To The City 2

From that Big Bonhof, we had to catch the train that goes down in tunnels under the city.

It was a quick ride.

To The City 1

Now it was time for our Big City Adventure.
So we caught the train to Munich.

This was a new experience for The Fuzz and His Sweetie. We don't ride the train much back at home.
Mostly, because there ain't none.This is a look at the Big Bonhof in Munich.

Snails Do It Too

As we were hiking around the lake, we came upon this happy couple.

So now we know how snails do it.
Very slowly.

More To See

Here's a bit more of the scenery around here.

These are a couple from a walk around a lake.

Up There

When we got to our room, we found an incredible view of the mountains.

We also saw this guy up there. But, really, maybe it wasn't a guy. I mean, who could tell at this distance? I'm sure it is exciting up there. But The Fuzz thinks that he wold prefer it down here for now.

Garmisch

Not all of Germany is hills and mountains. Here's a look at a village we passed on our way to Garmisch.

But at Garmisch there are a few more hills.The Fuzz and His Sweetie spent most of the day doing the Tourist Thing in town.

They had a pretty good time. His Sweetie checked out some of the chocolate shops. I think they both had a taste, if the truth be known. At one point, it did rain a bit. They took shelter at a table outside a restaurant and drank a bit of wine while they waited for it to stop.

Fish Pole

The Fuzz and His Sweetie are currently visiting far off places.
They have found, that different people have there own ways of doing things.
Today, as they were walking, they came upon this example of what appears to be a German Fish Pole!
It was not what they were used to at home.

We made it!

We made it!

The Fuzz and His Sweetie are happy to report, that they made it safely to visit that Air Force Daughter.
Here is a view from the bedroom.
Pretty nice.

Eftwentithree

Finster was resigned to his fate. He could see no chance for escape. They would take him with them. He would end up as some kind of a lab rat, for this "Dr. Ekhard", whoever he was. It all seemed so incredibly unreal. Finster's only satisfaction was that they hadn't found the girl.
Now that Finster had finished with the plant's equipment, Stevens locked the handcuffs back on, this time in front of him. At least now he'd be able to scratch himself, he thought. Stevens still had the gun. He pointed to the door, and Finster walked out with the other man behind him.


Sally was expecting someone to come through that door, but it still startled her when it happened. Finster looked straight at her, but never flinched. He kept walking. Then, Stevens stepped out.
When Sally saw Stevens, with his gun, she acted in an instant. She didn't have time to think, but shoved the 38 right into his chest, and pulled the trigger.

The shot was incredibly loud in the narrow hallway. Stevens never had time to react before he felt the first bullet slam into him. As he turned his own gun toward the girl, Finster thew himself against him, and the shot went into the wall. Sally fired two more shots as Finster grabbed for Stevens' gun. They fell to the floor, wrestling for the gun. Another shot went wild, barely missing Finster. Stevens tried desperately, to hold on, but he was weakening, and now Finster had the gun.

Finster looked up to see Larry, in the doorway, with Finster's own 45. As he hesitated, Finster fired twice. Larry dropped the 45 and grabbed hold of the door frame, trying to stay on his feet. He failed, and slid to the floor, staring at Sally still holding her aunt's 38. He was no longer sure who had shot him. But it no longer mattered.

Sally sank to her knees, laid the revolver down, and thew up. Her ears were ringing. Sgt. Stevens was dead. Larry tried to speak, and then slumped to the floor. He was no longer breathing.
Sally sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. She had just killed a man. Finster sat opposite her, too weak to get up.
The two of them sat staring at each other for a long time, and then began to laugh.


The End



*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Eftwentitoo

Sally parked her car at the edge of the woods above the river. she could look down on the plant from there. She saw the van parked there, and the two men. As she watched one of them pulled Finster out and stood him up. Then she saw them uncuff him and take him inside.
She made her way down there, hoping no one was watching. As she neared the van, she heard the generators shutting down. The quiet seemed strange. Now she could hear the river. She reached into her pocket and felt the 38, wondering if she could use it, if it came to that.

She was hesitant to enter the building, having never been there before. Taking the gun from her pocket, she stepped inside and found herself in a hallway. She could hear voices from a room at the end.
"Well, that's pretty much everything."
"Good. I'm sick of this place already."
"Take him on out to the van. I'll be there in a minute."



*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Eftwentiwon

Finster lay on the floor of the van as they made they're way though town. Larry drove while Sgt. Stevens kept him covered.
"Dr. Ekhard will be glad to see you. He's been looking for someone like you. You're not supposed to be here, you know. You should be dead, like the rest of them."
"Who's Ekhard, what does he want with me?"
"I thought Porter told you."
"He never finished."
"Ah, yes. That was unfortunate." After a pause he continued. "That's not important now. But you are. It's a pity we couldn't get your lady friend too. But we know she's here. We'll come back later."
He gave Finster a knowing look, and went on.
"It would really have been better if you both had just come along peacefully, you know. Dr. Ekhard want's to know why you're alive."

The van pulled up outside the water plant.
As they got out Larry said,
"We need to shut this place down before we leave."
"So get started," Stevens told him.
"I don't know how. That was Porter's job."
They both looked at Finster laying in the back of the van.
"He can do it."
Stevens dragged Finster out of the van and pulled him to his feet.
"Cover him." he said to Larry as he unlocked the cuffs.
Finster was still a bit shaky from the beating.
"Bring him inside."



*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Minibackpacks

In anticipation of a forthcoming trip, The Fuzz and His Sweetie purchased some small leather backpacks online. "Leather" just sounded good.
But, as is sometimes the case with online purchases, there were some shortcomings.
The Fuzz realized that it was time to break out the old sewing awl.
On the right, you will see a magnet. This magnet is actually stuck to The Fuzz's index finger. This is the result of a previous encounter with this dangerous device.
One of the shortcomings of these pitiful packs, was that the shoulder straps were attached too close to the center at the bottom. This made for a rather unpleasant carry.
After puzzling over this for a while, The Fuzz's Sweetie came up with a plan for an improvement. Here is a look at the improved design.
Another modification involved these buckles.
They were secured with a magnetic sort of fastener.
This didn't seem to be all that secure.
And so with a great deal of trouble, the magnets were removed, and the buckles sewn into place.
The Fuzz and His Sweetie are hoping these new, improved minibackpacks will work out fine.

There's Big Adventures coming up!

Eftwenty

7 Last Ride

It had been a while since Sally had been out of the apartment. When she had first recovered, she had spent all her time looking for some other living person. Eventually she had given up.
She had made her hiding place then. Something about the loneliness made her want to crawl into a hole, so she made one. And it had served her well.

But now things were different. She had met Finster, sort of, and there were these other two also. She didn't want to be alone, but if she had to take sides, she would take Finster's.
She hoped her car would start. It was not the most dependable thing on the road. She had no idea how long it had been sitting. Was it a week? a month? She didn't even know what day it was anymore.

She climbed in though the passenger's door. The driver's side had not opened since that little bump-up a while back. The 38 in the pocket of her hoodie bumped against her as she climbed across the console.
She put the key in, and breathed a short prayer. She heard a click, a hesitation, and then the starter began to grind. It seemed like it would never catch, but finally there was a pop, and the engine fired up, with a cloud of blue smoke. Then, it smoothed out a little, and she shifted into Drive. She would go to the water plant at the river. She didn't know what she could do to help him, but she would try.



*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Efnynteen

Sally had heard it all from her place in the closet. Once she was sure the men had left, she came out into the apartment. From a window, she watched them taking Finster away. He was stumbling along, obviously in pain. But she was safe for the time being. Yesterday, she would have been glad to have been found by somebody. But no longer. These men were cruel.

She wondered what they wanted with Finster. They had called him a murderer, but there was more to it than that. It sounded as if they wanted him for some kind of experiment, and her too. Finster was different. He hadn't seemed like a murderer at all to her. He could have told them where she was, and avoid a beating. But he didn't. She didn't like those men. And she didn't like that they had taken Finster. And now they knew about her as well. Sooner or later they would be back.

She had been frightened while they were there. She was still frightened. But she felt like she should do something to try and help Finster.
They had said they were going to the water plant. She knew where that was. Sally went to her aunt's dresser and opened the top drawer. She reached in, under the underwear, and found her aunt's 38. Sally had never had much experience with guns, but this one was simple enough. Point it, and pull the trigger. She hoped she wouldn't need to use it. She found her car keys, picked up her bag, and stepped into the hallway. She did not lock the door behind her.


*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Gas Grill?

Gas Grills? The Fuzz says we have our own way of doing things around here.
When the Young'uns came out to see their Mother for that well known and popular holiday, they brought burgers to grill out.This might not be what some folks are used to, but we do have a way to do these things out here in the woods.
And, they were delicious.

Mother's Day

Some of the "Young'uns" (who aren't so young) showed up Sunday to see their Mommy.
We all had a pretty good time.
Here is one of the other Mommies throwing these silver balls around. I guess you could say we had a ball. Please excuse this.
The little Dirt Bike was a big hit too. Here is that Schoolteacher Daughter zooming on up the dirt road.The Fuzz is happy to report that nobody was seriously injured. It was a good day.

Effeighteen

Finster checked the street outside one more time and walked to his car. The air was still cool on this April morning, but soon it would warm up. Already, he could smell the dead. He placed a few more items he had taken from the store into the back seat of the car, and started for the apartment building.
At the ally, he stopped for a while to survey the area. He saw no one. Everything was peaceful. He thought for a moment that he had seen some movement in the apartment window. That might be good. He tried the ally doorway he had used the day before. It was not locked.
As he climbed the stairs, he paused on the landing to examine the street below. It appeared to be empty. He continued on up to the apartment. He knocked softly. There was no answer. Then he tried the door. It opened.

The windows faced to the west, so there was not much light this early in the day. He paused to let his eyes adjust. This room seemed empty. He wondered if the girl had heard him coming and hid. He would check the closet with it's hidden chamber. As he stepped out into the room, he heard someone cocking a gun behind him, and froze.


From her hiding place, Sally heard someone enter the apartment. She listened as they searched the rooms looking for her. It was obviously not the man who had hid with her. He would have known where to look.

She heard what sounded like a cell phone, and then, a man's voice.
"No, there's no one here... it looks like she just left."
Then he was quiet for a moment, listening.
"Good... I'll be waiting for him."
Then all was quiet again. Sally would have thought he had left, except she hadn't heard the door. And then, she heard the stairs creaking again, a soft knock, and then the door opened.


"Put your hands on your head, and turn around."
Finster complied. He saw a large man with a gun, standing in the dim light.
Sgt. Stevens had Finster stand against the wall as he patted him down, and cuffed him. He took the 45.
"We finally got you," he said, "Now where is she?"
Finster heard someone climbing the stairway in the hall, and then Larry entered. He looked relieved.
"We got him," he said. "Now maybe we can get out of here."
But Stevens wasn't finished.
"Where is she?" he asked again.
Finster had a good idea where she might be, but he had no intention of telling. All he said was,
"Who?"
Stevens backhanded him.
"You know dammed well, who!"

Finster was surprised at the force of the blow. His hands were cuffed behind his back and he struggled to keep his balance. Larry looked at Stevens in surprise. He had not expected this.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Stevens ignored him, and slapped Finster again.
"Tell us where your lady friend is!" he demanded, and when Finster was silent, he punched him in the gut. Finster doubled over and fell to the floor.

"Take it easy!" Larry said. "Dr. Ekhard won't like this."
"Dr. Ekhard will want the woman too, won't he?"
Larry knew that was true, and was quiet.
Finster lay on the floor, trying to catch his breath as Stevens looked down at him.
"We know you came here to see her," he said, and kicked Finster several times.
Finally, Larry could stand it no more and grabbed Stevens.
"For God's sake stop it!"
"Why?" Stevens asked, "All Ekhard needs is his DNA. The bastard is a murderer."
But he stopped the beating. Finster lay on the floor moaning.

"Well, there's nobody else here now," said Larry. "Let's take him back to the water plant and get ready to go."
"OK," Stevens said reluctantly. He would have gotten points for bringing in two of them. He pulled Finster to his feet. "Maybe we can get out of here by noon."




*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Gardening

We did make it over to the old place the other day. The fuzz fired up the tiller and got a section of the garden broken up. His Sweetie went to work on the grass.
Later she was able to get over there and plant some Okra and beans. Today, she reported that they were starting to come up. The garden out here in the woods is doing OK also. Maybe we'll get a little something yet. We are eating salad from it already.

Efseventeen

6 Morning

Sergeant Stevens had not slept well. He had hoped to be back at headquarters by now. But instead he had had to spend the night here. It was all part of his job in the security section, but he didn't like it. Dr. Ekhard was insisting that they bring this Finster back with them. If not for that, they would have closed it all down yesterday.
But he could see the point. Porter was nothing. But anyone who had survived without the vaccine would certainly be of interest. And now, there was even the possibility of a second survivor.

He woke Larry and started some coffee. He used water from the tap. They were both immune to it anyway.
The chopper pilot came in. The Director had called and wanted him back in the city right away. He was sorry, but there was a shortage of pilots and choppers. They would have to drive back once they had finished their business here. He went back out, and soon they heard him fire up the chopper, and leave.
The sooner they got started, the better. The sun had just risen, as they got into the truck and headed back into town, and the apartment building. Stevens hoped to find the woman, at least.


As the sun rose in the morning, Finster stretched and gathered up his things. His leg was sore, but the wound was not deep and the bleeding had stopped. The more he used it, the less it hurt him.
He would take his car as far as he could. There should be enough gas to reach the mountains. He was sure he could hide there. He had been up there many times. He knew plenty of hidden places to camp for a while. Sooner or later they would give up the search for him. After that... he just didn't know.

But first he must find the girl. He hoped she would talk to him this time. He was sure they would come back for her. He needed to warn her.

He was surprised when he heard the chopper again. He ducked back into the doorway and watched it fly off in the direction it had come from the day before. Surely they hadn't given up already. He didn't believe it, and it might even be a trick to get his guard down.


Sally had spent the night sitting in the dark. She had been glad at first to find there were other survivors. She didn't like the idea of being alone. But now even they seemed to be a danger. She was sure they would be back and she knew her hiding place in the closet would eventually be found. She would need to get out of the apartment the first thing in the morning.
As it began to grow lighter, she gathered some things into a bag. But still, she had no idea of where to go.

Sally had become so used to the silence that any unusual sound caught her attention. When she heard the creak on the stairs, she was instantly alert. Someone was coming, and silently. She quietly picked up her bag and slipped into her place behind the closet wall.



*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Another Update

More Building MaterialsAnother wall

Efsixteen

From the apartment, Sally had watched Finster leaving the ally. She had not seen a living person since her recovery. Then, all of a sudden, this man shows up with a gun. And then the others came, chasing him. Was she right to hide him? It sounded as if he had killed someone.

It was her aunt's apartment. Sally had moved in with her after graduation. Mostly to get away from her stepfather, Jake. When her aunt had become sick, she had tried to call her mother. But no one would pick up. Finally, Jake had answered and told her not to call back. He'd sounded angry.
Finally she called 911 and they had taken her aunt to the hospital. That was in the beginning, before she had gotten sick herself. By then, there was no one left to help.
The time that followed was just a blur. She wasn't sure what had been real, and what had been delirium. All she knew, was that one day, she had woken up, and every one else was dead.
She had wondered if she was, in fact, dead herself. Perhaps this was what it was like, to always be alone, in the last place you remembered. She had even thought she was a ghost for a time.
But now, there were these new people. And this man was real, she had touched him. And he had touched her. They were both alive.
She didn't know why she had locked him out. As it grew darker, she wished she hadn't. She sat in the dark, too afraid to light her candle.


Larry sat with Sergeant Stevens in the office at the water plant. The generators were still running, and the lights were on. They had carried Porter's body outside and thrown it in the dumpster. It would be a couple more days before it began to stink. They hoped to be gone by then.
"I talked to Dr. Ekhard a while ago," Stevens said. "He wants both this Finster guy, and whoever else we can find."
"What makes you think there's anyone else?"
"Someone was staying in that apartment."
Larry sighed. He just wanted to get away from this place.
Stevens continued,
"We'll check it again in the morning."



*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Update

This past weekend The Fuzz got in a bit of work on his future workshop.
With the assistance of His Sweetie, He got that first wall raised.

Then, he went to work on the next one.
Actually, things went pretty smoothly, and by the time the Young Daughter was home from the school house, they were ready to raise the 2nd one.
That leaves 4 more sections to go.And as they say,

One foot up
And one foot down
That's the way
To London Town.

Effithteen

He stood there for a long time. Finally, he had found another survivor, and she had locked him out. The smell in the hallway was getting stronger. He walked down to the window, and looked out carefully. He saw no one.

Back on the ground floor, he found a door leading out into the ally, and unlocked it. There was no one there now either. As he made his way to the street, he turned to survey the building behind him. Once again he thought he saw some movement in one of the windows. He was sure it was the girl.

But, it was obvious she didn't want him there with her. He would have to find someplace else to spend the night. And now he had those men looking for him.
Their truck was gone now. But Finster was still wary as he limped into the street. His leg hurt, and he was hungry now, and thirsty. He broke into a connivance store on the corner, and drank a bottle of water. Thankfully, there were no rotting corpses there.

He noted that he could help himself to anything in the place, regardless of price. Yet his improved financial status gave him little satisfaction. But, if the beer was warm, at least it was the "good stuff". He settled into a back corner of the store with some canned goods, and a couple six packs of that "high dollar" beer.
As it grew dark, he found a cheap flashlight and a couple packs of batteries. He opened a beer, and settled in for the night. It had been a long day.

He was finishing his second beer when he thought about Porter, and what he had been saying when he had been shot, "...They'll want to see you... make tests..." And then, there was what he had overheard in the apartment, "...Dr. Ekhard want's him alive..."

Porter had been genuinely surprised to see him. Maybe he shouldn't have killed him. But he hadn't been thinking clearly at the time. He wondered how clearly he was thinking now. It all still seemed like some kind of nightmare. But would he ever wake up? It didn't look like it.

He opened another beer.
So "They" wanted him. And not only for shooting Porter. Who were "They", and who was this "Dr. Ekhard"?
Finster belched, and tore open another bag of chips.
And what about these "Tests"? It must have something to do with why he was still alive. He was supposed to be dead... Like everybody else. Everybody except that red headed girl. And "They" knew about her now.
Finster stumbled across the store to the bathroom, came back, and opened another beer. He was feeling good. He would get out of town in the morning. But what about that girl? He would have to see her first. She needed to be warned. He set his drink down reluctantly.
No more beer tonight.


*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.