Artificial Water

Chapter 1 | Prison of Steel

I raise the glass of water to my mouth. It tastes bland and empty— but how would I know? Maybe real water tastes just as boring. Still, I can't help but wish for something from the real world.

Mother passes by, and she gives me a smile. "How did you finish lunch already?" I call to her, but she only smiles wider and shakes her head.

I sink my teeth into another bland bite of burger. It tastes as tasteless as the water. Maybe it's because I have pretty much zero taste, or because the scientists here messed up and made this burger with water.

Whatever the case, I still have to eat it.

I'm reluctant to eat the fries, but I do. They taste like nothing— just crunch.

Marie scowls at me. "Done yet?" "No," I mutter back through a mouthful of fries. "Even Aimee is done by now," she mocks, pointing to a girl, her face a maze of freckles, getting up and leaving.

"Quit it, Marie!" I snap, but I stuff the fries in my mouth a little faster. In thirty seconds, I'm done. "Happy?"

Marie's eyes begin to blur. They spark electric blue once, twice, then three times. She blinks quickly, and the light is gone.

I don't ask her what that was. I already know.

We walk through the long tunnels of out bunker. The entire tunnel system is made of steel, so I can hear footsteps echoing up and down the tunnels.

Marie abandons me halfway to our room for her boyfriend Max. I quickly run off in the opposite direction, trying to not catch sight of them.

And then I see James standing by our room, leaning casually against the door, a mischievous grin planted on his face.

I march up to him, putting my hands on my hips. I pretend to look annoyed and calm. My heart is beating at a thousand miles per hour, and I'm not sure whether I look totally stupid.

James doesn't notice— or at least, he's nice enough to pretend he doesn't. "Hey," he says. My heart skips a beat. 

"What are you trying this time?" I joke. James crosses his arms and stares at the opposite steel wall for a long time. Finally, he says, quietly and thoughtfully, "I was thinking about the water problem."

I know instantly what he's talking about. 

Although I haven't seen the outside, I know it is 2048. I know I am fourteen years old, that I was born in 2034, and that water was a massive problem in 2025 to 2030. I know that scientists figured out how to make water and other foods in 2032. I know they are afraid all the water will flood the earth, and so they made safe bunkers around the world. I know I was born in Bunker 37.

"The water problem?" I echo, confused. "The water problem ended in 2032."

James fixes me with his hypnotizing eyes. "You haven't heard?" His voice is low, and I don't like that. "They say the flood is coming closer."

I jerk back from him. "No way," I argue. "They said, we had like, thirty years before it even became a threat!"

"When we live in bunkers, we don't drink from rivers," James explains in that same mysterious voice. "We drink artificial water. And each time some is created, water we can't drink, or excess water, gets thrown away. Every. Single. Day."

I shudder. I really don't like how he's portraying this.

"And even worse," he continues. I can see the fear in his eyes; he's telling me this because he's afraid. "When the flood does come, when it engulfs everything... we don't know if the bunkers can hold."

"Stop!" I cry. "That's enough! You're going to give me nightmares."

We both break up laughing. We talk about meaningless things for hours, like when the fruits are going to be less artificial, or who sells the best bananas in the bunker. We wander the tunnels of the bunker, we do a homework session James insisted on, we eat dinner together, and we end up at the door of me and Marie and Mother's room again.

We say goodbye, and he leaves, his footsteps echoing through the half-full tunnel like everyone else. I enter my room and slump on the bed.

By the time Marie comes back from her date with Max, I'm ready for bed. By the time Mother comes back from work, the lights are off and Marie is asleep. By the time Mother is asleep, it's late at night. By the time I hear Father entering the room next to us, I know it's past midnight.

I still lie awake, thinking about what James told me. I shudder under my blankets. For the first time in years, I fear for my life.

The bunker goes quiet in the next ten minutes. I can hear Father fiddling with his computer next door, but nothing else.

The soothing darkness slowly lures my eyes to close. My thoughts melt away as I sink into the peacefulness of sleep.

✤

When I wake, I'm surprised and pleased to have no nightmares.

The room is brighter than when I fell asleep. That's strange. There are no windows in the bunker, except for a single glass pane in the science lab. The lights are still off.

I don't dwell on that for long, because Marie is waking up. Her hair is a rat's nest, but I don't suppose mine is any better. She sits up and stretches. By the time she finishes brushing her teeth, I'm already out the door.

James and Ellen are waiting for me. With a playful grin, Ellen pokes my arm. "You're late."

"I'm not," I retort without thinking. I hesitate, then add, "Am I?"

Both James and Ellen burst out laughing, after a moment, so do I.

Marie storms out our door, looking displeased. She's changed out of her pink pajamas into a sleek shirt and jeans. Her hair is still a mess, but at least she looks like she woke up a little earlier than she did. She rakes her comb through her hair as she glares at us. "Go away."

I'm about to snap something back at her, but Ellen places a gentle hand on my arm and leads us away.

We end up by the science lab. The tunnel leading to the great metal doors is wide and mostly empty, except for some other kids hanging out here. There are tons of smaller metal doors lining the tunnel walls. I know most of them open into other rooms. Ellen lives in one of them with her family, but most of them are empty.

James launches on the topic of the "water problem" again. Ellen doesn't seem scared. She just laughs. "The scientists know what they're doing," she says, knocking lightly on the doors leading to the science lab.

"No, they don't," Noah Vox interjects unexpectedly. "They have no idea what they're doing."

"Your mother is a scientist," Ellen argues. "Why don't you ask her?"

"I have," Noah says proudly. "She says they don't know how they'll make water in the future, how that will affect our atmosphere, or even when the flood will happen. The scientists can't even figure out whether we'll lose all our oxygen from making water."

"We'll be fine," James interrupts. "It was just a question, that's all. Calm down."

No matter how calming his words are, my mind is still whirling with questions. Will we run out of oxygen? Is the flood coming anytime soon? Will we run out of water again?

And most importantly, how many of us will survive?