Forged in the Dawn

by Gavin Zanker

  Emily took a deep breath, trying to fight the overwhelming panic as she struggled to find any words to respond with. Trent rolled his eyes and strode forward, backhanding Emily across the face. She cried out, more from shock than pain, as she stumbled back, tripping over the overturned stall. The two Seekers in her group leapt forward, standing in front of her defensively.

  ‘You’d better hold your dogs in check before they get bitten,’ Trent said, glaring at the two men, his hand hovering over his belt.

  Emily waved them back, and they stepped aside. She was no strategist but even she could see they were heavily outnumbered and fighting here would be suicide.

  Another blue-robed man stepped out of the crowd, pulling back his hood and revealing an aged face and long grey hair. ‘Trent, please,’ he said in a gravelly tone. ‘There’s no need for violence.’

  Trent sighed as he saw the man. ‘I’ve got no time for you, Fenton. This is none of your business, so scurry on back to your little fort or I might start having second thoughts about our arrangement and come pay you a visit.’

  ‘The lady is doing no harm. Why not leave her be?’

  ‘I’m not going to tell you again, old man,’ Trent warned.

  Trent glared at the robed man, his eyes blazing dangerously. After a few seconds, Fenton pulled his hood back up and melted back into the crowd.

  Trent turned back to Emily. ‘I don’t expect to see you or anyone from your cult here again, understood? No one here has any interest in your phony beliefs. We don’t want it and we don’t need it. You do need us though, isn’t that right? Without our coal, you parasites in the south would just be rats living in your rusty little hole in the ground.’ Trent spread his arms wide and grinned. ‘You preach about the light, but we supply the light of civilisation to your city. How’s that for irony!’

  Emily rubbed her stinging face but remained silent. She had seen violent men like this before. They functioned on ego and reputation, and she knew and knew better than to argue. Trent’s dancing eyes locked with hers, and she thought she saw a glint of madness there.

  ‘We’re free to leave then?’ she asked, her eyes again flickering to the hanging bodies.

  ‘Oh them?’ Trent said, following her gaze. ‘Just thieves. I don’t look on stealing as favourably as your fat little lord does down in the south, I’m afraid. We don’t string up visitors though, you needn’t worry. Of course, next time I see you or any of your little cult here, I have the feeling I won’t be quite as hospitable as I was today.’

  With that, Trent turned and stalked away through the parting crowd. The rest of the Kiln Boys followed him, sneering at Emily as they left her and the ruined stall behind.

  Emily breathed an audible sigh of relief. She had not expected such a reaction from the Kiln Boys, or for Trent Reid to show up. The Seekers helped her up with grim faces, and the group set about cleaning the mess from the floor and repacking the trailer. With nothing more to see, the crowds quickly lost interest and drifted away.

  She would return home to the Rim and speak privately to her husband. She knew Travis would be furious and demand action, and she would be inclined to let him have his head if it was not for the innocents who would suffer. Whatever happened next, there would be consequences for Trent and his Kiln Boys, and she only hoped she could prevent a bloodbath.

  CHAPTER 28

  AIDEN LEANED AGAINST the askew mail box while smoking a nail-thin cigarette and watching Hitch sniff around. Here on the edge of the Rusts, one of the poorest districts in the city, the houses looked like they would topple into the canyon under a light gust of wind. Corrugated panels, breeze blocks, and in some places even cardboard. The area itself was quiet, though he could hear the commotion of the city centre in the distance. It was mostly older folks and families living here, trying to carve out some peace with the little they could afford.

  Glancing inside the nearest house, Aiden saw Faye through the open window saying her goodbyes. She waved to a young boy and an elderly couple as she left, closing the door behind her. Aiden dropped his cigarette and stepped on the butt before kicking it over the edge of the metal walkway. He watched it sail down out of view towards the bottom of the canyon.

  ‘I didn’t know you had family in the city,’ Aiden said.

  ‘Little brother, yeah,’ Faye replied. ‘You should’ve come in to meet him. Andrew loves meeting new people.’

  ‘I’m not big on people, especially kids.’

  ‘I would never have guessed,’ Faye said with a smirk.

  The two set off along the metal walkway, strolling as Hitch followed at a distance. A shout came from a nearby house, followed by heavy footsteps and a door slamming.

  ‘So who looks after the kid?’ Aiden asked, ignoring the domestic.

  ‘Beverly and Albert. Some old friends of the family I’ve known for years. They’re part of the Church and they offered to look after Andrew when I told them I wanted to join the Seekers.’

  ‘No parents then?’

  Faye shook her head grimly and stopped to lean on a railing. Aiden joined her, peering at the canyon extending below. The generator site was visible from here, and he noticed steam drifting up from some of the engines.

  ‘So why did you join up?’ Aiden asked. ‘I’m guessing you weren’t pulled out of a fighting pit.’

  ‘You’d be surprised how many choose to sign up. It’s a pretty attractive package really. There’s job security, three meals a day, and even a modest wage. For most of us it’s just a job like any other.’ She pushed Aiden playfully. ‘We’re not all convicts, you know.’

  ‘What makes you think I was a convict?’

  ‘Female intuition,’ she said, waving her hand. ‘I can just tell these things.’

  ‘Oh, is that right?’

  ‘Plus Kane might have mentioned it in passing.’

  Aiden watched as she failed to keep a straight face. ‘Well, I suppose it makes sense now that I think about it,’ he said. ‘A lot of people in the barracks don’t look like they would survive a day in prison.’

  ‘Like Blanc. Poor girl.’

  Aiden nodded. He still could not understand why such a timid girl was in the employ of private security.

  ‘She’s getting there slowly,’ Faye said. ‘I have no idea why she joined though, whenever I ask her she just goes quiet and gets that dark look on her face.’ Faye turned to Aiden, her smile fading. ‘Speaking of dark looks, want to tell me what happened with you and Jordy earlier? I couldn’t believe it when I walked in to see you wailing on him like that. You never seemed the type to snap.’

  Aiden flexed his fingers in his pockets, feeling the sore knuckles. He felt uneasy knowing that he had been a slave to his emotions like that, acting on pure rage.

  ‘I wasn’t looking for a fight,’ he said.

  ‘It didn’t look like much of a fight to me.’

  ‘He pushed me at the wrong time. I lost control.’

  ‘No kidding. Louise says he could take weeks to recover. Jordy isn’t one to tell tales, but who knows what Kane will say if someone else reports it. He hates fighting within the team. You want to talk about what happened?’

  He considered explaining the hallucination to her, but had no idea where to start. ‘I was married once,’ he blurted, the words tumbling out before he could stop them. ‘Her name was Kate.’

  Faye looked sideways at him. ‘What happened?’

  ‘What always happens?’ Aiden stared up at the grey sky overhead. ‘The world happened. She disappeared one day. Just up and vanished. I can’t remember how long I looked for her. Days turned to weeks. Then months. Before I knew it I’d lost touch with my humanity. I ended up catching the attention of the wrong person, and I found myself locked up down in that hole.’ Aiden kicked a loose stone off the walkway into the canyon below. ‘I caused a bit of mayhem when I tried to escape, and our friendly Captain of the police had me thrown into the ever popular Grand Arena.’

  ‘Captain Ellington? So you two have
a history then, that explains last night.’

  Aiden nodded. ‘You can see why he isn’t too fond of me. One night in the cells under the arena, I overheard one of the fighters telling a story. He used to be in a gang. One day him and a few friends abducted a woman. Turns out he was talking about Kate. The details matched perfectly, it had to be her. The gang abducted her and his boss murdered her.’

  ‘What gang?’

  ‘The Kiln Boys. You’ve heard of Trent Reid?’

  She nodded. ‘Yeah, Pretty Boy Reid. I moved down here from Kiln Commons a few years back so I know what he’s capable of.’

  ‘You saw the scar on his face? That was Kate. She cut him with this.’ Aiden pulled out the knife on a loop around his neck and showed it to her. ‘She etched her name into the handle there. I found it lying in the forest covered in blood where she was taken. I’ve carried it ever since.’

  He slipped the knife back under his shirt. ‘Back in the gym. It sounds insane, but Jordy disappeared and somehow… Trent was there in his place. I lost control and the next thing I knew, you were pulling me off and it was Jordy lying in a pool of his own blood. You think I’m crazy now, don’t you?’

  ‘No, I don’t think you’re crazy,’ she said, placing a hand on his arm, her voice soft. ‘I think this world pushes us in ways we never knew we could be pushed, and we all do things we regret later.’ She squeezed his shoulder. ‘As long as you can still tell the difference between right and wrong, I think you’re doing okay. Come on, let’s head back to the compound. Everyone will be getting ready to head up to the arena soon.’

  Aiden whistled Hitch, and the three of them set off. ‘You’re going with the team to watch the fights then?’ Aiden asked.

  ‘Why would I do that when we can have the barracks to ourselves?’ she said, smiling coyly but not meeting his gaze.

  CHAPTER 29

  A FEW QUIET DAYS passed with Aiden and Faye spending more time together, until one afternoon Kane called a short-notice meeting in the common room. As Aiden stood waiting for Kane to arrive, he overheard some of the rumours being circulated around the team.

  ‘Did you hear about Emily?’ someone said. ‘Poor girl. I don’t think anyone has heard from her since she got back.’

  ‘Did she even make it back? Those Kiln Boys are ruthless. I heard about some of the things they do up there. Dragging people behind horses, public hangings, slavery. You name it.’

  ‘That’s just rumours. I bet it’s all talk to big themselves up really.’

  ‘I was there when she arrived back at the compound this morning. Travis spirited her through the Zenith Gate so quickly her feet didn’t even touch the ground.’

  ‘Maybe that psycho Trent messed up her face and she’s hiding it from people.’

  ‘What happened?’ Aiden asked the group, interrupting their gossiping.

  ‘Emily was up north visiting Kiln Commons on a charity mission, giving out food to the people and the like. Then Trent Reid and his Kiln Boys turned up and ran her out of town.’

  ‘And no one has seen her since she got back?’ Aiden asked.

  ‘She disappeared into the inner compound the second she got back and hasn’t come out since.’

  From his spot by the open window, Aiden heard hushed voices outside the building. He glanced outside and saw Travis standing there animatedly waving his arms at his aide, Samuel.

  ‘This can’t be ignored,’ Travis hissed under his breath, ‘that’s my wife they attacked. I can’t let this lie!’

  Aiden could not hear Samuel’s response, the aide’s voice remaining calm and measured. Travis noticed Aiden looking out of the window and Samuel swivelled to follow his gaze. He put his hand on the church leader’s arm and guided him away out of earshot.

  Aiden leaned out the window, breathing the cool air as Hitch padded over to him and lay at his feet. If Emily really had been attacked then it meant the Dawnists would want retaliation. With the Seekers being the Church’s muscle, Kane would probably be tasked to send a team north to strike back at the Kiln Boys. If Aiden could get on that team, then he might have a chance at finding Trent Reid. He fingered the knife around his neck as he considered the possibility.

  It was not long before Travis reappeared, flinging open the common room door and storming inside. Kane and Samuel followed, taking up places on either side of him. Travis addressed the group, the softness Aiden had heard in his sermons gone, replaced now with an undisguised anger.

  ‘I’m sure you’ve all heard what happened by now.’ His gaze swept over the silent room. ‘Trent Reid attacked my wife Emily. On a mission of charity, no less.’

  Samuel interrupted as Travis paced back and forth. ‘She’s back now, resting in her chambers, and would appreciate privacy for the time being.’

  ‘That jumped-up thief has stepped over the line this time,’ Travis continued. ‘He insulted both me and this organisation. I’m authorising a new mission for the Seekers.’ Aiden glanced at Kane who remained impassive. ‘You are to head north to Kiln Commons and make an assault on the Kiln Boys in response for their actions.’

  Travis pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Oh and the mission might even facilitate us expanding our influence north to Kiln Commons and solidifying our presence there. From there we can help the citizens of the town who I’m told are suffering under Trent’s rule. You might even find some of them are willing to rise up against him.’

  Travis looked around at the silent group, his eyes blazing. ‘I’m told I can’t risk myself by going with you.’ He flashed a glance sideways at Samuel. ‘As much as I would love to take a swing at that degenerate personally after what he did, I’m forced to stay here. Kane has the rest of the details. That’s all.’

  With that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the room. Samuel whispered something into Kane’s ear then followed after him. A ripple of nervous chattering spread through the room at the news. Aiden smiled to himself, contrasting the atmosphere of anxiety and fear. Finally he might have his chance at revenge.

  ‘Right, quiet down,’ Kane said, raising his hands. ‘Now you all heard the plan. We march north to Kiln Commons and, if the Kiln Boys haven’t already run at the sight of your ugly mugs, we find their leader Trent and we teach him some manners. I know this guy, and I can tell you what a piece of work he is, so believe me when I say this is long overdue. After we drop him, the rest of them should scatter like the cowards they are. Questions?’

  ‘How many of us are going?’ Blanc asked from the back as she toyed with the silver ring on her finger.

  ‘I’m leaving a token group here to guard the compound while I lead the rest of the team in force.’

  ‘What about weapons?’ Aiden asked. ‘I assume this is going to be heavier than just whacking the school bully.’

  ‘It’ll be usual fare. Mostly pistols, any extra rifles we can lay our hands on. Our gear is solid and well kept, and from what I’ve seen the Kiln Boys use junk. So we’ll have the advantage there.’

  ‘How many are we going up against?’ Faye asked. ‘Won’t they have the numbers?’

  ‘Based on the reports I have, I’m expecting no more than fifty. Trent rules with fear, not numbers. And they should be scattered and uncoordinated at that, while we fight as a trained unit. Frankly, they won’t stand a chance.’

  ‘Travis said the townsfolk would help us,’ Faye said. ‘Any truth to that?’

  ‘It’s a possibility, but until we get eyes on the situation, we can’t be sure. All I can say at the moment is avoid civilian casualties. They might be in the Kiln Boys’ territory but they aren’t all members of the gang, most are just normal people trying to eke out a living.’

  After a few more questions and everyone was satisfied, Kane told them to take the rest of the day to gear up and say goodbye to their loved ones.

  ‘I want everyone to report up at the redoubt at 2200. We leave after sundown. Trent will have his spies in the city, and if we can reach him before he knows we’re coming, we’ll
be able to take him by surprise.’

  Kane turned and left the common room, which immediately exploded in conversation. Aiden could not keep the grin from his face now. Finally he would get his chance at Trent.

  Faye approached him, rubbing her shoulder. ‘Some news, huh. Want to take a shopping trip to Oldtown with me? I could use a new knife before we head out.’

  ‘Sure, I need some food for Hitch anyway.’ Aiden nudged Hitch who was still sleeping at his feet. The dog yawned widely and stretched. ‘Come on, boy. Let’s go get some supplies. We’re going on a trip.’

  AIDEN LOOKED AROUND the bustling market in Oldtown as he waited for Faye to come back out of the hunting shop. Hitch sniffed around a nearby bin, overflowing with rubbish. Oldtown was built on a large plateau like the compound on the other side of the canyon, and it housed the city’s largest market. None of the shops were boarded up here, and he could only see two beggars from where he stood. Even the smell seemed less pungent than the Rusts.

  People hurried back and forth, going about their daily business. Aiden watched a middle-aged woman waddle through the market, a long sweep of hair plastered over the top of her head and a strange pattern shaved in to one side. The style seemed to be in fashion lately, though it was lost on Aiden. To him it just looked ridiculous and impractical.

  As his eye travelled over the people, he caught sight of Blanc and Adam across the square. She was carrying a conversation with someone just out of view. He leaned back against the shop wall and watched for a while. She seemed more nervous than usual, casting furtive glances around as she twisted the ring on her finger. A few moments later she turned and headed away with Adam, and Aiden caught a glimpse of a nervous looking man disappearing into the shadows of a nearby alley.

  ‘Come on, boy,’ Aiden said to Hitch as he jogged through the market to catch up with Blanc.

  ‘Oh, hi Aiden. I er, didn’t see you here,’ Blanc said. Seeing Hitch at her heel, she stepped away eyeing the dog nervously. Adam grinned and knelt down to play with the him as Aiden stepped in Blanc’s path.