Impersonator (Forager Impersonator - A Post Apocalyptic Trilogy Book 1)

by Peter R Stone

  My father’s face paled. “They did that?”

  “And more.”

  “Daughter, I...I don’t know what to say. I had no idea they’d go after you if I was locked away. I thought it would put an end to their schemes if I was beyond their reach.”

  “Well, you thought wrong, didn’t you?”

  “They’re just chasing you for money, right?” he asked, even more alarmed.

  “Yeah, ‘just’ thirty-thousand dollars.”

  For a moment, he looked mightily relieved, but then his eyes alighted upon my sling, and his expression fell. “I’m so sorry, Daughter, I really am.”

  “Really? Then prove it. Tell the Custodians you set yourself up and demand they release you from prison.” A thought suddenly occurred to me. If he was released from prison before tomorrow night, our whole family could quit the town. We’d be free of the debt collectors and could rebuild our family when we got to Ballarat.

  “All the Custodians care about is results, and they’ve got one.”

  “I can’t accept that, Father. And from your past experience with them, you know that some stand up for the truth,” I said.

  “There’s still the matter of the drugs, Chelsea. If I do as you suggest, they’ll arrest Brandon for possession. I won’t do that to him.”

  He was just making excuses, and I knew it. “You’re afraid of seeing Deacon and Wells again, I get it. What if I told you they won’t be a factor for much longer. Would you do as I suggest then?”

  “How is that possible?”

  “I can’t tell you. You just have to trust me.”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t.”

  “What about when you’ve served your time?” I snapped.

  He looked like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. “I’ll probably fix it so I stay in here.”

  My mouth dropped open. “You’re never going to get out? What about Mother?”

  “What about her? Hasn’t even bothered to visit me.”

  “She’s waiting for you to get out!”

  He snorted.

  “Fine! Hide under a rock for the rest of your life! Goodbye!” I stood angrily to my feet, knocking my seat back, and stormed from the room. His refusal to cooperate or make even the slightest effort to be there for us made me so mad!

  I signed out of prison and headed home, muttering under my breath. Yet as I walked, my rage began to fade when I realised how big a mess I made of the visit. Instead of a touching farewell, or even convincing him to try to get out of prison so he could come with us, I lost my temper and blamed him for everything. Now I would have to carry this as the last memory of my father for the rest of my life.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  After a night of tossing and turning, Wednesday arrived at last. I got out of bed at the crack of dawn, excitement coursing through me in anticipation of escaping tonight. I could scarcely believe that after all these years, today was the day.

  Filling my pockets with money from Brandon’s secret stash, I popped out to the market and bought as much dried fruit and unleavened bread as I reckoned we could carry. I also bought two backpacks for Karen and Sofia. Back at the apartment, Karen, Sofia and I packed the bags, filling them with water bottles, the fruit and bread, and other necessities including sanitary pads and rolls of toilet paper.

  * * *

  My mother, sister, Sofia, and I stepped outside the first floor cafeteria after a nourishing dinner of stale bread, overripe fruit and past their sell-by date doughnuts when we bumped into the last person I wanted to see.

  Ryan stood outside the door, still in his work clothes.

  “What do you want?” I snapped.

  “I need to talk to you,” Ryan said, searching my eyes.

  “We have nothing to talk about.” I pushed my way past him.

  He grabbed my right elbow. “Please.”

  I looked to my mother. I knew she still wasn’t happy I’d spent three nights at his home, even though she now grudgingly accepted it had been necessary. “Mother?”

  “It is unbecoming for you to talk to him,” she said.

  “I work with him every day during the week, remember?” I whispered.

  Mother frowned. “Well, you’re not talking to him without a chaperone, and you can count me out.”

  “I know I’m not old enough to be a chaperone, but I can go with them, if that’s okay with you, Mrs. Thomas? We are inside the shelter, our collective home, after all. It’s not like we’re in public,” Sofia suggested.

  “This is very important, Mrs. Thomas,” Ryan said.

  “Oh, very well,” Mother replied. She turned to my sister. “Come, Youngest Daughter.”

  Karen followed my mother down the corridor, glancing back wistfully, no doubt wishing she could have played the part of chaperone rather than Sofia.

  I looked up at Ryan. “Well?”

  He glanced at Sofia and then me.

  “Why don’t we go up to the roof, and then I’ll leave you two to talk in private,” Sofia suggested. Didn’t miss much, that girl.

  Several minutes later, Ryan and I stood alone on the roof. Sofia had escorted us to the fifth floor, but came no further. I barely noticed the view today, though. I couldn’t stop wondering what he wanted to say.

  A brisk, cold wind blew loose strands of hair across my face. I tried to pull my shawl closer about my shoulders, but with one arm in a sling, it wasn’t easy. Noticing my predicament, Ryan helped pull it into place. He stood so close I could smell him, a subtle mix of sweat and cologne.

  “Is there a reason you’ve dragged me up here or are you going to just stand there staring at me?” I asked.

  “I can’t stop thinking about you, Chelsea.”

  “Seriously? That’s what you wanted to say?”

  “And I want to apologise for freaking out when you told me about your...abilities. It just took me by surprise. But you know what? It didn’t take me long to realise you were wrong. I do know you. Your secret changes nothing. You’re still the most amazing person I know. And I still can’t bear the thought of not having you in my life.” He spoke with such passion that his words stirred my soul, reaching through the barriers I had erected around my heart.

  “Ryan–” I began.

  “I spoke to my father–”

  “I already told you there can be no future between us!”

  “And I told you we can work through every obstacle we encounter together.” He reached out to take my hand in his. “My father is not opposed to our union. He is willing to talk to your father.”

  “He’s in prison.”

  “He can have visitors, can’t he?”

  The touch of his fingers on mine sent tingles up my arm, and for the barest fraction of a moment I considered accepting his suggestion and staying here with him, but the terrifying image of Wells shooting the spring-loaded gun at Ryan shattered the vision immediately. Then a new thought came unbidden to my mind. There was another option. One that would work for me, and for him too, I believed.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “What if I told you there was another option. Another way we could be together.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  I knew Con told me not to tell him, but Con was a slimy, insidious, paranoid criminal of the nth degree. And he could nick off!

  “What if I told you a group of us are going to break out of Newhome and go to Ballarat?”

  “You serious?” The incredulous look on his face was worth framing.

  “Yes.”

  “And just how do you plan on getting out?”

  “Through the town gates, of course.”

  “The gates are guarded by two squads of Custodians!”

  “We’ve worked out a way to get past them.”

  “You’re going to kill them?” he asked, alarmed.

  “Of course not – that would be murder! It will be by trickery, not violence,” I assured him.

  “Wow, I don’t know what to say.” He r
an his hand through his hair.

  “Why don’t you come with me?” I spoke carefully, my voiced filled with hope. “It would be a brand new beginning. No debt collectors beating me up or trying to kill you, no stigma over our heads because I have a criminal for a father.”

  “When is this breakout?”

  “Tonight.”

  He shook his head slowly. “Chelsea, this is not the solution. You can’t spend your life running away from your troubles. You have to face them and overcome them.”

  “To be honest, Ryan, I have been planning to escape the town ever since I was five,” I said.

  “What – why?”

  “I live every day here in fear of my life. I have such an awesome ability, but if I use it, I’ll be executed simply to keep the human race ‘pure’ – whatever that means. Hasn’t it occurred to them that I may be the next stage of human evolution rather than mutated by nuclear radiation? Who ever heard of radiation causing mutations like this? Extra toes and fingers, cleft palates, and cancers, but not this.”

  “Is that where you think your ability comes from?” he asked.

  “It’s a better explanation than radiation,” I said.

  He nodded. “I guess it is. Not something I’ve ever thought about, to be honest. But what if you’re wrong? What if they don’t kill mutants like you?”

  “Just lock me up and study me like a lab rat instead? Sorry, not willing to risk ending up like that. Besides, that’s not the only reason I want to leave. I can’t stand living in an oppressive society like this. I want to be free to go where I want, do what I want, to take hold of my own life,” I said.

  “If you feel so strongly about these issues, why don’t you try to do something about them?” He looked at me intently.

  “And get thrown in prison like those guys who did the stop-work protest?”

  “They went about it the wrong way. They used blackmail instead of dialogue. Instead of working from behind the scenes.”

  “Man, you sure live in a fantasy world, Ryan. This town is a police state, can’t you see that?”

  “I’ll admit it’s not perfect, but consider this. The Founders, and the Chancellor and councillors since them, have outlawed multiculturalism in their attempt to create a society without division. They even encouraged the different nationalities here to intermarry so we would become one people. Yet for the past century, the people resisted this attempt to rob them of their unique national characteristics by refusing to let their children marry outside their own race. So in spite of the Founders and Chancellor’s efforts, we still have Anglo-Saxon Aussies, Yugoslavians, Chinese, Malaysians, Vietnamese, Koreans, Sudanese, Greeks, Italians, Indians, Turkish – need I go on? Melbourne’s pre-Apocalypse multinational identity has been preserved.”

  “What’s your point?” I asked.

  “If the people can resist the Chancellor’s efforts in this area, they can beat him in other areas too. They just need to find the right strategies and get the right people behind them.”

  “I still don’t see what that’s got to with me. Or you, for that matter.”

  “This town has so much potential, Chelsea, can’t you see that? Instead of running away, why don’t you become a visionary committed to changing the town into the sort of place you would like to raise your children in.”

  “Sorry, Ryan. I’ve had enough of this place.”

  “Chelsea, I don’t know who’s behind this escape attempt, but it’s fraught with danger. Firstly, the Custodians at the gate won’t be the pushovers you think they are. Secondly, even if you do get past them, the ruins are infested with Skel and Ballarat is too far away. In ideal conditions, it would probably take a couple of days to get there, but if anyone gets sick, injured, or their shoes fall apart, it’s going to take a lot longer. Many of you won’t make it at all. You’ve got to see this is just wishful thinking! Please don’t go!”

  “Honestly, Ryan, I’m surprised at you. Considering I’m your only friend, and how you feel about me, I figured you would have jumped at the chance to come with me. You’d be a real asset on the journey too,” I paused and looked directly into his eyes. “Besides, I want you to come.”

  He dropped my hand and stepped back. “Sorry, Chelsea, I care for you, I really do. But my family is here, and I care about this town and its people. Please stay here. Please stay with me.”

  Disappointed by his refusal to come, I felt a deep sorrow weigh heavily on my heart. Still, I tried to be understanding. His family meant a great deal to him and I was asking him to abandon them on a moment’s notice. And he wasn’t rejecting me, for he was asking me to stay here with him.

  “Who is in charge of this breakout? Is it Con?” he asked.

  “I don’t want to say.”

  “Fair enough, but if he is the leader, I want you to consider this. If Con, Matt and Jack are responsible for Dan Smith’s death, they need to be brought to justice. They mustn’t be allowed to leave tonight and get away scot-free.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” His words weighed heavily on my conscience.

  “The clock’s ticking.”

  With an angry flick of my head because he was right and I knew it, I rushed down the stairs. Just like the last time, he did not come after me. I guessed this was truly the last time I would see him.

  Sofia was waiting for me. She raised an eyebrow inquisitively. “Things didn’t go well?”

  “Don’t ask.” I grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s go back to your place. He won’t think to look for me there.”

  We popped down to Sofia’s room. Now that I knew her mother had passed away, she no longer kept me out. The room was Spartan but she had laid out her few items of furniture in a way that gave the room a homely atmosphere.

  I helped her prepare for the breakout, mending some of the clothes she was going to bring. Because of her burns, she was not good with sewing needles and thread.

  Finally, sometime after midnight, we hurried upstairs to my apartment.

  However, as soon as we reached my room, I knew something was wrong – the door was hanging wide open. Fearing the worst, I rushed inside, and was shocked to find the room empty. There was no sign of my mother or sister.

  Panicking, I bolted out of the room with Sofia in tow, going as fast as my dress would allow, pausing only when the elevator pinged and the doors ground open.

  I found myself face to face with my mother, who was red faced and flustered. “Where have you been, Daughter! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

  “With Sofia, why – what’s wrong? Where’s Karen?”

  “They took her!” she shouted in my face.

  “They?”

  “Those horrible men, the debt collectors!”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  I had to reach out and grab my mother’s arm to keep my balance. It felt like I had been slugged in the gut. Why did they take her? Were they going to force her to perform sexual favours in lieu of paying back the loan?

  “Why did they have to do this today!” I wailed. “In another half an hour we would have departed for the rendezvous point.”

  Mother stuck her face in mine. “That’s why they took her. They said they heard of the breakout and kidnapped Karen to stop Brandon leaving town, since he still owed them so much money. They said he could pick her up in the morning.”

  I staggered back, barely able to process what I was hearing. “What a disaster! What are we supposed to do now?”

  “What’s it got to do with you? Go join your friends and escape.” The derogatory manner in which she spoke revealed the depths of her animosity towards me.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Mother. I’m not leaving without her!”

  “So you’ll stay? And get her in the morning wearing your Brandon disguise? I would have asked your brother, except I don’t know where he is,” she asked, clearly surprised. It saddened me that she continued to have such a low opinion of me after everything I had done for them. All because of that fateful day when my
parents’ relationship reaching breaking point many years ago and I sided with my father against her.

  I shook my head. I just couldn’t believe Karen had been kidnapped, right before the breakout. Why did the universe plot and conspire against me? Every time I tried to escape, something catastrophic popped up and ruined my plans. And tonight’s escape attempt was my idea, my plan.

  “Actually, Brandon will be here soon. When he turns up, I’ll tell him what happened and we can go and rescue Karen together. Did Deacon say where they took her?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Daughter. Those men will eat you alive!” She shook her head frantically. But was that concern for my brother, or for me?

  “Not Brandon, they won’t – they won’t know what hit them. Where are we supposed to pick her up from tomorrow?”

  “I will tell you in the morning.”

  I squeezed her arm. “Tell me!”

  “Let go of my arm!” she bellowed.

  “Is it the Derby Snooker Hall?” I asked.

  Her eyes lit up at the mention of the snooker hall. Too late, she tried to hide her reaction.

  “Thought so.” I turned and hurried back to our room. “Give me a hand getting changed?”

  “Incorrigible child – you’ll get no help from me!” Glowering at me, she remained near the elevator.

  I gestured for Sofia to follow me. When we got to our room, she looked extremely concerned. “I think your mother’s right. You shouldn’t do this. Those guys are too dangerous.”

  I took hold of her hand. “Sofia, please – we don’t have time for this. We have less than an hour to join the escape, and I won’t go without my sister.”

  “Still–”

  “Please help me change?”

  She finally acquiesced and helped me out of my clothes to complete the transformation into my brother. All the same, by the time we were done, my face was pale and my hands were shaking from pain.