The Badlands: Part 7 -- - - - V O X -

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Date Posted: 15:29:07 08/24/99 Tue
Author: Maveric
Subject: The Badlands: Part 7

Installment 7
***
Red was starting to fall asleep again. The adrenaline rush that kept him alert through the Gas for Cash incident and the skirmish with Lead Sled was wearing off. He could feel sleep tugging at his eyelids and he fought to stay lucid enough to drive. All he had to do was follow Murphy and Romeo Dare and the rest of the small convoy. Murphy had mentioned a place Red could crash until he got his bearings. Right now Red didn't care where he was going as long as he could get a few hours rest.

They had been driving west down the 114, going through the same area Red had just been through a few hours earlier. As they passed the Gas for Cash, Red turned to look. There was a police squad car there now. Two cops were questioning the old attendant. It looked like he was giving them a hard time. "That's one tough old bugger. What did Murphy say his name was?" Red thought to himself. "Gus or something". It's a good thing the police didn't take any notice of Red and the rest of the vigilantes. Lately there was a crack down on vigilante activity by the cops. Some claimed that it was prompted by crooked officials who were worried that vigilantes would shut down their illegal activities.

The caravan continued down the highway and just as they passed a sign that said "Welcome to Morton," one by one the cars turned off onto a side road. The transition from asphalt to dirt was jarring and it snapped Red out of the haze he was in. There seemed to be a maze of trails and paths that led them further and further from the highway. Red was glad he had someone to follow. You could easily get lost in a place like this. "Maybe that's the point" he thought to himself. Just then he turned a corner and there it was. �The Ranch' as Murphy called it.

To call the place just an old ranch house would be an understatement. Besides a main house Red could see at least two makeshift garages concealed as barns at the far end of the courtyard, a couple of trailers scattered around, a large antenna array in the back, several large semi-trucks with trailers and even a helipad in a cleared area further back. Besides the five cars that just pulled into the compound, there was a good dozen there already. Red was in awe. He had never heard of anything like this in the few articles he'd read about autovigilantes.

The cars all stopped and parked in front of the main house. Red jumped out and took a second to take it all in. Murphy walked over and patted him on the back. "This here's the feller Iah told ya about." Murphy said to the rest. "Red, I want'cha ta meet Romeo Dare, Spitfire, Cromax and Radiator Mother." Red reached out and shook each of their hands. "Good to meet ya lad. Never hurts ta have a little help when the backup comes in late" said Radiator Mother, winking as he did. "Give it a rest Mother or Iah'll bust yer chops" laughed Murphy. Red couldn't resist smirking as he said this. "I'd better be goin'" said Radiator Mother. "I have ta meet up with Stampede and Convoy over near Midland. We got something big going down there in a few days. Catch ya lads later." He got behind the wheel of his Pontomac Marshal and drove off down the dirt road.

As if something had just jogged his memory, Red looked over to Murphy. "Hey, what about my car?" Murphy started to walk towards one of the garage barns and motioned Red to follow him. Inside was Red's Circlet, up on a floor jack. Standing under it, looking over the damage, was one of the most beautiful women Red had ever seen. She was wearing blue overalls and her raven hair was tied back in a pony tail. As Red and Murphy entered the barn she turned away from her work to greet them. "Hey Murphy" she said. "Hi Lil. This's Red. He owns the Dover" said Murphy. "Red, this is Lillian. We call her Lillian Chill. Lil for short. She's our mechanic. The best one in all west Texas Iah reckon."

"So this is the guy who took out two Raider Vandals and Lead Sled in one morning." Red broke into a slightly embarrassed smile of false modesty. "Too bad you're not a better driver or I'd have less work to do" she continued. His smile faded. "There's a lot of body work to be done" she said, pointing to the rear and front left or the car. "The windows need to be replaced and your engine's toast. All in all it's going to take at least a full day's work to get done. Murphy ushered Red out of the garage. "Fair enough Lil. Give a holler when ya'll get done." "Sure thing Murphy."

Red and Murphy walked out of the garage. Red tried his best to keep her face out of his thoughts but it was a loosing battle. There was just something about her he couldn't shake. As if to change the subject of his own thoughts he looked over to his new friend and pointed toward the trailers and the ranch house. "Do all these people live here Murphy?" "Naw. Most prefer camping out in the desert and use this place as a base of operations. We're part of the AVA, the Autovigilante Guild. It's an organised group of vigilantes that banded together to counteract the rise in creeper gang activity. We've been �round since �72 and we have chapters all over the southwest. This place is the headquarters of our chapter. Consider it like a safe house. We take in vigilantes who want a warm bed and a hot meal." he explained. Red could barely force back a yawn. "Iah think it's about time you got some sleep there son. Don't worry about a thing. Rest until your ride's fixed and then ya can decide what ya'll want to do." Murphy lead Red into the main farmhouse and then upstairs to the dorm rooms.

"There's a cot in that empty room on the right. I'll wake ya for lunch." Murphy started back down the creaky staircase. Red walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Red sat down on the cot and kicked off his shoes. He took the .357 out of his waistband and set it on the table next to the cot. He stretched out and laid down on the pillow. While this was only an old fold-out cot, it was a lot more comfortable than sleeping in the back seat of his Circlet like he had been for the past few days.

Staring at the ceiling, Red's mind began to wander. Suddenly he sat up. He took out a note pad from his pocket and started to jot down what had happened earlier. "I just might be able to get a book out of this yet." After a few minutes he set the pad down and resumed staring at the ceiling. "It's no use. I never get any sleep in a strange place..."

Within 30 seconds his hand slumped on the floor and he was fast asleep.
***

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Replies:

good job man -- SHIFFS, 11:40:59 08/25/99 Wed