Champions of the Apocalypse (8 page)

“What is your name?” he demanded.

The terrified looking man muttered something.

“Speak up!”

“Uh, my name is Mathew,” he finally spurted out.

“Mathew, why do you recoil from our warriors. Are they not good enough for you?” he shouted.

The man made to say something, but a signal from Khan was followed by a staff being struck across the back of his legs. He dropped down to his knees, crying in pain and humiliation.

“You’re pathetic. We have a mine that is perfect for you to work in, well, perfect until you die!” he shouted as he swung his fist and struck the man in the temple.

Mathew collapsed to the ground unconscious.

“As you can see, we give you simple choices. Respect them and you will be treated fairly,” he said.

Khan moved along the line and stopped at Synne. He looked at her for a moment, looking confused.

“What is your name?” he demanded.

“Jane,” replied Synne.

“She is from the party handed over last night,” explained one of the guards.

Khan reached out and examined her hands.

“You’re not a labourer are you? Who are you?”

“I worked in the library of Lord Galan, until you Raiders murdered him!” she said, though she was evidently trying hard to stay in control.

“I murdered him? Ah, of course,” he answered with a smile.

“You will be pleased to know then that the House of Galan is no more. Its lands have been forfeited to be split between the League and the Brotherhood, apparently,” he added.

“I think the military would be perfect for you, don’t you think?” he asked.

Synne made to speak but she was instantly punched hard in the stomach, she dropped down, retching from the pain.

“Don’t think, don’t speak, just obey and you will live!” barked Khan.

One of the guards started laughing as he pushed out two more prisoners to the front. Synne noticed Jonas was also at the front. He looked over to Synne, signalling with his face as to whether now was the time to do something. Synne turned her head, it was far too dangerous just yet. She moved her eyes up so Jonas could follow her gaze and spot the horsemen. As Jonas spotted them, Synne twisted her head, it was immediately clear to Jonas what she was saying.

One of Khan’s lieutenants walked over and spoke to him for several minutes but the sound level was too low for Synne to hear whatever it was that they were discussing. Whilst the conversation continued, Synne watched what was going on. It was clear that the prisoners were from many different places. Some were members of the great Houses, most were simply workers or traders from the large flatlands that ran across the land. She couldn’t understand why there were so many of them, the Raiders were surely not this well organised, unless they were being helped of course. They must have huge numbers in the Wastelands to be able to carry out operations like this. She started to think about the rumours she and Ulric had discussed, when a loud whistle came from over the ridge. The guards moved along the prisoners and attached manacles to each person. A chain ran from one to the next that created a series of long lines of prisoners. As they started to move off towards the storage buildings, the carts moved in the opposite direction. Synne wondered to herself if they were going into storage or more likely back to the violence and confusion of the lands she had left to find more prisoners.

“Hey, what are you looking at?” shouted one of the men as he struck Synne with a leather whip.

The rough leather made her wince and gave her a red slash across her side that stung. She turned back ahead and followed the rest of the line as they snaked through the array of buildings. It was clear this was some kind of temporary storage area or depot, though where it was in relation to her own lands she had no idea. How long had she even been unconscious? They moved past the first few buildings, Synne could see wooden crates and stacked weapons, mainly spears and axes though at least one was stacked with crossbows. Another building was full of clothing, furs and skins. They walked around the corner to be greeted by dozens of people running about. Some were carrying goods on their shoulders whilst other groups were trading wares on a series of tables.

The man that was walking behind Synne took a step closer and whispered to her.

“This must be the Horizon Market. I’ve heard of this place, it’s where you can buy anything from what people say. Food, clothing, weapons, drugs, the lot.”

“Horizon Market. I thought it had been closed down by the Brotherhood years ago in the attack a few seasons ago when we cleared large areas around here,” said Synne.

“Doesn’t look like it, does it? Who told you that, the men of the Brotherhood and you believed them?” said the man with a chortle.

The columns of prisoners continued shambling along with their Raider escort always staying close by. None of the traders or workers gave them a moment’s notice, they were obviously a common sight. They passed a long hut and then came to a raised stone platform that ran alongside a set of parallel iron rails. A great whistle came from further away and Synne was shocked to see a metal beast making slow progress along the rails. Some of the prisoners recoiled at the sight and sound but Synne was almost excited. She had read about this form of transport before but had never seen a picture of what it looked like. As the machine came closer, it slowed and then stopped with a great screeching of metal. A plume of steam hissed from the top and then it was still.

The guards made them continue their movement up onto the long raised platform that ran alongside the tracks. From this position, Synne was able to get a good look at the machine. It looked as though it was fabricated from parts salvaged from many places, as it was different faded colours. Most of the machine was taken up with a great metal cylinder, the length of two or three carts. On top of this was a platform with several men stood carrying crossbows. A vertical cylinder pushed up several feet from the top and steam trickled from it. Behind this engine part of the train were four large sections, all of which were like long metal carts and open at the top. One carried many containers that were already being unloaded. Two carried open topped metal carts full of materials of some kind, presumably from the mines Khan had been describing. The final section carried a dozen cages that were empty. It was towards these that the guards moved the first line of prisoners. These were the ones selected for work in the mines. Synne watched them go but wasn’t sorry she hadn’t been selected. The fact that prisoners went one way and materials came back was not lost on her. The mine was obviously a one-way trip.

As they stood watching, the guards relaxed a little and the prisoners were allowed to mingle a little, though they were still being watched carefully. Jonas moved slowly towards Synne and stopped next to her.

“Are we travelling on that thing as well?” he asked quietly.

Synne looked at the train in detail before replying.

“I don’t think so, look at the space they have on it.”

As she spoke, the guards walked over and called out to the prisoners. As the line moved along the pairs of prisoners were moved up to the carts that were loaded with what looked like black rocks. As each one was tipped down a ramp to waiting carts, the prisoners were lifted into the carts that were about the same size as the cage that Synne had been inside until recently. Each one took time as it took several minutes to scrape out the crumbling back rocks to make space for the prisoners.

“What is that stuff?” asked Jonas.

I think it’s coal, it looks too hard to be peat,” she replied.

“Coal?” asked the other man.

“Yes, it is mined from under the ground and is used for fuel. You can use it for heat or to power a machine like this one,” she said pointing to the noisy train.

“Have you seen one of these machines before?” asked Jonas.

“No, but I have read about them. According to some of our old books, these machines used to run from town to town across the land. It was a quick and safe way to move people and goods about. This isn’t one of those machines though, it has been built from scraps. Look, you can see steam escaping from the pipes and tubes. It is a rough copy of what somebody thought the old machines looked like.”

Jonas looked at the train and the number of prisoners and guards moving around it.

“Maybe that’s the way it used to be, doesn’t look that way now though, does it? From here it looks like an old rusting bathtub with steam coming out the top,” he said with a barely disguised hint or sarcasm.

“True, true. It does appear to work though and that is impressive.”

It took almost half an hour for all of the carts to be emptied before it came to Synne. As she was moved along the platform she was able to get a better look at the machine. As she had thought, it was roughly made from lumps of rusting iron and cylinders. What intrigued her more than the machine though was the mind behind it. There was much science in the design and construction of a steam power plant and even more to fit it inside a machine, that could move on metal tracks. The Raiders surely didn’t have the knowledge, skills or desire to create such an item. So who did?

“Come on, get in!” shouted the nearest guard.

Synne needed little encouragement however and pulled herself inside, quickly followed by her companion. As they sat down the guard lifted their chain to the side of the cart and padlocked it to a metal ring. With the prisoners secure, he jumped down and moved to the next pair. Synne turned to the man with her, she had spoken to him briefly before.

“Look, I don’t know about you but I’m going to get out of here, you with me?” she asked him.

The man sitting next to her needed little persuasion, he even looked a little excited.

“Hell yes, I’m not working for these bastards. They killed most of the people they took from my village. Women, children, animals, they killed the lot. They even burned my farm,” he said with passion.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Synne as she thought back to her own town and family.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I’m not sure yet, I’ll think of something though. Just watch for my signal and don’t do anything to draw attention,” replied Synne reassuringly.

There was much shouting and running about from the guards as they positioned themselves at key locations on the train. With a whistle from the engine and a great gush of steam, the train started to move slowly from the raised platform. As it moved Synne could feel the clacketing sound through the floor as they passed over the joined sections of the old iron tracks. They started to build up speed and in minutes were moving at a pace that could easily equal a galloping horse through the countryside. The depot and market faded away to be replaced with the open plains and its small number of hills.

“Where are we going?” asked the man.

Synne looked ahead and strained her eyes. The light was fading but she was certain she could make out the shape of mountains. She thought back to the map, their father had shown her and Ulric. At the thought of home, she felt a sick ache in her stomach. Her father was dead, her brother missing and the rest of her friends were probably scattered to slavers and traders throughout the land. She turned her attention back to her current situation and looked at the line of mountains.

“Mountains, I think we might be heading for the North of the Wastelands, those look like the Black Mountains to me.”

“The Wastelands? I thought that was contaminated, we’ve been told to never go near the place or we’ll get the sickness,” explained the man as a look of panic spread over his face.

“Yeah, I’ve heard exactly the same thing about the place though something tells me I think we’ve been lied to.”

Synne looked off to the guards, trying to find any possible chance for escape. Each of the men had a rough, weary look to them but they also looked fit and very dangerous. They were not near enough to keep a close on on Synne, but they all carried projectile weapons and she had no doubt, that excessive noise or attempts to escape would be dealt with swiftly.

“I don’t know about you but everything I’ve heard from that place is bad. We had at least two scouting parties go missing when they went to the Wastelands. We assumed it was from the sickness. If they are taking us there, I doubt we’ll see home again. Stay alert, I’ve got a plan,” said Synne mysteriously.

She strained her shoulder as she twisted around, looking for Jonas. About eight people further down she could see him, still shackled to his own cart and looking directly at her. Synne gave him a signal and Jonas responded with a nod. She turned back and looked about the cart. There were two other pairs of people in there with them and they were doing their best to avoid eye contact. It was hardly surprising, they had no reason to trust her and probably a few days ago, they were working on their farms or workshops, only to be dragged away by these men.