Chapter Four
After running his tongue around his frothy mouth, Jake swallowed his stale saliva. It did nothing to clear the gritty lump nestling in his throat and tasted like he’d fallen asleep halfway through eating a biscuit. Finding just enough liquid to survive, most of it being sugary drinks of one sort or another, meant the bilious blockage never cleared, no matter how many times he swallowed.
Looking down, he instantly forgot his discomfort and lifted his glasses. “Oh, my.” Dropping into a hunch, both of his kneecaps popped. Holding out a weak arm, he reached across, fearful that his hand would pass through the mirage.
However, when he touched the plastic wrapping, it crunched like plastic should. When he tried to lift the object, it was heavy like he’d have expected. Wobbling it on the floor, he watched the liquid swill around in the six large bottles. Jumping up so quickly his head spun, he looked over at his friend. “Tom! Over here!”
The tall man was about twenty meters behind, still sulking about the incident with Jake and the dead gamer. It would have been nice to have him by his side, like they had been for the past few years, but anything was better than losing sight of him. If they ever got separated… Grabbing his chest, Jake focused on his breath to combat his constricting lungs. It didn’t bear thinking about. He turned his attention back to the bottles of water.
“Tom! I’m being serious, man. You’ve got to see this.”
Stopping again, Tom looked up but didn’t say anything. He then dipped his head into the wind and continued his slow march.
“I’ve found water, Tom!”
Tom snapped his head up.
“There’s water here!”
Despite the distance and the dust, Jake could see the mistrust in Tom’s hunched body. Jake wouldn’t want to believe it either. Dropping back down, he dug a bony finger into the plastic wrapping. Initially, he didn’t know which would give first, his weak finger or the plastic, but he finally burst through the cellophane. Grabbing the neck of one of the bottles, he wobbled it to get it out, the containers creaking as they rubbed against one another.
Once it was free from the other five, he held it up in the air. The weight of the large bottle made his arm shake. An unopened two-liter container. “Look, Tom. Water!”
Watching Tom’s eyes widen and his mouth fall loose, Jake stood, smiling as his friend trebled his pace.
When he caught up, Jake handed it to him. “Can you believe it? It feels like weeks since we’ve had any.”
“That’s because it has been. Two to be precise.” After twisting the lid free, Tom added, “Since we’ve had water anyway.”
With shaking hands, Jake pulled another bottle from the pack. The adrenaline rushing through him made removing the lid difficult. Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm down.
Finally, the lid came free and slipped from Jake’s grip. The wind caught it, and it fell away from him, skipping over the rugged landscape like a flat stone over still water. Shrugging, Jake lifted the bottle to his lips and a couple of trickles of the cool liquid slid across his chin, down his neck, and under his collar. Jake shuddered as it ran a cold line down his chest.
The fresh water spread through his mouth, hydrating every crevice. His body was so thirsty, the first mouthful was gone before it reached his sticky throat.
Just as Jake upended the bottle for a second swig, Tom said, “Stop!”
Looking first into the upturned bottle and then lowering it, Jake licked his cracked, wet lips. “Why?”
“If you drink too fast, you’ll give yourself a bad stomach.”
“If I don’t drink fast, I’ll die.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Jake. You won’t die, we’ve only been a day without liquid.”
“But Coke hardly counts.”
“It’s had to.”
Taking a small sip, Jake swallowed and threw his friend a facetious grin. “Better?”
Sneering, Tom shook his head and looked down at their prize. “Why are the bottles here?”
“Not this again.”
Tom looked back at Jake. “Come on, don’t tell me you think this is a coincidence.” Glancing at the tower, he continued, “They’re watching us. They’ve put this here for a reason.”
A tingling sensation gripped Jake’s back as if he could feel the surveillance they were under. Why did Tom always have to remind him that they were being watched? “Maybe they want us to have a drink.”
“No, it’s more than that. They don’t give anything without taking something away.” His eyes narrowed. “This is all a part of their sick game.”
“Or maybe they just want to give us a drink?” Despite trying to assert his opinion, Jake could hear the ring of uncertainty in his own voice.
“You know there’s more to it than that, Jake. You know as much as I do that they like to fuck with us.”
Jake took another swig. “Well, whatever the reason, we should enjoy it while it lasts.” Just before Tom could reply, Jake added, “Besides, if they want everyone dead so they can rebuild, why did they take all of the gamers out of the buildings before they leveled the city?”
Tom lifted his shoulders in a high shrug. “Dunno. Maybe the headsets are too valuable to destroy.”
“Then why don’t they just rip them off? We already know what that does.” Jake snapped his hand over his mouth.
Glaring at Jake, Tom paused for a few seconds before clearing his throat. Desperation turned his voice reedy. “There has to be a way to remove the headsets without killing the gamers.”
“Of course,” Jake agreed. “Totally. I’m sure there’s a way.” The lie heated his face, and he hoped Tom didn’t notice. After all, they had to try and get a headset off Rory. “But my point still stands. If they want the gamers to die, why do they keep them alive? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Conscience maybe?” Tom shrugged again. “Maybe they think letting the gamers die without their direct interference means they didn’t do it. That would allow them to rebuild without guilt. It’s amazing what lies people tell themselves to get through the day.”
Watching his wide-eyed friend scan their surroundings sent jitters through Jake. “Your paranoia’s getting to me.”
“It’ll do you good. You need to be more alert.”
Raising an eyebrow, Jake laughed. “I think you’re alert enough for the both of us.” He then lifted the bottle to his lips again, more careful not to spill any this time and awaited Tom’s retort. That was when he heard it; a deep creaking like an old ship that was about to tear in half. It was so loud it shook the ground beneath them. When he looked at Tom, his pulse flipped into overdrive. His tall friend was staring back in the direction they’d just come from.
When Tom looked back at him, his grey eyes wild, his body shaking, Jake said, “What the fuck was that?”
As she watched, she ran her tongue across her teeth to liberate some of the fleshy fibers stuck between them. They’d finished their feast. The food had run out quickly. The pair best start running.
Chapter Five
Looking down at the four unopened bottles of water on the floor, Jake looked back up at the departing Tom. “What are you doing, man? We can’t leave this here.”
Without breaking stride or turning around, Tom shouted, “We’ve got to go. Come on!”
“Tom!”
A scuttling sound like rushing water was gaining on them. This was more than a landslide, it sounded like an approaching army. Jake looked down at the bottles again.
Swallowing another mouthful of water, the stale phlegm on the back of his throat all but disappearing, Jake looked in the direction they’d come from. When he saw the cloud of dust in the distance, this time kicking up from the ground rather than riding the wind, goose bumps spread over his body. Running a hand through his hair, he tapped at his half-drunk bottle. Looking across at Tom, he saw he wasn’t slowing down.