Children of a New Earth (30 page)

“Right here,” Luke replied. He had his dagger drawn and followed Lorn forward. Spider came up with her bow in hand. Daniel had his sling out, waiting.

They were back in a minute. They beckoned everyone closer. “They’re gone,” Lorn said, “and they gutted the station.

“We don’t know when this happened. Whoever did this may still be close. Luke and I will check the perimeter to the north. Spider, you take Patrick and check the south; everyone else stay close to the building.”

“We can protect ourselves,” Mark growled.

“And you can foul up any signs or tracks,” Spider growled back before leaving. He glared at her but was silent.

Amy and Lexa went to the building and peered inside. By the dim light of Lexa’s flashlight, she could make out rows of empty shelves. Amy had never actual seen the inside of one of these buildings before, but she was sure this wasn’t how it was supposed to look. Where was all the equipment?

The scouts were back quickly. “The generator is about ten meters that way,” Luke told them. “Looks to be totally stripped. Amy, you and Lexa can confirm that, in the morning. For tonight, we camp close and no fire. Guard detail as well. Whoever did this hasn’t been gone long, I don’t think.”

“They went south less than two hours ago,” Spider informed him.

“How can you be sure?” Mark challenged.

“Because there were tire tracks and crushed plants,” Patrick told him. “The plants hadn’t wilted much so it had to be recent.” 

Spider nodded.

“How are we going to fuel up?” Daniel asked.

“Well, we do have solar panels as a backup,” Lexa said. “The problem is they take eight to ten hours.”

“No problem,” Shawn said. “They’ll be done by morning, right?”

Several voices groaned. “Solar,” Lorn explained, “as in the sun.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t like spending the day here with potentially hostile forces so close,” Luke said grimly.

“Especially not with our guns miles away,” Patrick added.

“How do we know they are hostile?” Kurt asked. “I thought all the bandits and stuff were wiped out long ago?”

“So I would have thought,” Lorn said. “We haven’t seen anything like this in years. But looters were once common, and apparently some remain. As to their hostility, I can say only this; you found us reasonable people to deal with, right? These people choose not to deal. What does that say about them?”

“Exactly,” Luke said. “They could have bartered or asked for what they needed. They didn’t. That either means they couldn’t or that they just don’t care. Either way, we can’t expect a pleasant welcome. Now, Lorn tells me this region is rough. No matter what sort of vehicles they use, they won’t be fast. We stay here tonight. Since we are stuck here tomorrow, this is what I propose: I’ll leave Daniel in charge. Lorn, Patrick, and I will leave at first light to go scouting. We will follow the tracks until noon. If we haven’t found them by then, we’ll come back.”

“I’ll go too,” Amy said.

“Not a chance, doll face,” Patrick sneered.

“I have to agree this time,” Luke replied. “This is no mission for non-combatants.”

“Her technical expertise may be necessary if we are to assess their strength properly,” Lorn said. “She should go.”

Luke met his eyes briefly. Lorn did not look away or flinch. Luke nodded. “Be ready by first light.”

A fly buzzed at Amy’s face, and she swatted at it for the hundredth time. She tried to ignore it and the sweat that drew them. She struggled in vain to remember why she had wanted to come. Scouting was not what it was made out to be. She wiggled a few more inches forward through the heavy scrub.

“It’s them all right,” Lorn was saying just a few feet ahead. Amy could not see him; all she could see was Patrick’s leg shifting as he reached for Lorn’s binoculars. She struggled up between Patrick and Luke.

“Shit,” Patrick hissed. “They’re armed, and heavily. We really need those guns now.”

Luke ignored this latest jab as he peered through his own binoculars. “It’s a show,” he said.

“How so?” Lorn asked.

“The lead man is carrying a sawed off shotgun. Point guards have crossbows. The grunts have M-16s. Very suspicious.

“If they had any ammo for those M-16s, the leader would have one, mark my words. I bet the shotguns are all they have shells for. He’s got three shells on his bandoleer, and that’s a pump action, so it holds five. That means they have a total of eight rounds.”

“So that’s why Jacob chose you?” Patrick said, astonished. Luke looked uncomfortable at the compliment but said nothing.

“Good work,” Lorn said. “Crossbows can be nasty weapons, but they won’t do any damage to one of our trucks and aren’t much of a threat as long we are inside. They are also slow to reload. What about the shotgun, will it stop a truck?” This last was aimed at Amy.

“Close up with a lucky shot maybe,” she replied. “But no, it’s not much of a threat to the truck. The people inside might be in danger though. What do you have in mind?”

“Nothing more gallant than running for it,” Lorn said. “Patrick, pass her the binoculars. I want her opinion about their vehicles.”

Luke beat Patrick to it. Amy was amazed at him. She would have never noticed the bandoleer or deciphered the significance of the shotgun. She set to looking at the vehicles.

“Ford Ranger and a Jeep,” she said. “Combustion engines, either gas or diesel, I’m not sure which. Old and showing it, but I can’t tell how they run from here, other than those tires won’t take much more abuse.”

“What about the stuff they’ve taken?” Luke asked.

“They have several batteries thrown in the back of the pickup. No real order to things, so they probably don’t have a clue what they’ve got. Lexa and I looked at that wind generator and thought the same thing.”

“They did a thorough job of destroying it, trying to strip the wires out. If they actually used the technology, it would have made a lot more sense to take the whole thing.”

They crawled back out of the scrub and sat down. “Not a bad bit of recon,” Luke said.

“I agree,” said a voice a few feet off.

Both Patrick and Luke leaped to their feet, hands on their knives.

A man squatted nearby, calmly watching them. He was short with long, dark hair. He wore leather buckskin pants and no shirt. His chest was tanned and muscular. A bow was slung casually over one shoulder, and there was a knife at his belt.

“Owl,” Lorn chirped, ignoring the drawn knives. “I haven’t seen you in years.”

“I have not been in these parts for many years,” the man replied. “Nor do I think have you. Let’s retire somewhere a little farther out of earshot and talk.”

They backtracked for close to a mile before sitting down to talk. Lorn introduced Owl to the others. “This is Owl of the Forestdwellers. They live well south of here. They are the best hunters and woodsmen anywhere. Owl, this is Luke, Amy, and Patrick. They’re from the mountains. We’re traveling together on an important errand.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Owl said.

“What is a Forestdweller like yourself doing out in the day anyway?” Lorn asked.

“Ah, it is true that since mankind angered mother earth we have been leery of father sun as well. He strikes at us fiercely and we hide ourselves. But today the mother cries in outrage. I have followed seeking its cause.”

“Cut the dramatics and speak English,” Lorn said.

“Okay,” Owl replied sheepishly. “But don’t let the other Forestdwellers know.” He adjusted himself in the high grass. “We usually work mostly at night, because of the ozone depletion, you know. But I have been curious about this group. I’ve followed them for several days. They’re up to no good.”

“So we have already discovered,” Luke said. He explained about the fueling station.

“Not good,” Owl agreed. “They’ve been doing stuff like that since they came out of the south. Most of the stuff they take they can’t even use, and they abandon it later. It’s disgusting.”

“Do you know where they’re from?” Lorn asked. “I thought all such people were gone from the earth.”

“Only vaguely,” Owl replied. “I’ve been following them for some time. They came out of the Deep South where, yes, such people still exist. It’s warmer, and there’s a better growing season. There’re also more cities, some still mostly inhabitable. We Forestdwellers live down there too, but we avoid them.”

“The Forestdwellers are nomadic,” Lorn supplied. “They go south in the winter and north in the summer. Have you had trouble with scavengers?” he asked Owl.

“Us? Hell no,” Owl replied. “We have forsaken that which angered the mother. No technology, nothing to interest them.”

“So you’ve never had any problems with them?” Luke asked.

“Those people are trouble no matter what,” Owl continued. “They don’t play nice. They fight amongst themselves all the time. Once in a while, one of us will get caught. They always assume we are spies working for one of their enemies.”

“You’re lucky you haven’t been killed,” Patrick said.

“Some have,” Owl said. “Like I said, they don’t play nice. When I saw these people up this far north, I got worried.”

“Do you know what they’re up to?” Luke asked.

“Unfortunately. I got close enough to hear them talking about a week ago. The knowledge comes a bit late, I’m afraid. They are seeking the Stewards. They believe they have a great wealth hidden away.”

“The Stewards?” Lorn said. “That’s nonsense. The Stewards are a monastic order.”

“I agree, they would not gather riches any more than my people would technology. But that’s what these people believe. They were just wandering when I started following them. Then they discovered an old town that was on their map. Since they’ve seemed to have gotten their bearings, they’ve headed straight toward the Stewards. I have been trying to get around them to go warn the Stewards. On foot I can barely keep up with them; there’s no way for me to get ahead.” 

“Perhaps we can help,” Lorn said. “We are heading to the Stewards ourselves. We have vehicles and knowledge of the terrain.”

“That would be most appreciated. I hate to think of what such people would do to the Stewards if they got to them unawares.”

The small team, with its new arrival, made its way back to the camp. They arrived back just before noon, and they quickly explained the situation.

“Shit,” Lexa said. “These solar panels aren’t going to be fast enough. We will not have a full charge until almost nightfall. If we start out first thing in the morning, we won’t make it to the next station until late afternoon. They could easily make it before us and destroy that one too.”

Everyone groaned. “Now what?” Luke said, throwing his hands up.

Owl answered. “I could go to the Roan tribe; they maintain these, don’t they? They have horses, which are faster on this terrain anyway. If I left my pack, I could easily make it there before evening and be back by nightfall.”

Several people nodded their approval of this plan, but Spider spoke up against it. “No. we are carrying toxic waste. We can’t just leave it.”

“Could the Roans bring us extra batteries?” Amy asked.

“That’s it!” Lexa squealed running for her truck. She came back carrying her map and unrolled it on the ground before them. “Owl, you go to the Roans. Find a man named Jodie. Tell him Lexa needs his ‘special’ charge converter. He’ll know what I want. He’s to take it to station eight, which is about here.” She pointed on the map.

“What do you have in mind?” Spider asked.

“With the charge we have, we can make it that far easily. We will meet up with Jodie there. He’s got a quick charger. It’ll completely charge our batteries in about an hour or so. We don’t usually allow them because they drain the stations something awful, but under these conditions it’s called for.”

“I think I see,” Spider said catching on. “It takes us out of our way, but this stretch here is pretty level, if I remember right.”

“Exactly,” Lexa answered brightly. “We quick-charge and travel through the night to the next station, here. Then on to here and do it again. By then we should be past the bad guys and booking.”

“Just one small problem,” Lorn said. “There’s no route marked between this station and station eight.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I know a few things that aren’t on the map,” Lexa said.

Lorn looked suspicious, but Luke said, “Well, if no one has a better plan, I say let’s go for it.”

Owl passed his bow and arrows and his small pack to Lorn. In a flash, he was gone, running full speed.

“Do you think he can really run that far?” Spider asked.

Lorn nodded. “If a Forestdweller says they can do something, believe them. They’re an amazing people.”

“You sound wistful,” Spider said. “Wishing you were a Forestdweller?”

“Me?” Lorn said. “I’d love to be that rugged and strong. Who wouldn’t? But I know the kind of harsh lifestyle it takes to build that kind of endurance. No, I’ll stay a Greenbowe and settle for a little softness.” 

They set out after lunch. Everyone was nervous. The gauges read barely half power, but Lexa assured them it was enough.

Tonight’s run might be as level as she says,
Amy groused to herself as she drove on,
but today’s run more than makes up for it.
 

Lorn, sitting at her side, apparently agreed. “Another creek bed! I think we have crossed every creek and hill for miles about and are going over some twice,” he growled. “I am sure this is not part of some accepted route, and I don’t want to know how she discovered it.”

They reached station eight by dusk. They found a dozen horses waiting for them. Owl ran forward as they pulled up. “I have brought the cavalry,” he cried.

A lanky man with dark hair and a thin but muscular body came forward. Lexa rushed to him and they hugged. “Jodie!” Lexa cried.

“Brought you some gifts,” he told her, leading her over to the fire pit and introducing the dozen or so Roan tribe members who were there. They had arrived a half an hour before and had a fire started, busy preparing a meal.

Over the meal of meat, vegetables and bread, they presented two gifts. The first was Jodie’s quick-chargers. He told Lexa to keep them as long as she wanted. “That way I know you’ll come visit sometime,” he said, laughing.