S.T.Y.X. SHOWDOWN (S.T.Y.X. Humanhive Book 4) by Arthur Stone

Author:Arthur Stone [Stone, Arthur]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

***

The road was indeed there, just like Pastor had said it would be, only further down the slope, obscured by a particularly dense stretch of fossilized brush. In fact, just about everything the man was saying turned out to be true so far, putting Karat in a fairly untenable position he had never experienced before. In a strange case of unity and struggle of opposites, he trusted the man and distrusted him at the same time. Then again, Pastor was by far the most complicated man he had come across in his entire life, both in the old world and in the Hive.

To be sure, the seldom travelled dirt road was a far cry from the town’s ideal tarmac and Karat did have to push again a couple of times, but the last stretch proved to be glorious. Having gained quite some momentum, they rolled across the border, into the green cluster where the road continued uninterrupted, and covered at least another hundred yards before stopping in the middle of a well-grazed pasture. In it, anywhere Karat could see, there were piles of sun-bleached bones dotting the landscape.

“You did not mention any grazing lands,” Karat said, looking around.

“I have never seen any cows here before, nor heard of any,” Pastor shrugged. “It may well have been a seasonal pasture where it came from, and perhaps the most recent reset chanced upon one of those moments.”

“Either way, it looks like the shepherd has had himself quite a feast here,” Karat grumbled. “Except how did he even handle the cows initially? He must have been a fresh empty. No teeth, no claws, no nothing. No strength or running ability either.”

“He may have had some other food available at first, and then, once he made runner, chasing down cows would no longer be a problem. But either way, I don’t see any reasons for concern here. If it’s just one individual, it’s not a big deal. The thing wouldn’t have had a chance yet to turn into an elite.”

“And why not? Didn’t you say this place has long reset periods?”

“It may or may not have them. The worst thing about this cluster is that it’s unpredictable. Sometimes it resets as quickly as in a couple of weeks, sometimes it’s months, but more often than not it is indeed a year or more. This happens pretty often with all these oases lost among the dead clusters. It’s almost as if the very machinery that makes the Hive work has been affected by the blackness. And we don’t quite know yet why or how. But either way, it doesn’t really matter. Whatever that thing may happen to be, it’s just one ghoul. We’ll handle it. As for now, how about we let our passengers out for a bit? Seeing green and breathing fresh air will help them regain their sanity.”

Karat didn’t quite think the idea was particularly timely. The sun was approaching its highest point, and they were smack in the open, with no shade anywhere.

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