post_apocalypse_story/05-Eventful_Evening-secret_...

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<h1> Eventful Evening</h1>
<p class="comment">
If you&apos;re just here to read, scroll down past the outline.
</p>
<p class="comment">
Outline:
</p>
<ul>
<li class="comment">
Annie rides the metro to the station
</li>
<li class="comment">
A shady figure in a black hoodie is there
<ul>
<li class="comment">
Approaches Annie before she can even get off the train
</li>
<li class="comment">
tells her to stay on
</li>
<li class="comment">
Turns out it&apos;s Lucas
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="comment">
Lucas speaks to her quietly, asking if she&apos;s interested in
leaving the city while being mysterious about it
</li>
<li class="comment">
They get off a couple stations later and go to a bar
<ul>
<li class="comment">
Lucas gets some alcoholic drink
</li>
<li class="comment">
Annie, being kinda tired, gets a coffee or energy drink
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="comment">
They go to a back room where ppl are waiting for them around a table
<ul>
<li class="comment">
Amongst them is Karl
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="comment">
secret organization discusses secret organization things
</li>
<li class="comment">
Annie gets the keys to the library
<ul>
<li class="comment">
Lucas can&apos;t go himself because he needs to attend some
important event
<ul>
<li class="comment">
he gives her a description of where to find the relevant
computer
</li>
<li class="comment">
he gives her some login credentials to use
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="comment">
other ppl have excuses
</li>
<li class="comment">
Karl would join but he&apos;s unable to run in case they get caught
</li>
<li class="comment">
he gives Annie a list of useful computer commands and instructions
on how to boot up the computer
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
Annie looks through the window in the door as the train enters the
station. The platform is empty except for a shady figure in a hoodie
leaning against the wall, observing the train from under his hood. She
looks at the clock in the station: 10:34 PM - a bit late. As soon as he
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notices her, he starts walking up to the train. The pressurized air for
the doors hisses in the lines. Annie presses the button; the door opens.
</p>
<p>
<span class="quote speech">Hey, wait...</span><br />
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He had made his way to the door and looks directly at her. It&apos;s the
guy from behind the library counter. <br />
<span class="quote speech">We&apos;re gonna take this one for a couple
stations.</span><br />
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Annie steps aside and he gets on. <br />
<span class="quote speech">I&apos;m Lucas, nice to meet you.</span> He
extends his hand.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Annie.</span> He probably knew that already,
right?<br />
The door chime sounds and the doors close.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Sorry for being late.</span><br />
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The hum of the motors sets in and the train begins to move.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Perfect timing, I&apos;d say. We were gonna
take this one anyway.</span><br />
He makes a short pause before continuing quietly:<br />
<span class="quote speech">So about that interaction we had earlier today
&ndash; I assume you want to leave the dome?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Not directly...</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Okay then disregard my question and we have
never met.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Wait. You say there is a way out of the
dome?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Well, there might be. Some friends of mine say
there is.</span><br />
Annie thinks about it for a moment. Before yesterday, she wasn&apos;t
even aware that life could exist outside the dome - and now she might
find out about a way to go there? <br />
<span class="quote speech">Tell me more</span>, she replies.
</p>
<p>
They get off at a station near the city center - a place that is never
asleep. In contrast to the empty stations everywhere else, the stations
here are busy with people seeking entertainment, clubs, or the many bars.
Lucas hurries down the stairs; Annie follows him.
</p>
<p>
The streets are alive with people, seeminly few of them purposefully
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moving in a specific direction; most are just meandering from bar to
bar. The street they are walking down is illuminated by strings of lights
hanging from the buildings and between street lights. The muffled bass of
techno is in the air. She enjoys the atmosphere, she hadn&apos;t been
here in a little while.
</p>
<p>
Lucas suddenly turns left and enters one of the bars. Annie follows.
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The air feels dense and depleted, and carries the smell of alcohol. A guy
is playing ragtime on a piano in the corner. They make their way through
the crowded room towards the counter.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Hey Kate, I&apos;ll take a Braincell Rattler
and my uhh... friend here looks like she needs a coffee.</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Okay. Going to the back room?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Yeah.</span><br />
Coffee sounds good... The back room? Annie raises an eyebrow. He opens a
door next to the counter and gestures her to follow.
</p>
<p>
Lucas takes off his hoodie and hangs it on a hook on the wall. Annie does
the same with her jacket. She looks into the room: A bunch of people
sitting around a large, round table - to her surprise including her
grandpa.<br />
<span class="quote speech">You here? ...</span><br />
Before she has time to further voice her confusion, Kate sets their
drinks on a small table in front of the window connecting to behind the
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counter.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Here you go, enjoy!</span><br />
Lucas walks up to it. <span class="quote speech">Thank you!</span><br />
Annie takes a moment to process the situation.
<span class="comment">Is there a better way to say this?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">Thanks.</speech>
</p>
<p>
A woman addresses her grandpa: <span class="quote speech">Karl, you two
seem to know each other?</span><br />
<span class="quote speech">My granddaughter Annie &ndash; good that
you&apos;re here, we were about to discuss the call we had
yesterday.</span><br />
He introduces Annie and the othe group members and everyone sits down
at the table. Karl <span class="comment">ergreift das Wort</span>:
</p>
<p class="quote speech">
<span class="comment">TODO: whole paragraph speech formatting</span>
<span class="quote speech">I guess I owe you an explanation.
We are working on opening up the gates connecting Sunside&nbsp;Cove to
the outside world. When the city was built, it was seen as sort of a
temporary plan B for humanity in case things would get worse, not as
a hiding space for all eternity. Over time though, knowledge of what
happened outside turned into fear and a bunch of <i>what if</i>s, and
any attempt to talk sense into city officials fell on deaf ears.</span>
</p>
<p class="quote speech">
<span class="comment">TODO: whole paragraph speech formatting</span>
<span class="quote speech">My dad used to always say - and maybe this
was naive hope on his part - that it would get better one day and that
we could open up the airlocks and leave. That was many, many years ago.
It&apos;s been over a century now since the city was sealed - even if it
was naive hope on his part, we should at least take a look outside and
see for ourselves what it&apos;s like.</span><br />
Voices of agreement all around the table. <span class="comment">move
this outside of the speech paragraph</span>
</p>
<ul>
<li class="comment">
missing: more dialog to tie this together
</li>
<li class="comment">
Important information: The door Jack wants to open is of similar type
as the doors used for the airlocks.
</li>
<li class="comment">
The whole Jack topic needs to be brought up in general. They could talk
about how having someone outside might be useful.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
<span class="quote speech">I mean we have that manual at the
library.</span>
says Lucas. <span class="quote speech">It&apos;s just classified because
they really don&apos;t want anyone to open or use the air locks.</span>
<br />
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a key chain.<br />
<span class="quote speech">If you want, you can try getting it - I
can&apos;t because I disappeared from a birthday party with an excuse
and they are probably waiting for me to be back.</span><br />
He places the keys in the center of the table.<br />
Karl says: <span class="quote speech">I would love to, but I&apos;m
afraid I can&apos;t run if things go south.</span><br />
A bunch of other excuses from other people. Finally, Annie takes the
initiative:<br />
<span class="quote speech">I could go. Anyone want to help me with
this?</span>
</p>
<p class="copyright">Copyright &#169; 2023 Jan Danielzick (aka. BodgeMaster) &ndash; All rights reserved.</p><script>let spans = ["<span class=\"paper green\">", "<span>"]; let pre_texts = document.getElementsByTagName("pre"); for (let i = 0; i < pre_texts.length; i++) {if (pre_texts[i].className != "paper") continue; let lines = pre_texts[i].innerHTML.split("\n"); let result = ""; for (let j = 0; j < lines.length; j++) {result = result + spans[j%2] + lines[j] + " ".repeat(80-lines[j].length) + "</span>\n";} pre_texts[i].innerHTML = result;}</script></body></html>