Future Reborn Box Set

by Daniel Pierce

  “Dead,” Mira said flatly.

  “I’m—I’m sorry,” Doss said. Fleura’s eyes softened, but only for a moment. It was a hard place, and they knew death.

  “I’d be dead too, if Jack hadn’t been there. As to where I found him, that’s not my story to tell,” Mira said, leaning a bit closer.

  I knew information was power, but I stood to lose nothing by telling them what they would hear as soon as they went out into the post.

  “Mira and Bel extracted me from a Hightec sleeping chamber. I woke up, sort of, in your world, but I’m from the past,” I told them.

  Doss put his beer down slowly, his eyes clouded with anger. “Thanks for the beer—”

  “Then I killed some stinking fucker named Hardhead, cut his namesake off, and threw it at Wetterick’s feet for the reward, but not before I took his enforcers out. You see, when I was dreaming away the years while your virus ran wild and you decided to live like animals, my body was changing, courtesy of a cutting-edge technology called nanobots. In my blood, you know? Like a virus of my own, but instead of making me a corpse, this one makes me strong. It makes me fast. It makes me able to tell when a well-meaning trader is reaching for his gun under the bar, and it would let me break his fucking arm off without spilling a sip of my beer.”

  Doss stopped moving, his jaw hanging open in shock. Fleura did her best impersonation of a statue, and after a moment, Croc started breathing too. Only Mira was unaffected, finishing her beer and lifting the mug for a refill.

  “Dusty today,” she said. Croc filled her mug without a word, stepping back to watch with a gaze of feline intensity.

  “Who is Hardhead?” Fleura asked. It seemed to be the least understood of all my wild claims, so she took the obvious route and started there. Doss just watched me, hands motionless on the bar like a pair of sunburned gloves.

  “He was a maneater. Some kind of rhinoceros thing, part human. Half again as tall as me, and covered in the blood of Wetterick’s men when I took him. The reward was a thousand imperials. I’ve spent several hundred on armor, but I need other things, and I’ve got coin to spend. Wanna stop fucking around and tell me what you found?”

  Doss snorted. “You say you slept in some—”

  “Where I slept doesn’t matter. My coins do. They’re real, and I don’t give a fuck if you believe me or not. Can’t say I’m happy to leave my entire world behind only to wake up in a flyblown shitheap where people fight over scraps at the foot of a third-rate warlord.” I looked at Mira then took her hand. “Though I can’t say there aren’t parts of this time that don’t catch my eye.”

  Mira almost blushed. It was cute, and I had to fight to keep looking like a hardass.

  After a long pause, Fleura spoke first. “Tell him. About the guns, and the rest of it.”

  Doss drummed his thick fingers on the bar, thinking. He was arranging things by importance, deciding what to tell me, what to hide, and what to save for when it came time to exchange money. I could respect that, so I held my tongue.

  “We found some guns, and a lot of ammo,” Doss began.

  “But that’s not what you want to sell me,” I told him, watching his face for signs of agreement. I got it in the form of a terse nod. “What else?”

  “Not sure I can sell it to you, but I damn sure don’t want to share it with anyone else,” Doss said. He finished his beer, looking at the chipped mug. “We were dead. Out of water, starving, and truly fucked. Then we saw trees.”

  “Trees? To the south?” Mira asked. “How far south?”

  “About six hard days, just past a washout that wasn’t there a year ago. Rough going, but we were pushed east by a sandstorm that blew hard for nearly a week. At ten klicks a day in total blindness, well, you can guess how far off path we were. I can only estimate, and even then, our trek back was purely by starlight.”

  “Seven days in a storm?” I asked. I’d seen sandstorms, but they rarely lasted more than a day or so. “How did you survive it?”

  “We didn’t. Not all of us, anyway. We lost six wagons and thirteen people, almost all of the beasts and...three of our children.” Doss paused to squeeze Fleura’s hand. Her eyes were bright with tears, and she looked away, unwilling to share her grief with strangers.

  “I’m very sorry,” I said, meaning it. I didn’t have children, but I knew loss. I suspected I would never know their pain, only an echo in the blood of what they were going through. “How long did it take you to get back?”

  Doss wrinkled his brow, doing internal calculations of a trip that nearly killed them all. “Two weeks, traveling day and night to make sure we didn’t run into another storm.”

  “A question?” Mira asked. Her head turned south, eyes unfocused. “What was in the trees?”

  Doss and Fleura shared a look, then took long pulls at their beer. After a moment of rubbing her hands together, it was Fleur who spoke, her voice low and uncertain.

  “Not what. Who.” She turned her mug in nervous hands before speaking. “There aren’t many of them, but there’s something wrong with the whole place. They took us in, fed us, and made sure we didn’t stick around for any longer than was necessary.”

  “People?” Mira asked.

  “If you can call ‘em that. They’ve been planting those trees for a few years, I guess, and no one knew. Who would have thought to look there for anything alive? It’s in the heart of the Empty. Only thing out that far is death, and then once you get past that, the ocean,” Doss said. “I’ve seen people who were dying. I’ve seen ogres that were still-born, all wrinkled like cats, hairless and broken. Something is changing those people, and the only thing they would tell is was that it was in their blood.”

  “They want it to happen,” Fleura said.

  “What?” I asked, unsure what she meant.

  When she looked at me, I fought the urge to move back, her gaze was so intense. “They want whatever is happening to them. I think they’re doing it to themselves, and it’s because of that place. There was plenty of water, and we’d watch them work all morning, filling ditches and pipes. They’re building an island of green like their own personal jungle, and they don’t want to share it with anyone else. I got the feeling if we stayed any longer, we wouldn’t have left at all. Everything about it seems wrong. The shape, the patterns...it’s a haunted place and I don’t have time for ghosts. I do now, after being there. The ruins of Alatus are just humps in the sand and broken walls, so we never thought to look beyond them. That’s where this place is. Beyond Alatus, which everyone knows is played out. Hasn’t been anything of worth there since before my grandmother’s time.”

  My senses were on high alert at what they were saying. “Did you hear them use the term nanobots or anything like it?”

  Doss let his hand go under the bar again like he was going to draw his weapon. I lifted my hands in a soothing gesture, doing my best to keep things from getting messy.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. Was it a ruin or an old building?” I asked them.

  After a tense moment, Doss and Fleura nodded. “Old buildings and some ruins. Most of it was hidden by the trees, but the keepers have done a lot of work to reclaim the site,” Doss said.

  “If it’s so dangerous and these people are changing into something other than human, why do you think the location is valuable? That’s what you’re selling me on, isn’t it? A return visit with the intent of taking something from them? Something worth dying for?” I asked. Now we were reaching the core of the deal.

  Fleura began speaking just as something came into the edge of my vision, a small face looking around the outer wall of the bar. “Weapons, and plenty of them. Guns and ammo and a reloader, at the minimum. Tools too, and enough Hightec to set someone up for the rest of their life. It’s all there, and it’s being guarded by a few mutants who think they’re putting Hightec into their blood like some kind of gods from before the virus.”

  “What’s your cut?” I asked. There would be a price. There always was
with people who made their money in dangerous ways.

  Fleura licked her lips, nervous. “We don’t want any of the gear.”

  “You don’t?” I asked, stunned. “What then?”

  Mira laughed, watching their faces. She knew. “They want the home. The place with water and trees, far away from here, right?”

  “Well, since you’re—” Doss began, but I cut him off when a skinny kid tried to run past our stools, flashing by in a brown blur.

  I latched a finger in his shirt, ripping the ratty garment down the middle to reveal a bony back and an enormous arrow tattoo, pointing upward like an accusation of heaven itself. Berec.

  “Get him, Jack!” Mira spat, knocking her drink over as she tried to get free from the bar. The kid was gone. All that remained was dust from his feet as he vanished into the street, and I knew my path was crystal clear.

  “Damn! Taksa will know about your oasis within days if I’m any guess of how fast Berec can run. Looks like he wasn’t spying for Wetterick. He was spying for the cult, and now, they’ll know about the ‘bots, and the water, and the guns.” I shrugged, finishing my drink as calmly as I could. I had time for anger later. Now there was only planning. And beer.

  “We go, then?” Mira asked.

  I turned to Doss and Fleura, my smile wry. “Change in plans, friends, and I hope you will consider taking me at my word. How many left in your family?”

  “A few. Why?” Doss asked, sensing he was about to be fucked out of money, and maybe more.

  “You’re in no condition for the road, not after what you’ve gone through, so I’m going to ask you to take a leap of faith. The people at that oasis? I can handle them. I know what they have, and what they’re doing, but if I don’t get there first, Taksa and his sister will, and this place will go from bad to worse. I can’t have that, and neither can you.” I drew in a breath through my nose, then let it out in a trickle. I had to think of a timeline that worked, and in a moment, I had one. “Mira and I will go to the oasis, clean out the freaks, and secure the facility. We leave in the morning, and once we’re done with all that, you can bring your family there.”

  “I don’t think”—Doss began, but I silenced him with a wave.

  “I wasn’t finished. You’re not coming there as owners. You’re coming there as part of the first generation, and your children and their children will be part of something bigger than this post, and, if things work out, bigger than Kassos. I have plans for this land, and they start right now. Are you in?”

  Fleura cleared her throat, then leaned forward to me, her eyes sad. “Alatus. When you get there, if our children are still—if you find them, bury them? We were driven off. Our wagons are still there, but I don’t give a shit about that. I care about our people. My children.” She paused, her eyes bright. “Put them deep, if the wolves haven’t found them. Please?”

  “Of course,” I told her, holding her eyes to make sure she knew it was a promise.

  Fleura’s expression softened further as she gave her husband a small nod, and he reached under the bar with both hands. Slowly, he lifted a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun, the weapon brown with age but clean. “You’ll need a gun.” He lifted a belt of shells from the pack slumped by his feet, adding it to the gun.

  “Thank you for trusting me,” I told them both.

  “It’s not for you,” Doss said. “It’s for all of us. Stop them from getting to that place, Jack. Stop Taksa and Senet and her Black Room, or we’re all going to die by the knife.”

  21

  “Change in plans, Derin. I leave at dawn. Give me what you’ve got, and I’ll gather the rest on my return,” I said.

  He angled his head, measuring a response. “I’ve got everything except a chest piece done, but you’ll have to let it cure on the way.” He rubbed at his chin in thought, then brightened. “You’re a big guy. Might not hurt to have the pieces dry on you in the sun. Better fit that way. Scoot, find the—ah, there it is. Try them on, Jack.”

  I slid the shoulder armor over my head, marveling at the fit. Derin was an artist, and the shoulders rested light on me, covering everything except my neck in studded hide. I rapped a knuckle against one side and found it to be hard as stone. Whatever he made them out of, it would turn a blade, and it might even slow down a bullet. I knew I would be putting them to the test soon, so my smile was more than just gratitude. It was confident.

  “Got a place for this?” I asked him, showing the sawed-off shotgun.

  “Nice piece. Full choke on the barrel, you’ll put a good hole in anything close. I can rig a side strap and keep your hands free. Put the wrist bracers on. The left has a space, bandages there and any other small things you don’t want to lose. The right arm is your offensive weapon,” Derin said, snapping the wicked bracer around my arm. It had spikes, not studs, and was clearly made for taking the fight to the enemy.

  “I can do some damage with this,” I said, waving my arm around like a club. It felt good.

  “And you’ll need to. Leaving in a hurry means something has changed, and that means you don’t have time to plan the way you would like. People die under those conditions, Jack,” Derin said. For an armorer, he knew a lot about the Empty and what could happen.

  “We’ll have time on the way. It’s a long haul, but I like our chances, and it’s not entirely for us,” I told him, adjusting the chest strap. I wasn’t used to being big, and my body could still surprise me.” Thanks for the abs, nanobots. I smiled, cinching the wrists tight with a final pull.

  “Who is it for, then?” he asked, his eyes wandering to Mira, who was haggling at a nearby stall. It looked like she was tasting some kind of fried pie, and the flavor made her smile.

  “All of us. Her, Scoot, and even you. We’re going someplace that Taksa wants to be. That’s not going to happen,” I said.

  Derin stood up, deep creases carved into his face and brow, full of concern. “His sister is the problem. That wagon of hers...it reeks of blood. You can sense it over the horizon, Jack, and if you lose, you’ll end up in it being peeled like an onion until your body gives out. That’s no way to go; you understand what I’m saying?”

  “I won’t let it come to that.” Neither will my blood. “When we come back, Derin, I’d like you to think about something,” I told him.

  “What’s that?” he said. Scoot appeared, hanging on his leg and smiling up at us, her teeth brilliant in the sun.

  “A change of scenery. I’m going to need people like you and Scoot. Good people with the heart to do what’s right, and the will to do what’s hard. Wetterick is dead, he just doesn’t know it yet, and I’ve got plans for Silk too,” I said.

  “So she’s Silk now?” Derin said, lifting his brows.

  “She is to me, and if I have my way, Lady Silk will be a memory. Think it over, Derin. If I send for you, know that what’s on the other end of my message is a chance you’ll never have again. A chance to build something pure, something good and safe. A place of our own where we can start wrestling this disaster of a world back onto the tracks, so that kids like Scoot don’t worry about ending up under the thumb of Wetterick or Silk,” I said.

  He peered up into the sun, considering my offer. “I would like that, if only for her. She’s all I have left, you know.”

  “Then answer my call when it comes and take her future into your hands.” I put my hand on his shoulder, urging him to accept. “I have to go. We leave at dawn, and it’s going to be a different world if I have my way, Derin.”

  22

  It took some time for the air to cool enough to rerun the computer without fear of cooking it off, so dinner was a slow, easy meal with Mira, Lasser, and Natif.

  “What will become of this place?” I asked Lasser, knowing the question was heavy on his mind. When I left, Wetterick could run free, and a wounded coward is more dangerous than any animal in the world.

  “I do not know. The post may collapse, or we may simply go on as before, with Wetterick and Silk locked in
an uneasy truce.” He shrugged with the experience of a man who has lived his entire life close to danger.

  “What did you do before this, Lasser? Surely the House of the Sky hasn’t always been here?” I asked him.

  “I was born in Kassos, but my parents fled during one of the uprisings in the Alms Quarter. They were smart people and knew that a chance at freedom was better than dying in a street fight under the boot of the city guard. We came here, and they rebuilt this place with their bare hands. We opened for business with my mother cooking over an open fire. We had one pan, one pot, and no money. The beds were filled with rags, and we could serve three customers at a time.” He looked around with pride. His house could now hold twenty times that many people, and he had four permanent guards along with the regular staff. They all slept in good quarters along the south side, their rooms small but private, and they ate in the kitchen as part of their jobs. Lasser knew how to care for people, but even more importantly, he understood how to treat them right. Loyalty was a side product of his presence, and I knew what had to be done.

  With a nod to Mira, I leaned forward on the wide table, moving aside my empty plate. “Would you ever leave here?”

  His eyes narrowed, then he smiled. “The Harlings. What did they find?”

  I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. Lasser was sharp, and his instincts for news were spot on. “They found something.”

  “Some place,” Mira added.

  “Go on.” He looked sideways at Natif, an unspoken order passing between them.

  “A small jungle, or forest...a living place to the south. It’s in the shape of a circle, and there’s plenty of water.” I chose my next words carefully, because it would be the groundwork for what I hoped to build. “The people living there who are using the same technology that makes me what I am.”