Wasteland Blues by Scott Christian Carr & Andrew Conry-Murray

Author:Scott Christian Carr & Andrew Conry-Murray [Carr, Scott Christian]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Dog Star Books
Published: 2014-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

He squinted in the daylight, and then recognized the old man. “Hi, Youslus. How come you got Der-Der’s gun? You oughtn’t to have that. Der-Der gets mad.”

“Now listen to me very carefully, Teddy,” said Youslus calmly and slowly. “I want you to do exactly as I say. Don’t make any sudden moves. Just sit and listen to my instructions. If you leap up or try and attack me, I’ll put both barrels into you.” With a double click, Youslus pulled back the twin hammers of Derek’s gun.

Teddy thought for a moment, then turned and saw his brother and his companions. He looked at them curiously.

“Why you chained up, Der-Der? You been bad?”

“We’re in trouble, Teddy. All of us,” said Derek. “You just sit tight and do like Youslus tells you. Otherwise, he might hurt us.”

Teddy turned back to Youslus, confusion in his eyes, but he didn’t move.

Youslus smiled. “Good, that’s good. Things will be so much pleasanter if we cooperate. Now Teddy, you go on into the cave. Toward the back you’ll find a big old cart. I want you to drag it out here.”

***

Teddy emerged from the cave wheeling a flatbed dolly loaded with heavy equipment. When he returned to the group, Leggy saw what looked to be a generator among the gear, though bigger than any he’d ever seen before. There was also a large metal cylinder, about three-quarters as high as a man, and thick as a telephone pole. At one end it had hand grips that stuck out from it like the stubby arms of a crucifix. At the other end gleamed a metal shaft that tapered to a thick point. The cylinder was connected to the generator by a length of thick, black cable.

Youslus was quivering with excitement. “This is Stone Biter,” he said, gesturing at the strange device. “That’s what my daddy called it, anyway. It’s a mechanical hammer. They used them in the Before Times to pulverize rock and stone, to drill holes in the ground, to break up concrete, to build cities and break mountains. We found it in the first bunker.

“My father knew what it was, and he told me how quickly it could speed our work. But something’s wrong with the motor. In here.” He tapped the generator casing. “Daddy and I never could get it to work. We tampered with it off and on for years, but we just don’t know machines very well. Do we Daddy?” Youslus looked off into the sky.

“For twenty years it’s sat in the cave, untouched. Just think about that—twenty years of possessing a magnificent tool that you could never use? Imagine havin’ an itch you couldn’t scratch…for twenty years! A body might just go crazy.”

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