SILVER: Acheron (A River of Pain) (The SILVER Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

over from set construction, maybe? Who gives a shit?
    Another thought.
    The sleeping woman is using rope as a makeshift belt … there must be more of it. With steel pipes and rope, and exploiting roof’s elaborate architecture, she should be able to secure the steel pipes upright. Climbing back inside, she makes her way down to the auditorium and casts her eyes upon the proscenium arch stage for the first time.
    Once glorious and majestic, it’s now in tatters. Gilded floral moldings are flaking and dull, and the paint is peeling off the ceiling in chunks. Red velvet chairs are broken and torn, many of them now nesting places for rodents. Behind the stage, Silver finds a craft table. Upon it, the rope.
    Score one.
    Behind that, she finds a stack of large metal trash cans.
    Score two.
    Dragging her loot through the poorly lit backstage area, Silver stumbles over a sandbag—a counterweight once used for ballast hoisting set pieces into the fly space above the stage. Squinting in the darkness, she discovers a whole line of similarly weighted sandbags.
    Score three.
    One by one, Silver cuts the ropes with her hunting knife, sending set pieces crashing down onto the stage floor, the fall completely obliterating them upon impact.
    Back on the roof, she positions the four empty trash cans in a large, square formation and fills each of them half full with sand.
    Phase one, complete.
    Setting the sand aside, she takes the steel pipes and wriggles one down into the sand inside each trash can, using the remaining sand to fill the trash cans to the brim; thus holding the pipes firmly in place.
    Phase two, complete.
    Now, hunting knife back in hand, she makes six holes in the edges of the tarp. One in each corner, and one in the middle of each end.
    Phase three, complete.
    Cutting the rope into measured lengths, she feeds one piece of it through one of the corner holes and secures the tarp to the top of one of the steel pipes, drawing the rope back and securing it to the edge of the rooftop for added stability.
    Repeat, times three.
    Phase four, complete.
    With the tarp now secured to the four steel pipes, she takes another piece of rope and feeds it through the hole in the middle of the back edge, pulling the tarp downward into a shallow ‘V’ shape and securing it against the roof. This will help to counter the effects of the wind tearing up and under the tarp, threatening to undo all of her good work.
    She does the same with the front end of the tarp, but lower, helping gravity by making a convenient spout.
    Phase five, complete.
    One last trash can and one last piece of rope, and the rain beating down still. She positions the trash can beneath the ‘spout’ and lays the net curtains out over top of it, securing it there with more of the rope.
    Ta-da!
    Now, stand back and admire.
    A water collection device complete with a basic filtration system, and a non-porous storage vessel.
    Soaked through, her hair matted to her face and neck, Silver is quietly proud of herself. If only there was someone around to witness her success. A lover, maybe.
    Sadness returns.         
    She takes a few scoops of water, quenches her thirst, and washes her face. Dusk is settling in over the city, and Silver knows she must rest before anything else of value can be accomplished. She needs to learn the lay of the land—and fast. She needs to find a viable source of income, and she needs to eat.
    First thing’s first, though. She finds an old jug in the theatre’s kitchen and fills it with water from her contraption.
    A gentle nudge is all it takes to wake the sleeping woman from her slumber.
    “Here, sleepy head.” Silver offers her the jug. “Drink something.”
    Eyeing Silver with suspicion, the woman reaches out to take the jug. As she does, she catches sight of an ancient scar on Silver’s right palm. Deep enough to slice through flesh and tendons, and to cause some serious, permanent damage, the wound is conspicuous and