by Eyal Kless
“Where does this powder come from?”
He saw Vincha hesitate and look at Bayne, a sure sign he’d stumbled upon something that he was probably not meant to know.
Bayne shrugged and muttered, “He’ll know sooner or later.”
The Tube swerved smoothly, and Rafik saw an enormous mountain range in the distance. They seemed to be heading straight towards it.
“You sure you want to know this, boy?”
Rafik nodded.
“It’s dried Lizard blood, to be honest, mixed with other stuff,” Vincha said. “Some lick it off Lizard skin as well, but it has to be a freshly killed Lizard—the creatures sweat the stuff.”
Rafik’s eyes were wide. “Really?”
“Yep, some crazy Troll found this out years ago in circumstances I don’t care to repeat, even here.”
“That’s just a myth,” Bayne said. “Long before the Hive was established, a Mender heard an old Salvationist bragging at a bar about how he used to lick the skin of a Lizard to feel better about his plugs. So this Mender made a trip to the Valley, began catching and doing experiments on the Lizards until he came up with the powder.”
“And disappeared without a trace.” It was Vincha’s turn. “Now who’s talking about myth?” She turned to Rafik.
“Believe what you want—the Menders now make the powder and swim in coin for it. You want to know how they make it?”
This time it took Rafik slightly longer to decide. He turned his eyes to the mountain range before nodding his consent.
Vincha leaned forward and lowered her voice. “When they kill the Lizards, assuming there’s anything left, they bring the bodies back and squeeze the juice out of them, then they boil the blood and add a few ingredients, wait for the whole thing to dry, and that’s it. Sometimes we get lucky and capture a live Lizard, bring it back, and tie the thing upside down above a bucket and puncture a hole in its heart, which incidentally is in the same place as it is for us hu—”
“Stop it, Vincha,” Bayne snapped. “You’ll frighten the boy.”
Vincha leaned back in her seat and said, “He has the right to know.” She turned to Rafik, “Did they make you read those novels about the first expeditions?”
Rafik nodded.
“Well they’re full of rust and lies,” Vincha declared. “The famous six started out as a company of two dozen mercenary Trolls. Those poor bastards got slaughtered one by one in less than three days, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. These are stories they feed you so that you become more loyal to the stupid guild.”
“Vincha, that’s enough,” Bayne growled.
“Rust, Bayne, I’m doing you a favor. Otherwise you’ll have to tell him bedtime stories.” She leaned forward and touched Rafik’s knee. “Listen carefully to Vincha, kid. They’ll tell you those Lizards are brainless animals—easy kill, nothing to worry about—but they are cunning, mean cunts, and they are as nasty as they are capable. On average, we get raided every few weeks. They come from different directions, and some of them even use weapons, knives, clubs, and I know a few Trolls who swear they saw Lizards carrying guns, you understand? And they can hear our communication unless I scramble it good, and they gang up on one poor sod and pin him down, and then they—”
“Seriously, Vincha, trap it,” Bayne roared.
This time she complied, crossing her arms across her chest and sending the burly guard a mock pout.
A bell rang three times and artificial light suddenly filled the cabin.
“What’s that?” Rafik said.
“Don’t worry,” Bayne said, still sending dark looks at Vincha. “See? Now you scared the kid, made him jumpy.”
“I’m not scared,” Rafik declared. “I just want to know what is happening.”
“The bell means the Tube detected a bunch of Lizards waiting to ambush us and—”
“Vincha!”
“Just messing with you, kid.” She laughed, leaned forward again, and ruffled Rafik’s growing hair. “We’re going into a tunnel through the mountain, that’s all.”
As an afterthought she added, “Look, it’s messy out there, but don’t worry. Vincha will play Mother Goose and take care of you, so if any of those rustheads make trouble, just come to me and I’ll sort them out.” She smiled at him and winked. “What do you say, friends?”
Rafik nodded with a shy smile.
40
The transparent walls darkened as the Northern Long Tube emerged from the tunnel, but it didn’t reduce the dramatic effect. The landscape of Tarakan Valley was a sea of yellow sand dotted by countless buildings, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Although Rafik never felt the descent, the Tube emerged from the tunnel much lower down than when they’d entered the mountain. For a few heartbeats, the cabin was filled with light, and Rafik squinted and shielded his eyes. Then the Tube’s transparent walls darkened and the brightness became bearable. They were still moving at an incredible pace, but Rafik could see the buildings and the roads clearly, and the patterns of the city mesmerized him. Most of the buildings, even the very high ones, were whole, but the damage of time and the elements was plain. There was no hint of movement on the roads, no sign of vegetation. The city was like a long-dead corpse, dried up of all moisture.
“Crazy, isn’t it?” Vincha leaned towards Rafik. “I heard it was once the most beautiful city in the world. Now the only things moving here, except us, are the rusting Lizards and the sandstorms which could ground us for weeks.”
“How will we survive with no water or food?” Rafik wondered. He was not an expert, but the amount of supplies he’d seen stuffed into the Northern Long Tube did not seem enough to sustain a camp full of Salvationists under such harsh conditions.
Vincha leaned closer, as if sharing a secret. “The main camp, what we call the Hive, is located right on top of a fat, useful node. There are enough nourishment pills in there to keep everyone alive, and enough blankets and towels to open a brothel. There are even functioning water pipes all over the underground structure. One of your first missions will be to open the puzzle lock in the base.” She patted Rafik lightly on the shoulder. “But don’t worry. I hear it’s quite easy to do, and we always keep an emergency Puzzler around, just in case.”
Vincha waited for the boy to respond, but Rafik was deep in thought.
“How are you feeling?” she asked after a spell, nudging the boy lightly with her elbow. “Nervous? Excited?”
This time Rafik responded, “A little bit of both. More excited, I guess . . . I can’t explain why. It feels like I know this place, but it’s strange, because I’ve never been here before.”
Vincha nodded in sympathy. “I know the feeling. When you’re in the Valley you just want to get the rust out, but when you’re away you start missing this crappy sandbox so much you end up going to a Salvationist bar every night and drinking your wages away just so you have an excuse to come back here. I mean, when you see the gates that never open—have you heard of them?”
Rafik shook his head.
“Ah, it’s something to see, all right. Not that you’ll get to see it, since it doesn’t even have a puzzle lock, can you believe it? But you ain’t seen Tarakan Valley until you stood by the gate.”
Suddenly one of the young Trolls shouted “Lizards!” and pointed. Everyone got on their feet and gathered to watch the city below.
“Where did you see Lizards?” one of the older-looking Trolls in the cabin asked, peering through the transparent wall.
“I saw two coming out of a tall building over there.” The young Troll pointed.
Rafik and Vincha pressed their faces to the transparent wall and scanned the buildings flashing underneath them.
“I don’t see anything,” said Vincha.
“Are you sure they were Lizards?” the veteran Troll turned from the wall. “We’re above the southeast side; there aren’t a lot of Lizards in this area.”
“No, they were Lizards,” the younger Troll insi
sted as his crew members whooped excitedly and punched each other’s chests. The veteran Troll didn’t look convinced, but before he had a chance to say anything, a Tube ShieldGuard stepped into the cabin.
“We’re close. Get ready,” said the ShieldGuard. “After we stop, use the ropes to climb down.”
In a heartbeat, everyone in the cabin was gathering equipment and collecting their weapons from the train guards. The Troll that Vincha had confronted before made a point of looking in her direction while checking his blaster and heavy machine gun.
“Don’t worry,” Bayne muttered. “I got you covered.”
“I can handle a stupid Sabarra pup,” Vincha answered. She smiled and added, “But thanks all the same.”
“Don’t underestimate them, Vincha. Like I said, things are changing. This kid will wait until your back is turned and—”
Vincha cut off Bayne midsentence. “Like I said—” But then another alarm sounded and drowned out her answer.
“Brace yourselves and secure your weapons; we are stopping!” the Tube guard barked, wrapping a thick rope around his body and attaching a hook to the nearest pole. “Remember, this is not the platform of the city. We have a short period of time before the doors are shut, so get out as fast as you can.”
Bayne turned to Rafik. “Can you climb down or do you need my help?”
“I’m fine, I know what to do.” Rafik wanted to sound confident but his voice came out shaking. He’d trained for this moment in the guild house, and although he was not the best climber, he was far from being the worst. Still, looking down at the moving ground below made Rafik weak in the knees.
An ear-piercing siren filled the cabin again, and the Northern Long Tube came to a sudden stop. Rafik fell forward. If it weren’t for Vincha’s quick grip he would have landed on the floor face-first.
She winked at him. “Easy now, big boy.”
He smiled weakly and straightened up.
The Tube ShieldGuard turned a star-shaped disc to the wall, and almost immediately the doors swung silently open, filling the cabin with bright light, heat, and dust. Rafik peeked down. They had stopped high above a clearing between several high buildings. A multitude of vehicles and people, mostly armed Trolls, were waiting for them, and as soon as the Tube stopped they surged forward like charging ants.
“We’re lucky there’s no sandstorm,” Bayne commented, adjusting a pair of goggles to his eyes.
“Do sandstorms happen often?” Rafik watched as the pair of guards rolled rope ladders out of the cabin.
“Often enough.” Bayne covered his nose and mouth with a breathing guard, and his voice became muffled. “Even the weak ones are nasty, and you do not want to be caught in a full sandstorm, believe me. When that happens, smart Trolls stay inside. If you’re on a shallow run, you’d better head back to the Hive or find shelter underground. Here.” He handed Rafik a pair of goggles. “These will help you against the glare of the sun and keep sand out of your eyes.” He produced another breathing guard. “And this will keep the dust from your lungs. It will take some time to get used to, but believe me, you want to be wearing it.”
“Thank you,” Rafik said. He wanted to add that he knew what the goggles and breathing guard were for—he’d trained with them in the Keenan guild house—but Bayne was already busy attaching a security cable between himself and the boy. All the other passengers were either already wearing or in the process of putting on their own versions of goggles and breathing guards.
The people at the front of the line began climbing over the edge and down the ladders in pairs, disappearing quickly out of sight. The cabin emptied, and soon Rafik found himself at the ledge. The goggles reduced Rafik’s field of vision, but even with them, the brightness was uncomfortable. The breathing guard made every intake of hot air a struggle, and Rafik fought the instinct to pull it away. As he looked down, the heat hitting his face and the strong wind blowing the net ladder made the boy’s stomach turn. But his training kicked in, and before he realised what he was doing, Rafik found himself climbing down a net ladder as fast as he dared while Bayne matched his descent.
On the other side of the Tube Rafik saw Trolls climbing up. A few of them avoided the ladders altogether and used their superior leg augmentations to jump above the climbers. At the back of the Tube, crates of supplies were being roped down to a crowd of heavily augmented Trolls, who lifted them away into open six-wheelers, which Rafik already knew were called Dusters. It all seemed extremely chaotic but somehow efficient at the same time. Rafik turned his head up and suddenly understood why there was no platform like the ones in the City of Towers and Regeneration. The floating metal bars continued on into the distance, but they were misaligned, and some were broken or missing. The Northern Long Tube did not stop at a destination, it stopped midtravel because it couldn’t continue.
As soon as he touched the sandy ground Rafik was pushed away by Bayne to give room to the descending Keenan guards.
Bayne then led them towards a large Keenan crew, which was waiting for them in the shadow of a seven-story building. Vincha was just behind them when a very tall, dark-skinned female Troll stepped in front of her, blocking the CommWoman’s way with an outstretched hand, the other leaning lightly but purposely over one of the two blasters on her hips. “Keep your distance,” she ordered. “This is Keenan business.” The Troll wore her coal-black hair in many tiny braids, and had a Tarakan eyepiece attached to her right eye and a massive sniper gun strapped to her back.
Vincha stopped in her tracks, visibly surprised. “Come on, Narona, what’s rusting your joints?” she protested. “I was sitting next to the boy the entire trip—what do you think I’d do to him?”
Bayne was surprised as well. “That’s uncalled for, Lieutenant. We all know Vincha well enough.”
“I have my orders to bring the Puzzler in alone,” Narona snapped, “and I’m not about to disobey a direct order for the likes of her.”
“Commander Doro gave you this order,” Vincha said, her eyes glinting, “because he didn’t know I was riding on this Long Tube, that’s all. No need to be jealous just because he fancies me and not your bony ass. There are enough Trolls in Tarakan Valley, especially for someone with standards as low as yours.”
Narona visibly stiffened, and looked down at Rafik as if to remind herself of her duties.
Vincha waved her hand in dismissal. “Fine, I’ll find my own way to the Hive.” She turned to Rafik and said, “See you at the Hive. Say hi to Commander Doro for me.” Then she turned and walked away slowly, disappearing behind a corner. Once Narona was sure that Vincha was not coming back, she did not waste time, and the Keenan crew quickly set out on their way towards the outpost.
“What, no rides?” Bayne wondered.
“The Dusters are in repair.” Narona checked the sights of her sniper gun and cocked it with expertise.
“We could try to catch a ride with another crew. The kid, he’s been through a lot.”
Narona silenced Bayne with a stare before signalling for the Keenans to move. They formed a protective circle around Rafik and, at Narona’s insistence, powered up their armour and readied their weapons. Many other Troll companies were moving in the same direction, some on foot, other driving Dusters, but Narona kept the Keenans at a respectable distance from the rest of the groups.
Circled by a squad of armed and ready Trolls, Rafik did his best to peek around as they all walked and take in the surroundings. If the buildings looked big from the vantage point of the Tube, they were nothing short of awe-inspiring from the ground up.
“A young blood on the Long Tube claimed he saw a Lizard in the southeast part,” Bayne briefed as they walked, keeping to the shady side of the enormous buildings. “I think he was lying to beef himself up in front of his mates, but we better tell Brain. He can send a crew to investigate.”
Narona nodded but remained silent, the muzzle of her sniper rifle constantly moving from side to side.
“You didn’t need to bu
st Vincha like that,” Bayne tried again, “I know it’s complicated with Doro and stuff, but she is sound and she’s worked with us before. I am sure the Commander didn’t mean to—”
“It wasn’t Doro who gave the order.” This time the Lieutenant turned her head to look at Bayne.
From his vantage point, Rafik could see Bayne stiffen and lose a step before resuming his stride. “What happened to Commander Doro?”
“Dead.”
Rafik felt as if he was kicked in the stomach.
“You’re cutting my wires now, Narona,” Bayne choked, stopping in his tracks, his eyes clearly wide with shock even behind the goggles. “Seriously? When the fuck did that happen?”
“Two days ago,” Narona said. “Keep moving, Bayne.”
He obeyed, catching up with the Lieutenant. “How? What happened? Rust.”
“He went out at night.” Narona didn’t stop surveying the area with her gun as she talked. “Brain got an emergency distress call from a casual crew. They stepped into an uncharted Lizard’s den and were being taken apart. Doro took the call, went out with Ramm and some independents, and left us a communication to follow. It was night, a storm was passing through the area, and we had zero visibility. By the time we found them it was over.”
“What about the crew who called? Did Doro and Ramm save them? Who were these fucking amateurs?” Bayne was still shaking his head in disbelief.
“That’s the problem—there was no one to be found. It was a hit-and-run. The other crew probably bailed but forgot to call off the distress call. We went through all the other crews. They all denied calling for help.”
“Sabarra then?”
Narona shook her head. “A big crew came back from a deep run. All were hunkered down in the Hive or on guard duties. This was not a hit, and, you know, even with politics and the tensions, the Hive is the Hive . . .”
Bayne was still visibly shaken. “Still can’t believe this. Is anyone missing? Why did this crew call for help if they didn’t have anyone down?”