Peace Canyon

“One of the main reasons early societies could evolve was by redirecting some of their capital from producing food to building and reasoning. The lower the percentage of people were in agriculture, the more efficient they became. The recent weather changes have destroyed thousands of years of progress. Now we are back to square one: focused on surviving again.”

Theo listens but can barely stay awake. He has heard the same old boring hogwash for years now. He was not even born when the “first critical point” was reached, although he had heard stories about how crazy things became. In some parts of the world at least. Others couldn’t care less. Then the “second critical point” was reached which was when everyone realized the gravity of the situation, the moment when true, biblical level natural destructions erupted. But Theo is not interested in history right now. He was born after everything, a “post apocalypse baby”, raised with no electrical grid, no central bank, no internet. Theo’s reality is way more brutal and unforgiving, way more real than anything he had ever read about the stock exchange, social media cancellations, nuclear bombs, or failings exams. Today it’s his first independent “water walk”. 

He recalls all the moments he would be standing in the colony’s gate and follow the walker as much as possible until they became only a mite and disappeared over the horizon, teary eyed and holding his father’s hand, filled with sorrow and something that only later he would understand as pride. His father would explain that this biannual process is necessary for the rest of the colony to survive. Theo always admired water walkers and now it was his turn to make everyone proud. He spends the whole morning checking the bottles for holes, packing all the worm biscuits and 72-days energy bars. As a water walker he also has complete access to the colony’s arsenal, of which he takes full advantage of. He attaches the quarterstaff to his back, between the two rows of empty 2.5 liter bottles. He also takes one of the only four still working guns. He could take two, it’s within his rights, but recent raids by the deathstorks have put too much pressure on the colonists; he cannot take that chance with his family.

He looks behind. The whole colony is watching him. He knew they would. His journey will be long and perilous, and their only chance at survival. Based on the water researchers, he has a 50% of survival, 65% if the colonists can attract the deathstorks tonight, thus giving him a better shot at the Peace Canyon, 72% if the cart is in the Waterfall station. This is the highest possible chance he can get: 72%. He has been thinking about this number for a while, since he became eligible for the water walk. As a colonist, signing up for gun training puts you on the direct collision course with the water walk. It is the most noble, and dangerous job you can take as a colonist.

After the “second critical point” was reached, the world went into complete disarray. The climactic changes were slow in the beginning, but over decades they became the norm. It became expected for the weather to not be expected. Technology kept evolving, trying to keep up with the needs of the few surviving humans, such as the lack of drinking water, which was soon solved by a small, ingenious device, the PotAble 9000, which could extract the humidity from the atmosphere and refilter the water already present in a given system. A colony of 500 people could be kept alive by 20 liters of water for up to half a year with such a device. This had a somewhat unexpected result: the few surviving humans started emigrating towards the deserts, which had expanded towards the poles in the meantime. Since many alternative food sources had already been found, and with the final “water problem” solved, deserts became the best settlement positions as they offered natural defense from other humans and were also further away from big cities, hence nuclear radiation. Alas, the globe is a closed system, and the fallout did travel. While most fauna did die some unexpected animals flourished and mutated into products of nightmares: enlarged storks with an extra beak and a stench of decomposing flesh, flying poisonous moles that make a clicking sound right before diving down and trying to devour your eyes, and the most horrible of them all, the reptoducks. This mix of lizards and ducks can smell water from more than 150 days of walking away. They detect the water reserve of the colony and try to swim in it, many times getting stuck in the PotAble which spells the death of the whole colony. While not directly dangerous to a human, they are probably responsible for more deaths than all creatures combined. If kept safe, they can be cute pets though.

Theo looks over the shoulder one more time. The colony is barely visible. He has left the safety of the walls three times before, to get an idea of the surroundings. It was more of the same, sand as much as the eyes could see. However, if you do look out for years, you start to observe patterns. The eastern gate faces the “crazy dogs” as the colonists would call them. The southern gate faces the “dunes”. Not very creative but no one found a better name so far. He is walking to the west, keeping the Waterfall station on his right. That is his final destination but there is no direct route, thus, Peace Canyon is his first objective.

The sun is starting to set. Theo has been using his staff as a walking stick for a while now. “I am young, but I am not ashamed to use some help” he thinks to himself. “I just hope I don’t actually need it when I come back!”. While the bottles have been secured, they still shackle every two steps, emitting a muffled, rhythmic noise. The unwritten guidebook of a water walker is strictly against any type of noise. The sand should allow any type of creature to go completely silent. This comes with pros and cons of course, but as a water walker you grow up and are trained as being the hunter, the one that is silent and listens to any type of noise, learns to distinguish between various sounds before striking at its origin. The process of putting them on took a long time, rearranging them would lose valuable time that he does not have. He needs to get to the canyon ASAP, otherwise he might lose the distraction’s effect.

As he approaches the mouth of the canyon his nose starts to rebel. The stench is infernal. The nests are arranged in Z-shapes, decorating both sides of the canyon walls. Theo wonders if this is on purpose or just another absurdity created by the mutations. He waits. Going in would be close to suicide. 50% suicide to be specific. The canyon extends like a dark, impenetrable corridor in front, before abruptly turning left. Most nests are at its entrance. It is well known that deathstorks are attracted by fireworks. Knowing this, the colonists organize fireworks the night of the water walk. This attracts the deathstorks from the nests from the beginning of the canyon, where they are mostly packed, thus increasing the success chance of the walker. The kids also love them. It takes the storks about 90 minutes to get to the colony, which should give everyone time to enjoy the show before getting inside. By the time they are back the water walker should have gone through the Peace Canyon. There is only one problem left. The second water walker. Indeed, 50% chances are not great considering hundreds of lives depend on it. Thus, a second water walker is usually sent. He follows the first one, by about five hours. While sending both water walkers at the same time would be the first thought, the water researchers have found that they fare worse; when two people are together they tend to socialize which increases chances of being heard and killed. Either way, when two are send separately, chances of the walk succeeding increases to about 99%. Only once has a third walker been sent, but those were different times.

Theo waits. He rests against his quarterstaff. Suddenly, a red glare lights his back and the rocks in front, followed by a loud BANG! “Finally. They were right, this wait is the worst part. Especially with this smell.” He starts seeing movement in the distance. Shadows start flickering. With each glare, they seem to be closer, more prominent. Yet, they are not closer to him. They are simply more, in general, just like undead creatures from post-apocalyptic movies, they are waking up from their slumber, panicked and curious, trying to pinpoint the disturbance. And then, they all take flight. For a short period, he thinks he has gone blind for everything goes even darker than before, than the night, but a glare lights up just in time so he can see an entire firmament of deathstorks moving in the colony’s direction. Theo freezes for a minute, worried about his family and friends, the only people he knows, but also terrified of moving. Deathstorks do not have good motion detection, but he wouldn’t risk his life on that. He waits 5 minutes, the whole time the horizon half darkened by a sky of flying corpses. When it is clear he enters the canyon. “This is where the difficult part starts.” he thinks.

The first half is indeed empty, and Theo quickly understands why it is called “Peace” Canyon. All water walkers cross this canyon at night, since the deathstorks have awful eyesight and are diurnal creatures, and by this point the distraction has been used, which means half the canyon, the busiest and most dangerous, is empty. It is astoundingly peaceful. Living in small huts, surrounded by dessert an entire life, makes the walk a spiritual experience. The huge rocks are the first structure above the second floor he has ever seen. He sneaks through the ravine, careful not to make the bottles clatter. When he reaches the end of the “Peace” side, he takes his gun out, an old but still functional Smith & Wesson M&P R8 revolver. Theo only has 24 bullets, 8 in the gun and 16 at hand, although he knows that if has to start shooting, he won’t have time to reload. He looks around the corner. He can see the light at the end of the tunnel, with a clear contour of the wagon in Waterfall station. Weird. He always imagined this last part, what some water walkers also call the “War Canyon”, would be longer, but the distance is quite short. He can see the wagon; it’s right there. He has read so many times how it works, he took special classes on it. He just has to get in it and use some water he has taken with him. Most machines nowadays work with water. He pulls his head back. This is it. Everything he has trained for. He takes his quarterstaff in his left hand, R8 in his right, and takes his first step.

He looks up. The nests are fewer, but still present. The smell is still there, but less, thank God. The slowest, most important expedition in the world continues. After an excruciating hour, taking one step every 5 seconds or so, he reaches the wagon. He jumps in the wagon and is immediately disappointed. Besides the train stopper, the train engine, and the railroad, there is no other human construction, as long the eyes can see. This gives Theo an eerie feeling, as if something is amiss. Humans would have problems bringing so many materials so far and construct this railway with no clear purpose. Stepping in the wagon, he also notices the perfect condition in which everything is. He goes to fill the tank, but it is already brimming. Theo shrugs and presses the button. It has only one option: Waterfall station. The engine starts. A caw alerts him. Then another. Then ten more. This time closer. The engine is not loud, but it seems to have disturbed their slumber. “They told me that once I am inside the wagon I am saf-“. He cannot finish his thought when a loud, metallic noise crashes above his head. The deathstorks are trying to get in, repeatedly hitting their long nails against the metal cover. It should last but he cannot take the chance. He presses the button again and he hears the engine growling, but again, nothing moves. He opens the tank and sees the problem: a reptoduck is stuck in the transformator. “You almost made another victim today buddy.” Theo removes the pest, and the wagon starts moving. He is followed for a while, reminded of this constantly by the loud bangs above his head, before the small train catches speed and they are left behind. “Only 2 hours and I can get the water. Then I am halfway done. I suppose they will be quite angry when I come back.”

The water extraction goes smoothly. The Waterfall station is indeed a waterfall. Although far from the old-world ones. It is a small rock with a barely visible stream of water breaking out of it. Filling up 25 litres takes 3 hours. By the time Theo finishes, the sun shines straight overhead. He could take a break but by now the second water walker is probably waiting for his return. Otherwise, he might start on foot, which would take days. He loads everything back and starts his return journey. Theo is excited, almost happy. There haven’t been any major problems yet, and the rest of the trip will be during daytime. He will also get to see the full majestic beauty of the canyon during sunlight, which will surely be something to remember.

He is still fantasizing about the beauties of the world when the wagon comes to a sudden stop. Theo checks the dashboard, but everything seems fine. He opens the water tank but no weird companions this time. He looks outside. Nothing but sand in all directions. He can distinguish the canyon in front of the railroad but that is about it. “I should go check, maybe some roadkill got stuck in the tires” He chuckles. He has read about roadkills, back when cars, roads, and roadkills existed but now it would be absurd. It would at least make for a nice funny story. He steps outside and starts walking around. He checks up and down but cannot see anything. Suddenly a distant clicking sound breaks the tomblike silence. When he realizes what is happening it is too late. The flying mole dives in at astonishing speed, poison dripping from its hungry fangs. The clicking noises offer Theo just enough time for him to dodge. He cross-steps but just too late. The pomolos misses his eyes but manages to get his his shoulder instead. He raises its R8 and blasts its wings during his dodge. Theo takes his quarterstaff and smashes its head in of the still moving creature, as it’s bleeding on the sand. Still in shock, Theo stares at the body and holds his wound. They have learned since they were young that technology and human ingenuity have solved most health problems and induced wounds. Expect for those from pomolos. Mutations have led to such strong poisonous glands that nothing can fight back. From this moment he has around 5 hours left. He looks in the distance. Five hours is still enough for one more mission. Maybe two. Deliver this water to the second water walker to save the colony. And see the canyon during the day. He wants to do that.

The rest of the trip goes easier than expected. A death sentence can act as a relief. There are no more expectations, nothing else to do, or to hide. Theo knows that this poison kills without pain, so he is calm in this regard. He will meet his objectives and go in peace. He is only 16 but has lived a good life.

              As he gets closer to the end of “War Canyon”, he can feel something is wrong. He can see a large number of deathstorks in their nests, which is not normal for the middle of the day. They should be out hunting. They must have found a large bounty and came back to feed on it. However, it seems all of them are busy. “It must have been a really big prey if all are back”. Suddenly, Mateus, jumps up from behind a rock, as he gets closer. He presses the break and draws to a stop after a dozen meters.

              “THEY ARE ALL DEAD! I saw it happening last night Theo. I waited on a large dune to see the fireworks, I like to do that, and when the deathstorks reached the colony, I think the the colonists panicked because there were so many, and in the chaos a fire broke out. People had to leave the huts and everyone either burned or got picked up.”

              Theo can feel getting sick. Now he knows what was not feeling right. The usual smell of decomposing flesh is accompanied by the smell of burnt meat. He sits down. He takes one final look at the canyon, where his friends and family are. It is truly majestic…