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

by Peter R Stone

  “Okay, fine, maybe I’ll concede you had to leave when you did. But why didn’t you go back? I presume you’ve got a way into Newhome, considering how easily you got out.”

  “Because we didn’t know about the resistance movements,” Madison said. “As far as we knew, it was the two of us against the chancellor and his army.”

  “You knew Bhagya, didn’t you? Why didn’t you stay and work with her?”

  “She never told us about any resistance movements or the virus.”

  “Didn’t know about them then,” Bhagya said.

  “Right, so why–”

  Ethan held up his hands. “Look, I can see where you’re coming from, and I concede the point that I was wrong in assuming the Specialists would want to leave with me after destroying the virus. And I agree that now is the time if Newhome is to rise up against the chancellor. However, I won’t order my teammates to join such a foolhardy venture–”

  “Can I have that in writing, Jones?” Leigh said.

  “It will be on a volunteer basis only,” Ethan replied.

  “What about you, Ethan – would you go back?” I asked.

  Ethan looked at his wife, who returned his gaze for a long moment. “That’s not the sort of decision I would make without discussing it with Nanako.”

  “Then hurry up and talk to her!”

  “What, right now?”

  “Yes!” I said, wishing I had his answer yesterday. Because if he said yes, I was sure Madison and the rest of his team would come too. I hoped I had gotten through to him, because the fact was, we needed them. A lump rose in my throat at the thought of all the echolocators joining together to lead the town in revolt against the chancellor.

  Ethan took Nanako’s hand and they disappeared through the wooden door into the darkness outside. Curiosity got the better of me. I mumbled something about needing to relieve myself and followed them into the frigid night air. Taking every care to make as little noise as I could, I hugged the side of the building and headed in the direction I figured they’d gone, stopping only when I heard Ethan and Nanako’s voices around the corner. Looking for somewhere to hide, I hurried over to a trailer parked several meters away and squatted down behind it.

  “You want to say something, right?” I heard Ethan say. “I could see it burning in your eyes while Chelsea was going to town on me.”

  “Can you guess what?” Nanako said.

  “You want to know why I feel I have to return to Newhome and join their rebellion. And you want to say that after all I’ve done to save the town from the Skel and the Rangers, I don’t owe them a thing.”

  “You silly oaf – that’s not what I wanted to say at all. I saw the way your ears picked up when Chelsea started talking about instigating a revolution to overthrow the chancellor. Honestly, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. You think I haven’t noticed that distant, longing look you get when you’re thinking about your parents and your sisters? And those times you wake in the middle of the night with their names on your lips?”

  “Can’t hide anything from you, can I?” He chuckled good-naturedly. “But you’re right. I feel bad everyday because I’m living in freedom while my family and everyone else in Newhome is stuck in prison. I’ve felt so powerless because I thought there was nothing I could ever do about it. Nana-chan – I couldn’t believe it when she told us about the resistance groups and the members who’ve infiltrated the Custodians. Suddenly, the impossible is possible. Now tell me, what did want to say?”

  “That you should follow your heart and help the resistance movements set Newhome free. And that you have to take me with you because I still think of Newhome as home.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course. When I went to Newhome to find you, I knew I’d probably stay there forever if we got back together. And I was fine with that because I would be with you. Don’t forget that I miss your family too – especially little Meredith. Hey, I even miss our cramped one bedroom flat.”

  “They’ve probably let it out to someone else by now.”

  “How dare they!”

  Ethan laughed. “Okay, Nana-chan, let’s go back and talk to the rest of the team.”

  Blast, they were coming back! I hunkered down even further behind the trailer so that there was no way they could see me.

  My heart missed a beat, though, when Ethan and his wife came directly towards the trailer.

  “Remind me later to teach you stealth techniques, Chelsea. That way no one will know when creep up on them to eavesdrop. Shall we return to the mess hall?”

  My face bright red with embarrassment, I stood and joined them. It was mind-blowing that he not only heard me but also knew it was me and not one of the others. I thought my stealth techniques were good – I’d been taught by General Cho, after all.

  Back in the mess hall, Ethan sat at one of the long wooden tables and called everyone over him. He asked his team members to vote on whether to join the resistance movements in Newhome and help overthrow the chancellor, or destroy the virus, grab any girls willing to leave the town, and return to Hamamachi.

  “Which way are you leaning, Jones?” David asked.

  “I want to know what you guys think first,” he replied.

  “Voting no,” Leigh said.

  “Don’t you want to see your family liberated from that terrible regime?” David said.

  “It’s more a case of not wanting to see me dead.”

  “I take it you’re voting yes, David?” Ethan asked.

  “You’re asking me to help topple the chancellor and his cronies? I’m in.”

  “Me too,” Ken said. “We’ve spent the past seven months rescuing Skel slaves. It’s high time we did the same for the prisoners in Newhome.”

  “I’m in. I’ve got a score to settle with General Cho,” Madison said.

  “Nanako, Ethan – what about you?” I asked.

  “We want to help liberate Newhome too,” Ethan said.

  “Hey, Leigh, you’re gonna be awfully lonely here all by yourself,” Ken said.

  “Don’t worry, he’s used to that.” Shorty grinned broadly.

  “Nick off, doofus.” Leigh sounded upset, but his face told a different story.

  “You’re really gonna stay behind?” David asked.

  Leigh sighed. “Okay already – I’ll come. But we’re all gonna die, you know that, right?”

  “That’s what we like about you, Leigh, your positive outlook on life,” Ethan said. He took his phone from his pocket and glanced at a message. “The colonel’s finally back in his office and wants to see Madison and me. I’ll give him our report and inform him of our decision. While we’re gone, you lot start gathering medical supplies and several days of rations and water. Better not grab any weapons until we’ve got the colonel’s permission.”

  “What if he says no?” I asked, suddenly afraid the mission would be nipped in the bud.

  “He won’t – we’ve got an understanding, he and I.” Ethan inclined his head to Madison, and they hurried out of the mess hall.

  After they left, Nanako directed us to gather supplies for the mission. As I hurried after her to fetch medical provisions, a strange emotion welled up within me. It felt so alien and unfamiliar that I didn’t recognise it at first, but I finally realised what it was.

  It was hope.

  For the first time, I could see a glimpse of a better future – a future where men and women were finally free from the chancellor’s horrific oppression. A future where people could come and go from the town as they chose. For starters, I needed to go to Ballarat to see if my younger sister and Sofia had arrived there safely. A future where Ryan and I could be together. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to get back to Newhome and share the news with Ryan – the moment we had been planning for was finally just around the corner.

  Chapter Eight

  ~ Ethan Jones ~

  Colonel Ito stood beside a large red-gum desk in his sparsely decorated office. As dawn was an hour away, his desk lamp
was the only light source – a light that illuminated only one side of his weathered face, giving him the appearance of a vengeful ghost. We had given him our report on our encounter with the echolocator girls at the water treatment plant, filling him in on what we learned about the chancellor’s plan and the virus. Ito made a phone call in an adjacent room after that, and then returned.

  “Can’t say I’m pleased to hear there’s only one Newhome Specialist in the brig instead of all six of them,” the colonel said. He looked at Madison and me wearing an indescribable expression, the biotoxin canister gripped tightly in his strong hands.

  “As we explained, sir, three of them stopped the others from deploying the biotoxin. One was Bhagya Singhe, whom I’ve told you about before. Her two offsiders are girls she set free from the brainwashing. After Madison and I joined them, we were able to get through to two more of the girls and liberate them from the mental conditioning,” I said.

  The colonel held up the canister. “Letting any of those girls go free, regardless of whether they have been set free from the brainwashing or not, isn’t going to mean squat once the councillors hear of what they tried to do tonight. And they will hear of it, as soon as the sun’s up. They tried to poison our water supply, Jones, and not just ours, but four other towns as well! Newhome has taken this war to a new level with this attempted mass murder. Maybe we should have helped the Rangers kill all the Koreans instead of allowing Okada to send you two back to save them.”

  “Sir, this attack on our water supply is Newhome’s response to the Rangers’ attempted genocide of the Koreans. An attempt that very nearly succeeded – a great many of them – including children and members of their council, where killed.”

  “And this virus the chancellor is about to release, the one that will render all males infertile unless they happen to be Korean? What’s that in response to?”

  He had me there. “It’s–”

  “Sorry Jones, Madison, but I don’t subscribe to your belief that those two girls are free of their brainwashing so easily. Even Bhagya Singhe and her two offsiders could have ulterior motives–”

  “Sir–”

  “You’re too naïve, Jones. We need to interrogate all those girls so we can find out everything they know. Then they will be held accountable for attempting to poison our water supply.”

  “If you don’t mind me saying so, Colonel,” Madison said. “There’s something off with that canister.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The outer shell is a thin layer of tin with an anti-rust coating. That means Jones and I should be able to see inside it to some degree if we echolocate loudly enough, but we can’t penetrate it at all.”

  “It’s been soundproofed,” I said.

  “Those six girls are all genetically engineered like you two, right?” the colonel said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “So whoever made the canister figured the girls would try to look inside it just like you did, and they didn’t want them to.”

  “The question is why, sir? What are they hiding?”

  “Maybe it’s something far worse than an infectious biotoxin. Maybe it’s the virus you mentioned.” He placed the canister carefully on his desk as though handling fragile glass.

  “The virus? No, I don’t think so,” Madison said. “They will not risk releasing that until they know that their biologically engineered children can procreate.”

  “And when will that be?”

  “Depends how ruthless they are, sir,” I said.

  “Meaning?”

  “The oldest modified Korean children are twelve or thirteen, and we were of the understanding they wouldn’t conduct pregnancy trials on them until they were eighteen. But if the chancellor cares nothing for their emotional development and wellbeing, he could start pregnancy trials on the girls at any time.”

  “He’ll start the trials soon, then. The man’s a soulless monster willing to sacrifice the world to create a Korean-only utopia,” the colonel said.

  “You’re probably right,” Madison said.

  “Which means we have to act immediately to make sure the virus cannot be released.”

  “Act how, sir?”

  The colonel sighed deeply. “There’s only one way to guarantee it.”

  I looked at him, aghast. “You don’t mean–”

  “I do.”

  “But to nuke the town, sir? Ten thousand people will die!”

  “If the virus gets out, the only people alive in eighty years will be the Korean’s descendants. And if they’ve miscalculated their immunity to the virus, not even them.”

  “Sir, my family lives there–”

  “As does mine,” Madison said. “And our squad mates. Sir, you can’t nuke the town. We mustn’t lower our standards to match the chancellor’s. Just because he tried to nuke Hamamachi, doesn’t excuse us doing it back to them.” She never spoke about her family, but I knew she thought about them from time to time.

  “This has nothing to do with revenge! This is no longer just a petty squabble between two towns! Jones, Madison, listen to me – we can’t afford to be sentimental when we’re talking about the future of the human race. The virus must be destroyed and it has to be done now.”

  “Sir, there has to be another way!” Madison implored.

  “Name one.”

  “One of the Specialists, Chelsea Thomas, actually proposed an alternative way of stopping the virus from being released,” I said, speaking rapidly as though my very life depended on it.

  “Let’s hear it, then.”

  I quickly explained what Chelsea said to us earlier, about stopping the virus from being released by overthrowing the chancellor and his regime and taking control of the Genetics Laboratory.

  The colonel looked at us long and hard, his dark brown eyes giving nothing away.

  “We can do this, Colonel,” Madison said, her eyes ablaze.

  “She’s right, sir, we can,” I said.

  The colonel frowned. “Fine. Against my better judgement, I will let you have a shot at pulling off this revolution and destroying the virus. But I’m only going to give you a month. If I haven’t heard good news from you by then, I will have no choice but to use the nuke.”

  “Thank you, sir! We won’t fail,” Madison.

  “Let’s hope not, for everyone’s sake. I for one don’t want to be responsible for the deaths of ten thousand people. Now, tell me, what do you need to take with you?”

  “For starters, the five Specialists,” I said. “We’ll need their help to pull this off since they are in contact with the town’s resistance groups,” I said.

  “Out of the question. They’re staying here to be held accountable for their crimes.”

  “Sir, do you consider me a valuable member of the Hamamachi Special Forces Unit?” Madison said.

  The colonel lifted an eyebrow. “Absolutely.”

  “I was one of them not so long ago – their leader, in fact – and I worshipped the very ground the chancellor walked on. Those five girls have been set free from the brainwashing. They will be just as valuable as me.”

  “Madison–”

  “Look at it this way,” I said. “If those five girls return to Newhome and say their mission was successful, the chancellor won’t launch any more attacks on Hamamachi for a while. But if they don’t return, he may immediately set a back-up plan in motion.”

  “You make a valid point.” The colonel sighed. “Just how sure are you that those five are no longer brainwashed, Madison? How do you know they’re not deceiving you?”

  “Bhagya tested them all to see if they were lying. None were,” she replied.

  He took a deep breath. “Very well, you can take them. But you’d better requisition all the supplies you need and get going before sunrise – that’s less than an hour away. Once the council learns of this biotoxin – or whatever it is – and the virus, they will arrest the girls for attempted genocide and they’ll never see the light of day again. Attempts
to justify their actions with claims of brainwashing will fall on deaf ears.”

  “Thank you, sir! We’ll get going immediately,” I said.

  ***

  We hurried back to the others, who were outside the mess hall loading the Bushmaster’s trailer with supplies. We informed them that we had the colonel’s permission to go, but had to do so before sunup or the councillors would have the girls arrested.

  After that, we raided the armoury for weapons: pistols, assault rifles, grenades, claymores, Javelin anti-tank missile launchers, night vision goggles, and a crate of refurbished satellite Smartphones.

  Once everything was loaded, everyone except Madison and me boarded the Bushmaster or the Militia supplied 4WD.

  “You thinking about what Ito said?” Madison asked.

  “What do you reckon?” I replied.

  “What are we going to do?”

  “We’re going to work with the Specialists and resistance movements and make sure we overthrow the chancellor before the month is up.”

  “And if that’s not possible?”

  “Cross that bridge when we come to it,” I said. “But I’m not above popping back to Hamamachi to steal the nuke and hide it somewhere they can’t find it.”

  Madison raised her eyebrows. “That’s not going to be like taking candy from a baby. They keep it on one of the ex-whaling ships moored out at sea.”

  “I know, but if the resistance movements need more time, we’ve got to do something.”

  Madison swore. “Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”

  I nodded. “Oh, something you should know. I’m hoping I can get Captain Smithson and Delta Company onside. Their support could make all the difference.”

  “You reckon Smithson and his men would go up against their own kind?”

  “Don’t know. And just in case they won’t, let’s not tell the others about them yet, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “Right, let’s get this show on the road. We don’t have much time,” I said.

  “After you.”

  Chapter Nine