Upon Another Edge Broken (Colony of Edge Book 2) by Anthony W. Eichenlaub

Author:Anthony W. Eichenlaub [Eichenlaub, Anthony W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oak Leaf Books LLC
Published: 2021-01-17T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“Did you really need to stop by your house again?” Hector asked as Ash climbed back into the walker, “or was it just an excuse to pick up more music.”

“We’re going on a road trip, Hector. Tradition dictates that we need music.”

“Does tradition dictate that we need roads?”

“No.” Ash uploaded a playlist to the spider’s internal audio system and selected the first song. “This is a list of music that’s all about cars and roads. It’s all we need.”

They left town through the quarry. As they crossed the open field, Hector said, “This is a decent tune, but what the hell is a lowrider?”

“I think it’s a kind of car designed for really flat roads.”

“Weren’t their roads always flat?”

“Lowriders ride low to the ground in order to improve aerodynamic efficiency. Their drivers were extremely concerned about carbon dioxide emissions from combustion engines.”

“Huh.”

“So, this is the reservoir?” Ash said as Hector’s spider carried them past a stocky storage building at the top of the quarry. Three squat, cargo-hauling spiders stood next to the small building. A vast lake spread out behind the shed, its murky waters dark as a killer’s soul. “I don’t think I’ve been up here.”

“A lot of avoid this place if we can,” said Hector. “It’s generally off limits, except when people come here to drop something in long term storage. It’s the most direct route to the location where we were attacked.”

“By the kraken.”

“Yeah. By the kraken.”

The reservoir wasn’t the colony’s only source of water, but it played a large part in Edge’s long-term viability. People could survive on surprisingly little water if they had proper recycling, but being able to use the reservoir helped significantly for anyone not really interested in drinking their own urine.

“You’ve been up here lately?” Ash peered into the still water. Its surface appeared clear, but the muddy rain still clouded the deeps. As they rounded the lake, the reflection of the low sun set the whole thing alight with blue fire. This was where Leonard and Paige spent their evenings together. “It’s beautiful.”

“They sent crews up here to rebuild the filtration system.” Hector said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “But I wasn’t on them.”

The implication hung heavy in the little cabin for a long while. Ash knew why he hadn’t been able to help with the refit of the filter system. It was because he’d gotten street cleaning duty after wrecking his spider, which had been Ash’s fault. The very fact that the streets needed cleaning was also Ash’s fault, along with the need for advanced filtration. Maybe everything was Ash’s fault in one way or another.

The walker moved along the lakeside path, picking its way up the tumbled rocks as easily as if it were moving through cobblestone streets.

“This is a smooth ride,” Ash said. “It’s nice.”

“Yeah.”

“Who’d you need to bribe to get it?”

Hector concentrated very hard on his driving for a while. Finally, he said, “I signed up for the deconstruction crew.”

“Deconstruction? But I thought—”

“I like it better than cleaning, and there isn’t as much construction happening these days.

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