Vile Wasteland (A Post Apocalyptic Novel) (6 page)

The day’s journey went by quickly. Jarago kept them all
moving constantly, with few breaks, and then it seemed only for the
sake of the horses and the cargo they hauled. It was a pace much in
keeping with her own frenzy the day before.

Though the group kept a vigilant watch, they saw no signs of any
trouble that morning.

When during one of the horses breaks, Jarago announced, "Rest
a spell, gonna go scout ahead a bit."

Bren came over to her, "Now’s about the only time
you’ll get to eat before we arrive in Anagio," he said,
and produced a pouch of some more dried fruits that had been tied to
his own belt.

She slumped back, the terrible night's sleep and the burning heat
between her legs exhausting her. Still, she looked fairly alert, and
she gave him a gracious smile, "Oh? How long’s that?"
she asked.

"I like to keep some of these on hand, boss only springs for
fruits and berries at the end of a trip," he explained. Then
looking ahead he squinted at the horizon as if calculating, "As
long as there’s no trouble, only another few hours, I’d
say. Close as we are, this’ll probably be the last stop,
knowin’ the boss."

She took a handful, thoughtfully popping them past her lips,
"There any place comfortable there? Is it safe? What are the
people like?" she asked, suddenly realizing how abrupt she was
being and blushed gently, "I’m just curious."

The giant of a man looked a bit overwhelmed by her questions,
though her blushing made him smile and eased him again. He took some
of the dried fruit for himself and began, only too eager to help her
it seemed, "It’s an okay place. Been the safest spot in
the valley for years, though nowadays it’s gotten a bit more
tense ‘round there. You can feel it off the people, harder for
‘em to make a livin’ off the lands outside the town with
the Viles runnin’ loose," he explained. "But that’s
never stopped ‘em before, and the boss says the Viles can’t
keep at it forever. They eventually gotta run outta juice with how
nuts they are."

"So... they’re just... what? Crazy?" she asked,
her face screwing up a bit, "How long have they been like that?"

Furrowing his brow he asked, "Don’t you know? They’ve
been nuts like that for way over ten years now. Ever since the old
colonies fell apart," he snorted a bit, "shit, they were
the reason the colony fell apart. Well," he shrugged, "them
and whatever done it to ‘em. Don’t you know?"

"I’ve been in a bunker for ten years," she bit
back a bit harsher than she intended. "I mean, fuck, I don’t
know shit about this place. And if they’ve been goin’ at
it ten years, why would they stop now?"

Bren looked a bit put off by her snapping at him, but he answered,
"Yeah, but, the reason you went back into the bunker was because
of the shit they caused, right? I mean... otherwise you’d have
been up here with the rest of us," he explained. Then shaking
his head he said, "I dunno. Boss thinks that with how savage
they are, they can’t be doin’ too good on their own, and
eventually gotta run out of new Viles attacking us and all."

"I was nine," her face screwed up a bit, "I didn’t
really have a lot of people clamouring to tell me about how there
were psychos rampaging and killing people." Her shoulders
slumped and she popped another nut in her mouth. "I kinda wish I
didn’t have to know about it now," she admitted, and there
was fear running through her voice.

Perhaps the large man was more perceptive than he seemed, or just
too used to people being upset about such things, but he reached out
and placed one of his heavy hands on her shoulder. "Stay near me
if trouble breaks out, I’ll help watch your back," he
promised.

She looked like she was about to give another smart ass response,
but her true fear seemed to keep her in check and she nodded. "Yea,
thanks," she popped a dried berry between her lips. "Guess
you guys must be the best of the best to still be doin’ this."

Bren grinned broadly at her, "Well hate ta brag but this one
time–" then the call of Jarago returning broke the moment.

"C’mon, we’re movin’ out now," he
said, looking serious and all business.

She sighed a bit, but she pushed herself up straight, grabbing her
rifle firmly and looking quite serious about her own abilities of
defending the caravan. Her legs ached, her muscles screamed, and her
pussy pulsed, but still she carried on.

They all set off then, the rest of the team knowing the drill so
perfectly. Though as they left she overheard Jarago talking to Bren.
"Looks like somethin’ happened at Anagio, buddy. Keep an
extra special eye out the rest of the way, y’hear? Don’t
want any trouble before we even get to the tough part of this
journey."

Bren nodded and patted his gun, "Don’t you worry, boss.
With the new broad aboard, I’m on the alert anyhow," he
affirmed, looking deathly serious.

Her lust was a distraction, but fear was becoming a much more
prominent emotion. Her gun was grasped so much tighter in her hands,
and as she walked, her eyes scanned through the grass and landscape
surrounding them. She knew she should feel safer traveling with the
group, but nothing they had said soothed her mind.

Despite the overheard worries, the rest of the trip went
uneventfully. Instead, what she saw was the curious sight of an old
world city, kept alive by desperate measures.

Anagio, it seemed, was built in the ruins of a city along the
river. Making use of but one part of the old place, it was nestled
near the center of the valley. Tall buildings kept standing by
makeshift work, metal and wood plating on the outsides, and what
looked like some suspension bridges between them.

As she approached she could see the remaining tall buildings
seemed to serve as guard posts around a makeshift perimeter. The real
city lay inside, a mixture of old, renovated buildings of the
pre-apocalypse and even some of the new, circular white buildings
from the colony of her youth.

Guards manned the gates and towers, and they looked alert, guns at
the ready as they approached.

She lowered her own rifle, figuring it’d be best to seem
unimposing, but she never stopped looking around. Suspicion and
terror had left way for curiosity, and she felt her body straighten
as she tried to peer around for the other humans.

She wasn’t privy to the conversation that went on with the
guards, Jarago handled it before the gates–made of a mixture of
wire fencing and reinforced steel–swung open for them. Beyond
she got her first sight of civilization upon the surface.

Anagio sported many more residents than her bunker did, and she
saw people bustling about every which way. At the sight of the
caravan entering, a lot of eyes were watching. There seemed to be
some anxiousness there, but the people were obviously used to
hardship.

Jarago led them on through down the middle thoroughfare, and they
skirted a large open market area. Looking back to her he let his pace
bring him near her, "We’re gonna head over to our usual
spot," he explained to her quietly. "We’ll set some
guards on the supplies there, while I go and bargain for what we
got." Looking her over in her still clean and relatively new
clothes he added, "You stickin’ with us still?"

"When are you guys leavin’?"

Looking around he shrugged, "A couple nights maybe," he
stroked his chin and looked her over. "Judging by the looks of
the place, I don’t know if we’ll have a hard time sellin’
what we got for a good price."

She nodded thoughtfully, looking around the city, "I’m
going to take a look around. Maybe someone else has heard of...
Viles... stealing people’s shit. Or know where I can get some
supplies when I got enough to trade or whatever..." she trailed
off, seeming a little uncertain. "But yea, I’ll come back
and check in with you soon," her eyes went back to his, those
chocolate orbs intent upon him.

With a firm business-like nod he said, "See that you do."
Looking her over once more he gestured to the rifle, "Hold onto
that for now then. You haven’t exactly worked with us enough to
earn much of a cut, but you need protection," he affirmed.
Gesturing over his shoulder he said, "We’ll be stayin’
at the inn on the north-east side. Can’t miss it."

"I won’t run off with your gun," she agreed,
rolling her eyes in a good natured manner. Taking a step back, she
paused, "There somewhere I can grab a bath?"

He nodded and pointed off towards the center of town, "Public
bath house that way. Can’t miss it, it’s at the center of
the market. Real hot spot. They don’t pump hot water to many
places else," he stated.

"Cost anything?" she asked.

He shook his head, already turning and going, "Public bath
house is free for all," he called out.

"Great," she said softly as she turned towards the
center of town. If there was something she needed, a bath was it.

The marketplace at the heart of the little town was intense for
her. She’d not seen so many people congregated in a single
place since she was but a little girl. Everywhere people hustled and
bustled about, occasionally bumping into her, and many breaking from
their own tasks to eye the peculiar looking new woman. All about the
calls of vendors rang out, though none of that hid the sight of the
large bath house, just as Jarago promised. The building was pretty
plain looking at its core, a large square structure, but the steps
leading up to it were grand, and there were people coming in and out
with towels, and the sign above clearly laid it out for what it was.

She felt her heart begin to rush, her breathing a bit constricted
as she felt so many bodies press against her, but she was resolute
not to let the crowds overwhelm her. The driving thought was the idea
of slipping down into the hot water and relaxing, though even that
wasn’t the dream she’d hope it be. Immediately she found
herself worrying about how and where to store her weapons as she
pushed her way into the door.

As makeshift as the town looked, the bath house seemed to be
something of a point of pride. It was well organized inside, clean
and immediately split off into two sides, one for men, one women.
Though at the juncture was a place selling clean towels and locker
rentals for some local trade credits she’d never even heard of
before by a woman who looked to be in her fifties.

Her nose crinkled as she stared at the woman, "I’m new
here... do you guys take... I.O.U.’s? I had all my stuff stolen
yesterday," she tried, knowing it was likely fruitless.

The elder woman–older than any she’d seen since she’d
retreated into the bunker with the other youths in their desperate
bid to survive–gave her a bit of a sceptical look. She didn’t
seem to buy it, or care, and she shook her head. "No handouts,"
she stated firmly.

"Fuck, you can have this jacket," she pushed, setting
down her rifle and taking her arms out of the sleeves, "I just
want to borrow a towel and put my shit somewhere safe."

With some surprise at the offer, the woman took the jacket,
inspecting it as if it might turn out to be some scam, only to find
it was in better condition than anything the people around here wore.
Taking it and tucking it behind the counter she said, "Deal,"
then handed over a towel and one of the locker keys. "Bring the
towel back when you’re done."

"Yea, yea," she muttered as she went to seek out the
lockers, bitter at having one less possession in the world.

The women’s locker room was neatly arranged, and it took no
effort to find the one tagged to her key. The baths themselves
consisted of one large open pool and a series of shower stalls to the
side.

The water, the relaxation, it soothed her to an extent she hadn’t
had since she left home. It was only a day and a bit, yet so much had
changed. As she scrubbed the dirt and grime from her body, she left
feeling fresh and rejuvenated, even without her favourite jacket.
She’d be exposed to the elements now, but for the moment, it
was worth it.

A long while had passed before she finally retreated from the
water. Heading towards the showers she quickly washed out her panties
and socks, drying them as well as she could with the towel before
pulling them back on, clothing herself rather unceremoniously.
Returning the towel and the key and collecting her stuff, she set out
once more.

Night was falling as she left the bath house. The marketplace was
considerably slower, most of the booths seeming to have closed up.
But in the dimming light of approaching evening she could make out
down the street a couple places of interest. There was a shop front
still lit up across from what appeared to be a bar, many people
heading there at the end of their work day.

She trotted there rather quickly, the bath having rejuvenated her
spunk, and her expression held the same, excited enthusiasm as it had
when she first set out. Even through all her loss and the several
near death experiences, not to mention bartering her virginity away -
for cheap, she reminded herself - she seemed happy.

The front doors were open, and she could hear some music coming
from inside. The first she’d heard since leaving home. The
place was busy, and at the door a burly guard confiscated her rifle
and gave her a claims chip to get it back.

Once inside herself, she could see that there was little in the
way of open places to sit, but off to the opposite wall there was an
open spot by the bar, nobody apparently daring to sit in it beside
the tall, solidly built man there. Looking at him, Alex could almost
mistake him for a much buffer, more masculine Marim. The same sort of
thick flowing wavy hair that glistened under the bar light, though
his skin was more tanned than her dear friends could ever get
underground, however.

She was already on the lookout for people off by themselves, and
she cheerily went up to the man. Her hair was mostly dry, and no
longer held back in a ponytail. It flowed down over her shoulders and
back, the blond colour glinting off the lights as she stood next to
him, "Hey. Mind if I take a seat?"