The Shelter

Part 2 - The System

xx-xx

It was a long day.

Another disappointing trip out. This time, not for a portal, but for resources. It was getting harder and harder to find food, and they were desperately low on medical supplies. They'd found a couple of plasters, but Karma doubted that it would stop Carmen's fifteen-centimetre long wound from bleeding. They'd also found a couple of canned goods, only a few days past their expiration date. It should be enough for this evening, but they needed to find more in the next few days or they would sooner die of hunger rather than X's.

Karma collapsed on her shared bed with Flair. They'd both been on the mission along with two older used-to-be-college students. They'd all gone straight to their room afterwards to sleep for a few hours before dinner time. Flair threw herself on Pandora and Hail's bed, as they weren't using it. They usually split up into different beds when they could, especially during the day, as it was always easier to sleep alone than trying to fit two adults in a single person bed.

Karma fell asleep almost immediately, not bothering with changing clothes. She'd take a shower and care for her old injuries later. For now, she needed to sleep.

She was pulled out of slumber what felt like minutes after, but it probably wasn't, when someone crept under the covers with her. She opened her eyes into slits, just to see Flair shuffling. Karma waited until she stopped moving and then slung her arms around Flair. A few months back, they'd devised a way to fit both of them on the bed. It also helped that it kept them warm through the night.

Karma didn't ask why Flair had come to her bed when she could have one for herself. Night frights were common here, and Karma was glad Flair felt safer sleeping with her. Karma tucked Flair closer to her, hoping that if she could feel her heartbeat through her chest, it would lull her to sleep.

They were woken up later by Pandora gently shaking them. They had twenty minutes before it was dinner time.

Karma thanked her, dragging her sore body to the showers. Flair stayed in bed a bit longer, promising to tell people she was in the shower, as since the incident with the girl a few days back, they weren't allowed to close bathrooms anymore. Karma thanked her, sighing when her body met the cold water. They had less than thirty seconds under the shower, and this tiny block of hand soap they used to clean the most important places, and that was it. They'd ran out of warm water months ago, so now they collected rainwater, stored it and purified it the best they could with the products they found left in abandoned shops, and that was their shower water. Karma guessed she should be glad that she could still wash.

She dressed in her indoor clothing, that she never wore outside. This stopped them from being too dirty or having to wash them often. They were ripped in some places, but they were the best things she owned.

After Flair had showered, and they'd gone by the makeshift hospital they'd made to get some alcohol for a minor cut Flair had gotten on her calf, they went to eat.

Dried beans and a spoonful of white rice. Karma was happy that they'd found something today, or it would've been a day since she'd last eaten. She ate as slow as she could, talking with Flair, Spencer, Carrie, and Pandora. Since that first mission altogether, they'd only grown closer. They were about the same age, with Pandora being the smallest at fifteen and Spencer the oldest at nineteen. They were also in the same room since they'd relocated a while back. Spencer and Carrie had been in another room with other people but Pandora, Hail, Karma, and Flair were already in the same room. Pandora asked a while back for Spencer to move in with them when Pandora found herself alone in her bed at night, the empty space next to her only reinforcing the disappearance of her brother. Carrie naturally followed so she wasn't alone which meant they naturally bumped into each other a lot more often. They'd also gone on a few more missions together, and Karma could probably tell you more about how Carrie wielded a gun and what she sounded like when she'd been cut than what her favourite food or colour was.