They reached the end of the salt-pan and passed into shadow as the sun dipped behind the mountains – in the distance a gold haze enveloped Red-Rock. Some raiders thrived at night as much as the other creatures of the wasteland so it was now too dangerous to turn back. July and Thomas, and Charlie and Biscuit, would spend the night at the Sun Children’s cache.
Even before the war the location for the cache was some form of ancient ruin, stone structures carved within a rocky alcove. A wooden frame was mounted at the entrance where a sheet of canvas acted as a door. With their packs slung over their shoulders they silently stepped inside. Charlie shined a torch through the twilight outside and stopped suddenly.
“Someone’s been here recently,” she pointed out, sweeping the beam of her torch over traces of footsteps ahead of them. “It’s hard to tell, but it looks like there’s only one set going in.”
“Which means whoever it is is still inside,” said July.
Without a word, they each drew their pistols. Tom leaned in front of Biscuit and placed a finger to his lips. The dusty air inside the cache carried the bitter smell of gunpowder and salt. Pale moonlight splashed through the entrance behind them, as well as though shafts in the rock above, and mingled with the dull beam of July’s solar-powered torch, which was similar to Tom’s, whereas Charlie’s had a battery and shined much brighter. The cache consisted of several interconnected rooms, July gestured for them to split up and they each moved to a separate area, carefully scanning for the intruder. The sound of July’s leg clinking against the floor was painfully loud in the deep silence and he wondered if it was better for him to just stand still. Even Biscuit was able to creep noiselessly at his side, sniffing the air for threats. The German Shephard lowered his head and his ears flattened. A moment later there was a shriek and a shot went off.
July hobbled to the next room which was thick with gun smoke and rotting flesh, where Charlie stood shining her torch at the mangled body of some creature.
“A fucking rat!” Charlie breathed. “It’s the size of a dog.”
“It’s the mountains,” July explained, “they have some sort of impact on the animals.”
Thomas came around behind the dead creature and held his nose; the flat terrain around Bastille Point was usually barren of large mutated creatures so no one was really accustomed to the sight, or the smell.
Tom gestured to something behind him, leading July and Charlie to the end of the passage which was lit by the gentle glow of a lantern placed on a crate. Here were the supplies July had mentioned; three suitcases filled with canned or dried food, weapons, water, and bags of ammunition, as well as a few other necessities such as gas masks, blankets and goggles.
They heard the distinct click of a weapon’s safety and spun around with their own weapons to see a hooded dark-skinned figure holding them at gun point. “Ay!” The man raised his pistol a little higher. “If y’all are murderers you better back the fuck up!” the man yelled. “Get back!”
July noticed the man was trembling, and realised this person probably hadn’t killed anyone before, or at least not many people, and not intentionally. “Calm down,” he said, hopefully soothingly. “We’re not murderers.”
Tom and July both flashed a glance at Charlie, but she didn’t respond. As far as they knew, Charlie only went after Raider’s and Royalists, which meant this man was probably safe.
The man was unconvinced. “What makes you think I’m about to trust your lanky ass…”
“Lanky?” July lowered his gun and tilted his head. “Now hold on.”
“We don’t kill people without having a good reason,” Charlie interrupted. “Put down the gun before I waste a perfectly good bullet.”
The man put his hands up. “Alright, we’re cool, we’re cool.” He gestured to the stockpile of supplies. “I’m willing to share if you are.”
When he removed his hood, he revealed himself to be a young dark-skinned man with short, frizzy hair and a rather whimsical smile. As he stepped into the light they saw that he was well equipped; he wore a tattered hoodie and carried a heavy-duty backpack with the wrapped handle of a kukri sticking out of it, three pouches and a Geiger-counter were attached to the straps on his torso, as well as a thin rope draped over his shoulder, on his belt hung a water battle and a modified gas-mask.
“I’m Wade, by the way.”
July decided to introduce himself, as did the others, Biscuit barked happily, and the group sat down around the lantern. When the weapons were down the room became peaceful in the dim lantern light, a soft breeze humming through the tunnels from outside. Soon they’d sort through the cache and take what they needed to get through the mountains, but for now they would wait and rest.
“So, who are you?” July asked Wade, politely. “How do you know about this place?”
“I’d ask you the same thing,” Wade replied. “You aren’t Sons.”
“We are acquainted with The Sun Children but we don’t belong to their group. Your turn.”
Wade hesitated. “Heard a rumour the Sons had stashed supplies somewhere around here. I’ve been running from the Raiders, came from a settlement north of the stadium in the old city – what they call The Execution Grounds – when the Raiders showed up most of us stayed but me and some others got the hell out and made our way east.”
“Why did they stay?” Charlie asked.
“It’s a difficult situation,” Wade explained. “I don’t blame them. That’s how the Raiders work. Since Mitch Buster started expanding his little empire the Raiders have been capturing half the settlements up north and turning them into outposts, and forcing the other half to pay tribute for protection. Anyone who doesn’t pay gets killed. Anyone who runs gets killed.”
July wondered if that was why The Royalists formed an alliance with The Reds and started pushing west, to stop The Raiders from expanding, and perhaps that was why The Christians had also begun to boost their forces.
Charlie stirred. “If you head east the only place you’ll be safe is Sanctum.”
“I guess so,” Wade agreed.
“They don’t just take anyone. You join Sanctum you become a Royalist.”
Wade shrugged. “I guess so. They have food, shelter… it’s better than staying here.”
July and Thomas noticed a tremor in Charlie’s hands – Wade was entering dangerous territory with her, and was oblivious not only to that, but to the potential danger of trusting the Royalists at all. But Charlie… July didn’t know her well enough but he feared that her vow to eliminate all Royalists would not be limited by people like Wade, who only sought the safety their propaganda promised.
“There is another place you can go,” July quickly mentioned. “The three of us are heading to Haven; out of the way of all this trouble, it’s easily defendable, there are decents farms… You’ll be safe there.”
Thomas and Charlie were surprised that July would give away their plans so easily to a stranger.
But Wade considered it. “I know Haven but it’s been cut off ever since The Raiders got to the Pass, at least it was until The Royalists got through, the town belongs to them now.”
“Bullshit,” said July.
“It’s not official. Royalists have the town occupied but according to their new rules unless the inhabitants are a direct threat the Royalist captain needs legal consent before turning the town into a military outpost.”
“And how do they plan on getting it?” said Tom, standing up.
“I don’t like this.” July stood up as well, he was suddenly very uneasy.
Wade shook his head. “But it doesn’t matter, right? No way we’re getting through without some kind of a… a permit or passport.”
“No,” said July. “We know another way. There’s a sort of tunnel not far from here that takes us through the mountains. That’s why we’re here stocking up so we can make the journey tomorrow morning.” He hesitated. “You know, we could use an extra man. There won’t be any Raiders or Royalists but it’ll still be dangerous. If you still want to go to Sanctum after that you can talk to whoever is now in charge at Haven.”
Charlie flinched again. She looked like she might have said something but July stopped her.
“Just think about it,” he said. “Anyway, it’s gonna take all day tomorrow to get through the mountain, and then some to get to Haven, and we won’t have a car either. If you three trust each other enough to get some sleep then I recommend that you do.”
The group spent some time setting up a makeshift alarm system – just some cans attached to a tripwire – and then tried to rest. July fished his Sony Walkman from his pack and looked for a quiet place to lay down.
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