by Eric Vall
“Isn’t there any way to stop them?” I questioned. “You know, before they get to that point?”
Both of the Scavengers looked at me like I was insane.
“What do you mean ‘stop them?’” Marcus scoffed. “Don’t you think if there was a way to stop the Rubberfaces, we would have done it already? Those melted-faced bastards only live for two things, and two things only… To wipe out the human race and to feed on radiation. And god help anyone who tries to stand between them and their goals.”
“So, what’s the plan, then?” I asked. “Do we just sit around and wait until they evolve even further?”
“Hunter… ” Natalie warned.
“We will do what we can,” Marcus grumbled. “For the moment, that’s doing what we’ve always done. Going out, scavenging for supplies, and killing any Rubberfaces we see along the way. It’s all we can do.”
Oh, great, he was one of those leaders.
Getting Natalie on board might be trickier than I thought.
“I’m sorry to trouble you with this information, Marcus,” Natalie said with a slight bow. “But I thought you needed to know.”
“Don’t apologize.” Marcus smiled half-heartedly. “The news may have been grim, but I always appreciate when my brothers and sisters are honest with me. I dunno… It makes me feel like I’m somewhat of a successful leader.”
“We couldn’t ask for a better leader,” Natalie reassured him. “Thank you for your time.”
“Thank you.” Marcus bowed and then turned to me. “And welcome to the Scavengers, young man. Hunter, right?”
“That’s me.” I nodded. “Hunter Bragg, at your service.”
“Well, Hunter Bragg.” The brown-haired man smiled. “You picked a fine time to join up with our group. Tonight was already going to be a somewhat rowdy night, but now? We have a life to celebrate. You two go out there and enjoy yourselves. I’m sure the rest of the Scavengers are waiting for you.”
“What about you?” Natalie asked. “Won’t you join in the festivities?”
“Perhaps.” The Scavenger leader shrugged. “But for now, I have much to ponder on.”
“Don’t work too hard,” the blonde woman pleaded before she turned back to the door. “I hope to see you out there soon!”
I followed Natalie out of the hut and back onto the beach, under the starry night sky.
“That went well,” I chuckled once I was sure we were out of Marcus’ ear shot. “What’s that guy’s deal, anyways? Why is he the leader of all these people?”
“Simple,” Natalie explained, “we chose Marcus as our leader because he has the most military experience out of any of us. That, plus he knows the Fallen Lands better than anyone else.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because… ” she sighed, “this is his home. At least, this was his home, before Doomsday happened.”
“Wait, how old is that guy?” I gasped. “I thought Doomsday happened like, twenty years ago?”
“Believe it or not, Marcus is in his forties,” Natalie chuckled.
“Damn,” I whistled. “Are you sure he’s not a vampire or something? Because he doesn’t look a day over twenty.”
“I can assure you he’s in his forties,” the blonde woman continued. “He is from the area you keep calling ‘Chicago.’ In fact, he lived there his whole life, up until he went off and joined the Coast Guard. One day, he was in a helicopter, flying a search and rescue mission over the far northern side of the lake when… well, you can guess what happened next… ”
“Doomsday happened,” I concluded, and Natalie confirmed with a nod.
“His entire family was wiped out from the initial blast.” She frowned. “And I strongly suspect several more of his acquaintances were turned into Rubberfaces. Either way, he refueled the helo and returned to his hometown, where he, my parents, and a few more of our elders started up the Scavenger lifestyle.”
“Is Chi--er, the Fallen Lands the only place you guys explore?” I questioned as we walked along the dark beach.
“Not at all,” Natalie explained. “We have Scavengers go out to the other big city on the lake, north of the Fallen Lands. The one with lots of abandoned beer factories. We’ve also got crews that go out to several cities along the eastern coastline, but none of those are quite as fruitful as the ones in the Fallen Lands or the Beer City.”
Beer City. I was sure that, in my timeline, Milwaukee would love to be called that.
“You do that all from one boat?” I pointed to the large vessel off the shore. “Doesn’t that take forever?”
“Not if you do it strategically.” The blonde woman shrugged. “When we go on large scavenging expeditions, the captain makes a large circle around the lake, dropping each team off at their locations before dropping anchor at the Fallen Lands.”
“Why there?” I continued. “Wouldn’t it be way more time efficient to just make the entire loop again, and then pick up the Fallen Lands’ team last?”
“If only we had that luxury… ” Natalie trailed off. “You saw how the city is… swarming with Rubberfaces. We have to leave the boat there because it’s the place with the highest rate of danger. You don’t really hear about hordes of Rubberfaces up in the stadium city in the bay.”
“Who knows?” I joked. “There could be Rubberface football fans.”
Natalie looked at me blankly just as I realized my joke wasn’t going to make sense, so I just continued onward as if I hadn’t said anything.
The two of us eventually came to a tent surrounded on all sides by empty alcohol bottles that had been lined up along the edges as if they were a fence of booze. The door of the dwelling was completely covered with bottle caps, and from the inside, I could hear someone mumbling to themselves.
“William’s tent,” Natalie explained, but I’d kinda already figured.
“Is that Natalie and the newbie?” William’s voice slurred.
The long-haired Scavenger popped his head out from between the flaps, looked between the two of us, and smiled a wide, toothy grin. When he finally stumbled out of his dwelling, the lanky man was completely shirtless with his colorful tattoos on full display. From just a quick glance, I could see he had a boat, a few tribal tattoos, and one of those large, pointed “S” shapes I always remembered drawing in middle school.
“You’re going to have to tell me about all these things,” I whistled. “I bet each one has a story.”
“You bet your arse they do, mate,” William slurred as he drunkenly put his arm around my shoulders and cackled. “I bet ya Tundra folk don’t get much ink up in your parts, eh?”
“I can’t say we do,” I admitted, and then I pointed to the “S” on his shoulder. “I really want to know about that one. I’ve seen it before, but I have no idea what it means.”
That was probably the most honest thing I’d said to these people since I first arrived.
“This?” William pulled back and gasped. “Why… Ya better know this one if you wanna be a Scavenger! This is our mark, ya bogan.”
No way…
“Oh, so that’s what it means,” I couldn’t contain my amusement. “I’ll definitely have to get one of those.”
“Damn straight, ya better.” The Scavenger grinned and then poked me in the chest. “I bet it’d look good right on your pec there. If ya did that, Natalie here’d get ta see it every time she saw you in the nuddy.”
“It looks like William here has already started the festivities,” Natalie interjected as her face turned bright red.
William turned to the woman, tilted his head, and threw out his arms dramatically.
“Well, I had ta crack open a cold one for our boy Johnny.” The drunk Scavenger hung his head somberly. “But then one turned into two, and then two turned inta six. But the night’s still young, ya know! I think Harrison said they were planning a Remembrance in a few minutes here.”
“Oh, I don’t know if Hunter should take part in that yet,” Natalie warned, “he’s still
somewhat new to--”
“Nonsense!” William interrupted. “We want him to stick around and become part of the team, right? What better way than to throw him straight into the fire?”
Natalie glanced over at me, but I just shrugged.
“I’m totally down for whatever,” I chuckled. “I’m not going anywhere else right now.”
“That’s the spirit!” William put his arm around me again, and then he began to lead me off toward the center of the camp.
I heard Natalie sigh behind me, but then her footsteps plodded through the sand as she followed us.
At the very center of the encampment was a fire nearly two stories high and at least ten feet wide. All of the Scavengers stood around it, and they chatted merrily as they watched the flames growing larger and larger.
Finally, once we arrived at the scene, William found Harrison, and the three of us slipped into the circle beside him. The second we stopped, though, I noticed William’s entire demeanor changed.
He stood up straight and took a deep gulp before he stared off into the flames and went as silent as the very night around us. Then William’s smile faded into a somber expression as he folded his arms across his chest and waited.
Finally, one of the other Scavengers spoke up.
“Thank you for joining us today, my brothers and sisters,” the man said.
This guy was shirtless, as well, though he wore a black leather jacket over his torso. His hair was dyed a deep green, but it was also shaved down to little more than stubble.
“We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” Natalie whispered.
“It’s fine,” I reassured her, “I want to pay my respects. Johnny saved my life, too, after all.”
The blonde woman frowned, but then gave me a slow nod.
You haven’t checked in for a while, Hunter, Karla’s voice rang in my ears. Is everything alright?
“Fine,” I whispered as softly as possible. “I’m kinda in the middle of a funeral service here, so maybe call back in an hour?”
Funeral service? the woman scoffed. Don’t tell me you’re actually starting to make friends with these people.
“They’re good people,” I hissed back, and then went silent when I noticed William was shooting daggers in my direction.
Fine, Karla’s voice huffed. Just remember the mission. Kill the mutants and get the Wayfarer to come with you. Everything else is a waste of time.
“Noted,” I grumbled.
“Brothers and Sisters, we are here on this night because we have lost one of our own… ” the man with the buzzcut continued. “Johnny Darkowzki was slain in battle today while traveling through the Fallen Lands. He was a great warrior, a good friend, and, most importantly, one hell of a Scavenger.”
“Hear, hear!” William called out, and everyone else in the circle followed suit.
“He may be gone now, but his life will always be remembered,” the man announced. “His sacrifice will always be remembered and, just like those who fell before him… he will live on through us. Jessica? Will you be the first to expel his spirit from our land?”
Expel his spirit? What, did they think this guy was going to come back and haunt everyone?
A skinny woman with a full-on, spiked pink mohawk and a bull ring in her nose approached the fire with a tarp in her hands. She kissed it softly, looked up at the roaring flames, and then tossed the tarp into the fire.
It sizzled and cracked as it was engulfed and then burned by the dancing blaze.
“What are they doing?” I leaned over and whispered to Natalie.
“Burning Johnny’s stuff,” she sighed. “It’s how we show our respects to the dead around here.”
“Maybe I’m just culturally insensitive,” I noted, “but that doesn’t sound very respectful to me.”
“You have to look at it from our point of view, Hunter,” the blonde woman continued. “To a Scavenger, the possessions we snatch up are everything. They’re our personality in physical form. So, to ensure nobody else takes our ‘spirit’ after we’re gone, the rest of the group burns everything in our tent.”
Huh. Sure, it was a somewhat strange ritual, but I supposed that if it helped them to cope with the loss of their fallen brother, who was I to judge.
I watched as a few more Scavengers brought items from Johnny’s tent, said a few words, and then threw them into the inferno. Once they were done, the man with the green buzzcut stepped forward once more.
“Before we move on, would anyone like to say a few words?” He asked.
“Oi.” William raised his hand as he stepped forward. “I’ve got somethin’ I wanna say… Johnny was a good bloke. I fought with him in the Fallen Lands several times, and he was one-a the best gunners I’d ever met. He’ll be missed dearly.”
“Hear, hear!” the rest of the Scavengers called out.
“Anybody else?” the man asked again.
This time, there was a long, awkward silence, and I could feel all eyes were now pointed toward Natalie.
The blonde woman squirmed under her brethrens’ gazes, but she didn’t say a word. Her body just tensed up as she stared off into the fire and remained silent.
“Anyone at all?” another Scavenger prompted.
“I’ll say something,” I spoke up to ease the tension. “Look, I may be new to this whole thing. You guys probably don’t know me yet, and I don’t really know you. Hell… I didn’t even know Johnny for that long. But one thing I do know is he saved my life. If not for him and Natalie here, I’d be lying dead in the streets right now. And for that, I thank him. Wherever the hell he is right now. He was a good man, and I hope he’s now found rest.”
“Hear, hear!” the rest of the Scavengers cheered.
“Anyone else?” the master of ceremonies announced, and there was another long silence. Finally, he shook his head. “Alright, then we get to move on to the second phase of the Remembrance… ”
“This is my favorite part,” William whispered gleefully.
“Now, let’s get this celebration started!” the man with the buzzcut exclaimed, and everybody roared with excitement.
The next hour or two flew by in a flash. We all shared sips from a whiskey bottle as we sat around the flames shooting the breeze, telling jokes and riddles, and sharing stories about our travels.
Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t really tell anyone about my real life, so I had to make up many elaborate lies. On top of the story of my rescue, I told everyone I’d once killed a caribou with my bare hands and then brought it back to my igloo for the rest of my clan to eat.
I had no clue if that was really what people did in this timeline, but it seemed to be popular with the Scavengers.
Then there was the story I told about Doomsday… how I was just a little kid growing up in “The Tundra” when this all went down. How my parents tried to take me up into Canada, but they had been completely decimated by the nuclear blasts as well. Of course, that led to all three of us settling down in the backwoods with a few other families and trying to survive the winters. Already harsh winters that were, of course, made even worse from the Nuclear Winters that came along with the bombs.
The Scavengers hung onto every single word I said, and they ate my stories up hook, line, and sinker.
However, Natalie seemed a bit off. The blonde woman didn’t partake in any of the drinking or the storytelling or even crack a smile at any of the jokes. Instead, she just sat there with her arms crossed over her chest as she stared off into the flames.
Finally, she stood up, wiped the sand off her tight bottom, and then marched back toward her tent.
“She’s not really having any of it, is she?” I whispered to William as I watched her leave.
“Oh, don’t take it personally.” The drunken Scavenger patted me on the back. “That little Sheila’s never been one for festivities. I can’t say I blame ‘er on this one either since, well, you know… ”
“She’s doomed to be without a mate?” I finished
the thought.
“Right, that.” William nodded, and then his eyes lit up with excitement. “Oi! Wait a minute here… How old are you, Hunter?”
I saw where this was going, and I really wanted to defuse the situation before he took it too far.
“Look, William.” I shook my head. “Natalie is a nice woman. Very beautiful and strong and all that. But--”
“But what?” William interjected. “You’re stickin’ around, right?”
My heart skipped a beat, but I continued to play it cool.
“Of course, I am!” I lied.
“Sooo?” the Scavenger slurred. “You’re the same age as her, and you’re the only one here who’s the same age. Which means by Scavenger law you’re the only one who is appropriate to be her mate and put some babies in ‘er! Now, you don’t have to be a Root Rat to see the golden opportunity here.”
“Are you sure you’re not Australian?” I narrowed my eyes and tried to change the subject.
“Oh, no, bloke.” William waggled his finger at me. “You’re not slippin’ yer way outta this one. Just go and talk to her. Ya don’t even have to have a root with ‘er right now. Put the feelers out and see if she likes ya back.”
“I don’t think that’s the best idea--”
Before I could finish my sentence, William scoffed loudly.
“Hunter, if ya don’t get over to ‘er tent,” he warned, “I’m gonna knock ya over the head with a stubby and drag ya over there myself!”
“Fine, fine… ” I conceded as I stood up. “I’ll go talk to her. Just talk.”
William threw up his hands and feigned innocence. “Hey, what you two ankle biters do in the privacy of your tent is your own business.”
Sly, William. Very sly.
As I turned, I saw Natalie walking off in the distance, so I guessed I should take William’s advice and go follow her.
She seemed a bit distressed and uncomfortable, and I didn’t know if it was something I said or just the general tone of the night. Either way, I wanted to calm her down.
I headed up the beach and watched as Natalie disappeared into a tent at the far end of the encampment. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I approached her dwelling and saw how it was set up.
