Future Rebuilt: A Post-Apocalyptic Harem (Future Reborn Book 2)

by Daniel Pierce

  “Edgar?” I asked.

  “One of the house guards. He came with us. Things are bad back at the post. It’s coming undone,” she continued.

  The others stood a short distance away as I walked forward, hand out in greeting. There was a tall woman and four men, all desert hardened and slender in the desperate way The Empty shaped people for life under the sun.

  “Jack Bowman,” I said to the guy in charge. He had a command authority, and if I was any judge, the woman was his second.

  “Rowan. This is my captain, Lyss, and my away team, Tergis, Wyant, Stoker, and Barvi. We’re glad we found you, but Hannah and, ah, Hannah were on the right track, it seems,” he said, taking my hand in a firm grip that was polite without being in the dickhead-level of pressure.

  He was around six feet, with dark eyes and deeply tanned skin, his hair almost shaved, but what showed was gray. An experienced person with laugh lines around his eyes and the aura of someone used to giving orders, he smiled at me without guile.

  “This is Mira. She’s my second, and we’re glad you found the Hannahs. We were on our way to look for them, and it was a good excuse for a walk. Are you from the post?” I asked.

  Rowan’s face shifted into neutral. “Let’s sit and talk for a minute, if you don’t mind. I know you’re not interested in revealing your location to us, and we feel the same about our place. Might be that a discussion is in order, just to set our minds at ease about any potential misunderstandings.”

  “Couldn’t agree more. Not much in the way of cover here,” I said. We were in the glare with nowhere to go, until Tergis and Barvi unloaded a tarp and collapsible stakes from their packs.

  “Instant shade. I find it makes thinking easier, especially out here,” Rowan said. “Let me start off by telling you we neither know nor care where you’re building an outpost. We have our own, and mostly wanted to be away from Wetterick and the reaches of Kassos. Before you ask, I’ll tell you. We went east, and we did it for the water.”

  “We’re to the south, for much the same reasons,” I admitted. We were showing our cards in a measured way, and so far everyone was behaving.

  “South?” Rowan looked at Lyss with unguarded surprise. “Didn’t think there was anything to the south until you hit ocean, and even then, there’s nothing but death.”

  “You’ve heard of Taksa?” I asked him.

  His entire party stiffened. Yeah, they knew of him alright.

  “We took him out, and that cursed sister of his, too. The Black Room is kindling.”

  Rowan looked shocked, then doubtful, and then slowly he smiled before sliding a flask from his pocket. “Now that is worth drinking to. Glad that fucker ate sand.” He drank, then laughed toward the sky in obvious relief. “You did the work?”

  I took the offered flask and nodded. The liquor was hot and raw but went down like we were old friends. Wiping my mouth, I passed the flask back and jabbed a finger to the southwest. “Caught them on approach. Snipers—and by that I mean Mira and Silk—dropped the guards, and I took Taksa first. He died about how you would expect.”

  “Fucking worm,” Lyss spat. Her tone was matched in the grim faces of their whole party. It was nice to know they felt the same way about Taksa.

  “He’s feeding worms now, unless he’s just buzzard shit. I killed Senet a bit too quickly. Can’t say I didn’t want it to last a little longer. Not after what she’d done to the victims we found,” I said, and the air around me felt cold despite the sun. I would never lose the memory of her, or the Black Room, but that wasn’t a bad thing. I would use it as a model for what not to allow in the new world.

  “Did they have ogres under their command?” Rowan asked.

  “Plenty, but we set them free. No reason to keep them in chains, not when—”

  “They were once human?” Rowan asked, his eyes sharp.

  “You think so too? Why?” I asked.

  Again, Rowan cut his eyes to Lyss, and an unspoken message passed between them before he spoke. “I think the evidence is obvious to anyone who can look. They’re not bright, but they aren’t animals, either. Either way they know what bondage is. They feel fear, and live most of their lives in it.”

  “I agree. The virus did it, but whatever happened to their bodies isn’t changing anymore. They’re stable, I think, if you can call an eternity of servitude being stable,” I said.

  “It was the virus. That much I know. We have access to some Hightec, and that’s my conclusion. We have other things from the past, too, but not all of the operating systems are in order. It’s too much, even for us, and we’ve been at it for years,” Rowan admitted.

  “I might be able to help,” I offered.

  “How?” Rowan took on a cautious air, careful of putting too much skin in the game before he knew more about me.

  “Hightec is my native tongue. I worked with it, and now, when I find it, I’m confident I can bring it back. I need certain things to do it, but our information makes me think everything I’m looking for is in this area.” I took a pull of my waterskin, smiling. “Like a power plant.”

  Rowan twitched, but it was enough. “What would you do if you found such a place?”

  Lyss was utterly still, as were the others. The Hannahs watched intently, being keyed in to human behavior even if they didn’t have all the pieces of our discussion. Only Mira seemed unconcerned, which meant she was in a state of high alert.

  “Get it working, if I could. It figures in my plans,” I said.

  “Which are?” Lyss asked.

  Rowan said nothing, merely watching me.

  I pointed south to the Oasis. “I’m building a free state, just over there. No chains. No fucking slaves, or controlling warlords, or classes of people with no say in their lives. We have water, and open ground, and something I never imagined. We have trees, and we’re planting an oasis around a system that will let us reclaim this desert, one meter at a time until children can live here without fear. Until laws are real, and peace is the default state, and I can put this gun down and not worry about petty tyrants and their monstrous sisters.”

  “That’s a lot for one man to wish,” Rowan said, but he was smiling. “Coincidentally, I’m doing the same thing, but with different tools. You said you have—trees?”

  “In excess. A seed bank from long ago, planted and growing. We’re plotting out the first expansion, and we just added some much-needed talent to our little tribe,” I said.

  “Derin and scoot?” Hannah Too asked, then covered her mouth at the potential misstep.

  “The very same,” I confirmed, smiling to let her know all was well. “Armorer and his daughter. Good people, and talented. That’s what I need more than anything. We have food. We have water. We even have Hightec, and eventually, it can be brought to heel for our purposes, but what I don’t have is a power plant.”

  “We do, but we lack the understanding to realize the potential value.” Rowan made a decision and gestured to the northeast. “Thirty klicks away over some rough country. It’s there, and that’s where we are. We’re small, but well-defended and partially hidden from the weather. How it survived, I don’t know, but we’re the third group trying to reclaim it. I was able to because I had special help, but you would be a welcome partner if we could reach terms.”

  “For the use of the plant?” I asked.

  “Indeed. Power can be transmitted, right? At least, that’s what I think the old signs say. Through wires? I’ve heard they do it in Kassos, but on a very small scale,” he said.

  “Electricity can be shared, but I don’t know if it’s possible yet. Not without a stable corridor between your place and ours. That’s part of the problem we’re facing, if we want to tame The Empty. There are threats I’ve never seen before, and even in good weather, power lines are in need of constant maintenance. Electricity isn’t like planting trees. It can kill you in the blink of an eye,” I said.

  “But it’s worth doing?” Rowan asked.

  “Sure. It w
ould go a long way to letting us reclaim the land. Or cities, if we find them,” I said.

  “You’re thinking that far in the future? We’re still worrying about a steady food source,” he said.

  “And water,” Lyss added. “We have it, but in The Empty it’s always an issue. The rains are erratic, and the springs can only support so many people.”

  “We’re making clay tiles to cover the irrigation channels, and then we’ll dig cisterns. Every water source we find will be protected and used, but we need something else almost as much as water and power,” I said.

  “What is it?” Lyss asked.

  Rowan just lifted his hands in question.

  “People. We need qualified people who can bring something to the oasis, not just mouths to feed. We need builders, not takers, and the people who join us will get the full measure of my protection until I can’t lift a hand to help them. That’s my promise to the oasis, but it extends beyond our trees. It’s going to be the bedrock of what we are as a city, if everything works,” I said.

  Mira put her hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I’ll be there too.”

  “We have to go back soon, but you’re welcome to join us,” Rowan said.

  I thought it over, marking distances and time before answering. This was diplomacy, not a brawl, but it still required my full focus. What I did here would set the precedent for all of my people, so I answered carefully. “We’ll take the Hannahs back and get them settled, then make our way to you in a day or so. Thirty klicks, you say?”

  “Give or take, based on where you say you’re located,” Rowan said, giving me a wintry smile. He knew I wasn’t giving anything away, because that was what he was doing. We were a long way from trusting each other.

  I would keep him at arm’s length, if only because The Empty—and my new world—didn’t give second chances. I owed it to my people. “We’ll provision and bring something with us that you’ll want to see.”

  “Hightec?”

  He was sharp. I revised my opinion of his intellect, upward. He came off as competent and tough, but he was smart, too.

  “That’s right. Do you have any working computers? Anything that can read data?” I asked. He would have to reveal something to get something.

  “We don’t, but the—where we are does. It’s integral to the place, not mobile. Anything you can share is welcome.” He snapped his fingers, pretending to remember something. “Do you have any needles? For injections? I’ve got sick people, and no way to deliver meds we got from Kassos.”

  “There are injectables medicines in Kassos?” I asked. It was impossible to keep the shock out of my voice, but I didn’t care. That kind of tech could be a game changer, especially in a world without any working hospitals. At least none where I would build my home.

  “And surgery, too, but the cost is—it’s high. They want hardware, not money or trade routes. We try not to deal with them at all, if possible,” Rowan said. There was an angry undertone to his words that I understood. Being hustled for profit when your people lay dying would be enough for me to become unreasonable.

  I nodded in sympathy with his position. “Understood. If we have some, we’ll bring them. It goes against everything I know, but you can sterilize and reuse them, at least until the point goes dull.”

  “Sterilize? As in clean?” he asked.

  “I’ll show you and explain. We’ve got a lot of work to do here, Rowan. Give me three days to get home and to your place, and we can move forward with our discussions. May I bring”—I thought it over, then decided what I would need—“two people with me? Mira and another, to help with the travel?”

  “Sounds fair. You’re welcome, and here’s how you’ll know when the plant is close— go northeast until you see the first rocky rise. Fire off your rifle, and we’ll guide you in. Sound good?” he asked.

  I rose, shaking his hand. “Three days. We’ll bring gifts.”

  “And we’ll have beer,” he said.

  I smiled, because I still wasn’t sure I believed him.

  5

  “That’s Salyers, I think. He was the main scout for the Harlings. Wonder why it took him so long to get here?” Mira asked.

  “I’ve seen him before. When they arrived, the day we met back at the post. He ran the auction from their surviving wagons,” I said. Salyers was difficult to forget. He was well over two meters tall, ropy with muscle, and clad in thin leather and a scale armor shirt that made him look like a medieval warrior. His head was shaved, but he had a long beard with braids. He waved to me, along with the Harlings and Silk.

  “You found them,” Silk said, her face beaming at the sight of the Hannahs.

  “They found us. And more,” I said, sending greetings to everyone before shaking Salyer’s hand. “Glad you made it,” I told him, which was the unvarnished truth.

  “Glad to be here, but it isn’t just me,” he said. His voice was deep and resonant; the kind of voice that would suit an auctioneer. Or a sergeant.

  “You brought friends?” I asked, taking a waterskin from Silk, who shooed Natif away to get the fire started for dinner. It was nearing sunset, and Mira was ready to rest. My curiosity—and ‘bots—made sleep a distant call, so I drank, then turned to Salyers and waved that he should continue.

  He hesitated, but a look at Doss Harling put him in the mood to talk. “I haven’t brought them, not without your permission. It’s a bit more than just a wagon.”

  “How many, and more importantly, what can they do?” I asked.

  His pause was shorter, but still present. “Thirty people, eight of them children. No infants, but two pregnant women. As to their skills, they all have a trade. Want me to run them down, so you can consider?”

  “Sure. Derin and Scoot are here, but even someone to help them would be welcome. We need armor like you have, among other things,” I said.

  “We have tanner, and a scrivener, too. Three weavers who also sew, a mason, two carpenters, and a family of four who are the best damned scavengers and hunters I’ve ever seen, other than me,” he said, his lips fighting a smile.

  “Other than selling the goods, what do you do?” I asked.

  “I ran the auction because they were tired. As to my task, I’m a tracker. I find things, but I also find trails. It’s all I’ve ever done for fifty years,” Salyers said. There was no lie in his words, just confident truth.

  “Tracker, eh?” I nodded in appreciation. “These people, they’re back at the post?”

  “No, too dangerous. They’re five klicks out, at an outcropping to the west. You know it?”

  “I do.” I exhaled, then stuck out my hand again. “Go get ‘em. A mason, you said?”

  “The best I’ve seen. His wife does fine chisel work, too. They’re damned fine builders as well as artisans, and not too bad with some Hightec. Most of the group has experience in The Empty, though a few have spent time in Kassos,” he said.

  “Take him out and bring them in? Can you do it at first light?” I asked Mira. She nodded without hesitation. “Good. Looks like we’re growing faster than I thought. We’ll need to sort out Rowan’s offer and get serious about building our next group of homes. Or the first group, really.”

  “I like sleeping under the stars,” Mira said.

  “You won’t in a storm. We’ve had good weather for now, but that changes soon with the rains,” Doss Harling said. “Apocalyptic. Sand a meter high, and wind so hard it scours the skin from people who are exposed. Then, the rain comes and you’re trapped in a flooded washout. The Empty will kill you in a second, make no mistake. We need houses, and the sooner we build, the better.”

  “Can we build half below ground, to save on stone?” I asked everyone.

  “That would be even better. Cooler in the summer, protection form wind, and less material. With that design, we could break ground tonight, and add the new people to labor details as they settle in. By summer, we would be in homes,” Salyers said.

  “I like that idea,”
Silk said, kicking at the gravel. “Be nice to feel like we belong.”

  “Agree. Let’s make that happen. Salyers, you said you’re a tracker, and that means I have your first trail. Can you be ready at daybreak?” I asked.

  He was road weary and dark with sun, but he gave a single sharp nod. “I can.”

  “Why?’ Silk asked. There were layers to her question.

  “Let’s eat and talk. We found another group of people, and they have what we want. A power plant, or at least access to it, and their leader proposes an alliance. I’m willing to hear him out, even if I don’t trust him,” I said.

  Natif called us from the center, his high voice echoing through the trees.

  “Dinner time,” Mira said, looping her arm through Silk’s as we began to move deeper into the grove.

  “You planted all this? Out here?” Salyers asked. His voice was plainly admiring, if dubious.

  “That’s a long story, but there’s a lot more to this place than trees and water. Let’s grab dinner and talk, then we can go underneath to the facility,” I said.

  “The facility?” Salyers asked, eyes darting around as he marked the details of underground buildings.

  “Old, but still functional, and worth your time to see. But first, pig, and then, the water wheel,” I told him.

  “There’s two phrases I’ve never heard before,” Salyers said over the group laughter. “At least not in the same sentence.”

  “Get ready to say that a lot, friend. This isn’t the post, and it’s nothing like The Empty. Think of it as a time machine, but with better barbecue,” I told him, and his answer told me he was a man worth respecting because he made a beeline for the food, as any good soldier should do.

  When he was off and eating, I turned to Mira, who regarded me from half-closed eyes. She knew I’d been thinking, and that usually meant an idea that she wasn’t going to like. At least not completely.