Chapter 3: Genesis
Jay held out his hand to help Amber out of the boat. As she jumped down, he leaned in close to her ear. "The men in black have weapons," he whispered. "They're well concealed, but are there nevertheless." Amber nodded and looked over at the crowd of people with a worried look. She, Jay, Ebony, Slade, Lex, Darryl, and Ram stood in a tight group as ten of the black-clad men broke rank and marched forward, following one man with a red sash around his waist and an authoritative look in his eyes.
The man was about nineteen years old, with brown hair and eyes, tall and very muscular. He had a scar along his right cheekbone that looked as if it had been made with a knife, as well as scars on his knuckles and hands. The man stopped right in front of the Mallrats while his men stopped with military-like precision about five paces behind him, in two rows of five. "Who are you and why have you come here?" the man asked. Amber stepped forward, earning her a glare from Ebony.
"We are the Mallrats, from the city," she said politely. "We have come here because our home was destroyed and we had to leave." The man looked her up and down with an impassive expression. "How was your home destroyed?" he asked. Amber drew in a breath. "It is a long story," she began. "One that must be told before I allow you access to the island and its inhabitants," the man said severely. Amber sighed and told him of the new virus and the explosion that caused them to leave.
The man's face showed no signs of panic as she mentioned the virus. Instead, he waited until she was finished before asking another question. "You are sure none of you carry the virus?" he asked carefully. "No," Ram broke in, "if we were, we would have become sick long before this." The man glanced at Ram with narrowed eyes. "You look a lot like the Technos we have heard so much about," he told him. "We were Technos, but we aren't any longer," Jay assured the man. The man nodded. "We have another ex-Techno here," he said before turning back to Amber.
"What is your purpose in coming to this island?" he asked. "We didn't come here, specifically," Amber told him. "We just let the boat go as fast and far away as we could. But we are very low on supplies, we haven't bathed in weeks, and so many people on one little boat is getting to us. We have a sick woman on the boat, as well as two children." "I thought you said none of you had the virus!" the man exclaimed. "She doesn't have the virus," Ram said. "She was hit by a truck before we left the city. Ruby is severely wounded, and doesn't look like she's going to make it."
The man's brow furrowed. "Please excuse me for a moment," he said, and walked several yards away, taking a walkie-talkie from his belt. He spent several minutes speaking to someone before coming back. "Our medics are on the way," he told the group. "They will take the wounded woman to our hospital and do what they can for her. I am to take the rest of you to see the Queen." "The Queen?" Amber asked, her eyebrow raising. "Your leader?" The man nodded. "Yes. Queen Iris is in charge here. It will be she who decides whether or not you may stay." "And who are you?" Lex asked, speaking up for the first time. The man turned to him. "Forgive me. My name is Malik. I am the leader of the Troops, the military tribe of the island." Lex looked a bit taken aback at his politeness.
"It would be best if you got the rest of your tribe off the boat," Malik said, watching as an ambulance drove slowly down to the pier. Two men and two women dressed in white got out and came down the pier with a stretcher between them. "You have ambulances?" Amber asked Malik. "Yes. We have converted the ambulances to work on solar power. The ambulances stand out in the sun during the day so they can be used during nights if needed. We have no other running cars." Amber looked stunned for a moment, then turned to Darryl and asked him to tell the others to get off the boat.
"What other things do you have here?" Ram asked as the others began climbing off the boat. "We have electricity, thanks to the manuals on how to run the plant left by those who worked here before the virus," Malik told him. "We have a sort of Internet, used when we need to announce or advertise something. We have a hospital, run mostly off of herbal remedies. Our man-made medicine stock is large, but we prefer to keep it for the worst emergencies. There is also a school, for children five to twelve years old, a nursery for parents to keep their infants to school-age children while they're working, a fire brigade, a market, and several farms on the outskirts of the city itself."
"Impressive!" Amber said happily. "So people here work?" Jay asked curiously. Malik nodded, looking surprised. "Yes. Of course. We have people working in the electric plant, in the schools and nurseries, in the fields on the farms, in the hospitals, and in the computer station as well as those who make clothes, medicines, soap, and other things we need. Everyone here is required to work eight hours a day or they forfeit their rights to be able to use the running water and electricity." Amber looked appalled. "You make people work?" she asked in a horrified tone.
Malik stared at her. "Amber seems to think people should be free to do whatever they wish," Ram said with a sneer. Malik raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Ruby was being carried out of the boat on the stretcher. She was in such delirium that she didn't even know she was being moved. One of the medics said something in Malik's ear and hurried away to the ambulance. Seconds later, it sped away with Ruby inside. Malik sighed and turned to the others. "He says she's bad off, but they'll do what they can," he said solemnly. He glanced around the group. "Are all of you here?" Amber nodded, still looking annoyed. "Good," Malik said. "Then we can go to the hotel."