by Mark Lingane
Sebastian sighed. “I know two reasons why she’ll go in now.”
“No matter what, under no circumstances, can weapons be taken in,” he reiterated, as if dealing with the clinically obtuse.
Melanie stood there glaring at Truck, reddening by the moment. He stared back, unblinking. “Fine!” She stepped back, disengaged the suit and stepped free.
“I lied about the no-women rule,” Truck said. “I wanted to see how angry you’d get. Of course there are women in there. They need someone to serve the drinks and wait on the men.”
Melanie went to hit him. He raised his hand and caught the punch. He gave her a nod and a smile, and released her hand. “If you ever get out of there, come and see me some time.”
And with that, Truck, Finbar, and Foobar turned and left.
72
THEY HID THE bikes and swords behind some bushes, and Melanie stripped off the suit.
“I feel naked,” she said, shivering. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her arms. She compressed the suit and tucked it under her bike. “Let’s hope no one’s inquisitive.”
They looked both ways down the street and dashed across to the solid metal door. Sebastian knocked and stood back. The street was quiet. The sun shone down from directly overhead, warming the area.
A small grate slid aside. A set of eyes stared through the mesh. “Number,” came a voice.
“What?”
“How many are you?”
“There’s only one of me. But I have a friend.”
A lower, smaller hatch slid aside. “Put it in.”
“Put what in?”
There was a sigh, and the eyes rolled. “Your wrist.”
“Oh.” Sebastian slipped his hand into the small opening. There was a quick jab, which had him squeaking in pain. A green light appeared next to the opening.
“Next.”
Melanie stepped up and inserted her wrist. She felt the jab, but she didn’t make any sound. The light flashed once then went green.
“Clear. No infection detected,” boomed the voice, and there was a loud click from the lock.
Sebastian pushed opened the door and walked into a smoky bar. Melanie crept in behind him, keeping a low profile. The occasional person glanced at him as he made his way across the room to the bartender. The ugliness of the man’s face was epic. His body was covered in deep scars; one ran over his bald scalp down over his milky eye to the corner of his mouth.
“Are you old enough to be in here?”
“I don’t want a drink. I want to stay in control,” Sebastian replied indignantly.
“Yeah, right.”
“And I am old enough. I’m eighteen.”
“Yeah, right.”
Sebastian shifted uneasily. His carefully prepared question had slipped from his mind under the pressure of being an illegal minor.
“We’re looking for a way to get to the North America.” The room went quiet. Sebastian looked around nervously. “I’ve been told I need a void rider.”
The bartender stared at him, his one good eye blinking slowly. He picked up a glass and polished it.
Sebastian repeated himself, lowering his voice. “I’m looking for void riders.”
The bartender snickered. “Are you a young boy running away from home, seeking adventure and fortune on the high seas?”
“No. I’ve been chased across the land by cyborgs, dragons, giant spiders, and mutated zombie people. I’ve seen the fall of two cities, the death of my family and friends, and the fall of an empire. To be honest, I’ve had enough of adventure. I wish I could go home, but it got blown up by the cyborgs when they came and killed everyone in my town.”
The barman relented. “I’m surprised you haven’t seen attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion and watched C-beams glitter in the darkness at Tannhäuser Gate.”
“The day is still early.”
The barman nodded at a group of men huddled in the corner. “Void captains have black-and-white bands around their arms. You’ll find a few of them over there.” He placed a glass on the bench top. “If I was you, I’d have a drink before talking to them.”
Sebastian’s eyes darted over to the corner; it was overcrowded with heavily tattooed men. He knew he wasn’t going to blend in.
“Could you stay here?” he whispered to Melanie. “I think I’ll have a better chance if they think it’s just me that’s going.”
She sighed. “You don’t know much about hitchhiking, do you?” She signaled the bartender and ordered a drink.
Sebastian walked past the first group, comprised of thin men with straggly hair. They looked vicious and scared, like lab rats, and their faces were covered with swirling tattoos.
A second group consisted of heavyset men, small in number, but with a large capacity to drink, if the number of glasses on the table was anything to go by. He spotted a man with the black-and-white band and approached him. The conversation didn’t go as badly as he anticipated. He learned several new words and managed to get out alive.
He moved onto the third group and instantly felt a wave of relief roll over him.
“Andana, what are you doing here?”
A puzzled expression settled on the man’s face. He glanced hesitantly at the men surrounding him. “I’m sure you’s being polite, kid.”
“I need a ride.”
“Look, tiger, I ain’t no freakin’ horse.” The men surrounding him gave a dutiful chortle. “Now, clear away, and I’ll make nothing more of it.” He waved Sebastian away.
Sebastian stood resolutely in front of him. “I need to get to the North America. I understand that traders do that run.”
One of the men leaned back and moved his hand beneath the table. Andana shook his head at the man. He returned his focus to Sebastian.
“Traders do what they want, and they don’t take no instruction from a lippy kid.”
“I have money,” Sebastian replied.
“Why didn’t you say? Clear the decks boys, we got a VIP joining us.”
There was a howling noise outside. It was abruptly silenced by the sound of immense firepower.
“Was that them?” Sebastian asked Andana.
Andana nodded. He leaned over and whispered to one of his men, who got up and left the bar.
“How can you live among the Famished?” Sebastian said.
“We’s human,” Andana said. “From frozen icecaps to the barren desert plains to underground caves, humans can live anywhere. We have our ways ’round the freaks. We have agreements. We’s safe in here. If we happen to cross paths, we shoot them.”
“But they were people once.”
“You show me one tiny part of them that’s still human.”
Sebastian sighed. “Can you take me? It’s important.”
“Is it about a girl?”
“No.”
“Shame. I’d be more inclined if it was. A man gets lonely in the void. He gets to reflect on lots of things. He makes decisions about his life, and he often realizes life is short, hard, and vicious, and he’s stuck in some stinking cold bed in the middle of an apocalyptic storm. He looks inside and realizes his life is empty, and all he craves is love, a happy family, and somewhere he can finally call home.”
“Really?”
All the men burst out laughing.
“You are an innocent one,” Andana said, grinning. “Of course not. Void riders got ladies in every port, keeps the nagging away. You’re all right, kid. Okay, I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you a ride, for old time’s sake. Okay?”
Sebastian smiled. “When can we go?”
There was a pause. “Who’s ‘we’?” Andana’s voice was full of suspicion.
“Me and my friend.”
Andana’s tone changed. “You didn’t say nothing about no friend. What else ain’t you telling me? Are you lying to me?” He stood up and leaned over Sebastian. Sebastian shrank away from the short man. Andana raised his fist and snarled.
Andana suddenly
found his hand forced to the table and a medium-sized knife pinning his jacket to the wood.
“You need to be nice to the boy,” Melanie said. She pulled the knife free and drove it down between Andana’s fingers. He gulped nervously.
“Andana,” Sebastian said, “this is my friend. Meet Melanie.”
Andanda gave Melanie a crooked smile. “This is news. You didn’t say your friend was a girl. Well, any friend of Sebastian’s is a friend to us. Why don’t you join us?”
“Why don’t you just tell us if you’ll take us or not.”
“A feisty one, at that. The men like a feisty lady.” He sat staring at her for a moment, drumming his fingers on the table. He raised his hand and clicked his fingers as he pointed at her. “I’ve seen you. You were that girl I rescued in the Hive.”
“You rescued?” Sebastian said.
“Yeah, me and some other guys. My team. That nice young man carried you out. Is he here with you today?”
Sebastian recognized the look in her eye, but was too slow to react. She swung the knife toward his throat, stopping when the tip rested on his skin. “We’ll be much better friends if you keep your mouth shut about things that don’t involve flying out of here.”
The bald man returned from outside and nodded to Andana. He raised his hands.
“Looks like I’ve hit on a touchy subject,” Andana said. “Maybe not the happy ever after that all girls dream of.”
“Lucky I’m not all girls,” she snarled.
“Fine. I’ll take you. Now.”
“Now?” repeated Sebastian.
“Like my old mother used to say, no time like the present.”
Melanie sheathed her blade and they all followed the bald man out through the door.
73
THE ROOM WAS a concrete shell. Several bodies lay on the floor, riddled with bullet holes.
“What happened to them?” Sebastian asked Andana.
“They forgot how to pay the Hunter. No one gets out of the city without his little contribution. He tells his freaks to keep away from this place if the bills are paid on time.”
“How much does he take?”
“We give him a nice”—he turned to look at Melanie—“young lady.”
The bald man looked at a picture, then held it up to Sebastian’s face. He nodded in confirmation. “He matches the wanted poster.”
One of the pirates brought the butt of his machine gun down on the back of Sebastian’s head. He collapsed onto his hands and knees. Another did the same to Melanie, catching her mid-leap, knocking her to the ground. Two men subdued her, pinning her in place.
“Give my regards to the Hunter,” Andana called out as he turned to leave.
“But I saved you before,” Sebastian pleaded. “Your head would be plastered over the inside wall of the Hive if it wasn’t for me.”
Andana hovered by the door. “Well, we all move on. We can’t all get stuck in the past and the what-ifs of who done what to who.” He looked into the boy’s pleading eyes. “Sorry, kid. Your deal is what you get. You can’t change the cards. I tell you what, you escape from these guys, bring down the Hunter, and make it to my ship before the jump, and I’ll give you a ride to your North America.”
“Deal,” Sebastian said.
A guard came up behind him and pulled a large sack over his head, pulling the drawstring tight. He struggled, but the guards simply picked him up and threw him into the back of a truck.
“You can’t do that to him,” Melanie yelled. “He needs, really needs, to get to North America.”
“I’ve got a drink going warm back there,” Andana said. “Some cretin’s probably poisoned it.”
“He has a critical job to perform over there. It could lead to his death. He has to collapse the Omegas. It’ll save us all. You have to let us go.”
Andana’s face broke into a huge smile, and he snapped his fingers. “You’re that girl, the poisoned one in New Toowoomba. I overheard you talking to the guys about it. Some stupid story about a message from the future.”
“Then you know he doesn’t have long.”
Surprise radiated in Andana’s eyes. He indicated for the two men holding her down to lift her up. She stood before him, and he looked into her eyes. “Or you,” he said. He slapped his hand over his mouth. Then he laughed.
“What?” she said, glaring at him.
“Nothing.”
“No, you said ‘or you.’ What did you mean?”
“It was nothing, just a slip of the tongue.” He waved the comment away.
She struggled against the pirates, but couldn’t break free of their grip. “Tell me now.”
“I don’t know. It was something I overheard. I’m sure I misheard.”
“What did you hear?” she shouted. She attempted to kick him.
“Okay, okay. The guy with the crazy hair said you were going to die. In a week. That would be about”—he looked up and tapped his fingers against his lips—“now,” he drawled.
“No,” she whimpered.
“Something about being in a message … from the boy.”
Her head spun. She thrashed her body as violently as she could. He looked at her as she turned a pale face to him. She fell forward, but was held in place by the men. Her breathing became erratic.
“Calm down. It’s not like it’s written in the stars.”
She fainted.
The truck bounced along the road. There was shouting. There was gunfire, constantly, and in every direction. Sebastian examined his bonds, feeling the shape and texture. Thick ropes. It was similar to the stuff they used to rope cows back home in Talinga.
Melanie stirred next to him. Her head knocked against his shoulder as she leaned against him. There were high-pitched screams, and the truck bounced awkwardly over a large mound. The screams continued underneath the truck, then faded into the distance behind them.
“Where are we?” she muttered.
“We’re in some kind of metal truck.”
“Metal? Can’t you do something about that?”
“Yes. But I won’t for now. You’ll never guess where they’re taking us.”
The truck concluded its bumpy journey and the two were manhandled out the back and onto the road. Their feet crunched on the surface, the gravel providing a loose grip for their boots. The wind whipped around them, dry and full of static. There was an odd aroma in the air, a sweet and pungent odor of sweat, strong enough to seep through the heavy bags on their heads.
There was a heavy clunk next to them, followed by the sound of the steambikes’ tires crunching over the gravel as they were pushed away.
“My name is Jeremiah, and I’ll be your guide for the evening. Please follow me. Don’t deviate from the highlighted path, as I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“We can’t see anything,” Sebastian cried.
“Guess you’ll have to rely on luck.”
They heard footsteps leading away, and they were simultaneously pushed from behind to follow. They heard snarls, deeply inhaled breaths, and the occasional whimper from each side as they shuffled hesitantly along the gravel path. The footsteps behind them stopped when they stepped onto a metal plate.
“One more step forward,” Jeremiah said.
They took the step and there was a hissing from behind them. The floor jerked up and they felt themselves being propelled skywards.
“This is amazing. You should see it,” Jeremiah said. They heard his feet shuffle, and he leaned against something that flexed. “Beautiful,” he whispered.
The upward movement stopped, and there was another hiss from behind. Jeremiah pushed them backwards, making them stagger uncertainly.
“In we go,” he shouted. “Keep walking until I tell you to stop.”
They edged forward slowly, unsure and fearful of what lay ahead. Eventually, Jeremiah commanded them to stop their shuffling. Melanie felt his presence beside her, could hear his wheezy breathing. He had strong body odor, not so noticeable in the open
air, but now she found it overpowering. His footsteps and voice echoed, meaning they were in a big space. She could hear Sebastian testing his rope bonds, and her chains rattling between her manacles.
They heard another set of footsteps walk slowly around them, with long strides and heavy footfalls. As the figure passed, the scent of washed clothes and a body that had seen soaped wafted over Melanie.
“Ah, Jeremiah,” a voice said, “still looking like a bullfrog.”
74
SEBASTIAN THOUGHT THE high, effeminate tone of the stranger’s voice was unusual in this situation. He snickered. Jeremiah gave him a kick.
“My dear, dear toad, what brings you before me at this hour of leisure?”
“Andana says he’s got something here you want,” Jeremiah said.
“Really?” came the effeminate male voice. “How divine. I like things I want.” The man’s every syllable was a sigh of boredom.
“Says the cost is a free ride out on the arm into the void.”
“Free isn’t a word I generally do. But, as you’ve brought me gifts … no, it still isn’t a word I do.”
The man raised a large silver pistol and pointed it directly at Jeremiah’s head. He fired. Jeremiah fell in an arc and landed on his back, staring up at the ceiling.
The man clapped his hands. Several starved men appeared, dressed in leather. He indicated for them to remove the body. They leaped on it, ripped it apart and started to devour it.
The man sighed. “I didn’t mean that. I meant for you to drag it away. Now I need to clean up the mess. Maybe not, as you appear to be licking the floor.”
The two hooded figures were left alone in the center of the room. Sebastian and Melanie were terrorized by the voices, sounds, and gunfire.
The man stored his pistol under his pretend “throne,” brushed off his hands, and stood before his captives. “What have we got here?” he said. He grabbed Sebastian’s hood and wrenched it free.
Sebastian gasped for air. He took in the man in front of him, and two other men, so silent he hadn’t known they were there. They wore very little. Their skin, covered in circular patterns, shone with a marble, nearly metallic sheen.
