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 76: To his relief, Bob saw a small stepladder.
To his relief, Bob saw a small stepladder. It was propped up against the side. While it wasn’t too entangled with the other ladders the electric floor polisher was placed near it. Bob slipped into the closet and closed the door behind himself, hoping that whatever noise he made getting the ladder free would be slightly muffled.
He moved carefully, watching each step as he moved to where the ladder was hung on hooks to the wall. The floor polisher was large and had been just shoved into the closet. The cord flopped loose and was looped through the bottom of the step ladder. Bob bent down and untangled it, careful not to shift anything too much in his attempt to free the step ladder.
Given the narrowness of the closet, the floor polisher was just as close to the taller ladders as the step ladder and they looked precariously positioned. While the closet wasn’t wide, it was long. He suspected that the length of it ran along the back wall of the pool room.
With the cord untangled, he eased the step ladder off of the hooks. It lifted from one easily. The other stuck. He wiggled the step ladder and it released. The hook released it’s grip on the ladder and thumped softly back into the wall. It was a tiny noise, soft and he hoped barely discernible.
‘But if that is a shared wall someone may have heard it.’ Bob placed the step ladder in front of him and eased his hand to the bag of salt. He didn’t take a hand full, but waited. The door didn’t go all the way to the floor, leaving a wide gap. He knew if the slugs came down the corridor, he would hear them. Seconds ticked away. There was nothing. Bob swallowed and counted slowly to twenty five. Still nothing. He relaxed and extracted his hand from the bag. He eased the step ladder to the side and took a deep breath as he opened the closet door.
The corridor was as empty as before. No one appeared to have heard his soft thump. Bob’s heart didn’t slow though as he knew he would be slightly more exposed as he peered through the vent grate. Still he had to know what was going on in that room.
After one last look down the corridor, Bob took the step ladder back to the locked door. He left the closet door open behind him in case he had to use it quickly. With the machinery all behind him, it was the only hiding place in this slim corridor. He hoped he didn’t have to use it.
Bop slowly opened the stepladder and pressed the steps down so he could use it. When the step ladder formed a v shape with a flat head. He climbed up. It provided just the right height for him to look into the pool room.
Bob held his breath as he peered through the grate. His eyes went wide at the sight before him. The three pool tables he remembered were still in place. The pool cues and racks were all neatly tucked away on the wall mounted unit. The balls lined up on a shelf below as well. Clearly someone had a chance to tidy up before leaving for the night. Bob tried to remember when the Bowl-a-Rama closed but couldn’t. He shook the thought off as he took in the new additions. Stationed at regular intervals throughout the room were large clusters. Bob wasn’t sure if they looked like strange bunches of over grown grapes or like strange saggy soap bubbles. Either way, he could see that each of the soap bubbles held something inside.
Ten til Midnight 