Maybe this is the runes of a dried prune, or it could be about a bus load of chicks heading south, but whatever it is, here it is; and it's part two...
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All the roads were overgrown with vegetation and stuff and were pretty much impassable; but one enterprising soul on a mission had loaded up a bulldozer and had cleared a hundred miles or so of the main highway.
As he carried on heading south he whistled merrily away an old tune that was stuck in his head and didn’t see the bus following behind him with see-through Mary at the wheel wishing he’d go faster.
The company in the bus were discussing their options while drinking coffee with dried milk and were pleased to still be together after the end of the world had come and gone, again.
“I say we turn around and take the fight right back to them,” said the captain who was a burly sort these days after all that had happened.
“As we’re all that’s left of the revolution I’d say that’s a bad idea,” said Blue-Jane looking up from her perch on the back seat.
“Vive la revolution,” said one of the company who was an old hand and had been around since the beginning, and in fact had been around since before the Rebilous Exchange had burnt to the ground long, long ago in another age when things were different, and also had changed his name so many times he hardly knew who he was anymore.
“I say we carry on and find a place to stop for a while and then figure things out,” said see-through Mary from behind the wheel of the bus that was dawdling along behind the bulldozer and as nothing more was said that’s what they did.
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THE RUNES OF A DRIED PRUNE
Up on the mountain top the runes of a dried prune expectant in the summer haze were being distilled into a stone tablet by the long haired hermit who was humming nostalgically as he chiselled away.
Behind him in the mouth of the cave the sound of chicken frying was making his mouth water as his wife and very new addition prepared dinner.
“How long are you going to be with that stone, dinner is almost ready?” she called out.
“Oh about another ten years,” he said standing back and surveying his work to date.
“Well shake the dust off and come eat,” she said dropping the hot chicken onto wooden plates full of salad and mashed potatoes.
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THE LONG ROAD SOUTH
The hot butter of a brilliant idea drew a line in the sand and said: “That’s it.” Whereupon everyone looked to see what was it.
The line didn’t last long in the pouring rain, just long enough for everyone to see what they thought they saw and embellish it in their minds before it was gone. But the idea was planted and soon the chatter of excited voices sounded off ideas that were picked up on and added to, and out of it all the plan was formed.
After a few tweaks to make it ever better they all jumped back in the bus and roared off happy as happy could be to have a working plan at last.
They left the vanished line in the dust behind them, but after they’d gone it came out of hiding and made radioactive gurgling sounds until all the water was out of its ears, and then, hiking up its pants it followed after the bus that was dwindling away into the horizon of the long road south.
BETTER DAYS
After all the trees had been cut down the shadows stopped dancing on the walls of the cottage that had seen better days but was not crumbling back into the dust.
As the trees grew back over time the shadows came out to play again but getting no foothold tumbled this way and that among the rubble of the cottage and seemed more a broken dance than the bright shadows they’d once been that played in the wind all day long.
See-through Mary, driving the bus south barely noticed the rubble beside the road or the trees beside it that were waving to her.
Image by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay
COUNTING EVERYTHING
An idiot Savant totally lost and the sole survivor of an expedition from the future was shambling along the overgrown road when the bus began to overtake him on the inside.
“Where are you going?” said see-through Mary through the open driver’s window of the bus.
“I’m counting blades of grass,” said the idiot savant.
See-through Mary stopped the bus and opened the door for him and after a short hesitation he climbed the stairs into the bus.
“Take a seat,” said see-through Mary watching the guy whose eyes were counting everything and who didn’t move to take a seat.
“Sit!” commanded see-through Mary, and the guy sat.
Mary pressed the button to close the doors and the bus was off again with one new passenger who was counting everything.
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
THE BACK OF BEYOND
Up in the back of beyond where a stone’s throw crow was cawing, the sweep of an eagle’s wing beat the air as a large fish struggled in its talons. It screamed once at the crow and then flew up high to the face of the cliff where its nest hung seemingly precariously and over-shadowed by a sharp jutting rock.
Landing on the edge it dropped the fish into the huge nest where two chicks stared at it until their mother showed them how to eat it.
Afterwards the eagle took flight again and looking down from its height saw the bus making its way over the earth, but after observing it for a few moments the eagle the ignored it and carried on soaring in the winds.
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IN THERE SOMEWHERE
The incredible understanding was a forethought too soon in a butcher’s knacker’s yard of other similar thoughts all pushing to be known like weeds in a lawn and two a penny for their kind, and suffice to say, they were clamouring to be heard.
One may wonder then what chance it would have, and one might be forgiven for asking how anything worthwhile might survive in such a mess and be thought worthy of utterance; and where indeed when so many of the wrong sort get through and set precedence where might one of purity stand then on breaking past and standing out for all to see?
So when a hand went up amongst the company for the first time the professor was taken aback and somewhat flustered that anyone could understand a word he was saying, for it was all Chinese to the company most of the time and Mandarin at that.
“Yes!” said the professor and all eyes turned to the idiot savant with his hand in the air and looking decidedly goofy.
The answer was in there somewhere and most likely whirling around and looking for a parking bay and so far away it would never get there in time.
Long moments of silence went by on the bus before a rumble was heard that came out sideways looking for a home and said: “I need to pee.”
At this, everyone burst out laughing and the professor breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his watch.
“Time for a break,” he said.
See-through Mary stopped the bus and opened the door to let everyone off to do what they all had to do, and rolling up a smoke she joined them.
On the bottom step of the bus the professor found himself left handedly falling anti clockwise all the way to the ground where he lay while his head cleared from the revelation the answer he was looking for was closer to home than he thought it was.
Kiss, kiss, kiss went the answer in the last chance office of all the holy days gone by where the trick is to begin and never look back, but if you do and find a hole in your heart where the light gets in and regret, then you may have that regret forever, and if you’ve got one you’ve probably got others that’ll stick to you like glue and weigh you down and unbalance you so that you fall over now and again until you get back on your feet.
“What’s up?” said Blue-Jane coming across the professor struggling on his back and offering him her hand to help him up.
“Gravity is a bit strong today,” he said taking her hand and getting to his feet and then brushing his jacket down.
“It is?” said Blue-Jane and jumped up and down to see if it was. “Seems normal to me,” she said.
“Maybe it’s just me,” said the professor and hobbled to a log with Blue-Jane’s help and sat down.
“Well, sit there and I’ll get you a coffee,” she said and wandered off to the camp fire to see if the coffee was ready yet.
The bus looked on and didn’t say anything.
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AN OLD MESSAGE
Over in CIA, HQ, Kentucky an old message that had been lost for nine hundred years began to surface through the timeless passageways of the long abandoned building and an alarm went off somewhere to disturb the silence, but there was no one there to turn it off and so until someone came to do that it would ring forever.
Because no one was there to hear it in the silent hallways was it making a sound?
The old message knew, but because no one was there to receive it, it went back to sleep and took that knowing with it.
As a by the by that means not a lot really, the batteries of the alarm gave up the ghost after eleven hours and thirty three minutes and the alarm went quiet....
End of part two
Part one: https://steemit.com/zombies/@wales/steampunk-zombies
Images from Pixabay
