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 30: They were laid out like they were on stretchers.
They were laid out like they were on stretchers. ‘Floating stretchers,’ Bob thought. There were quite a few of them and the slugs had them attached to their little round floats like dogs that were leashed. Thinking of Dogs, Bob saw Genghis, or what he thought was Genghis. The little dog looked asleep and was sitting on top of the person he thought was Enid.
Following her on a stretcher, Bob recognized Eddie’s camo pants. Bob watched his neighbors and what he was certain were the residents of Golden meadows float past, chaperoned by the giant slugs. They didn’t look injured, just sleeping.
‘But maybe the slugs gave them heart attacks so there are no wounds.’ This far back he couldn’t tell if they were breathing. He could see that there was one empty floating disk. Bob started to move forward, figuring he could at least try and figure out if his neighbors were still alive. They were moving too fast and were already beyond the curve in the road before he could take more than a few steps. With them out of sight, Bob raced forward. There was no path and each bush and tree seemed intent on keeping him in the woods. He finally made it to the surface of the road.
Keeping close to the trees, bob raced down the road, following to see where they went. He was in time to see them float over the hole in the road and keep going. He stayed hidden watching their progress. He knew it would take him a while to pick a path around the gaping hole. He couldn’t keep up with them and he would be exposed. But from his vantage point he could see their progress and see where they were going. He watched them head into town and watched their progress.
He lost sight of them once they passed the office complex where he worked. Several of the buildings had large gaping holes in their glass facades. Bob waited and watched for movement. He could tell they were heading off into the part of town he grew up in, but larger buildings were between him and them now and he couldn’t see exactly where he was going.
Bob turned away. He didn’t know how many residents of the Golden Meadows Community there were, but there was always the possibility the slug monsters didn’t get them all. ‘And there was that empty disk.’
Bob wondered if that meant the residents managed to take one of the slugs down or if someone was left to watch and ferret out any survivors. ‘Still have to go back and see if anyone needs help.’
Bob looked back, frowning. He wasn’t able to help Enid and Eddie. ‘But if I find out more, maybe I can,’ he told himself. ‘If they are still alive.’
Bob turned away from town and walked quickly back towards the entrance to Golden Meadows. Dreading what he would find somehow made the walk seem to go faster. Soon enough, he was slipping through the entrance and crossing the black top. He hardly dared breathe as he raced across the open parking area. Bob felt relief when he reached the shadows of the building without raising any alarm.
When he reached the back of the building he looked around. The back window of the building was broken. Bob eased himself over. He saw one of the pavers, normally lining the flower beds, on the tile floor inside.
Ten til Midnight 