Right to Rule: Hunter Wars Book Five (The Hunter Wars 5)

by SD Tanner

  Since arriving back at Wolfie’s base to warn them about Pax’s capture, she hadn’t been able to settle anywhere. From Wolfie’s base, she’d gone to the Marine supply base to meet up with Mackenzie, who had come back with Gears. Together they’d gone to the ship, but she wasn’t happy being back in the fold. With people being confined to the bases at night, they were so full there was no peace night or day and the ship was no better. There were screaming children, arguing adults, limited space, and dwindling food supplies. Despite the poor accommodation and bad air quality, she felt a sense of relief at being back at the Ranch.

  “I want to stay here.”

  “What?” Pop asked incredulously.

  “I don’t want to go back to the ship or the bases. I want to stay here.”

  “You can’t stay here, hon,” Mom said soothingly. “Not with the baby coming. Don’t you want to be closer to the CDC?”

  Coming to the Ranch was like being home and this was the most settled she’d felt in weeks. She shook her head firmly. “No, I don’t want to go back.”

  “It ain’t safe here and we got no doctors,” Pop said bluntly. “If somethin’ goes wrong with you or the baby, there’ll be nothin’ much we can do to help you or the little one.”

  “I don’t care. The baby isn’t due for months and by then there’ll be a doctor here. Plus this place means something, and I want to stay here.”

  Shaking his head, Pop looked at Mom beseechingly. Mom frowned. “I don’t know, honey. You have to think about what’s best for the baby.”

  If she thought about it too hard they would persuade her to go back to the ship, but she was convinced this was where she should be. It didn’t make much sense to her either, but she felt as though she was home and she was determined to stay. She was about to argue her position when a combat shooter called down from the stairs leading to the bunker. “Incoming bird!”

  Looking slightly startled, Pop muttered, “Why can’t they jus’ say a helicopter is landin’. Incoming means bomb.”

  “Shut up, George,” Mom gently chided, and they turned in unison to find out why another helicopter was landing at the Ranch so soon after their arrival that morning.

  Outside a Black Hawk was settling into the dirty, churned earth, and its rotors were gradually spinning slower. A man in ACUs climbed out of the bird and a woman, also in ACUs, carefully handed a small bundle to him. Moving out from the brisk wind of the rotors, the man and woman walked up to them, and introduced themselves as Jenny and Mark. With the noise of the bird, Lydia’s baby woke up and began to cry loudly.

  Mark was cradling something wrapped in a blue blanket. “We can’t stay.” Looking at Mom, he asked, “Are you Gear’s Mom?”

  Mom nodded and Mark said, “I was told to hand this to you personally. Can we go inside?”

  With a wave of her hand, Mom indicated they should follow her into the underground bunker. Once in the bunker, she helped Mom unclip Lydia’s baby from the carrier. She held him awkwardly in her arms over her own growing belly, while the baby continued with its usual incessant angry wailing. She thought he was a horribly noisy baby and even she was growing tired of its never-ending crying. As far as she could tell, he seemed to sleep very little and cry a lot. Occasionally Mom could soothe him to sleep, but only Pax could get him to shut up. Despite promising to love her own unborn baby no matter what, she sincerely hoped hers would be quieter than this one.

  While Lydia’s baby continued to object loudly and determinedly, Mark carefully handed the bundle to Mom. Mom unwrapped the blanket and buried inside was a tiny newborn infant. Her face creased into a happy smile, and while still gazing at the baby, she asked cooingly, “Oh, so who’s this little one?”

  Smiling sadly at the newborn, Jenny replied, “He was born a few days ago to a woman called Ant, but she died. His father’s dead too. He’s no one’s now.”

  Mark said, “Gears told us to deliver the baby to you and only you. He said you would know what to do.”

  Jenny added, “We went to the base, but Gerry told us you were here, and Gears was very explicit about us handing the baby to you and only you.”

  Glancing down at the baby, Pop grunted. “What’s so damned special about this baby?”

  While they were talking, Mom laid the infant on the couch and continued to unwrap the blanket. Looking closely, she saw the baby had an odd pattern up its forearms and down one side of its face. She’d seen that exact pattern before, but it didn’t make any sense to her that the baby had the same markings.

  Mom looked up at Pop. “Oh, George, honey, this is a very special baby. Look at the markings.”

  “What’s it got all over it? I ain’t got my readin’ glasses with me.”

  Over the sound of the wailing infant in her arms, she said loudly, “Ip has the same markings, and she has a sword with the same pattern etched into it. There must be a connection between them.”

  Seeing she was obviously struggling to cope with the screaming baby, Mom took Lydia’s baby from her arms. She gently tugged the baby out from the sling-style baby carrier, and he continued to wail even more loudly in protest at this latest insult to his young life.

  Wincing, Pop said, “Damn, that baby is loud.”

  Ignoring Pop, Mom laid the wailing baby next to the newborn, but she didn’t think it was a good idea. The wailing baby was likely to set the other baby off, and then they’d have two screaming infants to deal with. She was starting to wonder if she really did want to stay in the bunker with two screaming babies and one on the way.

  Having laid Lydia’s baby next to the newborn, Mom stood up and looked down on the two infants now lying side by side on the sofa. To her surprise, Lydia’s baby immediately stopped crying, and sloppily tipped its head towards the newborn. With an uncontrolled flip of its small and chubby arm, he flopped his hand onto the newborn’s chest. In response, the newborn opened its eyes a little wider, and she could have sworn he gave a slight smile.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Pop said in surprise.

  “Language, George,” Mom admonished sternly. Turning to her, she said, “Okay, we’ll stay here at the Ranch, but we’ll need to get supplies for the newborns sent over.” She turned to Jenny and Mark. “Stay here and have some lunch while I make up a list of things I need. Just make sure Lucie or Kat get the list and they’ll sort it out.”

  Still looking at the now relaxed and happy babies lying side by side on the couch, Pop asked, “What’s goin’ on? Why’s the noisy one finally shut the…you know, gone quiet?”

  Smiling down at the two contented babies, Mom said, “He just wanted his brother.”

  CHAPTER NINE: New horizons (Captain Ted)

  Thousands of people had converged on the Naval base and it looked chaotic. Dressed in ACUs or jeans and light t-shirts, all were carrying heavy coats, suitcases and backpacks. He could hear a tinny voice over a PA system issuing instructions. Wanting to assure himself everything was under control, he was heading toward the transport ship parked at the dock. All five ships’ Captains had been briefed, and every one of them was more competent than he was to command a ship, but that didn’t stop him from worrying. He would have over twenty thousand people spread across five ships, and if they lost even one of them that was four thousand lives he would carry on his conscience forever.

  The dock was crowded with people who were talking loudly, laughing, and clearly excited about travelling. Many of them were from Philip’s flotilla, so he knew they felt like they were heading back home, but they weren’t really. The Isle of Wight was a small island off the south coast of the UK. Axel told him it was part of the UK, and was home to about one hundred and thirty thousand British residents and only separated from the UK by a small strip of sea.

  While he shouldered his way through the crowd towards the heavy, grey transport ship parked at the dock, people greeted him warmly and moved out of his way. It had been his job to run the Marine supply base and Naval base for almost a year, and he’d been the one to wel
come many of the people who’d arrived on Philip’s flotilla months earlier. In his role as leader of the bases, he’d sorted out disputes, dispensed swift justice, and told more than a few people to behave themselves. The Europeans had proven to be surprisingly resilient and accepting. If he said no to them and they disagreed, he was challenged, but if he still said no, they would shrug and obey his ruling. They also complained the least about the over-crowding and food shortages at the base. When he asked why, he was told Europe had always been crowded, and they’d learned deprivation and starvation were not the same problem. Despite their philosophical attitude to hardship, he noted they were still very excited about leaving.

  His own countrymen were less enthusiastic about being told they would need to leave their homeland, but most accepted they’d run out of options. Anyone could see the land was dying and supplies were becoming harder to get. There’d been a little grumbling and more than a few tears, but he was proud to see they’d rallied and were also excited about the trip. Continuing to push his way through the crowds towards the gangplank that led onto the ship, he felt a few slaps on his shoulder as people greeted him warmly. Continuing through the tightening crowd, he grinned and nodded to people as he passed.

  Finally reaching the gangplank and walking up the angled ramp, he looked over his shoulder at the dock, and was confronted by a sea of bobbing heads and the rabble of a thousand excited voices. Feeling their energy and excitement, he found himself being caught up in their anticipation. Stopping and turning fully to face the crowd, he felt a thrill of pride run through him. This is courage, he thought, these people are leaving everything they know to do what’s needed for the people who’ll fight to win back their home. Nodding to himself, he thought with satisfaction, this is what real legends are made of.

  While he’d done his recon of the UK, Nelson and Kat had organized the people. Survivors were asked to volunteer to go to the Isle, and once the initial shock wore off, people were quick to sign up. The loading of people and supplies had been going on all day and they were almost done. Figuring people would be impatient to start their voyage, Kat had forgone her usual administration processes to check people out of the base. She and her team were travelling with him on the plane and would arrive well before the ships made it to the Isle. Kat planned to check people in once they arrived. Taking this approach meant they were able to board people quickly, and the ships would be ready to sail by evening. Feeding over four thousand people for six days at sea wasn’t easy, and he was keen to get the ships to sea rather than waste a single meal while they were still docked.

  Based on the advice he was given by Gears and Pax, each ship had approximately four thousand survivors, two hundred shooters, and at least one of the Infected. In addition to the people, they were also taking livestock, and each transport had chickens, sheep, pigs and cows plus a variety of seeds and plants. Combat shooters had already cleared the Isle of hunters, but he knew they were currently double-checking the whole island. Fortunately the island hadn’t been heavily populated, so there’d been very few able hunters left. With Logan leading, there were no casualties or even injuries while clearing the island. His mission was going very well, and after the near disaster at Ruler’s camp, it was restoring his self-confidence.

  The scavenger teams were still conducting aerial searches for supplies, but he was optimistic the large ports at Portsmouth and Southampton would keep them well supplied for at least a few months. Southampton had over seven thousand unopened containers and both ports had ships and fuel. Arriving ahead of the transports with more scavenger teams, he hoped to have at least the first shipment of supplies from Southampton delivered by the time the survivors landed, but as a backup, each transport ship had enough supplies to last them for up to a month. The plan was for the survivors to live on scavenged supplies from the UK, while they farmed the land and transported surplus fresh food to the US to help feed the combat shooters and scavengers still living there. He agreed an army couldn’t fight on an empty stomach, or even a poorly fed one.

  He was due to fly back to the Isle of Wight the next morning, and turning away from the scene on the dock, he climbed the last few steps up the metal ramp and onto the ship. Inside the entrance was a large double door leading to corridors that ran like a warren around the ship. He needed to find his way to the main deck and bridge, but he had no idea how to get there. Kat’s team were busy herding and directing the over excited people to their cabins, and he didn’t want to distract them by asking for help. He left the entrance and made his way to the upper deck.

  They were using different types of transport ships to cross the water and this one was an amphibious assault ship. The top deck was a large platform designed to carry helicopters. The bottom deck was a large cavernous space with a door that opened to the water, and in the past it was often used to carry upwards of forty assault vehicles. The remaining levels providing living quarters for around three thousand people. Usually it needed about a thousand strong crew, but for this short trip it was mostly manned by enthusiastic survivors, and some experienced sailors. Pretty much all they knew how to do was keep the ship moving roughly in the right direction. There was always the risk they’d run aground or breakdown, but it was either this sort of ship or a rowboat.

  He made his way along the metal stairs, and walked through a long corridor with a line of doors on each side. People were milling about, mostly dressed in jeans and t-shirts, and talking loudly and excitedly about the impending voyage. With so many energetic people in such a confined space, the corridor felt very warm and slightly humid. The voices echoed loudly against the backdrop of metal walls and grilled floors, and he wondered how anyone would get any sleep under such crowded and rowdy conditions. In front of him, were two teenage boys blocking his path, and he shouldered his way between them. One of the boys turned sharply and was clearly about to say something rude, when he saw his ACUs and gun slung casually over his shoulder. The boy’s face still had the softness of youth, and with thick tousled brown hair, he couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen years old.

  Giving him a wide-eyed stare, the boy gulped. “Sorry, sir.”

  He grinned and asked, “What’s your name, son?”

  “I’m Jon,” the boy replied, blushing furiously. Jabbing his equally young friend in the shoulder with his finger, he added, “This is Luke.”

  Luke was a dark haired boy, with long awkward limbs, and over-sized hands for his lean frame. Turning to face him, Luke’s eyes widened. “Oh! I know you. You’re Captain Ted.”

  Looking flustered, Jon said enthusiastically, “I wanna join the combat shooters, but they reckon I’m too young. It’s not fair. It’s not like I gotta go to school or anything now.”

  He shook his head at him. “You are too young and you do have to go to school. We can’t have the world getting any dumber than it already was.”

  Both teenagers sniggered at his comment and Luke asked, “But Gears says we’ve all got to do our bit, so why can’t we be trained?”

  He smiled at their enthusiasm. “Because your bit is to grow up and become men. You’ll have enough to do then.” With a wink, he added, “But if you look me up when you get to the Isle of Wight, I’ll see if I can get you on some weapons’ training.”

  Glancing down the corridor, he saw a man and woman weaving their way toward him. As they neared him, they kept their heads down and roughly pushed past him. Frowning, he was about to tell them to take it easy when sounding worried, Jon asked, “You won’t forget will you?”

  Turning his attention back to the boy, he said with a smile, “Yeah, I’ll forget, but you can find me and remind me.”

  He realized why the man and woman had caught his attention. The ship was uncomfortably warm and everyone was wearing t-shirts. He was still wearing his ACU shirt over his t-shirt, and he could feel himself sweating uncomfortably, but the man and woman were wearing matching thick sweatshirts, with the hoods pulled low over their eyes and faces. It didn’t make sen
se, and for some reason it bothered him. Turning to see if he could spot them in the corridor, he couldn’t see them.

  He felt a tugging at his arm and Luke asked, “Will you train us to be Marines?”

  Still wondering where the man and woman were, he answered distractedly, “No, son, we don’t have the facilities to train you like that…’

  Pulling away from the boy’s light grasp on his arm, he turned and pushed his way back down the corridor looking for the two people. The corridor was crowded and noisy, and he could barely see over the bobbing heads while he pushed his way through. There were open doors leading into the cabins, and at the first door, he peered inside intently. A man immediately walked over to him from inside the cabin and eyeing his uniform, he asked gruffly, “Can I help ya?”

  Looking around the room from the doorway, he asked, “Did a man and a woman just come in here?”

  “Yeah,” the man replied, and with his thumb, he pointed at two people behind him.

  They were a middle-aged couple, but neither were wearing hoodies. It was then he realized the futility of the job he’d set for himself. He had no idea what the two people looked like, and if they removed their hoodies, they could be anyone. Sighing in frustration, he shook his head and walked out of the cabin and back into the noisy corridor. It was pointless. He’d never find them. Deciding that two people wearing hoodies in a hot corridor was not odd enough for him to waste any more time over, he turned and made his way back down the corridor, heading towards the upper decks.

  ***

  As Captain Ted walked away, in the cabin opposite the one he’d just left, two people stood inside the room. A middle-aged woman with soft white hair and brilliant blue eyes stood up and said, “Hello, I’m Tessa.”

  The woman tugged the hoodie from her head, and her young face with blue on blue eyes, crumpled into an anguished look of panic. “Run.”

  “Don’t tease her,” the man said, as he pulled his hoodie away from his face, also revealing his blue on blue eyes.