“Which makes them ten times more dangerous,” Ryan said, then stopped talking. A low singing came from a large squat building with star-shaped windows.
“That looks like their temple,” Doc ventured hesitantly. “Maybe we caught them on Sunday services.”
“Odd windows,” Jak said. “Worship sky, mebbe.”
“It’s probably been a long time since they last saw the stars,” Mildred agreed. “If ever.”
Raising an open hand for silence, Ryan listened carefully. He could hear voices from most of the buildings to their right. Sounded like dozens of villagers, maybe more. But to their left they could hear only faint animal grunts.
“Head for the barnyard,” Ryan ordered, creeping forward through the shadows. “There’s too many locals to chance a raid. Runts or not, a hundred can easily kill five.”
Staying in the boulders, the companions started toward the left when a horrible smell began to infuse the atmosphere. The stink was easily identifiable as raw sewage, and soon they found themselves ankle deep in a gooey field dotted with tiny white sprouts, then grayish balls and finally huge mushrooms almost a foot high.
“Dinner,” Jak said with a grin, stuffing mushrooms into his shirt. A few of the smaller sprouts went directly into his mouth. Two chews and he swallowed. The flavor was a bit salty, but tasted wonderful.
Mildred plucked a mushroom and inspected it closely. “These are okay to eat,” she said, then greedily stuffed it whole into her mouth. Even raw it was wonderful.
“Mmm,” J.B. mumbled around a mouthful, harvesting handfuls and stuffing them into his carpetbag with the Molotov cocktails.
Trying one himself, Ryan grunted his agreement and started yanking up the largest mushrooms. Ripping off the dirty stalks, he slid just the clean tops into his pants. After boot soup, damn near anything would taste great.
Filling the pockets of his frock coat, Doc smiled. “Hunger is the best sauce, my friend.”
“Fucking A,” Jak agreed wholeheartedly.
After taking as much as they could comfortably carry, the companions continued toward the farm. Mushrooms were good, but you couldn’t live off them. Damn near no vitamins at all in the tasty fungus. Reaching a spot near the low wall, one by one the companions darted out of hiding and raced across the open field of stone. The jagged crystal bits sparkled dangerously on top of the wall, but they easily jumped over and resumed positions in the shadows at the base.
When they were all inside, Ryan led the way along the wall, the companions staying low where the darkness was thick. It occurred to Mildred that these might be shadows to them, but brightly lit areas to the runts. But before she could communicate the idea, Ryan called a halt as they reached a ring of small stalagmites rising close to one another. Inside the stony picket fence was a breathing sea of hairy bodies, naked pink tails whipping about as the sleeping horde squeaked and rubbed comfortably against their fat neighbors.
“We were right. This is a ranch,” Ryan stated. “Just common rats. No signs of the big crabs.”
“Mayhap the wall is for the crabs,” Doc suggested. “To keep out the predators. I used to live on a farm, and there was no greater cursed thief than a fox stealing a chicken.”
“Good, then rats lazy,” Jak said eagerly, moving past both of the men. Going to the fence, the teenager darted out a hand and grabbed a rat, slitting its throat with a knife. The rodent barely squeaked before it died. Stuffing the body into a carpetbag slung over his shoulder, the teenager proceeded to catch and kill as many as he could before the fat sleepy rats got wise and moved away from his lethal hands.
“Sixteen,” Jak said with pride, patting the bag. “Fresh meat tonight.” With those words, the companions went motionless as something walked from the shadows. It was a runt.
Wearing a loincloth and soft boots covered with fringe, the mutie stood barely three feet tall. His skin was white to the point of being transparent, and blue veins were clearly discernible. His hands possessed elongated fingers, and both of his oversized eyes were a pale pink in color. Long black hair was tied with leather thongs on top of his head in two bushy tufts.
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