Wanderer

Chapter 4-1

4

Kaira struggled to stay asleep but the gnawing emptiness in her stomach was too insistent to ignore. With a groan which crackled in her dry throat she opened her eyes.

She blinked in the bright light, then cursed quietly. She’d left the torch almost completely obscured under the covers, giving only a very slight illumination, but she must have moved the covers off it in her sleep. She shoved the torch back under the covers, then lay listening for any sounds outside of the hiding place.

Once a couple of minutes had passed in absolute silence she started to believe she was still safe, for the moment at least. She sat up, and her gaze went to the food bar wrappers and the dry dust which had spilt out of them. She felt despair trying to claw its way into her chest again, but she forced it down fiercely. There had to be a way to survive!

If there was no source of water in the cargo hold, and she was fairly confident there wasn’t, then she would have to risk exploring more of the ship. It would be a dangerous chance to take, but far better than slowly dying of thirst.

First, though, her body was signalling an even more urgent need. Her bladder was extremely full, which seemed ironic considering how short of water her body seemed to be. Where should she go to relieve herself? Was she going to have to use a corner of the cargo hold? Just go on the floor there?

She hated the idea, and practically speaking it wouldn't work. Before long it would start to stink and she couldn't imagine a better way to advertise the fact a stowaway was on board.

The pressure in her bladder was growing more insistent by the moment. If she couldn’t think of anything else she was going to have to go with using the floor, this time at least. She picked up the torch, holding it in her hand to hide most of the light, eased back the cover she’d hung at the top of the crate, then carefully climbed out.

She looked around the cargo bay, trying to decide where would be best to go. Somewhere far from the entrance to the rest of the ship, she decided. And far from the doors which were used when unloading at a station.

She started to move toward the corner that met both requirements. As she got close she rounded a large crate and her gaze fell on the pile of covers she’d raided to stay warm… and to the buckets next to them. Empty buckets. Empty buckets with lids!

That was a far better solution than using the floor. It certainly wasn't going to be glamorous, but if she could manage to use the buckets it should stop any smells escaping. While the lids were on, at least.

She decided against moving any of the buckets from where they were. She didn't want to draw attention to them. Which meant going in the middle of the open space. That might have seemed more of an issue if she wasn’t so desperate.

She went to the most conveniently placed bucket, removed the lid, then paused. This wasn't going to be easy. If she'd been a man it would be much easier, while it was only her bladder that needed emptying at least. But she’d have to manage. The discomfort was turning into pain. She needed to go now.

Somehow she managed to squat awkwardly over the bucket and do what was needed. Using the bucket certainly wasn’t dignified, but it did the trick. When she was finished she put the lid back on, noticing the level of liquid within the bucket and shook her head. It was ironic that she was so desperate for a drink, yet there was a liquid which would do her no good.

She had looked into the possibility of drinking her own urine when planning the trip, much as the thought had disgusted her, before stumbling on the food bars that were supposed to provide sufficient liquids as well.

It turned out drinking her own urine would be a bad move for many reasons. Surprisingly, one of them was that it would make her more thirsty due to the salt levels. So it would actually have the opposite effect of what she needed. And it would quickly start to cause damage to her kidneys as well.

She wasn't sure she could have done it anyway, but at least now she knew not doing it was the right move. Which left her needing to make sure there was no water available in the hold, and if there wasn’t then she’d have to risk exploring the ship.

She kept the torchlight dimmed by her hand and started to explore the cargo bay once more.