Scout and The Twin had taken Tiny and Apprentice on an expedition, exploration and extermination being their primary goals. Jester had given them a brief list of things to look out for, certain cables, some smaller devices that he needed for his idea. He offered to go with them but we decided that, just in case, the more important of us should stay behind. The Queen wanted him back in one piece, after all.
After a couple of hours waiting I opened the door to the rest of the centre and peeked out. Nothing, at least nothing other than the few corpses remaining from our friends' exit. Closing it behind me I shrugged, saying that there was no sign of anything or anyone out there. Twist looked relieved. Butler and Jester, however, looked concerned.
Sitting back down next to Apocalypse Girl, I extended an arm. She took the opportunity to snuggle in closer than I had thought possible. “They said you were dead, you know.” She told me in a quiet voice. “Those Ghouls or whatever they were. Said you'd run into the trapped passage and gotten yourself killed. I knew better, though. I spat in their faces and told them you were coming for me and that you'd kill them all.”
noon
They're still not back yet. Deathwish went out with Machete briefly, just to the end of the hall, to see if there was any sign. When they returned their only news was that they had seen a trail of dead Dead leading in the direction that the four had gone. “There weren't even that many of them, only a couple of dozen. I could have taken them by myself, easy!” Machete bragged. Deathwish spared her a sceptical glance that he shared with me. I just shook my head, knowing the small blonde girl's capabilities. I hadn't left my sword with her for no reason, after all.
Apocalypse Girl and I took the dog out for a brief walk after a while. He sniffed at a couple of corpses, urinated on one, then moved along and examined everything he could find in his own doggy fashion. Some stuff, he decided, was worth piddling on, some was not. As Apocalypse Dog arched his back to defecate I spotted Scout, solo, running back over corpses, skipping lightly over them. Skidding to a halt, her sneakers squeaking on the lino floor, she smiled at us. “They're all dead, it looks like. The Ghouls are, definitely, the rest of the girls are disarming their traps now. Some of those are pretty bloody nasty, too.”
Breathing heavily, she told us that they had encountered a reasonably sized group of Dead as they left the security office, clobbered as many as they could reach while drawing them away in vaguely the direction of the Deadnappers Lair. All of those were down by the time they reached this site of our little battle with the Ghouls, so Scout was tasked with running back to inform us of the situation and take another small group out in the other direction. I wanted to go with her myself, but ended up sending Deathwish and Twist with her instead. Machete pouted a little about not being asked, at least until I told her that I wanted her with us in case anything else went wrong. There was nobody else I trusted more to help keep Apocalypse Girl safe.
evening
I figured they'd probably be back by now, both groups. Hunger is a remarkable driving force, after all, and I myself was nearing the point of raiding Deathwish's supply bag. Butler got there before I did, however, offering to cook up as much as was needed. That, I must say, was easier. If I have to smell the shit cooking, at least I don't have to be up close and personal with it, too.
As we ate, Scout returned with Deathwish and Twist. A moment later, the other three returned as well. Collapsing onto the remaining couches, the two groups reported that there seemed to be no more Dead plaguing the centre. The few that had remained had been brained, now it was time to leave. Well, one more day, so Jester can tag what he wants the Scavenger Squad to come in and carry out first.
“If it really is that safe, why don't I just go and do it now, by myself?” Jester asked me. I told him that no matter what the rest of the group says, all the Dead in the world could be dead now but there was no way I was going to let him out on his own. Scout backed me up, saying that just because they have scoured the entire centre top to bottom, clobbering any Dead that they found into oblivion, that didn't necessarily mean that there wasn't a couple lurking around somewhere. “Or, on the other hand,” He faked a yawn. “Fuck it, I'm too tired. Let's all go tomorrow!” With an impish grin, he settled down next to Apocalypse Dog, who accepted the company and attention as any good dog would.
August 12th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Jester ended up tagging every single electrical item in the entire fucking complex, it seemed to me, whether or not it was still intact. He was, he said, more than competent at scavenging useful components from destroyed items, and might well be able to get half of the broken stuff working anyway as a result. Sure enough, there were a few Dead lurking around, easily dispatched of course, but Jester soon learned that he would have been doomed had he come out last night to perform his task. Though I never strayed more than a few paces from Apocalypse Girl's side this time, we performed a thorough double- and triple-check of the shopping complex, just to be as certain as we could be that it was safe for the Scavenger Squads.
Twist was visibly shaken by the idea of going outside for the first time in many long months, though in the end she was the first of us to set foot outside, as we exited through the car park. She shivered somewhat, saying that it felt colder than it should have for the time of year. Smiling sadly, Apocalypse Girl just told her to be thankful she'd had a roof over her head during the real Winter. The cold weather we happen to be experiencing now, that's just a hold-over from then, she explained.
Butler added that, had it not been for the Queen, not many in Adelaide would have had decent shelter, so Twist was doubly fortunate. Sighing, she said she supposed she was lucky, glancing back at the shopping centre sadly.
noon
The Queen was waiting for us. Hair a mess, clothing wrinkled and rumpled, she appeared to have not slept in days. As we emerged, triumphant, from the shadowy depths of the car park, she ran towards us, paying no heed to the shouted warning from her guards. Throwing her arms around me, she exclaimed with excitement “I knew you could do it! I haven't slept all week, I figured you could wander out at any time and I wanted to be there when you did.” Resting her head against my chest, she muttered “My new Sheriff...”
An instant later she was off, giving orders to Butler that we should all be taken back to the Palace, fed and bathed appropriately, and that he should arrange for the Scavenger Squads to move in and clear out everything that has been tagged as well as a whole heap of stuff that hadn't been, but might be useful. Gritting his teeth into a polite smile, Butler simply told her that he would take care of it, leading the rest of us away.
After a good long bath shared with Apocalypse Girl, complete with celebratory champagne, we feasted on roast lamb, raising further suspicions about the possibility of another underground facility somewhere beneath Adelaide. Twist, though she was technically not a member of the Cleansing Squad she was treated as one of us, sat next to Machete and ate as if she had never seen real food before. After a moment, it occurred to me that we were all doing exactly that. Fucking Deathwish and his fucking baked beans!
Apocalypse Girl, at one point during our meal, leaned in close to me. “I am getting a bad feeling about this place.” I asked her quietly what she meant. “I can't put my finger on it, but something is up. I think it might be time to move on.” Pointing out that, in her condition, moving on could be disastrous, I couldn't help but feel a kind of sense of impending doom. Maybe that was what she was feeling. I don't know. “Look, I know all that, okay?” Apocalypse Girl hissed. “I'm pregnant, not fucking stupid. I just... I think we should head up north again soon. To Coober's Nest. At least think about it, alright?” I promised her that I would consider it. Ultimately, we need to do whatever is best for her and the baby.
evening
Standing on the rooftop of the hotel where we first met, those many months earlier, I looked out to the north, Apocalypse Girl leaning into me, my arm around her. The sun had set and an hour earlie
r we ate dinner with The Queen. She had bathed herself by that time, and combed out her hair, and was looking far more regal than she had this morning. She was also unable to take her eyes off of me all evening. It had been more than a little unnerving.
As we left for our hotel I asked Butler about the fresh food that we keep on being served at the Palace. Glancing around to make certain nobody was close enough to overhear, he confirmed my suspicions, telling me that there was indeed a small facility underneath the former Casino, and that they had been using it to feed the people ever since The Sheriff had discovered it in early January. It had been determined, though, that there was not enough food in stasis to keep everybody sustained in the long term, so The Queen decided that only she and a select few, her Sheriff, Butler and Jester, to name a few, were to have access to it, and the farms were begun.
I quietly told Apocalypse Girl that I would attempt to gain access to the facility, see if it was one of those connected to the sub-surface rail system. If it was, we would be able to easily jump on a train and fuck off to wherever we wanted, within reason. I suggested the AR-18 base, receiving a scathing look from Apocalypse Girl. Whoever it was that had sent that message to her phone those weeks ago was not somebody she wanted to see in a hurry, nor even simply speak of. Knowing better than to pry further, I simply held her close.
August 13th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Turns out that the Queen, in all her youthful exuberance and wisdom, has decided that today is a special day, one for celebration as her new Champion, as she now called me, successfully delved into a den of the Dead and returned with everything that I had promised her and more. At least, that was how she was billing it on all of the posters that had mysteriously sprung up all over the remains of the city, advertising an award ceremony to be held in my honour at noon today. Someone had slipped a copy of the blasted thing under the door to our hotel suite overnight as well. Apocalypse Girl simply found it amusing, as did Machete and Scout. Apprentice thought as I did, that there was something else going on behind the scenes here.
Overnight we had also been in radio contact with a few of our former comrades and travelling companions. Viking and Valkyrie were finally married, the ceremony performed by none other than Elder, fresh from his studies at the House-where-no-house-should-be. The white-haired old aboriginal man had a tendency to pop up at the strangest times and places, possessing the uncanny ability to Slip between realities, as he called it. He had, he informed us on our first encounter, first seen our little group in a dream and decided that we needed his help. As it was he was able to teach Apocalypse Girl something very unique, indeed incredibly useful from time to time. She could reach into other realities and kind of fish things out of them.
The School was on uneasy terms with The Puller and his Empire, though they had set up a network of relay stations, safe havens no more than a couple of hours apart by foot where any envoys from either faction can easily hide inside and barricade while waiting for help that was easily summoned by the many flares kept within each. Each station, Viking told us, had been built to last. A large enough horde would obliterate them, naturally, but with the armed patrols of Imperial Guard and Mech-Techs spreading out from each settlement along all of the major routes on a daily basis the number of Dead was kept to a minimum.
We spoke with Ginger up at Coober's Nest as well, though all he really wanted to know was when Scout was coming home. She assured him that she'd be heading out soon enough, another day or two at the most, then she'd see about acquiring a vehicle. There were enough of them still around the place, some needing only a little work in order to get them running again. They hadn't all been commandeered for the patchwork wall.
The real surprise was hearing from The Smart Couple. They'd found the place they had been searching for, they told us, and were now completely secure. There was a hint of glee in Smart Guy's voice when he said it, too. Smart Girl implied that there were people there that we needed to speak to, but they were unwilling to speak over the radio. We'd encounter them in time, though.
Then, there was The Colonel. She and her men had found the AR-18 facility easily enough, securing it had been simple as well, in fact unnecessary. Her remaining troops had secured the surface approach as the sub-surface rail network was guarded more than adequately. The Colonel told us that someone was with her that wanted to speak with Apocalypse Girl, who promptly snatched the radio from my grasp and switched it off angrily. She would say no more than before, just that she would prefer not to go there unless it was unavoidable.
noon
Butler led the way to the dais that had been rigged next to the giant shiny balls standing one atop the other in the centre of what had once been a reasonably large commercial district. Whoever the current Ball-polisher was, I mused, was doing a fantastic job keeping the fuckers shiny. The Queen awaited, dressed as always in the same skimpy outfit she had worn on New Year's Eve with a pair of sturdy jeans beneath and a large pair of boots. Her blonde mane flowed behind her as she stood regally, surveying the crowd of several hundred of her subjects that stood before her. More flocked to the stage as we climbed up, Butler leading the rest of us that had braved the depths of the Dead and Ghoul infested shopping centre that lay only a few hundred metres away.
The Queen made some speech about our bravery, heroism blah blah fucking blah. It was a job that needed doing, and that is my final word about it. Her Majesty, on the other hand, kept on about it for nearly an hour, practically gushing when talking about the many Dead that fell to my blade. The applause that met her proclamation that I was to be named Champion of Adelaide and was reasonably thunderous and when I was expected to make my own speech, all I could think to do was tell the crowd that all I did was what I saw was necessary to help out, and that everybody else needed to do the same thing. Whether that be providing food for people, or shelter, or simply clobbering every Dead you see.
evening
After a relaxing afternoon spent listening to some of the music that Deathwish had brought out with him, the first time we had actually had the time to do so since the early days at The Commune, really, Apocalypse Girl and I went to dinner with The Queen. Roast chicken tonight, cooked to perfection, as always seemed to be the case here.
The Queen wanted to know all about our incursion into the shopping centre. Every detail, no matter how trivial, fascinated her and Apocalypse Girl's incredibly vivid description of the corruption that had infested the Dead-napping Ghouls seemed to terrify her. “Just how could anyone come to that? Eating the Dead, I mean...” she said at one point. I told her that I had no idea, but the very concept repulsed me thoroughly.
“I didn't like the way she was looking at you,” Apocalypse Girl told me when we returned to our rooms, a couple of hours later. It was completely dark by then and from our bedroom window our newest satellite hung heavy in the sky, trillions of specks of light flashing all around it. Many of them moving incredibly fast, darting hither and yon, doing who-knows-what up there, in orbit over our fucking planet! “I've seen you look at Meat-Beasts the same way. She's hungry for something, and I don't really want her having any, if you follow me,”
Glaring hatefully at the Invader Moon I pulled the curtains shut. Apocalypse Girl was just jealous, by the sounds of things. Whatever the Queen might think or feel is irrelevant, anyway. There was not a single thing that could take me away from Apocalypse Girl's side. Not anymore.
August 14th Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Sitting in my office, after breakfast with Her Majesty, Apocalypse Girl quite clearly had something on her mind. When I asked what it was she was reluctant to answer, at least initially. After a while she opened up a little more, however. “I'm beginning to think we shouldn't stay here for much longer.” She told me eventually. “I've got this feeling that if we stay, something bad is going to happen.” When I asked her what, she simply shrugged and said no more, looking out the window at the people passing by on their way to and from whatever
jobs they had these days.
Jester came by, wearing relatively normal clothing for a change, save for the ridiculous, bell-laden hat atop his head. Over a cup of fresh coffee he invited the two of us to his entertainment precinct that he had set up at and around one of the major squares of the city. There would, apparently, be much rejoicing and he promised a spectacular display as well as plenty to smoke and drink. Deathwish and his former Scavenging Squad mates had found a hydroponics shop completely intact a couple of months ago and had acquired some of the equipment with which to grow some greenery. The rest had, naturally, been given to The Queen so that she could grow more food for her people. Deathwish had reported that their first crop was now ready and that they were more than happy to share it out amongst the populace in order to enhance whatever entertainment Jester had planned. The funny little former IT guy even tossed me a small bag as a sample on his way out.
noon
Not a lot for the Champion of Adelaide and The Sheriff of The Queen to do today, it seems. After Jester left we went to find some food, meeting up with Apprentice and Scout, who were in the midst of a heated discussion. Scout was asking Apprentice to come to Coober's Nest with her, my white-robed old friend was declining her invitation, saying only that her place was with me, and with Apocalypse Girl, at least for now. Scout seemed more than a little irritated by this response, angrily telling her that if that was the case, then Scout's place was with Apprentice, but that they'd talk about this some more. Later.
Anno Zombus Year 1 (Book 8): August Page 5