June 6th, 2008
10:24am
South Grant Street
"Is this a drill?" Eric asked, calmly.
"Not a drill. Repeat, not a drill. One confirmed attack, several suspected. One confirmed video sighting, as well." Ryan said in a hushed voice.
"Balls! I'm on it. Beard out." There was a click, and the entire conversation ended.
It was over in a matter of seconds, but that was all it took. They'd talked many times before about strategy and tactics, discussed hypothetical scenarios ranging from a simple local outbreak to worldwide catastrophe. It had all been in good fun, a harmless thought exercise, but now their very existence could very well depend on how fast and how accurately they could bring their plan to bear.
Hundreds of variables need to be accounted for, Ryan thought, starting at home. He raced back to his apartment knowing every second counted. To start, he quickly checked every window in the house, making sure they were locked with blinds shut. Not that blinds would do anything to slow down any number of zombies, but making sure that this apartment and anybody inside of it drew no unnecessary attention to itself was paramount. He also noted that the power was still out, and wondered when - if it might be restored.
Ryan knew the next item of business was going to be unpleasant. It was dangerous. It was illegal, but he wasn't about to let a little thing like "the law" keep him from improving his chances of survival against the living dead.
He stealthily exited the apartment, taking extra care to lock behind him. He wasn't planning on being gone long, nor was his destination far, but now more than ever security of his perimeter could mean the difference between life and a fate worse than death.
A quick look around confirmed there were neither creatures nor prying eyes around. He snuck next door and listened at the window for any sounds emanating from inside. There were none, at least that he could hear. He crept to the side door and carefully slid his arm through a broken pane of glass. The glass that hadn't been repaired in over a year after a particularly raucous party. Taking great care to avoid the shards still clinging to the frame, he extended his short arm as far as it would go and very gently unlocked the door.
Just then, there was a rustle in the bushes nearby and it broke Ryan's delicate concentration. Startled, he reflexively withdrew his arm and in doing so dragged the inside of his forearm against the sharp glass, opening a deep laceration and narrowly missing an artery.
"Fuckin' hell!" he hissed, dragging the rest of his arm gingerly away from the glass and clutching it tightly. It was too late to turn back now, so he rushed inside his neighbor's door and closed it behind him, hoping the rustle was benign and his wound wasn't serious. He ripped the curtain from the nearest window and tied it tightly around his arm. The blood quickly began to stain the white fabric. Ryan tried to block the sight from his mind and instead focus on the task at hand.
He crept forward through the house, keeping low to avoid being seen through the windows. First, he stopped in the living room. He grabbed all four pool cues and the bridge and stacked them by the back door. Moving onto the kitchen, he found their booze fridge and brushed aside bottles alcohol until he found the purest, which happened to be a bottle of Everclear. He set that next to the cues and searched around for a container.
Man, I wish I had my bookbag he thought as he opened cabinets at random, until at last he found a pile of garbage bags. He extracted two from the box and shook them open, forming a double layered sack. The cabinets were then ransacked in order, with any non-perishable food being tossed inside the bags. Pop-Tarts, granola bars, canned goods, chips, peanut butter, mini-muffins, cereal and more found their way into his stash until the cupboards were bare. Ryan felt like a more desperate version of The Grinch as he piled the food bag near the door. Just as he was sneaking out of the kitchen to head the second floor, he spied a case of bottled water resting against the refrigerator. He dragged it over to the pile and raced upstairs.
Pausing at the top of the stairs, he listened once more for any sounds, but heard none. He darted in and out of the upstairs bedrooms in turn, desperate for any useful item. In the first bedroom, he found batteries and matches in the desk drawers, but nothing else. He stuffed the small items into his pockets and kept moving. He even checked under the bed and behind the door. The lock on the trunk at the foot of the bed was tempting, but every moment he spent inside the house was another moment he could get caught.
The second bedroom seemed fruitless at first glance. Opening the closet released a cascade of sports equipment, and the noise was deafening as tennis balls, a soccer ball, and several footballs clattered to the floor. Ryan stood amidst the pile tense, ready to be confronted, but nothing came. After a few moments, he grabbed a baseball bat and ran to the final bedroom, making sure to shut the door behind him.
Ryan opened the door and found himself staring directly at a gigantic stereo system. He paused for a moment to admire the quadruple speaker towers, the enormous subwoofer, and the hundreds of buttons on the front panel. So that's how they manage to keep me awake past 1am. What a shame! Such terrible music comes from these gorgeous speakers! I'm not here to vandalize, but boy would I love to relocate this to my apartment and rock out properly. Perhaps some Judas Priest or Scorpions, shaking the walls... okay, so I'm sort of vandalizing he admitted to himself. But I have to! It's for my own survival. Besides, I could never carry it myself, there's no power, and the sound would only attract attention, he said to himself as a sort of justification.
He shook away the thoughts of outright theft and searched the room. The stereo dominated the room, but when he opened the closet and saw what it contained, the baseball bat in his hand clattered to the floor. Hanging directly in front of him was a camouflage hunter's jumpsuit. Above that was a black plastic case that barely cleared the width of the closet.
Ryan excitedly pulled the case out of the closet and set it on the hardwood floor next to the bed. He said a silent "thank you" that there were no locks and clicked open the case. Inside was a gorgeous rifle, with boxes of shining gold tipped ammunition nestled alongside it.
Ryan grinned. Yes, he thought. This will do quite nicely.
Just then there was a muffled pair of voices nearby. From downstairs, there was a noise at the door as the doorknob was tried, and then a jiggle of keys.
Shit! he thought, panicking slightly. Ryan slammed the plastic lid down and clicked the snaps shut. He grabbed the case and headed for the hallway before he heard the front door creak open.
"...can't believe you, man!" came the voice of a clearly annoyed male.
"Whaaat? I ttold you I jussst needed your help, dude." the second voice spoke, slurred.
"I'm on my fucking lunch break. I'm gonna be late because of your stupid ass."
"Sssorry bro. I got kinda schwasted last night and ended up sssleeping with this girl at a paaarrty. Shhhe got really kinky and I woke up with the mother of all hangggovers."
Oh no, Ryan thought. Please tell me he didn't get bitten last night, thinking it was a drunken hookup.
There was a strange mixture of sounds as one pair of footsteps ascended the stairs, the other one clearly being dragged. Ryan was running out of options. He ran back into the third bedroom and rolled under the bed, dragging the case with him.
Wonderful, Ryan. You're in the clear now, what with the multiple escape routes and such, he said to himself sarcastically.
The steps and dragging noises got louder until a pair of legs appeared in Ryan's vision from under the bed.
No! No no no no. Other bedroom. Why? Why does he have to sleep in this bedroom? Ryan thought to himself, trying desperately to lie silently without moving.
Ryan held his breath as the legs being dragged disappeared from sight and the bed above him depressed uncomfortably into his back. He noticed that the blood from his arm wound had begun to pool on the wooden floor, but he feared any movement would betray his position. He closed his eyes, and waited nervously.
"I hope you can sleep this off" said the first voice. "You're lucky I owe you rent money or I would've left you at that house. How many times are you going to do this to me? My boss already thinks I'm a screwup."
"I'm sssorry, dude. Can you take me tt-to the hossspital when you get off work?" said the second voice, sounding very apologetic.
"Maybe. Just let me-" the voice cut off abruptly. Ryan opened his eyes in fright. Had the blood pooled enough to be seen?
"What. The. Hell?" said the first voice.
Current Word Count: 7,770
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Chapter 5 - Puzzle Pieces
June 6th, 2008
9:01am
Ryan's Apartment
Shit. I'm late for class, was Ryan's first thought upon waking up the next morning. He sat upright on the couch, as the momentary panic that accompanies such an epiphany quickly reached its peak. Class started at 8:30. By the time I get there, it'll be over anyway. Looks like I'm gonna have to chalk that one up as a loss, he thought. Just as quickly, the panic faded as a sort of resigned relief washed over him. It was out of his hands now.
He chastised himself for not setting an alarm, and then remembered that his phone had borne the brunt of his nervous frustration the night before. Now free of his morning obligations, Ryan took his time getting ready for the day. He was rinsing the shampoo from his hair before he remembered fully the ordeal of the night before. He was more upset at the loss of his bookbag than anything else, and wondered if there was any hope of recovering it. This thought quickly gave way to the worry that the creature was still out there, hunting him. He exited the shower, got dressed, and gathered his things before sitting down to his computer.
As the computer booted up, Ryan pondered the situation. Something doesn't feel right about all of this. The thing that attacked me last night never asked for any money, never even said anything. Didn't seem to have much in the way of motor skills, either. Drunk? High? Looking to pick a fight? Not to mention there's been some weird stuff happening on campus lately, too.
Just then, the screen went blank and the entire apartment fell silent. A power outage left every appliance in the house without life.
"Come on!" he shouted in frustration. He decided to resume his sleuthing on campus, where hopefully a computer lab had a reliable connection. He had to risk a confrontation with the creature to find out more.
Walking to campus was a paranoid affair. Every few steps he paused to look around, listening intently for a sign of another attack. Mundane sounds like bike tires or idle cars seemed to hang in the humid air, each threatening to turn into the distinctive moan. It was with great relief that he opened the door to the Stewart Center unscathed. He made a beeline for the computer lab, pausing only to grab a copy of The Exponent.
Time seemed to drag on as the scripts for the campus computer terminal processed Ryan's requests to log in. He drummed his fingers on the desk nervously and thought c'mon, c'mon, faster, faster... before seeing the worried glances of the students sitting next to him. He forced himself to sit patiently. As he waited for Windows to start, he flipped through the student paper for any notice of a pedestrian injury near Wood St. There was no mention of any accident of any kind.
He opened Firefox and searched the Purdue website for any indication of any abnormal news. Hillenbrand, he noted, had a last-minute cancellation of a conference. This was the same conference that was supposed to be occupying Jenny's building, which meant that she would probably have an empty building for the time being.
The paper offered no more insight. The graduate student mentioned yesterday was still missing. A construction injury. More visitors to the student health center. He also noticed that more record hot weather had been predicted.
Great, he thought more power outages at the apartment. Just what I need right now.
A small icon popped up at the bottom right of his screen. He had several new messages. Opening up his e-mail inbox, he quickly skimmed over the messages. One came directly from Purdue Physical Facilities. Ryan knew it was fairly common for construction work to take place during the summer, as less students would be affected. Most students who stayed over the summer received these messages informing them of road closings, building services shut down, or other problems.
This particular message was a simple warning of a two lane road near Mackey being reduced to one lane starting next week until July. Playing a hunch, Ryan followed the link at the end of the message to the Facilities website. There he found a link there to a webcam that showed the progress of a new parking garage being built. He searched through the archives for a clip of the basement level that was under construction, dated last night.
There, on the screen, was a shadowy figure with an unmistakable gait.
The same gait, the same silhouette of the attacking figure from last night. He couldn't believe his eyes. It all made more sense now - the news, the "accidents", the strange beings on campus.
Fighting back a panic, he calmly logged off of his computer and resisted the urge to sprint for home. He stood up, pushed in his chair and briskly walked out of the room. As he left the Stewart Center, he took one last look of the students in the computer lab, unaware of the danger that now loomed large over Purdue. Run! he mentally urged them. Flee for your lives!
Ryan jogged back to his apartment nervously. He desperately hoped he was wrong, but the evidence was staring him right in the face. With his options dwindling and knowing full well every minute counted, he pulled his cellphone from his pocket.
Damn. Not much charge left, he noted. He dialed the number for Eric, and waited impatiently for him to pick up.
"Hello?" Eric answered.
"Beard - there's not much time, so listen carefully. Initiate the Emergency Zed Plan."
Current Word Count: 6,195
9:01am
Ryan's Apartment
Shit. I'm late for class, was Ryan's first thought upon waking up the next morning. He sat upright on the couch, as the momentary panic that accompanies such an epiphany quickly reached its peak. Class started at 8:30. By the time I get there, it'll be over anyway. Looks like I'm gonna have to chalk that one up as a loss, he thought. Just as quickly, the panic faded as a sort of resigned relief washed over him. It was out of his hands now.
He chastised himself for not setting an alarm, and then remembered that his phone had borne the brunt of his nervous frustration the night before. Now free of his morning obligations, Ryan took his time getting ready for the day. He was rinsing the shampoo from his hair before he remembered fully the ordeal of the night before. He was more upset at the loss of his bookbag than anything else, and wondered if there was any hope of recovering it. This thought quickly gave way to the worry that the creature was still out there, hunting him. He exited the shower, got dressed, and gathered his things before sitting down to his computer.
As the computer booted up, Ryan pondered the situation. Something doesn't feel right about all of this. The thing that attacked me last night never asked for any money, never even said anything. Didn't seem to have much in the way of motor skills, either. Drunk? High? Looking to pick a fight? Not to mention there's been some weird stuff happening on campus lately, too.
Just then, the screen went blank and the entire apartment fell silent. A power outage left every appliance in the house without life.
"Come on!" he shouted in frustration. He decided to resume his sleuthing on campus, where hopefully a computer lab had a reliable connection. He had to risk a confrontation with the creature to find out more.
Walking to campus was a paranoid affair. Every few steps he paused to look around, listening intently for a sign of another attack. Mundane sounds like bike tires or idle cars seemed to hang in the humid air, each threatening to turn into the distinctive moan. It was with great relief that he opened the door to the Stewart Center unscathed. He made a beeline for the computer lab, pausing only to grab a copy of The Exponent.
Time seemed to drag on as the scripts for the campus computer terminal processed Ryan's requests to log in. He drummed his fingers on the desk nervously and thought c'mon, c'mon, faster, faster... before seeing the worried glances of the students sitting next to him. He forced himself to sit patiently. As he waited for Windows to start, he flipped through the student paper for any notice of a pedestrian injury near Wood St. There was no mention of any accident of any kind.
He opened Firefox and searched the Purdue website for any indication of any abnormal news. Hillenbrand, he noted, had a last-minute cancellation of a conference. This was the same conference that was supposed to be occupying Jenny's building, which meant that she would probably have an empty building for the time being.
The paper offered no more insight. The graduate student mentioned yesterday was still missing. A construction injury. More visitors to the student health center. He also noticed that more record hot weather had been predicted.
Great, he thought more power outages at the apartment. Just what I need right now.
A small icon popped up at the bottom right of his screen. He had several new messages. Opening up his e-mail inbox, he quickly skimmed over the messages. One came directly from Purdue Physical Facilities. Ryan knew it was fairly common for construction work to take place during the summer, as less students would be affected. Most students who stayed over the summer received these messages informing them of road closings, building services shut down, or other problems.
This particular message was a simple warning of a two lane road near Mackey being reduced to one lane starting next week until July. Playing a hunch, Ryan followed the link at the end of the message to the Facilities website. There he found a link there to a webcam that showed the progress of a new parking garage being built. He searched through the archives for a clip of the basement level that was under construction, dated last night.
There, on the screen, was a shadowy figure with an unmistakable gait.
The same gait, the same silhouette of the attacking figure from last night. He couldn't believe his eyes. It all made more sense now - the news, the "accidents", the strange beings on campus.
Fighting back a panic, he calmly logged off of his computer and resisted the urge to sprint for home. He stood up, pushed in his chair and briskly walked out of the room. As he left the Stewart Center, he took one last look of the students in the computer lab, unaware of the danger that now loomed large over Purdue. Run! he mentally urged them. Flee for your lives!
Ryan jogged back to his apartment nervously. He desperately hoped he was wrong, but the evidence was staring him right in the face. With his options dwindling and knowing full well every minute counted, he pulled his cellphone from his pocket.
Damn. Not much charge left, he noted. He dialed the number for Eric, and waited impatiently for him to pick up.
"Hello?" Eric answered.
"Beard - there's not much time, so listen carefully. Initiate the Emergency Zed Plan."
Current Word Count: 6,195
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Chapter 4 - Warning Signs
June 5th, 2008
11:18pm
Tapawingo Drive Extension
Ryan walked along the side of the road towards the south end of campus where the bulk of the student apartments were located. This side road, recently completed, was still unlit and rarely traveled. He kicked the gravel at his feet as he nodded his head to the beat coming from his headphones, pausing occasionally to air-drum or air-guitar along with the song.
Silently stalking him from the wooded area nearby was a gruesome creature that stumbled towards him, plodding determinedly. Its uncoordinated movements atop the gravel gave it a distinctive shuffle that went unnoticed by its preoccupied target.
Ryan paused and knelt to tie his shoe, and the creature lessened the distance with a slow, awkward shuffle. Only a few meters separated them.
As he reached the edge of River Road, Ryan paused to look for traffic. In the summertime this late at night there were few cars anywhere on campus, much less there at the desolate intersection. The creature continued to gain behind him, making no attempt at stealth. It came within arm's reach before Ryan stepped off the sidewalk and briskly crossed the double lane road and started up the hill.
The creature continued its chase.
Reaching the steep hill slowed Ryan somewhat, but the creature showed no such hesitation. As it continued to plod along with fixation, it let out a soft moan. This coincided with the fade-out of the current track of Ryan's mp3 player, which gave him pause.
To get a better listen, he fumbled for what he thought was the pause button. The smooth symmetrical design of the device, however, meant he ended up with a "smooth jazz" speaker balance. He felt a sudden force at his back, a jolt of something grabbing at his bookbag that jarred his headphones loose.
"What the f-"
Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he reacted to the assault. Leaning forward against the unknown force separated the bookbag slightly from his body. He quickly drew his left arm in and squirreled it through the strained shoulder strap, and then spun clockwise. The creature held onto the bookbag as Ryan ripped free and stumbled forward, unbalanced.
As Ryan regained his balance, the creature dropped the bag. There was a pause as the creature seemed to realize its target had shed the item like a second skin. Moaning loudly, it staggered forward once more with arms outstretched.
"Hey, whoa whoa whoa!", Ryan said defensively.
The blanket of night obscured all but the silhouette of the assailant. Ryan reached for his pocket knife, backpedaling quickly away from the unknown to the edge of the sidewalk.
"Listen, buddy, I don't want any trouble. You jus- aaack!"
He stepped backwards and lost his balance on the curb, tumbling backwards into the street. Lights blinded him as a vehicle quickly approached, blaring its horn. It swerved to miss him, and in doing so drove partially onto the sidewalk between Ryan and the monster.
There was a loud thunk as the front of the car collided with the creature. Flesh and bone smacked violently onto the hood. The airbags deployed with a burst of air, and Ryan took full advantage of the distraction, scrambling to his feet and darting across the street. He looked to put some distance between himself and the attacker, and used his knowledge of the surrounding area to slip behind a row of bushes. He paused, chest pounding, trying desperately to quiet his loud breathing. Scanning through the foliage for any other threats, he steeled his nerve to make a wild sprint for home.
He took a deep breath, took one last look around, and rushed parallel to the bushes to the end of the apartment complex. He took a sharp turn right, ran through an empty lot and between another pair of houses, skidding to a stop at the edge of the building near the drainpipe. A quick look past the corner to make sure the coast was clear, and he sprinted once more through a series of backyards. A fence marked the boundary of the last backyard, but he slid through a hole in the bottom and paused once more. His apartment was now in sight, just across the street.
Heart still pounding, he fumbled for his keys. The only lumination on this side of the fence was a nearby porch light, and he was content to try and find the door key until a moan in the distance sent him into a panic. He took off, nearly losing his keys in the process, sprinting wildly for his door. He reached his apartment unchallenged, and the only distraction from finding the right key was the need to keep an eye out for another attack.
The only copper-colored key on his keyring was the one, and he plunged it into the lock and twisted, shoving the door open as if the monster was at his back. He ripped the keys back out of the lock so fast it nearly snapped, and he slammed the door shut, locked it, and summarily collapsed against it.
Heart pounding, pulse racing, he waited several minutes for any sign of danger before relaxing even slightly. He pulled his phone from his pocket with shaky hands and dialed the campus police. The voice on the other end of the phone was less than comforting:
We're sorry. The Purdue Police Department is currently experiencing a high volume of calls. Please try again in a few minutes, or stay on the line and the first available representative will take your call.
"Damnit!" he said aloud in frustration. He hung up the phone with a face of disgust and pitched it across the room.
No longer immediately in danger, Ryan suddenly felt very tired and weak after such a run. He slowly rose to his feet, stumbled to the couch, and flopped down face first. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Several minutes later, he had drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
The gentle hum of the air conditioner obscured a low moan outside, just a few doors down.
Current Word Count: 5,250
11:18pm
Tapawingo Drive Extension
Ryan walked along the side of the road towards the south end of campus where the bulk of the student apartments were located. This side road, recently completed, was still unlit and rarely traveled. He kicked the gravel at his feet as he nodded his head to the beat coming from his headphones, pausing occasionally to air-drum or air-guitar along with the song.
Silently stalking him from the wooded area nearby was a gruesome creature that stumbled towards him, plodding determinedly. Its uncoordinated movements atop the gravel gave it a distinctive shuffle that went unnoticed by its preoccupied target.
Ryan paused and knelt to tie his shoe, and the creature lessened the distance with a slow, awkward shuffle. Only a few meters separated them.
As he reached the edge of River Road, Ryan paused to look for traffic. In the summertime this late at night there were few cars anywhere on campus, much less there at the desolate intersection. The creature continued to gain behind him, making no attempt at stealth. It came within arm's reach before Ryan stepped off the sidewalk and briskly crossed the double lane road and started up the hill.
The creature continued its chase.
Reaching the steep hill slowed Ryan somewhat, but the creature showed no such hesitation. As it continued to plod along with fixation, it let out a soft moan. This coincided with the fade-out of the current track of Ryan's mp3 player, which gave him pause.
To get a better listen, he fumbled for what he thought was the pause button. The smooth symmetrical design of the device, however, meant he ended up with a "smooth jazz" speaker balance. He felt a sudden force at his back, a jolt of something grabbing at his bookbag that jarred his headphones loose.
"What the f-"
Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he reacted to the assault. Leaning forward against the unknown force separated the bookbag slightly from his body. He quickly drew his left arm in and squirreled it through the strained shoulder strap, and then spun clockwise. The creature held onto the bookbag as Ryan ripped free and stumbled forward, unbalanced.
As Ryan regained his balance, the creature dropped the bag. There was a pause as the creature seemed to realize its target had shed the item like a second skin. Moaning loudly, it staggered forward once more with arms outstretched.
"Hey, whoa whoa whoa!", Ryan said defensively.
The blanket of night obscured all but the silhouette of the assailant. Ryan reached for his pocket knife, backpedaling quickly away from the unknown to the edge of the sidewalk.
"Listen, buddy, I don't want any trouble. You jus- aaack!"
He stepped backwards and lost his balance on the curb, tumbling backwards into the street. Lights blinded him as a vehicle quickly approached, blaring its horn. It swerved to miss him, and in doing so drove partially onto the sidewalk between Ryan and the monster.
There was a loud thunk as the front of the car collided with the creature. Flesh and bone smacked violently onto the hood. The airbags deployed with a burst of air, and Ryan took full advantage of the distraction, scrambling to his feet and darting across the street. He looked to put some distance between himself and the attacker, and used his knowledge of the surrounding area to slip behind a row of bushes. He paused, chest pounding, trying desperately to quiet his loud breathing. Scanning through the foliage for any other threats, he steeled his nerve to make a wild sprint for home.
He took a deep breath, took one last look around, and rushed parallel to the bushes to the end of the apartment complex. He took a sharp turn right, ran through an empty lot and between another pair of houses, skidding to a stop at the edge of the building near the drainpipe. A quick look past the corner to make sure the coast was clear, and he sprinted once more through a series of backyards. A fence marked the boundary of the last backyard, but he slid through a hole in the bottom and paused once more. His apartment was now in sight, just across the street.
Heart still pounding, he fumbled for his keys. The only lumination on this side of the fence was a nearby porch light, and he was content to try and find the door key until a moan in the distance sent him into a panic. He took off, nearly losing his keys in the process, sprinting wildly for his door. He reached his apartment unchallenged, and the only distraction from finding the right key was the need to keep an eye out for another attack.
The only copper-colored key on his keyring was the one, and he plunged it into the lock and twisted, shoving the door open as if the monster was at his back. He ripped the keys back out of the lock so fast it nearly snapped, and he slammed the door shut, locked it, and summarily collapsed against it.
Heart pounding, pulse racing, he waited several minutes for any sign of danger before relaxing even slightly. He pulled his phone from his pocket with shaky hands and dialed the campus police. The voice on the other end of the phone was less than comforting:
We're sorry. The Purdue Police Department is currently experiencing a high volume of calls. Please try again in a few minutes, or stay on the line and the first available representative will take your call.
"Damnit!" he said aloud in frustration. He hung up the phone with a face of disgust and pitched it across the room.
No longer immediately in danger, Ryan suddenly felt very tired and weak after such a run. He slowly rose to his feet, stumbled to the couch, and flopped down face first. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Several minutes later, he had drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
The gentle hum of the air conditioner obscured a low moan outside, just a few doors down.
Current Word Count: 5,250
Orwellian Update
Reader
Fellow NaNoWriMo participant Andrew has spotted a few chronological inconsistencies/conflicts with my current timeframe, so I have retroactively shifted all the events forward a week. Sorry if that confuses you, but it makes a few things fit better (some of which you probably would not notice if you weren't a Purdue student, and maybe not even then, but I digress).
I'm trying to build up some plot before I get to the good juicy action. I hope you aren't as sick of this as I am already.
Additionally, I've added my current word count to the end of each post. Right now I'm slightly behind the finish-at-midnight on Nov. 30th pace, but I'm proud of what I've got so far. Gotta keep writing!
Fellow NaNoWriMo participant Andrew has spotted a few chronological inconsistencies/conflicts with my current timeframe, so I have retroactively shifted all the events forward a week. Sorry if that confuses you, but it makes a few things fit better (some of which you probably would not notice if you weren't a Purdue student, and maybe not even then, but I digress).
I'm trying to build up some plot before I get to the good juicy action. I hope you aren't as sick of this as I am already.
Additionally, I've added my current word count to the end of each post. Right now I'm slightly behind the finish-at-midnight on Nov. 30th pace, but I'm proud of what I've got so far. Gotta keep writing!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Chapter 3 - Dark Alley
June 5th, 2008
4:06pm
Ryan's Apartment - Harrison Street
Seven red, five orange, and two blue Freeze Pops later, Ryan still felt overheated. He'd returned to his apartment and the single, aging window air conditioner did little to combat the sweltering heat and humidity. Curse this mass of curly hair, he thought as he sat on his bed, facing his box fan. Everything today feels so oppressed by the heat, like the world is moving slower. Everybody's getting testy and impatient, too. The humidity made his curls get frizzy and the fan blew them every which way, which was a tolerable annoyance given the ambient temperature.
He tried to pass the time by surfing the internet. Nobody's updated their blog, and I've read all my webcomics. "Geez," he said to aloud to no one "is Facebook really the most interesting website that's updated today?" He was about to find something else to do when he received an instant message:
GregS: Hey buddy. Gametime?
Damnit.
RyanG: Damnit. Well played, sir. What are you doing?
GregS: Just got off work. You?
RyanG: Absolutely nothing. I was about ready to do next week's homework out of pure boredom.
RyanG: Wait, I thought you were off today?
GregS: My boss called in sick. Said he had to stay home because his daughter woke up really sick today, and he doesn't know what's wrong with her.
RyanG: Bummer. Way to pick up the slack.
GregS: Wanna come over and rock out? Watch House reruns?
RyanG: Sounds great. Can you come pick me up?
GregS: No can do. Chad's borrowing my car because his is in the shop.
RyanG: No problem. I can take the trolley over, and it should be cool enough tonight to walk back. Be there in a bit, depending on when the trolley gets here.
GregS has signed off.
Ryan packed up a few video game essentials into his bookbag before putting on his flip-flops and heading outside. It was a short walk to the trolley station across from the Wood St. parking garage, but with the sun starting to dip lower in the sky casting long shadows, and the stuffy heat, the walk was eerily quiet.
I know there's usually less activity during the summer, but today seems especially dead Ryan thought as he waited for the trolley. He pulled his mp3 player out of his bookbag, not quite sure what songs he'd last loaded onto it. The first album was Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil, which he felt was an abnormally hardcore soundtrack to something as mundane as hailing a trolley, better suited to doing something awesome.
Eventually the 5:30 route stopped by, and after squeezing past dozens of students not wanting to walk in the heat (he didn't blame them) Ryan rode past the shopping center, and down Chauncey Hill. A quick tug of the stop cord, and the trolley paused to let him out directly in front of the Wabash Landing movie theatre. This was was the closest he was going to get to Greg's apartment by way of public transport.
Ryan walked across the nearly empty parking lot in front of the Neon Cactus, knowing full well the walk back home would be treacherous - Thirsty Thursdays would mean huge crowds of inebriated students stumbling around. He walked around the far end of the strip mall to Greg's apartment in the complex behind.
Greg greeted him at the door with a cold can of Mt. Dew and a guitar. They started playing Guitar Hero III right away, 5-starring their favorite songs. They'd played the game so many times that for them it was less about beating the high score, and more about what they termed "style points". They tried to keep an unbroken string of notes while playing behind their backs, playing back to back, and liberal use of windmill and duckwalking through guitar duels until their fingers were aching.
After several hours of bothering the neighbors with a constant barrage of noise, they gave in to hunger. They ordered pizza and waited for the delivery while watching season two of Prison Break. Greg had seen it already, but didn't mind a seeing it again as Ryan caught up.
After a few episodes, with a decent walk still to go, Ryan said goodbye. He was much more comfortable outside now that the sun had gone down, though it was eerily quiet (except for a few scattered yells from drunks). Attempting to avoid the bar scene as much as possible, he stayed on the far side of the Cactus parking lot and walked along the bank of the Wabash. Passing the ice-skating rink on his way to the landing and Rt. 26, he felt a shiver along his spine.
He shrugged it off as just the cooler night air giving him a chill, but he did not notice the shadowy figure stalking him...
Current Word Count: 4,216
4:06pm
Ryan's Apartment - Harrison Street
Seven red, five orange, and two blue Freeze Pops later, Ryan still felt overheated. He'd returned to his apartment and the single, aging window air conditioner did little to combat the sweltering heat and humidity. Curse this mass of curly hair, he thought as he sat on his bed, facing his box fan. Everything today feels so oppressed by the heat, like the world is moving slower. Everybody's getting testy and impatient, too. The humidity made his curls get frizzy and the fan blew them every which way, which was a tolerable annoyance given the ambient temperature.
He tried to pass the time by surfing the internet. Nobody's updated their blog, and I've read all my webcomics. "Geez," he said to aloud to no one "is Facebook really the most interesting website that's updated today?" He was about to find something else to do when he received an instant message:
GregS: Hey buddy. Gametime?
Damnit.
RyanG: Damnit. Well played, sir. What are you doing?
GregS: Just got off work. You?
RyanG: Absolutely nothing. I was about ready to do next week's homework out of pure boredom.
RyanG: Wait, I thought you were off today?
GregS: My boss called in sick. Said he had to stay home because his daughter woke up really sick today, and he doesn't know what's wrong with her.
RyanG: Bummer. Way to pick up the slack.
GregS: Wanna come over and rock out? Watch House reruns?
RyanG: Sounds great. Can you come pick me up?
GregS: No can do. Chad's borrowing my car because his is in the shop.
RyanG: No problem. I can take the trolley over, and it should be cool enough tonight to walk back. Be there in a bit, depending on when the trolley gets here.
GregS has signed off.
Ryan packed up a few video game essentials into his bookbag before putting on his flip-flops and heading outside. It was a short walk to the trolley station across from the Wood St. parking garage, but with the sun starting to dip lower in the sky casting long shadows, and the stuffy heat, the walk was eerily quiet.
I know there's usually less activity during the summer, but today seems especially dead Ryan thought as he waited for the trolley. He pulled his mp3 player out of his bookbag, not quite sure what songs he'd last loaded onto it. The first album was Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil, which he felt was an abnormally hardcore soundtrack to something as mundane as hailing a trolley, better suited to doing something awesome.
Eventually the 5:30 route stopped by, and after squeezing past dozens of students not wanting to walk in the heat (he didn't blame them) Ryan rode past the shopping center, and down Chauncey Hill. A quick tug of the stop cord, and the trolley paused to let him out directly in front of the Wabash Landing movie theatre. This was was the closest he was going to get to Greg's apartment by way of public transport.
Ryan walked across the nearly empty parking lot in front of the Neon Cactus, knowing full well the walk back home would be treacherous - Thirsty Thursdays would mean huge crowds of inebriated students stumbling around. He walked around the far end of the strip mall to Greg's apartment in the complex behind.
Greg greeted him at the door with a cold can of Mt. Dew and a guitar. They started playing Guitar Hero III right away, 5-starring their favorite songs. They'd played the game so many times that for them it was less about beating the high score, and more about what they termed "style points". They tried to keep an unbroken string of notes while playing behind their backs, playing back to back, and liberal use of windmill and duckwalking through guitar duels until their fingers were aching.
After several hours of bothering the neighbors with a constant barrage of noise, they gave in to hunger. They ordered pizza and waited for the delivery while watching season two of Prison Break. Greg had seen it already, but didn't mind a seeing it again as Ryan caught up.
After a few episodes, with a decent walk still to go, Ryan said goodbye. He was much more comfortable outside now that the sun had gone down, though it was eerily quiet (except for a few scattered yells from drunks). Attempting to avoid the bar scene as much as possible, he stayed on the far side of the Cactus parking lot and walked along the bank of the Wabash. Passing the ice-skating rink on his way to the landing and Rt. 26, he felt a shiver along his spine.
He shrugged it off as just the cooler night air giving him a chill, but he did not notice the shadowy figure stalking him...
Current Word Count: 4,216
Nomenclature Clarification
I just know I'm going to forget to use real names and slip into nicknames. For those of you unfamiliar with the Ship of Fools, I'm going to give you a quick summary:
Ryan - T.Rex
Renee - Kamikaze
Andrew - Peace
Eric - Beard
John C. - Cowboy
Stu - B.O.
Steve - Angel Hair
Brant - Rubble
Alex - SoG
Benji - Hallway
John T. - Tripod or Freshman
Kyle - Sweet Speak
Also, I'm adding a poll to the right sidebar. Cast your vote!
Ryan - T.Rex
Renee - Kamikaze
Andrew - Peace
Eric - Beard
John C. - Cowboy
Stu - B.O.
Steve - Angel Hair
Brant - Rubble
Alex - SoG
Benji - Hallway
John T. - Tripod or Freshman
Kyle - Sweet Speak
Also, I'm adding a poll to the right sidebar. Cast your vote!
Chapter 2 - Delayed
June 5th, 2008
12:35pm
Pappy's Sweet Shop
Jenny should be here by now, Ryan thought. Fighting back the sneaking suspicion something had happened to her, he pulled his cellphone from his pocket to check for a message he might've missed. Damn. No reception in the basement. Great, and my battery needs charged, too.
He tried to take his mind away from paranoia by pulling his big blue notebook from his bookbag. It contained all of his notes about the improv club, including the upcoming show for the summer. The Fools had booked an performance as the opening act for a Chicago comedian, and several retired members of the troupe had mentioned possibly reuniting and joining them on stage. The final head count of members, however, was far from set. Ryan reviewed who he knew would be here over the summer, who couldn't make it for sure, and who was a possibility.
It was just then when Jenny walked up and greeted him with a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey sweetie, sorry about the delay. There was some sort of accident near Krannert, so my bus was delayed." She slid into the booth across from Ryan with a sigh.
"It's okay. The whole campus seems to be in a funk today - there was something in the paper about a drunk guy biting somebody. Anyway, I was just going over the roster for the upcoming Chicago Show."
"Oh yeah? Who all's gonna be in it?"
"Well, me, of course. Let's see" he scanned the checklist "Renee, Andrew and Eric, for sure. Stu's probably not going to make it. Kyle and John T. graduated, so they're out. Steve and Brant aren't staying here over the summer, but I'm pretty sure they said they would make it. John C. will be here. Benji and Alex are big question marks."
"Sounds like fun trying to plan all of that together. How about you keep working on that, and I'll get some lunch?"
"Sounds great," he said, pulling out his wallet "here's a twenty - get me a cheeseburger, fries, and a cherry coke, will ya?"
"Of course. Back in a few."
Ryan scribbled a few notes while Jenny waited in line for lunch. She returned with a pair of burgers, cokes, and a large plate of fries.
"I've got a quiz I need to study for, okay?" Jenny said, removing a large packet of notes from her bulging bookbag.
"Sure. Is that the only other thing you have today?"
"Well, I've got my afternoon class with the quiz, and then a group meeting, and I work tonight at Hillenbrand. There's a huge bunch of people moving into the hall for a conference and I'm on duty."
"Can I come over and keep you company?" he asked between bites of fries.
"I don't think that'd be the best idea. I have a lesson plan to write and rounds, so I'm gonna be really busy. Perhaps this weekend we can hang out, instead?"
Ryan sighed. "Okay. I guess I'll try and get a hold of the Fools and find out for sure who will be here. I just hate how lonely my apartment is right now." His roommate John had graduated and was working in Michigan at a reactor, so his room was just empty until the lease ended in August. Ryan's other current roommate, Alex, was out of town visiting his girlfriend Steph. "Even our upstairs neighbors are gone for the summer, I guess. I saw a moving truck outside last week and it's been really quiet for once."
She paused to swallow the last bite of burger before noting "At least you don't have to deal with their shitty music past midnight anymore."
"True. I definitely enjoy having the freedom to crank up and rock out."
They continued to chat while they finished lunch. Finally, as the clock neared 1:15, Jenny put away her notes. "Well," she said "I think it's about time for me to get to class. Thanks for lunch."
"No problem. I hope your quiz and group meeting goes well. Have fun at work tonight, too."
"And you have fun tonight. Why don't you try and invite some of the Fools over and do something? Play a game of Settlers of Catan, perhaps?"
"We'll see."
Ryan watched as Jennifer packed up her things and left. Little did he know that he might never see her again...
Current Word Count: 3,400
12:35pm
Pappy's Sweet Shop
Jenny should be here by now, Ryan thought. Fighting back the sneaking suspicion something had happened to her, he pulled his cellphone from his pocket to check for a message he might've missed. Damn. No reception in the basement. Great, and my battery needs charged, too.
He tried to take his mind away from paranoia by pulling his big blue notebook from his bookbag. It contained all of his notes about the improv club, including the upcoming show for the summer. The Fools had booked an performance as the opening act for a Chicago comedian, and several retired members of the troupe had mentioned possibly reuniting and joining them on stage. The final head count of members, however, was far from set. Ryan reviewed who he knew would be here over the summer, who couldn't make it for sure, and who was a possibility.
It was just then when Jenny walked up and greeted him with a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey sweetie, sorry about the delay. There was some sort of accident near Krannert, so my bus was delayed." She slid into the booth across from Ryan with a sigh.
"It's okay. The whole campus seems to be in a funk today - there was something in the paper about a drunk guy biting somebody. Anyway, I was just going over the roster for the upcoming Chicago Show."
"Oh yeah? Who all's gonna be in it?"
"Well, me, of course. Let's see" he scanned the checklist "Renee, Andrew and Eric, for sure. Stu's probably not going to make it. Kyle and John T. graduated, so they're out. Steve and Brant aren't staying here over the summer, but I'm pretty sure they said they would make it. John C. will be here. Benji and Alex are big question marks."
"Sounds like fun trying to plan all of that together. How about you keep working on that, and I'll get some lunch?"
"Sounds great," he said, pulling out his wallet "here's a twenty - get me a cheeseburger, fries, and a cherry coke, will ya?"
"Of course. Back in a few."
Ryan scribbled a few notes while Jenny waited in line for lunch. She returned with a pair of burgers, cokes, and a large plate of fries.
"I've got a quiz I need to study for, okay?" Jenny said, removing a large packet of notes from her bulging bookbag.
"Sure. Is that the only other thing you have today?"
"Well, I've got my afternoon class with the quiz, and then a group meeting, and I work tonight at Hillenbrand. There's a huge bunch of people moving into the hall for a conference and I'm on duty."
"Can I come over and keep you company?" he asked between bites of fries.
"I don't think that'd be the best idea. I have a lesson plan to write and rounds, so I'm gonna be really busy. Perhaps this weekend we can hang out, instead?"
Ryan sighed. "Okay. I guess I'll try and get a hold of the Fools and find out for sure who will be here. I just hate how lonely my apartment is right now." His roommate John had graduated and was working in Michigan at a reactor, so his room was just empty until the lease ended in August. Ryan's other current roommate, Alex, was out of town visiting his girlfriend Steph. "Even our upstairs neighbors are gone for the summer, I guess. I saw a moving truck outside last week and it's been really quiet for once."
She paused to swallow the last bite of burger before noting "At least you don't have to deal with their shitty music past midnight anymore."
"True. I definitely enjoy having the freedom to crank up and rock out."
They continued to chat while they finished lunch. Finally, as the clock neared 1:15, Jenny put away her notes. "Well," she said "I think it's about time for me to get to class. Thanks for lunch."
"No problem. I hope your quiz and group meeting goes well. Have fun at work tonight, too."
"And you have fun tonight. Why don't you try and invite some of the Fools over and do something? Play a game of Settlers of Catan, perhaps?"
"We'll see."
Ryan watched as Jennifer packed up her things and left. Little did he know that he might never see her again...
Current Word Count: 3,400
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)