Forager - the Complete Six Book Series (A Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian Series)

by Peter R Stone

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I woke in the middle of the night from a fitful, nightmare-plagued sleep. The clicking sound of the metal bolt sliding back was the culprit. My first thought was that it was the assassin, come to finish what he 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 in greeting, but appeared as bewildered as I was.

  “My nephew, Ken, will drop you off a couple of kilometres from 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 this 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. Do not worry. I will keep a watch over him.”

  “But…”

  “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, 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. 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 in an instant. I glanced out the rear window as we set off and saw the councillor hurrying towards his black 4WD.

  "Someone wanna tell me why we’re going back to Newhome?” Shorty asked, as he twisted around in his chair to meet my gaze.

  "Somewhere else you’d rather go?" I asked.

  "Anywhere but there."

  "I wanna go back," David added, earning an evil look from Shorty.

  "Our families are there," I reminded him.

  "Exactly," David agreed.

  "They’ll do just fine without me. No, they’ll be thrilled to bits if I don’t come back," Shorty said. "Why are you so keen to return, Jones?"

  "As I said, my family’s there. More specifically, my little sister needs me. As I told you before, until she returns to full health, leaving Newhome ain’t on my list of things to do. However, there is another reason – one that affects us all."

  "And that is?" Shorty demanded.

  "What do you think the Custodians will do when they find out their attempt to nuke Hamamachi failed?"

  "They’ll try again," Nanako said, joining the conversion.

  "Exactly," I agreed.

  “What’s that got to do with us?" Shorty asked.

  "Excuse me?" Nanako blustered. "That’s my home, my family, my people – possibly the last Japanese on earth."

  "Shorty, don’t you care if the Custodians succeed in nuking Hamamachi – in murdering a whole town of innocent people?" I asked, meeting his gaze.

  "Of course I do, but what can we do about it?"

  "I say we go back to our jobs but keep our eyes and ears open to what’s going on in the town. Besides, as foragers, we should be the first to know if the Custodians are going to mount another attack on Hamamachi. And if they are, we can work out then how to stop it."

  "Still rather we’d go somewhere else," Shorty mumbled.

  "Fine! But tell me this, though – what are we gonna tell the Custodians when we get back?" Shorty asked.

  "We’ll tell them that we got ambushed by Skel on the way back," I replied. "We’ll work out the details later to make sure our stories match."

  "And if they don’t buy it?"

  "They will, don’t worry."

  As darkened houses, buildings, and sheds flashed past in the night, I put my arm around Nanako and she rested her head against my shoulder. I looked down into her lovely round face and at the mixture of determination and concern etched there.

  "We’re gonna get through this, okay? And one day we're gonna live our lives without the worry of our two towns trying to wipe each other out – or of people trying to kill me," I assured her.

  She searched my face for a long moment and said, “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  We sat there in the darfkened interior of the 4WD as the councillor’s nephew drove over the weed overgrown freeway through an eerie, night-time landscape. As we went, I wondered what was in Newhome that was such a threat to the Skel and whoever was backing them – a faction in Hamamachi perhaps? – that they wanted to destroy it.

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

  New Living Translation Bible

  Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, Tyndale House Foundation

  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.

  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.

  Infiltrator

  Forager Series, Book Two

  Copyright © 2014 Peter R Stone

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Councillor Okada’s nephew didn’t say a word as he drove us back towards Newhome. Sullen to the point of being discourteous, he just stared ahead as he navigated a road that had once been a major highway. A hundred yea
rs of neglect had left it in a serious state of disrepair; its surface was cracked and pitted and it was being overgrown by weeds and wild grass.

  Considering he couldn’t see a thing other than what his headlights illuminated, I wished Ken’d slow down a bit – once he’d almost blindsided the rusting wreck of a truck abandoned on the side of the road, and another time he’d come close to trashing the car’s suspension thanks to a large dip in the road. I got the impression he hadn’t exactly signed up to take us back home.

  I was sitting in the back left passenger seat with my right arm around Nanako, who was sleeping soundly with her head on my shoulder. Seriously, it was so not fair that she could sleep anywhere and anytime.

  I’d spent the first few hours of the drive alternating between looking out the driver’s window, and squeezing my eyes shut and grimacing from the throbbing pain in my head.

  Getting shot in the head, even if only a glancing blow, can do that to you. I had the late Lieutenant King to thank for that. All I tried to do was stop him from blowing us all sky high with a hydrogen bomb he’d smuggled into Hamamachi, and then he went and shot me. He’d have killed me, too, if Michal hadn’t attacked him and thrown off his aim.

  That thought send pangs of heart-rending sorrow sweeping through me. Michal had saved my life, but at the cost of his own. I wondered how I’d survive in Newhome without him. His friendship and wisdom had been a beacon of light in that oppressive, dark place.

  Another wave of stabbing pain in my head brought my thoughts back to the present. The Hamamachi paramedics had given me only minimal medical attention after I’d been shot, and I was paying for that now, but the thumping headaches were the least of my problems. The wound had started burning terribly a while ago, and not long after that came the fever. And for the past hour, I'd been flitting in and out of a nightmare filled, feverish shallow sleep while shivering nonstop.

  The car suddenly bounced over a particularly large pothole, slamming me into my seatbelt and waking Nanako.

  “What time is it?” she asked sleepily as she stifled a graceful yawn.

  “Almost six,” I replied through clattering teeth.

  “Ethan, you’re shivering!” she exclaimed, coming fully awake. She placed a small, warm hand gently on my head. “And your wound’s on fire – how do you feel?”

  “Never felt better,” I assured her.

  “Doofus – you probably feel like death warmed up, yeah? When are you ever gonna tell me the truth when I ask you how you are?” she scolded me, though her expression showed nothing but loving concern.

  Ken interrupted our conversation by unexpectedly bringing the battered old 4WD to a complete stop. "This is as far as I take you," he announced gruffly.

  "What are you talking about, Ken-san? We haven't even reached Melbourne's outer suburbs yet," Nanako pointed out.

  A glance out the window confirmed Nanako spoke the truth; we were on a road winding through fields of gumtrees, untamed bushes and wild grass. Not far ahead, the road ended at an intersection with what was once a major thoroughfare, by the look of it.

  "The road ahead is the Maroondah Highway. Follow it left and you'll be in Lilydale," Ken replied as he turned towards Nanako and me, his face partially visible in the light given off by his glowing dashboard.

  "Councillor Okada said you'd take us to within a couple of klicks of Newhome: you can't drop us off here!" Nanako protested strongly.

  "There's no way I'm driving through Skel infested ruins. So get out - all of you."

  "Ethan's wound is infected and requires medical attention. You have to get us to Newhome!"

  "Not my responsibility," Ken replied, his tone acerbic. "Now get out of my car."

  "That's absolutely out of the question - there's no way we can walk fifty-plus kilometres to Newhome with Ethan in this condition," Nanako declared emphatically as she pulled out her phone and thumbed it unlocked. "Let's see what Councillor Okada has to say about this."

  A gun suddenly appeared in Ken's hand. "He's not going to say anything because he's never going to hear about it. Now hand over the phone."

  "How can you do this to me, Ken?" Nanako said, clearly shocked. She glanced at me, hesitated, and then added, "And we've known each other since we were kids."

  Ken pointed the gun at my leg and cocked the trigger. "Give me the phone and get out or so help me, I'll put a hole in your husband's leg. Let's see how well he can walk then."

  Even in my feverish state I could tell Ken wasn't kidding, and having no desire to have a hole in my leg as well as my chest and my head, I opened the car door and stumbled outside. The early morning air was crisp and cold, causing me to shiver more violently.

  I saw Nanako begrudgingly hand over her phone and then she, David and Shorty, hopped out of the car as well.

  "I don't care how long it takes, Ken, but I will find a way to tell Councillor Okada what you've done to us tonight," Nanako said before she slammed the door shut.

  "Hey, why'd he throw us out of the car?" Shorty asked as Ken did a U-turn and sped back the way we'd come. "Did one of you guys fart?"

  "Shorty," I groaned.

  "'Cause if David let one rip, I wouldn't blame him," Shorty added.

  I'd forgotten Shorty and David couldn't understand Japanese and hence didn't know what had just gone down. "He didn't want to drive through Skel-infested ruins," I said through clattering teeth.

  "Well, look at that, he's got more brains than we have," Shorty said.

  "So he just dumps us here?" David exclaimed as he took off his jacket and hung it around my shoulders. "Good grief, Jones, you're shivering like a leaf."

  My strength gone, I sat on the road and wished the nightmare was over.

  "His wound's infected," Nanako explained as she tugged on my right arm. "Come on Ethan, you can't sit there."

  "I need to lie down."

  "Just a little longer and you can, now come on, back on your feet!" she ordered as she pulled me up and helped me get my arms into David's jacket. I wondered how long before this blasted crossbow bolt wound would heal. Of course, King thumping it with his pistol butt didn't exactly advance the healing process.

  "So what do we do now? We're not going to travel far with Ethan like that," David said as he wrapped his arms around his body in a vain attempt to get warm. A hundred years ago, before the world was virtually obliterated by nuclear weapons, this time of year was called summer in Australia. Not sure what season you'd call it now, or if we even had recognisable seasons anymore.

  "We need to wash his wound and change the bandages so he can beat the infection," Nanako said as she peered into the surrounding darkness. "Let's head into Lilydale to look for something we can boil water in, and for something we can use as clean bandages."

  "Finding some old kettles or saucepans shouldn't be too hard, but clean bandages? In one hundred year old ruins?" David asked.

  "We can tear our jackets into strips and boil them if necessary," my wife suggested.

  "And where's the water coming from?" Shorty queried.

  "There's a stream about three kilometres from here, running through the middle of Lilydale," Nanako answered.

  "You've been here before?" David asked.

  "This is where I met Ethan, actually," she said, smiling wistfully.

  "Is that where we are?" I asked between clattering teeth. I could remember meeting Nanako, but thanks to this blasted amnesia, the details were still somewhat sketchy.

  "Sure is," she assured me.

  I noticed the eastern horizon was slowly brightening - dawn had come. "We need to get going," I said, "we don't want to be traipsing about in the open during daylight."

  "Okay, let's go," Nanako agreed as she put an arm around my waist to support me. I draped my right arm around her shoulders, but as I was a full head taller than her, the height differential did make it a tad difficult to walk in sync.

  Shorty led the way and David brought up the rear, still trying to warm himself. I wondered if I should give h
im back his jacket.

  Since it was still too dark to see clearly, we kept tripping and stumbling over the cracked and pitted asphalt road, which soon veered to the left and merged with a divided road, the Maroondah Highway. We kept on going.

  As was my habit when in unfamiliar or dangerous situations, I began to shout in an ultrasonic pitch to check our surroundings with echolocation. What I didn’t count on, though, was that each shout magnified my piercing headache tenfold, causing me to give up straight away.

  All the same, those few shouts had given me a surreal, eerie glimpse of our surroundings; of a steep bank to the left of the road completely overgrown with trees, shrubs and ferns, of a median strip between the opposing lanes of the highway overrun by waist high wild grass, and of weathered rooftops of decrepit suburban houses perhaps two hundred meters further down the road.

  "How you doing?" Nanako asked, concerned.

  "Super."

  "Just hang in there, okay?"

  "I really, really need to lie down."

  "We’ll bed you down in the first house we come to and then scout around for what we need."

  I nodded, and encouraged by the thought of being able to lie down, concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. "Nanako?"

  "Yeah?"

  "This so isn't how I envisioned spending our first week back together," I said.

  "I know, right? But don't worry, we'll get you right as rain and then we can get back to Newhome," she promised.

  As we walked, I became aware of the occasional odd sound coming from the other side of the highway - a twig snapping, branches forced aside, and furtive footfalls. Thinking I may be imagining the noises thanks to my fevered state, I didn't say anything at first but willed the noises to go away.