By the Feet of Men Page 12

  ‘Of what?’

  ‘That you weren’t sent by someone to follow us.’ Shame bloomed in his chest. How quick he’d been to give in to mistrust, to steel himself to pull the trigger and end the life of a man who had shown them only hospitality in the past. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. He couldn’t afford to.

  ‘Who? I don’t understand.’

  ‘Let’s go to our camp and I’ll explain everything.’

  Footsteps scraped against gravel. Brandt pushed his way past Cassady and held out his hand to Wyler, who took it without hesitation. The old Runner was in pain and looked as though he had aged another fifty years in the past hour. But at least he was still alive.

  ‘Danke. I owe you a debt. What is your name?’

  ‘Make it Wyler.’

  ‘If there’s anything I can do for you, tell me.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Cassady.

  ‘What about Renfield?’ asked Ghazi. ‘We can’t leave him here like this.’

  ‘He’s mine,’ said Brandt. ‘I’ll take him.’

  Four bodies lay pale in the morning sunlight. Bloody footprints disturbed the dirt around them. And already the flies were gathering at the wounds.

  4

  ‘You can’t be serious.’

  ‘That’s how it is.’

  ‘And you actually think you have a chance of making it.’

  ‘We’ll do what we can.’

  The day’s heat hadn’t yet found the inside of the building. All of the Runners were present except for Brandt, who was outside digging a grave.

  Wyler’s muscles shifted under the fabric of his camouflage suit. ‘Babe, I’ve got to tell you: it ain’t going to happen. You think you get by riding your luck up here? Wait until you’re in the south. I’ve seen the wall. The ground is choked with skeletons and wrecks. Trucks like yours, Cassady, lined up like they’re waiting for a green light. Except they ain’t going anywhere. Not now, not ever. Whoever owns that land controls its borders like a king.’

  ‘The king’s losing his grip.’

  ‘Right. According to a man you don’t know from a hole in the ground. Ghazi, aren’t you questioning any of this?’

  ‘I believe the man was telling the truth. I trust him enough.’

  ‘Trust. Belief. Difficult words in this world, brother.’

  ‘We are committed now.’

  Hearst worked up a wad of phlegm and spat into the ash of the previous night’s fire. ‘Need to leave.’

  The Runners fidgeted. She was right. They had some decisions to make, and they needed to make them now.

  ‘So what about Brandt?’ asked Tagawa.

  Katarina stirred. ‘You would talk about him when he isn’t here?’

  ‘We don’t have time for niceties.’

  ‘It’s over,’ said Victor. ‘He ain’t gonna make it alone. The rig’s too damn slow, even with two drivers. He’s gotta turn back.’

  ‘That’s exactly what you’ve been hoping for,’ said Cassady.

  ‘You know I’m right, boss,’ he sneered. ‘The old man ain’t got a hope in hell of keeping up with us on his own. This is why we’ve got four crews. If something goes wrong, we drop them. We ain’t got time for soul searching. He’s lucky he’s still breathing. You only get a certain number of lives out on the road, and he’s just used up another one.’

  Silence followed the speech. Ghazi grimaced, wishing the boy wouldn’t speak so harshly. But he was right all the same. Brandt wouldn’t make it. He’d try, but he’d slow them down and he’d do more harm than good.

  Cassady had reached the same conclusion. He kept his voice low. ‘Will you tell him, Kaja?’

  ‘Yes. But I don’t agree with this.’

  ‘We’ll give him all the supplies he needs,’ said Victor.

  Katarina headed for the block of light that was the doorway.

  ‘Wait a second.’ All eyes turned to Ghazi. A half-formed idea fell out of his mouth before he could think about what he was saying. ‘Wyler could take Renfield’s place. He wants to go south again. That’s where we’re going.’

  Leaning against a wall, the plantation man shook his head and pulled at his beard until his dark skin became taut. ‘No chance. I’m a lover, not a fighter. This mess you’ve driven into, you can reverse out of it without me. I already lost nearly everything once this moon. I don’t need to make it a full house with my life.’

  ‘I see,’ said Ghazi, pressing on with the thought. ‘So what do you intend to do?’

  ‘I told you. I’ll try the Complex. I reckon those boys working the machines could use an extra hand.’

  ‘Only the desperate go there. What if you don’t cut it? Will you go from camp to camp until you run out of things to trade? Or until you starve?’

  Wyler offered a wry chuckle. ‘I’m already at that point, brother. Everything I had went up in flames.’

  Cassady looked up at the roof of the building as he spoke. ‘So you’ll steal and kill like all the rest.’

  ‘I never said that.’

  ‘There are four trucks,’ said Ghazi. ‘If we send one away, we slash the odds of us making it to La Talpa.’

  ‘What you’re talking about is suicide, and you all know it. I can see it in your faces.’ He looked at Hearst. ‘Even you. I see the fear. None of you think you’ll make it. That’s the truth, isn’t it?’ He focused on each of them in turn. ‘Well? I thought so.’

  Ghazi spoke quietly. ‘Remember what we talked about in Prestige after I joined you and Cassady at the bar that night?’

  Wyler wrinkled his nose.

  ‘You were talking about the idea of the soul. About good and evil and how people succumb to the shadows. You’ve been through hell. I know that. But now you have the chance to redress the balance. You can score a victory for the good people left in the world. Yes, we’re scared. Of course we are. The abyss is looming and we’re heading straight for it. But you heard what’s at stake. You know why we’re doing this. Don’t be one of the ones who succumb.’ He held his breath.

  Wyler crossed his arms over his vast chest and studied the ground. The sound of a shovel tearing into the Earth’s flesh carried through the doorway. A mosquito buzzed from Runner to Runner as it tried to find a landing site without being killed. Time they couldn’t afford to waste continued to evaporate. Somewhere, thousands of kilometres away, people were dying of an illness in an underground base and hoping their cries for an antidote would be answered before it was too late.

  Wyler shifted his stance. ‘Right.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You got yourselves another fool. But that’s the last time any of you holds a gun on me if you want to live.’

  Ghazi squeezed the man’s shoulder. ‘You’re doing the right thing.’

  ‘We’ll see.’

  ‘Can you drive a pantech?’ asked Katarina.

  ‘I can learn.’

  ‘Then it’s settled,’ said Cassady.

  Victor broke in. ‘Wait a minute. You ain’t the only ones here.’

  ‘Until the end of the line, remember? Those were my terms. I’m in charge.’

  ‘This is different. This ain’t about choosing a route or picking somebody to take point. This is gonna change things completely. You ain’t a dictator, Cassady. So we’re gonna take a vote.’ Victor looked around at the others, becoming emboldened when none of them dismissed the proposal. ‘Yeah, we’ll take a vote. Then we’ll see if he comes with us. Right?’

  ‘Okay,’ said Cassady evenly. ‘That sounds fair. Raise your hand if you agree to Wyler joining the team.’

  Ghazi’s hand was the first in the air. For a moment he thought he might be the only one in favour. Hearst stared pointedly at Wyler without moving, as did Victor. Katarina’s outstretched hand blocked out the light streaming through the door. A moment later, Tagawa indicated his consent. Victor stared at him, but Tagawa held his ground. Finally, everybody looked to Cassady.

  ‘Three against two. So if Brandt agrees, Wyler comes along
with us.’

  ‘What about you?’ said Victor. The mop of platinum hair crackled with energy. ‘You didn’t vote.’

  Cassady’s gaze became hard. The boy had burned through all of his patience. Victor shifted his weight onto his other foot and swept the hair out of his eyes. ‘Fine. Forget I said anything.’

  ‘Mount up. We’re getting out of here. Rendezvous is Werner Creek. You have the coordinates. Orion is the lead rig.’ Cassady turned to Hearst. ‘Go hard.’

  The grave was an abscess expanding under the crust of the earth. Stripped to the waist, sweat streaming off his body, Brandt shovelled great chunks of dirt with each swipe of his fold-away spade. As Ghazi, Cassady and Wyler approached, he paused in his work to swig from a bota bag and squirt a jet of water against his neck. Renfield’s corpse lay at an unnatural angle near the grave. Brandt had covered his face with a piece of cloth. His pockets had been turned out.

  ‘Decided on my future?’ he grunted.

  Ghazi smiled. The man was sharp.

  ‘Something like that,’ said Cassady. ‘How would you feel about Wyler joining you in Telamonian?’

  Brandt looked the plantation man in the eye. ‘That what you want?’

  ‘Prospects ain’t leaving us much of a choice, it seems.’

  Brandt nodded. ‘Alles klar. I said I owed you a favour. You want to come along, it’s okay with me.’ The strength the man usually radiated was missing. ‘You want to bring your bike along?’

  ‘No. I’ll leave it. It’s more trouble than it’s worth.’

  ‘Then grab your things. I’m almost done here. Then I’ll show you Tela.’

  Brandt returned to his digging. Wyler and Cassady dispersed. Ghazi crouched by the lip of the grave.

  ‘Jürgen.’ The shovel continued to gouge at the dark soil. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I will be.’

  ‘He was a good man.’

  Brandt nodded once. The bruises on his neck looked like rotting fruit. Ghazi stood, wiped his brow and went to prepare Warspite for departure. He flinched when he heard Renfield’s body thud against the bottom of the grave.

  The low-pitched moan of Telamonian’s engine rolled through the opening in the hanger and snapped at Ghazi’s ankles. He wiped his hands on his trousers. The batteries were fully charged and everything was ready. He wandered outside to where the others stood by their vehicles, waiting for Wyler to try his hand behind the wheel. Renfield’s grave had been filled in. Brandt hadn’t turned the burial into a ceremony. Now he stood behind Telamonian and waved into the huge ear-like mirrors hanging from either side of the cab. Wyler edged out of the building and reversed over the quadrangle to where the hill began. He threw the pantech into gear. Telamonian bit hard and crossed the quadrangle again at speed as it heading for a concrete wall at the other end of the abandoned settlement. The sunlight turned the warthog spikes to liquid mercury. Ghazi looked on, a futile shout already dying in his throat because Wyler had lost control and was about to die. But just before he smashed the pantech into the wall, the wild man engaged the handbrake and threw the shuddering monster to the left. One half of its body left the ground and for a moment it balanced on four wheels. Then it came crashing back to earth. Dust and gravel flew into the air. The vehicle stopped with a whisper. Wyler jumped out of the cab and casually walked over to the others.

  ‘What the hell was that?’ shouted Cassady.

  Ghazi couldn’t tell if he was furious or amazed.

  ‘I had to test her out.’ He handed the keys back to Brandt. ‘She’s good.’

  ‘The best. Never moved like that before though.’

  ‘You just have to teach her the rhythm.’ Creases appeared around the cloudy eyes. Brandt clapped him on the back.

  ‘Just keep the stunt-driving to a minimum from now on,’ said Cassady.

  ‘You got it, babe.’

  Victor leaned against the Silkworm and laughed quietly. Hearst stared at Wyler like she wanted to tear his throat out.

  ‘Mount up,’ shouted Cassady. He turned to Brandt. ‘You need anything, let us know.’

  ‘I can take care of myself.’ He marched away towards the eight-wheeler. Wyler flashed his pure white teeth and followed.

  Cassady sighed and closed his eyes. ‘Christ.’

  ‘Forget it,’ said Ghazi. ‘Time to go. I’ll take the first shift.’

  As the convoy sped away from the crumbling buildings, Ghazi spotted two buzzards above them. They would eat well today. He hoped the grave was deep enough for Renfield’s body to remain undisturbed. Hacked down by a few desperate people on a gravel track. A bleak way to go. He shifted gears and the Old Lady picked up speed. The trees flanking the trail became dusty smudges on the windows. They continued south.

  5

  Warspite slid along the dirt road, tyres looking for purchase where there was none. The shriek of the wind fused with the keening engine and made it sound as though the world was screaming in unimaginable pain. Fat raindrops smashed into the windshield like a fist, and the wipers raced back and forth to try to create an opening wide enough for Cassady to peer through. His knuckles were white against the steering wheel. The storm had been hammering at them for hours now. He was trying to keep it together, but the effort was wearing him out. To his left was a dense line of trees that swayed drunkenly. To his right, the road quickly gave way to a sheer drop. Deep grooves in the mud indicated Orion and the Silkworm had passed the same spot some time previously. He checked the clock. It was after midday.

  ‘Wake up, Ghazi.’

  The mechanic’s voice was thick with sleep. ‘What is it?’

  ‘Station report. I’ll attach the antenna. You get the ledger out.’

  ‘You sure?’

  ‘Let’s just get it done.’

  Cassady stopped the vehicle and cut the power to the wipers mid-stroke. He wouldn’t have admitted it out loud, but he was glad of the broadcast. It meant he could wake Ghazi. After removing his cap and tugging a balaclava over his head, he rooted around in the space behind the driver’s seat for a plastic sheet to wrap around himself. Then he opened the door and stepped out into the storm. The wind tried to rip the sheet from his body and push him to his knees. With water streaming from every surface, he screwed the antenna into place and dived back into the cab. Ghazi pored over the figures in the ledger.

  ‘Keyed it in?’ Cassady asked as he removed the soaking balaclava. He shivered. At least the murderous heat of the past few weeks had finally broken.

  ‘Double-checking. Yes, we’re good to go. Call sign is Helios. Five minutes.’ Ghazi was understandably groggy. He’d driven most of the previous day and tinkered with the rig late into the night after the brakes had started to feel gluey.

  They switched on the short wave and waited for the report. Cassady checked the mirrors again. No sign of Telamonian. The beast would be scraping its wide flanks against the trees all the way, but Brandt knew how to tease his rig along a track this narrow. He had Wyler’s quick reflexes to rely on, too. The wild man was filling the vacancy well so far, it seemed. Brandt hadn’t raised any complaints when they’d rendezvoused the previous evening. For the hundredth time, he tried to blank out the ugly scene that had played out on the hill. He’d come close. Much too close.

  ‘Tell me something,’ said Ghazi.

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘Why didn’t you vote on Wyler?’

  Cassady coughed. Sometimes he was sure the man was a mind reader. ‘You wait two days to ask me that?’

  ‘I wanted to see if you would bring it up. And you haven’t.’

  ‘If I came down on one side or another, somebody would be left feeling pretty sore about it. That’s not something this circus needs. I’m not under any illusions. We’re just about keeping it together, but a wrong word or decision will spell the end of it. I’m not giving Victor or Hearst any more fuel for their fires.’

  ‘Nothing you can do about Hearst one way or the other. The boy’s young, that’s all. He needs time to work thin
gs out.’

  ‘It’s time we don’t have. I need to rely on him now and I can’t.’

  They fell silent as the opening bars of an unknown tune emerged from the speaker. The tune repeated itself twice more, and then a synthesised human voice reeled off a sequence of vowels and consonants. After the second run-through, Helios signed off. By the time Cassady had cursed the rain and retrieved the antenna from the hood, Ghazi had decoded the message.

  ‘Bad news.’

  ‘So are you going to tell me or do I have to ask?’ Cassady threw the plastic sheet in the back and wiped the slimy water from his eyes.

  ‘Flooding and landslides all around this area.’

  ‘That’s news? Anything else?’

  ‘There’s a group making waves further south of here, and they seem to be heading north.’

  Cassady frowned. ‘Could be the Zuisudra. One of the flies mentioned it back in Prestige. Remember the stray we picked up last year?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Let’s worry about that later. We have to make it off this mountain first.’

  Cassady peered into the side mirror. The surroundings were barely visible beyond the driving rain. The real question was whether the road ahead would still be in one piece or underwater. He tried to guess how the other crews would respond to the report, and concluded none of them would want to retrace the same ground, not while there was still a chance of making it through.

  He pushed the starter button and strained his chest until something in the centre clicked.

  ‘You want me to drive for a while?’ asked Ghazi. ‘No. I’ve got it. Get some more rest’

  ‘Take it slow.’

  ‘Thanks for the advice.’

  Cassady’s shirt was still drying when he spotted a flash of vivid red in the murk. Orion sat in the middle of the road. The tail lights were dead. He eased off on the accelerator and stopped twenty metres short of the devil truck. He sensed Ghazi’s hand straying to his holster. ‘We’ll go together.’

  ‘Okay.’

  After locking up, Cassady went to the lip of the road and peered into the abyss, but the rain and the swaying tips of more trees made it impossible to see the bottom. No lights burned below.