The Farm
It was just getting dark when they came upon the mysterious farm, which did not make it any easier for them to approach the grizzly sight.
Lining the path dividing row upon row of mutated cornstalks were bodies impaled on wooden stakes, smelling of rotting flesh and covered in buzzing insects. "I got a real bad feeling about this, boss," Vic helpfully contributed, gripping his rifle nervously.
Holding her own pistol at the ready, Sativa agreed. "Just keep sharp." She lead the group up the path, eyes shifting from side to side. Something didn't seem right...
"Hold on..." she went to take a closer look at one of the bodies, repressing the urge to vomit as the smell got up her nose. And then it came to her. "...Brahmin."
"What?" Vic asked quizzically.
"Brahmin innards. This things is covered with the stuff," She explained, poking the body. Or at least, what was supposed to look like one.
"Dummies," Vic said, comprehension dawning as he looked around. "These are all just dummies, stitched together and stuck up to scare people off. This definitely doesn't sound like the work of ghosts to me."
Sulik helpfully contributed, "Those that are with the spirit... ain't."
"Maybe they haven't been killing people and hanging them up, doesn't mean they won't start to," Sativa warned, and pointed to the only structure around, a shack just up ahead. "Let's check that out."
Darkness and pain: these things greeted her as she regained consciousness. Bit by bit she became aware of her surroundings while her fuzzy memory strained to recall the events that brought her to her current predicament.
Okay, she'd opened the door to the shack. There was nobody inside and nothing else but a few steel footlockers lined up against the far wall. She'd crossed the floor to take a look, and she remembered hearing the unpleasant sound of wood cracking underneath as stepped onto the nice-looking rug in the center. She thought it really tied the room together.
Then, nothing. Now as far she could tell she was lying on her back on the dirt floor of a small dark room underground. She could faintly hear someone calling her name from somewhere above.
Oh, and there was also a door, and a couple of armed men. One of them seemed to be glowing, and smelled faintly of mushrooms. "Holy shit!" one remarked, as the other looked toward the hole she had fallen through adding, "That had gotta hurt."
As she propped herself up into a sitting position they told her, "We have been instructed to take all surfacers to Vegeir. You will not be harmed. Please come with us."
She tried getting up, and in instant a jolt of pain shot up her left leg. "That..." she gasped, "...is going to be a little tricky."
"A visitor - how convenient. I've been contemplating on a way to make contact with the surfacers, but now I don't have to worry about that - thanks to your timely arrival. Welcome to the home of the Slags."
They'd brought her to meet with their leader, Veiger - a tall, stately man, his movements like that of a cat stalking its prey. She watched him from her seat as a medically-proficient Slag treated her ankle as best as he could. Vic and Sulik, having been intercepted and escorted down by a less injurious route, stood by her.
"Please let me apologize for the unpleasant circumstances under which we meet. Normally, the Protectors would have tried to scare you off. Usually rattling chains and some low moaning is enough to scare anybody off, but recently they have been instructed to bring any surfacers they find to me."
She got straight to the point. "What do you want with us?"
"A simple request." He held in his hand a folded paper. "We need to make contact with the town to the southwest; I believe it is called 'Modoc.' Would you do us this favor?"
"I think I know the place," she replied evenly. "But first, I have some questions."
He nodded. "Fair enough. I wouldn't expect anyone to blindly accept tasks from strangers without first learning a little bit about them, first. Ask your questions, and I will answer them as best I can."
"What is the purpose of your message?"
"With the completion of the new irrigation systems, our food supply far exceeds our needs. We wish to establish trade with the surfacers and exchange surplus foods for much needed medicines."
"Why don't you send one of your own people to deliver the message?"
"Since the Sealing we, as a people, have changed. Few can bear to be on the surface because they are not used to having a black sea of nothingness above them." He looked upward. "The sensation of falling upward is so great for them that they lie frozen, clutching the ground. But that is not the main reason. All of us cannot stand the bright light of that which you call the sun; living underground for so long has made our eyes too sensitive to light. We cannot travel far from the safety of our homes beneath the ground."
"There was a farmer living here not long ago: what happened to him?"
Veiger shrugged. "We scared him off the farm - nothing more. I assume he went back home when he discovered the farm was haunted. The Protectors reported him headed northwest. You might try searching for him that way."
"Hmm." Said Vic. When Sativa gave him a questioning look, he shook his head. "I don't know. It's probably nothing."
After some thought, Sativa answered. "Okay then. I want to help, but I don't know I'm going any in a hurry right now..." She motioned to her ankle, and the Skag medic agreed. "It's nothing serious, but best she stay off it for a couple of days."
Veiger frowned. "That does put us in a difficult position. I would prefer this matter be settled as quickly as possible now that we have the opportunity. But you have two..." he considered Vic and Sulik carefully before deciding to use the word, "...capable men with you, surely they would be able to carry out this task? You would be welcome to stay here until we get back... as out guest."
"I dunno boss, leaving you here alone with these guys..."
"It'll be okay, Vic," she assuaged her companion's concerns. "Just go do what they want us to do and get as quickly as possible. I'll be fine. Really." She knew it was an awfully big risk, but her gut told her this was for the best.
Veiger handed them the message. "I knew you would understand. Please take this to Modoc and give it to the person in charge. Return here when your task is complete. I will tell the Protectors to expect your return. We thank you for doing us this service."
As the two were escorted to the surface, Veiger asked her, "Do you believe they can broker a peace between our people and the surfacers?"
Looking after them, she responded after a lengthy silence. "Oh, definitely... I have faith - I'm pretty certain - there's a good chance... okay, I'm almost positive they won't get killed themselves killed on the way over."
Lining the path dividing row upon row of mutated cornstalks were bodies impaled on wooden stakes, smelling of rotting flesh and covered in buzzing insects. "I got a real bad feeling about this, boss," Vic helpfully contributed, gripping his rifle nervously.
Holding her own pistol at the ready, Sativa agreed. "Just keep sharp." She lead the group up the path, eyes shifting from side to side. Something didn't seem right...
"Hold on..." she went to take a closer look at one of the bodies, repressing the urge to vomit as the smell got up her nose. And then it came to her. "...Brahmin."
"What?" Vic asked quizzically.
"Brahmin innards. This things is covered with the stuff," She explained, poking the body. Or at least, what was supposed to look like one.
"Dummies," Vic said, comprehension dawning as he looked around. "These are all just dummies, stitched together and stuck up to scare people off. This definitely doesn't sound like the work of ghosts to me."
Sulik helpfully contributed, "Those that are with the spirit... ain't."
"Maybe they haven't been killing people and hanging them up, doesn't mean they won't start to," Sativa warned, and pointed to the only structure around, a shack just up ahead. "Let's check that out."
Darkness and pain: these things greeted her as she regained consciousness. Bit by bit she became aware of her surroundings while her fuzzy memory strained to recall the events that brought her to her current predicament.
Okay, she'd opened the door to the shack. There was nobody inside and nothing else but a few steel footlockers lined up against the far wall. She'd crossed the floor to take a look, and she remembered hearing the unpleasant sound of wood cracking underneath as stepped onto the nice-looking rug in the center. She thought it really tied the room together.
Then, nothing. Now as far she could tell she was lying on her back on the dirt floor of a small dark room underground. She could faintly hear someone calling her name from somewhere above.
Oh, and there was also a door, and a couple of armed men. One of them seemed to be glowing, and smelled faintly of mushrooms. "Holy shit!" one remarked, as the other looked toward the hole she had fallen through adding, "That had gotta hurt."
As she propped herself up into a sitting position they told her, "We have been instructed to take all surfacers to Vegeir. You will not be harmed. Please come with us."
She tried getting up, and in instant a jolt of pain shot up her left leg. "That..." she gasped, "...is going to be a little tricky."
"A visitor - how convenient. I've been contemplating on a way to make contact with the surfacers, but now I don't have to worry about that - thanks to your timely arrival. Welcome to the home of the Slags."
They'd brought her to meet with their leader, Veiger - a tall, stately man, his movements like that of a cat stalking its prey. She watched him from her seat as a medically-proficient Slag treated her ankle as best as he could. Vic and Sulik, having been intercepted and escorted down by a less injurious route, stood by her.
"Please let me apologize for the unpleasant circumstances under which we meet. Normally, the Protectors would have tried to scare you off. Usually rattling chains and some low moaning is enough to scare anybody off, but recently they have been instructed to bring any surfacers they find to me."
She got straight to the point. "What do you want with us?"
"A simple request." He held in his hand a folded paper. "We need to make contact with the town to the southwest; I believe it is called 'Modoc.' Would you do us this favor?"
"I think I know the place," she replied evenly. "But first, I have some questions."
He nodded. "Fair enough. I wouldn't expect anyone to blindly accept tasks from strangers without first learning a little bit about them, first. Ask your questions, and I will answer them as best I can."
"What is the purpose of your message?"
"With the completion of the new irrigation systems, our food supply far exceeds our needs. We wish to establish trade with the surfacers and exchange surplus foods for much needed medicines."
"Why don't you send one of your own people to deliver the message?"
"Since the Sealing we, as a people, have changed. Few can bear to be on the surface because they are not used to having a black sea of nothingness above them." He looked upward. "The sensation of falling upward is so great for them that they lie frozen, clutching the ground. But that is not the main reason. All of us cannot stand the bright light of that which you call the sun; living underground for so long has made our eyes too sensitive to light. We cannot travel far from the safety of our homes beneath the ground."
"There was a farmer living here not long ago: what happened to him?"
Veiger shrugged. "We scared him off the farm - nothing more. I assume he went back home when he discovered the farm was haunted. The Protectors reported him headed northwest. You might try searching for him that way."
"Hmm." Said Vic. When Sativa gave him a questioning look, he shook his head. "I don't know. It's probably nothing."
After some thought, Sativa answered. "Okay then. I want to help, but I don't know I'm going any in a hurry right now..." She motioned to her ankle, and the Skag medic agreed. "It's nothing serious, but best she stay off it for a couple of days."
Veiger frowned. "That does put us in a difficult position. I would prefer this matter be settled as quickly as possible now that we have the opportunity. But you have two..." he considered Vic and Sulik carefully before deciding to use the word, "...capable men with you, surely they would be able to carry out this task? You would be welcome to stay here until we get back... as out guest."
"I dunno boss, leaving you here alone with these guys..."
"It'll be okay, Vic," she assuaged her companion's concerns. "Just go do what they want us to do and get as quickly as possible. I'll be fine. Really." She knew it was an awfully big risk, but her gut told her this was for the best.
Veiger handed them the message. "I knew you would understand. Please take this to Modoc and give it to the person in charge. Return here when your task is complete. I will tell the Protectors to expect your return. We thank you for doing us this service."
As the two were escorted to the surface, Veiger asked her, "Do you believe they can broker a peace between our people and the surfacers?"
Looking after them, she responded after a lengthy silence. "Oh, definitely... I have faith - I'm pretty certain - there's a good chance... okay, I'm almost positive they won't get killed themselves killed on the way over."