‘If they were like your people, we’ll hear them coming, all right,’ J.B. commented wryly.
‘Ah, but that’s the problem,’ the young man said, turning his earnest gaze on the Armorer. ‘We’re novices in the art of combat, and make no compunction in admitting such. It is one of the problems we seek to address in our quest for survival. But those we oppose—and who oppose us—are experts and masters in the dark arts of war.’
‘Jeez, if you’re gonna be this long-winded then you’re gonna give Doc a run for his money,’ Mildred said, sighing, ‘in which case we really do need to set up a guard.’
Ryan laughed shortly. Mildred had a point. They withdrew to as secure a position as they could find, and Jak took watch while the young man hunkered down in the midst of the group.
‘So what is it that you wish to know?’ he asked simply.
‘Who you are and where you’re from would be a start, along with who you thought we were and why you tried to attack us,’ Ryan answered.
The young man smiled and shook his head. ‘A veritable avalanche of questions. Allow me to take them in the order in which they were posed. First, my name is Affinity, and I come from the ville of Memphis, which is eight miles from here, to the north and the west. We’re a small ville, and all we want to do is to live in peace, which perhaps may surprise you in light of the way you encountered our sec patrol. But we have to be vigilant, for we’re endangered simply because of our peaceful aims.’
‘Why would that be?’ Krysty prompted.
Affinity twinkled as he looked at the woman. ‘I was about to explain, if but given the chance. We’re a breakaway ville, formed by those who have escaped from the larger ville of Atlantis. There, all are enslaved in the service of the greater cause. But there were those of us who didn’t want to live beneath the whip and the chain. Though we have been brought up to believe in the cause of those who would come to claim us, we can’t see the point of building and waiting to be taken to a better life that promises nothing but more oppression. So gradually we fled the sec maze that surrounds the ville and made our own homes…those of us who could make it through with our lives.
‘And yet, you know, that somehow makes it all the sweeter that we have freedom, even if it be at the price of eternal vigilance.’
‘This Atlantis—how far is it from your ville, Memphis?’J.B. questioned, trying to keep the young man focused before he lost the thread of his discourse. It was obvious that he was inclined to ramble, and time was of the essence.
‘Atlantis is twenty miles to the south of Memphis, about fifteen from here, as the birds fly,’ he answered with admirable brevity.
‘And it’s sec from that ville that you were looking for?’ Krysty asked.
The young man nodded. ‘They can often be found here, and they’re our enemies.’
Doc leaned forward and tapped the young man on the knee. ‘You must forgive a befuddled old man, and indulge him,’ he began, ‘but your discourse does not, in some regards, make much sense to me. You claim that these sec men are much better fighters than you, yet you were actively looking for them when you encountered us. Surely you can see that to an outsider this seems a strange attitude. To what purpose would you actively seek out conflict with those who could so easily best you in battle?’
It was obvious from the expression on Affinity’s face that he was glad that Doc had spoken. Their similar modes of speech made him a much more receptive target for the young man’s discourse.
‘I would agree with you that, on the face of things, it seems folly for us to actively seek out and tackle with those who could so easily best us, but were life that simple. Although we’ve escaped the bondage of Atlantis, its ties are long and binding. There are those who would have it that none can escape the long arm of Atlantean law, and so they send out parties of Nightcrawlers, who seek to take back those who have transgressed by seeking refuge in our ville. We’re new, and we have made our homes in the wreckage of an old, predark ville. We don’t, as yet, have the security that Atlantis can boast, and so it is easy to breach our defenses.’
‘What happens to those who are taken?’ Doc asked simply.
‘Public execution, as an example to those who may seek to follow,’ Affinity said, a tightness creeping into his voice. ‘I have seen it with my own eyes, before I risked escape.’
‘And these Nightcrawlers, as you called them?’ Ryan prompted.
Affinity looked at Ryan as though, for a second, he didn’t comprehend what the one-eyed man had said to him, as though he were lost in some private hell, recalling what he had seen. Then he seemed to snap back to reality, answering concisely.
‘They’re what their name may suggest. They come mostly in the night, though not exclusively. They’re painted in the colors of the forest, and they move with stealth and silence. This is also the way in which they strike. They are upon us before we have a chance to defend ourselves. They use knives and swords, mostly, but also they have blasters that some have the noise contained, so that they are almost silent.’
‘Must be mostly handblasters or assault rifles. Few SMGs have silencer capability,’ J.B. murmured. He noticed that Affinity was looking at him strangely. ‘Just trying to figure out what we’re up against,’ he added.
The young man nodded briefly, then continued. ‘We have little hope of catching them when we attack, and we have little in the way of fighting skills. Thus we seek to comb the forest before nightfall, perhaps hoping to keep them at bay by making it hard for them to approach Memphis unseen.’
‘Seems a risky way to try to insure your safety,’ Ryan pointed out.
Affinity shrugged. ‘True enough, but there is little else we can do, and the attacks have less frequency since we first took these measures. It would seem that we have some success, if not, perhaps, enough. On which note I shall cease, for I think that I may have answered all your questions. Except for why we attacked you, but I think that is obvious—we mistakenly assumed you were Nightcrawlers, and attempted to withdraw when we discovered our mistake…at least, those of us who were able,’ he added ruefully, fingering his jaw and looking askance at Mildred.
‘Hey, what can I say? It had to be done,’ she said, holding up her hands.
Affinity nodded. ‘True enough, but you can’t blame me for wishing that it had been one of my fellows and not myself who suffered at your hands.’
J.B. turned to Ryan. ‘I don’t get some of this. Unless my calculations are out, I don’t remember any big ville being in that direction last time we were in this area.’
‘True enough,’ Ryan agreed, turning to Affinity. ‘You’re familiar with the whaling fleets along the coast, and the ville of Claggartville from where they come, right?’
The young man looked at him blankly and shook his head. ‘I’ve never heard of this place, and we know nothing of what occurs along the coast. I should, perhaps, explain that Atlantis has kept itself secreted since the nukecaust, and deals as little as possible with outsiders. Most of the food and cloth is generated from within the ville, and other supplies are taken from the ancient ville of Trenton. This looms large in our legends from before the nukecaust, when those who knew what was coming prepared for the long winter of the soul. It’s all we know, and is why we traveled along those old roads when we sought to build a home away from Atlantis.’
‘So you’re living in the ruins of Trenton, New Jersey, and Atlantis was built apart from that?’ Mildred asked. When Affinity nodded, Ryan could see that Mildred was confused and he shot her a questioning glance. ‘Hell, I don’t know,’ she said by way of reply. ‘I don’t remember Trenton being that close to the coast.’