Chapter 54: Secrets of the Wastelands
It had been a day since the train crash. Demarcus, Delford, Polly, and Gilly were still walking in the wastelands. Demarcus would frequently check the ground to see if the ash was any thinner or thicker.
‘You are wasting your time,’ said Delford. ‘It’s all gunk everywhere and all awful.’
‘How are you feeling?’ Demarcus asked Delford.
‘I’m exhausted. My legs ache, and water rationing is taking its toll on me,’ replied Delford.
‘You’re still alive, and you seem to be breathing fine,’ said Demarcus.
‘So, you think that disproves that we are breathing in poisonous air,’ said Delford. ‘Newsflash! The effects of poisoning are not always immediate. We might be dead this time tomorrow.’
‘Let’s try to be positive. I’m fine, and so is Gilly,’ said Polly. ‘We may have been lucky and ended up in a less contaminated part of the wastelands. This could be because we are so near the Southern Agriculture Zone.’
‘Well, that’s a reasonable theory,’ replied Demarcus.
Delford glared angrily at both Demarcus and Polly.
They continued walking for a few minutes.
‘Stop,’ said Demarcus. ‘Do you hear that?’ The others paused and waited.
‘Nothing,’ said Delford.
‘I hear something,’ said Gilly. ‘It’s coming from that direction,’ she said, pointing to some rocks.
‘Let’s take a look behind these rocks,’ said Demarcus.
‘How about we don’t,’ said Delford. ‘We need to get to the Southern Agriculture Zone so we can eat and rest. This wastes time, exposes us to poisons, and is a drain on our water.’
‘This is the only chance we will ever have of exploring the wastelands,’ said Demarcus. ‘I will not waste this opportunity.’
‘Come on, Polly. Tell him not to be a fool,’ said Delford to Polly.
‘Sorry, I’m curious too,’ replied Polly. ‘We could survive another few days without food.’
‘Fine, just a quick look,’ said Delford, feeling as if he had no choice.
The four of them climbed their way to the top of the rocks. They could see a long conveyor belt that formed a giant loop. At the far end, the conveyor belt passed through a building. Sections of the conveyor belt leading into the building were covered with rubbish. The sections of the conveyor belt leaving the building were clear. The conveyor belt moved slowly before stopping for a short time and then continuing again.
‘Waste disposal in the wasteland,’ said Delford. ‘It’s ironic, and it makes sense.’
‘I want to take a closer look,’ said Demarcus.
The four of them climbed down from the rocks and approached the section of the conveyor belt closest to them.
‘This rubbish is fresh,’ said Demarcus. ‘It must have been brought here sometime in the last few days.’
‘I don’t see any older rubbish building up anywhere,’ remarked Polly.
‘It has something to do with that building,’ said Demarcus.
‘Please don’t tell me you want to take a look at the building,’ complained Delford.
‘We must,’ said Demarcus. ‘We might be about to uncover something huge.’
‘Seriously, we see automated waste trucks leave the region every week,’ said Delford. ‘They were obviously dumping it somewhere in the wastelands.’
‘Well, this isn’t exactly a dump,’ responded Demarcus.
‘Fine, we’ll check it out,’ said Delford in a huff. ‘After that, we continue our journey.’
They walked for about ten minutes before reaching the building. The building did not appear to have any windows or doors. There was a sign at the top of the building that read ‘Alset’.
‘Hmm, rubbish goes in. Nothing comes out,’ said Demarcus. ‘It is not compacted. It is not buried. It is not even burnt. It appears to just vanish.’
They walked around the building. On the other side was a track for the trucks to enter the building.
‘It looks like the trucks dump the rubbish in that part of the building,’ said Demarcus. ‘The rubbish makes a huge loop on the conveyor belt before vanishing into the building.’
‘The huge conveyor belt is a waste of space. They could just dump it straight into this building directly,’ said Delford.
‘Not as ridiculous as you might think,’ said Polly. ‘Some projects have enormous quantities of waste. The long conveyor belt enables vast quantities to be dumped on it far more efficiently than queuing at one entry point.’
‘It is also possible that the process in the building requires time to do whatever it is actually doing to the rubbish,’ said Demarcus. ‘I’m also curious about how this building is powered.’
They heard a buzzing sound. They noticed a sprinkler device appear through the ash-like substance.
‘What’s that?’ asked Gilly nervously.
‘Move away from it,’ said Delford abruptly. ‘It’s most likely dangerous.’
The four of them moved away from the sprinkler device. It then began sprinkling the ash-like substance. Thousands of other sprinklers had also emerged from the ground. They were all sprinkling this ash-like substance. Delford was panicking, as some of it was getting on him. Eventually, the sprinklers stopped and then retracted into the ground.
‘This might have just solved two mysteries at the same time,’ said Demarcus.
‘There is no mystery,’ said Delford. ‘We are getting poisoned.’
‘No,’ said Demarcus, ‘this is the rubbish. Something happens to it in that building that turns it into this stuff. I bet there are sprinklers all over the wastelands. That also explains why the ash is thicker in some places than others. We must have been much closer to a sprinkler when we were at the train tracks. I guess the wind also plays a part in spreading it, seeing that it’s so light.’
‘That’s a crazy conspiracy theory,’ said Delford in anger. ‘I bet your nut brother and his sicko friends told you this.’
‘No,’ said Demarcus in a slightly raised voice. ‘I’m basing my opinion on the evidence I see before me now.’
‘Go to hell!’ said Delford angrily. ‘I’m leaving now. You can die in this wasteland.’ Delford storms off.
‘I better follow him,’ said Polly. ‘He could hurt himself.’
She hands Demarcus a bottle of water before chasing after Delford.
Gilly looked at Demarcus. ‘Are you a conspiracy theorist?’ she asked in a stern tone.
‘No, I just consider the evidence before me,’ said Demarcus.
‘The wastelands are dangerous,’ said Gilly. ‘Let’s not spend any more time here than we need to.’
‘I understand,’ said Demarcus. ‘Just let me take some pictures and collect a few samples.’
‘Sure, just be quick about it,’ urged Gilly.
Demarcus wanted to explore further past the building. He believed he would soon reach an area not covered with the ash-like substance. The sprinkler system would not continue indefinitely. He also knew that doing so would put both him and Gilly at risk. He decided to prioritise their safety.
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