The QuaranTeens, #1

by Keith B Darrell

  Maga looked up. “I know who it was.”

  “How could you possibly? You were with us when it happened.”

  Maga reached into her pocket and took out the St. Sebastian medal. “I found this on the ground beside the old woman. I know who it belongs to. I’ve seen it around his neck every day since I first arrived in Utopia.”

  Corona perused the medal. “It looks familiar. I’ve seen it before.”

  “It belongs to Proctor.”

  “Yes, now I recognize it. But that means… Proctor was at the Outpost!”

  “They must have fought. He must not have realized he lost it. Perhaps she ripped it off his neck during a struggle.”

  “I don’t understand,” Corona said. “Your people and the Raiders have been enemies for a long time. Why would Proctor attack them now? Archer and Robin said nothing was taken, and of all the Raider outposts one composed of mostly ancient people could hardly be a threat to them.”

  “I don’t know but Proctor never does anything without a reason. He also seldom leads an attack. He usually sends Donjay; he’s too cowardly to risk his own life.”

  “Donjay?”

  “My little brother. Proctor treats him like a son.”

  “We have to show this medal to Archer and Robin when they return.”

  “They’ll hate me even more when they learn it was the Utopians who slaughtered their outpost.”

  Corona shook her head. “No, they’ll thank you for giving them closure. In the meantime, we should show this to Covid.” She called out, “Covid! Has anyone seen Covid?”

  “He said he was going to speak to Keiana when I saw him earlier inside the bunker,” Corbin said.

  “Thanks, Corbin.” Corona grabbed Maga’s hand and led her into the bunker. “Come on, let’s find him.”

  “Hey, Corbin!” Tristan shouted. “Give me a hand with this irrigation piping.”

  Corbin walked several yards away from the base camp to join Tristan. “What are you doing?”

  “Setting up irrigation for the garden. We can’t rely on rain for the crops. Grab one of these pipes we made and follow me.”

  Corbin reluctantly lifted the pipe. “How far are we going?”

  “About a quarter mile to the lake we discovered. We’re going to lay out these pipes and connect them from the lake to the garden. Archer has a pump back at the Outpost he’s going to retrieve later. In a few months we’ll have grown more food than you can imagine.”

  “Do you know how long it’ll take to carry enough pipes one at a time?” Corbin asked, hefting the pipe along the path.

  “That’s why we’re taking them to the lake: the more we bring there, the shorter the return trips with each succeeding pipe.”

  Corbin spotted the lake ahead. “Still, there must be an easier way. Can’t these things be loaded into Kai’s not-a-sports-car?”

  “Kai’s using it to make runs back and forth to the store. Besides, what else were you planning to do? It’s a beautiful day outside. The weather’s perfect and it beats another day inside the bunk—” Tristan had the breath knocked out of him as two Utopian men tackled him and cuffed his hands behind his back. Three other Utopians pounced on Corbin and did the same to him, gagging both boys. The men dragged them to their feet.

  Donjay unholstered his pistol and aimed it at Corbin’s temple. “Proctor wants all of you alive but I only need one of you. I’ll shoot the first one who tries to escape. Understand?”

  Corbin nodded vigorously; Tristan nodded as well.

  “Good,” Donjay said. “We have a long walk back to our Humvees.” He smiled. Proctor will be pleased to have a replacement for the boy who escaped, he thought. And we’ll have one boy left to barter for Maga’s release.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  With most of the teenagers setting up the base camp outside on the surface, Varian hardly needed to close the library door to ensure privacy, yet he had anyway. Destine and Keiana’s eyes widened as they perused the diary Varian had shown them. “You’re the two smartest people in the bunker,” he said. “What do you make of it?”

  “It’s incredible!” Keiana said.

  “Not really,” Destine said. “It makes sense the military would include a cache of weapons when they designed it so the bunker wouldn’t be defenseless against any hostile survivors. It also makes sense the adults never told us about it while we were growing up because there was no reason to expose children in a presumably safe environment to dangerous weapons.”

  “I was referring to the defense grid and the automatic lockdown mechanism,” Keiana said. “It must be controlled by a computer somehow tied in to the generators. Since we’ve never seen any computers anywhere in the bunker outside of references in books in the library, I had always assumed there were no functioning computers left.”

  “Can you two read up on computers so you can figure out how to operate the lockdown mechanism and the defense grid, assuming we can locate this computer?” Varian asked.

  “Of course,” Keiana said.

  “Meanwhile, I’ll search for the computer,” Varian said.

  “You can’t search the entire bunker by yourself,” Destine said. “Get Dax and Ian to help you. I’ll talk to Covid. He and Corona can look for the weapons cache. Kai can help when he returns.”

  “Don’t tell anyone other than those six,” Keiana said. “They’re the most responsible individuals. The last thing we want is some immature kid stumbling onto them and tampering with the computer or the weapons as if they were toys.”

  “All right, you two hit the computer books,” Varian said. “I’ll find Covid and send him here, and then recruit Dax and Ian.” Varian left the library, as Keiana and Destine scanned the shelves for computer how-to books.

  Proctor looked up as Dr. Carstairs entered his office. “How are the preparations coming?”

  “If you’re seriously anticipating more than a dozen teenagers arriving from the hidden bunker then I suggest you increase the guards and keep any new arrivals chained so they don’t escape the way Kai and Corona did.”

  Proctor nodded. “There’s no longer any advantage to subtlety. Kai and Corona have undoubtedly shared their experiences in Utopia with their companions. Any that we capture will seek to escape immediately. We may even retrieve Kai and Corona if they’re the ones in the stolen Humvee we’re tracking. Our men should have intercepted them by now.”

  Dr. Carstairs grimaced, raising her hand to her throat. “If so, I’ll personally deal with the girl and make her suffer for what she did to me.”

  Donjay stepped through the door. “Excuse me, Proctor.”

  “Ah, Donjay. You’re back. What news do you bring from your surveillance excursion? Was it the bunker or merely a stray generator?”

  Donjay smiled. “We found the hidden bunker and the kids are still there. They’re even building some structures on the ground above the bunker. Other than a watchtower, I saw no visible defenses.”

  “Excellent news. How many inhabitants are there?”

  “Hard to say. About three dozen outside, maybe more inside the bunker. They didn’t see us but I was able to capture two males that strayed from their camp.”

  Proctor was ecstatic. He threw his arms around Donjay. “My boy, I could not be prouder of you if you were my own flesh and blood. You see, Dr. Carstairs? This is the future of Utopia.”

  “Proctor, there’s something else,” Donjay began. “Maga—”

  “Ah, yes,” Proctor cut him off. “About Maga. I’m afraid I have some bad news for you. While you were away, Maga left the dome on an errand for Dr. Carstairs. She was hardly a few yards from the dome when she was set upon by a stray pack of ferocious wolves. It happened so fast there was nothing anyone could do.”

  “Wolves?” Donjay said. “It must have been someone else; it can’t have been Maga.”

  Proctor placed his hand on Donjay’s shoulder. “I know how difficult it must be to hear this and accept your sister’s death, but there’s no question of
her demise. Dr. Carstairs observed the whole tragedy and I positively identified the remains beyond any doubt. I won’t describe the gruesome details but I assure you it was Maga.”

  He’s lying, Donjay thought. I just left Maga at the bunker. But why does he want me to believe Maga’s dead? “That’s… shocking to hear.”

  “I must say, you’re taking this better than I had expected. I’m enormously proud of you today, son. Send in your prisoners and then return to your duties. See Dr. Carstairs if you feel the need for any antidepressants to help cope with this unpleasant news.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” Donjay left the room, gesturing for his men waiting in the hall to escort Tristan and Corbin into Proctor’s office.

  “You see, Dr. Carstairs? I’ve raised a fine specimen of Utopian manhood.”

  Dr. Carstairs frowned. “Perhaps, although I would have expected a more emotional reaction.” She shrugged. “The boy may still be in shock.”

  “Go prepare your laboratory, Doctor. Thanks to Donjay, you’ll have new subjects sooner than anticipated.” Dr. Carstairs nodded and left. Corbin and Tristan were ushered into Proctor’s office. The guards stepped back, leaving the two bound boys standing side by side as Proctor circled them, perusing them from head to toe. “You’re younger than Kai. How old are you?”

  “Fourteen,” Tristan said. “You’d better let us go or our friends will come looking for us.”

  “Really?” Proctor chuckled. “That would be most convenient. It would save me the trouble of having to collect them. But either way, they’ll all soon be joining you. Fourteen, you say? Not yet at your prime but that means you’ll be consistent producers for years to come.” He turned to one of the guards. “Take them to the laboratory. Tell Dr. Carstairs I want a full medical report on each of them before we begin the extraction process.” The guards approached the boys.

  “Wait!” Corbin exclaimed. “I have something you want.”

  Proctor took a step closer to Corbin. “And what might that be?”

  Corbin glanced at the guards before returning his gaze to Proctor. “Do you really want your gossiping men overhearing your private conversations?”

  Proctor grinned. “Is this a plan to be alone with me so you can overpower me and escape?”

  Corbin smirked. “I thought you were more intelligent than that.”

  Proctor slapped his face, sending Corbin hurtling to the floor.

  “Are you afraid to be alone with a fifteen-year-old boy? Do you think I can overpower you with my wrists handcuffed behind my back? I can’t even open a door, let alone get past the guards, escape a domed city, or return home on foot.”

  Proctor watched the boy struggle to his feet. “You intrigue me.” He turned to the guards. “Leave us. Take the other one to the laboratory. And close the door behind you.” Proctor waited until the door was shut. “You’ve piqued my curiosity. But I warn you: choose your next words carefully. Waste my time and I shall introduce you to tortures even your nightmares have yet to conceive of.”

  “Your bootlicker said you want all of us captured unharmed. We must be quite valuable to you – but only if you can capture everyone in the bunker alive. I know them: they’ll defend it with their lives. If you attack, not only will some of your men be lost but at least half of those in the bunker will be killed.”

  Proctor rubbed his chin. “Regrettable, but I’ll still capture a dozen or two. Not ideal, but acceptable.”

  “How would you like all forty-eight, unharmed, with no losses on your side?”

  “You continue to intrigue me, boy. Go on.”

  “I want to cut a deal.”

  “For your freedom and that of your friend, I assume?”

  Corbin shrugged. “I doubt he would agree to the terms, just as I doubt you’d release both your prisoners. You hold him to make sure I keep my end of the bargain.”

  “Which is?”

  “The bunker was built by the military. It’s a massive underground structure with a six-inch titanium hatch. The military didn’t plan to leave fifty kids defenseless: there’s an automatic lockdown mechanism and a defense grid.”

  Proctor arched his eyebrows. “A defense grid? Tell me about it.”

  “There’s a book containing the notes and documentation. I only flipped through it – something to do with satellites and targeting. Too complex for a fifteen-year-old like me to grasp.”

  “I’m beginning to think you’re a fifteen-year-old whom it would be a mistake to underestimate.”

  “The book contains the codes to engage and disengage the system. With those codes, you could shut down their defenses, walk right in and capture them all.”

  “Does the book also contain the passwords to enable us to hack into the bunker’s computer?”

  “Since it’s the only record of the bunker’s defense system, I’d assume it contains everything you would need to know. Of course, the only way to find out is to read the book. Would you like me to get it for you?”

  Proctor grinned. “An interesting proposition, And what do you get out of the deal?”

  “One of your vehicles, fully charged and packed with supplies and weapons. If I have to flee my home, then I want everything I’ll need to survive on my own.”

  “You’d sacrifice your companions so cavalierly?”

  “I’m keeping half of them from being slaughtered in a battle with your forces that they can’t win. I’m doing them a favor, although I doubt they’d see it that way.”

  “You needn’t flee and wander the earth like a Nomad. I like your style. You may reside in Utopia with all the privileges of citizenship.”

  “That would be a honor, coming as it does from a man with whom I feel I share similar traits… Which is why I can’t accept your considerate offer. We’re too much alike: I don’t trust you. I’ll settle for the vehicle and supplies.”

  Proctor laughed. “By that reasoning, I shouldn’t trust you, either.”

  “Except you have nothing to lose. You’ll still have one boy and a chance to capture everyone. If I betray you and remain at the bunker, you’ll attack and I’ll either be killed or recaptured. I have no incentive not to carry out my end of the deal, while you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Which will it be?”

  “Very well.” Proctor summoned Donjay, who entered momentarily. “Donjay will equip you with a stocked Humvee and drive you to the perimeter. From there, return to the bunker and acquire the codebook. Rejoin Donjay at the perimeter and you may exchange the book for the vehicle. Donjay will have to walk back to Utopia until one of our patrols spots him and picks him up.”

  Corbin smiled. “Then, we have a deal?”

  Proctor nodded and directed Donjay to unlock Corbin’s handcuffs. Corbin rubbed his sore wrists. He hesitated, then asked, “What will happen to Tristan?”

  “Tristan?”

  “The other boy.”

  “Oh.” Proctor said. “Does it matter?”

  Corbin looked down. He raised his head, staring directly into Proctor’s eyes. “No. Not really.”

  Donjay parked the Humvee. “This is as far as we go. I’ll wait here at the perimeter.”

  “Undoubtedly a good idea,” Corbin said. “Any farther and they might spot your vehicle from the watchtower.” He opened the passenger door.

  Donjay placed his hand on Corbin’s shoulder. “Wait.”

  Corbin’s pulse quickened. He wondered if Donjay might be a variable he hadn’t accounted for in his scheming. “What?”

  “Your people are holding one of ours prisoner.”

  Corbin cocked his head. “What?”

  “A girl. Her name’s Maga.”

  “Ah, Maga. I’ve seen her around the bunker. But no one’s holding her prisoner. She’s free to leave whenever she wishes.”

  Now it was Donjay’s turn to look surprised. “If she’s not being held against her will, then why…?”

  “You’d have to ask her.”

  Donjay grimaced. “I will. Send her to me
.”

  Corbin sighed. “I suppose I could give her your message and describe where to find you. I can’t force her to come, though.”

  “Tell her Donjay wants to see her.”

  Corbin shrugged. “I could do that. But what’s in it for me?”

  “What do you want?”

  Corbin perused Donjay. “Your pistol.”

  Donjay frowned and pointed to the back seat. “You’ll be getting a satchel full of weapons when you return.”

  “Yes, but I never do a deal without taking something of value; and you have nothing to offer other than your clothes and your sidearm. I can see how highly you value your gun… although it might be amusing to add your clothes to the deal.”

  Frustrated, Donjay handed him the gun. “Here. I still have the other weapons in the satchel. Now send Maga to me.”

  Corbin accepted the gun, examining it closely. “So all I do is point and squeeze this?” He wrapped his finger around the trigger and aimed the gun at Donjay’s head. He saw the fear in Donjay’s eyes. “Not very smart, are you?” Corbin lowered the gun. “Fortunately for you, I never welch on a deal. I’ll tell Maga you’re waiting here.” He stepped out of the Humvee. He glanced down at the wet spot that had formed on Donjay’s pants. “If you wait in the sun, that may dry quicker.” Corbin chuckled and headed back to the bunker.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The not-a-sports-car roared into view of the base camp, followed by a pair of horseback riders. “Hail the conquering heroes!” Kai called out. Several teens surrounded the Humvee, unloading the supplies. Covid and Corona raced up to them.

  “You’ll have to postpone your next shopping trip,” Covid said. “Something’s come up.”

  Kai cocked his head. “What is it?”

  “We need you to help us look for a secret computer terminal. But first, Corona and I need to talk to Archer and Robin.” The siblings glanced at each other and dismounted.

  “Ain’t got tired of having us ‘round already, has you?” Archer asked.

  “Of course not,” Corona said. She pulled out Proctor’s St. Sebastian medal and showed it to them. “Maga found this at the Outpost near Granny’s body.”