We Shadows

Chapter 5: clear lavender sky

"You the nurse?" a person asked just behind Esperanza, startling her.

"Yes," she said, turning around.

A woman smiled at her, and she smiled back. The other woman was dressed in Canary uniform, but she had a brightly colored scarf holding back her curly black hair.

"I'm Esperanza."

"Harriet. The fellas are going to set you up in the kitchen; we're next to the clean water. If you have your kit, I can bully them into helping."

"Oh no, I can wait," Esperanza promised.

"Listen, you might as well get set up while people are still willing to help. Come on."

Esperanza followed the other woman through the group of people organizing, shouting, and moving boxes and bins. Joan was standing the hover with her holo-rib, pointing as people erected shelters and built strange large pieces of equipment from parts that had been stored for the journey.

Esperanza grabbed her personal bag as Harriet shouted at Oliver to come over. He grabbed the bin and Harriet herded them to a shelter with the hum of the water filtration.

"That table is yours," Harriet pointed. "Someone has the cot; I'm sure it'll turn up. Oliver, you can set down her things and go hunt for Edison. I need a timetable for dinner."

"Ma'am," Oliver bobbed his head and left.

Esperanza quietly set her things out. While she knew that this wasn't time off with Lully, she was surprised how serious everyone was so quickly. She hadn't noticed anyone else looking up at the mountain, or at the countryside. Oliver hurried back from one of the other shelters, informing Harriet that the next break wouldn't be until after sunset.

"Then we can make soup," she decided. "Ibsen said it'd get cold after dark."

"Can I help?" Esperanza inquired.

Harriet shot a glance towards Esperanza.

"Sweetheart, you worry about your affairs. You'll be busy soon enough."

Harriet returned to bossing Oliver and Esperanza rearranged her equipment and supplies again, wondering what she had signed up for. She knew that she'd be on standby, waiting for someone to need her, but surely that wouldn't start until tomorrow. Where was Lully?

In the meantime, she could watch the shelters pop up with people hurrying from place to place. Some of the larger equipment was assembled now and people were lugging these pieces to the hover and assembling what she assumed was an excavation machine. Bell had several people building a trough by her set up table, and she was wiring it up.

A thud resounded through the camp. Harriet and Oliver ignored it completely. Esperanza looked around, wondering what in the seasons that could be.

"They're just getting information about the iron ore vein," Oliver assured her. "Joan told us that this would happened."

"Oh," Esperanza managed, still feeling shaken. She wished Lully were free. She wanted a little more information as to what everyone was doing around the camp.

She watched Bell shout and Lully hurried to her side. She gestured to some part of her trough and Lully nodded, speaking quietly to her. Bell touched his arm and smiled at Lully, even as he walked back to the printers. Esperanza frowned at Bell and then shook her head, there was no reason to think anything of it. She was just feeling edgy with the new environment and wished Lully could come see her, even just for a moment. She sorted her equipment once more and then pulled out bandages to make a smaller kit she could walk around with.

"You're friends with the bunch in congress, aren't you?" Oliver asked her as he was chopping celery.

"I'm friends with some of them," she allowed. "My partner's papa is on congress."

"I meant more the younger members," he replied. "The ones who ousted Dashiell. Do you know why?"

"They forced him to set down to focus on our new constitution," Esperanza recalled. "Also because he didn't know enough about this place to coordinate this expedition."

"So Vertov is just a temporary captain?" Harriet inquired.

Esperanza nodded, though was a little surprised at the questioning.

"Thank the stars," Harriet muttered and returned to her soup.

"Why?" Esperanza asked; her curiosity piqued.

"Because I voted for Dashiell and then suddenly Vertov was captain?" Harriet pointed out. "What's the point of having a choice if it's not a real one? Do you know when we'll vote again?"

"Um, no I don't," Esperanza managed. She was astonished that she was talking to someone who truly wanted Dashiell back in power.

"Not that it matters right now," Oliver shrugged. "We won't be able to vote out here. We just need to get this ore and get home. I'm sure that every thing will go back to normal."

"Please, not with Dylan back on congress," Harrier muttered.

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This section was like pulling teeth. I am still not happy with it and I have a feeling the next couple of chapters might make this one change. I had a thought about the direction of the book while writing and I'm worried that i'm going to undo all of Cameron and Dylan's hard work of the previous book... Thanks for reading!