“We’ve chosen to carry on just as it was before the war. As far back as I can remember, we’ve always run the colony this way. When they elected me, I vowed to carry on the traditions, as has every mayor to run New Denver since the calamity.”
“We’re so grateful for everything.”
“Ah, Vanessa, such a lovely bride.” Corey reached for her hand and kissed it with a flourishing bow. Jared felt a prick of jealousy but kicked himself for being so petty. Everyone in this town had been nothing but polite and he had no reason to fear any malicious intent.
“So, Nanna threatened me on pain of death and told me I had to come to this wedding and speak with you.” Corey raised his voice loud enough for Nanna and Max to hear, eliciting chuckles from them both.
“Do you want to chat someplace else?”
“Here is fine.” The only people left in the room were the mayor, Max, Nanna, and Jared’s small party. “We’re all part of the senior council. There’s nothing old Max and Marie don’t know around here.”
“All right, we’d like to request your help with some nanite injectors.”
“For three of our special guests, absolutely! We’re expecting a new shipment any day now.”
“That’s just it…we need more than that.”
“I see.” Corey sat down on a pew as Max and Marie joined them.
“Why do you need more?” The suspicion shown the night before returned to old Nanna’s face.
“I assure you, it isn’t for us. We encountered a nomad colony up in the mountains and they’re liable to die without some injectors.” Jared hated lying to them. It made him feel dirty, even wearing the pristine tuxedo and having just taken a shower.
“Bring them here! We’ve got more than enough room and if we don’t, our sister colony does.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think they will. They’d rather die than join another colony. Someone razed their last one to the ground.”
“How many are you talking about?” Max’s voice held a growing note of alarm.
“Twenty-nine to be exact.”
Corey blew out a breath. “I—”
“Jared, that’s an awful lot to ask of any one colony, let alone as an outsider.”
He turned to look at Max. “I know, and I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t think it was important. You can see we aren’t your usual variety of explorer, and we only want to help everyone. As much as I don’t want to give it up, I can offer you something in return. Elle, do you mind grabbing my pack from the inn?”
“Sure, be right back.” Elle unfastened her heels and jogged off toward the Inn.
“We told you we’d been out exploring for almost a decade. That’s not entirely true. Vanessa and Elle have been without a colony for that long, but I come from a colony in the northeastern part of the continent. I’ve been exploring for about two-and-a-half years. My mother passed about five years ago, and my father a couple years later. I tried to go through the motions for a year back home, but everything I did just brought back the memories, and I struck out on my own.
“I stumbled on Vanessa and her people, and they’ve truly been homeless for just under a decade. All of their supplies and homes destroyed three times over, and now they have almost nothing but the clothes on their back and some weapons. It’s one of these weapons I want to offer you in exchange for the injectors.”
“We’ve got weapons. Lots and lots of weapons. You came through the west gate, so know.”
“I do, but I assure you, there is no weapon like this inside these walls. If there is, then I apologize for wasting your time. Truly. This is all we can offer at the moment, but we’re happy to open trade if there is anything outside your walls you need from us.”
Elle re-entered the chapel and handed Jared his pack. “I urge you to keep what I’m about to show you a secret. This is not something you want escaping your walls and getting to mercenary camps.”
Jared pulled the phase rifle and a full battery from his pack and set it on the pew beside Corey.
The mayor’s mouth dropped open, and he fell back into his seat. Max and Marie craned their heads around the front pew to see what he’d pulled out. Similar reactions came from both.
“How?” They all asked at the same time.
“We found a downed drop ship and scuttled it before another came to clean up the wreckage.”
“This is worth a fortune, and you’re offering it in exchange for some injectors?”
“Yes, the lives of my new family are worth more than any weapon in the world.” Jared understood the Mayor’s plight, but he thought the tradeoff more than worth it considering what they’d use the injectors for.
“I’m inclined to agree, but I must bring Johnston back here before we decide. He may not look or act it, but he’s in charge of all the military-trained people around here. I’d like him to verify the weapon and test it before we concede. Agreed?”
Corey directed his question at Max and Marie as much as Jared and his party. This was entirely new territory for everyone, and they wanted to ensure both parties came out winners.
“I’ll fetch him.” Elle didn’t wait for a response as she sprinted out the door once more.
“She’s quick!”
“You have no idea, Nanna. She can outrun almost anyone back home. Anyone, but Jared that is. Elle—”
“You don’t have to talk about it, Vanessa.” Jared placed an arm around her, rubbing her shoulder for comfort.
“It’s okay. It’s in the past now. Elle was on her own for nearly a decade. We got separated when she was only five, but Jared found her and reunited us.”
“That poor sweet girl.” Nanna covered her mouth in shock. “She spent all that time alone? Was she in a colony?”
Vanessa shook her head and Nanna’s eyes widened, a tear leaking down her cheek. “It’s a miracle she survived at all. You shoulda started with that story to begin with and I’d have given you all the injectors you wanted, myself.”
“No, fair is fair.” Jared reassured them. “I find this trade perfectly acceptable, and we’ll do just fine without the phase rifle. We’ve got many other conventional weapons to keep us safe.”
It took Elle and Johnston a few minutes longer to return. As soon as Elle walked into the chapel, Nanna all but threw herself on Elle, muttering about the poor child and how brave she was.
“Easy, Kitty,” Jared warned the large feline when he saw her shimmer just beyond everyone’s view. The cat winked back out of view, realizing there was no danger.
“Sergeant Johnston. We got an interesting proposition to consider and we need your military expertise to be the final say. Jared is asking for twenty-nine of our injectors for—”
“Twenty-nine! Whatever for?” Johnston barked his response, immediately reaching for a pistol at his waist.
“Calm down, you. We’re having a civil discussion here. We believe their story, but what they have to trade is more in your realm of responsibility. You need to examine and test if it works; preferably, someplace no one can see. If all checks out, they’ll have those injectors.”
“Would could be so valuable—”
Corey lifted the rifle from the bench and proffered it to the sergeant.
“Holy mother of all that’s good! Where…how?”
“Stop yer splutterin’! Don’t ya think we already asked these questions? Hmm?” Marie smacked her clutch against Johnston’s arm.
“Right, okay, whoa. This is really a phase rifle? I’ve always wanted to, but…”
“No more questions, sergeant.” Corey stepped into his mayor role rather efficiently, and the bubbling sergeant immediately quelled his attitude and started a thorough examination of the weapon.
“It checks out from what I can tell. I’ve only seen them on the drones from the drop ships and never held one, but it looks identical.”
“Drones? You mean the little ball things?”
“No, those are just sensor probes. The metal humans are drones. They’re remotely controlled by the cities. We’ve gotten a little information over the years, but unfortunately never got our hands on any phase weapons. I’ve only every heard of colonies getting dated pistols. If someone knew we had—”
“We will not speak of this outside this room. Understood?”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
“Now, can you test this without raising suspicion?”
“This church still has a basement correct?”
“Yes, but…ah, why didn’t I think of that? Okay, lead the way.”
Jared made to follow, but Corey motioned for everyone but Sergeant Johnston to wait. “We can’t give up all our secrets, now can we?”
He winked at the group before disappearing into a back room with Johnston and the phase rifle.
After fifteen minutes of waiting, Jared grew concerned by the long absence, but his senses indicated Kitty wasn’t in the room and he surmised that she’d followed them into the basement.
Good Kitty. Jared smiled, imaging what their reaction would be if they knew a giant cat the size of a horse stalked them. He relaxed and waited patiently for them to return.
He glimpsed Kitty walking back through the open door several minutes before Johnston and Mayor Corey. Brushing his side, Kitty let him know they had an underground tunnel that led several miles under the city. They’d walked down them for a time before they reached a bend in the tunnel. Johnston set up a couple targets and squeezed off few rounds. After he confirmed it worked, he’d done a little happy dance exclaiming it was well worth the trade and that he felt a little bad for how lopsided it was.
Jared thanked Kitty and smiled to himself. If only they knew the water folk had five more plus a bunch of phase pistols. They’d fall over in shock. Johnston was ready to give them the world just to have the rifle. It was blatantly obvious when he clutched the rifle to his chest with a vise-like grip.
“I see you enjoyed your test?”
“Very, very much! I’ll sleep with her on my pillow. My wife might hate ya for a while, since she’s gonna share a bed with her.” Johnston stroked the side of the rifle with affection.
In only a day, the man had grown on Jared, and he’d miss his open nature. Someday, he wanted to come back here. If they succeeded against the cities, perhaps it would be sooner than later. Based on his interactions with the inner council of New Denver, it was obvious they sided with the people surviving on the earth. If they knew the truth of the world, he suspected they’d join their cause. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to tell them. All he wanted right now was the boosters.
“Then it’s settled?”
“It is. Marie, please take Jared and his beautiful new bride back to the Inn. I’ll send Jerry to the hospital to get the boosters.”
“Is it far? We’ve people waiting for us midway up the mountain. I don’t want to keep them waiting too long.”
“An hour tops. It’s a five-mile hike, but Jerry will take the scooter. Shouldn’t take him long at all.”
“Up ya go. No lolly-gaggin’. We gots to get ya outta that dress.”
Vanessa smiled and let Marie pull her along. They marched to the inn where Jared parted ways to head upstairs, and Vanessa disappeared into a back room on the main level. He stripped out of his clothes and folded them neatly on the bed. His travel clothes were waiting for him, washed, mended, and pressed. The service at this place was amazing, and he definitely wanted to stay there again if they ever came back.
He was just about to slip his pants on when a timid knock at the door stopped him.
“Jared?”
“You’re done already? I’m still—”
Vanessa opened the door and Jared fell on his back, one leg tangled in his pants.
“Nanna says we have time before Jerry gets back and—”
Jared needed no further invitation. He jumped to his feet, slammed the door shut, and spent the most wonderful hour with his new wife. Words couldn’t describe the experience. It was unlike anything he’d imagined, and as a married couple, this was now their life. To have and to hold, from this day forth. He couldn’t wait to experience every second of the rest of their lives together.
True to his word, Jerry arrived back almost one hour on the nose. The knock on the door was an unwelcome sound and if not for the amazing hour Jared would have snarled out a rebuke at the interruption.
“Your package is waiting downstairs with Nanna.”
“Quite the little gentleman in the making.” Jared flashed a brief note of irritation, but Vanessa quickly squashed it.
“He’s such a sweet little boy, and Nanna raised him well so far.”
Jared swung his feet over the side of the bed. “Shall we?”
“If we must.”
Jared rolled back over, pinning her to the bed and kissed her with all the love and affection he could muster. “We’re married now. We can get away whenever we want.”
“Well, we don’t exactly have a home anymore.”
“That’s fair, but that will change.”
“How so?” Vanessa’s voice sounded muffled as she moved to the adjoining room to retrieve her belongings.
“Corey said they’re expecting a ship any day now. Pete is ready to intercept the signals from the ships. I think there’s no reason to delay the recon mission any further, given our current homelessness.”
Vanessa didn’t answer and Jared knew why when he heard soft weeping coming from the other room.
He dropped his gear back to the bed and joined her, wrapping his arms around her. “We don’t have to talk about it now and I know you’re not a fan, but it’s our best chance of success.”
“I know, I…It’s our wedding day. Let’s talk of this tomorrow, please.”
“As you wish, my love.” Jared kissed her nose and finished strapping on his gear.
They found Elle waiting for them in the common room. Nanna and Max came out from the back to say their goodbyes and hand them a satchel filled with boosters. He jiggled the bag slightly, closing his eyes for a split second as the image solidified in his mind.
“Twenty-nine boosters as promised. Though, like Johnston, I think you’re getting the short end of the stick here.”
“It’s okay, Max. Really. We have plenty of protection, and we’ve survived this long without the phase rifle.”
“If you say so.”
“You’ve been such a wonderful host, Marie. And Max, we can’t thank you enough for your help with the ceremony. Jerry, you’ve been a huge help and I want to give you something for your trouble.” Jared fished a credit from his pack and handed it to Jerry. His eyes lit up in glee and he raced from the room. Nanna’s voice lashed at him before he’d made it two steps.
“What do you say, mister?”
“Sorry. Thank you. Be Safe. Bye.” With that, the little fellow was out the door, Nanna’s muttering the last thing on his mind.
Jared chuckled and turned back to see Vanessa and Elle hug Nanna, repeating Jared’s sentiments.
“If we get the chance to come back through here, we’ll stop in for a stay. We’ll never forget the kindness you’ve shown.”
“It’s been our pleasure, dearie! Please come visit again, lovebirds.”
They turned around and left the inn, Kitty silently trailing behind. Sergeant Johnston hadn’t made it back to his post yet, but Carlos saw them off and promised to keep an eye out for them if they ever returned.
Glancing over their shoulders, they found Jerry up on the wall waving to them until the guards chased him from the ramparts. At the same time, a large flock of birds the size of massive eagles flew over the town. None of the soldiers so much as flinched, but Jerry looked at them in wonder, flapping his arms as the soldiers shooed him off
the wall.
The birds almost made Jared rethink their strategy of bonding all dragons. It would be really handy to have a giant bird that could fly with impunity anywhere it wanted. They couldn’t even use Attis because most people likely had no idea that griffons were real. Even if they couldn’t use him as a scout, Jared needed to go retrieve him soon. No matter his usefulness, he was a part of their group now and Jared didn’t like the idea of leaving anyone, human or creature, behind.
A shout drew his eyes back to the wall and he saw Jerry dart around the person herding him down the steps.
Laughing joyfully, Jared grabbed Vanessa’s hand, and they hiked through the afternoon until reaching the pass where Scarlet and Malsour waited.
“Scarlet?” Jared frowned. He didn’t see the two of them abandoning their position without good reason.
“Let’s keep going, maybe they moved back.”
“Scarlet? Where are you?”
“Jared! Are you on your way back?”
“Yes, we passed the meeting place half an hour ago.”
“Sorry. We needed to put some distance between us.”
“Why? Oh.”
“We will teach you to lock down your emotions. Until then, we would appreciate a heads up.”
“Sorry, Scarlet. We didn’t plan to...you know. I wasn’t thinking of much else at the time.”
“There is no reason to apologize. You are perfectly within your right to be with your mate. The bond complicates things, slightly.”
Jared’s cheeks flushed crimson as he imagined exactly what Scarlet and Malsour had felt. They didn’t experience the same relationship as humans, so he wondered what equivalent feelings they’d have. Shaking his head to clear the thought, Jared apologized again and ensured Scarlet they’d warn them until they could lock down their emotions.
“We will be right there.”
A few minutes later, Scarlet and her brother climbed over the ridgeline and landed before them. Everyone mounted up, and they raced through the rest of the mountain range until meeting up with the group. Everywhere Jared looked, he saw dragons intermingling with humans, many in deep conversations.
Radioactive Revolution: A Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic Adventure Page 39
