Transport 3_The Zone

by Phillip P. Peterson

  “We could get the weapons and hide them nearby. Then at least we wouldn’t be empty-handed and would stand a chance if worst came to worst,” Ernie said.

  Marlene nodded. She had to consider the eventuality that they might have no other choice but to fight the invaders. “Alright. We’ll go to the depot and get the weapons. But they’re only for an emergency. I want to keep trying to deescalate this situation. And I want to talk to Morrow. I think he’s more approachable than Major Palmer.”

  “I’m up for the expedition to the depot,” Richards said.

  “Great!” Marlene concurred. She turned to Ernie. “Do you want to go too?” He desperately needed something to take his mind off his wife.

  “Sure,” Ernie said without a trace of enthusiasm in his voice. “We should take along a third person so we can carry back enough ammunition.”

  “Agreed.”

  “When should we go?” Richards asked.

  Marlene considered. “As soon as possible. You can set off tomorrow morning. Get one of the men in the fields to drive you to the canyon. If you keep up a good pace, you should be at the depot by tomorrow evening. You can spend the night there and come back the following day with as many weapons and as much equipment as you can carry. Leave the stuff in the cave at the pass at the top of the canyon. We can get it from there if we need it.”

  “Won’t the soldiers notice if three men are missing? What if they do another head count?” Dr. Dressel asked.

  “Then we have a problem,” Marlene said. “We have to take the risk. I’ll think of an alibi if necessary.”

  “OK,” Ernie said.

  “And be careful. We don’t know what conditions are like beyond the canyon since the flood.”

  “Could there be any wotans or snipers still on the loose?” Lee asked. “I mean, if the area around Mount Fairweather wasn’t flooded, it’s possible that a few of the monsters survived.”

  Marlene got up and went to the corner of the room. She went down on her knees and loosened one of the floorboards. After a few seconds she found what she was looking for. She handed Ernie the weapon.”

  “A pistol and a magazine,” she said. “It’s all I’ve got. I guess it won’t be much help against a pack of wotans.”

  “It’ll do,” Ernie said flatly. “It’ll have to do.”

  Chapter 6

  “I can’t take this smell much longer,” Manuel Sargent said. The seventeen-year-old covered his nose with his hand.

  “Quit moaning,” said Ernie. “It’s not much farther.” He looked around. Everywhere there were trees that had been toppled by the storm. Dead wotans lay squashed beneath the trunks and draped over the branches. Their bodies were bloated with water. They had been decomposing for some time, and the heavy, sickly-sweet stench was impossible to get used to. Ernie had a headache.

  They had set off early in the morning under cover of darkness, unnoticed by the soldiers. Julia Stetson had picked them up later on in the jeep at the edge of the forest and taken the three men to the pass. From there they had continued marching on foot. With the help of ropes, they had laboriously clambered up and over the almost sheer face of the collapsed cliff that now blocked the canyon, before picking up a quicker pace once they reached the jungle of the lowlands. The march was exhausting, but they had expected that. There was nothing more to be seen of the old road, the flood had submerged it in mud and debris. Ernie had been surprised that so many trees were still standing. But the trunks that had fallen were enough to slow them down. It had taken them almost the whole day to cover the twenty-five miles to Mount Fairweather, and now the sun was starting to set on the horizon. Once they reached the higher ground of the mountain, they found carcasses everywhere; and the higher they went, the worse the smell became.

  “They must have all tried to get up this hill,” Richards said. He had tied his neckerchief over his mouth and nose, but Ernie doubted it was much help.

  “But in vain. The flood must have moved in really fast. Like a tsunami.”

  “I hope Dressel is right and the depot was above the water level,” Richards sounded worried. “How much farther do we have to go?”

  “Hard to say. I don’t recognize anything. But we’re still in the jungle. The depot was a little higher up than the edge of the trees. It can’t be much more than a mile.”

  They struggled on over fallen-down tree trunks. Manuel cursed when one of his shoes caught on a branch and he fell flat on his face. At least the sunny weather over the last two weeks had dried the ground again. Ernie didn’t like to think how tough the march would have been if they’d had to work their way forward through muddy swampland.

  “Over there!” Richards called. “It’s getting lighter. We must be nearing the edge of the forest.”

  Ernie climbed up a tree and jumped down on the other side. Richards was right. Between the branches of the trees he had seen the lush green grassland of the chain of hills.

  “The flood couldn’t have reached any higher than this,” he said. The trees at the edge of the forest are still all standing.”

  Richards looked at him. “If some of the beasts were able to escape up into the hills ...” he began.

  Ernie nodded. He pulled Marlene’s gun out of the holster and checked the magazine. “... then they might still be alive,” he completed his friend’s sentence.

  The craggy cliffs of Mount Fairweather rose up several miles above them. Thin wisps of cloud formed in the rising winds, then dispersed again quickly.

  Then Ernie saw the wotans——or rather, what remained of them. Dozens of them were lying on the slope. Wedged together, most of them with horrible wounds. Many of the carcasses no longer had limbs. There was a body lying right in front of him, with its back half missing.

  Ernie returned the gun to its holster. “I don’t think we have anything to fear. They’re all dead.”

  “But why?” Manuel asked quietly. “What happened?”

  “Maybe they were hungry and tried to eat each other. Or the flood unleashed some kind of mass panic. In any case, it looks like they all killed each other,” Richards said.

  Ernie felt a chill run down his spine as he passed by the ravaged bodies. He couldn’t help imagining what would have happened if they hadn’t managed to block the canyon. Nobody in New California would have survived.

  But Andrea is dead!

  He felt a stab of pain in his heart. The memory of her smile was still too fresh. It was easy to imagine her waiting at home for him for him. When he got back they would kiss and disappear into the bedroom....

  Never. Never again.

  At least Carrie was almost grown up. She had a boyfriend. Robert had made it a little easier for her to come to terms with her mother’s death. Ernie had always regarded himself as a tough guy, fearless, someone who confronted things head on. But when he thought about his future without Andrea, he was overcome by despair.

  And for what? To be bullied by that asshole Major Palmer? They had managed to save their skins, but their colony had been taken away from them nonetheless. Well, they would get it back. But for that they needed weapons. Where was this goddamn depot?

  Nobody spoke as they hiked up the southern slope of Mount Fairweather, passing hundreds of dead animals as they went.

  “Over there!” Manuel shouted. He pointed to the south-east. Ernie’s gaze followed the direction of Manuel’s hand.

  He was right!

  They had gone a little too far up the hill. The depot was several hundred feet below them. To his relief, the wooden barrack was undamaged, and they ran the final stretch with renewed energy. He was surprised when he stepped onto burnt grass——but then he remembered that Russell had thrown several firebombs at the animals during the last escape.

  Ernie unbolted the door, threw it open, and stepped inside. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The only light came in through a tiny window.

  “Looks like everything’s still here,” Richards said.

  Ernie nodded
. Two-dozen automatic rifles were piled on a shelf, together with several pistols, grenades, and enough ammunition to finish off a whole herd of wotans. Years ago they had built the little hut to be used as a base for further expeditions to the ocean. But they had never got round to it, as there had been too much to do in Eridu. But all the effort had been worth it after all.

  Richards walked up to the shelf, took one of the weapons and grinned at Ernie. “Now we’ll show the bastards!”

  Chapter 7

  Marlene had just awoken from a restless sleep when there was a knock at the door. The night was still young. Around midnight, Marlene reckoned. She could always rely on her body clock.

  “Marlene! Marlene!”

  She recognized the high voice of Sarah Deming. Something must have happened. She immediately thought of Ernie and his troop, which had set out that morning. Had Palmer noticed that some men were missing? Marlene was now wide awake, and sprang out of bed. She bent down and picked up her clothes from yesterday, which she had thrown carelessly onto the floor. As she got dressed there was another knock.

  “Hold on, I’ll be right there.” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, hobbled on stiff legs to the door, pushed back the bolt, and opened the door.

  Sarah couldn’t have been awake for long, either. Her hair was tousled and fell into her face; her clothes were rumpled, as if she had grabbed them out of the washing basket.

  “What’s going on?” Marlene asked.

  “Something’s happened. Cookie punched one of the soldiers.”

  Oh my God! Not that! No doubt Cookie had wanted to get back at the soldiers for his broken nose. Marlene pulled on her shoes, which were by the door. “Where is he now?”

  “Another soldier grabbed him. They’re in front of the Major’s hut. Half the colony has come out to see what’s going on.”

  “And the soldier?”

  “I have no idea!”

  Marlene ran off, with Sarah hot on her heels. A few seconds later they reached Major Palmer’s hut. He was standing outside with half a dozen soldiers. A floodlight lit up the square. The engine of one of the jeeps juddered to life and the vehicle rolled off. Marlene saw that young Shanker was sitting on the back seat, flanked by two soldiers. Dr. Lindwall, who had tried to stop the vehicle, jumped to the side at the last second. Eliot Sargent held tightly onto Lee, who was waving his fist at the major and cursing. Beside him stood Sammy Yang and his wife Katrina, who lived in one of the next huts, and Marianna Waits, who was also shouting at the soldiers. “Where are you taking the boy? You can’t just——”

  “Keep calm!” Marlene urged.

  “You motherfuckers!” Lee screamed.

  “Lee! Cool it!” She grabbed the engineer by the shoulder.

  “They’ve taken my son, those son-of-a-bitch——”

  “Hey, that’s enough!”

  Lee fell silent.

  Marlene turned to the major. “What happened?”

  Palmer stood calmly in front of her, flanked by his soldiers, who held their weapons at the ready. Marlene had no doubt they would use them if one of the colonists tried to get too close to the major.

  “There was an attack on one of my men. The culprit has been caught and arrested,” Palmer said.

  “The soldier doesn’t have any serious injuries. Maybe he’ll get a bruise, but nothing more,” Dr. Lindwall said.

  “Where are you taking Cookie?” Marlene asked.

  “To our base at the transporter. Tomorrow he’ll be put on trial.”

  “On trial?” Lee screamed. “You motherfucking——” Marlene grabbed him by the shoulder. The engineer fell silent.

  “Major. The boy was pissed because the guy broke his nose. But he’s only a kid. C’mon, let him go,” she said in a conciliatory tone of voice.

  Palmer shook his head. “I warned you——you need to keep your people under control. I’m very sorry you were unable to do so. In my opinion, it was a devious attack, and the crime will be punished. The trial will take place tomorrow. You will have the opportunity to have your say then.” The officer turned on his heel and disappeared into his hut.

  And that was it? Marlene was speechless.

  “Lousy son-of-a-bitch!” Eliot had to tighten his grip on Lee, whose face was flushed with anger. He tried to free himself from Eliot’s grasp.

  “Lee, try not to freak out. It won’t help our situation, or Cookie’s,” Marlene said.

  “They can’t just take my boy away with them.”

  “There’s nothing more we can do tonight,” Marlene said. “We’ll sort this out in the morning.”

  “But——”

  “Please promise me that you won’t do anything stupid.”

  “But I can’t just——”

  “It won’t help if we try talking to the major again now. We’ll deal with this tomorrow when everyone has simmered down. Is that clear, Lee?”

  Finally the engineer nodded. He covered his face with his hands. “What shall I tell Jenny?” Marlene knew it was a rhetorical question and didn’t reply. “It’s my fault,” Lee whispered.

  Marlene stared at him.

  “I told Cookie that we would get even for his broken nose and that the soldier would pay for what he did.” Lee’s voice trembled. “I never thought he would take the matter into his own hands. But Cookie has never been one to take things lying down.”

  Marlene forced herself to smile. “I’ll make sure General Morrow is there——he’s easier to talk to. I’m sure he’ll realize that a harsh punishment won’t help his cause. Cookie will apologize to the soldier and everything will be fine. The soldier isn’t even badly hurt.”

  Lee nodded slowly.

  “Trust me. It’ll be OK!” She turned to Eliot. “Take Lee home. We’ll deal with this tomorrow.”

  The group of bystanders slowly dispersed. Four soldiers had taken up position in front of the barrack. Finally, Marlene also turned around and walked slowly back to her hut. She would do whatever she could to minimize the consequences for Cookie, who was normally such a happy-go-lucky kid. But there had been something in the Major’s eyes ... as if he were enjoying the situation. She feared the worst.

  Marlene was unable to sleep the rest of the night and set out to Major Palmer’s hut very early next morning to discuss the incident of the night before. But the soldiers wouldn’t let her pass.

  Lee had also turned up early, but luckily she had been able to convince him to go back home until she had spoken with Palmer or Morrow. Then, during the morning, more soldiers arrived in Eridu in two jeeps. Some of them took up position around the Major’s hut, others patrolled the settlement. The soldier whom Cookie had hit was also back, and returned to his post in front of the workshop, but refused to talk to Marlene.

  Marlene felt very uneasy. If Palmer was strengthening the military presence in the settlement, it meant he was expecting some kind of retaliation from the colonists, which could only mean that the major wanted to set an example with this trial.

  By the late afternoon there was still no reaction from Palmer. He continued to bunker himself in his hut and didn’t let anyone see him. Marlene hadn’t let his hut out of her sight all day, so that she could catch him the minute he emerged.

  The sun was nearing the horizon when something finally happened. The door opened and the major walked purposefully to a waiting vehicle. Marlene ran toward him, but was stopped in her tracks by two soldiers.

  “Major! Talk to me, please!”

  But she could only watch as four heavily armed men climbed into the jeep with Palmer. The officer switched on the engine and drove off. As he raced past her, he gave her a malicious grin. A few seconds later the vehicle had disappeared to the south.

  What does this mean?

  “Come on, help me.” Ernie stretched out a hand to Manuel Sargent. The boy grabbed it, and with a grunt, Ernie pulled him over the ledge. Travis Richards managed the last few feet alone and Ernie let himself fall onto the rocky surface after first throwing down the backp
ack filled with weapons and ammunition. “Quite a little pile we’ve got here.”

  “Yup,” Richards agreed, as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his bandanna.

  Ernie looked down the cliff face toward the south. They had attached a rope to the escarpment to make it easier to climb up and down. Three weeks earlier, this had been the narrowest spot in the canyon, connecting the highlands and the lowlands. With Ty’s atomic bomb, they had blown up the steep cliff face, filling the canyon with a wall of rubble, and blocked the way for thousands of monsters who would otherwise have overrun their settlement. Thanks to Russell and Ben, they had managed to ignite the bomb at literally the last second. Ernie didn’t like to think he was sitting on ground zero of an atomic explosion, even if Dr. Dressel claimed there was hardly any radioactivity, as the explosion had taken place below the surface of the rock. But they needed a short break before climbing back down the other side.

  It had been a tough day. They had schlepped their backpacks——each of which weighed around 80 pounds——across twenty-five miles of almost impassable terrain. Ernie’s back was aching and his shoulders were sore where the straps had dug into his skin. But it wasn’t far now. He hoped that nobody had noticed their absence.

  “I wonder what happened to all those animals?” Manuel said.

  “What do you mean?” Richards asked.

  “They attacked us in the thousands. But we didn’t come across a single body in the canyon.”

  “I guess they were swept away by the receding flood,” Ernie said. “The water disappeared as quickly as it came.”

  “And that’s what I don’t get,” Richards pondered. “It wasn’t even a real flood. The moon is barely over the horizon. It’ll be months, if not years, before it reaches its zenith. On Earth the flood would have only just begun and the water would still be rising. What happened here was more like a tsunami.”

  Ernie shrugged. “Dressel explained it, but I didn’t understand. It has something to do with resonances. He also reckoned the actual flood might be yet to come. I think we still have a lot to learn about our planet.”