Gideon looked around the Comm Building at the men gathered around the table. A few of the men turned their heads in unison as the wind shook against the brace holding the door. Others looked at the skulls, a few more of which rattled. If the storm worsened, he would order the strictest precaution and have them hunker down.
Each of the men knew the value of their lives. He and his Heads of Colony were the sand and mud that glued the hovels outside together, turning a crowd of people into a society.
And they had no small duty.
In the aftermath of the storm, they would have tallies to take, crops to count, and buildings to mend. Depending on their fortune—or misfortune—they might have people to bury.
In a way, the storm was only the first of the tests.
To his right, Wyatt, one of his Heads of Colony, stared over at him with a severe expression. He scratched at his long, crooked nose, as he did when he was steeped in worry. Next to him, Brody slid one hand over the other. Both men were skilled in estimations and numbers. Their aptitude would assist Gideon in assessing the damage to the crops. Saurab and Horatio, his other two Heads, studied the strength of the ceiling. After the storm, they would gauge any widespread damage, recruiting volunteers to assist in the repairs.
Watchers filled the rest of the room.
The sweat and stink of a few dozen, anxious men turned a hot space into a sweltering one, but everyone stayed silent. No one complained. They had survived plenty of storms before.
Thorne, Gideon's Head Watcher, looked toward the northern side of the room.
Jutting out from the other side of that door was the prison annex, which extended past the round building. In the days of the first generation, that secured extension had housed extra rations, but now it served a more judicial purpose. When things ran smoothly, most of those dusty, dank cells remained empty. But storms like this taxed even an honest man's heart. If the rations ran thin, some of the colonists might resort to stealing, or breaking the rules.
If things went poorly, Thorne and his Watchers would fill those rooms, under Gideon's jurisdiction.
They would survive, because they had no choice, in this inherited wasteland.