The World Of Steam

34

Jennix invited me into her house, kindly offering me a place to stay. I took the offer without question, happy with the fact that I did not have to pay her any rent. All that she asked was that I respect her living quarters. It was an easy enough task that I was happy to undertake. I looked around at her humble home. It was small, only filled with the bare necessities. There was nothing that was cosmetic and everything served a purpose. It was as simple as it could have been. In a corner of the small kitchen were a number of five litre water bottles filled with what I presumed was filtered river water. In another corner stood a large, fifty litre, stainless steel water filter, proving my theory instantly. A small gas hob stood in the middle, slightly rusted at its edges but buffed to a high shine. The living room's space was mostly taken up by the comfortable looking fabric sofa, coffee table and the small television that sat in the corner. The living space was compact, but at least it was something to live off. After all, not everyone was a millionaire, especially not in an apocalyptic time like this. Jennix, however, was certainly living in luxury compared to what the other survivors' homes were like. I myself would have rather been at Jennix's home than in the trenches. It was a small pleasant escape that I was more than happy to take. As much as I wanted the war to be over and done with, I did not want to fight in the killing fields anymore, praying for my own survival each day. I was already insane enough. I did not think that there were many more battles that I could go through before I completely lost it. I could not aimlessly spend my time fighting in the war. I was a private detective that did small jobs, not a front line soldier. There was a task that I still had to finish. Jennix hung up her coat on a rack and put her hat onto it afterwards. I saw that she wore a sleeveless leather tunic, a warm woollen top beneath. Propping up her sword in a corner, she gestured to the rack, offering me to hang up my coat. I did so, along with my hat, and sat down onto the sofa, unbuttoning my suit.

"Nice place you have here." I told her. "Cosy."

She smiled, taking great joy in receiving my small compliment. "Thank you. It's not much, but I can live off it."

I then noticed the numerous plants around the room. There was a Madagascar dragon tree, an Indian rubber plant and common ivy sprouted along the walls like weeds. The room looked like a forest had gotten inside and was reclaiming what was its. "You have a love for plants, I see." I remarked.

"They help to purify the air and filter out the pollution. Here, I'm safe."

"Smart."

"In all seriousness, what should we do about Karzen? He has the cure."

"We steal it in the night." I replied. "There may be some security to deal with, but it is better than charging head first into a waiting army."

Jennix's face twisted into a display of displeasure. "He is a sick man. How can you allow someone to breathe in that stuff from the outside? I know that the police have their own methods of interrogation, but what we just saw there was barbaric."

"I'm afraid that we can do nothing about it. Even if we did have some sort of a plan, Karzen will kill us both on the spot. He has no use for us now that he has the cure. I'm sure that he will not hesitate to end our lives. We're expendable to him. For the time being, we need to stay away from him."

"But–"

"Jennix!" I suddenly yelled at her, jumping up from the sofa. She jumped a tiny bit at my burst of outrage and stepped back an inch. A tiny sliver of fear escaped her eyes. I sighed, looking down at the floor. "I'm sorry about that."

She looked at me, composing herself. "Alright. We will leave them."