By S. K. Marre
Olivia held a test tube up to the gray sky. Diffused light filtered through the greenish water. Please, let today be the day. She propped the glass against a rock and dug out a pack of litmus strips. “Maybe once the silt settles—”
“Probably not.” Mari’s hazmat suit crinkled as she walked past. She carried her gloves, a handful of test tubes, and metal straws. Pipettes in a pinch, she called them.
“You’re such a pessimist.”
“I’m a realist.” Mari paused, looking at Olivia. “How old are you?”
Olivia frowned. “A lady never tells.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Mari rubbed a mahogany knuckle under her left eye. The poor air quality made everyone’s eyes weep, but Mari seemed particularly sensitive. “My point is, the groundwater pH never goes below eleven.”
“Not never,” Olivia muttered.
“Never in the last sixteen years, since we started testing,” Mari amended. “Rainwater is always acid-red. Groundwater is alkaline-blue. And as long as it stays blue, we can drink it.” Mari gave her a sad smile. “You must’ve been a kid when everyone moved underground. You probably don’t remember life before that.”
“I remember some—”
Mari cut her off with a wave of the hand. “I remember all of it. Lush forests. Swimming in the pond behind my house. Fresh fish. Do you know what fish are?”
“I’ve seen pictures.”
Mari smacked her lips. “My uncle used to fry them up with butter and some mystery herbs. Chef’s secret, he said. Best thing I ever ate.”
“But then things went to pot,” Olivia recited Mari’s favorite phrase.
Mari’s eyes narrowed. “Exactly.” She turned away, swishing along the lake’s muddy shore.
Olivia studied the test tube. She pulled out a litmus strip, dipped it into the water, and held her breath. In what she was coming to think of as the world’s worst magic trick, the paper turned a cheery shade of azure. She groaned. “Still blue.”
From somewhere along the shore, Mari shouted, “Told you!”
Olivia poured the murky water out, scowling at the broken limestone and endless mud flows surrounding her. Bare branches of a dead forest clattered in the wind. Maybe she’s right. It’s stupid to get my hopes up.
Before things went to crap, water had a pH of five, if Mari was to be believed. Not quite a neutral violet on the litmus strips, but safe enough to handle. No one knew what exactly tipped the scales—the Paris agreement failed after politicians repealed some clear air acts, several volcanoes erupted in succession, and both China and India experienced industrial booms. No matter who Olivia asked, though, they all said the warning signs were there. Caustic rain. Plants dying off. Algae blooms and fresh water dead zones. Erosions and starvation. Then they would say something pithy like, “Hindsight’s 20/20.” She’d probably heard that as many times as she heard Mari say things went to pot.
Governments made sweeping changes in a last-ditch effort to save things, but it was too late. A ban on plastic didn’t bring the crops back. Or the people who died, for that matter. The rain burned anyone it touched, and a layer of scum covered every river.
A rumble of thunder startled Olivia out of her thoughts. “Mari?”
“I heard it,” Mari called back.
“We left our helmets in the cart.”
“I’m almost done.”
“We’re thirty minutes from the ATV.” Olivia tucked her equipment into her bag, squinting at the churning clouds. A fat raindrop plopped into the mud at her feet. “Mari?”
A cry of pain filled the air.
“Mari!” Olivia ran up the shore. “Where are you?”
“I think my leg is broken.”
Olivia scrambled up some boulders along the water’s edge, following the sound of Mari’s voice. At the top, she froze. The rocks sloped away sharply into the lake. Mari lay sprawled at the bottom, water lapping at her hazmat suit. Her wet hands struggled to grip the slimy rock. One leg bent at an odd angle.
“Be careful!” Mari said.
“Me?” Olivia snapped. “What about you?”
“Everything hurts.”
“Don’t move!” Olivia clambered down and ran to the water’s edge. Her heart raced. One mistake and they’d both be dead. She waded around the base of the rocks toward Mari, testing the ground before each step.
“Storm’s coming, Livi.” Mari flinched as rain splattered against the lake’s surface. She pointed at the stretch of algae between them. “That’s where my ankle got stuck.”
Olivia reached out a hand. “I’ll pull you over. Just keep your weight off the leg.”
“But—”
“No time for buts.”
Mari huffed and leaned toward Olivia, one shaking arm extended. Olivia grabbed it and eased her forward, ignoring the lightning in the distance. “I’ve got you.”
Making it to shore was easy compared to the trek over broken terrain—with each labored step, Mari cried out. Both the wind and Olivia’s anxiety picked up. She snatched her bag as they passed it, unwilling to slow down.
“Can you go any faster?”
Mari grimaced, but nodded. They lurched into a shambling run, reaching the covered cart just as the skies opened up. Olivia dropped her bag and boosted Mari into the vehicle. She glanced at the glass tubes and litmus paper littering the ground as she jumped in behind the injured woman. Ringing silence underscored the sounds of rain against the plastic windows, Olivia’s galloping heart, and their ragged breaths.
“We made it,” Mari said.
“Yeah. Just gotta grab our gear, then I’ll get you home.”
Mari touched Olivia’s arm. “Thank you, Livi.”
“Of course.” Olivia looked away, eyes fixed out the window beside her, and gasped. Shock and disbelief swept through her, even as hope swelled in her chest. Voice quavering, she asked, “When’s the last time anyone tested the rainwater?”
“Been at least a year. Chemical supplies are scarce and drinking water is more important.” Mari peered past Olivia. “Why?”
Litmus strips floated in a wide puddle just outside the cart. Every one of them was purple.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
a tiny glimmer of hope in a dystopian world….
Without hope, we’d be doomed! :-)
I really enjoyed reading this. Very inspiring and well written
Thank you! Appreciate the feedback!
Ooooooh, loved that ending!
Thank you! In the words of Jeff Goldblum, “Life…uh…finds a way”!
Love this story!
Too little too late. A planet spinning towards destruction. Yet hope springs from a pile of abandoned purple litmus strips and was never lost in the hearts of the two characters. That gave this reader hope for the future. Although the planet is dying, the pursuit of a better world, kindness and integrity of mankind perseveres, not giving up and never abandoning hope for the future. That is big message in a small package! Great story!
Yes! That’s what its all about! So glad you enjoyed it!
The “nobody knows exactly what caused the Apocalypse” bit is actually a quite accurate reflection of how world events happen. It also ties in neatly to the end— Olivia’s as in the dark about why the acid rain is ending as she is about how it started.
Yeah, I was trying not to get too political or environmentalist, but that part was definitely a reflection of how I saw those things happening. Glad you picked up on that. :-)
Well-thought out and interesting sci-fi story.
Thanks for giving it a read!