When We Shed Civilization

Chapter 21

Burt stepped into the courtyard, approaching the gleaming foil and the pit it covered. "Let's check this out."

"Careful!" Beth scanned the yard, expecting its owners to show up at any moment.

A small lizard scurried from a stone and vanished in a crack of the wall. Apart from that, nothing moved.

At one side of the pit, a metal ladder led into a dark gap at the edge of the foil. Burt bent low to peek down. Then he descended, vanishing from view.

With a last glance at the empty windows surrounding the yard, Beth followed.

She descended into a room that had roughly the size of Seaside's swimming pool, with packed earth and pebbles forming its ground. The thin foil spanning it admitted a greenish light. The air smelled musty, and its humid heat made Beth's shirt cling to her back within seconds.

She could not reach the foil above her when she stayed close to the wall, but towards the center, the ceiling sagged. A pail stood in the middle of the space, right under the lowest point of the foil.

Burt had to stoop as he approached it. "Hey, there's water in here."

Curious, Beth joined him.

Burt reached into the pail and scooped up a handful of liquid. He brought it to his lips. "Tastes good."

The water in the bucket stood an inch or two deep, its surface still moving from Burt's intrusion.

A drop fell into it.

Looking up, Beth found more droplets clinging to the foil above—like streaks of tears.

"Where does that water come from?" She reached into the pail. The liquid was warm to the touch.

She wondered if it was safe. Too thirsty to linger on the thought, she scooped up her own handful of the stuff and drank. The water, its taste neutral, soothed her parched throat.

Burt poked the foil, triggering a small rainfall. "I wonder how this works." He drank some more; then he returned to the ladder.

Once Beth had quenched her thirst, she followed.

Outside, she found Burt standing by the greenery, eating a tomato.

"S'good," he said, between bites, and pointed at a row of plants along one wall. They carried more of the large, red fruits. "Have some; you're my guest."

"I don't think we should eat their stuff," she said. Whoever they were, those who tended this. "Let's leave."

"Let's eat first."

The fruit made her mouth water, but she shook her head. "I don't like this."

Burt shrugged and moved back to the foil. Along its edge, a row of bricks pinned it against the ground surrounding the pit. He picked one up. "I still wonder where that water comes from." He lifted the foil and tried to peek underneath, but it was too tight. He used his foot to remove some more of the bricks until he could raise the edge and reach underneath it. "It's dry out here."

As he let go of the foil, it slid inwards, pulling some of the weights with it.

"Oops," he said, grinning.

"Argh, Burt!" She reached for the foil and tried to tug it back into place, but doing so just displaced more of the bricks.

"You stop this right now!" The voice came from behind. The venom in it made Beth freeze.

She turned.

A woman stood a few steps away from Burt and her. She held a pitchfork in her hands and aimed it at them.

"Easy there," Burt said and took a step towards her.

She swung her weapon at him, and he dodged its trajectory to avoid the pointed, rusty tips. "What the fuck are you freaks doing here?" She had her black and gray hair tied in a long braid, and wrinkles furrowed the honey-colored skin of her face. But she moved like a cat, smooth and quick.

Beth raised her hands. "I'm sorry, we didn't know that someone was living here. We were passing through, looking for a place to spend the day until nightfall."

"Doesn't this look inhabited to you?" She gestured at the plants.

"There was no one to ask." Her own words sounded lame in Beth's ears, insincere. "It... wasn't wise judgment but thirst and hunger that guided our hands. Please accept our apologies." She held a hand over her heart and weathered the woman's angry stare, trying to display the extent of her regret.

The woman huffed, then she tilted her head. "Which gang are you from?" She was concentrated on Beth now, the fork pointing at her chest.

"We're not from a gang. We come from Seaside."

"Seaside?" The woman frowned.

"Yes, the gated village in the hills between the river and the sea, at the top of the cliffs." Beth gestured towards what she thought was the westerly direction. "My name's Beth, by the way." She smiled, hoping it would reassure the woman.

"I don't care about your Seaside nor about your name," she said. "You're trespassing, and you've fucked up my water condenser. Get yourselves lost."

"That's enough," Burt said. Unobserved by the woman, he had pulled Theodore's gun from underneath his shirt and pointed it at her now. "I'll fuck up more than your bloody waterhole if you don't leave us in peace." Not taking his eyes off her, he picked up one of the larger bricks and tossed it at the foil. It tore a hole into it.

"Jerk!" she yelled and launched herself at him, aiming her fork at his face.

He moved out of its way, avoiding the sharp tips by inches.

Her momentum carried her past him. As she did so, he slammed his fist into her back, which carried her right into the pit.

She screamed as she fell into the foil. It collapsed.

"Ha, got you!" Burt ran around the perimenter to the ladder and pulled it up.

The woman got to her knees, in the midst of her ruined water collector, blood running over her chin. "You fucking jerk!" She picked up the pitchfork, which had landed by her side, and threw it at Burt.

The projectile hit the wall of the pit and tumbled down.

"Oops," Burt said, then he grinned at Beth. "Let's go."

"We can't leave her like this," she said. "She won't get out of this by herself."

Silently cursing, the woman went to retrieve the pitchfork. She limped, favoring one leg.

"Well, that's too bad. But if we stay here, she'll try to skewer us." He tugged Beth's sleeve and turned to go. "Someone's bound to find her soon."

Reluctantly, Beth followed. "Are you sure?"

"Sure."