(R)Evolution by M.E. Purfield

Author:M.E. Purfield [Purfield, M.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dystopian
Publisher: trash books
Published: 2022-09-23T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Richard and Goldman were brought upstairs to Rbrt’s apartment. It took up most of the width of the building above the garage. Sounds of mutants working on breathing devices, the clangs of metal, and the roaring of blowtorches traveled through and shook the floor. The warehouse apartment reminded Richard of Thomas’s. The grand space of the living room greeted them at the top of the stairs. A hallway led down to the bedrooms and bathroom. Everything was as clean as the office below. A couch with a few patches to hold back the springs. Two reclining lounge chairs. Majestic bookcases held various paperbacks and hardcovers, replacing the absent television. On the other side of the space was the fully functional kitchen with a matching table and four chairs.

“Ptr should be back soon with filtered water,” Rbrt said.

“Do you people even drink water?” Goldman asked, wandering to the picture window that looked out to the dark and busy street. Like the others it was open and blew a cool breeze through the room.

“No. We breathe saltwater. Not freshwater,” Rbrt said.

Robert, curious, walked over to the refrigerator. He opened it and peeked inside. It was filled with plastic bags of ocean flowers and weeds and containers of chopped fish.

“Are you hungry? The salmon is very good.”

Richard closed the door and looked up at the light fixtures in the ceiling. Each one had a bulb.

“You have electricity,” Richard said. “How is that possible?”

“Electricity has been around since before I was born,” Rbrt said, his boredom obvious. “What do you mean?”

“Sorry. Where does it come from?”

“The generator on the Eastside. It runs on hydropower. Why do you look so amazed, Richard? Do you not have electricity in your raised city?”

Richard smiled.

“We do. I don’t mean to offend. I’m just so...amazed that the world down here is different than what they told us. It...eases my fear that I had for my son. I thought he was left down here with violent criminals. Left for dead.”

Rbrt nodded.

“That’s a horrible fantasy to live with.”

“And the city above doesn’t know about you down here? How do you keep yourselves hidden from them? They must see the lights from your buildings.”

“We believe the smog is too thick between us for them to see,” Robert said. “Also, the perimeter around the towers is wide. Wider than where the Officers care to venture past. What reason do they have to come down here and explore? In their eyes, only human beasts roam the streets. Cannibals, I think they say. Why would you lay your eyes on cannibals when you can view gold?”

“Well, they started as beasts,” Goldman said, paging through one of the hardcovers at the bookshelf.

“Possibly. But once one’s needs are satisfied, the urge for survival declines. One does not need to take from others. Or harm them. The humans down here quickly adapt. The ones that cannot change are sent away to live in the other world.”

“Huh,” Goldman said, then turned back to the book.

Ptr returned with the bottled water.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.