Paper-white sunlight streaming down greeted me as I left my tent. I sat down on the stairs with bleary eyes and looked out. The big clouds that you see a lot in summer were billowing up from the mountains, and the pool of clear water in front of me reminded me of the sea.
A palmful of water scooped up from the pool let me wash my face. The sharp chill of the water felt good against my skin, and three rounds of it left me fully awake. I used the cuff of my shirt to wipe my face and then let myself fall backward.
The faintly shadowed underside of the staircase roof filled my sight. Narrow tubes that looked similar to fluorescent lights hung from it. The tiles against my back were ever so slightly warm and pleasant, sapping my wakefulness. As I closed my eyes and stretched out my arms where I lay, I heard splashing. It eventually became a pattering noise that drew closer, then came to a stop near me. A soft breeze carried over the scent of early summer.
“What are you doing?” asked a slightly high-pitched voice, a remnant of childishness in the questioning tone.
“Soaking up the sun,” I answered.
“Is that a custom from your world?”
“Nope, just a hobby of mine.”
“I see,” the voice replied after a pause. “It looks fun.”
I opened my eyes to see Nito crouched down next to me with her arms around her legs.
“Morning.”
“Right, good morning.”
“Want breakfast? Give me just a minute.”
“I do not,” she insisted with reddened cheeks. “I am not so rapacious as to presume upon you like that.”
Rapacious indeed! It was the first time I had heard someone use the word in real life, regardless of how true it was.
“What’s up then?”
“I thought that your car might have a signal gun...”
“Well, there’s a little gun in a case at least.”
“That’s it. My auto-trike doesn’t have one.”
“And what will you do with the gun?”
“Call for help.”
“Give me the details,” I demanded, leaning forward quickly, which made her rear back in surprise.
“When your vehicle breaks down, or if you run out of fuel or water, you fire a signal that lets off red smoke. Reboil Traction sees it and comes to help.”
“Oh, so that’s the custom here?”
“I’ve only read about it in books though...”
I wasn’t sure there would be anyone weird enough to carry on staffing this “Reboil Traction,” what with the practically deserted state of the world, but this seemed more worth giving a go than just basking in the sun.
“Let’s try it out,” I said, standing.
Nito followed suit. I rolled up my pants legs again and descended the stairs, my feet sinking into the water. Nito trailed after me. The heavy rain had made the water level rise, and it was harder to walk than yesterday, but eventually we reached the car.
Out from the passenger seat the small case came. I set it on top of the hood, then unlatched it. The pistol was in two parts, each one nestled in an indentation lined with red cloth. The lid of the case had space for six bullets, but it currently held only two, both with red tips.
“This is it, right?” I asked, turning to Nito, who stood at my side.
“It is. The red-tipped bullets are the signals.”
It was loaded, but I had never fired it, so I hadn’t known there were signal rounds. I’d always wondered why the two bullets were red.
The gun weighed heavily in my hand as I took it out; though small, the entire thing was solid metal. As I gripped the handle, I felt a small lever just under my thumb. I pressed the lever in and held it as I pushed the muzzle down with my other hand. The gun bent, looking like it might break apart, before the base of one loaded bullet protruded out.
I took the two bullets out and put them back into the case’s lid before replacing them with the red-tipped ones and putting the gun back together. The hammer came back with a sharp click when I pulled it with my thumb. Now all I had to do was pull the trigger.
I glanced at Nito and found her looking at me with some amount of worry. She didn’t look like she was going to stop me, though, so I lifted my arm. I covered one ear with my upper arm and used my free hand to do the same for the opposite ear as I put my finger on the trigger.
Once I saw Nito frantically follow suit and cover her ears, I curled my finger tighter, only for the trigger to come to a jarring stop halfway through its course. Confused, I pulled harder, and it suddenly lightened. An instant later the sound and vibration of the gun firing traveled up my arm.
Nito looked up with her mouth slightly open, still covering her ears. A plume of smoke rose above our heads, straight up into the air like a vertical contrail. It worked, I thought as I looked down at the gun in my hand.
“What’s wrong?” Nito asked.
“When I was pulling the trigger, it just stopped halfway through. It got really heavy.”
“That’s the safety device.”
“The safety device?”
Oh, right... I’d heard that phrase a lot in movies. Weren’t those supposed to be levers or buttons though?
“The trigger is made so it stops halfway through to prevent misfires. If you put more force behind it after that, the gun fires.”
“I see. You sure know a lot.”
“I read about it.”
“You must be a savant.”
“No, I only know what I know,” she said, not showing any signs of kidding, despite having phrased it like some kind of philosopher.
Still, I never realized it had a safety.
I looked down at the gun in my hand. The weight of it never changed at all, no matter how often I held it. Knowing about the safety would come in handy.
“Is something wrong?” she asked after a pause.
“Nope, nothing,” I answered as I put the gun back in its case, closed the lid and latched it shut. “I just hope someone does come.”
“Right. If they don’t, we’re in trouble.”
The two of us looked at the sky. The red cord had risen high, thinning out toward the top. The wind muddied its outline. Was there still someone out there to see it?
We stayed like that for a while before a dull groan brought our gazes back down. Nito was hunched over with her hands covering her stomach.
“The birds are lively this morning, huh?” I offered.
“You’re awfully...discerning.”
“Right, let’s have breakfast. You’ll join me, right? It’s just canned stuff though.”
As I started to walk back to the station, I heard her movements from behind me.
“I’ll pay you back...” she muttered.
I burst into laughter.