Introduction < | > Chapter 1.2

Day One, Micah McCloud’s Adventure Journal

I wake up, groggy and waterlogged. … And covered in sand. What happened? Where am I? Sitting up, I look around slowly, shaking my head. Slowly, the horror of the previous night returns..

I was on a cruise ship, traveling with some other freshmen from college.. a late spring break trip. We’d looked forward to it for what seems like forever. The trip had been awesome, the views of the tropical islands were picturesque, and the fact that the “cruise ship” seemed a little ratty hadn’t bothered any of us. There were lifeboats and survival kits, right? Nothing ever happened other than the completely ordinary on these trips, anyway, right? … Apparently, that wasn’t quite right. In the middle of the fourth night out, the engines started shuddering violently, and then just stopped. I could hear crewmen yelling in panic in a language I didn’t know, and they were running everywhere. In the panic, nobody seemed sure what to do. They weren’t seeming to attempt to launch the lifeboats, so I assumed things were still alright. It all seemed very exciting – something we could tell everyone back at the University about when we got home. Then, there was a horrible crash. Without engines and rudder, we must have hit something! The front of the ship tipped dangerously forward, and everyone on the front of the boat was thrown into the ocean. I ran quickly towards the back of the boat, and laboriously lowered a rowboat I’d noticed hiding well away from the other lifeboats. Fires were breaking out all over the boat, and the screams echoed in the night. By the time I got the boat to the water, I still hadn’t seen anyone else in the back of the ship where I was, so I simply shimmied down the side of the ship into the boat and cut the lines with my pocketknife. I remembered something about the suction a sinking ship caused, so I quickly rowed away. My arms, unused to the punishment, quickly became tired, and I had to take a break. By the time I got back to where I thought the ship had sunk, all I could find were some floating boxes.. and what appeared to be a floating outhouse..?! I lashed it to the back of the boat loosely so I could tow it, but let it go if it started sinking. Who knows what I’d find on the islands I could see in the distance. In the night, there were no lights on the islands, so I wasn’t all that hopeful about finding any civilization. Arms burning, I just kept rowing. I vaguely remembered landing on shore somewhere near dawn.. and then..??

Concerned, I looked around, and to my relief saw that in my exhaustion I had managed to remember to lash the rowboat to a tree before falling asleep on the sand. Determined to not let the dire situation I seemed to be in get me down, I got up and wandered over to the boat to see what might have been stashed in the emergency kit inside.

After a few hours of labor, I’d thoroughly catalogued what I had available. Some bottled water was a welcome sight, as well as a fire starting kit. My boat was still in fairly good condition, and what I had towed in turned out to actually be an “all-in-one” outhouse – which seemed like a luxury on this island. I’d cleaned it out of the water, and set it up on the beach. There had also been a tent in good condition, some candles, a fishing pole, quite a bit of rope, a hammer and nails in a small box of other random tools and a spyglass/telescope – all were welcome sights. There were even some well-packed books and paint and paper! First things first – I set up my tent, and scrounged around the beach for some rocks to make a fire pit. I dug for some sand grubs to bait the fishing pole, then set out in my boat to catch dinner.

Anchovies in the rain.. my first dinner.

By the time I got back with a few anchovies, it was pouring rain. Figures, right? .. Just what I needed. I managed to get a fire going, and ate my first meal in my new home. Exhausted, I fell into my tent, and slept surprisingly soundly.

Day Two, Micah McCloud’s Adventure Journal

After another anchovy breakfast, I did some scrounging in the area around my home. I found some other crates that had washed up, as well as some random driftwood, boards, and a partially wrecked lifeboat. One other odd thing I found is what appears to be an old-fashioned icebox of sorts. I took the time to drag all of this back to my camp, and set about making some more furniture for myself. I ended up with a nice coffee table and bench, a chair for my fire pit, and the boat turned nicely into a rain-proof bookshelf. Sorting through my books, I found a handiness manual, a book on logic, a cookbook, some novels, and a blank journal! Thankful for the pen I’d found in the tool box, I set about starting to write my adventures. After catching up on that, I rigged up some candles in a piece of driftwood, and a string of lights for reading at my bench. I also secured the spyglass to a metal pole I found to serve as a makeshift telescope.

Boning up on my handiness

Then, feeling like I could use a break, I sat down on my new bench and studied the handiness manual for a while.

It had been a busy day, and night was quickly falling, so I ate yet another dinner of roasted anchovies, and then peered through the telescope in the near-dark, hoping to see the lights of a ship off shore.

Searching for ships

I came up completely empty, and ended up simply watching the starts for a bit until exhaustion took over and I went back to my tent for a well-deserved sleep.

Day Three, Micah McCloud’s Adventure Journal

Breakfast was more anchovies, then I set about putting together an easel for painting. I rigged a small portion of the sail canvas I had scrounged the day before, I tried my hand at painting the beautiful vista before me.

Painting, day three

Needless to say, with no previous painting experience, it didn’t turn out so well. Then the rain began again, so I decided I’d go jogging to warm up..  and to get a better feel of the size and layout of the island I was on.

Strangely enough, all of the lots seem to have mailboxes and trashcans, and there are roads in good condition… a lot of them. There seems to have been plans at one time to colonize this island – but what happened to them, I don’t know. There certainly are no other people that I’ve met, and the only buildings seem to be abandoned ports scattered around the outside of the island.

Jogging in the rain.. how else to stay warm?

There are more islands in the distance, as well, which may tell more of the story.. but that will have to be saved for another day. In my investigations of my new island, I found an abandoned bicycle in one of the port sheds, as well as a Nautilus shell and a space rock on one of the beaches. Grateful for the bike, I headed back home in the coming dark, ate another lonely meal, and retired to my tent.

Introduction < | > Chapter 1.2

I’m noticing some of my pictures aren’t showing up properly in some of my posts, so that needs to be fixed asap.  –FIXED!

Also, need to get the introductions done for the Falcon Apocalypse Challenge, the Castaway Shores NiF Challenge (DONE), and my “Trailerhood” Project (also intro for Irish Challenge – DONE). My Crazy Irish ISBI Challenge has had some work done to it, and is up and running again, so it needs it’s story caught up, as well as Castaway’s needs proofreading and publishing (DONE).. and Falcon needs writing done.

Most importantly, however, is to get the first wave of my Sunset Valley Remodeling Lots set up for uploading. (2 of 7 lots done)

So.. there’s my list… wonder how many times I have to get distracted before it gets done!  🙂

Thrall

So, I decided to begin a new Nothing is Free challenge since my first one got too buggy to continue, and I really miss it. First, I wanted this to be based on the Island Paradise world, so I cleaned the world out completely (which takes forever), and got things ready to go. The challenge will be published as a story/journal with pictures, so everyone will be able to enjoy seeing how it grows.   (Mod The Sims – The “Nothing Is Free” Challenge)   The basic premise of the challenge is to build a city from nothing – a completely blank, unpopulated world.  From there, you have to build the town and populate it yourself – nothing is free, everything requires work.  I’ve already started the challenge .. and what I’ve done is already written, just needs some final proofreading before posting. 🙂

Today, I have every intention of getting the first wave of lots uploaded.

As mentioned in an earlier post, this will include the updated Library, Gym, School, City Hall, Community Pool, and Main Street shopping.

Updated Sunset Valley Library, includes Vault of Antiquity.

Updated Sunset Valley Gym – full-service gym – many more pictures to come!

School Playground 1

The updated school playground from the front

The updated city hall

Community Pool, updated and beautiful!

ballooning area on main street (although during debugging, it changed looks ever so slightly..

Fruit Stand added on main street, another great addition. in the update

If all goes well, you may very well see the second Wave posted today, or tomorrow, as well – which will include an updated Art Gallery, Science Complex, Two updated fishing holes, a new exclusively beach fun lot (non showtime) and the Community Church (for weddings, parties, and meetings.)

Weddings, parties, meetings.. it’s the place to be!

Wave three (based mostly on ambitions and premium content) will then include a Laundromat, Fire Station, Junkyard (Recycling Center), Nectary (Garden Center), Salon, tattoo and spa center, as well as a really cool mini-shopping mall with multiple stores for one stop shopping. (It will include a Pawn Shop (consignment), Toy store, Book store with coffee shoppe/cafe, a robot / electronics shoppe (with future portal), an elixir and alchemy shoppe, a Pet store, a comic book store with some arcade games, and a village wine tasting nectary cellar. The build is a new idea I had in the last couple days, and is coming along very nicely. Should be a lot that can be easily added into most worlds.)

In case you’re curious, the next “waves” are planned as well. Four is based on the Late Night pack, and includes the Film Studio, Diner with Local Watering Hole (50’s style with live band, bar, and rollarena), A Tiki-themed beach bar/casino for the gambling types, a Sports bar by the stadium with live music and plenty of pool tables, a SkyDiving center/ extreme sports entertainment area, and last but not least, a nice poolside dance club.

Hogan’s Bar and Diner

Wave five is based on the pets expansion pack, and includes the equestrian center, a show grounds (as well as possibly some other horsey related lots like a racetrack, dressage arena, and cross-country course), the dog and cat park, and three more fishing hole upgrades.

Wave six is based on Showtime, and includes and upgrade to Old pier beach, adding more activities for folks, and a showtime stage. I’m also building “coffeeshop” venue (read more cafe than coffee – using the open for business stuff, with a showtime stage. There will also be a live show venue with karaoke and bull riding and bars to get up your nerve. Then, I have a Fusion lounge with a private showtime stage mixed with a lovely sushi restaurant and Chinese garden for ambiance. Lastly, but definitely not least, the “Alto Concert Hall” big stage venue.

Wave seven is based on the Supernatural pack and includes a fabulous Supernatural Hangout venue with a dart tournament section, all themed as a “small” cabin on a hill (but is much larger under the hill, like a wolf den.) Was definitely one of my more ambitiously difficult builds, but has performed fabulously in testing, and it looks really nice! I also have a Gypsy Caravan/ Fortune teller zone with miscellaneously magical stuff and a broom practicing course. Another ambitious remodel, taking the store Gothic Library and turning it into a Vampire Lounge with secret coven/clan hall, bars, elixir shoppe, dance area, spooky graves, a live music stage, and even a private show stage for the Gothic set. Last but not least, I’ve built a fairy garden/Arboretum park for the fairies to play at as well.

Wolff’s Den Supernatural Hangout

Wave eight is one of the smaller waves in some ways, based on a combination of University and Island Paradise. I’ll be building a “Smugglers Hideout” rebel hideout building with a distinctly pirate theme on the beach (near where I’m hoping to add a “Smugglers Rest” shipwreck/dive site if all goes will in the next wave). I’ve also got a boardwalk/pier arcade and game “fair” – hoping to include the new rollercoasters coming out in December, and it will also have a nice bowling alley, as well. The other main thing I’ll be doing this wave, is creating various port facilities around the beaches for houseboats. After I’m satisfied with those, I will be building two commercial boats – one a disco club, the other an exclusive lounge / cruise ship.

Wave Nine is devoted to Island Paradise- hopefully including the four dive spots, as well as a “sunset valley scuba school” lot with a nice water sports shoppe, and that sort of stuff. I also have two resorts to add – one based on a fishing hole/cabin and tent backwoods type thing, the other a lovely beach eco resort for the well to do sims. Finally, I’ll also be adding a “sunset valley marina” lot more for looks than anything else, but I’m also hoping I can set it up for boat sales as well.. we’ll see.

The final wave, ten, will be basically a clean-up wave. building some empty houseboats, trying to set up the “hidden islands” features, and adding some more pet-friendly homes, including a few horse farms. Also, will be trying to make sure all homes have a crib and pet bowls to care for any additions.

Comments welcome! … <whew> now that I have all that written down, time to go get to work!

Thrall

Just posting that I’m once again working on my Nothing is free/Apocalypse challenge. I’ve got some more to write up and post into the first chapter, which I’ll be posting in the next couple days. What I’ve updated is the “welcome” page – mostly the rules and exceptions at the bottom of the page.

Ok, so I ran into some major issues with two of the lots, the main one being the City Hall – who would have thought a simple podium addition would cause so many problems! I spend three hours building, saving, testing, reloading, rebuilding, saving again, retesting.. rinse repeat.  .. UGH. Truly no fun. I’m trying to keep the protesters off the lawn, but still allow collectors to get to the spawn points that are built on the lawn.. so far, it’s not working – but I think my newest idea might work. Out of frustration, I did some planning and brain-storming for a couple hours, and I have a pretty good plan for getting Sunset Valley made-over and uploaded. Split it down into 9, maybe 10 waves, adding all expansion pack features, and most premium (store) content features. Island Paradise adding water and partial water lots definitely threw a bit of a monkey wrench into my existing plans, but it definitely opened up some more options and abilities. Beyond all that, things went pretty well, and I’m heading back in-game in a moment to get back to work on fixing those lots. I just have to keep myself from working on the new ideas before getting the first wave finished and uploaded – or I’m going to end up back in the same old cycle of building, building, building, and never uploading a finished product.

As a “teaser” for the next wave, here’s what I’m working on after this: The Art Gallery (adding the ability for townies and playable characters to “donate” stuff, so it will look more like a gallery!! – of course, that means testing it, which should be interesting.. lol!); The Science Building (adding university science objects for the poor Sims who can’t afford the big ticket items!); Two of the fishing holes (very minor updates – Summer Hill gets the Lucky Palms wishing well, Crystal Springs gets the Fountain of Youth from Hidden Springs – the challenge was making it look like they belonged there…); Sunset Valley Community Church (a build done completely by me, set as a small park, works as a meeting/party/wedding venue… really, very pretty, and has been awesome in all the games I’ve used it in – had a few grooms abducted by aliens in the backyard, but really.. it should be safe.. *wink* .. I think.. haha!); and adding a community beach (my own build, will have instructions on where to place the lot, etc – used to replace the beach I sort of shang-hai’ed for my “Park” performance venue – figure having a non-showtime beach might be useful!). After that, I’ll be adding all the Ambitions lots – which are mostly custom builds by me designed to fit with Sunset Valley (suburban) theme.

Today, I’m getting started on uploading my Sunset Valley builds – which is the main thing I promised myself to get done before getting back to my challenges. I keep puttering around with them, improving, testing, building more, etc.. and procrastinating on actually uploading them. So, it’s way past time to get to work on it. My goal today is five uploads. More would be great, but I’m not stopping until I have at least five ready to go – and preferably the seven listed below. *determined face* .. lol. I’m going to start with some of my base game lot updates (the lots that are in the town center, mostly) – which are pretty much done anyway. I’ll do a listing below of the lots I have slated for this first wave of published lots with descriptions of some of the features I added or changed. (I will update with the exchange links and full descriptions when I have them completed)

• The library – “Papyrus Memorial Library”-  updated with more chess sets and computers, added the vault of antiquity (supernatural), a LLAMA “phone booth” (also supernatural), and an upgrade to the kid’s playroom. (includes items from the store learning center) Completed and uploaded! http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=7826498 
• The Gym – “28 Hour Wellness Gym” – this is a major update. I kept the architecture as close to the original as I could, but there are some major changes. The pool is intact, but has diving boards and a better decor to the pool area (mostly from seasons). I added an indoor basketball court (store content), indoor soccer arena (seasons), and a rock climbing room (store content). There’s also a cafe by the pool area (university item), and some updates to the locker rooms/bathrooms – partially to make room for a “babysitting” room (updates use island paradise, kids room uses store content). Upstairs, I have three small Martial Arts (world adventures) practice rooms, a weights and treadmill area, a workout “classroom”, as well as a ballet (store content) and “yoga” classroom. Lastly, there’s a small juice deck off the weights room. It’s been extensively tested, and seems to work really well, but I’m putting it through it’s paces one last time before upload. Completed and uploaded! http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=7826863    
• 
• The school – mostly, this is upgrading the playground. I’ve added stuff from Generations, Seasons, and the basketball hoop (store content). Also added some more bike racks, and a “phone booth” (LLAMA from supernatural). Status as of 7/8/13 – Built, tested, and retested, pics taken, ready for final upload and image work.
• The Community Pool – “Le Petit Shark Pool Center” (the other pool is updated into a club, wait for later post) – I added a hot tub, water slide, diving boards, pool slide, juice bar, snow cone machine.. basically updated it with the new patch options and Seasons. Status as of 7/8/13 – Built, tested, and retested, pics taken, ready for final upload and image work.
• The business office (very minor update) – basically, I added a coffee cafe (University) behind the building for the office workers on their “breaks”. My townies seem to like it – changing the lot to “visitors allowed” helps.
• The City Hall (also minor update) – updated for University. Without the podium placed for protests, the townies always seemed to randomly wander around the lawn area. Status as of 7/8/13 – Built, tested, and retested, pics taken, ready for final upload and image work.
• The main street (multi-rabbit hole area) – this is a slightly bigger update – mostly to add premium features. Aurora Skies’ hot air balloon has a lift-off area behind the book store, a LLAMA (supernatural) is by the theatre, and the vegetable selling and lemonade stands are near the grocery. Also, some minor landscaping and parking lot shaping, as well as bike racks added. Status as of 7/8/13 – Built, tested, and retested, pics taken, ready for final upload and image work.
• Lots in town center I’m NOT publishing an update for: The Hospital and Police Station, in my opinion, don’t need updates, there’s plenty of updates around them, so they will work fine. I also have no plans to change the Bistro (or Day Spa, forgot about that one, added 7/7).
• Town Center Lots waiting for the later “waves” – the Art Gallery, the second community pool (referenced above) and Hogan’s Diner (which I’ve added a really cool bar to). Central park is updated with the festival lot, but after some thought, I’m going to add to it with some other premium content (added 11/29). I also have four lots I placed in town center area that will be added with later waves- a laundromat, dog park, and cat park, and a newly conceptualized Java Hut (added 7/7).

After this wave, I’ll start working my way through each major expansion pack in each wave – I have not added every lot type to Sunset Valley, and each of the ones I DID add are specialized for something or other… for example, the bars are each designed for something – like a casino, a darts bar, pool bar, live music, or dancing.. or following a specific theme (based around which sims are attracted to that sort of bar or venue.) I wanted a town that had a bit of everything, and that I could go a certain place to do certain actions.. if that makes any sense. Anyway, time to head in game!

<< Previous

Katie’s Diary

Day Two:

Waiting for dawn… it always takes the longest when you can’t seem to sleep soundly.  Finally, I was able to hurry to the Junkyard in hopes of finding .. something to alleviate the horrid singed smell emanating from my body. After several hours of search, I found a cabinet in the shed there that held some “Shower in a Can” for fire emergencies at the Junkyard.  Still feeling guilty about “stealing” stuff, I only took two.  One for now, one for later emergencies.

By this time, my stomach was growling rather loudly, and it was actually cramping from hunger, so I hurried back home for my one daily bowl of soup… Chicken noodle.. cold.. again.  Yum?  .. no, not really.

Cold Soup… mmm… blech.

Immediately after breakfast (lunch and dinner!), I hurried back to my workbench. After clearing away the dust and ashes from yesterday’s adventure, I was ready to .. well.. begin anew.  This time I wasn’t just going to dabble around, I was actually going to attempt to build something.  (I have to do something with all this free time I have, right? .. and maybe if I get good enough, I can find a way to learn about what happened or find out if I really am alone… maybe.)

So. Paving the road with my good intentions, I set to work.  .. And worked.  And worked…. and then.. AHHHHH

fire! .. on my butt?

Hurriedly I grabbed the spare Shower in a can I had filched from the graveyard, and ….

Ahhhh.. cleanliness is next to inflammability.

Not to be deterred this time, I very determinedly went back to work inventing.. something.. anything.  A piece here, a piece there, some careful blowtorch work, banging on it (and my thumb), tightening bolts and screws.  It was starting to look like… a … Llama? .. Okay, we can work with that.  Being hungry myself, I added him a nice bowl of .. something for a metal Llama to eat.. and wa-la.  My first thing-a-ma-jiggy!!

Norman, my only friend

Well… I think I’ll call him Norman.  He can sit by my lonely dinner table and make it less… er.. lonely.  I hope.  Feeling rather sad, I went to the other end of my hut to take care of necessary business.. and wouldn’t you know it.. with the way my day is going — I broke the toilet. I sat down on my bed and cried for a while, but that seemed pointless, so then Norman and I had a conversation about where things stood in our little non-world.  We didn’t exactly come to any conclusions, however, so I went back to the scene of my immediate problem.. the toilet monster.

I contemplated, I muttered to myself… I racked my brain.. and then, just because, I couldn’t help simply screaming at it.  It made me feel better at least, although it didn’t appear to unclog the toilet.  It held the unrelenting silence back a little bit, as well.  During my rant.. I suddenly remembered the toilet plunger in my parent’s bathroom.  Checking the light outside, I saw that I had JUST enough time to race over and get it.  I didn’t think they’d mind, under the circumstances.

Screaming at the toilet monster

Trying to remember what dad had always done for this problem, I started “plunging away” … I made a big mess and seemed to take forever, but eventually, I got it fixed.  My one GOOD accomplishment for the day.  Yay!  On that note, while I still had brain power, I decided to read a little of one of the handiness manuals in my book shelf — perhaps I would be better prepared next time. .. Maybe.  I finished the afternoon off with a round of darts – at the dartboard, not my glorified pantry/refridgerator.  I was so hungry.. but I wouldn’t let myself falter.  I couldn’t eat until after midnight.  I’d made a promise.  One meal a day.  Gooo darts!  .. I think I actually even got a little bit better…. maybe.

Day Three:

Apparently all my good intentions aside, I didn’t stay up for my soup at midnight, I ended up curling up in bed (after pulling a few darts out of the covers) and falling into a fitful sleep.  Shortly after dawn, my belly woke me up and I forced down more cold Chicken Noodle soup.  There HAD to be something better out there!  Feeling refreshed, I put on my very best and went to check out the old diner’s supplies.  Maybe they had something useful.

The Town’s old Boxcar Diner

Apparently, locked doors are not impressed by formal wear, and they had some sort of shielding on the windows, so I couldn’t break them.  Sighing heavily, I decided to check the back shed door, and wandered through the mist around the boxcar to it.

The diner’s storage shed

Somehow, in their rush to go…. wherever they went, the diner employees hadn’t fully shut the door, so I went in and looked around.  It took several trips since I had to keep running outside for air due to the rotten food fumes, but I at least explored as much as I could.  Couldn’t find anything in the way of food, however, under one of the counters by the cooktop, I found an unopened four pack of showers-in-a-can.  .. Someone obviously hadn’t been a very good cook here, and they’d been prepared.

Packing those up, I made a short detour by the junkyard for some more scraps and ideas for another invention.  Ideas running around my head, I hurried home to try my hand at the inventor’s bench again.  Things went considerably better today, and I didn’t have a single mishap while building what I’ll just call a “Claw Dipper”.  I took it upstairs and attempted to use the lever action with the claw to help pull apart stubborn parts in the inoperable radio and phone.  All to no avail, of course.

After a rather lengthy debate with myself, I decided studying some more handiness might help me out in the long run, and I finished reading the basic handiness book.  Too hungry and tired to do much else other than think of midnight when I could once again eat my daily ration, I read one of the three paperback books I’d stolen from the school – “Where’s Bella?”.  It seemed appropriate.  Then, for lack of anything better to do, I took a nap until it was time to eat at midnight.

studying handiness

Day Four:

Started off the “day” at midnight with no sleep, but a VERY welcome bowl of .. yes.. again.. Chicken soup.  Feeling quite refreshed, I set about for the day’s inventing – and managed to come up with a floor hygiene-ator.. or at least the plans for one.  It certainly wasn’t going to work without electricity, though, so I sadly stored it away.  Feeling maudlin now, and since the sun had finally come up, I headed out to do more scrounging.

Back of the bistro

Again, I lucked out with the back door of the Bistro.  In haste to get away (I guess) they forgot to lock the door.  Going through their stocks I found several packages of well-protected crackers, some tightly sealed and wrapped in plastic jars of jelly and peanut butter.  Vaguely I remembered their new special had been some gourmet take on pancakes with PB and J.  Weird, since these weren’t exactly brand name products… I grinned evilly, and packed up my goodies.  On the way home, I stopped by my parent’s old house again – this time in search of a cookbook, and perhaps some information on food storage and safety after disasters.  I had no idea whether the goods I’d gotten were even going to be edible – or how to put them together.

scrounging in mom’s pantry

I did manage to find some information that looked promising on my new food stocks, and the cookbook I remember her using all the time, so I headed home.  Being back in my little underground bunker made me realize how badly I was smelling, but since I knew my “shower” resources were more than likely finite, I tried to avoid using them.  I tried desperately to concentrate on the cooking book, but couldn’t, tried taking a nap, and couldn’t even stay asleep.  My hunger had become almost a living thing… eating me from the inside.  But promises were promises, and to survive, I HAD to stick to my rationing plan.  Finally I buried myself in another of the paperbacks I’d snitched, “The Adventures of Raymundo” – which kept me occupied long enough to get me truly tired..

Reading a novel

and I finally fell asleep for a few hours.. and got some real sleep for the first time in days.

>> Next

<< Previous

Katie’s Diary

Day One:

I stood there, stunned at the silence and the utter stillness of the town.. and at the devastation I saw around me. Once I felt my feet could move again, I ran next door as fast as I could.  Of course I still had my keys, and I quickly unlocked the door and raced inside, yelling “Mom? Dad?” over and over. My voice seemed to almost echo in the eerie stillness.

What would I do without them.  As an only child, we had been so very close all my life.. maybe they’d .. come back?  Maybe they had been hiding for the endless days of the roar like I had been.  Maybe they hadn’t been bold enough – or out of supplies enough to have to venture out yet.  My mind doesn’t even want to consider other possibilities.  By the smells emanating from the kitchen, there hadn’t been time to clean anything out.. the power was definitely out… and all their things were still neatly folded in the dresser.  I tried the phones – nothing… same thing with the radio.. but on the off chance I could somehow tinker with them and fix them – if only I had tools – I took them back to my shack.  I also found my old bike in dad’s garage and brought that home.. how odd to call that horrid tiny place home.. But there is no way I’m staying above ground when it’s dark.  The darkness is always worse with the silence.  Not even crickets can be heard. Shaking myself free of my thoughts, I quickly biked to where my best friend, Becky, lived, and peered through every window.  Everything was like they had just .. disappeared.  There was even her favorite breakfast cereal congealed on the table as if she’d still been eating her morning meal. (ew!)

Seeing the rotten food reminded me that it was stupid of me to forget that my supplies were low. If I was to survive, I would need to find a source of food.  And safe drinking water.  Those thoughts turned into quick action, and I pedaled to the local supermarket.  Seeing it utterly and completely abandoned was un-nerving. Spoiled produce was still on the produce stand, the daily special signs still posted on the board.  Nowhere could I find a single evidence of even a struggle.  The doors were locked up like someone had simply gone home for the day and never come back.  I had never been a thief.. and I struggled with myself for long moments before I decided life and it’s continuation justified the means.

Stealing is wrong! — but I want to survive…

In the end, I did the unthinkable.  I found a good-sized rock, and busted in the front doors of the store.  After a quick look around, it was very clear that most of the foodstuffs were going to have to be ignored.  “Ah! – Non-perishables!” I thought, and ran for the soups aisle.  I grabbed as many as I could carry in my bike basket, and raced home with them. I planned to make at least four trips – two for soup, and two to carry bottles of untainted, sealed water.  It was still sealed in bottles, as well as shrink plastic in those multipak trays, so I figured it was probably at least drinkable.  The trips back and forth the the store were incredibly eerie.  The fog, the silence.. the utter lack of any form of life – even most the trees were dead or dying.

I was going to have to ration VERY carefully though. Who knows how long these meager supplies were going to have to last me.  Weeks?  Months?  Years??  With a shiver, I decided there were other things I needed to check before nightfall. Delivering my last load of food and water to my shack, I pedaled furiously to the City Hall. All Police and even Military matters had been conducted from there, and there were extensive basements. Perhaps they had a Green Cross shelter set up there? A spark of hope lit in my mind.. only to be fully doused by the complete abandonment of the only Government building our tiny little town had.

City Hall – abandoned too

Bitterly, I wondered to myself why Dad had made us move out here to the middle of nowhere so many years ago.

“I want to retire in a quiet place” he had always said, “With friends and fishing, hunting in the woods, and a nice quiet school for you to grow up in, Katie-baby.”  I smiled fondly, remembering.  With a sigh, I forced back tears and took a deep, even breath. Discipline. Practicality. I had always been good with my hands, and was always building little weird gadgets and tinkering with things as a kid – perhaps I could figure out this mystery – or at least fix the phones, radios.. anything to see if I really am the only one left.  I couldn’t let my utter hopelessness completely consume me…. I HAD to do SOMETHING!

Spurred into action, I ran around the corner to the local school.

The school – abandoned, front doors locked.. but I knew another way.

Locked, of course. But I found a side door that wasn’t – we kids had always known that it was prone to not closing all the way, and we’d used that “entrance” on some of our weirder pranks – especially senior year.  Now, however, my target was the library. I quickly pulled out every book I could find (and carry in one trip) that was about basic Handiness, Fixing Stuff, Jury-rigging stuff, and even inventing. Found a faded book of logic puzzles and a couple of small paperbacks for the long nights, too.  Glancing at the afternoon sky, I knew I only had a limited time left, and I wanted to make two more trips, so I hurried home.

My next errand was to the old hospital/medical clinic. Had to break a window here, too, but I was starting to get a little more used to this breaking and entering thing. I didn’t like it – but I wanted to survive. Even if I’m the only one left, I want to live!  I went through any unlocked cabinets I could find, collecting what appeared to be clean sheets and a blanket for the cot in my shack. I also found some sterile band-aids, wound dressing, bandages, scissors, and antiseptic.  All medicines were locked up of course – and who knows what their shelf life was anyway… I didn’t want to trust those.

Ransacking the hospital – being prepared is my new motto.

Worrying at the already-darkening afternoon, I raced home with these supplies, then made quick work of a trip to the local dump. Perhaps I could scrounge something of use. In the little toolshed there I found a shovel, various tools that wouldn’t need electricity, matches, and .. torches?  What did ol’ Jim (the town’s old handyman) need with torches??  Shoving the thought aside with the encroaching dusk, I scrambled around, looking through piles of other people’s trash, picking out scraps of things I thought I might be able to use.  Pedaling as fast as I could, I raced home, and made it home before the shadows went past my shed door.  Hurrying inside, stowing my gear, I descended into my lonely basement. The matches and torches quickly illuminated what I had only been able to feel before.  I rigged up some holders for the torches, and started organizing and taking stock.

Taking stock… sad… but it’s what I have!

I was going to have to be VERY careful with my food and water supplies – because I had no idea how long they would hold out. I vowed to eat only one meal a day – and for now, that only meal was the various canned soups I had found.  Perhaps another time I would check the Bistro and the Diner to see if they had any stock that was still good that I could pilfer.  Beyond that.. I had the old fridge dad had abandoned down here .. – didn’t work, but it was mostly clean inside… so I put all my foodstuffs in there for safekeeping.  The scraps I had found I tossed into the scrap bin on the old inventing bench that was down here from the hermit that had lived here long ago.  Speaking of, I wondered if the nasty old sink and toilet still worked.  The buckets I’d been using while trapped down here reeked, and I took them outside, dumped them, and put them far enough away that I couldn’t smell them anymore.

well.. the water runs.. it stinks, but it runs.

Well, at least the water works. The water smells of… undefinable substances, though, so I don’t plan to use it for much.. but at least I do have running water.  I wonder if even boiling would sterilise it.  However, I wasn’t desperate enough to try that out yet.  The old bookshelf down here was quickly populated with my meager supply of reading materials, and I regarded the dartboard on the wall with a fond smile.  Becky and I used to…. I blocked the thought. Until I found a way to figure out what had happened, or opened up communications with a world that may or may not even exist.. Becky, Mom, Dad, ol’ Jim, and the rest of the town members seemed completely gone.  Thinking about it was self-defeating, and would only depress me.  Having a moment to take my breath reminded me suddenly of the cellphone and walkie-talkie I’d had when I ran down here in the first place. During the roar, neither had worked.. and I’d thrown them at the wall in frustration.. Wonder where they’d landed. Scurrying around by torchlight, I located both and eagerly tried them out.

phone service? course not.

Again.. nothing.  With a sigh, I decided I might as well tinker with stuff, see what I can do with it, and I headed for the invention bench.  Many thumb-bruises later (from hitting it with things).. I felt I was finally getting a handle on this basic inventing stuff.

inventing can’t be so hard… right?

Time to try some of the tools down here in the cabinets.. hm.. soldering iron? Or blowtorch…  Just what I needed.  With a spark of ingenuity, I set back to work, determined to make something.. useful.

maybe this will make this work..

Ack… maybe a few too many sparks??

ooooops 🙁

Definitely too many. On that note, I had a lonely bowl of soup, washed the bowl as best as I could, and forlornly curled into bed. It took hours to fall asleep, and when I did.. sleep was definitely not peaceful.

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“The Roar”

It began with the ground shaking. Then the noises began. The skies darkened and everyone, including me, ran for cover. When I stopped running, I found myself alone, in the dark basement of a rickety shed. I could hear glass breaking, the shed doors opening and closing violently, the wind blowing… and then there was that awful roar. What it was, I’m not sure I’ll ever know.. but I cowered here, alone, afraid. It seemed like forever. My supplies wouldn’t last forever, and I began to worry. Just as it became dire, and I wondered if I should venture out… the noise stopped. Silence. Cold, dark, eerie silence. I couldn’t even hear any wind. Carefully, slowly, I ventured outside, hoping against hope that it had been a dream. What I saw confirmed the nightmare – but it only got worse. Everyone else was.. gone. Completely, utterly.. gone. I could find no trace of friend, foe, or even creature. What now??

Name: Katie Jeffries
Age: Young Adult
Traits: Disciplined, Eccentric, Handy, Social Butterfly, Insane
Lifetime Wish: Monster Maker
Friends and Family: unknown
Skills: none
Money: who cares? Who would take it?

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