Monster Truckers - Episode One: East of Omaha (Pt 3)

EPISODE ONE: EAST OF OMAHA (WHAT'S IN THE BOX)

The Last Cathedral's organ finally fell silent. Only the steady rumble of diesel engines and the hiss of tires on wet pavement remained. Behind the convoy, the singing of the Billboard People faded into the distance until it was swallowed by the rain.

Mac keyed his microphone. "Fluffy Bunny to crew. Any repairs, I got parts back at the shop. Demon, you good? Leaking anything? I'll do a check on everybody when we stop."

Sam glanced at his gauges. "Screaming Demon to Fluffy Bunny. Couple new scratches. Nothing major."

Dragula answered next. "Drags to Bunny. Good call. Let's do a quick once-over."

The convoy resumed its original lineup with the Screamin' Demon taking point, followed by the Last Cathedral, Electric, and Fluffy Bunny slotting in behind him.

The convoy spread out slightly as Sam scanned the roadside for an abandoned rest area or truck pull-off.

Inside the Last Cathedral, Xaden let out a slow breath. The worst seemed to be over. He reached over and turned the CB volume down a notch. That's when he felt it.

Something slid across the trailer floor just enough to make the suspension sway ever so slightly.

Then he heard a THUNK come from the trailer, loud enough to be heard even over the sound of the highway.

Xaden mashed the brake to the floor and  the Cathedral shuddered to a halt. He grabbed his CB mic and shouted, "This is the Cathedral! Something fell inside the trailer!". He jumped from the cab and sprinted toward the back. He flung open the trailer doors and discovered that one of the crates marked "DO NOT EXPOSE TO NT RADIATION" had broken loose from its mooring and now lies on its side with the top broken open. Mac joined him a moment later.

The smell hit them first. The aroma carried with it the memory of fresh baked cookies, clean air after a thunderstorm, flowers in the spring, the subtle odors of pine and pipe tobacco.

Yellow dust clung to the shattered boards. Some of it floated in the air. It shimmered faintly in the dim light, almost like powdered gold.

A blinking light flashed from within the depths of the broken crate.

Mac, who been built in a laboratory in the middle of a war, who had never once in his life smelled any of those things, recognized each of them instantly, instinctively.

Sam swung around in the middle of the highway and raced back to where Xaden had parked. The Screamin' Demon slid to a stop and the fallen angel flew from the window, his wings carrying him across the open distance to the back of the trailer.

"How are we gonna get that back up without damaging it?" Xaden asked.

Mac grabbed a bundle of ratchet straps from the trailer wall. "I can wrap it. Hold it together until we get where we're going." He took a deep breath and held it. Then carefully stepped inside.

Drags pulled over to the shoulder opposite the others to keep watch forward and glanced back at his crew. He keyed the mic, “What’s in the box?”

Sam stood at the end of the trailer. His usual grin disappeared. His shoulders sagged. He suddenly looked... old. It was like the weight of ages settled into his expression.

Very quietly, almost reverently, he whispered, "...no..."

His eyes never left the dust.

The flashing light inside the box continued to blink.

Drags keys to the handset again, “Say again. What is in the box? Over.”

Mac jumps out ..takes a deep breath.  I dont know what's in the Box he yells , the light was blinking in my face,hopefully that worked

Xaden turns to the demon, "Sam whats wrong? Why are you saying no?"

"It's angel dust," Sam replies quietly.

Mac replies.."What does that mean for you or us? Do I need to throw water on you?"

Sam actually looked offended. "What? No. The real thing." He pointed at the crate. "When an angel dies, that... is what's left." He was quiet for a few seconds, "I've never seen so much."

"What does it do?" asked Dragula over the CB.

"I don't know," Sam shook his head, "It was never supposed to exist. We need to see what that light is... and what the shipping label says."

Xaden hops up into the trailer, "I'll go look"

Sam nods, "Don't get any of that stuff on you."

The Hunchback climbed into the trailer. The sweet aroma was stronger inside. Memories of fresh baked bread, grandma's kitchen, the scented candles at St. Cecilia's. For a moment, he remembered places he had never been. He shook his head, trying to focus.

The broken crate lay on its side in the middle of the trailer. The remaining five were still strapped securely against the walls. The blinking light came from beneath the broken lid.

...beep...

...beep...

A rugged olive-green metal case, about the size of a large toolbox, had broken loose from inside the crate and slid across the trailer floor. A yellow warning beacon on top flashed steadily.

The dust had settled across it like pollen.

He crouched, making sure not to touch the powder. He brushed a splinter of wood aside with the toe of his boot and read the faded stencil on the side of the case.

Xaden swallowed. "It says... HumanCorp Research Division" and "Project Halo."

He blew gently on the lettering, clearing more away. "Dispersal Unit – Field Test Model 3 "

"Oh..." Sam closed his eyes. "They weren't transporting Angel Dust. They were transporting the machine that spreads it."

Dragula kept watch from the shoulder opposite the convoy, his eyes sweeping the empty highway before keying the CB.

"Drags to Screaming Demon. What does the Dust do?"

Sam didn't answer for a few seconds. "I don't know. I know what it is and where it came from. I don't know why they want it delivered to New Council Bluffs but I can't imagine that it's for anything good."

“So, now what? We hauling this load of extra-dimensional bioweapons or what?” Drags says back to Sam and Xaden.

"We put it to a vote," Sam replies, "We're still responsible for the load. But we don't turn it over until we know who's waiting for it."

Dragula instantly replies, "I vote we go for."

"I vote the same," Xaden adds.

Mac wipes his hands on his coveralls, "Let's go."

Mac gave the vehicles a quick once-over. What damage there was, was superficial - scratched pain, some minor dents and dings. The most significant thing he found was claw marks where that one Billboard Person had tried climbing aboard Dragula's Electric Warlock.

Drags says, “Thanks Mac. I will rattle can those claw marks red later. Like car battle scars!”

Sam nodded, "Then we finish what we started."

The storm was moving away now. Far out on the prairie, the last faint echoes of the Choir drifted on the wind.

"Come on people now...
Smile on your brother..."