The Hope Gap

Chapter 1

Hope 

Chief Engineer Hope bit her lip. The first time can be called an accident. The second time is unlucky, but the third. This time the red slimy goo that hung from her hair dripped onto her lashes as she screwed her eyes up. She froze, hoping that somehow if she kept them closed for long enough, this nightmare would end. But the congealed thickness that dropped onto her face said otherwise. So she slid a set of the finger down her forehead in response, and when she opens her eyes, she couldn't help the sudden intake of breath. A silent scream overwhelmed her as the red sticky stuff that covered her hands dropped to the floor. With her next gasp, the primal odder of iron smothered her nostrils, just like the smell of blood.

The glee that came from the two older men that stood opposite was like a scene from a horror movie, as they pulled the body that lay on the table apart. The last spurt of red liquid dropped to a dribble as the outer casing came off. Then, the oldest of the man scratched his goo-laden stubble to revile grey lines that ran down his face like inverse war paint. His eyes harden as they focused on the rust-covered cylinder that lay before them. "Shit." He said and meant it.

"The impellers gone," Ewan added and let his Scottish accent drop.

Ewan had been Hope's mentor; the reason she had joined engineering and the fact he had a nice tight ass to go with that quaint accent had nothing to do with it. Also, she liked the idea of an older man. The fact he was single was also a coincidence.

"Indeed." The older man said with a sigh and looked through the door of the machine shop into the pump house. "We'll have to clean every millimeter...." His voice trailed off as all three of them focused on the mess in the other room.

"Hopefully, the impeller came up with the blowout," Hope said. The old man shot her a knowing nod, and that made her smile, at least inwardly.

As this was her first foray as Chief, she appreciated the gesture. Even though Mr. S, the old man, was the founder of Eden Valley and purveyor of the Agroponic system that kept them alive. He was really the boss. He was like an aloof uncle, someone not to annoy but pay attention to. And here he was taking orders from her. It was like a shot in the arm, a boost of confidence. It made her feel like a real Chief.

"And is in big enough peace to make a mold from," Ewan said.

"So we can make a bronzy casting?" Mr. S absently added.

"Or just Google it." Ewan joked.

Hope looked from one to the other "What's a Google?" She asked. "Sound like a type of bird?"

Both men grinned at her as if being cover in ferrous oxide sludge was fun.

"Global Burn one Eden Valley zero," Ewan announced like he was overacting in a play. Somehow Hope always felt her life was one big drama. At any moment, the curtain would rise, and everything would go back to normal, if normal was what she read in the old magazines. "Welcome to the bronze age, only five thousand years late." Ewan huffed, his voice sounding strained

Mr. S shot Hope a look, followed by an almost unnoticeable shake of the head. "I need some air," he said. "Maybe the Chief does too. Plenty of black pieces of plastic to find." He added, locking his grey eyes on Ewan.

Ewan gave his boss a nod. "Enough for a casting." He said, then just stood staring absently at the pump house door.

Mr. S shot Hope a nod at the machine shop entrance.

Outside, the sun was well up in the azure blue sky, "Another boring day in paradise." She sighed and then put a hand to her forehead for shade and scanned the unpatented sky. "I saw a cloud once. Some of those high up wispy ones may be a season or two ago." She added through a nervous smile.