Black Harvest

“Hey! There’s a bed in here,” Krysty said. “I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve slept on a bed.”

Meanwhile, Ryan and J.B. were busy examining the rooms for booby traps and locks. There was no evidence of either, which meant they couldn’t lock their doors, but they wouldn’t be locked into the rooms by their hosts, either.

“Impressions?” J.B. asked.

“Looks good so far,” Ryan stated.

“Too good, you think?”

“It crossed my mind.”

“Gentlemen, I, too, am astounded by our good fortune, but how many times have we rescued damsels in distress only to have that noble act of extrication be punished by imprisonment, threats of death and bodily harm or simple misfortune? Is it so inconceivable that for once in this forsaken hell of a land there might be someone who is actually grateful for our good deeds and wants to thank us with a reward that is actually in line with the magnitude of our deed.”

J.B. looked strangely at Ryan.

Ryan glanced over at Doc and smiled. “I think he might have a point.”

“Mebbe, but I’m still being cautious. In Doc’s time there might have been people who were friendly like this, but I haven’t seen many in the Deathlands. My guess is that the baron wants something from us, and it’s not the pleasure of our company.”

“So we’ll be on alert and no one goes anywhere alone, or without a blaster.”

J.B. nodded.

“Sage advice, my dear Ryan,” Doc said. “In the meantime, I am going to take full advantage of the amenities. I want to be well rested for the reception.”

“You expecting Eleander to be there, Doc?” Krysty asked.

“You read my mind, Krysty. What an absolutely charming gift you have.”

Ryan stepped into the room he and Krysty would be sharing.

In the second room, Doc lay down on the large bed in the middle of the room, the only bed in the room.

J.B. cleared his throat.

“If there’s something caught in your throat, John Barrymore,” Doc said, “I believe there is water in that jug on the table over there.”

“Mildred will be back soon.”

Doc looked at J.B. a moment, then glanced down at the bed he was lying on. “Oh, right,” he said. “I shall take one of the other rooms.”

J.B. nodded his thanks.

Doc stepped into the third room that had a single large bed—just a tad smaller than J.B. and Mildred’s—and closed the door behind him. Then he lay down on the bed and fell asleep with thoughts of the lovely woman Eleander swirling through his head.

SEC CHIEF ROBARDS caught up with Baron DeMann when the baron returned from his visit with the prisoner.

“How is my old friend Desmond?” Robards asked.

“He’s in terrible shape,” the baron responded with a smile. “I think I’ll let him live a little longer…till he begs me to let him die.”

“It’ll be a lesson for the rest of the men,” the sec chief commented. Then added, after a pause, “We have visitors.”

“Yes, I saw the wag come in. Who are they?”

“Outlanders. They happened upon Eleander and Moira down at the river.”

“The river! What were they doing down there?”

Robards hesitated, knowing that telling the truth would likely warrant punishment from the baron, but also knowing that the truth couldn’t be avoided. “Moira says she asked Eleander to take her swimming. They had planned to be back before anyone realized they were gone.”

The baron abruptly stopped walking and turned to face the sec chief. “How did they get out?”

“I have men checking on that.”

The baron nodded. “Were they really swimming?”

The sec chief nodded. “Moira said it was her idea.”

“Do you believe her?”

The sec chief shrugged. “No, but they were naked, and in the water. They had no provisions with them other than two remade blasters.”

“Perhaps they were using the outing as a test of the walls and of your sec force’s brand of security.”

Robards was silent, knowing there was nothing he could say in his own defense.

“Obviously you failed.”

More silence.

“But even though they got outside the ville undetected, they can’t leave. They need to be close to the ville for the rest of their lives.”

Robards waited for the baron to punish him for being so careless with the ville’s security.

“Eleander must be punished,” he said at last.

“Thank you, Baron,” the sec chief said, acknowledging the order. Then he said, “When the outlanders came upon them, the two women were about to be raped by a gang of muties.”

“Muties? You’re supposed to take care of them as well.”

“We did our usual sweep, Baron. They must have found new places to hide, or these scum were new muties.”

The baron sneered, obviously disappointed with his sec chief’s performance. “So these outlanders saved them?”

“Chilled the muties like they were chilling flies.”

“Then I suppose we owe them a debt of thanks.”