Axler, James - Deathlands 65 - Hellbenders

by Hellbenders [lit]

  THE ONE-EYED MAN and the red-haired beauty were, in fact, making their way toward the center of the arena in search of J.B. and Mildred. Given the degree of cover afforded by the sandstorm and the smoke that filled the area, it was easy to avoid hand-to-hand combat as long as you kept a sharp lookout for any warring factions. Ryan and Krysty found it easy to dodge around the skirmishes, and kept a sharp view for J.B. and Mildred.

  The Armorer and Mildred were following much the same pattern. They had figured that Ryan and Krysty were likely to be in the direction that Correll had emerged from, so they were battling their way through the sand and smoke to try to locate their comrades, dodging the skirmishes that were taking place. The fighting was now localized, of necessity because of the conditions, and it was relatively easy to skip through the troubled patches and conserve ammo.

  Nonetheless, when the two couples nearly ran into each other coming out of a bank of swirling sand, all four had their blasters raised lest trouble was in the offing.

  "Dark night, thought we'd never find you," J.B. said laconically.

  "Yeah. What took you so long?" Ryan replied with a wry smile, born of the harsh conditions, then added quickly, "the others are back this way securing a wag. Let's go."

  The four companions made their way back across the battlefield, sticking to the outer edge of the arena to make quicker progress and avoid conflict. By the time they arrived at the wag, Jak had gotten the machine going, and the engine was ticking over.

  "John Barrymore, my dear doctor," Doc enthused, "we had some doubt over whether we would see you again."

  "It'll take more than this for you to be rid of me, you old buzzard," Mildred replied as the four piled into the wag.

  "Go, Jak," Ryan snapped as he closed the doors. The albino hunter wasted no time. Putting the wag into reverse, he roared back toward the entrance to the arena and away from the other wags in the convoy. In the dismal light of the storm, he was unwilling to risk reversing the wag all the way through the entrance and perhaps crashing it, so he put the vehicle into a skid and turned it so that he could hit the entrance head-on and get out of the war zone.

  As they broke through the almost solid wall of sand that was swirling at the entrance, where the storm was being forced through the restricted gap, the air suddenly became clearer, vision less impaired.

  "Where you want me to stop?" Jak asked.

  "I don't," Ryan replied.

  "But I thought—" Krysty began, before Ryan interrupted her.

  "Yeah, we were gonna regroup and evaluate, but that's all changed. That coldheart hell in there is just gonna sort itself out in its own time. We need to head back to the redoubt, see what happens then."

  "Then I drive," Jak said simply, increasing his speed as they pulled away from the arena of chilling and headed back for the Hellbenders' deserted base.

  The redoubt was eerily quiet when they reached base. They parked the wag, showered wearily and prepared food and drink in a subdued manner, hardly speaking. It was only when they were seated in the now all too empty meeting room that Ayesha spoke.

  "Do you think any of the others will get back?"

  Ryan shook his head. "I doubt it. They were ready to fight to the chilling, like their leader. Correll was that fanatical, and he instilled that into all of them. Even if a few of them survive the slaughterhouse, I doubt if they'll have the strength left to get back, even if they get any of the wags going."

  "But we owe it to them to wait," Krysty added.

  They left it for two days, using the time to rest and recuperate. Ryan and J.B. scoured the redoubt for any armory materials that had been left behind, of which there were few; Mildred and Krysty had better luck with the med lab supplies; while Doc and Jak squabbled good naturedly over the self-heat and food and drink supplies.

  Dean, meanwhile, joined Danny and Ayesha in starting to explore the old tech that was in the redoubt. From the few things the young men had been able to teach each other, Ayesha was able to add a little from what she had picked up watching her father. It didn't take any of them much further on, and Dean soon lost heart about being able to crack the secrets of the CD-ROM in their possession, but it was a step in the right direction.

  Dean also noticed something developing between Danny and Ayesha that made what happened a few days later completely unsurprising.

  As they ate, Ryan said, "I figure it's pretty clear that no one's coming back. And I also figure our chance of getting any of that old tech is pretty much gone, as well. There isn't enough here for all of us to survive, so I reckon we get a good night's rest, get it together in the morning, then jump through the mat-trans."

  "That should be interesting to see," Danny remarked, Dean having made him familiar with the machine.

  "That suggests you're not coming with us," the one-eyed man said.

  Danny shook his head, then looked at Ayesha. "No, there's a lot here for us to find out, then mebbe we'll try a jump and see what happens, or mebbe just go back to Charity and see if we can get at the rest of the old tech. But, seeing as you'll be gone and there'll be food and water to spare, mebbe we'll just stay here for a while, out of harm's way," he finished.

  "Shame. I'll kinda miss you," Dean said simply.

  Ayesha looked at the companions. "I guess we'll miss you, too. But this is something we need to do for ourselves."

  "Parting is such sweet sorrow. You know, that's a phrase I recall from somewhere, but it eludes me somewhat," Doc said as he took Ayesha's hand and kissed it. "No matter—the origin is unimportant when the sentiment remains constant."

  "You are one weird old guy, but I do like you," Ayesha replied with a soft smile.

  The companions were gathered in the mat-trans unit to enter the chamber and jump, ready for whatever fate may throw at them next. They turned and entered the chamber, having made their goodbyes. Dean was the last to enter, and as he did he stopped and turned to Danny.

  "Remember, as soon as the mechanism locks then the comp starts charting the course. Never been able to stand outside and see it, but if you watch, it may teach you something. And mebbe one day we'll cross and you'll be able to tell me," he said.

  "Bet on it," Danny said with a tinge of regret in his voice.

  Dean's last view of Danny and Ayesha was as he closed the door. He could tell that they were already poring over the comp console, watching intently for the mechanism to grid into action.

  Dean seated himself, with some regret, on the chamber floor and watched as the white, curling mist began to rise from the circular disks inset into the chamber's floor and ceiling, and he and his companions stood poised on the verge of another leap into the unknown.