Page 24 of Darken
“Good men are in short supply around here. Either died off, got killed, or ran off. There were some hard years after society collapsed, according to my great grandmother,” Jenny explained. “Many left the area in the early days after the bombings, hoping to find better resources than here. Seemed like every year since I was born, fewer boys than girls were born. We’re at the point where we have almost twice as many females as males at this village.”
“For whatever reason, that seems to be a trend in rural territories,” Darken said. “We have a program to match cyborgs with women seeking mates. Cyborgs were engineered to have only one genetic mate. They just need to submit a DNA scan, and the central AI will search for a cyborg match.”
Jenny looked at him thoughtfully, and Gina thought a bit enviously. “We brought you a com-tablet that will give you access to our main AI networks and allow you to communicate with the Enclave.”
Gina handed Jenny the tablet. The older woman stared at it. “I don’t even know how to use it.”
“I will show you if Darken doesn’t have any more questions for you.” Gina turned to her mate. “Darken?”
“Did anyone see any of the missing people being taken?”
Jenny shook her head. “Some of them were taken from their beds in the dead of night.”
“And you don’t have a law enforcer for your village?” Darken asked.
“Not since I was a little girl. When she died, no one took her place. Speaking of Fiona, she took sick all of a sudden and died within a month,” said Jenny. “We have people here ailing, and we have no way to help them except for an herbalist. Will your Enclave send us a doctor?”
“We can request medic services for your community. Gina will show you how to use your tablet, and you will be able to contact the Enclave directly,” said Darken. To Gina, he added, “While you go over that with Jenny, I’m going to take a stroll down the street.”
Darken walked down the street about eighty yards, scanning the area to see how many people were in the dwellings. He had calculated correctly that only a quarter of the homes was occupied by one or more people. Some of the unoccupied homes were in varying states of decay, while others looked pristine.
There were no lush green lawns or many vegetable gardens because of the arid conditions made worse by the lack of public utilities to bring water to their homes for irrigation. Homes isolated from the villages were more likely to be off the grid with solar-powered houses and windmills to pump their water out of the ground.
Even though they lived near a major river, getting water to their homes without a hovercraft or a horse and wagon would be tedious.
He clearly needed to advise the Enclave to send engineering teams to reconnect the villages to water. Darken suspected he would find similar conditions in any of the communities they visited.
He turned and went back to collect Gina to be on their way. She was chatting with Jenny but ended their talk when he reached them.
“Nice meeting you,” Gina said as she went to meet Darken at the sky cycle. “I’m sure we will see you again.”
She climbed on, and he took his seat in front of her. Starting the engine, he raised the craft into the air and converted it to flyer mode, heading to the next town.
Chapter Sixteen
For the next month and a half Darken and Gina made the rounds to every inhabited town and village they could locate. Many more than they expected were ‘ghost towns.’ Some were empty because of a lack of resources, and others emptied due to illness.
A few communities had had emergency mechanisms in place to restore public utilities in the case of a catastrophic event as the war. Others at least had restored water service.
Handing out the com-tablets to open communication for town governments to contact the Enclave directly was crucial to their mission. More of them needed technical assistance and medical care than law enforcement services.
As often as possible, they made flyovers of the fenced-in Quonset hut in the desert to determine if it was occupied. The only change was the hovercraft was gone.
“I think seeing us at the ranch with Joaquin spooked them,” said Darken.
“I’m sure they know we caught them in a lie just by the way they looked at us. Joaquin wouldn’t back them up on how they treated us, though I don’t remember it. But I know you don’t lie.” Gina laid her cheek against his back and gave him an affectionate squeeze.
The corners of his mouth lifted in pleasure as he basked in her caring gesture. He loved that she lavished him with affection and the passion she expressed when they bred. When she was in his arms, all the years of war, and times, he didn’t know if he would live to find a mate faded into the past.
The two also looked for their adopted wolf pack. They finally found them a couple weeks later, about thirty miles south of their home, feeding on the carcass of a mule deer near a small mountain watering hole.
Darken landed the sky cycle nearby and climbed off with Gina, making wolf sounds. The alpha female growled a warning as she was still eating her fill. He growled right back at her then crooned a few different pitched sounds. That seemed to satisfy her.
Meanwhile, the beta wolves waiting for their turn to eat trotted over to greet Gina and Darken. A couple rubbed up against them almost like pet dogs, clearly happy to see them. Of course, despite Darken’s rapport with them, she knew they weren’t pets. Yet, the young male that nuzzled her seemed to enjoy her stroking his head. When the alphas finished feasting, they also trotted over to greet them.
They seemed to talk to him in their wolf language, and Darken responded in similar wolf sounds.
“Do you really know what they are saying?”
