by Mark Wandrey
"Well, it has an OS and part of a file," Pip said after a minute of looking at the contents of the chip. He grabbed his bag and opened it to pull out another chip before slipping it into the drive and accessing the information.
"Does that complete the file?" Minu asked.
"No, but it provides another part. Looks like it takes three."
"What's the chance that we'd have two parts and not duplicates?" Aaron asked.
"Right, there might be duplicates or dozens of files," Gregg agreed.
"There might be a way to find out," Minu said and stuck her head out the door. The air continued to warm and the morning was becoming quite nice. Taking advantage of the supposedly free time, the other boys were all lounging around in various stages of undress. A couple were even frolicking in the river. Nearby sat a pile of at least a half-dozen shoulder bags just like the ones they carried. Minu elbowed Cherise and pointed when the other girl looked. They exchanged mischievous looks and carefully slinked over next to the pile.
"What are you girls doing in there?" asked one boy nearby who was bothering to stay alert. Minu jumped slightly and recovered quickly.
"We were searching the hut for anything useful."
"Yeah, we did that earlier when we saw the Chosen was gone. Even tried to jimmy that damned lock."
"So did we." Cherise said with a shrug. The two girls leaned against the building and looked bored, before long the boy lost interest in them and took to watching those playing in the water. Quickly before he noticed, Cherise and Minu snatched a pair of packs and darted back into the hut.
"Stupid of them to just leave them out there," Aaron agreed with the others as they rifled through the bags. Luck was with them. In one bag was a box, the other held two. Obviously the girls weren't the only ones practicing larcenous behavior. One box contained another electronic circuit, one that looked like a tiny radio, and the last another computer memory chip.
"Bingo," Pip laughed as Minu dropped it into his greedy hand. A moment later it was in the computer and his fingers were dancing across the keys. Minu knew enough to know that it provided the final part of the file which contained a document. None of them were surprised when a map came up along with some short instructions. They read together in silence.
"Since you are reading this, you are to be congratulated on your resourcefulness. You have either showed wonderful forethought and cooperation, or demonstrated creative acquisition of necessary mission tools." They all chuckled at that last part. "The next stage is going to challenge you both physically and mentally." Pip moaned. "No misdirection this time. There is only one direction to get out of these mountains, and that is to the south. Once you find the pass leading from the mountain, follow the stream to its end. There you will find the final challenge. Good luck."
The map showed the mountain next to the hut, including the near distant Steven’s Pass facility and the intervening terrain. Everything was accurate and Pip pointed out this was a cypher accurate copy of a Bellatrix Geographic Bureau map publicly available. He also let them know that it couldn't be altered and the cypher still remain accurate. The map didn't go beyond the base of the mountain, though it did show the stream and its southerly course.
"We can't take the computer so everyone memorize the map," she told them and then used the memorization drill her father taught her many years ago. "Do any of you know what's south of here?"
"Desert," Aaron and Cherise answered in stereo. There was no reason to doubt them; they were both from neighboring regions on the far side of the equatorial desert. She closed her eyes and called up a planetary map from memory, locating Steven’s Pass on the map and comparing its location. She admonished herself for not realizing the testing facility was so close to the desert that this could be an issue in the Trials. She hadn't studied anything on desert survival.
"They wouldn't take us out into the open desert, would they?" Minu wondered aloud.
"Few can survive without extensive preparations," Cherise confirmed her worst fears. It was almost a definitive answer that the desert was their destination, and probably part of the final trial.
"Let’s get out of here," Minu told them and shouldered her pack. Pip popped out the two data chips and held them out to her. "Put them in your box, you're the one who knows how to use them best."
"Aren't you going to return them? How are the others going to figure out what to do?"
"I honestly couldn't care less," Minu answered instantly, her thoughts on Ivan Malovich out there, no doubt sunning his disgustingly naked body on a rock like some sort of huge slimy lizard. Some small part of her wondered where this sudden cold-blooded reaction came from, another part reminded her that it had always been there, in her genes. Pip nodded his head slightly, and with some obvious misgivings, he stored away the chips.
"What about the foot locker?" Gregg asked.
"It's locked," she reminded him. He smiled mischievously and she cocked her head. "Can you open it?" He removed a little length of rigid wire from his pocket. He knelt over the locker and went to work. Less than a minute later, the lock clicked and he swung open the lid. Inside was a treasure trove of unimaginable goodies.
"Jackpot!" Cherise laughed, then looked self-consciously toward the door, afraid she'd been heard outside.
The food was the first thing they all noticed, it having been more than two days since they'd eaten. Dozens of packages of prepared dehydrated meals. Quickly they divided up the hoard. Minu insisted they not eat anything until they were away. Next was a leather pack containing camping equipment. Stove, fuel, utensils, a pot and a pan. Even a sturdy dualloy ax and a length of synthetic fiber rope. Under the pack, six sheathed survival knives complete with web belts, each wrapped around a one-liter canteen.
Minu felt guilty, like they were robbing the Chosen of the equipment they needed to conduct the Trials. That was until they found the six knives. These weren't the ultra-cool knives the Chosen routinely wore, their handles chocked full of high-tech instruments and a power cell. These were much simpler blades manufactured right here on Bellatrix. These were meant to be found; it was just luck (or providence) that Minu's group was the first to force open the locker.
Her friends didn't waste any time talking. In no time at all they all wore the belts complete with sheathed knife and canteen. Their once nearly empty packs now bulged with additional goods. Even though Aaron was nearly the shortest among them, he was by far the strongest, so his broad shoulders carried both his pack, and a newly assembled one with the camping gear. Minu took the extra belt with its knife and canteen herself, secreted in the bottom of her pack. She had no intention of leaving anything behind. She would seize every advantage they could take.
It was obvious that teamwork was required of them. The fact that the data for the maps and their next objective were secreted among multiple data chips proved that. It wasn't hidden in dozens of chips, only three. And likely any three chips would work. So as long as you showed some 'teamwork', even only among a small team, it was rewarded. This locker was the proof that those teams were expected to be small. Enough supplies and equipment for six to survive in the wilderness. Maybe a few more if they were careful, or lucky.
Everyone was ready, so she led them outside. Their shirts were pulled out and over the new belts to avoid easy notice. One boy, the same one who she talked to briefly a short time ago, looked up as they exited and cocked his head in confusion.
"I thought you'd left."
"Not yet," Minu replied. She'd been about to head for the woods immediately, then she remembered the new canteens were empty. It wouldn't do to get deep into the woods and have to waste time looking for a stream as clear and obviously pure as this one. "Fill the canteens," she instructed Cherise in a whisper. The boy's curiosity changed to suspicion in an instant and he was on his feet.
"Did you find some stuff in there?" Minu didn't answer, just falling in with the others quickly walking down to the river. Once they were away from the door the boy headed for th
e hut. Minu cursed silently for not re-locking the footlocker before leaving.
"We don't have much time," she said to them, now louder that the nearest other kids were a few yards away. "Don't make it too obvious what you’re doing, but get them filled and let’s get out of here."
"FUCK!" came the yell from inside the hut. Instantly other kids were on their feet and running toward the hut. Minu pulled out her canteen and handed it behind her to Cherise to fill while she watched to see how the situation developed. She could hear a loud conversation inside the hut and knew the game was up. The first out was Ivan who looked right at her with murder in his eye. Cherise handed back the now full canteen, and Minu knew the others must be done as well. Not a lot of sense in hiding their actions now. She couldn't resist raising the shining metal container to her lips and taking a long cool drink.
"Bitch!" she clearly heard him say and he took off toward her at a run. His friends came out behind him and in a flash they followed his lead. The others, not part of Ivan's little group, were unsure what to do and were still milling outside the hut.
"Damn it," Minu said as the five boys in Ivan's group raced toward them. Cherise turned around and saw them coming, and grabbed Minu by the arm.
"Come on, get out of the water," she urged her, the others following quickly, "the unsure footing will go against us there." They got a few steps toward the woods before the angry young men slowed as they approached. Even Minu could tell they were ready to fight.
"We want half that stuff!" Ivan barked an order at them. Minu sputtered and let out a couple little laughs. Ivan's face turned red. "You think I'm kidding, daughter of the First?"
"I think your bargaining position is extremely tenuous."
"Who said I was negotiating," he snarled and took a menacing step toward them. Arrayed on both sides of her, four knives slid from their leather sheathes to flash in Bellatrix's bright morning sun.
"You planning to rob us, Rusk?" Aaron demanded, his hatred of the Rusk people never more obvious. Ivan sneered down at him from his superior height, his sharp eyes moving of their own accord to the gleaming blade Gregg held with a casual familiarity.
"You'll kill someone to avoid sharing? Filthy Jew boy!" One of the boys with Ivan spat into the river rocks.
"I'll kill you where you stand if you lay a hand on any one of us, Rusk pig."
Minu watched Ivan chewing it over under his thick eyebrows. Despite the two sides being equal in number, the knives were an insurmountable advantage. Minu didn't draw her own knife; she just put her hand on the hilt. She watched it burn in Ivan's soul like an uncontrollable forest fire. He was outmaneuvered.
"You win this day," he snarled at her, spitting at her feet in the wet sand. "But remember this, daughter of the First, a lot can happen between now and the end of the Trials. Accidents happen, and candidates have been known to die.”
Minu did her best not to react against the terror and adrenaline of the situation even though she knew Ivan could see the wide-eyed fear in her. It made him smile as they watched Minu and her friends disappear into the woods.
Chapter 9
Julast 7th, 514 AE
Cascade Mountains, Unknown Valley
For the rest of the afternoon they constantly glanced over their shoulders as the group climbed into the mountains. Minu walked into a tree once, and her neck was so sore from looking backward it throbbed. There was no sign of Ivan and his people. Minu just knew they were out there, plotting revenge. The question was when and where it would come, and what form it would take.
"We have a good head start," Cherise said as they steadily climbed up toward their destination, a mountain pass some three thousand meters high.
"They needed time to get their gear together," Pip agreed. He was straining under the exertion of the climb and extra gear. Minu thought he was doing somewhat better than yesterday.
"They're probably still back there complaining about how we robbed them," Gregg laughed. Aaron agreed heartily with that image.
"I doubt it," Minu said, "he isn't the kind to take a setback lightly.” No, he's right behind us, she thought. The next hour was spent in silence and with still more looking over the shoulder.
Early evening was approaching and they came across a trail. Minu stopped to stoop down and examine it, the others joining her moments later. She was in the best shape for this climb and the tacit leader, so by default she'd appointed herself point. Cherise was usually close behind. Farther back was Pip with Gregg and Aaron taking up the rear. Not because he was the slowest, he was the strongest and wanted to be there should the group be overtaken by Ivan and his thugs. He was quietly bristling for the chance to continue the encounter by the river.
"It doesn't look very well-traveled," Minu said. It was nothing more than a treeless patch bisecting their route, the ground wore clean of grass and lichen.
"Looks more like a game trail," Cherise told them. She was a good tracker with well-developed wilderness skills. Minu had picked that up while running with the girl the last two days. Cherise had her knife out and was moving around some small vegetation growing along the trail. It was lightly trodden. “Too small to be kloth, could be some wild dear or boar. There are a lot of them up here. Do we follow it?" she asked and pointed along the upslope direction of the trail before sheathing her knife.
"It goes more east than north," Pip pointed out, sitting on a fallen log while catching his breath. He was drinking deeply from his canteen.
"Go easy on that," Minu warned him, "you'll be out of water and puking your guts out if you're not careful." Pip looked at her doubtfully and replaced the canteen on his belt and leaned back to rest while she considered their path. "I don't remember any paths on the map, do any of you?" The answer was universally no. "That's what I thought.”
Minu cringed inwardly at being once again made the leader in an important decision. Should the path end suddenly, they could end up in a blind valley and be forced to backtrack right into Ivan. Or worse, the path could just meander around this side of the mountain and waste their time. The going so far had not been so difficult that abandoning that route was an easy decision. Minu and Cherise both estimated they'd gone about six kilometers since leaving the river. The sun was setting quickly and they would only have another three hours of light, maximum. The trail was an unreasonable risk and she told them that. They accepted her decision, with one exception.
"We could throw off Ivan here," Gregg suggested, "I can leave a few food wrappers and break a few leaves off, making him think we took the trail."
"And what if it is the right trail and that puts him ahead of us?" Pip asked.
"There are risks in all paths one takes in life," Cherise told them. The Desert Tribe wisdom was solid and simple.
"Do it," Minu told him. The tall Gregg pulled out a meal, tore it open and parceled out the meager food between them. It was just as well because they were all very hungry now. One meal split five ways disappeared in seconds, leaving him with a handful of crumbs and biodegradable silver-colored wrapping paper. He headed up the trail, leaving a piece here and there before dumping the crumbs and the remainder of the wrappers in a small pile where he stomped around, flattening down several small ferns.
"Any more and it would be overly obvious," he told them. Cherise liked it and told him, making his blue eyes twinkle and a small smile chase across his face. Minu realized that he was a good-looking young man. Cherise was realizing it too.
"All right, let’s get moving again," Minu told them. Two hours later, the light began to fail and they were forced to search for a place to pitch camp. Moving through the forest in darkness would be a mistake. By the time they found a good spot there wasn't enough light to actually pitch tents and were instead reduced to using the tarps as ground cloths, one under and one on top to keep off the dew. As they settled down Minu glanced up at the sparkling black obsidian of Romulus above. Recalling the orbital tables she'd memorized before the Trials, she figured Remus would be making a pass in s
even hours. Though farther away and smaller, Remus was almost bright green from the shallow oceans of algae covering its surface. It orbited twice as fast as its dark black basalt brother, Romulus. She decided they would get up when Remus was at apogee and use the light for an early start.
* * *
As it turned out, there would be no early start. Clouds moved in during the night giving them a light misting of rain and obscuring even the dazzling emerald brightness of Remus, letting only a muted glow through to reach them. When Minu awoke and saw the conditions, she pulled the mostly waterproof tarp farther over her head and went back to sleep. As morning arrived, conditions did not improve.
"Well this sucks," Pip grumbled as they went about breaking camp. The drizzle was constantly threatening to upgrade to actual rain; it couldn't seem to make up its mind. Aaron and Cherise were using the camp kitchen to warm two packets of the prepackaged food over the little stove and the smell was insanely wonderful. Inside each food pouch was a packet of drink in different flavors. They took two of the same flavor (bitterseed to be precise) and mixed it. It was enough for a full cup each, the bittersweet flavor very welcome as they shared out the food and ate in grateful silence. Rehydrated mystery stew and crackers were the fare.
"Damn, it just made me hungrier," Pip complained as they finished getting dressed. Minu glanced at his feet as he was putting on his shoes. There were a couple blisters there. She made a mental note to check his feet each day. They all likely sported blisters from the poorly constructed shoes and Minu sorely missed her well-manufactured hiking boots made from actual cow leather and with dualloy weave reinforced souls. With careful maintenance, they could have outlived her. They, like the rest of her stuff, disappeared after the nudist camp scene back in Steven’s Pass. She wondered if she'd ever see them again.
