by Eric Vall
Natalie’s tarp tent was covered from head to toe with the same sort of stickers you’d find on a Guitar Hero guitar. They were very rock and roll-esque, with a hand-drawn aesthetic that showed off strange looking figures and logos. There were people with mohawks giving the devil horns while they strummed a guitar, the outlines of squiggly skeletons whose eyes were small “x”s, and even the granddaddy of them all… A Rolling Stones logo.
A torn-up fabric patio chair sat next to the tent, and beside that was a tiny writing desk whose legs had seen better days.
This must have been where she came to sit when she didn’t want to socialize with the rest of the Scavengers. Probably on nights like tonight, where they were throwing their big shindigs.
I stopped just outside the tent.
What was the protocol here? I didn’t want to just barge in… Did I knock? Could I even knock?
“Hey, Natalie?” I finally announced. “It’s me, Hunter… Are you all good?”
I waited a minute, but there was nothing but the sound of the waves hitting the shore.
“Natalie?” I asked once more.
I knew she was in there. I saw her go in.
Was everything alright? Surely she wasn’t asleep already. Maybe if I just peeked my head in…
I slowly parted the flap of the tent and stuck my head inside.
Suddenly, I felt a hand grab me by the hair, yank me in, and then the cold metal of a blade against my throat.
I was now staring straight into Natalie’s blue eyes, and she looked deranged.
“Who the fuck are you?” she demanded.
“W-What do you mean?” I sputtered. “I’m Hunter. You know, from the Fallen Lands? The dude who comes from the Tun--”
Natalie pushed the blade of the knife tighter against my skin, and my heart hammered in my chest.
“Don’t feed me your lies, asshole,” she growled. “Those drunken fools out there might be falling for that, but I’m not. I’ve been suspicious of you since we met, but since you saved my life, I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt. But after that bullshit story you just spun for them out there, I know you’re up to something.”
Well, crap. I wondered how long I could keep this charade up, and it looked like the answer was “not for much longer.”
Hunter? Karla gasped. I’m seeing a massive increase in your heart rate. Is everything okay?
“It’s fine,” I promised. “Natalie, can you please put the knife down?”
She’s got a knife to your throat? the woman on the other side demanded. Don’t do anything stupid.
I wasn’t planning on it.
“Why should I trust you?” Natalie demanded. “Apparently, you’ve done nothing but lie since you got here.”
“What have I lied about?” I tried to save face, even though I knew it probably wouldn’t work. “My name really is Hunter, and I am really from Minnesota.”
Natalie’s eyes narrowed as she tried to catch me in the nonexistent lie.
“And what about all that stuff you told them out there?” she continued. “About Doomsday and your parents?”
“Okay, that was a lie,” I admitted. “But if you could just put the knife down, I’ll tell you everything.”
“Who sent you?” she demanded. “Are you a spy from one of our rivals?”
Man… I was really getting tired of having beautiful women point weapons at me and call me a spy. This was the second time in a little over a day.
“I’m not a spy,” I clarified. “In fact, I’m here to save the human race. Now, could you please put the knife down?”
Natalie tilted her head and bit her lip as she pondered whether or not to let me go. Finally, she let out a huff and lowered the blade.
“Go on.” She nodded. “But don’t even try to bullshit me. I’m the equivalent of a human lie detector.”
“You know those things are about as effective as a wooden shelter in a tornado, right?” I tried to joke, but Natalie simply tightened her grip on the knife in her hand. “Uh… Right. Probably not the best time for humor.”
“Spill it,” the blonde woman growled as she sat down on the cot in her tent.
Then Natalie reached underneath the tiny bed and came back up with a small pistol. She cocked it at me and motioned for me to sit down on the ground.
Are you alright? Karla’s voice cut through the silence. Your heart rate is still crazy through the roof.
“It’s alright,” I promised, “I’ve just got some explaining to do.”
Chapter 7
“My name really is Hunter,” I explained as I stared down the barrel of Natalie’s pistol. “And I do come from Minnesota or ‘The Tundra’ as you guys like to call it… Just not the Minnesota from your dimension.”
“My dimension?” Natalie scoffed. “What other dimension is there?”
“Trust me,” I chuckled, “I was literally in the same boat as you were not too long ago. I was just a humble Pest Control Technician who accidentally stumbled across a secret lab and got caught up in interdimensional travel.”
“I want to call bullshit,” the blonde woman said with a confused look, “but I don’t hear any irregularities in your voice or nervous ticks.”
“That’s because I’m not lying,” I assured her. “As bug-nuts crazy as it sounds, this is all real. I’m from Dimension One, and we are currently sitting in Dimension Nine-Fifty-One. Aka ‘The Nuclear Pandemic.’”
“And you’re here to ‘save us all?’” Natalie made a mocking motion as she spoke. “Well, hate to break it to you, Mr. Dimension Hopper… you’re too late.”
“No, I’m not.” I shook my head. “This world might be ravaged by a nuclear apocalypse and filled with Rubberfaces, but it’s far from gone. In fact, the reason I’m here is to kill off all those bastards who attacked us today.”
“Ha!” the blonde woman scoffed. “Now, I know you’re full of shit. Do you know how many Rubberfaces are in this area? Ninety percent of the old city’s population. Now, I don’t know if the population of your ‘Chicago’ is the same as here, but that’s a whole lot of Rubberfaces.”
“I know.” I hung my head and let out a deep sigh. “That’s why I need your help.”
I spent the next twenty minutes pouring my heart out to Natalie. I told her all about my previous life, how I accidentally stumbled across Dr. Nash’s machine, and the proposition Karla had made me. I told her about my special abilities, and how I was the only one who could jump across the dimensions and save the human race in each different apocalyptic scenario. I even told her about Karla, the little voice in my head.
“Has she been listening to everything we’ve been saying?” Natalie questioned.
“No.” I shook my head. “She can only hear me, and only when I want her to. Watch this… Karla? I’m telling Natalie everything right now. Don’t be mad.”
Are you sure that’s the best course of action? Karla’s voice retorted. That’s a lot of information to drop on somebody at once.
“Natalie’s seen some stuff,” I reassured her. “And she’s got a good head on her shoulders. I think she’s ready.”
If you say so, Karla dismissed. It’s your funeral if you mess things up, not mine.
“How do I know you’re not just talking to yourself?” Natalie demanded. “You could just be trying to kiss up to me so I don’t slit your throat right here and now.”
“You’re the human lie detector, remember?” I reminded her. “Does it sound like I’m lying?”
“No,” she admitted and narrowed her eyes, “but you could just be really good at it.”
“Come on, Natalie,” I chuckled. “A minute ago, out there, you could read me like a book. And now I’m suddenly a master of deception?”
The blonde woman bit her lip as she thought over my words, and then she shrugged and laid her pistol down on the cot beside her.
“It’s still here,” she warned, “don’t try to run.”
“I know better than that,” I mused. “
You’d probably shoot me in the back of the head before I could even get to the closest tent.”
“Flattery isn’t getting you anywhere,” Natalie reminded me. “So, you’re here to save us all by killing every Rubberface in the Fallen Lands? How does that do us any good? Those things aren’t just here in the Smoulder. They’re supposedly everywhere around the world.”
“If I’m being completely honest with you,” I admitted, “I’m not sure. I’m just doing what Dr. Nash’s algorithm predicted.”
“Wait… ” Natalie scowled. “You’ve come here to my dimension so you could risk life and limb to maybe save humanity, based on a prediction by a machine?”
“The most advanced machine in my dimension,” I corrected.
“Why?”
“Well… because I wanted to do some good with my life.” I shrugged.
Natalie crossed her arms across her chest and shot me a look of skepticism.
“Really?” she chuckled. “Lie detector, remember?”
“I had to try.” I smiled weakly. “Fine. I’m in it because Dr. Nash and his daughter are paying me handsomely.”
“So, it’s all for money?” Natalie questioned as she arched an eyebrow. “You’re jumping through dimensions, risking life and limb, facing off against lord knows what… All for money?”
“To be fair, you don’t know what a Pest Control Technician makes in a year.” I shrugged. “This one little excursion to your dimension is enough to pay off all my debt and set me up for a long time.”
“So, you’re only doing one mission?”
Well, now might as well have been as good a time as any to break the news.
“Most likely.” I nodded. “Especially when I bring back this dimension’s Wayfarer, and they can take over for me. One mission, one payday, and then my successor takes over. It’s a pretty good plan, actually.”
Natalie now looked completely unamused.
“I hate to break it to you, Hunter,” she scoffed as she leaned forward, “but the odds are your Wayfarer here is dead.”
“No, she’s not.” I grinned. “Because I’m looking right at her.”
It took a moment for the revelation to sink in. Then Natalie’s eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open in shock. The blonde woman sat back up on her cot, wrapped her arms around herself, and began to shake her head back and forth.
“That’s impossible,” she argued. “I’m… I’m just a Scavenger.”
“That’s what I said at first, too,” I admitted, “but Dr. Nash assured me it’s genetic, and not something decided by your job or your self-worth.”
“But how do you know it’s me, exactly?” Natalie asked. “Did this computer guy tell you my name when he sent you here?”
“Nope,” I continued. “I was just lucky enough to come across you on this mission. Dr. Nash would probably argue that it was fate or something like that.”
“Fate?” Natalie rolled her eyes. “Pleaaaase.”
“It’s apparently actually a real thing,” I elaborated. “Something called the ‘two-way arrow’ or something like that. Anyways, that’s beyond the point. You’re the Wayfarer of Dimension Nine-Fifty-One, Natalie. You can help me save your world, and then come back and save dozens more.”
Natalie finally uncrossed her arms and leaned back on the cot. It was obvious she was still trying to process this whole situation, and that she didn’t completely believe me.
Still… she hadn’t blown my brains out yet, so I’d say she was at least considering it.
“That’s a lot to think about,” she finally admitted. “You must understand, Hunter… this is the only life I’ve ever known. I’ve been a Scavenger since I was six years old. I’m not sure if I could just up and leave all my friends like that.”
“I’m not asking you to make the decision right now,” I explained, “just help me save your world. Help me finish my mission, and then we can talk about the rest later.”
“Your boss really gave you a shit mission to start off with,” Natalie suddenly burst out laughing. “I mean, come on… he sent a regular man into a world full of mutated humans and asked you to kill them all? Did he want you to die?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I sighed. “I know he kinda threw me right to the wolves. His thought process was that, if I could somehow pull this off, I could survive anything.”
“Not a bad thought,” the blonde woman admitted, “but I’ll make sure I do everything in my power to get you back home in one piece.”
My heart finally stopped thumping in my chest. That was exactly what I wanted to hear.
“So, you believe me?” I asked with a twinge of excitement. “And you’ll help?”
“I’m still not sure I fully believe you,” Natalie teased as she shook her head, “but I will help you out. Even if you’re somehow lying to me, it would be in the best interest for my people if the Rubberfaces were gone. But how would we even pull that off?”
I didn’t want to sound like a dick, but I’d really been hoping she would have some ideas.
“That’s what we’ve got to figure out.” I nodded. “Together. Do your people have any sort of secret emergency weapons? Like a salvaged nuke or even some firebombs or anything like that?”
“Hunter.” Natalie looked at me like I was a fool. “If the Scavengers had those sorts of weapons, don’t you think we would have used them by now?”
“Fair point,” I sighed. “So, what do you have, then?”
Natalie rubbed at her chin and stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought.
“We have two dune buggies, our boat, and lots of guns,” she offered. “And the helicopter, but that is only for emergency situations.”
“How many guns?” I pressed her. “Would there be enough for us to storm the city and try to take it back?”
“Impossible.” The blonde shook her head. “Perhaps that could have been done way back at the beginning of all this, when the Rubberfaces were still mindless creatures. But now that they know how to use weapons and strategize? They’d pick us off like flies. That’s not even taking into consideration the fact they outnumber us by the thousands. Trying to face them head-on is suicide.”
“Then we don’t take them head on… ” I pondered as the sudden realization hit me. “We lure them into a trap, just like a roach or a mouse. Then, once they’re there, we take them out in one fell swoop.”
“Not a bad idea,” Natalie noted, “but how in the fuck could we possibly lure every Rubberface into a single area? And even if we could pull that off, how do we kill so many at one time?”
“By ringing the dinner bell.” I grinned. “They’re attracted to radiation and flames, right?”
“Right… ” the woman agreed.
“So, tell me, is the old nuclear power plant still operational?” I asked. “The one we passed while we were heading back from the Fallen Lands?”
Natalie tilted her head as she tried to remember what I was talking about. Then her eyes lit up with recognition.
“That thing?” she mused. “It’s definitely not still operational. But I’m pretty sure it was one of the many nuclear plants that were voluntarily shut down.”
Voluntarily shut down?
“Is that a thing you can do here?” I gasped. “Because back in my dimension, once a nuclear plant is up and running, it’s difficult and time consuming to turn it back off.”
“That sounds annoying.” Natalie whistled. “Here in this dimension, at least, back before Doomsday, scientists were always shutting off those things and turning them back on like flicking a light switch.”
“Is that possible, Karla?” I asked the voice in my head. “Do the laws of this dimension work differently than ours?”
We’re talking about interdimensional theory here, Hunter, she chuckled. For all we know, there could be a dimension out there with sentient elephants who shoot lasers out of their trunks and keep humans as their slaves. My father and I said Dimension Nine-Fifty-One was similar to ours, not that it was a direct one-to-o
ne copy.
“That seems like an oddly specific example,” I snorted, “but I’ll take it as a ‘yes.’”
“The plant you saw on the way here,” Natalie continued, “it was one of many shut off after Doomsday. Once people figured out the Rubberfaces were attracted to radiation, they made sure they didn’t give them any free meals. My father said they shut them all down in the hopes of keeping the Rubberfaces away.”
Suddenly, a wave of inspiration shot over me, and I hopped to my feet.
“So, what you’re saying is there’s a giant source of nuclear energy, not far from here, that’s just waiting to be reactivated?” I asked.
“I suppose.” Natalie shrugged. “But what good would activating it do? A power source that large would bring every Rubberface from the Fallen Lands here to--”
“Exactly.” I grinned. “And once we’re all there, we can cause a man-made nuclear meltdown. Those guys may feed on radiation, but they sure as hell aren’t immune to intense heat or falling rubble or shock waves. I know that for a fact.”
“That’s… That’s insane,” the blonde woman chuckled in disbelief. “That much radioactive fallout would contaminate and endanger everything within a fifty-mile radius, including our encampment.”
“But it would kill the Rubberfaces,” I reminded her. “And Dr. Nash says if they’re gone, humanity survives. Besides, you said it yourselves… the Scavengers are ready to pack up and leave at a moment’s notice. We can give them way more notice than that, and you all can be out of here before any of the craziness goes down.”
Natalie stared off into the distance as she zoned out.
“I don’t know about that, Hunter,” she muttered after a long moment. “We’ve been here for almost fifteen years. I doubt anyone’s going to want to leave if we can avoid it.”
“Come on, Natalie,” I pleaded as I got down onto one knee and took her hands in my own. “You need to understand this is for the greater good.”
She gasped at my touch, and then her face turned beet red as I looked into her eyes. Natalie’s hands were as soft as a silk feather, and I wanted to do nothing more than to just hold onto them for eternity.
“T-The greater good?” the blonde suddenly grumbled as she pulled her hand away. “You’re only in this because you’re getting paid. You are asking me and my brethren to completely uproot our way of life just so you can make a quick buck and then be on your way?”