ALBA
Page 40
“Got to finish up here first. Direct orders from Dagger.”
At her name the man’s eyebrows rocket up. He shrugs and nods.
“None of my business, then,” he replies, leaving through the same door as he entered and leaving you alone. Relief sweeps through you and you dismantle the rest of the guns as quickly as you can, using practised movements to rip them to pieces. Not having time to risk the diligent work you were doing, you leave the rest of the guns in a messy pile before you launch out the back door.
Luckily, you don’t come across any raiders as you scramble back through the hole in the fence. You only turn back to look at the base when you are back up on your hill. It seems that pretty much everyone in the camp has gathered around one of the buildings and you quickly see why – a huge balloon is rising from its roof. You watch in awe as even from here you can hear the raiders bursting into applause.
There’s no time to stare. Soon, the raiders will realise something’s wrong with their armoury, and they’ll be looking for the culprit. It will be best for you if you’re nowhere nearby when that happens.
You pull your pack tighter against your back and head towards the open fields you can see past the base, ignoring the slow ascent of the giant balloon into the sky behind you.
END.
Add The Balloon (E.21) to your character sheet.
Add The Open Fields (Chapter 21, L.21) to map.
* * *
Go to The Open Fields (Chapter 21).
20.25
You nod silently and follow the man out of the front door. He’s right, there’s a congregation of raiders gathering round one of the squat buildings. You form up with them and wait quietly. When Dagger comes in front of the group, you feel your stomach lurch and do your best to mingle with the crowd, hoping she won’t recognise you.
“All right, you’ve been waiting for it – we’re ready to have our first proper test flight!” Dagger screams and the crowd erupts into cheers. She waits for them to subside and goes on, “Remember, if this goes well, it means we’re going to be the most powerful clan around – other groups of bastards might have the blueprints, but we’re the only ones smart enough to pull it off!”
The crowd goes wild again and she turns as something begins to rise out of the building behind her. As the celebration continues, you realise what it is – it’s a balloon. A huge balloon, at least the size of the biggest building in the compound, flying into the sky. It’s operated by two raiders suspended underneath in a small basket, who are punching their arms in the air in triumph.
Full of dread, you quietly slip away from the crowd and hide behind another building where nobody can spot you.
This isn’t good.
Raiders with this sort of technology can only cause trouble. But what can you do? You’re one person against a whole camp. You need to meet up with your group again and tell them of the threat. It’s the best plan you have.
You wait for the balloon to descend and leave through the hole in the fence, heart in your mouth and worry in your gut.
END.
Add The Balloon (E.21) to your character sheet.
Add The Open Fields (Chapter 21, L.21) to map.
Chapter 21
The Open Fields
21.1
You walk slowly through the open fields. There really is something beautiful about nature in the old world, you decide. The vault was clinical and mechanical and so… sterile. The outside world is messy and overgrown and beautiful.
The grass in this field has been allowed to grow uninterrupted. Some of it isn’t longer than a couple of inches, but other patches go as high as your waist. You run your fingers through the strands and laugh at how they tickle your fingertips.
After everything you’ve been through these past days, it’s nice to take some time to relax.
You can’t completely enjoy the serenity, though. No matter where you go or what you do, you’ll always be sensitive to the area around you; you can’t risk getting complacent and having someone take advantage of having your guard down. Anyone could still strike at any moment.
Though this land is beautiful, it’s full of danger, too. You can’t forget that.
As if drilling in that point, a strong gust of wind almost knocks you off your feet. You grumble to yourself about needing to be more careful. It’s your own fault for walking in the open air. Of course, there’s a small forest of trees a few hundred metres to your left. You could always walk through there and use them as a windshield, or you could simply be more attentive…
Walk through the forest – Turn to 21.2.
* * *
Keep going through the fields – Turn to 21.3.
21.2
You don’t want to be any colder than you have to be. The trees will break up the wind quite nicely, you decide. Soon, you’re feeling a lot less cold, and the biggest thing you have to worry about is not tripping over a root as you go. The forest is dense and full of trees of all different shapes and sizes, all united by the vines creeping up their bark and the gentle shedding of leaves as you walk. You’re still on edge, of course; the forest is thick and you can’t see more than a dozen feet ahead of you, but you still feel relaxed.
That is, until you hear a noise behind you.
You spin on your heel and try to look through the trunks. Something is definitely making plants rustle, and it seems to be at ground level. Your heart speeds up in your chest. What is it? A raider coming after you? Someone with a gun, waiting for the right moment to shoot? Or are you just being paranoid after the last week of heart-pounding and worrying?
You finger the straps of your pack around your arms. You should come to a decision quickly.
Investigate the noise – Turn to 21.4.
* * *
Keep away from the noise – Turn to 21.5.
* * *
Fashion a weapon – Turn to 21.6, Needs Survival.
* * *
Arm yourself for close combat – Turn to 21.6a, Needs Hatchet OR Dagger’s Dagger.
21.3
You tough it out and keep going through the open fields. The fresh air will do you good, you tell yourself, keeping your jaw clenched shut to stop your teeth from chattering. Still, it couldn’t hurt to take a break for a while.
You sit down in the soft grass before lying back. Being close to the ground does help with the chill, somewhat, even though the wind still nips at your nose. Your eyes close as you take in a few deep breaths before looking at the sky.
The wind is making the clouds dance and change above you. Every now and then one will settle into a pattern for a second – look, one over there looks like a test tube, and one over there worryingly seems to form a skull – but just as quickly they’re blown away into nothingness.
You continue to try to make shapes in the sky for a minute before you notice movement in your periphery. On both sides, actually – something moving both to your left and to your right. From the bobbing and moving to your left, it’s likely to be a flock of birds that have landed, but you’re pretty sure there’s something coming over the horizon to your right… then again, that could just be paranoia.
Add Cloud Drawings (F.20) to your notebook.
* * *
Observe the birds – Turn to 21.7.
* * *
Look to the horizon – Turn to 21.8.
* * *
Look to the horizon – Turn to 21.8a, Needs The Balloon.
* * *
Look to the horizon – Turn to 21.8b, Needs Balloon Sabotage.
21.4
You hold still for a moment, waiting to double-check that there definitely is movement, before you walk forward and part the foliage in front of you with a hesitant hand.
You see a tiny nose poke out of the hole you’ve made and touch your fingers. It’s cold and makes you jump.
A brown head with wide eyes follows it, blinking up at you. You haven’t seen a deer in real life, of course, but you’ve seen pictures of them when you were told w
hat fauna to look out for. Even to your untrained eye, you can tell this is a baby. A smile crosses your face as it butts your hand in interest, sniffing you.
You thought it would run away on sight, but you suppose if there aren’t many humans around, maybe it didn’t grow up learning to be scared of them.
For a moment, you’re about to reach out and pat her when you hear shuffling behind it. The fawn sprints away and you see it join up with another deer, bigger, certainly its mother. Neither of them throw you a look as they dash off into the woods. You smile, feeling touched by this little interaction.
The forest seems safe enough, you decide. It won’t hurt to set up camp here. It does take a while to clear enough branches and sticks from the ground to make a space big enough for your tent – you’ve slept with a twig poking you in the back before and it is not an experience you want to replicate – and you sit cooking over a small fire until night comes.
The deer don’t come back. You feel a bit sad.
When your first yawn comes, you decide it’s time to sleep for the night. Full and happy, you douse the fire, not wanting to risk an ember catching a dry pile of leaves and sending the whole place up in flames. Then, you crawl into your sleeping bag and expect tiredness to take you.
It doesn’t.
Instead, you can’t help but listen to the sounds of movement around you. Unsettling noises. Wind whistling through the trees. The sounds of tiny twigs breaking, and movement. Movement of what, you wonder, your heart beating faster. An innocent animal or someone full of malice coming to ransack your tent? What’s happening outside while you lie here, vulnerable? What’s happening?
Add Compassion to your character sheet.
* * *
Turn to 21.10, Needs Lamp & Kerosene.
* * *
Turn to 21.11.
21.5
You don’t want to risk a fight. There’s already been too much bloodshed in this place, and you don’t want to risk the possibility of any more. Keeping as low and as quiet as you can, you head out of the forest and back into the fields – at least there, you can see anything trying to sneak up on you.
The wind bites at your cheeks as you come out of the safety of the trees. A shiver runs through your whole body. Better to be cold than vulnerable, you suppose.
At least that’s the thinking you would have had if you didn’t spot something coming over the horizon…
Look to the horizon – Turn to 21.8.
* * *
Look to the horizon – Turn to 21.8a, Needs The Balloon.
* * *
Look to the horizon – Turn to 21.8b, Needs Balloon Sabotage.
21.6
You reach down to the ground, not moving your eyes from the spot where the undergrowth was moving, and gently explore the area with touch until your fingers wrap around a thick, solid branch. You move it underfoot and stamp down until the thing splinters into a point – a rough, makeshift spear, but sharp enough to do damage. You slowly move to one knee, changing your stance so you’re ready to strike.
From the greenery in front of you, you see something moving on four legs. An animal, then, you think with relief. And from what you can see, quite a plump animal. It could make for good eating for a few nights if you rationed it properly. Deciding on your next course of action, you slowly walk forward.
Watch the animal – Turn to 21.4.
* * *
Kill it for food – Turn to 21.9.
21.6a
You reach around and grab the weapon from the side of your pack where you left it for easy access. Your fingers tighten around the hilt and you bring it to your front. You slowly move to one knee, changing your stance so you’re ready to strike.
From the greenery in front of you, you see something moving on four legs. An animal, then, you think with relief. And from what you can see, quite a plump animal. It could make for good eating for a few nights if you rationed it properly. Deciding on your next course of action, you slowly walk forward.
Watch the animal – Turn to 21.4.
* * *
Kill it for food – Turn to 21.9.
21.7
You turn your head to observe the birds. You recognise them, once again from a book, as magpies. Your furrow your brow as you try to remember the rhyme about them. Vola taught it to you when you were a child.
You remember scoffing at it, saying there was no way birds could be either good or bad luck, but she just smiled in a way that made you feel uncomfortable, as if she knew more than your little mind could ever fathom. Every time you’ve seen a bird, you’ve felt a little bit of unease.
You start to count the magpies, but a shadow falls over you and they fly away before you can finish. You turn and your eyes go wide as you see something coming towards you over the horizon.
Look to the horizon – Turn to 21.8.
* * *
Look to the horizon – Turn to 21.8a, Needs The Balloon.
* * *
Look to the horizon – Turn to 21.8b, Needs Balloon Sabotage.
21.8
Your eyes go wide as you see what’s coming towards you.
It’s a balloon.
You’ve seen them, back in the vault, at an occasional birthday party, but they were mostly regarded as frivolous and unnecessary things.
This? This is giant. It’s at least the size of a house. It rises into the air, slowly and surely, crossing the land towards you faster than you thought possible. There’s a small basket beneath it in which appears to be a couple of figures.
Try to recall what you know about balloons – Turn to 21.12, Needs Knowledge.
* * *
Go closer – Turn to 21.13.
* * *
Leave quickly – Turn to 21.14.
21.8a
It’s a balloon.
Huge and lumbering, and yet definitely covering airspace – exactly like the one you saw in Dagger’s compound. You shiver at the sight of it. If it’s all the way out here, that must mean that Dagger’s been successful enough in her experiments to make it work. You can’t imagine anything more dangerous than that woman being airborne.
The thing slowly sails towards you. As it gets closer, you can see there’s a tiny basket attached to its underside, and in it sit a pair of figures. Almost certainly raiders.
Try to recall what you know about balloons – Turn to 21.12, Needs Knowledge.
* * *
Go closer – Turn to 21.13.
* * *
Leave quickly – Turn to 21.14.
21.8b
It’s the balloon. The balloon you swear you destroyed back in Dagger’s base. But how? Unless they had another one. Of course, there’s no way they’d have been able to fix it so quickly…
Unless…
Your blood runs cold.
Unless they aren’t the only raiders to have schematics for a balloon.
Dread seizes you. One raider clan having blueprints was bad enough, but two? More? Who knows what sort of terror they could inflict on people on the ground?
This is bad. Very bad.
Try to recall what you know about balloons – Turn to 21.12, Needs Knowledge.
* * *
Go closer – Turn to 21.13.
* * *
Leave quickly – Turn to 21.14.
21.9
You strike out with your weapon. With one quick, clean cut, the fawn falls down dead. You take solace in the fact that it didn’t suffer.
You get to your knees and just as you’re about to skin it, you see another figure approach. It’s also a deer but far bigger than the one lying dead at your feet. It stares at the scene for a moment before running off into the wilderness. You get the sense that it was the fawn’s mother, and a feeling of horrible guilt crosses you.
Still, you can’t undo your actions now. You set about skinning the deer and using every piece of it you can. There’s no point wasting anything. You finish the grizzly, bloody work, and head back towards the open fields. You don’t want t
o be around its small carcass any longer.