Billy stood up and stared at her, waiting for an explanation.
Maybe I dont need to, Maria said uncertainly. But I honor the Code. After the Determination, anyone will have a chance to buy it back. Ill even give you a discount, since you and your brother helped me get it back.
The hooded caper fiddled unhappily, but there was nothing to do.
Ill tag him, he said, pulling a strange device from behind his back. Thats so we dont have to run after him again. When we get to Arbor, youll be paid and youll give him to us. Dont forget to deduct our services. We dont trample the earth for nothing!
Deal! Maria agreed and nodded contentedly.
She took one last quick glance at Adam and left. The redhead smoked again, shaking his head unhappily. Meanwhile, his bald double walked over to Adam, grabbed him by the hair, pulled him down, and then put a peculiar device to his exposed neck, and with one pull of the trigger, drove the bug under his skin.
Ouch! What was that?!
Its your chain, you fucking runner! I dont advise you to go further than a hundred meters away from me, Caper replied emotionlessly.
Whats going to happen? A new question sounded.
You try it and youll find out, Willie said with a grin. He put out the cigarette butt on his palm and threw it in the corner. Come on, brother, Im starving!
All you want to do is eat, Billy cut him off harshly. Come on, lets go. Theres nothing more to do here.
Oh, what about me?! Im not going anywhere, but the ropes are too tight. I honestly cant feel my arms!
The brothers laughed again. Leaving the question unanswered, they grabbed a few small slips from the table and left.
Time passed mercilessly slowly, accompanied by pain of all colors and kinds. His stomach twisted with hunger, his head ached from a recent blow, his bound hands and feet ached, and his soul was racked with fear. It seemed that all existence was filled with suffering. Adam still didnt understand what had happened, didnt know how to deal with it, and this sense of loss was mocking him, driving him mad. There was only the faint hope that it was all a horrible dream or a twisted vision. He had already seen Annets death, maybe there were flashes and activity in the sun again, and he was lying on the floor of the corridor, unable to distinguish reality from illusion. Better that than that it was all true.
Adam sat on the cold floor. He wanted to calm down, to try to forget and relax, but the pain prevented him from doing so. So he tried to distract himself, examined everything he could see, tried to loosen his bonds, but that didnt help either. Eventually, he became so uncomfortable that he started jumping nervously in place and banging his shoulders against the pillar. He was shaking. Absorbed in this process, he didnt hear someone enter the room. The guest turned out to be Maria.
You wont do yourself any better, she said, ending the mans fidgeting momentarily. How did you come to be in the woods?
The appearance of the living person and the question brought Adam to his senses. As he could see, Maria was no longer angry. On the contrary, she sounded concerned and sympathetic.
Again, sorry, he said awkwardly. Its just that these ropes are literally driving me crazy. As for your question, I dont know. I was testing a new kind of energy, in the underground control center. Something went wrong, some unknown substance got out of control. I was sucked into some hole in the air and passed out.
What year is it? Maria asked, giving her companion a probing look.
I hope its two thousand one hundred and fourteen. Isnt it? The man answered uncertainly.
The thing is, its the thirty-second year. Just the thirty-second. She shook her head sympathetically and sat down across from him. In the year 2114, the Day of Zero, because of a rare natural phenomenon, everything based on fusion went offline. Nuclear reactors exploded, as did the remnants of nuclear weapons. You dont know that? Adam looked at her incomprehensibly and shook his head silently. You dont know that most of the cities of the North Atlantic Alliance and the Federation of Independent States were wiped out?
He didnt know that either. He didnt know anything Maria was asking, and the more she talked, the heavier the lump in his throat became from the realization of missed events.
Its terrible he said quietly, with sadness in his voice, doomed.
Well, Ill tell you, everyone here had to take the news with the same feelings. I was a little girl myself. My other mother explained it all to me then, Maria admitted, sighing heavily. I was only five years old, and I didnt understand anything at all. I remember the bright sun changed to a green glow. Everyone came out to watch. It was beautiful, very beautiful. Then there were sirens, someones voice all over the place and panic. People were running and screaming. My dad packed up and dragged me and my mom behind him, but I got lost in the crowd. How I cried then She stopped talking, bowed her head, wrapped her arms around herself, and continued speaking more quietly. I never found my parents. I dont think they survived. Few survived those days. But I was lucky to have help. A couple picked me up on the road late at night and brought me here. But theyre not alive anymore, they were old. My mom first, and then my dad. I call them the second ones. Anyway, she changed her tone to casual. Thirty-two years have passed since the day that changed everything. Thats where the new chronicle begins. Oh, Ive heard of your kind. We call you «tagged.» You didnt just jump through a hole in the air, did you?! You must have been touched by the glow in the kiss?
Adam tried to recall the details of his last few days.
I remember green tongues of some substance, he began uncertainly. They were everywhere. They were sucking the life out of people. I dont know what it was, but if I had stayed, I would have been as dead as the others. Thats all I remember he paused for a second. Wait, if all this is true, then I missed thirty-two years?! But how did I survive?! Its impossible. What about my wife, Agatha and the others?!
Weve all lost someone, Maria replied sadly. I dont think you can find someone from the past. There are hardly any people from the old world left. And as for you, well, its not easy with the labeled ones. You have some kind of special mutation, but I dont know the details.
Adam exhaled hopelessly, rested his head tiredly against the pillar. Maria had told of many things. It was clear from her words that the entire planet had suffered, one way or another, on that ill-fated day. It had changed everything. It was as if nature had rebelled against man after that day and had consistently killed those who had been spared by the nuclear flames and radiation clouds. Explosions, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, floods, hunger, disease and climate change were added to all this. And, as a cherry on top, a riot of streams of the same unknown substance, changing spaces, giving birth to various natural mutations. The locals called it «the Great Mother» for some reason. This «Mother» changed everything: flora, fauna and even man himself. Mari told more about the local organizations that had sprung up in the remnants of the Age of Abundance. The Order of Truth (a collection of fanatics united by a new religion), the Capers (the largest organization in these lands), the Bionics, the Maidens of Alvilda, the Riders of Morvan, and many others.
Adam learned that he had to go to Arbor, the Capers capital, to undergo some kind of Determination procedure. He had no idea what it was, but it was clear that he had no rights before he went through it.
Ill untie you, but stay in this room. Its for your own safety, Maria said conspiratorially. The brothers would love the chance to mock you. Youd better sleep here. Ill bring food and water, and well be on our way tomorrow morning.
She cut the ropes and left, but soon returned with a mug of water and a plate of food. The first sip felt like a gulp of life itself. Every cell, like withered earth, greedily absorbed the liquid, demanding more. A sip, another, and it felt better.
Thank you.
Adam felt the pain and weakness go away with surprising speed. Maria smiled in response. She was a kind and gentle person, Adam could see that. He thanked fate for meeting her specifically, for from what he had heard, kindness and caring were rare in the new world. Maria walked away, leaving him alone with his thoughts and a half-empty plate. He had no idea what would happen next, couldnt get used to the layer of news that had descended on him. The old world had been destroyed but, how and why? What had become of Annet and the others? Where did the mutations come from, what power lurked beneath the name «Great Mother»? What did he have to do with it? How had he survived? Was Audleys experience the end of everything and the beginning of something completely new? And after all, he was talking about a new world
Chapter 8: The Road to the Capital
The morning was cold and gloomy, rich in penetrating winds and the usual heavy, heavy clouds. Billy was the first in the chain. He was carrying an unusual-looking laser rifle, or «lasgun,» with a multitude of attachments, wrapped in dark camouflage netting. The wind was blowing the flaps of his tattered cloak, but the hood, as if glued to his bald head, remained immovable. Maria was following, barely keeping pace with Capers long strides. Her rucksack hung behind her, her familiar revolver on her hip, and her faithful Alpha walked beside her. Adam was placed third. He had been given different shoes and warm clothes. The sleeved cloak looked like a black robe, smelled strange, but it was tight, kept out the wind and rain. The wide pants had to be tied with a rope, but they were also very practical and comfortable. The shoes, however, were not the right size, which made them chafe. In order to avoid unpleasant pain he had to clench his toes and so, limping, move on. Willie was at the back of the group. His lasgun hung on his belt, his right hand was always resting on the trigger, and his left hand was always chasing the air, scaring away invisible gnats, or bringing another cigarette to his weathered lips.
The group moved at a quick, steady pace. Within three hours they had crossed the valley that Adam knew, leaving the ominous mill somewhere out of sight, and then passed a small scrub forest. The same forest where Adam had first met Willie, where he had met the butt of his lasgun.
On the way we met new hills and lowlands painted in bright colors. The unknown plants excited the imagination, and the small rodents that were everywhere, not afraid of dogs or people, jumped underfoot as if they were playing a dangerous game. Because of the riot of colors, variety of flora and cute fearless animals there was an unrestrained desire to ask questions. They piled up and at one point Adam couldnt take it anymore.