Closer an closer together the glassy rings were until for a bit it were like she were walkin only on the dusty slippery surface an the Wide Open Road was slidin around as she dragged it behind her. She reckoned she musta crossed the centre of another great circle though an soon enough she saw more rings of glass in the dust but now they was curvin the other way. Yep, she were across the centre but there were no marker this time and she was edgin close to the flattopped red pyramid ahead. Around it the desert stretched out flat an blank as dust all round her, not a single bit of scrub higher than her knees in all directions just the shimmer of hills in the long distance. The sky were a pale grey she werent used to, like all the colour were bled out of it an her extra senses that usually lit her up when nuthin else was firin were dead like burned brush. There werent even a proper smell to the place.
It were the bones that gave it away in the beginnin. First she saw a ribcage half buried in the dirt an bleached by the sun an wind to a perfect white. Then it were the heavy bones of the leg scattered like sum creatured had a go at em an here an there some cloth or were it flesh still on em. Then more an more an she started seein skulls of fellas lookin up at her from the dust an they werent as old as she woulda liked neither, specially considerin they was out here bein blasted by the sand. An these were just the wuns what the desert had given up. She reckoned if she looked deeper she might find she was walkin on a carpet of bones hidden just under the surface of the sand. Found herself followin the bones, realisin they led to the wall an there was no escapin. She were deep in hostile lands an no mistakin it. The air seemed to be tryna cut her breath short an the terrain gave nuthin away. She knew she werent but a moment away from losin all idea of direction an the sun seemed to have been direct overhead for hours, givin her faint idea of where West even were. She saw more shards of grey bone stickin out the dust an she reckoned soon enough her own might be joinin em. She stopped dead an felt the lack of anythin, the big, reachin, creepin vastness of the space around her. The wall rose up in front of her, smaller than it looked from a distance but made of rock an stone put together with sum care. A pile maybe, not a wall an flecked with glass an who knew what but sumwund built it wun time an here it stood. She took the slack of the Open Road an looked, seein a path to the side of it, an old road maybe an railings, rusted off an rottin but markin a path. She grabbed the ship again an started across it, figgerin it were leadin sumwhere, an she turned the corner of the big red structure an saw a maw cut into the site of it an the blackness within.
The suit were stiff an it smelled like sumthin poisonous itself but she’d wedged herself into it after stowin the Open Road an zipped it in all the right places. It were too big for her, built for a bigger fella, but she could walk in it at least. She left the hood off an started walkin towards the dark square cut into the red rock wall. It were a Glow of sum kind she realised. Sumthin she’d known near her whole life but this one were different to any dark she’d seen. As she got closer there was more an more bones an it looked like there been sum kinda fight out here or maybe years worth of fights an near enough all of em was torn to bits. The way they was flung about looked like sum giant beast had thrown its great claws about, not carin where they landed. Her old mate the razorback mayhap. Or Karra’s blokes. Ghosts mebbe. Her guts was turnin watery an her foot crunched an she looked down to see itd gone through the top of a skull she hadnt seen half buried in the dust. It musta been twice as hot in the suit but she were workin hard not to shake. She pulled the hood up an over her head an zipped it slow an clumsy, her breath foggin the mask almost straight away, makin it hard to see straight. What the fuck was down in the dark? She were about to find out. There were steps leadin down an inta the darkness. She started headin down the crumblin concrete, waitin for her eyes to catch up.
71
This were the real thing. Block knew he was livin now an it were like he’d been dead all them years. What did that say about a fella, that he werent real till he dint have nuthin else? He dint have time to think hard on the answer an he reckoned he might not like it too much anyway. They was huntin him through the System but he dint think they was gunna catch him. Block were an old hand at this game an most of them pups workin for Karra aint never seen the inside of a cipher an half their blades looked for show. He reckoned near enough most of his yungens musta got away. All but the real yungensd had the talk, they all knew the fallbacks, the dead letters, the arvees. Yeah Blockd put all them book lernins to good use over the years an there werent a fella what called hisself wun of Blocks kids what dint have a plan when things went to shit. Bushcraft, tradecraft, no nevermind to him. Them lernins of the old times dint let him down. How muchd Gus been passin across though, that were the heavy question. He’d been walkin while he was thinkin an his feet hadnt been far behind his head cos he found himself at the tyre towers again, the giant stacks loomin up an over in the darkness, the black edges only just visible against dark sky. Still too much smoke in the air an the stars was murky an only on the edges. What they wanted was a changin wind but for now the haze was gunna help his boys no end so he dint mind. Block crouched down an leaned his back against the outer wall of tyres. He whistled low an clear, singin the panic song an outta the dark come an answer. Block hit the notes again and the answer come closer an just cos he aint had a great night of it he drew his long knife slow an kept the blade down an outta any light that might show through the murk. Outta the dark come two yungens, a boy an a girl, short blades out an Block dropped his point an called to em.
Yer alive.
The relief on their faces near made him weep.
Yeah an just about is all.
Block nodded.
Good fellas. What happened?
We was waitin an workin, just like ya told us to, an Gus an Cutter was lookin after us. Then summa Karras lads come to the door an they was lookin for ya. Nowun told em nuthin but Gus went outside with em an I dint think nuthin of it cos a coupla the others went with him an I figgered they was just gunna back him up in case sumwun was pressin too hard.
The yungen faltered an Block let her breathe, knowin she’d just seen her brothers an sisters cut down in front of her an that werent no light thing.
When yer ready yungen.
Then we heard fightin an summa them tried to come back through the door but we was tryna get out to help em on the street an there was a push backanforth an Gus come back through the door except this time he was facin us an he had a blade out an he slashed up sum of us what was tryna get outta the way an Cutter jumped in the mix an got stuck for his trouble an then the place was on fire an sum of us got out the front and sum got out the back an me an Kris stuck together an we remembered where we was supposed to go an we come here an we been waitin. We dunno what happened to the lads what went out the front, we just come here an stayed low an waited for you.
Block took a long look at em. They was tough lookin but they were shook right now an the pair of em mustnt a been a year past ten each, both big eyed an skinny with hunger an fear. They was of the System though an they was family an deserved the real, no less.
I seen them fellas what went out the front. Theys all dust. An Cutter too.
The pair of em dint move at that, just kept lookin at him like any second he were gunna tell em it were a joke an their mates werent just bled out in the street. Shame to say that werent on the cards but he had summin maybe nearly as good. Leastaways it woulda warmed him back in the day.
Gus was rattin. You seen him turn. An now hes dust. Did it meself. An we’re gunna do em all, all the rest too. An then their boss an Im gunna end him meself too.
72
Before
Lemme tell ya sumthin else Orphan an stoke up that fire a little will ya. Im real tired an it aint gunna get too much better for me. I know I go on an on about them old times and sumtimes Im guilty of makin them old times sound better than right now just like plenny of old fools before me I reckon. Truth is, theres a heapa ways to spread poison among people an ya just
gotta look around the System to see how many ways peoples is happy to poison themselves an pay for the privilege. Im tryna tell ya Orphan that I know ya trust me an its enough to warm an Old Womans heart but Im tellin ya, there werent never a good time to be out here an long before Ghosts lived down them Glows there was ghosts out here. Ah I jus keep ramblin, dont I girl? Dont right know what Im sayin these days. Youre outta this land an plenny of them in the System is too. Theres a clean line connectin you an me an the peeps in the past runnin back longern you can even imagine an its gunna take moren any beast to disappear the System an the the folk that make it up. Wes a mix of all kinds, mongrel folk yunnerstand, yer the next thing in a long line Orphan, Ghost or not, silent or speaker, you got the Glows on ya girl. Do ya unnerstand? Dont think ya do. Do yer best Orphan, keep searchin for them things, got no more time to tell ya all I wanted. Best pack up the billy an kick sum sand on the fire yungen, we gotta head back, aint no more puttin this off I spose.
73
Her eyes adjusted quick enough and she saw that the stairs dint go far fore they met another room an at the end of that were a pair of huge doors sunk inta the ground but whatever once had been was no more an apart from the giant hinges there werent no trace of them covers. Down she went, her years in the Spirals keepin her feet movin an glad, ever glad for them brighteyes lettin her see in the gloom cos she werent trustin a torch down here. It were funny cold off the desert floor an through the front of the hood things was all blurred an fogged an she knew she were breathin too hard but sumhow it were stayin sorta cool. That dint explain the cold sweat runnin down her back though an the terror what seemed to come from the very walls themselves. There were a monster down here an she knew it now. All them bones shoulda warned her. There was sumthin down here worth killin or dyin for an sumtime in the nottoodistant before fellas had been tryna get at it. The stairs curved around an down an down again an she realised she was passin sum kinda layers, sum kinda giant rooms as she had been headin down an she could feel the space of the place expandin out into sum kinda cavern. Made sense theyd buried the beast down here, they wouldnt have wanted to dig their own pit this deep out inta the bedrock, made sense they was gunna use the land for it. They dint know they was placin evil on top of more evil though. She could taste the colour of this place now, she knew that sumthin ancient an terrible were down here with her. Her eyes was still gettin used to the dark an she could see a railin now runnin down the stairs with her an past that railin out in the middle dark was the layers an she knew if she looked out an up an down she was gunna see the concrete theyd poured down here to seal it all up an she knew without needin to see that it hadnt worked. It were like she could smell sulphur though she couldnt feel the yellow colour comin with it an she knew it were all just in her head. She went to the railin an looked out an down there in the dark she could see the shimmer of water an she knew nowun hadnt ever planned for water in the desert when they buried this place and that even a Systemraised, wasteborn orphan like she was knew that water soon enough went through evrythin, even steel an rock an concrete. She looked up again. The levels was stacked so neat in the dark an all she could think was they sorta looked like the tyre stacks she knew from home but bigger, so much bigger, maybe each layer was thirty spans thick, an she knew that the longer the water was down here the more it were gunna eat up an down an drag all the poison out. She walked down a few more flights of stairs an the black water at the bottom of the shaft were like a mirror evry time she checked over the rail an she could see the sweat startin to bead up on the inside of her face mask an fog up even more. There werent nuthin to do but try an brush her forehead against the plastic now an then to make a clear bit she could see through. She kept headin down, not realisin she’d reached the bottom until she felt the legs of the suit slosh through shallow water. She jumped back to a dry step but the bottom of the suit were wet an she stood lookin at it for a long minute waitin to see if the suit were gunna fall apart but it dint. She went back around to the landin an looked across an sure enough she saw that the side of the nearest wall were breached through but lookin close she could see it were too destroyed for it to be water. Them walls looked like they was made outta rock or concrete themselves an from what she could see there was sum kinda thick metal in em too, glintin dull in the neardark. What she were lookin at though were like itd been attacked with tooth an claw, or were it pick n shovel, like sumwun or sumthin wanted it to get busted open, like they was actually tryna let it out. A beast, or Karras scavs. Dint even matter she thought. Them poor stupid fellas he’d set to find his fortune. Just looked like another kinda Glow to them. Not wun of em could read worth a scrap but theyda dun what he told em anyway. She knew without even thinkin on it. The stripes was forever on her back markin that ya dint go against the bald man. Theyd been this way an found it an she were too late. Lookin right back at her was the destroyed wall an what looked like dirt an metal an glass from the inside was spillin out. Inta the water that was lappin around the stairs. The suit were stinkin hot now an her whole body was covered in sweat an she were feelin lightheaded an like her eyes was gunna pack it in, evrythin fadin to a speck. She fought it, hopin it were just the air in the suit but sumthin about bein down that hole was doin her no good at all an it were a real long, steep climb back up. She took a look to remember what she was lookin at an then started draggin her feet back up the crumblin stairs but she felt a heavy weight pressin on her an she knew that the beast were down there with her an it aint never left this place spite bein evrywhere. Itd crept inside her suit an crept inside herself an she tripped up the stairs an fell hands out, choking, light fadin, throat closin in its grip.
74
It’d taken him a day or were it two but he’d gathered twelve of em in all, a grimy dozen yungens what had gone to ground an remembered their fallbacks. There was others out there but he hadta trust that they was safe an sound an keepin their heads below the surface. Twelve might be enough he reckoned. Enough to get it done. Who knew. Block were knackered from walkin, delirious an tired but he’d met all of em on the run, listened to the stories, told em to keep their heads up as best he could an moved on. Werent no sense in standin still an he had to save the trust of the wuns what was left standin. No doubt about it, Karrad done him over good an shattered what he took so long to build up. A coupla weeks ago his was a gang of lads to be reckoned with an now they was scattered to the hooks an burrows and he were left makin do with whatever he could scrounge up. He couldnt think of the lads dead in the cut without his hands clenchin up into fists an his heart drippin poison into his gut. This was the recknin, Reckoner go to dust. This was what happened when he stopped bein Block an started bein a fella of the System. This were what happened when the Orphan took over his world. Deep breath. What did he know for sure? Karra werent untouchable. Truth. The great an terrible Block was out here in the dust scrabblin, dint have a plan, and at the back of his mind he knew the Orphan were still out there. Still out West an if she come back he dint know what she was bringin with her.
75
Before
Hold Orphan, before we go in the gate, lemme talk to ya wun more time. Prolly wont get to talk to ya again. I can feel it comin on the wind an I reckon Karras gunna take his chances pretty soon an there wont be no more of these trips out to the hills. Yer mighta figgered it by now but this been part accident an part on purpose an theres sumthin I been wantin ya to get ta grips with before I ask ya ta carry that weight for me. Yer see, findin Maralinga aint no joke Orphan. I been lookin for a real long time an in this whole wide open space I aint never even come close an I spent plenny of days walkin the waste an searchin for sumthin that might send me in the right direction. All in vain Orphan, nah dont tell me any different. I aint never even come close as far as I know an out there is still the poison what did for plenny of folk way back when an might just do for em again. Im gunna tell ya sumthin now what might sound like it gives ya reason to walk away from all this but Im hopin yev lerned enough. Theres a real
big chance that after all these years you aint gunna be able to stop whats happenin out there. Might be the poison been spreadin for such a long time that its gunna be already in the water an the rocks an the creatures an the trees an there aint no takin all that back. Unnerstand? Lets say ya find it out there, there might be nuthin you can do to stop it spreadin. Do ya get that Orphan? Thats sumthin Ive hadta think about evry year, an evry day. All me work might be for so much pride in the end. An nowun but yous gunna know. Lissen to me careful Orphan. Dont do what I done. Ya gotta tell sumwun. Ya gotta make sure what was started secret an kept secret, ya gotta make sure it dont stay secret. It dont even matter than ya might not be able to stop the poison spreadin. Whats done is done but like I told ya, that dont mean ya cant change the past. That dont mean ya cant change things so all them mistakes instead of bein a road down to old Nick the badman, ya can make em just a road that ended up on high after all. Dont keep it close like I done. Tell people. Give em a choice. They dont need to sit here in the System just waitin for a slow death to come on em. Speak on it Orphan, from the highest place ya can. Give em the chance peeps dint have before when they let that thing loose. Ya unnerstand? Whats secret cant be secret no more.
Year of the Orphan Page 18
