects, you may as well just put a bullet through your own skull. I am serious, gentlemen, they want these two as alive & unharmed as you are right now. The information that you need is in the folders provided. This is a very time sensitive assignment so you need to get out there yesterday to capture these two individuals. The local authorities, both military & civilian, have been notified. Your services are, as always, greatly appreciated."

The trackers flipped through their folders, studying the two subjects briefly before getting up from their chairs & leaving.

One of the trackers wondered what was so important about these two people. Were they spies? Saboteurs? Revolutionaries? Terrorists? Neither of them looked physically imposing. The tracker even smirked when he saw the alias of one of their targets, as it hardly inspired fear or notoriety...

Jojo.

==============================

PART CIII


"Dude, this is it," Wally said.

The moon as their only flashlight, Jojo saw the silhouette of a modestly-sized sawmill in front of them. In the darkness, he couldn't tell whether the structure was on the verge of collapsing or if it was as solid & stable as it was when it was built over a century ago.

"I think it's time to go to bed," Jojo declared, dropping his backpack straight to the ground.

"Dude, you don't want to sleep in it?" Wally asked, turning to look at Jojo. It wasn't as though Wally could see Jojo's expression - Only his outline as it was reflected by the moonbeams.

"Wally," Jojo stated, as he hurriedly got out his sleeping bag, "I am glad that we are at the sawmill. In celebration of this momentous event, I am going to bed now. If you wake me up before noontime tomorrow, I swear to God I will kill you."

"Yeah, well," Wally stammered to say, "Aren't you going to at least put up your tent first? I mean, it might rain or something."

Jojo, having already kicked off his shoes & climbed into his sleeping bag, answered, "I will just have to place my faith in Mother Nature. Wally, I'm out. Good night."

Wally could hear the signature light snore of Jojo not a moment later.

Wally took off his backpack & set it down at a nearby tree. He hung up their food & began pitching his tent. Against the backdrop of night, he fumbled for a few extra moments to set up the tent but he accomplished the task.

As he rolled out his sleeping bag, he heard a noise. Twigs snapping. Leaves rustling.

Wally just shook it off as paranoia. The forest makes a lot of noise at night. Owls hooting & other animal sounds in the forest were no more as common as cars driving down a road in the city.

Then, Wally heard IT. He heard a voice. A human voice faintly talking to someone other then himself or Jojo.

"Jojo? Jojo?" Wally said, shaking Jojo's shoulder hard. His only reply was a snore.

Suddenly, Wally saw them. He saw the flashlights. He saw the laser-projected targeting beams. He heard the voices &, this time, they were all loud.

"Get down now!" He heard one of them scream.

"Military Police!" Another one of them shouted.

Eight trackers converged on both Wally & Jojo within seconds. Wally instinctively raised his hands in surrender. He was forcibly pushed to the ground & handcuffed.

Two trackers attempted to wake Jojo but failed. Rather then injure him in an attempt to wake him, they simply cuffed his hands behind his back & carried him away. It would become the evening's most humorous moment.

The entire incident took less then one minute to complete. Many of the trackers sighed in relief at how seemingly easy the mission had gone. Wally & Jojo would never learn that the semi-automatic weapons with laser sightings that the Trackers had brandished were completely empty. Their most potent weapon was pepper spray & the team leader carried a taser weapon as a last resort.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Oscar's phone rang at his desk & he picked it up.

"Oscar," he said into the phone.

"It's Phil," Phil said on the other end of the phone, "Good news. They captured those guys without so much as breaking a sweat. They're en route to you right now. We couldn't afford a limosine. How's a prison van sound?"

"As long as they're unharmed, it's good news to me," Oscar said, "Thanks."

The phone call ended a moment later.

Two down, two to go.

=============================

PART CIV


The chair was completely made of metal. It was bolted to the floor. Wally was handcuffed & those handcuffs were also handcuffed to the chair.

Jojo, sitting in an identical chair next to him, looked over at Wally. Wally looked as though he had just washed his face but had forgotten to dry it off. A dead man could hear Wally's heart beating from where Jojo sat.

Wally looked over at Jojo briefly. Jojo hadn't even broken a sweat.

Wally knew that a soldier was standing in the room right behind them, motionless & silent. A single light from a ceiling lamp shined down on Wally & Jojo, their two chairs facing a movable wooden table just long to seat them both on one side. The table had no drawers & plenty of marks on it. He saw what he hoped weren't blood spots but, knowing where they were, he wouldn't necessarily bet against it.

Wally had heard the horror stories that had emerged from those caught by the trackers. None of those stories seemed to end very well for those who had been caught.

They had been waiting in the room for what felt like hours. Jojo had tried to strike up a conversation with the soldier standing guard behind them but the soldier, trained not to respond, would not take the bait.

Suddenly, they heard the door open.

"You are dismissed," they heard a loud, stern voice command.

"Yes, sir," was the response from the guard. They heard the guard walk out the door & the door slam shut.

"Good evening, gentlemen," the man said loudly, walking into view & throwing their backpacks onto the table capriciously, "Or, should I say, good morning."

"Good morning," Wally replied. Jojo was silent.

"I did not ask a question, butt-brain!" The man violently shouted, slapping Wally. He grabbed Wally by his hair & lifted his head back.

"You will only give answers to questions! I hear you backtalk me one more time & I will order a muzzle be placed on you & restrict you to only yes & no questions that can be answered by shaking your head. Do you hear me?" The man shouted, practically into Wally's ear.

"Yes," Wally replied. The man forcibly let go of Wally's hair with a shove. He walked to the other side of the table.

"By order of Federal law, I must tell the two of you lowly draft dodgers my full name. It is Lieutenant Michael Henry Mullagney. My military ID number is 732547-809321. Don't worry; I will be more then happy to provide your lawyers with that if, for some strange reason, you happen to forget it," Mullagney said.

"Now, then, gentlemen," Mullagney said, attempting a more civil tone, "Let us currently discuss the very sad situation that you are in."

Mullagney began to speak while circling around the table, Wally & Jojo.

"You each are going to be charged with one count of purposeful non-compliance with a military order. Namely, avoiding the draft. That is a mandatory five year non-parole prison sentence. It sure looks like your purposeful non-compliance was pre-determined. Let me translate that for you - You planned it before you did it. So we get to add another five years to your sentence," Mullagney said.

"Which one of you is called 'Jojo'?" Mullagney asked.

"I am, sir," Jojo replied.

"Jojo," Mullagney began, "We found illegal drugs in your backpack & on your person that was ready to be consumed. That is a fifteen year non-parole sentence. We also found illegal drugs in your backpack that was not consumable but with the intent to cultivate. Twenty years."

"Finally," Mullagney said, walking back towards the front of the table, "You gentlemen were kind enough to avoid the draft & possess drugs during a legally-defined time of crisis, mainly, during a time of nationally-declared war. All violations of code are doubled & all are automatically non-parolable. Furthermore, since these are now military violations as you were, technically, enrolled in the military but failed to show up to it, you will be serving time in a military prison - Not the cushy civilian prisons you thought we might push you into."

"Oh," Mullagney interrupted himself, failing miserably at shifting his tone to genuine sincerity, "Jojo. Your drug test came back & you failed. Consumption of an illegal drug, that's an additional five years."

"You know something, gentlemen," Mullagney said in his new, completely fake tone of sincerity, "You have so many violations, I can't even count up all that time you'll be spending in prison. I am going to need a pen & paper. I must regretfully part company with you temporarily so that I may can requisition those items & figure out when the two of you will be getting out of prison. Excuse me."

Mullagney walked out of the room, opening & closing the door behind him. Wally heard something & turned towards Jojo. Jojo noticed Wally turning towards him & turned away but it was too late - Wally had seen Jojo begin to cry.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Lieutenant," Oscar said with a smile, watching a television monitor, "You are one very cold b*stard."

Mullagney smiled, replying, "Permission to speak freely, sir."

"Granted," Oscar replied.

"If you have any doubts about what you're going to do with these people, I meant what I said. Give me the sign & I'll put them away for so long they'll forget where their cranks are. They're deserters & they deserted us during our time of need. You see something in them that I don't. That's your call & I will respect it but they didn't respect you, me or hundreds of thousands of others who abided by the law. Sir," Mullagney said in a deadly serious tone.

"I will keep that in mind," Oscar began, in a slow, quiet but stern voice, "When I talk to them. Should they not choose the path that I lay out for them, then you're free to deal with them as you see fit. However, they still have a chance to fulfill their obligations to their country & I will make them aware of that. You have my word that I'm not going to twist their arm one way or the other."

"Thank you," Mullagney replied.

"Dismissed," Oscar commanded.

Oscar turned around to look at the television monitor one more time before leaving his office. He wondered if he was making the right decision. They were, after all, cowards to their country.

Did he really want to give these cowards the opportunity that he wanted to present to them? It made him pause for a moment.

=========================

PART CV


Jojo had calmed down by the time the guard behind them was dismissed for a second time. The guard had been silent the entire time despite Jojo's failed attempts at controlling his sobbings.

Wally instantly knew that it was someone other then Mullagney who had walked in. The voice was different. The cadence in his walk was different. A moment later, he could see the difference.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Oscar said, walking to the front of the table, to stand in front if it, as well as Wally & Jojo.

Oscar heard silence. Wally was looking at Oscar but Jojo's head was buried almost as far as it could go. Oscar looked at them both for a moment before speaking up.

"You can speak freely in front of me, boys," Oscar began, "But this isn't a case of 'good cop, bad cop.' Those charges against you still stand & are very real."

"Are you our lawyer?" Wally slowly asked.

"No," Oscar replied, grabbing both backpacks from the table & gently placing them off to the side, "And before you ask, I'm not going to tell you my name. Since I was not a part of your arrest, I legally don't have to tell you squat. For our conversation, though, you can just call me Oscar."

"Dude," Jojo asked softly, "So, like, why isn't the other guy here?"

"He's still adding up how much time the both of you are going to be spending in a military prison, apologizing to Uncle Sam," Oscar said, continuing, "Which leads me to why I am here."

Oscar paused, then asked, "Why did you boys run? Off the record, why did you do it?"

There was a long pause of silence. Finally, Wally spoke.

"I thought...," Wally slowly said, pausing before continuing, "I thought that I would fail at being a soldier."

"How'd you know?" Asked Oscar, his voice a little more sharp then before, "You never took a day of training in your life. You skipped out. You ran, Wally. The both of you ran. So, answer the question, how'd you know you'd be a failure at being a soldier?"

"Because soldiers don't let other soldiers die," Wally replied, blurting it out, "Because I didn't want the death of another soldier to be on my hands."

"It is on your hands, Wally, because you ran. Someone else had to take your place. Someone else died because you were afraid. Your cowardice contributed to someone's death," Oscar said until Jojo interrupted.

"Hey, man," Jojo interrupted, "We got the beat down from the last bulldog who walked in here, alright? We ain't pinatas, man. We got the message the first time around."

Oscar gazed over at Jojo but Jojo kept talking, "And before you start pulling the flag out of your a** & waving it in front of our faces, maybe you can explain to us how being AWOL or deserters or however you want to call it for, like, a day somehow got some Johnny or Suzie killed on the front lines, alright? You want someone to blame for all this crap, blame the idiots in charge, man."

"You seem to be full of pis* & vinegar," Oscar commented, surpressing a smirk, "So why did you run?"

"I ran because he ran, man," Jojo replied, motioning with his head over at Wally.

"I see," Oscar said, walking back around to the back of the table, "So all you do is follow the herd? You just follow his orders?"

"Hey, look at me, man!" Jojo responded, "Do I look like a freakin' soldier? Huh? I want to live, alright? I didn't start this friggin' war, I didn't want it & I haven't supported it. If you people want to blow each other's heads off, good for f**king you, alright?"

Jojo remained silent for a moment, then said in a more calm tone, "Wally's my friend & I backed him up. OK? I mean, I don't have a lot of real friends. Some of them have already come home in freight, if you get my drift. I've known Wally for so long, I don't know what I'd do without him, you know?"

The room fell silent for another moment before Oscar straightened up. He began to walk out the room, saying, "Well, you'll have to excuse me, gentlemen. I need to go find where your arresting officer is."

Oscar walked out of the room, the guard walking back in to watch over Wally & Jojo.

Before Oscar would make his decision, though, he needed to talk to someone else first.

[steve]

PART CVI


The medical doctor on call said that it was minor. Nothing more then a bruise. Two weeks from now, no one would even know that it had been there.

Oscar knew it was there, though. Oscar had a pretty good guess as to how it had gotten there.

When Trackers caught civilians skipping out of serving, they were angry. Yet, on one level, catching civilians was abstract to them. There was a certain level of detachment because Trackers did not consider themselves as "mere civilians" (a notion that Oscar personally hated). A professional tracker hated a fleeing civilian no more then a hunter hating a deer, fleeing through the woods.

When Trackers caught a soldier attempting to go AWOL, though... They felt betrayed. They felt as though a traitor was amongst them. Trackers loved making examples out of captured AWOL soldiers. Oscar had heard the tales like everyone else; Trackers cutting off fingers, poking out eyeballs, breaking kneecaps & otherwise administering permanent, debilitating bodily harm. Who knows how many soldiers had stayed on the front lines, not because of their confidence in surviving an enemy attack but because of their fear for what a Tracker might do to them if they were ever captured attempting to flee.

Oscar had read the report - It was caused when the subject fell in an attempt to flee. Now he knew how the grade-school teacher felt when the little boy of abusive parents responds that he got his black eye from taking a spill off his bicycle.

Oscar had more important matters on his mind then scolding the Trackers, though.

"At ease, soldier. Sit down," Oscar said.

The captured AWOL soldier, Laura, sat down on an all-metal chair identical to what Wally & Jojo were handcuffed to.

"My name is Oscar," Oscar began, "And that's all I'm going to tell you about me. From what I understand, your arresting officer is a man by the name of Mullagney. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir," Laura replied. She was failing miserably at holding back her tears. Oscar ignored her tears for now.

"Has he explained to you the seriousness of the charges that you face? Desertion? Conspiracy to desert? The possibility of the death penalty by firing squad?" Oscar asked.

"Yes, sir," Laura replied.

"So tell me," Oscar asked the young woman sitting before him, "What compelled you to do it? What was so compelling that you'd risk a death sentence for in going AWOL?"

"Sir," Laura began, her jaw trembling with emotion, "My rationale for desertion has no legal merit & I accept whatever consequences the authorities decide for my actions."

"That's not what I asked," Oscar replied.

"Sir," Laura said, nearly on the verge of a breakdown, "My rationale for desertion was...personal."

"Personal?" Oscar asked, "Personal as in...I don't like to kill people? Personal as in...I hate the war? Personal as in...?"

Laura remained silent, struggling to hold back the tears. Oscar walked up to her & whispered into her ear.

"Personal...," Oscar whispered, "As in 'Wally?'"

Laura's entire body flinched & Oscar instantly knew he had just touched the nerve.

As Oscar walked back to the table, he could hear Laura finally break down & cry.

"I'm going to take that as a 'Yes,'" He dryly commented, turning around to see Laura completely sobbing.

He let her sob for as long as she needed to. It lasted for a few minutes & Oscar wondered if, out of sheer sympathy, he wouldn't go into a nearby lounge to see if he could get a box of tissues. He decided against the tissues. He wasn't feeling that sympathetic.

"So," Oscar asked in a slightly friendlier tone, "You risked death for a boy, is that it? You risked death for a few one-night stands?"

"I risked death," she began, coming out of her sobs, "I risked death for my husband. My future husband. I risked death...Because I didn't want to be like my friend Betty, who didn't make it...Who had a husband...Who never had what she always wanted..."

Oscar could guess & took that guess by saying, "A family."

Laura, too overcome with emotion to speak, merely shook her head affirmatively.

"What makes you so sure that this Wally wanted to be your husband?" Oscar asked.

"When he saw me...," she began to say, stopping to keep her emotions in check, "When he saw me get onto the bus to take me to basic training. I knew...I knew I'd never see him again. I knew that my one chance to have a loving husband & a family & all the things a young girl always wants would be gone forever. He'd...He'd get killed or I'd killed or we'd both get killed or maimed or missing and...And for what? I don't even know why we're fighting anymore. I don't know...I don't know why they even want me in the first place. I just...I just wanted to have a family & when I got on that bus, I knew...I knew I was just a walking corpse. That it'd just be a matter of time before I went from being a walking corpse to simply being a dead one. Without anyone. Without accomplishing anything except dying in a hole & my family getting some folded-up flag as an apology..."

Oscar simply stood up & said, "I'll go see where your arresting officer is."

Outside the room, Oscar stood still for a moment, leaning his back up against the wall.

It was his call to make as to what to do with the "real" Wally, Jojo & Laura. He hadn't made any promises to Dr. Venderton. He had promised Mullagney to be fair. They were, after all, deserters. Deserters who deserved to be punished & punished severely for their crimes against a needful country.

Oscar closed his eyes briefly, searching for a magical answer that would satisfy his conscience, his interests & the law equally well.

When he opened them back up, he knew what he had to do.

=======================

PART CVII


It was a new room but it was no different then the last one Wally & Jojo had been in. Same metal chairs. Same wooden table. Same type of overhead lamp, spitting out barely enough light to be useful. The only difference they could see was that these chairs weren't bolted to the floor. The chairs weren't light, though, & anyone other then a professional bodybuilder would have a heck of a time dragging along a chunk of metal handcuffed to them in any feasible attempt at escape.

Wally & Jojo wondered why there were three chairs instead of only two. They received their answer when the door opened up.

Laura's jaw dropped as soon as she was led in by the guard. She contained her emotions as best she could until she was handcuffed to the chair by the guard. The guard left, leaving only the single guard standing in back of them.

Wally knew the rules; No talking while no officials were in the room. The guard behind them had a significant amount of leeway for enforcing that rule. The most common method had something to do with the butt of his rifle.

Laura just looked at Wally & Jojo in shock for a moment, then turned away. Wally, Jojo & the guard could soon figure out why - The telltale sounds of sniffling & stiffled sobbing were obvious. Wally concentrated on keeping as straight a face as he could. He knew that such a feat, though, wouldn't last.

Mullagney walked into the room & ordered the guard to leave. The guard left & closed the door behind him.

"Good morning, ladies," he loudly stated, walking to the front of the room, "I do hope that I have not kept you up past your bedtimes. Rest assured, I will be most delighted to see this to an expediated conclusion so that you may be placed in confinement as quickly as possible."

"Normally," Mullagney continued, "This would be where I would formally charge each of your sorry a**es with all the various violations pending against you. However, I have been informed that someone would like to speak to you beforehand. That individual shall speak to you first & then we shall proceed with the formal charges. If you will excuse me, ladies."

Mullagney quickly left the room & closed the door behind him.

Into the room came Oscar, who closed the door behind him. Wally, Jojo & Laura saw that he brought with him a chair. He carried it to the front of the table & then sat down, facing the three other people in the room.

"Good morning," he plainly said, "I'm sure that, at this point, you'd like to get some sleep. Am I right?"

All three nodded, not speaking a word.

"You & me both," Oscar continued, "Now, I'm not going to mince words at this early hour of the morning. All of you are in a heap of trouble. If you haven't figured that out by now...Well, then you deserve to be where you are. However, I know that you know that this is serious."

"Just as you know that this is serious," Oscar continued, "I ought to let you know that what I'm about to propose to you, I don't feel that any of you deserve. You disobeyed your country. You violated it's trust & made it more vulnerable to defeat as a result. As a military officer, I personally feel that every single violation that your arresting officer gives you is entirely deserved & that it's fullest punishment should be administered."

"Having said that, though," Oscar continued, "I have been presented with an unusual set of circumstances. These set of circumstances have resulted in your indirect benefit. In short, I propose a plea deal that will nullify any & all prison obligations on your part. In exchange, each of you will become government employees until I deem fit that you have fulfilled your obligations. Your employment tasks will keep you stateside & fairly close together. You will submit to every & all medical testing request that we ask of you to your best ability."

Oscar paused, examining the shocked expressions on their faces.

"By law, it is required that a third-party lawyer be allowed to give you counsel on this deal & one shall be provided to you in the morning. It would be unethical of me to force a decision on you in your current conditions & I will transfer each of you to solitary confinement until noontime so that you may receive adequate rest," Oscar concluded.

Oscar stood up, adding, "I want each of you to know that it pains me to make you this offer. I take no pleasure in giving it to you & you have no obligation in accepting this deal. You are deserters & should be punished as such."

Oscar looked towards Laura, pointing at her & saying, "You are no longer a soldier. I will personally see to that. You are a disgrace to the uniform & if it was up to me, I'd put you on the firing line myself. You are a traitor to your country."

Oscar paused again, then finally said, "I will arrange to have the three of you sent to confinement. Excuse me."

Oscar walked out of the room, the guard walking back into the room. The door was shut hard, causing even the guard to momentarily flinch as he took his position.

===========================

PART CVIII


Nigel Unger had received the phone call so early in the morning that he groggily thought it was the alarm clock going off. He received the E-mail, with attachments, five minutes later.

Nigel, in charge of military recruitment for his area, had long learned that the Lord & the military worked in the same way : Mysteriously. Each had their reasons for a variety of oddball decisions that left mere mortals scratching their heads in wonder. Perhaps, he thought, it was best that he didn't learn as to why the military made the decisions that it made.

He had heard the rumors as much as anyone else - The president was going to declare the war over. The enemy had suffered a cataclysmic failure the likes had not been seen in modern times. Leaders captured; Whole divisions surrendering. Tanks & guns alike running out of ammunition. Some die-hard soldiers resorting towards using make-shift swords, spears & clubs.

As Nigel got dressed, he wondered what was so important about the person he had been awakened for. She had, he figured, to have had some powerful connections to be getting the sweetheart deal that they had outlined for her. A senator, a governor...Someone really big must've pulled some hefty strings to have had it greenlit.

Nigel paused briefly to look through the paperwork before going out the door & on his way to the office.

'Cindy,' he thought to himself, looking through her paperwork & reproduction of her driver's license, 'Cute face. I could do her.'

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Oscar sat at the front of the meeting room table. A lazy look at a wall clock revealed what he already knew - Whatever sleep he had gotten, he had certainly needed more of it. Not even coffee, at this point, could penetrate the fog of lethargy he was beginning to suffer from never-ending hours of work. An electric razor & a five-minute shower were the only things separating him from looking like a bum that had just been pulled off of the streets.

"Status," he mumbled, pointing to the first person seated next to him.

"Medical status of cloned persons," the person began, "Wally is out of surgery. He's in stable condition, operation was a success. No need to amputate arm as earlier thought but his days of throwing touchdown passes are over. Everyone else seem to be perfectly healthy individuals. No overt signs of defects found."

"What about the two scientists that came back?" Oscar asked.

"Both are receiving treatment for gas poisoning. Both suffered some minor degree of permanent lung damage. We currently have dueling experts on that end. It looks like Martin received the worst of it; He's going to need speech therapy. Harold will to but to a lesser degree."

"Have we initiated our cover story yet about the missing personnel?" Oscar asked, putting his elbows on the table to support his head. He felt like falling asleep on the spot but knew that he couldn't.

"Yes," another person replied, "We believe that a deadly gas leak, followed by an explosion, will be the most credible story. If we can use the two surviving scientists, that would create additional credibility."

"I'm going to pretend that we already have pre-burnt corpses & the morticians are in our pocket?" Oscar asked.

"Of course," was the reply, "The corpses are going to be beyond recognition. Phony autopsy reports are already being typed up & signed. off on."

"Let's talk equipment," Oscar said, shifting the conversation, "How soon before we can make another transportation?"

There was absolute silence in the room. Oscar looked up to ensure that the room hadn't been abandoned. He saw facial expressions searching for a diplomatic answer.

"Let me rephrase that," Oscar said, sitting back up, "Now that the government knows it can get results from this, they'll want to use it again regardless of the cost. If we don't want to act in the play, they're going to hire someone else to do it &, in this industry, getting fired means not having to worry about senior citizen discounts. How soon can we get the machine up & running again?"

"About a week," someone piped up, "Maybe sooner."

"Make it three days," Oscar replied.

Oscar continued, "I'm going to need a list of candidates for the next transportation. That'll also be in three days. You know the rules - Lie, cheat & steal in order to make that list happen. I'll do what I can to make sure that list doesn't turn into an obituary page anytime soon."

"I have to go talk to a few people. Meeting dismissed," Oscar said.

=========================

PART CIX


Harold was feeling no different then if he had a mildly annoying headache. The doctors told him how amazingly lucky he was; Except for some damage to his lungs, he was going to walk away from all of this unscathed. Harold, though, knew better then to trust them.

What didn't make the "headache" feel any better was being seated opposite Mullagney in a conference room. About the only thing that made Harold even slightly comfortable was that the hospital staff allowed him to wear "real" clothes & not of the hospital patient variety.

"How are you feeling today?" Mullagney asked.

"I'm alive," Harold replied, "I'm told I have most of my health. My voice is almost back to normal."

"Good," Mullagney replied, not hearing Harold's subtle attempt at sarcasm.

"We have a problem, Harold," Mullagney began to say, "And I'm not going to insult either of our intellects over this. You weren't supposed to come back from the transportation."

Harold replied with mock surprise. Mullagney could've bet the farm & won on what Harold's reaction would be.

"No sh**! None of us weren't supposed to come back, now were we? Oh, except for Wallace. Wallace & his goons, one of which nearly killed me & Martin. Killed Chow. Killed just about everyone else who gave a damn about this project!" Harold replied angrily, trying to not strain his voice in the process.

Mullagney waited until Harold was through. He had the training to maintain a neutral expression regardless of his own emotions or the emotions of others.

"Harold," Mullagney began, "There are two paths that we can go down in resolving the fact that you were transported back. Let me show you the one that I don't want to use."

Mullagney took from his holster his pistol & placed it flat on the table, the barrel pointing towards Harold. Harold eyed the pistol as Mullagney continued.

"Yes, it's loaded & this kind of weapon doesn't have a physical safety switch which means I get to pull the trigger whenever I want to," Mullagney continued, looking straight at Harold. Harold continued to eye the pistol with a mix of fear & surprise. Mullagney pulled the pistol off of the table & re-holstered it.

"Let's discuss the second option," Mullagney stated, Harold finally looking up towards Mullagney's face.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Nigel regretted not being a decade younger or, at the very least, having the maturity to admit that he was getting too old for certain activities.

The woman...No, the young woman, sitting before him made him think of those times in pulp novels when a dashing young female waltzed into the office of a grizzled, burnt-out private eye.

"This is a killer deal," he stated, grasping for words as he read a copy of the proposal to Cindy, "And, quite frankly, I don't know how you managed to snag this but, whatever you did, it was worth it."

"I haven't done anything," Cindy replied, "You're the one offering it to me."

"Trust me," Nigel countered, "I don't have authorization to give you anything anywhere CLOSE to this. Instant absolvement of ALL military obligations with the exception of medical testing? Not only that, but they're going to classify you as a government employee with full pay & benefits. That's like having two jobs for the work of one!"

"But, um," Cindy slowly responded, "Isn't the war done now? I heard it on the news. What would you, like, need soldiers for anyway?"

"Occupation," Nigel explained, "Re-stabilization of the region, policing, reconstruction...We're going to be pulling up people for years, Cindy. Just because the 'bang bang' is over doesn't mean that everyone gets to go home & watch re-runs of their favorite sitcoms. Your draft number is coming up whether you like it or not & going into the National Guard ISN'T going to cut it. Heck, half of the guard is over there right now."

Nigel paused for a moment, letting it all sink into Cindy's brain. Her facial expression led Nigel to believe that she was becoming aware of just how fortunate her situation was.

"Look," Nigel said, "It's the law that you get forty-eight hours to look over any modification of a standard service contract. You also have the right for a lawyer, yours or ours, to go over these terms with you & have them explained to you in plain English. If you don't think that this is a killer deal, I dare you to bring this to any lawyer even remotely familiar with military contracts & have them read this over. Technically, I can't endorse whether or not you should take this deal. That's against the law. That puts me in handcuffs on my way to the big house. Stepping outside the uniform, though, this is a sweet deal. One hundred percent bliss. If you never want to touch a gun & still fulfill your military obligations, then this is it on a silver platter. The alternative is nine weeks of boot camp, another month or two of specialized training & you're in the field, landmines, snipers & all. And yes, women fight alongside men nowadays so you better get used to it."

Cindy slowly picked up her copy of the contract & looked it over.

"I'll get back to you on this," Cindy slowly said, shaking Nigel's hand.

"My card is stapled right to it," Nigel replied, "Any questions, give me a call."

Cindy walked away, almost as if she was in a daze.

==========================

PART CX


Oscar looked around the room & couldn't see a lightweight in sight. Every single person in the room was a general of some type or another. At the head of the table was the Secretary of Defense.

None of the questions posed to Oscar had been easy up to this point.

They weren't going to get any easier. He appreciated the fact that he wasn't the White House spokesperson.

"The transportation mechanism, at this time," Oscar explained, "Is unviable for the duplication of materials because it takes more energy to transport back then it does to transport to."

"What about weapons-grade plutonium?" One general asked, "Even a little bit would save us a bundle on manufacturing more."

"We have no idea what will happen if we try to transport such volatile materials back," Oscar replied, "We have only transported living people once with the mechanism. Although automation of the process would certainly increase the safety, we have no idea if such materials would explode due to the transportation process."

"Unless we can turn this technology into a viable platform," another general commented, "It is little more then a curiosity. In how many years before this technology is of realistic use?"

"Our team is already working on a next-generation version of the transportation system. We feel that this system will be ready within five to ten years, testing not withstanding," Oscar replied.

"These cloned humans," one general started to say, "Have they decayed significantly since they have been transported?"

Oscar paused before answering, saying only, "As you know, the cloned humans were destroyed as per orders. Should we receive orders next time to salvage living copied humans, we will do so."

"I think that might be seriously looked at," another general stated, "The ability to quickly draw together a trained army can not be overlooked."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wally could sit up now without being in pain. It wasn't much, but it was progress.

The doctors had already told him what he had feared; Short of a miracle, the arm was going to be all but cosmetic on his body. Could he pick up a filled glass with it? Sure. Drive a car? Probably. Pick up a bowling ball? That was another story. They said it was already a miracle that he had survived with the amount of blood loss he had suffered.

He had asked about his friends but the doctors hadn't said much. They'd get back to him on that; They didn't know anything; It wasn't their department; They'd have to check with their superiors before they could say anything; You should just be concentrating on getting better.

There was no television in the room. There was no radio. The only magazines that Wally was allowed to read were no younger then two years old. Some of the magazines were old enough to be mistaken for history textbooks.

Wally wondered what would become of them. They were, after all, copies of themselves here in the "real" world. They couldn't just go back to living their lives. His parents wouldn't be allowed to know that there were two Wallys in the world. For that matter, no one else would be allowed to know, either.

If they were going to be killed, why then was he pushed through surgery? Perhaps it was the same type of paradox of sterilizing the hypodermic needle that performs lethal injections on death row inmates. Maybe everyone else was going to be killed but he would be spared. If so, then why?

Just as he was about to get lost in thought. There was a knock at the door. The door opened & Wally saw a man open the door.

It wasn't a doctor. It was a soldier. A soldier dressed in camoflauge, armed with a semi-automatic rifle.