Although the companions had taken several days to find the Gate, the camp was situated so that the tribe was able to make the journey in only a few hours. They were able to use routes and homing instincts that gave them an unerring sense of direction where other groups would falter.
To make the journey even quicker, the Gate used their horses and wags, the men working hard to dismantle the camp and have it ready to move while Jon worked out of the armory wag, making sure that the women were ready for the firefight ahead. He handed out laser blasters among the conventional blasters and ammo.
J.B. joined him as Tammy received her weapon. She was favoring a Smith & Wesson Airlite .38 Special, and noticed the Armorer look at her askance.
“I know, I know,” she said, “The last time you saw me with one of these, I nearly chilled Jak with a stray shot. But that was when Margia had tampered with the stock to make it kick sideward. It’s a good blaster, really.”
“And there’s no chance of me trying to chill Jak,” Jon added.
J.B. allowed himself a small smile and nodded. “How are you handing out the laser blasters?”
“Some of the women have been using them for a little while, getting used to the way they feel and fire. It’s kinda weird at first, but after you’ve used them for a while…the only problem I’ve had is working out how long the charges last, ’cause one hasn’t run out yet to give me some kind of indication.”
“Problem is, even if it did, you wouldn’t know how long it had been in use before it was taken by your people,” J.B. pointed out.
Jon agreed, adding. “I’ve made sure all those with the laser blasters have others weapons, as well, just to make sure. Anyway, you can’t use those damn things safely in a confined space.”
“Too true.” The Armorer nodded. “Need a hand?”
Jon grinned. “Yeah, sooner we get these handed out, sooner we can go, and no blasters are leaving this wag unless they’re checked.”
“Good man,” J.B. said, joining Jon at his task.
By now, Tammy and her scout parties had departed on horseback, leaving the packhorse to be loaded and reined, and the now-equipped Gate warriors to mount the wags ready to depart.
“I hope Nita doesn’t get spotted or get herself chilled before Tammy gets there,” Gloria said to Jak.
“Why should she?” the albino asked as he checked his blaster.
The queen looked up from her own blaster, the lightweight Vortak Precision Pistol, and fixed the albino with a stare.
“You are kidding, man,” she said. “You’ve seen her—big, blond, all arms and legs and shit clumsy. I swear someone must have left her outside the camp one night, ’cause she don’t fit with the rest of us.”
Jak laughed, a rare thing. Gloria felt her spirits rise at seeing her lover laugh, as she was acutely conscious that under his camou jacket, more weals and blisters were starting to rise.
Which made speed of the essence.
Ryan was waiting for Gloria on the lead wag as the queen finished her final round of the wags, sparing a few words for each of the groups of warriors, and indicated to her that they should leave. She assented as she mounted the wag, and the convoy took off for the ville of Crossroads.
Traveling in wags spread across the convoy, each of the companions marveled at the manner in which the men driving the wags were able to pilot them through the narrowest of channels in the woodlands, and scout around the hill where the landslide had taken place. A journey that had taken them days on foot was shaved to a few hours by the extra speed of the horse-drawn wags and the innate sense of direction of the tribe’s men.
Mildred was on a wag about halfway down the procession, as far as she could tell. Doc was with her, while Dean and Jak were traveling ahead. J.B. was on the armory wag with Jon. Krysty wasn’t traveling with the wags. She had joined Tammy in the advanced recon party that had gone ahead on horseback.