The Industrialist

The day after.

***

"Damian, we need Handsome to help market these," Lance placed the plastic container full of poison bombs. He needed to market the products and sell them at an amenable price. Trenchers knew the effectiveness of the Aiveez plants regarding Abominant repellents, they would surely buy a weaponized Aiveez nectar.

He hoped.

"How much are you going to sell each?" Damian responded as he drove the jeep going to Axiom Trench. They detoured this time, accessing the outskirts of the Boneyard and to the foot of Trench Hill.

Their encounter with the Obsidian scorpion had traumatized the kid and also the Specialist.

"I looking at 50 units each," Lance responded.

"That's expensive!" Damian sneered.

"Ok. What do you think is the price?"

"35 units the most." He squinted at the back of the passenger seat while he drove the jeep.

"You think?"

"Yeah. Trust me, kid. They won't buy 50 units. Even at 35, they will still negotiate the price."

"How do you know?"

"A lot of trade runs, kid. I dealt with a lot of people, bringing people back and forth between Axiom and the City. Even the rifles are priced at 150 units, now. The old and low-powered ones. The electric stun bombs are priced at 30 units."

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"Interesting. You are not a specialist only but also a weapon smuggler too."

"If you see it like that, kinda. You gotta work and hustle kid to survive. I mean, I am just supportin' the traders here and there. Many would not want to travel without a Specialist."

Damian swerved a lot of new roads, sinuous but wide enough to fit the width of the jeep. There were more boulders and rubble compared to before as they took a long cut.

"How do you know the roads so much?"

"I told ya before. A lot of runs. After the wars, you know when I worked as a driver in a logistics company in Bay City, delivering merch to Axe and back."

"Usually," Damian continued, "the logistics company routing inter cities are mostly ex-soldiers. They wanted somebody that can defend themselves when encountering Abominants."

"You are living dangerously, Damian. Aren't you tired of doing all this and living a life of peace? You know there are a lot of decent jobs inside the surviving cities."

"If you are in Bay City, you can probably survive. Hey, the pay is good and the employment is better. People from Axe Central are migrating to Bay City because of employment opportunities. Menks' reach could not touch Bay City. They have their own Corporation there, a branch, but Menks do not control it. You know, the corruption is minimal.

I have heard stories before, that because millions of people migrated to Bay City, filling the job opportunities, Axe Central became dry of available manpower. Axe Central experienced a crisis, because of the lack of employment. Businesses are closing down, commodities are way more expensive than before because they shifted from manpower to automatic robots to do the manufacturing."

"Year after year, fewer people now are buying the merchandise offered in Axe Central City, however, Bay City is booming. There were no walls before, but the defense system of Bay is tight." Damian continued.

Now they arrived at the outskirts of Boneyard. A kilometer away, they could see silhouettes of towering structures in an unkempt manner, bathed with dust and grime.

They felt silent for a moment as Lance trained his eyes on the sprawling rubble that consisted of the Boneyard. Luckily, the road was straight but longer. It would take an additional thirty minutes of travel time compared to traveling at the center of the abandoned municipality.

"What about the Boneyard? What's its story?"

"It was made a temporary refugee camp when Bay City was attacked. People flocked to this place. We call it before 'Requiem Town'. It's a funny irony. They called it that because of the service it provides for the evacuees. And now, others say requiem means funeral."

"How did Bay City fall? If you say they have the best defense system. Were they attacked by the Abominants?"

"When you are still young, the Abominants were active. They attacked the surviving cities non-stop. However, they can't penetrate through the defenses. But, the upkeep of those defenses is very expensive. The bullets. The military personnel, the electricity used in laser fences, and everything.

There is a constant battle, here and there. And the cost of such defenses drained the city budget. That's when your father thought of designing the walls. He spearheaded the project, I mean, yeah…" Damian hesitated as he realized the sensitivity of the topic.

"So, Bay City is not conquered by the Abominants because of its weak defenses. No. Rumors floated that the Axe Central Government and high-echelons who wanted control sabotaged the defenses secretly for even two days. The lasers were gone. There were tower power outages. Everything was in chaos at the borders. Discover stories at empire

Now, the Abominants had found the perfect opportunity to attack. A horde. That's when Bay City fell. Jefferson was there. He was a Major of the Defense Military. He knew the stories.

But there was no evidence of the said sabotage."

"So it means that Axe Central destroyed Bay City because of Jealousy?" Lance asked.

"Yes. And because of control. Axe Central was losing control. The economy worsened ever before. You know, Jefferson's theory, the more money you have, the more control you can harness. And Axe's budget is fading to nothingness, becoming dead.

Thus, control is also fading from their hands. And the goodies in Bay City, the governor, was blinded by the fact that Axe Central was planning for his fall. Your father fled to Axe Central City, without hints of the sabotage, and then presented the concept of walls. They partnered with Menks on that project. Then it started. Your father's death started with Menks."

Lance felt silent. He felt a discomforting sting through his heart, and tears welling up behind his eyeballs. He doesn't want to cry. He did not, though.

"Hey!" Damian said. "Your father wanted peace above everything else. He wanted security from the monsters. He probably knew the stories that is why he became one of us, but he needed the resources from the Corporation and the Government."

"Now, it's time for them to pay." Lance clenched his fists.

"Easy there, cowboy. We are getting there. Jefferson told me that you are the key. Well, I believe in you, kid. I believe in your cause. You are a vessel on your own, independent from the persuasions of the Rebels.

I support you, kid, more than I support Jefferson. Joe and George, too, share the same principle. So, you better not be faltered with anything, kid. We are here to support you."

Lance only smiled. With that statement, pressure had accumulated upon his shoulders. His belief never faltered from the foundations it built. Never falter. Never doubt. His father taught him motivation, too.

They entered the dead forest. It was 1400 H. No problem for any risk of Abominants, as they believed.

"What is that?" Lance asked. His sight fell on a heavy fog of dust, wafting almost motionless to the air, beyond the sprawling dead trees due west. The overcast was darkened, like a fire had been growing at the boundaries of a dead forest.

"Why? What did you see?" Damian slowed down their jeep and found what Lance had seen.

"Marching?" Lance said.

"Marching? Abominants? Impossible."

Lance confirmed his time again. 1400 H in the afternoon.

"It happens all the time. The dead forest's boundaries are beside mountains, casting a shadow from its peaks. Within the shadow area, the Abominants move on their own without direction. Just to scavenge food."

"So, we have nothing to worry about?"

"No. The roads we took are far away from the shadows. No Abominants could reach us."

"But the volume of the dust seemed to be battle formations," Lance said.

"Probably. It's Demetrian season so, they are more active. Can you feel the wind?"

"Yes. Bit cold, I guess," Lance responded.

"You know Abominants hated the heat of the sun, even a single ray could damage their skin. I don't know why. Maybe you know. Scientists are experimenting with this kind of phenomena."

At 1600 H, they reached Axiom Trench.

It was Lance's fourth time to visit the Trench but it was his first time to witness such a crowd. The noise and the heaving people were like celebrating something of a feast.

"What is this?" Lance spoke loudly, overcoming the guffaws of the crowd to Damian, as the heavy metallic doors opened, and they were greeted with people wearing different colors, different fashion scents, and different faces.

"It's Demetrian season next month, so they are preparing for the winter. Supplies, Lance. They need to fill every bucket they have of food and water."

"I haven't experienced Demetrian season outside the walls. What is it like?" Lance asked.

"Blood bathe, kid. Death."