The QuaranTeens, #1

by Keith B Darrell

Maga grimaced. “What about Raiders?”

  “The other Raiders won’t trouble us none,” Robin said. “What we’ve gotta watch out fer are the patrols the closer we get to Utopia. They’ve got rifles.”

  “What are those?” Covid asked.

  “Weapons,” Destine replied. “Deadly ones, from what I’ve read. If they point one at you, move out of the way. Quickly.”

  Covid nodded. “The horses look rested. Let’s get back to the search.” The five riders remounted their horses and continued onward.

  “It’s getting dark,” Kai said. “Maybe we should try to move on.”

  Corona hesitated. “It’s a good thing we didn’t leave earlier. That patrol we spotted was almost on top of us. They’d have seen us for sure if we’d ventured out of the grove.”

  “I’m sure they’re long gone. Besides, their visibility is limited at night. Let’s get our stuff from the not-a-sports-car and start walking.”

  “Wait. I hear something.”

  Kai frowned. “I do, too. It’s getting closer.”

  Corona turned to Kai, her eyes filled with fear. “The patrol must have doubled back. They’ve found us!”

  Chapter Eleven

  There was no place to run; no time to hide. Corona reached out for Kai’s hand and clasped it within hers. Kai stepped in front of her in a futile effort to shield her from the approaching threat. They heard rustling of leaves and branches, heavy footfalls, voices, and an unfamiliar whinnying. And then, the first figure burst through the trees into the grove.

  Corona gasped. “Covid!” She raced to her brother and embraced him. “I thought I’d never see you again.” As the twins hugged, a second figure entered the clearing. Destine, following Covid, saw Kai and approached him.

  “How did you find us?” Kai asked.

  “Deductive reasoning, a map, and a heads-up on your escape.” Destine gestured to Maga as she slipped between the trees.

  Corona turned and recognized the young woman joining them. “Maga! What are you doing here?”

  “Dr. Carstairs threatened to send me to the farm for letting you escape so I ran away from Utopia.” It was an abbreviated version of the truth, for Maga conveniently left out the fact she had unintentionally enabled Corona’s escape.

  “She found us at a Raider settlement where we were staying with Archer and Robin,” Covid said, as the two Raider teens entered the clearing.

  Robin squinted at Covid and Corona, still hugging each other, giving the latter a lingering icy stare. She turned to Covid. “I thought you said you didn’t have a girlfriend.”

  “I don’t. This is my sister, Corona.”

  Robin’s facial muscles untensed and morphed into a smile. “Oh. Nice to meet you.”

  Archer stepped forward and bowed with a wave of his hand. “I’m Archer.” Kai reached out to shake his hand, which Archer quickly pulled back. “What are you doing?”

  Kai’s puzzlement was evident from his expression. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. We’re not used to meeting strangers but we learned shaking hands was the traditional greeting upon meeting in most cultures.”

  Archer frowned. “Maybe back in Granny’s day, but since the pandemic no one shakes hands. Whenever we meet Raiders from other settlements, people usually bow. We’re brought up to avoid touching each other.”

  “Unless it’s someone we know really well,” Robin added for Covid’s benefit, winking. “Although there’s probably not much risk of transmitting the virus these days. But Granny says you never know when it might come back.”

  Kai gave a sweeping bow imitating the way he had seen Archer bow. Then, he turned to Covid. “Did you see any patrols out there?”

  “No, but then we came from the southwest. Utopia’s to the north of where we are.”

  “You’d know if you had come across them,” Kai said. “They’re hard to miss.” He motioned for Covid to follow him to a patch of trees several yards away and pointed at the stolen Humvee. “They drive around in these things.”

  Corona and Destine joined them. “Boys!” Corona said with an exaggerated sigh. “Is Kai showing off his not-a-sports-car?”

  Destine looked at the vehicle. “Sports car? That’s a Jeep. No, wait. I think they called them Humvees. It was a military vehicle although some were used by civilians.” She tried to recall the book on military history she’d flipped through ages ago in the library. Then, a thought dawned on her. “Granny said she remembered the military working on a project a dozen years ago, probably building the bunker. That means they must have had a base nearby.”

  “That would explain the military vehicles,” Covid said. “The Utopians must have confiscated them after the pandemic subsided.”

  “And that explains where they got their weapons, as well,” Kai said. “We should leave now and get out of the patrols’ range while it’s dark.”

  Robin looked up at the position of the moon. “We can be back at the Outpost shortly after dawn.”

  “The farther we are from the Utopians, the better,” Kai said. “Let’s go.”

  “What about me?” Maga asked. “I can’t return to Utopia. I’d be killed.”

  “Come back to the Outpost with us,” Covid said. “Or anywhere else you wish to go.”

  “I can’t survive out here on my own; but you can’t ask me to set foot in a Raider settlement.”

  “She’s right,” Archer said. “The Utopians are our sworn enemies.”

  “Granny didn’t mind,” Robin said.

  “Who’s this Granny you keep talking about?” Corona asked.

  Covid smiled. “She’s Robin and Archer’s grandmother. You’ll like her when you meet her. We just need to decide what to do about Maga before we head back.”

  “Maga saved my life,” Corona said. “If she hadn’t left the door open for me, Kai and I would still be prisoners in Utopia… or worse.” Corona appealed to her brother. “Covid, we owe her our lives. We can’t abandon her to the Utopians.”

  Covid sighed. He was so relieved to have found Corona that he felt as if he, too, owed a debt of gratitude to Maga. The Utopian woman was chagrined, realizing Corona’s gratitude was misplaced as she had unintentionally left the door open in her panic. She looked at Covid with pleading eyes while realizing she was undeserving of his compassion. “If Granny and the Raiders won’t have her, Maga can come back to the bunker with us,” Covid said.

  “What about Varian?” Kai asked. “Now that he’s in charge, I’m sure he’ll have something to say about it.”

  “Varian will likely attempt to keep all of us from re-entering the bunker,” Destine said. “But perhaps we should postpone strategizing how to deal with Varian until we’re safely back at the Outpost, far from roving Utopian patrols.”

  The others nodded. Kai glanced back at the Humvee. “So long, buddy.”

  “Is it out of power?” Covid asked.

  Kai nodded. “We could recharge its battery with the bunker’s generators if we could get it there.”

  “That might prove useful,” Covid said. “We’ll have to pass this way again when we leave the Outpost to return to the bunker. Maybe we can bring extra horses to tow it.”

  “That would be awesome,” Kai said.

  “Corona, hop onto the back of my horse,” Covid said. “Kai can ride with Destine.”

  Corona looked at the horses, examining the strange creatures in awe. Like her brother and Destine, Corona and Kai had never seen a live horse before, and Corona found its size and stature intimidating. “I don’t mind walking.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Covid said. “You could never keep up with us. Climb on.” He reached down to pull her up. Kai climbed behind Destine, carrying Corona’s sack. The horses took off into the night.

  Earlier that day:

  Proctor grumbled, annoyed he had to wait in the hot sun for his men to swap out the batteries in the two Humvees. At least they had reached the perimeter and were now more than halfway to the Outpost. He kept his eyes peeled for
roving bands of Raiders. As distasteful as this mission was, he was buoyed on by the prospect of returning to Utopia with the boy who would be the guarantor of his people’s future. He didn’t see any moral dilemma. As far as he was concerned, Kai was merely a means to an end. Tools like Kai were to be used, not afforded free will. Proctor had learned, or at least come to believe, there were two classes of people in the world: the inconsequential, who were born to serve; and the consequential, who were born to be served. The lives of the consequential – their needs and desires – were paramount, while those of the inconsequential were simply irrelevant. There were those whose lives had value, like the more deserving Utopians; and those with none, like the Raiders, save for their worth as food for their betters. It was a world view he had chosen to accept, much to the despair of his mother and sister. Like many women, they were weak and sentimental, Proctor thought. That weakness kept them from ascending to Utopia in the days before the dome was built, even before the pandemic. It had been a different world then, but there were still men and women who set themselves apart, both physically and societally, because they, like Proctor, knew themselves to be better than the others around them. Social distancing was not merely to keep the virus at bay but the undesirables as well.

  Proctor looked up, not knowing how long he had been lost in his thoughts. They had arrived. He gazed back at his entourage. There were four men in the second Humvee; he had reserved the backseat of his own Humvee for the captives. Proctor addressed his driver. “Have the men go door to door and round up everyone in the trailers. Shoot any who resist but don’t harm the boy.” The driver nodded and went off to convey the instructions. Moments later, the men descended on the aluminum trailers like a plague of locusts on African crops, this human plague poised to be as deadly as its viral predecessor.

  The elderly Raiders were haled into the open at gunpoint, surprised by the Utopian incursion into their settlement. Granny peered at the man in charge and, on recognizing him, stepped forward. “Proctor! You swore you’d never set foot here again.”

  “Believe me, I had no intention of ever returning to this plebian squalor.” He glanced around the dilapidated trailer park. “I’d ask how you’ve been, but nothing ever changes, does it Mother?”

  “Why are you here?”

  “I’m searching for a pair of teenagers. I believe they may have been heading in this direction. They likely would have sought shelter here.”

  One of Proctor’s men stepped out of a trailer. “No sign of them in any of the trailers, sir.”

  Granny stared at Proctor. “You ain’t asked about your sister.”

  “I ceased to be interested in her activities after she married that progressive do-gooder nearly two decades ago. Why would I inquire about her now?”

  “She’s dead. Both of ‘em. The plague in ’29.”

  “Oh. Unfortunate. Now, getting back to the reason I’m here, it’s imperative I locate the boy.”

  Granny arched an eyebrow. “Only the boy? Why not the girl, too?”

  Proctor’s eyes widened. “So, they have been here. I never mentioned one of them was a girl.”

  “What do you want with him, Proctor?”

  “Somehow he hasn’t been exposed to the pathogens that have decreased most males’ sperm counts. He’s incredibly virile and through him we could repopulate Utopia with the seeds of its next generation.”

  Granny frowned. “You wanna breed Kai like he was cattle? That’s a new low, even fer you.”

  Proctor sighed impatiently. “I knew you wouldn’t understand. Not that it matters. Just tell me where to find him.”

  “They was here all right. But they left. Gone back to be with their own kind.”

  Proctor’s jaw dropped. “Then, there are others! How many exist?”

  Granny grinned. “Dozens of teenagers just like Kai and Corona.” She chuckled. “You’re practically salivating, boy. You must want ‘em real bad.”

  “Of course I do! Why, by combining our superior DNA with their harvested eggs and sperm we could breed a society that grows and survives for a thousand years.”

  “Same twisted thinking you was attracted to growing up. You ain’t changed a bit, Proctor. You think you’re the first to want to use eugenics to create a master race that’ll last fer some thousand-year reich?”

  Proctor shook her. “Where are they? Tell me.”

  “Same place as the last guy to try that had his dreams end: In a hidden bunker.”

  “Of course. That explains why they were close enough to make their way to Utopia, yet we never knew of their existence. Do you know its location?”

  Granny grinned again. “I know precisely where it is.”

  “Then, tell me and I’ll mount a force to capture all of them.”

  Granny laughed. “Never. I ain’t never gonna tell you that. You’re pure evil, boy. When I was pregnant with you, I carried a cancer in my womb fer nine months and gave birth to a malignancy. You decided your own family weren’t good enough fer you. You traded us fer your friends in the city who had lots of money but were short on scruples and morals.”

  “And decades later, I live in an ostentatious mansion while you scrape by in a hovel.”

  “I’ve lived a good life building a community, helping others. You’ve always been a parasite, sucking the lifeblood from others, just like you wanna do with Kai and his friends. Well, I won’t let you. I’ll never tell you what you want to know.”

  Enraged, Proctor wrapped his hands around Granny’s neck and choked her. “Tell me. Tell me, you old crone! Where is the bunker?”

  “Never.” Granny coughed and gasped for air. She reached out to push Proctor’s hands away and her flailing hand grabbed onto the medal around his neck.

  “Where is it? Where’s the damn bunker?” He squeezed harder and Granny yanked the medal from his throat before turning limp. Proctor loosened his grasp and she collapsed to the ground. He looked up into the faces of the aged witnesses to his crime and saw the condemnation in their eyes. Proctor turned to his men. “Kill them.” They opened fire on the Raiders, who crumpled to the ground in the ensuing hail of bullets. He signaled to return to the Humvees. Proctor cursed his temper, realizing he would never learn the location of the hidden bunker filled with the virile teenagers he needed. He cursed Granny, realizing the old woman had bested him one last time.

  Chapter Twelve

  Fiona sang as she tended the hydroponic garden with Coralie. “Of thee I sing, O tyrant king, the boy who sought to soar…”

  “What’s that you’re singing?” Coralie asked.

  “Lucian’s latest song. It’s quite catchy.”

  “I suppose if we’re doing extra chores under Varian’s new schedule, then we ought to have fun doing them. How does it go?”

  Fiona sang the song for Coralie. “Nessa’s been singing it all the time. It’s really lifted her spirits. She’s made herself Lucian’s unofficial assistant and he’s teaching her how to write songs. She tells me she wants to grow up to write songs like him.”

  “That’s funny, considering they’re the same age.”

  “Nessa’s always been a bit immature for her age. But I find that endearing; I almost don’t want her to grow up.”

  “That’s your mothering instinct talking. Have you ever thought about choosing one of the guys and having your own child?”

  Fiona laughed, “Don’t be silly.”

  Coralie frowned. “Why is it silly?”

  “I’ve spent my whole life with everyone in this bunker. We know each other too well to become intimate with one another.”

  “Oh, I don’t think so. We’ve only seen the sides others have chosen to share with us. People can surprise you, revealing aspects of themselves you never imagined.”

  Fiona gave Coralie a quizzical look. “That doesn’t sound like something you pulled out of a book; it sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

  Coralie blushed.

  Fiona’s eyes widened. “I’m right! Y
ou’re in a relationship, aren’t you?”

  “Sort of. Early days; we’ll see where it goes.”

  “Coralie, that’s fantastic. I always thought of you as a loner. I guess you were right about people having hidden sides. So, tell me about this special someone.”

  Coralie smiled. “It’s someone who makes me feel safe… someone who makes me feel special. We speak honestly, openly. When we’re together, I feel like I can open up, and when we talk I know I’ll hear the truth, not what someone thinks I want to hear.”

  “Protection, honesty, openness, communication… it sound like you lucked out. Who is he?”

  Coralie glanced down. “It’s not exactly a he.”

  Fiona’s eyes widened again.

  Coralie looked up at her. “It’s Dax.”

  “Dax?” Fiona frowned. “But she’s always so arrogant and aggressive –”

  “Not really. Not once you get to know her. In fact, spending time with someone has improved my outlook and made me more cheerful. I’ll even sing with you while we work: “Of thee I sing, O tyrant king, the boy who sought to soar…”

  Varian and Esme passed a couple of teens humming Lucian’s song as they walked through the bunker. “What is that annoying tune?” Varian asked Esme. “I’ve been hearing people humming it all day.”

  Esme shrugged. “I don’t know. You could ask Blaine – he’s supposed to be keeping his ears open to what goes on, isn’t he?”

  Varian nodded. “Find him and tell him I want to see him.” He saw Keiana heading to the library. “I need to have a word with Keiana right now.” Esme gave him a peck on the cheek and went off to look for Blaine. Varian entered the library. “I’d have thought you’d have read every book in here by now.”

  Keiana looked up. “I have. But I enjoy reading, so…” She selected a book from the shelf.

  “I need to speak to you.”

  Keiana smiled. “This should be good. What could we possibly have to talk about?”

  “Security. Aside from Destine, you’re the most learned person in the bunker. In order to brainstorm with someone, I first need to find someone with a brain.”