by Arthur Butt
"Up early," he commented as I clomped in the back door and washed my hands at the sink. "Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?" He watched me over the top of his cup with interest.
"Kat and I were going to muck around, I guess," I replied, pouring a cup of coffee for myself and sitting down.
"Didn't hear you come in last night," he commented, still watching me.
"Uh," I stared at my coffee cup, "heard a rumor about scavengers around town. We sorta waited to give them a chance to clear off before we came home." I grabbed the milk and poured it into my coffee.
"Oh, I was wondering." He nodded as if he understood. "I received three calls from Mr. Brennan asking if you two stopped here." He stirred his coffee. "Kat's growing into a pretty young lady, isn't she?"
"Huh?" Kat was tee shirts, cut-offs, and dirty sneakers. She always had been. Where'd he get the idea she was a lady, or pretty? I hurried and changed the subject before he asked me more crazy questions. "What are you doing today?"
Pop put down his cup and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Mr. Brennen and I are installing a new impeller for the town's water supply. If you and Kat become bored, come on down and I'll buy you guys a soda, okay?"
"Sounds great, but I don't know what we'll be up to. We'll try though." I kept my coffee cup in sight.
"What happened to the motor you were going to rebuild today?" He wore a faint smile on his face.
"Oh, ah, I was going to work on it this afternoon." I seized the milk and made a production of pouring it into my coffee.
"Well, I'm off." He pushed his chair back and stood. "Chores all done? Good. Make sure you set the security fences when you leave."
"Sure, Pop. You can count on me." I took a sip of my coffee. It was way too cold and tasted the same as milk. I poured it out and got another while I waited for Pop to leave.
After Pop hopped into his truck and drove away, I grabbed two baskets and walked out to our vegetable garden to see what I could find.
Pop was a gardener. I was more of a fetch and carry kind of person. Plus, I wasn't sure what you put into a salad – Pop and I cooked string beans and peas.
We always had something growing according to the season, though. Pop would start seeds in the hothouse, and he always knew when to put the plants into the ground. What we didn't eat or can, we sold at the farmer's market in town.
I walked along the rows pulling up carrots and radishes. The lettuce was grim, but I grabbed a few heads anyway, along with three cucumbers. We also had a glut of cherry tomatoes and I loaded up with a triple handful.
When the baskets were almost too heavy to carry, I lugged both over to my scooter and took off to Kat's. At the last minute, I remembered to seal our fences, make sure they were hot, and check the other booby-traps surrounding our house.
I bounced down the dirt road leading to Kat's place and discovered a note taped to the front door. Drawn on it was a big red arrow pointing to their grove of fruit trees with "HUNTER" scrawled on the bottom and a smiley face. I drove out along the narrow path and found her sitting on the branch of a peach tree.
Sunlight blazed through the leaves and the smell of fruit filled the air. "Hiding from me?" I shouted up to her and shaded my eyes from the glare. Her skinny legs dangled and peach juice dripped all over her face. She threw a pit at me and I ducked just in time.
"I figured Doctor Krumboton would enjoy some fresh fruit too," she called back and gestured to three whicker bushel baskets underneath the tree. "Be careful, I'm coming down." She pushed off the limb and landed with a grunt.
"Better watch out," I advised, steadying her, "You'll break your legs playing Tarzan. I'm the lamo around here, remember?"
"Piece of cake," she replied with a smirk. "I'm tougher than nails, and I wish you wouldn't say you're a lamo," she added with a touch of anger. "It wasn't your fault – you have nothing to be ashamed of."
When I said nothing Kat shrugged. "We'll work on it," she muttered.
"Do you think he wants peaches?" I asked. "He was talking about apples."
"It's peaches or nothing," she remarked, hefting a bushel. "Apples don't grow this far south. You brought veggies?"
I snatched up the other two baskets. "Yeah." I gestured to my scooter. "Let's start moving."
No one bothered us on our drive to the lab. I kept an eye out anyway, in case. Those skels last night shook me up more than I wanted to let on, so I wasn't surprised at all when Kat yelled. "Off to your left, grizzly!"
The bear was ripping at the body of a dead pig it killed, the carcass half-hidden in the long grass at the side of the road. The grizzly reared up on its hind legs, released a roar, and dropped to all fours, starting for us.
"Hang on, Kat." I sped up, but in a burst of speed the animal gained.
"Do something," Kat yelped, twisting around with her mouth hanging open, as the bear approached.
"He's trying to scare us away from his dinner, no worries," I said unable to keep my face straight. "Toss him some peaches, he'll leave us alone."
Kat grabbed a peach and threw it behind us. "Good bear, nice bear," she said, as she tossed another. The animal slowed, sniffed at the fruit, and started eating. She swung back with a self-satisfied smirk. "He's happy."
"Don't know why our pops get nervous when we go out alone," I remarked as I slowed again. "There's nothing dangerous out here."
I taxied around the parking lot of the lab, giving it a good once over before parking. Doc's key worked and we lugged our baskets down to the elevator.
Nothing was on.
"Hey," I banged on the door, "Doc, it's us."
"Maybe he died last night," Kat whispered. "He didn't act in too good'a shape to begin with."
"Nonsense." I wacked the panel hard with my fist. "Open up!"
When we still received no answer I said, "Let's try the garage. Maybe we'll have better luck there."
We piled everything back into my scooter and drove to the service shed. When we entered, a surveillance camera tracked us. I yelled, "Hey, Bev, let us in." The lights of the elevator snapped on and a moment later, the doors opened. "See?" I said to Kat as we dragged our groceries in and I pressed the down button, "someone is still alive, even if it is Bev."
As the elevator doors opened Bev exclaimed, "Well, see what I caught." She muttered to herself, "Kind'a small fry though, I wonder if they're legal?"
"Not for a few years yet," Kat replied, sounding worried as she made quick casts in all directions, searching for Doc. "Where's Doctor Krumboton? Is he all right, I don’t see him."
"Oh, the doctor. Yeah, he's in his lab, where else?" she replied, glum. "Never has time to play. Now you two–"
My arms were ready to break from holding the baskets. I said, "We'll be right back, Bev. We have groceries to drop off."
The lab was as crazy as before. When we entered, a swarm of metallic rats scampered up to us, followed by the flying ball. The doctor himself was busy at his workbench, a pile of parts lined up in front of him. He glanced our way when we entered. "Who are you?"
"We were here yesterday, Doctor Krumboton. Don't you remember us?" Kat replied, as puzzled as Doc was.
His face stayed blank until he saw the baskets. "Oh, yes, I remember now, my two young explorers from the upper world." He gestured to the bushels. "Well, what do we have here?" he exclaimed in delight, his eyes widening in surprise. He waved us over to his table, and with a sweep of his arm, pushed the bits of wire and miniature circuit boards to one side. "Bring those here and put them on my work bench."
We lugged our baskets over and he hauled stuff out. You would'a thought it was Christmas or something the way his eyes lit up, and I swear I saw a trickle of drool fall from his mouth.
"Peaches." One materialized in his mouth, held by a shaking hand. "I love peaches."
Kat stuck her tongue out at me. "See, Hunter."
"So you're one up on me," I said, watching Doc in fascination. He was busy making ranks of vegetables army men waiting to mar
ch into battle.
"Doctor Krumboton? May we go see Bev?" Kat asked as another peach disappeared.
One hand dug in a basket, the other held the peach to his lips, Doc's eyes darting over carrots and radishes. He swallowed noisily and waved us away. "Of course. She has been waiting for you. Would not allow me a wink of sleep last night, kept asking when you would return. Door is open."
We didn't stick around to see the outcome of his feeding frenzy. We spun as fast as possible before Doc started on us by mistake and darted out of the lab.
When we entered the garage, Bev let out a loud squeal. "Well, if it ain't my two BFFs." Her voice boomed off the walls of the small room.
"Hey, tune it down, will ya?" I said, putting my hands over my ears. "You're going to make us deaf. We said we'd be back, didn't we? How have you been?"
"Oh, sitting here alone, all alone by myself, feeling neglected." Her voice was lower and it shifted as if she stood next to us. I heard a long, soft sniffle.
"Well, we're here now," Kat said. She strolled over to Bev and patted her metal side.
"Ya wanna take another ride?"
"I don't know if the doctor –" Kat began.
"Oh, poo on the doctor!" exclaimed Bev. "He programed me to take your orders, right? Work your will on me." Her door dilated. "Come on in and take your shoes off, ya'll. Make yourselves at home," she exclaimed.
We hauled ourselves in and snuggled down in our seats. Kat even kicked off her sneakers as Bev suggested and wiggled her toes.
"This is gonna be fun." I felt Bev's metal hull quiver in excitement.
"Don't we need the doctor to –?"
"Nah – I can do it all myself," Bev boasted. "Externals I got, I do – don't even need the key."
The screen in front of us flashed on. The doors of the freight elevator opened and we rolled into the cage.
"If you could have left all by yourself," asked Kat, "how come you never went for a ride before?"
"No one told me to," Bev shot back. "I'm a computer, you know. I have some free will, but I need a human –" she spat the word out "— to get me started."
I clapped my hands. "In this case, let's go."
She muttered under her breath about bossy bosses, and the cage of the elevator ascended to the surface. Once there Bev asked, "Okay, where to mates?
Kat shrugged. I said, "Today is your day, Bev. Show us what you've got, just don't kill anyone in the process, all right?"
I heard a giggle. "Hang on to your pants then," she replied, gaining speed as she zoomed out the door, "Mama's puttin' on her high-heel boots and steppin' out." She raced across the parking lot, hit the curb, bounced over the edge, and headed for the rising sun.
The lab complex rested on top of a wide hill. Without slowing, Bev flung herself off the edge and for a moment, we found ourselves airborne before crashing back to Earth. She plunged into a flock of feeding pigeons, sending the birds scattering in all directions, and with a whoop of joy, chased one. Kat and I bounced into the air and landed on our tails with a jolt.
"Hey, take it easy!" I exclaimed, clutching my seat and groping for my safety belt. "I said don't kill anyone. This goes for us too!"
Kat held onto her armrest with one hand, the other clamped over her mouth. She appeared ready to puke.
Bev ignored my protesting, zigzagging down the hill, imitating a rattlesnake with a broken spine. "Should'a switched me to passenger mode," she said in a schoolteacher tone. "You know there's an app for everything."
"Yeah, right," I yelped as I ricocheted off the view screen. "Go into passenger mode – NOW."
The rocking ceased and it felt as if we drifted on air.
"Better?"
"Much," breathed Kat with a groan, her light green complexion faded back to tan.
"Better remember it, dude," Bev said. "Every time I stop you have to reset me."
"Whatever for?" Kat said, gulping. "Sounds dumb."
"Safety, I think," Bev replied. "I don't make the rules – I try to figure out ways of breaking them."
We hit the flat and Bev raced toward the horizon, dodging trees and flattening bushes. She started to sing:
"Hear me wail,
I won't fail,
I will beat your rusty tail,
And Bev, keeps rockin' along!"
I checked behind us, the lab had faded to a small blotch in the distance. In front, woods bared our way, approaching fast. "Better put on the brakes," I advised, bracing myself for impact. "How fast are we going anyway?"
"Aw – shucks." We slowed to a crawl. "Top speed was a hundred and ten. Didn't want to go any faster, you two fleshies are nervous Neils, you know this?"
Kat leaned forward. "How do you do with wood? A forest is coming up, should we go around?"
"Dunno – haven't attempted anything, first time I've seen lumber," came the clip reply, "but as the dog said, 'I never met a tree I didn't sniff.' Let's see what happens." She plunged into the forest, smashing small saplings and swinging around larger ones, leaving a path of destruction behind her.
"Got something on my 'scope, guys," Bev called out, "on the other side of this timber."
"What is it?" I couldn't see a darn thing besides branches and leaves.
"Appears to be – yep, eight people up on the ridge we're approaching. I shouldn't kill them, right?" Bev said sarcastically, "It's a no-no."
"Right," Kat squeaked back. She said to me, "We're pretty far from town. No one lives out here, do they?"
"I don't think so." I thought hard. "Skels don't run in packs this big – scavengers maybe?"
"I hope not."
"Bev – stealth mode, quick," I snapped. "Let's do a sneak on the bunch and see what they're up to."
"Stealthy it is," agreed Bev. She faded from view and threaded herself through the woods until her front end poked out into grass again. "See 'em? On top of the hill?"
I squinted and made out eight black dots about a quarter of a mile away. "Can you zoom in," I asked.
"Sure, 'nuff."
The scene enlarged until the men stood out in stark relief.
"Good."
The eight dressed in camouflage and sunglasses against the glare. Each wore black patches sewed onto the sleeves of their shirts. Seven carried heavy guns, the eighth had a long tube over his shoulder.
These weren't your everyday scavengers traveling in small groups, breaking into homes and stealing or murdering people. They were well dressed, well fed, and well-armed. It meant they were part of a much bigger group - one capable of taking down a town the size of ours, or larger. "This is trouble," I said to Kat as fear swelled in my stomach.
"Scouts?" Kat whispered as she scrutinized their appearance and weapons. "I don't see field packs or vehicles to carry their gear in."
We kept watching as they stood on the hill. The leader took out a ragged map and consulted it, the others clustered around. He pointed in our direction, folded the wrinkled paper, and tucked it back into his pocket. The eight plunged down the hill in a shower of dust.
"Uh-oh, they're coming this way," I said. "I bet they're searching for Paradise Cove."
"What are we going to do?" gasped Kat.
"Stop them," I said. "If they report back, we'll have a horde of scavengers descending on town." A better idea occurred to me, and I said before Bev started firing, "No wait. Bev, the one guy carrying a tubey-thing, what is it, a rocket launcher?"
"Possible," she admitted, "but I can't make a positive match with my files." She added, "Not my fault, my memory hasn't been updated in a while, or it may be homemade."
"No matter. Do you think you can take the hit?"
"WHAT? Are you crazy?"
Kat stared at me as if she thought I was. I went on, "I'm serious. If you're shot with a rocket, will it destroy you – ah – us?"
"Well, probably not." She added in her little girl voice. "Will it hurt?"
"Of course not, honey," Kat said, giving me her evil eye. "You were made for this." She whispered to m
e, "Why do you want her to get shot for? You're mean."
"You'll see," I replied. "Bev, become visible and take out the seven on the left carrying rifles, leave the other guy alone."
A light blinked seven times from Bev and four of the men crumbled, the other three dove for cover.
"Darn, Doc should have calibrated me better," Bev muttered in disgust. Her laser flashed again and the remaining three men, who had risen to see where the fire came from, crumbled. The eighth man spun wildly in a circle, leveling his launcher in panic as he aimed at nothing.
"Bev – come out into the open," I commanded, while crossing my fingers we didn't become blown to bits in the process. "Let him see us."
Bev crept into plain sight, the sunlight glistening off her metallic hull. The scavenger spotted her at once and swung his launcher in our direction. A rocket streaked away.
An explosion rocked us. Bev jumped, yelled "OUCH!" and our view of the hill disappeared in a cloud of smoke and static. The haze drifted away and we stared at the man on the hill who gaped back in disbelief.
"Shoot between his legs, Bev," I shouted. "Make him dance!"
"You're darn tootin' I will! Shoot me, huh?" Short beams of light lashed out at the scavenger, heading toward his groin. He leaped backward as the bolts followed him, with one last tongue of fire nicking his foot. He dropped his weapon, spun in terror, and vanished from view.
"Oh, great, he's escaped. Now he's going to report we're here," scolded Kat. "I thought the idea was not let him report." She said to Bev, "Are you all right, honey?"
"Yeah, but the bad man burnt my bum," Bev wailed. Her voice whispered in my ear, "Meanie, I thought you were my friend."
"What's he doing now?" I asked and answered my own question, "Running back to whoever is in charge, right?"
"Yeah?" Kat watched me skeptically.
"Well, what's he going to say?"
"Ah – someone killed his seven buddies and they should come back here and get revenge?"
"And he shot me!" put in Bev.
"Exactly," I said, nodding, "but I'm betting whoever is in command will think a machine capable of taking out seven men, getting hit by a rocket, and keep attacking," I gave a short nod to Kat, "isn't something you'd want to find and mess with. I'd think, 'This is a weapon to stay away from,' right? Bev," I said in an apologetic tone, "I'm glad you weren't hurt."