Mistrunner - Chapter 15 - Debts

The journey home was a depressing one, but I had to know who had survived the Initialization. When I got there, I was unsurprised to discover that, of all my friends and family, only my sister and her son had managed to survive.  Even after seeing so much death, that was a sobering thought.

Jeremiah Braddock III

“I don’t know what that means,” I admitted, staring at the skyline as we drew nearer to the city. The closer we got, the more decrepit the buildings looked. Crumbling remnants of a bygone age, great, snaking vines covered most of their exterior, and I suspected that it wouldn’t be long before nature pulled them down altogether. That they’d managed to remain standing after so long was a minor testament to the architectural prowess of generations past.

“Mobile is the name of the city,” Jeremiah said. “Alabama was the state.”

“That doesn’t help much,” I admitted. Vaguely, the term rang a bell, but it was a memory of a lesson half-learned and even less remembered.

“States were like districts,” he explained. “Just bigger. It doesn’t matter, though. Not anymore.”

The trucks continued their approach, and in places, the road – which was curiously well-preserved – was under at least a few inches of water. The vegetation was ubiquitous, and more than once, I saw wildlife weaving between the buildings. A giant canine here, a lumbering reptile there – even a swarm of giant rat-like creatures, which Jeremiah dubbed nutria, that splashed through the water and disappeared into one of the buildings.

“They used to only be a nuisance,” he said, shaking his head. “When I was little, my dad used to take us to nutria rodeos.” I started to ask if they were similar to the rat-fights that were so popular in Nova City, but he interrupted me, saying, “We’d set the islands in the bay on fire, and these huge swarms of nutria would come pouring off. We’d open fire. You couldn’t miss. Good times.”

“That’s…that’s horrible.”

“They’re vermin,” he stated. “They spread disease, they destroy any kind of vegetation they find, and they breed so fast that even with our efforts, we could barely keep the populations in check. Sometimes, you have to do brutal things if you want to survive. That’s more important now than it ever was back then, Mirabelle. Remember that.”

My mind immediately went back to all the people I’d killed. I still felt guilty, but some of that had faded. After all, they’d attacked us, hadn’t they? We were justified in defending ourselves.

“Why did those people attack us?” I asked.

“Survival,” was his answer. “They wanted what we had. It’s the only way they can live out there. I don’t blame them. I’ve spent plenty of time as a raider myself. But just because I don’t blame them doesn’t mean I’m just going to lie down and die. If it makes you feel any better, these supplies are going to keep a lot of people alive over the next few months. Where we’re headed, life is balanced on the edge of a knife.”

“Isn’t it everywhere?” I muttered.

“Yes,” he answered. “That’s what you need to understand about this world, Mirabelle. You’ve lived a sheltered life, and –”

“I’ve been training with guns since I was seven!” I insisted. “And besides, if I’ve been sheltered, that’s your fault!”

“I’m not going to apologize for giving you a few years of peace,” he stated. “When you get a little older, you’ll understand how valuable it was. But now, you’re about to step into the real world. No more training wheels. If you take nothing else from what I’ve told you over the past few days, it’s this: everyone has reasons for what they do. There are no good guys and bad guys – not like in those shows you like to watch on the entertainment streams. There are just people with opposing goals.”

“So, you’re saying that evil doesn’t exist? That good is…what? Just a matter of perspective?” I asked, my brows furrowing. “That’s stupid.”

“I’m saying that nobody sets out to be evil,” he said. “Do they still get there? Of course. But even then, none of the truly evil people out there really consider themselves wrong. They make compromises. We all do. And then, one day, we look up, and we’ve done unconscionable things. You will, too. What I’m trying to get through to you is that, when you do – and you will – make it worth it. If you’re going to kill, do so for a reason. Don’t just do it because you can. And never forget that, even if you hate them, your enemies are people, too.”

“What does that even mean, though?” I asked. At that moment, I wasn’t trying to empathize with the people I’d killed. It was easier if I just thought of them as monsters.

My uncle saw right through that, explaining, “The moment you start seeing your enemies as monsters, that’s the moment you become one yourself. I’ve been there, Mirabelle. I’ve done things you…just don’t make the same mistakes I made, okay? I’m already lost. I can’t change who I am, now. But you can do better. You can be better.”

“So, you want me to be some kind of pacifist?”

“I want you to follow your conscience,” he said as we passed through the ruined city. The driver remained silent, focusing on the road and acting like she wasn’t privy to our conversation. “Pacifism is for people who have the luxury of being protected by the strong. Maybe it was possible back before the Initialization. I don’t know. But back then, there were laws. There were protections in place to protect the weak. Even then…it was just an excuse to justify passing the burden onto someone else. People are good at that. Governments are even better.”

“What do you want from me, though? You said you wanted me to survive,” I said, hardly noticing that we were slowing down. “But…”

“I said what I meant,” Jeremiah stated. “You need to survive. I couldn’t save your mom. I couldn’t save your grandfather. Or your great grandfather, either. I kept Trey alive for a couple of decades, but…I’m tired of failure, Mirabelle. I’m tired of losing. You have to survive. Ultimately, I don’t care if you become a monster, so long as you’re the monster you need to be in order to stay alive. But you need to understand that there’s a cost associated with every single death. You feel that. I know you do. Just hang onto it.”

The truck pulled to a stop, and the driver announced, “We’re here, boss.”

Jeremiah turned around and studied the landscape. Or the lack of it; instead, looming above us was a giant, metal wall, at least a hundred feet tall. As I studied the corrugated surface, I saw that it had a modular design. Then it hit me – they were shipping containers stacked one atop the other.

Just when I was going to ask about the wall, it cracked apart and, like a pair of enormous double doors, swung open to reveal a village. It looked nothing like the city we’d just passed. The grey brick buildings were modest and only a couple of stories tall, but they looked well maintained.

“What is this place?” I asked.

“A free settlement,” Jeremiah said. “No integration with the outside world. No Node. All built by human hands.” Then, to the driver, he said, “Head on in. They won’t want to leave the gate open for long.”

The truck accelerated, its huge, knobby tires crunching on the loose gravel that covered the road, and as we passed through the wall, I got a good look at its structure. The doors of the gate were comprised of four shipping containers stacked atop one another and braced by metal rods. The wall itself was five times as deep and at least twice as tall. More, I couldn’t help but notice the blue sheen of a Mist-shield covering its entire surface.

After a couple of seconds, we emerged into the open air, and, once again, I gasped in surprise. The settlement was much bigger than I’d expected, and there were plenty of people around. Most carried weapons of one sort or another, and I could see a smaller wall a half mile away.

As our small convoy drove through the settlement, I studied our surroundings. The buildings that I had dubbed simple were, in a lot of ways, more unique than the ones in Nova City.  Back home, everything was built for maximum efficiency, with the goal of packing as many people into as small of a space as was possible. There was no artistry to the buildings. No creativity. Most were just concrete blocks divided into apartments.

These buildings were different, though. Not only were the construction materials varied – most were, as I’d first suspected, made of concrete bricks, but there were wooden buildings as well. In addition, most of the buildings sported balconies lined with black iron railings. All in all, it was a strange sight for someone who’d grown up in Nova City, where most of the buildings were variations of the same overarching design.

It was also a bit disconcerting because there were no blinking neon signs or holographic displays. It seemed like an entirely different world, and surrounded by so much unfamiliarity, I felt even more uncomfortable than I had in the wilderness. And it took me a moment to figure out why. I was a city girl, through and through, so I shouldn’t have been at ease in a swamp. But in a town? It should have been familiar.

But this place wasn’t, and it made me anxious.

After a couple of minutes, we turned, and I got a good view of a huge body of water. It was at least a half-mile across, and the water was steadily moving. A river, then. I’d seen plenty of streams on the journey from Nova City, but this was the biggest one by a long shot.

“Brings back memories,” said Jeremiah. “Used to be a cruise terminal right over there.” He pointed to a cluster of buildings to his right. I had no idea what a cruise terminal was, but I didn’t ask for clarification. I was too entranced by the latest strike against my utilitarian sensibilities.

The building in front of us was unlike any of the rest of them. Instead, it looked older, and I had no trouble believing that it predated the town itself. Or the Initialization. And not by a little bit, either. The red tile roof was sloped, with a sizable dome at the intersection of two distinct wings. A decorative façade, studded with spires and arches, gave the building a distinct flavor I’d never seen before.

But as ancient as the building looked, there were more modern characteristics as well. For one, at each end of the building, there were towers jutting toward the sky. Atop those towers were heavy guns that looked as if they could destroy our vehicles with a single shot. And finally, the whole building was encased in a flickering blue shell of light – more Mist-shields. It was a fortress.

The vehicle pulled to a stop in front of the building, and I saw the guns pointed in our direction. I swallowed hard, but my uncle said, “Get out and come with me. I have some people you need to meet.”

“Um...okay,” I said before following him out of the vehicle. Looking back at the battered truck, it had certainly seen better days. No trip in the wilds was without danger, even discounting the bandits we’d fought off, and the truck sported a series of dents, scratches, and even a few bite marks from overconfident beasts.

I yanked my attention back to the present and followed my uncle. As I did so, my eyes darted this way and that, noting various points of cover. I hadn’t received a lot of training in combat – just plenty of time at the range – but the recent battle had given me an appreciation for knowing the terrain. Besides, I could practically feel the guns trained on us.

I followed my uncle up the steps in front of the building, where we were met by a stout, bearded man wearing a too-small tee-shirt, a pair of cargo shorts, and an old, blue, and barely-holding-it-together cap with a stylized “A” on the front. At his hip was a hand cannon not all that dissimilar from Ferdinand II, and his right hand from the elbow down was entirely mechanical.

“Took ya long ‘nuff,” he growled. Then, he hiked his thumb at a figure standing in the shadows. “Jorge and my amigos been followin’ you for the last ten miles.”

“I know,” my uncle said. “They’re not as stealthy as they think they are.” He looked past the stout – okay, he was fat – man, saying, “Didn’t see you, though, Jorge. You’re getting better.”

“I try,” said the figure, his voice strangely accented. I’d heard its like before, but there was something a little off. I just couldn’t put my finger on exactly what that was. The figure stepped from the shadows, and I saw that he was cradling a huge sniper rifle. My eyes kept trying to drift away from him, and if I didn’t concentrate, it was almost as if I’d forget he was even there.

“We were hit by raiders about halfway here,” Jeremiah said. “And the muscle had a Tier-4 arm cannon. Mikoshi. Military grade stuff.”

“Aww, hell,” said the portly man, yanking his cap off to reveal a mostly bald head. “Where the hell they get somethin’ like that?”

“I don’t know,” my uncle answered. “But I plan to figure it out. For now, though, we need to drop these supplies and get my niece settled in. Tomorrow, we’re implementing the plan.”

“So soon?”

“It has to be done,” Jeremiah stated. “In the meantime, we need to get Mirabelle trained up. I’m talking the full suite. You know the skills.”

“I’ve got people who can train her,” the fat man said. “I’ll even put her on the right track with pistols myself.” He looked at me. “Hope you’re ready, ‘cause you’re about to have a rough couple of months.”

“Six.”

“What?”

“Six months,” Jeremiah repeated. “The training program is six months. I’m structuring it similarly to military training. With the enhanced learning speed that comes with Awakening, she should be able to reach my goals. Then, we’ll have the test.”

“Better make it a coupla years,” the other man said. “You’ve got time to get her ready.”

“I can’t devote that much time to this,” my uncle said. “I’ve got an organization to run. You know that, Milo.”

Milo spat, then ran his forearm over his forehead. “We can take care of her when you ain’t here,” he said. “Don’t ya trust us?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then it’s settled,” Milo said. “Once we get the girl somewhere to sleep, you and me – we’ll adjust the schedule. When we get done, the girl’s gonna be a lean, mean, killin’ machine. I guarantee it.”

I swallowed hard, but I didn’t say anything as both men – and Jorge, for that matter – fixed their gazes on me. “You ready for that?” asked my uncle. “Two years of intensive training. When you’re finished, you’ll –”

“Assuming she survives the test.”

“Right. After that, you’ll be one of the most powerful people in Nova City,” my uncle stated. “Maybe not in raw stats or the power of your skills, but you’ll have versatility on your side. At first. Eventually, you’ll have the raw power to back up your versatility.”

“She’s gonna be a monster.”

“That’s the point, Milo,” Jeremiah said. Then, to me, he said, “You ready?”

“Yes,” I said, my voice hoarse. I’d made my decision when I’d accepted the Tier-7 implant, and nothing had happened to change my mind. I didn’t like having to kill those people, but, if it came down to my life or theirs, I knew which choice I would make.

Because I’d already made it. Dozens of times. And I knew I’d do the same, over and over again, because that’s what survival was, at least in the world I knew. Maybe it would be better elsewhere, but I couldn’t hold out hope for that. I needed to thrive in the environment in which I’d found myself. Anything else, and I would end up dead in some unnamed alley, just like my mother. Just like my father.

“Good,” Milo said, grinning at me as he gripped my shoulder with his flesh hand. “Real good.”

“Thanks, Milo,” Jeremiah said. “Really. I mean it.”

Again, Milo spat. “No thanks needed. Me and you, we’re like family. I remember what you done for us way back when. This place, it wouldn’t survive without your shipments. Food. Meds. Tech. Least we can do is train this little girl up right.”

“Still – I’ll remember this, Milo,” Jeremiah stated. “I don’t forget my debts.”

“No, no you do not,” Milo agreed. “Now, go get those supplies delivered and get settled. I think Erica’s got room for ya.”

“Will do,” Jeremiah said with a nod. “C’mon, Mirabelle.”

With that, he turned and walked away, and as I followed him back to the truck, I couldn’t help but wonder what the history between my uncle and Milo was. Still, I didn’t ask. My uncle didn’t really like to talk about his past, and I knew that asking him would just annoy him. So, we rode in silence as we made our way to a nearby warehouse, where we would unload the supplies.