“Are you sure?” Reyes questioned; radio held up to his lips as he sat in the driving seat at the front of the cart. His voice firm but clear.
Audas’ ears went erect. Reyes had been on that radio for most of the morning, trying to reach the Fort as they began their approach through the last hills. The Hubbers were also silent, directing their attention towards the surrounding hills and the road ahead. Even the normally chatty Kaine couldn’t quite seem to bring up the courage to let out the odd joke or even just a quip, all the while keeping one hand on his shotgun.
The whole caravan’s uneasy... Especially the guys from Fort Stark… he rested his head against the wood of the cart, the M4 laid out across his lap. Something’s wrong.
It had taken them the better part of a week to make the journey northwards, passing through the fields and hills of Cascadia, deep into lush forests and alongside deep lakes. All the while, the Rockies hung over them as the indomitable giants they had always been, watching them as they pressed onwards.
It had not been Audas’ first time in the outdoors, he had visited the Snowdonia Mountains of Wales, the highland forests of Scotland and the lakes of Northern England even before the Outbreak came to plague the world. But Cascadia was something else, if not by the beauty of their surroundings, but their sheer scale alone. The Rockies would have been enough of an indicator for that. He would find himself staring across the colourful picturescape, stunned by the vastness of it all… only for someone to laugh and tell him to keep up as the caravan pulled away. Sheepishly, and with no small amount of squirming in embarrassment, he would quickly bolt after the party.
And in the evenings, they would find themselves cracking open their own supplies around a small fire, alternating between guard duty and bantering amongst themselves. Trading stories mainly. Audas merely listened in those nights, still not quite ready to talk more about his own past yet or any details really. If anything, he was interested in hearing what else had to be said about the wider state of Nyúlfur society. But he had to hide his disappointment, as most of the stories were about casual, everyday affairs more than anything else. It was almost like the Retrovirus wasn’t even a thing.
That, or the humans and Ferals weren’t a topic suited for idle conversation. At least, for some sets of furry ears.
There was some humour to be had – Audas begrudgingly admitted - when they found themselves setting up camp at the edge of a lake. Namely, there was one additional advantage in mind at that kind of location.
Swimming.
At least, as far as Kaine and a few of the Stark guards of both sexes were concerned.
Even Dorian was chuckling at the thought, despite his attempts to shoot down their attempts at hitting the waters.
Indeed, the one blessing was that they didn’t come across any bandits, humans and especially Ferals. Audas had half expected a fight at least once on their journey, but no threat appeared. He supposed Cascadia was that large, that even the Ferals wouldn’t be able to cover every scrap of land all at once.
Now they sat in silence, at the ready for whatever this newfound danger was. A danger so close to their destination.
“Understood.” Reyes replied, lowering the radio and glancing back over at them. “We’ve got a problem.”
“Obviously.” Dorian replied, no hostility in his tone. “What’s going on?”
The Starkman narrowed his eyes, “The garrison has been tied up searching the land round the Fort. Some kind of ambushes going on.”
“Ambushes?” Audas questioned, propping himself up. Ambushes could mean near enough anything in his experience.
“Can’t be the first time.” Dray added from further back in the cart, sat next to the M14 rifle he had brought along.
“It’s not the usual kind.” Reyes replied, hand squeezing onto the back rest. “Its small groups being hit, two, maybe three people at once. Human and Nyúlfur.”
Dorian frowned, “Survivors?”
The golden furred Nyúlfur shook his head. Audas frowned, bandits wouldn’t usually target small groups. Sure, they were easier targets, but they wouldn’t have much on their person. It was ultimately more rewarding, if riskier, to opt for a fast, quick attack on a larger group and scurry away before the smoke cleared. That would work for both humans and Nyúlfur alike.
If it was a smaller group, there were only really three possibilities at the top of his head. The first was that the bandits were just underequipped. But so close to a major town that would have been an even bigger risk with reinforcements minutes away.
The second was that the attackers were looking for something specific, something that they knew a smaller group possessed. The former human shuddered at the thought of the black armoured soldiers that made up Hagen’s entourage going round attacking random parties. It certainly fit their MO, especially with their track record of leaving piles of corpses in their wake. But again, what would small groups have to offer them? And why leave bodies for others to find if kidnapping was the aim?
That left option three.
“Could it be Ferals?” Audas asked quietly, fighting back the memory of the beasts tearing through Birmingham and...
“That’s what I thought.” Reyes replied, looking back towards the road they rolled down. “But the bodies all have bullet holes. The poor sods barely had a chance to fight back.”
“Idiots for trying to handle things alone.” Dorian uttered.
Dray’s eyes flashed, “They might’ve not known. We’ve gone out with small parties plenty of times.”
“But we had at least four people on hand. Or better yet six.” He glowered at Dray, “Two people on their own is asking for trouble.”
Audas scowled at Dorian. They hadn’t spoken since their tense argument back at Ironhold, and whilst Dorian had been warmer with everyone else, he wasn’t about to let the paranoid bastard start having a go at any of them on a whim.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“It doesn’t matter now.” Reyes cut in – conveniently dragging Dorian’s attention away from Dray and Audas , “A few of the other caravans are getting stalked now, and we can’t cover every road. There’s a forward camp ahead, we’ll stop there and scout ahead for a clear path.
“Lil’ flaw in that plan.” Kaine said, checking over his shotgun. “Cos’ wouldn’t we be easy targets like those poor folks?”
“Not when we are using quads.” Reyes replied, “No one’s been caught on those.”
“Just like the ‘Nam.” The grey furred wolf chuckled as he pumped the weapon, “Just on land instead.”
A little smile formed across Dray’s face. “You’re joking, but you’re not actually wrong.”
Unsure of what the two even meant, even considering what he imagined was a reference to Vietnam of all things, Audas pulled himself up and turned to look ahead. “How far off are we then?” he asked Reyes.
“Just over the next ridge.”.
When they did, Audas could feel his jaw start to drop at the new sight.
Several miles towards the east, across a few hills and flat ground, Fort Stark climbed up the side of a short, jagged grey mountain that stood at the edge of the wider mountain range, almost isolated from the others. The town looked like a small castle, the structure arranged in staggered, segregated tiers whilst at the very bottom, a dull grey wall encased the entire settlement, itself lined with what appeared to be a form of battlements and watch towers.
But that was not the thing that really got Audas’ attention, because the entire Fort was dwarfed by a single, gigantic pillar that rose from its core, reaching up at least a hundred metres high. There were other pillars, running across the open plains and hills outside the Fort, each one serving as the support for a colossal bridge. That grey monstrosity stood tall above all of it, curving round from behind the mountain before, with a certain laziness, it swept across the landscape before finally descending back down to earth behind distant hills towards the north.
Audas blinked, Jesus… they’ve built the entire damn town underneath that thing.
Then, like a sun rise, the realisation settled in. “That bridge…” he uttered, “…it can’t be…”
A distant scream echoed, faint and distant. Inhuman, no… it was dead, synthetic… and familiar...
Something fluttered from round the side of the mountain, partly hidden in its shadow. He leaned forward, trying to focus on the distant shape as it followed the bridge’s path round towards the Fort’s central pillar. The same call brushed against his eardrums. It would have barely registered for a human, but he could already recognise it.
A train… that’s a fucking railway bridge!
The train rumbled above the Fort now; it’s horn bellowing with a single loud blow as if it were an angry whale that couldn’t quite whack that annoying fish away. The Fort remained frozen, unmoving as it passed.
“I’ve said it once.” Kaine started, “I’ve said it thirty-one thousand times. But you guys have balls.”
“That’s a railway bridge.” Audas uttered.
“Yep.” Reyes replied calmly, as if it was the most everyday thing to possibly exist.
“It’s human.” Audas hissed, eyes fixed on the train now leaving the town behind.
“It’s got its perks.”
Dray stepped up next to him, leaning against the seat rest. “Fort Stark’s people used to live in the mountains.” He explained, voice wooden. “But when the raids got too much, they moved out onto the plain.”
He rubbed the back of his head; eyes fixed onto the Fort. “Someone had the idea of building the Fort under the bridge in plain sight.”
Audas shook his head, trying to get the picture out of it. “That’s madness.”
Reyes let slip a stifled chuckle, and Audas nearly kicked himself at uttering the words. “That bridge saved the town. The humans haven’t dared to hit the Fort head on and risk taking down the supports.”
“And even if they did.” Dray added, “They would destroy one of their main trade lines towards the Great Lakes and Nova Scotia.”
Hesitating, Audas’ gaze flicked back and forth between the Fort and the departing train, now silent as it began its descent towards the ground. It was insane to build a home underneath that, especially when the owners of that bridge would do everything in their power to push for the settler’s extermination.
Save for their valuable trade links. Or at least, so it seemed. It did make Audas wonder what goods were so important, that Victoria itself just couldn’t risk destroying that bridge? They didn’t even have to attack the town directly with an army even if they had one. If they had them to spare, a well-placed missile could do the job.
Unless they couldn’t rebuild it… Audas realised, flicking an ear back in satisfaction. I can’t deny it. It’s insane enough to work, I’ll give them that.
As the train vanished from view, the caravan pulled over by an isolated building in the shelter of some smaller hills. Its brick walls were half blown out and cratered as it stood surrounded by a pair of watch towers, barbed fences and multiple canvas tents. Indeed, it was a small outpost.
Six guards greeted them as they dismounted, and Reyes marched into the interior with the garrison leader. Not that he was gone for very long mind you, as before Audas and his fellow Hubbers could even pull away from the carts, he had already returned with an oddly exhausted look on his face. “Bad news. We’ve only got four quads working. The rest are either out of action, or some patrols had to make off with them.”
Audas frowned, four quadbikes racing around the hills? It should have been easy, and yet… he didn’t feel quite so convinced at the task at hand.
Dray slung his rifle over his shoulder, “We could just go as a group of four. Should be able to get the routes covered.”
“We don’t have time before nightfall.” Reyes stressed, a faint hiss slipping through. “We’ll have to split into pairs and check the first few roads over, then just blitz it to the town.”
Dorian stepped round behind him, crossing his arms, “If the risk’s that great…”
“You know as much as I do these are guard posts, not castles D.” he sighed, “The huts are shut anyway, so we need to get home, or the garrison might as well have a bullseye painted over it.”
The big Nyúlfur nodded, “I hear you. I guess you need us to help run the roads?”
“Just the first few.”
Reyes did have a point. The fences, the towers… it was little more than a checkpoint. Big and intimating at first glance… but in practice it would be easy to break into if someone threw enough firepower at it. If its defences were more substantial, with more cover to use, then the safe bet would have been to hunker down until morning. But in its current state…
No, the caravan couldn’t stay. That, and he didn’t want to sit around twiddling his thumbs.
“Well.” Audas started, resting his rifle’s strap across his back along with the longsword. “I volunteer.”
Dorian’s eyes threatened to burn through him. “T-“
“I’ll keep an eye on him Dorian.” Reyes cut in, resting a hand on the Hubber’s shoulder. “You can trust me on that.”
For the first time, the brown furred Nyúlfur seemed to hesitate, as if internally debating his next move. “Alright.” He replied, physically relaxing. “Just don’t leave him out of your sight.”
“Loud and clear.” Reyes said reassuringly.
Audas resisted the urge to sigh with relief, the last thing he needed was Dorian still breathing down his neck. Reyes must have had enough sense to see what was going on between the two of them and decided to step in.
Dray shifted in the corner of Audas’ vision, a hand raised up, “I’ll tag along with you Dorian.” He said.
“Oh come on.” Kaine called out, pouting hard enough that the Nyúlfur almost transformed into some kind of big puppy. “Can’t I tag along?”
Again, for the first time in a while, Dorian smirked with a hidden delight, “Kaine. Your job will be keeping everyone entertained back here.”
“Okay…” Kaine replied with a wounded tone, if somewhat mockingly. “Come back when you four get bored.”
Within a few minutes, the four quad bikes had been pulled out of a small shack on the other side of the ruined structure. Audas frowned as he mounted one of the machines, staring at the cracked dials on the console as he turned the ignition. With a stuttering bang, the quad’s little engine barked into life. Rough life huh? He pondered, as he brought his legs up onto the battered, if unoriginal bodywork hugging the vehicle. At least they’ve made it more comfortable for these legs.
With Kaine watching from the gate, the four Nyúlfur brought the quads out onto the road. And with a snappy roar from the engines, they raced away.
Out of the settlements seen so far, which has been your favourite?
