Sooner Dead (Gamma World) - Mel Odom [6]
The camp weathered the storm fairly well. Microweave tents kept the rain out and the warmth in. When keyed properly, the tents also turned opaque and kept light trapped inside. One of the guards used a small flamethrower to reignite the fire in the center of the camp area. The microweave canopy covered a four-meter-square area and kept it mostly dry.
Hella held her tongue. Normally after lights-out she wouldn’t have allowed any kind of light in camp. Fires kept a lot of animal predators away, but they drew the two-legged kind. The Redblight was rife with brigands and nomadic gangs that preyed on whomever fell in their sights. That night, though, the expedition’s anonymity had already been shredded by the gunshots.
The scientists thought they were roughing it, and the idea—when it didn’t irritate Hella immensely due to the chronic complaining—amused her. They had no idea of what hardship in the Redblight was. They’d come with tents, sleeping cots, and supplies, and even had engine-powered ATVs to pull small wagons to carry them in.
To Hella, roughing it was cutting back to a bedroll and Daisy. Luxury was a spare set of clothing. Everything else she and Stampede could get from the wilderness. Of course, the Redblight remained ready to take back everything from the unwary.
“When we procured your services, we were assured you and your partner were two of the best.” Pardot was wound up. Based on previous experience with the man, Hella knew the scientist could continue in that vein for a while. Pardot didn’t sleep like other people. If he took two or three hours of sleep at a stretch, one of his party would go check to see if he was still alive.
Pardot was one of the oldest men Hella had ever seen. She guessed that the scientist was in his seventies. That age might not be so remarkable in civilized areas, but the Redblight wasn’t kind—or even fair—to the young or the old. Pardot had a bulbous, bald head; a thin, pinched face; and thick glasses that made his eyes appear too large. He wore a skeletal support exo that moved him along in a hurried, jerking fashion. Every move seemed to be a twitch and lacked all fluidity. He could never quite manage to stand still while wearing it. As long as the exo was powered, though, he could walk everyone into the ground. The security men had a hard time keeping up with him because of the disparity between the power usage levels required.
“We are the best.” Stampede spoke matter-of-factly, without any hint of pride or arrogance. “We were being tracked by an animal, Dr. Pardot. A predator that was determined to hunt us down. My partner risked her life to make sure that stopped tonight. Before any of you got hurt.”
“You let the other one get through when you abandoned us.” Pardot gestured back toward the second mutie-coyote sprawled over the collapsed remains of a tent.
The scientist had a point. Scouting for one predator had left the camp open to the second. Hella gritted her teeth. Two of the things hadn’t been expected. Large predators usually hunted alone.
“Your men were prepared.” Stampede spoke in a level, reasonable voice. “I made sure they were in place. They killed this thing before it could harm anyone.”
“The point is, we shouldn’t have to protect ourselves. You people were hired to get us across country without anything like this happening. Either you should have killed it before it reached us, or we should have avoided it entirely.”
“This is the Redblight, Dr. Pardot.” Stampede’s words held an edge. Even he wasn’t without his limits when it came to a scouting contract. “What you saw tonight, it could be a whole lot worse. The protection you’re used to, the civilization, you’re used to, it all ended days ago. You’re in a new world now, and you’d better recognize that. And the decision to settle for just Hella and me was yours. You were the one that wanted a small group.”
Hella shook her head at that. Pardot’s idea of a “small” group left a lot to be desired. The expedition was heavy with security people. They were a small army. Stampede had pointed