Forsaken (The Forgotten Book 2)

by M. R. Forbes

  Even further in, the buildings became slightly more solid, the cracks diminishing. Some of them still had glass in the frames, cracked and broken panes that spared those residents from the wind. Most of the people there were Scrappers or the families of Scrappers. They were in better shape than the others, but not by a wide margin. Nobody here was living comfortably.

  Nobody except King.

  They made a few turns on their way toward the Fortress, crossing through Sanisco undisturbed. She heard shouting through the window as they passed one of the alleys between buildings, alleys that reminded her of the strands. She turned her head to see what the commotion was for, just in time to watch one Scrapper pull a gun on another, shooting him in the chest.

  Civilization was gone. It had been for a long time.

  Was there any way to bring it back?

  If she did find a way to kill King, could she be the one to do it?

  Hayden would have supported her in anything. These people were living like animals, and it was frightening and painful to see. Whether they could overcome the trife or not, they should be working together.

  “The Fortress,” Ghost said, as they turned one of the corners and King’s castle came into view.

  It towered over the other buildings in the town, a massive structure with a triangular point at the top, a beacon of power that had no right to be as intact as it was, considering the level of devastation around it. That wasn’t to say it was in great condition. It was scuffed and scarred and beaten like every other building in the town, but it had held fast against the storm and weathered the worst. It was a fitting place to be the seat of the local warlord, as Natalia liked to think of King.

  She stared at it but didn’t respond.

  The car continued toward it, approaching the front of the building. There were half a dozen soldiers stationed there, dressed in an odd looking armor of some kind and holding large, powerful looking guns. They barely moved as the car came to a stop a good fifty meters from the front of the structure, at the base of the street.

  Ghost opened his door, sliding out and walking around to the other side. Natalia eyed the vacated exit when he did, momentarily considering trying to go out that side.

  And then what? Run? She would be dead before she made it three meters.

  The man in white opened the door for her, holding out his hand to help her out. She took it reluctantly, letting him bring her onto the street.

  “Shall we?” he asked.

  She didn’t resist him. There was no point. They started toward the building.

  She froze as the doors opened ahead of them, a large, metal contraption clearing the frame. It was bipedal, with two thick trunks holding up a large, rounded torso and flattened head. One of its arms ended in a barrel, like a gun. The other was composed of two fingers and a long thumb. It slumped forward, raising its hand to where its heart would be if it had one.

  “What the hell is that?” she asked.

  “We call them roids,” he said. “They’re old tech, left over from before the war. King’s managed to get a few of them functional. He has a few other engineers on site.”

  “Roids? What do they do?”

  “Whatever you ask them to if you’ve got their control transmitter.”

  They continued toward it. It remained stationary, waiting for them. As they drew closer, Natalia recognized the eagle and star logo etched into its side. It had a series of letters and numbers printed beside the logo. P1N-0CC-H10.

  “H10,” Ghost said. “Report.”

  The bucket head swiveled toward them. Natalia could see the cameras and other sensors attached to it, and her curiosity was immediately piqued.

  “King welcomes you to the Fortress, Courier,” it said in a stiff, echoing male voice. “He is waiting for you in his meeting chamber. I have been instructed to escort you.”

  The roid lifted itself on its legs and stomped ahead of them, back toward the door, which slid aside as it neared.

  Ghost and Natalia followed behind it. She glanced back before passing through the doors, looking for a route to escape and noticing the soldiers had closed ranks behind her.

  Damn.

  14

  THE LIFT STOPPED at what Natalia assumed was somewhere near the top of the structure. It was hard to know because the display was nonfunctional. The ride had been slightly jerky, the mechanism behind the elevator either slightly damaged or in desperate need of recalibration. She would have to look at the mechanics to know which.

  She caught herself, dropping her eyes to the floor. It was second nature for her to want to fix things. It had been since the day she was born. As the doors to the lift slid aside and the roid stepped out, she noticed it had a slight limp in its gait, and she caught herself a second time, wondering if she could fix that, too.

  Or maybe it was the stress. She was going to meet King, the man whose subordinates stole her from Metro, whose Scrappers killed her husband. Ghost carried knives tucked into the black belt that wrapped around his white pants. Could she grab one and stab it into King’s heart before anyone could react?

  She had seen Ghost fight. She doubted it.

  Instead, she followed behind the roid, with Ghost a couple of meters behind her. The lift had deposited them in a hallway similar to the one on the ground floor. Red paint, gold-framed images, and elegant carpeting. Where had he gotten it all? How many places had he plundered? How many lives had he upended so he could live in comfort, while there was nothing but squalor below?

  She was familiar with Earth’s history from the PASS. Did this part of it need to be repeated?

  They made it close to the end of the hallway. All of the doors looked the same, but the roid stopped at one the third from the end, reaching out for the handle. It gripped it with its smaller hand, turning and pushing it open as it walked through. Its bulk blocked the inside of the room from sight.

  “Your majesty,” the roid said. “I present you with the Courier, Ghost, and his latest delivery.”

  Natalia still couldn’t see him. Her heart was pounding, her face hot. She turned her head slightly to look for Ghost and his belt.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Ghost said. “Please, do not try.”

  She shifted her gaze forward again as the roid stepped heavily into the room.

  “There she is,” a scratchy voice said. “There is the treasure to end all treasures.”

  Then she saw him. An older man in a dark suit covered by a red velvet robe, a gold crown covering thinning white hair. He was short and stocky, his face wrinkled but well rested, his smile yellow, his missing teeth replaced with gold. He had bright, intelligent blue eyes, and she could almost sense his mind working as he held his hand out to her.

  “And beautiful as well,” he continued. “They didn’t tell me you were beautiful.” He smiled, stopping in front of her. She had to look down to meet his eyes. “Kneel before your King.”

  She continued staring at him. She was frozen by her fury.

  “I said kneel!” he shouted.

  Before Natalia knew what was happening, a stiff hand smacked against the side of her face, forcing it to the side and leaving a sharp sting behind.

  He had hit her?

  She turned her head back toward him, angrier than before, glaring down at him with contempt. He glared back, hardly afraid of her.

  “Let me make one thing clear to you, Engineer,” he hissed, pointing one of his stubby fingers at her. “Whatever you were, you are only what I make you now. You are property. My property. And you will do anything I say, or you will suffer. Your mind is what I need. Your body can be cut to ribbons for all I care, as long as you survive. Is that clear?”

  She considered defying him again. From his voice, from his actions, it was obvious he would carry out any threat he made. She had to submit, for now at least.

  She nodded slowly.

  King took a step back. “Good. Then kneel.” He said it slowly, emphasizing his command.

  She fell to
her knees in front of him. He held out his hand. He was wearing a large ring with a diamond set in the center.

  “Kiss the ring,” he said.

  She leaned forward, kissing it. She could feel the guilt of her humiliation as a small pit in her stomach. She had to prevent it from growing, or he would be able to reduce her to the slave he wanted.

  “Stand,” King said.

  She stood.

  He backed away, retreating toward the other end of the room. A plush chair was waiting there for him, cracked brown leather on a base with wheels at the bottom. A pair of women were standing on either side of it, dressed in simple, low-cut white gowns. They were both very pretty. Neither looked particularly happy to be there.

  Natalia turned her head slightly, noticing the wall of windows to her left. She gaped as she looked out over the city below, able to see the entire thing from the heights. It was brown and black and sharp, the destruction of Sanisco at the hands of the trife and the US Military trying to stop them still painfully visible despite the passage of time. Further out, she could see the water and the remains of a large bridge that had once spanned it. It was rusted and corroded and appeared to have collapsed at some point long ago. She could see hundreds of dark shapes moving around the base of it. Trife.

  “Sit,” King said, loudly enough to seize her attention.

  She looked at him, and then at the plain, rectangular table in front of him. An assortment of mismatched chairs surrounded it.

  “There,” he said, pointing to one near the front, close to him.

  She walked over to it and sat.

  “Ghost, sit here,” King said, pointing to the chair opposite her. “H10, wait outside.”

  “Yes, your Majesty,” the roid replied, immediately removing itself from the room and closing the door.

  King swiveled his chair slightly to look at her. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking.

  “I don’t want us to get off on the wrong foot, Engineer,” he said.

  “My name is Natalia,” she replied. “Natalia Duke.”

  He bit his lower lip, his face turning slightly red. He swiveled the chair away from her, to face Ghost.

  “Was she this much of a bitch to you?” he asked.

  “No, sir,” Ghost said. That was all he said.

  King returned his attention to Natalia.

  “I don’t want us to get off on the wrong foot, Natalia,” he said. “I’m not a hard man to please. You can ask my assistants if you don’t believe me.” He waved toward each of the two women beside him.

  Natalia tried to make eye contact with them, but they lowered their heads submissively. She had no doubt King was a predatory cretin, or that he was harder to please than he was admitting.

  “I got where I am because I have something too few people possess these days,” he continued. “Do you know what that is?”

  “No,” Natalia said.

  “No, what?” he replied.

  She stared at him.

  “I’ll tell you this once. All statements addressed to me are to end in either ‘your Majesty’ or ‘sir.’ Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir,” she said.

  He smiled. “Perfect.” He paused. “Vision,” he said. “I have vision. Too many of us have learned to accept the status quo. They’ve learned to accept that this world belongs to the trife, and we’re just trying to survive in it. I don’t accept that, Natalia. Not at all. I believe we can rebuild. It won’t be easy. It won’t be quick. But I think we can make something of our society. Some people say I’m harsh. Do you think that makes me harsh?”

  “No, sir,” Natalia said.

  “Good. The decisions I make aren’t made solely for my benefit, but the benefit of all. My health and welfare is most important, of course, because I’m the driving force behind the recovery of our entire race. I have organized the Scrappers. I have started expanding our territory outward and recovering land once lost to the trife. I have brought back the production of common necessities, as well as arms and armament. I have restored old tech like H10, and sent expeditions to explore areas others believed overrun.” His smile grew. “That’s how we found you. Of course, I wasn’t expecting them to find the Pilgrim still resting in her hangar. You can imagine my excitement. According to the data I’ve uncovered, your ship has an entire Marine Corp module installed in it, along with a full Space Force Deployment, a Research Module, and heavy equipment intended to assist with the construction of the colony. Not to mention all of the other items we can strip from her. She truly is the motherlode. The Jackpot. So are you.”

  “There are still colonists on board, sir,” Natalia said. “Fifty-thousand of them. The Pilgrim is theirs. You can’t just take it away.”

  King laughed. “No? Why not?”

  “It doesn’t belong to you.”

  He laughed harder. “To the victor goes the spoils, Natalia. The Pilgrim is mine, the same way you are mine. The colonists will be mine, too, once I’m able to reach them. Pig swore to me he knew a way in, but it seems his way in wasn’t as agreeable as he thought. But don’t worry, I will get through, I’m not worried about that. I’ll find uses for most of them, and for the ones I don’t need? I have no qualms about culling the weak from our midst.”

  A chill ran down Natalia’s back at the statement. How many innocent people would he kill without a second thought?

  “All of this time, and you thought you were on your way to a new home,” King continued. “I can’t imagine what that must be like for you, and for everyone still on board. I’m sorry you didn’t make it. I truly am. Since you didn’t, you will be of service to me instead.”

  “What kind of service?” Natalia asked. “Sir.” She tacked it on when his face darkened.

  “A simple request, to start,” King said. “My Scrappers recently recovered a machine they found buried deep in the woods to the north. A drone. My other engineers have already restored power to it, but it’s still too damaged to operate. You have knowledge of the old technology few people, if any, in this society can match. I want you to repair it. A test of your skills, so to speak.”

  “And if I don’t, sir?” she asked.

  “If you aren’t useful to me as an Engineer, I can make use of you somewhere else. I hate waste, and my Scrappers are always in need of companionship.”

  Natalia noticed how the woman to King’s right blanched at the statement.

  “There’s no downside to helping me,” King said. “I want to fight the trife, and the drone will bring me closer to doing that effectively.”

  “May I ask you a question, sir?” Natalia said.

  “Go on.”

  “I see there are trife gathered near the remains of the bridge out there.”

  “Yes. What about them?”

  “You say you want to bring the fight to the trife, but they’re massing less than a dozen kilometers from this settlement. Are you certain your goals are as benevolent as you claim?”

  King’s smile faded. “What are you getting at?”

  “Your man, Pig, was a cannibal, as were his Scrappers. I’m sure they aren’t the only ones. In the short time they were holding me captive, I witnessed two of them get into an altercation. Only one of them survived it. I’ve only been in Sanisco for thirty minutes, and I’ve already seen the people out there are starving, and their children are going naked. Not to mention, there was a murder in the streets not two blocks from here, all while you sit high in your tower on your throne, surrounded by gilded paintings and fresh carpets. Are you really a King for the people? Or are you a King for yourself? If you own me, as you say, there’s no reason for you to feed me bullshit about your true motives.”

  King’s eyes darted from her to Ghost. For a moment, Natalia was certain one man was going to order the other to kill her. Then he stood, approaching her, his cheeks red with anger as he leaned on the table and put his face in hers.

  “Engineer or not, if you ever dare question my motives again, I will bring you pain like y
ou’ve never felt it before. This is my Kingdom, Natalia. This is my world for the taking. I have no use for the weak, and I have no care for those so far below me I can’t even see them from here. My concerns are greater than they, or you, can even comprehend. I am the savior. The lord of light. The living god. You will honor and respect me. All will honor or respect me, or they will meet the fate they deserve.”

  He turned his back on her, fists clenched at his sides.

  “Ghost, get her out of my sight before I do something I’ll regret.”

  Then Ghost was at her side, gently holding her above the elbow and urging her from the chair.

  “Take her north, to Ports. Show her the complex.”

  “Your Majesty, what about the drone?” Ghost asked.

  He waved his hand. “Forget the drone. I was trying to be kind and ease her into her work, but this bitch doesn’t want my compassion. She questions her King? Her Lord and Master? The complex, damn it. She fixes the mainframe, or she dies. I want you to stay with her.”

  “King, I’m a Courier, not one of your soldiers. The complex is no place for me. Or for her, for that matter. She’s too valuable to risk-”

  He spun around again, this time facing Ghost. “Are you questioning me?” he shouted. “Do you want to screw her? Is that why? You can screw her all you want, but don’t you dare defy me.”

  Natalia thought Ghost might kill King for her. He was the one carrying the knives while the other man appeared defenseless.

  He hardly reacted, his expression remaining flat and calm.

  “I will do as you ask, your Majesty,” he replied.

  King’s anger vanished, replaced with a smile.

  “I knew I could count on you. Thank you.”

  Ghost gently squeezed Natalia’s arm, tugging her gently toward the door. She could hear King return to his throne behind them, still muttering under his breath.