by J. L. Harden
Wasteland Wonderland
Part 4
By J. L. Harden
The
Turn
of
Hector
Ramirez
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 1
“Physically he will be stronger. He will be faster. He will be better. Mentally, he will be the same. It is too dangerous to lower their cognitive functions. Or to increase them for that matter. But his memory has been altered. Critical and important events have been changed and erased. False memories have been implanted. And because of this, you can mold him. You can teach him. This is a gift.”
“What about his wounds?”
“His wounds have healed. He is now like you, yes?”
“Thank you, Doctor Schroeder.”
“Please, call me Wilhelm.”
“As you wish. I will have my people move him to the quarantine facility. Azrael, make sure he finds his way to the Ruined City.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
I hear voices. They come from a dark place, from deep within my mind. I don’t know who the voices belong to. I have no earthly idea. There is talk of risk. The risk of unleashing a killer inside Wonderland. The risk of being found out…
“These risks are nothing compared to the risk of allowing our enemies to multiply… of allowing certain people to live. We will use Hector as a weapon. He will eliminate our enemies and no one will suspect us, or accuse us of anything. The Magician was right. We must distract and misdirect.”
“Can the Magician be trusted?”
“No.”
Someone asks about the future. About a grand design. “So what is your plan for this… beast?”
And the plan is laid bare.
The Lord is about to execute the Final Exodus. The trip to the Arks is long and dangerous. He cannot afford to take people he cannot trust. And so, they must be eliminated. “Using Hector will ensure that suspicion is never directed at you, my Lord. And if there is a leak… a rat…”
“I want to know who. I need to know. I want them dead.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“You didn’t answer my question. What exactly are you going to do with Hector?”
“First, we will test him. And his first test will be to dispose of the Enforcers, the Rangers, and the Conspirators. They simply know too much. And for knowing things that are not supposed to know, they must be eliminated.”
“And then what? Assuming he pulls off this miracle…”
“Assuming he passes this test, which he will, we will then throw him to the wolves. We will sentence him to death, we will kill him. And then, we will save him. We will bring him back. And for saving him, for bringing him back, he will pledge his life and his loyalty to us. He will become our weapon. We will unleash him on the people of the Wasteland.”
“And what of the rogue Overseer? What of Lucian?”
“Lucian is not an Overseer, he is an experiment gone wrong.”
“How do we know it won’t happen again?”
“We have come a long way, in such a short time. And my brother is not around to ruin things. Lucian will be dealt with in due course. You have my word.”
“And what of the Rangers?”
“I cannot guarantee all of them. But I can guarantee access to the ones being held by the Raiders. And the one who has infiltrated the quarantine facility.”
“How many is that?”
“Three. Including their leader.”
“Very good. How long until Hector is ready?”
“It is almost done.”
“Almost?”
“There is one more issue I must deal with. He has a tracking device. Here. It is the work of his brother.”
“We need to fix this.”
“We will.”
“His brother might not be as strong, but he is every bit as tough. And he is smart. Cunning. We won’t be able to manipulate him like we can Hector.”
“Of course we will.”
“How do you know all of that? About Hector’s brother…”
“Intel report. From the Rangers.”
“And you trust this information?”
“Yes.”
“Do you trust them? After what they’ve done?”
“Gentleman, please. We will deal with this. This is not a problem. You have my word. My Lord, I will remove the tracking device. I will alter it. And then I will re-insert. I am the only person inside the walls of Wonderland who can perform this procedure.”
“This is a lot of trouble for one man.”
“Trust me, he is worth the trouble. If he is not worthy, he will not survive. Simple as that. But believe me, he will not only survive, he will thrive. He is a killer born.”
“Tell me one more time who the priorities are…”
“The three Conspirators. And of course, the three Rangers. One is hiding in the quarantine facility. Two are being held by the Raiders. Hector will eliminate them all. He will do this willingly and enthusiastically. And no one will suspect us of anything…”
“Lucian?”
“I already told you, his whereabouts are unknown. If he resurfaces, Michael will know.”
“The Rangers. They will not go quietly or easily.”
“You are right, it won’t be quiet and it won’t be easy. But it will be done. Hector killed Overseer Gabrielle. He will kill the Rangers.”
I hear more voices.
At least three.
Three men.
Three wise men.
Three ruthless and powerful men.
They talk about strength. They talk about killing.
They talk about…
I’m not sure what they’re talking about.
The voices are distant.
Quiet.
Soft.
There’s this strange and endless silence now.
And then… darkness.
Am I dreaming? Or am I dead?
No. Too lucid. I can see too much. In my mind’s eye, I see ruby. Alive. Wearing nothing but a smile. I see her dead. Covered by a sheet. And there’s no way I’m dead. I’m in too much pain. Too much agony. In my chest. My heart. There’s pain… from days of torture…from the fight… the war…
And I remember it all. Ruby was murdered. I was looking for her killer. I was getting close.
I remember that much.
And I remember the heat.
The unbelievable and breathtaking heat.
I’d tracked the son of a bitch who’d killed Ruby, hunted him down, tracked him all the way to the Water Treatment Plant, to the Long Tunnel…
The Long fucking Tunnel.
A secret passageway that connects the Buried City to Wonderland.
A secret.
But I remember.
And I remember a time when I used to be a killer. A brawler. A terrible thing to be feared. Back when I lived in the Buried City. But I put those days behind me while I worked with my brother, helping the people of the Wasteland.
I buried my past. I forgot my past. I repressed it and I imagined the dark days never happened.
Years went by. A lifetime.
I did good work with my brother. I helped people. I saved people.
We lost a few. But we saved many more.
It was good.
But
all good things must come to an end, and so it was with our dangerous and lucrative job. The Shuttles’ return trip to Earth was delayed.
Indefinitely…
And so the work stopped…
And my dark days were back…
Fighting.
Brawling.
Killing.
And all the violence and blood was topped off with copious amounts of drinking.
Fortified brew… chased by the worst beer you’ve ever tasted.
And then I met a girl… Ruby…
I only knew her for a short time. I spent one night with her. Half a night. But that night… time slowed down and it lasted an eternity. That night… it lives on in my mind and I relive it over and over and it makes me happy.
It makes me happy because I got to spend a night with her.
A moment.
One moment.
A lifetime.
It makes me happy because Ruby saved me. She gave my life a purpose. Even if that purpose is bloody revenge. But it is the least I can do. Killing an army of corrupt Enforcers, killing desperate Mercs and blood thirsty Raiders, killing rogue Overseers, it is the very least I can do.
Killing an army.
Killing the sons of bitches responsible.
I’ll probably die doing this, but I’ll die doing the right thing, fighting the good fight.
Ruby saved me and the messed up thing is she came to me for protection. I was supposed to save her. So I feel like I owe her my life. And that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to give my life to her, to her memory, to her ghost.
I try and plan how I’m going to do this. I try and plot my revenge.
But then…
Then it gets dark.
The only thing I know for certain is Ruby was killed. She was murdered. Poisoned in her sleep.
And now I’m back… the killer is back…
I am a terrible thing.
I am to be feared.
And I’m coming for you.
You.
A corrupt Enforcer.
A Wasteland Raider.
A desperate and hungry Merc.
A rogue Overseer.
I’m coming for the bastard who killed Ruby and I’m getting close…
He’s somewhere in the Wasteland.
Probably hiding in the Ruined City.
He’s so close. I know it… I can feel it…
Find the killer… Find the truth…
I left Ruby behind, covered by a sheet. A sign of respect. I didn’t know what else to do.
Her ghost follows me.
Find the killer… Find the truth….
Darkness fades and I see a sliver of light… coming from somewhere… the Red Giant most probably. I’m not sure where I am. All I know for certain is that Ruby is dead and her killer is still out there. Still on the loose. All I know for certain is that I am going to find him and I am going to kill him.
Slowly.
When I wake… pain washes over me. My skin feels raw. A thousand cuts from a thousand razor blades. But then the pain dissipates, not altogether, but enough. Just enough. And now I’m fully awake and my head feels two sizes too big and the whole world is spinning.
Faster and faster.
I see… iron bars.
Concrete walls.
The bars of a cell.
I’m in a cell?
And then I hear a voice and he says, “Welcome to purgatory.”
I blink my eyes. I can’t see much.
Shapes.
Shadows.
Light.
Dark.
“Rest now, Hector. You will need your strength.”
Chapter 2
“Who the fuck is he?”
“He is a friend.”
“A friend? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“He is no one. Nothing to worry about. Go back to sleep.”
“Don’t you fucking lie to me. Who is he?
There’s this awkward silence.
An awkward pause.
“Answer me!”
“He is a friend. We can trust him.”
“Trust? Are you insane? I don’t even trust you. I don’t trust anyone. It’s all fucked.”
“He helped me survive the Wasteland. He helped me escape from the Raiders. This was years ago. He was a transporter. The best.”
“He’s from the Wasteland?”
“Yes. He is from the Buried City.”
“I knew it. I fucking knew it. He’s infected, isn’t he? He’s diseased. He’s contaminated. We’re all fucked.”
“Would you relax? There is no infection. No outbreak. That is all lies and propaganda. Wonderland… they lie. To keep the peace. They lie for our own good. I thought you knew that? At any rate, if the virus… or bacteria… or whatever it is, if it is real, they would not have let him inside the quarantine facility. They would not have opened the gates for him.”
“I’m supposed to believe you? Over the word of the Lord? Are you fucking crazy? And just how accurate is that eye test they do, huh? Do you trust it with your life?”
“Calm down. He is not infected. They kill people who are infected or diseased or mutated in any way. They kill them on sight. They don’t process them. And they do not allow them in here. Only people who are guaranteed entry into Wonderland are allowed in here. Only people who are acceptable according to the Arks very high standards are allowed in here.”
“Has he had his shots? Is he vaccinated?”
“Who knows? The very fact that they have placed him in this room would suggest that he is healthy. Like I said, Wonderland do not waste their resources and they do not waste their time on lost causes.”
“I can’t fucking believe this. I fall asleep for five seconds and I wake up to this fucking nightmare of a situation.”
“You did not fall asleep. You passed out. You really should stop drinking so much wine.”
“I wouldn’t call it wine.”
“What would you call it?”
“Rocket fuel. Gasoline. But what else is there to do around here?”
“Fair point.”
Another silence falls over the room, the cell. And then I hear someone mumbling under their breath.
They are not happy.
They are furious.
And they say, “This is a fucking nightmare…”
“This is not a nightmare. This is a good man. He saved me a long time ago. I owe this man my life.”
“He’s going to set us back at least six months. Probably more. Definitely more.”
“There are worse places to be.”
The Ruined City.
The Canyons.
Anywhere in the Wasteland.
Sitting in a bar, below the Wasteland, somewhere in the Buried City.
Drinking what passes for beer.
Getting a mean drunk on. Drinking and chasing away pain and memories because even though it’s the literal end of the world, humans are weird and we still need to get a buzz on.
I remember I pulled her close.
She wore nothing but a smile.
Our bodies covered in sweat.
She says her name is Ruby. She tells me she’s from Wonderland. She says she knows everything.
And then she dies.
And it’s not until she’s dead that I finally feel alive, that I feel like my life has a purpose. And maybe this is the real tragedy… that Ruby had to die for my life to have meaning.
I wake up.
I open my eyes.
I see two men sitting across from me.
One of them is dozing off. The other is reading a book.
I try and speak but no words escape my mouth.
Where am I?
Where?
I clear my throat. I can’t believe how thirsty I am. “Where… where am I?”
The sleeping man snaps awake, like I startled him. Scared him. He jumps to his feet and moves to the back of the cell.
The other man closes his book. “This is the quarantine
station,” he answers calmly.
“Quarantine?”
“Yes. Welcome to Purgatory.”
“Gotta put all new comers, refugees into quarantine,” adds the other guy. The nervous guy. “Lot of messed up bio weapons used in the wars. And a lot of mutations going around. Can’t mess up the gene pool. Not in Wonderland. Or the Arks. They can fix some of them with gene therapy. But there’s a lot they can’t fix.”
Quarantine…
Is this Wonderland?
It can’t be. There’s no way. This is nothing like they said it would be. This is a prison.
Nothing makes sense…
How did I get here?
What was I doing before… this?
I try and remember. But remembering is hard… looking back is hard.
Everything is dark.
I remember I was hunting…
For a killer…
For Ruby’s killer…
I was out for vengeance. Out for blood and justice.
And I was getting close.
So very close.
And then…
Then it gets dark.
And my memory fails me.
And I failed…
No.
I haven’t failed. I’m still alive. Still breathing. Still ready for the fight and the hunt and the kill.
I pass in and out of consciousness. I don’t dream much. All I can see is Ruby. She’s standing in the darkness. I see her. She’s alone. And it breaks my heart. So I tell her I’m going to make this right. I renew my promise… my oath… And then hours pass and now I’m wide awake and my heart is pounding in my chest and I’m feeling restless. My stomach is churning, like my gut knows something is wrong.
I’ve got two cell mates.
One of them is nervous and angry and frustrated.
The other is calm and rational.
They are polar opposites.
The nervous guy is big. Not as big as me, but still pretty damn big. And solid. Like he’s made from stone. He carries himself like a fighter, a soldier, a warrior. But as big as he is, as strong as he looks, and believe me, he really does look like he is made from stone… but on the inside he is beginning to break, he is beginning to shatter.
On the inside he is fragile.
He can feel the walls closing in.
I wonder why.
There are worse places to be.