After the Fall- The Complete series Box Set

by Charlie Dalton

  The things they did to survive.

  80.

  THE CART slowed down and leaned back slightly as Humperdinck took a pathway that led up an incline. His hooves kicked up a small amount of dust as the angle shifted, blanketing Donny’s head and face. He pulled himself up slightly, closing the gap between himself and the cart bed. Most of the dirt missed him. If he didn’t know better, he would have said the girl was deliberately taking the horse over the roughest parts of the road. He clenched his teeth and stiffened his jaw. What a girl.

  The road grew steeper. Donny held on tight, leaning with the movement. His muscles already ached but it felt good to be working them again. A thin film of sweat on his forehead turned the dust into slivers of mud.

  The road leveled out as they reached the hill’s apex. The cart trundled at its slow, steady pace. Donny lowered slightly and arched his back to see the doorway out of that hellhole. Torches burned low on either side of it, revealing the twin pair of worn boots of the guards on duty.

  “Woah,” a guard said. “Hold up there, my pretty.”

  “I’m not your pretty,” the girl said.

  “Not yet you’re not,” the guard said. “When are you going to let me have my way with you, ay?”

  “At about the same time my boot has its way with your ass,” the girl said.

  “You know how I like it,” the guard said.

  The guards laughed.

  Donny rolled his eyes. Was now really the time to pick fights? He admired her fire but she could be as caustic as an old mule. He bet she kicked like one too. For all he knew, she was always like this. Maybe it was best for her to maintain her character or else cause suspicion.

  “Anything to declare?” the guard said.

  “Only my genius,” the girl said.

  The guard snorted. Donny could imagine the grin on the man’s face. Let it go, pal. You’ve got no chance.

  “I see you’ve still got a lot of wares left,” the guard said. “What’s the matter? The Preacher ain’t interested in your goods no more?”

  “You should take that up with him,” the girl said stiffly.

  “A shame,” the guard said. “I always liked your peaches.”

  “You’ve never tried my peaches,” the girl said.

  “I’ll bet they’re juicy,” the guard said.

  “You play your cards right and you might find out one day,” the girl said.

  “You hear that, Errol?” the guard said. “She says I might find out if her peach is juicy or not one day.”

  “One day will be no day,” Errol said.

  Amen.

  “When are you coming back here again?” the guard said. “I’ll get myself nice and ready for you.”

  “That depends on your Dear Leader,” the girl said. “If he wants my wares, I’ll come here more often.”

  “I’ll try to get a petition going,” the guard said. “This might be our last time together. Are you sure you don’t want to make it memorable? I’ve seen the way you look at me.”

  “Oh man, you caught me,” the girl said. “And I thought I was being too coy for you to notice.”

  “I’ve got a sense about these things,” the guard said.

  “I’ll bet you do,” the girl said. “I hear it’s called gaydar.”

  Errol hacked a laugh and slapped his knee. One of the guards spat, landing not more than four inches from Donny.

  Donny concentrated on the voices. He didn’t know this girl. He couldn’t trust her. He didn’t know if she would betray them. She seemed the type to do anything she had to to survive—even betray innocent kids trying to make their way through the world. He listened for any inflection of her voice to indicate she was signalling to the guards.

  The knife in his mouth tasted sharp, the metal honed. It would slice flesh open better than any sword, he bet. He could spit it into his hand in an instant to slash at his enemies. Who would have thought throwing knives could be so versatile?

  Thump!

  Donny froze. Something had fallen. Something in the cart?

  “What was that?” the guard said.

  Rustling as the guards drew their crossbows.

  “Mind if we take a little look at your cart?” the guard said.

  “Be my guest,” the girl said. “It’ll be a dislocated cabbage or something along those lines.”

  The guards began to step around the cart. Donny lowered himself to the ground and took the throwing knife out of his mouth, reached down for the other one in his boot. He began to shift his weight and turn around and head for the back of the cart when the guards stopped.

  “Hold up,” the guard said. “I think I’ve found what it was. Apples. Horse apples.”

  It was only then Donny smelled Humperdinck’s latest contribution to the fertilizer industry. And the stink! Donny looked away and pressed his nose to his shoulder. Damn, that was strong! His eyes burned.

  “All right,” the guard said. “Get on out of here. And don’t forget our next date.”

  “See you soon,” the girl said, blowing him a kiss and clucking out the corner of her mouth.

  Humperdinck moved forward. Donny pulled himself back up to the cart’s bed. Not fast enough, as his head sailed through the horse’s mess. It trickled down the back of his neck. It wasn’t even hard, but wet, warm and loose.

  Horse dung or no, they’d made it. They were getting out of this dump.

  81.

  HUMPERDINCK WAS a good horse—the best horse—in Isabelle’s opinion. He was deceptively strong, her pride and joy. He’d been her only consistent friend during their many adventures together. He had saved her life countless times by his priceless ability to always know when something was wrong, and she had protected him when he was a little slow when sick or injured.

  He was getting old, and that saddened her. She couldn’t imagine living without him, never mind how she would run her business. Isabelle was a practical, pragmatic person who did things only when the bottom line was thick enough. If it wasn’t, then she passed by without a second glance.

  As they entered that same familiar dark tunnel that led to the bright white circle of light leading to the outside world, Isabelle shared Humperdinck’s calm. That wasn’t so tough, was it boy?

  And then the alarm sounded.

  Isabelle didn’t look back. She snapped the reins and forced Humperdinck into a trot. She daren’t risk going any faster for fear dear old Humperdinck might trip, fall and break his leg. There would be no escape after that.

  “Stop!” the guard behind her shouted.

  “Not bloomin’ likely, chum!” Isabelle said, hunching over and ducking her head down.

  The smaller the target, the harder it was to hit. The bolts whistled past her ear, into the endless dark. Would the older boy be able to hang on with this amount of movement? He looked strong, but it would take a lot of effort. Well, it had been up to him. He’d have to live with his decision.

  Thunk!

  The bolts embedded themselves in her cart. Damn it! And she’d only just got her newly waxed too! They had better not hit her merchandise or she would get really mad.

  Humperdinck’s slow but methodical trotting pulled them closer to the blazing ball of swelling light. Each time they fired a bolt they had to stop, reload, aim and release, putting even more distance between them. Isabelle hated everything about the Preacher and his commune, but they sure knew how to use their weapons. They’d had plenty of practice, she supposed.

  Humperdinck, the poor fellow, was already beginning to tire by the time they breached the exit, but she didn’t ease up on him. She couldn’t. Not until they got somewhere safe.

  The light was blinding, warm and beautiful. If those fools thought sunlight was their problem they were under some serious misconceptions. In truth, Isabelle didn’t much care what they chose to believe, so long as they kept buying her goods. It was all the same to her. They had stopped being her customers, so in her eyes, they ceased to exist.

  Isabelle pul
led sharply on the reins, tugging Humperdinck to one side, and then worked him around in a big circle. The zealots would rush to the opening, hoping for a shot at her, but they would never come far out enough for the golden sunlight to touch their skin.

  Tucked behind the rise that gave birth to the commune’s entrance, Isabelle pulled Humperdinck to a stop.

  82.

  ISABELLE CLIMBED off the cart, took hold of the tarpaulin and threw it aside.

  “We’re here,” she said. “You can get off now.”

  She leaned down to look the older boy in the eye.

  “You too, handsome,” she said. “This is the disembarkation point. Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Your ordeal is over.”

  She picked up a whole cabbage from the back of her cart—there seemed to be suspiciously few leaves remaining on it—and gave it to Humperdinck. He whinnied with excitement.

  “You earned it, boy,” Isabelle said, patting him on the neck.

  The kids climbed off the cart. They stretched their arms and legs as Isabelle pulled the bolts from the back flaps of her cart and deposited them in a box. She’d sell those too.

  Then she froze.

  One of the bolts had buried itself in one of her boxes of red apples. It’d sliced through half a dozen before it finally came to a stop on the other side of the container.

  “Red apples?” she said, voice hollow and distant. “You dare mess with my red apples?”

  She crushed the remnants of the fruit in her fists. Humperdinck nodded his head and dug at the ground with his front hoof. Isabelle obligingly gave him one of the spoiled apples and tossed the others to the kids.

  With a look of pure rage, she reached into a pot and came out with a paintbrush and small pot of paint. She moved to a tree with the same aggression and flexed her hand. One instant her hand was empty and the next, it had a short knife clasped in it. She carved at the tree, then gripped the bark with both hands and pulled it off. She turned it around, creating a large canvas.

  “Man, am I glad to be out of there,” Fatty said.

  “The cart?” Jamie said.

  “The hole,” Fatty said. “The cart was actually pretty comfortable.”

  Donny crawled out from beneath the cart. Fatty glanced at him and did a double take. He clutched his stomach with both hands, laughing hysterically.

  “What’s up with him?” Donny said.

  Jamie and Lucy caught an eyeful of Donny and burst out laughing too.

  “What?” Donny said

  He ran a hand through his hair. Checked his fingers. He was covered head to foot in dirt, dust and, by the smell of it, more than a little of Humperdinck’s lower bowels.

  “Eugh!” he said.

  “There’s a stream behind that tree,” Isabelle said. “Wash up there. And do us all a favour.”

  She reached into her cart and came out with a fresh set of clothes.

  “Get changed out of those things,” she said.

  Donny disappeared behind a hedge to scrub himself. Fatty worked the tears out of the corner of his eyes with his thumb.

  “Oh, that was good,” he said. “So good.”

  Jamie checked their surroundings. They were in a forest, green and jubilant with bright flowers in every colour imaginable. Birds swung on invisible wings and sang the ballad of nature. He didn’t think he’d ever seen such a beautiful place.

  The wind rustled the leaves and whispered ancient tales of adventure. After their recent ordeal in the dark embrace of the underground, it was a welcome respite. Until just an hour ago, their lives could have turned out very differently.

  “I want to thank you,” Jamie said to Isabelle, who was still busy with her paintbrush. “We all do. For helping us escape. We never would have gotten out alive if it wasn’t for you.”

  “You’re very welcome,” Isabelle said, concentrating on her painting.

  “Why did you help us?” Lucy said.

  “Because those people are crooks, liars and cheats,” Isabelle said. “We made a deal and they reneged on it. You don’t reneg on a deal. Not ever. On the surface, we risk our lives and they want to give us nothing for our wares.”

  “Hell hath no fury, huh?” Donny said, emerging from the bushes with a washed face and new clothes.

  “What?” Isabelle said.

  She didn’t recognize the expression.

  “Never mind,” Donny said. “You were in business with those creeps?”

  “Used to be,” Isabelle said. “We all have to eat.”

  “You only had a problem with what they do after your business dealings with them soured,” Donny said.

  “I wouldn’t be so quick to judge if I were you,” Isabelle said. “There might come a time when you’re forced to do something that turns your stomach but you do it anyway.”

  Donny’s grin faded.

  “Unless, of course, you already have experience with something like that,” Isabelle said.

  “Are we safe here?” Jamie said.

  “Those freaks won’t come outside their little hole,” Isabelle said. “Not for any reason. We’re safe. I must say, it feels good to have taken their sadistic little game away from them.”

  “Has anyone else managed to escape before?” Jamie said.

  “I heard about one guy not too long ago,” Isabelle said, making her finishing touches. “Someone far too smart to be caged by the likes of these people.”

  “Do you know who it was?” Jamie said.

  “No,” Isabelle said. “I don’t even know if it’s true. It’s just a rumour. It doesn’t matter. The people down there will be gone soon anyway.”

  She stood back and appraised her handiwork.

  “There,” she said, wiping a dob of red off her thumb. “What do you guys think?”

  Isabelle had written in large capital letters across the canvas. Donny grinned ear to ear.

  “I love it,” he said.

  “How to wipe out a commune in three words or less,” Isabelle said. “Help me bring it over to the entrance.”

  She and Donny lifted the canvas and carried it to the hillock. Directly on the other side was the entrance to the underground commune. They attached ropes to the canvas and wrapped the ropes around the nearest trees.

  “Who’s going to see it?” Jamie said.

  “Hopefully other traders,” Isabelle said. “No one messes with my business and gets away with it. We’re safe here but I never quite feel at ease until I’m at least a mile away. Hop back on the cart and I’ll give you guys a lift.”

  They climbed onboard and peeled away, laughing. They were having just about the best day of their lives.

  83.

  THE OUTSIDE world was on fire, bright and disgusting. A demon with feathered wings fluttered by and landed on the branch of a hideous giant plant. The guard did the beast a favour and put a bolt through its heart.

  Then, laughter. Laughter of the children who had escaped. Laughter of the damned and dying. It chilled the guard to the bone.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

  They turned and headed back into the welcoming embrace of darkness. They never saw—in fact would never even have the chance to see—what Isabelle had installed above the entrance to their domain. It consisted of just three words, the paint still drying, and would, ultimately, end in their destruction:

  CONTAMINATED

  KEEP OUT!

  84.

  JAMIE HAD a hard time trying to name the trees in this forest. Some he recognized, others were completely new to him. It was another reminder of how far away from home they really were. As if Isabelle could read his thoughts, she asked a pertinent question.

  “You’re not from around here, are you?” she said, negotiating Humperdinck through the dense trees.

  “What gave it away?” Donny said.

  “Just about everything,” Isabelle said. “Where are you from?”

  Now there was a loaded question. Did they answer with the commune they’d been born a
nd raised in or their most recent location? The kids shared an uneasy look.

  “Prefer not to say?” Isabelle said. “I can respect that. Sometimes it’s best to keep your history to yourself.”

  “It’s not that,” Donny said. “It’s just. . . a little complicated.”

  “Oh dear,” Isabelle said, mouth twisted like she’d eaten something unpleasant. “Complicated is never good. Best to keep schtum and not explain it.”

  “We’re from a small commune west of here,” Jamie said. “Other than that, it’s hard to be more specific.”

  “I’m from a commune too,” Isabelle said. “We were onto a good thing for a while, growing larger and stronger. Just beginning to develop trade links with other communes. That’s when they came.”

  She didn’t need to say who they were. Rages.

  “They overwhelmed us and our defenses,” Isabelle said. “There were too many of them. We couldn’t hold them back. After that, they swept over us like butter across hot bread. We didn’t stand a chance. You want to know the worst of it? We didn’t even do anything wrong. They came out of nowhere, without warning.”

  The kids shared another look. The story fits perfectly with what Dr. Beck had told them about how the Bugs targeted large settlements. Once a commune had grown to a certain size, had become successful and prosperous, the Bugs sent some kind of signal that attracted the Rages. To destroy the commune. They used humanity’s own sense of survival against them, hammering them when they were starting to get a foothold. It’d all been a tragic lie. They were never going to succeed. They were never going to survive. They had been allowed to become successful because it acted like a beacon, attracting more and more people to it, like a honeypot for bees.

  “Where are you guys headed, anyway?” Isabelle said.

  The gang exchange another look. Their original plan had been to return home, to the City, to get Donald. But the chances of him still being alive weren’t good. Finally, Donny spoke up.