by M. K. Gibson
At full sprint, the lead buffalo suddenly sprang forward into the air and shifted into a woman-buffalo hybrid. The creature landed on the back of the Outrider and roared a war cry of triumph.
OK . . . that just cracked the top twenty.
“Stop or be stopped!” the buffalo-woman yelled.
Top ten. Oh yeah, definitely top ten.
Unsure how to respond, I screamed and punched the were-buffalo right in the face. “Ahh! Bad Bessie!”
My cybernetically enhanced strength took the buffalo-woman by surprise, knocking her from the Outrider. I may not be able to shoot a buffalo out of a lingering sense of respect for animals, but I’ll sure as shit punch one that talks.
Food shouldn’t talk. Just a personal rule.
“Did that thing just talk?!” TJ yelled over his shoulder.
“Yeah.” I nodded as the buffalo-woman tumbled across the frozen ground. Without missing a beat, the creature shifted back into the buffalo form as she rolled and continued running with the herd.
“What did you do?”
“Punched her in the face!”
“That’s one way of dealing with things,” TJ said as he jerked the wheel hard to the left and pulled the emergency brake, drifting the Outrider across the frost-coated ground.
The sudden lurch damn near threw me from the vehicle. I grabbed the rollbar for dear life. “What the hell, kid?!”
“Hang on! I have an idea!”
“No! You say ‘hang on’ before you pull a bullshit stunt like that!”
I had no idea when the kid was doing, but as he accelerated in a new direction, the buffalo couldn’t turn as well as the vehicle. As the lead buffalo’s hooves skittered out from under it, the following beasts crashed into their comrade. In seconds, the herd was a massive pileup of ground beef.
Heh . . . ground beef.
“Nice move, kid!”
“I see you’re done bitching!” TJ yelled over his shoulder as he spun again, correcting his course. “I thought prison made people tough?”
I’d shiv the kid if I wasn’t so proud of him. “Just keep your eyes on the road.”
“Now would be a good time to start shooting them!”
“I can’t!” I yelled.
“Why?!”
“They’re people . . . sort of! They haven’t done anything more than chase us.”
“Not to tell you your business, but what do you think they’re gonna do if they catch us? Seems like they are looking specifically for us!”
I had the same thought. The fact that they were out here and coming for us was too convenient. There was clearly something we weren’t seeing. I didn’t want to hurt them, but I couldn’t let them catch us. I had no idea how far we had to go, let alone where we were.
Well, that’s why man created suppressing fire.
I opened up with the turret, firing plasma charges at the ground, just ahead of the charging buffaloes. The explosive blasts forced the herd to dodge and turn, slowing them down. The tactic gave us much-needed distance.
Just as my plan was working, the buffalo changed their tactics. Yipping and roars broke through the storm. From the rear, herd members shifted into their buffalo-man hybrid forms. The hybrids jumped onto the back of a running buffalo, leapfrogged forward, and landed in their full animal form, ready for those in the rear to repeat the process.
“Oh, that’s just not fair!” I yelled, while switching out plasma to conventional ammo in overhead bursts. I wasn’t trying to take any of the buffalo out, but I was trying to send a clear message that continuing to chase us was hazardous to their health.
“Oh shit!” TJ yelled.
“What? Oh SHIT!”
The ground suddenly dropped out a good five feet as the terrain shifted from hilly plains to more terraced, rocky ground. The Outrider sailed in a moment of weightlessness before impacting. The vehicle bottomed out as TJ tried to regain control. The wheel was pulled from his hand as we spun out of control.
The g-force was too much, and I was thrown from the vehicle. The Collective threw up my full body shield as I tumbled across the frozen ground. When I stopped moving, the shield was released. Over my shoulder I saw the herd coming fast, leaping over the drop point.
I turned my head to try and see as much as possible as I forced The Collective to begin an overclock. My mind raced at lightning speed while the world slowed to a crawl. Lying on my side wasn’t the best way to get a perspective, but it was the best I could do.
To my left, I saw the buffalo herd leaping majestically. They were right behind us and would be on top of me in seconds. To my right, TJ and the Outrider were over fifty feet away, and there was no way I could get up and run to the car in time.
A stupid, stupid plan popped into my head. Since it was dangerous and just plain dumb, I knew it was a Salem original. Stopping the overclock before my brain melted, the world returned to normal speed.
“TJ! DRIVE!” I yelled.
“I can’t leave you!”
“GODDAMN IT, DRIVE! I’VE GOT AN IDEA!”
“Oh, we’re screwed,” TJ said as he hit the pedal and the Outrider took off.
Rolling over, I took aim and fired a nano-filament line from each of my tech bracers. The chisel tips penetrated the back of the speeding Outrider as the micro-actuators engaged. The lines snapped taut and suddenly I was being hauled along behind the vehicle at high speed across the rocky, snowy ground.
“Ow ow ow!” I screamed as I tried to roll and get my legs under me. Looking back, I saw the herd coming fast.
A lifetime of movies convinced me that when the good guy is dragged behind a stagecoach or a car, they can get themselves to their feet and climb up. Well lemme tell ya, that’s complete bullshit. It took everything I had to keep my head up and roll away from rocks zipping at me at near a hundred miles an hour. And on top of that, the herd was gaining.
“Take another drop!” I yelled, spitting snow and gravel.
“Hey, you’re back there! Cool!” TJ yelled back.
“Just take a drop!”
“Got it!”
The Outrider swerved, moving towards another terraced drop just as the lead buffalo got closer. From the angry look, along with the swollen eye, I was guessing this was the same one I punched in the face.
The buffalo gnashed its teeth and bit at my feet. Yup, that’s the same buffalo lady.
“For what it’s AH . . . worth, I’m sorry for . . . damn it! . . . for punching you. Ow!” I yelled to the buffalo while also eating a mile of rough terrain.
The buffalo accepted my apology by biting the back of my calf. “Ow! All right, never mind. I’m NOT sorry! In fact, I’m going to enjoy this!”
As the Outrider accelerated off another small plateau drop, I rolled to my back and brought both my legs up. As the buffalo got closer, I slammed my feet down on her snout, activating my pulse boots.
The blast launched me skyward while singeing the buffalo’s snout. She turned her head and brayed in pain, skittering to the ground when the herd slammed into her.
“No one likes teeth!” I yelled from high in the air.
Twisting in the air, I uncrossed the nano-filament lines and fired up my Higgs-Boson inhibitor. The device was based on my mass inducer. Instead of drawing mass from ambient matter, the HBI greatly reduced my mass. This little baby once saved me from falling from to my death. And now it was going to help me water ski on land.
Once more I activated my pulse boots. But instead of a single concentrated blast, I emitted a low, consistent boost. With the vast majority of my mass reduced, I glided across the terrain as I was pulled by the Outrider.
“HA!” I laughed over my shoulder at the buffalo herd.
Swerving in lazy, wide arcs, I caught myself actually laughing a little. Sure we were being chased by were-buffalo while the god of all birds crapped a winter thunderstorm, but the ride was exhilarating.
It’s the little things that make you happy, you know?
Without anyone mannin
g the turret, the herd moved in. I released my right nano-filament line. Immediately, I swung wide without the second guide line. Pulling my blaster, I dialed the weapon down to a hard stun and let off round after round into the herd.
Several dropped from my initial volley while the rest flowed around the fallen. One of the hybrid buffalo-men leaped from the back of a herd member directly for me, landing beside me as it shifted back into a full buffalo.
“Stop!” it shouted to me.
“Fat chance, Angus!”
“Cliff, you idiot!”
A say what now?
I looked over my shoulder and as the lighting flashed, I could see that the Outrider was sure as hell heading for a big-ass ravine. We were nearly on top of it and at our speed, we had no way of stopping.
“Oh shit! TJ, brakes! BRAKES!”
“I see it! I see it!” TJ yelled back, once more whipping the wheel around and locking up the rear wheels.
The Outrider was a fairly wide vehicle, but as TJ tried a power slide, the driver’s side came up a couple of inches from the ground, threatening to flip over.
Five of the hybrid buffalo forms jumped and landed on the vehicle, adding enough weight to keep it on the ground as it slid to a stop several feet from the lip.
I, however, shot right past the car and over the edge. Physics, you’re a cruel, cruel bitch.
“Shhhiiiiiiiiittt!” I yelled as I went over the edge.
My nano-line snapped taut and I damn near dropped my gun as I dangled at least a couple hundred feet from the ground. Stowing my weapon, I activated my left bracer’s nano-line winch and reeled myself up. Grabbing the lip of the cliff, I pulled myself up and reeled in the rest of my line as the HBI returned my mass.
“Uh, Salem?” TJ said. “Any ideas?”
The storm was slowly subsiding, and the clouds were rolling out almost as fast as they rolled in. The moonlight showed we were surrounded by a semicircle of buffalo and buffalo-man hybrids. They were breathing heavily and up close, these bastards were huge. They smelled of musk and anger.
“Put your hands up, kid,” I said while I raised my own arms.
“You sure?”
“They tried saving us instead of letting us fall off that cliff. I don’t know what they want, but I don’t think they want us dead.”
“I wanna go on record saying this is a bad plan.”
“Noted.”
One of the buffalo lumbered forward. It had a black eye and scorch marks along her muzzle.
Oops.
The buffalo shifted forms, shrinking down to a Native American woman with long black hair and large dark eyes . . . and she was completely naked.
“TJ, look away.”
“You kidding? This plan just got awesome.”
Thirteen-year-old kids. What can you do?
The woman walked up to me. Up close she was beautiful, even if she had a black eye and slight burn marks.
“Uh, hi,” I said, trying not to ogle. “Again, sorry about the punch and the blast to the face. But you did get a nice bite on my leg. I’d say we’re even?”
The woman punched me right in the mouth so hard I had to grab the Outrider or else fall off the cliff again. I righted myself from the blow and shook my head.
So she hit me again.
“Now we’re even,” she said “Prisoner.”
Sigh . . . Bad Bessie. Bad.
Chapter Seven
I’m Going to Hurt Them
Now, in Löngutangar
“You mind lowering those?”
The Löngutangar response team all trained their weapons on the large Wrath demoness. Vali cocked his head to one side and crossed his arms.
“Give me a reason.”
“How about all those reasons?” the demoness said, nodding her head over her shoulder to the back of the transport truck where the children were being unloaded.
“They’re why you’re still alive,” Vali said, taking a step closer to the demoness, who leaned casually against the truck. “The guns stay aimed right where they are for now. Normally I’d say no offense, but to be honest, I don’t give a shit if you’re offended.”
“Your sympathy is boundless. Mind if I smoke? I’m dying for one. Salem insisted I refrain while I was in the truck with the kids. Like kids don’t smoke.”
“Here,” Vidar said, lighting the demoness’s cigarette.
As Vidar finished lighting Khurzon’s cigarette, Vali shot his brother a look. “Seriously?”
Vidar shrugged. “Know her. Name’s Khurzon.”
“So? Demons, even ones waving flags of truce, are suspect.”
“Salem sent me. Obviously,” Kurzon said, blowing out a gray cloud.
“So you say.”
“Don’t be a bigger asshole than you have to be, godling. I’m on your side.”
“Where’s my son?!” a loud country voice roared out.
Vali looked to see Taylor. The tall, lanky mechanic come running towards the situation, his tool belt jangling as he did. Aside from fixing things, Taylor Junior, TJ, was all the man had in this world.
“Where? Where’s muh boy?!”
“You gotta be more specific, hick,” Khurzon said, puffing the smoke while her remaining three arms stayed crossed. “There were a lot of kids on that truck.”
Taylor pulled a heavy wrench from his tool belt and brandished the improvised weapon under the demoness’s chin. Khurzon looked at Vidar, ignoring Vali and Taylor all together.
“You might want to think about getting a leash for your pet.”
“Don’t toy with me, demon. My son. TJ. Where is he?”
“Oh, that one. Yeah, about him.”
“What? What happened?” Taylor asked then paused as if he figured something out. The mechanic exhaled deeply, putting the wrench away. “Yeah, lemme guess, he ran off with Salem, didn’t he?”
“Yup. I was halfway here when one of the kids told me.”
“Damn that boy,” Taylor sighed.
“So Salem is OK?” Vali asked.
“Took you long enough to ask. Some friends.” Khurzon smirked. “And would you PLEASE lower the fucking guns?”
Vali looked at Vidar, who nodded to his troops. They slowly lowered their weapons, aiming the barrels towards the ground, ready to go at a moment’s notice.
“Thank you. Now, is there a place we can talk? Maybe get a drink? I just chewed up a couple hundred miles of road to get here and could use something . . . strong,” Khurzon said while giving Vidar a wanton smile.
“I’m taken.”
“Too bad. You should see what a gal with four arms and the sex drive of a rhino can do.”
Vidar said nothing while the demoness maintained her smile. The silent god looked to his brother for some kind of help.
“That way,” Vali said, breaking the awkward moment and pointing towards the mead hall. “We can talk there. Erik?” Vali said, looking for his top lieutenant.
“Here,” the tall red-haired man said, stepping forward.
Vali placed a hand on Erik’s shoulder, then looked around at the rest of the men. “You and the men wrangle the kids,” Vali whispered. “Get them to the infirmary.”
“Sir?” Erik asked. “What about the families? They’re gonna want to see their kids.”
“Erik, listen to me,” the god said, dropping his voice to just above a whisper.
“We’re going to do this right. We’ve been hit brother, hit bad. And the people are ready to break. But we have a chance to return hope to them. So, if any of these kids has been infected by some demon bullshit, I need to know, now.”
“Of course. But—”
“Shh,” Vali shushed his friend. “I will not let a parent see their child, only to let something we should have seen slip by us, taking them away again. So, get them to infirmary. Get them checked over. Make sure they’re good. Then get the parents. Then we end their suffering. Then we give them hope back. Tonight, we celebrate. I think they’ve earned it. Can you do that for me, brothe
r?”
Vali released Erik, who stood up straight. The captain of the guard pursed his lips, then wiped the corner of his eye. Coming to attention, he saluted. “Goddamn right, sir.”
********
After the night’s celebration was over, when people returned to their homes with their children Khurzon detailed everything from the moment Salem escaped Flotsam Prison to those remaining. She explained how Salem hatched a plan to break out and improvised a plan to rescue the children, and how The Brotherhood gave them aid in getting back to Löngutangar.
When she finished, their table in the mead hall was silent. No one knew what to say or to ask.
“That’s our boy,” the digital projection of Elena McMillan said to her equally digital husband.
Abraham’s hologram beamed with pride. “What’s our next move?” he asked.
Instinctively, all eyes turned to Vali. The god nodded, accepting the role. “Salem and TJ are safe. That’s the most important thing. Now, what happened when you left? Where did Salem and TJ go?”
Khurzon finished her beer and lit another cigarette. “Well, that’s the bad news,” she said, breathing out a plume of smoke. “Salem wanted me to tell you all everything once the children were safe and you were all gathered.”
“Tell us what?” Vali asked.
Khurzon took a moment to gather herself. “He was set up. He didn’t go into all the details, but he explained the entire vault robbery, prison sentence, and the kidnapping of your children was a part of a plot against him. The Archduchess Lady Bathin and Archduke Maz’ael gave him an ultimatum: get the Tears of God within one cycle of creation, or else Löngutangar would be razed to the ground. The inhabitants would be captured and sold off. Those who resisted would be killed.”
“Just Salem and TJ?” Salem’s father, Abraham, asked. “Alone?”
“No. They had this . . . thing with them. Some giant called ‘Chael’.”
