Kai scrambled to clamber into the driver's seat. He was about to switch on the engine when he looked up and saw two riflemen standing in front of the Humvee aiming their weapons at him. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw two more approaching, and the final two targeting him from across the street directly opposite the driver’s side of his vehicle.
“This is your last warning. Step out with your hands raised.”
Kai knew they could fire before he could start the engine and place the Humvee in Drive. He opened the door and stepped out, holding up his hands. The two riflemen in front of the Humvee took a step toward him. Kai heard a whoosh, as an arrow shot by him and impaled one of them. A split-second later, a second arrow whooshed by, striking the other rifleman in the chest. The pair positioned behind the Humvee pivoted, nervously scanning their surroundings while their trigger fingers tensed. Two more arrows sliced through the air cutting them down. The two gunmen across the street crouched back to back, each firing blindly in the directions the pairs of arrows had come from.
Kai leaped back into the Humvee and started the engine. He swerved left and drove across the road plunging the Humvee directly into them. He backed up the vehicle and placed it in Park, waiting for some sign of his mysterious rescuers.
Archer stepped out several yards in front of the Humvee lowering his bow, while several yards in the opposite direction behind the vehicle Robin appeared, strapping her bow over her shoulder. “Corona was worried about you,” Robin said. “Looks like she was right.”
“There was no reason for her to be worried. I had the situation completely under control.”
Archer slapped him on the back. “Don’t worry; we’ll be sure to tell her that.”
“Do you need a ride back to the bunker?” Kai asked, pondering how he would rearrange the bags of supplies in the Humvee.
“No thanks,” Robin said. “We tied our horses about five hundred yards away so we could sneak up on them.”
“They look like Utopians,” Kai said. “But what were they doing here? We’re not near Utopia.”
“I don’t know but leastways they ain’t gonna tell no one about our store now,” Robin said.
“We’ll have to make more trips to empty the store in case the other Utopians know about it,” Archer said.
“I’ll fetch our horses,” Robin said, returning a few moments later with two horses.
“Thanks for the assist,” Kai said, as Archer and Robin mounted them. “Let’s head back to the bunker. I’ll drive slowly so you can keep up.” Kai executed a three-point turn and headed in the direction of the bunker.
Archer turned to Robin and laughed. “Guess he ain’t never seen a horse at full gallop before.” He smacked his horse’s rear and the pair of horses shot off.
Varian stepped into the social area. Although there were few people there – most of the teenagers were outside helping build several structures – Varian pretended not to notice the room emptying as he entered. Fiona had told him it would take time for him to be accepted again but he hadn’t realized the degree of antipathy his actions had engendered among his peers. He wondered if there was no one other than Fiona willing to give him a second chance.
“Varian. Just the person I wanted to see.”
Varian looked up hopefully. Then, he sighed, his hopefulness dissipating. “Corbin. I should have guessed only you’d speak to me.”
“Why, of course I’d speak to you; we have business to conclude. You may recall there’s a slight matter of six thousand credits you owe me. I realize you’ve had an extremely stressful week so I’ll waive the interest and late fees.”
Varian rolled his eyes. “Look, Corbin, I know I promised you six thousand credits but you may have noticed I’m no longer the bunker’s leader and I no longer have access to the cache of casino chips.”
“How the mighty have fallen. A short time ago you were our supreme leader, someone to be admired and praised for his principles and integrity. And now, you’re lower than a worm, trying to welch on your obligations. Or do you deny your indebtedness to me?”
“I’ve already admitted I owe you the credits; I simply have no way to pay you.”
Corbin shrugged. “That’s easily arranged. You can provide a service to me and I’ll consider your debt paid in full.”
“What sort of service?”
Corbin grinned. “Does it matter? Would you really prefer the alternative: being indebted to me for the rest of your life?”
Varian grimaced. “I won’t hurt anyone.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to.”
“All right. What do you want me to do?”
“You once bragged about your ability to pick locks. There’s one I want picked. A few minutes of your efforts and you can wipe out a rather large debt.”
Varian frowned. “I’m not going to help you steal from anyone.”
“I’ve no intention of stealing from a single living soul. Now come with me and let’s get this over with while nearly everyone is still outside the bunker.”
Varian sighed. He followed Corbin out of the social area. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” Corbin led Varian past the sleeping quarters to a seldom-visited section of the bunker.
“What are we doing here? This section’s off-limits.”
“This section was off-limits.” Corbin grinned. “This is the designated living quarters for the grown-ups that were supposed to raise us and care for us. Of course, all but one died in the first few months so only one person has ever lived here for any length of time, and now he’s dead too. So technically, we’re not trespassing or invading anyone’s privacy and there’s no one to steal from… No one living, that is. In fact, there’s not much here to steal; I know, I’ve looked.”
“So why are we here, Corbin?”
Corbin pointed to the wall. “If someone went to the trouble of installing a wall safe in an underground bunker despite anticipating what might be the end of the world, then I suspect whatever’s inside must be of great value. Imagine how frustrated I was when I found I was unable to open the combination lock. And then I thought of you and your self-proclaimed skill at opening locks.”
“So what if you find gold or jewels or any stuff people valued before the plague? What good is any of that now? A can of beans would be more valuable.”
“Then, at least satisfy my curiosity. It’s the mystery that piques my curiosity. Can you open it?”
Varian studied the safe. “Simple tumbler lock. Shouldn’t be difficult.” He closed his eyes and let his fingers glide across the dial. He stopped when he met resistance and turned the dial in the opposite direction, stopped at the next level of resistance, and dialed it back until he reached the final resistance level. They heard a click and he pulled the door open.
Corbin and Varian peered inside the safe. Varian pulled out what appeared to be a diary. “Looks like this is all there is.”
Corbin frowned. “A diary? You can keep it. I’ve no interest in someone else’s memoirs.”
“Sorry you didn’t find a hidden treasure trove but I did as you requested.”
“Yes, yes,” he replied annoyedly. “Consider your debt paid in full.” Corbin sighed. “It was worth a try.”
Varian flipped through the diary. A wide grin filled his face. “Corbin, I take back every miserable thing I’ve ever thought about you.”
Corbin gave him a puzzled look. “I had no idea you'd get so excited over a salacious memoir.”
“It’s not that kind of diary. It was written by one of the scientists and talks about the bunker. There’s a hidden room they didn’t want the children to know about that contains a weapons cache. And the bunker itself has an emergency lockdown mechanism and defense grid that can be engaged or disengaged using the coded instructions in this book. I’ve got to show this to Keiana right away.” Varian dashed out of the room leaving a perplexed Corbin behind.
Donjay paused to massage his aching calves. It had been a long walk for quite some miles but he and his five men had reached the outskirts of the encampment being built around the bunker. He motioned for his men to crouch down behind the bushes. “It’s a base of some kind,” Donjay said. “Hand me your binoculars.” He peered through them. “It looks as though they’re building the base. They don’t appear to be Raiders. They’re the age range Proctor said the bunker kids would be. There are too many for us to capture. We need to report back to Proctor and…” Donjay refocused his binoculars. The image came into crystal clarity. There could be no mistake: It was Maga! The bunker kids were holding his sister prisoner.
He had no idea how she might have been captured or when, but Donjay recalled he hadn’t seen his sister in about two weeks. He watched as one of teenaged girls grabbed Maga’s hand and led her into the bunker. Donjay realized it would be impossible for his small squad to infiltrate the bunker and escape with Maga. He would have to tell Proctor and hope he would launch a rescue mission. Unless they could barter for Maga’s freedom. But what would the bunker kids want in exchange for his sister, Donjay wondered. He glanced out and saw two boys approaching and the epiphany struck him.
Maga sat on a boulder watching the others building the base camp atop the bunker. Corona joined her. “How are you settling in?”
Maga shook her head. “I’m not. I have nothing in common with your people. Your lifestyle is so different. In Utopia, I was nowhere near the eldest. I served a function. Here, you’ve all shared the identical experiences and live by the same code. I feel like an outcast.”
“I’m sorry. I guess we take it for granted. But Archer and Robin are also strangers and they’ve found their function. They’ve shown us how to shoot arrows, grow crops, ride horses, and build things.”
Maga looked around. “I don’t see them. Are they down below?”
Corona looked chagrined. “I asked them to do me a favor. I was worried about Kai going to their store alone so I asked Robin and Archer to follow him in case he ran into any trouble.”
“The Raiders did that for you?”
“You shouldn’t think of them as Raiders. Archer and Robin are just kids like the rest of us.”
Maga lowered her head. “Not quite. They’re in pain. They’ve suffered a great loss. I can see that when I observe them. It conflicts with everything I know… everything I’ve been told about Raiders. They’re not the callous, brutal savages we were led to believe. As you say, they’re merely children.”
“They’re also angry. They want vengeance for the deaths of their grandmother and friends. I feel sorry for them. They’ll always wonder who killed their grandmother and why. It’s a mystery that will haunt them forever.”
Maga looked up. “I know who it was.”
“How could you possibly? You were with us when it happened.”
Maga reached into her pocket and took out the St. Sebastian medal. “I found this on the ground beside the old woman. I know who it belongs to. I’ve seen it around his neck every day since I first arrived in Utopia.”
Corona perused the medal. “It looks familiar. I’ve seen it before.”
“It belongs to Proctor.”
“Yes, now I recognize it. But that means… Proctor was at the Outpost!”
“They must have fought. He must not have realized he lost it. Perhaps she ripped it off his neck during a struggle.”
“I don’t understand,” Corona said. “Your people and the Raiders have been enemies for a long time. Why would Proctor attack them now? Archer and Robin said nothing was taken, and of all the Raider outposts one composed of mostly ancient people could hardly be a threat to them.”
“I don’t know but Proctor never does anything without a reason. He also seldom leads an attack. He usually sends Donjay; he’s too cowardly to risk his own life.”
“Donjay?”
“My little brother. Proctor treats him like a son.”
“We have to show this medal to Archer and Robin when they return.”
“They’ll hate me even more when they learn it was the Utopians who slaughtered their outpost.”
Corona shook her head. “No, they’ll thank you for giving them closure. In the meantime, we should show this to Covid.” She called out, “Covid! Has anyone seen Covid?”
“He said he was going to speak to Keiana when I saw him earlier inside the bunker,” Corbin said.
“Thanks, Corbin.” Corona grabbed Maga’s hand and led her into the bunker. “Come on, let’s find him.”
“Hey, Corbin!” Tristan shouted. “Give me a hand with this irrigation piping.”
Corbin walked several yards away from the base camp to join Tristan. “What are you doing?”
“Setting up irrigation for the garden. We can’t rely on rain for the crops. Grab one of these pipes we made and follow me.”
Corbin reluctantly lifted the pipe. “How far are we going?”
“About a quarter mile to the lake we discovered. We’re going to lay out these pipes and connect them from the lake to the garden. Archer has a pump back at the Outpost he’s going to retrieve later. In a few months we’ll have grown more food than you can imagine.”
“Do you know how long it’ll take to carry enough pipes one at a time?” Corbin asked, hefting the pipe along the path.
“That’s why we’re taking them to the lake: the more we bring there, the shorter the return trips with each succeeding pipe.”
Corbin spotted the lake ahead. “Still, there must be an easier way. Can’t these things be loaded into Kai’s not-a-sports-car?”
“Kai’s using it to make runs back and forth to the store. Besides, what else were you planning to do? It’s a beautiful day outside. The weather’s perfect and it beats another day inside the bunk—” Tristan had the breath knocked out of him as two Utopian men tackled him and cuffed his hands behind his back. Three other Utopians pounced on Corbin and did the same to him, gagging both boys. The men dragged them to their feet.
Donjay unholstered his pistol and aimed it at Corbin’s temple. “Proctor wants all of you alive but I only need one of you. I’ll shoot the first one who tries to escape. Understand?”
Corbin nodded vigorously; Tristan nodded as well.
“Good,” Donjay said. “We have a long walk back to our Humvees.” He smiled. Proctor will be pleased to have a replacement for the boy who escaped, he thought. And we’ll have one boy left to barter for Maga’s release.