Forager (Forager - A Dystopian Trilogy)

by Peter R Stone

  “What a load of codswallop,” King retorted, “Why didn’t you tell Ethan this ‘truth’ as soon as you saw him on Monday?”

  “It's because of his amnesia. I didn't want to force the truth on him. I wanted to trigger his memories of me instead,” Nanako replied, though to the captain, not to King.

  The captain indicated for the Custodian restraining me to remove my gag. “Is what she’s saying true, Jones?”

  “Yes, Sir,” I replied emphatically. ‘When I went to the hospital yesterday I saw the hospital admission form from November '20, and it stated that Nanako was my wife. That’s how I found out.”

  “I see. And did she trigger any of your memories?”

  “Yes, Sir, since her arrival I’ve had a number of memories of the time I was in Hamamachi, and last night I had a dream where I remembered meeting her for the first time. After the dream and finding out that we were married, I confronted my father, and he admitted he had asked the Custodians to have Nanako thrown out of Newhome,” I replied.

  “Lieutenant King,” Nanako said before the captain could reply, “Don't be mad at me for stopping your sister marrying Ethan, blame Ethan's father for taking advantage of Ethan’s amnesia.”

  "Can you prove any of this?" the captain asked us, sounding like he was slowly being swayed into believing us.

  "Have a look at my file in the hospital," I replied, "You'll see I was signed into hospital in November’20 by Nanako Jones, with her relationship to me listed as 'wife'."

  "You can also ask Councillor Okada," Nanako added, "for he knew Ethan very well before he was hurt."

  King suddenly had an epiphany. "Nanako, you claim Jones went to Hamamachi."

  "Yes, Sir, we bumped into each other when I was foraging in Melbourne's eastern suburbs and I asked him to come back to Hamamachi with me."

  "Did he join the Militia?" King asked keenly.

  "Yes he did, though he was promoted to the Rangers soon afterwards," she replied. “He developed entirely new strategies for dealing with the Skel, and these were adopted by the Militia and Rangers.”

  “And they were?” King prompted.

  “Never fight them frontally,” she answered, “instead, use stealth to get behind them and ambush them.”

  I’d actually developed my anti-Skel strategies when I started foraging at the age of fifteen. As I was able to detect Skel ambushes using echolocation, it was from there I got the idea to sneak behind them and give them a taste of their own medicine.

  “How did you fight the Skel previously?” the Lieutenant queried.

  “Upon encountering Skel, each squad broke into two teams. One team would provide covering fire while the other advanced,” she explained.

  “I see,” King said, nodding his head. As the Custodians were primarily a police force, they probably hadn’t learned military tactics such as this.

  The captain looked at Nanako and me, still handcuffed and kneeling on the floor and shivering uncontrollably. He sighed and addressed the Custodians who were restraining us. "Alright, uncuff Mr. and Mrs. Jones and let them go."

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Having set us free, the captain and two Custodian privates strode for the door, making no attempt to apologise for having been about to murder us a moment ago. I was overwhelmed with relief that we were still alive but also incensed with anger at yet another Custodian injustice. How much longer did I have to live in this prison-town?

  Ignoring wrists sore from chafing handcuffs and knees aching from kneeling too long on a hard wooden floor, I stood and helped Nanako to her feet. The poor girl was frightened out of her wits and shaking uncontrollably, and not just from the cold.

  But before I could even take stock of our situation, King was back in my face.

  "Mention this little ‘misunderstanding’ to anyone, anyone at all, and there'll be a little accident when you're out foraging one day. You reading me, Jones?" he whispered in my ear.

  I wanted nothing more than to mash my fist through his pockmarked face, but that would just give him the excuse he needed to lock me up. So with a monstrous amount of self control, I focused on breathing in and out and glared back at him without answering.

  King turned and sauntered after his companions, but just as he reached the apartment door, there was an enormous, thunderous boom, which shook the building to its very foundations.

  The captain steadied himself against the doorframe. "Earthquake?"

  "No, an explosion," I said.

  The Custodians rushed onto the walkway and looked about to check if my observation was correct, but they couldn't see anything from there.

  All of their radios suddenly sputtered to life. "Code 906. All Custodians report to North End in full battle gear immediately, repeat, Code 906." The message was repeated every few seconds.

  "You've got to be kidding!" King exclaimed.

  "What's 'code 906?'" I called out to the Custodians as I quickly dressed into trousers, t-shirt and hoody.

  "Let's go!" the captain ordered, completely ignoring me.

  "Wait, Captain!" I shouted as I darted onto the walkway after them. Again he ignored me, so I reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

  "What, Jones?" the captain practically shouted in my face.

  "What's 'code 906,' Captain?" I demanded.

  "Skel have broken into North End," he snapped back.

  "What could the Skel possibly gain by doing that?" I asked, trying to prompt him to think things through rather than rush off impetuously. I was working on the assumption that the Skel were much more organised than we had previously thought, and that besieging Newhome was the first stage of some insidious plan. This was obviously stage two. But what would its goal be, to cripple the town perhaps? And to such an extent that the population would be forced to leave? If that was the case, then I could think of only two possible scenarios in which the Skel could achieve that end. One was to destroy our electricity supply, and the other was to cut off our water.

  Snatches of frantic despatches bled through the Custodian radios:

  "...used a captured Bushmaster to break down the gates..."

  "...Skel everywhere..."

  "Sir, we've got to go," King pressed.

  The captain waved him back and answered me, "Supplies, livestock, slaves, the usual, how would I know?"

  "They can get those from any Victorian country town without having to go head-to-head with a few hundred well armed Custodians," I pointed out.

  "...taking casualties..."

  "...medic!"

  "If there's something you want to say, Jones, out with it!"

  We could hear the staccato sounds of guns firing intermittently in the distance - Custodians were fighting back.

  "...building's on fire..."

  "...fleeing civilians are blocking my line of fire..."

  "Call the security detail guarding the sub and I'll wager my bottom dollar they don’t answer," I said quickly, deciding to put my hunch to the test. The Skel were going after the electricity, they had to be.

  While the captain made a call to Custodian Headquarters on his radio, Nanako joined us on walkway, dressed in black over-knee socks, shorts and top, and looking a lot warmer than she had been a moment ago.

  The captain rejoined us, and was clearly not pleased with what he had heard over the radio. "HQ says they're not responding," he said darkly. "Okay men, we've got a sub to save. Virtually everyone else is already in or on the way to North End, so HQ is sending a couple of squads back meet us at the western gates - then we go in and go in hard."

  "...bravo company unable to enter North End, gates - the road is clogged by civilians..."

  "...get these blasted civilians out of the way..."

  "You rush out through the main gates to save the sub and you're all dead," I said, raising my voice to make myself heard.

  The captain was not pleased at my constant interruptions. "And why would that be, Jones?"

  "Because they'll have set an ambush outside the gates, expect
ing you to do exactly that, Sir. May I be so bold as to suggest a strategy?"

  "Jones, this is Custodian business!"

  "How many times have you fought the Skel, Sir?" I asked, risking a verbal slap down.

  "...requesting permission to retreat..."

  "...Skel have guns, repeat, Skel have guns..."

  The captain glared at me, confirming my suspicion - the answer was never. "Well then, what strategy do you propose?" he finally asked.

  "I presume the city has a secret entrance on the west wall?"

  "How do you know about the secret doors?" he demanded, shocked.

  "I saw a squad of Custodians using one once," I replied.

  "Well, you're right, there is one on the west wall - it's opposite the bridge, a hundred metres south of the western gates and sub."

  "In that case I recommend you send your force out the secret entrance, advance to the river bank and then follow it to the sub. That way you'll come up behind the Skel who are waiting near the gates. When you find them, fire a flare so that you can see them and take them out."

  "Sounds good in theory, Jones, but how are we supposed to find Skel hiding in the dark?” he demanded.

  I wanted to keep my mouth shut and let the Custodians deal with the situation to the best of their ability, but with such small numbers they'd fail and I knew it. And maybe my conscience wouldn't be particularly pricked if these particular Custodians met their end out there, but if the city lost power? That would be disastrous for ten-thousand civilians, for we had no alternative power supply. All the power stations out in the country had either been destroyed during the war, or had broken down since then. And without electricity to provide lighting in the green houses, the town would only be able to generate a fraction of the food it needed.

  "...we're pinned down here..."

  "...fall back, fall back..."

  "Put me with the lead squad and I'll take point," I offered.

  "You think you can find Skel in the dark, do you, Jones?" the captain asked.

  "...walked right into an ambush..."

  "... my squad’s wiped out!..."

  "Yes Sir, no question about it, I know how they operate," I assured him.

  "Sir, I believe he can - he had no problem in locating David Chen when the Skel abducted him," King said, surprising me by confirming my abilities. Apparently, he didn't like the idea of fighting Skel in the dark without me.

  Nanako pulled me a couple of steps away from the Custodians. “Why do you want to help them, Ethan, after what they just did to us? And you haven't recovered from your wound," she whispered fiercely as she clung to my arm.

  I cupped her face in my hand and whispered back. “It's not for them - it’s just that if I don't do this we may not have a town by morning.”

  "Then I'm coming with you so I can watch your back," she declared emphatically.

  "There's no way I'm going to risk you out there," I declared, alarmed by the very thought of her trying to fight Skel ambushers in the dark.

  "You don’t need to worry about me, Ethan. When we were in Hamamachi you taught me stealth techniques, and how to fight Skel. I have even fought them. So I'm coming with you whether you like it or not. I just got you back and there's no way I'm letting you go out there against those things without me watching your back. Unless you let me come with you, I will not let you go, and I mean it."

  I saw that arguing would get me nowhere so I nodded my consent, reminding myself that she was in the Hamamachi Militia - which was such a foreign concept to me since no woman in Newhome had ever been outside the town, let alone touched a gun.

  The captain seemed to be weighing up his options, and finally said, "Okay Ethan, let's go. We'll kit you up with a vest and gun when we get to the barracks."

  "I'm coming too," Nanako informed him as we hurried down the walkway towards the elevator.

  The captain didn't even bat an eyelid with his speedy response. "Absolutely out of the question."

  "Why, because I'm a woman?" she asked as she hurried to keep up with our longer strides.

  "Fighting is men's business," he snapped back.

  "Not in Hamamachi, Sir. All of our women serve in the Militia one month a year, every year. I am experienced with Austeyr assault-rifles and have fought Skel and raiders both," she said as she stepped into the elevator with us and stared up into his face. "Besides, you need all the experienced fighters you can get."

  “As much as it irks me to say this,” King butted in, “She’s right, Sir.”

  The captain looked at King, and then back at Nanako. "Fine, you can kit up too then."

  I glanced at King, expecting to see gratitude or relief in his countenance, but instead saw cunning anticipation. No doubt he was hoping the Skel would kill Nanako and rid him of a thorn in his side.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Ten minutes later, Nanako and I, along with four teams of Custodians, drove to the secret entrance that was a hundred metres south of the western gates. We had been given Custodian helmets and bulletproof vests, an Austeyr automatic-rifle for Nanako, and a pistol and flare gun for me.

  "Right, time is of the essence," the captain - his name was Smithson - announced once we had disembarked from the G-Wagons. He swung the concealed concrete door inwards and said, "Okay, Ethan, you've got point. Show us what you can do."

  "Thank you, Sir. Radios off everyone, and follow me," I responded. Without further ado, I ran straight through the doorway and into the night, with little Nanako on my heels. I held the pistol in my right hand, and kept the left hand in my pocket. The flare gun was hanging from my belt.

  As I ran towards the riverbank, I let rip with ultrasonic flash sonar, hoping the Custodians didn't have any ultrasonic sensors in the walls.

  The returning echoes effectively lit up the night, allowing me to see as clearly as in daylight. As I suspected, the Skel had set up an ambush in between the gates and the wharf, but to my dismay there were around two dozen of them, far more than I had expected. To make matters worse, some had guns, though single shot rifles, not semi-automatics like the Custodians had. All the same, twenty-four Skel against sixteen Custodians was going to be ugly.

  We reached the riverbank without incident and crouched down. Spotlights illuminated the town walls but it was so dark out here that without flash sonar I could only just make out the faces of those clustered around me, and silhouettes of those further away. Steel weapons glinted in the starlight.

  I could almost smell the fear emanating from the Custodians - they were afraid of encountering Skel in the daylight, so they would be absolutely petrified right now.

  "Captain," I whispered, "Give us a sixty second head start, then spread out and follow us as quietly as you can. When you see the flare go up, come on in shooting. Nanako and I will hit the Skel the moment they turn to engage you. Just don't shoot us by accident, okay?"

  "Understood. Now go!" he ordered.

  Touching Nanako's hand to make sure she was ready, I moved off silently beside the gently sloping riverbank towards the Skel, who were about a hundred metres ahead.

  "I'm scared, Ethan," Nanako whispered as she advanced quietly beside me.

  "Me too," I whispered back. I'd never been this close to so many Skel before.

  "Are the Skel really there, outside the gates? I can’t see any of them, but you're using your echolocation, aren't you?" she asked.

  I almost tripped at that question, and slowed my pace to talk to her. "You know about that?"

  "Of course I do, silly."

  I must admit it was a stupid question - she was my wife. "There's about two dozen of them, some with rifles, and, oh no!" I whispered in alarm, "They've got an oxy-acetylene torch and are cutting into a hatch at the stern of the sub. And they've got a whole satchel of explosives. We'd better hurry!"

  The submarine and wharf were normally lit up as bright as day but were lost in darkness tonight, so the Skel must have shot out all the lights.

  With the sixteen Custodians adva
ncing twenty metres behind us, Nanako and I soon drew close to the Skel hiding in ambush. The closest were about ten metres to our right, with their backs to us as they hunkered down behind trenches they had dug behind bushes and shrubs to face the town's western gates. They were armed with crossbows, old rifles, and the usual assortment of homemade clubs.

  I pulled out the flare gun and was about to fire when a Custodian spotted the oxy-acetylene torch flame and shouted, "Captain, they're cutting into the sub!"

  And with that, the plan fell to pieces.

  Having been alerted to the Custodians presence, the Skel ambushers spun about and opened fire with crossbows and rifles, dropping a couple of Custodians and wounding others. After that, they grabbed their hideous hand-to-hand weapons and screamed obscenities as they ran towards the now thoroughly frightened Custodians.

  I tried to fire the flare so that the Custodians could see their assailants more clearly than just silhouettes in the dark, but nothing happened when I pulled the trigger. Two further attempts got the same result - the gun was so old it wouldn't fire. Typical Newhome efficiency - things were not maintained unless they were regularly used, and still not even then.

  This was a disaster; the Skel would cut the Custodians to ribbons in the dark.

  "It's a dud, it won't fire," I whispered to my wife as I discarded the flare gun and grabbed my pistol. "I have to save them - cover me."

  Nanako seized my arm, "You can't go running into the middle of that melee - you'll be killed!"

  "I can see clearly and the Skel can't, that'll give me an edge."

  "Ethan..."

  "I have to do this," I insisted strongly.