They were caught on the 82nd day of hell.

The shadowy skyline of the Tarmalans sector had been within sight and their grueling journey

almost at an end.

They'd been readying themselves for the final trek to whatever safety-friendly ground

could provide, but a Soul Patrol had caught them in the open. And that had been

the end of it. They hadn't hoped for much, like water, hope was in short supply and the devastation

that had been the greatest city in the galaxy. The Lazik's body, tall, humanoid with its four

long arms and two long legs, didn't require a particularly high level of daily sustenance.

A few pieces of fruit or a bite of a high-protein wafor could nourish a Lasix for a day and was easy to carry besides.

Water was a different story.

Traveling through the ruined city had been an exhausting and thirsty business, and the four friends were far from young.

Water is life was one of the 15 miscue truths, taught to them as children. Ironically, it was water that would be the

death of them. The water that flowed in the city distribution network had been unsafe to drink.

Too many of its pipes had been compromised, touched by chemical leaks or raw sewage

where the soul's bombing, uncaring, of city services, had destroyed civilian infrastructure.

They'd learned this lesson the hard way on the 17th day, when they'd all gotten violently sick

from drinking city water. Gil, Dano, and Peor had recovered a few days later, but Eamon had died from dysentery

on the 20th day.

And then there were three.

After Eamon's death, they'd been forced to forage for safe liquid as they traveled, in

derelict shops and coolers of abandoned sievehabs, in automatic dispensers overlooked by looters.

They'd even tried to cool steam from boiling city water, but were unable to capture sufficient

...