The Seraph Engine (Old Chrome Book 1) by I.O. Adler

Author:I.O. Adler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cyberpunk, tech noir, science fiction western, sci-fi western, cattlepunk, science fiction adventure, dystopian, post-apocalyptic
Publisher: Lucas Ross Publishing
Published: 2022-01-03T08:00:00+00:00

The kid bandit was already down and sleeping on one of the bed rolls, the stove out.

Miles took the lantern. The Metal Head didn’t want to let it go until Miles peeled the man’s fingers off the handle.

“I’m afraid of the dark. Your boss wants me to rest? I keep this.”

The bandit rolled his eyes, then exited the cave. From the sound of his footsteps, he wasn’t sticking around outside, a small relief if Miles was going to escape. No weapon, half blind, with at least three bots and six-plus bandits outside. Plus the kid.

The kid raised his head from his blanket. “Afraid of the dark.

That’s rich.”

“Where do you come from, kid?”

“Told you not to call me that.”

“No? And why not? You should be home in bed because there’s school tomorrow, not here, not in a dirty bunker with a bunch of criminals.”

“Put that lantern out. I’m trying to sleep.”

“Are you part of what they’re doing? I get making a score. It’s got to be tough scratching out a living. But the host is now in charge, and your clan is going to kill all those people by that train. All those folks want to do is make it to Seraph and get back to their families.”

“Well, they shouldn’t have come through this stretch of desert.”

“They didn’t know it belongs to you or the host. Should that mistake cost them their lives?”

The kid scoffed. “I don’t care about that.”

“Then what do you care about? Will you be the one who burns them down?”

“No one’s going to burn them down.”

“The host told me otherwise,” Miles said. “Maybe you don’t have to be the one pulling the trigger, but you’re part of it. I’ve seen what happens to people who go down this road. It eats them up, especially the ones who think they’re tough. It will stick to you. Sear your insides. Every day, every night.”

“You’re talking about my conscience. I don’t believe in that, either.

You’re starting to sound like my nana.”

“So you do have people. Your nana out there in the desert?”

The kid rubbed his eyes and glared irritably. “Works one of the mining camps. Copper and moly.”

“She works the pits?”

“Nah. Hospitality.”

“She know where you are?”

“It doesn’t matter. Why you asking? It’s none of your business.”

Miles raised a hand as if to soothe the kid. “Course it’s not my business. But if your nana was out there, you wouldn’t want to see her get killed just to cover over a robbery.”

“My nana would be smart enough not to get stuck like that. And if she did, then too bad for her. Enough sharing time. Turn off that lamp.”

Miles dimmed the lantern. “Sure, kid. We sleep while the grownups do the real work.”

“What do you mean?”

“Deal with the train. Handle the prisoners. Get me to Seraph.

Those are the jobs. So what’s yours? Watch the garbage pile to make sure none of it runs off? Maybe you won’t have to do any of the bad things since it looks like they’re happy leaving you behind to get your sleep.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.