Chapter 1
Weather is not trivial - it’s especially important when you’re standing in it.
Even more so, when the place you are standing at is at the ass end of the world, and the nearest settlement is three hours on foot across the uneven terrain.
It hits even harder ― literally ― when this ass-end place happens to have a weather which sole purpose seems to be to obliterate any unlucky life that was dumb enough to get itself out here on the surface of this inhospitable planet during the time of the year that marked the local spring.
Elliot had been always sure he was at least somewhat above the “dumb” level, despite what his mom and most of his friends would say, but he was ready to reconsider this, as the first drops of acid fell from the greenish low hanging clouds.
The local version of fresh spring rain sizzled through the outer layer of his light suit, meant only for trekking across the low-level hazardous environments, not to be soaked in it, and Elliot hissed when the acid reached the skin of his shoulder.
The suit repaired itself immediately, and the acid didn’t burn deeper than a couple of skin layers, but these were just the few first drops of the incoming downpour. Elliot dropped his bag on the ground, pulling a long metal device from it.
After a couple of failed attempts, he managed to stick it in the rocky ground and pulled at the thin chain on its top part.
Nothing happened.
The acid drops were falling more frequently and in bigger batches, leaving small holes in his suit and itchy painful burns on his skin. Suit was repairing itself dutifully, not too strained with such small damages, which could not be said about Elliot himself, who could not heal as easily. A few more minutes, and the rain will begin in full force, and it will be only a matter of time until the acid burns through his helmet and overloads the suit’s capacity for instant repairs.
When he was leaving this morning, Mary wanted him to wear the heavy suit. It was too close to spring, she was saying. The acid rains, Elliot, don’t be an idiot.
Elliot wasn’t an idiot. He needed to trek eleven miles today, no way he would have been able to reach this place in a heavy bulky suit. He wasn’t an idiot, he took the tent. He would just unfold it in case the rains come earlier this year, and would call the automated shuttle to pick him up.
The tent refused to unfold. It was an old, slightly corroded thing, that had seen better days and better owners and probably had enough of this planet in general and Elliot in particular. It was old and stubborn, and it didn’t react to Elliot’s insistent jerks of the chain and his cursing.
Elliot was cursing the tent of course, the tent and the weather, the bastards. The tent was long due for some oiling and basic maintenance, but oiling and basic maintenance were far away and theoretical. The stupid acid rain and the stupid stubborn tent were right here and very real.
Fat heavy greenish acid drop fell on the helmet’s vizor and started to lazily roll down it, leaving a thin line of corroded fiberglass where it went.
Elliot swallowed around a lump of fear and poor life choices, and jerked the chain one more time.
The tent vibrated, let out an unpleased screech, and started finally unfolding, albeit half-heartedly.
Elliot sighed with relief and raised his arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but remembered he was in the helmet, and dropped it.
The tent had finished unfolding exactly by the time the weather decided it had been enough for a warm up and the time had come for a real deal.
With the sound that resembled a heavy low sigh, the greenish clouds darkened and seemingly sank lower in the sky, and in the next moment the rain fell full force.
Elliot moved his backpack to the pole of the tent and lowered himself on it. He reached to his shoulder, where he got the most of the acid burn, and scratched it through his suit, then the other one.
He called a shuttle from the nearest town and got ready for the long wait.
