The steam rose steadily from the hot water in the shower and the naked woman stood underneath it, motionless for a long time. Every surface of the small bathroom was covered with moisture, created by the thick humidity.

Eventually, the influx of steam tapered off, and finally, the woman began moving, slowly at first but her pace increased as the hot water ran out and the shower grew colder and colder. Eventually, when the water was too cold to be comfortable, she slapped the valves closed, and the water stopped.

Amy Travers stepped out into the steam-filled room and began toweling herself off with little enthusiasm. Wrapping the towel around her body, she slowly wandered out of the bathroom and down the narrow hall to her bedroom.

She settled quietly on the side of the bed, staring into the closet for several minutes. Finally, she shook her head violently from side to side a couple times, wiped away the tears from her eyes, grabbed a dress uniform, and put it on. She quickly dried her light brown hair and pulled it back into a ponytail, then left the bedroom.

On the way out, she stopped in the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of Tylenol from the cupboard above the sink, and swallowed two capsules down without water. Approaching the door, she grabbed the regulation black purse which hung on the coat rack and left the apartment.

Amy descended the stairs and stepped out into the sunshine. There had been some rain the night before, but already the ground had dried, and dust was blowing across the complex in the light breeze.

She crossed the parking lot, approaching her seven-year-old Honda. She'd considered replacing the car, but with all that was transpiring on the project, purchasing a new car seemed pointless.

She'd been talking to some of the future sleepers who had recently purchased expensive new vehicles. According to what they'd told her, their thinking was that they could at least play with their new toys for a few months. By the time anyone started to notice they were behind on the payments, they would be sleeping, and the lien holders would be worrying more about survival than collecting payments.

While it sounded like good thinking to Amy, she couldn't bring herself to worry about a car in the middle of this crisis. If her car died and needed to be replaced, she admitted to herself that she would probably go all out, but until then she had much more to worry about.

Getting into the car, she was immediately aware of the humid, musty smell and a quick glance around confirmed she'd left the passenger side window down during the night. The front passenger seat had soaked up the rainwater, and was slowly drying out, but leaving the musty smell all through the interior.