by Gavin Zanker
Outside the city, the makeshift camp of homeless and those refused entry had grown into a huge patchwork of shelters built from mismatched tarps and cardboard. The place was beginning to look like a real slum now, a small village even, with shops established amid the more well-travelled tracks in the dirt. Bordering the edge, the circus tent still stood. Lights glowed from within, illuminating the dome of white and blue fabric. Having integrated into the camp, the entertainers and circus-folk didn’t seem to be planning to take the show back on the road anytime soon. Even at this hour, there were a handful of them wandering around outside the circle of rusted caravans blowing plumes of smoke into the air.
‘Stay close to me around here,’ Aiden warned, scanning the dark shapes of people moving amid the shelters in the weak light of dawn.
‘Yeah I know,’ Leigh said, ‘you don’t trust anyone. You don’t need to say it every time we come through here.’
Aiden glanced at her in surprise. ‘I didn’t realise I bored you.’
‘I just think you shouldn’t dismiss people so quickly. Not everyone is a bad guy.’
‘What should I do then? Give them all a hug?’
Leigh rolled her eyes as she turned away from him. ‘You don’t need to be so annoying, you know.’
Before Aiden could answer she was already walking ahead. He looked at Hitch and shrugged before setting off after her through the camp. His hand drifted to the pistol at his belt as they walked; there were too many sight lines and corners here, it made him uneasy.
Sure enough, it only took a moment before a hooded figure in a frayed parka stepped out in front of them. ‘Got any money?’ his raspy voice growled.
Aiden’s fingers closed around the grip of his pistol, ready to draw. ‘Walk away,’ he warned, ‘and you won’t get hurt.’ The man shifted his weight from foot to foot, his arm drawn across his chest. He looked ready to either bolt or charge at them, Aiden wasn’t quite sure which.
‘Aiden!’ Leigh scolded, stepping in front of him. ‘Let’s at least hear him out.’ She turned to the stranger. ‘What do you need money for?’ she asked.
The man seemed confused at the question. He wiped his dirt-smeared face with his wrist. ‘Just… you know… food.’ As Leigh knelt down and reached into her pack, his eyes lit up. ‘And, er, water too. And any tokens you might be able to spare. Anything really.’
Aiden glared, not removing his hand from his gun as Leigh wrapped some of her oats in a piece of cloth. Hitch sniffed the small bundle curiously as she passed it over to the stranger. ‘That’s all we can spare, sorry,’ she said. ‘I hope it helps.’
The man snatched it from her before it disappeared into one of his pockets. He nodded his thanks at Leigh before flashing a wary glance at Aiden. Then he sidled away into the maze of shelters without another word.
‘You see? Not everyone is trying to hurt us,’ Leigh said as she swung her pack back onto her shoulder.
‘You think he wouldn’t have if he thought he could get take our supplies?’ Aiden asked. ‘You should know better than to engage with desperate people like that. They’re dangerous.’
‘Maybe,’ she said. ‘Maybe we all just need to be nicer to each other.’
Aiden shook his head. ‘I don’t know how many times I need to tell you—’
‘Then don’t!’ Leigh snapped. ‘I’m tired of hearing it. Not everyone is out to hurt us, why can’t you see that?’ There was a moment of tense silence as she stared him down. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, her shoulders dropped as she looked at her feet. ‘I didn’t mean to shout at you.’
‘It’s all right,’ Aiden said, taken aback by the strength of her reaction. ‘I know I’m hard to get along with sometimes.’
‘I like being with you,’ she explained. ‘It’s just sometimes you’re so…’ She trailed off unhappily.
Aiden was surprised to find his feelings slighted. He brushed it off and pointed ahead. ‘Let’s keep moving,’ he said, changing the subject as he saw a few faces peering at them from the shelters.
‘You know where we’re going?’ she asked.
Aiden had studied the hand-drawn map back in the radio station, and knew the mansion was due south-west of the city. ‘That way,’ he said, pointing west. ‘Once we’re past the camp here we’ll have to follow the canyon until we can bear south. It’s not too far so we should make it there in a few hours, barring any problems.’
‘Then what?’
‘Then we’ll scope the place out and figure out a plan before Travis turns up. Hopefully he won’t have too many guards with him.’
‘And if he does?’
‘Well, then we’ll have a real problem.’
CHAPTER 5
WITH NO NATURAL screen, the winds were strong along the scree-covered trails that followed the ridge of the canyon. Aiden warned Leigh to stay away from the edge unless a strong gust might blow her over. There was no need to worry about Hitch though; the dog was more sure-footed than either of them. With little else to look at as they walked, Aiden kept finding himself staring down at the vertical city built into the canyon walls with its criss-crossing walkways and laddered-streets spidering between the pitted, Indian red cliffs like a badly stitched wound.
For an hour or so, they travelled in relative silence, with only the chirping of birds and shushing of the wind through the sparse shrubs for company. Once they reached the end of the scar-shaped canyon, they turned south, where the rocky trails gave way to unused farmlands: fields of overgrown grasses, disused farmhouses, and dried out stream beds.
‘Why doesn’t anyone grow food here?’ Leigh asked, hopping across a ditch full of broken glass and plastic bottles. ‘It seems like a good place.’
‘They used to,’ Aiden said, ‘but it takes people a lot of time and effort to grow crops. If raiders and thieves don’t steal all of their hard work, the city will, so then what’s the point?’
‘That sucks. People are hungry but they don’t need to be. Someone should organise it all so it’s fair.’
‘That’s what the government was for before the Event. To sort out problems like that.’
‘What’s a government? Like a group of farmers?’
‘No, they were people chosen to decide things, like making sure the hungry and the poor were looked after and that no one tried to take what didn’t belong to them.’
‘That sounds like a good idea. What happened to them?’
‘What always happens to people with power. They grew rich and comfortable and then did everything they could to keep it that way. Eventually they forgot they were there to take care of the people.’
Aiden plucked a piece of long grass and started chewing the end. Leigh copied him, cautiously nibbling on a stalk as she listened.
‘When the Event wrecked society, people were angry and looking for someone to blame. Naturally the ones running the country got the brunt of it. Some said the government caused the whole thing with nuclear weapons, others said they might not have caused it but they didn’t do anything to help people during the weeks of darkness that followed. Whatever the reason, people had a lot of pent up frustration towards the government.’
‘So did the government cause the Event?’ Leigh asked, spitting the grass out and smacking her lips at the bitter taste.
‘No one’s sure. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. I’ve heard a lot of theories about what happened, but there’s probably no evidence left now to find out the truth.’
‘I think I’d be mad too if someone didn’t help when they could. That’s just mean. Did they live in the Rim too?’
‘No, this was back in Old Theia, the big capital city way down south in the Sinking Dust. The government based itself there among all the skyscrapers: huge buildings that rose up into the clouds,’ he added before she asked. ‘I never went back there after the Event, but I heard the riots turned the place turned into a war zone. The whole city burned during the long dark. Ironically, it was one of the few lights in the darkness. When the sun fina
lly pierced the grey skies again weeks later, the government were long gone, all of them dead or fled from the city.’
Leigh kicked a small rock, sending it skittering ahead into a nearby hedge and causing Hitch to chase after it. ‘Can’t we make another government? A better one?’
‘Who would you pick to be part of it?’ Aiden asked.
Leigh shrugged. ‘I dunno. Grace? She’s nice.’
‘It’s not the nice ones who get into powerful positions like that. It takes a certain type of person to claw their way to the top, someone not afraid to stand on others to get there. You ever heard the saying “scum floats to the top?”’
‘Who would you pick then?’
‘No one. I have no interest in being ruled by anyone. Mayor Reinhold is the closest thing to a government in the city and just look how corrupt he is. Plenty of others think they would do a better job than him, but they’d probably just end up the same. Like the Syndicate, for one. Or the Dawnists. Everyone wants to rule, everyone wants the power for themselves.’
‘Not everyone,’ Leigh muttered. ‘Not that guy back there. He was just hungry.’
‘Lots of folks are desperate,’ Aiden said, feeling a knot in his stomach as the argument resurfaced. ‘It’s what you do when you’re desperate that shows who you really are. And I’ve seen enough people pushed into doing terrible things to be wary. I figured you would have too by now.’
‘I’m not ready to give up on people yet,’ Leigh said, sticking out her chin. ‘I didn’t give up on you, did I?’
Aiden paused and stared at her. It had never occurred to him that she might want to up and leave. Could he be driving her away? ‘I didn’t realise that was a question,’ he said. ‘You’re not happy hanging around with me anymore?’
‘I already told you I am,’ Leigh said with a groan. ‘I just think you’re wrong sometimes. And you’re too stubborn to listen to anyone. It makes me want to whack you.’
Aiden had never considered any negative effects his actions might have on Leigh. He had only ever tried to keep them both safe. He didn’t like the idea of being responsible for making her cynical or depressed. ‘Well I’ll try and work on that then,’ he said.
Leigh glanced sideways at him and raised an eyebrow.
‘Seriously,’ he said. ‘If you think I’m too stubborn, I’ll try and listen more. But only when it doesn’t put either of us in danger. And in return, I want you to be ready to stand up and defend yourself.’
‘I don’t want to hurt anybody.’
‘But you have to protect yourself and the people you care about, right? What if someone threatened me or Hitch and only you could help?’
Leigh chewed her lip for a second before answering. ‘I don’t want to think about that. I don’t see why people can’t just get along. There must be a place like that somewhere, right?’
‘Maybe, but I doubt it’ll be anywhere near here.’
‘All right then, it’s a deal,’ she said after a moment, her wonky tooth peeking out under a smile. ‘You try to trust people and I’ll be more careful.’
He reached down and tussled her hair, managing to mess it up more than it already was. ‘Sounds good.’
‘Aww, stop that,’ she moaned, pulling away from him and patting it back down again.
The trees beside the trail gave way to a steel fence topped with barbed wire. They stopped and gazed at the fields of tilled soil and waist-high corn on the other side.
‘This must be the Venkarth border,’ Aiden said. He looked around for Hitch but couldn’t see him. He whistled loudly and the border collie bounded out of the undergrowth with an old frisbee in his teeth, his fur stained with patches of green. ‘Don’t go far now, boy.’
‘That’s a lot of food,’ Leigh said, approaching the fence and gripping the linked metal wires.
‘Julian said they own a lot of land. They must be entirely self-sufficient out here.’ Aiden glanced to the north, suddenly feeling a long way from his home in Stryss Forest.
‘So we climb over then?’ Leigh asked enthusiastically.
‘No, no need to trespass. If we can get away with not having to deal with the Venkarths things will go smoother.’ He glanced along the trail in both directions. ‘We’ll follow the fence until we find the entrance. Then we wait for Travis. We should be able to surprise him before he heads inside.’
‘Shame,’ Leigh said looking up at the fence. ‘Looks like fun.’
‘You should’ve been born a boy.’
‘What does that mean?’ Leigh asked in a hurt tone as they continued walking. ‘What’s wrong with being a girl?’
‘Nothing,’ Aiden said with a laugh. ‘Come on, let’s find the gate before Travis gets here.’
WHILE THERE WERE no guards outside the cast-iron gates leading into the Venkarth property, there was a camera mounted on an old telephone pole overlooking the area, leaving no way to get through without being spotted. Opposite the gate, an overgrown tangle of hedges and trees bordered the dirt trail. Aiden rubbed his chin as he glanced back in the direction they had come from, no doubt the same way Travis would approach.
‘We’ll wait behind that screen of bushes,’ he said. ‘The camera won’t spot us there and we can see what we’re up against before we commit to anything.’
As they climbed through the hedge, he caught the back of his hand on a thorn which left an angry red scratch. Finding a small hollow in the scrub, they sat and waited while he kept watch on the trail. A mound of bloody fur lay in the dirt nearby. At first Aiden thought it was a dead rodent, but the longer he stared at it, the less convinced he became that he would be able to identify it.
After half an hour or so, Leigh started to grow restless. ‘Hey, I’m bored’ she whined, thumping the grass with her palms. ‘Wanna play a game?’
‘You insisted on coming,’ Aiden said. ‘Keep quiet.’
She stuck her tongue out at him and returned to picking at the grass and throwing it at Hitch to snap out of the air with his jaws.
The dog froze, his ears perking up. Footsteps crunched along the trail as four figures came into view. Aiden recognised Travis immediately by the headband holding back his brown hair and the confident stride that only the rich can master. With him were three armed guards; one or even two would’ve been fine, but three made an ambush too dangerous. When it came to their leader, those Dawnists would probably shoot first and ask questions later. Glancing back at Leigh, Aiden decided not to risk it.
Travis sauntered up to the gate and waved at the camera. ‘Hello?’ he called out. ‘Anyone home?’
After a brief pause, the gate trundled open — a hidden electric motor driving the mechanism — and the four men headed inside.
‘What now?’ Leigh whispered.
‘Looks like I’m climbing the fence,’ Aiden said, pulling back from the hedge and slipping his pack off. ‘I’ll have to sneak in and find him alone.’
‘I can’t come?’ Leigh asked with a pained expression.
‘Too dangerous.’ He bent down and scratched the dog’s chin. ‘You two keep watch for me. Hitch will have to wait here anyway, unless you fancy spending all day digging under the fence to get him through.’
‘I never get to have any fun,’ Leigh said, slumping back down on the grass.
‘Just… keep an eye on our gear, okay? I won’t be long.’ He sighed as she turned away from him and folded her arms; she was starting to become a real pain these days. He waited a few minutes for the Dawnists to head inside before he climbed out through the thick shrubbery and back onto the trail, scratching his hand again in the process and muttering a curse. Spotting the lump of fur on the trail, he stepped towards it to satisfy his curiosity; he had been right, it was the remains of a rat.
There was the clicking of a gun being cocked behind him.
He froze.
‘T-turn yourself around, r-real slow,’ a deep, droning voice said, stuttering slightly.
Aiden turned to see two stout men stood outside the gate
with shotguns pointed in his direction, one a few hands taller and shaped like a bag of potatoes, the other stockier and sporting a splayed nose and a permanent sneer.
‘What were you doing in that hedge there?’ the one with the nose asked. ‘Spying on us, are ya?’
‘I meant no harm,’ Aiden said, raising his hands. ‘I was just sitting out of the sun for a while. I’ll be on my way if you like. There’s no need to make this a problem.’
‘What do you reckon, Terrence?’
Aiden noticed the taller man sporting a black eye as he opened his mouth to speak but stammered, his face contorting as he struggled to get words out.
Splayed-nose rolled his eyes. ‘Well, I reckon since you’re so interested in our gate then maybe you should come on inside.’
Terrence nodded. ‘Ma l-likes visitors,’ he said. ‘Maybe she’ll w-w-want to meet him.’
The other man tutted at him. ‘M-m-maybe!’ he said mockingly before shaking his head. ‘Why do I always get stuck on duty with you, eh? Brains of a bowl of porridge.’ He turned his attention back to Aiden and pointed at the pistol holstered on his belt. ‘Hand over the shooter. And that knife as well. Slow and careful now or I’ll riddle you with buckshot and leave you for the wolves.’
Aiden did as he was ordered, not risking trying to snap a shot off with his pistol.
‘Hey, this is nice,’ splayed-nose said, turning the silenced handgun over in his hands. ‘This is pre-Dawn, right? Where’d you get hold of hardware like this?’
Aiden remained silent, glowering as his favourite pistol was sullied by the man rubbing dirt-stained hands all over it.
‘Dillon, you can’t keep that,’ Terrence said, a scowl forming as his heavy eyebrows drooped down over his sunken eyes. ‘You know what Ma will say.’
