From: Afterwards. Chapter one: Contact
The sounds had changed…, Alex held her breath, but kept on walking at the same pace automatically. Her instincts told her something was wrong. Some birds were flying up from the trees, and there was a change in the monotonous rustle of the leaves. She was just approaching a wide path in the forest with large old trees along the sides, and the path ran straight through it on a lower level. Alex felt very vulnerable. As more leaves were falling down on her and on the path, she was sure of it. She was being watched. And not just by one person, but by several. Alex used all her senses trying to scan the area around her, unnoticeably. Why on earth did you tie your crossbow to your backpack? She lashed out in silence at herself. Rookie mistake, you fool, she thought. It was too late to grab it now and all she could do was to continue the path like nothing was wrong, and maybe take a run for it in case she was attacked. There it was; A subtle slow click…, a soft breathing sound, and…, chewing? Almost inaudible. Her own footsteps made too much noise. She observed and listened, but there was nothing strange to see in front of her, or on the side of the tree line. It made her worry even more. If they were able to stay out of sight, they could be pros. On the other hand, they could also be very scared locals who became experts in camouflaging themselves and learned how to hide. Along the way, Alex had several “almost” encounters with various kinds of groups. Later she had to admit they were just as scared and on guard as she was, and just wanted her to leave. She was scared this time though and her heart raced in her chest. Maybe because she was so close to her goal. She hoped to be anyway. Automatically she took out her staff map and began to search for alternative paths for an evasive maneuver. First thing she learned; Search for a route that brings you back in your own tracks with a distance of two or three kilometers. The best move when you have to follow someone, or when you think you are being followed yourself. Her brother used to call it: “a roundabout.” Maybe it would give her some time to reach for the steam bow. Although she suspected a group of people was still watching her, as soon as she could, she deviated from the path to what seemed to be an animal trail. Alex turned the map to compensate for the coordinates. Losing her way now would be devastating.
*
Behind the tree line, scattered behind different trees, three men fully weaponed in camouflage outfits, and two others, waiting at the end of the path underneath a pile of leaves, communicated by using sign language, to stay put. They didn't expect Alex to change course, so they had to put their heads together on what to do next. They waited until Alex was out of sight so she couldn't hear them, before they met behind the thickest tree. The Team leader today, was Hoser. They kneeled down together and Hoser removed his mask.
‘Liam,’ he asked. ‘What did you see?
Liam, or Rookie, as the team liked to tease him, replied:
‘Female, around 30/35, 1.70. Small crossbow tied to backpack.’
‘Good,’ Hoser said. ‘Anything else, guys? They stopped using codenames a long time ago. Will, the most observant and normally the quietest of the team said:
‘She's been walking for a long time, looks tired. Carries some supplies and she sure knows how to use that map of hers. Pretty impressive, considering the current situation and the area she has been traveling through.’
‘Good point,’ Hoser reacted, and he continued: ‘I wonder where she is headed and where she is coming from, for that matter. She could be someone who was sent to scout and spy, but let’s keep in mind that she also may be looking for the Settlement. Maybe a follower. Jackson said we could expect some more people.’ They all nodded in agreement and Hoser made a decision:
‘Harper, Ben.’
‘Yes, sir,’ both men replied immediately.
‘Follow her in an encircling movement on both flanks, we will cover the rear, no contact yet, fall out.’ The five men, without any further discussion, took their weapons in front of them, stood up, and in a turning movement went on their way without almost making a sound.
*
About an hour later, Alex carefully entered the beginning of the same forest path again. She was exhausted, because she had been walking a lot faster in hopes to lose the group that followed her. She did manage to grab her small crossbow when she had a little head start and now carried it ready to use in her hands. At this point, she was terrified. She knew for sure she didn't lose them and even worse, in the last bend she felt like they were not behind her anymore, but somewhere in the front. Probably to prepare an ambush of some sort. Her trick to lose them didn't work, and she forced herself not to panic, but to consider her options silently: Why haven't they made their move yet? If they wanted to rob or kill me, they would have done it by now. On the other hand, if this was some sort of group of Non-Believers, they would do so as soon as they went through her things. Protection and vaccine papers, were not something you could hide permanently. Taking a run for it now was not an option. Her feet almost couldn't carry her body anymore. She started to walk slower and slower while entering the path with the large trees again. She knew some of her stalkers were behind trees and maybe some of them even closer by. By now she was sure they were pros. Trained soldiers. Otherwise, she would have been able to shake them off. The only question was, soldiers from which side of the line? Take the risk girl, she encouraged herself. If you die now, at least you died by trying. And standing in the middle of the path, she suddenly stopped walking and listened; Soft clicks…, someone took a breath and then, held their breath, and again she heard something like soft chewing. Alex knew there was only one thing left to do. Slowly she lifted both arms in the air, making sure her bow was in clear sight. She raised her voice so they could hear her and said out loud:
‘I’m looking for the Jackson Settlement.’ In less than three seconds she was surrounded by a group of masked soldiers pointing Colt rifles and Browning handguns at her. Two of them even seemed to appear out of the ground, wearing camouflage blankets with leaves. Canadian army for sure, Alex noticed by their equipment. They stood still and stared at each other for at least half a minute while they held her at gunpoint. Then, one man lowered his rifle, removed his mask, reached for the small walkie-talkie strapped to his shoulder, and said:
‘Contact!
*
‘Drop the bow,’ another one shouted. Alex leaned forward slowly, to carefully place the crossbow on the ground.
‘Careful,’ she said, because one of the men went to grab it. ‘It's not on safe,’ she added. They all rolled up their masks now, leaving them on their heads as beanies and Alex was able to look at the faces of her capturers.
They varied from young to middle-aged and the youngest one asked:
‘Search?
‘No,’ another man answered. ‘Virus check first,’ and he pulled out a device from his backpack and said to Alex: ‘Higher, arms up higher,’ and then: ‘Hold still.’ He held the device right in front of her forehead and pressed the scan button. After about fifteen seconds the device beeped and he turned the screen towards him to read the results. ‘Clear,’ he said. Then, two of the men put away their handguns and started frisking Alex thoroughly. One of them released the straps of her backpack and pulled it off her body, while the other one was patting down Alex in an almost automated way from head to toe. She felt horrible, vulnerable, and scared at the same time. But she managed to keep her face straight, even when he touched her on her most private parts. In the meantime, the man who seemed to be the leader had found her papers and ID.
‘Well well,’ he said, while he read her identification documents. ‘Alexandra de Pree from Belgium. I would really like to know how you got here.’
‘It's Alex. Can I put my arms down now? She asked slightly irritated. They looked at each other, and the two men still pointing the rifles at her both nodded. She was glad to be able to lower her arms.
‘I came to look for the Jackson Settlement,’ she said. ‘Do you have any knowledge of it? They all looked at each other as if no one dared to answer her question.
‘Depends on how you know of its existence,’ the leader said. For the first time, Alex felt some hope because they obviously knew what she was talking about.
‘I followed Jackson for many years and was able to receive his last message about a year and a half ago,’ she explained. ‘And I hoped, I mean…, If the offer still counts, if he is still alive, and… if the settlement would consider accepting me,’ she stuttered. ‘I'm a hard worker.’ What was she doing? She asked herself. Trying to convince them of her being trustworthy? The codeword, stupid, she said to herself. Use the codeword: ‘Conelrad,’ she said a bit louder now and repeated it: ‘Conelrad.’ The men stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Gazing was a better word for it perhaps.
After a while, Will, the quietest and oldest one eventually said:
‘Well, I think we are just having trouble believing that you made it from Europe all the way over here, all by yourself actually.’
‘I’ve had some luck and help,’ she replied. But realizing they wanted to hear more, she continued: ‘I managed to get on board a cargo boat in Belgium that sailed for New York. That was the closest I could get. It took me almost a year to get here though.’ Again a short silence fell. They were doubting her story. Then followed a waterfall of questions that could be compared with a cross-examination, and Alex tried to reply at the same pace they were asked:
‘Where did you get that bow? –
‘It was my brothers.’ (Truth)
‘Where did you learn how to read that map and coordinates? –
‘Boy scouts.’ (Lie)
‘How long were you walking on the trail until you noticed you were followed? –
‘Eh, about five klicks.’ (Truth, but used the wrong words)
‘Were you trying to lose us by doing an evasive maneuver? – ‘What? No, I was lost.’ (Lie) And then finally:
‘How did you know we were here? They all stopped talking to hear how she would answer that question. Alex looked up at their faces one by one for the first time, and said:
‘Well, one of you has a Colt rifle that makes a certain noise when the safety goes off.’ One of the men, Harper, turned around and frustrated started to check his rifle. The other men looked at him, recognizing his problem. Suddenly Alex realized that she shouldn’t have mentioned the name of the rifles, or used words like; “klicks.” Mad at herself, realizing she was very tired, she continued, but tried to sound more naïve: ‘The birds acted strangely,’ she said, ‘and,’ she was looking at the youngest of the team, ‘someone was chewing gum.’ One of the other men stepped back, grabbed the youngest by his shoulder, and pulled him down to the ground.
‘Liam,’ he said angrily. ‘You’re a disgrace to us.’ Liam got up fast with a big smile. Ashamed, but too proud to admit it.
‘Oh, she’s just saying stuff,’ he replied, to avoid losing face. A short silence fell in again. The men were looking at her suspiciously, but also a little bit reassured that there didn’t seem to be any real danger at this point. Hoser looked at her with narrowed eyes and said:
‘Okay, Alex. Your codeword is correct, but I still have many questions. You will come with us, we are part of the Settlement.’ He had no idea what kind of impact his words had on her and she swallowed away her emotions, evoked by his confirmation. But, after all these months of being alone and all the fear and danger she had faced, it was no surprise that a load started to drop off her shoulders.
‘Will, take the lead,’ Hoser ordered. ‘Come with me, Alex,’ he said to her. ‘The rest of you take the rear, bring her bow with you but disarm it.’ Will started walking and Hoser gestured for Alex to follow. Ben picked up the small crossbow and together with Harper looked at it a bit disdainful.
‘What was she going to do with that catapult thingy anyway,’ Ben said. ‘You couldn’t even kill a squirrel with that.’ Harper took over the bow from Ben, and said:
‘Actually, you could, and if you aim right you can kill a grown man with it. You really should’ve read more, Bennie boy. If I’m not mistaken this is a steam bow. Pretty advanced actually, look,’ and he took off the tension carefully. He showed Ben the inside of the magazine. Six small arrows were still in there. ‘She could have taken a shot at all of us and still would have one left.’ They looked amazed at each other and then at Alex, who was walking away in front of them, together with Will and Hoser.
‘And another thing,’ Harper continued. ‘It is silent. When yóu fire, everyone knows where you are. With this thing, you can shoot several times without anyone knowing where the shooter is.’ Hoser called them and at a faster pace, they started to follow the group.
Liam was still behind them and shouted:
‘Wait,’ looking at Alex’s backpack on the ground in front of him. ‘Wait you guys. What about the backpack? Who is taking the backpack? He looked at the rest of his team who pretended not to hear him and just kept on walking. ‘Guys? Finally, Liam realized he was being punished for not being silent enough, and reluctantly he leaned forward to pick up the backpack, which was surprisingly heavy. He pulled it over his shoulders, picked up his rifle, and at a quick pace started walking to catch up with the rest.