Zeppelins West by Joe R. Lansdale

Author:Joe R. Lansdale [Lansdale, Joe R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: SteamPunk, Fiction, Science Fiction, Airships, Technology & Engineering, Saint Louis (Mo.), Horror, Robotics, Westerns, Robots, Illustrated, Sagas, 1809-1865, Stealing, Thrillers, Islands, Monsters, Stackhouse
ISBN: 9781931081016
Publisher: Subterranean Press
Published: 2000-05-14T14:00:00+00:00

THEY CAME OUT OF THE WOODS and stood in front of the vehicle, which Tin slowed to a stop just in time to keep from running over them. They didn't seem to realize that the vehicle could crush them. There were at least twenty of them, and shortly thereafter, twenty more. Their numbers kept increasing as they slipped from the woods to surround and crowd the vehicle.

They stood like men, wore rags of clothes, but were more animal in appearance than human. Theirs were the faces of hogs, dogs, goats, bears, cows, a lion, a wolf, and even one reptilian face. Some of them seemed to be two or three animals blended.

Yet, their bodies were different from their animal sources. There was a greater intelligence about them, a deeper curiosity. They ran their hands over the vehicle, sniffed at it. Their hands sometimes had five fingers and a thumb, sometimes not.

Several of them climbed up on the wooden bed, sniffed at the prone body of the monster.

"We thought you were bringing us another man." said the one who looked like a wolf. His yellow eyes were intense, and his lips dripped foam. "We have not had a new man among us in some time."

Tin and Jack had gotten out of the truck. Jack was carrying a coiled whip in his hands.

When the creatures saw it, they cowered instinctively.

"There is no man here," Jack said. "Not like you, anyway."

"Yes, this is another man," Tin said. "He has been hurt. We are taking him to the doctor."

"To the House of Discomfort?" asked the Wolf.

"No, Sayer of the Law," said Tin. "He is to be treated for wounds. He has done nothing wrong."

"And who are these men?" asked Sayer of the Law. "Are they the creations of the Lord Father?"

"Yes," Tin said quickly. "We are all the creations of the Lord Father Momo."

The wolf creature, Sayer of the Law, moved closer to Tin, said, "If this is so, and if this man," he gestured toward the unconscious monster, "is not of the Father, then who is he of? And if he is of other than the Father, then is the Father not the father of all?"

"He is," Tin said. "But there are some things too complicated to explain. He is the father of this man, as he is your father. That is all you need to know."

"Then if he is of the Father," said the Sayer of the Law, "and he is being returned to the Father, then he has violated the Law, and he should be punished in the House of Discomfort. Is that not the Law?"

"Of course," said Tin. "But first the Father will make him well, then he will punish him."

The creatures were silent. They gathered in a semi-circle, moved close to Tin and Jack.

"Say the law!" Jack bellowed, and cracked his whip. The creatures jumped back, snarling.

Jack cracked it again.

"Sayer of the Law," he said. "Recite the law." With head bent, the Sayer began to recite:

"Not to go on all fours; that is the law.

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