People's Champion (3 page)

I kept my distance from the path the wildlife
followed while walking in the same general direction towards the
southeast corner of our property. Originally, when we arrived, the
orphanage had been connected to the public grid. In an effort to
remain hidden from everyone, the priests created an off-grid
electrical system relying on a combination of sunlight, water, and
backup generators for those rough days in winter when neither light
nor water was enough. We pumped our own water and brought in a
private waste management company to tend the septic system as
needed. We bought our food from a local farmer and maintained a
two-year supply of food and fresh water for emergencies. We were
completely self-sufficient.

A mama bear and two cubs loped down the path
towards the south, their fur singed by fire. I relaxed after they’d
passed me. Birds seemed content to remain in their trees and sing,
but the chatter of chipmunks and other small animals was
missing.

I spotted the southeastern corner of the
property long before I reached it. The wall of light remained on
the eastern boundary. As I watched, five deer darted through the
curtain of light and raced towards the south. Aware I wouldn’t see
the animals until they ran me over, I quickened my jog to a run and
did my best to stay alert for the sounds of anything approaching
the other side of the wall of light.

I stopped at the tree marked by one of the
red ropes. It stood over the entrance to the underground facility,
and I bent to grab the metal doors and fling them open.

Except … the doors were already open to
reveal the dark space beneath them. It was unlikely that animals
had done this. In the seven years I’d been in the forest, no animal
had yet to disturb the entrance or the generator room. The hum and
sounds the underground facility usually made was enough to drive
off most wildlife.

Frowning, I paused and then drew one of my
knives. Had one of the priests made it down there despite my
instructions to remain inside?

“Thiebald?” I called out to the priest most
likely to rebel as I started down the stairs. “Are you here?”

No answer. The generator room was utterly
quiet, an indication none of the systems were working at all. The
manor house probably didn’t have water either, if the pump wasn’t
thumping.

My feet settled on the concrete flooring, and
I stretched for the flashlight kept on the wall beside the light
switch for emergency situations like this one. Light in one hand
and knife in the other, I started forward into the cool cellar. My
senses picked up on nothing out of the ordinary, and I shifted to
the main control station. Several lights glowed on the panel’s
face.

The priests had taped picture instructions on
the wall above the panel when they realized how poor my reading
skills were. I lifted the flashlight to the wall and quickly
reviewed the illustrations for resetting the power. Logging into
the computer, I clicked the buttons to start a reset of the system
then left to manually adjust the individual generators and water
pump. Working down the line of bulky equipment, I was soon immersed
in quick inspections of the equipment before deliberately
initiating the reset sequence for each one.

I took a side step towards
the final generator – and froze. My foot didn’t land on the solid
ground but on something that felt distinctly like I was stepping on
a
person.

Snatching my knife, I yanked my leg back and
shone the flashlight down on the ground.

The crumpled form of a man was on the cement,
partially tucked behind the final generator, as if he sought to
hide. With clothing that was burnt in several places, he lay with
his back to me. I’d stepped on his arm.

“Hey,” I said in a low voice. “Get up!” I
nudged him with my foot.

He didn’t move.

Wary, I knelt and leaned forward far enough
to snatch his other arm and pull him onto his back. Recoiling, I
gazed from his open, empty eyes, to the severe burns down the side
of his face, deep enough to expose the milky white of his skeleton
beneath. Only when I was this close could I pick up the scent of
charred flesh and hair, otherwise hidden by the smells of oil and
machinery around me.

I released my breath and tucked my knife
away. Until this moment, I hadn’t considered the idea that the
gods’ wrath might drive more than animals into our domain. I stood
and searched the rest of the generator room before returning to the
dead man. Hefting him onto my shoulder, I exited the cellar and
took him above ground, walking twenty meters before setting him
down. I pulled my radio out.

“Father Cristopolos,” I said and glanced
around, looking for more refugees of the human category.

“Yes?” he answered.

“You’re keeping everyone inside, aren’t
you?”

“Of course. How are things looking?”

“Did you check on Alessandra to make sure
she’s in her room?” I asked, suspecting if anyone decided to break
out, it was her.

“The doors are locked from the inside. No one
has left.”

“Do me the favor of sending Renny or someone
up to her room,” I said.

“Very well. What’s this about, Herakles?”

My eyes settled on the dead man. “There might
be people in our forest as well as wildlife trying to escape the
fires.”

Father Cristopolos murmured a curse. I heard
him order someone to check on Lyssa before he spoke to me again.
“How many people have you seen?” he asked.

“Just one. He’s dead,” I said.

“Good. You did what you had to.”

“He was dead when I found him,” I clarified,
not expecting the peace-loving priest who doted over the girls as
if they were his own to react so nonchalantly to the death of
anyone.

“If we have any favor with the gods
remaining, they will prevent more people from trespassing. Our
secrets must remain secret.”

I frowned. “And if I run across more people?”
I asked. “What do you want me to do?”

“I trust your judgment. You above all know
how important it is that we protect Alessandra.”

Surprised he assumed I’d murdered someone, I
didn’t know how to respond to this vague statement. It almost
sounded as if he expected me to kill anyone whose path I crossed!
He knew of my background. Perhaps he assumed I was still that man.
I didn’t doubt my ability to kill, if Alessandra were in danger,
but the idea Father Cristopolos assumed I’d do it no matter what
the circumstances left me feeling … uncomfortable.

“All right,” I said finally. “I’ve got to get
back to the generators. Should be up in twenty minutes.”

“Lyssa’s in her room,” he reported.

Thank the gods.
“You might want to have someone stay with her. If
she gets curious, she’ll find a way out.”

“Will do.”

Tucking the radio in my cargo pocket, I
returned to the underground room.

I searched it again, not wanting any more
unpleasant surprises, before I finished bringing all the generators
and pump online.

Half an hour later, I left the generator
room. We had no need for locks; no one had crossed into our
isolated territory uninvited in all the time I’d been here. I
covered the metal doors with leaves and brush to prevent anyone
else from breaking in then returned to the body.

I stood over the corpse, uncertain how to
handle it. I didn’t have time to dig a proper grave, and burying
him too shallow would only invite the predators crossing through
our forest to remain. And eventually, the girls would probably find
the body, if the predators didn’t drag it out of the ground
first.

My gaze flickered to the wall of light then
to the fireballs overhead. I picked up the man and walked to the
wall. When I was this close, I could see shapes through it. Heart
pounding, I stepped closer and closer, until my toes hit the
brilliant wall. Leaning forward enough for my face to pass through
it, I gasped at what I saw on the other side.

How anyone or anything survived this, I
couldn’t imagine. The world outside of our boundaries was fiery,
barren, with all the trees for miles on fire or completely
disintegrated. As I watched, another fireball landed several meters
from the boundary in an explosion of dirt and fire. I stepped back
instinctively, horrified by what was happening to the world.

Did the priests understand why this was
happening? Did it have anything to do with Alessandra? The fact we
were protected by the mass destruction by at least one god left me
feeling embarrassed to have questioned the motives, and power, of
our benefactors on multiple occasions.

I was not a man of deep thought. I couldn’t
explain what I saw or why it happened, but I saw an opportunity to
rid the forest of the corpse slung over my shoulder.

With a deep breath, I stepped through the
protective curtain of light and into the scorching, barren zone
outside the boundaries. Smaller fireballs rained down around me. I
darted to the nearest fire and carefully threw the body into its
center. Not about to be struck down, I raced back to the protection
of the forest beyond the wall of light, visible from both sides of
the boundary.

When I was safe again, I wiped the blood of
the dead man on my pants and retrieved my backpack. Tired yet
wired, I began to wonder how many more people would find seek
refuge on our land. Rather than return to the orphanage, I struck
off once more to check the perimeter.

Not long after depositing the corpse outside
the boundaries, I ran across two more people hunkered just inside
the wall of light, at the base of a tree. The young couple in their
late teens both displayed the burnt clothing, skin and hair I
expected. Dark circles shadowed wide eyes, and they were staring at
the light barrier they’d just crossed through.

I lingered in the brush, studying them. They
were a few years older than Alessandra with similar eyes and noses,
indicating they could be brother and sister. Scared refugees posed
no threat to my Lyssa, even if I didn’t like the idea of strangers
passing through our forest. These kids were harmless.

“Thanatos has claimed us, Natalie,” the teen
boy said.

I chuckled. “Unfortunately, that is not the
case,” I said and stepped out from the brush. “Can you both
walk?”

They leapt to their feet at the sound of my
voice. The boy clutched one arm to his chest while the back of the
girl’s body appeared as if a fireball had scraped her from head to
foot.

“There’s a campground directly south,” I said
and pointed. “You’ll be safe there.”

After a surprised pause, the girl spoke.
“Which way is south?”

I twisted to visually locate the trail
created by fleeing wildlife. “Follow that path. Beware of bears and
wild cats. They’re all headed in the same direction.”

The two were studying me uncertainly, as if
not yet convinced they were still alive. After a moment, I took
pity on them and tugged protein bars and a canteen of water from my
rucksack. I tossed them to the girl, whose limbs all appeared to be
in working order.

“You need to go now,” I said. “There’s
nothing for you here. Understand?”

The two exchanged a look and then nodded. I
stepped out of their way, and they began walking, dazed and
fatigued.

“Stay on the path,” I called after them.

The boy glanced over his shoulder at me.

I remained where I was, confirming they found
the path south, before I began walking again. Debating whether or
not to tell Father Cristopolos about the trespassers, I decided not
to after our strange exchange earlier. I wasn’t an indiscriminate
killer. Well, not any more. When I was under Cleon’s control, I had
been brainwashed to follow his commands alone. Most of those
memories were dream-like blurs that didn’t seem real, even though I
knew they had to be.

Shaking off my past, I continued my
inspection of the perimeter.

I walked for an hour before running into
anyone else.

Three men and two women, as dazed as the
siblings, surrounded a sixth person lying unconscious on the
ground. His burnt body appeared beyond salvaging to my untrained
eyes, and the other members of his party were in rough shape with
burns and bruising.

I glanced around. They were splitting the
distance between the eastern and western paths created by animals
moving south. I didn’t trust anyone to wander these woods alone,
not with the secret orphanage at the center.

A soft gasp from behind me startled me, and I
whirled.

Alessandra stood in the forest, wearing her
backpack and an expression of concern.

“Lyssa!” I hissed, cursing the priests under
my breath for not being able to keep up with the wild girl before
me.

“What happened to them?” she asked and
pointed.

“Go home. Now!” I replied.

“Hello?” one of the wounded women called. She
wandered through the brush separating us from them. “Is someone
else there?”

I released a sigh. “Don’t move,” I told
Alessandra. I strode forward to intercept the trespasser.

“There’s a safe zone to the south,” I said,
emerging from the forest. “I can show you the path to take.”

She looked up at me, dazed. Two of the others
turned to face me.

None of them spoke. They had the lifeless
gazes of living mannequins.

“Follow me, okay?” I prodded, pitying them,
and started towards the western trail, away from where I’d left
Alessandra.

“Can’t leave him,” one of the women whispered
and motioned to the unconscious man. Two others bent to heft the
downed man and made it four steps when I realized how long it would
take us to walk a kilometer, if they moved this slowly. Anxious to
continue checking the rest of the perimeter, and guiding survivors
away from Alessandra, I moved forward and picked up the man
effortlessly then began walking.