Forager - the Complete Six Book Series (A Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian Series)

by Peter R Stone

  I watched Nanako as she happily shovelled down noodles, and I was delighted she'd been able to forget the day's troubles and enjoy herself tonight. My thoughts wandered back to what Corporal Reina told me, that something terrible had happened to Nanako after she'd been taken back to Hamamachi two years ago. I couldn't even begin to guess what she'd been hinting at, and although I wanted to broach the subject to Nanako, now was most definitely not the time or the place.

  We were almost through the noddles when I heard a G-Wagon screech to a stop in the street below.

  "Custodians!" I exclaimed as I jumped to my feet in alarm.

  "What?" Shorty panicked, looking towards the staircase, for he hadn't heard the vehicle.

  David darted to the edge of the roof and looked down. "They've pulled up outside the entrance and all four of them have rushed inside."

  Chapter Thirteen

  "Someone's ratted us out. Quick, pack up, we've got to get off the roof before they get up here," I said as I frantically folded up my chair.

  "But who dobbed us in?" Nanako asked as she folded her chair too.

  "I don't know, perhaps someone in one of the neighbouring apartment blocks."

  "Told you we should have waited till dark to do this," David complained.

  "Didn't think our blasted neighbours would've turned us in," I lamented as I helped pack up the plastic containers and stuff them into David's backpack.

  Once everything was packed and folded, we ran to the stairwell housing and hurried inside. I cracked open the door, which opened onto the tenth floor, and saw that the elevator was on its way up to this level.

  "Quick, the stairs, but quietly, just in case - and stay close to the walls so they can't see us if they look down," I instructed as I headed down the stairs as quickly as I could while carrying the folded table. The others hurried after me, but we’d only gone down a few flights of stairs when I heard the unmistakable sound of heavy boots trudging up the stairs from below.

  "Blast - they're coming up the stairs too," I announced worriedly.

  At that very moment, the door at the top of the stairwell banged open and we heard booted feet begin to descend.

  "We're trapped!" David moaned.

  "What’s the big deal?" Shorty asked, "For breaking curfew we’ll get a month’s holiday in a factory with all expenses paid."

  "That’s the kind of holiday I can do without, thanks," I said, "And you’re forgetting they’ll give us a hefty fine too."

  "We can't get caught," David said, panicking. "Come on Jones, you gotta think of a way out of this."

  I looked at Nanako's troubled face – being thrown in prison on her birthday was not what she’d signed up for when she got up this morning.

  Suddenly, I knew what to do. "We use the elevator."

  "What?" Shorty asked in disbelief.

  "Come on, follow me!" I went as quickly as I could down one more set of stairs and exited the stairwell to enter the seventh floor. With the others on my heels, I pressed the elevator’s button and waited with baited breath for it to come down from the tenth floor.

  "What do we do if the Custodians are in it?" Nanako asked between breaths.

  "Not much chance of that, I reckon - this is the last thing they'll expect us to do. And they won't know which level we'll get out on, either."

  "You hope," David said.

  "Come on, there’s only four of them, what are the odds of them guessing we’ll get out on the second floor?" I pointed out as the elevator arrived. We waited anxiously as the doors pinged and slowly opened, but to our relief, it was empty.

  We piled in, trying not to knock each other around with the chairs and table. I pressed the button for the all the floors down to the first floor so they couldn’t tell which level we were going to get off. Then I jabbed the button to close the doors.

  The trip to the second floor stretched out into an eternity. Every time the doors ground open, fearful anticipation that a Custodian could be there sent my nervous system into a flurry. By the time we reached the second floor, I was a complete and utter nervous wreck.

  And when elevator's doors finally ground open, we got the shock of our lives when we saw a somewhat irate and fully armed and armoured Custodian standing there with his gun at the ready.

  My face blanched with fear as the terrible truth struck home - we'd been caught! The Custodians would cart us away to one of their brutal prison factories to work sixteen-hour days for four straight weeks. It didn't particularly worry me that I would endure such a punishment, but I couldn't bear the thought of Nanako being subjected to such an ordeal.

  "Step out of the elevator and line up against the wall!" the Custodian shouted.

  We filed nervously out of the elevator, but while the others headed for the opposite wall, I looked at my wife and hesitated. I just couldn't let them throw her in prison, and so, with my heart pounding in my chest, I slowly put down the table, pulled out my wallet, and offered the Custodian a hundred dollar bill.

  "You trying to bribe me, Citizen?" he hissed.

  I was about to deny it and rush over to the others when I realised he was eyeing my wallet greedily. So I dug out the other $180 and offered him the lot.

  He snatched the money and turned to the others, glaring at them expectantly. David, Shorty, and even Nanako, emptied their wallets and pockets and he quickly grabbed their offerings and began folding up the notes.

  "Disappear!" he barked when he realised we hadn't moved, and then went back to counting the money.

  Not needing to be told twice, we hurried to my apartment. As we went, we heard the Custodian report by radio to the sergeant on duty that we hadn't been in the elevator.

  "That was altogether too close!" David exclaimed when we burst into my apartment and closed the door behind us.

  "I know, right?" I agreed, panting with relief.

  "Man, what a rush!" hooted Shorty, his face as animated as I’d ever seen it. "Who’s up for Round Two?"

  "Shorty, you're a nutter," I laughed.

  "Ethan, guys - thanks for the most memorable birthday ever," Nanako said, grinning broadly now that the threat was gone.

  "Most expensive one too, no doubt," David grumbled.

  "We’ll pay you back the money you gave him," Nanako assured David and Shorty.

  "Don’t worry about it, 'twas totally worth it," Shorty replied.

  Nanako shot me a meaningful glance.

  "No, seriously, we’ll pay you back as soon as we can," I added, digging her hint. Though to be honest, to my embarrassment, that hadn't even occurred to me.

  "Whatever made you think you could bribe a Custodian, Jones?" David asked.

  "Desperation."

  "More like inspiration," Shorty chuckled.

  We hid the tables and chairs under the bed just in case the other three Custodians did a door knock, and played cards at the dining room table until we heard the Custodian's G-Wagon drive off half an hour later.

  "We’ll be off then," David announced, standing.

  "The Custodians may have left a man behind to watch the apartments in case we break curfew again, so you’re welcome to stay the night," I said, thinking it was the right thing to do, though the dirty look Nanako sent me seemed to indicate she thought otherwise.

  Shorty caught her expression and sprang from his chair like a jack-in-the-box. "Thanks, but no thanks."

  "Thanks for the invite, Jones," David added, following Shorty's lead, "But it’s her birthday, and we'd only get in the way."

  "Fair enough, but keep your wits about you, yeah?"

  "Don’t worry; we'll go out the back window," Shorty replied as he headed for the back door.

  "You do know we're on the second floor, right?" David asked fearfully as he trotted after him.

  "Oh lighten up, we’ve done this millions of times out in the ruins," Shorty shot back.

  "In the daylight."

  "We’ll be fine."

  And so in short order, Shorty and David climbed over the balco
ny railing and used the downpipe to climb to the ground, and then slunk off into the night using the stealth techniques I'd taught them.

  Nanako pulled the curtains shut and flashed me a dazzling smile. "Just us, at last."

  I took her into my arms and simply delighted in her presence. The bleak emptiness I'd felt for two years after recovering from being shot was completely gone now. Nanako completed me, as I did her.

  We adjourned to the sofa and watched TV as I massaged her calves until she fell into a shallow sleep.

  After she woke a short time later, we showered and hopped into bed. I propped on my right elbow and ran my left hand through her silky, smooth black hair. "So, how’s it feel being nineteen, old woman?" I quizzed.

  "Don’t ‘old woman’ me, youngster!" she laughed as she slapped me on the shoulder.

  "I haven’t given you your birthday present yet," I said as I drank in the sight of her beautiful, round face.

  "Really? I thought dinner was the present."

  "Nope, that was just dinner."

  "And a show," she added with a chuckle.

  I reached under my pillow, brought out a small brown paper bag, and handed it to her. She sat up, opened the bag, and her face lit up with delight as she pulled out two intricately made bracelets formed from pieces of matt-black metal twisted together.

  "You made these?"

  "Yep, after work today."

  "That’s why you were so late home."

  "Yep."

  "They're so beautiful, thank you."

  "You won’t be able to wear them outside, but you already knew that, yeah?"

  "Figured as much, but that’s okay, I’d rather wear them at home with my normal clothes," she said as she slipped the bracelets over her small hands. After examining them for a moment, she looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. "You don't have any more birthday presents for me?"

  "Well, maybe one more," I said with a grin as I pulled her down into my arms.

  * * *

  As usual, I was on point - the sergeant always put me on point because of my ability to locate our quarry with uncanny accuracy. I guess you could say I was cheating because I never told him or the rest of my Ranger buddies I could echolocate.

  Creeping silently through a field of gum trees and chest-high wild grass beside a dusty, lifeless road, I came upon a rundown wooden farmhouse. A girl in her mid teens stood in the middle of the road, holding a rifle that was almost too big for her. A similarly armed bearded man in his middle ages was hiding inside a corrugated tin shed missing two walls, and a third gunman was hiding in the bushes on the far side of the farm. Through the cracked and broken walls of the farm's primary dwelling, I was able to get glimpses of another two dozen or so people by using flash sonar. Their number included some old folk, women and even children.

  "Raiders located, Sergeant," I informed him through my headset. "They're holed up in that rundown farm about half-a-klick from your position."

  "Understood Jones, we're on our way," the sergeant replied.

  "Gotta say, though, Sergeant," I continued hesitantly, "They don't seem like raiders to me."

  "Intel said a large raiding party had encroached upon Hamamachi lands in this vicinity - that's got to be them."

  "They've brought old folk, women and children with them - that sound like raiders, sir?"

  "They ransacked one of the cattle ranches not far from here, Jones - they're raiders."

  I waited for the rest of my squad to join me and take up positions around the farm, and then pointed out where the two gunmen were hiding.

  "Right, we take out the gunmen and round up the rest," the sergeant's voice came over my earpiece. "Then Itoh can bring up the truck and we'll ship them out. Jones, you take out the girl - you've got the clearest shot at her. Nakada, the guy in the shed is yours. Nitta, you got the guy behind the bushes."

  The sergeant's order hit me like a punch in the gut and sent my senses reeling in shock - he wanted me to shoot the girl? I looked through my scope and studied her young, troubled face. She was searching up the road for signs of danger, unaware that the very danger she feared was already close at hand.

  "I can't shoot her in cold blood, Sergeant, can't we at least give 'em the chance to surrender first?"

  "We shoot the gunmen and the rest won't be able to surrender fast enough. Now, on my mark...."

  I sighted down the scope and placed my finger on the trigger, ready to fire...

  Chapter Fourteen

  ...and my whole body convulsed as I tore myself awake, too afraid to witness what I knew must come next. For I had seen this girl before in one of my seizure triggered memories. She’d been lying on that dusty road with a large pool of blood spreading out from beneath her while my fellow Rangers and I clustered around her.

  Waves of crushing guilt swept through me as the implications of those two memories hit me – did I shoot that girl? Had I gone against my better judgment, cast my morals aside and obeyed an order I knew was wrong? The sergeant had justified the kill-order by claiming those people were raiders, but they simply didn’t fit the bill. They were underweight, malnourished, and looked to me like refugees. And you don’t shoot refugee sentries to cower the rest of them into compliance.

  I wish I knew what had happened after that moment, after she’d been shot. What happened to the rest of the refugees, did they surrender as the sergeant predicted? And if so, did we force them into the truck at gunpoint and ship them off somewhere else?

  If I could retrieve my memories, I would know the answers to those questions, but perhaps it was better if I didn't, for I was suddenly very afraid of what I might learn about myself. Did I shoot that girl? Did that make me a murderer? Nanako said I haven't changed and that I was still the same me. But she's wrong, for there’s absolutely no way I’d go along with something like that now. I’d have told the sergeant in no uncertain terms what he could do with his orders, and then suffered the consequences.

  I checked the bedside clock – it was 5.23am. Nanako was still asleep, with her arm and leg thrown over my chest and her head on my shoulder. I considered telling her about the dream, but honestly, I had no idea had to broach the subject. Perhaps it was better to wait for more memories to resurface so that when I did talk to her, I had the complete picture.

  Although I tried to go back to sleep after that, I failed miserably, for my mind had become a quagmire of fearful considerations and doubtful deliberations, a trap from which I thought I’d never escape.

  * * *

  I tried to hide how I was feeling when Nanako and I had breakfast together, but as I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve, she knew something was wrong right off the bat. I looked at the loving devotion shining through her face, and wondered if she would still love me if it turned out I had shot that girl.

  In the end, I managed to fence off her probing questions by claiming I hadn’t slept well, and she eventually let it go.

  I packed my obento lunch, fruit and water into my backpack, gave Nanako a kiss on the forehead, and rushed off to work.

  Having no flowers to arrange today, she came to the door and saw me off as she did two days ago. She wasn’t kidding about her obsessive-compulsive behaviour with arranging flowers.

  Not watching where I was going as I hurried down the footpath from the apartment block, I almost ploughed head first into Sienna King and her mother, who were using the footpath as a shortcut to the commercial sector. They wore modest ankle length, long sleeved dresses: Sienna's was pale mauve, and her mother's a much darker hue of the same colour.

  As soon as Sienna caught sight of me, she lowered her eyes to the ground, as custom dictated when a young single woman met a man. All the same, I saw her haughty demeanour morph into loathing.

  I knew I wasn’t permitted to speak to her directly, but I was furious about what the little vixen had done to my wife yesterday, so I didn’t hold back. "I would have a word with you, Sienna."

  Mrs. King quickly moved between us, impressing me y
et again by her height - she was at least as tall as I. "It is improper for you to address my daughter, Ethan Jones. But I forget, good manners are not exactly your strong suit, are they?"

  No love lost there either. Whatever had my father been thinking in trying to marry me into that family? "Mrs. King, in the light of Sienna’s recent behaviour, propriety can be damned. Now, kindly step aside and let me speak to her."

  Mrs. King didn’t move. "You may not speak to her."

  "Fine, I’ll speak to you then. Please inform your daughter that what she did yesterday was lower than low – it was despicable."

  Before Mrs. King could respond, a somewhat angry Sienna stepped out from behind her. "Huh – you haven't seen anything yet - I’m just getting started."

  I looked at her beautiful face, marred by bitterness and hatred, and I was about to tear her head off until I remembered she was just as much a victim in this situation as I was. So I let the anger bleed out of me and when I replied, it was with a degree of gentleness. "Look, Sienna, for what it's worth, I'm truly sorry for what happened the other night. I didn’t mean to hurt you."

  Sienna was not moved. "Ethan, you and Nanako completely and utterly humiliated me. If you think you can placate me with empty apologies, think again."

  "You're blaming the wrong people. This mess is my father's fault, lock, stock and barrel. He's the one you should be blaming, not us," I said, refusing to let it go. There was no way I was gonna sit back and let her keep harassing Nanako.

  "That's poppycock, and you know it," Sienna snapped, taking a step forward. "If Nanako hadn't been playing her stupid little mind games with you and had come straight out and told the truth, the engagement would have been called off without me losing face. And you! Before you knew who she was - while you were still engaged to me - you stood me up on the night we were to plan our wedding date! Can you imagine what it was like, sitting with your family, waiting for you to come over so the marriage details could be finalised, and you didn't even show up? And as if that wasn't enough, the next night you told everyone you stood me up because of her! I hate you, Ethan, I hate you!"