I tried to sit up to take the water, but the suit made my movements clumsy. It took me a couple tries to grab the tube, but Tyler just stayed there, patiently waiting for me to get the hang of it. The sad smile on his face made me a little uncomfortable. I didn’t want anyone’s pity.

I broke eye contact and downed half of it in one gulp. “How much longer is my shift?” I asked before taking another gulp.

“You’ve got two more two-hour sessions out there.”

I coughed, choking on the water, and Tyler gave me a couple of hard swats to my back.

“That can’t be right, can it?” My voice was raspy. “The heat wiped me out. I won’t last that long.”

“I hear you. My butt’s draggin’ already, and I’m damned thankful not to be going out again today.”

I didn’t have time to respond before he kept on talking.

“And for the record, none of this is right. Regulation says a max of two hours per day on the surface for no more than four days a week.”

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. “How many days am I working? Six?”

“Yes. Six. The only reason your shift isn’t longer is that it wasn’t approved. I saw the order. Higher-ups are working you to death on purpose. I don’t know what you did to get sent here, but that ain’t right.”

“No. It isn’t.” I tried to be shocked, but I wasn’t. Not really.

I drained the tube and then took another from Tyler. I dumped it over my head, and he laughed.

“Now you know why I like to be naked and freshly showered before I put on one of those suits.”

“I thought you were just sweaty.”

“Maybe now. But before, that was water. Not sweat.” Tyler stood up and grabbed something from a locker, tossing it to me. My arms were too tired to catch it, and the packet slammed into my face.

“Oh man. I’m sorry!”

The horrified look on his face made me laugh. “No big. What is it?”

“Concentrated electrolyte packet. You’ve got as many as you want down here. I made sure of it.”

That was nice of him. “Thanks.” I ripped open the packet and swallowed down the sickly sweet grape flavored gel. It wasn’t as bad as breakfast, but still a little too slimy to be pleasant.

“You do your job, and I’ll do my best to keep you alive. Just don’t hit a hornet’s nest with a short stick while you’re out there, okay?”

Hornet’s nest? There weren’t any hornets out there… Oh, he meant that I shouldn’t do anything stupid. It was taking me a second to pick up Tyler’s way of speaking, but I was slowly getting it.