Natalie pulled us up onto the pier, where there were two men with shotguns waiting for us. They were wearing matching uniforms made up of dark torn jeans, black combat boots, and washed-out, sleeveless denim jackets over dirty white shirts. Both of the guys were wearing dark persol-style sunglasses whose lenses reflected a maroon shine. In fact, the only differentiating feature between these two men were their build and their haircuts.
One of the guards had a short purple mohawk with shaved sides, while the other one had a grungy, Kurt Cobain-inspired look. The one with the mohawk was noticeably stockier than the other, and both men appeared to be in the late thirties.
Was I really in another timeline, or had I just been transported into a Thirty Seconds to Mars music video?
We rolled to a stop just before we got onto the boat, and the guards approached with stern looks on their faces.
“Who’s this guy, Natalie?” the man with the mohawk demanded. “And where’s Johnny?”
“Johnny’s dead,” the woman beside me said calmly. “And this is… Well, I never actually got his name—”
“Hunter,” I introduced myself. “My name is Hunter.”
“Right,” Natalie continued. “Hunter here was attacked by a bunch of Rubberfaces back on the west side. We tried to get him out, and Johnny didn’t make it.”
“Damn,” the burlier man sighed through a thick Australian accent and then raised his fist up into the air. “RIP, brother. Scavenger forever.”
Natalie and the second guard mimicked his motions somberly.
“Scavenger forever,” they both sighed.
“So, this bloke here,” the Cobain-esque guard said as he nodded toward me, “he’s clean?”
“I mean, I’ve got blood all over me, but—” I began, but Natalie cut me off.
“He’s not infected,” she confirmed.
“How do you know?” the mohawked guard questioned. “We haven’t seen another untainted human in the Fallen Lands in years. Now this dude just shows up, smack-dab in the middle of Rubberface territory? That seems a little fishy to me… ”
“Where are you from, mate?” the first man asked.
“Uh, Minnesota?” I shrugged, but then realized I needed to elaborate. “That part of the… Smoulder, I think you call it? The part of the Smoulder that’s up by Lake Superior. Right under Canada.”
“You’ve picked up a strange one, Natalie,” the guard with the long hair mused. “Who still calls the Tundra ‘Minnesota?’”
“This guy, apparently,” Natalie laughed. “Now, can we come aboard? I don’t want any more Rubberfaces following us.”
Suddenly, both guards stood up straight and went for their guns.
“Were you followed?” the mohawked man asked as he scanned the horizon.
“No, but I’ve got some bad news for you… ” the blonde woman sighed. “There were Rubberfaces on this side of the river. They’re the ones who killed Johnny.”
“Then you’d best climb aboard.” The second man nodded. “Charlie and Regina are back, so we should be good to go. We need to let Marcus know about this problem as soon as possible.”
Both of the men stepped back onto the boat and motioned us forward, and then Natalie drove the dune buggy up into the open mouth of the large boat. She rolled it into the spot next to the other dune buggy and killed the ignition before she undid her seatbelt and got out of the vehicle.
I followed her lead, and then I heard the deep sound of the boat’s horn ring out into the air.
The vessel’s motors sprang to life and rumbled for a second before the entire boat started forward. Within a few seconds, the pier we had driven up on pulled away from the back of the craft, and we were out on open water.
“I hear it used to be a beautiful view, mate,” the long-haired guard whistled as he walked up next to me and then holstered his shotgun on his back. “Before Doomsday, that is.”
“It was,” I admitted. “I’d seen it before.”
Careful, Hunter, Karla’s voice warned. We don’t know who these people are yet. Telling them you’re from another timeline may not be the best course of action.
“You’ve seen it?” the man asked in disbelief. “How’s that possible? You’re younger ‘an I am, and I was just a little bloke when this all went down.”
“Pictures,” I lied. “My parents came here when it was still standing and took a bunch of pictures.”
“Damn shame,” the guard sighed. “I really wish I coulda seen the world before it was blown to Hell and back. The name’s William, by the way.”
“Hunter,” I reminded him.
I stuck out my hand to shake, but he simply chuckled.
“You really are from another part ‘a town, aren’t ya?” he laughed. “Did they not have the virus up in the Tundra?”
“Probably not,” Natalie interjected. “It was on the very edge of the blast zone, and the super-cold atmosphere kills the virus, remember? I’m sure it was completely decimated before it even got started up there.”
“If the virus is killed by the cold, then why are there so many mutants here?” I questioned. “Doesn’t it get to be like, in the negatives during winter?”
“During winter, yes,” she explained, “but my parents always said we barely got a winter during that first year after Doomsday. The entire Smoulder was hit hard, but the Fallen Lands were the ones who got it the worst.”
“Ninety percent of the population,” the mohawked guard sighed as he joined in on the conversation. “Every one of my family members, turned into a Rubberface right in front of my eyes… ”
“I’m sorry,” I tried to be sympathetic. “That couldn’t have been easy for you.”
“It wasn’t,” he admitted, and then he changed to a faux happy tone. “But at least I escaped the madness and found my Scavenger brothers and sisters. There was a silver lining to all of this, I suppose.”
“What is it like up in the Tundra?” Natalie asked suddenly. “We Scavengers have heard many rumors, but we’ve never actually met anyone from so far away. Have you ever seen an Atomoose? Do your people really live in igloos, far away from the cities of old?”
Just play along, Karla interrupted. They won’t know if you’re lying, anyways.
“Uh… Yes!” I nodded. “Atomooses are our main food source up in Minnes—er, the Tundra.”
“Howda eat those things without getting radioactive bellies, mate?” William asked.
“Very carefully,” I joked, even though I had no idea what the Hell I was talking about.
“I dunno how you live like that.” The man with the mohawk shook his head. “This is the only life I’d ever want. Me, out here at sea with my friends… Scavenging what’s left from the cities of old… ”
“Now, now, Harrison.” Natalie clicked her tongue. “The Scavenger life is certainly not for everybody. As we were reminded today, it is a life filled with danger, heartbreak, and loss.”
“But the rewards, though,” Harrison snickered. “I doubt anyone up in the Tundra or out in the Glowing Mountains can say they have the stuff we’ve got.”
“My geography is really, really bad,” I lied. “Can you remind me again what the ‘Glowing Mountains’ are?”
“Oof, this bloke,” William chuckled and slapped me on the shoulder. “I guess I need ta give him a full geography lesson.”
“It’s not his fault,” Natalie reminded the man. “He’s been out in the freezing cold Tundra his entire life.”
“Ya might wanna take a seat,” the long-haired man mused as he leaned back on one of the boat’s rails. “This is gonna take a while… So, where do ya want me to start?”