Homesick

The camp looked even uglier from ground level than it did from above. The worn area where the strange figures were bustling back and forth was actually a raised concrete platform, as Sally suspected. The far side of it, which had been closest to them from the hill, was more beaten down than the rest and appeared to be used as a road. Rows of workers were marching along it, collecting loads of scrap from along its side. Beyond the road was the irregular brick structure with the short smokestack. The whole of it appeared to be radiating heat. Piles of scrap metal were stacked around it and loads were constantly being added. By Sally’s guess, it was some kind of foundry.

The nearest section of the rectangle appeared to be less used. A narrow path led between rows of waist-level walls dividing smaller areas. It was as if the path used to be a hallway in an office building and the roof had been neatly removed along with most of the structure, leaving irregular partitions from one room to the next. She also saw something she hadn’t noticed before. On the side of the camp adjacent to the wheel was a series of sagging barn-like buildings where people entered and emerged from time to time. Of all the structures she’d seen thus far, these appeared the least stable. Their frames were bowed to the point of collapse and their walls and roofs were littered with gaping holes.

Also, now that they were closer, the smell of the place was becoming quite noticeable. It was overpowering and foul to the point that Sally wondered if the air was safe to breathe. The camp gave off a concentrated stench of urine, feces, and disease more profound than any of these odors alone. This, combined with the sense that these filthy substances had been fermenting for years, presented an overall effect that even a doctor couldn’t stomach. She watched the workers in amazement, unable to take her eyes away.

“Anything?” Ian asked.

Sally shook her head. But there was something, though she couldn’t define it yet. Something was very wrong with the way the people were acting. Something obvious. Everything about their appearance suggested disease and gross malnutrition, but they weren’t acting sick. That was it. They weren’t hunched over, crying, or even limping. Like the one-eyed man on the hill, they carried themselves with an eerie cheerfulness. And, though many of them were injured, they didn’t show any signs of being in pain.

Ian consulted his hand-held, trying not to let his hands shake. Sally could see he was sweating.

“What do you see?” she asked.

“Damn thing must be broken,” he murmured. “I don’t see landmines, no evidence of booby traps, and I’m not detecting any kind of electronic defense system either. I’m afraid this may be the best I can do, Captain. We can’t get any closer without being seen. We either move in now or we don’t.”

Sally checked the biomonitor on her wrist. “The signal’s strong. He’s got to be right there. I just wish I could see him!”

“If we could figure out what’s keeping them in there I’d feel a lot better. Dog collars!” He grabbed the binoculars. “No. No dog collars.”

“You mean an electronic barrier they can’t cross without getting a shock?”

“Yeah, if they were wearing shackles or something. Maybe they’ve had something implanted.”

Ian stared through his binoculars, his neck muscles tense and throbbing. Sally looked to him and then to the camp. They had waited long enough. The fear of what they saw was seeping into both of them like water through denim. Now was the time. The iron was hot but cooling. It was time to strike! She felt a rush of anticipation begin. It was as if she were contemplating jumping off a high diving board for the first time. If she stared over the edge long enough she’d never jump. It had to be a swift walk to the edge that precluded any possibility of retreat. With a last determined stare, she took the first step.

“Check your gun and be ready. My taser’s fully charged. We should go southwest from here. That’s where his signal’s strongest.” Then, with robotic resolution, Sally stepped forward beyond the cover of the trees. She walked onto the beaten-down, scorched ground and started towards the platform and the hundreds of emaciated bodies who didn’t seem to notice them. She didn’t have to glance back to know Ian was following.

Sally almost closed her eyes when her foot touched the edge of the platform. She expected a shock, a death ray, a glass wall, or anything but what actually happened. Nothing. She stepped up onto the pitted concrete unchallenged. She checked back for Ian, who was carefully scanning all angles for possible targets.

“Towards the wheel,” he whispered as they walked.

Sally peered at the bodies. They all looked alike. They were frail, bloody, and covered with filth. And, like the one-eyed man, they were grinning like maniacal zombies! She jumped as a line of men and women approached her, carrying large bags laden with bricks and pieces of concrete. Even ignoring gravity differences, many of the loads appeared heavier than most healthy people could safely lift without risking muscular or spinal injury. They were straining, but they didn’t appear uncomfortable. Sally held up the taser as they approached, but the line continued by her without hesitation, as if she and Ian had been standing there for as long as they could remember. But then they did something Sally couldn’t have been prepared for. Each in turn greeted her with an intense, toothless smile! Sally watched them pass in amazement, looking to Ian, who had been following their movements with his gun. Unable to think of an adequate comment, Sally squinted cautiously ahead and proceeded along the side of the road.

The sound of steel striking concrete became more intense as the workers all around her busied themselves with their curious tasks. More girders like the ones Ian had seen on the hill were stacked in a huge web-like pile. A group of workers were trying to separate larger bars of welded metal into smaller pieces. They did this by pounding them on the concrete floor until the welds broke or bending them inside fissures in the slab until the metal weakened. Other workers gathered metal debris into canvas bags, to what end Sally couldn’t imagine.

Two of the workers looked up and grinned broadly as they approached. Both were little more than skeletons and whatever clothing they wore was so saturated with filth that it appeared to be growing out of their skin. One of them had a missing hand and was using what was left of his arm to support a load of girders. When they started speaking Sally could hear a corresponding hiss from the headset still slung around her neck. The translator was kicking in. She put on the headphones with a single, swift motion of her hands. She was rewarded with a stream of gibberish from the workers, like monkeys chattering, with the minor exception of a few familiar words inserted by the computer. But then they got up and approached her, gesturing with their narrow hands! Sally leaped back and held up the taser.

“Don’t shoot, Captain, they’re greeting us!” Ian said from behind her. “I’m not getting what they’re saying, but, according to the hand-held, they’re not threatening!”

Initially the two looked confused by Sally’s reaction, but their expressions quickly faded back into the familiar smiles. One of them held up an empty bag, as if for her to take. She backed away and turned towards the wheel. Neither she nor Ian could comment.

More of them were coming in from all directions. Sally ducked and led Ian behind one of the waist-high walls as another group of bag carriers rounded a corner. When they had passed, she motioned to the ruined hallway, gesturing for him to keep down low. They passed one short wall, then another. The next wall confirmed Sally’s thought that they were in the remains of a building. Facing the hallway, it had the remnant of a doorframe with a piece of a metal door still attached by one hinge. It was twisted and lying at a forty-five degree angle to the ground. But, as they were about to pass it, Sally stopped and sucked her breath at what she saw.

Sitting in the shade of the door was a small girl. Her face was black with filth and her eyes were almost closed. Even from a distance Sally could see she was covered with blood! Again, she couldn’t resist the urge to run to her. For the briefest of instances, she could feel Ian’s hand clawing at her shoulder in a desperate attempt to restrain her.

The girl’s legs were parted at an extreme angle. A stain of blood mixed with the concrete and dirt below her pelvis. The front of her outfit had been torn and her body was littered with deep cuts that looked like stab wounds. Sally stared in an overwhelmed daze. Where could she even begin? The girl had obviously been raped and brutalized, and was clearly bleeding to death. She touched the girl’s chin with one hand, raising her head to feel for a pulse. Then her eyes opened, telling more of the tale. They were blood red, indicating that the vessels had burst. This meant she’d probably been strangled ferociously on top of everything else! But then came the worst of it. The girl’s red eyes focused on her and she smiled, freeing blood from her lips! It was a more intense smile than any she’d seen yet; so much so that it hardly seemed real!

“I served my Masters!” she cheered with the scratchy wheeze that was all that remained of her voice. “I served my Masters!” Then she chuckled and her smile stretched wider. The chuckle turned into a deep cough and new blood dripped from her nose and mouth, but the smile remained.

Sally’s mouth dropped open and she stared. She tried to calculate how much longer the poor waif would live. Perhaps seconds. There was nothing she could do to save her. It wasn’t the same as the one-eyed man on the hill. Now she had to be beyond caring. Her maternal instincts had to be switched off. There was nothing more she could do and she couldn’t afford to forget where she was.

She stood reluctantly, resuming her cautious stance. She raised the taser and prepared to seek out targets. Ian stood halfway between the crumbling wall and where the girl lay, gesturing frantically. She made her way back, to his apparent relief. It was only then she realized that the translator had been working. She’d heard the girl’s last words. Now other voices were coming into focus. She tried to isolate them with her mind.

“Glorious day!” she heard from somewhere.

“For my Masters!”

“Wonderful!”

Now these people scared her even more! With those incongruous words, they suddenly went from poor, sick, emaciated creatures to the truly insane and potentially dangerous maniacs! She stood close to Ian as they resumed their walk, staring intently at the workers surrounding them.

The chipping sound of brick against concrete was gradually replacing the clang of iron and it grew louder as they approached an area where hundreds of bricks were being smashed against the pavement. The skeleton-like people were hammering away like treasure hunters digging for gold! But then, all at once, they started to get up. The joyful shouts grew louder. She could see a steady stream of them coming out of the barns and a new group was walking towards them from down the road, empty bags slung over their shoulders. She looked back towards the way they had come. There were now dozens, if not hundreds, blocking their escape, whether intentionally or not. They were suddenly in the middle of a crowd! Sally felt lightheaded with fear and she could barely breathe for the stench. Zombies brushed past her with scratchy bags of bricks while others were retrieving empty sacks. Any one of them could suddenly turn on them and throw a bag over her head! She realized then how pathetic the taser really was! Even if she shot one of them, another could jump her from behind! As sick as these people were, there were far too many of them! She wheeled around, looking frantically for Ian. But it was then she caught sight of something that made her stop. Something out of place. A spot of color amid the drab array of rags. Metallic green cloth. It was a familiar shade, the same color as her jacket and Ian’s. Someone in the crowd was wearing a ship’s uniform! She pushed forward through the bodies, as if curiosity had formed a bridge through her fear. She squinted to see and her suspicions were confirmed. The cloth was the remains of Anderson’s uniform jacket! Both sleeves had been torn off and the fabric was badly stained. Sally turned back to see Ian pushing through behind her. He saw it too.