HOTD: New World: Mainland
What is more dangerous: Russian zombies or potato vodka?
[Author's Note: This story follows the story HOTD: New World: Sakhalin. It is eighteen years after the Outbreak. The people involved are Nozomi Hirano (daughter of Saya Takagi and Kohta Hirano), Rise Komuro (son of Takashi Komuro and Saeko Busujima, adopted and raised by Rei Miyamato and Benaro Tatagi), Hotaru Tatagi (daughter of Rei Miyamato and Benaro Tatagi), Kuzuki Marikawa (son of Shizuka Marikawa) and Kemi Tioba (daughter of Reika Arimake and Naoki Tioba).]
They had taken the Archangel several kilometres upriver, until it had become too shallow for further progress. They had tied up at a broken-down little jetty and unloaded the horses, and were now travelling along a wide, once-paved road through overgrown fields.
"Canola," said Kazuki, looking around. "And over there, wheat."
"And just what is canola and wheat?" said Rise.
"They are, or at least were, crops," said Kazuki. "Canola was used to make oil, and wheat was used to make flour, which was used to make bread. My point is that these are not natural grasslands. They were deliberately planted, before the Outbreak. At some point they broke out of their fields and spread. Even then, I would say that parts of these fields were harvested, and not too long ago. Maybe a year, maybe a bit more."
"Meaning that there must be people not too far."
There were rabbits and birds in the fields. A lot of them.
"My dad told me once that when the number of people dropped the wildlife population exploded," said Nozomi. "Good for us, I suppose."
Hotaru suddenly brought her horse to a halt. She looked around.
A long way off, there was the sound of an engine. High-pitched, moving fast.
"Car, motorbike?" said Rise.
"Maybe," said Nozomi. "We should try and signal them."
"Uh, are we sure we want to?" said Kemi.
"We didn't come this far for nothing," said Nozomi. "But check your weapons, just in case."
Kazuki lifted his rifle. "Should we fire a shot to get their attention?" he said.
"No," said Hotaru. "They might think we're shooting at them." She reached into her pack and produced the flare pistol from the Archangel. She pointed it into the air and fired. A blue ball sailed skywards.
"You are full of tricks," said Nozomi.
"My mother is Rei Miyamato," said Hotaru. "There's upside and downside."
The sound of the engine stopped. Ten seconds passed. Fifteen. Then it started again – coming towards them. Nozomi dismounted and walked down the road a little, but gestured that the others should stay mounted. She unslung her Russian machine gun.
A vehicle zoomed around the corner. It was not a car; more like a metal frame, an engine, and two seats on a chassis.
"I know what this is!" said Rise. "There was a picture in one of Hirano's books at Maresato. It's a, what's the word, a … buggy, that's it."
The buggy screeched to a halt, ten metres from Nozomi. There were two people, their faces covered with scarves. One of them, the passenger, got out, holding a loaded crossbow. The passenger and Nozomi looked at each other, and at each other's weapons.
"Now what?" whispered Kazuki to Rise.
Slowly, deliberately, Nozomi lowered her gun. Then she slung it over her shoulder. She showed the other person her empty hands.
There was a long pause. The two people in the buggy spoke softly to each other. And then the passenger put her bow back into the buggy. She began to walk towards Nozomi – warily.
"Kemi," said Nozomi over her shoulder. "Come here, and bring that dictionary."
Kemi jumped off her horse and ran to Nozomi, taking the book from her pack as she did so.
The passenger, now only two metres from Nozomi, stopped, and pulled the scarf away. It was a young woman, about the same age as Nozomi.
"Hello," said Nozomi.
The other woman said nothing, staring at Nozomi.
"Kemi, say hello in Russian," said Nozomi.
"I'll try but no promises," said Kemi. "Not like I've ever heard it before." She read the word from the dictionary, or at least did her best.
The other woman started. Then she said the same word back – a somewhat different version, presumably the correct one. She smiled.
"Well, I don't think you got it right but I think she appreciated the effort," said Nozomi to Kemi.
"Better than nothing," said Kemi.
The other person from the buggy came over, taking their scarf off. It was a man, a bit younger than the woman. Nozomi gestured for the others to join them, which they did.
Nozomi looked at the two Russians. "Brother and sister," she said.
"How do you know?" said Kemi.
"If you had a brother or sister, you wouldn't ask that," said Nozomi to her.
Rise looked at the buggy. "That vehicle's built for fun," he said. "I'm thinking that they are probably out for a day of tear-assing around the countryside. Which means they must come from somewhere where there are other people."
Nozomi pointed to herself. "Nozomi," she said.
The woman did the same. "Lena," she said. She pointed to her brother. "Kirill," she said.
Nozomi introduced the others.
Lena walked up to Kazuki. She peered at him. And then smiled.
"What do I do?" said Kazuki.
"Smile, Kaz," said Rise.
Kazuki gave Lena one of his most charming smiles. It was like a sunbeam breaking through clouds.
The woman gave a shy little laugh. Still gazing at Kazuki, she wound a lock of her hair around her finger. She said something to him in Russian. Kazuki could only shrug, and flash another smile.
"Wonder what's on her mind," said Hotaru.
"Guy is fucking dangerous," said Rise, with a laugh. He was examining the buggy. "You know," he said, "I don't think this runs on petrol. It smells more like, well, chicken shit. Maybe it is."
The two Russians got back into the buggy. The woman gestured at them. Then she pointed to her mouth.
"She wants us to go with them, and have a meal," said Kemi.
"How do you know?" said Kazuki.
"Because she is gesturing that she wants us to go with them, and have a meal," said Kemi.
"Does that mean that they intend to feed us or eat us?" said Kazuki, as they got onto their horses.
"In your case, probably a bit of both," said Nozomi.
Lena and Kirill led them along the road until it turned into a dirt path. It took them through a rocky valley. Not too far away, they could see a settlement, perched on the bank of a river.
Suddenly, Hotaru stopped. She looked up at the valley skyline.
Nozomi came up beside her.
"I thought I saw movement up there," said Hotaru.
Nozomi handed her the binoculars. Hotaru studied the area.
After a while, she handed the binoculars back to Nozomi.
"I guess it's nothing," she said.
They rode after the others.
The village, spread out over several acres, was surrounded by a wire fence. They rode through the open gate. Hotaru noted that no-one closed it behind them. There was a watch tower with a bell but it was unmanned.
"These people don't seem to be as concerned with security as they might be," she whispered to Rise, next to her.
"Maybe there are no zombies around here," he said.
"Maybe," said Hotaru.
They came to an open square in the middle of the village, and dismounted. Immediately, forty people clustered around them, chattering excitedly.
A big man shouldered his way through the crowd. Lena and Kirill spoke to him at length in Russian. The big man stared at them, and seemed particularly interested in their eyes. He said something to Kirill, who ran off.
The man walked up to Rise. He pointed to himself. "Bostovich," he said.
"Rise, pleased to meet you," said Rise. "But if you want to talk to the leader, it's this one here." He pointed to Nozomi.
Bostovich looked at Nozomi. Then he looked at Kazuki. Kazuki pointed to Nozomi.
Bostovich grunted. He gestured for them to sit down on benches in the square, which they did. Kirill appeared, with a middle-aged woman. Bostovich spoke to the woman at length, and then pointed at Nozomi, with a shrug.
The woman came up to Nozomi. She looked as if she was trying very hard to remember something.
"H … hello," she said at last.
"Hello," said Nozomi, with a sigh of relief. "You speak Japanese."
"A … little," said the woman. "From … long time … away. I … am Yadviga. Where … from?"
Kemi reached into her pack and took out another book. It was a book of maps. She spread one out; it showed the geographic area.
"We are from here, Japan," said Kemi, pointing at the Tomo area of Japan. She traced a line north across Japan, to Sakhalin, and then to the mainland, and then to their current location.
"Ah," said Bostovich. "Japan."
Nozomi turned to Yadviga. "Are there any other people in Russia, and China?" she said to her.
"Some," she said. "Some … villages. Not many people. But we … do not know … far."
A number of villagers had come quite close to them. Several women were peering at Kemi's blond hair.
"You can touch it if you want," she said, leaning forward. They did, giggling as they did so.
Bostovich pointed at Nozomi's machine gun. She unslung it and handed it to him.
He examined it. After a while, he said: "Bison. Soviet." He nodded appreciatively.
"If you say so," said Nozomi, as he gave it back to her.
"Are there any zombies around here?" said Rise.
Yadviga looked at him, not understanding.
"Kemi, look up the word for zombie," said Nozomi.
Kemi leafed through the dictionary, but eventually said: "Nothing here. I guess the authors weren't anticipating an end-of-the-world thing."
"You know, zombies," said Rise to the villagers. He made a contorted face and held out his arms. "Argh, argh," he said.
His four friends stared at him.
"Worst … zombie … impression … ever," said Kazuki.
"You are an embarrassing person to have as a brother," said Hotaru.
Rise pointed to a group of village children, who were laughing and going 'argh, argh'. "They thought it was pretty good," he said.
"They're, like, six," said Kemi.
"You mean … the not-dead?" said Yadviga.
"Yes," said Nozomi. "That's as good a term as any."
"Were many," said Yadviga. "Many, many. They killed many of us, we killed many of them. But not for … ten … seasons. More. Not seen." She spoke to Bostovich in Russian, translating.
Suddenly, Bostovich gave a shout. He started barking instructions to the other villagers.
"Now," said Yadviga, "we have … what is word … party. Is it party?"
"Party," said Rise. "Party is good."
As the people began to prepare for the celebration, Yadviga, Kirill and Lena showed the five of them around the village. There appeared to be chickens everywhere. As they watched, several children scooped up the droppings with shovels and threw them into a large vat, which had a fire simmering beneath it and tubes coming out of it.
"Methane," said Nozomi. "You were, right, Rise, this is what they use for their vehicles. Momma looked at the idea but worked out that you needed an awful lot of chickens to make a viable amount of fuel."
"As it happens, an awful lot of chickens is what they have," said Kazuki.
Lena, standing next to Kazuki, said something to Yadviga.
"She wants to know," said Yadviga, "if one of these women is your girlfriend."
Before Kazuki could answer, Kemi said: "No, definitely no. Tell her that Kazuki does not have a girlfriend, here or in Japan."
Kazuki stared at her. "Bitch," he said.
"Tell her that he is thanking me for providing the information, as he is a bit shy himself," said Kemi.
Yadviga laughed. Then she translated.
Leni smiled, and put her arm through Kazuki's.
"Looks like you might have to take one for the team, Kaz," said Rise.
"We are here, after all, to make friends," added Nozomi. "And it's not like she's not attractive. Uh, don't translate that, Yadviga."
They continued to walk around the village. There was a bakery, a butcher, a machinist, and a variety of other enterprises. As it began to grow dark, people lit oil lanterns.
"Looks like they're doing alright," said Nozomi. "Not great, but alright. Surviving."
"There are plenty of kids around, which I guess is a good sign," said Rise.
They had come back to the square. A bonfire had been lit, and plates of food were being passed around. The five of them were handed glasses of clear liquor.
Bostovich, with a glass of his own, made a loud, long toast.
"To friendship," Yadviga translated.
Nozomi did her best to repeat the toast. It must have been good enough, because Bostovich gave a tremendous laugh and then downed his drink. He looked at Nozomi.
With a certain reluctance, she downed the drink as well. Then she coughed and spluttered. "Fuck me!" she said. "That's not exactly peppermint schnapps."
"Potato vodka," said Yadviga. "Very good. You must have more."
"We are here, after all, to make friends," said Kazuki.
"Shut up," said Nozomi. But she held out her glass again, and it was immediately re-filled. She grit her teeth and threw it down.
And so it went. Several villagers produced musical instruments and began to play up a rambunctious storm. People, young and old, began to dance. Leni dragged Kazuki onto the dance floor. Then other people took hold of Nozomi, Rise, Hotaru and Kemi as well, and before long they were doing their best to keep up with the villagers.
"You think they do this often?" said Rise to Nozomi, as their paths temporarily crossed.
"Drink or dance?" said Nozomi.
"Either. Both."
"Most likely. Hey, pass the word to the others. Tell them to have a good time but not drink too much or stay up too late. We don't know enough about this situation to let down our guard. And when we bed down, we should still have rolling watches. Just in case."
Rise nodded. "Just in case," he said.
It was the cold light of dawn. Hotaru was on watch, walking around the camp, staying close to the building that they had been given to sleep in. Rise came out to relieve her.
"I thought this was Kazuki's watch," said Rise to her.
"He is … otherwise occupied," said Hotaru. "With Lena. So I did a double. He can owe me."
"Huh," said Rise. "Well, you should try and get some sleep now."
"Don't think I could," said Hotaru.
"Still worried about that movement in the hills?" said Rise.
Hotaru nodded.
They walked to the front gate. Someone had, at least, thought to close it. All the villagers had, after a very late night, finally gone to bed. They looked across the valley, along the dirt track.
In the distance, there was a small cloud of dust.
Hotaru raised the binoculars. After a few seconds, she handed them to Rise.
"Bad, very bad," said Rise. "Do you think it's a coincidence that they've come when most of the defenders are flat out with hangovers?"
"Sure it is," said Hotaru. "A coincidence."
"What is that thing they're carrying?" said Rise. "It looks like … a tree trunk."
"A battering ram," said Hotaru. "For the wire. How long, do you think?"
"Maybe 20, 25 minutes."
Hotaru gave a grunt of agreement. "In that case, we'd better get Bostovich and the others out of bed," she said. Calmly, she walked over to the watch tower and began to ring the bell.
In a minute, Bostovich appeared, still pulling on his clothes and looking a bit the worse for wear. Rise handed him the binoculars and pointed.
Bostovich swore in Russian. He began to shout orders at the people emerging from the huts and houses. The men and women of fighting age, about twenty of them, began to line up by the gate, with their weapons. The others, the non-combatants, retreated to the back of the settlement, to a large building.
Nozomi and Kemi came up to Rise and Hotaru. They looked at the approaching threat, clearly visible now. Then Kazuki appeared, with Lena. They were still getting dressed.
"Sorry to interrupt you, but we have a problem," said Nozomi. She was carrying Kazuki's rifle and ammunition belt, which she handed to him. She gave him the binoculars.
"Goddamn," said Kazuki. "I make it about thirty of them, counting those with the ram. Huh, only thirty."
"Hmm," said Hotaru.
"My feelings exactly," said Rise.
"What do you mean?" said Kemi.
"They mean," said Nozomi, "that this doesn't smell right. Why aren't there more of them, when they have gone to so much trouble to bring that ram all this way? Why are they mounting a frontal assault against a defended position? Generally, when they can, they prefer to attack from several points at once."
"Maybe they thought everyone would be asleep, after last night," said Kemi.
"So maybe they have been watching," said Hotaru. She started to scan the steep hillsides on the other side of the settlement.
Bostovich and his fighters were firing at the zombies now, with bows and a few guns. The zombies were twenty metres away, charging at the gate with the ram.
"There!" cried Hotaru. She pointed. On top of the steepest hill, on the far side of the village, a rock the size of a car was starting to roll down the slope. It was being pushed by a troop of zombies. As the large rock gathered momentum, it began to dislodge other rocks. In a few moments, a landslide was under way, with a pack of zombies, maybe forty, running behind.
"That's going to take out the fence on that side and then they'll be right on top of the people there," said Rise. "I don't think they even have any weapons to defend themselves."
Nozomi shouted to Bostovich but he was concentrating on the zombies approaching the fence. The charging zombies were howling now, and it was difficult to hear anything above the roar.
Then there was another sound. It was the buggy, Kirill driving. He brought it to a stop next to them.
"Go!" said Nozomi. She hefted her machine gun and began to fire at the zombies with the ram.
Rise, Hotaru, Kazuki and Lena jumped on and Kirill was off. As they zoomed past the building where the group had slept, Kemi came rushing out. She threw something to Rise. He caught it and unsheathed it. He glanced back, and saw Kemi at Nozomi's side, firing her crossbow as fast as she could.
The landslide reached the fence, and pushed it over as if it was made of paper. The zombies came surging through the gap.
"Go straight in!" shouted Rise to Kirill. Even if Kirill could not speak the language he understood the intent. He drove the buggy directly into the pack of zombies.
Rise, leaning out and swinging the sword, took out three zombies in the first few seconds. From behind him, he heard the crack-crack of Kazuki's rifle and saw several more fall.
And then Hotaru was leaping through the air, spiralling, drawing her Makarov pistols as she flew. She landed in the middle of the troop, and swivelled, firing and firing.
Kirill stopped the buggy and both he and Lena began to fire their bows. The air seemed full of arrows and bullets. And the sharp flash of Rise's sword, glinting in the rising sun.
The ram smashed into the gate, knocking it flat. There were fifteen zombies left, and they rushed at the humans. But the villagers, with Nozomi and Kemi in the middle, stood their ground. Bostovich threw down his bow and pulled a heavy axe from his belt, and began to slash and chop. More zombies fell. The humans charged.
And suddenly, all the zombies were down. The villagers began to check them, decapitating those that needed it.
Nozomi found Bostovich and pointed towards the other end of the village. For the first time, he saw that the fence had been taken out. Nozomi, Kemi, Bostovich, and a half-dozen fighters began running towards the breach.
By the time they arrived, the fight was over.
"Not too bad," said Nozomi, looking around. "Not too bad at all."
"Fortunate, as I am now out of bullets," said Hotaru.
Lena threw her arms around Kazuki and kissed him.
"Any excuse," muttered Kemi.
Nozomi and Hotaru had climbed to the top of the hill from where the zombies had started the landslide. From here, there was a good view of the village.
"From the amount of tracks, they must have been here for a long time," said Nozomi. "Months. Years, maybe. Watching."
Hotaru looked around. "There are no large rocks here," she said.
"So they brought that big one from somewhere else," said Nozomi. "Busy fellows. Industrious. And with that tree trunk as well."
"Clever. And patient."
"If the zombies have evolved this far, maybe there won't be anyone left alive at all."
"Maybe. Only one way to find out."
It was the next day. The five of them were mounting their horses, ready to leave.
Bostovich was speaking to them. Yadviga stepped forward to translate. "He says that you are welcome to stay," she said. "We would all like you to stay."
"Thanks, but there is much more to explore," said Nozomi.
Lena was dabbing her eyes, smiling sadly at Kazuki.
"She would especially like you to stay, I think," said Yadviga to Kazuki.
"I can't spare him," said Nozomi. "Sorry."
"Then at least take these things as a gift," said Yadviga. She handed Nozomi a covered basket. Inside were a dozen loaves of fresh bread. And several bottles of vodka.
"Oh no," said Nozomi, looking at the liquor. "Er, I mean, thank you, thank you very much. And perhaps Bostovich will take this, to remember us." She handed the Bison machine gun to Yadviga, who passed it to Bostovich. He beamed.
They turned and rode away.
"So where to now?" said Kemi to Nozomi.
"Back to the Archangel," said Nozomi. "Then we'll make our way down the coast for as long as the fuel lasts. Stop and go inland wherever it looks promising. Find whatever there is to find. We've located some survivors. There must be more."
"Sounds like a plan," said Kemi.
END