Ashes, Ashes: The Chronicles of Altor, page 8
He got lost in the book and an hour slipped away unnoticed.
He glanced up and saw a small cloud of dust approaching from Longbaugh. He grabbed the binoculars and focused on what was kicking up the dirt.
It was a car—increasingly rare in this environment. He dropped the binoculars and turned his left ear—his good ear—toward the vehicle. It seemed to be silent. Even as it pulled closer, the only sound it made was the tires as they rolled over the dirt road.
Harry reached for his rifle and stepped outside the guard shack. There had once been bullet-resistant glass, but that had been destroyed in the battle with the town and had been replaced by sheets of plywood and old boards.
Longbaugh Prison was the only building at that end of the road, so whoever was in the car was coming to see him.
Harry wished that Jack and Bob were here. This was why he didn’t like having people outside the walls.
The car pulled to a stop in front of the main gate to the prison. Harry looked at it more closely and recognized what it was—a Tesla. That explained why there was no engine noise.
A middle-aged man stepped out of the vehicle, arms raised high. There was a grin on his face.
“Got time for a powwow?”
Chapter Twelve
Power
Harry knew almost everyone who had once lived in Longbaugh. It was a small town, and he was able to at least recognize the faces of most people who called it home.
He didn’t recognize the man standing in front of him. Looking into the vehicle, he saw that the man had come alone, at least apparently. Even so, he approached the situation cautiously.
“Sure, always got time for a powwow.”
“Mind if I come inside?” the man asked.
“Matter of fact, I do,” Harry answered. “Sorry, nobody gets in. That’s why we’re still here after all this time.”
“Understood,” the man said, unruffled. “I’m KT Boris.”
Harry nodded and said, “Harry Hansen.”
The man squinted up at Harry, taking his measure. “You look like you’re the man in charge.”
Harry shrugged that off. “What can I do for you, Mr. Boris? We don’t get a lot of visitors, so I’ve lost some of the social niceties.”
“I’ve got a proposal for you.”
“I’m listening.”
Harry had received two such proposals since he had shut the prison. He had accepted one and sent the other packing.
“I’ve been living in Longbaugh for about six months now.”
“So you’re part of the raiders that killed everyone in town?”
“Likely not. I’m one of the raiders that killed the people who had killed everyone in town.” He stared intently at Harry, judging what reaction he would get to that statement. “And that’s why I’m here. We’ve managed to hold off other people that are trying to take the town, but it’s a lot of danger and a lot of risk for minimal gain. I can see the writing on the wall, and that writing says I’ll only be able to hold out for a limited time.”
“Hard for me to work up any sympathy for you, considering how you came to live there.”
“And I’m not looking for any, but I understand why you’d feel that way. Here’s my proposition, though. If you’ll open your gates to me and the woman I live with, I can bring you something you need. Power.”
That piqued Harry’s interest. If there was some way the man could swing that, it would make the lives of everyone inside the prison better.
“How so?”
“Solar power. The house I’m in is completely set up for it. That’s part of the problem. Having electric lights attracts the wrong kind of attention from the people who don’t have them.”
Harry looked up at the dark clouds overhead. “Not a lot of sunshine this time of year.”
“True enough,” KT agreed. “But there’s enough solar energy that hits the panels to at least keep some of the basics running. Enough to run your refrigerator or freezer, a few lights, that sort of thing. In the summer, it’ll do more than that.” He looked shrewdly at Harry. “I’m willing to bet that’s more than you have right now.”
Harry saw no percentage in telling him that their generator had just stopped that day. Instead, he said, “So your house has solar. How do you disconnect it from there and reinstall it here?”
KT tapped his index finger against the side of his head. “Good question. I see why you’re the man in charge here. You set some fool loose with a handful of tools and they’re more likely to destroy everything than they are to dismantle it properly. Happily, it’s what I did in the before time. I can tear it down, deliver it here, and get it installed before Thanksgiving.”
Thanksgiving. That was a before kind of concept. It felt like there was less to be thankful for these days and the word sounded strange to Harry’s ears.
“Let me make sure I’ve got this straight. We let you and one other person in, and in exchange you’ll install some solar panels for us.” Harry chewed on that for a minute. “Of course, that’s assuming that you’re not selling me a bill of goods. You could bring a bunch of junk in here, then tell us that it doesn’t work after all.”
“Sure,” KT agreed smoothly. “But let’s face it. That would make for a pretty uncomfortable living environment for us. If you wanted to, you could always just put us out again. I’m not looking to find a good situation for the next couple of months. I’m looking for a home where we can grow a good relationship over time.” He looked slyly at Harry. “If things go the way I think they’re going to, Longbaugh’s going to get overrun again and again until there’s not much left. When that happens, we can take a trip into town and get more panels. In a year or two, we could have enough to really keep this place humming year round.”
Harry glanced at the Tesla. “Can you charge that thing with solar power?”
“I can. Your gasoline going bad?” he guessed.
“It is.”
“Seems to me like our problems dovetail pretty nicely. I’ve got power and need protection. You’ve got safety and need my power.”
“I’ll talk it over with everyone. I don’t like to make big decisions without getting input first.”
“You married?” KT asked.
Harry nodded.
“Smart man, then. Listen, it’s not always easy for me to get out of town without attracting a lot of attention. You talk it over with your folks, and I’ll be back in a few days. If what I’m suggesting works for you guys, I’ll start tearing down my system. That’ll cause some unwanted attention, but I’ll just tell them there’s a problem I’m working to fix. Once I get it taken down, I can steal a neighbor’s truck and get it all out here.”
The casual way that he mentioned stealing a truck from his neighbor rankled Harry a little, but he told himself that no deal was ever perfect.
“Good enough.”
“I’ll be seeing you then,” KT said as he slipped behind the wheel of the Tesla and turned back the way he had come.
That night, Harry gathered everyone together in the dining room again. The room was mostly dark, with just a few candles flickering, casting eerie shadows this way and that.
It really wasn’t much of a discussion. Everyone agreed that there was perhaps some small risk in bringing two strangers into the prison. That small risk was more than offset by the possibility of having at least some power again.
‘Even if we can get enough juice to keep the freezer running, that’ll make it worth it,” Allison said, and everyone around her nodded their head. “If we could get some lights or heat, that would be a bonus.”
KT didn’t come back the next day or the day after, or the day after that. When he did finally appear, one of Bob Dixon’s sons was on watch in the guard house.
Five minutes later, Harry looked down at KT. This time, a woman was with him.
“Took me a few days to be able to sneak away,” KT said. “This is Andi.”
The woman beside him raised a hand in a tentative wave.
“So what’s the good word? You want to take in a couple of refugees?”
“We’ll take you in,” Harry said. “How do you want to work it from here?”
“Give me a week,” KT said. “It will be after dark, but I’ll show up with the whole system. You have a guard posted around the clock?”
“Yep,” Harry said, though that was a lie. There had been no reason to have someone on duty through the night, so he’d put an end to that months earlier. He decided he could start it again for a few days.
“Good. Andi will drive the car. I’ll get the truck out here. I don’t think we’ll be followed but even if we are, so what? I already know what happened the last time the town came against you. I don’t think anybody is interested in round two of that fight.”
Harry nodded. In the pit of his stomach, he had a bad feeling, but he couldn’t identify what the worry was.
If they hadn’t been so completely cut off from the outside world, he might have known about The Shivers, which had reached Longbaugh a month earlier. KT and Andi were two of those lucky ones who had caught it and survived.
Instead of worrying about that, the residents of the Longbaugh Free Prison spent the next week anticipating what it would be like to have power again. Not just power, either, but power that they wouldn’t have to worry about running out of for the foreseeable future.
The week crawled by as they huddled in the increasing cold and oppressive darkness. The longer and colder the night was, the more they were certain they’d made the right choice.
On the appointed night, Harry set himself in the guard tower and put Jack on the gate.
Midnight came and went, with no sign of anyone.
“Maybe not gonna happen tonight?” Jack said from his spot at the gate. His voice was quiet, but it carried in the still night air.
“He didn’t say what time,” Harry said, then, “Wait a minute. I see headlights down the road.”
“Want me to open the gate?”
“Not yet. I want to make sure they’re alone.”
Minutes passed as the vehicles slowly approached. Harry looked down and saw that though it was the middle of the night, everyone was milling around nervously.
The god of power was on the verge of returning.
“Never underestimate the possibility of electric lights,” Harry muttered to himself.
The two-vehicle caravan pulled up to the gate, a panel truck leading the Tesla.
The look of the panel truck caused Harry’s stomach to tighten. There were no windows and there was no way to tell what was actually in the back. The story of the Trojan horse ran through his mind.
Before anyone emerged from either vehicle, Harry leaned over and quietly said, “Everyone in position?”
“Ten-four,” Jack answered.
Harry had positioned five people with guns around the courtyard.
KT stepped out of the van. “Here we are, bringing the wonders of technology with us, but you’ll have to open the gate and let us in.”
Harry raised a hand, then leaned down and said, “Go ahead, Jack, open up.”
The big gate swung inward, KT hopped back in the panel van and pushed inside, followed closely by the Tesla.
Harry hurried around the tower so he had a good view of the courtyard. If there was trouble, he would have the highest ground.
KT hopped out, then, seeing the people with guns in the shadows, smiled and raised his hands. “Caution is good, right?” He went to the back of the truck and swung the door open.
Jack had his flashlight out and swept it over the interior. It was packed from floor to ceiling with equipment and panels, nothing more.
KT grinned. “Probably want to shut that gate, right? Don’t want any coyotes coming in.”
Harry blew out a sigh of relief, then walked down the steps.
KT and Andi were the first people from the outside to step inside the prison walls since Nyx and Emmanuel had flown away months before.
Jack pushed the door shut and secured it.
They wouldn’t know it until several days later, but it was already too late.
The Shivers had arrived at Longbaugh Free Prison.
Chapter Thirteen
Janus and The Council
Quinn Starkweather—or at least the image of Quinn Starkweather—appeared on the large television in the apartment of Arula Timmons.
Mrs. Timmons was in her early seventies, with well-coiffed silvery-blue hair, and always presented herself, even in her own home, with her head tilted slightly back as though looking down her nose.
The image of the CEO of all of Altor appearing on her screen did not impress her in the slightest. After all, she was one of the six-member Altor City Council. In her own mind, at least, she was very much on an equal footing with young Mr. Starkweather.
The image of Quinn on the screen smiled easily. “Good afternoon, Arula.”
She blinked, as if a slight pain had set in.
“Mrs. Timmons, please. As I’ve told you several times.”
Quinn nodded onscreen, continuing to smile. “Of course. Good afternoon, Mrs. Timmons.”
“Good afternoon.” If words could be seen, there would have been frost hanging from hers.
“I know how busy you are, but I’m afraid that I’ve had to call an emergency meeting of the Altor City Council. I have it set for two o’clock this afternoon.”
Mrs. Timmons did not have anything more urgent than doing that day’s crossword puzzle on her agenda, but nonetheless, she said, “Oh, I’m afraid that will be quite impossible. That is much too short notice for me.”
“I know it’s inconvenient,” Quinn agreed, “but it really is critical.”
This was tempting. The Altor Council had been formed almost a year earlier, and much to her frustration, had not been involved in anything remotely critical. Instead, the council had become a receptacle for the dozens of complaints that various citizens had lodged on a weekly basis. The worst part was that they had no actual power to do anything about any of it. They were a toothless, front-facing group that was bombarded with minor complaints and no way to solve any of them.
“Critical, you say?”
“Yes, absolutely. I feel terrible about the way things have been set up. I’ve put you in an impossible situation, and I’d like to rectify that.”
“Well,” Mrs. Timmons said, as though slightly mollified by this new approach. She picked up her tablet and opened her schedule, which was blank. She flipped through a few more blank pages, then said, “I suppose I can move things around, if I’m needed that badly.”
“I really do appreciate it.”
“Should I contact the other council members?”
“No need. My assistant is talking to them now. I just wanted to make sure to reach out to you myself.”
That was almost enough to bring the ghost of a smile to her thin, lipsticked lips. She tilted her head forward, acknowledging the gesture. “Thank you.”
“Oh,” the image of Quinn said, as though he had forgotten until that moment. “We won’t be meeting in the normal council chambers. I really do think it’s time we start things completely over. I’ll send directions to your bracelet for the new location.”
The screen went blank and, finding herself alone, Mrs. Timmons did allow herself a small, satisfied smile.
At that same moment, five other versions of Quinn were appearing on five other screens belonging to the other members of the Altor Council.
Each one appeared to be the real Quinn and was tailored to appeal to each individual council member through flattery, appreciation, or a no-nonsense approach. Janus was getting better, not just at impersonating people, but learning what buttons to push to get what it wanted from individuals.
Meanwhile, Quinn was in his office, two hundred feet below Altor ground level, completely unaware that his image was being used to summon a meeting of the council.
When the meeting time rolled around, the six council members walked into what they believed to be the new chambers.
Mrs. Timmons was put off at first, because the room was on a lower level. Like many of the occupants of Altor, she associated anything below ground with being lower class. The Altor equivalent of being on the wrong side of the tracks.
When she walked in, her attitude changed. It may have been on a level fifty feet below ground, but the room was opulent. Large screens suitable for presentations hung on three of the walls. Plush curtains hung down over windows that appeared to look out on a busy cityscape. A long, heavy table sat in the middle of the room with six expensive chairs around it.
Only the table and chairs were real, and even those were only temporary.
Mrs. Timmons nodded in approval at the new council chambers. Without appearing to hurry, she maneuvered her way to the head of the table and claimed that chair.
In theory, the six council members were all equal. There was no chairperson or lead liaison with Quinn. Still, at least in her mind, Arula Timmons was first among supposed equals. With the possibility of new authority in Altor on the line, she intended to position herself to take advantage.
Charlie Sasser, who always seemed to agree with Mrs. Timmons, took the seat to her right. If he couldn’t claim the most desirable seat, he intended to put himself as high as possible in the potential chain of command.
The other four council members immediately noticed what Timmons and Sasser were doing and went out of their way to pretend they did not. The four of them had met quietly a few minutes beforehand and devised a strategy to best take advantage of whatever these new powers were, and using their superior numbers, cull the other two from the herd.
There were cameras everywhere in Altor, and that was true of the new council chambers. Janus had a lens on the face of each individual council member and was recording them from the moment they walked in. It was, in its way, fascinated by these petty ambitions and wanted to have a record of facial expressions to refer back to if or when it needed to present an image with similar concerns.
Mrs. Timmons turned to Mr. Sasser and said, “Why are there only chairs for us? Where is Starkweather?”
