BARREN_A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller

by J. Thorn

  Hado thought about the size of the settlement in proportion to the sprawl of the Denver ruins. Erehwon seemed to be a paltry camp compared to this place.

  “Last bite, boy,” Dia said to Decker, breaking the silence. “There will be more later. Don’t make yourself sick. I’m not cleaning up dog vomit.”

  Hado laughed, at the same time feeling her headache blossom in response.

  The door swung open then, and a Venganza warrior held it open to allow Arina to step into the room.

  “It’s either whitetail or moose. It all tastes the same when dried—salty and stringy.”

  “Thank you for all this,” Dia said. “It’s better than what we could find in the mountains.”

  The Venganza woman stared at Dia, narrowing her eyes. “Where is your mask?”

  Dia hesitated, stealing a glance at Hado.

  “It was a long journey,” Hado said. “And our travels did not come without tribulations. Her mask was lost along the way. In Chicago, in fact, when we ran into a local tribe there who gave us trouble.”

  “I see,” Arina said, looking back and forth between the two women. “Well, I’m just glad the two of you made it here safely. So, if you’re ready, I’d like to take you to speak with a member of the Council.”

  “Thank you,” Hado said.

  Hado and Dia stood up, and Dia whistled at Decker and urged him to follow.

  “Oh, he can stay here,” Arina said. “No one will bother him.”

  “Decker doesn’t leave my side,” Dia said. “He won’t want to be alone and will follow me, regardless. I’d like him to stay with me.”

  Arina tilted her head to the side, then forced another smile. “Very well.”

  She left the room, and Hado, Dia, and Decker followed.

  “I’ll take you through the main square of our settlement so that you can at least get a glimpse of it before we head up to where the Council meets.”

  They walked across the hall through a short tunnel, and then up a set of stairs. A drape made of an animal hide covered the end of the tunnel, and Arina held it open.

  “Wow,” Dia said.

  They stood upon a balcony that ringed the stadium, standing about 20 feet above the ground. Single-story structures with peaked rooves ringed the outer edges while snow accumulated in the middle.

  “There isn’t much to be done about the snow this time of year until it melts. But in the spring, the plots next to the huts are tilled by the woman living there. We’re at about 80% capacity, having lost a few once the weather turned cold. The old. The sick.”

  Hado winced at Arina’s words, thinking that she herself could now be labeled as such.

  “Where did you find the building materials? How did you put those up?”

  She didn’t believe the Denver Venganza had much more intelligence or initiative than those who had founded Erehwon—but they clearly had more women based on the size of the Denver ruins. If there had been even a fraction of this number of women available in the Cleveland ruins, Erehwon would be more than a primitive camp on the verge of extinction.

  “It’s amazing,” Dia said, interrupting any possible response Arina had to Hado’s questions.

  Arina started down the stairs, and Hado and Dia followed. Hado began to wonder why Lanette would ever have left here as they walked around the mid-level balcony, looking down into the village. Women and children passed by on pathways cleared of snow, staring blankly at Dia and Hado.

  Arina’s pace quickened. To her right, Hado saw a long, narrow corridor sitting several steps down from the ground. Chain link fencing and barbed wire bordered it, and two people lay on benches inside—mounds of tattered cloaks exposed to the snow and cold.

  “Prisoners of war or criminals?” Hado asked. “What did they do?”

  Arina ignored her and kept walking.

  They had walked halfway around the stadium via the balcony when Arina paused. They stood before another fenced-in area, this one against the outer wall at the rear of the village. A ten-foot-tall chain link fence with barbed wire separated it from the rest of the settlement. Three people stood inside the cell, two of them adult men. One of the men had long black hair, and one of his eyes was swollen shut. With his good eye, he stared at Hado and Dia.

  These must be prisoners of war.

  Arina started walking again, and Hado felt a pit growing in her stomach. Something here felt wrong, off. She looked at Dia, and without speaking a word, the girl’s gaze communicated that she felt it, as well.

  They climbed several sets of stairs, making Hado’s calves burn. By the time they reached the top level of the stadium, they were far above the settlement nestled inside at the ground level.

  Arina stopped in front of a door. Without knocking, she opened it and held it open.

  “This way,” she said.

  Chapter 31

  Hado walked through the door first, Dia and Decker behind her. When she saw only one woman in the room, her face turned red and she looked back to Arina.

  “You told me this is where the Council meets.”

  “I’m the only member of the Council you need to be concerned about right now,” the woman said.

  “Anything else?” Arina asked Eneka, ignoring Hado’s cautious glare.

  “No, thank you.”

  Arina nodded, avoiding Hado’s stare as she closed the door. Hado turned her attention to the woman behind a large table with a dozen seats. The room had windows looking down upon the settlement and the snow, and wind was rattling against the glass.

  “You’re Eneka?”

  “I am. And you’re Hado. Sit down.”

  Hado and Dia did as Eneka commanded. “You know Lanette.”

  Eneka scoffed. “Yes. Lanette and I go way back. That woman is as crazy and spaced-out as they come, but for some reason, my heart can’t part with her love.”

  “She said a lot of good things about you.”

  “I’m sure she did.”

  “We’ve come a long way, and I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions.”

  Eneka raised an eyebrow. “That I do, indeed.” She looked at Dia. “For starters, I’d like to know about her.”

  “My name is Dia.”

  “Yes, Dia. You are not Venganza.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “No, you’re an outsider. You won’t fool me with that lie, so don’t try.”

  Dia looked at Hado, who leaned in toward Eneka.

  “Dia is Venganza. She hasn’t been for very long, but she is one of us. Erehwon recognizes her, so Denver should, as well.”

  Eneka hesitated, then nodded. “Very well. So, then tell me, why are you two here?”

  “We came West because Dia was not safe. She has a special skill. She’s the finest water whisperer I have ever come across. And Los Muertos was trying to take her from us—we believe with the help of someone on our Council.”

  “That’s a bold accusation.”

  “Yes, but I believe it to be true.”

  “Did the Council advise you to come here, or was there another reason? Was it Lanette?”

  “Lanette is not on the Council. But she’s an elder with political sway.”

  “So you’re saying that you did not get approval from the Council to leave with the ‘great’ water whisperer here?” Eneka huffed as she looked over the girl again, seemingly unimpressed with the gift Dia had yet to demonstrate.

  “She was in danger, and with Lanette’s blessing, I fled with her.”

  “I see.” Eneka leaned back, remaining quiet for several moments.

  “You have to understand that I was doing the right thing. Dia could not stay there.”

  “It’s true,” Dia said. “One of the members of the Council ordered me to help the savages in the ruins and then had planned on selling me to Los Muertos. Hado did right in getting me out of there and bringing me here.”

  “Oh, child,” Eneka said. “Please don’t lecture me on what’s right and wrong. I’ve seen more winters than you have had
bleeding moons. You both acted on your own, without the approval or command of your Council. I sit on the one here. What am I to make of such insubordination?”

  “Shiva is destroying our clan,” Hado said. “I had no other choice.”

  Eneka stood. “Maybe. But Erehwon is not my concern. My responsibility is to keep this settlement safe. Secure.”

  “Perhaps it was a mistake for us to come here.” Hado took Dia’s hand. “Come on.”

  When Hado opened the door to leave, however, four guards blocked their path.

  Eneka shook her head at them when Hado glanced backward. “Members of your clan. They don’t feel the same as you do.”

  Hado turned fully, her mouth hanging open.

  “I must take accusations against any Venganza leader seriously.”

  “We’re leaving,” Hado said.

  “Not your call.” Eneka raised her head. “Arina!”

  The woman appeared from the hallway and stepped into the room.

  “Please show our fellow Venganza to their quarters. And take the guards with you.”

  Arina bowed.

  Hado glared at Eneka, but the woman gave no response, simply turning her back and walking over to the window that overlooked the settlement.

  Arina grabbed Hado’s arm, and Hado jerked it away.

  “Not necessary. Show us to our room.”

  Chapter 32

  Arina and the Venganza guards led Hado, Dia, and Decker to a room two levels below where they had met with Eneka. Two thin and ancient mattresses lay on the floor in a room without windows. A basket of winter squash and some foreign variety of leafy greens sat on the floor against the far wall, a meager offering from their captor’s perspective but a welcome change for the women who’d subsisted on mostly rabbit and squirrel since they’d left Chicago. A pitcher of water and two cups sat next to it, along with a bowl of mush and a bowl of water for Decker. At some point after the Denver Venganza had taken the stadium for their settlement, someone had built a crude fireplace in the room out of chunks of cinder block. A small stack of wood sat in front of it.

  The guards ushered the two women into the room. One of the guards lightly kicked Decker in the rear to get him to walk through the door more quickly, and he let out a surprised whimper.

  “What the hell?” Dia said. “Don’t touch him! I swear, if you do that again, I will—”

  “Relax.” Arina entered the room, grinning at Dia. “She didn’t hurt the mutt.”

  “His name is Decker.”

  “Right.” Arina’s grin disappeared as she scanned Hado’s face. “The vegetables are fresh—and rare in this season, so don’t waste them. I’ll have one of the guards start a fire for you.”

  “We can do that,” Hado said. “Just give us what we need.”

  Arina grinned again. “We’ll handle it for you.”

  “It’s fine. I know how to—”

  Arina turned to a guard. “Go ahead and get a fire going for our guests.”

  Hado eyed Arina. They’d traveled hundreds of miles through brutal conditions. Hado and Dia were quite capable of starting their own fire, especially with a pile of split wood next to the hearth. Then she looked around the room, and it finally hit her.

  Quarters? More like a prison cell.

  Once the guard lit the kindling, the chill began to dissipate, though Hado had begun to feel a slow anger catching fire in the pit of her stomach.

  “The guards will be right outside your door in case you need anything,” Arina said. “Just let them know.”

  “That’s really not necessary,” Hado said.

  “Oh, but it’s fine. If you must go to the restroom, they will escort you there, as well.”

  Hado narrowed her eyes and balled her fist, for the first time understanding what a disadvantage she now had in any kind of physical altercation. She would have to rely more on her mind to win fights, instead of her fists.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  Arina nodded, then turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

  Hado waited, but didn’t hear a lock engage—although that didn’t mean they hadn’t secured it from the outside. Plus, armed Venganza guards stood right outside the door. Hado cursed under her breath as the door shut, turning her back to it and putting her hand on her waist.

  “What is it?” Dia asked.

  “Don’t you see?” Hado gestured toward the door. “We’re prisoners here. She wouldn’t even let us start our own fire because they want us to know who is in control. And she insisted on the guards standing outside.”

  “It could be worse.”

  “Than what? I’d rather be dying out there than living locked up like an animal in here. And that whole conversation upstairs with Eneka? Something here isn’t right.”

  Dia looked at Hado’s bandaged arm as if to ask whether the infection had been removed or if it had spread. But Hado wasn’t ready to discuss that with Dia, even though she knew her own body and what was happening inside of it.

  The girl pointed to the pitcher of water. “They have fresh water.”

  Hado snorted. “You’re right. The Denver Venganza has clearly found a way to collect safe, fresh water. We need that information, that technology.”

  Dia turned her head at Hado’s last word, her eyebrows raised.

  “You mean water cleaning?”

  “Yes, that’s one type of technology we could use.”

  “Then maybe we should keep going west. All the way to San Francisco as Lanette suggested. They have a limitless amount of water on the coast and someone there might be working on the technology.” Dia looked around the room. “I don’t think Denver is going to send us home with it.”

  Hado shook her head. “But I don’t know if we can trust the old woman. How do we know she wasn’t lying to you?”

  “I guess we don’t. You’ll have to decide what we should do, Hado. But San Francisco is still a long way away. Through more mountains and across unknown lands. We might not make it alive.”

  Hado winced, a phantom pain reminding her of what had already been lost.

  “And even if we do get there, we don’t know if what Lanette told us is true.” Dia leaned toward Hado. “And if it is, we don’t know if those people will share it with us. And if they do, we have to then ride all the way back to Erehwon. We’d only talked of getting there, not about coming all the way back.”

  “If you’re trying to convince me of how hopeless this situation is, you’re doing a great job.”

  Dia smiled, now lowering her voice to a whisper. The fire hissed and cracked behind her. “If it’s all true. And if we can do it, then nobody will need me.”

  “Please, Dia. No more games. I’m tired. What do you mean?”

  “I mean that nobody will need a water whisperer if everyone can make their own clean water. No more wars over cisterns, no more fights for control of rivers and streams. Yes, we’ll save Erehwon. But we’ll also save everyplace else.”

  The teenager had put everything into perspective. The wars, the violence, the death. It could all end if they could bring the technology home. The had never explicitly decided to go all the way to San Francisco, but it seemed to be their final move.

  “It sounds impossible. We haven’t even crossed the summit. We’re on the east side of Denver. And then there’s the Sierra Nevada range in California. Assuming we don’t get raped and killed on the way. Oh, and we now have to expect Ree and Piva to carry us hundreds of more miles through blizzards in sub-freezing temperatures.”

  Dia smiled, picking up on Hado’s tone. “And don’t forget your missing arm. Or the fact that we’ll run out of food.”

  “Right,” Hado said with a slight chuckle. “And we’ll probably get lost. End up in Los Angeles or something.”

  The girl’s smile faded as she laced her words with a new, serious sincerity. “We could both die.”

  “That’s a risk we take whether we stay here, turn around, or continue west to San Francisco.”

/>   “I’ve grown. I’ve learned so much from you, Hado. We can do this. I can do this.”

  “Well, the first thing we need to do is figure out how to get out of here. Eneka doesn’t trust us, and I definitely don’t trust Shiva. It’s too risky to travel in darkness with the constant snow squalls at high elevation. Let’s figure out what we can do tonight, and we’ll attempt to leave in the morning.”

  “Okay. You’re the boss.”

  “Yes,” Hado said. “For now, I am.”

  “So how are we going to get out of here?”

  Hado looked at the door, around the stark room, and then to the stained mattresses.

  That’s a good question.

  Chapter 33

  Hado didn’t sleep. She couldn’t. The conversation with Eneka kept her awake all night, as did hoping that the plan she and Dia had come up with would work.

  It had to work.

  Fortunately, Dia was managing to get some rest. She’d finally fallen asleep in the middle of the night, about an hour after they’d finalized their escape plan. Decker lay beside her, lying on his side and against her as he also slept. Hado had tossed for hours, though, mentally rehearsing every word, every action. The slightest complication could get them killed. All of them.

  Estimating that daybreak was only an hour or so away, Hado decided to wake Dia. She walked over toward the young woman and Decker jumped to his feet when Hado was only halfway there. The dog’s sudden movement was enough to wake Dia without Hado having to say anything. Dia looked around, rubbed her eyes, and glanced at Hado.

  “Sorry. I was coming to wake you, and he got startled.”

  “It’s all right.” Dia yawned. “Do you know how long I slept?”

  “Long enough. I’ll give you a few minutes to wake up, but then we need to get going.”

  “Are you sure this is going to work?”

  Hado shook her head. “No, but we don’t have any other options, so it has to. We have no idea what’s happening outside of these walls or what they’re planning for us. I know it’s not ideal, but I think we have to leave now.”