Disclaimer: I don't own Urinetown and/or related characters.
There hadn't been a hot day in ages; only stiflingly hot ones and insufferably hot ones, when even the healthiest of the general masses wasn't without danger in the overbearing sun. Dirt and dust settled into the lungs forming a thin, delicate layer at the bottom- like in a glass of water ,but that was a phenomenon unheard of in these times. The glass of water, that is, not the dust. There was dust and dirt aplenty. Oil and natural gas were no longer the world's most valuable resources but cold, clear, water. It had been over three years since the beginning of the worst drought in the world's history, now being dubbed by the media as the "Stink Years". First the water levels rose and people panicked. But just as quick they fell back down, too far down until people realized there might not be enough and it might not be enough and it might not ever come back. Too much water was bad but what happened when there wasn't enough? When even our very bodies are made of the stuff and depended on it just to function. So began the water rations, reservoirs of water set aside, etc. Fear of losing the one thing necessary for life struck deep down everywhere for people all over the world.
So began the Stink Years, a new era marked by greed, lust, worry, hedonism and most of all, fear. Environmentalists were saying that it was hopeless, the end, doomed, until a better solution came about; now people were believing them. Naturally people did the sensible thing; blow their money, engage in less-than-satisfactory activities and do "questionable things". All walks of society mixed together as moral boundaries blurred in a drunken haze and people tried to go about their days as normal but come night…
A/N: Hooplah for non-existant fandoms!! This story is going to be mostly Caldwell/Penny and some Caldwell/ others. C.B. Cladwell is my favorite character in the play and I loved the idea of giving his relationship with Penny a life and having a chance to explore any type of humanity he had. When we did the first rehearsal and read the line where Cladwell says, "I closed my heart to love once, I can do it again!" It sent the plot bunnies going mad around in my brain (and yes, bunnies!) . I have a lot of other stuff I want to write for this fandom but I'm starting here so enjoy! And on to the first chapter….