Page 28 of Dustwalker

“Where do you think you’ll get to?”

Lara glared at him. “God damn it, Ronin, I have to take a piss!”

Ronin stared, blinking once.

“If I have to spell it out for you any more clearly?—”

She snapped her mouth shut when he raised a hand and pointed down the hallway.

Lara stood on the balls of her feet, trying to peer around him, but all she could see of the hall was a small section of the plain wall. “What’s down there?”

“Another room.”

“So you expect me to go in the corner, or what? Out the window?” Her embarrassment was rapidly shifting to irritation.

“Follow,” he said.

Despite her annoyance, she did.

He only took a few steps, stopping before the first door to the right. She stared at him with her arms crossed. Frowning, he opened the door, turned on the light, and moved aside.

Lara leaned forward and surveyed the room.

It was different from the others she’d seen here. For one, it was far smaller, and the floor was tiled. There was a large white tub along the far wall, and a wash basin embedded within a counter beneath an intact mirror. She’d seen people use such basins back home, usually as planters for their meager crop allotments. Between the tub and counter was another porcelain object, about knee-high and bowl-shaped, that reminded her of the outhouses the humans used.

She wiggled her toes nervously upon the soft floor. “So…”

“I don’t have any personal experience, but you’re supposed to sit on the toilet.” If there hadn’t been dry amusement in Ronin’s voice, she was crazy.

“Don’t you dare make fun of me,” Lara said, narrowing her eyes at him. She gestured at the porcelain bowl. “I’m supposed to sit on that thing?”

He nodded.

Lara entered the room, shuddering at the chill of the tiles against her bare feet. Stopping in front of thetoilet, she lifted the lid. The inside was halfway filled with water.

“I pee…in this?”

“Yes. And you push down the handle when you’re done.”

She tapped the silver handle on the box-shaped rear portion of the toilet. When it didn’t do anything, she pressed harder and watched in amazement as the water inside the bowl swirled and vanished into the hole at the bottom. Then, on its own, the bowl refilled.

She swung her wide eyes back to Ronin. “Did you see that?”

He canted his head, holding her gaze. “Maybe I’d best leave you to it. If you turn the knobs in the tub, water will come out. Right for cold, left for hot. Clean yourself up. I’ll leave some dry clothes for you in the hallway.”

He left, closing the door behind him, and Lara returned her attention to the toilet. After she examined it from top to bottom, she relieved herself. She couldn’t help her guilt when she used the soft paper from the nearby roll to clean herself. Paper was so rare that most people would never dream of using it in such a fashion, but she had nothing else. She watched the soiled water disappear with no less amazement than the first time.

That done, she unstrapped the sheathed knife from her thigh and set it on the counter, along with her lighter, then removed her headwrap and the soaked cloths from her chest and waist, dropping the wetarticles onto the floor. They fell with heavy splats. She felt lighter without them, though no warmer. Her legs were caked with mud from the walk, and the tiles were smudged with her dirty footprints. She’d wash her legs and feet to avoid making any more of a mess and call it good.

Lara stepped into the tub, running a hand over the strangely textured curtain bunched to one side, and turned to examine the metal knobs on the wall. She’d rarely had the luxury of bathing. There was only one water pump in the slums for everyone to share, and Warlord often cut it off at his whim. It was far more important to keep people hydrated and crops watered than to be clean.

Tilting her head, she turned the left knob. Water flowed from the spigot and pooled around her feet, immediately cloudy with grime. To her wonderment, it warmed. She cupped her hands and splashed her chilled body.

Soon, the warmth became heat. It was quickly too much for her to handle. She turned the middle knob, hoping for some cool water to balance the flow. Water sprayed onto her from above, first ice cold, then scalding hot.

Lara screamed and stumbled back. One of her flailing hands caught on the curtain, and she used it to pull herself over the edge of the tub. Her feet slipped the instant they touched the tiled floor. She landed hard on her backside with another cry, legs sprawled.

“Fuck!” Pain radiated from her ass and up her side.