Birth - Chapter 4 - Song of Angels, Book II

Mindy Woczlewski courtesy of Nastya Muratokova

Table of Contents	Please feel free to read and vote for the previous chapters:
Song of Angels - Chapter 1	Book II Chapter 1
Book II Chapter 2	Book II Chapter 3

"I am Sheriff's Deputy James Smith of Fillmore County. Who are you?" Jimmy asked.

"I am Robert, Bobby Mereweather. You don't look like no deputy I ever saw." Robert said. "What is that thing you were in?"

"I have my badge on the front of my coat if you will let me turn around."

"Alright, keep your hands up and turn around slow." Robert said. Jimmy turned slowly with his hands in the air.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"I am in the house and what is that thing?"

"Oh I see you can't you see my badge?"

"Tell me what that thing is?"

"It's a Sheriff's patrol car, what does it look like?"

"I never heard of anything like that. Walk closer so I can see the badge, right up to the door here." Robert said.

"It says 'Sheriff' on the side of the car can't you read it?"

"I can't read." Robert stated.

"Oh, I didn't know you couldn't read. Is there a Cyrus Weeks here too?"

"My brother ain't here why you want him?"

"No particular reason. Can you see my badge yet?"

"Not yet. Come closer."

"Do you know what it looks like, my badge?" Jimmy asked.

"A tin pointed star." Bobby answered.

"No these new ones are brass and look like a shield. Can I point to it?"

"Do it slow." Jimmy pointed to his badge.

"This is it right here."

"Oh, walk a little faster then and come here." Bobby said. Jimmy began to walk faster and stopped a few feet from the door.

"Well?" Jimmy asked.

"I suppose it is some kinda badge, okay deputy I guess you can put your hands down. You want some coffee?"

"Yeah that would be nice." Bobby opened the door stuck his pistol in its holster and waved Jimmy in.

"Sorry about that. You are the first Deputy or Sheriff I have ever seen to come out here, well they never come here but over to Ma and Pa's house. Welcome, Deputy James, have a seat."

"Call me Jimmy." Jimmy sat down at the chair in the corner while Bobby fetched him a cup and set it on the table. He then took the coffee pot off of the pot bellied stove and poured him a cup and filled his own. Bobby sat down in the other chair.

"So, why you want to talk to Cyrus?"

"No real reason. I heard he lived here and thought you might be him. I came out here to get a lost first aid kit. So, is Cyrus around?"

"No, he is out looking for a woman that came here and decided to move in with him. She said she heard a chopper but Cyrus did not know what that was so they lit a signal fire and I saw it and came over. But Cyrus said the woman suddenly disappeared. So I am watching the house in case she comes back."

"Did Cyrus say who she was?"

"Said Mindy something or other."

"Really?"

"Yeah. why?"

"I am just curious." Jimmy said then asked, "Did Cyrus ever meet with a Mildred Peeples?"

"They were introduced at Ma and Pa's but they did not hit it off and she left." Bobby answered. "Do you know her?"

"Me? No but my wife Sarah thought they might have got together. Just out of curiosity, is that a ball and powder pistol?"

"Why yes, what else is there?"

"Oh just curious, what year do you think it is?"

"What year do I think it is, why I know what year it is, it is 1856."

"Hmm. Interesting. Have you seen a big red metal box anywhere?"

"No, but I didn't really look for it."

"It says 'First Aid' on it in white letters and there is a big cross."

"Have not seen it but we can look for it. If we open the door, we might be able to see into the bedroom. It's not in here. I'd know."

"Good idea." Jimmy agreed. Bobby rose and opened the front door all the way."

"Yeah. It is not in here is it?" Bobby walked into the bedroom leaving the door open so he could see." He walked around the room and then said, "I don't see a red box. You can come and look for yourself."

Jimmy rose and walked around then went into the bedroom. It was small and he even looked under the bed. "Let me go out to the squad car and get a flash light and do you mind if I take pictures?"

"A photograph, you have a camera in that squad car?"

"Why yes, but I don't think it is in the house here."

"I sure would like to see that squad car and what is a flashlight?"

"Follow me." Jimmy said and turned. Because he had almost been shot he was playing it cool but damn if this wasn't the most exciting thing he had ever encountered in his life. Jimmy saw the photographs of the rescue site and the only thing that was here were ruins...and.

As they walked, "So you can ride in that thing huh?"

"Why yes...it is how I came here."

"Cyrus said something about a Jeep and not to shoot it. I thought maybe that was the Jeep but no woman got out of it, so then I had no idea what it was."

Jimmy opened the door and Bobby looked over his shoulder while he grabbed the flashlight and the camera. "That is really something, this squad car. It must have cost a fortune."

"Oh yeah they are expensive."

"How much is it?"

"It's about a hundred thousand dollars or so."

"No wonder we don't own one, just horses and wagons for us."

"Okay, if you could move back in front of the house, I want to get your picture."

"Oh sure, where is the camera?"

"It's this right here?"

"You don't say, no tripod, or flash or nothing, just that?"

"This is it, why don't you stand there." Jimmy pointed to a spot just to the left of the door." While Bobby moved he moved back and then looked at the digital display. He needed to move back a bit further, "Hold still and smile." Jimmy said. Bobby did as he said.

Jimmy took several photos of Bobby and the house. Then they walked inside with the flashlight. He turned it on.

"I need me one of them where did you get it?"

"This? Why I got it at the store." Then he quickly said, "In Salt Lake City."

"What will they think of next?" Bobby asked.

Jimmy flashed the light around but there was no first aid kit. Then he went into the bedroom. Nothing was there. He turned on the flash for the camera and took a couple of pictures. Then he went into the living room and took a couple more.

"So, the camera has a light too and how much did that cost?"

"Yeah, it cost about $500."

"So, where are the film plates?"

"This camera has them inside. The plates are little and automatically switch."

"Unbelievable."

"Here I'll show you." Jimmy showed him the different photos in the digital display."

"There I am. Unbelievable." Bobby said in awe.

"The battery is low. How could it be low? I have to turn off the camera or the plates will empty. Let's look outside for the first aid box." Jimmy went outside and Bobby followed after grabbing his coat and putting it on. Jimmy put the camera in the vehicle and tried the radio, just static. He decided to look around for the first aid kit. "It has to be around here somewhere. Where was this signal fire?"

"Your squad car is parked over it."

"Oh then, let's see it has to be out further, probably over in this area somewhere. Jimmy swept his hand to indicate where they should search. Then they moved out. They spread out and moved in an arc. It took walking back and forth twice.

"This might be it!" Bobby called out. Jimmy came over and looked. Sure enough it was the first aid kit.

Jimmy bent over and picked it up and carried it over to the car. It was heavy but not to awkward with a handle at the top of it. It was about three by three by one foot deep. He opened the back and slid in the first aid kit and closed the hatch.

"Do you think Cyrus will be back soon?"

"I don't know… Maybe by night fall." Bobby answered.

"Still have a couple of hours before then, mind if you show me the place?"

"It's not much, there's just a barn down below and a couple of small sheds, the outhouse."

"Well, I would like to at least look down on the barn, if you don't mind."

"Cyrus ain't in some sort of trouble is he?"

"No. No he is not. I just wanted to see this for myself, this place. Maybe talk to Cyrus if I could about Mildred Peeples and this other woman Mindy."

"Like I said maybe nightfall. Maybe later. Maybe he'll sit out there and wait for her. He said she needed to go to Salt Lake City and would be back quick but it has been a few days. Maybe she decided this was not the place for her."

"I don't think she decided that this place wasn't for her but I wanted to talk to Cyrus, just to meet him."

"Have you met her?"

"Why yes, nice woman." Jimmy talked as they walked, "Is that the slaughter shed?"

"Yes."

"The outhouse?" He asked and pointed.

"Yes." They came to the edge of the drop and he looked down and saw all the cattle. Jimmy saw the corral and the barn.

"Quite a place Cyrus has here. Nice." Jimmy observed.

"It is livable but no one else but Claire has ever lived here besides this Mindy who only was here a few days."

"Okay, well Bobby. I am going to try and head back in the squad car and if you see any more of us out here, don't shoot."

"Right Sheriff." They started to walk back to the EPV and were there in a few steps. Jimmy opened the door, buckled himself in, and closed the door. He tried to start the engine. It just barely turned and would not catch. He made sure every switch was off and popped the hood. He exited the vehicle and walked around front with Bobby watching everything.

He lifted the hood and checked the battery connections. They were tight of course. There was no corrosion. "Looks like something has drained the batteries.

"What is all that? Is it like a locomotive?" Bobby asked as he stared in amazement.

"Yes, something like that and I suppose you have no generator here or anything like that?" Jimmy asked.

"Don't even know what a generator is." Bobby answered.

"Didn't think so. Well, somebody from the Sheriff's office should show up eventually and we can get it working. Have any more coffee?" Jimmy asked.

"Let's go inside." Bobby said and turned toward the house.

Jimmy started thinking to himself. It was recorded that Cyrus Weeks was found dead, January 16th, 1856. Here it was the 25th and Cyrus was still alive. Either the old records were wrong and Cyrus Weeks had not died on that day or something must have changed. Maybe Mindy saved Cyrus when she showed up here. Oh yes, he believed her now. He could not explain the exposure to cold if she had lived in the house most of the time or why she was found in the ruins. Then it dawned on Jimmy, what if I don't get out of 1856 and back to my real time. "I wonder if I will see Sarah and the kids ever again." Jimmy mumbled to himself.

"What's that Sheriff?" Bobby asked as they entered the door.

"I was just wondering to myself, how long it might take the Sheriff's office to get somebody out here to start the car."

"Well how long did it take you to get out here?" Bobby asked.

"It took about an hour but, Bobby is there a cement plant over that way?"

"Cement plant? There's nothing out here but people like us and not very many of them. There is the Paiutes and rare is some other tribes come through, but that's it."

"Thought so." Jimmy said as he sat down at the table in the corner.

---

"The transmission of data ended as three smaller, "Children" headed toward the Control Center?" General Sherman asked Captain Spencer.

"Yessir."

"We haven't heard anything else since then, can't raise them by phone or?"

"We have tried everything Sir and there has been no response."

"Let's send a chopper over there for a visual verification that everything is alright and they are just having technical problems."

"I'll order it Sir." Captain Spencer left the office.

"Keep me informed." General Sherman said as he was leaving.

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