Light.
Electricity was a luxury. The main grids no longer worked in the upland. Their power had long since been re-routed down into the underlands and those who remained above ground relied on candles or, if they were very lucky, a generator built from scratch. But even a generator didn't mean they had light. Because the generators were home-built and the parts were old, they had an unfortante habit of breaking down. In which case, the uplanders got very used to being in the dark. There were rules about leaving things on the floor, there were always clear paths to all the important areas, and they all knew exactly how many steps to take to get there.
At the moment, Eden was running on half power due to dead sparkplugs and ancient wiring. Chris' little expedition had solved one part of the problem, but the wiring would take a little longer. Until then, they were in the dark.
Lance's office had candles for times like these. Right then they were all seated in the small room watching the candle light dance off each other's faces as Lance shuffled paper around.
"We're running low on stocks again. Which means two things. Either we organise a mass hunt or," Lance paused and stared around the room, "those of us who still can, go into the underlands and barter. It's up to you guys."
Justin shrugged. "Personally, I'd rather hunt up here. At least then, Chris and I can do something."
Chris nodded and Lance glanced over at Joey and JC. "What do you think?"
Joey was silent for a moment before answering. "I think a hunt up here first and then, if we can't find anything, Lance and I should go down and barter. Being that we're the ones in charge of stores, and also not the ones wanted for murder."
"Jayce?"
JC stopped scribbling on a piece of paper and looked up. "Hrm? Oh! Yes, that sounds good to me. sorry, I was.." he gestured at the piece of paper, "re-wiring."
"Then it's decided? We'll hunt first and barter second."
The rest of the gang nodded and Lance grinned. "We'll start early tomorrow then, so I suggest we all go get some rest."
Chris snorted. "Rest? Is that what they're calling it nowadays, Lance?"
Joey reached over and thwapped Chris playfully on the head. "Like you can talk."
"Hey! At least I'm a one-man man. Unlike certain other people I could mention."
"You're welcome to join us at any time," said Lance, chuckling. Chris pulled a look of mock horror and practically scaled Justin's back.
"Nah, Me and Chris are too much man for you three," replied Justin, detangling himself from the Chris-shaped limpet.
"Suit yourselves. You know where we are if you change your minds."