Chapter 10 - Urgency
Stewart reached the end of the hallway and turned the corner. For a brief instant he was in the dark and then the entire world flashed into brilliant existence. Out of pain and fear he slammed his eyes shut and pressed his body to the floor. Nothing happened. He slowly opened his eyes and realized he was in another long, never ending whiteness. This one was a bit different, though. He could see several depressions along the sides that held tall pieces of trees with no branches and no leaves. He skittered along the floor toward the first one and slipped into the depression as a person came striding into view.
The person carried a bundle in his front legs and never looked down where Stewart was trying desperately to hide. He walked by so fast Stewart felt the breeze the man made with his back legs. Three heartbeats later the man disappeared into a different depression in the white wall and the hall was deserted once again.
Stewart lifted himself off the floor and peered in both directions. Just as he stepped away from his hiding spot a voice crackled through the air.
“Code seven, south entrance. Code seven, south entrance.”
Stewart looked frantically around to find the mouth the words were coming from, but he was alone. His heart raced and his legs shook with fear. Where was the voice coming from?
“Code nine, men’s room, south entrance. Code nine, men’s room, south entrance,” the disembodied voice continued.
Not knowing what else to do, and filled with an extreme need to run, Stewart scurried out into the hall and made for the next depression. As he reached it he heard the slap – tap of shoes coming toward him. He pressed himself into the base of the strange flat tree and tried to look like a rock. Two women passed by him talking to one another, their voices tight and clipped.
“Code seven?”
“Yeah, that’s for the HazMat team. Someone’s had some kind of biohazard accident.”
“At the south entrance?”
“I guess.”
“But there aren’t any labs by the south entrance. And what’s code nine?”
“That’s the medical team.”
One of the women stopped. “They’re going to the south entrance…”
The other woman turned and looked at the first. “Yeah, the codes are probably related.”
The first woman raised her hand and pointed in the direction they had been walking. “That’s the south entrance,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere near it.” She turned away from her companion. “I’m going back and head upstairs from the main tower.”
“It’s probably fine, Ann,” the other woman said. “They would’ve closed this section if it was dangerous.”
Ann shook her head. “Nope. I want children someday. I’m not taking chances. If you want to go this way, fine. I’ll meet you in Lab 38 in ten minutes.” She started to walk back the way they had come.
The first woman shook her head and then sighed. “Fine, fine, we’ll go the long way. You’re so paranoid.”
“Yes, but I’m alive and I plan to stay that way.” Ann walked quickly down the hall with her companion hurrying to catch up. Stewart didn’t move until the clicking of their shoes was gone.
The word dangerous sat in Stewart’s head like a sharp stick. He knew what it meant and a blurry image of the hunting rock crossed his mind. He swallowed and ran for the next depression.
~ Peace and urgency
They say you should be careful what you wish for, and perhaps this can be applied to that which we hope to win. Be that as it may, I desire a writing life and so I am embarking on the journey, risking and writing in order to win it, a writer's life.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Chapter 9 of the tale of Stewart and Joshua started on 11-24-09
Chapter 9 - Hunger
The room was still dark when Joshua woke up. He had no idea how long he had been asleep, though the ache in his knees and the cramp in his neck made him think it had been a while. He rubbed his eyes and grimaced as his stomach growled. It had been lunch the last time he had eaten. Now he felt famished and had no idea what time it was or where he would find food.
The hallway was filled with continuous noise. The lights just outside his room turned on and then off as people traveled the corridor. He could hear them, their shoes slapping or tapping as they walked, their voices carrying into the room in snatches and clipped sentences that didn’t mean anything to him as they passed. Eventually someone walked by with a bag of popcorn, the thick butter smell spilled into his room, and it was all he could do not to leave his hiding spot and beg for a handout.
And he had to pee. That realization came on fast and sudden as he tried to shift his limbs in the tight little space. How was he going to pee when the lights came on every time something in the room moved? And where? He stared out at the stools and counters and wished for an answer.
For several long moments he considered unfolding himself and running for the nearest counter. Doing that would set off the lights, but being under the counter would mean space and the ability to see better. His view from the tight little cubby was limited to the back third of the room and an awkward line of sight to the door. If he could see better then he might be able to figure out how to escape. He started to reach his foot out when the room lights flared on. A man had entered and began shoving a few of the stools around. Joshua pressed himself as far back into his hiding space as he could.
“Well crap,” the man shoving the stools muttered. “What the hell did I do with it?”
Joshua watched as the man glanced under one of the counters and then walked closer to the file cabinet.
“I could have sworn I left it in here…”
A drawer was pulled open on the file cabinet and then pushed shut. Joshua held his breath. Another drawer was pulled out, rifled through, and then shut.
“Huh,” the man muttered. Joshua could just see the tips of one of the man’s shoes. “Maybe I left it upstairs.” The man turned and walked out of the room and Joshua started to breath again.
After a few seconds of quiet Joshua peeked around the file cabinet. The lights were still on, but the room was empty. He unfolded his aching legs and stretched them out in front of himself, rubbing his knees and turning his head to take the kink out of his neck. The sounds of voices and shoes in the hallway sent him scrambling for the nearest counter and he pulled a stool in behind him. He was not hidden under the counter like he had been in the tight space between the file cabinet and the wall. If he moved too much at the wrong moment someone would notice and come take him away.
Shortly a woman in a long white coat walked past with an armful of books and papers. Joshua pulled his knees in tight against his chest and let the shirt cover his legs again. He hoped it would make him look like part of the floor. She never once looked into the room and after she passed he relaxed a little.
In the light of the room he was able to see the pockets on the shirt near the top and along the sides. He reached into one and found a pen and a small pad of paper. In another he found a tiny screwdriver, paper clips, and a black rubber stopper with a hole through its center. There were a few tissues in another pocket and in the last one he found a strawberry cereal bar.
Eating it was a challenge. Every time he took a bite or opened the wrapper a little it made crinkling noises. He had to stop each time someone walked by the room and it took almost ten minutes to finish it. In the end he sat with his legs tucked up, a smear of strawberry on his fingers, and an empty wrapper that he repeatedly dumped into his wide-open mouth hoping to get the last few crumbs still left inside.
~ Peace and sustenance
The room was still dark when Joshua woke up. He had no idea how long he had been asleep, though the ache in his knees and the cramp in his neck made him think it had been a while. He rubbed his eyes and grimaced as his stomach growled. It had been lunch the last time he had eaten. Now he felt famished and had no idea what time it was or where he would find food.
The hallway was filled with continuous noise. The lights just outside his room turned on and then off as people traveled the corridor. He could hear them, their shoes slapping or tapping as they walked, their voices carrying into the room in snatches and clipped sentences that didn’t mean anything to him as they passed. Eventually someone walked by with a bag of popcorn, the thick butter smell spilled into his room, and it was all he could do not to leave his hiding spot and beg for a handout.
And he had to pee. That realization came on fast and sudden as he tried to shift his limbs in the tight little space. How was he going to pee when the lights came on every time something in the room moved? And where? He stared out at the stools and counters and wished for an answer.
For several long moments he considered unfolding himself and running for the nearest counter. Doing that would set off the lights, but being under the counter would mean space and the ability to see better. His view from the tight little cubby was limited to the back third of the room and an awkward line of sight to the door. If he could see better then he might be able to figure out how to escape. He started to reach his foot out when the room lights flared on. A man had entered and began shoving a few of the stools around. Joshua pressed himself as far back into his hiding space as he could.
“Well crap,” the man shoving the stools muttered. “What the hell did I do with it?”
Joshua watched as the man glanced under one of the counters and then walked closer to the file cabinet.
“I could have sworn I left it in here…”
A drawer was pulled open on the file cabinet and then pushed shut. Joshua held his breath. Another drawer was pulled out, rifled through, and then shut.
“Huh,” the man muttered. Joshua could just see the tips of one of the man’s shoes. “Maybe I left it upstairs.” The man turned and walked out of the room and Joshua started to breath again.
After a few seconds of quiet Joshua peeked around the file cabinet. The lights were still on, but the room was empty. He unfolded his aching legs and stretched them out in front of himself, rubbing his knees and turning his head to take the kink out of his neck. The sounds of voices and shoes in the hallway sent him scrambling for the nearest counter and he pulled a stool in behind him. He was not hidden under the counter like he had been in the tight space between the file cabinet and the wall. If he moved too much at the wrong moment someone would notice and come take him away.
Shortly a woman in a long white coat walked past with an armful of books and papers. Joshua pulled his knees in tight against his chest and let the shirt cover his legs again. He hoped it would make him look like part of the floor. She never once looked into the room and after she passed he relaxed a little.
In the light of the room he was able to see the pockets on the shirt near the top and along the sides. He reached into one and found a pen and a small pad of paper. In another he found a tiny screwdriver, paper clips, and a black rubber stopper with a hole through its center. There were a few tissues in another pocket and in the last one he found a strawberry cereal bar.
Eating it was a challenge. Every time he took a bite or opened the wrapper a little it made crinkling noises. He had to stop each time someone walked by the room and it took almost ten minutes to finish it. In the end he sat with his legs tucked up, a smear of strawberry on his fingers, and an empty wrapper that he repeatedly dumped into his wide-open mouth hoping to get the last few crumbs still left inside.
~ Peace and sustenance
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