Chapter 18
Faith - 3 hours later
“This room will be for you. It has a private bathing room. Let us know if it does not meet your needs.”
Faith just stared with an open mouth at the size of the bedroom, one of four in the quarters the Drastan warriors had been assigned to. It was an open plan with a living room outfitted with a large couch, loveseat, and a comfy-looking chair. A coffee table sat in the center of the seating area. The kitchen was to the left of the living room with a large round kitchen table in between. The bedroom they were showing her was magnificent. One section of a subway car could almost fit inside this one room. This was a freaking palace! The two warriors were watching and waiting for her reaction.
She cleared her voice. “I’ll make do, thanks.”
“While you were being treated, Dome Leader Winstead’s assistant had clothing and personal supplies delivered. It’s in the basket on the bed there. If you would like to shower and change, we’ll notify the dining department to bring a hot meal.”
“Did you say… shower?”
“Yes. You have your own bathing room through that door.”
She hadn’t had an actual shower in eight damn years! It was all she could think about.
“Okay, out! Everyone, out now!”
The two warriors quickly left, but one of them shouted out, “Do not lock the doors in case you fall and injure yourself.”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t lock the doors, whatever.”
All she wanted was to see if this shower had hot running water. She closed the door hard.
“Please God, let there be hot water.”
She entered the room on the other side with the door open. There was a closed door next to it and she assumed it was a closet.
Reaching for the light switch, she blinked at the lights which came on without flickering. The bathroom was amazing. It was simple with three items: sink, toilet, and shower. The walls and floor were white and blue tile. It was the most beautiful thing she had seen in a long time. Fluffy white towels were sitting on the edge of the sink countertop.
She hesitated for just a moment to take it all in. Then she was rushing to remove her clothes.
“Hot water, hot water, hot water.”
It was her new mantra she kept repeating over and over. The shower door was a slider, so she slid it open and reached inside to turn on the left shower knob. A second later, the hottest water ever came out. She had to adjust the heat by turning the right shower knob. As soon as it was at a tolerable temperature, she rushed inside, not even caring about sliding the door back.
“Oh God,” she moaned.
It felt so good! It had been three years since she had a full wash down. Usually, they had to travel to other subway stations to trade just to use their bathing facilities. It was communal, which meant she had to share with a lot of other people. Some locations didn’t even separate the men from the women. That was awkward. It was such a wonderful treat to have this all to herself.
She stood still forever, letting the hot water stream down her face and shoulders. Looking down, she noted how the water was turning a dirty brown from what was coming off her body. Logan must have thought her to be a nasty thing. She wanted him to see that she wasn’t something scraped off the ground.
Looking for hygiene supplies, she found something on the little shelf built into the shower wall. A fancy bottle of liquid soap and liquid shampoo with conditioner were available, and she took full advantage.
Reaching for the shampoo first, she squirted the contents directly on her head, then lathered it up. She inhaled the fragrance that reminded her of fresh lavender.
“Man, this stuff would be worth more than gold in the tunnels.”
It took three washings to get her hair completely free of the dust and dirt and who knows what else was in there. Wet, her hair hung halfway down her back. Dry, it was wavy and without conditioners for eight years. Most of the time, it was frizzy. She put the conditioner on her hair and left it there for a bit.
The liquid body soap was next. She hadn’t grabbed a washcloth before getting into the shower, but she hadn’t used one in years, so it didn’t matter. She poured a large amount on her palm and then rubbed her hands together to build the suds.
She worked her face down to her toes. Since privacy was rare in the tunnels, Faith took the time cleaning her private areas too. Her pubic hair was thin and soft but was spread past the acceptable bikini area. There was never any chance of finding shaving cream and razors to use for personal body maintenance. It was a shame because she was just learning how to do that before the nuclear disaster. Knives were used to cut hair or trim the men’s beards. She glanced out of the open door of the shower to see what was on the counter. There wasn’t a razor or shaving cream. Maybe she could ask for one. It wasn’t a priority, but if she could get her hands on those items, she would be a fool not to do so.
Faith stayed in the shower for a long time. Amazingly, the water stayed hot. She didn’t want to get out, but her body was feeling heavy. Turning off the water, cool air hit her skin, making her shiver. She stepped out of the shower, carefully realizing she hadn’t placed a towel on the floor. She was dripping water all over the place.
All she needed was to slip and hit her head. The warriors would have to rush her back to the medical facility. The worst part would be that they would come in while she was naked and unconscious. How embarrassing that would be!
