Coming from Nowhere

CHAPTER SEVEN

Simmstiniga was the capital city of the planet Hauos, but despite that distinction, it was a sparsely inhabited area. The rest of the planet had small camps and towns that indicated where the mines were, but not much else. The main export was fossil fuels, which, although not a popular source of energy, was one that still brought in a decent profit. Alex had a shipping yard there that they were going to use to restock their supplies before heading to their final hiding place. They weren't expecting to be there longer than a few hours, but things had a way of working against them.

As JD walked down the plank, she noticed the red rocks that dotted a vast gray landscape, which was covered with gray-green sagebrush and a wind that whipped up tiny pebbles at thirty miles per hour. The capital was a square of four city blocks consisting of squat metal buildings. The powerhouse lay to the south of the town about three miles; housing was to the west one mile and spread out across two blocks; Alex's warehouse was to the north, sticking out noticeably from its surroundings, with the main building standing three stories high, two hundred yards long, and one hundred yards wide. Five other buildings surrounded the main one and were half its size, and a chain link fence enclosed the whole complex. There was a landing pad in the back marked with a bright red X, and a walkway that led to the back door of the main building. JD stood at the bottom of the ramp and looked around in displeasure before heading toward the gigantic metal shed.

The inside of the main building was an open space with two bay doors at either end. There was a set of stairs on the west side that led to an office and a lot of open space. She followed Alex up to the office, after his request, while the others waited on the ship with Chris for their orders. Alex had pushed the button to shut the door, giving them a reprieve from the wind, though it still shook the metal walls, making it near impossible to hear anything. The office was quieter, yet cramped, with a small desk that had a ledger and a computer, file cabinets, and an uncomfortable looking metal chair. Alex flipped through the ledger until he found what he was looking for; placing his hands flat on the desk on either side of the book, he loomed over it.

"We have two days before the next shipment arrives." He sighed. "Which means, we have two days before we can restock."

Confusion crept into JD's brain, and she stared at the back of his head. "We can't get what we need from town?"

He shook his head. "This whole place works on a timer. Everything is locked down or dormant until the shipment comes in. Hell, there's barely anyone left in town. Just enough to keep the lights on." He straightened up, turned toward her, and folded his arms across his chest. "It may be the capital of this planet, but for three-fourths of the year, it's a ghost town. When the timer ticks down, everything opens up. The fuel pumps will flow to life and we'll be able to get food. Until then, I have a place we can stay."

JD shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "If this is supposed to be your stop for emergency situations, why didn't you set it up so that you could get your supplies quickly and leave?"

Alex scoffed. "If I had the time and foresight to plan for this situation, I would have." He walked out of the office to the ship to inform the others of the situation.

Their reactions were a mixture of excitement and concern, but they were willing to follow Alex's orders. They grabbed a few belongings and headed out the main gates toward the center of town. The wind was still howling and whipped dust across the extra wide street into JD's nose, eyes, ears, and slipped into her closed mouth. They stepped into a building on the right-hand side of the street, near the corner of the first block, and shook the dirt from their faces. To their right was an entrance that opened onto a long hallway lined on either side with doors and a set of stairs that led up to another hall with more rooms. In front of them was a white counter with a small office behind it that had pictures lining the walls. A short round woman stood and asked if she could help them. Her skin was tanned, wrinkly, and sagged on her bones; she wore a purple button-front shirt without sleeves and her short flabby arms were folded over her ample breasts; her hair was dark brown, cut short, and tightly curled. She looked at each one of them with contempt, but when she reached Alex, her eyes widened and her expression softened. She stepped from behind the counter and flung her fleshy arms around his shoulders.