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tamingthemuseTitle: Water, Water Everywhere
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Astroturf
Warnings: none
Rating: G
Summary: Life after people, almost.
I had never been on a really good scavenger hunt. I had seen kids doing it after I was well out of school, and every time I remembered how boring my school life was. I never did anything fun. I had wanted to, of course, but I was too shy, too slow on the uptake to know what was happening around me.
My mother once called me stupid in that regards. I suppose I was. She was doing drugs in the same house as me, and I didn’t know it until I had moved out. That was what that argument had been about. We did that a lot; fight.
We didn’t fight so much once I had moved out. I didn’t have to see her for days on end, and I suppose the pressure of being so close dissipated once I was on my own.
I looked down at the list of things I needed for my impromptu water filter and scratched behind my ear with my pencil.
I had none of the items and wondered where in the world I was going to get a large enough jar. There was a farm supply store in the western part of town, and I decided that was my best bet. They’d have wire there too, I thought.
So I pulled my car out of its slumber and drove down the freeway.
I had always liked the freeway. It stretched from the river into the distance and one could get to one side of town to the other in less than five minutes. My car was loud, a hole in the muffler, I thought, but it gave me a sense of comfort. If it were quiet, without the radio, I’d become edgy. A highway shouldn’t ever be quiet.
There were no cars on the highway, which sometimes happened in the before. But only rarely. Maybe at two in the afternoon, just before school lets out, just before the major shift changes. Never at noon.
It was empty now. And forever more, I thought with a bit of poetry.
The windows were up, as a light rain had begun to sprinkled down on the empty street. I wondered if I should pick up windshield wiper fluid.
Then I was driving off the off ramp, ignoring the darkened street lights and turning right. I also ignored the white and yellow lines on the street directing me to merge and yield as I finally pulled into the almost empty parking lot.
There was an old tracker that always sat in the parking lot. I don’t think I’ve ever, in all the time the store’s been there, moved. There was also an old farm truck that was as stationary as the tracker.
The glass doors hadn’t been automatic, so forcing the lock was easier after practice. Instantly I was overwhelmed with the smell of dust, mildew, and farm. This place had always smelled of farm.
I pulled my scarf over my nose and flicked on my lighter, creating a small glow around me. Lanterns and oil would be a good start, then flashlights and batteries. With it being just me, the store’s supply would last me quite a while, if not for the rest of my life. This store, and that one. I grabbed a shopping cart and wheeled it around, careful not to force my tiny source of light to go out.
Once I had a lantern attached to the cart, I piled in loads of batteries. Then flashlights. Finally, I turned my thoughts to my original quest. I paused at the front of the store, brow wrinkled in thought as I wondered where the best place to start would be.
I knew there were plastic tubs in several places, but didn’t I need something taller, more stable than thin plastic? I wished a pop bottle would work.
My eyes roamed the silent aisles and lighted on something I always somehow forgot this store had. The candy aisle. I grinned and quickly made my way down the aisle, seeking one of my favorites. I spotted the orange bag and quickly snatched it up, ripping it open. Circus peanuts! I popped one in my mouth and let it linger as I gathered up more candy to deposit in my cart.
I pushed the cart down aisles, candy hanging out of my mouth, humming softly to myself and came to the horse department. It was still the same, a miniature barn with saddles and leads and odds and ends. There was a roll of Astroturf set up to hold up one saddle and I perched on the thing, admiring the workmanship of the black leather and silver fastenings.
My mother had owned horses, and I supposed they were still in their fenced in yard just south of town. Maybe I could go out and visit them. If the dogs hadn’t gotten to them first. Maybe I should invest in a horse, for when gas becomes too hard to acquire.
I licked my lips and remembered the reason I came here. So I left the horse department and wandered the store. I found several items off my list and checked them off in the lantern’s glow. There were several watering troughs, and I paused to stare at them, wondering if any of those would work. Maybe one for chickens? It was tall, but would it work?
Would this crazy idea I had seen on a television show work at all? I pulled two different types from the shelf and put them in the cart, figuring what could it hurt. Then I paused by a cooler for sodas and glared at the bottled water.
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Astroturf
Warnings: none
Rating: G
Summary: Life after people, almost.
I had never been on a really good scavenger hunt. I had seen kids doing it after I was well out of school, and every time I remembered how boring my school life was. I never did anything fun. I had wanted to, of course, but I was too shy, too slow on the uptake to know what was happening around me.
My mother once called me stupid in that regards. I suppose I was. She was doing drugs in the same house as me, and I didn’t know it until I had moved out. That was what that argument had been about. We did that a lot; fight.
We didn’t fight so much once I had moved out. I didn’t have to see her for days on end, and I suppose the pressure of being so close dissipated once I was on my own.
I looked down at the list of things I needed for my impromptu water filter and scratched behind my ear with my pencil.
I had none of the items and wondered where in the world I was going to get a large enough jar. There was a farm supply store in the western part of town, and I decided that was my best bet. They’d have wire there too, I thought.
So I pulled my car out of its slumber and drove down the freeway.
I had always liked the freeway. It stretched from the river into the distance and one could get to one side of town to the other in less than five minutes. My car was loud, a hole in the muffler, I thought, but it gave me a sense of comfort. If it were quiet, without the radio, I’d become edgy. A highway shouldn’t ever be quiet.
There were no cars on the highway, which sometimes happened in the before. But only rarely. Maybe at two in the afternoon, just before school lets out, just before the major shift changes. Never at noon.
It was empty now. And forever more, I thought with a bit of poetry.
The windows were up, as a light rain had begun to sprinkled down on the empty street. I wondered if I should pick up windshield wiper fluid.
Then I was driving off the off ramp, ignoring the darkened street lights and turning right. I also ignored the white and yellow lines on the street directing me to merge and yield as I finally pulled into the almost empty parking lot.
There was an old tracker that always sat in the parking lot. I don’t think I’ve ever, in all the time the store’s been there, moved. There was also an old farm truck that was as stationary as the tracker.
The glass doors hadn’t been automatic, so forcing the lock was easier after practice. Instantly I was overwhelmed with the smell of dust, mildew, and farm. This place had always smelled of farm.
I pulled my scarf over my nose and flicked on my lighter, creating a small glow around me. Lanterns and oil would be a good start, then flashlights and batteries. With it being just me, the store’s supply would last me quite a while, if not for the rest of my life. This store, and that one. I grabbed a shopping cart and wheeled it around, careful not to force my tiny source of light to go out.
Once I had a lantern attached to the cart, I piled in loads of batteries. Then flashlights. Finally, I turned my thoughts to my original quest. I paused at the front of the store, brow wrinkled in thought as I wondered where the best place to start would be.
I knew there were plastic tubs in several places, but didn’t I need something taller, more stable than thin plastic? I wished a pop bottle would work.
My eyes roamed the silent aisles and lighted on something I always somehow forgot this store had. The candy aisle. I grinned and quickly made my way down the aisle, seeking one of my favorites. I spotted the orange bag and quickly snatched it up, ripping it open. Circus peanuts! I popped one in my mouth and let it linger as I gathered up more candy to deposit in my cart.
I pushed the cart down aisles, candy hanging out of my mouth, humming softly to myself and came to the horse department. It was still the same, a miniature barn with saddles and leads and odds and ends. There was a roll of Astroturf set up to hold up one saddle and I perched on the thing, admiring the workmanship of the black leather and silver fastenings.
My mother had owned horses, and I supposed they were still in their fenced in yard just south of town. Maybe I could go out and visit them. If the dogs hadn’t gotten to them first. Maybe I should invest in a horse, for when gas becomes too hard to acquire.
I licked my lips and remembered the reason I came here. So I left the horse department and wandered the store. I found several items off my list and checked them off in the lantern’s glow. There were several watering troughs, and I paused to stare at them, wondering if any of those would work. Maybe one for chickens? It was tall, but would it work?
Would this crazy idea I had seen on a television show work at all? I pulled two different types from the shelf and put them in the cart, figuring what could it hurt. Then I paused by a cooler for sodas and glared at the bottled water.
