This year I am working on a story called Bob vs. The Alien Slug Monsters. Instead of an outline I have a basic list of plot points I want to cover between meeting Bob and sending him off to fight the king of the slugs. There is more of a cast of characters than an actual outline, so we will see how the story develops. And with that intro we continue with Bob Versus the Alien Slug Monsters…
Day 28: Bob rounded the bend in the road and saw the entrance to the Golden Meadows parking lot even though the building was still hidden.
Bob rounded the bend in the road and saw the entrance to the Golden Meadows parking lot even though the building was still hidden. That something was going on was undeniable. That they needed to do something was becoming clear. Bob doubted they could all just go back hime and hope to wake uo in the morning with the world righting itself. He thought of the broken buildings and the road that looked bombed out. It looked like someone was cutting Centerville off from the rest of the world for some reason.
Bob had no idea what that reason could be but he doubted that anything that blew up roads and bridges was a good thing. ‘At least for Centerville.’
The problem was what to do about it. Bob found his steps slowing and then coming to a stop. He stood, hidden in the trees looking at the entrance to Golden Meadows. His first thought of setting off the alarm in order to get emergency services to send people to help the residents circled back. ‘Unfortunately I don’t think anyone is going to come.’
The services that would connect were in Centerville. They wouldn’t be able to send anyone over the road. They would have to call in the county. ‘But they can’t call in the county.’
Bob frowned and looked around. He was fairly certain there was an emergency station near by. He frowned, vaguely recalling the installation. He knew it was some sort of fire prevention measure. He recalled it being part of a system that linked to both the county and the city. ‘If I can get to that I might be able to get a message to county services.’
Bob peered through the woods. He would have to leave the road, but it wouldn’t be too far a walk. He thought he had the time to get there and see if it would work before those he left behind started to panic.
‘And it gives me time to figure out what to tell them.’ Bob realized that was the part he was dreading most, telling the others that something dire was going on. He suspected that given the group, he would be in charge of any sort of planning. Even Eddie seemed disinclined to be the general of their small brigade.
Bob began moving through the woods. He hoped that somewhere along the way he would be able to come up with something to tell the others. “I can’t just say something attacked without telling them who. Or why.”
The why still bothered him. He hustled through the woods and was soon at the small call station. The service was little more than a small phone booth covered in green plastic so it would blend with the woods. Bob opened it up and lifted the receiver. It was dead. He clicked it a couple of times and got no response. He wondered if there was a cut line or if there was some sort of battery charger. As he was about to go looking. An alarm sounded. Bob froze and looked back through the woods. The alarm was coming from the Golden Meadows retirement community.
‘Someone tried to break in,’ Bob thought. He hung up the phone and stepped out of the phone box. ‘I suppose that answers the alarm question.’
The alarm was loud but as he listened, Bob realized there was another sound.
Ten til Midnight 