Artificial Earth

                             

                                 29

Route 11

             INSIDE THE ARGONAUT, GREY, DR. KATHY LEE, Jiro and I were busy preparing sandwiches for the entire group. Maya and Bone were sitting up front with Connor while Allan and Peter were still trying to hack and break into Artificial Earths Defense Communications Center, still not noticing the blinking red dot located near the console.
        "How did you manage to get all this stuff?" I asked while putting cheese on a piece of bread.
         "What stuff?" Grey asked back, putting peanut butter on his piece.
           "Having a mini grocery store inside this truck....not to mention peanut butter and cheese are nearly close to impossible to find here on the artificial planet." I pointed out, placing another piece of bread on top of the cheese.
             "It's like being in heaven." Dr. Kathy said, cutting in and squeezing in between me and Grey.
             "Hey! That's my piece..." Grey complained as Kathy took his peanut butter sandwich.
              "Not anymore." Kathy said, taking a bite, moving away from us.
              Grey took another piece of bread, his eyes watching Kathy carefully. "It's a good thing we were able to convince the board to install a food compartment at all....They were hesitant at first, with the act prohibiting food storages on private vehicles,....took us a while to convince them to make an exception. Peanut butter and Cheese were bought illegally through different channels." He explained, occasionally looking at Kathy while she hovers around the table. Jiro was sitting on the other end of the table, quietly eating his share, looking at the three of us.
         "I'll hmmrf yhhu thwooh hwundeerd...dollars for the bhoowttle of Phhenot butter..." Kathy said while eating.
          "You shouldn't speak when your mouth's full..." I said, looking at Kathy.
           "Ummmph...Sohrry....said..I'll hand you two hundred dollars for a bottle of Peanut butter." Kathy said, apologizing to me then turning to Grey.
           "Na-aaah....Bought this for three hundred and fifty a bottle....and they're not for sale."
          Kathy and I both stared with both our mouths hanging open at Grey. 
         "Excuse me Professor......We have an emergency. I need you all to come with me....now...!"  Peter said, looking at everyone inside the room.
         We all followed Peter inside the Communications room of the Argonaut. Inside, Allan Henderson was typing rapidly at the digital keyboard in front of him.
        "What seems to be the problem?" Grey asked, standing behind Allan.
         "Well... You see...Peter and I were trying to establish communications with the Defense department and we weren't able to notice the weather warning system, it's been blinking for quite some time now and..." Allan was saying, typing in several commands in the computer.
          "What kind of warning?" Grey asked, sitting beside Allan.
            "Tornado. I'm pulling up the info now so we can see exactly where...." Allan replied.
           The trailer swerved sideways so fast and so hard it knocked both Allan and Grey backwards off their chairs, printouts fell from their places, everyone was thrown sideways, falling on the floor. It swerved again, this time towards the opposite direction, throwing everyone like ping pong balls towards the opposite side.
      "What's going on!" Grey cried out.
       Allan quickly stood up and wobled towards the computer to checked the data on the screen. "My God! The tornado's right in front of us! An F3,  Super Cell's converging on different parts of the planet."
       "Are you guys alright?" Maya's voice boomed out over the speakers.
       "Maya!.... Contact the Hammer, tell Jasper we're on a direct path towards an F3 Super Cell!" Grey cried out, helping himself up.
        "Will do. Jasper called a few minutes ago asking me what the hell's going on...His exact words...told him I'll get back to him as soon as I get the info." Maya said. "He also wants us to follow them." she added.
         "Can we turn back?" Grey asked, steadying himself and positioning himself just behind Allan.
           "We can't.....not enough time....If we do, twister will swallow us. What we can do is get out of it's way, head left and push straight until we're clear. We'll still get debris, still dangerous!" Allan explained.
           "Maya! Which way's the Hammer heading?" Grey asked, waiting for an answer.
             "The Hammer's turning left....You guys should've seen it......I mean....the Hammer literally vaporized a cluster of trees on the left side of the road using the Particle Cannon on top of the Van!" Maya almost shrieked, obviously overwhelmed with emotions.
            "Tell Connor to follow the Hammer! The rest of us will be right there with you as soon as we can!" Grey ordered.
           "Will do boss..." Maya replied.
            "How's Bone?!!" I asked, helping myself up.
             "She's fine...she's lying underneath my feet, pretty much scared but fine like me."
              "What now?" I asked Grey.
             "Okay.....Allan, monitor that tornado and let us know any changes it might make."
           "I'll stay and help Allan." Peter volunteered.
             "Me too, just in case they'll need anything." Dr. Kathy Lee also volunteered. "Jiro too." she added.
             "But I want to go sit up front with Abby....." Jiro was saying when Kathy stared him down. "Okay I'm staying here." he said instead,changing his mind.
         ""Come on Abby." Grey said, walking out the room with me.

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The Convoy

            DAY HAS TURNED INTO NIGHT. DARKNESS ENGULFED the Convoy situated on route eleven. Amidst wind and rain, patrol officer Boon and his partner Willy was talking with the crew from District three's Towing Services, their truck, a red mean looking, solidly built piece of machinery.
       "Been waiting for you guys for hours!" patrol officer Boon cried out over the sound of pouring rain and wind. The headlights of their police cruiser and the RV both pointing at them, illuminating the area.
        "Sorry about that Chief....lots of calls and this damn storm's been keeping us from driving any faster." the crewman with a mustache said.
         "So....Think you guys could pull these away so them cars could pass?" Boon asked, pointing at the wreckage.
           "Sure! No problem!....name's Arnold by the way, and this here's Deck and Ross!" Arnold replied.
            "Nice to meet you fellers....My name's Boon and my partner here's Willy!" Boon said.
            "We'll get right on it Chief!" Arnold said as Deck and Ross hopped off the truck. Patrol officer Boon and his partner Willy stepped back and watched as Deck and Ross unload the the steel clamp attatched at the rear end of truck.
        
        Inside the RV, Randolf was sitting in the driver seat looking at the Tow Trucks Crew and the officers outside. Ned was sitting beside him watching too, curious and excited at the same time.
       "Dad, How long before we reach Marble City?" Ned asked.
        "That depends on how fast these clowns get those cars off the road." Randolf replied.
         "Are the patrol officers going too?"
          "Patrol Officer Boon told me they'd tag along for a while, make sure we get there safe."
           "That'll be nice...like an escort."
          "Where's your mom?" Randolf asked.
           "She's taking a nap...I think."
            "Sorry we have to leave first lake....I know you don't want to but it's for the best." Randolf said, looking at Ned.
           "That's okay. After hearing your story about Dell and how he just vanished....Do you think it was the green haired lady who took him?" Ned asked, looking at his father.
          "I'm not sure.....doesn't really matter whoever or whatever took him. Point is, people are disappearing and a lot of strange and crazy stuff's happening."
          "I think everything's connected, the storm, the disappearances....everything."
           "Well...Uhrmm...shouldn't worry too much about that, let us grownups do the worrying." Randolf said. "Hey Champ...Why don't you go get us some cookies and juice."
             "Okay.." Ned replied, heading for the kitchen area.
              "Kid's right...Everthing has to be connected. This storm's different, like it was unnatural, and the creature down at the lake, the mysterious green haired lady, missing people, trees coming to life....Somehow, all of it's connected. Whatever it is, it's not just happening at first lake, it's probably happening all over the planet. The question now was...What can we do about it? Is this just the beginning of bigger things about to unfold?" Randolf pondered. His father was a minister and constantly reminded him when he was still young to look for signs. "Everything and everyone's all part of this big plan. There are signs everywhere, learn to see the signs, even in dreams, learn to understand and find them." his father used to say. "It may one day save your life." a chill ran up his spine as he recalled those words.
       "You're not that crazy after all old man." Randolf thought, remembering his father.

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Authors note

Hi there! I hope you people enjoyed reading...Originally I wanted to end the chapter with more drama, with the action revolving around the science team.....changed my mind and distributed the scenes a bit. Hope you liked it.
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