Vince attempted a smile, and shook his head. “Can’t say I’m sorry to be wrong. Raxx, can I see some more of that water?”
He drank, then gave Raxx a cagey look. Wentworth had wandered off to patrol.
“Lad — are you sure he wasn’t with them?”
He grimaced. “I’m pretty sure…”
“I wasn’t even there, old man. I was with Raxx — we were busy trying not to kill each other because of the politics in this burg.” Their eyes penetrated his back. He sighed and turned around. “Listen, Vince — why don’t you let me see to your ankle, and you tell Raxx what happened? We’ve got to know what we’re dealing with here.”
Vince watched him lay his rifle in the dust, and kneel down by his injured leg. He grunted as Wentworth removed his shoe. “Ah — thank you. Give me a shout if you’re gonna twist it, though.”
Wentworth looked at him and nodded before returning to the swelling. “It’s sprained all right. I’m going to tie it up with your sock once I take it off, okay?”
Vince took a shuddering breath. “Yeah, that’s good lad. You do that, and I’ll try and tell both of you what happened. Is that a fair trade?”
Raxx nodded, “Sounds good to me.”
“Me too — you talk, and I’ll try and be gentle.”
“Okay — I’ll keep it short — I was eating my breakfast at Landfalls when it all went down. Must’ve been about ten. Gah! — I gotta show up early, of course, to sell to the farmers — then I grab my breakfast and let my boys take the shop. The guards, that is. Billy and Verizon, this trip. Aw, bloody…” He looked over at Raxx. “Those boys — they got caught up in the fighting, lad. I know you were friends with them…”
“I know, Vince. I saw.”
“Aye…” he took a shuddering breath — then gasped in pain.
“Sorry,” said Wentworth.
“No, it’s all right… I stepped out of Landfalls, but it was too late. Even if I hadn’t forgot my gun… ah, hell, it wouldn’t have mattered…”
“Who were they?”
“Not that it matters, lads, but they called themselves the Hellhounds. A bunch of young boys — younger than you — with a boss about my age. They just showed up, shooting off their rifles, and said it was slavery now —
“Sorry.”
“It was like something out of the badlands… I don’t know what to tell you. They just grabbed all the folks, and the only reason I’m here is on account of my busted ankle. I stepped in one of the wheel ruts, and — Aw, fuck, Wentworth, relax with that!”
“Almost there. How many do you think there were?”
“I don’t know… about thirty of ’em? They had quads, and they were moving west.” He shook his head, “I think they were gonna kill me too, when my ankle broke, except their boss was in a hurry.” He leaned back and looked west, staring off towards his captors. He rubbed some dried blood from his upper lip. “The whoresons did a number on me, though, before he told ’em to get moving. Enough to scare everyone else off faking. Shit! You sonuvabitch!”
“She should be good now — I’ve got more medical supplies, but Raxx and I might need them later. How’s your face? Are you going to be okay for the next few hours?”
Vince looked at him cynically. “Why, lad, are you gonna go play hero for Blackstock?”
Wentworth took a moment to consider. Then he tilted his head in Raxx’s direction. “I’m just helping out my Mechanic.”
“Damnit boys, they’re dead already! Don’t you get that? The best they can hope for is an easy spot on the oil rigs! All your messing about can do is get ’em all killed, and the three of us along with ’em!”
“The hell are we supposed to do, Vince? Should I just forget about Connie, and Bill, and the rest of ’em? What about Vree? What about Marie?” Pain flashed in the merchant’s eyes and Raxx choked back the rest of his outburst. Their eyes met in hard glares.
Wentworth glanced at the horizon; the sun was nearing its end. He looked back at Vince, and raised his goggles, squinting at the light.
“Vince, you’ve heard about me. I don’t start something I can’t finish. If I say that Raxx and I are going to hunt down and kill every last one of those Hellhounds, then that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’ll be back for you.”
The dust blew, howling and brittle. Vince looked over at Raxx. The corners of his cheeks turned up — then he frowned. “Lad… those Hellhounds are worse than any derelict I’ve seen. They’re bad — I couldn’t say where they came from, or what they’ve already done, but they’re a force that’s gonna keep on moving…” he closed his eyes. “…so maybe it’s got to be taken care of… by someone. If you’re up to it.” He indicated Raxx with a nod of his head. “You need this one, don’t you? You’re gonna take care of him?”
“Of course I will; I’ll need his shotgun.”
“Don’t fuck with me Wentworth!”
“Vince — we’ll be back. Just take it easy.”
The merchant looked up him, and scratched his beard — then clasped the man’s hand.
“Go do it, lads. Keep the wind at your backs.”
Wentworth lowered his goggles, and looked over to Raxx. “We will.”
Half-an-hour later he reached his hand over to his partner. “Take these.”
“What? What are these, drugs?”
“Sort of. They’ll protect us from the radiation.”
“What radiation?”
Wentworth shook his head. “These Hellhounds are real champs. Take the pills — we’ll both need them. I’m guessing we’re close now.”
Chapter 10
“
“We’re entering a fallout zone. The pills’ll protect you as long as it doesn’t get too bad.”
“What? How?”
He shrugged, “They’re potassium-iodide. They protect the lungs from airborne particles. As long as we don’t eat or drink anything we should be fine.”
Raxx shook his head, “How would you know about any radiation? Don’t tell me you have a Geiger counter on you.”
The ground crunched under his heels as he came to a halt. The grasses swayed quietly in the wind
“Actually, yeah, I do.” He passed an olive-drab tablet to the Mechanic. “This right here — you feel the vibrations? That’s how it tells me about the fallout.”
Raxx glared down at it. He’d never seen one that looked quite like it, let alone that was operational, but the glowing screen and key pad were unmistakeable.
“This is a computer — isn’t it?”
“More or less. It’s called a Datapad. And it has a Geiger counter installed. Take the damned pills.”
Raxx handed it back with distaste.
“And if I don’t?”
Wentworth slid the Datapad into his belt. “I’m not moving until you do.”
Raxx stared at him. Wentworth rocked back on his heels and stared back.
“The pills — you know for sure that they’re potassium-iodide?”
“Here, read the container — I think they’re diluted with chalk or something, but that’s the only active ingredient.”
Raxx glanced down suspiciously at the tablet. “I’ll take your word for it. But you’d better be right.”
Wentworth let out his breath. “I wish I was wrong. Let’s keep moving.”
