I sat watching random Breeders and Builders play some stupid guessing game. Thimble and Stone found me in the common area, after their shifts ended. I went to try and relax a little before bed. At least we had a chance of surviving this run, so long as we were quiet and careful. We could’ve been punished worse for disobeying orders. By the time I finished caring for my club, cleaning and polishing it, so the Freak blood wouldn’t stain the wood, I felt almost resigned. First, I washed my filthy clothes and hung them up to dry. No point dwelling on it-I had chores to do. First, it was, “the strong survive.” Second, it was, “trust your partner.” My bad luck to be stuck with Fade. But the second Hunter tenet wouldn’t let me do that, either. We never would’ve found the brat, and we wouldn’t be going to Nassau tomorrow. If only I’d refused to follow him, if only I’d stayed in the back ways, where we’d been assigned. It wasn’t like he’d told me-or anyone, as far as I knew. We always offered to let them wash up in our facilities, but they’d smile with black teeth and say, “Why bother? We’re just going to get dirty again on the way back.”īut it had been a long time since we’d seen any of them, apart from the brat.Īnd Fade came from even farther away. The people in Nassau had some wild ideas for sure they didn’t have a breeding schedule like we did, so they looked … strange when their trading parties visited, and from their smell, they didn’t care much about cleanliness either. As we were told from the time we were brats, where you were raised made all the difference. It wasn’t fair to be angry at Fade he couldn’t help his crazy outlook.

If I turned the wheel, I could get more at one time, but then I’d hear about it from Twist, who monitored our resources.īy the time I finished my shower and dressed in my spare outfit, my anger had cooled slightly.

Taking a scoop of soap from a pot on the floor, I washed up quickly beneath the unsteady trickle. It was cool in here and the water was cold too, which made it worse. I worked it to stay strong I fed it to keep it running. I didn’t like the way some girls compared bodies. Anything we drank, we boiled, but this was clean enough to wash in.Īt this hour, nobody else was around, and I honestly preferred it that way. We didn’t know who had planned this place, but we were glad for the running water. A constant trickle of more or less clean water came from the metal tubes arrayed in this area. After stopping in my space for clean clothes, I went to the female facilities, a part of the enclave curtained and off-limits to males.

Enclave razorland