V.

• Part 6

• 11:12:26 pm on November 5, 2009 | # | 0
  

  Inside the building is a man working at a vast console made from scavenged computer systems and control room panels. Ancient beige monitors display various parts of the refinery in snowy monochrome. The man at the console looks up at John as he enters the room, his silver framed spectacles shine in the rooms neon glare. He speaks with a thick German accent.

  “Your last shipment was unsatisfactory and so is this one!”

  John scowls at him and sits down. “The herd is thinning. There’s not much left around here.”

  The Engineer slams his fists on the console and shouts at him. “We need eighteen more loads to be able to get enough Humanol for the winter!”

  The Engineer glares at John expecting an answer to a question that was never asked. John locks eyes with the man.

  “I’ll have to expand my search radius them. You’ll have to give me more humanol for my missions-”

  The engineer explodes:

  “We cannot afford to give you, or anybody else any more humanol! ”

  “What the fuck! How do you expect-“

  “Make it work. I do not care how you do it.”

  John’s face is flushed with frustration. The Engineer turns back to the control panel and begins manipulating the controls; opening valves and switching on pumps that move the wretched liquefied remains into a storage tank to ferment. John shakes his head and stands up. He walks to the door but turns before he reaches the handle.

  “There’s a lot of activity on the other side of the mountains, you can hear it coming through the LeHigh tunnel.”

  The engineer seems uninterested.

  “What sort of activity?”

  “The usual, moaning, screaming. It sounds like there could be a few thousand.”

  “Do a reconnaissance mission. If there is a lot of activity, then we will talk about more humanol.”

  Not the answer he wanted, but close enough.