City of the Cyborgs (3 page)

Josh was excited. “Rainor, why didn’t you tell us this at once?”

Rainor shook his head. “These are dangerous times. Not everyone is friendly to Goél, and some people are pretenders. I see that you are not. In some places where I have been, it is worth your life to confess that Goél is your leader.”

“We know that is true,” Dave said. “As a matter of fact, if you were an enemy of Goél, you could have killed us all by now.”

“I could have done that, but fortunately for you I believe in him.”

Sarah asked, “Where’s your home, Rainor?”

But Rainor seemed reluctant to talk about his home. “Tell me who you are, instead,” he said.

“We are often called the Seven Sleepers,” Josh told him.

Rainor nodded. “I suspected as much. We have heard tales of you. But I thought you would be much older.”

“Everybody does.” Josh shrugged and smiled. “Do you want to hear our story?”

“Yes. I do.”

Josh settled back and began to tell their tale. “I was born in Oldworld,” he began, “and before the great war came, I was put in a sleep capsule. That’s an invention that can keep a person alive for many years …”

Rainor listened, his eyes fixed on Josh’s face. He
did not interrupt, and his blue eyes glowed with interest as Josh continued to relate the history of the Sleepers.

“… and so we woke up in Nuworld—and were things ever changed!”

“Changed how?”

“In almost every way. For one thing, geography was changed from the way it was before. The continents were all shifted around.”

Josh told about their experiences with Goél, and then said, “You’ve saved our lives, Rainor, and I can tell you that Goél will be most grateful.”

“We
certainly are,” Sarah said.

“Is there anything we could do for you in return?” Josh asked.

The question seemed to grab at Rainor. He started to speak, then changed his mind. “We will talk in the morning,” he said. “Now it is time to get some sleep.”

Everyone got ready to lie down for the night. They recognized the wisdom of Rainor’s words.

There were still miles to go, but Josh was hopeful. “Rainor’s a follower of Goél,” he said wonderingly. “He could lead us out of this desert. Everything’s going to be all right.”

“I think you’re exactly right, Josh,” Jake muttered. “Rainor is just what we needed.”

“Right!” Dave agreed sleepily.

“Sure,” Reb spoke up. “He’s just the ticket. Why, I knew a fellow like him once who—”

“None of your tall tales tonight, Reb,” Josh said quickly. “We’ve got a ways to go tomorrow. So let’s get some sleep.”

L
ittle was left of the antelope, which had been a rather tiny beast to begin with. But when dawn came, Sarah and Abbey divided up the remaining roast among the travelers. It amounted to only a few mouthfuls for each. Rainor refused to eat anything.

Sarah, who been watching him, whispered to Josh, “He’s got a big hurt of some kind, Josh. I think you ought to talk to him.”

After a while, Josh cleared his throat and said, “Rainor, you started to tell us something last night. I’d asked if we could help you in any way.” He hesitated, then said, “We’re very grateful to you. What can we do for you?”

Rainor was sitting on the earth, staring down at the ground. He remained silent for such a long time that Josh began to wonder if he would ever speak. But then he lifted his head, and there was sadness on his features. “I hate to ask favors,” he said.

Wash spoke up at once. “No problem. We all need a helping hand from time to time.”

“Sure,” Jake said. “Just tell us what it is. We’ll be glad to help.”

“Why, shore!” Reb chimed in. “We’d have been right up the flue if you hadn’t come along.”

Abbey smiled. She seemed in a good humor despite her lack of makeup. “Go on, what is it, Rainor? Tell us. We’ll be glad to do anything we can for you.”

Every Sleeper assured Rainor of their willingness to help.

Rainor seemed to come to a decision. He took a deep breath and said, “All right. I’ll tell you my story, and then you can decide.”

“You can give us time to decide, but I’ll tell you right now if it’s in our power, we’ll do it,” Josh said quickly.

Rainor picked up a stick and began to trace a design in the sand at his feet. “I was to be married,” he said very quietly, “to a girl named Mayfair.”

“What a beautiful name!” Abbey cried.

“Yes, and she is as beautiful as her name. Her mother is a widow, a wealthy widow. She objected to our marriage.”

“Why would she do that?” Abbey asked eagerly. Abbey was always sensing a love story.

“Oh, it’s not a very original story.” Rainor grimaced. “I’m a poor man, and Mayfair’s family is very wealthy. There was a rich man who wanted to marry her.”

“And her mother wanted her to marry him, I suppose,” Sarah said.

“As I said, it’s not a very original story.”

“What happened then?” Abbey asked.

“Well, Mayfair and I hoped that we could change her mother’s mind, but we never had a chance.”

From off in the distance, Josh could hear a wild desert dog howling. It gave him a sudden chill, and he shivered slightly. “So what happened, Rainor?” he asked quietly.

“Her mother thought that if she sent Mayfair away, she would forget about me. So that is what she decided to do. Her mother has a brother who lives in the Land of Danier.”

“Where’s that? I don’t know this country,” Josh said.

“Over that way.” Rainor pointed. “A very nice place from what I hear, but you have to travel through Grobundia to get there.”

“Isn’t there any way
around
this wretched place?” Dave asked, looking bleakly at the wasteland around them.

“It would take a long time. There are mountains, and you have to go around
them
. They’re too high for travelers to climb.”

“Well, then, did her mother send your sweetheart away?” Abbey asked, leaning forward. Her eyes were large with excitement.

“Yes, she did. With two guards and a female companion. But that didn’t protect her.” Even deeper sadness came over Rainor then, and he bit his lip.

Josh could tell that he was highly troubled.

“What is it? Did something happen to her along the way?” Abbey whispered.

“Something happened, but nobody knows what. Mayfair simply disappeared.”

“Did she never get to her uncle’s house?”

“Never. A message came from him that she did not arrive. So her mother became frantic, and so did I.”

“What did she do to find her?” Josh asked.

“She hired men to go out and search. But they seemed to disappear, too.” He looked straight at Josh then, and his lips grew white. “Then one of them made it back—just two weeks ago.”

“What did he say?” Wash asked curiously.

“He didn’t say anything that made sense.”

“What do you mean?” Dave asked, a puzzled look on his face. He too leaned forward. “Did he tell you what happened to Mayfair?”

“The man was crazy. Downright insane,” Rainor said. “He had lost his mind. Nobody could get any sense at all out of him.”

Josh ran a hand through his hair. “That’s a bad one,” he said. “What did you do then?”

“That man was the only clue we had as to what happened to Mayfair—even though he didn’t make sense,” Rainor said. “I decided to stay with him night and day. And let me tell you, it was a job! He had a strange wound on his forehead, as if he had been struck with something. I think that’s what took away his reason.”

“Did he say anything at all about Mayfair?” Dave asked.

“He mentioned her name. But as I said, nothing he said made any sense at all. I stayed with him. All the time. I even tried to write down all the strange things he said.”

“What were some of them?”

“He talked a lot about slaves. And he talked about ‘One.’”

“One what?” Josh asked.

“That’s it. He just kept saying, ‘One,’ over and over again. Never ‘Two.’ Always just ‘One.’”

“That sure doesn’t make any sense, all right,” Reb said with a bewildered frown. “What did you do then?”

“It was a weary time—a weary time! But little by little I began to get some sense out of him. After days of listening to his babbling and writing down all I could, I finally put together a kind of story. Though I still don’t know what to make of it.”

“Tell us about it,” Josh urged. “Maybe we can all help.”

“Well, he started talking about some strange people,
and he called them cyborgs. He seemed afraid, as though just the thought of them terrified him.”

“We’ve seen a few strange ones in our time,” Josh said. “We wouldn’t let that stop us.”

“What did he mean, do you suppose? How were these people strange?” Jake asked. His eyes were intent on Rainor.

“He never said.”

“He didn’t say anything to explain?” Sarah probed. “Surely he must have said more than that.”

“Every time he mentioned the name cyborgs, he would freeze up. Then he would talk about ‘One.’ But finally I got out of him that he had learned what happened to Mayfair. It had something to do with cyborgs. And he himself had almost been killed. The best I can make out of it is that he became a prisoner of these cyborgs, whatever they are. And that’s all I know.”

“Not much to go on, is it?” Josh said gloomily.

“No. And I’ve been very discouraged.” Rainor’s lips tightened, and he clenched his fists. “But I’m going to find Mayfair if I die in the doing of it!”

“And you want us to help you. Is that it?” Josh asked.

Rainor hesitated. “It is, perhaps, too much to ask. I am bound for the City of the Cyborgs, but I have little hope. I’m only one man, and there are, I believe, many of them. You ask if I need help, and I say yes.”

Josh glanced around and saw sympathy in every face. “So what would you have us do, Rainor?”

Rainor took a deep breath. “If the tales that I’ve heard of the Seven Sleepers—some of them from your own lips—are true, I think you are the only help I may hope to find. Come with me to the City of the Cyborgs and help me recover Mayfair.”

A silence fell over the group, and Rainor’s gaze went from face to face. He got up suddenly and said, “I see it is too much to ask. Talk it over, and I will understand if you refuse. I will go on alone if I must.”

They all watched Rainor walk away and stand at a distance, a strong figure but with his shoulders drooping.

“I don’t know how to handle this one,” Josh admitted. “What does Goél want us to do?”

“I don’t see what there is to handle,” Abbey said quickly. “We’ve always helped people when they needed help.”

“But the few times we’ve gone to help somebody without direct orders from Goél,” Josh said, “it’s been real serious, and we’ve made some mistakes.”

“That’s right,” Dave said put in. “The poor guy needs help, but Goél may have an even more important job for us somewhere else.”

“But Goél’s not here,” Reb said. “If he were, all we’d have to do is ask him. Since he’s not here saying anything, I expect he just wants us to use our common sense.”

“After all,” Wash said, looking thoughtful. “Rainor did save our lives. But …”

“That’s right,” Josh said. “He did. And that makes me a little more inclined to go with him.” He gnawed at his lower lip. “But I’ve made some mistakes as a leader. I’d sure hate to make another one.”

The discussion went on for some time. Abbey and Reb were for going at once, but Jake was somewhat cautious. “I feel sorry for Rainor, and I’d like to help him,” Jake said. “But how can we be sure it’s what we should do?” he asked finally.

“I sort of like Reb’s idea,” Sarah said. “When there’s
no direct command from Goél, we use our common sense. And in this case, it does seem like common sense to help.”

At last Reb said, “I know only one thing to do. We’ll take a vote.”

“Majority rules?” Jake asked.

“Majority rules. There are seven of us. If four say go, we go.”

“All right. Take the vote,” Jake said.

Josh took a deep breath. “I don’t like having to make decisions like this.”

“May be the best way this time, Josh,” Sarah said sensibly.

“Well, all in favor of helping Rainor, raise your hand.” Josh saw Reb, Abbey, and Wash raise their hands immediately. “All opposed.” Slowly and a little reluctantly Sarah, Dave, and Jake raised their hands.

“Oh, fine!” Josh groaned. “A tie.”

“You’re right back where you started from, Josh,” Sarah said gently. “You’re the leader, so you have to make the decision and break the tie.”

Josh clawed at his hair. He was tired and dirty, and his back still burned. He longed to find a place of safety and just turn everything over to Goél. But he said, “All right. I guess I knew I’d have to do this all the time.” He stood up and called, “Rainor!”

The blond young man came back with apprehension across his lean face. “What have you decided?” he asked anxiously.

Josh said, “We will go with you to the City of the Cyborgs.”

It looked for a moment as if Rainor would cry, but he forced himself to say quietly, “I will be forever in your debt, and so will Mayfair.”

“All right. We’ve got to pull out at once,” Josh said, “and we’ve got to find some weapons somewhere. We can’t go to the City of the Cyborgs like this.”

“According to the information I have, there’s a village not ten miles from here. We could get there before dark.” Rainor looked around at them, and for the first time a warm smile came to his lips. His entire face brightened, and he said, “I had given up on finding anyone with goodness, but you have given me hope. Come, Seven Sleepers, we go to the City of the Cyborgs.”

“Right!” Josh still felt worried, but he took a deep breath and added, “Everyone get ready for whatever comes—and we know it might not be pleasant.”

“Let ’er rip!” Reb cried out. “We’re on our way!”

R
ainor seemed an entirely different man as he led the Sleepers on through the desert. He had a map, and he was excellent at following it. Early that morning he killed another small antelope, and they stopped long enough to roast it. As they ate, he talked a great deal about Mayfair.

“He loves her so much,” Abbey whispered to Sarah.