The Wasteland Soldier, Book 1, A Fractured World

Twenty Eight

Calmly, Stone approached the apartment building where he had been moved to last night.

He had never realised how quiet life was in the wasteland. A day could pass without any words spoken or any sound except for the wind or the crackle of a fire or the hiss of boiling water. Here, there was noise all around him; voices spouting empty words, hundreds of shuffling feet against the dirt, distant cries and shouts, slamming doors, opening windows, the squeal of bicycles. His head was spinning, the same as when he had seen the inside of Hamble Towers. He shuffled along, hands thrust in his pockets, following a group of men who were discussing yesterday's riots. He felt an abject outsider amongst these people but realised that, with his bald head and roughly shaven chin, he looked very different to the monster Captain Andozini had led through the gates the day before. Despite his bruises, no one was paying any attention to him; he was blending in, becoming one of them, no more than a common citizen.

The building had three floors each with two separate windows. Two soldiers were stationed outside a closed wooden door. A number had been crudely painted on it. The men wore the uniforms he had seen yesterday, in the House of Leadership, different shades of brown. He saw a figure ahead and recognised him at once. It was the Captain who had captured them on the outskirts of the city. Stone quickened his pace, moved closer to men in front of him, kept behind them until he reached the top of the street. The Captain hadn't spotted him, he was more concerned with the frail looking woman hobbling alongside him, leaning on his arm and holding a cane.

Stone loitered on the corner. He saw a small knot of soldiers talking with security from Hamble Towers. No sirens had sounded. Nuria had been right; everything was more discreet in there. The discussion was heated with plenty of arm waving and, at one point, two men squared up to each other. Stone followed the brown uniformed soldiers from the corner of his eye. He watched them split into two teams and disappear into the streets.

He looked back at the apartment building. The two soldiers were sent away and the Captain and the old woman went inside.

He waited a few moments before walking slowly back down the street, falling in pace alongside a young man carrying a satchel across his back. He glanced at Stone and drifted away from him, crossing to the other side, narrowly avoiding a clutch of bicycles speeding through. A sudden blast of wind chilled Stone, his face and head horribly exposed. He edged open the front door of the building and stepped into a small lobby where a single flight of stairs rose to the next floor. He could hear the faint sound of singing coming from somewhere above him. There was a door to his left. He listened but heard nothing.

Drawing his pistol, he twisted the handle, finding it unlocked.

Captain Andozini was standing in the middle of the room, his back to the slowly opening door, both hands on his hips. There was a broad table in front of him and the old woman was lying on it. Stone could only see her feet and ankles. Emil was nowhere to be seen but Nuria was smiling down at the old woman, whispering words of comfort. She glimpsed Stone and her reaction instantly alerted Andozini, who turned rapidly and reached for his sidearm.

Stone thrust his pistol in the Captain's face.

"No," he said.

His hand was steady, the silenced muzzle almost touching Andozini's nose. With his left hand, he reached for Andozini's gun. It was then he saw Emil. She was leaning over the old woman, gently moving her hands against her skin, the way she had with Tomas, the way she had with him. Her left eye was closed. She looked in a trance. Andozini stared at Stone for a moment and then turned his back on him. He was of no concern at the moment.

"This is my mother," he said, quietly. "She has the sickness. There is a lot in my family. My father died from it, and my brother. Now my mother has it. I can hang for bringing her here."