"One minute!" a stern voice echoed off the discolored tiles.

The shower was a cobbled together oddity. Lukewarm water ran from a number of elevated black barrels outside. They were warmed by whatever sunlight could be absorbed through their dark plastic sides. Lengths of scavenged green garden hose ran through small holes that had been punched near the top of the wall to the unlit area inside. At the ends of the hoses there were wired tin cans with a few holes punched through the bottoms to disburse the water. They were hung from the framework of what had once been a suspended ceiling. Remnants of the textured white tiles were still scattered throughout the building. It wasn't really built as a shower facility. He remembered that it had been the village elementary school. They had hung whatever they could find down the main hallway to make these little cubicles. Pieces of plastic tarps, corrugated metal, plywood or whatever other scraps they could salvage that would provide a modicum of privacy. There was even a long table top with a bit of graffiti. In black marker, two sets of initials surrounded by a heart.

Another work detail was assigned the task of filling the barrels every morning. They were filled early every day. By the late afternoon, when all the details were allowed to stop working, the water would be tolerable. It just depended on whether the skies were overcast or clear. Or if there were winds that kept the smoke away...smoke from the fires that continued to burn across the countryside and that sometimes darkened the sky. But it was mid September now. In a few short weeks it would turn colder. The water was brought in buckets from a small stream that ran a few hundred feet away. One of their first assignments was to remove any corpses that were floating in the stream or that were found laying along its banks. It wasn't only the bloating human bodies but those of animals also. They had managed to catch a large draft horse that had survived. They had nicknamed the horse "Fireball". They had been mildly reprimanded for their audaciousness. Using the horse they were able to drag the larger carcasses out of the stream. It was their nearest water source. They depended on it to supply the needs of all who in the vicinity had survived.

They were allotted a strict five minutes for their lukewarm shower. Someone had managed to find a few bars of soap in the debris. They had been admonished to keep an eye out for more during their daily work assignment. The soap was shared by all and passed down the line. Unfortunately for him, he had been directed to the last stall that day. A shard of the remaining soap no bigger than a small coin was passed to him from the adjacent stall. It was not even enough to cleanse the stench from the inside of his nose. Maybe someone would discover more tomorrow. But he had something for that. He had discovered a small bottle of anise oil in the wreckage of one of the buildings that they were clearing. Later, in secret, he would dab a tiny bit on the end of his pinky finger and swab the inside of his nostrils. If it was discovered, it would be confiscated. He chuckled to himself thinking that the smell of licorice sure was better than the foulness of decomposing corpses.

"Time!" the stern voice bawled. The water shut off immediately...only a few drops fell from the can. He turned lamely and reached for his soiled clothes that were laying on what once was a student's desk.

..to be continued