"I’ll hand myself in and tell them Nanako had nothing to do with the Rangers getting into Newhome," David said, breaking the silence.
With only a modicum of light from the street lamps outside getting into the basement through the air vents near the ceiling, I struggled to get a clear view of David’s face. "You’ll do no such thing. The major is convinced we are all involved, so they’ll just prosecute you and Nanako."
"You've got to at least let me try," he pleaded. "I can’t help feeling responsible."
I jumped up and stood over him. "That’s because you are responsible! When are you going to learn to talk to us before you act?"
"They didn’t give me any choice," he shot back. "When I was being interrogated in Hamamachi they realised I cared for Leigh when I kept asking about him. Next thing I knew, I was being blackmailed into letting them into Newhome or they’d execute him as a terrorist. What would you have done?"
"I have no problem with you agreeing to do it, but you should have told us before you let them into the town. We could have set up an ambush!"
"And risk Leigh’s life – no way!"
"Do you know how many Custodians died because you let those blasted Rangers in here?" I pointed out heatedly.
"That's a good thing, right?" Leigh asked.
"Jones is a Custodian now, remember?" David replied.
"Oh, for goodness sake," I moaned, "Only because they threatened to stick Nanako in prison if I didn’t agree to being conscripted."
"So it’s okay for you to be blackmailed but not me?" David queried.
I sat down again, the fight gone out of me. "I just want you to talk to us before you do these things you keep doing. Okay?"
"Yeah, whatever."
After that I withdrew into the basement corner that was furthest from the others, propped myself against the damp bricks, and lamented what had happened to Nanako.
And somehow, inconceivably, I fell asleep. And began to dream.
* * *
As usual, I was on point - the sergeant always put me on point because of my ability to locate our quarry with uncanny accuracy. Neither the sergeant or the rest of my Ranger comrades knew I could echolocate, so I guess you could say I was cheating.
Creeping silently through a field of chest high wild grass and gum trees that grew 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. Some of them were armed, but their number included elderly, 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 look 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. I pointed out where the two gunmen were hiding.
"Right, we take out the gunmen and round up the rest. 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, take out the guy behind the bushes."
The sergeant's order hit me like a punch in the guts 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 the road for signs of danger, unaware that the very danger she feared was virtually under her nose.
"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...."
"Sergeant, seriously, let me put a warning shot over her head and tell 'em to surrender," I argued frantically.
"Jones, I gave you an order."
I looked at the girl again, at the clothes that hung loosely over her sparse frame, at her sallow, sunken cheeks, and I knew these people were not raiders. But an order's an order, right? Soldiers had to do what their commanding officers told them to do, otherwise utter chaos would reign in the ranks.
Yeah, well, maybe – but that wasn’t why I joined the Rangers. No, I'd been asked to infiltrate the Rangers to find out what criminal activities they were engaging in, and more specifically, to find out what they'd done to stop the Skel raiding Hamamachi lands over a month ago, virtually overnight.
"On my mark..." the sergeant began again.
I sighted down the scope and placed my finger on the trigger.
"Mark!"
I fired a warning shot over the girl’s head, while Nakada popped the gunman in the shed and Nitta nailed the one behind the bushes.
Unfortunately, the girl ignored my warning and fired her rifle at my position. I rolled away just in time and the bullet whizzed past my head. I was about to call out to her to lay down her gun, but both Nakada and Nitta came out into the open and opened fire on her. Her body jerked around as several bullets hit her, and then she collapsed, her blood spreading out to soak the dusty road.
We rose from our hiding spots and stood in a circle around the girl while the rest of the refugees in the building screamed and cried in terror, afraid for their lives.
"What did you have to kill her for?" I demanded angrily.
The sergeant grabbed me by the collar and pulled me so close that his spittle hit my face as he shouted. "Pull a stunt like that again, Jones, and I’ll shoot you myself. You put the whole squad in harm’s way by refusing to shoot her. Next time I tell you to shoot someone, you do it – understand?"
"Yes sir!" I bellowed, though only in order to keep up appearances that I was a typical Ranger.
"Now help Nakada and Nitta get the rest of the raiders out of the building while Itoh gets the truck," he snapped.
Itoh brought up the large military-green truck we used to transport captured raiders off Hamamachi lands, and the refugees, terrified for their lives, climbed into the back of the truck. The rest of us Rangers climbed into the spacious cab next to Itoh.
We normally drove captured raiders a good half day's drive out of Hamamachi lands to discourage them from returning - which often didn't work - but I was baffled when Itoh drove us into the nuclear wasteland of Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs. And then most unexpectedly, we reached fields of market gardens tended by Skel slaves, and then parked in the middle of the road not far from a rundown community centre.
Several hulking Skel came out of the community centre and other nearby buildings and sauntered casually towards us as though they'd been expecting us. I had a very, very bad feeling about this.
"Follow my lead," the sergeant said as he climbed down out of the truck. The rest of us clambered out and fanned out behind him.
The sergeant moved forward to address the Skel leader. "Got another load of slaves for you," he said.
"They'd better be healthier than the last bunch, some of them didn't last more than a few days," the Skel grunted.
"Don't worry, there's some good stock in this batch," the sergeant laughed, and then turned back to us. "Right, bring them out."
Nakada, Nitta and Itoh headed for the back of the truck immediately, but I didn't move. "This is a joke, right, Sergeant?" I growled.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" he shot back.
"If you hand
these people over to the Skel you're giving them a death sentence," I said.
The other three Rangers started pulling the terrified refugees out of the back of the truck and propelling them towards the Skel. Several refugees started screaming hysterically the moment they saw the Skel awaiting them. Some tried to run, but were clubbed down by the Rangers with their assault-rifles. A few of the men even tried to resist, but gun barrels shoved against their heads got them moving. More of the refugees tried to escape, but the Rangers fanned out behind them, giving them nowhere to go. Some of the Skel came forward and started dragging some of the sobbing, screaming refugees towards the community centre.
And me - I was scared out of my wits. I'd never been this close to Skel before without trying to kill them, and them me. I knew I was supposed to go along with whatever the Rangers were doing and report their behaviour back to my boss, but this was nothing short of pure murder, and there was no way I was gonna go along with this and just report it later.
"That’s regrettable, Jones, but it solves two of our problems," the sergeant replied.
"What problems, Sergeant - how can you possibly justify doing this?"
"We give them refugees to be their slaves - refugees who would overburden Hamamachi if they settled with us - and in return, the Skel don't encroach upon Hamamachi lands or abduct our citizens."
"That's absolutely monstrous!" I declared, rage slowly consuming me as I watched Skel and Rangers continue to drive refugees past me, striking or clubbing those who didn't cooperate.
The sergeant shrugged. "Hamamachi’s a small town and the tide of refugees from up north seeking shelter with us is steadily increasing. We don’t have the resources to put them up. It's an imperfect world, Jones, so get used to it."
"Well, it stops now," I declared emphatically. "Tell the Skel to back off and that we're taking these people back."
The sergeant sighed in exasperation. "Jones, either assist us with the handover or get out of the way. And I'll be informing the colonel of your uncooperative behaviour when we get back. I'm surprised at you, to be honest; you've never shown a hint of this attitude before."
I was not cowed. "You will stop this transfer right now, Sergeant, and this is my last warning." I readied my Austeyr assault-rifle, flicking the automatic lockout setting to the exposed position so that the gun would fire in semi-automatic mode. If I fired on full automatic, the magazine would be empty in seconds.
"Who do you think you are?" the sergeant bellowed, his face red with anger. "Hand over your weapons and get in the truck - and that's an order."
My actions were dictated for me before I could think of how to respond. A small boy, tears streaming down his face, tried to run from a Skel, but the Skel clubbed him to the ground before he could get away. The Skel lifted his club to strike the child again, but before he could do so I couched my gun and put a bullet through his throat, sending him crashing to the ground like a felled tree.
And everything instantly descended into chaos.
Seeing one of their number shot dead by a supposed ally, the rest of the Skel shrieked with rage and charged - some at me and the rest at the other Rangers.
Some refugees threw themselves to the ground and covered their heads while the rest scattered and fled in all directions. I darted through the midst of this bedlam, dodging crossbow bolts and clubs, taking down the Skel one by one with single shots to the throat. Unfortunately, more were running out of the buildings, coming to assist their fellows.
From the corner of my eye I saw the sergeant lower his gun and hold up a hand to a Skel who was about to attack him. "It's not us! One of my men's gone rogue - just stay back and let us deal with him!" And then I heard the sergeant's voice in my headset, loud and clear. "Take out Jones - and quickly - before the idiot destroys our agreement with the Skel!"
I heard Itoh come at me from behind, so I spun about, knocked his assault-rifle aside, and then drove my rifle-butt into his throat. He began to choke and gag, but when bullets began tearing into him as well as the refugees running past me, I grabbed him by the collar with my left hand to keep him upright and used his body as a shield. Nitta, standing over to my left, had gone nutso in her attempt to kill me, and was shooting everything in the way, even the refugees and Itoh.
Fortunately, the Austeyr was designed to be used as easily with one hand as two, so I put a bullet through Nitta's chest and she collapsed.
Nakada was next - he leaped out from behind the back of the truck, rifle at the ready. But he hesitated for a split second before shooting because Itoh was standing beside me. I took advantage of his momentary hesitation and shot him too.
I heard the sergeant cursing from near the front of the truck. "Idiots - must I do everything myself?"
I dived in front of a Skel charging me just as the sergeant brought his gun around to bear on me, throwing off his aim. I shot the sergeant first and then the Skel, and both hit the dusty road at the same time. The enormity of what I'd just done - killing my own teammates - hit me like a sledgehammer, but it was in self-defence and besides, I had to save the refugees at all costs.
So I kept gunning down Skel until the rest retreated back indoors or behind ruined walls or fences, where they popped up to fire crossbow bolts at me at random intervals. Several more bursts from my assault-rifle and they kept their heads down too.
Silence fell and I shouted out to the refugees that I was not a Ranger but was working undercover to expose them. I asked if any of them could drive the truck, for we needed to get out of here before the Skel regrouped and counter-attacked.
The leader of the refugees came forward. He was a large man with greying hair. He understood the urgency of the situation, bundled the surviving refugees back into the truck, and then quickly drove away while I provided covering fire. The Skel began their counter attack at that same moment, so I quit the area once the truck was safely on its way.
Sometime later, I was sitting dejectedly on a red brick fence, my assault-rifle on my lap and a Smartphone in my right hand. The faces of my teammates as I shot them kept going through my mind on continuous replay. I could never remember having felt so dismal, so riddled with remorse. But I had no regrets; they'd left me no choice but to shoot them.
I heard a car draw near and park, and then heavy footsteps as someone approached me from the left. The driver came and sat on the wall beside me. "Are you alright?" he asked kindly.
"What do reckon? You asked me to infiltrate the Rangers to find out what they were up to - you never hinted they could be doing something so despicably evil, or that they'd try to kill me when I tried to stop them." My voice trailed off to a whisper. "You never mentioned I'd have to kill them."
"I am sorry, Ethan, if I had known it would come to this, I would not have asked to you infiltrate them."
"So what happens now?" I asked tiredly.
"There will be an internal investigation, but do not let that concern you, for I will explain everything to them," he replied.
"Oh great," I sighed.
"In the meantime, I will have to ask you to hand over your weapons - it is procedure, that is all."
"You can have the blasted things - I never want to see a gun again," I replied despondently, my eyes still fixed on the ground. I handed him the Austeyr, and then unclipped the pistol and handed it to him too.
"I am sorry, but I have no choice," he said, and placed my pistol against the side of my head and pulled the trigger.
My last thought was of Nanako, my beautiful young wife, who was going to be a widow at the age of sixteen.
Chapter Thirty-Six
I woke with a start in the darkness, my cheeks wet with tears. I reached out for Nanako, but when I couldn't find her, I scrambled to my knees in alarm. And then it hit me – she’d been arrested by the Custodians and faced life in prison or worse. And where was I - hiding out in a dark, damp basement beneath an abandoned house while she was probably being interrogated by brutal, corrupt Custodians who wanted nothing more than to
destroy her. My heart felt like it was breaking into a thousand pieces, each piece being dragged across an asphalt road.
And then there was the dream. I hadn’t committed suicide like Sergeant Tamura had claimed – someone did try to murder me. And that someone was a man who'd asked me to infiltrate the Rangers to find out what criminal activities they were engaging in. So why did he shoot me? More to the point, who on earth was he?
I had to see Nanako as soon as possible to tell her this wonderful news - that I hadn’t tried to leave her two years ago by attempting suicide like she feared. And I had to tell her she'd been right in her belief that I'd had no choice but to shoot my teammates.
But how could I tell her these things when she was locked up in Custodian Headquarters? I sat with my head in my hands and waited for dawn, listening to my three friends as they slept soundly on makeshift beds.
When the first rays of sunshine finally peeked through the basement's air vents, I opened the trapdoor and went outside.
* * *
I returned to the basement a couple of hours later, carrying a backpack filled with a selection of dried fruits, cooked chicken, nuts, bread, and bottles of processed water, which I'd bought from the market. On the most part I'd avoided the Custodian patrols, but in order to be inconspicuous, kept the hood down on a hoodie I'd 'borrowed' from an apartment's clothes line.
I parcelled out the food and drinks, which the others quickly consumed. I didn't eat, but paced up and down the basement in agitation.
My mood was further dampened since I'd had the misfortune of bumping into my father when I was out snooping around this morning. He'd been on the way to work, and thinking I may never have a chance to see him again, I'd snuck over to him.
"What have you been doing, Son, the custodians said you're a traitor, a terrorist - that you're working for the Japanese to destroy our town - is this true?" he'd asked me angrily.
Forager - the Complete Six Book Series (A Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian Series) Page 46