Julian grabbed the packet and looked at it. He read the instructions aloud.
"'Place the gupper sponge in the bucket and let sit for five minutes. Then remove and set aside. The water will be filtered and safe to drink'?"
Cairo had a look of surprise. He placed the gupper sponge in the bucket with a plunk. He watched. After a moment, they could see the water change. It was very slight but it seemed to be moving.
"A living water filter?" Cairo said.
"'The gupper bottle has a sack filled with smaller gupper sponges ready to clean your water of bacteria and contagions.'" Julian said, reading from the guide, "So I guess it works kinda the same."
After the five minutes were up, he pulled the sponge out. It was now soft and squishy. Julian refused to touch it. It felt strange to just lay it on the table to dry out but the book said the gupper sponge was able to go into a stasis when dry and can go extended periods without food or water.
They opened the cabinets above the sink and found cups. As they drank, they opened up the baggie and began eating the crispy flat cakes. They were surprisingly tasty, having a bit of a garlicky flavor.
Cairo leaned back in his chair.
"How long before we can set out for Raina? Is Harper supposed to meet up with us soon?"
Julian shook his head.
"I hate to break it to you bruh, but I think this is it."
"What do you mean?"
"I flipped ahead and... I mean, the book says we're not goin' anywhere."
Cairo frowned.
"You mean we're supposed to stay here? Without a toilet?"
"The book says this is our set up. It says in town we aren't supposed to call ourselves human but instead we're one of the locals. The people call themselves Nom."
"What?" Cairo said, snatching the book from him.
He started flipping frantically.
"Are you buying this? Is this all really happening?" he said as bullet points and sketches of strange creatures whipped by his disbelieving face.
Julian leaned back.
"Well, I mean we've seen a lot already. Some ridiculous stuff."
"But you're trying to justify this in your head just like me, right? Cuz this is... this is..."
Julian nodded.
"Cai... I hate to break it to you... I think this is legit."
Cairo frowned and looked around.
"And this is our house, then? We live here now?"
Julian pressed his lips together and gave him a shrug. Cairo let air out of his lungs like his whole body was deflating. He put the book down in front of him and laid his head face down on the table.
"How did this happeeeen?" His words were muffled by the surface of the table, "I had already enrolled with a scholarship and a major and I had a... I don't know, a general plan for how my life was going to go."
"Yeah, home ownership this early wasn't in my dream for my best life either..." Julian said looking around the cabin, "And no offense but I also didn't have you in the dream. Plus, there was a big screen."
"Man, I'm serious! How are we getting out of this? Aren't you worried?"
Julian looked at him confused.
"No I'm not worried. You'll figure it out."
Cairo looked up and gave him a disconcerted frown.
"What are you talking about?"
Julian shrugged.
"You figure a way out of everything."
Cairo put his elbows on the table and clapped his hands together. He sighed.
"What on earth makes you think I can get us out of this ridiculous sci-fi movie of a predicament?"
YOU ARE READING
The Cinders of Dezu
AdventureDezu is a world where average people become legends. But it is haunted by a story that turns legends into ashes. Cairo and Julian just graduated and they've got their whole life ahead of them. But before college and all that adulting they have to do...
