Forager (Forager - A Dystopian Trilogy)

by Peter R Stone

  The pain was becoming unbearable, so I put my right elbow on the table and rested my head in my hand. "Are you going to claim I faked the gunshot wound too? And the operation?"

  "Sit up, Ethan," the Major snapped.

  "Have you forgotten I was shot in the head today while trying to stop King detonating the nuke?" I replied, my voice coming out little louder than a whisper.

  The major nodded to the private behind me, who reached forward and slammed me back against the chair's backrest. I bit my tongue to keep from crying out in pain as black spots danced in front of my eyes.

  "Let me break it down for you, Ethan: your entire defence is built upon your claim that you determined there was a nuclear bomb in the Refrigeration-maturation unit when it was unloaded from the trailer, and immediately asked your wife to warn the Militia on duty. However, as what you claim is impossible, I accuse you of being a Custodian agent who knew the bomb was there. It is on these grounds that you and your foragers will be charged with acts of terrorism and be executed."

  I considered telling him that I detected the hydrogen bomb using echolocation, and if it came down to my mates and I facing execution and my having to reveal my bio-engineered abilities, then I would reveal them, but I hoped I wouldn't have to. I still had no idea who in Hamamachi had shot me nor why. Could it be because of my bio-engineered abilities? Or had I overhead something I shouldn't have? Was I considered a threat?

  The fact was Councillor Okada knew we were innocent, and I was hoping he could sway the Militia to stop this charade and let us go.

  I sighed deeply and glanced at the one-way observation window. I wondered who was in there listening to this pointless interrogation. I turned back to the major. "Look Major, you can ask me questions and throw your ridiculous accusations at me all night, but I really, really need to lie down, or I'm going to pass-out. Some more pain killers wouldn't go astray either."

  Before the major could respond, he paused and listened to his earpiece. He nodded, and then turned back to me, scowling. "Looks like you get your wish. Private, escort Mr. Jones to his cell and have a doctor administer him more pain killers."

  I wondered if Councillor Okada was in the observation room and if this reprieve was thanks to him.

  The private nodded and pulled me roughly from my chair by my right arm, sending pain shooting through my chest and head. I was too sore and tired to walk, but the promise of a bed was so appealing that I somehow found the strength to put one foot in front of the other.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I was woken in the middle of the night from a fitful, nightmare-plagued sleep by my cell door’s bolt being drawn back. My first thought was that it was the assassin, come to finish what he had started two years ago, but those fears evaporated when I saw Councillor Okada and another man standing there. Before either of them could speak, however, Nanako pushed her way between them and darted to my side.

  “You’re so pale, Ethan, are you okay? I can’t believe they haven’t given you proper medical treatment, considering what you did for them today,” she said angrily.

  I pushed myself to a sitting position and regretted it instantly as pain stabbed through my head. I took her small hands in mine, simply relieved that she was unharmed. “That’s not the way they see it, apparently,” I replied.

  “You two will have ample opportunities to talk later, but right now you have to go,” the councillor said as he stepped back from the cell door.

  “Where are we going?” I asked as I left the small concrete-walled cell with one arm around my wife’s shoulders to steady myself. Out in the corridor I was glad to see Shorty and David waiting for us. They nodded their heads in greeting, but appeared as bewildered as I was.

  “My nephew Ken will drive you to within a couple of kilometres of Newhome,” Councillor Okada explained as we hurried down the prison block’s corridor towards the entrance.

  “Why are you doing this, Councillor? Won’t you get in trouble?” I asked.

  “All video surveillance has been disabled, and there has been an error with the prison staff shift change, none of which will be traced to me,” he replied. “As to why am I doing this? It’s because I know you are innocent of complicity in the Custodian’s plan, because I owe you my life two times over, and because you’re my friend.”

  We left the prison and stepped into the brisk night air. An old, weathered 4WD was parked at the curb with its engine idling.

  “But what of Leigh? We can’t leave without him,” I protested.

  “Leigh is still in critical condition and cannot be moved. But do not worry - I will keep a watch over him.”

  “But…” I began.

  “Ethan, the council is understandably in an uproar over this. All they can see is that the people from Newhome tried to destroy the town with an atomic bomb. They cannot differentiate between the Custodians and foragers, not even after I tried to explain it to them. Even the fact that you foragers took out the Custodians and disarmed the bomb does not allay their suspicions.”

  “Ethan,” Nanako said with a sense of urgency bordering on panic, “Some of the councillors are convinced the foragers are Custodian spies and are demanding you be tortured and, whether you confess or not, be executed. So please, get in the car, we have to go.”

  Ken was already behind the steering wheel, so Shorty, David and Nanako quickly clambered into the vehicle - Shorty in the front and the other two in the back. I held back for a moment and reached out to shake Councillor Okada's hand. “Thank you, Sir, I won’t forget this."

  "Take good care of Nanako, young Ethan," he said softly so that only I could hear him. "She is not as tough as she seems."

  The councillor cared for Nanako like a daughter, and obviously knew something from her past I didn’t. The information did not come as a surprise to me though, for I had already seen that side of her – and loved her all the more for it.

  "You can count on me, Sir," I assured him as I climbed into the vehicle and sat next to my wife in the back seat.

  The councillor’s nephew took off as soon as I closed the door, accelerating to 80-klicks as quickly as he could. I glanced out the rear window as we set off and saw the councillor hurrying towards his black 4WD.

  "What are we going to tell the Custodians when we get back?" Shorty asked, twisting around in his chair to meet my gaze.

  "That we got ambushed by Skel on the way back," I replied. “We’ll work out the details later so that our stories match.”

  “Right - I hope they buy it.”

  “They will, don’t worry,” I assured him.

  As darkened houses, buildings, and sheds flashed past in the night, I turned to Nanako and took her hands in my own.

  "Do we have to go back to Newhome, Ethan?" she whispered. "Can’t we just ask Ken to drop us off somewhere else? Somewhere away from all this violence?”

  “We could,” I whispered back, “But if there was even the smallest chance we could find a way to stop our two towns from destroying each other, would you take it?"

  “Of course," she replied without hesitation. "I'd do anything to save our families and friends and all the innocent people caught up in this madness. It’s just that I so wanted to live a normal life with you - painting and redecorating your flat together, waiting for you to come home from work every day, making my own clothes, even going shopping with your mother in the market."

  "I'm sure we'll still be able to do those things if we go back to Newhome now, and that's where we need to go if we're to find a way to end this insanity. I want to find out if Hamamachi, or a faction in Hamamachi, is behind the Skel attacks, and if so, what’s in Newhome that is such a threat to them that they want to destroy it."

  "Okay, let's do it," she agreed, although from her expression I could see that she was deeply troubled.

  I put my arm around her and she rested her head against my shoulder. I looked down into her lovely round face and the worry and concern etched there.

  “We’re going to get
through this, okay? And we're going to live that normal life in Newhome that you're looking forward to, without having to worry about two towns trying to wipe each other out or people trying to kill me,” I assured her.

  She searched my face for a long moment, and then rewarded me with her slightly upside down smile.

  We sat there in the darkened interior of the 4WD as the councillor’s nephew drove over the cracked, weed overgrown freeway through an eerie, nighttime landscape. And as we went, I imagined a future not dictated by Custodians, but by ourselves.

  Love never gives up. (1 Corinthians 13:7)

  New Living Translation Bible

  Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, Tyndale House Foundation

  Infiltrator, Forager Book Two

  AVAILABLE NOW

  For eighteen-year-old Ethan Jones, Nanako, and the surviving members of his foraging team, the trip back to Newhome is a nightmarish journey fraught with danger.

  When they do get back to Newhome, Nanako's dreams of a normal life are shattered when Ethan's jilted ex-fiancé makes it her personal goal to turn Nanako's life into a living hell. And as if that isn't enough, she and Ethan fall afoul of a senior officer of the town's draconian Custodian police force.

  To complicate matters, more memory fragments from Ethan's missing year surface, bewildering him with their horrific implications - what exactly did he get up to with the Hamamachi Rangers two years ago? Did they - did he - really commit such heinous crimes?

  Furthermore, a Hamamachi Ranger who used to have the hots for Ethan stumps him when she asks if Nanako has told him the dreadful things that happened to her after she was dumped back in Hamamachi two years ago. What are these disturbing secrets from her past that Nanako is hiding from him?

  Against this backdrop of personal anguish, the Hamamachi Rangers and ferocious Skel, dead set upon revenge, unleash their diabolical plan against Newhome. But how far will they go in their quest for vengeance? Can the Custodians stop them, or should Ethan risk his life again by stepping up to help save the town, going against Nanako and her insistence that he stay away from combat because she can't bear the thought of losing him.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you, Lord Jesus, for always being with me.

  Thanks also to:

  Alice Kurata, the amazing model pictured on the book's cover to represent Nanako.

  Juliet Lauser, for her invaluable critique, suggestions, and editing.

  David Hamono, for the time he put in to creating such an amazing full jacket book cover.

  Ben Hamono, whose enthusiasm to read my work motivates me to write faster, and for his helpful editing.

  Faith Blum, for her editing, and comments that had me in stitches.

  Hannah Stone, for all the priceless chats we had while reading the book to her.

  Tim Steen, for his amazing eye for spotting so many errors while editing the book.

  About the Author

  Peter Stone graduated from Melbourne School of Ministries Bible College in 1988. He has been a Sunday school teacher and church keyboard player for over twenty-five years. He has an international marriage and two children.

  He has worked in the same games company for twenty-six years, but still does not comprehend why they expect him to work all day instead of playing games.

  Peter dreams of becoming a writer when he grows up. However, he has serious reservations that either of these events will ever come to pass.

  Peter, an avid student of history, still mourns the untimely passing of King Leonidas of Sparta, and Field Marshal Michel Ney of France.

  Forager's Website

  http://foragertrilogy.blogspot.com.au/

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