First Draft Sneak Peak: Outside Chapter 3
Chapter 3 Part 1 Exploded Security
…It was a strange sensation that brought Sam back to life. It was the feeling of... Sam could hardly believe it…it was the feeling of air in motion. No, not just the air in motion that happens when the air conditioner kicks in. This was something different. Something wrong. The air was in motion around him, tickling his hair, caressing his skin. It was warm and somewhat dry. The humidity of his apartment was always kept at a comfortable forty percent, but this air was much dryer. He pulled in a breath. Very dry. He tried to ascertain the direction of the moving air, but he couldn’t.
It was still dark, but not the black of unconsciousness, so Sam knew that he was not blind. With difficulty he tipped his head to behold thin slivers of light penetrating the darkness. He reached for it, but his arms were pinned. Yes, pinned. They must be pinned. Sam could move his fingers and scratch some surface, but his arms would not move.
His legs were similarly pinned, but when he stretched he was able to move whatever object was holding him down. He pushed and his legs gained more room. Then there was a rumble and rattling and Sam was struck by a great weight. There was something laying over top of him that absorbed most of the impact, but the overall result was something less than comfortable. He pushed again, again more space was made by his legs. As he twisted and wriggled, his arms gained a minimal amount of freedom. With teeth gritted he endeavored to pull his knees up to his chest so he could get leverage on whatever was weighing down his back. Groaning and exerting more power than he’d ever expended before, he managed to pull his knees halfway to where he needed them. And halfway just wasn’t good enough, but Sam was exhausted.
‘All right, Sam,’ He thought. ‘Just rest a little bit. You’ll be alright. Maybe someone will come along and help.’
‘Huh!’ His thoughts almost seemed audible. ‘Someone would come along and help? Who the hell would come along and help? Most likely someone would come along and cut my head off and steal my underwear than actually help me! Besides, who would know about my plight or care about my condition.’
There was Sandy.
‘Yes, there was Sandy. But where the hell was she? She could be anywhere in the world, ten thousand miles away or right next door for all Sam knew. No, Sandy wouldn’t come and help.’
Well, then perhaps a Roverbot or a Techbot will come. After all, there had been an explosion.
Yes, there had been an explosion. Explosion meant damage. 'Damage meant that Techbots would be arriving soon to pull me out of the rubble. All I have to do is wait. So, Sam waited.
Sam waited for approximately ninety-seven seconds before he thought, ‘OK. I can’t wait any more.’
He struggled again and again was eventually able to move his right knee just over halfway to where he needed it. Again, that wasn’t quite good enough.
Sam rested and caught his breath. The advent of the moving air brought him a feeling of dread. Then he heard it. He’d heard it before on vacation programs from Outdoor Adventure Virtual Tours Inc, but now he was hearing it and it was different. He didn’t like it. It was terrible. Birds. Dozens of birds. Dozens of birds and they were singing. They must smell the aroma his body carried by the wafts of moving air all around him. They are circling and singing and singing and circling and soon…soon they will descend in singing circles and…
…soon they will descend in singing circles and start pecking at him, rending his flesh, eating his eyeballs. And while they satisfy themselves on Sam’s living flesh they will sing. Sam shuddered and pulled at his knees again.
He would not stop pulling until either his spine broke, or his legs moved into position to provide leverage for lifting the burden from his back. His right knee moved halfway into position. Sam grunted and pulled and strained. Three quarters into position. His jerking and straining became spastic and desperate.
‘Where the hell are those Techbots?’ He grunted and pulled.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Almost…
His right knee popped into place right where it needed to be. Whatever was holding him down gave about a foot. The thin strips of light widened…unfortunately, as now Sam was able to see splotches of blood on what used to be immaculate tile.
It didn’t take much to get his left leg into position, followed by both arms. On all fours Sam pressed against the weighty object. His eyes clamped shut, his teeth clasped together so hard that he thought they would shatter from the pressure. But once the weight on his back lifted it didn’t take long before Sam was standing, and the heavy object crashed to the floor.
For a few seconds Sam reveled in the relief of the weight falling from his back, yet he was afraid to open his eyes. The air was in constant motion around him. His clothes, where they weren’t sticking to his skin, billowed to the motion of the air. The birds still sang, and Sam knew that he would be attacked at any moment. He certainly did not want to watch birds pecking out his own eyes. So, he stood there, relieved of his weight, yet weighed down with fear.
With great trepidation he opened his left eye. His lids flickered against the bright, unfiltered light that pierced his pupil. He closed it again but decided that he couldn’t ascertain his condition if he didn’t open his eyes. It seemed that the Techbots were not right around the corner, as the archaic phrase went (Sam was unfamiliar with corners that were not a part of his own apartment). He blinked and blinked again, then squinted and blinked. Soon his eyes became adjusted to something he never thought they would need adjusting to—sunlight.
