Tim, a garbage handler in a post-apocalyptic bunker, loses the little he has. But then he finds Amy, the redhead with an attitude. Together, they will try to change the world they live in.
--
Tim is one of those who shovel the shit and clean away th...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The guard standing next to Amy put the noose around her neck.
She raised a hand, and the man took a quick step back. But her eyes weren't on him. They were on me.
I raised my hand, too.
The guard descended from the scaffold, one step at a time. When he reached the ground, he put his hands on a lever at its side.
A hush fell over the crowd.
Amy's coppery hair glittered as she tilted her head. A sad smile adorned her lips.
I smiled back at her, sampling the salty taste of my tears.
"Wait!" Wolfe's shout echoed off the rock behind the temple.
I hadn't noticed him leaving my side. He now stood next to the bishop.
And the latter held a manual in his hands—it had to be the one from the backpack. "That's nonsense." He shook his head.
"We don't know that," Wolfe replied.
"It's fake."
"I don't know if it's a fake. But..." Wolfe pulled the manual from his superior's hand, took a step back, and turned towards the people. He used the book to gesture at Amy. "If they have to die, so do I. Because I followed them into the tunnels when they ran. I climbed the same ladder as they did, and I entered the Engineers' realm."
A babble of voices rose from the crowd.
"Stop this." The bishop glared at Wolfe. "Let's talk about it in my chambers."
The captain ignored him. "First, I went into the realm as a guard chasing trespassers. But, I admit, I was also there because I knew that the Manuals didn't tell the whole truth..." He shook his head as if dismissing an unwelcome thought.
How could he have known that back then?
"And then," he continued, "as I saw the wonders in the realm of the Engineers, curiosity drove me on. I know the Manuals forbid trespassing. The Manuals we all live by. The Manuals that are our foundation. So, when I finally returned, I kept quiet about what I had seen, afraid of the law and ashamed of breaking it."
"You'd better be," the bishop said. "This will have consequences."
Wolfe shrugged. "But ever since I returned from there, more and more questions have been haunting me. Why do the Manuals say the machines are tireless and unfailing when a pump is breaking? Why do they say the realm is the home of the Engineers when the people who live there know nothing about the machines?" He gestured at Amy.
