Hellbenders. James Axler

death on the lower levels of the redoubt, it had been necessary for the community to base all their living operations around the upper two levels, rather than spread themselves across the whole base. Therefore, although they used the shower room with caution, they had taken most of the bedding from the dorms and used what had been offices and sec command posts and surveillance rooms to make new sleeping areas. They seemed to have either paired off, or slept and lived in small groups in what had once been military offices. The kitchens, which were also on one of the lower levels, had also been plundered, and the ovens and microwaves that had been previously installed in those areas had been taken out and reinstalled in an upper level area that had once, in the days before skydark, been used as an area for briefing the redoubt personnel. Thus, it was a long room that had plenty of space in which to deploy the ovens and also store much of the supplies from the kitchen areas.

      J.B. and Ryan both observed this with interest, but kept their peace. Dean, however, wasn’t so silent, and as they passed this area he noted to Krysty, “If they’ve got those working, then they must have a pretty good idea of how a lot of this works.”

      Correll stopped and turned to the younger Cawdor. “Son, I wish I could say you were right, but I don’t think any of us can claim that great a knowledge. Thing is, we’ve lived down here a while, and when the muties got too keen on using this place as a shortcut to wherever the hell they’re headed, then we all kinda figured that we needed to use that as little as possible. Which meant taking all the ovens out and getting them here, where it was safe. Only thing we had to leave was the really cold place—couldn’t figure a way of getting the food from that room and keeping it cold, so we had to leave that there and kinda take our chances like with the showers. But the other stuff…See, we took them apart kinda slow, so we could make out where everything went. Then we pulled them up here and figured out which bits of cable looked the same. But as to how it all actually works?”

      “Have you tried anything else?” Dean persisted.

      Correll allowed himself a ghostly smile that seemed unnatural on his grim visage. “Son, we live among this stuff, now. Where we eat and sleep, there’s flickering lights and old tech all around. Sometimes some of it gives out, sometimes we try to fix it. I don’t know if we do any good. I don’t even know if we really learn anything from it, but sometimes the lights start again, and sometimes you can still see the outside and some parts of in here on the screens.”

      Doc looked around him. “I think you do yourself a disservice, my dear sir. The air-conditioning is still working, there is still water filtered through the plant, you have nearly all the facilities up and running. You should be congratulated.”

      “I thank you kindly,” Correll replied graciously, “but the truth of the matter is that fate has been kind to us since our arrival here. We know how to keep things running, but if we had a real problem, then our feeble knowledge would be sorely stretched. Which is why, my friend, we wish to discover some more secrets of the old tech, and so unlock the way this place runs.”

      Ryan interrupted. “Which is exactly what we’d like to do.”

      Correll nodded. “Yes, we will talk more of this, but first we should eat. Your friend Mildred will be joining us. She has done a very fine job.”

      Turning on his heel in a manner that suggested conversation was now over, Correll moved off, trailing his party and the companions in his wake.

      As they walked on, J.B. turned it over in his mind. Correll and his people had the knowledge to keep some of the plant working, and working well. They would also, presumably, be able to maintain the wags that were stored on the second level. J.B. hadn’t noticed any on their way up, but then the wag bays were always kept apart from the rest of the redoubt because of the hazards of fuel storage. If the wags had been in as good a condition as the rest of the redoubt seemed to be, then they would have good transport, and plenty of fuel. From the way in which the party initially opposing them had been armed, it was an obvious conclusion that the armory had been well-equipped, and—taking a surreptitious glance at the party around him—they knew well enough how to look after their blasters. He had no doubt that the med lab was well equipped, as Millie would have made her feelings known on the matter to the man Lonnie, and Correll would have felt the rough edge of Millie’s tongue secondhand.

      All in all, they had a good base from which to wage a war, and the equipment with which to win it. Redoubts this well equipped and maintained were rare, and anyone who stumbled across them had just gotten lucky.

      Thing was, what did Correll and his people want to do with it? J.B. had a creeping feeling, tingling at the back of his neck, that Correll was spoiling for a fight with someone, and the companions had just stumbled into the beginnings of a private war, with the search for old tech and the arrival of an outside interest just the excuse and impetus he needed.

      Coincidentally, much the same set of thoughts were running through Ryan’s head as they walked on.

      Mebbe, the one-eyed man mused, they would learn something later that night.

      THE COMPANIONS WERE given their own sleeping and living space, with bedding and a change of clothes taken from the supplies that still existed. The space was an old office that had just had the office furniture removed, and was noticeably free from much in the way of old tech.

      “You can shower if you’re willing to take a chance,” Correll said as his parting shot. “Ain’t usually a problem, just be ready to move fast if you feel those tremors.”

      When he and the accompanying party had left them alone, Krysty said, “I don’t know about you, lover, but it doesn’t all add up yet.”

      Ryan shook his head. “Mebbe we’ll discover more when we eat—mebbe get to meet the rest properly.”

      “Yeah, I don’t think this is that big a community,” added Mildred, who had joined them when Correll had shown them their quarters. “Should be fairly easy to keep tabs on them all, get the feel of what’s going on.”

      “Should be…” J.B. said quietly. “Reckon they’ve got enough here to start a small war, and that’s what they’re after.”

      Ryan agreed. “But why?”

      “Dunno yet, but I guess we can’t hurry it up—so if it’s okay with everyone, I’ll take my chances with the showers,” Dean interjected. “May as well face it clean and fresh.” He grinned.

      “Sound good,” Jak added, running a hand through his stringy white hair. “Good cold water make sharper.”

      “Yeah, I could go for that,” Ryan agreed. “We’ll take it in shifts, stand lookout for any mutie trouble.”

      They started to go, but Ryan noticed that Doc was still standing against the wall, looking pensive. As the others left, Ryan broke away and went over to Doc.

      “What is it?”

      Doc, lost in reverie, grunted and looked up at Ryan. For a moment, it seemed as though the old man’s eyes were a million miles and thousand of years from that room. The distance and desolation in them was enough to make Ryan—for all that he had seen—start back. Then the mists cleared for Doc, and he was once again back with the one-eyed warrior.

      “I’m sorry, my dear boy, but for a moment I felt as though I was standing outside of myself, outside of everything.”

      “You okay, Doc?”

      “By the Three Kennedys, what a ridiculous question.” Doc laughed bitterly. “You of all people should know that the last thing I really am is okay. But for a second, I was reminded of something that I seem to remember from what seems many years ago. I suppose it is many years,” he added, surprise entering his tone, “but that is by the by. It is our host. There is something about the gentleman that haunts me. I feel he is a lost soul.”

      “I think it’s me you’ve lost there, Doc,” Ryan said softly. He felt Doc was trying to tell him something important, but he couldn’t quite grasp it.

      “He is driven by an inner demon that has taken over everything