It's 11/11/11, everyone! Make a wish and knock on wood!
I will be working at the Chamber today (all day), but I'm working on a pretty important project with a very tight deadline so this work has actually been contracted out to me which is awesome!!! Nothing I like better than contracted work at the moment. A realy job would be better, but for now, this is fabulous! Then, I am having dinner with my parents and my aunt that is up from down state. I can't wait to see her.
With all this going on, I am happy to get this portion of my NaNoWriMo off early to you all!
Strangers in the Dark (Chapter Two continued)
It was dark, immediately reminding me of this new world I was living in, one without light, one of war, and consequently, without a mom. The pain in the back of my head was not enough to make me forget about the pain in my heart, and the tears were not enough to wash away the cinders on my hands and face. I was in agony, missing my entire family. But now had to be about my own survival if I was ever going to see Jensen or Dad ever again. I lifted myself from the bed I had been carefully placed in, a pillow had been placed under my head, my shoes removed and socks replaced, the blankets tucked neatly under my chin. Whoever my captors were, they were kind or simply diligent.The room must have belonged to a young girl at one place. Every shade of purple and pink had been utilized, flowers and butterflies haunted every blanket and picture, and costume jewelry littered the vanity and dresser. Who was this young girl, and where was she. Perhaps she escaped, like my friend Sari, or was captured like Jensen, or lost like myself.
There were two doors in this room—two potential exits. I assumed one must lead to a bathroom, while the other would lead to a hallway, living room, or staircase? Looking out the window, which was unfortunately nailed shut, I surmised that I was on the main floor, and not too far from the barricade. All I had to do was get out of this room and I could be right back where I was earlier today—yesterday? I didn’t know how long I had been out.
Putting all my weight on the fully carpeted floor, I crossed my fingers that not a single noise would escape this room. The last thing I needed was for my captors to be onto me before I even knew where the front door was. Or, maybe, that’s exactly what I wanted to happen. I managed to stand without a sound and made my way over the vanity set, picked up the chair and smashed it into the single, nailed window, shattering the glass. Hearing footsteps running toward the door directly behind me, I dropped the chair and dived behind the dresser, hidden from view.
A glow began to grow from underneath the door, an opaque monster, lighting the way for its master in the hallway. The door creaked open, a man entered the room, followed closing by a woman that clung to his shirt.
The man surveyed the room. “She’s gone, out the window.”
“What?” the woman gasped. “But what if she was still hurt, Kale, you hit her so hard.” She almost sounded concerned.
“I thought she was one of them, Nora. I thought she was going to hurt you.”
“Well, she didn’t have a red arm band. She’s our responsibility. We hurt her and put her in more danger. We need to find her, now.” Nora turned to walk back out of the room, as determined as I have ever seen a young woman before.
“Wait,” Kale yelled after her.
“What is it? She’s going to get too far and then we won’t be able to help her. She probably doesn’t have any food or water, barely even a coat or a…”
Kale interrupted her, “She’s still here.”
I stiffened.
“There are no footprints in the snow. She did this to throw us off, in case...”
“In case we were evil people.”
They began to glance around the room, neither of them looking like they knew what to do next. There was really only one thing to do.
“I don’t think you’re evil,” I whispered. (620 words)
Well, tomorrow is another day to write, read, work, eat, love, and live! (In no particular order.)
Contract? Chamber? What are you doing and what is this organization?
ReplyDeleteMatt...You must have missed my "Catch Up" post a few weeks ago. I am working at my local Chamber of Commerce for FREE, but every now and then, they contract work out to me where I focus on one particular project and get paid a lump sum when it is completed. It's very nice of them, especially since they are not obligated to give the work to me, but they are really giving me every opportunity to learn, gain experience, and beef up my resume.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have an internshio with a local human resources association, so if I mention work for my internship its with them. I'm doing marketing and web content developing for them.
I had read that, but I suppose I don't know what a chamber of commerce does. I'm pretty naive. But kudos to you on your success.
ReplyDeleteMatt...The Chamber's main job is to advocate for local businesses that become members. They are all about promoting the economy, small businesses, bringing in more bussiness owners, lifting new bussinesses onto their feet, etc. There are several different job involved. There is the member director that finds prospects and gets them to join as new members, the accountant that handles all the member dues and chamber expenses, the event coordinator that plans business expos and networking opportunities, the communications directer that promotes businesses and the chamber though the website, literature, and other forms of marketing, the COO that deals with the media and does all corporate communications, the president that signs off on everything and speaks for the chamber, the economy director that tracks the prosperity of the local business community, blah blah blah!
ReplyDeleteI, as a volunteer, mostly run the front desk, answering phone calls, answering simple questions, or transfering people to the person that can answer their question (trust me, I get every question under the sun and I plan on writing a post just about how stupid some of the questions are) I direct visitors that walk in to the pamphlets, to the right store, tell them about the area, etc. Occasionally, i stuff envelopes, stamp the mail, sort papers, copy papers, rewrite accomidation or organization list, etc.
Then, some days, the best days, I proofread and edit emails or letters, write articles, or get paid to do data entry for their member directory or contact database (which is what I am working on right now.)