Chapter 9
“Don't do it, Vestule! Retract your probe or I'll break it into pieces!” threatened Bars.
“Come on! This is our only chance to eat before the others get here! We deserve our share!”
The two Hunters feverishly circled around the catch, one trying to eat and the other trying to stop him. The freshly killed slugs shined invitingly, filled with life-saving fluids and food supplements.
“Let's share one and leave the other two for the others!” said Vestule looking hypnotized by the temptation at his feet.
“No! After Leegan takes one, we'll share the remaining two equally with the others!” said Bars not backing down.
“Why are you such a fool?! If we eat better now, then we'll have more strength and it'll be easier for us to find more food.”
“Every one of them is hungry and they need the fluids! They're counting on us!”
“OK, but what do you say to this?” Vestule came so close to Bars that he easily succeeded in seeing the look of feral hunger in Vestule's eyes, even through the dirty glass of his visor. With a quiet but sure voice, Vestule continued, “If you give one of the slugs to me now, I'll tell Leegan that you have found them. Do you agree to that?”
Bars took a few steps back from the tempting offer. Yet again, he had failed and now Vestule was using it to try and break him.
“You know that Leegan is keeping track of every mistake!” Vestule circled Bars, and he still had his feeding tool out and ready to use. “If he understands that you haven't found any slugs till now, he'll have even more doubts about you and that'll be bad for you. Didn't you see what he's capable of if someone makes him really angry? You don't want to be a thorn in his side.”
“Ha!” replied Bars abruptly. “He hates me for a long time!”
“Why? Why does Leegan hate you so much?”
“We'll share them equally with everyone and that's the end of it!” yelled Bars.
Surprised at Bars' sudden reaction, Vestule jumped back. His Shell stood frozen in place only a meter from the green slugs, but after he understood that Bars wasn't going to change his decision, he unwillingly put away his probe.
“OK, we'll do it your way! But I'm not going to waste any time fighting with you over the next catch! I'll happily eat first and then I'll shoot off the signal flare!” said Vestule surly, then he turned the back of his Shell to Bars.
“There are not enough green slugs here,” said Bars thinking. “We need to change our current course. We need to get out of this plain and search beyond those rocky outcroppings in the distance.”
“There's something wrong with you!” replied Vestule agitated. “I don't understand why you want to take such a big risk? We have perfect visibility here and there's no danger of an ambush. Don't you know who might be prowling among those rocky outcroppings in the distance?”
It was clear now – Vestule was afraid of the Savage Shells.
That's what they called the ones, who had left the Fortress a long time ago, so long ago, that they had forgotten what it meant to be human. Roaming outside for who knows how long, they had found the easiest way of supplying themselves with spare parts and fresh food – they attacked inexperienced recruits at the first chance they got.
“The risk is worth it! Isn't that what the Defenders are for,” said Bars. “We'll move with the main group and they'll protect us.”
“We can't rely upon that, Bars! Our group isn't fully manned as you well know. What if the enemy has more men than us?”
“It's unlikely that many of them have survived...”
“They eat people, Bars! Damn it, I don't want to be eaten by some crazed cannibals!”
“There isn't enough food, and it wouldn't be surprising if we became like them,” replied Bars.
“OK, stop talking about it! I see the others arriving,” Vestule pointed into the distance.
The suits of the famished boys raised a cloud of dust, which was approaching the two Hunters at a quick pace. Even at that distance, it was easy to pick out Leegan's tall Shell, which even now was leading the small group. Maybe if the rest of the Defenders had such strong armor, Vestule wouldn't be so scared of the Savage Shells.
When the starving boys arrived, they were unable to hide their continuing disappointment.
“Is that what we hurried over here for?” commented Rogar.
“You've got to be kidding me!” said Zimmer grumpily.
“The big one is for me!” said Leegan and he began to eat noisily, while the rest looked on gloomily.
While the group waited for the Alpha Defender to eat, the slug slowly shriveled and darkened. The burning rays of the sun warmed the dead bodies of the slugs and valuable moisture steamed out of their wounds. The high temperatures heated up the metal Shells causing the boys, who were jammed into them to be even more on edge.
“Damn!” yelled Luhar, who kept circling in different directions. “Where are the Mechanics? I can't see anything for this filth!”
“Hey, look out for what you're banging into!” Yazo pushed him away.
Luhar flew backward and as he tried to keep his balance grabbed onto the first thing that was in his way, and that was Lem.
“Don't grab my arm, idiot!” yelled Lem and hit Luhar's Shell, which was already out of control waving his appendages in all directions, hard with his fist.
“Who hit me! Where are you, you filthy pest!?”
“Come over here if you want a fight!” yelled Rogar in order to trick him.
Luhar swung his fist hard in the direction of the voice, but instead of hitting Rogar, he hit Opatar, who fell to the ground. The metal parts collected from Radator's Shell flew everywhere. Zimmer and Thirteen tried to stay out of the way of the brawl, which had started so suddenly and without warning.
“Oh-ho, look at you!” Leegan's thundering laughter interrupted the struggle and the boys quieted down. “Don't stop! You can continue fighting over the food that is left!”
Then the hungry boys once again began to push and fight each other for a small portion of the green slugs, while Leegan watched interested to see who would be the winner. Only Bars, the two Mechanics and Luhar, who had more serious problems than hunger, didn't take part in the dispute.
“I may not be able to see where the slugs are, but I can hear how the others are fighting over them,” said Luhar hoping he would get someone's attention.
“Let's see what's going on with you,” replied Thirteen.
Upon hearing the voice of the little Mechanic, Luhar took a step back.
“Where's Zimmer?” asked Luhar anxiously.
“Take it easy! I just want to look, it's not going to hurt, believe me!”
“Um,...,” Luhar wasn't sure, but his condition wouldn't allow him to resist, nor to put off the needed exam, so, even though it was quite difficult for him, he lowered his head.
On the top part of his suit, around the visor, the surface was darkened by some kind of substance. The sand and dust stuck to the suit forming a solid layer, which wasn't allowing Luhar to see. Thirteen tried to clean away a small part of it, but it wasn't easy. The metal hands of his suit were too big and clumsy to be able to clean off the layers of build-up.
“Humph, this doesn't look good at all,” commented Thirteen
“What do you mean? You can't clean it off?” anxiously asked Luhar.
“Just a minute, let me try one of my tools.”
Thirteen took out the best tool for the job and again tried to help the frightened Defender. But it turned out to be a bad idea – the layered junk stuck to his tool as well.
“Terrible! Nothing works! It only smears more.”
“Where did this stuff come from? Why can't it be cleaned off?” asked Bars, who was watching Luhar's suffering.
“It looks like some kind of glue, but it shouldn't have been used there,” stated Thirteen. “You seriously messed up when you constructed your Shell, Luhar!”
“What do you mean I mes
sed up? I just wanted to make it as strong as possible,” said Luhar unable to comprehend.
“I'll talk to Zimmer and we'll think of something,” said Thirteen
But at that moment, the Head Mechanic was fighting with Leegan.
“You can't dole out the food in this way!” argued Zimmer. “The weaker ones among us will always go hungry – you're dooming them to certain death!”
“There are not enough slugs, and that will always mean, that some of us won't make it to the next season,” replied the Alpha Defender. “Truth be told, I prefer it to be the weaker ones since they don't have much chance of surviving out here anyway.”
“Don't you realize that I'm a part of that group? What will the strong among us do without any Mechanics?”
“Here's how it is, as I see it, only the weak have need of Mechanics. To be strong, doesn't only mean physical strength. In order to survive in this wasteland, you need to have some other qualities. You are a very good technician, but what else are you capable of?”
“OK, I understand,” replied Zimmer disappointed. “I'll have to think up some alternative...”
“That's right! Show us that you’re strong!”
The Mechanic turned to look at the boys, who had scavenged the left over slugs and began thinking. Their Shells were still slamming into one another even though there was nothing left for them to fight over.
The food was gone.
“Hey, Zimmer!” Thirteen called to him. “You need to see this.”
“Not now!” said the Mechanic cutting him off.
The gray shadows of the clouds covered most of the surface of the land.
There wasn't the slightest breeze and everything around them was calm and quiet, especially since the boys had calmed down. They had used up most of their energy in the fight, at least as much energy as the food had provided, and now they were resting and recovering.
“Next time I won't have the strength to take part,” admitted Yazo.
“We won't have to fight every time, if the Hunters do their job,” angrily noted Lem, and some of the boys agreed with him.
This whole time Bars was standing over to the side trying to conserve what little strength he had left for the next march. His food supplies were frighteningly reduced, and the pain in his head kept giving him problems for yet another day. Even though he was seeking peaceful isolation, he overheard the dissatisfied boys' conversation and decided that he needed to butt in.
“I can assure you that we are doing everything we can to find as many slugs as possible,” Bars' voice was weak but everyone heard it and turned to him. “We've already been discussing a different strategy, even though it's more risky.”
“What's so risky about roaming around here and there?” Lem threw out sarcastically. “I really don't see what is so difficult about finding slugs. And I've read the Textbook and I know where there should be plenty of them.”
“Do you really think that you can find a slug in this wilderness?” asked Yazo.
“Well, yeah! I could help the Hunters, if the task is too hard for them.”
“Anyway, with that messed-up hand you can't be a Defender!” laughed Rogar.
“Shut-up, pest!” replied Lem. “Better to be a damaged Defender, than a simple Gatherer!”
If both of them weren't so fatigued, they would have gotten into a serious fight, but now everything finished with only a few sharp glares.
“OK! Do you see that rock, way over there in the distance?” Bars said deciding to test them.
Lem took a step forward and replied almost immediately.
“That one there? I see it, of course. It's just a normal rock. What about it?”
“Well, actually those are several rocks standing next to each other, but yes, from this distance a person could be fooled into thinking it is one rock,” said Bars
“Wow, you have great vision Bars!” interjected Yazo, while Lem was awkwardly silent.
“There is a lot of roaming around while one is seeking slugs, that's how it is, but the most important thing is to be able to notice them amongst the wastes,” continued Bars. “And once you've found them, you have to get as close as you can to them without being detected, because these slugs may be blind and deaf, but they can sense every vibration of a careless step. But that's not all! Even the most careful Hunter can be detected by these little pests, once he closes within about 20 meters of them. The Shells are quite heavy, you know, and at such a close distance there's no way to move in undetected.”
“What then?” asked Yazo interested.
“Then you rush straight at the prey!” replied Bars. “You only have a few seconds before the green slugs burrow into the ground in order to hide from you. And if you succeed... Well, you know what comes after that – the signal flare goes up, you drag yourselves in here complaining and dissatisfied, as if you are the only ones who are hungry in this world and gulp down everything in just a few minutes.” After Bars had explained what the Hunter's task actually was, the boys entered into a thoughtful silence.
And during that time a forgotten suit neared them. His silhouette swam over the dried surface slowly approaching the group that had abandoned him.
“Damn! Is that Radator?” Yazo said surprised.
“Huh! I had written him off,” said Rogar and then he yelled. “Heeey, hurry up if you want a juicy green slug!”
“Shut up!” Opatar said cutting him off, who more and more couldn't stand the crude Gatherer.
Radator's stripped-down suit swayed unstably and lurched forward every few steps, but in the end it reached the end goal. His damaged leg screeched ominously as he stopped not saying a word while he caught his breath. The metal parts that heated up due to the friction of rubbing together were leaking hydraulic fluid, which soaked into the ground leaving dark stains. His visor was down and no one could see Radator's face, but the air that was noisily coming out of the air exhausts, suggested that it wasn't in anyway easy for him. In the face of such damage, it was a miracle that he was still moving. The boys felt uncomfortable with his company and therefore sought to keep themselves busy with other things, far away from him. They all knew he was doomed, even with his extreme perseverance in following them.
Then Bars drew near to the wretched looking Shell.
“Try not to fall so far behind. I know that it's difficult, but you have to do it! You have to be around, when we find the next portion of slugs, before the rest of them eat them.”
Radator continued to stand there quietly.
“Hey, Bars!” yelled Leegan. “Don't you need to be searching for slugs?”
“Yes, I do!” replied Bars upset. “I need to find six green slugs – two times as many, as Vestule provided for the group.”
“That's right – six whole green slugs! Well, will you succeed by the end of the day, Hunter?” said the Alpha Defender looking at him with disbelief.
“I will succeed!”
“Well then, what are you waiting for?! Get going and fulfill your promise!” Leegan pointed with his hand at the far horizon.
The Hunters left once more for the hunt, while Zimmer prepared additional pieces of metal for Leegan's Shell.
For hours' on end, Bars marched continuously on, followed by Vestule. Loaded down with an impossible task, he scanned every distant point for green slugs, but there was still no sign of the little pests. Only the scattered stones sticking up above the thick sandy layer broke up the lifeless scenery. Gradually, on both sides of the valley that they had been traveling through for two days, began to show the solid peaks of dark cliffs. Their silhouettes became ever taller with every passing kilometer, and after another had passed they formed a solid wall, which surrounded the ancient bed of a river that had dried up centuries ago.
Once Bars saw the new opportunity, he changed course immediately.
“Hey, where do you think you're going?!” objected Vestule, once he realized what he was doing. “The Textbook says that t
here's no way we'll find slugs there.”
“That's exactly the reason why we’re going to look for them there!” replied Bars, without wasting time on useless arguments.
“It's too dangerous there!” added Vestule, but that didn't change the other Hunter's decision either.
After accepting Leegan's challenge, Bars was ready to do whatever it took to find food. Slugs for everyone in the group without exception! His Shell continued straight for the rocky horizon. No more would he listen to the objections of his cowardly companion, who never stopped finding new obstacles for a successful hunt.
“I don't like these clouds, you know! Why we’re heading over there anyway?” complained Vestule.
“Let's keep going!” was the only thing that Bars replied and then set off again, while the sky above them became darker.
The area in front of them didn't offer them anything much different yet. It was still raw and lifeless, without any sign of any kind of slug. It crushed one's confidence. Bars walked ever faster, trying to cover the greatest amount of area, but wherever he went, his luck failed him.
When the skies grew even darker and a strong thunder clap was heard in the distance, Vestule stopped in fear. The wind-blown gray darkened clouds presented an amazing and at the same time frightening view.
The sunlight disappeared, even though it was still day.
“Is that... a storm?” asked the anxious boy.
“Don't be silly! There's no way that on our second day there'll be a real storm!” replied Bars, even as the thunder claps became more frequent.
The clouds exploded with a bright light that blinded the two boys.
“I'm staying here!” yelled Vestule over the wind.
“I'm continuing on!” yelled even louder Bars, looking at the nearby hill. “Just a little farther and I'll find them! I'm sure of it!”
“Are you crazy? We need to stay in the depression and wait for the rest!”
“Over that rise we'll find them, Vestule! Believe me!” continued on the Hunter.
“Wait! Stop! Don't climb up there!” Vestule wasn't able to stop the frantic Bars.
When the two boys reached the highest part of the hill, they were stunned by what they saw coming to meet them. Flying right at them was one of the most terrifying natural occurrences, described in the Textbook – a Thunderstorm.
“No more looking for slugs today!” announced Bars disappointed and a second later the sound of a mighty thunderclap reached them. “I failed again!”
“Are you afraid of thunders?” asked Vestule not taking his eyes off the coming storm.
“Yes, I've always been! Even when we were secure in the Fortress, we would listen to the howling storm outside. Sometimes I thought, that the Fortress would collapse,” remembered Bars.
While they stood there amazed at the blinding view, the rest of the boys arrived one after the other. All of them were at once tired, scared and disappointed.
Leegan immediately began to give orders, but most of the boys were in shock at the sight of the whirling storm and didn't pay much attention to the Chieftain. More and more often, Leegan's voice couldn't be heard because of the terrifying roars of the thunder from the sky over them.
Dragging in lame and awkward, Radator arrived last, just as the first drops of acid rain fell.
“Spread out!” Leegan succeeded in yelling, then he was hit by a mighty lightning bolt.
The light was searing and blinding, and the ear-splitting roar – stunning. Bars hadn't been ready for either of them. For several seconds, he couldn't believe that he was still alive. After making sure that he was alive, Bars froze in place, closed his eyes and clenched his jaw awaiting the next lightning bolt.
And there were many more lightning strikes.
The storm was at full strength and lightning fell from the heavens every few seconds. The boys' Shells absorbed the monstrous charges of electricity one after another. The heavy drops of sulfuric acid splattered everywhere, and their fumes colored the air yellow. In such a storm, no one could have survived without a special suit.
Bars succeeded in counting 13 lightning strikes to his Shell before he lost consciousness.
Chapter 10