Below Us by Nathan Hystad EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Nathan Hystad
- Language: English
- Genre: Genetic Engineering Science Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
PART ONE
THE BLACKOUT
The heat was almost unbearable as Wyatt rushed from the building. He
made sure the glass door closed properly, then checked his watch, nearly
tripping on the pile of black garbage bags jutting from the alley.
He’d already been late once, and it was his second week on the job. It
didn’t help that the office was a forty-minute ride from Harlem. This
apartment was the only place in the city Wyatt could afford on such short
notice, but he was hopeful the situation would be temporary.
And that’s what he told himself as he ran down the sidewalk.
“Excuse me,” he mumbled, passing an old lady and her miniature dog.
Warm air rose from the grates above the subway station, and Wyatt
cursed under his breath when he felt the rumbling of the train below. He’d
missed his ride, and now he’d have to wait another ten minutes in the
furnace that was New York’s summer.
He slowed, realizing he’d have time, and considered his options. It was
either stay in the sweltering sun or melt on the underground platform. An
unmarked van covered with random graffiti drove by, and the driver
slowed, watching him, then honked at a taxi trying to cut into his lane.
Wyatt chose the nearby drugstore, smiling when the cool air
conditioning blew on his face. His apartment didn’t offer AC, and when
he’d asked the landlord about adding a window unit, he’d said it was
against building policy. Apparently, they posed a safety hazard, and Wyatt
might have believed it, if half the rentals didn’t already have old rusting
units clanging by the fire escapes.
Wyatt had assured himself he wouldn’t be there long, so he hadn’t
pressed the issue. Now that it was averaging well over a hundred degrees
every day, he regretted his lack of action. He’d purchase his own after his
first paycheck. He could sweat it out for another few days.
“You gonna buy something?” a guy behind the counter asked.
“I…”
“Then scram. We’re not a hotel lobby.” The proprietor pointed at the
exit.
Wyatt sighed and returned to the oven. The city had experienced a
couple of outages since the heat wave started, but luckily, the damage had
been minimal. They’d repaired the grid within the hour on each occasion.
With almost seventy thousand residents for every square mile,
Manhattan had serious power requirements. Add in a spell of weather like
this, and it forced everything to the limits.
Wyatt took the stairs at the corner, heading below street level. He
swiped his metro pass and pushed past the turnstile, hearing it click. A guy
hopped the one next to him and darted to the platform. Wyatt ignored him
and leaned on a brick pillar, eager to reach Wall Street. The sign suggested
the train would arrive in two minutes, and he checked his cell phone,
relieved to find service.
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