Tool

Chapter Fourteen

She was kicked awake and given orders to get breakfast ready. With the same supply packets at her disposal, she made the same stew she'd made for dinner, though this time, she was allowed to sit and eat her share with the others. No one complained about the menu. Before long, the other suits got up and made their way out of the camp, Kardem giving Garda a curt nod on his way past, leaving only her and her captor.

Garda managed to keep her busy for most of the morning, clearing things away, packing and repacking boxes, and carrying bundles. But by around lunchtime, he'd run out of chores for her and was content to let her sit on the ground close to the tent where he was jabbing fingers onto his screen.

For a time she sat quietly, but she found herself wondering about so many things that she simply had to ask him a question. She timed herself carefully, waiting until he'd put his screen down to roll his shoulders and stretch.

"Where do they go?" she asked him quietly.

He turned to look at her. "Why do you care?"

She shrugged. "I don't really. I was just wondering, that's all. Only trying to make conversation."

She was quiet again, waiting. Sure enough, after a couple of minutes he spoke. "They're getting more stuff," he said.

Okay, it wasn't much of an answer, but at least it was something. "What kind of stuff?"

"Are you, like, a sec Worker or something? None of your business." He picked up his screen again but didn't unroll it.

"Look, it's not like I'm going to tell anyone," Aurelia pointed out. "I know you're planning on selling me to the highest bidder or whatever, but . . ." Here she took an educated guess. "I'm thinking the highest bidder is going to be you, right? So there's no harm in telling me."

"We'll see," Garda said gruffly. "But I suppose you're right." He glanced around the clearing as though checking that no one else was there. "Over there's a mine," he said, gesturing behind the tent where a hill rose up. "They've gone to get stuff from there."

"Steal stuff?" Aurelia asked.

"Maybe, but mostly it's easier just to pay the Workers to smuggle it out for you. Most everyone out here looks after himself first," said Garda.

"Then what do you do with it?" Aurelia was finding herself increasingly interested. She had no idea what this stuff was that they were stealing, but she presumed it was some kind of resource that the mine was digging up.

"We take it back into the settlements and sell it," explained Garda. "Or trade for things we need. Simple, really."

A kind of black economy, she supposed. "How long have you been here?"

"Couple of days. We'll probably head out tomorrow, once we've got as much as we can carry."

That wasn't good news. At least here, she had some vague idea of where she was, and she knew she was close enough to other encampments and even to the mine. The Gods knew where they were taking her next. But what could she do? It wasn't like she could stop them from leaving. Garda was getting tired of their conversation. He'd unrolled his screen again, and she could make out a scowl under his hood when she tried to talk to him. In the end, she went inside the tent to rest. There was no point in wasting her energy. If indeed they were going to leave the next day, she'd need all the energy she could get.

***

The next morning they started walking. Aurelia found herself carrying a large pack, which even in the low-gravity environment was still almost heavier than she could bear. The straps dug into her shoulders, pushing the breathing suit into her skin. By the time they'd traveled for an hour, she could feel the fluid of burst blisters running down her arms.