Bug: First 6k words

The first 6k words of Bug. This is also a rough draft, so I am less focused on grammar and spelling at this point.

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She couldn’t see much as the window was just above eye level. She was able to see the ceiling of the structure through the dark opening. She used the flashlight to brush away any loose shards of glass, then slowly ran her fingers along the outside windowsill. She pulled herself up, bracing her weight on the outside wall with her legs. The opening was small but she was petite. Peering in she noticed that the inside was dark, her body blocking most of the only light. Pulling herself in the window up to her waist she slowly rotated onto her back. The framing of the window painful on her back. Now with a view straight up to the ceiling she braced against the top of the wall where window began. Pushing against the wall and pulling her waist through she was able to move into a seated position. Awkwardly looking at the wall with her back to the room and her legs dangling outside she reached her left arm outside the window. She then began twisting her pelvis until her right knee was touching the outside wall. Arching her back and bending her knee, she was able to bring her right leg into the room. She was now straddling the window like a horse, her left half of her body outside and the rest of her inside. She continued to twister her pelvis toward the room, swinging her left leg in similar fashion into the room. She was sitting on the window sill looking into the room, several feet off the ground. As soon as she hoped off of the window, the outside light poured into the shack.

The inside of the shack was tightly packed with radios or servers. Some sort of electrical towers, she wasn’t familiar with. In the middle of the room was a long desk with several computer stations. She began to take a closer look at the towers that were along the walls. On the far side of the room next to the door, was a wall locker. As she approached the wall locker, she looked underneath the computer desk. There were some file cabinets underneath the desk and computer wires running to the floor. The Desk had a mug on it with a mold covered liquid inside. The mug had a silhouette of a man in glasses and read “Bears beats battlestar galactica!” She thought about trying to salvage the liquid in the mug. If anything it could be used in the garden, even though it is so little. She might be able to find a jar to put it in, be she wasn’t liking the idea of putting it in her containers. She had a Grayl Geopress purifier bottle, and a 32 ounce stainless steel bottle she used for boiling water. The mug was nearly full, but even still it would only be about 8 ounces. She continued toward the wall locker.

There were three lockers side by side stretching from the floor to the ceiling. Only one of them had a lock on it. She tried opening the first unlocked locker. It had a safety helmet and harness hanging on a clothing hook, and a coil of thick rope resting on the floor of the locker. An instruction manual lay on a shelf to the side of the harness. The manual read “Tower maintenance and safety manual.” She considered the rope. It would be useful, but it was not a high priority. She opened the second unlocked locker. An outfit hung from the clothing hook, khaki slacks and a plaid button shirt with a muddy pair of boots resting at the bottom. The mud had dried and become brittle flakes of dirt peppered the floor of the locker. There was a wallet resting on the shelf. She looked in the wallet. It had credit cards and a license for a Mr. ___Name_Of_Person_To_Thank___, 27 dollars in cash and a small key. Rebecca took the key and tried to open the neighboring locker with the small key. The key was not the correct size, and did not fit into the lock. She turned and faced the computer desk. Looking underneath the desk she noticed the file cabinets again. There were four cabinets, each of which had a lock on the top. She walked over to the cabinet farthest from her and tried the key. It fit but it did not turn. She tried the cabinet drawers but they were locked. She knew from experience that these sorts of locks could be forced open with some leverage and elbow grease. She tried the other cabinets and the key turned for the last one. Excited, she opened each of the draws. The top drawers were filled with filing folders and work papers, but she could not help but smile at the bottom drawer.

A bottle of white wine was wrapped in a bow with a card attached to it. The label on the wine was in French, and she wasn’t much of a drinker, but she knew this would be a huge score back at sanctuary. She opened the card which read “Thank you for always being there!” Rebecca couldn’t help but wonder if ___Name_Of_Person_To_Thank___ received the gift or was the one giving it. Classy move either way. She remembered her husband preferred hard cider but neither of them were big into wine. There was one time, when they were in Italy after a performance, they went to vineyard. It was a very run and romantic time for the two of them. She collected the wine and placed it into her pack, a smile on her face.

She removed the bolt cutters from her pack and returned to the locked locker. The locks on these lockers were small but still thicker than the chain link fence outside. She placed the cutters onto the lock and began to pull, both arms on one handle and the other on her chest. The teeth of the cutters gouged into the lock about half way. Her arms were burning and her chest was sore. She heard a fluttering noise from behind her. She turned her head towards the sound. Gazing through the window she drops of rain.

Rain. It had not rained in several months. Her face lit up and she smiled. Over the past few months the survivors at the Sanctuary have been working on a special project for just such an occasion. The Sanctuary was located in a urban neighborhood. Of the 253 abandoned homes they were able to convert 97 of them to collect rain water. Every home had a government issue trash and recycle bins. Each of which could hold around 80 gallons of water. Now the water would not be drinkable but they could be filtered and used to water the garden. They tried to clean out the can as best they could but without water to rinse them they decided that the first few rains would wash the cans and they would just have to filter the water. They created a large filter out of dirt, charcoal, and several layers of cloth. Not every home had gutters, but the ones that did have gutters were the first to be converted. The plan was to add gutters to the homes without it once they exhausted the ones that had them. With this new water collection system they would collect 15,000 gallons of water for the garden. If they used 50 gallons a day to water the garden they would have about 300 days of water.

Rebecca jerked the bolt cutters with a rush of adrenaline, snapping the lock in half. She opened the locker. Inside the locker she saw a few items on the shelf. A digital watch, a wedding band, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She examined the watch. It seemed to have a digital compass reading above the time. She collected the watch and the lighter. Excited with her load, and the rain, she decided she had enough room to bring the rope and boots. Placing everything into her pack she headed for the door. The door was locked from the inside with a standard door lock. She unlocked the door and made her way down the steps. She knew that everyone at sanctuary would be celebrating the rain.

Drops of rain fell from the sky onto her skin. IT had been a long time since she felt the sensation of rain water. Wanting to fill her water containers she canvased the building for a gutter or rain spout. On the far side of the building opposite the window there was a drainage hole. Water was dribbling down the side of the wall from the hold. She opened her stainless steel water bottle and began collecting the water. It took a few moments to fill the container. The rain felt absolutely divine. She was drenched, but she didn’t care. This was the closest thing to a shower she has had in a long time. She capped the bottle and kneeled down, pulling down her pack. She swapped the full bottle for her Grayl. As she was looking down she heard a noise to her side. She jerked her head up to look in the direction of the sound. A deer was cautiously approaching her and had stepped on a dry some brush.

Rebecca froze. She had not seen a wild animal this large is some time now. Most of the wildlife had died or been hunted. She wasn’t afraid of the animal, but she had an uneasy feeling. The animal approached her. The animal had to see her she was only feet away, and there was no chance the animal didn’t smell her. Rebecca stayed in the kneeling position as the animal walked beside her. It puffed air from its nostrils onto her and then lowered its head to the pool of water. It was then that she noticed the animal’s ribs. Its skin was loose and she could tell the animal was mal nourished. This deer, she thought, was on the brink of death and had to risk it. Before the world ended she would have thought this was a good thing. Given the circumstances, she could not help but feel sad. This deer was likely one of the last in this area, and it was barely hanging on.

Rebecca slowly raised herself to her feet. The deer looked up at her, licking its nose. She raised her foot, placing it behind her, and began to slowly back away. This rain was good for the wildlife, and it was good for her people. She knew that she would get in trouble for leaving this deer, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t about to kill it and drag it back to the group. It had little meat anyways. She turned the corner around to the back of the shack. She would load up with what she had. No one had to know about the deer. She pulled the tablet out of the pack. The drone still had 3 minutes before it would complete its route. She wanted to steel one more glance at the wild deer before leaving. She peered around the corner. The deer was lapping up water from the puddle. She hoped it would survive. Not just because it was beautiful creature, but for hope of a new start. For a world filled with life, and lush vegetation. A place where she and her children could live, not just survive. She turned back around the corner to make her way to the drone’s pick up position when she heard a thud.

The thud was followed by a splat and then the sound of hooves splashing through mud.