I became aware of a menacing presence at my shoulder, and almost jumped when I saw Lieutenant King’s face less than an inch from mine.
"Were you alone with that girl last night, Jones?" he asked far too quietly.
"Councillor Okada came with Nanako," I replied. An answer, which if interpreted literally, was the truth. If I had answered in the affirmative, King would have arrested us both on the spot.
"You'll pay for this insult to my family's honour, Jones, I'll see to it personally," he hissed before striding out of the flat and slamming the door behind him.
My father was quivering with rage. I had never seen him this angry before, and to be honest, I was scared. I had no idea what he was capable of.
"What have you done, Ethan?" he shouted as he took a step towards me. "All my efforts – weeks of negotiations and discussions – to find you a wife who could elevate your station, who could give you the motivation you need to make something of your life, and you throw it all away. And for what – to have dinner with her?" He pointed at Nanako, but did not even grace her with a glance.
Nanako stood and made her way unobtrusively around the far end of the table and came to stand beside me. I was thankful for her silent support, although she appeared as shaken by my father's naked aggression and hostility as I was.
"I know you meant well, Father, but why couldn't you have discussed it with me instead of springing Sienna King on me at the last possible moment? She knew all about me, but I was completely in the dark," I answered as strongly as I dared, which wasn’t particularly strongly at all.
"What's that got to do with it?" he bellowed. "I met your mother on our wedding day! You should have considered yourself lucky I agreed to the King's request to let the two of you meet before the wedding. Now go this very minute to the King's residence and apologise for your insulting behaviour and beg their forgiveness."
I did not want to deal with this today, I was sore and tired and just wanted to go home and sleep. "Look, Father, please don't think I don't appreciate the effort you put into all of this, but I don't want to marry Sienna King."
"What you want has nothing to do with it, Son. To marry a girl above your station like Sienna is an opportunity you will never get again – especially once word gets around about what you’ve done. Now off you go."
I didn’t move.
"I gave you an order, Son!" he yelled.
To defy my father on any issue, and especially on a major one like this, went against everything I had been taught, yet I still wouldn’t move.
"Now, Ethan!" he shouted furiously.
"Sorry, Father, I just can't do it," I practically whispered.
He lunged towards me and pulled back his hand to strike me across the face, but little Nanako, a head shorter than either one of us, suddenly jumped in front of me and dared him to strike her instead.
Father stood there, blinking and shaking uncontrollably, wanting to strike her, but unable to bring himself to do so.
"Get out of my home, you confounded nuisance of a girl!" he finally managed to say, his voice shaking with rage.
"What are you going to do if I refuse, Mr Jones – call the Custodians and ask them to throw me out?" she shot back vehemently.
I looked down at Nanako in surprise. Where had that burst of emotion come from? One thing was for sure, though, she had backbone. Far more than I had.
Father glowered at her for a moment, and then abruptly stormed from the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
Exhausted from standing too long, and from a confrontation that was going to come back and bite me, I slumped back into my chair.
Nanako pulled out a chair and sat beside me this time. "Are you okay, Ethan?"
"Jury’s out on that one," I replied.
My half-eaten roast dinner was before me, a victim of tonight's conflict.
Nanako picked up my fork and handed it to me. "Eat."
"Lost my appetite," I answered.
"Ethan, you need to get your strength back, so eat."
I stabbed a roast potato and lifted it to my mouth. "You too, little one," I said to Younger Sister, who was sitting there wide-eyed. She sheepishly began picking at her dinner.
My mother came over and sat across from us. "Son, of all the things to defy your father on, why did you have to choose this one?"
"I’m sorry Mother, but I won't marry that girl."
"Got too much of your father's stubbornness in you," she sighed in resignation, and then turned to Nanako "Thank you, young lady."
"For what?" Nanako asked gently.
"For the kindness you've shown my son this evening. Which was far more than his own family did, I am ashamed to say." With tears in her eyes, she turned to me. "Are you in pain?"
I nodded. Mother flicked her head at my older sister, who disappeared into the kitchen and returned with painkillers and a glass of water, which she dumped unceremoniously in front of me. I got the impression she agreed with Father, as usual.
I swallowed the tablets and tried to eat a dinner that had lost its appeal.
"Son, you two had better not be here when he returns," my mother said once I had eaten all I could manage.
"Yeah, I know," I agreed. I had seen enough conflict for one day, first with the Skel, then King, and now this evening's episode. The thought of having to walk home, however, was a most unpleasant one.
"I'll get Councillor Okada to give you a lift to your apartment. It's too far to walk in your condition," Nanako declared as she pulled out her Smartphone.
"In his car?" I asked incredulously.
She nodded as Councillor Okada answered the phone.
Looked like I was going home in style.
Councillor Okada drove me home (more like drove me around the corner) in his incredible black 4WD, complete with a touch screen navigation computer in the dashboard, air conditioning, and a host of other features I couldn’t even begin to guess at. We sure had nothing like this car in Newhome.
When we reached my flat, Councillor Okada bowed and made to leave, but I reached out a hand to stay him. “Councillor Okada, can you please come in, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”
Nanako was clearly disappointed we wouldn’t be alone, but translated my request nonetheless.
Inside the flat, the councillor and I sat at the kitchen table while Nanako dragged over my large footrest and knelt on it.
This was my first opportunity to speak with Councillor Okada since they had arrived. When I met him in the ruins I thought he was middle aged, but I misjudged his age, just as with Nanako. His hair was flecked with grey, so I guessed he was probably at least fifty.
Nanako made us all a cup of tea, and after engaging in some pleasantries, I began to share with Councillor Okada what was on my mind. Nanako translated quietly in the background. “The reason I wanted to talk to you, Councillor, is that one of the Skel who attacked us today had a working Smartphone that looked just like Nanako’s."
Nanako sprayed a mouthful of tea over the table in shock. Councillor Okada’s reaction was a little more controlled. “How do you know it was working?” he asked in Japanese, and just like before, I somehow understood what he said.
“The screen was lit up and covered with icons,” I replied. “I’m also pretty sure I heard him talking to someone with it.”
“That’s impossible," he declared adamantly.
"I brought it back with me.”
"Where is it? I must see it at once," he demanded, clearly alarmed.
“Sorry, I gave it to Lieutenant King."
The councillor looked crestfallen. “I really wish you had let me see it first, Ethan. I need to know what satellite service it is connected to."
“You could ask Lieutenant King to let you see it?” I suggested.
“Out of the question,” he replied, “that would reveal you have divulged this sensitive information to me, and that could land you in much trouble.”
I nodded, touched by his consideration for my well being. “Do you trade the phones to other towns?"
“Of course, the Smartphones are our most desired commodity. Every town we trade with has purchased them.”
“So the Skel must have stolen the phones from their victims,” I deduced. “Unless you trade with the Skel too, but you wouldn’t do that, would you?”
“Of course not. We shoot them on sight,” he replied indignantly. “But to answer your suggestion; stealing the phones cannot be the solution. The phones need to be constantly recharged.”
“And how is that done?”
“The recharger plugs into any electrical outlet,” he said, his forehead creased in deep thought. “And the Skel cannot have access to electricity, due to their nomadic lifestyle.”
“I think, Councillor Okada, that we have all massively underestimated the Skel. If they are recharging their stolen phones – and they must be – it means they have appropriated a source of electricity.”
"If you are correct, Ethan, this bodes ill for all Victorian towns. When I return to Hamamachi, I will request that a Ranger team be sent out to investigate this matter." To Nanako he added, "What a tragedy our most experienced Skel counter incursion team was lost a couple of years ago."
"Lost, how?" I asked.
"Four members of the team were killed and the fifth gravely wounded," he councillor replied.
"By Skel?" I asked, suddenly afraid. If Skel had wiped out Hamamachi's veteran Skel hunting team, what chance did anyone have?
"No, they were ambushed and shot. By whom, we do not know," he answered.
At this point eyes grew too heavy to keep open, and my head bobbed towards my chest.
I hadn't even realised I had fallen asleep until Nanako shook my right shoulder ever so gently. "Into bed with you, mister, you can't even keep your eyes open." I don't know how long I had been asleep in the chair. It was almost dark now and there was no sign of Councillor Okada.
I stumbled over to my welcoming bed, where Nanako helped me take off the sling and my shirt. I climbed under the covers and lay down.
"You did that on purpose," I said drowsily as my eyes sought her out.
She knelt on the floor and propped her elbows on the bed beside the pillow. "Did what on purpose?"
"Told everyone I had dinner with you last night so you could sabotage the proposed marriage." I stared into her dark rimmed dark-brown eyes.
"Maybe," she said, smiling mischievously.
I wanted to reply, to say ‘thank you,’ but oblivion reached out and sucked me down into its depths. But her sweet, round face was the last thing I saw.
I woke around seven, as usual. The throbbing pain in my chest was a great way to start the day. My first thought was to look for Nanako, which was absurd – of course she wasn't still here. Nevertheless, I couldn't stop myself glancing around the flat to confirm it. She must have gone home with Councillor Okada last night before the curfew took effect.
Getting out of bed was an exercise in pain as well, since every muscle was as stiff as a board and ached too. Yesterday had not been a good day for my poor body. I finally managed to sit and hefted my legs over the side. My wound hurt so such that I wondered if I should have stayed in the hospital another day. If I'd done that, however, I would be still be on course to marry Sienna.
Relief surged through me as the truth liberated my mind – I was free of that dark, horrid future!
I also pondered the all-out Skel assault upon our foraging teams and Custodian protectors, and I became very troubled. What was going to happen now? They had destroyed all the foraging trucks and even two Bushmasters. And as long as the Skel remained out there, surrounding the town, we couldn't send out any more foragers.
I wondered if the Custodians would mount an offensive against the degenerate nomads, but surely such an attack would be suicidal. The Custodians had no experience with Skel ambushes. And if the Custodians were wiped out, what would stop the Skel breaking into Newhome and kidnapping and murdering its citizens until their black hearts were content? The town's future, and that of the surviving foragers, was shrouded in the swirling fog of uncertainty.
I had finished dressing when I heard three pairs of boots tramping towards my apartment and smiled in spite of myself. My teammates had come to visit.
"Hey guys, what's up?" I asked when I let them in.
"Well, you are," Shorty complained as he stepped past me. "Now I gotta pay Michal twenty bucks."
"Ha-ha, that’ll teach you to make bets about Ethan's habits," Michal laughed as he followed him in. David brought up the rear, downcast, but his head no longer swathed in bandages.
"How you feeling, David?"
"Like my head's been hit by a sledgehammer, which is kind of accurate, I guess," he replied.
"And how are you, Mister Lone Ranger?" Shorty teased me as he headed for the fridge.
"I've felt better."
"Take a seat," Michal said as he shepherded me towards the dining table. "Breakfast is on us this morning."
I sat but sent a worried glance in their direction. "Not gonna give me food poisoning or something, are you?"
"Hey, it's us!" Shorty protested in mock indignation.
"That's what I'm afraid of." I laughed, and then wished I hadn't because of the pain that followed.
They somehow managed to throw together an edible breakfast for four, and grabbing a couple of plastic chairs from my balcony, the four of us crowded around my two-person dinner table. I observed that although Shorty was ignoring David, he was at least tolerating his presence, which was a start towards reconciliation.
"Hey Jones, did the Recycling-Works ring you last night?" Shorty asked while stuffing scrambled eggs in his mouth.
"Me? No."
"Well, all foraging has been suspended until we are advised otherwise. But it's not all doom and gloom. The good news is that we have to report to work as usual tomorrow morning and assist with recycling."
I cocked an eyebrow at Shorty. "Did I detect a slight trace of sarcasm there?"
"Absolutely not," he laughed. "But you don't need to worry just yet, Jones me boy, the boss said you can take off as long as you need to recover from your wound."
"Without pay, no doubt," I grumbled.
"Nothing in this world's free," David chimed in.
I sighed. "I’ll lose the flat if I'm out of work too long, so I guess I'll have to turn up as soon as I've got the strength to walk there."
"Hey Ethan, seriously, where did you learn to use a gun like that?” Michal asked quietly. “I couldn't believe my eyes when we caught up to you yesterday. You were sitting next to David, covered in blood, and surrounded by dead Skel."
"As I told King, I just grabbed the gun and somehow instinctively knew how to use it. Kind of eerie, when I think of it."
“That’s impossible, Jones,” Shorty said emphatically, “And to be honest, I wouldn’t believe Michal's tale if I hadn’t seen you disarm King and run off with his gun.”
"I thought you were dead," Michal confessed, his eyes boring holes through me. "You frightened the daylights out of me."
"Hey, it worked out in the end, thanks to you and King." I tried to reassure him.
Suddenly an image of a disassembled Austeyr assault-rifle flashed into my mind with crystal clarity. I had only enough time to register that experienced hands – my hands – were reassembling the gun. The rest of the 'spike attack' symptoms followed.
I tried to hide the attack by taking a sip of tea and pondered the image of myself assembling an assault-rifle, for I had never touched one before yesterday. That these images could be premonitions of my future was not a pleasant thought.
At any rate, my check-up with the neurologist was today, so I would run these 'spike attacks' past him and see what he thought. He'd probably stick me in the loony bin.
“Hey Jones, you’re in pretty high spirits today, which is quite the surprise considering you got shot yesterday. So what gives?” Shorty asked. “Did that Japanese chick make you another lunch?”
David squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. The situation probably reminded him of what he had just done to Leigh under similar circumstances.
“Something like that,” I laughed, and then grimaced in pain.
Michal was staring at me intently. “David, Shorty, you two head off to work, I need to speak to Ethan.”
"Don't mind me," Shorty grinned, not moving an inch. “Besides, we’ve still got plenty of time before we need to leave.”
Michal glared at him with such intensity that he sprang from his chair, grabbed his bag, and left the flat with David.
“I dropped by last night just before curfew, planning to see if you were okay,” Michal said slowly.
As I had been fast asleep then, I’m not sure where he was going with this, but I could guess. “Oh?”
“And I saw Nanako slip out of your flat by herself.”
“She and Councillor Okada gave me a lift home after I had dinner with my parents, and they stayed for a while,” I said.
Michal was clearly hurt by my answer. “This is me you’re talking to, Ethan, not some gullible Custodian. Councillor Okada wasn’t there. He arrived a moment later in his car and picked her up.”
“Sorry mate. Look, they did drop me off and they did both come in, but I fell asleep at the dinner table. When I woke up, it was a couple of hours later and Councillor Okada was gone. Nanako told me to get in bed and…”
“Whoa, stop!” Michal panicked, holding up his hands.
“Oh, cut out the theatrics, Michal, I'm not Leigh.” I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “She told me to get in bed and sleep, and that’s what I did. Next thing I knew it was morning."
Michal seemed to buy my story, but he still wasn’t happy. “Don’t go doing anything stupid with that girl. She’s such an innocent little thing and doesn’t know Newhome’s draconian laws. Could you live with yourself if she was executed because you went and did something foolish?”
“I won’t,” I insisted.
“If I saw her leaving your apartment by herself last night, the Custodians could have seen it too. Don’t risk it again, man.”
“I’ll be more careful.”
"You'd better be," Michal said, and sat back with his arms crossed.
I sighed in defeat. He was only looking out for me, and as usual, he was right. “Okay, I’ll ask the councillor to stay with us next time he brings her over.”
Michal relaxed somewhat. “Thank you.”
“So, how are things at home?” I asked after a moment’s silence.
“Same.”
“Your efforts aren’t in vain, you know,” I said, trying to encourage him.
“How do you figure that?”
“When your brother and sister grow up, whose example do you think they’re gonna follow? His, or yours?”
“Why’d they follow his example?” he asked, confused.
“Well, that’s often what happens, isn’t it? Kids with a violent, alcoholic father end up walking in his footsteps. And when asked why, they say, ‘How else could I have turned out with a father like him?’ But you’re showing your brother and sister that they don’t have to turn out like him. They can turn out like you instead.”
Michal flashed me a brief smile. “Thanks, mate, I needed to hear that.” He glanced at my clock, “Well, I’d better be off or I’ll be late for work.” And with that he ran out to catch up to the others.
I had an hour to kill before I had to leave for the hospital, so I set my alarm and lay down to rest. I would have to walk there, but would give myself extra time so I could go as slowly as I needed.
* * *
I don't know why the hospital gave you an 11.00am appointment and then made you wait two hours before you could actually see the doctor. Why not just tell me to come at 1.00pm?
When the nurse finally told me I could go in to the neurologist's consultation room, I was stiff and sore and just a tad annoyed.
The neurologist, Doctor Nguyen, an Asian man in his forties, waved me to a chair by the window. "And what have you been up to, young Ethan?" he asked when he saw the sling.
"I took a Skel crossbow bolt in the chest yesterday."
"You did? Then what are you doing walking around? Why aren't you still in casualty?"
"Don't take this personally, Doctor, but I've had enough of hospital beds to last a lifetime."
"Yes, I suppose you have," he answered thoughtfully. "So, how have you been these past six months. Still seizure free?"
"Yes, Sir,” I replied, "however, I’ve been having these strange turns. They’re probably nothing, though."
"Tell me about them."
So I gave him a detailed description of the 'spike attacks,' and by the time I finished, he looked quite concerned. "What you’ve just described is a temporal lobe seizure," he said.
That was the last thing I expected him to say, and the shock hit me like a king-hit to the head. What if I ended up incapacitated by seizures like before? What if the amnesia got worse? "Can they become grand mal seizures like the ones I used to get after my accident?"
"It’s very unlikely, but a possibility nonetheless. Now, what I would normally do at this stage is send you off for MRI and EEG scans, however, that is not an option at the moment."
"Why not?" I asked, puzzled.
"The Custodians have made it mandatory that all CAT, MRI and EEG scans be shown to their hospital representative before they are discussed with the patients," he said, angry at this invasion of doctor-patient confidentiality.
"Why is that a problem?" I asked, although I already knew the answer. It was another way the Custodians were trying to root out the mutants who had slipped through the cracks.
Doctor Nguyen stood, quietly closed the door, and sat again. "I went to great lengths to hide your...what shall I call it? Unique ability, when you came here in November 2120. I also used a hand-picked team I could trust to observe patient confidentiality when we operated on you."
I think my eyes were just about popping out of my head. "You know?"
"Of course," he said quietly. "Your brain, ears and voice box are very noticeably different from the norm, and very remarkable, I might add."
"Doctor, I don't know what to say." I was almost overcome by emotion. All my life I had hidden my mutation, believing I would be reported should it be discovered. Yet this doctor and the team who had operated on me had kept my secret, and at great personal risk.
"You don't need to say anything, Son," he said warmly. "There are many in the medical profession who will do virtually anything to hide the batches of children who were biologically engineered back in the early 2100s. The ultrasound technician who scanned your mother when she was pregnant was obviously one."
"Sorry, did you just say ‘biologically engineered?’” I asked, not believing what I just heard.
“That’s right, why, what did you think caused you to be like this?”
“The Custodians say it is a mutation caused by nuclear radiation.”
“Oh no,” he reassured me with a smile, “nuclear radiation may cause birth defects, such as cleft palates, extra fingers or toes, but that’s all pretty much in the past now.”
“So this was done to me deliberately? By whom and with whose authority?” I demanded, feeling a rush of anger.
“For your own safety, Ethan, it is best you do not know the precise details of what happened. Suffice to say it was an unauthorised experiment done in secret by a geneticist, who regretfully took his own life and destroyed his work when he was discovered.”
“Do the Custodians know this?”