home

search

Echoes of color(4)

  The car workshop was the one Jonah saw on the hill. According to his father, in the past, it would have been blooming with activity, filled with engine noises, just like any other car workshop. This specific one however was special for him. Well not because of the place but because of the person. This place was the one where Johannes met the most special person in his life, or so he used to say.

  After a while of walking Jonah reached the car workshop. Like every other building, it was ruined, abandoned and silent unlike what he imagined on the hill. The garage doors stood rusted and half open, locked in place due to rusting, Never opening and closing. The concrete floor behind it was cracked like veins, showing golden grain, stained with what Jonah presumed to be oil from the last attempt.

  The interior was dim, the scent heavy with rust. Grain clung onto the windows, blocking the majority of light and only letting a sliver through. Jonah came closer and brushed the grain dust off with his sleeve. The inside suddenly brightened. Jonah was able to see the grain dust he stirred now glowing with the sunlight as it slowly fell. With the windows cleaned the workshop in its full glory or lack thereof was fully revealed.

  There was a cracked clock on the wall, stuck at 16:49 and as always there was an abandoned car in the center of the room, stuck on top of a car lift with its hood closed shut. There was a generator inside it, probably not functioning. A pile of deflated tires sat in the corner, some with grain growing on them. Jonah ignored them all except the car and went to the desk. He remembered seeing some simple tools here somewhere so he checked the drawers and there it was. A metal toolbox painted light blue, some of the paint falling off. Jonah got it out and pulled open the latches.

  Inside the toolbox were screwdrivers pliers, hammers and wrenches of different sizes, their once-polished faces now dulled. Jonah decided to take the entire thing, carrying it by its handle. Now he needed an air filter an alternator and a soft brush, maybe even a few compressed air cans but he doubted his luck. Compressed air cans were rare, very rare. Having them would make it easier but it would be fine without them.

  Before leaving Jonah stepped on the car lift and stood ahead of the long-abandoned car’s hood. This specific car was a white sports car. His father mentioned its brand a few times but Jonah had forgotten. It didn't matter. The car was dead. The engine inside was probably useless too but some parts of it could help.

  The hood was closed shut due to rust and the years of decay it faced. He flipped open the latches of his toolbox and pulled out a crowbar, wedged the crowbar between the hood and the car and pulled it down. Nothing. Jonah used more force and with a groan it snapped open, giving way to its insides. It was relatively clean, or as clean as it could be in these circumstances.

  Jonah decided to get the air filter first. He disconnected the battery, put the transmission in neutral and put the brakes on. Most of those were pointless now long after most of the technology broke down but his father told him these were the safety measures of the past, which Jonah was happy to follow. Then he grabbed the toolbox again and stared at the tools for a while, trying to see which ones he would have to use first. He only needed to dismantle the engine's top part to reach the filter, or at least that's what he hoped. With car brands and types changing they weren't all the same. Jonah decided to grab just a screwdriver for now.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  The engine itself was in relatively good condition from the outside. He searched the engine for the air filter housing and soon spotted it. It looked like an old plastic box near the intake pipe. It was cracked in places but Jonah didn't need the entire thing, just the filter. The metal switches on the housing were rusted as well. Jonah pulled on them but just like the car hood it didn't budge. Jonah, holding the screwdriver wedged it between them and just like the car hood it refused to open at first. After using more force and more groaning he got it off and removed the top. The air filter, partly covered in fine-grain dust, was now visible. Jonah smirked and muttered, “Good. It seems like I haven't forgotten”. He carefully lifted the air filter, giving it a blow to get the dust off, and grabbed the mouth rag from his pocket to wipe away the ones still clinging to the filter.

  With this done he turned back to the engine, this time to grab its alternator. He tried to find the small metallic cylinder which it would likely be in and shortly after he found it. The alternator was covered in grime and grain dust as well, its belt looking like it would snap with any amount of pressure. “Good enough,” Jonah muttered again. He grabbed a wrench, seemingly the right size and fit it into the first bolt. He rotated it, trying to get the bolt off to no avail. It was too tight. Jonah grunted and grabbed his mouth rag, using that to rotate it with the rag on the wrench and this time it worked. The first of the four bolts was undone. There were three more and they weren't that different they were easier. The alternator was still plugged into the car but due to age, it had melded together. This time he pulled out a pair of pliers and snapped the cables free. There were sparks for a moment but they faded away as quickly as they came. With this the alternator was free. Jonah grabbed it and put it in the toolbox, the same with the other tools and the air filter. He had what he needed so he got down the car lift and took a step outside the car workshop. The sun was lower than it was when he went in. Jonah hoped he hadn't taken that long. With a steady but fast pace, he started walking towards the old generator.

  After even more walking and turns he saw the generator and Marcus seemingly pacing was lost in thought. Jonah called out to him and went to his side. “Marcus”

  Marcus flinched, snapping out of his state of thought. “Have you seen the other group?”

  Jonah paused for a moment. “I haven't but i think there's a good chance they are back at the bunker currently reading the note. Also, I found these.” Jonah set down his toolbox, opened it and took out the air filter. Then he placed it back in and took out the transmission with two hands.

  “That was quick. Is that all you need to fix the generator? I found an unused hose which should be useful for siphoning.”

  Jonah pointed at the hose on his hand. “Do you mean that?”

  “Yes?” Marcus looked at the hose again to see if something with the hose was wrong. He was unable to see anything wrong with it. So he looked back at Jonah. “The hose doesn't have any leaks if that's what you are worrying about.”

  Jonah’s eyes were still on the hose, his gaze trying to peek inside. Jonah failed however because the hose wasnt see through. “The hose needs to be see-through. Safety first do you not remember?” Marcus’ head looked down at the hose. “Ah. It slipped out of my mind too. Do you think we can do it like this?”

  “We can but wish there was an air canister or some siphoning tools. Even a better hose would help. ” Jonah sighed. “Siphoning by mouth like that will be a pain. I’ll start working on the generator. Can you try to find an air canister or something like that? I really don't want us to siphon with our mouths.”

  “I can try but wouldn't it be faster to just siphon it with my mouth? That way roughly when you fix the generator I would have enough gas.”

  “It would but it's very dangerous, especially with that.” Jonah pointed at the hose with his chin. “Or so my father used to tell. I don't want to risk it even in this situation. If we can't find one then we can do it by mouth.”

  “Okay.” Marcus muttered, his voice trailing off as he went away into another building.

Recommended Popular Novels