“Kailee, Samantha, start looking for edible plants,” Austin ordered. “Barry, Abdul, go find as much wood as possible. We need to build a fire.”
“And do you think,” Barry said, “that I am going to keep taking orders from you?”
Austin met his gaze squarely. “If you want to walk off into the countryside, alone, you may do so,” he said. There was an icy resolution in his voice that made Gary cheer inwardly – and fret at the same time. Austin was not Yates. “I will not stop you if you want to leave. But you will have almost no chance of survival.”
Barry stood upright, clenching his fists. “We are not your damned scouts,” he snapped. “We are not here to take orders from you.”
“Oh?” Austin said. “Would you like me to explain the reasoning behind them?”
His tone became mocking. “The girls have to collect edible vegetables because we need to eat,” he said, sardonically. “You need to find wood so we can build a fire – you, in particular, because you are strong enough to carry large pieces of wood. Darrin and Gary are going to unpack the bags so we can get at our food supplies, I am going to hunt, to see what I can find.”
He met Barry’s eyes, a hint of challenge clearly visible in his expression. “Does that answer the question?”
Barry started to splutter. “You have no right to give us orders!”
“Then do nothing,” Austin said. “Stay here. Starve when you run out of food. A few hundred years from now, they’ll find your remains and wonder just who you were.”
He looked from face to face. “Let me make something clear to you, if four days of being stranded hasn’t taught you this already,” he added. “I know what I’m doing. I have years of experience – as a farmer, as a scout, as a trainee Bush Ranger – to help me keep us all alive. You have less than two weeks experience on the surface of this planet, while all of your experience from Earth is useless at best and downright harmful at worst. If I wasn't with you, belly aches would be the least of your worries.”
Gary knew that Austin was right. If he hadn't been there, Barry would probably have killed the others by now and taken the girls for himself. And then they would all have starved, if they hadn't been rescued ... and they’d heard nothing to suggest that search parties had been dispatched from the city. Austin had pointed out that there wasn't much the city could do – they didn’t have the aircraft or manpower to carry out a proper search – but it still chilled Gary to know that they’d effectively been abandoned. If they didn't make it back on their own, they would never make it back at all.
Austin’s gaze came to rest on Barry. “Do as I tell you and you might just get back to civilisation to complain about me,” he added, coldly. “Or go off on your own and good luck to you.”
“Perhaps you should go,” Barry snapped back. “You’re not listening to us!”
Gary felt his blood run cold.
***
Austin had been told, once, that stupidity was a capital crime. The universe issued the punishment and nothing, save only the compassion of the smarter, would stand in the way of the sentence being carried out. He hadn't really believed it at the time, but then he hadn't really met anyone genuinely stupid. The Scouts had been more argumentative than he liked to admit, yet there had been good reasons for their arguments. None of them had picked fights while struggling to survive.
But we could have called for help, he knew. They’d always had emergency beacons. It would have been quitting – Austin would sooner have been beaten half to death than acquire a reputation as a quitter – but at least they would have survived. Sometimes, knowing that they could have quit was all that had kept them going. Here, though, there was no emergency beacon, nothing to call help. They were completely on their own.
He looked at Barry and wondered, absently, just what sort of evolutionary pattern had allowed him to be born. None of the other immigrants to Meridian had shown so much raw stupidity ... but then, they'd known that they were coming to set up a new home. If they had failed to learn how to overcome their new environment, they would have died. But Barry didn't seem to care about anything, apart from being in charge. What was the point of taking command if one didn't know what one was doing?
Maybe the incest taboo no longer holds strong, he thought, nastily. His uncle had told him that no one from Earth could be trusted completely. Their way of life was poor, to say the least, and completely incomprehensible to people who actually had to work to survive. The explanation he'd been given – too much insistence on rights rather than responsibilities – made no sense. Maybe Barry’s mother is also his aunt.
But how could Barry think that he should be in charge?
Austin had been a Beaver, then a Scout, then a Scout Leader. He'd earned the latter through hard work, proving himself to the scouts he was supposed to lead. Other scouting branches might have the leaders appointed by the adults, but Meridian insisted on competitions that proved the leaders actually had what it took. Austin wouldn't have minded – much – if he’d been beaten, provided the defeat was actually fair. Barry, on the other hand ... if he had done anything more than harassing his fellow students on Earth, Austin would have been very much surprised.
The nasty part of his mind pointed out that he could quit. He knew how to survive. It wouldn't take long to put a considerable distance between himself and the Earth-born, then hole up for the night and sleep. He could set out to reach the Jordan the following morning, leaving them to make it or starve on their own. It might torpedo his chances of becoming a Bush Ranger – abandoning people in trouble would be frowned upon by the older Rangers, who got to choose future candidates – but there would be no other consequences. He hadn't accepted an obligation to keep them alive.
There will come a time, his Scoutmaster had said, when you will find yourself unable to continue. It will not be your fault. Sometimes, you will lose no matter how hard you struggle. At that point, you need to know how to fold them and learn from the experience.
“Let me put it as simply as I can,” he said, staring at Barry. God, he was ugly. Austin was pretty sure that he was the result of a flawed engineering program or poor breeding. “I know more than you about remaining alive out here. Why – exactly – should I listen to your whining?”
He felt his temper flare, but somehow managed to hold it in check. “You know nothing,” he snapped, coldly. “If you are too stupid to learn from the person who does, you are too stupid to live. Do you understand me?”
Barry’s face purpled. For a moment, Austin genuinely thought he was going to have a heart attack. “I am not your slave,” he said. “I think we should all decide on what to do.”
Austin snorted. “And how many of you know what you’re doing out here?”
He watched Barry carefully, wondering if the oversized thug would throw a punch. Barry didn't look to have any training – although Austin knew better than to take that for granted – but if half the stories about Earth were true, Barry probably knew a lot about dirty fighting and nasty tricks. He was strong, definitely; Austin had seen him carrying huge pieces of wood back to the fire, his rippling muscles standing out against the thin shirt. If he wanted to fight ...
But Austin had plenty of experience of his own. The Scouts had learned martial arts as well as more basic skills. Austin knew he wasn't the best – he still remembered with some embarrassment the Scoutmaster offering a large reward to anyone who managed to knock him down, back when he'd felt the troop was getting overconfident – but he was ready to fight if necessary.
I could kill him, he thought. It would be easy, once he unslung the rifle from his back. A quick shot through Barry’s head and then ... they could dump the body somewhere in the forest, leaving it for the wild animals to eat. And yet ... he had no idea what would happen when they got back to civilisation. Killing someone in self-defence was no murder, but would it be considered self-defence? And besides, did Barry really deserve death?
“I can learn,” Barry said, stubbornly.
/> Austin sighed. “All of you,” he said, sharply. “Listen carefully.”
He’d told them again and again, but it seemed that he had to repeat himself one more time. “I know what I’m doing,” he said. “If you want to stay with me, you are welcome – but you will have to work to help us all survive. If not, you can go. Choose.”
Once, years ago, the scoutmasters had made them read a book that featured a group of scouts who had crash-landed on an alien world. Austin had enjoyed it; the scoutmasters had told them, afterwards, to read the book with a critical eye and point out all the mistakes. The writer, it was clear, had known little about the dangers of unknown worlds; the scouts ate and drank without taking even the simplest precautions. But they’d never faltered in their determination to survive, even when attacked by alien cannibals. By the time they had finally been rescued by the Marines, they’d built a large settlement of their own.
But they’d never had any real internal conflicts. None of them had ever argued amongst themselves, let alone come to blows. It was funny, he realised, that the scouts had picked out all the bad habits – eating and drinking without testing first – and yet they’d missed the single greatest implausibility of all. How could the scouts not argue from time to time? And, coming to think of it, they’d had no girls. How could their settlement have survived?
He pushed the memory aside and faced the off-worlders squarely.
“Choose,” he said.
***
Darrin watched in horror as Barry and Austin almost came to blows. Barry was wrong, he knew; there was no way they could survive without Austin. And yet ... Barry would sooner fight than take orders, no matter the sense behind them. In hindsight, it was yet another problem with Earth’s schools. They didn't teach children that there were times when they should obey orders.
“You can go,” Barry said. He didn't seem concerned about anything, but his own determination to stay in control. “We’ll stay here and survive.”
“No,” Darrin said. It took all he had just to say the word. His body was shaking, reluctant to move, but somehow he stepped forward until he was standing next to Austin. “You can go, if you like. We are going to stay.”
Barry stared at him in shocked incomprehension. Had he thought that Darrin would support him, no matter what happened? Darrin felt a flicker of shame at just how often he had supported Barry over the past few months; he’d helped Barry play his tricks on the girls – and Gary – and then scrubbed the floor beside him. Barry had learned nothing from the experience – or from the whipping. Darrin ... liked to think that he’d learned something, even if it was just a healthy prudence.
And besides, he liked Austin.
On Earth, someone with knowledge wouldn't share it. Fitz had grumbled, more than once, about co-workers who kept vital information to themselves, rather than sharing it with people who might need it. But Austin ... he’d told them what he was doing, even tried to teach them how to cut up animals and survive in the wild. He wasn't using the knowledge to lord it over them, no matter what Barry thought. Austin was genuinely trying to help them survive.
And Barry ...? All he wanted was power. Power to tell people what to do, power to make the girls bend to his will ... he didn't even have any long-term plans. Even a gang lord was more inclined to think beyond his own selfish desires. Darrin cursed himself for spending time with Barry on the ship, time he could have spent getting to know the other boys – even Gary, nerd though he was. At least Gary had some common sense. Barry had none. Besides, Darrin might have shared interests with the other boys.
Abdul stepped up and stood beside them. A moment later, Kailee and Samantha joined him; in the end, even Gary stood with them. Barry glared at them, clenching and re-clenching his fists. Darrin braced himself for a fight – Barry was solid muscle, strong enough to take a great deal of pain without breaking down – but Barry stopped.
“Very well,” he said, tightly.
Darrin stared at him. Giving up was not something Barry did often. Normally, he would prefer to fight even if there was no hope of victory. Now ... Darrin had no idea how capable Austin or Abdul were, but if Barry fought he might win. Instead, he seemed to be backing down.
“If you stay, do as you are told,” Austin said. There was no give in his voice at all. “Or go.”
Barry nodded, silently.
Darrin watched as everyone relaxed, even though he had his doubts. Barry never showed common sense – and besides, if he did have any common sense, why pick the fight in the first place? He pushed the thought aside as Austin started to issue orders, sending Barry to find firewood alone. Maybe Austin thought that it had been suspiciously easy too; Darrin could imagine him trying to tire Barry out before they had to sleep. Perhaps they could do something to immobilise Barry ...
He sucked in a breath, suddenly aware of his heartbeat pounding desperately in his chest. It could easily have turned into a fight – and Barry was still there, still waiting. It had been far too easy. Somehow, he was sure that trouble was still lying in wait for them.
High overhead, the skies began to darken. Moments later, he heard the first peal of thunder in the distance.
Chapter Thirty
They knew what the Empire owed them; they knew their rights. They believed they were entitled to food, drink and a place to live. But they didn't understand their responsibilities, or even the simple fact that the Empire could not take care of the billions of unemployed citizens on Earth indefinitely. Taking care of one person was easy; taking care of billions was pushing the Empire to breaking point.
- Professor Leo Caesius. Education and the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire.
Kailee looked up as the rain started to fall, cascading down on them in great droplets of cold water. It had been warm last time, she recalled, feeling oddly betrayed. Now, it was freezing cold. There was no point in trying to light a fire; instead, the ground was starting to turn to mud very quickly. They’d picked a bad place to set up camp for the night.
She eyed Barry as he stared up at the sky, water dripping down his face. Watching him confronting Austin had been the most terrifying thing she’d ever seen, knowing that she and Samantha would be the prizes of whoever won. Austin could have taken advantage of them and hadn't; she knew better than to think that Barry would show as much consideration of their feelings. Girls talked about boys; she knew enough about Barry’s habits to know that he wouldn't respect her wishes, let alone be gentle. No girl ever wanted to be alone with him.
“We have to go to higher ground,” Austin shouted. It was hard to hear him over the constant drumming of the rain, let alone the thunder. “We can't stay here!”
Kailee winced as brilliant light flashed high overhead, followed by another peal of thunder. From what Austin had said, the longer the delay between the lightning and the thunder, the further away the storm actually was. It sounded as though they were right in the midst of the storm. The clouds were so dark that it looked as though night had come early, rather than two or three hours away. Austin always insisted that they rest early enough to set up a fire and hunt for food while it was still light.
Gary stumbled to his feet, half-bent over as though he were trying to protect something. His reader, Kailee guessed; the small computers were meant to be waterproof, but no one took that for granted any longer. They’d certainly never even been out in the rain until they’d come to Meridian. She followed him, feeling cold water dripping through her hair and down onto her shirt; her nipples hardened at the touch. Cursing her own body, she scooped up her bag and wrapped her arms around herself, hoping to conceal her breasts. The last thing she needed was one of the boys taking it as an invitation.
The deluge only grew worse as they stumbled up the side of the mountain, trying to get out of the forest. Lightning flickered constantly overhead, casting eerie flashes of light over the scene. Brief moments of visibility were followed by moments of absolute darkness, leaving her terrified to move for fear of slipping and sliding d
own the hill. They kept moving upwards, but the trees still seemed to be surrounding them. For a moment, she was convinced that they were creeping closer in the darkness, before dismissing the entire thought as stupid. Trees didn't walk on their own, at least not outside bad entertainment flicks.
She gritted her teeth as she heard small animals running through the storm, always staying out of sight of the human interlopers. Squeaks and hisses echoed out of the darkness, scaring her at first before she forced herself to ignore them. Something big crashed through the forest and across their path, vanishing back into the darkness before Kailee could get more than a brief glance at it. The creature looked to be about the size of a large dog.
The landscape changed as they moved higher and higher, becoming a slope. Mud cascaded down from high overhead, making them slip and slide as they fought their way upwards. Kailee saw rocks and cliffs far below, just waiting for anyone unwary enough to fall down into the darkness. Water dropped from high overhead, then pooled on the leaves and fell down towards the ground. It splashed across her face, making her cry out in shock. For a moment, she’d been sure that someone had thrown water at her deliberately. It was a favoured trick of the boys at school.
A deer ran down through the woods, looked at them for a brief second, then ran onwards. Kailee wondered if Austin would take a shot at it, but the colonial boy seemed as miserable as the rest of them. Besides, she asked herself, would his rifle even fire in this weather? It seemed absurd to think that a weapon was useless in the rain, but her life was full of absurdities. Barry’s attempt at challenging Austin was merely the latest in a long line.
“Keep moving,” Austin shouted. The ground wasn't just turning to mud, it was turning into a swamp! “Don’t stop for anything!”
The Empire's Corps: Book 07 - Reality Check Page 27