While waiting for the overflow basin to begin filling, he took a seat on the edge of the hand truck. He spotted an ant crawling along the concrete toward the other end.
Your life really hasn’t changed much, has it? It’s been the same as it’s always been. You have no idea how far the world has fallen. I envy you, but honestly, how could you know? You just do your job, no complaining. If you were as big as me—you’ve probably traveled miles upon miles today. I can’t do that. A hard day’s work out of you means the difference between life and death for so many others. Just one little ant. One piece of a larger machine geared for survival in this crazy world.
But still, you are just one ant. The queen wouldn’t miss just one tiny ant. Another could do your job just as well. You’re replaceable. Especially you! You aren’t following orders. Clearly, you’re off track—lost—or simply horrible at being an ant. You’re no use to the colony. Here you are goofing off. You’re not helping anything. There’s no food on this concrete slab. You can’t be relied upon to ensure the survival of the others. You don’t know how good you have it. You’re taking advantage of your good fortune.
Xavier zeroed in on the ant and brought his foot down. Its body twitched for just a moment, and then it didn’t. He watched as another ant marched along the same path, passing the corpse, never even giving it pause.
The sloshing sound of water pouring into the overflow basin distracted Xavier from the ants. He powered down the pumps and the generator and loaded up the remaining equipment.
Gravity seemed to be toying with him as the wheels of the hand cart creaked back up the hill. Each tug and grunt inched the heavy load closer and closer to the school. Sweat beaded around his hairline, occasionally dripping along the features of his face. His entire body touched with pearls of sweat. His chest pumped vigorously as it tried to catch up from the labor. Finally, Xavier could rest and wipe his brow. Damn!
His uniform was soaked. A shower would be nice, but it wasn’t his day to do so. He would simply have to manage with a change of clothes before heading off to eat. Or did he? A quick soak in the river just to cool off couldn’t hurt anything.
He decided to go for it. His uniform lay in a heap as Xavier, eager to cleanse himself, threw it to the ground. He waded waist deep into the pool of brown water that snuck under the school’s perimeter wall. His body cooled in an instant as he lowered himself below the surface. The echoes of the water passed over his ears until, of course, he had to breathe. His head surfaced. He bounced his knees while keeping his shoulders just below the water.
Xavier pushed slightly against the bottom letting his body float for a bit before submerging again. Thoughts of Sam began to run through his mind as he tried to see how long he could stay under. Sam… You didn’t deserve that. We have every right to be pissed. I can’t believe everyone just stood there. I— well, I couldn’t have helped, but… Something has to change. His lungs tightened. He gave in. The sunlight blinded him for a moment as he emerged from the water.
“Hey boy!” Grant called out while jogging down the hill toward the riverbank, keeping careful watch over his footing. A frayed bath towel hung around his neck. “Need you to dry up now! Not surprisin’ you’re goofin’ off when we gotta be somewhere! What you doin’ out here?”
“I refilled the water tanks.” Xavier ran his fingers through his hair then motioned for the towel as he stepped out from the water. “You should hop in for a second. It feels great.”
“I’m sure it does.” Grant launched the towel into Xavier’s face, briefly covering his ridiculous grin before it fell. He snatched it from the ground, shook it off, and began drying his skin.
“Thanks?”
“I’m serious.” A strange eagerness to Grant’s voice. “Let’s get goin’.”
“I’ve never seen you in such a hurry for lunch. I got you a to—”
“It ain’t lunch, boy. Quit foolin’ around and come on!”
“Alright, just give me a chance to dry off.” Xavier rubbed the worn towel over his body. “What’s going on?”
“We gotta meet up with Mayor Haverty. Big plans are coming down the line, and he’s gonna explain it all in his office.”
“I need to eat,” Xavier said.
“You should’ve gone already. What the hell were you waitin’ for?”
“I didn’t go yet, because I was waiting for you. I thought you were hurt. If I had known tha—”
“Settle down.” Grant waved Xavier’s concern off with his hand. “Haverty’s gonna have some lunch waitin’ for us. Quit your fussin’.”
“I’m not fussing. I’m just trying to explain why I waited.”
“I hear you, just start gettin’ dried up”
“But seriously, are you all right? I saw a little bit of blood down that side table in the shop.”
“Yep. There’s a reason there’s a little bit of blood. I was a little bit of hurt.” Grant peeled the bandage slightly from his finger to show the stitches. “See. Nothin’ to it. A few stitches is all. Usually, I wouldn’t even go. You know that. This was just a little deeper than I like.”
“Let me get my stuff on.” Xavier tossed the damp towel to Grant and collected his clothing from the ground. He brushed the debris from his uniform and pulled the sleeves back through. The sweat-soaked shirt and pants gripped Xavier’s body as he slid them on. “Do I have time to get a fresh pair?”
“Nope. You made that choice now live with it.”
Xavier replaced his glasses.
“Those the ones you picked out?”
“These are the ones that work.”
“As long as you can see, they look good. Now let’s go!” Grant climbed the hill. Xavier followed. “Don’t be lookin’ so down. This is excitin’ news, boy. Gonna be great.”
“How do you know?
He turned back to Xavier, a sharp grin on his face. “Just got that feelin’.”
Chapter Four
“Lemme do the talkin’,” Grant said to Xavier as they hurried down the hallway to Haverty’s office. “Whatever he’s gotta say will affect us both, but don’t get emotional. I ain’t gonna let anything crazy happen to us.”
“You don’t know anything about this?”
“Nope.”
Out of all the people in the school, why us?
The very little Xavier knew about Haverty was negative. This man, who was rarely ever seen, came to River’s Edge with some sort of an agenda. It seemed he was nothing more than a control mechanism aimed squarely at the lives of the people. Nothing but rule changes. “It’s going to be more bad news. I just know it.”
“It’s gonna be alright.” Grant patted him on the back. “Let’s give it a chance. I swear even Haverty’s assistant was braggin’ on it.”
“And you trust that?” Xavier asked, as he stopped in the middle of the hall.
“We ain’t got time for all this nonsense.” Grant’s patience seemed to be wearing thin. “What’s the matter, boy?”
“I don’t know if we should believe them or not.”
“So far, so good, in my opinion.”
Yeah, right. Xavier raised an eyebrow, clearly judging the honesty of Grant’s statement.
“Okay, yeah, the food business is a little off, but that supply change ain’t gonna affect us. You got your glasses didn’t you?”
“That supply change affected Sam and—”
“Sam’s a hothead and prolly had it comin’. I know I wasn’t there, but they got rules we gotta follow, ya know?”