Bare Necessities

Jack is driving the truck towards a dried-out river. On the other side, a bit in the distance, is a group of houses that – while they have certainly seen better days – don't look abandoned. Jack says to Annie: Hold on! translate: Festhalten! Then, he drives into the river bed.

The truck struggles to get traction in the sand while driving up the other river bank. It gets stuck. Jack backs up and turns into the river, accelerates, then steers back onto the bank – to no avail, the truck gets stuck again.
Well... fuck.
He turns back into the river once more. The engine roars and the wheels fling sand everywhere. Jack shifts gears, the needle on the speedometer slowly creeps up, then he goes for another attempt. The suspension bottoms out as the wheels plow into the sand, but the truck barely makes it out.
Ouch. Annie holds her shoulder where the seat belt had dug into it. Can we not do that again, please?
Sorry. I'll... try to keep it in mind.
He turns around and drives onto the overgrown remains of a road leading towards the settlement.

Jack parks the truck in front of an old store.
This is it, I guess.
They get out and start walking towards the door. A small dog runs up to them, barking, jumping around, running in circles, and wagging its tail. It picks up a stick and drops it in front of Annie. She crouches down and pets the dog.
Jack says: I'm gonna be inside. more elegant way of saying "I need to take a piss. Hopefully, they have a toilet.
He disappears into the store. Annie picks up the stick, gets up and holds it just out of reach of the dog. It jumps back and forth a couple times, looking at her.
You wanna play fetch, do you?

Annie plays with the dog for a bit, then she follows Jack into the store. Its shelves are sparsely stocked with a random assortment of things, roughly sorted into categories: Hand tools, boxes full of hardware, household chemicals, bars of soap, a few clocks and watches, books, and more. Half of the store seems to be dedicated to food – though the shelves are mostly empty. In the back is a counter. Jack is talking to the man behind it who appears to be in his 60s.
The man says: No, we don't sell food. What you see there is strictly rationed. Since the river name has changed course, we don't even have enough water to grow crops for ourselves. The cisterns and wells simply don't cut it.
Okay... What if we supplied you with water?
The man interrupts the conversation and looks at Annie:
Good afternoon, what can I do for you?
I'm with him.
I see.
He turns back to Jack:
Listen, the amount of water we need can't simply be carried here or we'd do it ourselves. And we need it constantly and consistently, not just once.
I understand that. You need an industrial quantity of water. Will you provide food if we supply it?
He musters Jack for a moment.
Who is we and how do you wanna accomplish that?
We're a small group of people living in a bunker south of Ivydale. Two of us have extensive knowledge of old world technology that we can put to use.
The man looks at him with skepticism.
Jack continues: Let the how be my problem to solve. If we make it happen, will you give us food?
You're gonna have to discuss that with the others. Wait outside.
He disappears through a door behind the counter. Annie and Jack leave the store and, once outside, Annie asks:
So how do you wanna accomplish that? Sounds like you have a grand plan already.
Not really, but I'm pretty sure I will within the hour. If all else fails, we could fix up a flatbed truck, bolt a tank to it, and do supply runs.

While they wait, the small dog runs up again. They play fetch until a group of people approaches, the man from the store among them. A few handshakes later, Jack repeats his suggestion. A man in his 40s, who seems to be in charge, says: Your intentions are ... ambitious. I doubt you can do it but I don't see why we shouldn't let you try. If you manage to restore a permanent water supply, you can have all the food you want.
Someone else throws in: Within reason.
Yes, within reason. Any objections?
He looks around. Someone raises a hand.
Yes?
We're not just gonna feed these people forever, are we?
Jack replies before the one in charge gets a chance: We need to feed maybe ten people for a few months while we establish a settlement in the south of Ivydale.
The one in charge responds: That's a lot. Let's say one month.
We'll need at least two.
A few members of the group discuss among themselves for a moment. Then, the one in charge turns to Jack again:
Okay, we have a deal.
A few people keep questioning Jack and the feasibility of his idea.
Ladies and gentlemen, whether it can be done will be our problem. Now I would like to see what we have to work with. Do you have an irrigation system?
The one in charge responds: Yes, old pipes in the ground. He turns to a girl: Mary, can you go, show them around?
Sure. She takes a step towards Annie and Jack. Follow me.

Mary says: The closest access point is right there, behind the store.
They walk around it and onto a field of withering? plants. A large, partially buried pipe with just the top exposed goes through it with an access hatch roughly in the center of the field. Right next to the hatch is a Gestell? with a boom to lower a large bucket into the access hatch.
Jack asks: Is it all like this, buried pipes going to fields?
Mostly. In the greenhouses, it's just an open channel?.
Where do these pipes lead?
They all connect to a large round buried tank from where a tunnel connects to the inlet. It's a bit of a walk but I can show you.
She gestures for them to follow but Jack stops her:
Wait, we can take the truck.
That's your car?
Her sudden excitement seems to take Jack by surprise.
Uhh... yeah.
That's so cool! I've only ever seen the broken ones by the side of the road. We gonna drive there?
If you show the way.
Heck yeah!

Not sure of this should be the end of a chapter or if I should continue here.
One thing that has happened is that this chapter, while written from Annie's perspective, has her be a passive bystander without even having any introspection for most of it. This needs to be adressed somehow.