by Amanda Rose
Everyone looked about. “Oh shit!” Mei was the first to spot pursuers. “So that’s why they couldn’t wait to get us out of Atani,” Mack said cocking his rifle. “Maybe they just want to talk…” Jenko was soon cut off as shots fired by their followers blew past them. They ducked for cover and Mack took aim. Jenko pulled out his scimitar as he ran off to the side, out of the line of fire. Kato pulled out his handgun and fired off a few rounds at the oncoming C.D.F.P. military party of five, and one of them fell holding his leg.
Hiding behind large rocks and boulders they occasionally shot off a few rounds in hopes of injuring their enemies. Kairu closed his eyes and heightened his sense of hearing to the best of his capability. As soon as one of the C.D.F.P. came around the side of the boulder Kairu bounced to life, with a spiralling counter-clockwise kick he knocked the rifle from the man’s hands disarming and stunning him. Whack, thud, right hook, high kick, leg sweep Kairu knocked about the soldier until he fell unconscious.
The booming voice of the C.D.F.P. commander rang in the air and startled them, “Don’t stop until they’re in our custody or in body bags!” as he shot off machine gun rounds at them. Dust and pieces of stone flung about from their protective walls. With no other choice but to fight to the death each one knew what they must do. Jenko took one quick peek to see where each soldier stood, then with incredible speed he darted from behind the rock and attacked the closest guard. His blade gleamed with red velvet drops in the sunlight.
Mack whipped around and took the man to the right of the commander into view, and with the pulse of the trigger a gaping hole was seemingly all that remained of the man’s left shoulder. Pooling blood slowly drained from his limp body. Just as Mack was about to take out their commander he felt a sting followed by a numbness come over his left thigh. Ducking back down he looked down to see three small gunshot wounds; the bullets had gone straight through him. Pulling off his shirt beneath his coat he tied it tightly around his thigh to lessen the bleeding. Mei snuck behind a veil of dust over to Mack and gave him some fresh water to pour over his leg.
With sniper like reflexes Kato shot out both of the commander’s knees, sending him crumping to the ground, immobilizing him. The last standing able-bodied guard was still coming on strong. “Throw down your weapon, or we’ll have to kill you!” Jenko said brandishing his sword high. The guard did not heed his warning, and took running toward Mei who’d just stepped aback from the rock, thinking it was over. “Mei!” Kato yelled. He jumped to push her out of the way, grabbing her they both hit the ground hard. As the guard took aim once again at the terrorists, Mei and Kato held one another tightly knowing they couldn’t escape. Jenko ran up behind him, raising his sword high, but before Jenko could get to him the guard fell dead with the sound of one resounding bullet. They all looked over to see Vince standing there, pistol drawn. Vince looked to Kato, and Kato nodded at him with thanks and Vince nodded back.
Mack held out his hand to help Mei and Kato to their feet. “You all right?” Mack asked. “Yeah boss,” Kato said, nodding. “Thanks Mack. I apologize for my carelessness,” Mei bowed her head. “Just take a little more caution next time,” He patted her on the back. He walked out to the fallen leader. Kicking his weapon out of his reach, Mack was angry at the attack on their lives and ready to interrogate.
Knocking off the commander’s helmet he began questioning the man, “Whose orders were you following to come after me and my men?” Mack’s eyes flared with a storming rage. Disrespectfully the commander spit in Mack’s face. Mack, in no mood for games, pointed his gun an inch west of the man’s head and shot. The commander screamed, the sound deafened him instantly. “Next time you’re losing more then your hearing!” Mack shouted, taking aim right between the man’s eyes.
Reality hit home quickly; The C.D.F.P. leader lost childish pride quickly. Pellets of sweat edged around the man’s eyes as fear gripped him. He focused intensely on the barrel shoved in his brutish face, “All right! Ok, I’ll talk!” he yelled. Mei rolled her eyes, turning to Kato with a grin, “Till they’re in our custody or body bags,” she mocked.
“So, who gave you your orders?” Mack demanded. “It was General Yoshida… The order was issued to all surrounding Torusan military bases… with your picture, that’s how we knew it was you! I swear!” he said squirming backward like a worm. Mack began ranting for a minute, and everyone kept quiet. Finally, Mack pulled himself back around to questioning, “What if you had caught us?”
“We were to report to the General, then he’d come to collect you… That’s all I know! Don’t kill me!” he pleaded. Mack was too infuriated to continue asking this snivelling weasel any more questions. Taking the butt of his rifle, he knocked the general out cold. “Let’s go,” Mack coldly said throwing his rifle over his back and marching off with a bit of a limp.
No one dared to question anything. Jenko was the first to say anything to him, some time later, “General Yoshida… I thought he was under the impression that you’d been murdered?” he said, wiping the perspiration from his brow onto his sleeve. “So did I,” Mack replied grimly. “This isn’t good news. He knows it was you back at grid eleven then I assume.” Jenko said. “He always knew my strategies… after all, he was my master,” from the second Mack’s words passed his lips everyone was at attention.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Vince ran in front of Mack. “Hold it a second, what are you talking about?” Mei intruded as well, “Yeah boss, spill!” Mack stopped walking, looked around at his companions searching eyes, then sighed and took a seat on a rock. “Guess you guys ain’t lettin’ us go no further till I tell ya. Well sit down,” he said, lighting a cigar to try and relieve some of his built-up anger. With one relaxing exhale he felt a little better. Everyone sat around him anxiously awaiting an explanation.
“I used to work at the top level of the C.D.F.P. military. I was recruited at nineteen, since I had nothing better to do. They gave promises of wonderful things, like a house in grid one, flexible hours, free energy and early retirement. They neglected to mention that was if you happened to do well, or live to see it…” he blew out some smoke and sighed. “Well I was young, like the other men. The dream drove me to be an achiever. I spent a few months in combat training, they showed us how to manoeuvre, and use the provided military guns.”
“Following that I was sent out as a soldier into the fields. I was proud in my uniform. Little did I know I was just ‘disposable’ to them, just like those flunkies back there.” He said, pointing over his shoulder. “Hmmp, well after five years of field work and public safety maintenance I moved up in rank. I got to command my own squad in the fields and my pay got better. I was in grid two, which wasn’t too shabby compared to the shit hole I’d been livin’ in before.”
“Two years later I got lucky. My crew took out a bandit group who’d been pirating energy from the C.D.F.P. At that point I was given another leg up, but they had to make me wait for the promotion though. They said that the man who was going to be 'training' me was away on a special covert mission. I was taken out of fieldwork and issued as an assistant … no, more like a bodyguard. I was naive and had no idea that no one outside of the company knew about the science labs. I believed them to be legit. At that time, they were creating a new energy form, the new ‘earth killer’ that they use now. ‘Cheaper than coal’ phht, bastards… at the time I would’ve never guessed it would be like a plague. I was curious, I wanted to help.”
“They finally assigned me to General Yoshida. I was to be his apprentice. He taught me the only useful stuff I actually got to take away from all those wasted years helping the Company. I followed his every move. I was mesmerised by his superficial life. He had the house, and all that other crap that I’d originally been promised. On top a’ that he was an amazing soldier to boot, I looked up to him. On the field I mimicked his every move,” Mack took a moment to reflect. “I was integrated slowly into ancient techniques. I was slowly molded into a secret agent. I did all the backdoor miss
ions that Yoshida had previous done alone.”
Everyone absorbed all of this quite well. They’d never known about Mack’s history with the company, “What happened?” the usually quiet Kairu blurted out as the words came to his mind, he was mesmerised by the tale. Mack looked up with eyes that reached back in depths of recollection. “One day… There was no work to be done outside. I was asked to do some disposal work for one of the labs in the C.D.F.P. headquarters building. It was the same lab I’d worked in before. Some figures caught my eyes before I shredded the documents…” Mack went quiet. A shaking hand lifted his cigar to his lips.
Jenko had heard this story before, he stood up and walked a few steps away keeping his back to the crowd. “What were they?” Vince finally broke the silent tension. “They were… estimates for how long they could subject the planet to… to severe levels of carbon dioxide emissions before anywhere outside the domes would no longer provide any oxygen or protection from the UV rays, until the natural planet was unsustainable for life…” Mack could barely speak. Jenko’s voice came in assistance, “Basically an estimate of human extinction. As I remember the story they were disposed of because they didn’t want the public to find out, and the leaders didn’t believe it, or didn’t care. The scientist who calculated the dates, ‘mysteriously died’ in a chemical fire.”
Mack’s voice, a bitter rage, took up again with strength, “I confronted Yoshida with the documents. I told him we should go to the company council heads and present this to them. He was expecting a promotion from the secret services division to the highest-ranking military official, ‘General’. His predecessor was retiring shortly, so he told me to get rid of the documents. He said, ‘Hey as long as we live our lives out before things implode who cares?’”
“After that I faked my own death on a mission that came up. I took it, alone. Everyone bought the cover… everyone but Yoshida. He knows me through and through. Caught by bandits and burned to death wasn’t good enough for him. He knew I couldn’t be taken out so easy.”
“Ever since then I’ve been tryin’ to stop the company and, well, here we are now,” he concluded. Jaws dropped and everyone stared dumbfounded. “Well…” Mei blinked several times to snap herself out of trance, “You sure are one for secrets Mack,” she said and gave a nervous laugh. “So… is he gonna be coming our way?” Kato asked as he rose to his feet. “Only if he has no other prior engagements. Everyone else thinks I’m dead. Since that time, everyone thinks he’s just been in denial about me since we were tight… on top o’ that, I bet it’ll take Cap n’ over there a while to drag himself back to Atani,” Mack laughed as he stood.
Everyone got up and grabbed their stuff. “Ready?” Mack asked before turning around to walk beside Jenko as he led the way. “Asses in gear people and we’ll get to Quan before sundown… Mmm I can taste that curried rice and fresh smoked salmon already,” Jenko dreamily licked his lips, murmuring as he trotted off.
Sometimes a lie is just an unspoken truth.
Chapter 6: Quan
Quan was like a place taken from a dream, it seemed to be a mirage compared to the wasteland that they’d just drudged past. As they entered the dome, there was a burst of life everywhere. Many amphibious creatures flourished here; frogs, toads, fish and snakes seemed to be everywhere they turned. Trees with long embedded vines wove around each other, bodies of fresh water were everywhere; it was a paradise. Not but at the ocean would anyone expect to see so much blue before them.
Some homes were perched above the ponds, posts of wooden shoots held the houses above the water. They were made of sturdy lightweight beige woods of various types from around the marsh. The homes on land were mostly made of thick cloths draped in the ancient Quan fashion around tall-outstretched harvested tree trunks. The fabrics were colored with natural dyes made by the women of the Quan tribe from the wildflowers the flourished there.
Aromas infiltrated their nasal cavities with enriching scents, Mei thought the town smelled like a spring day just after a heavy rainfall. All Jenko could smell was the fish. A sense of happy lives being lived was ever present in Quan, and they were politely greeted by all as they entered the small village. Women worked heartily preparing food as the men were finishing their hard days labour. The children played, their content and glee sounded throughout the dusk as they ran chasing butterflies and dragonflies.
Kairu held out his hand and a ladybug landed upon his index finger. He’d never seen one before, but felt a kind gentle radiating energy ebb into his system, and a tame smile stretched across his face. Closing his eyes Jenko breathed deeply, then he quickly urged the other to follow him, “C’mon everyone, grub’s this-a-way!” he shook his hand towards a large hut with an opened flap near the top of the stream, and some smoke arose out of it from the cooking below.
As they crossed a small simple bridge from one plateau of land to another, the hideous generator behind the Gargantuan creek brush poked it’s ugly head out. It stood out in this haven like a blemish upon fair skinned beauties; it just did not belong. Every head turned to look at it. The harsh metal contrasted to the naturalistic feel of the entire community. Jenko brought them to an abrupt halt, “I forgot. It’s Quan tradition to request the elder’s permission to stay within the town.”
“Uh,” Kairu started, “Don’t you mean their ‘chief’?” and cocked his head to the side. “No. In Quan the elder is the ‘All Seeing Eye’. In their traditions he is the seer of souls. He also can tell the future, or so they say. He helps decides what is best for the tribe, as well as the world at large when it comes to decisions,” Jenko explained. “So, come on then, show us the way, ‘cause I’m-a-get ‘n hungry!” Mack insisted, in a laid back rather playful manner. Kato nodded feeling his stomach grumbling. “Alright then,” Jenko said, “Ok, this way ladies and gents’.”
They approached the most brightly colored hut in the village, it was hues of bright reds and burnt oranges, and it belonged to the chief. As well it was the grandest of them all in size. A smaller hut, mostly blue with a gentle hint of lavender, was situated beside the chief’s home. In front of the blue hut was a staff sticking out of the ground, with decorative feathers and bulbous foreign onyx stones tied to it with the local vines. “There’s the elder’s home,” Jenko said.
Walking up, Mack held his hand to the others for them to wait. He saw a tiny chime hanging from the top of the thick curtain door, he hit it and it jingled. A few seconds later a muffled voice from within welcomed Mack in. Looking onward the others waited as they watched Mack disappear within the hut. Vince finally found himself a nice spot of ground to sit down on, but as soon as he’ gotten comfortable they were all called inside.
Entering the tent, the strong scent of burnt herbs and incense overcame them. There was a pit dug in the centre of the hut were logs for a fire lay, scorched from prior use, and a large black pot hung above it. Tiny clay pots filled with charcoal based incense lay scattered about; tiny charms and crystals were hanging all around, pinned to the cloth walls and ceiling. A small cot was to the right of the entrance and at the back of the tent the elder sat. His skin was a beautiful tanned color, he had rosy cheeks, a bald head, and a long grey beard with the odd black strand here and there. He wore a woven robe made of the same materials they’d harvested to make their tents and other material type objects in Quan. It was dyed a deep indigo blue, and had a white ring around the bottom. He sat upon a large pillow cushion that matched the robe.
The elder sat there, his small eyes meticulously looking over everyone; he was a man who talked little and listened much. Everyone respectfully bowed, and he kindly acknowledged with the tilt of his head. “Please sit,” he finally said. His voice was soft and gentle, yet he still came across with power. There was a silence until Mack finally began to explain the travelling entourage. “We have come from the south. We desire to stay here for a brief period, to recuperate an restock on provisions,” he said, not knowing exactly what he should divulge to the old man. The man liste
ned, and only replied, “Why travelling?”
Mack felt stumped and trapped, and took a moment to take stock of the situation. Is this town for or against the Company? If I lie he’ll probably know. He thought. Having to say something, “We desire to learn from groups of all kinds around the continent,” he told the man. The man was no fool and saw that there must be more then Mack was saying.
Nervous chatter bounded back and forth, it was clear to the old man that they weren’t prepared to tell him everything. After all his questions he had one final request before giving his decision. “Let me see your eyes,” he said to Mack. Mack nodded, neared the man and dropped to his knees. The old man opened his droopy eyelids and peered into Mack’s eyes; Mack felt naked completely exposed. After an uncomfortable minute for Mack, the man’s old skin yet again sagged down over his eyes. “You may stay,” he said, and just like that they were in. After bowing respectfully, they took their leave.
A quick hike took them over to the large food tent near the center of the village. Gentle spices and sauces lavished over the various fish dishes that so abundantly blessed the village. As they walked past those dinning, an overall satisfaction on their faces, they couldn’t wait to taste the culinary delights. They were seated on embroidered pillows around a table only ten inches off of the ground with a lacy red clothe over it. They were served camomile tea and fresh water, followed by many platters of food; curried and saffron rice, boiled aquatic vegetables, fried as well as smoked salmon, broiled carp, simmered cod, as well as several other rarities.
