Departure

by Ken Barrett

  Encouraged by Keith’s bravado, Liam, along with Rose, Denise, and several of their companions jumped to their feet and followed Keith as he ran toward the front of the convoy. They stopped only occasionally to seek cover or to help others like themselves. Many prisoners veered away into the old decrepit buildings, a few escaped but most were reduced to clouds of red vapor by the army’s lasers.

  The lead truck that had carried the Major was abandoned; smaller cars had raced forward to rescue the officers. The army’s heavily armed attack trucks lumbered forward, the huge laser cannons that were mounted to their massive beds had enough firepower to level entire buildings. The captives ran for their lives.

  Liam’s group was just emerging from the downtown area when the heavy lasers began firing. The hiss and buzz of their weapons was nearly deafening, but it was the roar of falling buildings that brought true fear into their hearts. Being caught and possibly buried alive within an avalanche of masonry was a fate more fearful than being instantly vaporized. Liam kept his sister and Denise close as they all ran, hoping to escape the downtown area before it entirely collapsed.

  The ambush ended as abruptly as it started. The railguns went silent, but the Socialist Army wasn’t through. Their heavy ordnance fired indiscriminately at the surrounding buildings, exploding and tumbling their ruins into the street. They buried several of their own vehicles in blind acts of mindless brutality and vengeance.

  It may have seemed to be a victory for the Socialists, but Liam had his doubts. The attack may have been conducted by as few as five individuals carrying hand held railguns, and most if not all of the attackers had probably escaped. On the other hand, the army had suffered many casualties, lost several heavily weaponized vehicles, and the road through Golden was now completely blocked. More victories like that could cost them the war.

  Once outside the city, the military quickly rounded up the captives and surrounded them with their vehicles. The number of prisoners was reduced, and Liam hoped that at least some of the missing had escaped. Many of those that remained were injured, and when physicians declared that they wouldn’t be able to keep up with the convoy, they were executed.

  *****

  Just south of Golden, the convoy passed under the remains of an ancient super highway that led into the high mountains. Landslides and war had destroyed much of the gigantic structure, but what remained was magnificent. Liam wondered what the roadway had looked like when it was still in use. What incredible engineers the old ones had been, and yet sadly, their civilization had fallen. Technology and vision alone were not viable indications that a culture would endure.

  A camp awaited them a short distance south of the mountain highway. The surviving refugees were herded into a fenced enclosure that was ringed by guard towers. Everyone in their group had survived the attack in Golden, and Liam wrapped his arms around his sister and Denise, grateful to still be with them.

  Food and water soon arrived, and Keith, Bob and Roxi stayed behind to set up the tent while the rest went to get dinner. Later, as he huddled with Denise beneath his duster coat and drifted on the edge of sleep, Liam wondered if any of them would live through the forced march south. He watched as Bob and Roxi whispered together; they were the oldest and least robust of their group, their only chance of survival was to find a way to escape.

  *****

  Morning came hard and loud. “GET UP YOU FUCKTARDS!” the Major’s amplified voice screamed. “WE MOVE OUT IN FIVE MINUTES!”

  “What a pleasant man,” Roxi remarked.

  Keith laughed. “How’re you doin’ today Roxi?”

  “Oh, my feet are a little sore, probably like everyone else’s. I’m fine though.”

  They all wrapped themselves in their coats and crawled out of the tent. The day ahead did not seem promising; a thick fog hung close to the ground, and by the look of things the weather was not going to improve.

  Keith packed up the tent then strapped it to his shoulders. “Looks like we lost quite a few people in Golden.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that too,” Liam replied. “I hope that at least some escaped, but will the Tribes give them shelter?”

  “Maybe.” Keith shrugged. “It kinda depends on whether they’re useful or not.”

  “Huh,” Rose said, joining in on their conversation. “They’re just like Flatiron then. My brother and I were only allowed in because we had talents the city needed.”

  “I guess it’s kinda the same way with the rebels,” Keith answered. “No one can afford charity when times are tough.”

  “They’re herding us out, so I guess we gotta go,” Liam said, then quietly continued, “I don’t know if Bob and Roxi have it in them to make it all the way down to Pike City. We gotta find a way for them to get away.”

  “I’m way ahead of you,” Keith answered. “I was talkin’ with ‘em both last night after you guys were asleep.”

  “What’re you planning?” Denise asked.

  “The area around old Denver is dangerous because the Socialists and a couple of the Tribes are fighting over territory. The further south we go, the safer it’ll be for ‘em to get away. So, we’ll try for somewhere near Castle Rock,” Keith responded.

  “Castle Rock?” Liam asked.

  “Yeah, it was a smaller city, about 30 kilometers south of Denver. Now it’s just a ruin left over from the Crusades,” Keith answered.

  “So, they’ll have to wait,” Denise stated. “I hope they can make it.”

  “Yeah,” Keith answered. “My guess is that we’ll go east on the outer loop around Denver, then hook up with the old interstate that leads south. That route will take us up a pretty steep hill, and that’s gonna be a problem.”

  “We’ll make it,” Roxi said as she joined the line of prisoners leaving the enclosure. “Bob and I are old – but not that old.”

  “Just do your best sugar,” Keith said with a grin. “I know for a fact that people like you guys are needed by the Tribes, so I’ll be sure to make that happen.”

  “A physicist and a guy that plays with batteries,” Bob joked. “Yeah sure.”

  “You’re two geniuses that know how to do stuff that they need,” Keith replied, then glanced at Rose and Liam. “Sorry guys, but your talents aren’t really important, you might get accepted, but you never know.”

  Rose nodded slowly. “Yes, I suppose a computer programmer and a history buff aren’t very useful in an apocalypse.”

  Liam draped his arm over his sister’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. We have each other and that’s all we really need.”

  “But how will you let the Tribes know about your plans?” Rose asked.

  “It’s easier than you’d think,” Keith replied. “The army just abandons places like this when they pull out. So, all I do is leave a note where someone can find it.”

  “Low-tech is always the best way to go,” Liam remarked.

  An amplified guard’s voice suddenly shouted from the top of one of the watch towers. “ALL RIGHT. I WANT ALL THE YOUNG KIDS TO STEP FORWARD. IT’s YOUR LUCKY DAY, YOU CUTE LITTLE KIDDIES GET TO RIDE ALL THE WAY TO PIKE CITY!”

  “What’s that about?” Liam asked.

  “Huh, yeah, I was afraid this would happen.” Keith looked grim. “They’re gonna use the kids as a shield. If we’re attacked again they think the Tribes will hold off if there’s children riding in plain sight on their trucks.”

  “At least we won’t have to worry about them getting shot for going too slow,” Denise said. “But will having the kids up there keep the army safe?”

  Keith sighed and shook his head. “Both sides hate each other and will do anything… anything to wipe out the other. So, my guess is that it won’t make any difference at all.”

  *****

  The rain that the morning promised never arrived, instead the day remained hot and oppressively humid. The pale concrete roadway was blinding in the murky sunlight, and Liam often walked with his eyes closed because the glare gave him a headache. Their day was most
ly passed in silence; speaking took more energy than any of them wanted to expend, and there was nothing to talk about anyway. Everyone stayed close and kept a watch on each other; surviving the long ordeal became a team effort.

  At the end of the day they were led into a camp enclosure that surrounded a cracked area of ancient tarmac. It was an inhospitable place to spend the night, but after a bland dinner of oatmeal and water, he curled up with Denise and fell into a deep sleep.

  Odd dreams plagued him that night, possibly brought on by the oppressive heat and painfully bright light they had endured all day. In his dream, he was awake but unable to move. Rose lay beside him and seemed to be struck immobile as well. An orange light illuminated Roxi’s face as she looked down at both him and his sister. Bob and Denise were also there, they were talking about something important, but none of it made any sense.

  *****

  Their third day on the road was the shorter in terms of distance, but much more difficult for everyone. The convoy steered them off the Denver outer loop and onto a wide southern highway that took them up a long torturous grade. Liam carried Roxi on his back, and Keith supported and helped Bob up the long hill. The weakest among the Flatiron survivors were slaughtered when they couldn’t keep up; the dead they left behind rivaled the number that were killed during the attack in Golden.

  Every up has a down though, and late in the afternoon the survivors descended the long slope toward the abandoned city of Castle Rock. “It looks like we’ll make it through another day,” Rose said as they passed by a complex of tumbled stone buildings.

  “Did you have a weird dream last night?” Liam asked.

  “Dream?” Rose shrugged. “Maybe, but it could’ve been that I was just half awake. I just remember Roxi and Bob talking.”

  “Yeah, me too. Seemed funny because it felt like I couldn’t move.”

  “Yes, it was the same for me.” Rose rested her hand on his shoulder as they walked. “We were probably too wiped out by the long day, and sort of went into a trance.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably it.” Liam looked around to be sure no one was listening. “Isn’t Castle Rock where Keith said that Roxi and Bob might try to get away?”

  “Maybe,” Rose said quietly. “All these buildings remind me of Golden; let’s hope that whatever happens, it isn’t like that again.”

  They were herded off the highway just south of the old downtown area of the city, then forced into a space that might have once been some kind of park. It must have been beautiful long ago; just beyond the fenced enclosure a wide slow-moving river flowed through a sandy gully that was lined with twisted oak trees. Keith set their tent up at the western edge of camp on a low rise that overlooked the river, and as it was on previous nights, they ate their meager dinners then settled down to sleep.

  *****

  The rattle of railguns woke him. He rolled over to check on Rose; she was safe, but otherwise their tent was empty. Where was Denise? Had Keith and the rest of their friends abandoned them?

  The side of their tent suddenly collapsed as Keith stumbled through the opening. “Stay down!” he ordered, then fell on top of them.

  Liam slipped out from under the weight of his friend. “Are you shot? Are you ok?” he asked frantically.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just stay down,” Keith ordered. The buzz of lasers sent blazing fire roaring into the night, and railguns answered briefly, then became silent. “Ok, this is important,” Keith whispered. “If you’re asked, Roxi, Bob, and Denise died yesterday during the walk up the hill.”

  “Denise is gone too?” Liam frowned.

  “Yeah,” Keith said. “She has experience in hydroponics, and that’s needed up in the mountains.”

  “So, all three have gone to work for the Tribes?” Liam whispered. The loss of Denise hurt, but he hoped that she was safe.

  “Shut up; don’t ever say anything about that, even when you think no one will hear,” Keith said. “I have a mission in Pike City, and you two are gonna help me.”

  *****

  “EVERYBODY UP!” A painfully amplified voice screamed. “OUT OF YOUR TENTS FOR A HEAD COUNT!”

  They scrambled outside and waited, shivering in the damp predawn darkness. Soldiers quickly moved through the groups of captives. “Who’s missing?” the angry men asked again and again, but they received no answers. Regardless of the bets placed on the lives of the refugees, no one had kept track of who had died on the road.

  “There’s a hole in the fuckin’ fence, so somebody’s missing!” one of the soldiers shouted. He stopped in front of Keith and glared. “There was more in your group yesterday, where are they?”

  “Killed on the hike up the hill,” Keith answered. “You know, maybe instead of sneakin’ out, someone snuck in.”

  The soldier’s eyes widened and he looked around warily, then he frowned. “Fuck you asshole,” he mumbled. “All right, I hope you bitches enjoyed your beauty sleep, ‘cause we’re movin’ out early.”

  They were marched south along the old interstate highway, passing by long abandoned neighborhoods of tumbledown homes. Beyond the ruins of Castle Rock, the road took them through wide open grasslands with flat topped mesas to the east and the majestic granite wall of the Front Range to the west.

  Around midday the rattling roar of railguns sprung from atop the mesas. The line of armored vehicles at the end of their column was the target; one was completely cut in half before anyone could respond. That children were killed didn’t concern the attackers at all. The army quickly took cover behind their prisoners, and prepared to defend their position, but then the attack abruptly ended.

  After several long minutes of hearing nothing but the wind whisper across the rolling plain, the soldiers cautiously relaxed. “We’re sittin’ ducks out here,” the Major announced from the lead vehicle. “Let’s move out – and no stops ‘til we’re down for the night!”

  The army abandoned three of their large flatbed trucks because they were disabled in the attack. The bloody and torn bodies of children also lay discarded at the side of the road. The pace of the convoy quickened to something close to a fast walk or a slow jog. Everyone did their best to help the weakest among them, but still more refugees were slaughtered for falling behind.

  Short sporadic attacks occurred throughout the day, but the strikes were primarily aimed at the military vehicles rather than personnel. By nightfall only two of the massive trucks remained and most of the soldiers walked along beside their captives.

  Their final night on the road was spent on a dry grassy field near the long-abandoned city of Monument. The lights of Pike City could be seen glowing in the distance, and Liam wondered what new horrors waited for them there.

  Part 2: The City

  Be extremely subtle,

  even to the point of formlessness.

  Be extremely mysterious,

  even to the point of soundlessness.

  Thereby you can be

  the director of your opponent's fate.

  Sun Tzu, The Art of War

  Chapter 9: Arrival

  The last hour of their long walk was through the charred and desiccated ruins that lay north of Pike City. The ancient steel and masonry buildings were tortured and twisted by war and time; their dark windows seemed like eyes that watched and followed them everywhere. It was a haunted place, like an old neglected graveyard.

  Regardless of the distraction, Liam’s gaze kept returning to the towering edifice of the city wall. He estimated the height of the structure at something close to thirty-meters. Laser canons were placed at roughly ten-meter intervals along the top, around which soldiers gathered and stared down at them curiously. The wall itself was made of a dull gray material that resembled plasti-wood, which was probably a good choice because it was resilient, and less likely to shatter under the assault of Tribal railguns.

  Soldiers escorted them into a maze of buildings just inside the city’s northern gate, where they were split into smaller groups for processing. L
iam and Rose, along with several others were taken to a large room where an army of administrators toiled behind desks arranged in long rows.

  Everyone they saw was dressed in dull gray pants and shirts. The lack of individuality and the excessive regimentation of the workers made them seem like faceless cogs in some great machine. After waiting in line, they were each called to separate desks to be grilled by dispassionate bureaucrats.

  Liam was interviewed by an elderly man who performed his job robotically. Fortunately, it didn’t matter that his false name wasn’t in their system, the administrator simply created a new record in their database and his new identity as Jack Jones was approved.

  Before he was allowed to leave, the elderly man asked, “Do you know someone named Liam Collins?”

  His immediate reaction was fear that his true identity had been discovered, but curiosity got the better of him. “Yeah, I knew Liam. He worked at the university; why do you ask?”

  The administrator pressed a button at the edge of his desk and an armed guard quickly arrived. “There’s a reward out for Liam Collins,” the elderly man said. “When was the last time you saw him?”

  Maybe this was an opportunity to learn something about his new environment. “Liam was with us on the long walk. He knew the guards were looking for him, so when he got tired of walking he told one of the soldiers who he was.”

  “Where is he then?” the administrator asked.

  “The guard thought he was lying and shot him. Liam’s dead. It was a Sergeant named Mick that killed him.”

  The guard and administrator looked at each other for a moment, then the soldier abruptly walked away. “Ok,” the elderly man said finally. “You’re free to go; exit through the green door at the back of the room.”

  His experiment had not yielded any new information, but maybe something would turn up in time. Rose was waiting outside the building. “Hey Sarah.”

  “Hi Jack,” Rose responded.

  They were reunited with Keith as they entered a building dedicated to interrogation. Liam studied the sophisticated equipment at a distance, then finally nodded. “Those are FMRI machines; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. They’re used for lie detection because they can measure blood flow in our brains, which increases when we’re under stress.” He watched the interview process a moment longer. “They’re not asking questions, just showing pictures on a computer screen; they’ll be able to see when someone has a negative reaction, so they’re probably testing for loyalty.”