a little bit more of the first chapter...
Nov. 1st, 2006 06:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miriam_eThis brings my first chapter up to 2,683 words. That's a bit more healthy.
The sun rose behind her as she drove on westward. She passed the time with psyk music tinkling and folding in intricate patterns while she did some work using the car's computer. She tried watching the scenery, but her mind kept rehashing events to no good purpose, and that seemed a quick path to neurosis. Work seemed to be the only way she could focus her mind enough to keep it clean and alert and free of trauma.
Towards midday she was approaching, but still some miles from, the turnoff to a medium large town. The main road bypassed the center of town. Angie debating with herself stopping for refreshments. It was still miles ahead, just visible, when a few of the dark jets flashed across the sky, low over the town. They dropped some faint cloud over the town, as if they were crop-dusting it. She decided she wouldn't be stopping in there after all. She made sure the car was sealed tight, with air on recirculate, and all the windows closed. When almost up to the turnoff, with the town buildings clearly visible only a couple of miles away, the town erupted in multiple explosions. Even after she had passed and was some distance away she continued to hear a staccato of cracks and booms from the town.
She wondered what the hell the jets had dropped on the town.
Hours passed.
Angie was getting a bit tired of working. She sat back, pulled out her handheld, and decided to read a book. It had been days since she'd read anything for pleasure so she looked through the library of about 100,000 books in her handheld's memory card and selected a nice romance -- Karin Kallmaker's latest. Something light and happy would nicely counter the nightmare that was emerging around her.
By late afternoon she was getting fidgety. This was the downside to exercising regularly. She needed to stop the car, get out, and exercise or she'd go nuts. She pulled the car over to the side, zipped the backpack, and slung it over her back for added weight. She gave the car instructions to follow, and she ran along the side of the road with the car like an obedient dog at her heels. She continued like this for the best part of an hour, when she felt like she'd used up enough nervous energy. The car stopped when she did, she took the water bottle out of the pack, had a drink, wet her head down, threw the pack into the passenger seat, and got back into the car feeling much better.
Many miles further on, the sun was low, casting long shadows and painting everything orange, and she came across a roadside restaurant that was open! She pulled in and plugged her car in for a quick recharge, then walked into the cool restaurant. There were five people in the restaurant. Everybody looked up when she entered. An older woman looked rather drawn and worried. She asked Angie, "Do you know anything about what's happened?"
Angie shook her head, "Not much." She told them what had happened in the city, and what she'd seen happen at the town she'd passed. From the look of horror on their faces it was clear that she knew far more than they did.
Nobody spoke for a while.
Angie asked, "How come you've got power?"
The older woman answered, "Our own generator. Need one with the regular blackouts around here. We thought it was just a really bad blackout. There's nothing on the news or anywhere on the net about this."
Angie frowned. "I've noticed that too. I don't understand how that can be. I haven't tried blogging yet, myself." She held up her water bottle. Can I get some water?"
The woman indicated a tap behind the counter. "Help yourself. It's tank water."
"Thanks."
Angie had just filled the bottle when she heard the ear-splitting thunder of jets roar overhead. She glanced at the other people. Their eyes were goggling in shock, mouths wide. Then there was the sound of hailstones hitting the roof. Angie looked outside to see metal balls raining down all around. Horrified, she bolted outside to her car. There were metal balls bouncing and rolling along everywhere. They were egg-shaped. By the time she reached her car almost all of them had rolled to a halt. Then something really strange happened. All the little eggs suddenly opened with a ka-chink! sound. Two comical little legs stuck out the bottom and the middle parted to have a round cap on top, a dark, gleaming midsection, and the round bottom of the egg with the two legs protruding. Now all the eggs started walking -- first, in random directions, then toward the restaurant building. One of the men from the restaurant had run to his car in the parking lot over the other side. Angie noticed that many of the eggs turned toward him as he moved, and even more turned when he backed the car. She saw that he avoided hitting the eggs with the wheels, but one was squarely under the car as he backed. It exploded, punching a hole through the car and blowing the windows outward.
Angie looked around her. There were no eggs immediately near her, but the road was covered with them in both directions. Doubtless the roadside would be too. She reached into the car, grabbed the pack, dropped the water bottle into it, zipped the top shut, and gently eased the pack over her shoulders. Now she tiptoed around the side of the building, clambered over a low fence into a paddock behind the restaurant, and ran.
She hadn't got far when the loud explosion behind her and the shock wave indicated the eggs had detonated around the restaurant. Pieces of wood and metal and stone whizzed past her. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see her car blown to bits in another explosion. Dismay stopped her. My lovely little car. Oh no! My computer! My work! She stood for a moment, then turned and walked briskly away from the area wondering how she was going to get to her parents now.
The sun rose behind her as she drove on westward. She passed the time with psyk music tinkling and folding in intricate patterns while she did some work using the car's computer. She tried watching the scenery, but her mind kept rehashing events to no good purpose, and that seemed a quick path to neurosis. Work seemed to be the only way she could focus her mind enough to keep it clean and alert and free of trauma.
Towards midday she was approaching, but still some miles from, the turnoff to a medium large town. The main road bypassed the center of town. Angie debating with herself stopping for refreshments. It was still miles ahead, just visible, when a few of the dark jets flashed across the sky, low over the town. They dropped some faint cloud over the town, as if they were crop-dusting it. She decided she wouldn't be stopping in there after all. She made sure the car was sealed tight, with air on recirculate, and all the windows closed. When almost up to the turnoff, with the town buildings clearly visible only a couple of miles away, the town erupted in multiple explosions. Even after she had passed and was some distance away she continued to hear a staccato of cracks and booms from the town.
She wondered what the hell the jets had dropped on the town.
Hours passed.
Angie was getting a bit tired of working. She sat back, pulled out her handheld, and decided to read a book. It had been days since she'd read anything for pleasure so she looked through the library of about 100,000 books in her handheld's memory card and selected a nice romance -- Karin Kallmaker's latest. Something light and happy would nicely counter the nightmare that was emerging around her.
By late afternoon she was getting fidgety. This was the downside to exercising regularly. She needed to stop the car, get out, and exercise or she'd go nuts. She pulled the car over to the side, zipped the backpack, and slung it over her back for added weight. She gave the car instructions to follow, and she ran along the side of the road with the car like an obedient dog at her heels. She continued like this for the best part of an hour, when she felt like she'd used up enough nervous energy. The car stopped when she did, she took the water bottle out of the pack, had a drink, wet her head down, threw the pack into the passenger seat, and got back into the car feeling much better.
Many miles further on, the sun was low, casting long shadows and painting everything orange, and she came across a roadside restaurant that was open! She pulled in and plugged her car in for a quick recharge, then walked into the cool restaurant. There were five people in the restaurant. Everybody looked up when she entered. An older woman looked rather drawn and worried. She asked Angie, "Do you know anything about what's happened?"
Angie shook her head, "Not much." She told them what had happened in the city, and what she'd seen happen at the town she'd passed. From the look of horror on their faces it was clear that she knew far more than they did.
Nobody spoke for a while.
Angie asked, "How come you've got power?"
The older woman answered, "Our own generator. Need one with the regular blackouts around here. We thought it was just a really bad blackout. There's nothing on the news or anywhere on the net about this."
Angie frowned. "I've noticed that too. I don't understand how that can be. I haven't tried blogging yet, myself." She held up her water bottle. Can I get some water?"
The woman indicated a tap behind the counter. "Help yourself. It's tank water."
"Thanks."
Angie had just filled the bottle when she heard the ear-splitting thunder of jets roar overhead. She glanced at the other people. Their eyes were goggling in shock, mouths wide. Then there was the sound of hailstones hitting the roof. Angie looked outside to see metal balls raining down all around. Horrified, she bolted outside to her car. There were metal balls bouncing and rolling along everywhere. They were egg-shaped. By the time she reached her car almost all of them had rolled to a halt. Then something really strange happened. All the little eggs suddenly opened with a ka-chink! sound. Two comical little legs stuck out the bottom and the middle parted to have a round cap on top, a dark, gleaming midsection, and the round bottom of the egg with the two legs protruding. Now all the eggs started walking -- first, in random directions, then toward the restaurant building. One of the men from the restaurant had run to his car in the parking lot over the other side. Angie noticed that many of the eggs turned toward him as he moved, and even more turned when he backed the car. She saw that he avoided hitting the eggs with the wheels, but one was squarely under the car as he backed. It exploded, punching a hole through the car and blowing the windows outward.
Angie looked around her. There were no eggs immediately near her, but the road was covered with them in both directions. Doubtless the roadside would be too. She reached into the car, grabbed the pack, dropped the water bottle into it, zipped the top shut, and gently eased the pack over her shoulders. Now she tiptoed around the side of the building, clambered over a low fence into a paddock behind the restaurant, and ran.
She hadn't got far when the loud explosion behind her and the shock wave indicated the eggs had detonated around the restaurant. Pieces of wood and metal and stone whizzed past her. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see her car blown to bits in another explosion. Dismay stopped her. My lovely little car. Oh no! My computer! My work! She stood for a moment, then turned and walked briskly away from the area wondering how she was going to get to her parents now.