out of the gap and sat down, leaning against the door frame.
Cormic tried to match the two pieces of gun together. “I think you are right. We need to be careful, as I think it is this little green bottle that makes the gun fire.”
He also paused for some time occasionally looking back into the gap to at Keller. “The small crates – are they also all the same.”
“Yes, they appear to be.”
“Okay, let’s take two each of the guns and four each of the bottles. I can take these to the Arpo next month.” He paused in thought, frowning. “However, we will need to cover this entrance to disguise the room from others. I don’t want to deprive the family of what trade this might bring to us. This is a rare find indeed.”
Keller pushed out the remaining sample of treasures and then squeezed out through the gap. He was glad of the relative fresh air in the larger room and realised he had been sweating a lot inside the tiny room he had just left. The two of them then spent some time moving enough debris from various areas to camouflage the opening. The chances were slim that others would find this in the next month or so, however Cormic explained how rare these treasures were.
“This floor collapse looks a few months old, I believe. It is obvious no-one has been down here to notice the effect the collapse has had on that strong door frame. Mind you, not many visitors to the town would even have the lighting to see down here,” Cormic said whilst removing the harness from Keller.
It was time to return to their temporary home. The guns were heavy but would not pose a problem until the long walk home back to their tents.
By the time they returned to the base, they were both discussing animatedly the impact of trading their new treasure. “Surely we can get many wonders from the Regents for these?” Said Keller.
“We’ll see, I haven’t seen anyone trading these in the past, but let’s hope we can trade well with these.” Keller noticed him frowning as he spoke.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing really, Keller. I am just wondering why they had guns in the towns in the first place. Unlike the weapons the troopers carry, which will make you fall down in pain and you won’t be able to get up for half an hour, these maim and kill. It’s strange there were so many in this town – the old ones certainly seemed intent on hurting each other.”
They ate, talked about the day, and finally settled down to sleep. Keller was wide awake for some time, wondering what it had been like living in this town. The extent of the ruins suggested a crowded place with little escape for any privacy. It was probably a constant frustration to live so close to each other. Like a wasps nest, he thought. It then occurred to him that maybe this led to the war, perhaps, like a disturbed wasps nest, the angry inhabitants storming out ready to fight at the least sign of threat from outside. The thought troubled him. He wondered if the Outsiders’ families would have gone the same way, had the birth rate been as successful as past generations. As it stood, perhaps the low birth rate resulted in the value of life being more appreciated and precious.
He thought of his mother who had been unable to conceive and he knew, that had she been able to have her own children, there would be no sadness about her. His mother had always been loving and cheerful but he did see a fleeting sadness in her sometimes when the subject of children came up. It often did when families sat together of an evening around the fire, usually as a result of news of a pregnancy somewhere and the usual discussions on whether it was likely to go to term.
He thought of Merna. He wondered what her outlook was on this. He could see another girl growing into a woman and yet being unable to fulfil her dreams. It made him return to the occasional questions his family and friends aired about why he had been left beside the family field all those years ago. Nola always
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