The Pod

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - 20th July 2017

At some point during the day, a knot had settled in Shade's back. He winced, letting out a sigh through gritted teeth, and reached over to rub the spot.

"What's up?" Vic appeared at the edge of his vision, eyebrow raised. The pair of them were in the last few minutes of their shift; Charlie had done them the favour of putting them together, punctuated by a solemn nod and smile. One of their 'coworkers' had stressed a 'what' under his breath. But it didn't really matter. The shifts at the hangar were very similar in length. It was just a question of who started early in the morning and who started an hour after they did. Everyone had an optional hour for lunch and was allowed bathroom breaks. Within reason.

His hand moved away from his back and gripped a tool (much larger than the one they'd been given to 'escape'). The back of each finger turned pale but he reiterated, "Just my back, I think. I'm not used to working this long."

"I know what you mean; I had a Saturday job but it was just a handful of hours. I didn't have to get up and work until dinner time." She let out a groan and slumped forward, grunting her complaint at the equipment in the way and pushing her section of the workbench clear.

And Shade went around after her, organised them into piles far from Vic and warned, "Be careful. They've been pointing and gossiping over there, don't give the vultures fresh meat." He nodded over to boys.

Vic didn't lift her head from the desk or turn to look where he was nodding; it was already quite obvious what was in that corner. "Don't worry, I'm not screwing up in front of them. I'd never head the end of it." Glancing down at her suit, she added, "They'd probably set this thing on fire and dance around it. But they're not, because I'm not ripping it."

And then she settled back down, heads in her arms, with the rest of her body stuck out where she stood. Shade let out a sigh, eyes flitting between her and the wall until a hand planted on his shoulder. The muscles tensed and he was about to spin round, when he noticed the web of wrinkles in the skin.

"Charlie..." he began, each sound spaced. "Something wrong?"

"Oh, no. I just came to ask you how you're find this first day at work." Charlie smiled up at him and met his gaze - his features were relaxed. Warm.

As the hand disappeared from his shoulder, Shade shrugged and mumbled, "I guess it's okay. Where I came from, I didn't really have a job. After the 'end of the world', I went to join a bunker. We only do small jobs. Did. I mean, we only did small jobs." He glanced down at the ground, swallowing, and then back up at Charlie.

The older man narrowed his eyes with his head cocked to one side. "I see. Well, if you ever need anything, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to help," he declared, giving him a tight nod and a smile with a frown hidden behind it. "It's the end of your shift in a few minutes. You've done a good job today. Why don't you go now?"

"Okay..." Then, when Charlie turned to leave, he added, "Thank you. Means a lot." Gazes locked and they knew he wasn't talking about the few minutes shaved off of today's shift.

So he put a hand on Vic's arm, peering sideways into the little cave she'd created with her helmet and arms, before he gestured to the exit. She got up from the table in a similar fashion to how she went down. Grace was to her movements as clean was to their surroundings. But they left the workbench, glancing over their shoulder to check on the others in the corner. Boys wouldn't have been an accurate way to describe them yet 'men' was far too mature.

"Well, that was interesting," Vic announced, as soon as they'd cleared the area. Nobody was around and her voice carried down the tunnel in each way. "They're not like back in the bunker. We're a small group and everyone knows everyone. But here, it's like they've got a mini-society going on you have to do your part or they'll kick your ass."