Samantha stumbled past him, her eyes half-closed and sweat pouring down her back. Darrin found himself staring at the shape of her ass, allowing it to draw him onwards even as he felt like falling down and collapsing in a heap. Behind him, Gary fell behind slightly, until he was walking next to Kailee. Barry brought up the rear, no doubt feasting his eyes on Kailee while resisting the urge to grumble. He'd grumbled loudly as they’d walked until it had proven too much for him and he’d quietened.
He reached up and brushed his sweaty hair away from his eyes. His entire forehead was damp, sweat dripping down to the ground. How long had it been, he asked himself, since they’d started to walk? It felt like they’d walked for days! Austin had said, in a rather droll tone, that they would have to pass their hump before they grew used to walking, but Darrin had no idea what that meant. It was probably an expression unique to Meridian.
Once they passed through a small bunch of trees, the semi-path – Darrin hadn't been able to decide if humans had made it or if they’d just been lucky enough to find a usable route – lurched, then headed downwards. There was a large lake lying at the bottom, far larger than the pond they’d rested beside on the first night. A mountain rose up beside the lake, covered in green bushes and plants; on the other side, a small river flowed out from the lake and headed down the valley. Darrin silently hoped that it headed towards the Jordan, although he wasn't so sure. Further down, it seemed to twist and turn out of sight.
“Look at the lakeshore,” Austin said, holding up his hand to stop them. “What do you see?”
Darrin tore his gaze away from Samantha’s chest and looked towards the lake. There was a muddy shoreline, marred by animal tracks. Beasts came to the lake to drink, Darrin realised slowly, including some that might well be dangerous. He looked around, nervously. Who knew what might be lurking in the undergrowth, watching them through inhuman eyes?
“Animal tracks,” Barry said. He sounded pleased at answering first. But Darrin knew that it was only a matter of time before he challenged Austin directly. “There are animals here ...”
“Look,” Kailee squealed.
Darrin stared. In the trees, a four-legged shape was standing in the shadows, watching the humans through glinting eyes. He’d heard the sound of animals in the underbrush, but this was the first time he’d seen something just looking back at them. The animal looked like a small horse, yet it was hard to make out the details. It seemed unsure what to make of the humans by the lake.
Austin lifted his gun in one smooth motion and fired, once. The animal started, staggered, then fell to the ground. Kailee let out a cry of protest, which Austin ignored. Instead, he walked towards the animal, gun at the ready. Darrin and Barry exchanged glances, then walked after Austin. The colonial boy stopped in front of his target, then reached down and snapped the creature’s neck. If it hadn’t been dead before – Austin had hit it in the head, he saw – it was definitely dead now.
Up close, it did look a little like a small horse. Brown fur covered its body, oddly soft and warm to the touch. Darrin checked the body, then motioned for Darrin to take one end and Barry to take the other. There was an odd glint in Barry’s eye as he helped pick up and carry the creature back to the lakeside. Barry, Darrin realised, had never seen anything die before, apart from the crabs. This ... was something far larger.
“You bastard,” Kailee said, when she saw the creature clearly. “You ...”
Austin gave her a surprised look. “You do realise that you’ve eaten venison before?”
Kailee stared at him, then stormed off looking sick. Samantha gave Austin an unreadable look, then followed Kailee. Austin shrugged, then opened his pack and produced the knives.
“Gary, go set up a fire,” he ordered, shortly. “The lighter is in the bag. Darrin, Barry, watch carefully. I’ll show you how to slaughter a deer.”
Watching him dissect the crabs had been unpleasant, Darrin knew. This was worse. The deer’s blood pooled on the ground, summoning flies and other insects that buzzed around the dead animal like boys around a girl. There were no such insects on Earth, Darrin knew; they'd been wiped out long ago, at least in the cityblocks. But on Meridian, they were still part of the environment. He couldn't keep himself from trying to swat them as Austin carefully skinned the deer, then checked Gary’s fire. It was already burning brightly.
“Set up the meat above the fire, as before,” Austin ordered. “We need to make sure we cook it thoroughly.”
“Got it,” Darrin said. He looked over at Austin. “Shouldn't someone go after the girls?”
“I’ll go,” Barry said, standing upright. “I’ll bring them right back here.”
“I think that would be a bad idea,” Austin said, shortly. He stood himself. “Just keep watching the fire and cooking the meat. I’ll go after them.”
Barry glared at him, then squatted down next to the fire. Austin gave Darrin a long unreadable look, then turned and walked after the girls. Darrin suspected that the girls had good reason to be relieved, although he wasn't. Barry wasn't good company at any time.
“I’m thoroughly sick of him,” Barry announced, as soon as Austin was out of earshot. “Who does he think he is?”
“He thinks he knows what he’s doing,” Abdul said. “And he’s probably right.”
Darrin winced, looking at Barry. Barry was going to explode, he just knew it. And when he did ... he looked at Gary and saw the same apprehension written over his face. Gary was a good observer, if only so he knew when to try to escape. But there was no escape from Barry now ...
He sucked in his breath – and tasted the meat in the air. “The meal should be good,” he promised. It might help divert Barry from his planned rampage. “Better than the crab, I think.”
“Oh, definitely,” Abdul agreed.
Barry looked from one to the other, then shut up.
Darrin kept the surprise off his face. Barry never shut up, let alone left people alone. He was up to something ... but what?
***
Kailee wasn't sure quite why she’d reacted so badly to the death of the deer. She had been the person who’d first seen it, but she hadn't fired the fatal shot. But, up close, it had been clear that the deer had been a beautiful creature. And Austin had shot it and started to gut it without a second thought. She’d been disgusted when he’d started cutting up the crabs, but the deer was something else. Somehow, its death had affected her badly.
She stumbled to a halt some distance from the dead creature and sat down on the muddy ground, feeling – once again – the urge to cry. Samantha came up and knelt down beside her, her blue eyes sympathetic. Kailee looked up at her, then started to cry openly. Samantha wrapped her arms around Kailee and held her, gently. Moments later, Kailee felt the tears starting to fade away.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Samantha said, quietly. “We have to eat to live.”
They looked up as someone else came crashing towards them, making no attempt to conceal his presence. Kailee let out a sigh of relief as she saw Austin. If he hadn't tried anything when the two of them were alone, she told herself, it was unlikely that he would try anything when Samantha was there too. But it was possible that he didn't find either of them attractive, she had to admit. The colonial girls she’d seen had been strong and self-confident in a way neither Kailee nor Samantha could match.
“You shouldn't go wandering off alone,” Austin said, as he looked down at them. “There are dangerous creatures in the countryside.”
There were dangerous creatures gathered around the fire, Kailee knew, but she kept that thought to herself. Instead, she sighed. Her entire body ached in places she hadn’t known she had, not before they’d started their march of death. It was growing impossible to believe that they had a hope of making it to the Jordon, let alone back to the city. And if they couldn't get back to the city, she couldn't hope to get back to Earth.
“Go back to the campsite,” Austin ordered Samantha. “I’ll talk to Kailee.”
>
He waited till she was out of sight, then gave Kailee a long considering look. “Tell me,” he said. “Why did you run?”
Kailee stared up at him. “I don't know,” she said, finally. It was the safest answer, particularly when asked difficult questions at school. “Why did I run?”
Austin – no school psychologist – snorted. “How am I supposed to know?”
He smiled at her for a second, then looked away. “Let me guess,” he said. “You’ve never seen such a creature killed before?”
“No,” Kailee agreed. Tears prickled at the back of her eyes. The deer had been ... cute, almost enchanting. And he’d killed it. “Why did you kill it?”
“We need the food,” Austin said. There was a hint of sympathy in his voice, but nothing that might suggest that he would change his mind. She’d met teachers who could be swayed with a hint of feminine tears, yet Austin seemed to be immune. “We’ve already had one bad reaction to the food we found. I don't really want to risk giving you more crab.”
Kailee hesitated. “You shot the deer for me?”
“Not just for you,” Austin told her dryly. “But it is clear that you reacted badly to something.”
“I know,” Kailee said. The pain in her belly had faded as they walked, but the memory was still vivid. “Is all the food here unsafe?”
Austin tossed a question back at her. “Do you expect the world to be safe?”
It wasn't, Kailee knew, even for louts like Barry. No matter how much risk was eliminated, it was always there – and it was worse for a woman. She remembered clumping together with the other girls, fearing for her virginity and her life whenever she was alone with a boy ... and knowing that nothing would ever be done to make her safer. Oh, they could try to make her feel safe, but she knew better than to believe it. There was no real punishment to deter outright rapists, let alone boys who thought that no meant yes, or that any resistance was only for show.
“... No,” she admitted, finally.
“We can try to make it safer,” Austin told her. “But there are never any guarantees. You might well have had a reaction to something without ever knowing what it was, because you never ate it before now.”
Kailee shuddered. “I want to go home.”
Austin looked surprised. “Do you really want to go back to Earth?”
“I ... I don't know,” Kailee said. “I just don't know.”
She wanted to be a famous actress, she knew that much. If she wanted to be famous on a galactic scale, she knew, she would have to start on Earth. There were no actresses, as far as she knew, who came from anywhere outside the Core Worlds. She would have to find an agent, then work her way up before she lost her good looks. But ... Earth wasn't safe; Earth wasn't even remotely safe. Meridian might be wild and untamed, but it was far more civilised. And ...
Barry and Darrin had been punished. Kailee had never seen the attraction of videos showing men and women being beaten to within an inch of their lives, but there had been something attractive in watching the two of them actually paying for their crimes. No one on Earth was ever punished, no matter what they did. She hadn't enjoyed the sight, yet it had reassured her that there was justice in the universe, even if it wasn't on Earth.
If she stayed on Meridian, she would have to give up her dream. It was unlikely that any famous actress had ever come from Meridian. She didn't even know if the city – which was smaller than any CityBlock – had a theatre. What could she do on Meridian?
Austin considered it when she asked. “There’s no shortage of employment prospects,” he said, seriously. “It depends on what you want to do with your life.”
He smiled. “You could work in a shop,” he said. “Or you could work in a bar. Or, if you don’t mind working very hard, you could become a farmer’s wife. That would be very rewarding, but it would be hard work.”
Kailee blinked. “Just like that?”
“There’s a program to recruit women from Earth to serve as wives,” Austin told her. “The women spend at least five years living on the farm with their husband, then they can decide if they want to stay with him or move elsewhere. If they have kids, they get the same rights as any other kids. I think some of the women are – well – indents. They chose to be wives rather than go into the labour pool.”
“Oh,” Kailee said. The thought made her feel sick, yet ... was it really any different from the way women on Earth had to seek protectors? “What happens to them?”
“Most of them make it as wives, I think,” Austin said. He shrugged. “It's generally considered rude to ask them what they did to be expelled from Earth. Here, people can make a new start. That includes you, if you want to stay.”
He held out a hand. “But you can't keep acting like this,” he added. “I know you’re not used to life here – and you had no reason to expect to crash. But you’re holding us all back now.”
Kailee scowled at him. “And Barry isn’t?”
“Barry is walking with the rest of us,” Austin pointed out. “And if you hold us back again, I’ll spank you in front of everyone.”
Kailee met his eyes and realised that he wasn't joking, then took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. “And will you take a wife from Earth?”
“We shall see,” Austin said. He nodded towards the lake. “If you like, you can take a swim after we eat lunch and wash yourself clean. The sun is bright enough to dry you out afterwards.”
He grinned at her, then turned to walk towards the fire. “Don't worry about the meat,” he added. “Once you get back to the city, you can pretend it was grown in a vat instead.”
Kailee glared at his back as she walked back towards the fire. Samantha and the boys were sitting around it, chatting as they ate strips of meat. Austin stopped in front of the fire, took a piece of blackened meat and blew on it to cool the food down. Kailee took it when he offered it to her and took a careful bite. It tasted surprisingly good.
“We can have a swim afterwards, then resume our march,” Austin said. He nodded towards the mountainside. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to head upwards again.”
Barry gave him a challenging look. “And wouldn't it be easier to walk through the valley?”
“The valley bends in the wrong direction,” Austin pointed out, mildly. “It will be easier to get up while we can, then make our way towards the Jordon. We don’t want to go too far off course.”
“But it gives us a harder climb,” Barry protested. “Why not go the easier route?”
“Because we would no longer be on a direct line for the Jordon,” Austin snapped. “And if they are looking for us, that’s where they will look.”
Kailee swallowed, eying the two boys nervously. It was easy to imagine that they would start fighting – and who knew what would happen then? What if Austin lost?
She met Barry’s eyes as he lifted them from her chest and knew the answer.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
And the drive required to handle those jobs was lacking. The graduates believed that they had finished their schooling and were simply unwilling to put in the commitment to gain more qualifications, particularly when it became clear that they would literally have to start from scratch.
- Professor Leo Caesius. Education and the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire.
By the end of the fourth day, Gary knew, even Austin was reaching the limits of his endurance. Darrin and Abdul snapped at one another, while Barry challenged Austin at every point, demanding that he explain the reasoning behind his orders. Gary did his best to stay out of the arguments, hoping and praying that Austin stayed in charge. He knew better than to think that any of the others would be so tolerant of his presence.
“So tell me,” Barry said, as they found a place to stop. “How much further do we have to go?”
“As far as we need to go,” Austin said. For once, he sounded less than patient. “The Jordon cannot be that far away.”
“We might be going the wrong way,” Barry
jeered. “What if we’re wrong?”
“I have checked constantly with the compass,” Austin snapped. “We are heading in the right general direction. All we have to do is keep walking.”
“And if we’re going the wrong way,” Barry said, “we’d keep walking the wrong way.”
Gary gritted his teeth. Couldn't Barry tell that Austin was their only hope? He knew how to navigate, while none of them even knew how to read a map! Navigating in the CityBlock was far easier than navigating in the wide open countryside. But instead, Barry kept snapping and sniping at Austin, as if he intended to try to claim leadership for himself. Gary felt the gun’s reassuring presence at his belt, then felt cold ice running down his spine. What if he tried to fire and the gun refused to work?
Austin bunched his fists. “If you have a useful skill to share with us,” he hissed, “why don't you share it instead of carping and criticising?”
“I can shoot,” Barry snapped back. “But you won’t let me shoot.”
Gary was silently grateful that Austin rarely let go of the rifle. He didn't trust Barry with it any further than he could pick up and throw the entire CityBlock. Barry would use it to threaten the rest of them, of that Gary was sure. Kailee and Samantha, at least, would be useful to him. Gary would probably be shot just to encourage the others.
“You decided to fire a weapon recklessly into the streets,” Austin said. “Why the hell should I let you anywhere near a weapon? You’re damn lucky someone didn’t return fire and kill you that day.”
I wish they had, Gary thought, bitterly. But, once again, Barry had escaped the consequences of his actions. He survived to torment me.
Austin looked around, examining the latest clearing. There was only a small stream to provide water. It didn't seem large enough to hide edible fish or crabs; Gary wasn't sure if he should be pleased or upset. Austin had fished for crabs yesterday and then forced the boys to take turns slicing them open and cutting out the meat. Gary had felt unwell even looking at the crab. If Austin hadn't told him that the creature’s ancestors came from Earth, Gary wouldn't have believed it. The crab had looked thoroughly alien.
The Empire's Corps: Book 07 - Reality Check Page 26