by S T Branton
Jules blinked. “You have food for months?”
The general turned his blinding smile on her. “That’s right.” He chuckled slightly. “People tend to forget that a situation like this stopped being impossible the moment we invented WMDs. Hell, you’re probably too young to really remember it, but there were times in history when it seemed inevitable. We’ve been prepared for the worst for a long, long time. Seems all those paranoid scenarios have finally come to pass.” He ran a hand over his brow. “I have to tell you, I never thought it’d look like this, though.”
He brought us to the main barracks, an entire wing of residential space devoted to rooms of varying sizes. The largest ones had nothing but rows of simple army bunks, each with a chest for personal items at the foot. A far cry from luxury, but in a lot of respects, it was even better than my junky old loft in Brooklyn Heights. For starters, the bathrooms all had functioning doors.
“I have a question, sir,” Dan said as we left the barracks behind.
“Fire away,” the general said cheerfully. The smile hadn’t left his face since the start of our walking tour, and anyone who came into contact with him, however briefly, got a good dose of it.
The soldier looked around. “Forgive me if I’m speaking out of turn, sir, but for a fort this size, there aren’t very many soldiers. Who keeps the operation running, and where are they?”
“Ah.” The old soldier rubbed his hands together. “Interested in the nitty-gritty, are you? A man after my own heart.”
We passed through a large, harshly lit atrium, and he spread his arms wide. Little clumps of people gathered everywhere, sitting and talking, reading, or writing. The atmosphere was infused with a blanketing sense of calm, the opposite of the unbridled chaos we had fought through to get there.
“The company I’ve assembled to keep Fort Sigel afloat are all hidden gears in a well-oiled machine, and that’s a hundred percent by design. I want those who come here seeking shelter, like yourselves, to know they’re safe and to feel the safety. And I think that’s easier when the magic stays hidden, so to speak.”
At this point, our troop passed a rare window, which offered a view of little more than thick greenery and pale, overcast sky. The general nodded toward the glass. “All I mean is, I don’t like to freak people out with an excessive show of force. You understand, Dan. The realities of military living can be difficult for the average civilian to process. Fort Sigel is meant to invite, not intimidate.”
Dan looked vaguely puzzled. “There are more soldiers, then?” he ventured.
The officer guffawed. “Dan, my boy, a general is nothing without his army! Of course, there are more—many more than it would seem at first glance—but speaking from one commander to another, they’ve got to be managed in the right way, or what good would they do me?” He tapped the side of his head. “I keep my boys on regulated rotations, which are active one at a time. If they’re not on duty, they’re asleep. That’s what most of them are doing at any given time, truth be told. I need ʼem fresh at any hour. Got to keep them on their toes.”
“The barracks we saw was empty,” Deacon interjected. He eyed the man with mistrust.
“Oh, they don’t stay in the main building.” The man made a dismissive motion. “This is for guests of the fort. The guard detail is housed inside the auxiliary barracks to prevent upheaval during shift changes. All to keep the ship sailing smoothly.” He came to a door at the end of a long hall that was held shut by a long bar. “Now, we’ve started to cultivate some of our own renewable resources in recent weeks.” A shadow crossed his genial features. “Personally, I had hoped this wouldn’t be strictly necessary, but things don’t look promising.” Unlatching the bar, he pushed the door open, and I caught a pungent whiff from the cloud of brown dust kicked up by the swinging motion.
Steph wrinkled her nose. “Is that fertilizer?” she muttered under her breath. The brown dust cleared, and her eyes widened. “Cows?”
Victoria, I believe I have at last located the beef. Perhaps Abraxzael has already learned of its existence.
I forced myself to keep a reasonable poker face and thought very hard at Marcus to shut up. “I’m impressed that you’re raising livestock,” I said out loud, and it was true. The last thing I’d expected to see this deep in the overgrown wilderness was a fledgling farm run by the remnants of the local military.
The general pointed into the distance toward a boundary line that was barely visible from where we stood. “A garden’s been planted in that back area there. Still mostly seedlings, but it’s a start. We’re trying to stay ahead of the game. Planning for the long term, in case this storm doesn’t blow over.”
I gave the surroundings another long look. “It seems like you’re doing pretty well for the time being. Better than I would’ve expected out here.”
“That much, we owe to the government,” he explained. “Fort Sigel was originally built as a haven for top officials during times of intense crisis. We’re not talking Camp David level here, but not too far behind. They thought mostly about congressmen and their families at the time.” He stopped talking for a minute, and his expression eased back into solemnity. “When we heard that things were going south all over, we put out the call that Fort Sigel was open and ready to receive. We were prepared to be stampeded. But nobody showed.”
Deacon, Steph, and I all frowned at the same time. “Really?” Steph said. “No one?”
“Does that mean nothing went down in D.C.?” the agent asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” the general admitted, shrugging his broad shoulders. “That’s what we’d all like to think, but—”
“Why attack New York City and not the nation’s capital?” Dan asked.
“That’s the million-dollar question, and unfortunately, we still don’t have any kind of answer.” He sighed deeply. “But like I said, nobody came, so we turned to short-wave radio. Thought maybe we could fish out as many wandering survivors as possible before they were lost in the mountains. On the first day, I was sure it wouldn’t work, and then, wouldn’t you know it? People came out of the forest left and right, rattled the gates, and shouted at the guards to let them in. It’s been a long time since I last saw folks so desperate.” After a beat of silence, his face lightened again. “I suppose I can’t complain, though. We’ve built our own little slice of heaven out here. It’s not half bad if you don’t think about it too hard.” His booming laughter rolled across the livestock pen and over the grass toward the new garden.
I stared after the sound at the threads of mist still hanging in the sky and the thick, gray blanket of clouds. The barely visible fence tracked far to the right, and along its inside perimeter, I noticed the shape of a second building nestled in the trees. “What’s that?” I asked.
He traced the line of my gaze. “That’s off-limits,” was the answer I got. He didn’t speak unkindly, and his eyes still sparkled. “To everyone, that is. Even me.”
I blinked. “Is there anyone here who’s higher on the totem pole than you?”
He shook his head. “Negative, but the stuff that’s in there—or that used to be in there—is above my pay grade. Only for emergencies, and only for those with the proper clearance.”
“Not you?” I asked.
The general grinned. “Not me. Call it our own little Situation Room. I always thought it was in a bad location, myself, but I guess if you get all the way up to the top, you can damn near see the whole fort.” He turned to me. “I can’t get in, so don’t ask. As far as I know, there’s never been a key. The whole thing simply…looms over there.” He gave it one more second of scrutiny and pivoted on his heel. “Anyway, that’s about that. I’d like to encourage you to rest up as much as you like. I bet this is your first opportunity to do that in a while. Except you, Dan.” He clapped a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I want you and your men to come with me. I have some new orders to hand down. As long as you’re here, you’re under my watch.”
The sold
ier saluted. “Sir, yes, sir!”
We filed back into the fort’s inner rooms, winding through the labyrinth of halls until we reached the central atrium. I recognized some of the faces milling about the room—women with babies on their hips and young children clinging to their legs, old people snoring in chairs, kids chasing each other around the bare floor.
“This is where we part ways, Vic,” the general said, pausing his stride to address me. “Take this time to really soak in that R and R. Tomorrow, you’ll all be expected to pitch in to get the feast ready. You’ve arrived just in time.”
“The what?” Just as I asked that my empty stomach growled.
“It’s been a long, hard road for all of us to get here,” he explained. “We’ve planned a feast to celebrate our success. It goes without saying that you and yours are all invited. Think of it as a morale booster for the troops in the middle of a long tour of duty.”
“We sure could use that,” Jules declared gratefully. “Thank you for all your hospitality, General. We’re indebted.”
“Not at all,” he told her. “Just fighters looking out for fighters.” And with that, he and Dan moved down another hallway, their footsteps fading quickly.
Steph scoffed. “A feast? Are you kidding? That sounds like a waste of rations to me.” She folded her arms. “Probably just MREs anyway.” She looked at Deacon. “I think that guy is screwy somehow. Why would he want to use food that could otherwise sustain the population of this fort for months?”
“Aw, come on!” Frank, who had lain low in the back for the better part of the last hour, suddenly came to life. “Don’t be such a sourpuss, lady. The blonde—the other blonde—is right. The people need this. It’s harmless fun.”
“Harmless?” Steph glared daggers at the mobster. “Since when is reckless consumption of finite resources considered harmless? The general’s out of his damn gourd if he thinks his little micro farm is gonna be enough to support everyone in here. Not to mention that we just added a hundred mouths to the equation.”
“So what?” Frank shot back, lifting his brick of a chin. “He don’t seem like a crackpot to me. I say we let him do his thing.”
“And this is why you’re not in charge.” Steph threw her hands up. “How can you not see that this is fucked up? We can’t call in for refills when the pantry’s empty.”
“I bet you’re real frickin’ fun at parties,” he retorted sullenly. “Ever heard of a little somethin’ called nourishin’ the human spirit?”
The agent barked out a laugh, tossing her sleek golden locks. “Oh, please do tell me all about it. I cannot wait to hear this.” Her fingertips tapped out a sharp staccato beat on her elbow, the equivalent of a cat lashing its tail.
“Okay, okay, okay.” I maneuvered myself between them, my arms outstretched to preserve precious personal space. “Put a lid on it, you guys. This isn’t worth brawling over.” I faced Steph. “I get where you’re coming from, but we are technically guests here. Not our fort, not our rules.”
She huffed, her nostrils flaring. “Fine. It’s still dumb as hell.”
“So don’t stuff your face!” Frank suggested. “No one’s forcin’ you to do shit, Secret Agent Barbie.”
“Frank,” I said sternly. “Not cool.” I could hear Steph crack her slowly knuckles one by one.
He shuffled back a little. “Sorry.”
“Everybody take a deep breath.” I filled my lungs and let the exhale pull some of the tension from my shoulders. “Let’s…cool down for a while. We’re safe now. I don’t know about you guys, but I need a shower badly.”
“Same here,” Deacon agreed. He looked like he was smirking slightly, maybe from Frank’s last jab at his partner. “Catch you later, Vic.”
“Don’t get into trouble,” I replied. He walked away, and I directed my attention toward the mobster. “That goes for you too. Got it? No antagonizing Steph. I won’t be here to tell her not to kneecap you with her bare hands.”
He grumbled, but it was secretly good-natured. “Scram, kid. Leave this old dog alone.”
I faked a bow. “Your wish is my command.”
On my way to the long-awaited shower, I passed more and more familiar faces, all led by residents of Fort Sigel. A dark-haired, dark-eyed young woman scurried by, and I thought of Maya and Luis
Worry not, Victoria. When they return, you may vouch for them. The general’s beef is not yet plentiful. He should have no qualms about allowing them entry.
“What?” I rubbed my face. “All right, you and I need to have a talk about idioms.”
Chapter Eighteen
The water pressure was awesome and damn, did it feel good. I stood under the stream with the hot tap turned up as far as I could stand it until the stall was full of steam. Then, I shut the shower off and stepped out, my feet squeaking on the tile floor. The mirror was fogged, and I wiped out a circle for my face. The sight of my tired eyes and bedraggled rat’s nest of hair made me snort in the same moment that I realized how long it had been since I’d last seen myself.
“Not gonna lie, Vic,” I told my reflection. “You’re looking pretty rough.” The contours of my cheeks and jaw stood out in sharp relief, cloaked in post-shower haze. As I wrapped a towel around myself, I felt the edges of my ribcage protruding, nearly fatless. I didn’t feel bad, but my body was starting to show signs of wear.
Apparently, the nectar didn’t quite mask some things, such as a distinct lack of nutrition. I poked at my own scrawny torso. “Yeah, we’ll have to work on this.”
Maybe Frank and Jules were right about that feast being a good idea after all.
I dried myself and pulled my clothes on without getting up from the edge of the bed. In this brief period of total inaction, I suddenly sensed the exhaustion seated deep inside my bones. It was a strange, conflicting sensation feeling both the nectar’s constant energy pumping through my veins and the overwhelming desire to lay back and close my eyes.
Once I’d pulled my shirt over my head, I decided on the latter course of action, but sleep proved frustratingly fleeting. I sat back up and combed my fingers through my damp hair. I took a few minutes to reflect on how fast things had changed for us. Twelve hours ago, we’d been a human herd sandwiched between two trucks, struggling over mountain tracks in search of a safe place we had only heard about. Now, I was squeaky clean for the first time in probably weeks, in a real bedroom, on a real bed, with real blankets. It was nothing short of an early Christmas miracle.
So, why did it feel so weird?
I dropped my head into my hands, released a little groan, and scratched my head with all my fingers. Everything was as perfect as I could’ve asked for, if not more. After a week in the unforgiving, Forgotten-infested wilderness, Fort Sigel was a castle in the sky. And there were definitely parts of me that acknowledged this as the major victory it was. Still, something didn’t sit right with me.
“Ah, dammit,” I said out loud. “Nothing’s ever easy.” The words suddenly flipped a switch in my brain, which caused some circuit to complete. “Holy shit, is that it? It’s too good to be true.”
I scooted over to the other side of the mattress and fished in the pile of cast-off clothing for Marcus’s medallion. The chain slung easily around my neck as I inched back to sit with my shoulders against a propped-up pillow. “Hey, let me get your perspective on something. It’s been eating at me all day.”
I am here for you, my friend. Unburden your troubles, and I will do my best to help you bear them.
I smiled in the dim light of the room. “You could have just said, ‘yes.’”
Loquaciousness is part of my charm.
I folded the damp towel in my lap and chewed the inside of my lip. “Do you think this might have all worked out a little too well?”
Please elaborate. I am not sure I fully grasp your meaning.
Trying to collect and arrange my thoughts into something explainable, I flipped the towel, unfolded it, and started over. “Like pieces fell into plac
e too fast. If I were the general, I wouldn’t have let a hundred random strangers into my awesome fort simply because I knew one of them could fight. And Steph has a point about this feast. It doesn’t make sense to be so careless about food.”
These points are both salient. However, we have yet to behold these stores the general claims to have. Possibly, he tells the truth, and they are as full as he says. If he has truly been supplied by your government, then does it not make sense for there to be an abundance?
“Sure,” I allowed. “But what if he’s lying? He could be saying shit to make us think we’re safe here long term.”
For what purpose? If it was the Gladius Solis he sought, he could have taken it and run this morning. I do not doubt your instincts, but I admit I have trouble formulating motive in this hypothetical lie.
“Me too.” I wrapped a lock of hair around my finger and tugged gently. “I can’t seem to let go of it, though. I think I’m on to something. I’m merely missing a few pieces.”
In any case, it is vital to stay alert. Keep your wits about you so that you will not be surprised by the sudden winds of change. We have relearned this day how quickly they arrive.
“No kidding,” I mumbled, still wracking my brain. “This will drive me completely insane. I have to find the missing link.”
A knock at the door disrupted my thoughts, but as soon as my brain processed the sound, I knew it was a welcome interruption. I would recognize that neat rapping anywhere. “Come in, Jules,” I called, not moving from my perch atop the extra firm mattress. “It should be open.”
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “Look at you, getting a private room. How fancy. I guess this means you’re an officer.”
“I’m cool with that as long as I don’t have to ride another horse,” I said.
She chuckled. “Scoot over.” After we’d gotten as comfortable as we could, Jules glanced at me. “I came to see how you’re doing. Check in with my favorite person. You know.”
