The group approached the escape module and Edmond picked up the pace to run ahead of everyone else then stopped just before they reached the vehicle. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, everyone stop right where they are, please, and nobody enter the vehicle,’ he said with his hands up, showing his palms to the crowd. He then turned to the most senior soldier. ‘Commander, please take two trusted men and stand guard just inside the main door. Do not allow anyone inside.’
The young officer nodded and gestured to two nearby soldiers to follow him.
‘What’s going on, Edmond?’ O’Connor asked.
Edmond stood with his hands behind his back. ‘It’s come to my attention that the three Frobisher crew members were poisoned…a deliberate act by someone here.’
O’Connor frowned and looked around the rest of the group. ‘That’s ridiculous, why would anyone want to do that? The events of the last few days have made everyone understandably paranoid, they died naturally, it’s obvious.’
‘How can three relatively young, fit and healthy men die and it be natural?’ Edmond said, raising his eyebrows. I’m sorry, Captain, I don’t hold with your views on that.’
‘This is ridiculous, I’m going inside,’ O’Connor said, marching towards the main door only to be stopped by a soldier.
‘Like I said, nobody is going inside until we search the place and find that poison. Now, everyone, please move over to the far side of the vehicle and shelter in the shade while we search the compartments. The soldiers will give you a drink from their canteens if you’re thirsty and I’ll make sure the search is concluded as quickly as possible.’
The group moved into the shade, some sitting down, some standing there with their arms folded. Some were annoyed and some bewildered, but all were complying with the request. O’Connor didn’t move from near the main door and stood with his hands on his hips.
Edmond called the commander over and leaned towards his ear. ‘Search O’Connor’s stuff first, then the rest of the module as quickly but thoroughly as you can.’
The sun rose higher and the temperature rose with it. Those gathered in the shade loosened their tight collars and removed top layers where they could. As fast as they were drinking from the canteens they were losing fluids through sweat, which was putting further strain on the group’s diminishing water supply.
The commander exited the module after only 10 minutes holding a small blue vial of liquid in his hand, the end of which was sealed with a cork. He handed it to Edmond. ‘I found this in the jacket pocket of Captain O’Connor, sir.’
O’Connor approached Edmond. ‘What! This is beyond stupid. We’re using up valuable resources and wasting time, and I’ve never seen this before in my life. Why would I poison the crew? It makes no sense whatsoever.’
Edmond took the small glass vial and held it up to the sky. ‘I’m disappointed but not surprised. You resisted my wishes on keeping the crew alive, and ever since we rescued them you’ve attempted to subvert their recovery and progress.’
O’Connor shook his head and looked down. ‘Right, OK, have it your way. I didn’t kill them; I’ve not seen this before. I had nothing to do with it but it looks like you’ve already made up your mind. This is madness, Edmond, and everything you’ve ever worked for is being demolished, brick by brick, until there’s nothing left but just the dust.’
‘Dust doesn’t scare me, Captain, it’s where we all came from and it’s where we’ll all return eventually.’
O’Connor rubbed his eyes. He felt overwhelmed with the situation. All seemed lost and everything he had worked for was now in shreds because of the crew of another mission. As soon as the Frobisher had appeared on their scanners, limping back to Earth with its cocooned cargo he knew things would end badly. It had been a thread that had run through the whole chain of command, a feeling of dread and loss. Like a disease it ate away at everything that was good and worth fighting for. The Cloud people had lost their way and fell over each other in their attempts to find a paradise that was lost centuries ago. It was now hidden in the bleached bones of their ancestors which were slowly decaying in the burning heat and the sandstorms.
Captain O’Connor sighed and stared at the ground. He glanced up at the nearby commander. It was now or never and he wasn’t going down like some low-life Wretch. If he was to lose his life it would be during a struggle for freedom, not executed like some worthless criminal. He lunged at the commander, throwing an arm around his neck and placing him in a chokehold while snatching his sidearm and holding it to the young man’s head.
‘O’Connor, are you insane!’ Edmond shouted. ‘Let him go, put down that weapon and we’ll discuss this.’
The captain started to back away, dragging his hostage with him as his eyes darted left and right, looking for any incoming attack. Every weapon of every soldier was now trained on him as everyone glanced at Edmond looking for ideas.
‘There’s nothing to discuss, is there? Yes, I poisoned them, the same way I killed the others too, but I did it for the good of the mission. My priority was always the mission, Edmond, can’t you get that through your thick skull? It was always the mission…it was never anything else.’
‘Please, O’Connor, there’ll be no more death today. Put the weapon down.’
The deafening crack of the shot echoed around the land as O’Connor’s head was thrown back from the impact of the bullet. His body went rigid and he fell backwards, crumpling in a heap and dead before he hit the ground.
‘No!’ Edmond shouted.
The young soldier standing nearby lowered his weapon and replaced the safety. He had had the opportunity to end the situation and took it with the confidence that a laser-guided sight gives a soldier.
Edmond fell to his knees and thudded his fist into the dirt. His most trusted and capable officer was gone, and the world had just become a much more lonely and dangerous place.
Chapter Twelve
Carl and Amy sat on the sofa in Elias’s sitting room, watched over by Vincent, who stood in the doorway holding his rifle. A grandfather clock ticked in the background and chimed at quarter past the hour. The provincial longcase clock was an imposing sight, standing over seven feet tall like a sentry in the hallway. Its highly polished mahogany case reflected light like a mirror and added a sense of grandeur to the place.
‘So, are we being held prisoner now?’ Carl asked.
‘Nope,’ Vincent said, shaking his head. ‘I’m just following orders and Elias would like to talk to you about something.’
‘Talk to us about what exactly? Why are you standing guard in the doorway with a rifle?’
Vincent sighed. ‘I’m standing because I don’t want to sit and I have a rifle because I’m part of the security team here…any more questions?’
‘When can we leave?’ Amy asked.
‘Like I said, when you’ve spoken to Elias.’
The front door swung open and Elias entered. He stamped his feet on the mat to try to remove the sand and dust. ‘Please accept my apologies for keeping you waiting. Have you offered our guests any tea, Vincent?’
‘Nope.’
‘You must be very thirsty,’ Elias said as he poured hot water into a teapot. ‘Vincent, as good as you are in the field of security, we must work on your hosting skills.’
Carl moved to the edge of his seat. ‘Elias, we thank you for your hospitality but we need to leave here. This isn’t quite what we wanted and we want to push further north to see what else we find.’
Elias sat down on the sofa opposite. ‘If the spectacle of the public execution has spooked you both then I’m truly sorry for that. You see we have strict rules here and that particular person broke them, more than once, putting the lives of our citizens in jeopardy. Without consequences there’s no order, and without order we have no manageable society.’
Carl shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Elias, but hanging that man twice and cracking his head open just doesn’t seem right to us. I’m sure I recognised him from the City; he live
d near our sector so he couldn’t have been here that long. Anyway, what did he mean when he said it’s all a lie?’
Elias sat back on the sofa. ‘That man had been babbling crazy nonsense ever since we apprehended him trying to plant bombs to destroy everything we’ve built here. If I don’t make an example then others may follow suit and we’ll have an outbreak of disorder, which puts lives at risk. I’m the mayor, and it’s my responsibility to maintain law and order.’
‘It’s your town and your laws and it’s not our place to tell you what to do, but we don’t have to like it or stay here. You promised we could leave if we stayed one night and saw out that sandstorm,’ Carl said.
Elias nodded. ‘I’m a man of my word and you will be able to leave once we deal with an issue that has been brought to my attention.’
‘What issue?’ Amy asked. ‘Is this some kind of excuse to keep us here even longer? Are we ever leaving?’
‘Please, please,’ Elias said, holding both hands up. ‘Calm down, I’m sure we can clear this matter up within a couple of days and have you on your way.’
‘Calm down? Are you kidding me?’ Carl said, staring wide-eyed. He could feel his heart start to race. ‘What issue and why does it take a couple of days to clear it up?’’
Elias leaned forward. ‘I have received information that both of you were seen late last night in the vicinity of the old pump house, down near the town centre. This facility was damaged last night, sabotaged if you will. So, you see, we have a bit of a pickle to sort out as I need to know why you were there and what you know about this act of terrorism.’
‘Look, Elias, we never left your house last night. You locked us in so we couldn’t have left even if we wanted to. Plus there was a sandstorm so, no, we didn’t leave, and no, I have no idea where the pump house is or who damaged it,’ Carl said, jabbing a finger at the mayor.
‘As the mayor of this town I have to conclude my investigations and once I do, you’ll be on your way if that’s what you wish.’
Carl grabbed Amy’s hand and stood up. ‘Forget that, we’re not being subjected to your tinpot investigation. I don’t recognise your laws. This is some kind of backward banana republic and we’re leaving now.’
Vincent stood in the doorway, blocking their exit, and raised his weapon. He pulled the bolt back then forward to chamber a round.
Carl stopped in his tracks and stared down the barrel.
‘A fine piece of engineering isn’t it?’ Elias said.
Carl looked at the mayor then back at Vincent’s rifle.
‘The model 700 hunting rifle is such a wonderful weapon. Rare too, you won’t find another anywhere, I bet. A fine walnut stock, twenty-two-inch long hammer-forged carbon-steel barrel. Put yourself in a sniper’s vantage point with a box full of ammo, you could seriously disrupt the movements of a whole battalion with that thing. They just don’t make them like they used to…do they, Vincent?’
‘Nope.’
‘So now you’re threatening us?’ Carl said.
Elias clasped his hands together and rested his elbows on his knees. ‘Not a threat, just the wish to see the proper judicial process out and come to a conclusion. I have to act on information I’m given, as I’m sure you understand. What kind of mayor would I be if I didn’t oversee the investigation of reported crime? You’re new here, it makes people nervous. Plus we’ve had problems with terrorists and everyone is looking at everyone else with suspicion. Not a situation I want to see continue.’
Carl led Amy back to the sofa and they both sat down. ‘Looks like we have little choice, doesn’t it?’ he said.
‘You’ll be my guests here in my house. Vincent will look after you. You’ll have everything you need: clothes, food and water. But please do not leave these premises while we look into this matter. I promise I’ll make the process as quick as I can, but I have to be seen to be treating everyone equally and thoroughly investigating all things that are reported to me. If I make an exception it undermines my authority and law and order starts to break down and everything we built starts to crumble.’
‘We’ve seen your justice,’ Amy said. ‘Meted out in front of a baying crowd who seemed to delight in you hanging the poor man twice and having one of your thugs crush his head.’
Elias sat back and sighed. ‘And yet you’d complain if that man had slit the throat of your boyfriend, or if he had decapitated your children then planted bombs that killed everyone else you knew and held dear…you’d complain about that, wouldn’t you? We don’t have the facilities to give murderers life sentences; we’re trying to survive, just like you. Examples have to be made to deter others and he won’t be murdering anyone else now, that’s for sure.’
‘No thanks necessary.’ Vincent smiled.
Carl looked at Amy then back at Elias. ‘We’ll comply with your wishes. Amy needs to rest…we both do to be honest. We’re in your town and we understand we have to abide by your rules. But if we can’t leave within the next two to three days then I’ll assume you’re keeping us here for no other reason than to impose your will on us, and it’ll be up to us to do everything we can to resist that.’
Elias closed his eyes and nodded in agreement while Vincent lowered his weapon.
Chapter Thirteen
The last of the supplies were brought out of the module and packed into backpacks, bags and anything else that could be carried. Small packets of rations and water were given priority over toiletries and medicine. If it was considered a luxury or non-critical personal item, it would be left behind. There was only so much each man could carry through a desolate landscape with little shelter from the burning sun. How far they could travel on foot each day would have to be seen. The military contingent, made up of young fit men who were used to carrying backpacks and heavy weaponry, would carry the most. Everyone else would carry what they could and anyone that couldn’t make the grade, who fell ill or became injured, would be left behind.
Edmond and Janelle stood staring at the four burial mounds as the dust blew around their feet. Jutting out of the ground like the remnants from some excavation, they were all that was left of their closest friends and allies, who had gone forever and left a hole in both of them that couldn’t be filled.
‘I knew our struggle would mean sacrifices,’ Edmond said, ‘but I’d no idea I’d lose just about everything possible.’
Janelle looked at Edmond. ‘So what do we do now? We’ve got few resources, no idea what’s out there. We can’t return to the city, so how will the rest of us survive?’
‘There was never a plan for this. Obviously there were systems in place in case of such an emergency, that’s why we’re here now, still alive and our bones aren’t floating through space for all eternity, but we never dreamt this could be a reality. We’ll head south and see what we can find. Maybe there is more between here and the Crystal City. If we don’t find anything suitable we’ll see what’s left in the old city and start again, from scratch, just like our forefathers did.’
The young commander approached Edmond. ‘Sir, everything is packed and ready to go. The module doors have been sealed and the explosives rigged on a timer. There will be nothing left and the critical systems and information they contain will be destroyed as requested.’
Edmond nodded. ‘Well done, Commander. We’ll split into three groups and hopefully at least one of us will reach a safe haven. Each team will have a fully charged field radio with extendable antenna. This should give a good range of communication over several miles depending on the terrain.’
‘Yes sir,’ the soldier said. ‘How would you like the groups split?’
‘Myself, you and Janelle, together with the doctor and four soldiers will head due south. Split the remainder into two equal groups with one heading south-east and another south-west. Radio in frequently so we can share information on what we find…if anything. This three-pronged approach will hopefully increase our chances of finding something. If all else fails then try and use the maps to ascertai
n your location and head towards the old Crystal City ruins.’
‘Are we going to last long in this heat?’ Janelle asked.
Edmond raised his shoulders. ‘Your guess is as good as mine. It’s either boil to death and die of thirst here or do so out there with a chance to find shelter and resources. I told everyone there were no others alive out here, but I always felt deep down that there would be small pockets of survivors. Organise the groups, Commander, we move out in thirty minutes.’
Janelle adjusted the new black uniform she’d been given, which consisted of an all-in-one jumpsuit as worn by the Black Hats and soldiers of the old city. She laced up the standard-issue black boots and stuffed every zipped pocket with ration pouches. The dried powdered foodstuff would make a fairly tasty souplike substance with added small protein bits. The kind of diet that keeps the soldier in the field going for a few days, but wouldn’t be ideal to live on long term with its high salt content and tendency to cause stomach problems. The backpack she’d been issued was smaller than the military one, about half the size but with adequate storage space for water bottles, more ration pouches and a small first aid kit.
Edmond gathered the group around him and stood on an upturned ammo box. ‘By now you should all know the plan to split up into small groups, and hopefully the commander and his men have checked your rations and given you maps and guidance where possible. Each group leader has a flare gun and five cartridges. If you find something worth reporting back and if you cannot relay this information via the radio, for whatever reason…wait until dusk and fire a flare every hour to notify the others. These should be noticeable from many miles away against the dark sky.’
The group listened intently then looked at each other without expression. The risks of splitting up were clear and the two groups leaving without the guidance of Edmond and the doctor felt particularly vulnerable.
‘We may not all make it, but we can’t stay here and die of thirst and starvation either. This will be the outcome if we don’t do something more proactive. We have to roll the dice and take a gamble. It’s our duty to try and survive and do our utmost with our remaining time to encourage the continuation of the human race,’ Edmond added. ‘Now, let’s get underway and I’ll hopefully see you all again soon.’
Into the Dust Storm Page 6