“…several weeks to clear everything out.”
“We don’t have weeks. We have days.” The woman’s high-pitched voice makes me cringe.
“Someone better be sending us more workers, then. We don’t have the numbers to get it done that quickly.”
I peek over the top of the firebreak and see a larger group of people approaching. I duck down quickly and hold up my fingers to indicate to Aerin that there are at least twelve of them.
“We’ll start with the area closest to the river,” a male voice says. “Once we clear that out, one group can start building while the other clears the rest of it away.”
“We don’t have the manpower,” the high-pitched voice says. “How do you think we’ll get all that done in time?”
“Reinforcements are arriving from the capital the day after tomorrow,” the man says. “Do you really think the president hasn’t thought all this through?”
“What are we supposed to do in the meantime?”
“Check for survivors and get the materials needed from Hilltop to here. Get your people ready to transport everything down the mountainside starting tomorrow morning. I want most of it here before they arrive so we aren’t wasting time.”
I hear people moving away and quickly peek over the edge again. The women are gone, and just two men remain. I recognize one of the men—it’s Harley Junes, the man who owns the now burned down plastic factory across the river. I don’t know the other man, but by his clothing, I assume he’s from the capital.
“Did you know that the epicenter of the Great Eruption was once a tourist site?” he asks.
“Why would tourists go anywhere near there?” Junes replies.
“It was a national park,” he says. “People came from all over the world to see it. Lots of scientists said it was about to happen, but the government refused to listen. They didn’t want to put people in a panic. And then, one day…”
“Bang.” Junes chuckles.
“Very large bang, yes. A hundred million died within a few hours, and half of the continent became a giant crater. Even though it was over a hundred years ago, eruptions continue, and ash still covers the whole world.”
“How do you know all of this?” Junes asks.
“Because we in the East understand a lot more than you realize.” The man’s voice deepens with self-proclaimed authority. “We know the state of the continent, and we understand why this must be done.”
“As long as I’m compensated the way you all promised, it doesn’t matter to me.”
The two men move away and out of earshot. I glance over at Aerin, and we stay put for several minutes before we dare to stand again.
“We should leave,” she says.
“I have to do something first.”
“They could come back.”
“Not today. They have a lot of work to do up the hill, and they said they wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.”
“You can’t be sure.”
“Don’t really care right now.”
Aerin follows me slowly as I dig through the ash until I find a suitable piece of hardened plastic to use as a shovel. Mindlessly, I dig a pit near the rubble that was once Ava’s tent. As much as I want to provide every resident with their own gra
ve, it would take days to complete. The least I can do is to get Ava, Jonny, and Milo buried.
“I’m going to scout around the edge of town.” Aerin’s voice is soft. “Are you all right for a bit?”
“Yeah.”
She rests her hand on my shoulder for a moment before she trots off to the south side of town. I continue to dig, counting each scoop of ashy dirt as I go. After some time, Aerin returns.