Morning all and happy Monday. It looks like we actually have a full and normal week ahead of us. It feels like so long since that has happened. Probably why everything from Thanksgiving on feels like a blur. I suspect this week will feel a bit rough as things get back into a routine, but for now I am going to revel in the the normality of the schedule. So lets kick off normal with the morning writing prompt. Timers set for fifteen minutes if you are writing along.
I like the set up. Not sure what story is going on but there is going to be something in these tunnels. I just need to pick a gene to know what.
Monday, January 6th: Sweat rolled down his spine.
Sweat rolled down his spine. Outside he knew the temperatures were below freezing. Here in the subterranean world of building mechanics pipes spewed steam and leaked heat. He had already peeled back the top of his coveralls, folding back the shirt and trying it around his waist. It left him working in his white undershirt but it kept him from overheating.
‘My white shirt isn’t as white as it was,’ he thought. While his undershirt started out pristine, now it was soaked through and streaked with motor oil and other various substances from where he brushed up against the pipes. The pathways between were narrow and in the maintenance department there were several of the men who were too large to walk comfortably down here.
‘Not that anyone is really comfortable,’ he as mitted. He moved with a slow and steady pace the grate of the walk way rattling beneath his work boots.
‘Of course if some of the larger guys headed down here they might not be so large after a bit,’ he thought to himself. He was certain he sweated out enough while working down here to drop a few pounds from that alone. Adding in the physical actions needed and he thought it was like a workout in a sauna. Even as he smiled at the thought of suggesting it as a gym alternative to his coworker Jerry, he reached for his water bottle. He stopped once already to refill it, having drained it dry once over. He suspected that even if he refilled it again once he left the tunnels he would have to spend the rest of the day rehydrating.
‘But I can’t leave until I fixed the last of it,’ he thought. He recapped his water bottle and set it by his feet as he came to a stop at the next malfunctioning section of the system. The system had always had issues but they were always manageable. Then about a year ago, there was a major overhaul. Had the overhaul involved an entirely new system there would be fewer problems. However to save on money the decision was made to replace the more worn sections with the newer ones and then slowly schedule in the replacements for the currently working ones at a later date.
There was a timed schedule for replacements. He, along with all of the other maintenance staff were shown the schedule.
Not that it mattered much. Replacing the broken bits cause a slew of issues that caused him and a couple of the other smaller guys to spend a lot more time in the tunnels making repairs as the partially new system tried to work with the older one. They were told it was temporary and then the time table was referenced. However before any of the scheduled replacements could go in there were budget cuts and the new sections were pricey. Since the system was working and could be mended, the replacement schedule was postponed.
He personally didn’t see the budget increasing any time soon and suspected that despite the plan that was still tacked up on the pin board in the break room, here would be no replacements until things actually broke down to the point where they couldn’t be fixed.
‘Which will probably be more expensive than their slow and steady approach,’ he though as he opened his took box and set to work. ‘Which is why they had the schedule in the first place.’
It was something they all knew and their supervisor told them not to point out when the time came. Everyone could see the I told you so practically written on the wall.
Ten til Midnight 