No So Mysterious Pix II

Not So Mysterious Pix

Efforteen

5 Locked Out

With relief, Finster heard the men leave and go down the stairs. The girl pulled open her hiding place and climbed out over Finster. She still had not spoken. He struggled to his feet and followed her into the other room. She angrily surveyed the mess the men had left.
Finster tried to speak, but she ignored him as she began to clean up the mess. She was a slight woman, and quite young. Her most notable feature was her head of brilliant red hair, now a bit disheveled. Finster thought back to the flash of color he had seen in the window earlier.

"I'm sorry to..." Finster began, but she was ignoring him. She began straitening up the room. It was as if he wasn't even there. But she had seen him, in the closet, and took him into her hiding place. Finally, he touched her shoulder.

She turned, and looked at him as if for the first time. They were near the doorway into the hall. Before he could speak, she had pushed him out of the apartment, and slammed the door. He heard the lock click.


*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Efthirteen

He did freeze, but not for long. He picked up a wine bottle and smashed out the the glass of the nearest window, and scrambled through. There was another shout and a pop, as something thudded into the window frame beside him. It looked like some kind of dart, but he didn't have time for a good look. As he clambered through, he felt the glass cutting his leg.

It seemed dark inside after being out in the daylight, and it took him a moment to find the door out of the room he was in. He heard someone running and a shout.
"Go 'round to the other side!"
Finster opened the door and found himself in the hallway of the old apartment building. But where could he go now? He ran up a flight of stairs. There was a window on the landing looking down on the street. He saw the second man running up the street. He was carrying a rifle. Finster continued up to the second floor.

He heard the two men meet in the hall below. They began trying the apartment doors on the first floor. As they opened the doors, the stench of death increased. The apartments were full of corpses. That was not a pleasant thought, but he would have to find someplace to hide. He did not want to shoot anyone else, but he would, if it came to that. He had already killed Mr. Porter.

The third door he tried, opened easily. The air did not seem so foul in there. He noticed that a window was open, but he did not have time to think about it. He could hear the men climbing the stairs now.
There was another room, a bedroom, and he entered it. He could hear the men getting closer, trying the doors. There was no more time, and he stepped into a closet, closed the door softly, and drew the 45.
Then, he had a strange felling, and looked beside him, straight into the frightened face of a young woman. Her eyes were locked on the pistol in his hand. Now, he could hear the men entering the apartment. They were talking in low voices.
"He must have come in here. It's the only door that was unlocked."
"Here's a drop of fresh blood."
"Be careful, he's already shot Porter."
"Where did he come from?"
"I don't know. But Porter knew him. I think he worked for him."

Finster held his finger to his lips for silence, but it was unnecessary. The girl quietly moved farther back. Finster saw her slip into a hole in the wall, behind some of the clothes. She motioned for him to follow. Then she covered the hole with a piece of the cheap wallboard the closet was made of.
They were in a small area in the wall between two apartments. It was too dark to see anything, but he could hear the frightened breathing of the girl close beside him. He could also hear the men in the other room.

"Someone's been staying here."
"Him?"
"I don't think so, I think this is a woman, look at this hairbrush."
Finster could hear them moving some things around in the kitchen. Then they were in the bedroom.
"Dr. Ekhard want's him alive. But we don't want to get ourselves killed. You saw what happened to Porter."
Then they were quiet. He heard footsteps and the closet door was yanked open.
Then,
"I don't see any more blood anywhere."
"Damn. I was sure he was in here."
The men walked away. They had left the door open. Finster could see the light through the cracks in their hiding place.
"Maybe he went out the window. There is a roof over here he could have gotten to."
"Yeah, we'll find him eventually."

Finster began to breath easier. He felt his leg. There was a wet place on his pant leg. It was a miracle he hadn't left a trail of blood all the way to the closet. He could hear the men rummaging around the apartment, knocking things over.

Then, he remembered the woman. He could feel her beside him, although it was too dark to see. She was obviously not one of them. She must have survived the plague like he had. He wondered if there were others.

"Well, there's no one here now. We might as well leave," came the voice from the other room.

Then, Finster heard the men leave.


*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Still At It

It was time to get back to work on The Fuzz's new Work Shed.
So he got out the plans.
He and His Sweetie had picked up some lumber on one of their trips into town. And with a brand new 5lb box of nails, he was ready to go.
With the high cost of lumber these days, one can't be too careful.
Here you can see his tape being used to check and recheck this precious 2x4.
After another check, just to be sure, it was time for the moment of truth.
This time, things went right.
It should be noted that this project, like most of what The Fuzz is involved with, is a work in progress. As a result, the plans often go though certain, Modifications.This particular modification called for replacing a 2x4 with a 4x4. This seemed like a good idea to The Fuzz, since this piece would have to carry the weight of the ridge piece. Fortunately, he already had a pretty solid 4x4 on hand.
This did cause a slight complication, as The Fuzz's saw is incapable of cutting all the way though a 4x4. (actually more like a 3 1/2 x 3 1/2) But that Resourceful Fuzz easily solved this dilemma by simply cutting halfway though, and then, flipping the thing!*
And here is a look at this piece of wall frame, waiting to be raised into position. But that will have to wait just a bit longer.

*This exciting Techno-Tip also works with chainsaws on large trees!

Eftweve

He parked the car where he hoped it wouldn't be noticed. It was a bit beat up itself, and fit right in with the neighborhood. He buckled on the 45, and walked to the pawnshop. It was obvious that no one had been there since his previous visit. He was beginning to believe he was the only survivor. It was a depressing thought. Finster found a scoped 30'06 that he liked the feel of. He also took several boxes of ammunition.

As he stepped out of the door, he heard what sounded like a helicopter in the distance, and stepped quickly back inside. In a moment it flew over, headed in the direction of the water plant. He was sure they would be looking for him soon.

It was now late afternoon. He would have to find a place to spend the night soon. He was beginning to notice a peculiar odor in the air. With a shock he realized it was the smell of death. The city was filled with it. Maybe it would be better to get out of town.
He walked back to his car, and lay the rifle on the floor, behind the seat. He was about to get in, when his attention was diverted by the sound of an approaching vehicle. He crossed the street and stood just inside the ally, where he could watch, and not be seen.

The dogs were gone by now. But they had left quite a mess. Garbage was strewn all over the ground. Finster watched carefully as a truck drove slowly down the street. He cursed under his breath as he saw it stop by his car.
Two men got out. One he hadn't seen before. The other was Larry. They walked around his car, looking in the windows. The new man tried the driver's door. It wasn't locked. He took a quick look inside, and then closed it. It was Finster, they were looking for, not his car.

Finster stepped back into the ally. He began to try the few doors. Sooner or later they would check the ally. He didn't want to be here when they did. The men were in the street. He needed another way out. But all the doors were locked. To break in one, would make too much noise. He began to try the few windows.
Then, he heard a shout behind him.
"Freeze!"



*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Ah, Spring

Fireside

With the Young Daughter in town,visiting a friend, The Fuzz and His Sweetie took advantage of the situation to enjoy a taste of Mescal by the fire. It was an enjoyable evening, but they never made it down to that little old Gusano. After all, tomorrow was a work day.
After a long day at work, The Fuzz and His Sweetie got home a bit late. It was a little late to start on dinner. So after some thought, they went into town for a session at the Infamous Golden Corral. They did get there a bit late. The up side being that they were able to avoid the crowd. The down side was that some of the tasty treats were in short supply.
The Fuzz, having just had a tooth situation, for once, avoided the steak. But both he and His Sweetie enjoyed the salad and fish.
And we are pleased to report, that that dental situation is working out as well as could be expected.

Gross Tooth Post (Warning, Graphic Pix)

The Fuzz's Back is pretty much functioning once again. He did manage to get back to work. But there was a new problem.
It so happened that on one of those evenings when he was laid up with his back, His Sweetie offered him a piece of Delicious Chocolate. As he was munching on this tasty treat, he asked, "Are there nuts in this?"
When he investigated further, the "nut" turned out to be a piece of tooth. And so today, it was time for a trip to the Tooth Dentist.
(The Fuzz apologizes for this graphic image, but it was necessary to illustrate the seriousness of the situation.)
But as can be seen, this sad situation has now been satisfactorily resolved.

Effelevin

There had to be more than these two involved in this horror. Porter had been on the phone to someone. Finster was sure they would be coming for him now. He checked the hall. Larry was nowhere to be seen. He decided not to look for him, and walked swiftly out to his car. He was just in time to see a truck speeding away.
As Finster drove back to town, his mind was reeling. He had just shot down an unarmed man. He could hardly believe what he'd done. But, if what Porter had said was true... What if it wasn't just this city? And the evidence seemed to fit.
He turned on the car radio and searched for any signal. There was none. He tried the other bands with the same result. It was as if the whole world had been shut down. Yet, Porter and his friends seemed to be doing fine. And now they knew he was here. He needed a place to hide.

As he drove into town, he thought about that pawnshop again. Maybe it would be a good idea to find a decent rifle. Finster had served a hitch in the army before going to work at the water department. He was determined that whoever they were, they wouldn't take him without a fight.

Mini Pie

The Fuzz's Sweetie and the Young Daughter took off for a Sewing Weekend with The Girls.
The Fuzz was left here alone.
Fortunately this tasty Mini Pumpkin Pie was left also.
As you can see The Fuzz has 4 pieces of this delicious treat ready to go here.
His Sweetie made it home OK, but this little treat was gone.

Eften

Finster stood there trembling. He had emptied the entire clip into Mr. Porter's chest. His finger was still on the trigger. If the gun hadn't emptied, he would still be shooting. Porter collapsed onto the floor, blood spurting from multiple wounds. He tried to move, and then lay still.

Finster was shocked at what he had just done. He stood still for what seemed like an hour, but was really only a minute or so. He heard a sound and looked up to see Larry standing in the doorway with a horrified expression on his face. The smell of gunpowder lingered in the air. As Finster's gaze turned to Larry, he fled.



*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

April 15

Efnine

4 Welcome to the New World

"Welcome to the New World."
What was Porter talking about? Finster sat there watching him, waiting for an explanation.
"We had to do it," Porter said. "There was nothing else to do."
"What are you talking about?"
"The Earth, of course."
"The Earth?" This wasn't making much sense to Finster. He waited for Porter to continue.
"It was like a cancer, it had to be stopped." Porter got to his feet and went on. "It's like chemotherapy." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself now. It had all made more sense before he was trying to explain it to someone like Finster, who hadn't been part of it.
But then he got focused again.
"We did it to save the Earth."
"Did what?"
"They were a cancer, it was chemotherapy."
Slowly, at last, Finster began to understand what Porter meant. It seemed insane.
"You... killed... thousands of people?"
"Thousands?... No that wouldn't have helped. It was billions."
Porter was determined to make Finster understand.
"The Guardians will keep it all in balance now. It is a new era, a new world. This time we will keep it right."
Finster thought of his roommate. He thought of the dead wino, and the city full of bodies. But Porter was paying him no attention as he went on.
"But you're still here. We'll need to take you to them. They'll want to see you... make tests. There is a place for you here..."
Suddenly his eyes focused on the gun in Finster's hand. The last thing he heard was Finster's angry voice, as he emptied the pistol into him.
"You stinkin' son of a bitch!"


*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.

Home Alone

One of the new luxuries available out here at our New Home In The Woods is a clothes dryer. On those cooler days, this is a favorite hangout for these poochies.

Regrettably, The Fuzz is down in his back again. He did work yesterday, but now questions the wisdom of that.
But with a bit of rest, he is hoping to be back in circulation soon.
Funny how a day off work seems like a good idea until one has to take it.

Frogger on Blogger

Still Still Here

We survived that big storm the other day. But it seems to that time of year again. Another one came though yesterday evening. This time it didn't get our High Quality Tarps. You can see some of the smaller debris laying on them.
The Hail that accompanied this storm was a bit rough on the Dogwoods though.
The Fuzz had to go out to pick up that Young Daughter after a party.
Fortunately, things had pretty much let up by then. He did drive though an area where the power was out, but we never lost ours out here in the woods.
There was a trailer that flipped over with 3 people in it. (Read it here)
Well, today the sun is out again.

Still Coming...

Spring continues to move upon us here in the woods.
It is true that we are about a week or more behind those folks over in town.
Here's a look at today's Dogwoods.
Compare to those of about a week ago!
The Fuzz and His Sweetie enjoyed their Friday off of work. These 3 day weekends are alright.

Tarped Up, Continued...

It may be remembered that last month The Fuzz occupied himself in replacing our worn out patio tarp.
It may also be remembered that a comment was made to the effect that, "sometimes ya get what ya pay for.....". Well, this certainly turned out to be the case. When that storm moved though here the other day, it took out 33% of our new tarping. Here is a look at a few of the remains.
So, it was time for yet another trip to that Home Improvement Store. That Frugal Fuzz had planned to purchase 1 replacement tarp until His Sensible Sweetie pointed out the foolishness of this policy. Here you can see the improvement in quality of these fine new tarps.
And so, we are here to report that these inferior coverings have all been replaced by the Real Deal.

Still Here

The Fuzz is happy to report that we are still here.
There was a major storm in the night with hail and everything. At least that's what His Sweetie tells him. He is getting a bit hard of hearing.
But the evidence seems to bare it out. The power was out when he woke, and didn't come back on till around 17:00.
There was a bit of damage in town. The roof blew off the Goat Mill. He couldn't get though some streets whilst on the job.
But things seem to be OK out here at our Little Home in the Woods.

Effeight

3 The Water Plant* (cont.)

Porter rolled his chair back from his desk a bit, and leaned back in it. He was watching Finster, and appeared to be sizing him up. Finally he spoke.
"There's no use trying to hide it, this has been a major disaster. We are shutting down here, and evacuating the town."
"Evacuating the town?" Finster repeated. There didn't seem to be anyone left to evacuate.

"Most of the people are already in the city."
Finster assumed he meant the larger city, about 50 miles away.
"What about the government?" he asked.
Porter looked at the other man again, and answered.
"We are the government."
Finster didn't understand. Porter was only the head of the Water Department of a small city.

"Things have changed." Porter continued. "It's a whole new world. And we need men like you, who know how to do the things that need to be done."
Something had happened for sure. But he didn't understand Porter's attitude. And he didn't like it, or his friend, Larry.
"Well, I'm glad you made it in. We'll need you to check things out. And get the plant ready to shut down, first thing in the morning. You can leave with us then."

None of this was making sense to Finster. But he went to his locker and picked up his tool belt and hard hat. He didn't know what else to do. As he began his rounds, he noticed Porter and Larry driving off, into town.

Finster moved though the plant, checking the machinery. Here and there he made some necessary adjustments. Then he found something unusual. Along with the usual chemicals, something different was being added to the water. He found some empty bottles labeled "V-48.3 (Water Borne)" and with the word "Caution" in red. There was also a date noted.
As he continued his rounds, behind the plant, he found something else. There was a pile of empty canisters dumped in the area behind the building. They were labeled, "V-48-7 (Air Borne)", with the same date. Finster realized that this date was shortly before they had all begun to get sick. Could this be a coincidence?

He had an uneasy feeling. But his curiosity had been aroused, and he headed up to the office once more. Porter was not back yet. But he found the office door had not been pulled completely closed, and swung open at his touch.
What were these bottles of V-48.3 and this V-48-7 about? He had never heard of them. Finster knew that there was a log kept of all the plant operations. He wanted to find it. After a short search he did.

On the date in question, along with the usual notations, he found "Operation 'Sneezy' initiated". But that was all. There was no indication of what "Sneezy" actually was. The entries continued for a few more days, and then stopped altogether.
Finster went over to Porter's desk. He was surprised to find that his computer was only asleep. It booted up with no password necessary. Finster was no hacker, but he did have a basic knowledge of the system. He began to search for "Sneezy" or "V-48". He had no luck, but did stumble onto a folder titled, "Initiate".

He read with growing disbelief the details of a plan to release a genetically engineered virus, V-48, into the environment. The plan had been carried out on that specific date, simultaneously, throughout the world. V-48.3 had been introduced into the water, and V-48.7 released into the atmosphere at numerous locations.
Finster searched unsuccessfully for more details. He was so absorbed in this that he did not hear Mr. Porter entering. He stood at the door watching Finster. Finally, he cleared his throat, and Finster looked up in surprise.

"I see you've been busy while we were gone." He walked into the office and sat in a chair facing Finster.
"I don't really understand why you're here. You were not one of us. But you are now," Porter said.

"Welcome to the New World."


*The Fuzz realizes that if someone were to actually read this stuff, they would be getting it sorta backwards. There is a link in the sidebar, "Finster", that will take one to another page with this mess in it's proper order.