III
I woke early the next day. Milton came and knocked on the door to get me ready. He was always the first person up and was good to make sure everyone else was awake. We went down to the Hunting Office and checked out. The other hunters hadn’t even arrived yet. In no time we were eating Nutrition and then heading out the door. Down the metal ladder, and into the massive rubble fields that made up our world. I never thought too much on where the rubble ended, I always assumed it just kept going on forever. By dawn we were at the church. I waited until we were on the path to the hunting area before finally asking what I had wanted to ask.
“What did you want to tell me?”
“That second case did not have food. It had weapons.”
I was mystified. “Really?”
“They were firearms.”
“You mean like guns? Were there any bullets?”
“No, and these were not like the ancient guns we have. These were new, shiny. The leaders are worried.”
“About what?”
“About why and how the Cityers are making new weapons. They think they are planning an attack – a big one.”
I began breathing hard. “They can’t do that; they don’t know where Humurom is.”
“For now they don’t. We have to be careful that no one follows us.”
“Oh, I wish they would let us carry guns.”
“Those old things? They would fall apart if we touched them. It’s like those books you read except we don’t have people taking care of the guns.”
“So where are we going today?” I asked, trying to remain calm.
“We have to stay safe and not go too far.”
“We won’t get any food if we do that.”
“We never get any anyway. Yesterday was a fluke. Look around, why would there be any animals around here?”
I looked around. Pieces of broken buildings were everywhere. It was cloudy again, as it always was. Dead trees were the only thing to see for miles around.
“I don’t know.”
Several small live trees appear. Milton sat down next to one, I did as well.
“Mil?”
“Yeah.”
“Why do we never see them?”
“Who?”
“The Cityers. This is such a huge area, and I’ve never seen them. But they seem to be around. What is it? Twenty dead hunters in the last five years.”
“Most of the ones who have disappeared, or died as we assume happened, were in their zone. They went too far like we did yesterday.”
“How do we know where their zone is?”
“Well, all the bodies we find are so far out that we assume it’s their zone. And what do you mean about not seeing anybody? What about that guard yesterday?” Milton said.
“Oh yeah, but he was in the middle of nowhere guarding some cases. Where are the others?”
“They hide, always ready to strike.”
“They aren’t any different. But I don’t understand why they kill.”
“You’re back on that?” Milton sighed.
“I think it’s true. But I still don’t understand it.”
“They are nothing like us.”
“Don’t think so rigidly.”
“Weren’t you planning on leaving today?”
“I need another day to tell my mother.”
“It’ll always be another day, man.”
“She needs me.”
“I know.”
We got up and searched for food for a while, but it was no use. There was nothing out there. No animals, no noise, no use. It was lonely being a hunter, out in the world with no one around. Occasionally I actually wished to see a Cityer, just to know that I was still alive. When I was alone I secretly wondered if we were all dead. It would actually make sense to me on those long walks into the danger of the enemy zone. Maybe they weren’t even the enemy. Maybe they were just our ancestors coming to retrieve us for the next journey for our souls. Or maybe I read too much.
I never shared these bizarre ideas with Milton; he would probably tell me that I had a very overactive imagination. That’s the only way to survive Humurom. To think up thoughts that could take us away. Books do it the best, and that’s why I read.
Time passed slowly, but eventually it was dusk. Milton led the way back towards home. I couldn’t feel too disappointed in our failure; he had been right about it being a fluke. My mind slowly refocused on getting back.
“Do you think they’ll be mad that we didn’t find anything today?” I asked.
“Probably not, they’ll still be thinking about yesterday. There’s no way anybody would expect meat two days in a row, there’s not that many animals out here.”
“I’ve never seen a live animal.”
Milton nodded sadly. I doubted that he had ever seen one either. I could see the church up ahead. I spent most of the trip in my mind, thinking about where the animals have gone.
“Yeah, usually . . .” Milton said, but he didn’t finish his thought.
“What?” I asked, wanting to know what he was about to say.
“I heard something.”
I became very still. The noises were usually heard by me, and they were in my head. I had never heard Milton claim to hear anything strange.
“Alright, let’s go.” He said after waiting for a minute.
We went right past the church. The rubble field seemed extra quiet, as if it was listening as well. I wanted to run, to erase all doubt right then and there, but I knew Milton wouldn’t follow. He was walking slowly right behind me. It was the longest few seconds of my life. And then I saw something. It was small and in the air, coming down. Before I could react it exploded, showering us with fragments of rock.
I froze. I could hear Milton yelling something but I didn’t catch it. Two more explosions shook the ground and pained my ears. I heard him, he was telling me to run. Bodies came out from behind stones. I ran. I didn’t take a single look back. They were everywhere, but did not follow me. I couldn’t figure out why they only wanted Milton. It was too late. The final explosion was only a yard ahead. It shot me backwards. My head hit something hard, and that’s all I remember.
There was no noise. The sky was light; much earlier in the day then I remembered. My head ached terribly. I tried to sit up but was too weak, too light headed. I fumbled with the bottle on my belt and drank the water, splashing some on my face. It felt good. Slowly I began to feel better. After twenty minutes I could sit up, though my vision was blurry and had spots. I looked around; I was on the side of the path, sitting on uneven rocks and concrete. My back and legs ached where the pieces cut into me. Then I remembered. My head spun around for some clue as to where Milton might be. I stood up. Back down the path I saw that the church had completely fallen. It was a sad sight, now no structure stood above the wreckage.
There was something gray on the path. My eyes adjusted and I saw that it was a body. I went to it, stumbling every few steps. All my hopes went to it being a Cityer. I knelt down and turned the body over. Behind the blood and dirt I could see his familiar face, dark to the bright world around him. I called to him softly. No answer. I couldn’t understand it. I had been asleep, he had to be too. No matter how I shook him he did not stir. My head dropped beside his and I began to cry. There was no one around, nobody to help us. The air was warm, though I shivered. I fell asleep there beside him, wishing so badly that he would wake me to go home.
It was around midday when I woke again. Milton still lay beside me. The situation had yet to fully register in my mind. I slowly got up and lifted him over my shoulders. Together we went home. The Cityers were gone, they had done their damage. He was heavy, but I barely noticed. Silent tears streamed down my face the whole time. I carried him up the ladder and knocked at the door when I got to the top.
What happened next was a whirlwind. The door opened immediately, followed by a shout
of terror. It was then that the horror hit me. He was taken from me, I had one last look at his dirty face; it was the last time I ever saw him. My eyes blurred with tears as I was led from the top floor down to the medic room. I asked to see my mother, to tell her that I was alright, but they didn’t let me. Someone came in, I think Matilik, and started asking me questions. I don’t remember what they were; I don’t even think that I heard them. After a while they let me go and I started my way up to 4.
The band was playing once again. They played the music reserved for death. People came out of their residences and heard the news from those who already knew. Nobody spoke to me. I don’t know why, but I was glad for it. My mother was sitting up in bed when I got there. She saw my tears and put her arms out. I didn’t say a thing; she knew the whole story from my face. I cried in her arms the whole evening.
In the days that followed everything changed. I was immediately relieved of hunting duties. Matilik put me in charge of the files. I spent my days reading and looking through Humurom’s history. It was boring, but I learned a lot. I never wanted to talk to anyone, and lost contact with several friends because of this. Stud came by every so often. He wouldn’t let me ignore him, and while I was annoyed at his persistence I was actually glad that he never gave up on me. He showed himself to be a true friend.