Melting Snow

Friday on Mars

Friday, October 6, 2017
The "Blogging Circle of Friends "  prompt for DAY 1786
Create a story with these 8 words. Cannibalism, bootlegger, filter, hide, admission, chamber, hug and enormous.

Friday on Mars

"The only solution I can see is cannibalism," grumbled Harvey, tossing the Allen wrench to the floor of the Quonset hut garage.

"What?!" Carolyn, her hands trembling, stared at her husband.

"We'll have to cannibalize parts from the other two rovers to fix this one!" He turned to face his wife, who was backing toward the door.

"Oh," she gave him a weak smile. "I thought... Never mind what I thought. How long is it going to take to fix this one?"

"I don't know," he ambled over to Carolyn, gave her a hug, and looked around for his environmental suit. "Where did you hide my enviro-suit?"

"It's right here," she pointed too the empty space beside the outside door, where the environmental suits usually stood. "They're gone!"

"We still have that extra suit in storage, don't we?"

"Yes,but.."

"But what, Carolyn?"

"It's in the underground storage chamber, and the passage to that section is blocked by an enormous boulder. To get anything from that room we have to go outside to the above ground entrance."

"Honey," Harvey lowered his voice tow octaves. "Besides you and I, which of your friend have been in this hut?"

"Sweetheart," she glared at him. "The only other person I know of, is that bootlegger friend of yours. And I, damn well, know both enviro-suits were there when he left."

"What'd he want?"

"He was looking for a filter for one of his stills."

"Did you sell him one?"

"No," she smiled sweetly, "I promised you I'd never sell anything to one of your friends again. The filters are in the storage unit, so I charged him admission. It wasn't enough to cover the cost of the filter; however, the reward I got for turning him into the Mars Patrol was more then enough for that."

"Shit! Carolyn, he's going to kill us when he gets out of jail."

"Harvey, we can worry about your friend murdering us later. Right now you need to get that rover fixed, so I can pick up my mother. She's arriving on Monday."

"Your mother is coming here!"

"Yes, don't you remember promising me that Mama could visit us two years after we were married. Our Cotton Anniversary is on Monday."

"Carolyn, can you remind me again why I married you?"

"You couldn't join the Mars Colony without a wife, and none of you other girl friends were that disport for a husband."