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

by Peter R Stone

  “Not with me on point, you won’t,” I assured him.

  “What? There’s no way I’m going to let you lead us in there, it’s too dangerous,” he said.

  “Watch me.” I didn’t wait for his answer, just ran for the lab, echolocating as I went. Four pairs of footsteps followed in my wake. I slowed to a jog when we reached the entrance, our shoes and boots crunching loudly on shards of glass that covered the ground like carpet. I couldn’t see anyone inside the foyer, but I knew Skel could be hiding behind the counter.

  I was about to step over the bodies strewn about the sidewalk, when I realised with a horrible sinking feeling that the dead civilian I spotted earlier was Carver.

  “Is that–” Ryan asked, aghast.

  “Yes. He led the Rangers here, apparently, thinking they would spare his life if he did,” I said.

  “He led them here? What’s going on, Chelsea?”

  “No time to explain now – I’ll fill you in later, okay?”

  Ryan knelt down, checked Carver’s pulse, and shook his head. “He was just a kid – someone’s going to pay for this.”

  “We’d better keep going,” I said.

  Ryan nodded and stood, a fire smouldering in his eyes.

  Couching the gun against my shoulder, I stepped over the threshold and entered the poorly lit room, heading cautiously towards the counter. Seeing what I was doing, Ryan used hand signals to tell his men to be ready, and went to the other side of the counter. When we were in place, we made eye contact, nodded, and then pounced, ready to gun down anyone who might have been hiding there.

  Thankfully, the area was empty.

  “How are we going to get to the higher levels? We can’t use the elevator, they must be watching it,” Ryan said.

  “The fire escape,” Bhagya said. “It’s at the back of the building.”

  “Lead on.”

  Guns at the ready, we hurried down the corridor, stepping as quietly as we could over broken glass. We passed the elevator, noticing that its doors were stuck wide open.

  “Where is everyone?” Ryan whispered as we went.

  “The building has been evacuated,” Bhagya said. “It’s standard procedure.”

  “Blast, we could have used the rest of the girls right about now,” I said.

  “Very True. Oh, by the way, I received Intel that the Skel are attacking the sub,” Ryan said.

  “What?” Bhagya asked, aghast.

  “HQ thinks this attack is just a feint designed to draw our attention from the real target.”

  “The sub. Our one and only power source,” I said.

  The colour drained from Bhagya’s face. “They’re not just trying to find out what’s in the lab, they’re trying to destroy the town! We can’t survive without the sub’s nuclear power plant.”

  “These Rangers are just as bad as the chancellor,” I said. “They’ve identified our town as a significant threat, but rather than take out just the chancellor and councillors, they’re trying to defeat them by destroying the whole town. Too bad if up to ten thousand innocent people die in the process.”

  Without power, there was no way this town could support ten thousand people. The greenhouses and chicken sheds depended on electricity, so we’d be completely without fruit, vegetables, and meat. Riots would follow mass starvation as people fought over what little scraps of food remained. Newhome would have no choice but to open its gates and let the population leave. However, where could they go? No other towns in Victoria could cope with the sudden influx of thousands of refugees. Besides, how many people would survive the trip through Skel infested ruins as they headed out to the countryside?

  “What’s HQ doing about the attack on the sub?” Bhagya asked.

  “Captain Smithson has been despatched with the few Custodians that are still in Newhome Proper. He’s also aided by the forager, Ethan Jones.”

  “They may have a sporting chance then, if Ethan’s Skel-Slayer reputation holds water,” I said.

  I shuddered involuntarily when we passed the Round Room, refusing to even look at the door. Anger fled through me at the injustice inflicted on my sisters and I by the chancellor and his tyrannical followers.

  “The fire escape stairwell is in here,” Bhagya said, stopping a couple of doors down from the Round Room.

  “Inside the building?” Ryan asked.

  “It’s right next to the back door, and it leads to an external landing on each level,” she said.

  Ryan indicated for Bhagya and me to step aside, and with his men at the ready, tore the door open. No surprises awaited us inside, only the staircase, cast into deep shadow by the emergency lighting. Aware we were running out of time, I took point with my assault rifle couched against my shoulder and rushed up the stairs, searching every nook and cranny with flash sonar as I went. Ryan and his men came next, and Bhagya brought up the rear. I could tell she didn’t want to be here, but guilt drove her on.

  Bhagya told me earlier that the fifth floor was where the geneticists worked on their secret projects, so we ignored the first four floors, stopping only when we reached the landing for the fifth. With guns at the ready, the Custodians took positions before the door, and then Ryan yanked it open.

  The response was immediate – a hail of crossbow bolts shot through the opening, some skipping off the half opened door, one hitting but not penetrating Ryan’s chest armour, one bouncing off Private Daniel’s helmet, and another striking the other private in the eye. He collapsed to the floor with barely a cry.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Thumbing my assault rifle to full-auto, I dove through the opening, singing out with echolocation as I went. A quick glance showed the entire floor to be one huge room divided into several sealed-off glass-walled workspaces and laboratories. The area immediately leading off the stairwell was an open office space with rows of desks bedecked with the most sophisticated computers and equipment I’d ever seen.

  The three Japanese Rangers stood at one of the computers, one typing furiously at the keyboard while the others watched. In a staggering degree of self-control, they didn’t even look our way when we opened the door and the Skel opened fire.

  There were six Skel in all, taking cover behind desks, chairs, or filing cabinets.

  The temptation to use a grenade was almost overpowering, but the sight of the sealed laboratories stayed my hand. Surely the virus was stored in there somewhere, and I couldn’t risk doing something that could release it. So I opened up with the assault rifle, sending a barrage of bullets at the Skel, doing my best to aim for their throats. Two went down, one with his neck torn apart, the other shot through the eyehole of his garish skull helmet.

  Ryan and Private Daniels rushed inside, firing as they came. Bhagya hung back, singing out with echolocation so she could see clearly in the poor lighting, taking aimed shots at the barbarian’s necks. Two more Skel collapsed, and the last two abandoned their cover and charged, their crossbows discarded. Seeing one bowl Ryan over, I sprang from the floor and came to his defence. The Skel took a swing at me, but I ducked under the blow and placed the muzzle of my rifle under his jaw. He jerked like a marionette on strings when I pulled the trigger, blood spattering my gun and hands. The Skel crumpled on top of Ryan, who appeared to be down and out, if not worse. I wanted to check on him, but there was no time.

  Private Daniels and Bhagya brought down the last Skel between them, leading me to think we might pull this off. Yet at that moment, two Rangers swung in our direction and opened fire with Austeyr assault rifles identical to our own. Bhagya and I dove aside, me taking cover behind a filing cabinet, her a desk. Unfortunately, Private Daniels was too slow. His bulletproof vest proved no match for the sustained fire from two guns at point blank range. I felt a hollow feeling inside when he fell lifelessly to the ground.

  I slammed a fresh clip into my gun, but couldn’t move due to the rain of bullets smashing into the filing cabinet, courtesy of the Rangers. Bhagya was similarly pinned behind the desk. Worse, th
e Rangers were coming our way. It was over – we had failed. I could tell from the terrified expression on Bhagya’s face that she knew it too.

  A flurry of pistol shots rang out unexpectedly. One bullet ricocheted of the thick glass wall that partitioned the laboratories and the office. The rest hit softer targets, and I heard three bodies hit the floor – the two Rangers who had been hunting us and the one at the computer. Standing cautiously to my feet, I saw Ryan crawl out from beneath the dead Skel, pistol in his hand. The left side of his face was slick with blood.

  “Thought you were out cold,” I said, not sure if I was more relieved to see he was okay, or that he had saved us, and perhaps the whole town, with his last minute revival.

  He explored the side of his head gingerly. “I was, for a bit. Is that all of them?”

  “Yes.”

  “What do we do now, lock down the place in case more come?”

  “No,” Bhagya said as she hurried over to the computer terminal the Ranger had been using. She stepped over his body, laid her gun on the desk and started scrolling through the files and documents that were open on the screen.

  “What are you doing?” Ryan asked as we joined her.

  “The Rangers were looking at files about genetic engineered, and look – they found information on the virus too!”

  “The virus? Tell us more,” Ryan said.

  Bhagya held up her hand and kept reading. A minute later, she sighed deeply. “The virus affects only post-pubescent males, and only attacks those without Korean DNA. It’s also persistent – once infected, the male remains infectious for life.”

  “What does the virus do?” Ryan asked.

  “It renders all non-Korean males infertile.”

  “Why would they create such a virus?” I asked, shocked.

  “They plan to introduce the virus to Newhome first, then the whole of Australia.”

  I felt as though I had been punched in the gut.

  “Do you know what that means?” Bhagya said.

  “Once released, the virus will ensure that with the exception of the Koreans, our generation will be the last one,” I said.

  “So why haven’t they released it yet?” Ryan asked.

  “Because as we know, they genetically modified all of their children with Dr. Zhao’s genetic enhancements, and they’re afraid they can’t reproduce,” Bhagya said.

  “Hence the IVF pregnancy experiments they have subjected us to. Considering we all had miscarriages, they must be quaking in their boots.” I looked at Bhagya. “You were right when you said the Founders didn’t start this town out of the goodness of their hearts, that everything they have done is to further their own agenda.”

  “How is the virus going to be distributed?” Ryan asked, looking at the screen.

  “Haven’t found that yet,” she said, closing files and opening others.

  “What should we do, blow the place up?” he asked, hefting a hand grenade.

  “And risk releasing the virus, Lieutenant? This is a biological weapon we’re talking about.”

  “So how do we destroy it?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Hey, wait, what’s that?” I said, pointing to a file in a directory list. I put my gun on the desk next to hers.

  “2120 Breakout,” Bhagya said, reading the file name.

  “Open it.”

  She opened the file, revealing a host of images, named and date-stamped. Taking control of the mouse, I clicked through the images in rapid succession, closing them after I studied them.

  “What is it,” Ryan asked, peering over my shoulder.

  “These images – the ones dated 2120? They’re photos of the Western Freeway just outside Melbourne, the place the Custodians said they found the bodies of the foragers and their families who escaped Newhome. But there are no bodies in any of the photos. These photos dated 2048? They show bodies bludgeoned to death or stuck full of Skel arrows. But the location isn’t the Western Freeway, it’s some other place. And this last set of images show the bodies from the 2048 photos superimposed over the 2120 photos.”

  “In other words, the photos are fakes.”

  “And that means they never found the escapees,” I said, nodding, excitement building in my chest. “So my sister, Sofia, and all the others – they could still be alive! They may very well have reached Ballarat after all.”

  “They probably did,” said a girl’s voice – coming from the stairwell doorway.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Like a child caught in the act of wilful disobedience, I spun guiltily towards the door.

  “Drop your weapons and put your hands on your heads. You too, Lieutenant Hill,” Suyin commanded, her voice devoid of warmth. Romy stood beside her, and they were both aiming assault rifles at us.

  “Suyin–”

  “Shut it, traitor,” she snapped, before turning to Bhagya. “I’m surprised at you, Singhe, considering how long you’ve been with the program. Now move it, all of you. You’re going downstairs to the Round Room until the mess outside is over and we can inform Mr. Cho of your treachery.”

  “Actually, you can lower your weapons, Specialists,” Ryan said, speaking with his most authoritative voice. “You’ve got it all wrong. I just lost five of my men taking back the lab from the Rangers and Skel.”

  “You can forget the pretence, Lieutenant; we heard every word you said.” Romy aimed her weapon directly at Ryan.

  “Not to mention we’ve been onto you since the beginning, Chelsea,” Suyin added, tight-lipped.

  I looked at her, confused – she had been so nice to me, always coming to my aid when Romy was in my face.

  “Mr. Cho suspected from the word go that the reprogramming wouldn’t work on you due to your age and obstinate nature. That’s where Romy and I came in. He asked us to play good-sister, bad-sister, expecting you’d confide in me, or at the least, that you’d lead us to the true resistance.” Suyin smiled, a cold, heartless gesture that sent a shiver through my slim frame. “We thought we hit pay dirt when you discovered the Underground, but then you went and led me to the Freehome movement as well.”

  “You’ve been following me!” I exclaimed.

  “Was pretty easy too, until the day you realised I was following you and lost me. Since then I’ve been following you at distance. Still found out about Mr. Fenton, Ryan here, and those boys in your class. Didn’t know about Bhagya, though. Finding that she’s involved is the icing on the cake.”

  “You’re being stupid, Suyin,” Bhagya snarled. “You should be helping us, not taking us in.”

  “On that score, if you knew about me and the Freehome movement, why didn’t Mr. Cho act?” I asked.

  “I haven’t told him yet. Wanted to present him with the group’s complete membership list in one go.” Suyin waved her gun at us. “Now move it.”

  Hands on heads, we traipsed single file towards our captors and the stairs beyond. Romy looked most satisfied at this turn of events – she finally got me where she wanted me. I couldn’t believe our misfortune. We found what the virus was about but wouldn’t be able to do anything with the information.

  Suddenly remembering Romy saying that they heard every word we said, I pulled up short before we reached them. “Hey Suyin, did you hear what Bhagya said about the virus the geneticists created?”

  “Move, Chelsea.”

  “Doesn’t it concern you that once the virus is released, the only people in Australia that can have children are the Koreans?”

  ‘The chancellor knows what he’s doing,” Romy declared emphatically, like she was trying to convince herself.

  “Oh, I’m sure he does. But doesn’t it bother you that his actions are contrary to the Founders teachings? He is supposed to be creating a post-apocalyptic society that won’t make the same mistakes as its ancestors.”

  “I don’t know...” Romy said, looking doubtful.

  “The idiots of this town brought this on themselves,” Suyin butted in. “The Founders banne
d multiculturalism and multi-racism, commanding the people to intermarry so there would be only one race. But what did the people do? The whole town joined in silent rebellion, with everyone refusing to marry outside their race. To the extent that one hundred years later, we still have Anglo-Saxon Aussies, Greeks, Italians, Turks, Chinese, Indians...need I go on? Don’t you get it, Chelsea? The people have sown the seeds of their own destruction. Remember what the Founders taught us? Multiculturalism leads to division, division leads to conflict, conflict leads to violence, violence leads to war, and war leads to extinction. I actually applaud what the chancellor’s doing. By removing all the races except for the enlightened Koreans, this virus will achieve what the Founders set out to do all along. When there is only one race, only one people, there will be no more division, no more conflict, no more violence, and no more war.”

  “What do you call the Korean Civil War, then?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “The Korean Civil War that went from 1950 to 1953. And other civil wars such as the American Civil War, the Sri Lankan Civil War, Angolan Civil War, the Somali Civil War? And what of all the rebellions, like the French Revolution and the Chinese Revolution. If you think having only one race will bring about peace, you’re as deluded as the chancellor.”

  “Where are you getting all this heretical information from, Chelsea?”

  “My brother used to smuggle in books from the ruins. The history books they use in Newhome’s schools have been heavily altered.”

  “And you believe the lies of a fallen, decadent world over the truth given us by the Founders?”

  “You may as well give up, Chelsea,” Ryan said. “They’ve been too thoroughly brainwashed, a technique that typically leaves its victims immune to reason.”

  “I refuse to believe that. Bhagya threw off the brainwashing, just like I did.” Taking a step closer to Suyin and Romy, I noticed that the latter had let the barrel of her gun droop towards the floor.

  “How did you throw of this so-called brainwashing?” Romy asked.

  “I used to crawl through the ventilation ducts when I was brought to the lab,” Bhagya said, coming to stand beside us. “Watching the geneticists dissect a five year old boy echolocator while he was still alive did it for me.”