The heat gnawed into my chest, cutting through my skin, piercing my flesh and I even imagined it touching my ribcage bone. I quickly zipped my suit back up and it immediately filled with cooled air and puffed me up like a balloon.
I continued my walk down the parched street between jagged remains of skyscrapers. The speaker behind my ear cackled. “Anything, Jeb?”
“No, Captain,” I said into the mouthpiece, “Not even a blade of grass.” Then from the corner of my eye I spotted a shady recess. “Hold on,” I said, “I need to check out one more spot.”
“Okay,” came back the reply.
I walked down a flight of steps and found myself standing in front of one of the tunnels with a cracked sign that says ‘sonville Subway’. I knew I shouldn’t walk in. I knew that others before me had searched these places and found piles of human remains, of people who were cooked alive in heat that steadily grew at a Fahrenheit degree every minute until it finally settled at 500 degrees.
But our tiny colony was desperate. I pulled out a rod from the side of my sample bag then thrust the sensor under the shadow, and detected the presence of moisture in the air. Though it was rare to detect moisture this high up on the Earth’s surface, it still did happen from time to time, and when it did, it usually meant that there would be some form of plant life.
I switched on the light by the side of my helmet and stepped into the shadow, gripping the sample bag tight as though it was a lifeline that could pull me out of any trouble I was stepping into. Gingerly I crept down, expecting the steps to collapse at any moment. Then I saw them, even before I stepped onto the last step. A mass of people, huddled together, parched and dead in the dark heat.
Yet they had not all turned to dust, for the moisture in the air made sure of it. I scanned the area before me and as my shock began to subside, and my eyes began to focus on things other than their faces, I started to see white ball shapes, and brown umbrella shapes scattered over their chests, faces and shoulders.
I walked up to the very edge of the group and leaned down to take a closer look. “Jeb to center,” I said into the mouthpiece, “I think I found something.”
“Take a picture. Your video feed is not clear,” came back the reply.
I pressed a button on my helmet and sent out the photo taken. As I waited for confirmation I looked about and saw the brittle front page of a newspaper clutched against the chest of one individual. ‘Scientists Predicts Giant Asteroid Will Miss Earth.’ Well they predicted wrong, I said to myself.
The speaker cackled, and I could hear cheers emitting from the background. A voice said, “Dr Ray confirmed that it is Agaricus bisporus. A button mushroom.”
“It’s edible then?” I asked.
“Oh yes,” Dr Ray’s voice came through, “It will grow perfect down here too.”
“I hope it tastes good, doc.”
There was a catch in his voice when he replied, “It tastes wonderful. It tastes simply wonderful.”
I looked at the faces of the people who were staring back at me with empty eyes. “How much should I take?”
“Pick an open brown one. The spores should be almost ready. Cover it with a bag first before you pull it out.”
I saw a few big ones, over five inches across, coming out of eye sockets, mouths and chests. I hesitated. Then I saw a woman, clutching a large mushroom like it was a wedding bouquet of gifts. I took out a clear plastic bag and cover the mushroom carefully with it before pulling it out of her hand. Specks of brown dust came loose and fell to the bottom. I was surprised how easy the stem came off. I placed the specimen into a small box and put it inside the cool sample bag.
“Thank you,” I said to the woman and turned to walk out. A storm had begun to blow outside and I was relieved to see my unit’s transport parked just by the side, waiting for me. The door slid open. I dashed in and it closed behind me, sucking out hot air and releasing cooled air as it did so. I pulled out an empty drawer, placed the sample bag inside and pushed it back to its locked position. I could feel the transport slowly taking off. After I put away my helmet and suit, I opened another hatch that led into the seating area. The other eight members of my unit were already buckled up in their seats.
“Thanks for tracking me,” I said to the Captain, who was also our pilot.
“You’ve been out there too long, Jeb, you know regulations,” he said, and looked pointedly at the burn on my chest.
I followed his gaze and sheepishly replied, “My mom told me she used to sun herself when she was a kid.”
“I should report you.”
I strapped myself into a seat just behind him with my head bowed. I knew I was going to get into trouble, but I couldn’t resist not feeling the sun.
He turned back to the video console and let out a sigh. “I want you to go to medical for that, and to get a psychological evaluation before you come back to my unit.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
Sensing my despondence, he said, “There are too few of us left, Jeb. Taking that kind of risk was irresponsible.”
“I…I’m sorry, sir.”
“You have a problem you talk to people, understand?”
“Yes, sir,” I said and meant it.
I understood what he meant, as did everyone who heard our conversation, for after the asteroid hit Earth and moved its orbit closer to the sun, many survivors had taken their own life. It almost drove our race to extinction. Mother told me that the first few years of adjustment was horrific, until children started being born again and the people began to turn their focus on helping the babies survive in the new environment.
I was the sixth child to be born and when I applied to join the Scavengers Unit there was an uproar in the colony. It was Dr Ray’s insistence that my generation learn to take care of ourselves that finally made the people relent. I realized now that I should never have unzipped my suit because after this I may never be allowed back up on the surface.
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