I've rounded up the animals. The dogs, Bonnie & Bismark, are in their crates; my cats are in three carriers, Yuki & Pearl in one, Sweetie & Freeman fuming in another, & CoaCoa & Joey in the last; Puff the beta fish has been carefully transferred into a small carrying case (we will refill his bowl later); & Sally the ten-foot red-tailed boa constrictor has been loaded into her normal giant tupperware transportation (we're bringing her terrarium along, too). My gang's been secured in Teiric's trailer, along with his fifteen or so cats, & between us, Hyperman, John, & the others we should have plenty of pet food.
Bismark, Sweetie, & Joey's meds, along with my own, have been carefully hidden away in my bag, plus a whole bunch of miscellaneous painkillers & antibiotics. John's bringing his plethora of medical goodies, & Josh is raiding the shelves of the Wal-Mart he works at & loading it into a semi he somehow comandeered; we decided we really didn't want to know where he'd gotten it.
I've raided Daddy's knife collection, along with his katana & the BB gun, Teiric has gotten his weaponry (including that ridiculous full-size Masamune replica which he insists will be useful), & the others have hauled their eccentric collections of sharp, pointy goods along. My bike's been lashed to the trailer.
Losso(sp?) has just pulled up with a huge trailer. We were getting worried about him when he wasn't at his house, but it looks like he just went for extra hauling capacity. He has some gear that he guarantees will get us internet access from anywhere...I don't want to know where he got that, either. He's also managed to pick up Ashley & her cat.
Stephanie's here now, too. Shit, what did she do, rob a gun store?! She's the last person I'd expect for that! I have to smack a few of the more violent members of our group (nevermind that I want to play with the toys, too) to get everyone back on task.
Since John & I are of no use for lifting (he for medical reasons & I for being a weakling), we each grab a gun & are on the lookout.
My parents & my brother are here; guess they finally admitted that there's trouble. Glad they brought all three cars. I waste no time in directing everyone to load stuff into my brother's car. Then, I haul Ashley aside & ask her to accompany him; he's going to be making the dangerous journey south to pick up Grandma, Uncle Buddy, & Aunt BJ, because none of us trust the family we have down there to get Grandma to safety. It's a good four, four & a half hour drive, & pretty dangerous alone, but none of my family will let them down.
As they ready to leave, I call Grandma. Turns out, my cousin is home on leave; he assures me he'll take care of them. I trust the mortar man, & the destination of the break-off group is changed to Fort Wayne, where G-Daddy lives. He's got cousin Timmy staying with him, & no weaponry but a BB gun. I call G-Daddy, & he's already packed up my cousin & supplies. The incursion has pinned them down in the garage, but they'll be safe for the four hours until the calvary arrives. Daddy's car is immediately added to the break-off group & loaded, & Losso's sister volunteers to ride shotgun with him for some additional firepower. I tell G-Daddy to get my cousin into the garage attic & be ready to head up himself & pull the ladder just in case.
The break-off group leaves just as Amie, her boyfriend, & her guinea pig pull up in a pickup that is definitely not hers. The extra trailer is hooked up, & Josh's semi is just outside the allotment. Still no sign of Teiric's girlfriend.
Everything's loaded now. We stuffed the last bit in what was remaining of the space in the semi. I'm riding shotgun with Teiric, my "little sister" Courtney with my mom in her van, little Sarah from down the street (whom I'd practically kidnapped to save) in the RV with Hyperman, Amie with her boyfriend as shotgun got the pickup, Josh & Brandon in the semi, & Losso & Stephanie each riding solo. Stephanie takes off to pick up two chat room buddies of mine that live relatively nearby, & the rest of us, after making sure the nondrivers knew how to use their guns, start to move out.
We hadn't gotten far before several of Mommy's friends & their family's joined our caravan. We stopped briefly to reorder & pass out artillery, & then we were off to the desert, hopefully to meet up with the rest of our group & KC.
http://myelvesaredifferent.blogspot.com/2007/05/blog-like-its-end-of-world-bliteotw.html