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

by Peter R Stone

  We soon emerged from the rabbit warren of suburban houses onto the Princes Highway – a multi-lane thoroughfare boasting an overgrown medium strip down the middle. We followed it north-west towards a massive intersection where three different roads converged, creating a large, open triangular area. After we'd passed a large furniture store on our right whose entire front wall had collapsed, we realised we were close enough to see what was ahead.

  The open area was teeming with Skel. They’d built a massive bonfire in the middle of the intersection, as well as several smaller campfires with spits on which they were roasting lamb or beef on metal spits.

  "What is it, some kind of Skel get-together?" David asked as he strained his eyes to see what was going on.

  We reached the gutted ruins of a fast-food restaurant on the intersection’s southeast corner, and I indicated for everyone to follow me into the dense shrubs in front of it. We crawled to the edge of the shrubs and carefully peeked out, and found we had a commanding view of the Skel gathering.

  "Wow!" Shorty whispered a tad too loudly, as our eyes took in the riotous view. "Now this is what I call a party."

  "Oh!" Nanako gasped in shock as she took in the sight.

  "Oh my goodness," David practically stammered.

  "They are animals!" Madison exclaimed, truly shocked.

  As for me, I was at a complete loss for words, for never before had I seen a display of such depravity.

  There had to be at least a couple of hundred Skel in the intersection, of whom only a handful were wearing their suits of bone armour. The rest wore black leather trousers and jackets adorned with shiny metal studs. They were also covered with tattoos, both males and females. Many males also sported bushy beards and moustaches, though they'd shaved their heads for the most part. Many women had shaved their heads too, though some had small braids.

  Many Skel were gorging themselves on roast meat and vegies while simultaneously consuming vast quantities of home-brewed liquor. This caused my blood to boil, for while all the slaves were suffering from near starvation, here were their Skel overlords engaging in wanton gluttony, gorging themselves on far more food than they needed. The sight of all that delicious roasted beef and vegies got me salivating too; we hadn’t eaten anything that wholesome since we’d left Newhome.

  And it didn’t stop there. Along with getting blind drunk on liquor, others were smoking what had to be some form of drug, going by the vacant expressions on their faces. Several drunken brawls had broken out too, involving members of both sexes, though none of the others seemed to care for they paid the brawlers no attention. I saw one Skel break a wooden crate over the head of another, kick him several times, and then go back to gorge himself on a slab of beef.

  "Hey," Shorty suddenly exclaimed, his eyes wider than I'd ever seen them before. "Some of ‘em are…" His voice trailed off.

  I looked where he pointed, and was utterly disgusted, for several Skel couples were copulating, right out in the open, in view of everyone. Had these people no sense of propriety? No shame?

  "I’ve seen enough," Nanako said, averting her eyes and turning her back on the scene.

  "Me too," David added as he too turned away, his face red.

  "Not me," Shorty said, refusing to turn away.

  "Absolutely disgusting animals," Madison snorted, her face screwed up into a fierce frown.

  I noticed one massive Skel wearing a suit of bone armour with ram's horns on his skull helmet, making his way slowly through the throng of revellers, speaking to a Skel here, another there. Those he spoke too paid him deference, so he was obviously a leader.

  "Hey!" I exclaimed, when I realised I’d seen the Skel before. "It’s Ram-Horns!"

  "What?" Nanako asked, turning back around.

  "Who?" Leigh queried.

  "That massive brute over beside the bonfire with ram's horns on his helmet. That’s the leader of the Skel who caught us last year."

  "Hey, you’re right," David agreed.

  "Looks like he’s some kinda head honcho," Nanako said softly.

  "Maybe even their top boss," I mused.

  We watched Ram-Horns as he weaved his way slowly through the throng of raucous revellers for a few minutes, and then finally, tore our eyes from the scene and moved back deeper into the bushes. Okay, I had to grab Shorty and pull him back.

  "We gonna head back now?" Leigh asked, anxious to get as far away from the Skel as he could.

  "Not yet," I replied.

  "Why not?" he demanded.

  "’Cause I’ve got an inkling that at the rate those Skel are boozing and smoking drugs, they’ll all be asleep or unconscious in the not too distant future."

  "So what?"

  "So, I’m hungry, that’s what," I replied.

  "You’re gonna try to steal their food?" David asked, shocked by my audacity.

  "Why not? When’s the last time any of you ate roast beef?"

  "Never," they all replied with the exception of Nanako, for they had plenty of cattle over in Hamamachi.

  "Ain’t no way I’m gonna let you risk yourself by sneaking out in the middle of that lot, not even for roast beef," Nanako declared emphatically.

  "Don’t worry, if even one of them’s awake, I won’t do it," I assured her. With that, I lay down in the waist-high grass behind the shrubs and tried to grab some much-needed rest.

  All signs of activity ceased in the intersection a couple of hours later, but we still waited another hour before we ventured cautiously out of our hiding spot and into the midst of our enemies.

  The bonfire was still roaring happily away, but most of the smaller campfires had either died down or gone out. Unconscious or sleeping Skel were sprawled all over the intersection, most snoring loudly. While Nanako and Leigh held loaded bows at the ready, we picked our way carefully past the plastered savages, holding our breath when we got too close to one, for they stank, and I’m not talking about the reek of alcohol. These brutes never washed and gave the phrase ‘offensive body odour’ a whole new meaning.

  "Hey, what's that thing over there?" Shorty asked suddenly, pointing to a large contraption set back from the far side of the intersection. It consisted of a copper pot, cylinder, tubes and coils, all connected together.

  "It's a still," David said.

  "A still what?" Shorty asked, frowning.

  "An apparatus used to distil – sorry, make – alcohol," David explained.

  "Why's it set so far back from the road?" I asked. Surely it'd be more accessible if it was in the middle of the intersection.

  "In case it blows up," David said with a laugh. "They can be pretty volatile."

  "Is that right?" Madison asked, her brow furrowed in thought.

  "Food, people, we're here for food," I said quietly but urgently. The Skel might all be out or asleep, but who knew when one might wake.

  We grabbed a small wooden crate that had been discarded, and grabbed a large side of beef that had been roasted but otherwise untouched, and enough roast potatoes, pumpkins, and carrots to give us all a good night’s meal, and then made a quiet but hasty exit.

  "Can we slit a few throats before we leave?" Madison asked. She’d paused next to a couple of obese Skel asleep at the edge of the road and was looking down at them with undisguised loathing.

  "No, one of ‘em might make a noise and wake the whole lot of ‘em – now get over here!" I whispered furiously at her.

  Madison frowned, but hurried over, and we made our way quietly back to our lodgings, where we gathered in the lounge room downstairs. Then at Nanako's insistence, we ate the food we'd brought back slowly. I savoured every single bite, especially the beef, since I don't ever recall having eaten it before. It was succulent and juicy, and the flavour blew me away. Going by the expression of rapture on the others' faces, they were feeling the same way. The Skel may be disgusting pigs, but they sure knew how to cook.

  Nanako suddenly pulled two objects out of her pocket and held them up, her face alight with eager anticipat
ion. "Hey, I forgot to tell what I found when we were pilfering food."

  "A Smartphone and solar recharger?" I asked between mouthfuls. "Where'd you..."

  "I liberated it from one of the Skel," she explained. "Do you know what that means?"

  "It means we have a camera," I said, delighted. Now we'd be able to gather the concrete proof we needed to expose those criminals.

  "That, and it means I can ring Councillor Okada," she said excitedly.

  "You still think Councillor Okada and the Hamamachi Council are not behind the Rangers actions, right?" Madison scoffed.

  "We know Councillor Okada's not involved with the Rangers 'cause they tried to get the Skel to bump him off on the day he came to Newhome," I said.

  "Not to mention he's been like a father to Ethan and me," Nanako snapped, bridling at Madison's mocking tone.

  "Well, that proves it, then," Madison snarled.

  "Why do you wanna ring him, anyway?" Leigh asked.

  "I wanna tell him what Ethan's remembered about the Rangers, and that he's remembered that the person who shot him is the one who asked him to infiltrate the Rangers. Maybe then the councillor can work out who it is," Nanako explained.

  "May I ask a question?" David piped up from where he was leaning against the staircase.

  "Of course," Nanako replied.

  "If the Rangers tried to have the councillor assassinated, don't you think there's a good chance they're bugging his phone?"

  "Oh, I hadn't thought of that," Nanako replied, looking crestfallen.

  "And if they are bugging his phone, won't they get our phone number, and then be able to track down our location through this phone," David continued.

  "Blast, yeah, you're right," Nanako agreed. She thumbed the phone off and reluctantly put it back in her pocket.

  "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be able to speak with him soon enough," I said in an attempt to reassure her.

  "You ever used a Smartphone, David?" Madison asked abruptly.

  "Nah."

  "Then how do you know so much about them?" she demanded.

  "I've read a lot of books."

  "Oh come on," Madison scoffed. "We do not have books like that in Newhome."

  "No, we don't," he replied as he defiantly met her glare.

  "Then where..."

  "Oh, come on, Madison," I interrupted, "What do you think my lads and I were doing when we were out foraging?"

  "You were supposed to be foraging for non-corrosive metals."

  "Indeed. Which, for the other foraging teams, meant hours and hours if not days and days, of trying to find the non-corrosive metals to scavenge."

  "But not your team?" she asked gruffly.

  "Think about it, Madison. Thanks to my ability to use flash sonar, I located metals with a minimum of searching. And after we'd filled up the truck, we spent the rest of the day reading or engaging in other recreational activities."

  "You were supposed to be working, not reading literature that had not been approved by the council!" Madison protested.

  "We always exceeded our quota and brought back more metals than the other teams, so who cares what else we got up to?"

  "It is all beginning to make sense, now," Madison said, nodding to herself.

  "What is?"

  "Where your subversive ideas came from. These prohibited books that you read, they corrupted you."

  "They didn't corrupt us, they opened our eyes to what life was like before the Apocalypse," I snapped.

  "Bah!" Madison exclaimed.

  We went back to concentrating on eating after that.

  "Man, beef beats chicken any day," Shorty declared, as the beef juice ran down his chin.

  "And fish," Leigh added.

  "Have I eaten beef before, Nana-chan?" I asked.

  "Many times," she said.

  "You Japanese are spoilt," Shorty pouted.

  "I think it's more a matter of Newhome being too isolationist," she replied.

  "The town's isolationist policy is for the good of the people," Madison said testily.

  "Good of the people?" Leigh asked, eyes wide with disbelief. "It's a flippin' prison, is what it is."

  "For a hundred years the councillors and Custodians have provided peace and security for the people. If not for their efforts, the town would have perished long ago. Your lack of gratitude and appreciation for their foresight and hard work is indicative of your self-centred, narrow minded attitude, Leigh," Madison replied angrily.

  "Narrow minded? I'll tell you what narrow minded is – it's executing a teenage girl for a minor misdemeanour," Leigh shot back.

  "Your neighbour's daughter was convicted of serious sexual misconduct and sentenced according to the law," Madison declared without a shred of compassion.

  "You know about that?" Leigh asked, dumbfounded.

  "Of course," Madison replied smugly. "I know all about the five of you. For example, I know that it was your friend David here who reported your sexual misconduct to the Custodians."

  David jerked back as though he'd been struck, and with his face bright red from humiliation, upped and stalked from the room.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Leigh scooted a little closer to Madison. "Amelia was sixteen, Madison. Can you hear me? Sixteen!"

  "And having reached the age of adulthood, she was sentenced accordingly."

  "And you think that was fair?"

  "Yes, I do."

  "What? You’re nuts! How about this then– while Amelia was executed, my sentence was transmuted to six-years hard labour."

  "What is your point?"

  "You think that's fair? One rule for the women and another for the men?"

  "That was the magistrate's decision, Leigh. A decision for which you should be appreciative, not angry!"

  "Oh come on, Madison," I said. "Surely you can see that Newhome's laws and sentencing discriminate against women? They're not allowed to go to school, not allowed to work – they're not even allowed to speak at the dinner table without a male's permission!"

  "Newhome's laws were meticulously laid out by the chancellor for the good of the people. Men and women have different roles to play in society, and our laws recognise that."

  "And enforce them a little too harshly, don't you think?"

  "Absolutely not – all the chancellor's ways are fair and just. That you guys cannot see this is indicative of how narrow minded you all are."

  I blustered at that comment, but before I could speak, Nanako reached out a hand to stay me. "This conversation's going nowhere."

  I wanted to keep going, but I recalled the tongue-lashing Nanako gave me after I'd attempted in vain to show my father that Newhome's culture and traditions were absurd. I bit my tongue.

  "Bah!" Madison said.

  "Humph!" Leigh expired.

  But they let the matter drop, all the same.

  I stuffed my last piece of baked pumpkin in my mouth and hurried outside to look for David.

  I found him in the weed-overgrown backyard, kicking a lump of concrete around while muttering away under his breath.

  "You okay, mate?" I asked as I went and sat on top of a rickety wooden crate.

  "I make one mistake and it follows me for the rest of my life," he grumbled.

  "Considering the nature of the mistake, I think you’re just gonna have to accept that," I said.

  "You’re a great help."

  "No, I mean it. You can’t get away from what you did, and you can’t go rushing off in a huff or getting upset every time someone mentions it. You apologised to Leigh…"

  "Fat lot of good that did; he still hates my guts."

  "He’s coming around."

  "Yeah, right."

  "You just gonna have to give it more time."

  "What if he never forgives me?"

  I sighed. "Then you’re just gonna have to deal with that, too."

  David kicked the chunk of concrete off into the blackberry bushes on the other side of the yard. "Yeah, I guess so."

/>   "Now come on, get back inside and finish your food."

  "And face that smug cow again?"

  "Don’t let her win," I said firmly.

  "I really, really wish you hadn’t brought her."

  "She’s a right pain in the behind, I know, but she’s an asset to our group," I said as I stood and headed back inside.

  "That remains to be seen," David replied. But then, to his credit, he swallowed his wounded pride and followed me.

  After ‘dinner,’ I grabbed Nanako’s hand and led her upstairs so we could try to catch some sleep. It was in the early-morning hours, and I wanted to get some shuteye before the sun came up. Nanako lay half on top of me as usual, so I set to kneading the tension from the muscles in her back and right leg, which she’d dropped on my torso. She sighed deeply, and moments later, her arms and legs began twitching. Considering how tired I was and that I had a full stomach for a change, I figured I fall asleep soon too, but thoughts of the atrocities and deprivations we’d witnessed tonight kept swirling around my mind. I hoped the Rangers would turn up soon, since I couldn’t wait to get out of this horrific nightmare of a place...

  ...I was up on the ceramic tile roof at the back of the two-storey townhouse, lying down with my hands behind my head. It wasn't the most comfortable of places to be, but as I’d sometimes slept on the roof of our ten-storey apartment block back in Newhome, I was used to it.

  From here, I had a commanding view of the open sea that stretched out from Hamamachi. The house belonged to an elderly couple who lived next door to Nanako's family, who, after I'd come to Hamamachi, kindly agreed to rent me a room, asking for only a pittance in return.

  And although I'd been to Nanako's place for dinner (and breakfast!) every day since I came to Hamamachi five weeks ago, she'd asked me not to come over tonight, since there was some kind of official social gathering going down between another family and hers. She hadn’t come forth with any more information that than, and to be honest, had seemed rather embarrassed by it all. So tonight I'd dined with my host family – what was with all that sweet potato anyway – and then retired to the roof.