Morning all. I hope you are having a great week. With Monday off it feels like the week is evaporating. It always does with a Monday holiday. It is a little panic inducing when looking at the to do list, however I am still thrilled we had the long weekend. For now, the morning prompt.
I have no idea where this is going but I do like the set up for the conditions of the world. Small underground communities isolated for a long season of intense solar heat. The idea does present possibilities.
Wednesday, September 3rd: Sweat rolled down his spine.
Sweat rolled down his spine. ‘It’s not the heat it’s the humidity,’ he joked with himself. He smiled. The heat was bad, which was of course why he was wearing the heat proof suit. Without it he would have sizzled away in moments. Even with it on, he had only a short length of time to get outside and make the needed repairs. Inside the suit, he sweated turning it into his own personal sauna.
‘Almost done,’ he thought. The new piece clicked into place and he smiled tightly with satisfaction. He closed the housing, locking it into place. With luck this would be the last out of season repair needed. He turned and began his slow but steady walk back to the entrance. He knew he couldn’t run or he would risk overheating but dawdling would do pretty much the same thing. He already knew once back inside he would be spending the rest of the day trying to replace both the fluids and minerals his body lost.
‘And letting this suit air out.’
He was pretty sure the suit would need to dry well before it could be stored. They always hauled out the suits for cleaning once the temperatures returned to something livable but given the buckets he was sweating, drying would be needed first. He reached the entrance and even the covering over the door providing a minor moment of shade felt like heaven.
He got the outer door open and stepped inside. He shut the door behind him, heard the air lock securing it. Here was the dangerous part though. He knew if he stopped now he wouldn’t want to get moving. The temperature of the interior was so much cooler it was tempting to simply bask in relief.
He kept moving through the secondary door and into the first climate controlled chamber. Here he was able to drop his tools and slowly remove the helmet part of his gear. As the door shut behind him and his tools rested on the small table, an interior door slipped in. A blast of what felt like icy air wafted in and he shivered as he removed the helmet. He kknew the air wasn’t icy but ambient temperature. This chamber was warmer than usually comfortable but far cooler than the outside. After removing his suit he would sit here, drink minerally enhanced water while the room’s temperature slowly lowered back to normal living conditions. It would allow his body to adjust in a less shocking way then simply coming inside.
He set the helmet on the side and continued as the new arrival watched. He tried to remember the techs name. There were three and somehow they all seemed very much alike. ‘Or alike enough that it is hard to tell them apart.’
He thought it might be Tom but wasn’t certain enough to use the name. He waited silently.
He knew that no one could help him. He had the heat proof gloves still on and the exterior of the suit itself was still hot from exposure. He worked quickly and methodically to step out of the suit, careful not to let the exterior touch him. The skin suit he wore underneath offered more protection but he had no desire for a burn today if he could help it.
Ten til Midnight 