Axler, James - Deathlands 66 - Separation

by Separation [lit]

  "I think that it may be what we are looking for," the baron said on reflection. "It has farming possibilities and the space to build a new settlement. Moreover, it is not at present populated, so we will not be intruding on another ville's space and sparking conflict that we can ill afford while still settling."

  "All in all, sounds perfect," Mildred mused.

  "Perhaps it will be," the baron said softly. "Perhaps for all of us?"

  "That I couldn't say," Mildred replied in as noncommittal a tone as possible, for she had just noticed that J.B. and Ryan were conferring about something they had seen down in the valley.

  The caravan began its descent down the soft slope toward the floor of the long valley, and the perfect settling lands that lay there. Ryan beckoned to Mildred to join them. As she did, he indicated a small crevice in the land that lay about three miles to their left, at the join of the incline to the valley floor. Casting her eyes over it, Mildred could see that it had all the recognizable hallmarks of a hidden redoubt. To most eyes, it would look like nothing more than a small rock indent in the land, but the trained observer would be able to tell the camouflage around a redoubt entrance. Some may have been stripped of this after skydark, but this one still retained its disguise.

  "We'll tell them tonight when we rest and then strike out for it tomorrow," Ryan told her. "We've got a few things we need to sort out among ourselves," he continued with a meaningful glance at Sharona and Dean, before adding, "That's if you want to come with us."

  Mildred smiled wryly. "I've made my choice, Ryan."

  The caravan continued until the twilight, when they established camp for the night. After they had eaten, Ryan joined Markos, Sineta and Mildred.

  "I've got something to tell you," he began. "Come first light, we'll be moving on."

  "But where to?" Markos answered, bewildered. "I can see nothing around here that could distract you from our shared path."

  "There's something. Something to do with following the dream, I suppose." Ryan smiled when he saw the sec boss's uncomprehending expression. "It's something we have to do. Besides, we have our own problems to contend with and we need to be able to concentrate on those."

  Sineta nodded. "It must be difficult, with the boy's mother appearing as if from nowhere. But we will miss you—all of you," she added pointedly, looking at Mildred.

  "You mean you will be going with them?" Markos asked Mildred. When Mildred nodded, he said, "I wish you would reconsider…all of you." With which he stood and walked away from them.

  "I didn't figure we were that important," a mystified Ryan said, half joking.

  "I think it may be more than that," Sineta replied perceptively, indicating that Mildred should go after him.

  Mildred got to her feet and walked after the sec boss, who stood on the verge of the camp, looking out into the night. He turned as he saw her approach.

  "I don't think there is anything more that can be said really, is there?" he asked.

  "Maybe." Mildred shrugged. "But maybe you should know that this is the hardest decision I've ever had to make. And if you had the slightest idea of how weird and strange my life has been next to yours, you'd know how deep that cuts."

  "Then why are you going?"

  "Because I have to. I know we both pulled back from each other, but maybe something could have happened if I stayed."

  "So why don't you?" There was pain and anger mixed in his tone.

  "Because I have other loyalties that cut me deeper still. Not just to J.B., but to all of them. We've got bonds and ties that were forged in fire, and you can't walk away from those."

  "And, in truth, I would not expect you to," he said softly before walking away from her.

  WHEN THE MORNING CAME, the companions prepared to leave and the entire tribe rose to wish them well. As they made to leave, Sineta approached them.

  "Words are so easy and seem so pointless at a time like this," she began, "but nonetheless, I feel it is important that I say this. Without you, we would still have had to leave Pilatu and begin again, but it would have been a harder, more costly experience. We owe you much, and we will never forget you." The baron embraced Mildred, her eyes filled with tears of regret. The companions parted company with Pilatu. In the end, it was as simple as walking in a different direction to the caravan, which began to move off and down into the valley, searching for a spot to begin building.

  Markos didn't watch the companions leave and Mildred didn't look for him.

  After they had walked some distance, they stopped to rest. The redoubt could still be reached before nightfall. Mildred turned to look back to see the Pilatan caravan stretching out across the valley floor. J.B. came up to her, standing behind and resting his hands lightly on her shoulders.

  "They'll be fine. Good people with good leaders," he said at length. When Mildred didn't reply, he said after a pause, "Millie, tell me honestly, did you really want to go with them? I mean, are you with us because of the past and not the future? I mean—"

  She turned and silenced him by putting her fingers to his lips.

  "John," she said softly, "when have you ever known me to do anything that I didn't feel was the right thing? The right thing for me, and for those who I want around me," she added, stressing the last half of the sentence.

  The Armorer started to answer, but before he could speak she shook her head.

  "Never," she whispered. "And that still stands."

  THEY MADE THE REDOUBT by nightfall. The recessed entrance was shut tight. Without an exterior trigger it was a problem as to how they would gain entry. But not a problem that hadn't been considered.

  "Jak, you remember we've been to redoubts that had vents for their air conditioning and cleaning systems?" Ryan asked. When the albino youth nodded, the one-eyed man continued, "Do you reckon these vents would have maintenance and service hatches?"

  "Remember climbing down one," Jak replied. "Just need find it."

  Without another word, Ryan followed Jak as the albino scaled the shallow wall of rock around the recessed entrance. The two men scoured the top of the small plateau formed in the side of the valley by the redoubt entrance, moving out of sight of the rest of the companions.

  "What the hell are they doing?" Sharona complained.

  "Trying to get us in," Krysty snapped in a tone that would brook no argument, causing Mildred and J.B. to exchange glances.

  Meanwhile, on top of the plateau, Ryan and Jak were searching in the fading light for signs of a venting system.

  "Usually hidden by rock pile," Jak indicated. "And has narrow channel into service tunnel."

  "You think you'll have any trouble getting past the rad shielding?" Ryan queried, knowing from past experience that the maintenance shafts were gated by lead-lined, airtight doors.

  Jak shook his head. "Never locked, just tight stop air. Not trust stupe sec with codes and keys." He grinned. "Most seals rubber and rotted—" He broke off as he found the vent. "Here."

  Ryan joined the albino youth and helped him move the rock pile that had been carefully placed more than a hundred years previously to cover the vent outlet. The movement of the earth after skydark had only helped to camouflage the vent, as more rocks had moved onto the pile. It was almost completely dark as they finished removing the obstruction. Below, the rest of the companions waited patiently—with the exception of Sharona—for word from above.

  Jak looked up at the night sky. It was clear, with a crescent moon that cast a wan light over the land.

  "Go back, Ryan. Tell others what's happening. See you soon," he added with a grin that split his white, scarred face as he slid down into the vent.

  The one-eyed man watched him go, then carefully descended to the entrance below. While he outlined the situation, Jak wormed his way through the vent.

  It was tight and pitch dark. It was only the albino's wiry frame and the fact that his pigmentless eyes could adapt to almost zero levels of light that enabled him to make progress and marked him as the on
ly one of the companions who could have fulfilled this task. He squirmed and wriggled down the narrow vent, the heat soon building up around him despite the constant up-rush of expelled air from the conditioner, making him sweat heavily, a sweat that was dried by the rushing air before it reached his eyes, the eyeballs gritty and sore in the constant flow of arid air.

  As he made progress, his fingers sought the telltale impress of the service hatches. The panic of enclosure was beginning to prick at the edges of his mind—how could he go backward in this tight, downward vent if he didn't find a way into the service hatches—as his fingers found that for which he sought. Prizing the hatch open, so that it fell down across the vent, temporarily blocking the flow, he found that he had been right about the rubber seals. Wasting no time, lest the open hatch door caused a blowback in the conditioning system, he pulled himself into the service tunnel and reached down to pull the door shut

  The maintenance tunnel was lit by a low level red strip and had a larger circumference than the vent. Jak was able to relax and breathe more easily for a second before beginning the long haul into the redoubt. It was easier, but finding his way around the maze of service tunnels would take time. It was almost impossible to get totally lost, as he would emerge somewhere in the redoubt, but he wanted to come as near to the surface level as possible. There was no way of knowing if the redoubt was inhabited in any way, and he was keen to adopt any measure that would reduce risk.

  In a short time, Jak dropped back into the air conditioning system so that he could wriggle to a vent and make a recce. It was important that he find out where he was and if he could see any signs of life. The vent showed him he was in an upper level, near old admin offices.

  He stilled himself as much as possible and listened carefully. There was nothing. Sniffing the air, Jak found it was stale. Every instinct told him the redoubt was empty. But he still refused to take chances. Moving back into the maintenance tunnels, he found an exit on the same level and cautiously emerged into the body of the redoubt, his Colt Python ready to hand.

  He was more relaxed by the time he had traveled from the service hatch to the main redoubt door. There were no signs of life and no signs that the redoubt had been occupied since predark times. He keyed in the sec code to open the door and greeted the companions with a rare smile.

  "All ours."

  RYAN OPTED to wait a few days before they made a mat-trans jump. Rather than keep traveling across open country for who knew how long, he figured that they could take their chances with the random setting of the mat-trans, and find out where it took them. But first he wanted them to rest. As the redoubt was still well stocked and in good working order, it would be an opportunity to rest and recuperate before taking their chances with fate once more. Showering, changing and finding the dorms in good order, they rested, leaving everything to the morrow.

  And there was something left that had to be tackled soon. Sharona had been distancing herself from the rest of the companions while they traveled with the Pilatans, only really associating with Dean. If she was going to travel with them, then it was important that this rift be healed. And if not…

  But there would be time to deal with that the following day, the one-eyed man thought as he lay awake, trying to figure out what the shocking return of Dean's mother meant.

  The next day brought no solutions. Ryan awakened to find the others had already risen. After showering, he walked to the kitchen where he found Mildred, Krysty, Doc and Jak.

  "Where are the others?" he asked as he prepared his breakfast from an array of self-heats.

  "John's gone to check out the armory," Mildred said with an indulgent expression crossing her face. "You know what he's like."

  Ryan returned the expression. "Yeah, he must've been worn out last night, because he didn't go straight to it." Then, after a pause, he added, "What about Dean and Sharona?"

  Krysty grimaced. "I don't know—anyone else?" she queried, but was met with blank looks from Mildred, Jak and Doc. "They were up before either of us, but where they are…"

  Ryan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose she can't be doing any harm."

  Doc was bemused. "My dear boy, why would the woman want to do harm? She thought she would perish and sent her son away. Then, when she recovered, he was gone from her. Is it not natural that she should want to spend time with the boy? And, vice versa, as it were? That is, that he should wish to spend time with her," he added by way of explanation when he saw that the old Latin term meant nothing to Krysty, Jak or Ryan.

  "That's a fair enough point, but it's not so much the time…" Ryan began, petering out with a shrug as he found he couldn't exactly explain what he meant.

  Krysty finished for him, "It's more a matter of her attitude about things."

  Mildred looked at Krysty closely. "You sure it's her that's the problem? I mean, are you certain that you don't just feel a little put out because she's suddenly appeared?"

  Krysty frowned and looked at Mildred. The question could almost be insulting, if not for the depth of expression in the black woman's brown eyes, eyes that showed her understanding.

  "Yeah, mebbe a little," Krysty admitted. "But I've thought about that, and there's more."

  "Get bad feeling," Jak chipped in, breaking his silence. "Pulling Dean away from us. His choice, but not good when we fight or stand together."

  "Exactly," Ryan agreed. "Before we leave here, we have to sort out what's going on between us all. We have to pull in the same direction or else—"

  "Or else all strength is dissipated," Doc said sadly.

  Oblivious to all this, Dean and Sharona were on a lower level of the redoubt. The woman had awakened her son early and, after making him breakfast—a rare treat for Dean, who had to fend for himself along with the other companions—had asked him to show her around the redoubt and had listened carefully while he told her all he knew about them.

  "It's incredible to believe that there are so many of these old predark places across the land, and that despite that so few have found them," she said to him.

  "Yeah, but most of them are so well hidden or disguised that you have to know that they're there," Dean told her, pleased to see his mother attentive to his every word. "The only reason we're using them is that Doc, Dad and J.B. found one. And unlike most people who ever found them, they don't just loot them. They're interested in working out how to use the mat-trans."

  "The what?"

  Dean smiled. "That's the really great part. The mat-trans is how we travel. It's an old comp system that kind of breaks you up into little bits, then shoots you across Deathlands to another chamber where you get put back together again. Of course, it's a bit more complex than that."

  Sharona shook her head. "Those whitecoats before the nukecaust sure were sick bastards."

  "I don't know," Dean said, his face falling. "It's not so bad."

  Seeing how her son was crestfallen, Sharona added quickly, "Well, I guess it depends how you use it. I mean, if you can use it to go where you want…"

  Dean grimaced. "I didn't exactly say that." And when she gave him a questioning gaze, he continued. "The thing is, it's kind of random. We know how to trigger it, but there aren't any manuals or instructions for how to get past the sec codes in the comps to programme a destination, and they have this random setting where every time you trigger the chamber, it'll send you a different place. If I could work out the sec fail safe, then we'd really be able to use it for wherever we want. But now it's kind of wherever it sends us."

  "So you don't actually know where you're going."

  "No," he admitted.

  "And you couldn't replicate a jump from here?"

  "No," he said, a little puzzled. "But why would you want to?"

  "I didn't say you would. I was just pointing out that mebbe you need to do a little more work on this old tech. And mebbe your dad doesn't really give you that time."

  "What do you mean?" Dean queried.

  Sharona shrugged. "Well, it seems
like he's always keen to move on all the time. Mebbe it wouldn't hurt just to stand still for a while. That's what I'd like—a chance to stay and just get to know you again."

  "But you'll get to know me the longer you stay with us," Dean said in a tone of voice that indicated he thought it was obvious.

  Sharona grimaced. "I really don't know if I can travel with you."

  Dean was shocked. "But you said—"

  "I know what I said, but the truth of the matter is that I just can't see me getting on with your father or with Krysty. They're suspicious of me, and mebbe they're right to be. After all, they've been looking after you for one hell of a time, and where have I been?"

  "But that wasn't your fault!"

  "Doesn't matter. It's not a question of fault. It's just a fact that they've been there and I haven't. Which means that I resent them for that, even though it's not something they did on purpose, and they resent me for suddenly appearing, even though I didn't plan it this way. That's just the way it is."

  "Yeah, I guess so," Dean said softly. "I just figured everyone would be as pleased as I was."

  "Never mind." Sharona ruffled his hair. "Sometimes things just don't go as you planned them. You should know that by now!"

  "Guess not. So what do you want to see next?" he added in a bright voice, trying to change the subject.

  "I don't know. You decide," his mother replied.

  Dean took Sharona by the hand and led her out of the mat-trans control room, not noticing the way she looked back over her shoulder with a thoughtful expression.

  "IT DOESN'T MATTER what you say, we have to move sooner or later," Ryan said in an exasperated voice. "Fireblast and fuck it, haven't you listened to a thing anyone has said?"

  "Yeah, I've listened, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, if you ask me," Sharona snapped. "For someone who's a leader, you don't have much in the way of ideas, do you?"

  The companions and Sharona were gathered in one of the old briefing rooms. By J.B. and Ryan's chrons as well as those in the redoubt, it was midafternoon, but in the disorienting environment of the redoubt, where light was controlled by the flick of a switch, it could have been any time. And it felt like any time as once again Ryan's attempts to marshal forces and move on were being interrupted by Sharona.