“It may be a while,” Austin hedged. It was curiously imprecise for the colonial boy, imprecise enough for alarm bells to start ringing in Gary’s head. “They may never come.”
Darrin looked up, shocked. “But ... but we crashed!”
Austin sighed. “There are precisely ten light aircraft like that one” – he nodded towards the crashed aircraft – “on the planet,” he said. “Nine now, I suppose. They’re scattered over the mainland, apart from one based on the islands. In order for them to start looking for us, they would have to first know that something had gone wrong, then be dispatched over here – assuming, of course, they have a rough idea of where we were. We might easily have been blown far off course.”
He sighed, again. “And they won’t know what happened to us,” he added. “They might just hesitate before sending out another aircraft, let alone all of them.”
Gary felt something cold and hard congeal in the pit of his stomach. “What about the satellites? Surely they would have seen us crash.”
“This isn't Earth,” Austin said, not unkindly. “There isn't total surveillance of the planet's surface. They might well have missed us completely.”
In the distance, Gary heard a peal of thunder. Dark clouds were drifting towards them from the mountains. He shuddered as he realised, for the first time, just how wide open the planet was, compared to Earth. There were no towering cityblocks, just endless landscapes, with forests, rivers and animals. He silently promised himself that, when he got back to the spaceport, he would get his spacer’s ticket and never set foot on a planet’s surface again.
He shivered inwardly as he looked over towards Barry. The bully was oddly subdued after his whipping and then the crash, but Gary had no illusions as to how long that would last. It wouldn't take long before Barry realised that Yates was dead, that ...
Gary swallowed. He'd found Yates intimidating, a strange cross between a teacher and a bully himself. Yates had never given him the answers, or lied to him; he’d pushed Gary into discovering things for himself. And he'd held open the door and shown Gary a new world he could step into, one that would allow him to leave Earth behind forever. But now he was gone. Gary wouldn't have believed that anything could kill Yates if Austin hadn't told him the news. Austin was the one person in the group Gary trusted not to lie.
Yates had intimidated Barry. Gary would have sworn that was impossible, but Yates had somehow made Barry behave himself, at least when Yates was in the same room. Now, without Yates ... Gary remembered how Barry had entertained himself at school and shuddered. It wouldn't be long before Barry realised that there were no restraints on his behaviour any longer, except perhaps for Austin. But which way would the colonial boy jump? Gary knew how it worked on Earth – the other boys abandoned the weakest to the mercy of the bullies – but what would happen here?
And Austin had implied, strongly, that there wouldn't be any help coming from the city.
Gary pulled himself to his feet and looked over at the crashed aircraft. Yates’s body was inside, along with the other bodies ... and what few supplies they’d brought with them. He wished, desperately, that he had a weapon, but there had been no time to learn how to use one, even if he’d been allowed to carry a gun. After Barry, he had a feeling that Austin might be reluctant to let others play with his weapons. And how could Gary blame him?
He shuddered, helplessly. Maybe it would be better to walk off into the countryside now, before Barry realised that there were no longer any restraints on his behaviour. But he’d only wind up dead soon enough ...
Moments later, the first drops of rain started to fall.
Chapter Twenty-Four
One would imagine that the bureaucrats would realise that something had gone badly wrong. Maybe some of them, as individuals, did. But they were unable or unwilling to halt the decline, simply because of how many vested interests there were in maintaining the system as it stood.
- Professor Leo Caesius. Education and the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire.
Kailee was almost relieved as the rain started to fall, despite the fact she knew that she would be soaked to the skin within minutes. The blood – her blood – had stained her hair, leaving her feeling disgusting and unclean. Now, she ran her fingers through her dark hair, watching as the blood slowly washed out and pooled on the ground. The water was warm, thankfully; it almost felt like taking a shower, except she was still wearing her clothes.
She scowled as she realised that her clothes were clinging to her skin, showing off her curves to the world. It wasn't the first time that had happened, she knew, remembering the walk from the spaceport to the city, but Yates had been there ... now, she and the other girls were alone with a bunch of horny men. She wished, desperately, that Janet had accompanied them, but she'd stayed behind in the city. Kailee and the others were on their own.
Li moaned as the water splashed down on her face, finally stirring. Kailee wondered, guiltily, just how much pain the smaller girl was actually in, now she was finally coming back to life. Li might have been lucky that she’d been knocked out by the crash ... she watched as Austin knelt down beside Li, ignoring the water splashing on the ground. If he hadn't been there, they would have really been in trouble.
A though struck her as she moved to help him. “Do you know where we are?”
Austin blinked in surprise. “Only vaguely,” he said. “This isn't anywhere near my home ...”
Darrin snorted, speaking loudly to be heard over the falling rain. “I thought you knew this planet,” he snapped. “We were told that you were our native guide.”
Austin laughed, although there was little humour in the sound. “Planets are big,” he pointed out, sarcastically. “I know the land around my father’s farm like the back of my hand, and I’ve explored the city many times, but here ...? I’ve never been here before, ever. I know it about as well as you do.”
Kailee swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. Austin was right; on Earth, they’d all been familiar with their part of the CityBlock, but they’d never known much about the rest of the planet. They certainly didn't know how to navigate outside the CityBlock. How could Austin be expected to know every square inch of his homeworld? She tried to work out how long it would take him to explore the entire continent, then gave up in irritation. It was impossible to even guess at the answer.
She shuddered as a thought struck her. They could die out here.
The prospect of a violent death had been ever-present in the CityBlock. It was part of the reason she wanted to leave. Even if she was one of the lucky ones, she would still waste her life; married to someone boring, have his children and watch them remain trapped in the CityBlock, just like herself. And there were worse fates than death for women in the cityblocks ...
But here, they could die too.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered, as she knelt beside Li and took her hand. “I didn't think.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Austin said. For a moment, he seemed to be peering down at Li’s chest with chilling intensity, then Kailee realised that he was trying to use his body to give Li some cover from the rain. “I dare say that you have plenty of time to learn.”
Kailee doubted it, but watched as Li slowly stumbled back into full awareness. The moment the pain hit her, she started to scream. Austin produced an injector from the medical kit and pressed it against her neck; moments later, Li quietened down, relaxing slightly. But her eyes were still fearful.
“We crashed,” Austin said, without bothering to shelter her from the news. “And you have a broken leg. Lie still.”
Kailee looked over at the other boys. Darrin, Abdul and Steve were watching the water splashing over the crashed aircraft, while Gary was standing some distance from them, eying Barry nervously. The bully was squatting on the ground, staring at nothing. Kailee muttered a silent prayer that he would remain out of it completely, but she doubted that they would be that lucky. Why couldn't Barry have been killed instead of Yates? Yates would
have known what to do.
“I can't feel my leg,” Li gasped, drawing Kailee’s attention back to her. “What did you give me?”
“Strong painkiller,” Austin explained. “It won’t last forever, I’m afraid.”
Kailee listened as he explained the situation, then looked up into the dark sky. It seemed impossible that anything could fly in this weather, she told herself; the rainstorm alone might prevent aircraft from even taking off. Wind blew raindrops into her face as she started to pace, feeling her clothes growing heavier and heavier. For a long moment, she looked down at the water on the ground and wondered if they were about to be caught in a flood.
The rainstorm stopped as abruptly as it had begun. Kailee looked up and watched as the sun came out, then sighed in relief as she realised the heat would dry their skin and clothes. Li still looked miserable – water had pooled around her, drenching her broken leg – but everyone else started to cheer up. Kailee rolled her eyes inwardly. As far as she could tell, their situation hadn’t really improved at all.
“Darrin, Barry, you’re with me,” Austin ordered. “We’re going to go empty the plane. Everyone else, stay here.”
Barry looked up, suddenly. “And just who put you in charge?”
***
Darrin felt himself awash with water, even after the rainfall finally came to an end. There had been no shelter, nowhere to hide from the water; his clothes felt heavy and uncomfortable against his skin, even after he started to squeeze the cloth to expel the water. The bright sunlight might help them to dry, he told himself, but it was also dangerous. What would happen if they got burnt?
He winced as Barry asked the dreaded question. Barry wasn't the sort of person to take orders calmly, at least unless the person issuing the orders had proved his willingness to slap Barry down hard. Perhaps, Darrin realised suddenly, that was why Barry hadn't argued to Yates’s face about scrubbing the decks, no matter how much he’d grumbled to Darrin while they’d been working hard. In his brutish mind, Yates had been strong enough to impose himself on Barry and thus was his natural superior.
Austin gave him a dark look. “Because I know how to survive out here and you don't,” he snapped. “If you want to set out on your own, feel free. Good luck to you. If not, I suggest you take orders and learn.”
Barry glared at him for a long moment, then looked at Darrin, clearly seeking support. But Darrin knew that Austin was right; even if he’d trusted Barry, he knew the larger boy was no more knowledgeable about surviving than Darrin himself. Bracing himself for a fight, he shook his head firmly. Yates had been right about one thing. Spending time with Barry, letting Barry lead him wherever he wanted to go, was asking for trouble. But would Barry pick a fight with all four boys? Which way would Abdul and Steve jump?
There was a long dangerous pause ... and then Barry nodded, reluctantly. Austin nodded back, then led the way towards the aircraft. Up close, Darrin decided, it was a miracle that any of them had survived. The hull was broken beyond repair; it looked as though it had melted slightly, then left to flow into a new configuration. Both wings were badly battered, but there was no longer any sign of smoke.
“Shit,” Barry said.
Darrin followed his gaze. India’s body lay on the ground, broken and torn.
“She must have fallen through a gash in the hull,” Austin said. For the first time, he sounded shaken. “Poor girl.”
We never even noticed she was gone, Darrin thought.
Austin made them walk around the hull twice, looking for any other signs of trouble, before they stepped into the interior of the aircraft. Inside, it smelt of blood, shit and death. Darrin forced himself to breathe through his mouth as Austin started to recover their bags and pass them to the others. Barry took four bags at once and carried them outside, then came back for the others. Darrin couldn't keep himself from looking at all that remained of Yuki’s body, shuddering at how easily death had come for her. Honey’s body didn't look any better.
He drew in a breath when he saw Yates. The older man looked surprisingly peaceful, but he was very definitely dead. Darrin reached out, despite himself, and touched the man’s forehead, then looked up as he heard a snicker. Barry had come forward and was looking at the body himself, gloating inwardly over Yates’s death. Darrin shuddered, then stepped back, away from the body. There were quite a few other bags they needed to remove from the plane.
“The radio is broken,” Austin said, from the cockpit. “And the GPS too. The flares aren't likely to work unless rescue is quite close.”
Darrin nodded, feeling helpless. Austin passed him a coil of rope, then two red boxes; tiredly, Darrin carried them outside. The ground was already drying rapidly after the rain; he placed the boxes beside the bags, then turned to slip back into the hull. Barry was standing beside Yuki’s body, one hand inside her shirt. Sickened, Darrin looked away.
“There's no time to bury them,” Austin said, shortly. Darrin couldn't tell if he'd seen what Barry had been doing or not. “We may have to set fire to the plane ourselves just to send up a smoke signal.”
Outside, Austin carried some pieces of metal and rope over to where Li was lying. “I’m going to bind up your leg properly,” he said, shortly. “And then I’m going to put together a very basic stretcher. We can carry you quite some distance, if necessary.”
He looked over at the others. “Go through the bags, all of them,” he added. “Sort out what we have, then we can decide what to do with it.”
Once, Darrin suspected, he might have enjoyed going through the bags. Now, it was the only thing they could do. He found himself a new shirt, then dug through the rest. There was a small pile of clothing, a reader – Barry laughed when he realised that Gary had brought his reader with him – and little else. He briefly considered changing clothes, but judging by the weather they’d seen over the past few days he suspected that it would be a waste of time. The downpour would start again, soon enough.
The emergency supplies were limited, he realised numbly, as he sorted them out one by one. A handful of ration bars, a coil of rope, a handful of knives, a small medical kit, the flares, a handful of devices he didn’t recognise ... and little else. Apart from whatever Austin was carrying, he suspected, they didn't have much in the way of ammunition for the rifle either. Was there even a second weapon?
“Give that a try,” Austin ordered. Abdul and Steve picked up the makeshift stretcher and carried it a couple of metres. Li looked weak, but relieved. She’d probably thought that they’d simply abandon her by the aircraft. “Good. We can carry you with us, if necessary.”
Kailee looked up, her damp hair clinging to her face and making her seem waiflike. “Where are we going?”
Austin looked down at the ground, then back up at her. “If we head east,” he said, holding a compass in one hand, “we should cross the Jordon. After that, we head down the bank until we reach a settlement – or hail a boat, should we see one. The alternative is to head south and try to make it to the coast, but there’s no guarantee of finding a settlement. I’m not sure just how far off-course we were when the plane crashed.”
Barry grunted. “How far do we have to walk?”
“I’m not sure,” Austin admitted. Darrin suspected that he was deliberately not giving Barry a better answer. “It will take us several days, at the very least.”
“So we stay here,” Steve said. “They’re bound to come looking for us, eventually.”
“Eventually, yes,” Austin said. He looked from person to person. “We have enough food for one meal, just one. If we stay here, we will be lucky to survive long enough to be rescued – assuming that they locate us quickly. But, as I said, the odds are against it. Our best bet is to try to walk to the Jordon.”
“Li won’t make it,” Steve said.
“Then we leave her,” Barry said. “She’s useless.”
“I don’t know how you do it on Earth,” Austin snapped, “but we don’t abandon people here.”
But
they did on Earth, Darrin knew. No one would stop to help someone in need, for fear it might prove contagious. Or that the person they tried to rescue would sue them afterwards.
“I can stay with her,” Steve offered. “We can take shelter in the plane and wait for rescue.”
Austin considered it. “Even if we left you all the ration bars,” he said. “We ...”
“Wait,” Barry said. “You’re going to leave him all the ration bars?”
“We can find food along the way,” Austin said, sharply. Darrin wondered just how strong the temptation was to shoot Barry and swear it was an accident. “I know how to hunt, how to fish, how to do a great many things you need to learn if you want to survive. But if you keep talking about abandoning people ... I’ll damn well abandon you.”
Barry glared at him for a long moment, then shut up.
“We would definitely make better time without carrying the stretcher,” Austin mused. He gave Steve a long considering look. “You do understand the risks?”
“I think so,” Steve said.
Darrin doubted it. Steve hadn't seen the interior of the crashed aircraft. It might keep out the rain, but it had a number of dead bodies inside ... bodies that would rapidly start to stink. He remembered the day when several bodies had turned up in a side corridor, abandoned by the murderers; the stench had been horrific until the gangs had finally dragged the bodies away and dumped them somewhere else. Darrin had no idea what had happened to the victims – or their bodies, after that.
“I’ll write you out a note for the rescue party, assuming one arrives,” Austin said. “And I need to talk to you about a few other things before we go.”
***
Gary had seriously considered asking to remain with Steve and Li, even though one was badly wounded and the other was an unknown factor. He couldn't be as bad as Barry, surely. But he knew that Austin would refuse, if he asked; there just weren't enough ration bars to keep three people alive for more than a couple of days.
The Empire's Corps: Book 07 - Reality Check Page 22