[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
norm. Keep your blaster on him, son," Ryan said as he holstered his own drawn
pistol and handed over the captured piece to J.B.
"Colt .45 auto," the Armorer said. "And even without my specs, I can tell it needs
a good cleaning. What do you want to do with this dumb shit, Ryan?"
"Ryan?" the scavenger repeated, a light of recognition in his brown eyes. "You're
Ryan Cawdor! And that must be J. B. Dix! I'll be dunked in honey and oven-
roasted you guys rode the wags with Trader!"
"That was a while back. And you seem to know a hell of a lot about us for a
stranger."
"I get around, Mr. Cawdor. Heard some things. Talked late into the night with a
guy named Abe who was trying to track down Trader after he'd heard the old salt
wasn't as dead as had been previously reported. Abe told me some stories and
described you two. Not that many people walking around Deathlands with
features as distinctive as yours at least, traveling together with other people like
the redhead and the albino. Uh, no disrespect intended," the man babbled
nervously.
"What's your game?" Ryan asked.
"I'm a scavie a scavenger. I find and I sell."
"You're a damn bone-picker, is what you mean," J.B. muttered.
"We all got to make a living, Dix. But I don't pick no bones or truck with dead
men."
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"Speaking of dead men," Mildred said. "I'd just as soon get the hell away from all
these stickies. Find another place to quiz our new buddy."
"Okay. You keep quiet, and you might get out of here alive. Got it?" The scavie
nodded eagerly. "You're a fast learner," Ryan noted approvingly. "Most people
screw up and say 'Yeah.' Can't seem to keep their mouths shut."
The travelers split into two teams, with J.B. and Dean staying in the corridor to
keep an eye on the scavie. Doc and Jak took one end, Ryan, Mildred and Krysty
the other. The rooms and corridors were laid out in a simple rectangle shape. They
passed a cryo lab, a suite of empty hospital beds, a single nonfunctioning elevator,
a front reception area with long dead phones and other such hardware and a
sizable hole that Adrian had blown into the wall for admittance. No armory, no
food and no supplies, except for a small first-aid kit Mildred found in a bedside
drawer.
"Got J.B. some adhesive bandages at least," she announced. "There's a brand-new
box in the kit."
"It's not a redoubt," Ryan said. "Just like J.B. predicted back in the gateway."
"Feels and smells more like a hospital," Mildred observed.
"Perhaps we need to question our new friend. I wonder how long he's been down
here anyway?" Krysty said.
"Blast in the wall looks fresh," Ryan replied, picking up a chunk of concrete.
"New grit on the ground from the explosion. Our timing might have been better or
we might just be unlucky. I'd say the guy with the beard hasn't been stumbling
around in here for very long."
"Could've done without him and those stickies. He probably brought them in here
in the first place," Mildred said.
When the two groups had converged, the scavie suggested adjourning to the cryo
room, away from the smell of the fire the muties had set and the stench of death
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where the dead stickies had fouled themselves as they died. Ryan agreed, wanting
to get the man away from the still intact and working gateway as quickly as
possible.
They talked as they walked to the labs. The newcomer seemed to take particular
delight in discovering Ryan had a son. His own boy was down south in Georgia
with his mother and her kin.
"Guess you can say she left me. Her loss, as well as my own. Glad to meet all of
you. I'm Alton, Alton Adrian. I guess you heard the explosion. That's what
brought you down here."
"Uh, right," Ryan improvised. "The explosion. Made my eardrums pop."
Adrian shrugged. "I overdid it. Not a demo man. Better too much than too little."
"Not always," J.B. replied. "Can bring the roof in on your head."
"I'll remember that. Well, I owe you, I guess. I'd be chilled for sure if those
stickies had got their hands on me. I've got squatter's rights, so I'm claiming half,
you all can divvy up the other part between yourselves. Fair?"
Ryan frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Scavenge the cryo spots. Try and thaw a few of the freezies, see what valuables
they decided to hang on to during their stay in the cooler."
"Yeah. We were looking like anyone else," Ryan said gamely. If the man wanted
to think they were fellow ghouls, so much the better. Such beliefs saved questions,
including the big one of how they'd gotten into this area in the first place.
"I didn't think anyone else knew about this hidden level but me. I got sloppy and
used too much plas ex. Muties must've heard just like your group did and followed
me down here. Good thing you came along."
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"Timing is everything," Krysty said with a smile.
"Don't I know it," he replied, reluctantly pulling his eyes away from Krysty's
beauty to peer back at Ryan and J.B.
"Listen, Cawdor, don't take this wrong, but you and your pal there are two of the
most curious-looking fellows I ever seen around here. The stories Abe told me
didn't say you had such weird coloration."
Doc cackled. "I take it you are in awe of their dusky pigmentation."
"Say what?" Alton asked.
"Their skin, man! You are talking about their skin!" Doc replied.
"Yeah. Take the lady doctor here," Alton said, gesturing to Mildred, who was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl szamanka888.keep.pl
norm. Keep your blaster on him, son," Ryan said as he holstered his own drawn
pistol and handed over the captured piece to J.B.
"Colt .45 auto," the Armorer said. "And even without my specs, I can tell it needs
a good cleaning. What do you want to do with this dumb shit, Ryan?"
"Ryan?" the scavenger repeated, a light of recognition in his brown eyes. "You're
Ryan Cawdor! And that must be J. B. Dix! I'll be dunked in honey and oven-
roasted you guys rode the wags with Trader!"
"That was a while back. And you seem to know a hell of a lot about us for a
stranger."
"I get around, Mr. Cawdor. Heard some things. Talked late into the night with a
guy named Abe who was trying to track down Trader after he'd heard the old salt
wasn't as dead as had been previously reported. Abe told me some stories and
described you two. Not that many people walking around Deathlands with
features as distinctive as yours at least, traveling together with other people like
the redhead and the albino. Uh, no disrespect intended," the man babbled
nervously.
"What's your game?" Ryan asked.
"I'm a scavie a scavenger. I find and I sell."
"You're a damn bone-picker, is what you mean," J.B. muttered.
"We all got to make a living, Dix. But I don't pick no bones or truck with dead
men."
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20-%20Freedom%20Lost%20(v1.0)%20[html].html (70 of 278) [12/28/2004 1:02:28 AM]
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_41_-_Freedom_Lost
"Speaking of dead men," Mildred said. "I'd just as soon get the hell away from all
these stickies. Find another place to quiz our new buddy."
"Okay. You keep quiet, and you might get out of here alive. Got it?" The scavie
nodded eagerly. "You're a fast learner," Ryan noted approvingly. "Most people
screw up and say 'Yeah.' Can't seem to keep their mouths shut."
The travelers split into two teams, with J.B. and Dean staying in the corridor to
keep an eye on the scavie. Doc and Jak took one end, Ryan, Mildred and Krysty
the other. The rooms and corridors were laid out in a simple rectangle shape. They
passed a cryo lab, a suite of empty hospital beds, a single nonfunctioning elevator,
a front reception area with long dead phones and other such hardware and a
sizable hole that Adrian had blown into the wall for admittance. No armory, no
food and no supplies, except for a small first-aid kit Mildred found in a bedside
drawer.
"Got J.B. some adhesive bandages at least," she announced. "There's a brand-new
box in the kit."
"It's not a redoubt," Ryan said. "Just like J.B. predicted back in the gateway."
"Feels and smells more like a hospital," Mildred observed.
"Perhaps we need to question our new friend. I wonder how long he's been down
here anyway?" Krysty said.
"Blast in the wall looks fresh," Ryan replied, picking up a chunk of concrete.
"New grit on the ground from the explosion. Our timing might have been better or
we might just be unlucky. I'd say the guy with the beard hasn't been stumbling
around in here for very long."
"Could've done without him and those stickies. He probably brought them in here
in the first place," Mildred said.
When the two groups had converged, the scavie suggested adjourning to the cryo
room, away from the smell of the fire the muties had set and the stench of death
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20-%20Freedom%20Lost%20(v1.0)%20[html].html (71 of 278) [12/28/2004 1:02:28 AM]
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_41_-_Freedom_Lost
where the dead stickies had fouled themselves as they died. Ryan agreed, wanting
to get the man away from the still intact and working gateway as quickly as
possible.
They talked as they walked to the labs. The newcomer seemed to take particular
delight in discovering Ryan had a son. His own boy was down south in Georgia
with his mother and her kin.
"Guess you can say she left me. Her loss, as well as my own. Glad to meet all of
you. I'm Alton, Alton Adrian. I guess you heard the explosion. That's what
brought you down here."
"Uh, right," Ryan improvised. "The explosion. Made my eardrums pop."
Adrian shrugged. "I overdid it. Not a demo man. Better too much than too little."
"Not always," J.B. replied. "Can bring the roof in on your head."
"I'll remember that. Well, I owe you, I guess. I'd be chilled for sure if those
stickies had got their hands on me. I've got squatter's rights, so I'm claiming half,
you all can divvy up the other part between yourselves. Fair?"
Ryan frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Scavenge the cryo spots. Try and thaw a few of the freezies, see what valuables
they decided to hang on to during their stay in the cooler."
"Yeah. We were looking like anyone else," Ryan said gamely. If the man wanted
to think they were fellow ghouls, so much the better. Such beliefs saved questions,
including the big one of how they'd gotten into this area in the first place.
"I didn't think anyone else knew about this hidden level but me. I got sloppy and
used too much plas ex. Muties must've heard just like your group did and followed
me down here. Good thing you came along."
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20-%20Freedom%20Lost%20(v1.0)%20[html].html (72 of 278) [12/28/2004 1:02:28 AM]
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_41_-_Freedom_Lost
"Timing is everything," Krysty said with a smile.
"Don't I know it," he replied, reluctantly pulling his eyes away from Krysty's
beauty to peer back at Ryan and J.B.
"Listen, Cawdor, don't take this wrong, but you and your pal there are two of the
most curious-looking fellows I ever seen around here. The stories Abe told me
didn't say you had such weird coloration."
Doc cackled. "I take it you are in awe of their dusky pigmentation."
"Say what?" Alton asked.
"Their skin, man! You are talking about their skin!" Doc replied.
"Yeah. Take the lady doctor here," Alton said, gesturing to Mildred, who was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]