Final Days: Colony by Jasper T. Scott & Nathan Hystad

Author:Jasper T. Scott & Nathan Hystad [Scott, Jasper T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Anthem Press
Published: 2020-07-06T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

Roland

Roland came to, suddenly feeling claustrophobic in his compact sleeping bag. He unzipped it, and flung the cover away from his sweating body. Camp had been on lockdown since the storm yesterday, and Roland was relieved. The last thing he wanted was to be hauled away by some four-legged monster. Poor Neve. Also, poor Rollie. Now he was the only person charged with maintaining the treatment plant. Such was his luck.

The interior of Eden One was mainly empty since they’d cleared out the stored supplies, and there were three hundred people crammed into it who were sleeping, or attempting to slumber, in the noisy structure. No one wanted to be outside in the tents, not with dangerous local wildlife on the prowl.

Roland thought about their perimeter and had an idea. He mumbled to himself at the ineptitude of the blue suits in charge. Shouldn’t they have been prepared for something like this? Every ecosystem has a food chain, even alien ones. It didn’t seem like rocket science to Roland.

He found Kendra near the exit, with Val and Diane curled up beside her. They seemed so peaceful as they dozed, and he nearly stumbled, waking the FBI agent from her slumber. He tapped her foot, and her eyes darted open in an instant, her arm protectively covering Diane.

“It’s just me,” he whispered. “I need to talk to you.”

Kendra nodded and squeezed out of her sleeping bag. Diane made a smacking sound with her lips and rolled over, but Val was roused by the movement.

“What is it?” Val asked.

“I need your help,” he said. “Where’s Tony?”

Val pointed a few feet away, and Roland spotted the familiar mop of hair. He went to wake the boy, and soon they emerged from the excessively warm confines of Eden One into the fresh morning air.

It was getting bright already, but there weren’t many people awake yet. Yesterday had pushed the limits of everyone involved, and their tired minds and bodies were paying the price.

“What is it, Rollie?” Tony asked.

“The perimeter. I have an idea. Where would we find things like electrical supplies for the residences?” Roland asked Kendra.

“Damned if I know. My sister might,” she said.

“Good. Can you find her and meet us in the mess hall?” Roland asked, and Kendra nodded, pulling Val along with her. She was taking the role of protector seriously.

“What are we going to do?” Tony asked.

“We are going to… eat. Then help protect this colony.”

* * *

Roland knew Hound would have acquired only the best equipment, and he arranged the fifty motion sensors into a plastic crate. They were wireless, as he’d hoped, and he passed one to Tony.

“These are meant to act as a switch for a light. You walk into a room, the light activates. Make sense?” Roland asked the teenager.

“Sure. That’s pretty basic,” Tony replied.

“Good. We’re going to mount these onto these empty cylinders.” Roland used a tie strap to attach the motion sensor to the container. The water treatment plant had floating balls holding a net up, whose purpose was to keep small fish and plants away from the intake tubes under water.

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