August 12
th
Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Jester ended up tagging every single electrical item in the entire fucking complex, it seemed to me, whether or not it was still intact. He was, he said, more than competent at scavenging useful components from destroyed items, and might well be able to get half of the broken stuff working anyway as a result. Sure enough, there were a few Dead lurking around, easily dispatched of course, but Jester soon learned that he would have been doomed had he come out last night to perform his task. Though I never strayed more than a few paces from Apocalypse Girl's side this time, we performed a thorough double- and triple-check of the shopping complex, just to be as certain as we could be that it was safe for the Scavenger Squads.
Twist was visibly shaken by the idea of going outside for the first time in many long months, though in the end she was the first of us to set foot outside, as we exited through the car park. She shivered somewhat, saying that it felt colder than it should have for the time of year. Smiling sadly, Apocalypse Girl just told her to be thankful she'd had a roof over her head during the
real
Winter. The cold weather we happen to be experiencing now, that's just a hold-over from then, she explained.
Butler added that, had it not been for the Queen, not many in Adelaide would have had decent shelter, so Twist was doubly fortunate. Sighing, she said she supposed she was lucky, glancing back at the shopping centre sadly.
noon
The Queen was waiting for us. Hair a mess, clothing wrinkled and rumpled, she appeared to have not slept in days. As we emerged, triumphant, from the shadowy depths of the car park, she ran towards us, paying no heed to the shouted warning from her guards. Throwing her arms around me, she exclaimed with excitement “I knew you could do it! I haven't slept all week, I figured you could wander out at any time and I wanted to be there when you did.” Resting her head against my chest, she muttered “My new Sheriff...”
An instant later she was off, giving orders to Butler that we should all be taken back to the Palace, fed and bathed appropriately, and that he should arrange for the Scavenger Squads to move in and clear out everything that has been tagged as well as a whole heap of stuff that hadn't been, but might be useful. Gritting his teeth into a polite smile, Butler simply told her that he would take care of it, leading the rest of us away.
After a good long bath shared with Apocalypse Girl, complete with celebratory champagne, we feasted on roast lamb, raising further suspicions about the possibility of another underground facility somewhere beneath Adelaide. Twist, though she was technically not a member of the Cleansing Squad she was treated as one of us, sat next to Machete and ate as if she had never seen real food before. After a moment, it occurred to me that we were all doing exactly that. Fucking Deathwish and his fucking baked beans!
Apocalypse Girl, at one point during our meal, leaned in close to me. “I am getting a bad feeling about this place.” I asked her quietly what she meant. “I can't put my finger on it, but something is up. I think it might be time to move on.” Pointing out that, in her condition, moving on could be disastrous, I couldn't help but feel a kind of sense of impending doom. Maybe that was what she was feeling. I don't know. “Look, I know all that, okay?” Apocalypse Girl hissed. “I'm pregnant, not fucking stupid. I just... I think we should head up north again soon. To Coober's Nest. At least think about it, alright?” I promised her that I would consider it. Ultimately, we need to do whatever is best for her and the baby.
evening
Standing on the rooftop of the hotel where we first met, those many months earlier, I looked out to the north, Apocalypse Girl leaning into me, my arm around her. The sun had set and an hour earlier we ate dinner with The Queen. She had bathed herself by that time, and combed out her hair, and was looking far more regal than she had this morning. She was also unable to take her eyes off of me all evening. It had been more than a little unnerving.
As we left for our hotel I asked Butler about the fresh food that we keep on being served at the Palace. Glancing around to make certain nobody was close enough to overhear, he confirmed my suspicions, telling me that there was indeed a small facility underneath the former Casino, and that they had been using it to feed the people ever since The Sheriff had discovered it in early January. It had been determined, though, that there was not enough food in stasis to keep everybody sustained in the long term, so The Queen decided that only she and a select few, her Sheriff, Butler and Jester, to name a few, were to have access to it, and the farms were begun.
I quietly told Apocalypse Girl that I would attempt to gain access to the facility, see if it was one of those connected to the sub-surface rail system. If it was, we would be able to easily jump on a train and fuck off to wherever we wanted, within reason. I suggested the AR-18 base, receiving a scathing look from Apocalypse Girl. Whoever it was that had sent that message to her phone those weeks ago was not somebody she wanted to see in a hurry, nor even simply speak of. Knowing better than to pry further, I simply held her close.
August 13
th
Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Turns out that the Queen, in all her youthful exuberance and wisdom, has decided that today is a special day, one for celebration as her new Champion, as she now called me, successfully delved into a den of the Dead and returned with everything that I had promised her and more. At least, that was how she was billing it on all of the posters that had mysteriously sprung up all over the remains of the city, advertising an award ceremony to be held in my honour at noon today. Someone had slipped a copy of the blasted thing under the door to our hotel suite overnight as well. Apocalypse Girl simply found it amusing, as did Machete and Scout. Apprentice thought as I did, that there was something else going on behind the scenes here.
Overnight we had also been in radio contact with a few of our former comrades and travelling companions. Viking and Valkyrie were finally married, the ceremony performed by none other than Elder, fresh from his studies at the House-where-no-house-should-be. The white-haired old aboriginal man had a tendency to pop up at the strangest times and places, possessing the uncanny ability to Slip between realities, as he called it. He had, he informed us on our first encounter, first seen our little group in a dream and decided that we needed his help. As it was he was able to teach Apocalypse Girl something very unique, indeed incredibly useful from time to time. She could reach into other realities and kind of fish things out of them.
The School was on uneasy terms with The Puller and his Empire, though they had set up a network of relay stations, safe havens no more than a couple of hours apart by foot where any envoys from either faction can easily hide inside and barricade while waiting for help that was easily summoned by the many flares kept within each. Each station, Viking told us, had been built to last. A large enough horde would obliterate them, naturally, but with the armed patrols of Imperial Guard and Mech-Techs spreading out from each settlement along all of the major routes on a daily basis the number of Dead was kept to a minimum.
We spoke with Ginger up at Coober's Nest as well, though all he really wanted to know was when Scout was coming home. She assured him that she'd be heading out soon enough, another day or two at the most, then she'd see about acquiring a vehicle. There were enough of them still around the place, some needing only a little work in order to get them running again. They hadn't all been commandeered for the patchwork wall.
The real surprise was hearing from The Smart Couple. They'd found the place they had been searching for, they told us, and were now
completely
secure. There was a hint of glee in Smart Guy's voice when he said it, too. Smart Girl implied that there were people there that we needed to speak to, but they were unwilling to speak over the radio. We'd encounter them in time, though.
Then, there was The Colonel. She and her men had found the AR-18 facility easily enough, securing it had been simple as well, in fact unnecessary. Her remaining troops had secured the surface approach as the sub-surface rail network was guarded more than adequately. The Colonel told us that someone was with her that wanted to speak with Apocalypse Girl, who promptly snatched the radio from my grasp and switched it off angrily. She would say no more than before, just that she would prefer not to go there unless it was unavoidable.
noon
Butler led the way to the dais that had been rigged next to the giant shiny balls standing one atop the other in the centre of what had once been a reasonably large commercial district. Whoever the current Ball-polisher was, I mused, was doing a fantastic job keeping the fuckers shiny. The Queen awaited, dressed as always in the same skimpy outfit she had worn on New Year's Eve with a pair of sturdy jeans beneath and a large pair of boots. Her blonde mane flowed behind her as she stood regally, surveying the crowd of several hundred of her subjects that stood before her. More flocked to the stage as we climbed up, Butler leading the rest of us that had braved the depths of the Dead and Ghoul infested shopping centre that lay only a few hundred metres away.
The Queen made some speech about our bravery, heroism blah blah fucking blah. It was a job that needed doing, and that is my final word about it. Her Majesty, on the other hand, kept on about it for nearly an hour, practically gushing when talking about the many Dead that fell to my blade. The applause that met her proclamation that I was to be named Champion of Adelaide and was reasonably thunderous and when I was expected to make my own speech, all I could think to do was tell the crowd that all I did was what I saw was necessary to help out, and that everybody else needed to do the same thing. Whether that be providing food for people, or shelter, or simply clobbering every Dead you see.
evening
After a relaxing afternoon spent listening to some of the music that Deathwish had brought out with him, the first time we had actually had the time to do so since the early days at The Commune, really, Apocalypse Girl and I went to dinner with The Queen. Roast chicken tonight, cooked to perfection, as always seemed to be the case here.
The Queen wanted to know all about our incursion into the shopping centre. Every detail, no matter how trivial, fascinated her and Apocalypse Girl's incredibly vivid description of the corruption that had infested the Dead-napping Ghouls seemed to terrify her. “Just how could anyone come to that? Eating the Dead, I mean...” she said at one point. I told her that I had no idea, but the very concept repulsed me thoroughly.
“I didn't like the way she was looking at you,” Apocalypse Girl told me when we returned to our rooms, a couple of hours later. It was completely dark by then and from our bedroom window our newest satellite hung heavy in the sky, trillions of specks of light flashing all around it. Many of them moving incredibly fast, darting hither and yon, doing who-knows-what up there, in orbit over
our
fucking planet! “I've seen you look at Meat-Beasts the same way. She's hungry for something, and I don't really want her having any, if you follow me,”
Glaring hatefully at the Invader Moon I pulled the curtains shut. Apocalypse Girl was just jealous, by the sounds of things. Whatever the Queen might think or feel is irrelevant, anyway. There was not a single thing that could take me away from Apocalypse Girl's side. Not anymore.
August 14
th
Year 1 A.Z.
morning
Sitting in my office, after breakfast with Her Majesty, Apocalypse Girl quite clearly had something on her mind. When I asked what it was she was reluctant to answer, at least initially. After a while she opened up a little more, however. “I'm beginning to think we shouldn't stay here for much longer.” She told me eventually. “I've got this feeling that if we stay, something bad is going to happen.” When I asked her what, she simply shrugged and said no more, looking out the window at the people passing by on their way to and from whatever jobs they had these days.
Jester came by, wearing relatively normal clothing for a change, save for the ridiculous, bell-laden hat atop his head. Over a cup of fresh coffee he invited the two of us to his entertainment precinct that he had set up at and around one of the major squares of the city. There would, apparently, be much rejoicing and he promised a spectacular display as well as plenty to smoke and drink. Deathwish and his former Scavenging Squad mates had found a hydroponics shop completely intact a couple of months ago and had acquired some of the equipment with which to grow some greenery. The rest had, naturally, been given to The Queen so that she could grow more food for her people. Deathwish had reported that their first crop was now ready and that they were more than happy to share it out amongst the populace in order to enhance whatever entertainment Jester had planned. The funny little former IT guy even tossed me a small bag as a sample on his way out.
noon
Not a lot for the Champion of Adelaide and The Sheriff of The Queen to do today, it seems. After Jester left we went to find some food, meeting up with Apprentice and Scout, who were in the midst of a heated discussion. Scout was asking Apprentice to come to Coober's Nest with her, my white-robed old friend was declining her invitation, saying only that her place was with me, and with Apocalypse Girl, at least for now. Scout seemed more than a little irritated by this response, angrily telling her that if that was the case, then Scout's place was with Apprentice, but that they'd talk about this some more. Later.
“Trouble at home?” Apocalypse Girl asked Apprentice as Scout stormed away and around the corner. Apprentice blushed a deep red. I could only think to blurt out, loudly and embarrassingly, that I had no idea either of them swung that way. “Of course not. You're a man, you need things spelled out for you sometimes.” The affection in Apocalypse Girl's voice took away some of the sting of the comment. Some.
“To be honest, I didn't think I did, either!” Apprentice's colour slowly returned to normal. “After last night, though... We were drunk and talking about things, and then, well, to use an incredibly old and tired cliché, one thing led to another.” She shrugged. “I suppose you've gotta take love when and where you can now.” We walked together in silence towards the dining room. Apprentice had come so far from the judgemental, overly religious, irresponsible, hypocritical party girl that she had once been. I said as much to her. She turned her head slightly towards me and smiled her thanks. A year ago she'd have hit me for that one. Hell, she had, on more than one occasion. She really has grown.
Tiny, The Twin and Machete were already present, chatting away with The Queen, who greeted us all with a smile and waved us all to her massive table, bidding us be seated. We did so casually enough, though this time I felt it too. The Queen wanted something from me, I could sense it now. Her eyes never left me, though she politely chatted with everybody at the table. Her smiles and laughter, as always ever present, never once had any effect on her eyes. Halfway through lunch I could take it no longer and was about to excuse myself when a messenger burst into the room.
Finally, her eyes were off me. I drank an entire glass of water, as my mouth had dried up completely, then took another mouthful of food while The Queen dealt with whatever issue the messenger had for her. “You see, now?” Apocalypse Girl whispered to me. I nodded ever so slightly. The Queen, done now with the newcomer, dismissed him with a wave.
“Champion, I must ask you for another favour.” The Queen began. “There is a group to the south-west, about ten or so kilometres away. Not too far, but outside the walls. They helped us out when we were clearing the roads around that area, gave us some supplies and kept the Dead off of our backs. I would like to set up a kind of trading and travel network with them, as well as a couple of other local groups. I would like you, as my Champion, to deliver my proposal. You leave tomorrow.”
evening
Apocalypse Girl was pissed off. She had already insisted on coming along, though The Queen told her that she'd be much safer staying at the hotel. Apprentice and Machete wasted no time in agreeing to come along, Scout also volunteered the instant she was told. Tiny and The Twin both wanted to join us, as well, but The Queen had forbidden them. The Master gets more than a little paranoid of large groups, it seems.
Butler came to fetch us when it was time for Jester's entertainment to begin. We walked to the square as the sun set behind us and I saw that he had set up a massive wall of screens, stretching an image over all of them. The Queen's pretty face, wild shock of blonde hair and enchanting smile graced the entirety of the contraption, soft classical music playing as the crowd gathered.
Deathwish was already there, smiling his greetings at us as we strolled past to sit between him and The Queen, Butler taking his place at her other side. I reached an arm out around Apocalypse Girl and Apocalypse Dog curled up at our feet. The image of The Queen vanished from the screen and we were plunged into darkness. Her Majesty's hand found its way onto my knee in the dark easily enough, and I gently removed it, placing it on her own leg.
Moments later, the show began. A few cartoons to begin with, and clouds of smoke began to appear, almost as if by magic, as Deathwish and his buddies distributed smoke-ables for any and all that wanted any. I could feel ripples of disapproval emanating from The Queen as I puffed away on the joint that I shared with Apocalypse Girl, ripples that magnified intensely when I offered Her Majesty a toke. She sat there, annoyed, arms crossed, for the rest of the show. Jester had selected a reasonably popular (and actually rather good) romantic comedy for starters, following that up with your typical mindless action flick. The third was science-fiction, a film that I had wanted to see but hadn't gotten around to it before the world ended. All in all a good night's entertainment and exactly what the people of Adelaide needed. Laughter accompanied us as we returned to the hotel for the night.