Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
But I need spark. Because Clara needs spark.
And she is young with a whole life ahead of her, and he is old, his life behind him now.
It only takes a couple of minutes to drain him, because he doesn’t have much spark to take. And five minutes later, Clara’s cheeks are a sweet shade of pink. She blinks up at me, smilin’ from the pillow she’s made of my lap.
“Did I sleep?” she asks.
I nod. “Ya did.”
She pushes some hair away from her eyes, takin’ in a deep breath as she looks around, probably tryin’ to remember where the hell we are.
Once we got inside the train back at the Delta Factory, I moved crates around to make a little space at the very front of where we could lie down and relax. So we’ve got a nice view of what’s up ahead in the tunnel—which is nothin’. But it’s somethin’ to look at, anyway.
“How long was I out?” Clara asks.
“Not long,” I lie. I don’t even know why I lie. I should just tell her the truth. Hours, Clara. Ya were exhausted because I don’t think you can live outside cities. So I’m killin’ people in other worlds to steal their spark, to keep ya going.
Yeah. That would go over well.
Clara stirs. “We’re barely moving,” she says.
“I know. It’s frustratin’. But the tunnel is twisty. Trains and twists don’t really go together, I guess. Even though this train is one fuckin’ car long.”
My frustration comes out in my tone, which makes Clara look at me and laugh. “Are we in a hurry?”
Yes. We need a new city because you’re gonna die if you don’t have a constant source of spark. You’re gonna turn in to one of those ash-faced women in the Delta Factory.
“No,” I say. “We’re not.” Then I smile, and reach for my pack. “Are ya hungry?”
“Oh, my god, yes. Famished.” Then her mouth makes the cutest little ‘o’ shape. Her lips all plumped up. “I didn’t pack any food! Or water!”
I laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ve got ya covered.” Then I open the pack and pull out a water pouch, handin’ it over. “I only brought a dozen pouches because they’re heavy. But we’ve got two of these.” I pull out a set of stainless-steel canisters and set them on the floor of the train. “Sweep certified. They’ll generate water for us so we don’t have to carry it.”
“That’s amazing. How do they do that?”
“They pull humidity from the air. And it’s much more humid down here than it is up there in the sand, so it won’t take long to fill them up. Maybe an hour or two.”
“Wow.” She rips the pouch open, looking curiously at it. Then tips it up to her mouth and sucks down the water, daintily wiping her mouth when she’s done. “How long would it take to fill one up out in the desert?”
“Probably half a day, at least. But even if you’re dyin’ of thirst, most people can wait half a day. Or they can drink it before it’s full, then reset it.”
“That’s good to know. Really good to know.”
“Why’s that?” I chuckle. “Are ya plannin’ to walk across the Sandy Sea or somethin’?”
She shrugs. Like this was a real question. “You never know. It’s just good information. I mean, we’re not trapped, ya know?”
“Trapped?”
“Well, in my Tau City there was a wall and the desert was a threat on the other side. So. Yeah. We were trapped.”
“Ah. I see. Yeah, then. It’s good to know we could take off on foot and go anywhere we want.” Which is actually not a bad idea. We’d probably get farther walkin’ than we’re currently gettin’ on this fuckin’ slow-ass train.
“What’s the next city on the line?” Clara asks, her words coming out on a sigh.
“Epsilon. It’s a god city, not really part of the Alphas, but not really a Median City, either. So we’re not gonna go look inside. Most likely, it’ll be just like Delta.”
This makes Clara think back on what we saw, frownin’ as she does this. “Yeah. I’ve seen enough of that. How come it’s so different here than it was in Tau City? I mean, looking back I see that my life was a lie and that’s all very terrible. But it was a good life, nonetheless. Those people back in the Delta Factory, they didn’t look like they had a good life.”
“Maybe we just saw the wrong people? Maybe there’s like… up upper class, or something.”
She sighs. “Up city. Down city. I see your point.”
“Well, I wasn’t really making a point. It’s just—”
But the train stops short, sending us both careenin’ off balance towards the front window, and I don’t finish my sentence.
Clara and I both lean forward, tryin’ to see ahead—but the tunnel’s dark. Somewhere along the way, the lights went out.