Gyaros Book One: The Mice Eat Iron (YA 17+ Sci Fi Adventure)

by Rohan Healy

  Lucy began to rustle under the tarp. Miles looked down to see Lucy rubbing her eyes and groaning as one does upon waking.

  “How you doing sport?” Miles smiled down at her, “did you get a good sleep?”

  “Mmm hmm,” she nodded as she broke into a massive yawn, stretching her hands above her head. “You snored in your sleep,” she said opening one eye and chuckling.

  “Haha,” Miles laughed, “I guess I should have warned you about that huh.”

  “So today we’re going to try and find somewhere to get some food and water, and some fuel for the truck. Are you ready to get going?” Miles asked but Lucy quickly looked away. “What’s wrong, is everything okay?”

  “I-I need to pee,” said Lucy quietly, her cheeks becoming bright red.

  “Oh well that’s nothing to worry about, c’mon you can go between the truck and the big rock. I won’t look, don’t worry,” he laughed.

  “O-okay,” she said shyly and she opened her door, and made her way between the boulder and the vehicle. Miles kept an eye out for any threats but there were none and soon Lucy was back in the truck looking relieved. Miles took this opportunity to use nature’s bathroom as well before hopping back into the driver’s seat and getting back onto the road.

  After a few minutes Miles began to speak.

  “So Lucy, do you know where we are?”

  “It’s Gyaros, it’s where they send the bad people right?” she answered.

  “Yeah that’s right, and there’s Carthage, you remember Carthage don’t you?” Miles asked pointing to the big blue and green planet hanging in the sky.

  “I know what Carthage is, but…” she struggled again, trying to remember “…but I don’t remember being there, I know I must have grown up there but I just don’t remember anything,” Lucy replied sounding annoyed at her inability to recall her past.

  “You know you were talking in your sleep last night,” Miles wasn’t sure if he should mention what she said, he wasn’t sure if she’d want to remember whatever happened but he decided he’d better help her regain her memory if he could. “You were saying stuff like ‘Help me papa, I won’t do it, please stop, it hurts’. Does any of that sound familiar to you? Do you remember what you were dreaming about last night?”

  “I don’t think so, I think…” suddenly she stopped mid-sentence, she froze and stared blankly into the distance.

  “Lucy are you okay?” Miles asked, concerned by her sudden change.

  “I-I remember something, something from my dream. I was in a glass chamber, the isolation chamber, that’s what they called it,” she continued to stare straight ahead as if in a trance, her voice was monotone, “I wasn’t alone, there was another person in there. He was scared…scared of me…” she stopped speaking and Miles looked over to her waiting for her to continue but she remained still and silent.

  “Lucy? Everything’s okay, I’m here with you, no one’s going to hurt you now,” he said compassionately. And then like nothing had happened, she snapped back to her usual bubbly self.

  “I remember that! Yes! I remembered,” she punched the air, smiled and continued, “it’s not much but it felt good to remember, even if it’s a little scary.” Miles breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that she was alright.

  “That’s great Lucy, you just go slowly, I’m sure it will all come back to you eventually. There's no hurry,” Miles smiled back at her, but deep down he was terribly perturbed by what he heard. ‘What kind of childhood did this pitiable creature have?!’

  “But if Gyaros is for baddies,” Lucy spoke with a confused look on her face, “why am I here? Did I do something bad?” she sounded concerned.

  “I’m sure it’s not that Lucy, you see children often get sent to Gyaros. On Carthage a family is only allowed one child in order to control the population, and so if a family has a second child, and that child is discovered, they get sent here. I think that’s probably what happened to you.”

  The life of a second child of Carthage was a hard one. In order to keep them from being shuttled to Gyaros the family must work extremely hard to hide the child. The mother gives birth at home, and the baby is not registered to the state, nor is it implanted with a spinal biometrics chip at the age of four like all the other young Carthaginians. Rewards are given to those who report a second child and so the youngster must be kept hidden from extended family and neighbours. If a second child makes it to the age of sixteen or seventeen they are usually smuggled into the Yellow Districts where they can obtain forged biometrics and find work with one of the Gyaros syndicates working on Carthage. Many wonder if it’s not more humane to send the child to certain death on Gyaros than bringing them up in secrecy only to have them work in the criminal underbelly of the Yellow Districts and usually end up on Gyaros anyway. But a parent’s love is amongst the strongest forces known to humanity, and a mother and father more often than not will do everything within their power to hold onto their dear child as long as they can, regardless of the cost to them or the child.

  “So you think I have a big brother or sister on Carthage?” asked Lucy.

  “Maybe, who knows? All I know is I can’t imagine a kind, sweet girl like you doing anything bad enough to justify a trip to this place.” Lucy giggled enjoying the compliment.

  “But you’re not a bad person either, so why are you here?” she enquired, genuinely puzzled, “you’re too old to be a second child!”

  “Haha, yes of course, I’m no second child. I just had a whole lot of bad luck, that’s all,” but then Miles stopped and thought for a moment, “actually that’s not entirely true. I made some mistakes, I hurt a man when I should have controlled myself,” he said seriously.

  “Was he a bad man?”

  “Yes, I believe he is, he treated me very badly for a long time, and one day I had enough. My second mistake was trying to contact my son.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a mistake to me, in fact neither of them do! You shouldn’t be here at all!” exclaimed Lucy excitedly and a little outraged at the reasons for his exile.

  “I’m glad someone sees it my way,” Miles smiled down at Lucy as they sped along the dusty dirt road, “keep this up and I think we could become very good friends.”

  “Haha, I think so too,” concurred Lucy.

  The happy pair travelled on their way under the afternoon sky, the sun beginning to reach the apex of its artificial movement across the Chimerium field produced by the Wilhelm stations. Despite their empty bellies and desperate circumstances Miles and Lucy made the best of a dire situation keeping each other entertained. They even engaged in a game of I spy. S for sand, D for dirt, S for sky, M for mountains, and suddenly, B for building. The tiny outline of a man made structure wobbled and danced on the horizon due to the intense heat haze.

  “It’s a building!” shouted Lucy eagerly sitting up straight in her seat.

  “It sure is. But we have to be careful, we don’t know if they are friendly.”

  As they drove closer to the structure it began to take shape. It looked just like the petrol stations depicted in Wasteland Dan. A place to stop and eat, refill on fuel and usually, in the Visor Vision show at least, engage in a gun fight. Miles could certainly do with the first two items on the list, less so the last item. Miles slowed down as they approached the station, his plan was to drive past slowly and check things out before stopping. This way if there were any sign of trouble he could simply pick up the pace and keep going. The service station was basically an old wooden house with an awning and two red petrol pumps out the front. It was kept in remarkably good condition, the white paint with red trim looked fairly fresh and there were flowers in pots on the window sills. “Guppy’s Gas n Grub” read the sign on the awning in black lettering. Miles edged by the station scanning for any indications that it might be an ambush or trap but there was nothing of the sort.

  “What do you think Lucy, should we make a stop?” Miles asked still looking out of his window at Guppy’s Gas n Grub.
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  “It looks safe to me,” said Lucy peering over Miles’ shoulder.

  “Alright then,” said Miles as he turned the truck around and pulled into the space in front of the pumps, stopping the vehicle.

  “Now you stay real close okay? No running off, we have to be very careful,” said Miles seriously.

  “Okay, I’ll stay close,” said Lucy equally as serious.

  The two of them exited their respective sides of the pickup and met up at the front of the truck, Miles took Lucy’s right hand in his left, and rested his right hand on the pistol stuffed down the front of his trousers. Slowly they walked toward the door. Miles pressed the buzzer but there was no answer, he tried again, still no one came to the wooden door. The frosted glass made it impossible to see inside. Miles then tried banging with his fist, still no reply.

  “Let’s check around the back,” said Miles and they walked around to the back of the house. Miles noticed that all the curtains were drawn as they made their way around but as they reached the back garden he spotted one window which was open, the curtains blowing in the breeze. They snuck up and Miles poked his head up from below the window, moving the curtain out of the way with his hand so that he could peer into the room. The room was dark but well kept, it certainly looked lived in as there was a tray of half eaten lunch on a round wooden table in the centre of the room. Looking to his left he saw a bed, it was tidily made and a set of frilly women’s clothes sat folded on the duvet. Miles then began to move the curtain so that he could take a look at the right side of the room. As he parted the curtain further a wrinkled old face came into view only inches from his. Its pale old skin was yellow and papery, its almost translucent eyelids closed, its head was bald and, other than its floral frock, it looked entirely genderless. Miles shouted out loud in fright and jumped up hitting his head on the raised window. The ancient woman’s eyes shot open suddenly. She stared at Miles and began to screech in terror sending shivers down Miles spine as he looked on at the screaming old corpse!

  “Sorry ‘bout that,” said the man who looked to be in his early thirties and was wearing blue overalls and a red trucker cap, “I was down the basement, didn’t hear y’all till granny started screamin’. She don’t hear so good these days,” continued the man scratching his head through his hat.

  “That’s okay, I really didn’t mean to frighten her, it’s just that when no one came to the door I thought I’d better take a look around and see if anybody was home.” said Miles with a smile as he and Lucy took a seat in the dining area of the service station.

  “We drove from The Dustbowl and we need fuel and food,” Miles said looking relieved.

  “Well you’ve come to the right place. Guppy’s gonna fix you up good on both accounts and have you on yer way with everythin’ yer gonna need!” said Guppy speaking in the third person, “that is if you’ve got the Talons. You do have cash right?” he continued, turning serious for a moment.

  “Yes, we can pay don’t worry,” Miles assured Guppy pulling a few Talons from his pocket, while also deliberately showing the handle of his gun, ensuring that Guppy gets the point that Miles is not one to be messed with.

  “Haha! Well then let’s get you two fed!” Guppy’s stubble covered face lit up at the sight of the money. He clapped and rushed to the kitchen to cook up a meal for the odd pair. Miles and Lucy were now alone in the dining area, they rested their arms on the blue chequered table cloth, eagerly awaiting their first meal in over 24 hours. Miles looked out the big glass window, the truck was still where he parked it and there was not another soul in sight. Just the expanse of the tireless red desert.

  “He seems like a nice man,” said Lucy breaking the silence.

  “Yeah, he seems okay,” replied Miles smiling. Surely anyone trying to run a service station on Gyaros or anywhere else would have to be professional in their business dealings. Certainly if they killed or robbed their customers they wouldn’t be in business long. This was Miles’ train of thought, and it was a logical one.

  “Papa?”

  “Yes, what is it?” Miles said, suddenly snapped out of his day dream.

  “What’s it like to have a beard?” she asked with a puzzled expression on her face. Miles reached up to his chin and rubbed the hairy surface. He hadn’t really noticed due to everything else that had happened since his arrival, but he’d grown about an inch of dark facial hair. There was a public barber in The Dustbowl, that seemed to be where everyone in town got their hair and beards trimmed, but Miles was far too timid to leave Ransom’s Fresh Meat if he didn’t absolutely have to. And so his facial hair grew.

  “I don’t know, it’s weird. I used to shave every morning before work, I’ve never had it this long before. What do you think? Shave it off or keep it?”

  “I like it, you look tough and strong,” said Lucy, then she scrunched up her face, “hmm, but maybe you could go to the barber and get it tidied up. You look a little homeless right now.”

  “Haha,” Miles laughed, surprised at Lucy’s frankness, “I’ll keep that in mind, next chance I get I’ll be sure to get a trim.”

  “Who’s ready for grub?” Guppy shouted kicking open the swinging doors that separated the kitchen from the dining area. He was carrying two steaming plates full of deliciously cooked food. He slapped the plates down on the table in his boisterous manner and Miles and Lucy poured over the scrumptious sight before them. On each plate was a full breakfast. Two fried eggs, two sausages, two rashers of bacon, beans, black and white pudding, two pieces of toast and a fried tomato.

  “This looks amazing, I’ve never seen a meal like this on Gyaros!” said Miles in amazement.

  “Well you all must never have been outta The Dustbowl then! Them freaks like to live like savages. I got a sister who works up in Humber Dam, it’s another day’s trip north from here, much more sophisticated than them Dustbowl weirdos,” he said twirling his index finger beside his temple to indicate their lack of sanity. “She brings me food supplies once a week and comes to visit granny. It’s good grub!”

  Miles and Lucy had already tucked in and began devouring the delectable meal. It was the single best thing that Miles had tasted in the weeks since his arrival on Gyaros and he savoured every bite. Suddenly things began to brighten up. ‘Maybe it’s not such a crazy dream to get to New Fortune. Maybe The Dustbowl really was the worst of it!’ Miles thought. Guppy returned from the kitchen again, this time with a big glass jug full of orange juice and two clean glasses.

  “I’m going to need you to fill up the truck with petrol,” said Miles between mouthfuls of scrummy sausage and egg, “I’m also going to need some blankets, a map, a gallon of fresh water, a few cans of food and a box of bullets for my revolver.”

  “No problem sir, I’ll have them all placed in your vehicle when I fill her up,” said Guppy with a bow and went about collecting all that Miles asked for.

  “So Lucy,” said Miles and she looked up from her plate to meet Miles’ eyes, “my plan is to get to New Fortune. New Fortune is…” but before Miles could finish his sentence Lucy began to speak quickly and in monotone.

  “New Fortune is the capital of Gyaros, founded in -97 by the Talos Corporation. After the War of Unification in year one, Talos Corporation lost control of Gyaros and it was taken over by the four criminal syndicates: The Force, The Wilhelm Militia, The Machine and The Sons of Talos. The Machine will rise again, The Force must be crushed…” Lucy snapped out of her trance- like state.

  “Whoa, what was that?” Miles asked reaching across the table and placing his hand on her left shoulder, “are you okay?”

  “Y-yeah, I think so,” she replied shaking her head and looking utterly confused. “I don’t know why I said that,” she continued, scratching her head.

  “I guess it’s your memory coming back. But how do you know that stuff? They don’t teach that in school you know!” Miles exclaimed.

  “I couldn’t help over hearin’,” said Guppy stepping back into the diner, “makin�
� your way to New Fortune huh. Well here’s what ya wanna do.” He spread a large map of the area across the table where Miles and Lucy were sitting.

  “Now you wanna continue north to Humber Dam, whatever time you leave today, that’s what time you’ll get there tomorrow. Assuming of course that you take a break at night and catch some shut eye, if you know what I mean.” Guppy winked at Miles and gave a lecherous look toward Lucy.

  “Oh my God!” Miles shouted standing up, “how dare you insinuate anything like that!” Lucy looked on, befuddled by Miles’ sudden change of demeanour.

  “Hey,” said Guppy holding up his hands, “I ain’t said nothin’. I know better than to go asking about people’s business. All I know is you ain’t her daddy, you a white boy and she’s slant eyed. It’s your business mister, I ain’t gonna ask how you came about this pretty little thing, hell I seen worse things in my time.” Miles, although deeply offended that this wretched hillbilly could make such a disgusting assertion, knew he had to listen to what Guppy had to say. The success or failure of their trip to New Fortune depended on it. Miles took a deep breath and reluctantly resumed sitting.

  “So as I was sayin,” Guppy cleared his throat, “head north to Humber Dam. My sister Adara runs a little motel and repair shop there called The Pit Stop, you should talk to her, she’ll take care of ya and she’ll give you the low down on how to get to New Fortune.”

  “Thank you,” said Miles begrudgingly, still peeved by Guppy’s opinion of him as someone who would take advantage of a child, and he folded up the map.

  “So how much do I owe you?” asked Miles.

  “Breakfast, full tank of gas, map, water, food, bullets…” Guppy counted under his breath doing the mathematics, “all together that’ll be one hundred and eighty Talons.”

  Miles had no idea if that was a good price or if he was being ripped off as he was still getting used to the cost of things in the local economy. Miles stood and pulled a handful of coins out of his pocket, placing ten Talon pieces into Guppy’s palm until he had counted eighteen coins.