May 1st, 2021
Alderman Tobacco Packaging Plant, Crystal Mississippi
"THERE SHE IS!" shouted Arron as they approached the massive steel beast.
It was a black 2004 Marion Stonewall Semi Truck. It's nose stuck out a little ways from the cab and was almost as wide, there were two round lights and a blinker on the front fenders. The grill depicted a Virginian Battle Flag, "Marion" was written in the center in white cursive with a star above the I inside of a red square. The hood ornament depicted a horse-mounted soldier wearing a slouch hat. The cab was extended to hold a bed and an extra seat with an old white window unit A/C and two tall straight pipe stacks.
It had ten wheels in all, the standard kind found on a semi, and a set of snow chains hanging on the back next to the air hoses.
"It's big" replied Fluttershy
"O'course she's big, ya think a little Volkswagen could haul all the shit a Marion can?" responded Arron in his usual bright yet rough manner.
Arron was a tall, burly beast of a man. He looked to be fairly aged with a bald head and graying blackish beard. He wore a white t-shirt underneath an open red and white short sleeve shirt that looked old as Fluttershy, his jeans were whitened and dirty with age and sat loosely over his old laced work boots, on his head, he dawned an old camo Bass Pro Shop ballcap and a pair of aviator sunglasses.
"Let's just get Big Dixie rollin'" exclaimed a voice from behind them.
It was from Harry Preston. Harry was a black man about the same height and age as Arron, though somewhat skinnier he was bald and beardless with dark skin. He wore a white flannel shirt tucked into a filthy pair of blue jeans that went over his brown cowboy boots, he wore a red Marion ballcap on his head. These men were pretty much opposites of Fluttershy.
She was short and thin with yellow skin and long flowing pink hair tied into a ponytail.
She wore a gray Zac Brown Band t-shirt, a pair of new-looking denim shorts, and a pair of black and white converses with pink ankle socks. In Harry's hand were a small pack of cheap toilet paper and a bag with a pair of jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a pair of gray socks inside of a plastic bag. Arron also carried a bag with a blue button-up, blue jeans, and a pair of white socks in it, while Fluttershy just had two books and her glasses case.
They walked over to Big Dixie, Arron opened the driver side door and ushered Fluttershy in, she grabbed the handrails and pulled herself into the surprisingly spacious cab bare bones. It had two old bucket seats in the front with two sticks sticking out of the floor in between them, in front of the driver's seat was a large white steering wheel with a nob sticking out covered in white leather. On the floor was the typical setup, the clutch was on the far left and was round, the brake was in the center it was a rhombus, and the throttle was on the far right, it was round.
The dash had the typical bells and whistles of any semi, including a CB and analog radio. Behind the front seat, only accessible by going between the two seats was a bed and an extra seat that folded out behind the driver's seat that was fairly open. Fluttershy weaved around the driver's seat and the gear shifts and sat on the folding seat. Arron plopped his large body in the driver seat letting out a groan of satisfaction before slamming the door shut. Harry climbed in holding a clipboard and slammed the door shut as well.
"We need to pull around back and get the trailer in Bay 8" exclaimed Harry.
"aight" responded Arron.
Arron pulled out a switch depicting a battery and looked a the charge gauge as the needle slowly crawled to 100%. As the needle reached one hundred he pulled another nob out with "Fuel Injector" above it, he held it open for around five seconds before pushing it in. He then flipped a switch that had "Fuel Pump" written above it and turned the ignition. The engine roared to life with a loud diesel rumble. He shifted the front gear shift into first and let the truck roll forward.
Arron pulled the wheel into a sharp left turn with all his strength and led it down a roadway behind the plant. When they reached Bay 8, Arron turned the truck sharply right and lined it up with the trailer.
"Get out and direct me, Harry," said Arron as he swung his door open.
Harry climbed down and walked over to the driver's side. Arron slowly backed his rig towards the trailer while Harry directed. Harry held up his hand and Arron stopped while harry hooked up the hoses and raised the trailer jack. The trailer was 53 feet long and painted white with two red lines running down the side and "Alderman" written in red between the two, eight wheels, and a hydraulic lift on the back. Harry climbed back in and settled down in his seat.
"You ready?" asked Arron to all of them
"Yeah" responded Harry
Fluttershy nodded agreeably and opened one of her books.
"Alright" responded Arron enthusiastically.
He shifted the truck into first gear and began pulling forward towards the chainlink gate leading to the street outside. The gate opened and Arron pulled the truck out onto the street going towards Highway 54. The street was in the Business District of Crystal and was surrounded by warehouses and factories spewing smoke into the Mississippi sky. The street was fairly rundown and rough from years of abuse by the numerous truck that drove through it every day. Arron turned down another street that led directly to the highway and their journey began.
