The First 1200 words of Chapter 2 first draft

The boar hung upside down by its legs. Its feet were tied together with a braided twine. It swung from side to side below a sapling tree. The tree rest upon the shoulders of two young men as they silently marched through the brush. The men followed a path through the dense vegetation of the boreal forest. Tall pine trees and huge ant mounds surrounded the path.

“So how many did you say you saw?” Jude asked the curly haired boy in front of him.

Without turning to face him, the boy lifted his left hand with 4 fingers.

“I’ve never seen more than one at a time!” Jude exclaimed, “Let alone four. You’re either really lucky, Luis, or really good.”

Luis shrugged both his arms, the pole effortlessly balanced on his shoulder.

“Don’t be modest.” Jude responded, “Four colossals, man that must have been terrifying.”

Luis shook his head.

Just ahead of Luis the path opened up and light streamed through the darkness under the forest canopy. The path slowly transitioned from pine needles and sand to tall grass bent and compacted into the earth. Luis raised his hand, all his fingers pointing up.

Jude lifted the pole off of his shoulder in concert with Luis. They lowered the pole, placing the boar on the ground. Jude shouldered his rifle while Luis knelt and armed himself with a crossbow. Jude stood next to Luis and pointed the rifle down the path. He peered through the rifle scope and saw a green flag a few hundred yards away. The flag was raised high into the air above the walls the Sanctuary. He scanned the top of the walls to see a man with binoculars patrolling the perimeter. Jude lowered his rifle and gave Luis a thumbs up.

“What were they?” he asked Luis.

Luis raised his hand, crawling his fingers across his other arm.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Jude said shaking his head, “I would have died just seeing them.”

Luis made his fingers into a fist, then opened them up a couple times, spreading out his fingers. He then finger spelled “did” while not looking at Jude.

Jude lowered to a knee and placed his hand on Luis’ shoulder. After a moment Luis placed his hand on top of Jude’s. The thought of lost loved ones flashed through his mind. He remembered his Dad. The last time he saw him he was leaving the Sanctuary on this very path. That was 6 years ago, when he was still a young boy.

Jude stood up and offered his hand to Luis. He grasped Jude’s hand and he pulled him up. Jude tapped two fingers on the back of two fingers of his off hand. He repeated the motion with the off hand, then tapped four fingers on the bottom of his palm. “We can rebuild,” he said as he motioned. Luis looked at Jude and used four fingers to wipe his lips, closing them into a fist. Jude nodded and walked back to the other end of the pole.

The two lifted the pole onto their shoulders and they continued down the path. As they entered the grassy field several flying insects began bussing around Jude. The grass was a few inches shorter than he was, and he could still see over top the vegetation. Even though Luis was unable to see over the grass, he still was the lead. This was not just because Jude needed to see his hands for them to communicate. Luis was the best tracker Jude had ever went out into the bush with. Many of the others doubted his usefulness because of his disability. Jude figured that was crazy. Luis was in training before the world ended. He had valuable experience and has proven to be an asset.

Ahead of them Jude could see the walls of the Sanctuary. The perimeter was made of odds and ends welded together fifteen feet high with a walkway at the top. He waved to the sentry patrolling the perimeter. The man waved back. A few moments later two pieces of metal began to separate and a man with brandishing a shotgun exited through the gate. Jude nodded to the man as he secured the path behind them. He was sweeping his barrel side to side slowly scanning for movement.

“Welcome back guys,” the man said looking down the path, “Looks like bacon is back on the menu eh?”

Jude replied, “We found this guy not far. Hopefully there is a herd nearby. Might even be able to domesticate some.”

“That is the best news I have heard all day.” The man said.

“We are on our way to Oliver’s to drop this guy off.” Jude said over his should leaving the man to cover the path behind them.

“Ok Jude, but you better let me know when I can get my hands on some of that bacon.” The man shouted from a distance.

“You bet Teddie.” Jude shouted back.

As they entered the Sanctuary the path opened up into a suburban neighborhood. The Wall behind them wont on in both directions. Some sections were made of brick, but most of it was made from welded together debris and broken down car parts. The two story houses near the wall were converted into outposts. The roofs were retrofitted with a balcony overlooking the fence and aloud for superior vantage point for guarding the perimeter. Security was more or less a matter of protecting the residents, farm, and livestock from swarms of insects. When a guard on patrol spots a swarm they sound an alarm. Most of the outposts are outfitted with a car alarm, but some have more rudimentary means of signaling. These alarms alert the town to potential danger, and they go into lockdown mode.

“Do you think this catch will make us famous?” Jude whispered to Luis.

Luis flexed his off hand while holding the pole with his main hand.

“If Zuri doesn’t notice me after this then there no hope for me” Jude said in a sarcastic tone.

Luis signed “who said that?”

Jude saw the McCreedy house, its doors eaten near to the hinges by a recent swarm of termites. When the town is alerted the residents go indoors, shutting windows and doors. Unfortunately for the McCreedy family, that did not stop them from entering and destroying most of the home. There are a few tasked with protecting the livestock and garden. While the animals can go indoors, the plants are vulnerable. Most of the time the insects are after crops which can be devastating. A few times the swarms were not your typical insects, but larger variations of your classic bug. One time they were hit by a swarm of large lady bugs. The bugs were about the size of a basketball and the result was worse than a few plants. They flew off with over a dozen chickens. Jude’s neighbor even lost his pet rabbit to the devils.

Jude could barely remember a time when bugs were always about the same size. His science class took him on a nature trip when he was in elementary school. They saw spiders, grasshoppers, beetles. Your typical garden variety insects. All about the size of a quarter. At the end of the world things have changed. These same insects were much greater in number and could grow to be the size of large dog. Some extreme cases, they can even grow to be larger. Colossal insects were very rare but could be larger than a human.

Bug

Story Idea