Blade approached cautiously. He felt no sympathy for the gang, but he was annoyed at the turn of events. He'd hoped to trail them all the way to Mesaville. Now he would simply have to continue in the direction the band had been heading and hope he found it.

  One of the mantas stirred, its wings rising a few inches off the ground before settling down again.

  The Warrior noticed that one of its eyes was gone, replaced by a ragged cavity, and bullet holes pockmarked its body. He refrained from finishing the thing off because the shot might draw the flock back.

  "Oh, my God!" Athena breathed.

  Blade saw her staring at one of the corpses, and only then did he realize the condition of the human bodies. Each and every one was missing the nose, ears, and fingers, as well as patches of skin on the neck and face. The mantas had gnawed on the Razors in much the same way he might savor a strip of jerky.

  "What a way to go," Havoc said, disgusted, and gazed at a man whose throat was slit.

  The Warrior simply nodded, threading among the fallen people. He discovered two gang members lying together, one on top of the other, and recognized Ajax as the uppermost. The mantas had eaten all the skin on his bald head.

  "I don't get it. Why didn't those things consume the flesh also?" Captain Havoc asked.

  "Who the hell cares?" Athena said. "It's gross enough as it is."

  Blade walked past the slain gang leader, then drew up short when he heard a moan. Spinning, he stepped closer and examined Ajax closely. A second moan sounded, only not from the dead man.

  The person lying under the bald man moved.

  Quickly the Warrior took hold of Ajax's right arm and flipped the body off to find the blonde woman on her stomach underneath, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to regain consciousness. He placed the M-16 at his feet and gently turned her over.

  "She's alive!" Athena said happily.

  Havoc came over, unscrewing the cap on his canteen. "How badly is she hurt?"

  Blade inspected her face and hands. There wasn't a bite mark anywhere. The officer gave him the canteen, and he carefully let a trickle of water seep between her parted lips. "Claire? Can you hear me?"

  Her blue eyes snapped open. She took one look at the giant hovering over her and recoiled in fear.

  "I won't hurt you," Blade assured her.

  "Calm down, miss," Havoc said. "We're just trying to help you."

  Still frightened, the woman sat up and slid backwards. She bumped into Athena and glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening in surprise. "Who are you people?" she demanded.

  "We're friends," Athena told her.

  Claire gazed at the giant. "How do you know my name?"

  "We overheard the conversation at the spring," Blade explained.

  "You were there?"

  "Nearby."

  The woman looked at Ajax, then surveyed the corpses on all sides. "Did you see what happened?" she inquired, aghast at the loss of her companions.

  "We saw the mutations attack your band," Blade said. "We were attacked too."

  "They came out of nowhere, diving on us with the sun at their backs," Claire related. "There were too many for us. We didn't have a prayer."

  "How did you manage to survive?" Havoc probed.

  "Dumb luck. One of them knocked me to the ground, and the last thing I remember is Ajax jumping on top of me to keep them from tearing into me, covering me with his body." Claire's eyes moistened and she shook her head. "I didn't know he cared that much."

  "Are you fit enough to walk?" Blade questioned.

  "I'll run if I have to."

  "Good. I want to make tracks in case those creatures return for a second helping."

  Claire jumped to her feet. "You've got a point. The sand rays are unpredictable."

  "Sand rays?"

  "That's what they're called," Claire said and scrutinized the Warrior's visage. "You'd know their name if you were from this territory. But you're not, are you?"

  Blade had no intention of revealing where they came from. "Let's just say we've traveled many miles to reach our destination."

  The woman gestured at the surrounding desert. "The Burn Belt?"

  "Mesaville."

  Claire visibly tensed. "Why do you want to go there?"

  "It's personal."

  "You'd be smart to stay away."

  "Why?" Athena asked.

  "Because a lot of folks go into Mesaville and never come out alive."

  The Warrior nodded at the bodies. "Your band visited there regularly."

  "Yeah, we did. But that's different."

  "How so?"

  "All the gangs in this part of the country go there to trade goods, get drunk, whore around, and enjoy the Games. Mesaville is neutral territory. Anyone who causes trouble answers to Death Master," Claire said. "It's sort of the headquarters for all the bands for a hundred miles around."

  "Are there any hybrids there?" Athena asked hopefully.

  "Hybrids?"

  "Yes. You know. Genetically engineered beings endowed with human and bestian traits."

  "Oh. You mean the freaks. Sure, there are a few."

  Blade recalled a comment made earlier by Ajax. "Is this Death Master a mutation?"

  "I don't rightly know what he is. He's not completely normal, but he isn't a cat-man or an ape-man or anything like that."

  The Warrior surveyed the sky once again. "Back up a bit," he said. "If all the raiders in this region are welcomed with open arms at Mesaville, why will we be in danger if we go there?"

  "Because anyone who doesn't belong to a band is in deep lizard dip," Claire responded, glancing at each of them. "It's open season on geeks, if you catch my drift."

  "We're not geeks," Captain Havoc declared.

  "In fact," Blade said, before the officer could reveal pertinent information, "we belong to a gang that's based far west of here."

  "What's the name of this gang?" Claire inquired, her tone laced with skepticism.

  Blade gave her the first name that popped into his head. "The Bombers."

  "Never heard of them."

  "Well, we've heard about Mesaville. Our leader sent us to contact Death Master and see if we'd be welcome there."

  Claire smiled. "Well, in that case you have nothing to worry about. Death Master is always on the lookout for new bands to do business with."

  "Good," Blade said, pondering the implications of her revelations. Mesaville served as the hub of a vast, evil empire, providing all the raiders in this region of the Outlands with a safe haven in exchange for a share of the booty the bands obtained when conducting their depredations on those outposts and settlements scattered about the outlying areas. For all he knew, some of the bands roamed as far west as California. The southern section of the Free State had been plagued for decades by savage bands who crossed the border, hit small towns and communities, and vanished again before the Army could catch them. Officials there had assumed most of the raiders came from Mexico, but what if they were wrong?

  "Shouldn't we be hauling ass?" Claire inquired.

  "Yes," the Warrior agreed. "We'll let you lead the way."

  "Okay, but first let's grab all we can carry," the Razor suggested and knelt next to Ajax.

  "What are you doing?" Havoc asked.

  "Don't be dumb, dude," Claire said as she removed her former lover's gunbelt. "Guns are like gold out here. We can trade these weapons at Mesaville for whatever we want or take money in exchange. Come on. Grab all you can carry."

  The officer looked at the Warrior, who nodded.

  In less than three minutes they gathered the guns and knives and had them stuffed into backpacks or crammed under their belts.

  Claire had three revolvers around her waist and a large hunting knife wedged into the top of her left boot. She beamed happily. "We'll get a lot of bread for these. It's too bad we can't carry the stiffs, too. There's enough meat here to provide a couple of meals for Death Master's pets."

  Blade caught himself starting to frown and stopped. The bodies of the woman's friends weren't even cold yet, and she treated them as trade goods, as mere lumps of meat that could fetch a pretty price. "What kind of pets?" he responded.

  Claire giggled. "You'll see. And you won't believe your eyes." Squaring her slim shoulders, she hiked eastward. "We'll have to hustle. As it is, we probably won't reach Mesaville until after dark." Her voice betrayed a certain anxiety.

  "What difference will it make?" Athena queried.

  "Are you kidding, sister? At night the animals and the wild mutants are out in force."

  "A fire will keep them away," Blade said, walking after her.

  "Provided you have matches and can find something to burn," Claire said.

  "We have matches."

  "Really? Great. They're as hard to come by as guns."

  "How long have you been a Razor?" Blade casually probed.

  "Oh, I don't know. About fifteen years, I suppose."

  "That long? You don't look much over twenty."

  "Twenty-one, as a matter of fact. I was only six when the band killed my parents and took me in. They raised me, taught me the ropes, helped me to survive."

  Blade stared at the back of her head, perplexed. She made it sound as if the Razors had done her a favor. "Don't you ever miss your folks?"

  "Nope. Why should I? I hardly knew them," Claire answered and snickered. "Besides, they were a couple of geeks."

  Pity welled in the Warrior as he thought of the innocent little girl who had been brutally torn from her family and placed at the mercy of a band of roving killers. Was it any wonder she seemed devoid of any genuine emotion? Where once she might have grown up to become a loving wife and a devoted mother, she was now a cold-blooded raider who preyed on those she deemed weak and worthless.

  "Hey, I just realized you guys haven't told me your names," Claire said, glancing back at them.

  "I'm Blade," the Warrior said, and indicated the others. "This is Athena and Mike." He intentionally refrained from disclosing Havoc's rank.

  "Pleased to meet all of you."

  "The same here," Athena said.

  Claire stared at the officer. "Do you have a squeeze, handsome."

  "A girlfriend or a wife? No." Havoc responded.

  "Excellent. You play your cards right, and you just might get lucky tonight," Claire said bluntly.

  Havoc did a double take. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

  The Razor nodded, facing front. "Yep. Life's too short for beating around the bush. If there's one lesson I've learned, it's to take what you want when you want it."

  "I appreciate the offer," Havoc said politely.

  "You won't be sorry. Ajax used to brag that I've got the hottest snatch in the Outlands."

  "So much for modesty," Athena muttered.

  "I heard that crack, sister," Claire said. "What's modesty got to do with having sex?"

  "If you don't know, I doubt I could explain."

  "Is that a fact? You must be one of those prudish types. I'll bet you've never had a decent lay in your whole life."

  "For your information, I have," Athena commented stiffly.

  "Oh, yeah? I doubt it. What you need is a real animal like my old man Ajax, someone who really knows how to stick it in you, someone who can drive you right up the wall."

  "Claire?"

  "Yeah, sister?"

  "Change the subject."

  "Why?"

  "Because if you don't," Athena said sweetly. "I'm going to blow your brains out."

  CHAPTER SIX

  Blade spied the lights from almost a mile out, four white pinpoints situated halfway up the west side of an otherwise inky, mountainous elevation that reared up out of the desert to the northeast. "We were told that Mesaville is a fascinating place," he remarked.

  "You don't know the half of it," Claire said.

  "How so?"

  She chuckled. "You'll find out soon enough."

  "Where does the power come from for those lights?" Captain Havoc asked.

  "Mesaville has two sources of power," Claire disclosed. "Generators and sheep shit."

  "Sheep shit?" Havoc repeated quizzically.

  "Yep. Thanks to an irrigation system, the top of that mesa is covered with lush grass. There are over two hundred sheep up there, and all their crap is collected daily to be used as fuel in the furnaces and steam-powered turbines," Claire said. "I've seen the workers scooping up that crud. Do you have any idea how much crap comes out of hundreds of sheep every day?"

  "The mind boggles," Havoc replied.

  "How is it that you know so much about the power system?" Blade asked.

  "It's no big secret. Death Master took all of us on a tour a few years ago and explained the whole operation. He was real proud of it." Claire laughed. "I never saw anybody so proud of sheep shit in my life."

  "Interesting," Blade said.

  "Which reminds me. You guys wouldn't happen to know where we can steal a generator or a tanker full of gas, would you?"

  "Not offhand," Blade answered.

  "Damn. Too bad. Death Master pays ten pounds of pure gold for every generator brought in, and one hundred pounds for every tanker."

  "How would a tanker cross the desert?" Athena asked.

  "It's been done. If the trucks don't hold up, they're pulled with ropes and chains," Claire stated.

  "Where does Death Master get all his gold?" Blade said.

  "Ask him. That's one secret he'll never let out."

  For five minutes they continued in silence. A cool breeze from the northwest provided welcome relief from the heat of the day. Stars filled the sky overhead.

  "We've been lucky so far," Claire remarked. "Nothing has tried to attack us."

  As if on cue, from out of the darkness issued a low, bestial snarl.

  "What was that?" Athena asked, scanning right and left.

  "Who knows?" Claire said. "Just keep your boobs crossed that it doesn't jump us."

  "Must you always be so crude?"

  "We can't all be glamour pusses like you, lady."

  The mesa loomed larger and larger before them, and the pinpoints of light gradually expanded to become a quartet of bright spotlights mounted on the sheer rock face. At the base of the mesa was a cavernous opening over which a sign had been suspended. Painted on the wood in big red letters was a single word: MESAVILLE.

  "I can't wait to chug a brew," Claire said.

  The Warrior saw ten armed men spaced at regular intervals in front of the cavern, blocking the entrance. Some were conversing, others appeared bored, but they all stopped whatever they were doing and swung around when the man in the middle called out, "New arrivals!"

  Carbines and submachine guns were quickly leveled.

  "Don't shoot, Luther!" Claire shouted. "If you do, I'll never give you a tumble again."

  The tall, bearded guard in the center, who appeared to be in charge, stepped forward so he could see the quartet better. He grinned lecherously when the Razor stepped fully into the light. "Claire Steiger! How's it going, babe?"

  "I'm itching for some action."

  Luther lowered his Uzi, his eyes narrowing. "Who are those people with you?"

  "Friends. They're from a band called the Bombers."

  "Did you change gangs?"

  "Nope. Ajax and the rest are dead."

  The guards exchanged glances.

  "How did it happen?" Luther queried.

  "Sand rays."

  "Damn!"

  Blade kept the barrel of his M-16 pointed at the ground and adopted a nonchalant attitude. He saw some of the guards studying him intently.

  "I almost didn't make it myself," Claire said.

  "Glad you did, honey," Luther told her and shifted his attention to the giant as the four of them halted. "So you're a Bomber?"

  "Yep."

  "Where's your band based?"

  "West of here a ways. We don't call any one spot home. You know how it is."

  "Yeah, I do," Luther said. "What brings you here?"

  "Our leader has heard a lot about Mesaville. He sent us to contact Death Master. If all goes well, we'd like to start bringing our plunder to trade or sell."

  "The boss will be pleased to hear the news," Luther stated. "Your friends and you are welcome. Just make sure you stick to the rules while you're here or you'll wind up as pet food."

  "Mesaville has rules?" Havoc asked in disbelief.

  "Sure does, mister," Luther responded. "Three of them. No killing is allowed. No stealing is allowed either, and if you're caught you'll get your arm chopped off. And no transmitting social diseases. Got it?"

  "I'll try to memorize them," Havoc said dryly.

  "Be sure you do. Mesaville is neutral turf. No one can cause trouble without Death Master jumping down his throat, and you definitely don't want him on your case. Take my word for it."

  "When will we get to meet him?" Blade asked.

  "I'll take you in now," Luther said. "Since you're newbies you've got to stay with me every step of the way." He glanced at Claire. "But not you, babe. You can go party hardy."

  The former Razor looked at Havoc, then shook her head. "No thanks, dude. I'll stick with my new friends here."

  "Lucky us," Athena muttered.

  Luther scrutinized each of them closely. "You guys are packing a heap of hardware."

  "We took the pieces off Ajax and the rest," Claire explained. "We want to barter them for some coin or whatever."

  "Okay. Keep them. Let's go." Luther turned and addressed another guard. "Tommy, you're in charge until I get back."

  "You got it," Tommy said.

  Motioning with his right arm, Luther led them into the cavern. Ample illumination came from crudely strung overhead lights and lanterns attached to the walls.

  "Get set for the shock of your lives," Claire said and giggled.

  Blade wondered what she meant as they proceeded along a wide tunnel for 20 yards. Unexpectedly the tunnel widened into a chamber of enormous proportions, easily half a mile in length and a quarter mile wide. Far above them, the ceiling was obscured by darkness. As a consequence the lights were now mounted on wooden posts set into the ground at periodic intervals.

  Luther halted and nodded proudly. "Don't this just boggle the brain?"

 

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