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

by Peter R Stone

  Disappointed by his refusal to come, I felt a deep sorrow weigh heavily on my heart. Still, I tried to be understanding. His family meant a great deal to him and I was asking him to abandon them on a moment’s notice. And he wasn’t rejecting me, for he was asking me to stay here with him.

  “Who is in charge of this breakout? Is it Con?” he asked.

  “I don’t want to say.”

  “Fair enough, but if he is the leader, I want you to consider this. If Con, Matt and Jack are responsible for Dan Smith’s death, they need to be brought to justice. They mustn’t be allowed to leave tonight and get away scot-free.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” His words weighed heavily on my conscience.

  “The clock’s ticking.”

  With an angry flick of my head because he was right and I knew it, I rushed down the stairs. Just like the last time, he did not come after me. I guessed this was truly the last time I would see him.

  Sofia was waiting for me. She raised an eyebrow inquisitively. “Things didn’t go well?”

  “Don’t ask.” I grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s go back to your place. He won’t think to look for me there.”

  We popped down to Sofia’s room. Now that I knew her mother had passed away, she no longer kept me out. The room was Spartan but she had laid out her few items of furniture in a way that gave the room a homely atmosphere.

  I helped her prepare for the breakout, mending some of the clothes she was going to bring. Because of her burns, she was not good with sewing needles and thread.

  Finally, sometime after midnight, we hurried upstairs to my apartment.

  However, as soon as we reached my room, I knew something was wrong – the door was hanging wide open. Fearing the worst, I rushed inside, and was shocked to find the room empty. There was no sign of my mother or sister.

  Panicking, I bolted out of the room with Sofia in tow, going as fast as my dress would allow, pausing only when the elevator pinged and the doors ground open.

  I found myself face to face with my mother, who was red faced and flustered. “Where have you been, Daughter! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

  “With Sofia, why – what’s wrong? Where’s Karen?”

  “They took her!” she shouted in my face.

  “They?”

  “Those horrible men, the debt collectors!”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  I had to reach out and grab my mother’s arm to keep my balance. It felt like I had been slugged in the gut. Why did they take her? Were they going to force her to perform sexual favours in lieu of paying back the loan?

  “Why did they have to do this today!” I wailed. “In another half an hour we would have departed for the rendezvous point.”

  Mother stuck her face in mine. “That’s why they took her. They said they heard of the breakout and kidnapped Karen to stop Brandon leaving town, since he still owed them so much money. They said he could pick her up in the morning.”

  I staggered back, barely able to process what I was hearing. “What a disaster! What are we supposed to do now?”

  “What’s it got to do with you? Go join your friends and escape.” The derogatory manner in which she spoke revealed the depths of her animosity towards me.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Mother. I’m not leaving without her!”

  “So you’ll stay? And get her in the morning wearing your Brandon disguise? I would have asked your brother, except I don’t know where he is,” she asked, clearly surprised. It saddened me that she continued to have such a low opinion of me after everything I had done for them. All because of that fateful day when my parents’ relationship reaching breaking point many years ago and I sided with my father against her.

  I shook my head. I just couldn’t believe Karen had been kidnapped, right before the breakout. Why did the universe plot and conspire against me? Every time I tried to escape, something catastrophic popped up and ruined my plans. And tonight’s escape attempt was my idea, my plan.

  “Actually, Brandon will be here soon. When he turns up, I’ll tell him what happened and we can go and rescue Karen together. Did Deacon say where they took her?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Daughter. Those men will eat you alive!” She shook her head frantically. But was that concern for my brother, or for me?

  “Not Brandon, they won’t – they won’t know what hit them. Where are we supposed to pick her up from tomorrow?”

  “I will tell you in the morning.”

  I squeezed her arm. “Tell me!”

  “Let go of my arm!” she bellowed.

  “Is it the Derby Snooker Hall?” I asked.

  Her eyes lit up at the mention of the snooker hall. Too late, she tried to hide her reaction.

  “Thought so.” I turned and hurried back to our room. “Give me a hand getting changed?”

  “Incorrigible child – you’ll get no help from me!” Glowering at me, she remained near the elevator.

  I gestured for Sofia to follow me. When we got to our room, she looked extremely concerned. “I think your mother’s right. You shouldn’t do this. Those guys are too dangerous.”

  I took hold of her hand. “Sofia, please – we don’t have time for this. We have less than an hour to join the escape, and I won’t go without my sister.”

  “Still–”

  “Please help me change?”

  She finally acquiesced and helped me out of my clothes to complete the transformation into my brother. All the same, by the time we were done, my face was pale and my hands were shaking from pain.

  I took a few deep breaths to get myself back under control. We looked almost like a brother and sister, me in Brandon’s clothes and Sofia wearing her best ankle length dress.

  Putting on my backpack and throwing Karen’s pack over my right shoulder, I put my left hand in my pocket in lieu of the sling and we headed for the door. Which was blocked by my mother. She stood there, denying our exit.

  “Please move, Mother.”

  “If you try to rescue her, they’ll do worse than just shoot you.” She pointed to my wound.

  “This is our one and only chance to leave, and I’m not going to let those losers ruin it for us.”

  She still wouldn’t move, so I shouldered her gently but firmly aside. A feat that was surprisingly easy – she had lost a lot of weight since coming to the shelter.

  “On your own head, then, foolish girl! And if you do see Brandon, don’t you dare take him with you!” She turned her back on us and stomped back inside, slamming the door closed.

  With Sofia dogging my heels, I hurried off to look for my brother, who should have been here by now. As I stood in the urine-scented elevator, I realised I would probably never see my mother again, and that just like my father, my final moments with her had been of anger. Couldn’t I do anything right?

  The TV was off in the foyer and the room was eerily empty, the lone fluorescent light in the ceiling flickering randomly. Darting out the front door, I immediately went into full stealth mode, darting from shadow to shadow while keeping an eye out for Custodians. Sofia followed me as best she could, her footfalls so loud I cringed. We would be in a world of trouble if they caught us outside at this time of night.

  We hadn’t gone far down the road when I detected furtive footsteps heading in our direction. I pulled Sofia behind a bush and hunkered down beside her. A minute later, Brandon slunk into view. He face was grim, his movements purposeful, and he carried a new bag on his back.

  “Brandon!” I hissed loud enough for him to hear.

  “Chelz?” he whispered as he crept over to join us. He looked inquisitively at Sofia.

  “Sofia, Brandon – Brandon, Sofia.”

  Sofia studied my brother wide-eyed, but he fixed me with a penetrating gaze.

  “Where’s Karen?” he whispered.

  I quickly explained to him what happened to our sister.

  “I am sick of those mongrels,” he exclaimed when I finished.

&
nbsp; “Me too. Let’s go rescue her, shall we?”

  He looked at me intently, as though he wanted nothing more than to help, but then his shoulders slumped and he shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t.”

  “Say what? Brandy, if we don’t rescue her, she won’t be joining the breakout, and neither will I. I won’t go without her.”

  He expired deeply, clearly distressed. “I wish I could help, Chelz, I really do, but there’s something else I have to do.”

  “Like what!”

  “I’m going to stop Con, Matt and Jack from escaping tonight. But I have to stop them at the moment of the actual breakout. If I do it any earlier, it will sabotage any chance the breakout has of succeeding, since they’re the leaders and all, and that wouldn’t be fair on the others. And then, when everyone else has gone, and we four are the only ones left, I’ll turn us into the Custodians for murdering Dan,” he said.

  Sofia’s eyes popped out of her head, but she wisely stayed out of it.

  “And how exactly are you planning to stop them?” I asked.

  He patted his backpack.

  “Tell me you’re not going to shoot them.”

  “Nothing so barbaric or noisy. Now, sorry, but I have to go.”

  “Wait – take Sofia with you, please. I don’t want her missing the chance to escape if I don’t make it in time,” I whispered urgently.

  “Why, what are you going to do?” Brandon eyed me with suspicion.

  “I’m going after Karen.”

  “By yourself?”

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous!” he hissed.

  “Then come with me!” I knew I should be relieved he finally found his backbone and was going to bring Dan’s murderers to justice – himself included. But all I could see was Karen, kidnapped by Deacon and stuck in some dingy room somewhere, trembling and in fear for her life, unable to join the escape.

  “I already told you why I can’t. Just go home and get her in the morning like Mother suggested.”

  “I second that,” Sofia said. “I’ll come home with you.”

  “What, and miss the breakout? No way! I’ve been waiting for this my entire life! You two go on ahead and I’ll meet up with you when I’ve got Karen. And Sofia, if for some reason we don’t make it in time, go with the foragers. Be free of this place. For me.”

  She made to protest, but I stopped her with a shake of my head. “Promise me!”

  She nodded once, looking most unsure of herself. I gave her arm a squeeze.

  “Make sure she’s with the other foragers before you take out Con, Matt and Jack, okay?” I said to my brother. He nodded, and our eyes met. “Don’t worry, we’ll be there. Now go!”

  He nodded, and the two of them slipped quietly off into the night, Brandon guiding her each step of the way.

  I went back to the homeless shelter and rummaged around until I found a sturdy three-foot long metal pole. Then I raced off as fast as I could to Derby Street. Luckily, it was roughly two-thirds of the way between here and the eastern gatehouse.

  I hadn’t gone far, though, when a series of massive explosions shattered the early morning air. Spinning around, I spotted four huge fireballs climbing lazily skyward from the direction of the factories.

  It was the distraction designed to keep the Custodians busy so the foragers and their families could pass through the town undetected on their way to the gates. I hoped Con didn’t put the bombs anywhere near the prison factories. I didn’t want anyone to die and besides, my father was in one of them.

  A squad of Custodians suddenly came rushing around the closest corner, shouting into their radios as they hurried in the direction of the burning factories. I kept still, hiding in the black of night until they were out of sight, and then continued on my way.

  The front of the snooker club was dark and lifeless, having closed several hours ago when the curfew came into effect. I recalled Deacon telling me they operated out of the staffroom, so I dumped the bags, gripped the metal pole tightly in my right hand, and crept through the narrow gap that ran down the side of the grey-brick building.

  When I reached the rear of the property, pale golden light illuminated piles of haphazardly stacked empty beer crates, cardboard cartons, and discarded furniture.

  Stepping silently around the corner, I spied one man standing outside the back door. He had his back to me and head down as he lit a cigarette.

  I looked at the pole in my hand, knowing what I had to do but wondering if I had the guts to do it. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt another human being, however, these scum had manoeuvred me into a corner. If Karen and I were to join the escape, talking wasn’t going to get the job done.

  I stole quietly behind the gangster, and then, just as he straightened up again and turned to survey the yard, I brought the pole down on his right collarbone with all my strength. There was a sickening crack as the bone snapped. The man immediately arched back, a scream forming on his lips. But before he could make a sound, I bounced the pole off the side of his head, though with much less force. All the same, he crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

  Stepping over his prone body, I pulled open the rickety wire door and the heavy wooden one behind it, which thankfully, was not locked. I slid through the gap and entered the passageway beyond. A toilet and bathroom was on my left and a kitchen on my right. The lights were on, but both were unoccupied. I heard voices beyond the door at the end of the passageway, so I kept moving. I passed two more rooms, an office and a rest room containing a couple of double bunk beds.

  Just my luck, they were empty too. If Karen had been in one of those rooms with only one minder, I could have had her out of here in a flash. Continuing to the door at the end, my spirits sank when I recognised not only Deacon’s voice, but also Karen’s, and two others I didn’t know.

  Heart thumping wildly, I stared at the door handle and wondered what to do. For a fraction of a section I considered rushing in there, waving my pole around, and seeing if I could cower them into letting me grab Karen and go. But seriously, even with my weapon, how much of a threat would they deem me to be? No, my only chance was to use the element of surprise to my advantage.

  Taking a deep breath, I hefted the pole, and gritting my teeth in anticipation of the pain, used my left hand to open the door. Then I darted inside and took in view in one glance. The room was a staffroom wider than it was long. It had filthy red-brown carpet and stained striped wallpaper.

  Still wearing her beige dress, Karen was sitting on a single-seat sofa to my right, back straight and knees pressed firmly together. To say she was petrified was an understatement. She looked up as I barged in, confused, as though unable to comprehend that it was actually me.

  Deacon and Wells were on my right as well, the former pouring himself a glass of vodka from the bar in the corner. A large, three-seater sofa was to my left, upon which sat an older man with greying hair. He was talking to a younger man in a suit, who had his back to me.

  I went immediately on the offensive, swinging the pole at the head of the younger man in the suit. It connected with a horrible thump and he went down, sprawling over the sofa. One down, three to go.

  “Whoa, whoa, what do you think you’re doing?” Deacon shouted, springing straight towards me.

  A couple of swings in his direction and he ducked back, allowing Wells to push past him. At the same time, the older man sprang up from the couch, a razor-sharp four-inch knife in his hands.

  Panicking, I swung the club at his head, which he blocked with his knife, the impact sending his weapon careening from his hands. Deprived of the knife, he jumped forward and attempted to grapple with me. Too close to swing the pole, I smashed my fist into his chin, hoping to knock him senseless like Ryan almost did to Wells.

  The man’s lower lip split and blood gushed forth, causing him to fall back, but still fully conscious and shaking with rage. But before I could follow up the attack, a shadow blotted out the light and I turned just in
time to see Wells towering over me with his arm pulled back.

  His fist connected with the side of my head, and the next thing I knew I was on the sofa, my head reeling and seeing stars. The impact with the sofa also sent agonising waves of pain throughout my chest. I tried to push myself back to my feet, but he started kicking me – in the legs, the hips, anywhere he could reach.

  I dropped the pole and pulled myself into a ball. I could hear someone screaming, and it took a moment to realise it was me.

  “Stop it! Don't hurt her!” Karen’s shrill voice suddenly cut through the orgy of violence and pain as she jumped to her feet, tears flowing down her cheeks.

  The kicks ceased immediately.

  Deacon suddenly hauled me roughly to my feet, pulling me around to face him. I fought to maintain my balance, spots dancing in front of my eyes. It also felt like someone had taken to my right leg with a sledgehammer – if it wasn’t broken, it would be black and blue for sure.

  “Chelsea Thomas,” Deacon said as he pulled off my cap and looked at the birthmark.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “What of it?” I snapped, giving Deacon the death stare.

  He sighed. “It's been you all this time, hasn't it?”

  “Yeah, so what?”

  “Where is your brother?”

  “Don't know – ran away from home a week before they arrested my father,” I replied.

  “So you thought you could just slip into his shoes and enter a man's world, did you?” he scoffed.

  “We needed the money. Besides, I've been doing just fine.”

  “Idiot! You’ve gone and made a fool of yourself! Why didn’t you tell us your brother had gone AWOL? We would have hunted him down and saved you all this trouble,” Deacon said.

  “What on earth were you trying to achieve, charging in here like that? Are you entirely bereft of your senses, girl?” the older man asked. His voice was muffled since he was pressing a handkerchief against his bloodied lip.