Eldon’s slow, deep laugh filled in the silence. “Y’all people got some vivid imaginations.”
Hayley locked eyes with Kenny in the rearview mirror. “I don’t know why. I just feel scared.”
“Maybe ’cause your whole life is technology, and you’re goin’ into a place without any?” Eldon winked. “Hey, that’s it. Kid’s been online so damn much, she can ‘feel’ the absence of the GlobeNet. No signal out here.”
Alyssa giggled.
Hayley kept staring at him, speaking in a soft, eerie voice. “I hope you’re right. I really do.” The truck hung in pregnant silence for four seconds before Hayley cracked up laughing. “Oh come on, that was funny.”
“You fuckin’ with us?” asked Eldon.
“Swear jar,” sang Hayley and Alyssa at the same time.
“Ain’t got no swear jar.” Eldon winked.
“Why not?” Hayley squinted at him.
“Because, when you on yo’ own, there ain’t no Mom and Dad ta do shit for ya. You don’t do it, shit don’t get done. You live in filth till you can’t take it no more, and you clean yo’ dam self. Like bein’ swear-jarred constantly.”
“Oh,” said Alyssa
Nasir looked back and forth between the kids and Kenny. “Was all of that just some creepy-kid stuff?”
“Not all.” Hayley clung to Kathy’s arm again. “I really do feel scared out here.”
“Aww shit,” muttered Eldon. “You bring any sage? Maybe some candles an’ shit?”
Kenny picked at his eye with his middle finger.
Eldon grinned, laughing while shaking his head.
Four hours and change after leaving the gate, a large, white box truck tilted at an angle caught Kenny’s eye. A little concern―and more than a little curiosity―mixed, causing him to steer left on an approach path. It soon became clear that the cargo truck had slipped off the road and half gone into a drainage ditch. The driver’s effort to get out had thrown mud all over the cracked remnants of road. Two spots of bright cyan light hovered around the sidewalls, orb bots spraying the rig down with water.
“Now who in the hell bothers washin’ their truck when they got it stuck in a damn ditch?” asked Eldon.
Kenny flared his eyebrows. “That’s a damn fine question.”
A pair of men in clean white jumpsuits with a dark spot over their left breast pocket climbed down from the cab. Both had imposing physiques and military haircuts, but warm smiles. The blond man raised a hand in greeting while the dark-haired one set his hands on his hips.
“They look friendly,” said Kathy.
“Trouble always does,” muttered Kenny. “Stay out of sight, girls.”
Alyssa and Hayley scooted off the seat to the floor and ducked.
Kenny pulled to a halt on the road by the two men. ‘Laughlin Reed Innovation’ ran the length of the box truck’s cargo area in black letters above a logo of a test tube surrounded by electron orbit lines. The dark spots on the men’s jumpsuits turned out to be the same logo.
“Howdy,” said Kenny, after rolling down his window. “You boys make a wrong turn?”
The blond man suppressed a wince. “Good morning. Was a bad storm last night, couldn’t see a damn thing. Went off the road.”
Kenny eyed the orbs spraying the truck down and de-mudding it. “Well, that there’s one of the cleanest wrecks I’ve ever seen.”
“You seem like a reasonable man,” said the blond. “The company doesn’t like us bringing in any contamination from the research facility. Uhh, you know, LRI’s got a place out here. You wouldn’t believe how much the competition can learn from dirt and crud.”
“Research facility in the Badlands?” Kenny raised an eyebrow. Oh, nothing ever goes wrong with that… You’d think these idiots would learn. “Nothin’ dangerous in that truck, is there?” He eyed the rear door, concerned with his wife and the girls so close. The last thing he wanted was to get caught in an explosion or something while helping a couple idiots out of a ditch. No good deed…
The man shook his head. “Nah, not dangerous. Medicine.” He smiled. “I do not understand why they make such common drugs so far out here from the city. I suppose fewer prying eyes. Even the most secure century tower can be infiltrated. It is tough to sneak in when they can see ten miles in every direction.”
The other man in the white jumpsuit grumbled. “This is the last time I’m going out there. Yesterday, it was a bunch of idiots with swords and arrows rushing out of the weeds when I’m tryin’ ta have a shit.”
Eldon chuckled. “Well that’s damn inconsiderate.”
“Should be able to give you a hand gettin’ your rig outta that.” Kenny nodded back over his shoulder. “Long as you got a hitch.”
“Yes.” The blond nodded and walked toward the back of the truck.
“This thing has got the balls to pull that monster out?” asked Nasir.
“Depends on what they’re carrying.” Kenny leaned his head out the window and raised his voice. “Hey… what are you loaded down with? Might need to depack some if it’s too heavy.”
The other man, who’d remained close, shook his head. “Just medicine. Anti-anxiety medication. Placinil mostly. OTC stuff.”
Kenny laughed himself to tears.
“What?” asked Kathy.
“Anti-anxiety medication in the Badlands… They don’t have enough.” Still chuckling, he backed around into position behind the larger truck.
The girls peered over the window edge, trying to watch while staying out of sight as Kenny ran around to the bed. He took a heavy chain from one of the storage boxes, which he used to link the trucks together by their tow hitches.
Between the cargo truck attempting to reverse, and Kenny’s behemoth pulling, it took about fifteen minutes of work to haul the stranded rig out of the ditch and back onto the road. The orb bots got to work washing the right front fender clean of mud and vegetation. Kenny disconnected the chain while giving the side-eye to another orb which zipped by his head. The new bot glided close to the wall of the cargo box, but didn’t spray. It orbited the truck once before stopping at a point where the two men couldn’t see it. From there, it went low to the ground and circled back toward the pickup.
Kenny wound the chain over his arm, walking back to his truck. The rogue orb came up and over the side wall, landing in one of Nasir’s boxes in the bed. He stashed the chain back where he got it and turned to shake hands with the blond.
“Thank you, friend.” The man smiled.
“Hey, don’t mention it. We gotta stick together out here.”
“We?” asked the man.
Kenny grinned. “Those of us who ain’t nuts.”
“Ahh. Yes.” The man nodded. “Be driving safe.”
What’s up with this guy? Sounds like he learned English last week. “You too.”
Kenny climbed into his seat and got moving, keeping one eye on the receding form of the LRI truck. “Nas… what was up with that orb?”
“My fault,” said Eldon. “Got a weird feelin’ about those two. They awful hard-lookin’ for a bunch of cargo drivers. Thought it might be some kinda ACC thing. Asked Nasir to check for soldiers, weapons, explosives, you know, nasty shit they might try smugglin’ in.”
“Looks like bottles of pills in there. Two rifles, but they’re up front,” said Nasir.
“No big deal.” Alyssa scooted back into her seat. “Hell, you gave me and Hayley guns out here.”
“Well.” Kenny leaned back in his seat and prepared for a long drive. “If I owned a company that had to ship stuff ’tween civilization and a ‘hidden research facility in the Badlands,’ I’d probably hire ex-soldiers to drive it, too.”
Kenny’s detour to avoid the bandit-strewn region around Las Vegas wound up, by virtue of their GPS giving a bad reading, putting them in the area once known as northern Arizona when the sun weakened enough to make Kenny think of stopping for the night. He did not like the GPS going haywire so soon after talking about ‘some evil
force’ out here, or Hayley acting as if she could somehow feel it.
For most of the years he’d been driving out to the Badlands, he’d entertained the stories and legends as exaggerations of truth, but not literal fact. Folklore often had nuggets of reality coated in liberal doses of fancy, with genuine bad luck mixed in. Someone’s vehicle refuses to start when bandits come out of nowhere and it’s been working fine up till that point… well, who can really say what made it happen? Heck, he believed the stories enough to rig a biodiesel engine as a backup. Most of the legends suggested the more primitive the machine, the less chance it would misbehave. Something high tech, like the in-wheel e-motors and fusion power plant were supposed to be screwed. Despite their rumored susceptibility to whatever influence may or may not exist out here, he had yet to have an issue.
Hayley had remained quiet for the rest of the day. She got a little moody in the late afternoon, like a four-year-old trapped in a car too long. Disgruntled whines and the apparent inability to find a comfortable position to sit in proved the extent of it. When they’d stopped to stretch their legs and water the dirt, she’d refused to get more than a step away from Kathy.
Nasir seemed like a decent guy, if not a bit on the cowardly side. Kenny couldn’t fault him too much as no one could accuse the man of being a soldier. ‘Bot guys’ made big money in the corporate mercenary scene, sometimes able to work two sites at once. When risk equated to losing some replaceable hardware instead of one’s ass, it made for happier corporate lawyers and insurance companies. Random conversation along the ride revealed that he’d gone to a trade school for electronic engineering. He’d developed a fascination with bots, got to building his own, and more or less pulled a Joey. Nasir lived the slum life, barely surviving while trying to off-grid his way to a point of survival.
Kenny hoped those rumors about tech in the Badlands proved false. Depending on which version of the tale one believed, his bots could wind up anywhere from useless to dangerously out of control.
“So why’d a techie agree to come out here?” asked Kathy.
“The nine-to-five never worked for me.” Nasir offered an unapologetic frown. “I’d rather live life than burn it all away as someone else’s tool. Sure, I’m not rich. Grey zone squat, I don’t have to worry about rent, or neighbors complaining about something blowing up at three in the morning.”
“Yeah, but you gotta worry about those neighbors decidin’ they want what you got,” said Eldon.
Nasir patted his control board. “Not really. ‘Round me, everyone’s pretty flaz. Get the one-off here and there but that’s what Ma’ab is for.”
“Flaz?” asked Kathy.
Nasir laughed. “Calm, cool… flaccid like a limp dick.”
The girls giggled while Kathy rolled her eyes.
Kenny glared at him via the mirror. “Come on, man. Hayley’s not even twelve yet.”
“Ma’ab?” Eldon held up his hand. “Wait, don’t tell me. The sentry gun?”
“Yep.” Nasir grinned.
Kenny turned left to follow a long, pin-straight ribbon of old paving that stretched off into the horizon heading north. He didn’t want to go any farther east, at least not without going north a little. He still had the entire expanse of New Mexico between him and Steel Reaver territory, but why take chances?
He drove for about twenty minutes more, eyeing the ever-weakening sun and the wide expanse of nothing in all directions. Nasir continued discussing his outlook on life, and how this trip was part of his ‘not in a rush’ effort to make enough money freelancing to get a ‘real place’ someday, but only after he had enough in the bank, and some top-of-the line bots so he could pull down big money contracts… probably defense work. Corporate security paid less than the alternative, but being legal, it offered regular work and no risk of Division 1 knocking on his door.
A shadow on the left caught Kenny’s attention. Within a few seconds of staring at it, the form of a small building became clear. That’ll do for the night… at least some cover. He changed lanes to the left, driving north in the southbound lane. As the structure drew nearer, he recognized the telltale layout of a prewar ‘gas station.’ A modern-looking truck sat parked close to the awning over the pumps, though the layer of dust on it suggested it hadn’t moved in a couple of months.
“Hmm, that’s kinda fucked up.” Eldon picked his helmet off the floor from between his boots and put it on. “Truck don’t look like Badland stuff, but I ain’t got nothin’ on thermal movin’ around.”
“Hey. ‘Child’ here,” said Hayley in a sarcastic tone. “You get on him for saying ‘dick,’ but you whip out a f bomb?” She looked up at Kathy. “Mom, my innocent ears have been forever dirtied.”
Eldon blinked at her.
Fear wavered in Hayley’s voice, but she attempted a ‘tough’ exterior. “I grew up around cops and I spent years in the ’net. Like I haven’t heard that stuff before.”
Kenny nodded to Eldon and pulled over, rolling to a stop about fifteen meters from the other truck. It didn’t have as much of a lift and looked on the newer side, which only made him think it had belonged to an amateur. “Poor guy. Was probably his first rodeo.”
“What’s a rodeo?” asked Alyssa.
“I mean…” Kenny chuckled. “That truck doesn’t have any customization on it, stock tires. Looks almost undamaged. Probably some poor bastard’s first time out here.”
“Oh, shit,” muttered Alyssa, a second and change before Hayley let off a scream.
Nasir jumped awake at the high-pitched shriek; his arms flew up into a horrible attempt at a kung-fu pose.
Kenny whirled around to look at the girls. Alyssa pointed out the side window. A fair distance away from the pump islands lay a mangled corpse, little more than a skeleton with a few clumps of gore clinging to the bones. Sand and dust had covered much of it, though here and there, dark swaths showed, suggesting a large dried bloodstain coated the tarmac.
“It’s okay, Hale.” Kenny reached into the back to pat her on the knee. “He can’t hurt anyone.”
Eldon opened his door and got out. “Well, there’s the driver.” He raised his rifle and approached the modest ‘quick-mart’ building on the far side of the pumps with his rifle raised.
“Why do we have to stop here?” asked Hayley, an undertone of whine in her voice. “I don’t like it here. It’s scary.”
Alyssa held her hand. “It’s shelter. If we stop in the middle of open desert, we’re a target.”
“Yeah.” Kenny cracked a prideful grin. “That’s right.” He looked Kathy in the eye. “I’m gonna check the truck out.”
Nasir yawned, nodded, and slid out to stand on the passenger side. He leaned over backward and stretched while walking in random circles. Kenny jumped down from his seat, using his door for cover for a few seconds while surveying the area. Nothing moved but the occasional distant bird. He put a hand on his sidearm and approached the other truck’s open driver side door.
A smallish bloody footprint on the running board caught his eye, as well as a handprint dead center in the steering wheel. He caught a faint whiff of clove tobacco in the fabric. Bare footprints too small to be adult defined by clean spots on dust marked the dashboard in front of the passenger seat; he pictured the driver’s son or daughter asleep with their feet up. Or maybe someone had found a Scrag child. Kenny pulled himself in and sat behind the wheel, staring ahead at the dusty skeleton. A lump a few feet away from the right hand resembled a pistol. The body had decomposed so much, he couldn’t even begin to guess what had caused the death. Most of the flesh and organs were simply gone, a sure sign of canid or ghoul attack, but that didn’t mean they killed him. Either of the two would’ve consumed corpseflesh.
Kenny pulled a six-inch micro flashlight from his belt and studied the handprint on the wheel. Kid survived whatever killed the adult. Shining it on the floor revealed a few partial footprints in blood. He spotted the light on the passenger-side dash. No blood. Kid had their feet up bef
ore the attack.
Hmm. Probably a Scrag. They couldn’t figure out how to make the truck work.
Eldon walked by, circling the area where the bones lay. A few times, he stopped to touch the ground and brush away dust. Kenny watched him until he picked up a scrap of rope; several frayed strands dangled from a knot.
“Oh, shit…” Alyssa’s voice startled Kenny; she’d wandered up to the truck’s door without him noticing.
Kenny stared at her for a second until his heart got going again. After sighing out his nose, he fiddled with the console. The truck had power, but its former owner had set up a biometric lock. Hmm. That poor idiot ain’t got no fingerprints left. Wonder if that Nasir guy can hack in. He jumped down and hurried around to find Alyssa standing by the tailgate, looking frightened. “What’s wrong?”
“Look…” She pointed at the bed. “That’s kinda freaky.”
He turned to follow her finger with his gaze. Three large cages sat in the back portion of the truck, one of which had a pair of empty handcuffs inside. Fortunately, none held dead bodies. Fragments of plastiboard cartons littered the area behind the truck. Given the spread of debris, he figured a group had already come by and looted whatever provisions may have been there. A few child-sized bloody footprints marked the bed liner as well.
“Dad?” Alyssa crept up behind him. “Was this a bandit’s truck? Those cages look like they’re meant for people.”
“I don’t know what I’m looking at, hon. The kinda people out here who’d take slaves wouldn’t know how to operate this thing.” He rubbed his chin while thinking for a moment. “I suppose someone from the city could’ve come out here to play god. Modern gear could give a man a sense of untouchability. Who knows? Might just be a bounty hunter who tried to chase someone out here, but bounty hunters don’t usually have cages.”
“That’s not untouchable.” Alyssa leaned to her left, peering at the bones. “Something definitely touched him.”
“Hah.” Kenny chuckled. “Sure enough.”
The Harmony Paradox (Virtual Immortality Book 2) Page 24
