Chapter 7

George filled the silence. "I've said before. I will say it again. We should continue with our plan. That's what makes sense and what I think my parents would recommend if they were here. We all knew there were risks in taking this trip. Our successes for so many years have made us unused to tragedy. It has happened. There is nothing to do but to go on."

For a young man of fourteen, he sounded very mature. His parents had been bright, caring people. Bess and Fred would be missed as well as the others.

After a slight bit of discussion, we decided to continue with the expedition. We would not return to Taipei.

We spent the night in the terminal. In the morning, we left Hong Kong for Manila in the Philippines. After flying around, we landed at the airport. Typhoons hadn't been kind to the islands over the years. Once out of our planes, we could see that the airport had been underwater at different times over the years. It was hot and humid. We found fuel but had to strain it because of contamination. Fueling was time consuming and we were careful to be sure we had good fuel in our tanks.

We would spend the night and leave in the morning for another long leg of our trip. Darwin was almost two thousand miles away. We also checked our navigational instruments. There was a lot of water out there. Missing Australia was not really an option for us.

Darwin was on the north coast almost in the middle of the continent. We had a number of islands to pass over on the way but from the air, we had found that islands looked like what they were, islands. It was an almost five hour trip. We made an extra pass over New Guinea though it was a bit out of the way. There was nothing to see, of people anyway.

We followed the coast of Australia to Darwin. After flying over, we landed and performed our usual inspection of the area. After the all clear, we left the plane and began to look around.

Darwin's airport has probably been deserted almost since the Day. We arranged to stay in the lobby as was our habit. We found plenty of fuel and filled Duck's tanks. After looking at maps and reading a few old brochures we found, I told David that a day at the beach was in order. He smiled and agreed. Everyone was excited. We would lock the Duck and use every wheeled vehicle we had. We would go armed to Mindil Beach.

Of course, the famous markets described in the brochures weren't open but the beach was still there. We took food with us and ate lunch and, later, supper on the beach. We played in the ocean. Most of us swam nude and the water felt fabulous. Caroline and Ellis were a little scandalized but got over it quickly.

For two people who wouldn't see sixty again, they were fit and looked quite acceptable in their skin. They were lying beside David and me on towels. I said, "Caroline, you two shouldn't have worried about skin. You both look great."

Caroline said, "We may look good for our age but I never remember having a figure that would challenge you or your sister, Bobbi." She grinned. "You've done this before. Your tans are even."

I smiled. "David and I work the farm in nothing but heavy shoes from as soon as it's warm enough until it's too cold."

Caroline said, "Just remember for later that it's winter down here."

It was dusk when we returned to the airport. No one had been near our plane or the lobby. We had seen no sign of people the entire day. That night, we rested peacefully.

Darwin was so nice and quiet that we stayed another day. We did nothing special but just enjoyed the company of the group and another day at the beach. I felt sorry for George including him with my sister, our husbands, and me. One interesting remark he made was that, with most Australians originally coming from England and other areas like the people of the U. S., he expects more survivors down here.

We got in Duck and left for Perth, another longish trip. Just over four hours later, we landed having seen smoke! People were here! David brought Duck in for a gentle landing with all guns manned and ready. SJ and Jacob were with Myra and Tom in the Humvee. They went down the ramp and began to check out the area while David kept us out in the open with two engines turning over. SJ reported that good fuel was found and in plentiful quantities. They had checked the quality. David taxied over to that place. He shut down the engines but kept the guns ready. We were alone in the cockpit and I looked at him curiously. He said, "We will not go down. We will be ready and offer violence to anyone necessary. 'Cat, you know that, if we're stranded here, there will not be any likely rescue. We're a long way from home." I leaned over and kissed him gently. We waited.

SJ and Jacob continued to scout in the Humvee. Eventually, Duck was full of fuel and David moved us out from any structures and shut down the engines. He said, "We will find out how the people are before we become too vulnerable."

It was an hour before people started to show up. They came in horse drawn wagons. According to SJ, they seemed to enter the area from the north but she wasn't sure. She called to David, "David, Bobbi, should we meet and greet?"

I nodded to David. He said, "SJ, go ahead. Be friendly but cautious."

Another thing that SJ had told us was that it was cool after Darwin. After all, it was winter in the southern hemisphere.

Those coming to see us were moving slowly but steadily. There were four wagons. Two people on horseback approached the Humvee at a walk. The Humvee was transmitting to us in Duck. A man said, "Are you from the United States government?"

SJ's voice came over the loudspeaker. "No. The United States government ceased to function shortly after the Day forty-nine years ago. We are primarily from the new communities, Protection and Preservation, located in the southeastern portion of the old U.S. We also have people from other communities across the southern portion of the old U.S. We aren't here to fight unless we must. We are an exploring team. We can defend ourselves and are prepared to do so. How come you to meet us?"

A woman's voice answered. "We came out of curiosity. We welcome new people. There are too few in the world. We are happy here. We don't want to conquer or be conquered. I am Matilda Brown with my husband, Noah."