He left Austin and the others organising their supplies and walked into the broken aircraft. The stench struck him at once, a ghastly stench that reminded him of the school toilets on Earth. Steve was not going to have an easy time of it, he saw, as he wrapped his shirt over his nose. The bodies would start to decay rapidly in this weather, forcing him to either bury them or abandon the aircraft completely. But it was the only shelter for miles around.
Bracing himself, he walked up to where Yates had died and looked down at the body. The older man, the one who had intimidated Barry so badly he’d barely even looked at Gary since he'd spent weeks scrubbing the decks on the starship, was dead. Gary hesitated, feeling oddly as if he was doing something wrong, then started to search the man's body. The gun was on the man’s belt, where he had expected it. Carefully, feeling almost as if he had picked up a poisonous snake, Gary took the gun and hid it under his shirt. The two ammunition clips were wrapped up in a cloth and carried in his hand.
He should give it to Austin, he knew. The colonial boy would know how to handle it, while Gary wasn't sure how to do anything with the pistol. But he didn't quite dare let go of the weapon, not when he knew that Barry would be sleeping near him every night – and Yates was no longer around to protect him. Instead, he said a silent goodbye to the first teacher he’d met who’d actually stood up to the thugs and walked out of the aircraft. When Austin tossed him a bag, he placed the ammunition inside and slung the bag over his back.
“It’s not going to be an easy walk,” Austin warned, as he passed Steve the remaining ration bars and half of the flares. “We will have to pause long enough to search for food, then set up camp sites and fires. But people have survived in worse conditions before. And I’m sure they will be looking for us, once they realise we didn't make it to the farm.”
Gary listened, wondering just how many of those people had good reason to hate and fear their fellows. The colonials seemed to trust one another, they seemed to feel safe with one another. But Gary knew that he didn't dare trust Barry any further than he could throw the oversized bully. Did Austin know just how dangerous Barry could be? Somehow, Gary doubted it.
He met, very briefly, Kailee’s eyes. She clearly shared his fears. Hell, she had to feel more vulnerable, not less. Barry would find her a very tempting target for more than just bullying.
“Come along,” Austin said, taking his position at the head of the column. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
What this meant was that the average student, upon leaving school, would be lucky if he or she could read or write, let alone solve basic maths problems. About the only thing they could do with any competence was claim social support from the Empire (there were mandatory classes in claiming one’s benefits). They were certainly ill-prepared to do anything else.
- Professor Leo Caesius. Education and the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire.
Thirty minutes after they started to march, Darrin was already aching. The sun was beating down from high overhead, making them sweat as they walked eastwards. He’d already stumbled twice, somehow managing to keep going by telling himself that neither of the girls were complaining. Kailee and Samantha were actually walking quite hard, better than himself. And Gary was making a good job of it too.
The landscape changed as they walked onwards. There were more trees, coming in odd patches that seemed less than completely random. As they moved higher, they saw water running down the slopes, following long-established paths that seemed to lead down to small lakes and ponds. It was both beautiful and terrifying in a manner Darrin found hard to put into words. The environment was so full of life, compared to the CityBlock, that it was utterly overwhelming.
Birds flew through the trees; small animals, half-seen in the gloom, moved rapidly through the undergrowth, keeping their distance from the human interlopers. There was a faint buzzing sound that seemed vaguely mechanical, making Darrin hope that they were about to be rescued, before Austin told them that it was nothing more than insects buzzing in the trees. The sound grew louder as they moved deeper into the forest, rising and falling around them in strange, almost hypnotic patterns. It chilled Darrin to the bone.
“We take a break here,” Austin said, as they reached a large pond. A small stream ran from the pond, heading back the way they’d come. “There’s a place we can sleep there.”
Darrin glanced at his watch and realised, to his surprise, that it was almost evening. The sun was already setting in the sky. How far had they walked? The aching in his body insisted that it had been thousands of miles, but common sense told him it couldn't have been more than ten at the most. Or was it more than that? There was no way to be sure, not like there would have been in a CityBlock. All he knew was that he had never walked so far in his life.
He unslung his bag and put it on the ground, then sagged down beside it. Kailee and Samantha sat too, their clothes stained with sweat that made the cloth cling to their bodies, but Darrin couldn't even muster the energy to be interested. Even Barry looked exhausted, although there was a nasty glint in his eye. Austin, on the other hand, looked unbothered by the walk. Darrin hated him at that moment.
“There’s water,” Kailee said, looking over at the pond. “Can't we drink it?”
“One moment,” Austin said. He scooped up some water with a cup from the emergency supplies, then dropped a tablet into the liquid. “This water may not be safe to drink without some preparation.”
Kailee looked at him in surprise. “Why not?”
Austin looked equally surprised. “Do you know how many animals have been drinking this water, washing in this water, pissing in this water ...?”
Darrin was torn between amusement and dismay at Kailee’s shock and disgust. It wasn't something they normally had to worry about in the cityblocks, where the water was extensively purified before it was deemed fit for human consumption. But here ... it was easy to imagine that something might have polluted the water. Kailee seemed undecided between refusing to drink or trying to gulp down the water without thinking of what might have gone into it.
“The tablet should do something about that,” Austin assured her. “but we’re going to have to boil the water once we run out of purification tablets. There’s no other way to be sure that the water is safe to drink.”
He ordered Barry and Darrin to collect firewood, while taking Abdul and Gary to clear the ground near the pond. Darrin obeyed, scooping up large amounts of fallen wood and piling it up at the edge of the clearing. Austin sorted through it, working half of the wood into a crude shelter and tossing the other half into the cleared patch of ground. The shelter looked pathetic, but tolerable. Darrin had a feeling that they’d be growing used to worse by the end of the trip, if they managed to survive long enough to reach the Jordon.
“If you need to go to the toilet,” Austin said, digging through the bags, “dig a little hole in the ground for your shit. We don’t want to attract animals to our campsite.”
Darrin eyed him for a long moment. “Is there anything dangerous in the forest?”
“Yes,” Austin said, shortly. “Would you like a list?”
Darrin shook his head. He hadn't paid much attention to the briefing notes, but he’d read enough to be sure that he didn’t actually want to know. The terraforming package had included quite a few animals that were potentially dangerous, including wild pigs, foxes and goats. He couldn't recall if there was anything native to the planet that was considered dangerous, but it was a distant possibility.
Austin smirked, then motioned for him to sit in front of the pile of firewood. “I’m going to cheat,” he confessed. “I brought a small lighter from the aircraft’s emergency supplies.”
“Good,” Gary said. “I was wondering how you meant to light the fire.”
Darrin watched as Austin smiled at Gary, then pointed the device at the wood and clicked the trigger. There was a sudden wave of heat, followed by flames spreading rapidly through the small pile of
firewood. Austin carefully positioned other pieces of wood over the fire, allowing them to dry in the heat, then stood upright.
“Make sure you keep feeding it, but don't let it spread too far,” he warned. “The last thing we want to do is accidentally set the forest on fire.”
Barry grinned, his face illuminated oddly by the fire. “Wouldn't that help them find us?”
“Only so they can indenture us for the rest of our lives,” Austin said. He smirked, brightly enough that Darrin suspected that he was partly joking. “Burning down the forest would do a lot of ecological damage.”
Darrin looked around. The forest wasn't particularly dry. It was hard to imagine a fire hot enough to spread rapidly through the damp wood. But if the lighter could set fire to the wood they’d gathered, what else could it do?
“I have a more pertinent problem,” Samantha announced. “I’m hungry.”
There was a dull rumble of agreement. “I’ll see what I can find,” Austin said. He picked up the water, took a sip, then passed it to Kailee. “Just keep an eye on the fire.”
He stepped over to the pond and peered carefully into the water. Darrin had a moment to see him go very still, then plunge his hand into the pond and grab something below the surface of the water. A second later, he yanked a strange creature out of the pond and dropped it on the ground; it looked like a giant spider, only with nasty-looking claws at one end. The claws clattered madly as the creature attempted to escape, but Austin was holding it too firmly. He took one of the knives from the aircraft and shoved it into the creature’s head. It fell still a moment later.
Silence fell, broken only by the sound of Kailee being noisily sick.
“Tell me,” Austin said, as she hacked and coughed. “How do you think they kill the animals you eat every day?”
But we don't eat animals every day, Darrin thought. On Earth, they’d rarely – if ever – eaten genuine meat. All we eat is algae ...
He watched with a kind of queasy fascination as Austin cut up the creature, pulling strips of pinkish meat from its shell. The stench was awful; he found himself wondering if he could even eat enough of the meat to stay alive. Austin directed Gary to find some suitable sticks and leaves, then carefully arranged the meat over the fire. Barry found himself roped in to keep the meat in place, where it would cook thoroughly without falling into the heat. Darrin shrugged and just kept feeding the fire with pieces of wood.
“This isn't the nicest critter to eat,” Austin confessed, as he finished dissecting the creature, removed the top of its shell, then tossed the bones into the pond. “It's actually a terraforming mistake, I believe; the baseline crab actually prefers salt water. But some of them mutated and got into the land-based water ecology too.”
“Oh,” Samantha said. “And is it safe to eat?”
“Yes, if cooked thoroughly,” Austin said. “The critters actually have relatives who have poison glands, but you won’t find any of them this far from the sea.”
Darrin shuddered. He’d never seen anything like the crab in his life and, somehow, he didn't want to sleep next to the pond any longer. Who knew what might come crawling out of the water at night? Maybe the crabs hunted for life above the surface ...
“Don’t worry about it,” Austin said, firmly. “They only eat smaller critter in the water.”
Darrin nodded. Austin checked the cooking meat, then walked off with Kailee and Samantha into the darkening forest. When they returned, they were carrying a handful of nuts and green leaves that Austin swore were safe to eat. They were washed carefully in the purified water, then put to one side. Austin checked the meat again, then pronounced it cooked. He took the first portion from the fire and passed it to Barry. Darrin couldn't help wondering if Austin had picked his guinea pig deliberately. If Barry choked on it and died ... well, it would be no great loss.
“Tastes smoky,” Barry said, after a moment. “But edible.”
“Glad to hear it,” Austin said, dryly. He passed the pieces of food around, then looked up at the sky. “Eat up quickly, folks. We’re going to have to go to bed soon.”
Darrin took his piece and chewed, thoughtfully. It didn't taste very nice, but it was definitely edible. And it was nicer than algae-based food, which was largely tasteless. The nuts and leaves the girls had found helped to cool the meat, making it easier to eat. He took a sip of water to help wash it down and winced at the complete lack of taste. It was almost as tasteless as the water on Earth.
Kailee smiled, her teeth reflecting the light of the fire. “How come you’re taking it so calmly if you’ve never been here before?”
Austin laughed. “I was – I am – a Scout,” he said. “I’ve been on route marches before, even if they were nowhere near here. The basics don’t change, really.”
Gary looked up, interested. “What’s a Scout?”
“It’s a ... club for young men and women, where we learn skills we will need in later life,” Austin said, shortly. “We go walking, swimming, boating ... just about everything we do on the farms and a little bit more. There’s a scouting troop based around every large settlement, each one competing with the others to win the most badges every year. It’s great fun, particularly after the harvest.”
He smiled. “Don't you have Scouts on Earth?”
Darrin shook his head. It sounded like fun, but there was no way that anyone could or would operate such a system on Earth. There would be too much chance of someone getting hurt, he knew, and lawsuits that would bankrupt almost anyone. It was absurd, given how many people were injured or killed daily in the cityblocks, but it was the way things were. No one could hope to even get permission to try.
“There were a bunch of settlers from Terra Nova who came here, two years ago,” Austin said, with quiet amusement. “None of us had really grasped the fact that there were Scouts on other worlds – nor had they, which annoyed all of us. They’d set themselves up as the Scouts of Meridian while they were on the transport starship, complete with patrol leaders and badges. They were rather put out to discover that we were there first – and that we weren't interested in taking them on as anything other than beginners.”
Kailee laughed, quietly. “I bet that didn't go down well,” she said. “What did you do?”
“We ended up offering them the choice between joining us or setting themselves up as another troop,” Austin said. “Most of them joined us, particularly the younger and newer ones. It was the older ones who wanted to cling to the badges and ranks they felt they'd earned. I don’t suppose I can blame them for that.”
“And you have campfire meals,” Darrin said, feeling another flash of envy. What would life on Earth had been like if Barry and Moe had been allowed to channel their energy into nicer activities than bullying? “What else do you do?”
“We sing,” Austin said. “I can caterwaul with the best of them.”
He opened his mouth and began to bellow out the words of a song. Darrin felt himself caught between awe and horror. Few people on Earth would have dared to put themselves forward – and those who did weren't always the nicest of people. But Austin sang without embarrassment, without shame; Darrin looked at him and felt, once again, the sensation that his life had been deliberately kept bland. Yates had said as much, more than once. But Darrin hadn't understood until too late.
“There’s a version of this song that is rather rude,” Austin added, when he reached the end of the song. He didn't seem put out that none of them had joined in. “The Patrol Leaders all tell us not to sing it anywhere near the adults ...”
Gary leaned forward. “Weren't the adults Scouts themselves?”
Austin grinned at him. “Of course they were,” he said. “But they tell themselves that their children wouldn't dare to sing such a song.”
He threw open his mouth and sung.
“There once was a Gallic minister’s wife,
“And she had never a care in her life,
“Until she came into trouble and strife ...
“And Oh! The minister’s wife!”
“That doesn't sound very rude,” Barry said. He hadn't seemed to be paying close attention to anyone. He’d just chewed his food, staring into the fire. “What’s rude about it?”
“Everyone is supposed to make up additional verses,” Austin explained. “They all have to share the same final line, which means that the ending words of each line have to rhyme with wife. And it all goes downhill from there.”
“The husband said he wanted a change in his life,
“And then he started to fuck his wife,
“And everyone else, which just caused strife,
“And Oh! The minister’s wife!”
He laughed, quietly. “Well, that and there are ministers on the planet,” he added. “Good men, mostly, but they can stand on their dignity a bit too much.”
“It doesn't scan properly,” Kailee objected. “The words don’t quite match.”
“The secret is to just have fun,” Austin said. “Just imagine it; sitting around a fire” – he indicated the burning embers – “cooking sausages or frying marshmallows, then sleeping out under the stars. You and your friends, singing together ... you can't imagine it, unless you’ve been there.”
His voice lowered. “But you haven't, have you?”
“No,” Gary said, quietly. There was a bitterness in his voice that left Darrin feeling guilty, even though he had never been the worst of Gary’s tormentors. “I haven’t.”
Darrin understood, even though he suspected that Austin wouldn't. Gary could never relax, not at school, not in the corridors, not even in his own apartment, given how wimpy and pathetic he was. It didn't matter how smart he was, even though Yates had said that Gary might just have the best chance of getting out of the CityBlock and making a new life for himself. There was no IQ high enough to stop a fist, no level of intelligence capable of beating someone far stronger than Gary himself. Even if the Scouts had been an option, Gary would never have dared join. He would just have spent their camping trips watching his back.
The Empire's Corps: Book 07 - Reality Check Page 23