Chapter Four
“We’re on our own,” Hickok announced, watching the Hurricane wing rapidly to the south toward California.
“Where are we?” Yama inquired in his low voice.
Blade studied the old map in his left hand. The Hurricane had deposited them in a field to the north of Seattle. Captain Laslo had deliberately landed in a secluded area to minimize the risk of detection.
Trees bordered the large field on all sides.
“Which direction should we take?” Rikki questioned.
Blade surveyed the immediate vicinity. Hickok was to his right, an M-16 in the gunfighter’s hands. Yama, armed with the inevitable Wilkinson, was to the left. Rikki stood ten feet away, alertly scanning the vegetation, holding a Heckler and Koch HK-93.
“We head south, right?” Hickok said.
“Right,” Blade confirmed, glancing at the map again. “This area was once known as Lake Forest Park. I estimate we’re about two miles from the Seattle city limits.” He folded the map and slid it into his left front pocket, then unslung his Commando Arms Carbine. “Let’s head out!” he ordered, jogging to the south.
Hickok kept pace with the giant while Yama and Rikki fell in behind.
All four Warriors toted backpacks containing their rations.
“Keep your eyes peeled,” Blade advised.
“Shucks! I was thinkin’ of takin’ a nap,” Hickok stated.
“Since we don’t have any idea where to find Manta,” Blade said, “we’ll proceed into the heart of the city. We should stir up something.”
“I wish I had my Henry,” Hickok mentioned, thinking of his favorite long gun, a Navy Arms Henry Carbine, a lever action rifle in 44-40 caliber.
“Automatics are better when you might be outnumbered,” Blade noted.
He hoped they were packing enough hardware to overcome any threat. His 45-caliber Commando incorporated a 90-shot magazine. Combined with Yama’s 50-shot Wilkinson, Rikki’s 25 rounds in the KH-93, and Hickok’s 30 in the M-16, their firepower was awesome. As if the automatics weren’t enough, Yama carried his personal arsenal, Hickok his Colt Pythons, Rikki his katana in its scabbard attached to a black belt around his waist, and Blade was armed with his Bowies and Combat Master MK V’s in shoulder holsters, one pistol under each arm.
Surely that’s enough, Blade thought to himself.
But as events turned out, it wasn’t.
The four Warriors entered the woods, threading their way through the dense growth.
“Do you think anyone saw the Hurricane come down?” Hickok asked.
“Probably,” Blade said. “Even if they didn’t see it, they had to hear it.”
“When will the Hurricane be back?” Hickok queried.
“Laslo will land in that field in three days,” Blade responded, keeping his tone subdued. “If we’re not here, he’ll leave.”
The quartet advanced for over a mile.
“Blade!” Rikki stated urgently.
Blade halted and turned.
Rikki was standing with his head cocked to the right, listening. “Do you hear them?”
“I do,” Yama said.
Blade heard them too. A chorus of howls off to the north.
“They’re on our trail,” Hickok deduced.
“Move it!” Blade barked, sprinting southward. He wanted to avoid a confrontation, if possible. Gunfire might enable hostile elements to pinpoint their position.
“Must be the welcoming committee,” Hickok joked.
They ran for another 500 yards, then unexpectedly darted from the forest onto the ravaged vestige of a road.
Blade abruptly stopped. The road surface, aligned from east to west, was buckled and cracked, choked with weeds. He studied the foliage on the far side, espying buildings some distance beyond.
Hickok was listening to their pursuers. “They’re gainin’ on us,” he declared.
Blade had reached the same conclusion. “Take cover,” he commanded. “When they reach the road, let them have it.”
The four hastened into the brush.
Blade concealed himself behind a tall tree, using the wide trunk to screen him from the road. He checked the Commando’s magazine and flicked off the safety.
The howling had attained a crescendo.
Blade peered around the trunk.
A frenzied pack of feral canines burst from the woods, onto the road, yowling in anticipation of their next meal. The pack was a mixture of diverse breeds of mongrels, including shepherds, Dobermans, Great Danes, collies, and others. Each dog was on the lean side, with a lackluster coat. Ravenous, eager to eat, they were slavering at the mouth, many with their fangs exposed. The leaders of the pack checked their rush, pausing to sniff at the road where the scent of the humans was strongest, causing the dogs to mill about. The pack was momentarily vulnerable, in the open, their vigilance diminished.
Which was the opening Blade wanted. He counted 21 canines before he elevated the Commando barrel and squeezed the trigger. The Carbine thundered, the stock bucking against his stout shoulder, the 45-caliber slugs ripping into the unsuspecting dogs with a vengeance.
The other Warriors opened up.
Endowed with incredible reflexes, the feral dogs reacted instanteously, hunger compelling them forward into the hail of lead. Snarling and growling, bristling in primal fury, they charged the humans.
The slaughter was total.
Most of the dogs died on the road, their forms torn apart by the withering gunfire. Hair and blood sprayed everywhere. Several of the biggest canines managed to reach the edge of the road.
Yama stopped them cold. He emerged from behind a tree, the Wilkinson blasting, and stitched a pattern of bullets across the chests of the hurtling dogs. They crashed to the ground in a bloody line of perforated, convulsing figures.
Blade ceased firing, his ears ringing. He frowned as he surveyed the carnage. He much preferred a stand-up fight, where he could engage an enemy face-to-face. An ambush wasn’t to his liking. But in the Outlands, the regions outside the territories of the Freedom Federation, where survival of the fittest was the norm, he couldn’t afford to be particular about the style of combat he employed. Surviving was essential by whatever means necessary.
Hickok came around a bush, shaking his head. “Stupid mutts! They should have hightailed it instead of comin’ after us.”
Rikki walked into view from the undergrowth, scrutinizing the slain dogs with displeasure. “They were famished,” he said. “And starvation can override prudence.”
Blade walked to the roadway. He reached behind him and opened a leather pouch attached to his belt.
“Between the Hurricane and this,” Yama mentioned, “the whole city must know we’re here.”
Blade removed a fresh magazine from the pouch. “I agree. Which means we keep on our toes at all times.” He removed the spent clip from the Commando and inserted the new one.
The others were replacing their spent magazines.
“Who cares if they know we’re comin’?” Hickok commented. “We have a job to do, and we’re going to do it no matter what.”
Blade turned to the south. He placed the spent magazine in the pouch and closed the flap. “Let’s go.”
The four Warriors continued their search, moving at a dogtrot.
In the century since the war, the prolific vegetation had reclaimed much of the land, overruning the spaces between the buildings. The majority of the structures were in dilapidated condition; roofs were caved in, the paint had faded or peeled off, the walls were rent with fractures, and the windows were broken or missing.
Blade noted the state of the buildings as they proceeded further into the city. They encountered more and more structures, many individual residences. But as they went on, larger edifices appeared. Ancient stores.
Industrial buildings. And others of indeterminate design and purpose.
Despite the brightness of the morning sun, the interiors of the structures were plunged in obscure gloom.
&nb
sp; “This place is sort of spooky,” Hickok remarked.
Blade nodded. The air was still, the nearby trees motionless.
Disturbingly, there was no indication of wildlife: no birds, no squirrels, no rabbits, nothing.
As if he was reading Blade’s mind, Rikki spoke up. “Where are the animals? There should be animals.”
They crossed a small field and reached an intersection. The highways were still in passable condition, but there was no sign of any traffic.
“I don’t understand,” Yama stated, scanning a four-story building to their right.
Blade was taking his bearings by the sun. The field they’d just crossed was slightly to the northeast of the intersection. He elected to stay with the road; the going would be easier and they could spot an assault in advance.
“What don’t you understand?” he asked, following one branch on the highway to the south.
“A lot of these buildings are in better shape than I expected,” Yama said. “They’re relatively intact. But you told us Seattle was hit by a neutron bomb. So why isn’t everything destroyed?”
“I can answer that,” Hickok chimed in.
“Go ahead,” Blade directed.
Hickok looked at Yama. “I saw the same thing when I was in Washington, D.C. A whole bunch of the buildings there are still in once piece, and Washington was hit by a neutron bomb too.”
“But how?” Yama queried, puzzled.
“A Russian general told me about neutron bombs,” Hickok disclosed.
“The Soviets apparently used a heap of them during the war. The general said the Russians liked the neutron bombs better than the typical H-bombs because the neutron kind aren’t as destructive.”
“A Russian told you that?” Yama questioned skeptically. “Why didn’t the Soviets employ their most devastating bombs and missiles?”
“The general explained that,” Hickok said. “He said the Russians wanted to conquer America, not turn the country into a desolate wasteland. You see, those neutron bombs didn’t produce as much fallout as a conventional warhead and their explosive power wasn’t as great. So a lot of U.S. cities and targets were hit by the neutron type.”
“Like Seattle,” Yama stated.
“And we know the Russians launched a drive through Alaska and Canada at the outset of World War Three,” Blade noted. “They were stopped in British Columbia by the coldest winter western Canada had seen in centuries. The same thing happened to the Nazis during World War Two. A Russian winter softened them up for the Allied troops. Well, during the Big Blast, a Canadian winter checked the Soviets and enabled the U.S. and Canadians to drive the Russians back across the Bering Strait. The Soviets probably used a neutron bomb on Seattle because they intended to eventually use the city as a major port of entry.”
“Why didn’t the Americans reoccupy the city?” Yama wondered aloud.
“Several reasons,” Blade said. “Most of the U.S. population was evacuated into the Midwest during the war. Thousands and thousands more fled to California. And while neutron bombs don’t produce as much fallout as typical thermonuclear devices, they do create some. There must have been enough to dissuade anyone from reentering Seattle for years, maybe decades.”
“But there must be people here now,” Yama observed.
Blade shrugged. “We know there are captive humans here. And mutants. Who knows what else?”
“I do,” Rikki-Tikki-Tavi commented.
Blade glanced over his right shoulder at the black-garbed Warrior.
“You do? What?”
“That,” Rikki said, pointing to the right.
Blade faced in the indicated direction. And froze. His companions did the same.
Standing on eight squat legs, glistening red in the sunlight, was a gargantuan creature with a huge circular shell for a body, a pair of brown, bulging eyes, two antennae, and two enormous claws. The thing stood a good ten feet in height and was about fifteen yards off, its protruding eyes locked on the four Warriors.
“What the blazes is that?” Hickok blurted.
“It’s a crab,” Blade said. “But it’s bigger than any crab I ever read about.”
“Do you suppose the critter is friendly?” Hickok inquired.
As if in response, the jumbo crab suddenly uttered a grunting sound and skittered toward them with its claws extended.
Chapter Five
“Look out!” Blade bellowed, moving to the right, raising the Commando and squeezing the trigger.
Scores of slugs smacked into the creature’s hard body and legs, and it stumbled and nearly went down. But it quickly recovered, rearing high on its hind legs, revealing a gaping maw.
All four Warriors fired at will. Hickok stayed close to Blade while Rikki and Yama dashed to the left.
The crab seemed uncertain for a moment, ignoring the rain of lead while it swiveled to the right, then the left, apparently making up its mind which victims to chase.
“Take cover!” Blade shouted.
The monster, evidently attracted by the yell, went after the giant and the human in buckskins.
“Terrific!” Hickok exclaimed, sighting the M-16 and sending a half-dozen rounds into the mutated crustacean’s left eye.
Blade spotted a low brick wall bordering the road and raced up to it.
“Come on!” he goaded the gunfighter, then vaulted over the wall and landed on his right side. He rolled, placing his back against the wall.
Two seconds later Hickok joined him. The gunman came down on his elbows and knees and glanced at Blade. “What—?”
“Get close to the wall!” Blade ordered.
Hickok immediately complied, aligning his body with his head inches from Blade’s combat boots.
None too soon.
The crab materialized overhead, looming above the wall, its eyes scanning the weed-choked yard beyond for its quarry.
Blade found himself gazing at the underside of the carapace, and he abruptly realized the bottom of the crab wasn’t like the impervious upper shell. It was soft, unprotected flesh!
“Let him have it!” Blade instructed, then pointed the Commando barrel at the crab’s underbelly and fired.
Hickok’s M-16 chattered.
The titan shrieked as its stomach was ruptured by the slugs. A transparent fluid spurted from the creature as chunks of tissue were blown outward. It frantically back-pedaled onto the street.
Blade rose up, continuing to pour in the gunfire. He aimed at the monster’s mouth and saw the crustacean shudder as his shots hit home.
The crab lurched to the north, weaving unsteadily.
All four Warriors emptied their magazines into the colossus.
Blade swiftly extracted his spent clip and grabbed for a new one.
“Look!” Hickok exclaimed.
Fluid gushing from its underside, the crab was tottering, on the verge of collapse. Its legs buckled and it crashed onto its stomach, trembling, its claws thrashing the air. After a minute the claws fell to the roadway with a distinct thump and the creature was still.
“We did it!” Hickok elated.
“We were lucky,” Blade said quietly.
“Lucky? It was a piece of cake!” Hickok declared, using his favorite expression. “The critter never laid a claw on us.”
Blade slid over the brick wall and cautiously approached the crab as he inserted a fresh clip into the Commando.
Rikki and Yama were walking toward the bulky corpse from the other side of the street.
Hickok came up on Blade’s right. “What if there are more of these things around?”
“There probably are,” Blade said.
Rikki and Yama warily stepped around the rear of the crab and rejoined their fellow Warriors.
“If we keep going at this rate,” Yama remarked, “we’ll run out of ammo before we find Manta.”
“Each of us has twelve clips,” Blade said. “That should be enough.”
“The ocean must not be far off,” Rikki commented. “A crab
like this wouldn’t wander a great distance from the water.”
Blade pointed to the east. “Lake Washington is less than a mile that way.” He shifted and pointed to the west. “And Puget Sound is three or four miles in that direction. The crab could have come from either one.”
“First a passel of mangy mutts, and now a crab the size of Mount Everest,” Hickok mumbled. “What next? Carnivorous daffodils?”
Blade scrutinized the road to the south. “We could encounter anything.
There’s no predicting how the radiation might have affected the local flora and fauna.”
Hickok squared his shoulders. “I’m ready when you are, pard.”
Blade resumed their journey. As they trekked southward the buildings became generally even larger and more numerous. They were packed close together, as if prewar space had been at a premium. They reached the crumpled remains of a wide thoroughfare.
“What was this?” Hickok inquired.
Blade removed his map and consulted the reference guide at the bottom of the page. “This was State Highway 513.” He nodded to the right.
“Interstate 5 should be a mile and a quarter to the west. Let’s find it and follow it into the inner city.”
“You’re the boss,” Hickok said.
Blade led them toward Interstate 5. They passed row after row of damaged edifices, including a few over five stories tall.
“Are most big cities like this?” Yama asked.
“Let’s see,” Blade said, enumerating his travels. “I’ve been to the Twin Cities, Denver, St. Louis, Philadelphia, New York, Houston and Los Angeles. Not to mention quite a few small towns. I’d say Seattle is about par for the course. Minneapolis and St. Paul were spared a direct hit, so they’re in a bit better shape. Denver, as you know, became the capital of the Civilized Zone, and although it’s changed since the war the city was unscathed. St. Louis is in the hands of a biker gang, but it’s in fair condition. Philadelphia is in Russian-controlled territory. Houston is managed by androids, and you wouldn’t believe what they’ve done there.
Los Angeles is much like it was before the war.”
“And New York?” Yama queried.
“New York is history,” Blade said. “The Big Apple was one of the first targets the Soviets hit, and they used an H-bomb. Geronimo and I went to New York, remember? The city is nothing but melted slag.”
Seattle Run Page 5
