Tale of the Dead Town (2 page)

“Bucko, what the hell are you anyway?” Pluto VIII asked the mounted youth, with a
shocked look on his face. “We’d be lucky to get away from a sand viper with a tractor
pulling us, never mind a cyborg horse. And here you go and yank us out without even
working up a sweat . . . I thought you was a mite too good-looking, but you’re not
human after all, are you?” Smacking his hands together, he exclaimed, “I’ve got it—you’re
a dhampir!”

D didn’t move. His eternally cold gaze was fixed on the moonlit reaches of the darkness,
as if seeking a safe path.

“But you don’t have anything to worry about,” the biker added. “My motto is ‘Keep
an open mind.’ It don’t matter if the folks around me have red skin or green—I don’t
discriminate. So long as they don’t do wrong by yours truly, that is. Naturally, that
includes dhampirs, too.” Pluto VIII’s voice had the ring of unquestionable sincerity
to it.

Suddenly, without glancing at the biker who seemed ready to burst with the milk of
human kindness, D asked in a low voice, “Are you ready?”

“For what?” Pluto VIII must’ve caught something in the Hunter’s disinterested tone
because his eyes went to D, then instantly swept around to the left and right, to
the fore and rear. Aside from the piece of land the three of them were on, little
black holes were forming all over the place. As sand coursed down into them the way
it does into an antlion pit, the funnel-shaped holes quickly grew larger until one
touched another, encircling the trio like the footprints of some unseen giant.

-

II

-

Son of a bitch . . . Don’t seem like this freakin’ sand viper aims to let us out of
here alive,” Pluto VIII said, the laughter strong in his voice. Sometimes a bit of
cheer came to him in the midst of utter despair, but that had nothing to do with Pluto
VIII’s laugh, still full of confidence and hope.

But how on earth could they get themselves out of this mess? It didn’t look like even
D, with all his awesome skill, could get out of these preposterously large antlion
pits. Especially since he wasn’t alone. His traveling companion had a young woman
strapped to his back, and, since she was suffering from extreme radiation poisoning,
time was of the essence.

“Hey, what do we do?” Pluto VIII asked, looking extremely interested in the answer.

“Close your eyes and duck!” came the harsh reply.

Pluto VIII didn’t have the faintest idea what was going on, but the instant he complied
the whole world filled with white light. Under the pillar of light stretching down
to the bottom of the colossal funnel, grains of sand grew super-hot, bubbled, and
cooled almost instantly into a glassy plain reflecting the moon. The pillar of light
silently stretched to the sky time and again, and, as D squinted ever so slightly
at this mixing of light and darkness, his face was at times starkly lit, at other
times deep in shadow. It seemed to go on for ages, but it couldn’t have taken more
than a few seconds. Aside from the dim, white depressions gleaming like water, the
moonlit plain was just as it’d been before—deathly still.

“Looks like an atomic blast blew the hell out the sand viper holes—melted ’em and
turned ’em to glass. Who the hell could’ve done that?” Pluto VIII asked, and then
he once again followed D’s gaze. He might’ve been well informed, but a gasp of wonder
escaped from him nonetheless.

A black shadow that seemed both circular and oblong clung to the central part of the
distant mountain range. It wasn’t on the mountain’s rocky walls. The shadowy shape
was crossing the mountain peaks. Not only that, but, as it slowly moved forward, it
was clearly coming lower as well. Taking the distance into consideration, it must’ve
been moving at a speed of twelve or thirteen miles per hour at least. It was round,
and about two miles in diameter.

“So, we have them to thank then?” Pluto VIII asked.

D gave a negligible nod. “Good thing there’s still a mobile town around equipped with
a Prometheus cannon. Incredible marksmanship, too. Our saviors got here right on schedule.”

“Well, thank heaven for that. I just hope the mayor ain’t the kind of guy who’ll expect
us to return the favor. Let’s go,” said the biker. “I don’t feel like waiting around
for the town to get here!”

The bike’s boosters roared and the thud of iron-shod hooves on earth echoed across
the plain. After they’d run at full speed for a good ten minutes, the huge black shape
floated up over the crest of a hill before them like a cloud. The bottom was covered
with spheres constructed of iron and wood, as well as with pipes. The white smoke
erupting from the latter indicated that compressed air was one of the types of energy
driving the cloud forward. And yet, how much thrust would be necessary just to move
this thing an inch? After all, this massive structure that made the earth tremble
as it came over the slope and slowly slid down it was a whole town. Even knowing that,
even seeing it up close, it was no easy task to comprehend something so awesome. The
town must’ve covered more than two square miles. On top of a massive circular base
some thirty feet high, buildings of wood, plastic, and iron were clustered together.
Between them ran streets, some straight and orderly, others twisting and capricious.
At the edge of the densely packed buildings there was a small park and a cluster of
tombstones that marked the cemetery. Of course, in addition to the residential sector,
there was everything you’d find in an ordinary village or town—a hospital, a sheriff’s
office, a jail, and a fire station. In the park, live trees swayed with the wind.

Startlingly enough, the base that supported this colossal establishment and was indispensable
in its smooth movement hovered some three feet off the ground. That wasn’t something
just compressed-air jets or rocket engines could manage. No doubt power produced by
the atomic reactor inside the base was run through a subatomic particle-converter
and changed to antigravity energy. Still, to keep the structure a good three feet
off the ground, there had to be some secret to the output of their atomic reactor
or the capacity of their converters.

The base loomed blackly before the two men, and the mechanical whoosh blew closer
and closer. A blinding light flashed down on the trio of travelers from a platform
near the iron inlay on the top edge of the base. A voice boomed over the speakers.
“What do you folks want?”

Pluto VIII pulled the microphone from his bike to his mouth and answered, “We’re travelers.
And we got an injured person here. We’d like to have a doctor take a look at ’er.
Would you let us in?”

There was silence. The searchlight continued to shine on the pair. Well-concealed
guns, no doubt, had them locked in their crosshairs. After a while, there was a reply.
“No can do. We’re not taking on any new blood. The town’s population is already thirty
percent over what our resources can support. Find yourselves another town or village.
The closest one’s twelve and a half miles from here—a place by the name of Hahiko.”

“You’ve gotta be yanking my chain!” Pluto VIII growled, pounding a fist against his
handlebars. “Who the hell’s talking about twelve and a half miles?! Look, this girl
I’ve got on my back’s been doused real bad with radiation. She couldn’t make it another
hundred yards, let alone twelve and a half miles. What are you, the freaking Nobility?!”

“Nothing you can say’s gonna make any difference,” the voice said coldly. “These orders
come from the mayor. On top of that, the girl is part of the Knight family—Lori’s
her name. Two and a half months back they left town, so we’re not about to let one
of them back in now.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about that. We got a girl in the prime of her life about
to die. What, don’t any of you have kids?”

The voice fell silent again. When another announcement rang out, it was a different
person’s voice. “We’re set to roll,” the new speaker said, “so clear the way!” And
then, sounding somewhat agitated, he added, “Hey, young fellah—you wouldn’t happen
to be named D, would you?”

The youth nodded slightly.

“Oh, you should’ve said so in the first place. I’m the one who sent for you. Mayor
Ming’s the name. Just a second and we’ll let you on board.”

Machinery groaned, the iron door rose upward, and a boarding ramp started to glide
out.

D said softly, “I’ve got some companions.”

“Companions?!” Mayor Ming’s voice quavered. “I’d always heard you were the most aloof,
independent Hunter on earth. Just when did you get these companions?”

“Earlier.”

“Earlier? You mean those two?”

“Do you see anyone else?” the Hunter asked.

“No—it’s just . . . ”

“I’ve fought side by side with them. That’s the only reason I have. But if you have
no business with me, I’ll be on my way.”

“W . . . wait a minute.” The mayor’s tone shifted from vacillating to determined.
“We can’t afford to lose you. I’ll make a special exception for them. Come aboard.”

The earth shook as the broad boarding-ramp hit the ground. Once the travelers were
on, along with the bike and the cyborg horse, the ramp began to rise once again.

“The nerve of these people and their overblown escalator,” Pluto VIII carped.

As soon as the ramp had retracted into the town’s base, an iron door shut behind them
and the two men found themselves in a vast chamber that reeked of oil. A number of
armed men in the prime of life and a gray-haired old man stood there. The latter was
more muscular in build than the men who surrounded him. Mayor Ming, no doubt. He may
have had trouble walking, as he carried a steel cane in his right hand. “Glad you
could make it,” he said. “I’m Ming.”

“Introductions can wait,” Pluto VIII bellowed. “Where’s the doctor?”

The mayor gave a nod, and two men stepped forward and unstrapped the girl—Lori—from
the biker’s back. “I imagine your companion’s more interested in eating than hearing
us talk business,” the mayor said, signaling the other men with his eyes.

“Damn straight—you read my mind. Well, I’m off then, D. See you later.”

When Pluto VIII had disappeared through a side door following his guides at his own
leisurely pace, the mayor led D to a passage-way that continued up to the next level.
The whistling of the wind seemed to know no end. All around them, ash-colored scenery
rolled by. Forests and mountains. The town was moving across Innocent Prairie, the
second of the Frontier’s great plains. Whipping the Hunter’s pitch-black cape and
tossing his long, black hair, the wind blurred the wilds around them like a distant
watercolor scene.

“How do you like the view?” Mayor Ming made a wave of one arm as if mowing down the
far reaches of the plain. “Majestic, isn’t it?” he said. Perhaps he’d taken the lack
of expression on the young man staring off into the darkness as an expression of wonder.
“The town maintains a cruising speed of twelve miles per hour. She can climb any mountain
range or cliff, so long as it’s less than a sixty-degree incline. Of course, we can
only do that when we give the engines a blanket infusion of antigravity energy. This
is how we always guarantee our five hundred residents a safe and comfortable journey.”

“A comfortable journey, you say?” D muttered, but his words might not have reached
the mayor’s ears. “That’s fine, as long as wherever you’re headed is safe and comfortable,
too. What do you want with me?”

The Hunter’s hair flew in the wind that howled across the darkened sky. They were
standing on an observation platform set at the very front of the town. If this had
been a ship, it would’ve been the bow—or perhaps the prow. Jutting as it did from
the top of the town’s base, it seemed like it’d be the perfect spot to experience
wind and rain and all the varied aspects of the changing seasons.

“Don’t you care how that girl Lori’s doing?” the mayor asked, ignoring D’s inquiry.

“Stick to business.”

“Hmm. A man who can slice a laser beam in two, who’s discarded all human emotion .
. . You’re just like the stories make you out to be. I don’t care how thick the Noble
blood runs in you dhampirs, you could stand to act a tad more human.”

D turned to leave.

“Come now. Don’t go yet. Aren’t you the hasty one,” the mayor called, not seeming
particularly overanxious. “There’s only one reason anyone ever calls a Vampire Hunter—and
that’s for killing Nobility.”

D turned back.

“When I let that man on two hundred years ago, I never in my wildest dreams would’ve
thought something like this could happen,” the mayor muttered. “That was the biggest
mistake of my life.”

D brushed his billowing hair back with his left hand.

“He was standing at the foot of the Great Northern Mountains, all alone. When we had
him in the spotlight, he looked like the very darkness condensed. Now as a rule this
town doesn’t take on folks we just meet along the way, but it might’ve been the way
he looked that stopped us dead in our tracks. There was a deep, dark look to his eyes.
Come to think of it, he looked a lot like you.”

The wind filled the sudden gap in conversation. After a pause, the mayor continued.
“As soon as he was aboard, he came up here to the deck and looked out at the nocturnal
wilds and rugged chain of mountains for the longest time. And then he calmly turned
to me and said, ‘Choose from the townsfolk five men and five women of surpassing strength
and intellect, that they may join me in my travels.’ Of course, I had to chuckle at
that. At which point he laughed like thunder and said, ‘Agree to my offer, and your
people will know a thousand years of glory. Refuse, and this town will be cursed for
all eternity to wander the deadly wilds,’” said the mayor, breaking off there. Pitch-black
fatigue clung to his powerful and strangely smooth face. “Then he was gone. A touch
of anxiety filled my heart, but nothing happened to the town after that. The next
two hundred years weren’t exactly one continuous stretch of peace and prosperity,
but now I think I can safely say they were times of pure bliss. Now that the dark
days are upon us. If this town is indeed under a curse as he decreed, we shall never
be graced with glory or prosperity again.”

Perhaps the reason the mayor had invited the Vampire Hunter up onto the deck was to
show him the deadly wilds of their destiny.

“Come with me,” Mayor Ming said. “I’ll show you the real problem at hand.”

A girl lay on a simple bed. Even without seeing her paraffin-pale skin or the wounds
at the base of her throat, it was clear she was a victim of the Nobility. The most
unsettling thing about her was her eyes—she had them trained on the ceiling, but they
still had the spark of life.

“This is my daughter Laura. She’s almost eighteen,” said the mayor.

D didn’t move, but remained looking down at the pale throat against the pillow.

“Three weeks ago she started acting strangely,” said Mayor Ming. “I picked up on it
when she said she thought she was coming down with a cold and started wearing a scarf.
I never would’ve dreamed it could happen. It’s just impossible we’d have a Noble in
our town of all places.”

“Has she been bitten again since then?”

At D’s icy words, the distraught mayor nodded his head. “Twice. Both at night. We
had one of our fighting men watching over her each time, but both times they were
asleep before they knew it. Laura keeps losing more and more blood, but we’ve seen
hide nor hair of the Nobility.”

“You’ve done checks, haven’t you?”

“Five times—and thorough ones at that. Everyone in town can walk in the light of day.”

But D knew that such a test wasn’t proof-positive that one of the townspeople wasn’t
a vampire. “We’ll run another check later,” D said, “but tonight I’ll stay with her.”

A shade of relief found its way into the mayor’s steely expression. Though the man
had lived more than two centuries, apparently, at heart, he was just like any other
father. “I’d appreciate that. Can I get you anything?”

“I’m fine,” D replied.

“If I may be so bold, could I say something?” The firm tone reminded the mayor and
Hunter there was someone else present. A young physician stood by the door with his
arms folded. Making no effort to conceal the anger in his face, he glared at D.

“Pardon me, Dr. Tsurugi. You have some objection to all this?” the mayor said, bowing
to the young man who’d interrupted them. The doctor had been introduced to D when
the mayor brought the Hunter to his daughter’s room. He was a young circuit doctor
who traveled from village to village out on the Frontier. Like D, he had black hair
and dark eyes, and there didn’t appear to be much difference in their ages. But, of
course, as a dhampir D’s age wasn’t exactly clear, so external appearances were useless
for comparisons.

The young physician shook his intelligent yet still somewhat innocent face from side
to side. “No, I have no objection. Since there’s nothing more I can do for her as
a physician, I’ll entrust the next step to this Hunter. However—”

“Yes?” said the mayor.

“I would like to keep watch over Ms. Laura with him. I realize I might sound out of
line here, but I believe it’s part of my duty as her physician.”

Mayor Ming pensively tapped the handle of his cane against his forehead. While he
probably considered the young physician’s request perfectly natural, he also must’ve
wished Dr. Tsurugi had never suggested such a troubling arrangement.

Before the mayor could turn to the Hunter, D replied, “If my opponent can’t escape,
there’ll be a fight. I won’t be able to keep you out of harm’s way.”

“I can look out for myself.”

“Even if it means you might get bitten by one of them?” asked the Hunter.

Anyone who lived on the Frontier understood the implication of those words, and for
a heartbeat the hot-blooded doctor’s expression stiffened with fear, but then he replied
firmly, “That’s a chance I’m willing to take.” His eyes seemed to blaze with intensity
as he glared at D.

“Not a chance,” D said, impassively.

“But, why the—I mean, why not? I said quite clearly I was prepared to—”

“If by some chance something were to happen to you, it would turn the whole town against
me.”

“But that’s just . . . ” Dr. Tsurugi started to say. His face was flushed with crimson
anger, but he bit his lip and choked back any further contentions.

“Well, then, I’d like you both to step outside now. I have some questions for the
girl,” D said coolly, looking to the door. That was the signal for them to leave.
There was something about the young man that could destroy any will to resist they
still had.

As the mayor and Dr. Tsurugi turned to leave, the wooden door in front of them creaked
open.

“Hey, how are you doing, tough guy?” someone said in a cheery voice. The face that
poked into the room belonged to none other than John M. Brasselli Pluto VIII.

“How did you get here?” the mayor asked sharply.

“I, er . . . I’m terribly sorry, sir,” said one of the townsfolk behind the biker—apparently
a guard. “You wouldn’t believe how stubborn this guy is, and he’s strong as an ox.”

“Don’t have a fit now, old-timer,” Pluto VIII said, smiling amiably. “I figured D’d
probably be at your place. And it’s not like there’s anyone in town who doesn’t know
where the mayor lives. Anyhow—D, I found out how the girl’s doing. That’s what I came
to tell you.”

“I already told him some time ago,” Dr. Tsurugi said with disdain. “He learned about
her condition while you were busy eating.”

“What the hell?! Am I the last one to know or something?!” Pluto VIII scratched wildly
at a beard that looked as dense as the jungle when seen from the air. “Okay, no big
deal. C’mon, D! Let’s go pay her a visit.”