"They Eat Metal" Part III

Run To The Hills

The Tiles were originally farmlands. They were divided into squarish blocks. The uranium plant leeched of the fertility and converted it to a white sand desert. Horse had enough fuel to circumnavigate the planet. He had looked for scrap metal that he could sell but there was not one piece in sight.

The trouble started once he stepped off the Tiles. Horse first noticed that he was being followed when he stopped for a drink of water. There was not much of an attempt to hide. The first one to appear was shot immediately. It just stood to the side of the path. Horse did not pay it any attention. Soon, he realized that quite a bunch of them had started following him. 

Horse quickened his pace. He could see the tavern.

Then it happened. A scream tore the noisome silence. Horse ran.

He could feel them race after him. Through the corners of his eyes he could see them running in parallel tracks, hiding among houses and seeking him on the open road. The hill loomed ahead. Horse drew a blaster and fired a few shots. Each one hit its target. It was a long and tough run and Horse was never built for running.

All the spiders had the same pitch black eyes. There was no time for sympathy. Horse got ready to do what he did best.
The only trick he knew. Kill.

Horse lifted the girl in his right hand and started firing with his left. Slowly, he started running backwards. All shot down. Yet, there were more. His blaster seemed to be running out. He hurled a flash bang. That stopped them.

Horse, turned and ran, for his life. He reached the top of the hill just as he thought his lungs would burst and his legs would catch fire. Scott, his bike, was primed to go. He popped in a feed into the engine compartment, checked the navsat and sat on the bike. He strapped the kid in, jumped on the bike and took off.  

As he was gliding over the Tiles, he heard it first. The sound was unmistakable.

A sound of metal being eaten.

He looked over his shoulder to see the girl eating the interim stabilizer. Disbelief changed to horror as the girl opened her mouth wide and latched on to his arm. The pain was unbearable. The bike rolled in mid air. The bike flew into the plant. He had landed on the Tiles. The girl had fallen next to him. She was staring hungrily at his gun. The girl crawled towards the gun. It was him or her. A single tear appeared on his cheek. He shot her. The gun gave a mournful ping. He was almost out of ammunition.

Horse examined his arm where the girl had bitten him. He was a cyborg. All dragoons were. As he looked at the corpse of the little girl, he remembered the barman’s words. He realized where all the metal inside the plant had gone. With mounting horror, Horse saw another girl in one of the barn windows. A boy near the plant door. He could hear little feet murmuring.

The girl had playmates. Currently, the guests were arriving and he was dinner.

"They Eat Metal" Part II

Out On The Tiles

Horse walked on and on.
He always liked tracking when he was a Dragoon. He left before he got used to the killing. He thought himself better than that. He was not a coward.
He had, famously, stared down a Never-been and, rumored to have, sliced a Rakkaruk belly from the inside. He was there when Silent Bay was taken and the last Child of Pestilence was slain. Green’s rebellion changed him. The System lost its charm and the Dragoons lost their power. Now, he was on his own.

Some say, that is how he was born.
The Tiles covered more than half of the planet. Eerie noises, unsightly apparitions and grim memory ghouls accompanied him wherever he went. This time however he sensed he had some human company. Horse took advantage of the intermittent gas curtains and hid behind a large rock on the path. He waited and then jumped out with his blaster drawn. A little girl stood before him. She was black like the barman and that was enough for Horse to assume that she must have been his daughter.
Horse turned around. The girl walked up beside him and held on to his coat. Staring out at the desolate landscape, in front of him, Horse saw a Lone Planeteer travel aid. It was cranky and seemed on verge of dying. Horse checked its batteries and found none. Suddenly, the screen blinked to life.
“Welcome to *brrk* Fall. This is Elk. Deacon Colesmith *bzzt* sheriff. The chief occupation here is *krzzk* elk herding. The uranium farms are mostly located on the Tiles *krrkztt* Thank you. Mind you, it is the season of death in these parts. You watch your back.”
He did not know which season it was. With one thing and mostly another, he hadn't been to these parts. Somewhere behind him, humanely inaudible over the turbulent winds there was a faint scuttling sound. Quick as a whip, he whirled, blasters drawn and fired. There was a sharp, metallic thunk, followed by a gurgling noise. As the airs cleared, he could see his target. 
A spider. 
Obsidian eyes that were bereft of any emotion. There was a gaping hole where ‘its’ absent heart should have been. He recognized a predator when he saw one. The girl tugged on his coat. Fear was a reflex for her.
Horse walked to the plant. It was pretty deserted. The door was open. Darkness prevailed inside and he could smell fungus and danger. It was a long way between here and his ride.
Horse stepped inside. The door did not close of its own accord. There were no creepy shadows lurking. There was not a soul in sight.
That should have been his first clue.

"They Eat Metal" Part I

A Horse Walks Into A Bar

A trail of ruinous dust, looking like a galaxy, billowed at his back when he walked into the territory. The spurs on his boots clinked together. His coat was ordinary army issue but with a few tribal patterns. His moustache was of the finest material.

He had reined in his mount at Drake’s Fall. A mouth to feed and water was his only concern. Covering Scott with a blanket, he adjusted his gas mask, put on his hat and walked into the path leading to the tiny settlement called Elk. He pulled his coat tighter around him and walked on into the green, pernicious fumes.

A tavern found him.

The Goat’s Left Eye was so named because of an enormous left eye that hung off the tavern’s left wall. There was no one in the tavern except for Tam and this big gun he was pointing at the newcomer.

“Well, well. A customer and a stranger at that. Tell me why I shouldn’t blow your head off your shoulders.”

“Strikes me I could ask the same question of you, par’ner.” 

Tam observed that the newcomer was also pointing one of his blasters at him.

“Ok, at least you are human. They wouldn’t react this way. They eat metal, you know? Still some identification would go a long way.”

The newcomer laid down his badge on the bar and sat down on one of the dusty stools. He grabbed a flagon and helped himself to some of the tap beer.

“So, yer name is Horse, eh? Never heard that one before. And yer a Dragoon. Never liked one of those ever.”

“Your beer tastes like Rakkaruk piss.”

“Why, thank you! And for this compliment, I’ll give you some free advice. Turn back and leave immediately. I have never liked you Dragoons, tools of the System.”

“The same System that left you to die here. Don’t forget that part. My mount needs some hay and as soon as I get it, I’ll be off. Any one in the village?”

“There ain't no hay here. There might be folk on the Tiles. It is just us --” Tam froze mid sentence. His eyes rolled back in his head and his whole body seemed to go into a fit. He jerked around enthusiastically before falling down to the floor. Horse observed this with his usual lack of interest.

Tam was stone dead. Horse checked Tam’s pockets and found two shekels. He left them on the bar.

“That’s mighty kind of you”, muttered Horse as he began trudging his way towards the Tiles.

[continued here Part II]

Sad Stories I

Love In the time of spoilers

“So, what you mean to say is, that, if I walk out, through that door, I will find true love? And I am supposed to believe that? AM I?”

“Yes. As I told you before, I am you from the future. You will be faced with two choices. Bernard or Sam. One of those is your, our true love.”

“Okay, let us say I even believe, for a second that you are, as you say, from the future. Time travel technology doesn’t exist in my time. And you do look like an older version of me but I have seen enough James Cameron movies to not be fooled by that. Why should I believe you?”

“You just have to trust me. Take a leap, trust in me and you. Anyway, it is almost time. You should get going.”

*disappears*

“So, great. Just so fucking great. Just like me to keep me hanging with a load of romantic bullshit.”

She stepped out into reality. Sidestepped a drunk, elbowed some bitch and stared at some stranger.

As usual, she had to wait at the intersection. On the other side, there was another mass of strangers. She scanned them looking for recognition. A kind pair of blue eyes found hers. Willing herself not to blink, she smiled. He smiled back. Her 20/20 eyesight and her desperate need to believe in herself knew this was her choice. She stepped onto the road. He started walking towards her. For a magical moment, everything froze. People stopped doing people stuff, birds suspended in the autumn sky, life hit the pause button.

And then as if, someone had pulled the plug at the bottom of a sink, everything happened at once. It was peak time traffic, what else did you expect?

Bernard, who happened to be a manager at a neighborhood coffee store, was hit by a car. Samantha, who was her next door neighbor, pulled her out of harm’s way.

The rest as they say is the future.