Nanako shot down another Skel who charged us, but then her gun made an ominous click as it ran out of ammo. At that moment, a smaller, quick-footed Skel knocked Nanako's weapon out of her hands with a sweep of a converted pickaxe. The Skel bellowed a string of extremely offensive insults in a high-pitched voice, revealing herself to be female. I crawled as fast as I could manage to retrieve the ammo clip so I could come to Nanako's aid.
I saw her duck and dodge two great sweeps of her opponent's weapon, after which she jumped forward and delivered a knife-hand strike to the side of the Skel's unarmoured neck. She followed this with an elbow to the throat, sending her opponent staggering backwards. Although choking and gagging, the Skel shook her skull-adorned head, readied her pickaxe adorned with rusty metal spikes and charged Nanako again.
I retrieved my ammo-clip, slammed it home and put a bullet through the Skel's throat, sending her tumbling to the ground and out of the fight for good.
Nanako retrieved her gun, slapped in a fresh ammo clip, and rushed over to me as I slowly regained my feet. "Thanks, that was too close! Are you hurt?"
"The vest saved me," I assured her. I didn’t tell her that the fall had reopened the wound and it was bleeding again. My stomach was going to be black and blue as well.
"We've got to get to the sub, they must be almost through by now," I said as I stood.
"Lead the way, I've got your back." She couched the assault-rifle to her shoulder.
I jogged as fast as I was able for the wharf, firing my pistol at three Skel who tried to stop me. The two I failed to bring down were finished off by Nanako as she followed close behind.
The skirmish behind us had fallen silent. The Custodians had overcome the surviving Skel, although at great cost – only five of them were still standing, and that didn’t include Captain Smithson. With King in the lead, the Custodians advanced cautiously behind us. I tried to blot out the disturbing sounds of the wounded and dying who littered the ground like broken, discarded dolls.
I ran onto the concrete wharf to which the submarine was moored, and past the corpses of four Custodians – the security detail that had been guarding it.
As I hurried over the metal decking that lead from the wharf to the sub, I heard Nanako trip and fall, her gun clattering from her hands to the concrete.
"Nanako?" I called out anxiously, terrified she'd been shot.
"I'm okay – go, get those Skel!" she called back.
Holding my pistol before me, I stepped onto the sub and carefully navigated the narrow decking that surrounded the conning tower. I moved quickly between two large missile launch tubes, and then straight for the two Skel at the sub's stern. One was crouching down with the oxy-acetylene torch, which lit up the surrounding area and the two bone-armoured Skel with an eerie glow.
I was tempted to shoot the oxy-acetylene gas tank, but had no idea what effect such an explosion would have on the satchel of explosives. I slowed to a walk and fired a shot at the Skel instead, dropping him to the submarine's decking plate with a clatter of bone upon steel.
The second Skel whirled around, spotted my silhouette in the dark, and madly fiddled with the detonator's timer. I tried to shoot him before he could, but I was out of bullets. While I quickly reloaded the pistol, the Skel dropped the satchel, grabbed a club and charged me.
Afraid that he may have set the detonator to go off any moment, I rushed straight for him while firing my pistol. The first three shots didn't even slow him, but the fourth sent him careening off the top of the submarine and into the water, where he sank like a rock.
I holstered my pistol and fell to my knees beside the satchel. It had a glowing red timer, which was at twenty-two seconds and counting down.
I didn’t know if the explosives would damage the submarine if it went off on the upper deck, but I couldn't risk finding out. And that meant I had to fling the bag as far as I could into the river. I stood and prepared to do so, but the bag was heavy and my chest was in such pain that I doubted I could even manage to toss it over the side.
Heavy footsteps bounded up behind me. I turned about and found myself face to face with Lieutenant King – who had his assault-rifle pointed at my head.
We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, but could not have been more than a couple of seconds. I knew what he was thinking – if he put a bullet through my head now, no one would ever know the truth. He would claim the Skel shot me or that I’d been hit by a stray Custodian bullet. It was an opportunity too good to pass up.
Well, it was until we heard Nanako's light footsteps as she ran up behind King. Even in the darkness, she could recognise what was going on, so she aimed her gun at King and said, “Don’t even think it, Lieutenant.”
Realising his opportunity for getting away with murder was gone, King lowered his gun. As he did so, my mind switched back to the present and I turned the satchel around to show him the glowing timer, which was down to eight seconds.
In one smooth motion, King dropped his gun, grabbed the bag, and swung it around once and then far out into the river. "Hit the deck!" he shouted, and we complied without hesitation.
The satchel hit the water and exploded in a massive pyrotechnics display, creating a small tidal wave that dumped water over us and rocked the sub violently from side to side.
And then, all was quiet.
Disguising it as a yawn, I lifted my head and let off one last ultrasonic shout as I glanced about, checking to see if any Skel were left standing. Once I saw that they had all been accounted for, I surrendered to the pain and overwhelming exhaustion that wracked my body. I collapsed back onto the sub's deck.
Nanako was at my side in a heartbeat. I tried to convince her that I was okay, but she saw straight through the lie.
After he got his breath King switched his radio on and reported our success to Custodian HQ. They replied with the encouraging news that the Skel had just started withdrawing from North End. They must have had a Smartphone equipped scout watching the battle for the sub, and he must have reported the failure to destroy it to the Skel in the town.
As I lay there shivering in my soaking wet clothes, I pondered how the Skel had managed to get their hands on Smartphones, guns, the oxy-acetylene torch and explosives, even the ability to drive the captured Bushmaster. And there was also the ambush they sprang on Councillor Okada, and their astounding feat of managing to ambush all of our foraging teams on the same morning.
The answer to these questions was staring me in the face – a major player, and quite possibly Hamamachi or perhaps a faction therein, was backing their attacks on us.
All began to go dark as Nanako removed my bulletproof vest to check my condition and discovered that the left side of my chest was soaked with blood. The last thing I heard was her demanding King to get a medic over pronto.
Chapter Twenty Six
I came to slowly, as though waking from the deepest sleep I'd ever had. I was back in intensive care, lying in a hospital bed with a drip in the back of my left hand. There was a bandage around my chest and shoulder, and another around my head, thanks to King smashing his rifle butt against it earlier. In spite of my injuries, I felt little pain, so they must have drugged me on some pretty strong painkillers. I decided then and there not to rush out of the hospital this time, but give my poor body a chance to recover.
It was dark outside and the ward was shrouded in semi-darkness. Every bed I could see was filled and male nurses were quietly checking on patients who were worse off than others. Some patients groaned, others sobbed quietly.
Nanako was lying beside me with her head on my right shoulder. She was fast asleep. I ran my hand through her hair, simply glad to be with her and away from danger.
She stirred and her eyes flicked open. “Decided to rejoin us in the land of the living have we?” she teased.
“Well, you know, thought I’d pop in,” I laughed, and then winced. “How long have I been out?”
“About eighteen hours.” She glanced a
t the timepiece on her wrist.
“And what’s the prognosis. Will I live?”
“You lost a lot of blood and they had to close your wound again. But you’ve had a blood transfusion and have been on the drip ever since.” Rolling onto her stomach, she propped herself on her elbows. “You gotta be more careful, Ethan. No more heroics from you. Like, forever, okay? You were so pale I was afraid I was gonna lose you.”
“Don’t worry, you’ve got my full co-operation there,” I promised her.
“They wanted to give you a CAT scan for the blow to your head, but I refused. I had to make up some story that you and I were dead-set against X-ray technology because we believed it would harm us.”
“You did well,” I said, impressed by her ingenuity. “What’s the situation with the town and the sub?”
“After we stopped the Skel blowing up the sub, the rest of them pulled out of North End pretty quick, I was told. But so many Custodians and civilians have been killed or injured. North End’s hospital overflowed so badly that they had to bring many North Enders to this hospital, and they’re even using a school as a temporary hospital as well.”
I shook my head, finding it hard to believe the Skel had become so bold as to attack our strongly defended town so openly, the first time in a hundred years. I hoped they had paid dearly for their audacity.
“Can I ask a question?” I said after we’d been silent for a while.
“Of course you can, silly.”
“What was our wedding like?”
She drew herself up onto her knees. “Would you like to see a photo?”
The excitement that rose within me was so strong that for a moment I forgot all about my injuries. “What kind of question is that? Of course I do. Have you got lots of photos of the time I was in Hamamachi?”
She removed the weird goggles that were hanging around her neck. “I do, but I’m hesitant to show them to you yet because I don’t want the photos to form the basis of your memories. I want you to keep pushing your mind until you remember these things yourself. I don’t mind showing you this one photo, though, it’s kind of important, eh?” She put the goggles on and pressed the buttons on the side.
After a moment she pressed them against my eyes – she couldn’t put the strap on because of the bruise from King’s gun.
I gasped as soon as I saw the image. It was in 3D, with a depth I hadn’t thought possible with digital media. We were standing in front of an old brick chapel hidden away in the bush, set in the midst of a landscape of long grass, bushes and the occasional gum tree. It had a slanting slate-tile roof, wooden door, and stained glass windows. It must have been very lovingly maintained over the decades.
But it was Nanako herself who rendered me speechless. She was wearing a magnificent red kimono, embroidered with cranes, trees and mountains in gold, white and green thread. Her hair was put up with golden pins, with a few stray locks hanging loose around her face. The joy and rapture she felt on that day had been faithfully captured by the camera. She was glowing with happiness, complete with joyous smile and sparkling eyes.
I stood beside her wearing traditional Japanese men’s attire. It included black-and-white pleated hakama pants, a white undershirt, and black kimono and haori, the latter being a lightweight long coat with wide sleeves.
"You look simply gorgeous. Must have been such a wonderful day. What I'd give to get those memories back," I said when I took off the goggles and reluctantly handed them back. I was delighted to have a concrete image to associate with wedding day.
"It was the second happiest day of my life." She smiled broadly.
I raised my eyebrows, suddenly feeling a little threatened. What could mean more to someone than their wedding day? "Really. What was the happiest?"
She lay back down beside me with her head on my shoulder and took my left hand in hers. "Last night, when you told me that you are mine, now and forever, and we put our wedding rings back on."
I slipped my right arm around her and within minutes, her arms and legs twitched erratically – she had fallen asleep again.
It was hours before I fell asleep, but I didn't mind in the slightest. As I lay with my petite Japanese wife in my arms, I felt content and completely at peace. The ever-present emptiness I felt since awaking from the operation two years ago was gone. And I knew why. That emptiness I felt was her absence.
* * *
“Hey Jones, wake up!” said a familiar voice.
I jerked awake from a shallow sleep and saw my three workmates clustered around my bed. It was just after eight according to the clock on the wall.
"This is new,” Shorty said as he appraised Nanako sitting cross-legged on the bed beside me and holding my hand.
“So are the wedding rings.” Michal pointed out, observant as usual.
“Did we blink and miss something?” Shorty asked.
“Guys, may I present Nanako Jones, my wife.” I grinned like a Cheshire cat.
“Yep, I think we did,” Shorty said to Michal, and then to me. “Jones, what on earth are you talking about?”
I spent the next five minutes catching the lads up to speed.
“Man, what a story,” Shorty said when I’d finished, “I’m getting a headache just trying to get my head around it.”
"Great to see it work out for you two at last," Michal said sincerely. "Make sure you inform the Custodians or they'll get the wrong idea."
"Already have," I assured him, though not quite in the manner he would have assumed.
Shorty and David murmured similar comments, but truth be known, they were clearly uncomfortable with Nanako around. I questioned Newhome's traditions of so rigidly segregating males and females. I remembered how relaxed and natural Nanako and her foraging teammates had been together when I first met her, and concluded that Newhome’s Founders had lost the plot when they created our society.
"So how are you three going?" I asked in an attempt to end the awkward silence.
"Saturday was a blast," Shorty said with heavy sarcasm. "I never realised how much fun can be had digging through piles of junk and sorting it into its components."
"Well hopefully the Skel will count their losses and give Newhome a miss for a while," I replied thoughtfully.
"Don't count on it," Michal said.
"Yeah, we need to find a way to drive the Skel out of Melbourne altogether," David added.
"Maybe the Custodians will work out something?" Nanako suggested.
"I don't think they're interested in what goes on outside the city," Shorty said quietly, sending a dirty glance at David.
Nanako noticed the exchange and looked enquiringly at me.
"It's a long story, I'll fill you in later," I said.
She nodded and David looked most relieved. The last thing he wanted was to experience his shame in public again.
"Look, we've got to trot, we just popped in on the way to work to see how you were going," Shorty said. “And you know guys, I don’t think we need to look after him anymore, somehow.”
“Yeah, we’ve been superseded by a newer model.” Michal smiled bashfully at Nanako.
My workmates bade us farewell and threaded their way past the milling throng of nurses and family visitors.
“Oh no,” Nanako said suddenly in a worried voice.
"What’s wrong?"
“Your mother and sisters are here.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” I assured her as I spotted them approaching.
“But what if they’re angry because I didn’t tell them who I was?”
I didn’t have time to reply. Nanako hopped off the bed and walked around to meet them as they approached with concerned expressions. Well, except for Elder Sister, perhaps. Sometimes I wondered if she had any positive expressions in her repertoire.
Clearly troubled, Nanako bowed low and waited. She need not have worried, though. As soon as my mother reached her, she swept her into her arms with tears streaming down her face. "You poor dear, I'm so terribl
y sorry for the way my husband treated you. You must believe me when I say I didn't know you came to Newhome two years ago. And when Ethan said his father had you expelled from Newhome, forcing you apart from my son, my heart just broke for you, sweetheart. I just wish you'd come to see me as soon as you arrived and then none of this would have happened."
Nanako returned my mother’s embrace, and sniffing back tears, answered, "Ethan's father said you refused to see me because you were angry he had married a girl from another town."
"And he said to me that a doctor had forbidden us to visit Ethan until after his operation. And we know why he said that now – it was to stop us meeting you. He would have known I would have accepted you as my own daughter. But, do you know what?"
Nanako shook her head.
"The moment you ran into our home the other night because you saw that Ethan had been hurt, and when I saw how much you cared for him, even standing up to his father, I wished that it was you he was marrying. Not that snooty King girl. So when Ethan told me that you were in fact his wife, I was so overjoyed for him, and for you." She lifted Nanako's head. "I am so happy to have you as my daughter-in-law, and I just wish there was some way I could make up to you the pain and anguish my husband has caused you."
"I'm just glad it's over now."
My younger sister stepped forward and embraced Nanako. "And we're sisters, isn't that just the best? And I'm trying the new diet you suggested and I'm gonna keep at it too, no matter how hard it is."
The new diet was already working. I hadn’t seen Younger Sister looking this well for months. I was also overjoyed to see my mother and younger sister welcome my wife into the family with such heartfelt warmth.
The biggest surprise was yet to come.
My heart stopped beating when my older sister took Nanako's small hand in hers and said with the barest hint of emotion, "Welcome to the family, Sister-in-law."
From there my mother and sisters spoke at length with Nanako, trying to catch up on two years of fellowship robbed them by my father's lies. I think they must have remembered I was there, and that I was injured, and should be the centre of attention, but I wasn't entirely sure...
Forager - the Complete Six Book Series (A Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian Series) Page 19