and do nothing. Swearing under his breath, he began making his way down the crater wall.
Even with his enhanced strength, it was a difficult climb. Nonetheless he had almost reached the bottom before the second man attacked. J-100 was still high enough above the valley floor that he could see the ambush. The second man sprang out from behind a rock, knocking the ranger off his horse. The two men struggled while the horse reared, hooves flashing. But the two were locked too closely together for the horse to assist.
J-100 swore again, dropped the remaining thirty feet to the valley floor, and set off at a run. He arrived just in time to see the white-faced figure toss the ranger’s body aside. The horse reared again, but the stranger shuffled backwards with surprising speed. Fortunately, he was so distracted by the horse that he didn’t hear J-100 approach. He started to turn just as J-100 reached him, but it was too late. J-100 had his arms around his neck, locking him in a remorseless grip.
A single glance was enough to show him that the ranger was dead, and anger roared through him. The ranger had been a soldier, a victim of a ruthless government, and the being he was holding had caused his death. This close, the unnatural qualities of the stranger were all too clear—the white plastic skin, the face that remained expressionless despite his struggles, and the faint scent of decay.
J-100 didn’t hesitate. He snapped the abomination’s neck and cast him aside.
Although he was quite sure that the ranger was dead, he headed for him only to find his way blocked by the huge metal body of the horse.
“Whoa there. I don’t mean any harm. I just want to see if there’s anything I can do.”
A pair of robotic eyes surveyed him, and he could have sworn that the horse was judging him before he shook his mane and moved aside. J-100 dropped to his knees beside the fallen man. His chest had been torn open, his heart removed. A cyborg could survive many things, but this was not one of them.
With a gentle hand, he closed the man’s eyes. Another senseless death. But he vowed this one was not going to be in vain.
He took another glance at the white-faced stranger, remembering what the general had told him. This must have been one of GenCon’s attempts to reproduce cyborg technology. Everything about it screamed abomination, but he had to respect its power. The general had not thought that the program was so far along—and if he had been wrong about that, what else had he been wrong about?
And why was the abomination here, so far away from New Arcadia and GenCon headquarters? He looked over at the crater wall, at the machines busily building into the rock, creating another city. A city that this abomination was created to rule?
Looking back down at the ranger, he decided the man deserved more than to be abandoned here alone on the desert floor. He would take him back to New Arcadia. In doing so, perhaps he would also be able to discover if more of the abominations existed.
He stood, then reached down to gather up the ranger. Once more, the horse came between them.
“I’m going to take him home,” he said quietly, then wondered why he was talking to an animal.
The horse gave him another one of those apparently speculative looks, then bowed his head and moved back. Hmm. If he could understand that much… While J-100 could carry the ranger, it was a long trip.
“Will you carry him?” he asked.
Of course the horse did not respond, but he moved closer, then stood patiently as J-100 carefully placed the ranger across his back. Then J-100 put his hand on the mane of flexible tubing, and together the two of them began the long trek towards the city.
The shadows lengthened as they walked, and when night fell, he considered stopping but neither he nor the horse would be impacted by the freezing nighttime temperatures, and an unexpected sense of urgency was driving him onward.
“I’m not going to stop,” he said. “I have the feeling that we need to get to New Arcadia as soon as possible.”
The horse broke into a trot, and J-100 gave a surprised laugh before increasing his pace to keep up.
“I swear you can understand everything I say. It reminds me of a quote I read once by a great leader about listening as a form of courage.