The Feeding Season Read online

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  When the metal had finished, the noise in the center of the hangar quieted down. Now everyone was interested in getting rubber seals and isolating materials, but there were more than enough of them. The pile had been reduced by half, and pieces of it had been thrown everywhere. The boys were already worn out and their empty stomachs tortured them with the memory of their missed breakfast.

  As Bars neared the pile, he noticed one of the boys, sitting on top of a heap of old garbage that was totally useless. He was playing in the dirt, drawing some symbols that he had learned who knows where. It was Zimmer – the famous know-it-all. He understood many things that the others couldn't even grasp. He was moody and always deep in thought. But thanks to his technical knowledge, his room always had a working climate system, no matter the season. Everyone in the Fortress wanted to be his roommate. But now, he looked quite miserable.

  “How's it going, Zimmer?” asked Bars kindly. “Were you able to collect enough metal?”

  Zimmer distractedly looked up, then he stood and scratched his neck with his dusty fingers.

  “I haven't even started yet. I don't like being pushed around, so I'll just wait until it quiets down...Anyway, I had to finish thinking about an idea.”

  “What?!” exclaimed Bars unable to hide his surprise. “Is that all you've been able to collect so far? You don't have even one piece of metal, and your sitting here totally calm.”

  “Huh, yes, this here is nothing, but if I dig around a little more something will pop up that's worthwhile...”

  “Your late, my friend,” said Bars while shaking his head. “Everything useful was grabbed up long ago.”

  “Well, then I'll have to think up some kind of alternative,” said Zimmer grinning and continued to draw on the floor, just as if nothing else mattered.

  Bars looked at him with amazement. The boy in front of him had the knowledge to build the most durable Shell, but he didn't have the will or desire to gather the needed materials. His magical hands remained empty and idle, instead of working on some technical wonder, right before the Descent.

  “Good luck!” said Bars and left him drawing in the dust.

  “We'll all need luck,” replied Zimmer without looking up.

  That's when Bars remembered that Yazo was keeping watch back at the survival suits, so he immediately headed toward the pile. He quickly gathered whatever he needed and returned to his survival suit.

  “What? There isn't any more metal?” worriedly asked Yazo looking up at him.

  “If you search around, it's possible that some forgotten piece will pop up,” replied Bars. “Any problems, while I was gone?”

  “None! You were right that they wouldn't be brave enough to steal..., but you should have been quicker. Now I'll have to beat someone up for a few pieces of metal...”

  “Go on, get going!” said Bars waving his hand at him. “You still might get lucky.”

  Yazo jumped to his feet and left to collect some parts.

  After looking around the perimeter and not seeing any of the shorties prowling around, Bars sat down on top of what he had gathered already and exhaled. For now, everything was developing very well, even though he had arrived late. During the remaining hours, he would be able to build his Shell and even have time to try a few additional modifications and improvements that he had succeeded in learning during the last months of training.

  The color didn't bother him anymore. The materials for building his shell ended up being old, dirty and colorless pieces of trash, collected from who knows where. The end product of assembled parts would almost completely hide the brown color...or whatever that hideous color was supposed to be.

  In order to more easily ignore his growling stomach, Bars went over to his survival suit and began looking it over with interest. The massive silhouette, reaching a whole three meters and a half tall, with the number 31 was hanging in front of him. Additional tools installed in the metal hands, served several purposes – for extracting food, for making minor repairs, there was even a metal cutter. The main hull was additionally reinforced, since that's where the life-support system was found – the food reserves, that had yet to be filled, the climate system that regulated the temperature, and the breathing tubes and filters. Amid all these systems was a place for the inner cocoon, in which Bars would be situated, controlling the complicated machine. Radiators, black boxes, waste system outlet, and energy cells that would recharge after a certain time, were situated in the rear of the survival suit. This model was praised for its lower extremities that allowed for mobility that hadn't been seen till now. Bars gave the survival suit a satisfied pat and began a routine systems check, checking each system, one after the other, in the correct set order. The procedure took him several minutes and in the end, everything worked as it should – there were no manufacturing defects that needed emergency repairs.

  Now Bars could move straight on to the most important part of his preparation before the Descent – the building of his Shell. The Shell provided additional defensive armor, consisting of several different layers of materials. Every survival suit was made of strong alloys that made it quite durable on its own. The Shell, however, made the survival suit several times more secure, since there were countless dangers outside the Fortress. Bars started by sorting his metal pieces that he was going to use in making the separate parts of his armor. Then he set aside the insulating materials. He still needed some other elements, but these were enough to start with. When Yazo and Opatar returned, he could easily get the other elements from the pile.

  Suddenly, something came loose with a screeching metal sound above Bars. Before he knew what had happened, he felt a hard hit on his head and everything went black.

  Chapter 4