Chapter 2
"Ghee! Ghee!" Paul roared out. "Damn, he’d better not be snoozin’ on the job again!"
He looked around for his worker companion, realizing that his air tanks were low. The air was no longer breathable to human lungs. Paul checked his climate control meter on his life support suit. The battery was low. He knew that in one hour he would freeze and suffocate.
"Come in, Gheeger"
"Gheeger here," said a voice over the communicator located near Paul’s ear.
"Where the hell are you," asked Paul.
"My leg is caught!" cried Gheeger.
"What?" cried Paul.
He ran to his companion’s aid. Paul glanced down on the tracking device on his forearm. It was locked on Gheeger’s transmitter. Running awkwardly, Paul climbed over a hill to find a white life support suit caught in a crack. The being inside it tugged desperately at the ankle, trying to get free.
"Help me, man!" cried Gheeger.
"We have about an hour before our suits give out, Ghee!" cried Paul.
"I’ve checked," said Gheeger. "This ain’t my day, man! No day is a day to die."
Paul came over in front of him and inspected Gheeger’s leg. Then, Paul began to tug on the ankle. Gheeger pulled on it until it slowly and reluctantly slipped out from the deathly trap. Paul laid his gloved hand on Gheeger’s shoulder. The two laughed loudly, relieved at last. On this New Earth, there were perils that had to be faced. Walking outside was not leisure of simplicity. Only humans still breathed oxygen. Gheeger and Paul were taking soil samples and air content samples. They were hoping that science would turn what they found into reusable oxygen. The animas and the trees breathed the new air content. Paul spotted a grayish rabbit. The rabbit was not like the rabbits of Old Earth. It had two, little, black, crescent-shaped horns on its head and its tail was long, hairless, and spiky. The creature was only one of the examples of the change Earth went through to preserve its life. The creature hopped swiftly passed Paul and dove into a near by hole. The two men looked up and saw the reason why; a horned-puma was chasing it. The puma was the size of a tiger and had two goat-shaped horns on its head. In fear of being eaten by the great cat, Gheeger and Paul darted back to the base. They held their samples tightly.
Just a little further, thought Gheeger.
Soon, I will be in the comforting arms of my wife, thought Paul.
Paul and Gheeger welcomed the sight of the base. Their eyes filled with joy as they darted into the pressure chamber, well out of the reach of the puma. Paul and Gheeger cleaned themselves off and got out of their suits. Then, they heard a soft chime and a hissing sound coming from around the doors. The doors of metal opened without a sound as they moved through them. A long corridor led the way to the Inner City; the place where the surviving humans of the Apocalypse still thrived. Great buildings of glass windows were stacked on top of each other. They reached high to a skylight globe built into the great chasm. It was a clear, thin hemisphere of glass and plastic. It served as a protective shield from the harsh New World. Fans built into the walls stood 20 feet in diameter, blowing fresh oxygen into the Inner City.
Tubes warped into mazes and labyrinths wound themselves around the apartments, businesses, and food courts. They conveyed automobile like crafts with anti-gravity capabilities around the city. This city was as large as a normal sized country.
Paul called for a cab to return home. Gheeger and Paul got into the yellow cab and the robotic driver took them to his home.