Hellbenders

Doc gave a sly grin. “That’s precisely why. You see, my dear sir, I would consider that you are, quite reasonably, testing us in some manner. If that is so, then the onus is on me, as the most physically frail seeming of the group, to prove that we will—every last one of us—be able to pull our weight when the time comes for action. Therefore, what better way to do this than to take part in such a mission.”

Correll said nothing for a moment, instead levelly gazing at Doc. Finally, he spoke. “You use a lot of words to say something, but when you get there it makes sense. Okay, Dr. Tanner, you can join the recce party.”

It was a two-day trek from the redoubt to Charity, and as soon as the meeting was concluded, the party began to prepare. To get there, scout and return would take a total of five days, leaving them with only the sixth day to rest, recuperate and report before the attack.

It would take two days to make the trek as they would be going by foot to avoid detection by any sec patrols or passing wags on their way to either of the villes. Even in the wastelands they would traverse, it would be easier to hide on foot than if they were in a wag. The objective was to avoid attracting attention, either by being noticed or by having to chill any passing wag, which may then be missed and spark an alarm.

So it was that the three companions who joined with the four Hellbenders found themselves being kitted out for desert survival by Jenny, the Native American who was in charge of both the armory and stores. She gave them self-heats and water canteens, and each had an individual tent made of a lightweight material with a thin, tubular metal frame that folded up into a light backpack.

“This is a most splendid thing,” Doc commented as he unraveled and examined the tent, pointedly ignoring the hostile stare he received from the Native American woman. “I must admit, I’ve never come across anything like this in any of the other stores.”

Jenny gave him a quizzical look, the hostility momentarily dissipating. “You’ve seen other places like this?” she asked.

Remembering that Ryan had said nothing of the other bases, allowing Correll to draw his own conclusions about where they came from, Doc refused to be drawn. “We’ve seen many places,” he commented elliptically, “and perhaps if you had seen what we have, then you may have a more tolerant attitude to what happens,” he chided.

The Native American stopped for a moment, considering what Doc had said, before nodding to herself. “Okay,” she murmured to the older man, “you and me can talk more about this when you get back. Mebbe you can make me see your point of view.”

Doc joined the others in the party, who had already been kitted out by the redoubt’s quartermaster. Jak and Dean weren’t surprised by what Doc had achieved, but the four Hellbenders were amazed.

“Tell you something,” commented the wiry and small Mik, sniffing as he spoke, “that’s a rarity, that is, getting her to crack her face and stop being so sour.”

Lonnie pulled an amused face. “Yeah, but you only say that ’cause she won’t let you fuck her.”

“That’s got nothing to do with it,” Mik retorted with a dirty laugh.

“Yeah, laugh now, ’cause this ain’t gonna be much fun,” interjected the nervous, wiry teenager Danny.

The conversation died, and the other three Hellbenders stared at the youth.

“Well, it’s true, ain’t it?” he said defensively. “This is not going to be fun, y’know?”

“We know, but you don’t have to make a big deal of it,” Tilly said, her dark eyes flashing anger. “You’re always on such a down, boy.”

“Never mind that now,” Lonnie said calmly. “We need to get going.” He turned to the three companions. “We’ll take a route that leads us down the far side of the rock, and then circle the hot spots.”

“Hot spots?” Dean queried.

“There’s two kinds out there. Some of them are still holding a lot of rad blasting in there, and there ain’t shit that lives in those. And the others are sun hot spots, where it just gets too hot to move, and there’s no cover. Ain’t no way that we could even carry enough water to make up for the amount of dehydration we’d get there. It makes it a kinda roundabout route, but it’s got less danger attached.”

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