There was a number of linked dormitories, each holding either, six or twelve beds, each bed with its own plastic-covered mattress and pile of blankets. The material had become frail with age, but the temperature inside the complex was a steady sixty-eight degrees, so warmth wasn’t a problem.
There were no external windows in any of the rooms, though the map had shown that they were now close to the surface levels.
This section was cleaner than some of the other passages had been, with no litter or discarded clothes.
“Bathrooms are here,” Jak called.
The others followed him across a corridor into the vast washing facilities. They were divided into male and female, and both had toilet cubicles, as well as showers and bathtubs. There was also a long row in each bathroom of immaculate washers and dryers.
“Soap?” Mildred asked.
“There.” Krysty pointed to an open-fronted set of shelves that carried sealed packs of hand soap, detergents, shampoos and gels.
“But is there any hot water?” Ryan answered his own question, walking to the nearest shower stall and turning the chrome handle from blue to red, from off to on.
“I fear that we are doomed to suffer a drought,” Doc said as nothing happened. “If only I could recall the precise wording and steps of the Hopi rain dance that I was once privileged to learn. But that was in another country….”
There was a faint hissing sound, and Ryan took a few cautious steps backward.
The hissing stopped, and a few drops of sticky, rusty liquid seeped from the shower head.
“We’re going to get real clean with that,” Mildred said, shaking her head.
“Hasn’t finished.” Krysty stood closer, listening intently. “I can hear something.”
The hissing resumed, accompanied by a metallic clunking sound, and water gushed from the shower. Ryan put his hand under it, wincing at the chill.
“Take it a little time to warm up after all these years,” he commented.
But within moments there was a visible steam, wreathing from the faucet and condensing on the white tiles.
Doc beamed, showing his unusually excellent set of white teeth. “Upon my soul! I had never thought that hot water could have seemed so welcome. Manna from heaven does not get within a country mile of it.”
Ryan turned the handle again, and the flood slowed to a trickle.
“I’ll go close that sec door,” he said. “Make sure we’re secure. Mebbe I’ll wait while you all have your baths and showers. Just in case.”
“I’ll take a bath-check too, lover,” Krysty said. “That way we can all relax.”
IT TOOK THE BETTER PART of an hour for J.B., Doc, Jak and Mildred to finish bathing themselves, then wash and dry their filthy, stained clothes.
Ryan and Krysty used the time to get beds ready. Mildred and the Armorer shared one room, while Doc and Jak had a small dormitory. The one-eyed man and his lover pushed two single beds together for themselves.
The air was filled with the scent of the soaps, carried on waves of warm steam, which triggered the air-conditioning into humming action.
“Looking forward to our turn with the baths, lover?” Krysty asked.
“Does a bear? I just hope that they haven’t taken all the hot water.”
THEY HADN’T. He and Krysty took a bath together in the men’s section, Krysty having slipped the sec bolt across to make sure they didn’t get interrupted.
“Going to be that sort of a bath, lover?” Ryan grinned, sitting on the floor to kick off his combat boots.
“Long as you can rise to the occasion.”
“Not normally a problem.”
“Sure you aren’t getting too old for it?” She was already down to her bra and silken bikini panties, her red hair tumbling free over her shoulders.
“You’ll be the first to know,” he grunted, struggling to slide his trousers over a tent-pole erection.
“Looking good, lover,” she said, stepping through the tendrils of steam to turn off the taps in the bathtub, checking it with a toe. “Just right.”
Ryan stood and stretched, smiling down at her, admiring her breasts, the nipples already hardening with her ready excitement. Krysty was sitting in the water, which reached her armpits, the rippling surface disguising the fiery splash of color at the junction of her thighs.