Sooner Dead (Gamma World) - Mel Odom [51]
At one time, before the collider had exploded, the area had been a road. Rusted remnants of metal guides and blocky stumps of the highway remained. The broken pavement made the going hard for wheeled, tracked, and hoofed mounts. Daisy negotiated the path easily, one of the benefits of being a lizard and not a traditional horse.
“I see him. Got my scope on him now.”
“I’m not worried about him as much as I am the three kids.”
“Did they have weps?”
“None that I could see. Of course, they could have plenty in those rocks. This doesn’t even have to be all of them.”
“Go slow.”
Hella put her heels to Daisy’s sides, and the big lizard went forward slowly, just as she’d been trained. After wrapping the reins around her saddle pommel, Hella morphed her hands into weapons.
Moving slowly, the old man slid out from under the canvas tarp and held his hands level with his shoulders to his sides. His clothing consisted of rags and red dust mixed in with the gray in his curly, black hair. He spoke in a hoarse voice. “If you intend mischief or murder, I’ll tell you now that I’ve got nothing of value left to me. We’ve been robbed and all but killed these past few days. Them that took from us took all my weapons, everything worth anything. They left us just our lives, and I don’t think that was done out of kindness.” He touched a swollen spot over his right eye. “I only ask that you let these children be. They ain’t harmed nobody and only had the bad luck of being practically born orphans.”
“Neither mischief nor murder.” Hella repeated the old trade road hail from habit. “Just travel. I’m Hella. A scout. Who are you?”
“DaBen. It’s a simple name ’cause I’m a simple man.”
“Where are you from?”
“Other side of the Buckled Mountains. Barely escaped with our lives, and we lost a lot of good people. Trade camp where me and these children lived done got burned out by a biker gang.”
“The Purple Dragons?”
DaBen lifted an eyebrow in surprise. “That would be them. You know of ’em?”
“They attacked Blossom Heat a couple days ago.”
“We were headed there.” DaBen frowned. “Does it still stand?”
“It does but we burned a lot of Purple Dragons along the wall.”
DaBen smiled. “Well, you done a good thing then, scout. Wish we could have made it there to be with you.”
“Where’s your vehicle?”
“Didn’t have no vehicle. Had a mule, only he went lame nearly a week ago. We butchered him out as best we could then packed all the meat we were able to and came this way.” DaBen pursed his lips, and dehydration showed in the cracks and blisters. “What meat we had went bad, and them little ones behind me ain’t had any water in almost a day. The trade roads ain’t been friendly to them that cain’t take care of themselves.”
“Your luck’s about to change.” Hella slid down off the mountain boomer and switched her hands back before the man could notice them. She pulled her rifle down with her. Stampede had taught her to be charitable when she could be but never to be foolish.
All of the children were younger than ten years. As she watched them stuffing their bellies with food she and Stampede had given them, Hella tried to remember what it was like to be that age and couldn’t. Flashes of memory hit her, but all of them quickly faded.
Two of the children were girls, one white and one black, and the boy was white as well. All of them were dressed in clothing equally as hard used as DaBen’s.
“Why are we stopping?” Pardot stood in front of Stampede while the bisonoid put together a kit of food and water.
Stampede wrapped the food in a tanned hide and tucked the ends in before he rolled it. When he had everything in place, he tied rawhide strips around the ends so it would remain closed.
Hella finished knotting a hide of her own. She felt guilty about the meager rations they were leaving the man and the children with, but Stampede had pointed out that the trio wouldn’t be able to carry much in the way of supplies. DaBen was too weak, and the children