Cowboy Necromancer 2: Infinite Dark: (A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG Fantasy), page 4
“I’m sure he will. Where’s your little buddy?” Sterling asked, referring to White Eyed Anderson.
“With his mother.”
“Makes sense.”
Sterling stood, adjusted his black cowboy hat, and followed Yankee Judd through the campsite, the boy occasionally touching a rope running along the concourse of the main pathway, which Sterling assumed was to make it easier to get around in the dark. He saw candles, and even a few gas lanterns which would have to be lit soon, but it probably wasn’t enough to make the cluttered campsite easier to navigate.
There was another thing Sterling confirmed as they approached a ramp leading upward, the tarps and canvas above protecting the ramp as well. There were no men here, just women and children, a couple boys about the same age as Yankee Judd, but no one older than that.
The compound was much nicer at the top of the mesa, the Elder of Nauvoo’s camper protected by a chain link fence and sheltered by coverings that looked much better than the ones used below. There was furniture strewn about and other curios collected from what Sterling assumed were abandoned homes in the area. Looking to the other side of the space, on the opposite end of the mesa, Sterling spotted another trailer that was much smaller than the main one. It even had a generator.
As he approached the larger trailer, a middle-aged man stepped out with the cloak made of various fabrics draped over his shoulders. His clothing seemed acid stained, bleach-white, and there was a collar around his thick neck, some abomination of what a Catholic priest might have worn.
Each of the Elder’s fingers had a sandstone ring on it which matched his belt, one clearly of native design, at least from what Sterling had seen back in New Mexico. There was nothing remarkable about the man’s face aside from the fact that he was balding, his beard long and held tight by a hair tie, swaying against the front of his white shirt like the tail of a donkey.
“Ah, you must be the newcomer,” the Elder of Nauvoo said as he motioned for Yankee Judd to step away. The man had no discernible accent, which made him seem smarter than the people he’d surrounded himself with.
“I wouldn’t say I’m new by any stretch of the word, but new to these parts, sure,” Sterling told the man as he respectfully took off his hat. “I’m new. The name is Sterling Monedero.”
“Sterling Monedero.” The man repeated the name a few times to himself. “That is a unique name.”
“So is the Elder of Nauvoo.”
“Please,” said the Elder as he motioned toward a seating area to the left of his trailer. “Join me.”
Two children stood near the seating area, both with automatic weapons, Sterling wondering why he hadn’t spotted them before. They must have been hiding behind it or something, he thought as he approached a wrought iron seat surrounded by other patio furniture once used by the Before People.
“I see you got yourself some child soldiers here,” Sterling said as he casually gestured toward the two child guards, both males, skinny, no older than ten, the one on the left with a bridge of acne over his eyebrows. They stood at attention, neither making eye contact with Sterling. Clearly trained.
“Yes, yes, my children,” the Elder of Nauvoo said as he took a seat across from Sterling. He positioned his legs under the chair and draped his multifarious cloak over his knees.
“These boys look about ten years old,” Sterling observed. “The Reset was five years ago; are you saying you have been able to locate your kin?”
“The Reset? Is that what you call the Rapture?”
“It is. Seems like we got different words for some of the same things. Either way, it was five years ago for us. For me, anyway. What about you there, compadre?”
The Elder slowly nodded. “Five years ago, yes. What can I say? I’m a charitable man and I have adopted many children since. I’ve also had just as many of my own. My wives have been very fruitful.”
“Yeah, I saw that. I also noticed you haven’t adopted any men,” Sterling said just about as frankly as he could. “Unless they are hiding somewhere. Which leads me to wonder what happens when these boys hit puberty?”
“I find it strange that the first thing you would do upon meeting me would be to accuse me of something, then start asking questions about my children and puberty,” the Elder of Nauvoo said in a very calm way. “But maybe I’ve misread you. I am the person that would likely be most helpful to you right now, considering you are a stranger in an unknown land. Perhaps you haven’t quite come to understand this yet.”
“Deseret, right? Care to tell me where I am exactly? I mean the real name.”
“You are in Deseret.”
“The United States of America? Everything seems to be in English, and I haven’t seen any Spanish.”
“No one speaks Spanish here, at least in this part of Deseret. The United States of America no longer exists. All is Deseret.”
“Ha! I hate to burst your bubble there, compadre, but all definitely ain’t Deseret. And I don’t mean no offense in that,” Sterling told him. Without asking permission, he lit one of his cigarettes and took a long drag off it, deciding not to offer the Elder the other one he’d rolled. Sterling didn’t like him. “Hope you don’t mind.”
“By all means…”
“You still didn’t tell me what happened to all the men around here. Where did they go? Why is it just you? Seems like you got yourself a fine little harem going on around here.”
“It is not as complicated as you have made it out to be. Once the Dejected boys reach maturity, they must find their own tribe. There’s nothing nefarious about that. This is the tribe that I’ve put together, a branch of the Serpents of Paradise, and they are taught to do the same. Not all of them survive out there,” he said as he looked toward one of the fences, a hint of sadness in the Elder of Nauvoo’s eyes that Sterling didn’t trust, “but some do, and others end up banding together in the end. Survival is important, is it not?”
“Shee-it. I got a friend back in T or C who is fond of saying, ‘if you ain’t living life on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.’ But I don’t agree with him exactly. I don’t live life on the edge by choice, I live life on the edge by circumstance, and it seems to me that y’all would have a much better chance of surviving together with your menfolk than simply sending all the boys of age to fend for themselves. But that’s just me.” He puffed on a cigarette for a moment. “You know what? I’ll put my judgments aside. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. I ain’t here to question your way of life, even if it is curious to me. I’m here to figure out where I am, and hopefully find my companions, if they too were transported here.”
“You have companions?”
“There are three people who may or may not have been sent here with me. One is named Don Gasper, you’d know him if you saw him because he is like you in some ways, and I don’t think that old fool would say no to a group of women all worshiping the ground he walks upon while he gets to sit up on the hill and prophesize. No offense,” Sterling said.
“How do you know I prophesize?”
“Your name is the Elder of Nauvoo and you sit on the hill and wear robes. Am I wrong in my assumption?”
“I have had visions, all of which have come true.”
“See, amigo?” Sterling offered him a grin. “This is what it is like to talk to an adult. We know things.”
“My wives are adults.”
“Speaking of which; I met one of them, Lily Gray. You should give that woman her sleeping bag back.”
“Who else are you looking for?” the Elder of Nauvoo asked, still maintaining his mysterious demeanor.
Sterling had purposely been pushing buttons to see if he could get the man to either open up a bit, or at least get pissed, with the hopes that it would reveal what was really going on around here. But this strategy had yet to pan out.
“The Sunflower Kid. She’s a teenage girl who rides a pronghorn.”
“I would have noticed a new teenage girl.”
“I don’t like the way you said that,” Sterling said as he ashed his cigarette. He took another drag off it and purposely blew his cloud of smoke in the direction of the Elder. “And if you do encounter her, I would advise that you keep your grubby paws to yourself. Once again, no offense. That one don’t play nice.”
“Who else are you looking for?”
“A woman named Roxie. Another one you would know if you met, because by this point she would have probably shot you in your pecker.”
“We wouldn’t want that, would we?” the Elder of Nauvoo asked, his grin matching Sterling’s.
“I’m going to level with you.”
“By all means, cowboy.”
“I got this feeling that you know exactly where we are, where I am, and what it used to be called, which would help me get to where I need to go. That’s a lot of ‘wheres,’ but you get my point. I’m fairly certain that you could help me. So rather than me sitting here telling you about people I’m looking for, how about you tell me what I need to know, and I’ll be on my way. No harm, no foul.”
“In exchange, yes?” He took a deep breath in through his nostrils. “Deseret is a land of incredible mystery, one that the Raptured bequeathed to those like myself, the Elders of the Serpents of Paradise, who are responsible for shepherding the people during this transitional period. You do realize that is what this is, do you not? This is merely a transitional period, one which will pass in time, once the other two Nephites return.”
“Nephites?”
“They are the true disciples, and one has already made their appearance here in Deseret in the form of a powerful person we call the Oracle.”
Sterling tried not to shake his head. So far, the Elder of Nauvoo had been cordial enough to him, but he had been around long enough to know bullshit when he smelled it.
“We have ways that we operate here in Deseret,” the Elder continued, “and one of those ways is through bartering. There are savages out there, to be sure, groups like the Angels of Woe, but civilized folks such as myself and my wives, and for that matter our beautiful children, work on a trading system. This is why we have such a good relationship with the Great Saltair, with the Oracle.”
“Not the first time I’ve heard of this Saltair. What is the place exactly?”
“It is the center of true civilization in Northern Deseret. I would gladly have some of my children lead you there if you would be able to help me. Unfortunately, I do not personally have the answers you seek, but you would find them there. I’m certain of it. That is where the Oracle calls home. She would know.”
“So you’re proposing a ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’ situation here, right?”
“Is that what you would call it where you come from?”
“I would call it a number of things where I’m from.”
“And where is that exactly, your home?”
“New Mexico.”
The Elder’s eyes lit up with wonder. “Ah, yes, New Mexico. Yet another pocket of Deseret, a small corner of its beauty. Alas, it is too late to leave tonight, but tomorrow I would ask that you perform a task that would greatly help my family, in exchange for the information that I have.”
“What kind of task?”
“A day ago, one of the women was out on a walk with her child when my dear baby Jessica was abducted by bandits. I would like you to track and find these bandits, and I don’t think it will be very hard. They are a group that we have been at odds with for a while, several miles south of here. Bring me the infant child, and I will help you in any way that I can.”
“So you want me to kill some bandits and rescue a baby?” Sterling asked.
“You don’t need to kill them; what you do to them is between your fate and theirs.”
“Right.” Sterling dropped his cigarette to the ground. He made a show of putting it out with his boot. “Then I guess all is said and done here.”
“Judd,” the Elder of Nauvoo called out. The boy approached a few moments later. “Show him to my guest quarters. You have eaten, have you not?” the Elder asked Sterling.
“I have.”
“Would you like to eat anything else?”
“I’m good,” Sterling said.
“Would you like any company for tonight?” the Elder of Nauvoo asked, the man yet again with that creepy soft smile on his face. “I have a number of my lesser wives that would surely please you.”
Lesser wives? Sterling shook his head, barely able to hide his disdain for the Elder. “I’m good.”
.Chapter Three.
None of it. Sterling Monedero didn’t like none of it. Not the vibes that everyone at the Dejected compound was putting off, not the way the Elder of Nauvoo acted around him, the child soldiers standing behind him, or the lack of men and male children over a certain age.
None of it.
The sooner I get the hell out of here, the better, Sterling thought as he closed the door of the trailer that had been given to him for the night. The space inside was clean enough, the floors practically spit shined, the walls bare aside from a yellowed calendar that read Proxima Galaxy. Even more surprising was an orange light that flickered on once he reached for the switch. Had his action been out of habit? Some instinct left over from the Before Times?
See a switch, press it.
He had figured upon entering the trailer that he was going to have to light a candle or something, but nope, there was actual electricity, even a little fan in the window that kicked on and blew in a gust of cold air from outside.
Sterling dropped down on the bed and smoothed his hands over the pale blue linens, noticing that they were crisp, ironed cotton. He removed his cowboy hat and bent over to smell the fabric. Definitely fresh. He still had a cigarette rolled up and ready to go, but he figured he’d smoke one later, maybe once the Elder of Nauvoo went back into his trailer.
Sterling didn’t want to hang out with the man if he didn’t have to.
“Damn fool, giving me a quest,” he said as he ran his hand along the contours of his beard.
Then again, if the crazy prophetic bastard with all his wives would point Sterling in the right direction of civilization, where he could hopefully figure out where he was and how far he would have to travel to find the others, it would all be worth it. And it wasn’t like he was opposed to killing a few bandits along the way. After all, the world had too many bandits, not enough saviors.
Finally alone, Sterling decided to do something he’d been meaning to do since appearing in the salt flats. After making sure that there was enough space for it to float, he accessed his inventory list and summoned the miniature Godwalker.
“Beep,” he said as the small monolith appeared before him. “Don’t say nothing.”
“What did I just tell you?” Sterling said as he knocked his fist along the side of the Godwalker. He expected a panel to open on the front of the monolith and blast him as it had the amalgamation back in the salt flats.
But instead, Beep made yet another noise that sounded as if it were asking a question.
“Do you understand me?” Sterling asked as he peered at the alien creation. He could actually see his reflection in the Godwalker’s smooth surface, his haggard features, dirty black hair, and bags under his eyes, making Sterling feel dirty, like he could use a good bath or two.
“I’m going to try again,” Sterling said in a low voice, “make sure you ain’t pulling my leg. Beep, can you understand me?”
“Okay, okay, do you know where I am?”
“Ha! I guess that makes one of us,” Sterling joked as he fought the urge to smoke a cigarette. Maybe he’d been smoking too much lately, the stress of it all, simply being alive. Focusing on Beep, he stared at his own muddled reflection as he tried to think of something that it wouldn’t be able to answer with an affirmative sound.
“¿Cada loco con su tema, no?” Sterling said, which was a Spanish saying akin to ‘different strokes for different folks,’ but actually translated to something more along the lines of ‘every crazy person has their issues.’
“So you can’t speak Spanish, good to know. That, or maybe you don’t agree with the statement. I don’t know what you agree with because I don’t know what you are.”
There was a knock at the trailer door, and Beep immediately turned to it. Sterling reached forward and grabbed the monolith with one hand to bring it closer, pointing at it with the other: “Don’t you say a damn word.”
He reached for a tattered blanket featuring a southwestern print and tossed it over Beep. Once he was back on his feet, Sterling guided the miniature Godwalker into the corner of the small trailer, near what was once the fridge.
“Stay here, don’t say nothing, and definitely don’t shoot no one.” After clearing his throat, Sterling answered the door to find Yankee Judd standing there, a curious look on the boy’s face.
“Who was you talking to, mister?” he asked, bits of food at the corners of his mouth indicating he’d been eating.
“Shee-it, I was talking to myself. You don’t do that?”
“Talk to myself?” Yankee Judd gave him a funny look. “Hell no. According to Father, that’s a sign that someone done lost their mind.”
“Well, if the shoe fits… Heh, what can I help you with?” Sterling took a quick glance over to Beep, the small monolith still hovering in the air with the blanket draped over it. It seemed to have moved closer to the door.
“I know you already ate,” said Yankee Judd, “but some of the sister-wives wanted to meet you. They made more food.”
“I ain’t in a sister-wife meeting sort of mood,” Sterling said, suspecting that the Elder had something to do with this. “No offense to them ladies.”
“That’s what I told them, but they wanted to send me up here anyway.”
“Good,” Sterling said, once again catching Beep scooting closer to the open doorway. He slowly began to position himself between Yankee Judd and the tiny Godwalker. “Best to listen to the womenfolk, especially if that’s all that there seems to be around here, well, them, kids, and your Elder. Say, what happened to the other men? They really run off?”
