Dawn broke a very steely grey on August 9th, which matched the coolness of the air. Patches of frost could be seen in the open fields, it was obvious that it was getting colder as each day passed. The frost would be gone before noontime but it stuck in the mind, winter was coming and it would be worse than the winter before. The growing seasons had been bad in the local communities; ever since the war they had almost always been bad. There had been stories that in the olden times there were marvels beyond belief in this world but now it was a desolate place where winters killed almost as many people as the spring and summer brought into existence.
People used any means possible to survive now, at first it was roving bands of roughians but that had stopped almost 20 years ago, after the first winter. Sure there were still bands of thugs here and there but they were sparse and much more organized than before. The first winter taught them a very valuable lesson; at least for those that survived, there is strength in numbers and preparation.
Many people didn’t survive the first winter after the war, when it came it came with such a fury that none had seen in the past. It was as if Mother Nature had decided to repay humanity for the damage that had been done to her. The war itself crippled most countries, killing billions; leaving the rest to fend for them selves and to protect them selves. Where there had been strong nations now there were tatters and bands of mini states. Within the first couple years it became clear that the easiest way to survive initially was within communities. These cities weren’t large, they housed a few thousand each at most, and they were extremely efficient in how they worked. Everyone did their part to survive but still the winters got people. Some regions were harder hit than others, the northern areas were hardest hit, countries like Canada survived intact but it really didn’t matter because the winters came and nature took over. In the more northern countries of the world the first few winters killed all but a small group of the survivors and those that did survive very quickly started moving south.
All told the worlds population went from close to 9 billion before the war to about 250 million across the planet after the first war. Most of the technology that had been attained was lost, damaged or set aside in order to survive. After 20 years people had learnt to survive and now they were ready to start putting the pieces back together, it was the young generation those born in the first year or two after the war that wanted to reestablish some of what was in the past, to better survive the winters, to see what happened to the rest of humanity.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
In the Meantime (exerpt)
Krystal sank down deeper into the hot, sudsy water. She leaned her head back and took a sip of wine from the glass that rested on the bathtub ledge. This was the first chance she's had to relax in weeks. She wanted to enjoy the moment, but at the same time, could feel that familiar restlessness creep over her. She closed her eyes and breathed in the perfumed, steamy air, loving the feeling of the water on her skin. She took another sip of wine and focused on the candle that was sitting by the sink. Its flamed danced seductively. Somewhere in the background she could hear Samantha singing along to an old 80's tune that was playing on the radio.
It would be one year this weekend since she and Sam first came to Vegas. They had become friends in high school, due to a shared interest in music, and it wasn't long before they were putting on shows together with all of the local bands. After college, Vegas seemed like a logical choice - the girls were determined to become famous and both had stars in their eyes. Right off the bat, they got hired as singing waitresses at the Hollywood Diner. Not exactly dream jobs, but eventually it lead to bigger and better things. Now the two of them were part of a huge tribute show at the Hardrock Hotel - it had been running for 8 months now. Five shows a week - two on Sundays and Thursday was their night off. The job paid well enough for them to keep a modest, 2-bedroom apartment over looking The Strip, and kept their days free for other odd jobs, training at the gym, and rehearsals.
Hey, it was a living.
Vegas. You either hated it, or loved it. Fortunately, both girls preferred the latter. It was a city that was always growing and changing. People coming and going. Nothing ever stayed the same for long. That was the attraction. Plus, the lifestyle kept them really busy, which is why Krystal was having such a hard time getting out of the tub.
A sharp knock at the door brought her out of the trance.
"Come in.' She sighed.
Samantha peeked her head around the door, a huge grin on her face, "How much longer?" she asked.
Krystal crinkled her brow, "5 more minutes?" she questioned.
At that point, Sam burst in and perched herself on the edge of the tub, cigarette in hand. She picked up the wine glass and drained it, "It's getting late Cinderella - get out of the tub."
"Fine." Krys gave in and Sam jumped to her feet and left, tossing her friend a towel on the way out. Krystal stood, wrapped herself in the fluffy towel, and followed after.
"What are you going to wear?" She found Sam pawing through her closet.
"Well, " she turned, a mischievous look in her eye, "I'm going for 'Sexy Vixen' tonight, so you may want to consider that while you decide your ensemble - plus, if we don't show a little skin, we won't get in."
Krystal grinned, "We always get in." she mused, "We know the bouncers."
It would be one year this weekend since she and Sam first came to Vegas. They had become friends in high school, due to a shared interest in music, and it wasn't long before they were putting on shows together with all of the local bands. After college, Vegas seemed like a logical choice - the girls were determined to become famous and both had stars in their eyes. Right off the bat, they got hired as singing waitresses at the Hollywood Diner. Not exactly dream jobs, but eventually it lead to bigger and better things. Now the two of them were part of a huge tribute show at the Hardrock Hotel - it had been running for 8 months now. Five shows a week - two on Sundays and Thursday was their night off. The job paid well enough for them to keep a modest, 2-bedroom apartment over looking The Strip, and kept their days free for other odd jobs, training at the gym, and rehearsals.
Hey, it was a living.
Vegas. You either hated it, or loved it. Fortunately, both girls preferred the latter. It was a city that was always growing and changing. People coming and going. Nothing ever stayed the same for long. That was the attraction. Plus, the lifestyle kept them really busy, which is why Krystal was having such a hard time getting out of the tub.
A sharp knock at the door brought her out of the trance.
"Come in.' She sighed.
Samantha peeked her head around the door, a huge grin on her face, "How much longer?" she asked.
Krystal crinkled her brow, "5 more minutes?" she questioned.
At that point, Sam burst in and perched herself on the edge of the tub, cigarette in hand. She picked up the wine glass and drained it, "It's getting late Cinderella - get out of the tub."
"Fine." Krys gave in and Sam jumped to her feet and left, tossing her friend a towel on the way out. Krystal stood, wrapped herself in the fluffy towel, and followed after.
"What are you going to wear?" She found Sam pawing through her closet.
"Well, " she turned, a mischievous look in her eye, "I'm going for 'Sexy Vixen' tonight, so you may want to consider that while you decide your ensemble - plus, if we don't show a little skin, we won't get in."
Krystal grinned, "We always get in." she mused, "We know the bouncers."
Monday, December 12, 2005
In the meantime (Exerpt)
The alarm clock read 6:59 then suddenly flicked to 7:00 and a loud piercing chime went off breaking the silence. The noise was hallow bouncing off the walls of the condominium and echoing slightly. A figure in the bed moved slightly and an arm shot out from under the covers and hit the alarm clock. A deep sigh could be heard as the piercing sound went dead.
A man got up from underneath the covers slowly and stood up, wearing only his boxers. Making his way to the bathroom a little down the hall, the door closed and silence fell on the condominium again. Only to be broken a couple seconds later with water pouring into the sink followed by some loud splashing. A moment’s silence followed again by the sound of water running but this time from the shower.
A couple minutes later the door to the bathroom opened causing a cloud of steam to emanate. The man followed shortly with a towel around his waist, he headed towards the bright living room.
Stopping right in front of the window, the world had greeted the man, a cold blustery day with a savage snow storm raging outside. "Shit" the man mumbled in a hoarse voice. Turning quickly he grabbed the remote and turned the TV on as he headed for the small kitchen adjacent to the living room. Dropping the remote on the kitchen table he grabbed the phone off the wall and punched in a phone number and headed towards the coffee maker.
"Yes, I'll hold"
He poured some fresh coffee grounds into the machine along with some water.
"I'm calling to find out about a flight" his voice clearing quite a bit as he woke up a bit more, "Flight 492 to Las Vegas, no it’s a private jet, yeah my name is Jack Fields."
"Its on time still? Even in this weather?... Thank you"
The second that he put down the receiver of the phone, its shrill ring sang out almost instantly. He quickly snatched it up while trying to balance the half brewed pot of coffee.
"Hello? Figured it’d be you"
"Yeah I’ve looked outside lately?"
Jack suppressed a grin as the panicked voice of his best friend filled his ear.
"Dillon, relax - we're still on. I called the airport. Just be ready for 8:30 - I'll see you there."
He hung up the phone and glanced around, poured himself a mug of coffee and took a sip. One of these days he'd really have to think about buying some furniture. He'd been living in the condo for over six months now but it looked like he just moved in yesterday.
Proceeding back to the bathroom to shave, he glanced in the mirror, his dark, tanned features looking back at him. He smiled. Being one of the best freelance writers in the business certainly did have its perks. Two days ago he was in sunny California doing a piece on an up and coming rock group for Thrash Magazine.
He ran a hand through his thick dark hair, his tired green eyes looking back at him. When the opportunity came up to do Vegas, he jumped at the chance. It was an exclusive interview with Heavyweight Champion Lance Jordan, before his highly publicized fight with Jake Tyler at the MGM Grand. Jordan's people had specifically requested that he personally do the interview. The gig would pay him well. After the job, he'd have a few days for a bit of R & R. Let's face it, work had been keeping him pretty busy since his split with Caitlin, but lately he's been feeling down, he needed a bit of a break. Luckily for him, Dillon was more than happy to accompany him on this quest. If there was anyone who could pull him out of this mood it was Dillon. Practically everything they did together turned into an adventure. Dillon had those good looks and charm that women found irresistible, unlike Jack, who, although he possessed the same good looks, his shyness around women usually caused him to fade into the background next to Dillon's charisma. The mini vacation would be a welcome one.
But taking a break wasn't the only reason that Vegas so appealing. Fact was, if Dillon knew the real reason why Jack was going in the first place, he would never have allowed him on the plane.
A man got up from underneath the covers slowly and stood up, wearing only his boxers. Making his way to the bathroom a little down the hall, the door closed and silence fell on the condominium again. Only to be broken a couple seconds later with water pouring into the sink followed by some loud splashing. A moment’s silence followed again by the sound of water running but this time from the shower.
A couple minutes later the door to the bathroom opened causing a cloud of steam to emanate. The man followed shortly with a towel around his waist, he headed towards the bright living room.
Stopping right in front of the window, the world had greeted the man, a cold blustery day with a savage snow storm raging outside. "Shit" the man mumbled in a hoarse voice. Turning quickly he grabbed the remote and turned the TV on as he headed for the small kitchen adjacent to the living room. Dropping the remote on the kitchen table he grabbed the phone off the wall and punched in a phone number and headed towards the coffee maker.
"Yes, I'll hold"
He poured some fresh coffee grounds into the machine along with some water.
"I'm calling to find out about a flight" his voice clearing quite a bit as he woke up a bit more, "Flight 492 to Las Vegas, no it’s a private jet, yeah my name is Jack Fields."
"Its on time still? Even in this weather?... Thank you"
The second that he put down the receiver of the phone, its shrill ring sang out almost instantly. He quickly snatched it up while trying to balance the half brewed pot of coffee.
"Hello? Figured it’d be you"
"Yeah I’ve looked outside lately?"
Jack suppressed a grin as the panicked voice of his best friend filled his ear.
"Dillon, relax - we're still on. I called the airport. Just be ready for 8:30 - I'll see you there."
He hung up the phone and glanced around, poured himself a mug of coffee and took a sip. One of these days he'd really have to think about buying some furniture. He'd been living in the condo for over six months now but it looked like he just moved in yesterday.
Proceeding back to the bathroom to shave, he glanced in the mirror, his dark, tanned features looking back at him. He smiled. Being one of the best freelance writers in the business certainly did have its perks. Two days ago he was in sunny California doing a piece on an up and coming rock group for Thrash Magazine.
He ran a hand through his thick dark hair, his tired green eyes looking back at him. When the opportunity came up to do Vegas, he jumped at the chance. It was an exclusive interview with Heavyweight Champion Lance Jordan, before his highly publicized fight with Jake Tyler at the MGM Grand. Jordan's people had specifically requested that he personally do the interview. The gig would pay him well. After the job, he'd have a few days for a bit of R & R. Let's face it, work had been keeping him pretty busy since his split with Caitlin, but lately he's been feeling down, he needed a bit of a break. Luckily for him, Dillon was more than happy to accompany him on this quest. If there was anyone who could pull him out of this mood it was Dillon. Practically everything they did together turned into an adventure. Dillon had those good looks and charm that women found irresistible, unlike Jack, who, although he possessed the same good looks, his shyness around women usually caused him to fade into the background next to Dillon's charisma. The mini vacation would be a welcome one.
But taking a break wasn't the only reason that Vegas so appealing. Fact was, if Dillon knew the real reason why Jack was going in the first place, he would never have allowed him on the plane.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Chrismas Cheer - Part 3
Walking down the stark hallway that lead to the employee lounge mike couldn’t help but notice the wet footprints that Julie’s shoes were making in front of him. The cream color of the walls and floor had this sheen to them and making the wet slushy footprints stick out that much more on the floor. Looking up from Julie’s feet Mike noticed that she had a bit of a bounce to her step, like she was in a good mood all of a sudden. I guess you might as well be happy working on Christmas day, he’d taken the approach that he was better off here than at home, nothing to do at home and here you might be able to catch part of a movie if it was quiet enough which it was likely to be.
“Hey Jules, has John made up the pairings for today’s shift?” Mike asked coming to the end of the hall, turning and taking off his jacket. At the end of the hallway was an open closet that the employees hung up their jackets in the winter. Beside that was a very old style punch clock that helped the managers keep track of everyone’s hours.
“Not yet, I think he was waiting for everyone to show up. It’s been pretty dead so far, I think one couple came in about 15 minutes ago for that new James Bond flick. Have you seen that one yet?” Julie responded walking over to the table that sat in the middle of the lounge and sat down at one of the chairs.
Mike grabbed the punch card that had his name on it, put it into the slot of the machine and pulled the lever, “Not yet, last couple days before Christmas was pretty busy, I was hoping to catch pieces of if over the break. How about you?” Mike looked down at the card to inspect that everything was in order then put the card back into its slot. Then looked at who was working tonight, John was the manager, he usually was, then there was Julie, himself, Bobby, who was an overweight kid of maybe 15 who was completely lost when he was trying to do his job but he tried and was a decent enough kid. Then there was Michelle, a friend of Julie’s who took the job because of her and really didn’t care that much about it other than she got some extra coin to spend on clothes, finally there was Sue, the middle aged woman who ran the customer service desk, she was incredibly nice and always helped out the kids, “Not a lot of staff on today, “ Mike commented out loud though it was mostly an internal thought.
“Yeah, oh here comes John” Julie replied as she looked down the hall where a tall man in his early twenties was walking towards the open part of the lounge. He was wearing a black suit and a bright green and red Christmas tie.
Tags: cold,snow,Christmas,smoking,melancholy
“Hey Jules, has John made up the pairings for today’s shift?” Mike asked coming to the end of the hall, turning and taking off his jacket. At the end of the hallway was an open closet that the employees hung up their jackets in the winter. Beside that was a very old style punch clock that helped the managers keep track of everyone’s hours.
“Not yet, I think he was waiting for everyone to show up. It’s been pretty dead so far, I think one couple came in about 15 minutes ago for that new James Bond flick. Have you seen that one yet?” Julie responded walking over to the table that sat in the middle of the lounge and sat down at one of the chairs.
Mike grabbed the punch card that had his name on it, put it into the slot of the machine and pulled the lever, “Not yet, last couple days before Christmas was pretty busy, I was hoping to catch pieces of if over the break. How about you?” Mike looked down at the card to inspect that everything was in order then put the card back into its slot. Then looked at who was working tonight, John was the manager, he usually was, then there was Julie, himself, Bobby, who was an overweight kid of maybe 15 who was completely lost when he was trying to do his job but he tried and was a decent enough kid. Then there was Michelle, a friend of Julie’s who took the job because of her and really didn’t care that much about it other than she got some extra coin to spend on clothes, finally there was Sue, the middle aged woman who ran the customer service desk, she was incredibly nice and always helped out the kids, “Not a lot of staff on today, “ Mike commented out loud though it was mostly an internal thought.
“Yeah, oh here comes John” Julie replied as she looked down the hall where a tall man in his early twenties was walking towards the open part of the lounge. He was wearing a black suit and a bright green and red Christmas tie.
Tags: cold,snow,Christmas,smoking,melancholy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)