gamma world Sooner Dead

by Mel Odom

  “Who?”

  “The nanobots.”

  “What do they say?”

  Hella shook her head, and the reflex was miraculously without pain. “I don’t know. I can’t hear them.”

  “Maybe you do not want to.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Do you fear them?”

  “I don’t want to lose myself to them.”

  “You do not have to.”

  “You don’t know what it feels like when they take over.”

  Scatter regarded her. “They cannot take over your mind, Hella.”

  “They do. You just haven’t seen it when they’re strong inside me.”

  “Fascinating.” Scatter smiled, and she could tell the effort was genuine. “Obviously this is a conundrum I would like to pursue at some point.”

  Hella took back her arm. “Not this morning.” She didn’t know if she would ever be ready to deal with that. “Where are you from?”

  Scatter reflowed himself so he was suddenly turned one hundred eighty degrees—without turning around. It appeared as if he pulled himself inside out. Hella stared at him.

  Stampede laughed at her astonishment. “Being around him is going to take some getting used to.”

  Glancing at Stampede, seeing how the bisonoid stood with his arms cross over his chest, Scatter stood and crossed his arms in an almost perfect imitation.

  Scowling, Stampede unfolded his arms. His nostrils flared and his ears twitched. “Some things are going to take even more getting used to.”

  “I perceive that I have done something wrong.” Scatter studied Stampede.

  “It isn’t polite to mock someone. And it’s not very smart either.”

  “To mock.” Scatter cocked his head. “To fake, to pretend, to simulate, bogus, ersatz.” He paused. “I meant no disrespect. I am still learning your way of speaking, and body language appears to have a large amount to do with it. I thought if I stood like you, I might better understand what you were referring to as being difficult to get used to.”

  Stamped growled.

  “Weapons and the intent to use or not use them also has a lot to do with the way you communicate. The implied threat of using them can be confusing.”

  “I’ll take your word for it. I think I make myself very clear.” Stampede waved a hand in a hurry-up motion. “Tell Hella about your world.”

  Scatter reflowed and faced Hella, looking was appearing to step through his own body as he dropped his arms and walked toward her. “My world is perfect. I would like to go back there now.” He smiled hopefully and the innocence in his expression almost broke Hella’s heart. “Well, it was almost perfect. Except for the sickness that almost killed everyone.”

  “On my world, we used to be flesh and blood. Like you.” Scatter gestured to include Hella and the Wroths who had gotten up to listen to the story and have breakfast. “We were on the edge of star travel. Before we did that, though, we wanted to explore our own world. And our minds.”

  Hella sat at the table and worked on her second helping of pancakes. Twyla Wroth was generous and appeared grateful for the diversion from the loss she was dealing with.

  “We had developed several devices that helped us perfect our bodies.” Scatter smiled a little. “That’s how I knew about your nanotech, Hella, though I haven’t seen anything quite like it. If we hadn’t learned the things we did, we would have died when the sickness came.”

  “What kind of sickness?” Stampede’s ears flicked to attention. Sickness of any kind was cause for concern.

  “We didn’t know.” Scatter reflowed himself, turning inside out and walking back toward the window. He held his hands out to the sun, soaking up the solar power he claimed to run on. “Perhaps something escaped in a laboratory before our world became perfect, but not everyone was at peace. Divided into two camps, the groups struggled occasionally for supremacy.”

  Hella listened intently but the story was an old one that dated back to copies of the Bible and Koran and Torah she and Stampede had read. Large groups of people never learned to live in harmony—even when that was the professed goal.

  “The disease spread in the form of a flesh-eating bacteria. It was virulent and unstoppable. The decision was made to transfer all survivors into these bodies.” Reflowing, Scatter faced them again and tapped his chest.

  One of the Wroth children poked her head up from her sleeping bag. “You had enough bodies for everybody?”

  The sadness on Scatter’s face looked hard and alien, but it also looked majestic in a way. “No. There were not enough bodies. The sickness spread too quickly anyway. Even as fast as they worked, the two governments could not transfer everyone in time. At the time of the last viable transfer, there were hundreds of these bodies left. Unused.”

  “You were lucky.”

  Scatter smiled at the little girl. “I was. I lived. But I lost a great number of friends and family.” He reflowed and walked back to the window. “I cannot bear any more loss. I need to get back to my world.”

  Silence hung in the room, and it became a cold and uncomfortable environment to Hella.

  Thankfully the little girl wasn’t finished with her questions. “How did you fall into our world?”

  “I do not know. The last I remember, I was at home. Then I was here. I fell and then I woke up on the ferry when Hella and Stampede came to my rescue.”

  Hella felt guilty about that too. They hadn’t been there to rescue Scatter, and he still wasn’t free to do as he pleased.

  “You told him he can’t go back to his world?” Hella repacked the small kit she’d brought with her when she and Stampede had decided to make the run to the Coyle River.

  “Not exactly.”

  Fastening the leather strap that bound the kit, Hella raised her head and looked out the window of the borrowed bedroom. Scatter stood out in the yard in front of the house with the river rushing by at his feet. He looked like a lost child. Sunlight glinted off his metallic skin. “What did you tell him?”

  “That I didn’t know how to get him back to where he came from. I told him Pardot might be able to help him with that.”

  That was the truth, but it wasn’t all of the truth. “No one has ever found any way to get anything back through the ripples.”

  “No one has yet.” Stampede shifted uneasily.

  “You should have told him. He needs to know. From what he says, he has family back there.”

  “I understand that.” Stampede heaved a deep sigh. “I just don’t need to be the one that tells him.”

  “Coward.”

  Stampede flattened his ears and wouldn’t look at her. “Telling him would be like hurting a child’s feelings. And it’s not my place. I’m not responsible for him. The ’Chine would have probably chopped him up for salvage by now.”

  “Do you think Pardot has anything better in mind for him?”

  Stampede shrugged. “I’ll cross that river when I get to it, Red. One thing at a time, you know that. First we get back to our expedition … if Pardot and Trammell and Riley haven’t ended up dead somewhere, which wouldn’t be good business for us.

  “Do you believe everything Scatter told us?” Hella looked around the room to make certain she hadn’t forgotten anything. She wore her old jeans, but her blouse was new, a pullover with a loose waist that would be problematic in the brush.

  Stampede scratched under his chin and gazed out at the fractoid. “Yeah, I believe everything he told us. I also believe he hasn’t told us everything.”

  “I want to tell you again that I’m sorry for your losses, Mrs. Wroth.” Hella held the older woman’s hands briefly then had to stand her ground as Twyla Wroth leaned in for a quick hug. A lump rose in Hella’s throat, and she had to struggle to swallow.

  “I wish you safe travel, girl. Neither mischief nor murder.” Twyla gripped Hella’s hands tightly. “But whenever you find ’Chine near Wroth’s Ferry, do your best to kill them.”

  “I will.” The promise was easy
to make. Hella would do that anyway.

  Twyla released her hands and repeated the request with Stampede. She looked tiny against his bulk.

  Minutes later, with food to tide them over during their walk back, Hella took the lead as they set out. Stampede walked slack and Scatter remained in the middle of them.

  At midday they stopped for a brief rest and to eat. The full heat of the day rolled over the forest, and the humidity even in the shade was atrocious. Hella’s clothing was damp enough to stick to her, and she knew Stampede had to be miserable. He was happiest in the winter, when it was cold enough that he blew great jets of steam from his nostrils.

  Scatter wandered around but didn’t get out of their sight. He touched the leaves, ran his fingers through a small pool of water, and watched a hawk lazily circling overhead.

  Hella finished the last of her chicken and drank her fill of water. She watched Scatter and thought about what he’d told her about the nanobots. She glanced again at her arm where the cut had been. Even in the bright light of day, no scar remained.

  Checking the inside of her left elbow, she found a scar from a year past. When the wound had happened, she’d seen the inside of her arm, the ligaments and the blood vessels. At the time she thought she would bleed to death because she couldn’t get the arterial flow to stop. Finally, though, it had, and it had healed in a short time. That was the first time she and Stampede had recognized she could heal so quickly.

  She concentrated on the scar then traced the raised flesh with her forefinger and re-created the rhythm Scatter had pointed out to her. When her finger passed over her arm, only smooth skin remained. The scar was gone as if it had never been.

  Glancing up, she saw Stampede watching her.

  A hint of unease flashed in his dark eyes, but it quickly disappeared. “Neat trick, Red.”

  “Yeah.” But she was uncomfortable with the newfound ability as well.

  A dragonfly flitted in front of Scatter. His right hand moved so fast that Hella couldn’t see it. When she could see it again, his hand was in front of him and he had the dragonfly trapped between his fingers.

  Stampede shifted. “Fast. I’ve never seen anyone that fast.”

  Turning his hand over, Scatter inspected the insect. A moment later, he opened his fingers, and the dragonfly flew away unharmed.

  “And I’ve never seen anything with that kind of control.”

  Scatter reflowed and stood facing them. He smiled. “I also have exceptionally good hearing. Thank you.”

  “Sure.”

  “Your world is not perfect, but it is fascinating.”

  “Don’t let something fascinating kill you.”

  Hella grinned at Stampede’s comment. “Didn’t you have insects on your world?”

  “Of course. But not in a long time. And not these insects.”

  “What happened to the insects?”

  “They died. Everything organic on our world died.” Scatter looked around. “There are no animals. No trees. No plants. Not even the oceans remain. The whole world is … fractal, to use Stampede’s word. Of course, we can make landscapes the way we want them.”

  He held up a hand, and it flowed, quickly becoming a cattail similar to one in the nearby pond. Except that the cattail he made was silver, just like his skin. He frowned.

  “Color is more difficult, and not everyone can agree on what color to make things.” In the next instant, the silver cattail had perfect color and looked natural. “We can also shape the buildings we choose to have.”

  When the cattail became a hand again, tiny buildings rose up from his palm. One was an office building. Another was a pyramid. And a third was a log cabin.

  Hella raised her hand and looked at it. She tried to morph it into a building, but it just became a weapon. “Will I be able to do that?”

  “No.” Scatter’s hand flowed back into a hand, and he dropped it at his side.

  “Why?”

  “You were not made to do something like this.” Scatter smiled. “But do not worry about that, Hella. You are perfect just as you are.”

  “Thanks.” Hella morphed her hand back to normal.

  “You are welcome.”

  Stampede snorted impatiently. “If you two are through playing games, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

  Hella shouldered her kit and took the lead again, but she couldn’t help watching Scatter take in the world around him and feeling sorry for him. She couldn’t imagine a world like the one he described.

  Of course, the good thing was that nothing on his world ever tried to kill him. And that got her to thinking, wondering what Pardot and Trammell intended to do with Scatter.

  CHAPTER 21

  Only a couple of hours later, Hella reached the spot where she and Stampede had left their discarded gear submerged in the small pond. Daisy’s leash still hung from the tree, but the mountain boomer was gone. When she saw the rope pooled at the bottom of the tree, Hella grew instantly anxious.

  Stampede put a hand on Hella’s shoulder. “She won’t have gone far, Red. Relax.”

  “I know.” Hella reached into her pocket and took out the specially carved whistle she’d made. When she blew on it, the whistle produced a trill that sounded a lot like Daisy. Pausing, Hella looked around while Stampede hauled their gear out of the pond.

  “You are looking for someone.” Scatter stood beside Hella.

  “Daisy.”

  “Vegetation?”

  “No. A lizard.” Hella examined the ground, reading the tracks Daisy had left. Judging from the way they crisscrossed, she’d spent considerable time in the area. Hella was going to have to venture wider to figure out what direction she’d gone in. She didn’t plan on leaving the area till she had Daisy back.

  A shrill bleat sounded to the west.

  Hella had just enough time to glance up before Daisy crashed through the brush. She carried a freshly killed deer in her crimson-stained jaws. When she reached Hella, the mountain boomer laid her prey at Hella’s feet and honked happily.

  Scatter stared at the lizard. “Fascinating. It is yours?”

  “Daisy doesn’t belong to me. She’s my friend. And she’s a girl.”

  “I apologize.”

  Hella reached up and hugged Daisy around the neck. The lizard butted her head against Hella so hard, she almost knocked her over. “She missed me.” She scratched the lizard under the chin, and Daisy licked her face with her rough tongue.

  “Is she a dragon?”

  “No, she’s a lizard.”

  Stampede carried over gear from the pond. “She’s just the biggest lizard you’ll ever see.”

  Daisy swung her head over to bump up against Stampede.

  Frowning, Stampede stood there and put up with the unwanted adoration. “Daisy’s also one of the most obnoxious things you’ll ever cross paths with.” He glanced at the deer. “I guess we’re having venison tonight?”

  “We are.” Hella took her saddle from hiding and threw it across Daisy’s shoulders. She secured the straps then secured the deer as well, tying it behind the saddle with leather straps.

  “We’ll be having it in a few more hours, then.” Stampede pushed Daisy’s head away and squinted at the sun. “We still have some traveling time left. If we don’t reach the expedition by tomorrow at noon, Riley may form up a unit to come after us. I don’t want him getting anyone lost.”

  Shortly before they chose a campsite, Hella dismounted Daisy, strung the deer up from a tree branch, and field dressed the kill. The lizard gobbled the intestines eagerly then—after Hella had cut steaks for Stampede and herself—quickly disposed of the rest of the deer as well with smacking crunches.

  Later, over a small campfire, Hella roasted the steaks on sticks and added spices from their kit. When the meat was cooked, she and Stampede ate and spread out their bedrolls close to the coals. Scatter simply watched them and talked.

  Hella was fatigued from everything she’d been through in the past couple of days and
the lack of easy sleep the previous night. Passing out didn’t count as natural sleep. She struggled to stay awake.

  Scatter sat by the fire and fed small sticks to the coals, watching with interest as the twigs caught fire and briefly blazed. From the way he was sitting and the way he stared into the fire, Hella knew his thoughts were somewhere else.

  “You soak up solar power; I know that. Don’t you sleep?”

  Looking up, Scatter shook his head and smiled. “No. I am not fatigued.”

  “It’s going to be a long night for you.”

  “The quiet will be good. I can think about all that I have experienced. I can review what I have learned. I can remember the books I read last night and reread them in my mind. There is much I can do. You should not worry. I will see you in the morning.”

  Hella thought she might talk to him a little longer, but she closed her eyes just to rest them, and the bottom of the world fell out from under her.

  The next morning, before the sun was up, Hella packed the leftover venison strips into pieces of bread and passed half of them off to Stampede. They ate while traveling.

  Scatter rode behind Hella on Daisy. He’d asked and Daisy hadn’t minded. It wasn’t that Scatter was tired. From the relentless way he walked, Hella felt certain the fractoid could have walked them all into the ground. He liked being up high so he could see more and so he could ask her questions about things he didn’t know.

  The conversation seemed never ending because explaining one thing would lead to several other things. As she doled out the information, Hella felt even more guilty for not telling Scatter that he’d never be able to go home again.

  An hour before the sun hit its apex for the day, they reached the trade road. That started a whole new wave of questions from Scatter. Hella lunched in the saddle while Stampede kept pace behind them.

  Less than two hours later, they reached the expedition.

  The campsite was a half mile off the trade road, nestled under a copse of pecan trees around a small pond. Security guards in hardshells ringed the site, and a handful of travelers—most of them looking like peddlers—were held up at Riley’s checkpoints. The security bots were active too.