The Protagonist System

131 Turbulent Times Part Two

I didn't want anyone to accuse me of lying, so I actually did go to the museum to check it out. It was exactly what you would expect when you entered a museum and I wasn't disappointed. I was tempted to pilfer some of the art, except it was pretty much worthless.

Instead of raiding the office to find out which ones were the most expensive, I picked the best ones that would look good on a living room wall. I stored six of them and went past the caveman exhibit and into the next section. I whistled at all of the aeronautical memorabilia and spent half an hour just looking at everything.

For a lark, I took out one of my normal sets of clothing and transfigured it into a copy of a WW2 US Airforce uniform, minus all the badges and the rank identifiers. I didn't want to be accused of making fun of anyone or be seen as stealing their glory. I stored my new flight uniform and went to where the planes were.

They didn't have a copy of the plane I had in parts inside my inventory, so I went into the back and checked out what they had stored. All I found was the wings of an old bi-plane and the plans to make a new display. I copied the papers and grabbed several of the large empty shipping containers and left the museum.

I entered the back of the moving van and spent several minutes arranging and filling the shipping containers with the plane parts I had access to. I filled three of them to near the top and closed them up, then I set the larger pieces of the fuselage on top of them. It was surprisingly easy to set everything in place and I went to the driver's side to start driving back to camp.

I was halfway there when I remembered I needed to alter the shipping paperwork. I stopped at the side of the highway and did that and added the parts list, assembly instructions, and a flight instruction manual. It was simple in design, because it was made for civilians in a medieval society to put together and to learn from, which was perfect.

When I arrived back at camp, almost no one was there at the fifth parking spot to greet me, except for Carl and Sophia. I laughed at myself for being arrogant enough to expect a round of fanfare every time I came back, even though I didn't have anything this time for anyone to really get excited about.

“Hi, Dad!” Carl said and waved, as did Sophia. Unlike him, she looked a little lost and unsure about things. “You won't believe what we ate for lunch!”

I laughed under my breath and climbed out of the van and walked over to him to kneel and hugged him, then I turned slightly and did the same to Sophia. Her blush was quite red and the strength in her arms as she hugged me back, was worth the extra effort of showing her some affection. If she held onto me for a bit longer than Carl did, neither of us were going to mention it.

“I have a feeling that there was some kind of salad that you can't pronounce.” I joked.

“That's RIGHT!” Carl shouted and several people around the camp groaned, because his voice echoed more than normal, thanks to the fortifications.

I laughed and swatted at his head to mess up his hair. “You don't have to answer like that every time someone asks you something.”

“Yes, I DOOO!” Carl shouted and we heard 'dooo' a couple more times.

Sophia covered her mouth with both hands and giggled.

“That's going to stop being funny eventually.” Amy said as she walked over to us.

“Not TODAY!” Carl shouted and grabbed Sophia's hand and ran off. The poor girl blushed hard at Carl being so bold in front of me and they disappeared from sight.

“You know, I didn't think he could become even more rowdy after getting his dad back.” Amy said, her voice full of fondness.

I stood up and hugged her, giving her a quick kiss on the lips as a greeting. “I think it's more about not having as many things to worry about.” I commented and left a single arm around her waist as I turned toward the moving van. “So, do you want to see why I had to rush back to the museum?”

“Nope! I am not interested at all and I didn't leave the kids with Miranda or arranged for someone else to take the afternoon watch for you.” Amy said with a grin.

I barked a laugh and led her over to the van, opened the front door, and handed her the bulging folder full of papers. Amy gave me an incredulous look for giving her homework and I kept laughing as I led her around to the back and opened it up. Before she could open the folder, her eyes caught sight of the large shipping containers and the secured fuselage panels stacked on top of them.

“Oh, dear lord.” Amy whispered and one of her hands reached out and touched a piece of tail section. “This... this... you can't... why...”

I gave her a kiss to distract her from being flabbergasted at the plane parts. “Read the folder.”

Amy nodded and opened it and began reading as I set out some tarps and started hauling everything out. Not surprisingly, I started to gain attention as the more recognizable parts of the plane were deposited on the tarps beside the moving van.

Dale walked over and looked down at the quickly growing pile. “Well, that's something I never expected to see in person in my lifetime.”

“I know, right?” I asked and placed a long piece of wing frame beside the solid pieces of the wing covering. “It's a reproduction, too.”

“How do you know that?” Dale asked, clearly curious.

I pulled out another long piece of wing frame and tossed it at him.

“AHH!” Dale yelled in surprise and caught it automatically, then his eyes nearly popped out of his head as he easily held the huge thing up. “What is this thing made of? Air?”

I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder before I took the piece of wing frame from him and added it to the frame pile. “Close enough. It's all aluminum.”

“Geeeee-zus.” Dale whispered and looked at the shipping containers in the back of the moving van. “You're trading off some flight stability using lighter materials... but, damn... the extended fuel efficiency...”

“Exactly.” I said and finished pulling out the rest of the framework. With that out of the way, I grabbed the first crate and pulled it to the edge of the floor. “I need the ramp for this part or the tractor's front bucket. There's no way I'm risking trying to lift these things without a lot of help or a forklift.”

Dale nodded and followed me over to where I parked the tractor and he climbed up and watched as I easily operated the thing. His eyes caught every movement and lever pull as I drove over to the moving van and raised the wide front bucket up to the same level as the floor.

“You should get one of the crates on safely and we can use the straps to hold it.” Dale said and we climbed down. “I assume you're going to move them somewhere you can assemble the thing?”

“Right over there in the quarry where I've been harvesting the larger rocks for the barriers.” I said and Dale helped me slide the first crate into the bucket. It mostly fit and we used the straps I had secured the fuselage parts with and tied it down. He climbed back into the tractor's cab with me and I didn't object, since teaching the man to drive the machine wasn't costing me anything.

I dropped off the first crate in the right spot at the closest end where there was a lot of room and we went back to retrieve the other two crates. With them moved over, I added a tarp to the front bucket and then filled it with the fuselage parts. It took one trip for those parts and one for the framing parts, and then everything was where I needed it to be.

I parked the tractor back where it was stored when not in use and Dale gave me a huge smile and lightly gripped my shoulder in thanks. “I'll set some time aside this weekend and we can have a few more lessons while we work on the outer barrier.”

Dale nodded and we climbed down and went back over to the fifth moving van. Amy was still there and reading intensely with her sister, whom looked both interested and a little afraid. I didn't ask about that look and brought Dale inside the moving van to prepare and share some food, since I had missed lunch. Amy and Andrea came in as well and ate absently as they sat on the bed and kept reading.

*

“It's so simple.” Amy said when she finally finished reading the assembly instructions and the flight manual. “How can it be so simple?”

Andrea put an arm over her shoulders to hug her. “I think it was designed for people who... well, it was near the end of World War 2. There wasn't a lot of time to train people to work the things before they were sent out to fight.”

Amy sat there and thought about that. “With things this easy, they... they... why didn't they win?”

Andrea softly laughed at her sister's reaction. “A good plan for a distraction, a higher production rate, a lot of luck, and a sacrifice that everyone will remember for the rest of time.”

Amy blinked her eyes at her sister for the answer and realized what she meant. “Oh.”

Andrea leaned in and kissed her sister's cheek. “Yes, oh. A really big oh.”

Amy blushed at the double meaning and Andrea laughed.

“We should clean up and clear out before the last couple comes here to claim the new apartment.” Andrea reminded her.

“That's a good point. How did you guys decide who gets to live in these things?” Rick asked as they cleaned up their mess from eating. When that was done, he hopped out of the moving van and attached the premade folding stairs on the back to let the others step down easily.

“We discussed it with everyone and decided your idea had a lot of worth.” Dale said and nodded at Andrea. “There's only three families with children here, so Juan and Miranda moved into the first available one with their two children, Carol and Ed were moved into the next one with Sophia, and Lori and Shane moved into the next one with Carl. They all had to agree with the plan to take the kids once a week for a sleepover, too.”

Rick chuckled. “Forced conscription as babysitters as an incentive? Nice.”

“They didn't include us in that because our huge bed is so impractical.” Amy said with a smile.

“Oh, no. There was a method to my madness. What a shame.” Rick said with a flat voice.

Amy made a snort sound and then laughed, making her sister roll her eyes and Dale barked a laugh.

“This last van will be set aside as a kind of communal space and everyone will take turns staying here for... ahem... date nights.” Amy said, her face slightly red.

“That's not a bad idea. It gives everyone a taste of proper living and no one is left out, even if it is only one night a week.” Rick said and nodded several times. “I'll keep a eye out for more appropriate vehicles and I'll keep working on them when I find them.”

“You don't have to do that, Rick.” Dale said. “We're all more than happy with everything you've done so far.”

Rick shook his head. “I haven't seen anything else in the city we could use as a mobile apartment, since that's the whole point. If anything happens, we can pick up and move and not be too inconvenienced if we have to abandon this place.”

The three of them gave him surprised looks and he shrugged.

“I can think ahead sometimes, even when I'm distracted.” Rick said and looked right at Amy, making her blush. “There's some time before supper, so I'm going to go work on putting the airplane together.” He said and Amy handed him the folder. “Thanks.”

“I'd help if I wasn't watching the kids.” Amy said and then her eyes widened. “I'm supposed to be watching the kids!” She gasped and ran off.

“How could she forget she handed them off to Miranda?” Andrea asked rhetorically and walked off after her while shaking her head.

“They are definitely sisters.” Rick commented and Dale nodded.

*

Carl had sneaked off from his babysitter and Sophia had gone with him. He knew he couldn't stay hidden for long with her there, and for some reason, he didn't care. He... he liked her... and his stomach did weird flip-flops when she smiled... and he wanted to keep seeing her smile. That meant kidding around and making her laugh, which was a lot easier to do after her dad was bitten by a snake and hurt.

He crept along the edge of the treeline and squatted by a stump, Sophia crouching right beside him. He didn't know why he liked that she could copy him without him having to tell her what he wanted her to do.

“What's your dad doing?” Sophia whispered, her eyes locked onto their target already.

“I dunno.” Carl said and they stayed there for several minutes as they watched, then he chose to sit instead and gave his legs a rest. He held back a blush when Sophia sat right beside him and their arms touched from shoulder to hand.

When his hand twitched, he was surprised when Sophia's twitched as well and then she slid her hand into his and held on. Carl's face flushed red as he thought furiously about it and didn't notice that Sophia's face was also red.

They weren't running or anything and she was holding his hand! What did it mean? Carl asked himself and didn't know what to do or say.

“I think... he's making something.” Sophia whispered.

Carl barely heard her and looked over, only to see his dad bolt something together and added it to a pile of assembled things. “You're right, Sophie. He is making something.”

Sophie's blush deepened at the praise because she was completely unprepared to hear it. She glanced at the boy she liked and was glad he didn't notice how red her face was.

“What could it... it's a plane!” Carl said in surprise when his dad moved the frame enough to show off the shape.

“SHHHHH!” Sophie hushed him, only it was much too late for that.

“There you are.” Amy's stern voice said from behind them.

Sophia jumped from the scare and almost fell over. If she hadn't locked her hand onto Carl's, she would have flopped over onto her side like a dead fish. Carl on the other hand, let out a sigh at being caught.

“Do you know how long I've been looking for you two?” Amy asked them and both kids looked embarrassed as they stood and continued to hold hands. She sighed, because she couldn't stay angry at them, and looked over at Rick. “Well, he's seen us now. We might as well go over and see if he needs any help.”

“YES!” Carl yelled and the echo bounced a couple of times. He grinned at Amy's groan and his dad's laughter and happily led Sophia over to him and the awesome airplane he was building.

The four of them spent the rest of the time before supper talking about the coolest thing the kids had ever seen as Rick continued to bolt things together and adding in all the mechanical moving parts needed for a plane to fly. The brief history lesson was actually fun with both his dad and Amy telling it to them, because they didn't make him or Sophia feel stupid when they asked questions.

Carl was also secretly happy that Sophia held onto his hand the whole time, not realizing that Sophia was also secretly happy that he hadn't let go, either.