Axler, James - Deathlands 66 - Separation

by Separation [lit]

  It happened despite the best efforts of the herder at the front of the line, who darted around the fretting beasts, barely keeping a foothold himself, to try to calm the rogue steer. He grabbed at the yolk of the beast and heaved with all his strength to try to keep it on the track. The beast reared as far as its bounds would allow, the hoof catching the herder in the groin and causing him to double up in pain, losing his grip and falling off the path.

  Jak was the nearest, and it was as well, for the albino hunter was the best equipped to deal with the immediate problem. Clambering swiftly through the undergrowth, he stopped briefly to check that the fallen Pilatan herder was alive. The man had saved himself by grabbing at a laurel bush and was in agony but safe from falling further. He could be dealt with later. The most immediate problem was for Jak to calm the steer before it charged the whole herd off the path. If they hit uneven ground and more than one should stumble, there was every chance that they would hurtle themselves to their doom.

  The beast was still rearing, but had not as of yet made a strong break, the combined force of the stubborn cattle around it preventing the break it would wish. But its companions were becoming agitated and would soon try to get away from the disruption, which would only cause further confusion.

  Ignoring the rearing hooves of the steer, Jak ducked under so that he came up between the front of the agitated beast and the flicking tail and stamping hooves of the creature to its front. It didn't give the albino youth a lot of space in which to safely move, but he stoically ignored the beast to his rear and looked the rogue steer fully in the face. He could feel its hot breath, erratic and fetid, on his face. Its teeth were bared, and its eyes wild and glassy with fear.

  Smiling grimly to himself, Jak ducked to one side of the creature, his fingers probing the tough, corded muscle of its neck. He found the area he wanted and pressed hard, his fingers moving in a small circle until they found the exact spot. He pinched and the beast momentarily blacked out and stumbled before recovering, this time in a much more sedate mood.

  Jak moved among the other cattle, calming them, before leading them down the incline, stopping to send Krysty after the injured Pilatan herdsman.

  Once the cattle and the injured man had been recovered and taken to the base of the slope, it meant that the Pilatan caravan had reached their target in one piece. And just in time. The heavens opened in the deepening twilight.

  "Better find a place to camp, and quick," Mildred said to Markos and Sineta. "Let the livestock calm down and get some rest before we begin the real trek." And pray to God nothing else happened between now and then, she added to herself.

  THE PILATAN CAMP had been struck a few miles farther into the interior, using the shelter of a wooded area not unlike one of those found on their island. This had been Mildred's suggestion to Markos, which he had seized upon, understanding her point that it would be simple to set up sec patrols in an environment similar to the one they had recently left behind.

  A fire was set and camp was made while the sec boss deputed a sec patrol and sentry posts to be established at the four compass points, covering the community while they took a much needed rest.

  The forest gave them shelter and increased the ambient heat at ground level, making it less imperative to build a large fire. The smaller blaze was shielded to stop the glow illuminating the area and giving away their position.

  "It shouldn't matter too much," Markos told Sineta, "as the nearest ville's some good few miles away. But we're not sure what kind of predators may be lurking in the darkness. So a patrol and four compass point posts to check in with should keep us covered. I believe we may be able to rest easy tonight."

  "I wish I could believe that so easily," Krysty muttered to Ryan, keeping her voice low so that only the one-eyed man could hear.

  Ryan studied her. The redheaded woman's hair had flattened to her scalp and curled into her neck, giving her a worried look that echoed that which her mutie sense was telling her.

  "You know what it is?" he asked.

  "Could just be that Markos is a bit too over confident. They don't really know what it's like out there and he's making assumptions about the area just because it looks like the island."

  "Yeah, that's got me a little concerned," Ryan mused. "Figure we should mebbe give them a little hand."

  "I don't know if Markos will like that," Krysty commented.

  Ryan smiled. "Who says he has to know, unless it's really necessary?"

  The one-eyed man gathered his people from where they sat or lay around the camp. When they were together, he explained the situation as it stood. He continued. "The best thing for us to do is try to shadow the sentry posts and follow the patrol. Which won't be easy, 'cause they're not stupes, just not used to the mainland yet. Hopefully, they won't have to learn the hard way, but…"

  "I follow patrol." Jak spoke with an assurance that prevented his next comment from sounding like arrogance. "Mebbe they know others behind them, not me."

  Ryan agreed. "If you follow them, I'll take one post and J.B. you take another. Then Krysty can cover one and Doc and Dean the last."

  "What about Mildred?" Krysty asked with a frown.

  Ryan looked over to where Mildred was in conversation with Markos and Sineta. "You know, I think this is one time when we really shouldn't say anything to her. She'll feel obliged to tell Markos, and then it could all be shot to shit. If nothing happens, then no one need be any the wiser."

  "And if it does? Will the good doctor not feel betrayed?" Doc quizzed.

  Ryan grimaced. "That's a chance I'll have to take."

  "Not just you," J.B. said quietly, "all of us."

  The one-eyed man shrugged. "If things go triple-red, then I figure they'll be too glad of the help to say anything."

  J.B. wasn't entirely satisfied with the answer. He knew that Mildred would feel betrayed initially, and although she may understand the reasoning behind Ryan's action eventually, it would only serve to put more distance between them when they had some to repair. But, as he looked across at Millie in conversation with the Pilatan baron and sec chief, he knew that there was no other practical course that Ryan could take.

  "Okay, let's do it," he said finally.

  The companions slipped away from the camp one by one, to avoid calling attention to themselves. Ryan went first, to take the north sentry point. It was in a heavily wooded area and he had to tread carefully to avoid making any sound. Once he had them in sight, he shinnied up a tree and waited in the branches, with a good view of the area surrounding. Krysty took south and followed a similar course.

  For Doc and Dean, it was slightly harder. The eastern sentry post was on the edge of an open plain and the sparser covering of foliage meant that they had to hang back farther than they would have liked to keep concealed and not give away their position.

  "I just hope it doesn't kick off here, if there's going to be trouble," Dean whispered. "We're a fair way away from them."

  "My dear boy," Doc countered, "if we are going to see any action from the local wildlife, it'll probably come through us before it reaches them." He smiled wickedly. "Let that be a consoling thought."

  Meanwhile, the Armorer had made his way to the western point, where the sentry post was set up by a stream, giving a wide view of the opposite bank. The soft gurgling of the stream gave him good cover as he made his way toward the post, keeping in the cover of rushes that had sprung up by the bank. He settled there, figuring it was a good position for concealment, although the cold water and mud around his ankles promised a freezing night ahead.

  It was Jak who had the most difficult of the assignments and yet was the one best equipped to carry it out. He was the last to slip away from the camp, having no initial notion of where the roving sec patrol may be. The only thing he could do was pick any point from which to begin and listen to his instincts.

  Having made his way out into the wood, so that the noises of the camp were filtered from his consciousness, Jak stopped and h
unkered down, stilling his breathing so that he was as immobile and as quiet as possible. In this state, he was able to focus his senses and maybe determine a direction for the sec patrol. Wherever they were, they were out of range. He could hear nothing and his only choice was to take a direction and proceed as swiftly as possible. If he was traveling in a counter direction, then he would find them quickly. If not, it would take him longer than he would have wished to catch up with them. He shrugged to himself, stoically realizing that there was no easier way.

  "THIS NIGHT IS TOO LONG for my liking," one member of the four man patrol whispered as they slowly made their way from one post to another. They had traversed the woodlands between the sentry points and had gone as far as the beginnings of another flat plain.

  "Do not have fear because of the darkness," a second replied sardonically, "for the larger animals already share that fear and will not be seen until the daylight."

  "Easy to say," the other replied sharply.

  A third spoke with a weary tone. "Cease this petty squabbling. Neither animal nor man would be out tonight unless they had cause."

  "I had not thought of that," the first mused. "Could there be other patrols such as ourselves for which we should look?"

  The second laughed softly. "Truly, paranoia is a wondrous beast. You saw yourself that the nearest ville is at least a day's march away."

  The first man turned to his accuser in the moonlight and smiled. "Not everyone has to march. Listen…"

  In the distance they could hear the sound of a wag, high and whining across the plain.

  "Adopt secure positions now!" the patrol leader barked, the banter of a moment before forgotten. Following his lead, the patrol fanned out and adopted defensive positions along the verge of the woodland, waiting for the wag to approach, for the note of the engine deepened into a drone and increased in volume as it headed toward them. Scanning the plain, it was now possible to pick out the shape—with lights extinguished—of what appeared to be a jeep, with at least three men on board.

  "Do not fire unless we are seen. If they wish to pass and not enter the wood, we do not alert them to our presence. Understood?"

  The other patrol members didn't answer, taking it as an order rather than a question.

  Away to the west, Jak had just passed a sentry post, having seen J.B. on watch and alerting him to his presence with the softest of bird calls. The Armorer had returned the signal and let Jak pass, now knowing that the barest sound of his passing wasn't an unknown danger. Jak scouted around the post without anyone even realizing he was there, and continued on his search for the patrol.

  It was soon after that he caught the sound of a wag engine on the night air. Realizing that it could only come from an outside source, and having no idea where the sec patrol may be, Jak increased his pace so that he could intercept the wag to ascertain its purpose. Within a few minutes, the engine had grown louder and Jak had arrived at the point where the sec patrol had positioned themselves.

  Swiftly and silently, Jak climbed a tree so that he had an overview of the situation. He could see the wag clearly on the plain and could pick out four men in the pale moonlight, all armed. Below him he could see the four patrol members, armed with Glocks and H&Ks, which were the standard Pilatan sec hardware. The patrol was focused and ready to fight. The approaching patrol wouldn't be. They were either an outlying sec patrol themselves, or nocturnal hunters. In either case, their primary concern would be the wildlife and they wouldn't expect a four man sec patrol to blast them.

  Seeing that the Pilatans were adopting a primarily defensive stance, Jak decided to sit back and wait. He wouldn't intervene unless strictly necessary, for his sudden presence could throw the Pilatans into confusion. A conflict was looking likely, however, as the wag was headed with an almost unerring accuracy for the spot where the sec patrol was hidden.

  "They're not going to turn away," the patrol leader whispered. "Be ready."

  "Do you think they've seen us?" asked the patrol member who had earlier voiced apprehensions.

  "Do you think it matters?" the patrol leader snapped.

  There was no time for any kind of reply as the wag swerved into a turn that would take it along the edge of the wood, obviously the extent of its patrol route. This would have alleviated the need for any kind of action on the part of the Pilatan sec patrol, if not for the fact that the angle of the turn was about to send the back wheel skidding over at least one of the concealed Pilatan sec. They had no choice but to make their presence known.

  As one, they sprang out of cover, firing at the wag. In the quiet of the night—broken only by the throb of the wag engine—the sound of blasterfire cut through the air and penetrated into the woods, reaching the Pilatan camp. Markos immediately mobilized some of his sec and set off in the direction of the noise, leaving others to protect the camp. Sineta and Mildred were left behind, the latter suddenly noticing for the first time the absence of the other companions.

  Meanwhile, at each of the sec posts, the incumbents went to triple-red, sending one member of each party toward the sound of the firelight. The companions, watching these posts, elected to stay with the majority, hoping that Jak was on hand.

  The albino hunter pulled his .357 Magnum Colt Python, but stayed up the tree, electing to see how the firefight would develop. From where he was, the sec patrol seemed to be doing just fine.

  The jeep screeched to a halt, the engine stalling as some of the H&K fire splintered the glass in the windshield. Jak could hear the men in the wag curse and yell in confusion, falling from the stationary wag and attempting to return fire, but not being able to see the Pilatans against the darkness of the backdrop, the dark clothing of the sec men blending them into the trees as they dropped back to take cover, firing as they went.

  It looked for a second like stalemate, as the sheltering outsiders began to return fire steadily, spraying the area with blasterfire, blindly attempting to hit something… anything.

  The Pilatans, on the other hand, had a clear night sky backdrop across the plain on which to pick out the men crouching in cover of the wag. Their returning fire was more sporadic, but closer to the bone. The men behind the wag had themselves concealed well enough to avoid being chilled, but there was no way they could emerge from that small area of cover.

  Things would have to change—and quickly. Jak decided it was time for him to enter the scenario. He dropped from the tree, planning to circle around from a distance to pick off some of the outsiders from the rear. It would take all of his skill as a hunter to make an unseen approach, but he was sure he could do it. He began to move across the wooded area to the rear of the Pilatans, but pulled back when he heard the members of the sec posts approaching. There were also the sounds of men coming through the woods to rear of him—sec men from the camp.

  Jak swore softly to himself. There was no way now that he could go through with his part of the plan without making himself known. He went back up the tree. The Pilatans would have to sort it out for themselves.

  On the contrary, it wasn't necessary for the approaching forces to muster and mount an attack. Under a sudden barrage of concerted cover fire from the outsiders behind the wag, one of the four men scrambled into the driver's seat of the jeep and attempted to start the engine. It whined and squealed three times before catching, all the while slugs from the Pilatan sec force ricocheting off the metal body of the wag. As it caught, and the outsider gunned it into life, the other three men scrambled in, firing recklessly into the woods as they did. The sheer consistency of their fire prevented any of the concealed Pilatan sec men from taking a concerted aim. The outsiders were able to gain the wag and keep firing as the driver turned it, then put his foot down, hammering the accelerator as the wag bumped over the plain, back in the direction it had come.

  The Pilatan sec men kept firing at the retreating wag, even as Markos and others from the sec posts and main camp reached the scene. Breathlessly, the patrol leader told the sec boss what had occurred. />
  Markos nodded solemnly. "I did not think that any ville would send scouts this far out. I fear that we will have to adapt sooner than we expected to the ways of the mainland."

  "But we defeated them, sir. That is all that matters," the sec patrol leader said with a barely concealed note of triumph in his voice.

  It was a feeling echoed by the others. What Markos had to say to them, Jak didn't wait to hear. He had something else worrying him and he swiftly traversed the distances between the compass point posts, gathering the companions with a few words of explanation as he went. While he journeyed to the next post, the companion keeping guard returned to the main camp.

  Traveling counterclockwise, Jak met J.B. last of all. The two men returned to the main Pilatan camp to find an upbeat mood pervading those who had been told of the skirmish by returning sec men and considered that they had made a good show of strength. The companions, on the other hand, were more subdued…particularly Mildred.

  "Dark night! I knew we should have mentioned this to Mildred," J.B. muttered to Jak.

  The albino shrugged. "Too late worry now. She should know more important things worry about."

  As they approached the gathered companions, Mildred was about to speak when Jak cut her short.

  "Earlier not matter now. We've got big trouble."

  "In what way?" Mildred asked.

  "Wag from a ville, four sec…regular patrol by look of it. Now know we're here and in firefight. Be back in daylight, with more sec, find out what fuck's going on."

  "So is that a problem? It's what you'd expect," Mildred replied.

  "Yeah, what we'd expect," J.B. said pointedly. "Trouble is, Jak's heard them talking to Markos. He's cautious, but he seems to be the only one. And take a look around you. They think they've won and that it stops here. They sure as shit won't listen if you tell them it never ends, so it's up to us to keep alert till the morning."