Savage Uprising Pyrrus and Kerk 7 E-Book

Stig Granfors

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Pyrrus and Kerk
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 285

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

The so-called savages of Westworld are rebelling. They start a bloody struggle for their forgotten and repressed rights. Pyrrus and Kerk end up in the middle of the conflict and are given an almost impossible task to mediate. How to stop a fierce war of extinction, where there can be only one winner? If the two space adventurers don't succeed in their attempts at peace, the foremost and oldest colony of the Andromeda Galaxy will perish. How to deal with irreconcilable attitudes and prejudices, which have intensified over a long period of time? Can it get better? This time, the adventurers are also fighting against the forces of the weather. Surprising snowstorms in the home areas of the savages are taking their toll. The seventh book about the space adventurers Pyrrus and Kerk, whose motto is "It will get better". "The savage couldn't help but smile. Everything would collapse. A stampeding herd in full panic left nothing behind. It flattened everything to the ground. The inhabitants who presumably survived the attack would be driven out into the river. They would drown like the wild beasts they were. There was no forgiveness. Just a deep hatred that exceeded all reason." "He fumbled on. This time he didn't care about the wet parts he encountered. Suddenly he waded into waist-high water. Had he passed this before? Yes, on the way into the tunnel, he told himself. But he wasn't entirely sure. He fumbled his way further into the tunnel. This time he didn't care about the wet parts he encountered. He found the narrow passage and turned around, fumbling further in the other direction. He was convinced that he would die. Still, he went forward with staggering steps. His thoughts wandered again. The bats will eat you. What kind of nonsense is that? The bats can't eat you. Not these kinds of bats. No, but the beetles will. He was most afraid of the beetles. The crawling scavengers."

Leseprobe

Savage Uprising Pyrrus and Kerk 7

Savage Uprising Pyrrus and Kerk 7The uprisingConflict or dialogueThe invisible enemyThe four hundred warriorsRancho CucamongaLostFactsCopyright

Savage Uprising Pyrrus and Kerk 7

Stig Granfors/Marcus Granfors Adventure novel

Original title: Vildarnas uppror - Pyrrus och Kerk 7      Translation: Stig Granfors.

“There are many humorous things in the world; among them, the white man’s notion that he is less savage than the other savages.”      Mark Twain

Books by Stig Granfors

Non-fiction

Civilisationens gåtor (2005)

Skapelsens gåtor (2006)

Livets gåtor (2008)

En skön ny värld (2010)

Historiska gåtor (2019)

Biologiska gåtor (2019)

Fiction

Liv (2011)

Glimt av hopp (2012)

Skärseld (2013)

Strid (2014)

Botnia (2015)

Varningen (2017)

Hotet (2019)

In English

Stonehenge threat (2021)

Books by Stig Granfors and Marcus Granfors

In Swedish

Neodym – Pyrrus och Kerk 1 (2020)

Västvärlden – Pyrrus och Kerk 2 (2020)

Östvärlden – Pyrrus och Kerk 3 (2020)

Sydvärlden – Pyrrus och Kerk 4 (2021)

Nordvärlden – Pyrrus och Kerk 5 (2021)

Ökenplaneten – Pyrrus och Kerk 6 (2021)

Vildarnas uppror – Pyrrus och Kerk 7 (2022)

In English

Neodymium – Pyrrus and Kerk 1 (2020)

Westworld – Pyrrus and Kerk 2 (2021)

Eastworld – Pyrrus and Kerk 3 (2021)

Southworld – Pyrrus and Kerk 4 (2021)

Northworld – Pyrrus and Kerk 5 (2021)

Desert Planet – Pyrrus and Kerk 6 (2021)

Savage Uprising - Pyrrus and Kerk 7 (2022)

© 2022 Stig Granfors and Marcus Granfors

https://stiggranfors.jimdofree.com      Publisher: BoD - Books on Demand GmbH, Helsinki, Finland

Print: BoD - Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt, Germany

ISBN: 9789528062837

The uprising

A light breeze fell on their backs. The knee-high grass moved softly in the wind. A beautiful moonlight covered the plain with a silvery shade. Occasionally, the landscape shone almost white even though the air was warm and pleasant. It was late autumn and a very beautiful night. The best they had had in a long time. A wonderful scent shot up from the plain and made all senses appreciate life.

A perfect existence.

Still, something really bad was happening.

No one had expected this.

No warning.

Still, the signs had been in the air for a long time.

A whole century.

The grass hid them well. They had been planning the attack for a long time. This night the injustices and the long oppression would end. Their ancestors would finally be avenged.

Akeelah hugged his spear. It was an ancient weapon consisting of a nine feet long shaft made of the small ash trees which was the only type of wood up north.

The tip was made of the hard stone, which was found in abundant quantities in their area. It was chopped and shaped very carefully during long and tedious work shifts, until it got the wide and sharp edges that caused large internal bleeding in the victim.

Blood vessels, tendons and muscles were paralysed very quickly, when the spear hit the right place. The best way to immediately silence the victim was to hit the heart. Not the head or the neck, neither the face nor the mouth, as these were difficult targets due to their limited size.

And if you hit the teeth, maybe one or two teeth were broken, but the spear didn’t penetrate far enough and didn’t cause any major damage.

That was not at all effective.

It might scare the opponent, but didn’t stop him. No, the chest and the delicate tissues on the inside of the body were the best targets.

When the spear was pulled out, the internal organs were damaged so badly that they couldn’t be repaired. This often resulted in a slow and painful death. And that was what Akeelah was looking for. The slower and more painful death for the hated enemy the better.

Akeelah called the spear Jaculum.

It was a part of him.

His confidant.

His best friend.

He would prove worthy of the honor of participating in this decisive struggle. His comrades also had spears, but at least as many had throwing arrows, which were thrown with great force from an ingenious throwing device, for which Akeelah’s father, Malumbe, had created the prototype.

The arrows were made of the same hard ash wood as the spear. The arrowheads were very narrow and sharp. The arrow shaft was also narrow. On the back of the arrow there were four feathers inserted in the wood. The rear end was cut obliquely to give extra speed to the arrow.

Others had laser rifles, but guns were clumsy weapons compared to spears and arrows. They had thrown away some rifles because they couldn’t make them work. The rifles were personalized for some specific users and these settings were hard to bypass. Many rifles had been destroyed when they forced the settings. They had stolen the rifles from ranches during small raids earlier that summer.

A laser rifle was perhaps an ingenious weapon for the white man, but not for Akeelah and his comrades. The Zulu warriors preferred to stick to traditional weapons, which were light, easy to carry and easy to use.

Akeelah, like his comrades, had been practicing and rehearsing for several years for this ultimate battle. It was a great honor to participate in the campaign. Their chief Malumbe had hand-picked the young warriors for the raid on the big city.

They must not fail.

It was the day of revenge.

Their ancestors had been expelled to the cold regions of the north many generations ago. The white man would now have to pay for this injustice.

Akeelah raised his spear in the air. He had used it in many hunts. It could be used in many ways, for throwing from a long distance or for thrusting when hunting or when fighting at close range. He had been practicing for so long that the spear was a part of him.

The campaign had been prepared for a long time.

It had been a long wait.

However, Akeelah was a patient man, as were his people.

Now, the opportunity to strike had come, as this was the first time they were well prepared. The white people had been lured to believe that nothing like this could ever happen. The coordinated attacks would come as a total surprise to them.

The final battle began.

Akeelah and the young warriors had divided into ten groups of ten men each. Ten ranches were to be attacked simultaneously and burned down. Then they would gather and continue together to North town.

Akeelah smiled.

He was so looking forward to this.

The city that had expelled his ancestors would burn in the fire of hell.

Only ashes would remain.

His ancestors would rejoice.

He too would share in the joy.

The white man would finally disappear.

For good.

With his nine comrades, he led the herd of cattle in front of him. They set fire to the bushes and made the animals rush away in panic. Two cowboys got in the way and were trampled down. One had only been injured. He was lying on the ground with a broken leg and could do nothing but helplessly watch, when Akeelah came by and thrusted the spear in his chest. A short cry and the man’s eyes went blank.

Akeelah ran on. He and his comrades got the herd to change direction. The panicked herd now ran straight towards the ranch. A moment later, the cattle woke the sleepers. The ranch buildings were made of light wood and they collapsed quickly when the cattle crashed against them.

The neighborhood was filled with screams and desperate cries.

The cattle rushed on in a cloud of dust. Akeelah and his men killed the survivors among the ruins. Then they ran on, shouted and drove the cattle on.

The herd wouldn’t be able to run in panic all the way to North town, so they stopped for a while and let the cattle calm down. Then they slowly urged the herd on. After a few hours of slow pace, the cows could be scared to stampede again.

The other ten-man guerrilla groups had similar missions. The city would be attacked from several directions and be completely destroyed. The remains were to be lit by Akeelah and his comrades. Everything would be burned to the ground.

Akeelah ran on with a smile on his face. His comrades showed the same joy. They had run for a long time already but didn’t feel any fatigue at all. This night they could run as far as they wanted.

Rest later, Akeelah thought.

First, the white man would be exterminated.

The herd got tired again after a new rush forward. The cows hung their heads with their tongues out. Their eyes were still wild but eventually they calmed down. Akeelah and his friends gathered the flock and let it graze on the grass in peace and quiet.

Akeelah sat down and began to chew on a blade of grass. He wiped the blood from his spear. He looked north, where dark clouds piled up on the horizon. The first snowstorm of the season was on its way and would soon envelop his father’s, Malumbe’s, camp in a white shroud. They would become invisible to the enemy who dared to go that far north.

Akeelah took a deep breath. Here further south the air was still warm and fresh.

He hugged his spear again.

Jaculum.

His best friend.

The cool breeze calmed Akeelah’s excited mind and he looked up at the sky. It was dark and gloomy like his state of mind. He was convinced that his friends felt the same way.

Akeelah and his friends sat together in a circle. They didn’t talk to each other. Sometimes they smiled in passing but not a word was uttered. Everyone concentrated fully on the upcoming mission.

The training had prepared them well.

No words were needed.

Everyone knew what they had to do.

When the people on the north side of the planet were wiped out, the people on the south side would follow in the next wave of rage. At that stage, Akeelah and his friends wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the surprise advantage. The surprise was an advantage only this night. When the day dawned, the people in the south would know what had happened and be on their guard. However, once Akeelah and his friends started the fight, nothing would stop them. That was as sure as a straw bending in the wind.

Westworld would be theirs again.

Akeelah’s ancestors had created the first colony on the planet. It was Akeelah’s sacred task to recapture it. And this time, they would keep the planet to themselves.

Akeelah closed his eyes and lay down in the soft grass. His comrades followed his example. The stars in the sky flashed. Sometimes a shooting star appeared. A second followed the first. The small shreds of light disappeared as quickly as they appeared.

Small parts of celestial bodies hit the surface of the planet and evaporated due to the high temperatures from the friction against the planet atmosphere. His father had explained this and much more. Malumbe was a wise man. He kept track of all their legends and knew a lot about what was happening in the universe. However, he didn’t like the technology of the white man. He had chosen a way of life close to nature, partly by coercion but mainly by choice. Akeelah and his peers had adopted the same simple lifestyle.

That way, they saved the resources of the planet.

Reused.

They didn’t plunder as the white man did.

Akeelah didn’t understand the way of life of the white man. To use and then throw away. That was an arrogant attitude. The white man only appreciated himself. He pretended to own everything and could waste it all in a whim of foolishness.

The whites and the Chicanos called Akeelah and his people savages. That was an insult. The white men and the Chicanos were the real savages.

The look on Akeelah’s face became gloomy again at the thought. He and his friends would show their enemies who were the real savages. They would show them how real men behaved.

They rested for an hour. Akeelah got up and examined the cattle. The cows still looked tired. They hung their heads but were not completely exhausted. Akeelah decided to give them another hour. He sat down in the middle of the circle of comrades and signalled that they would wait a while longer. The friends threw themselves on their backs in the grass and relaxed.

North town was only six miles away. They would arrive at dawn. At the time when the inhabitants were in their deepest sleep.

The townspeople had previously had guards on the outskirts of the city, but since the uprising on the south side of the river had been crushed the year before, the rulers saw no reason to keep the guards. Police officers were sometimes tasked with patrolling the city streets at night, but the police were lazy and inefficient. When nothing bad had happened for a long time, they also slept instead of keeping track of what was happening in the city during the dark hours.

Akeelah’s spies had confirmed this. In addition, the city had organized a big gathering this evening. It was the anniversary day of North town with drinks and food in large quantities. It was the perfect time. That’s why Akeelah’s father had chosen this very night, when the inhabitants were still drowsy and sleepy after the fiesta.

The weather benefited Akeelah and his friends. He heard the other herds moving out on the plain. They would merge the cattle a bit north of the city. Then they would attack on a common signal. They didn’t intend to take prisoners. They needed none. Prisoners were just a nuisance.

The few Chicanos living on the outskirts of the city would be the first victims. They lived in simple mud huts. The cattle would quickly stampede these homes to the ground. Akeelah despised the Chicanos. These were exploited by the white man. The Chicanos carried out the lowest paid jobs in the city. They also showed no respect for Akeelah’s people. The contempt went way back in time. That’s why Akeelah felt no respect for the Chicanos. Their relatives on the other side of the river would be wiped out as swiftly as the whites in the north.

Akeelah raised his spear. It was time. A smaller herd had now been reunited with their original flock, and together with his new comrades, Akeelah and his friends were slowly moving the much larger herd forward. They were careful not to frighten the cattle in this situation. The wild stampede would not resume until the ten herds had gathered.

The cows kept calm. Akeelah and his friends stopped now and then and let the cattle graze from time to time. Akeelah was in no hurry. It wasn’t dawn yet.

The gentle breeze lay in their backs. It brought with it a pleasant scent of flowers and grass, shrubs and leaves. That night, Akeelah realized that he was really alive. All his senses made him feel tense and excited. He perceived everything in the air and around him in a unique way.

The full existence.

This was life in its prime.

At the same time they would end another life.

Now the silhouettes of the city buildings were visible in the distance. Akeelah studied with a serious gaze the small mud huts at the outskirts of the town and the more robust houses further inside the city.

He couldn’t help but smile. Everything would collapse. A stampeding herd in full panic left nothing behind. It flattened everything to the ground. The inhabitants who presumably survived the attack would be driven out into the river. They would drown like the wild beasts they were.

There was no forgiveness.

Just a deep hatred that exceeded all reason.

Akeelah trembled with eagerness. The time was right. The ten herds had gathered. Akeelah looked out over the herd. They had gathered five or six thousand cattle. It was a powerful weapon in the hand of Akeelah and his men.

Akeelah whistled loudly. It was the agreed signal. They lit the bushes behind the cattle and shouted loudly. It again created panic among the cows. More fires caused the herd to rush forward in wild fear as if on command. It was a primitive horror that forced the cattle forward. And when the cows once picked up speed, they ran even faster. Nothing stopped their way. They smashed against carts and walls. They hit against pillars and load-bearing structures. Everything fell apart. The cattle destroyed everything. Only piles of stone and clay, boards and roof tiles were left. North town disappeared in a single large cloud of dust.

Akeelah and his companions followed the flock from a safe distance. They heard screams and terrified cries now and then. The screams came from residents who had been awakened by the noise. A few managed to run down to the ferry. Akeelah accused himself. He should have sent out a patrol to burn the ferry. At the same time, he realized that he and his friends needed the two ferries. Without them, it was difficult to cross the wide and dangerous river. The ferries were the main connection between the two countries, North and South.

Akeelah left the others to put an end to the surviving inhabitants of the city. He himself took five men with him. They would destroy the spaceship landing site outside the city.

But they arrived too late.

The resistance had already been organized at the site surrounded by barbed wire. They were hit by heavy gun fire. Large headlights swept constantly back and forth over the empty landscape, revealing the slightest movement. Akeelah lost two men and withdrew. For a while he thought about shooting the lights, but decided not to. The landing site would be taken in a cunning raid later, the following night. The spotlights would be useful in that raid. They were usually directed in only one direction, towards the city. That was a mistake that would cost the whites dearly.

Akeelah and his friends returned to the city and participated in the methodical cleansing. It was a terrible but well organized massacre. The cattle had already disappeared out on the plain. Some cattle had rushed into the river in panic and drowned. The same fate had befallen the many inhabitants who tried to swim across the river. The current was strong and only a handful managed to get over to the other side. Some residents had managed to get over to the other side with the ferry. They now stood and looked with surprised and frightened eyes at the ruined city.

Akeelah and his men set fire to the ruins of the city. The blaze lit up both sides of the river. Akeelah raised his spear and let out a long, loud scream. He saw the horror in the faces of the survivors on the other side of the river. His wild howls made them disappear from the river bank.

That’s right, go and hide, Akeelah thought. But we will find you. You will not escape our revenge.

”Vengeance”, he shouted and his comrades repeated in unison: ”Vengeance! For our forefathers!”

But in their language, it sounded more like a clicking, short sound. They knew the language of the whites but preferred the ancient saying of clicking with the tongue. They had three different sounds. A lateral click, with the cheek against the teeth, as when calling a horse. Palatably, with the tongue against the front palate and dentally, with the tongue against the upper front teeth, as when expressing disappointment in the language of the whites.

But this wasn’t the moment of disappointment.

This was a great victory.

Akeelah and his companions rejoiced.

Akeelah fell silent after a while. Admittedly, this was an important victory, but still only the beginning of the campaign. The whites and the Chicanos would gather and strike back. Akeelah and his friends didn’t want that to happen. They had to continue. But first the landing site had to be conquered. It was important, because the whites got weapons and ammunition that way. When it came to necessities such as food, the planet was self-sufficient.

Akeelah looked at the devastation in the burning city. Dead cows lay scattered everywhere. Akeelah and his friends would not go hungry this time. He remembered the many times he had gone to bed hungry. In the barren mountain areas up north, where his ancestors had been exiled so many years ago, there was a shortage of everything. The amount of fish had also declined drastically in recent years. The mines of the whites had polluted the water in many places and several fish species had become extinct.

Akeelah had learned from an early age that life was full of shortages and hardships.

But not anymore.

Now a time of abundance waited.

The planet was theirs.

Finally.

Life was again worth living.

Shortly before this happened, Daphne Dubois woke up in North town long before dawn. She had slept restlessly the last few nights. What kept Kerk and Pyrrus? Why had they not returned from Northworld? Had they managed to save her kidnapped comrades? A short message from Northworld had confirmed that everything had returned to normal on the planet. The villains had been defeated.

The uprising had been put down thanks to Pyrrus and Kerk. Their spaceship had departed from Northworld to Westworld two weeks earlier. Why were they not here then, Daphne wondered. She longed not only for Kerk, her husband, but also for her colleagues from the laboratory, Alun and the other chemists. What had happened to them?

She boiled water and crumbled tea leaves in a cup. Thirsty, she stirred and waited for the water to turn golden yellow. The tea leaves were imported from the country in the south. The Chicanos cultivated them. She had not yet met the Chicanos. After the city mayor had rescued her and her comrade Michelle from Death Planet, they had kept to themselves at the hotel.

According to Kerk, the Chicanos were a mixture of Mexicans and Chinese from Earth. They had slanted eyes and had their own language. According to Kerk, the inhabitants of the south were more relaxed and informal than the strict and rigid inhabitants of the north. No wonder he had easier to deal with the Chicanos than with the residents of North town.

Pyrrus had said something similar. The Chicanos were friendly in nature while the whites on the north side of the wide river were more formal. There wasn’t anything wrong with that, Pyrrus had said, but the Chicanos were definitely easier to get along with. Maybe it had something to do with the warmer climate in the south. It made the inhabitants softer in some way.

At the same time, they were not as successful as the whites in the north. Perhaps it was a result of the Chicanos not wanting to make unnecessary efforts. The little they had was enough for them, Kerk claimed. Pyrrus, on the other hand, considered many Chicanos to be downright lazy. Kerk didn’t agree. The difference between Chicanos and the whites was due to a different approach to life. How much should you own? Maybe the little the Chicanos had was enough, Kerk said. Kerk believed that the whites’ pursuit of ever-increasing prosperity and better efficiency often took place at the expense of the weaker.

Pyrrus had fallen silent after Kerk’s long and outspoken tirade. It was rare for his friend to speak so passionately, and the few times he did, it was worth listening to. In addition, Pyrrus realized that when Kerk was in that mood, he couldn’t be stopped. Then it was best to listen calmly and let his comrade go on until he got tired.

Daphne’s thoughts drifted away from the two space adventurers for a moment. Instead, she studied the ferry from the hotel window. The river water was muddy brown. She noticed that broken tree branches approached the ferry. But just before the branches hit the ferry, they were pulled down into the muddy water. The current was strong.

The river formed a natural border between the two countries on Westworld, North and South. There were two ferries that united the countries. One ferry terminal was situated at North town and the other one further north near the Blossom ranch, where Pyrrus and Kerk had worked the first time they visited the planet. The two space adventurers had not told much about their first visit to Westworld, but what became clear was that they didn’t want to stay there.

Daphne didn’t exactly understand why. The planet was very beautiful, at least this early in the morning. The first rays of the sun lit up the mountain ranges in the south and made them shiver in all the colors of the rainbow. The air was nice and clear. It would be a wonderful day.

A thunderous sound made Daphne turn her gaze to the plain. A large cloud of dust had accumulated north of the city. She thought that was strange, because the wind was so weak. Then she felt the house shake a bit. The window rattled and the view changed. Daphne saw the first cows rushing straight towards the city. It was a huge herd. It would destroy everything in its path.

Daphne rushed to Michelle, who was sleeping in the same room and still recovering from the injuries she had suffered on Death Planet. Michelle woke up immediately.

”We have to get out of here,” Daphne shouted.

”What? Where?” Michelle asked confused.

”We have a herd of stampeding cattle on its way to town,” Daphne replied. ”Come on, we have to leave. No time to lose. ”

”But I have to pack,” Michelle protested.

Daphne pulled impatiently her hand. ”Forget it. We have to run down to the ferry terminal. That is our only salvation. Come on, hurry up.”

”But my clothes,” Michelle mumbled.

”You’re already well dressed as you are,” Daphne shouted and disappeared out the door, half-pulling a reluctant Michelle. Michelle obeyed as she heard the strained anxiety in Daphne’s voice.

They came out on the street and rushed behind the hotel and down to the ferry. Some newly awakened residents had already gathered on the worn deck of the ferry. Now the first cows appeared. The cattle rushed straight towards the ferry. Daphne and Michelle jumped on board and the ferryman pushed the ferry out at the last minute. The cows plummeted into the river and disappeared into the depths.

At the same time, the hotel behind them collapsed. Suddenly, only a pile of wood remained of the distinguished three-story hotel. There wasn’t anything left of the former luxury.

Daphne was amazed at how quickly the city was wiped out. She heard screams and shouts. But they quickly drowned in the general noise. The people on the ferry could do nothing but watch in horror, as the devastation hit house after house.

A moment later the savages appeared. Daphne had not seen them before but had heard of them. They frightened her. Pyrrus and Kerk had mentioned them in passing. They had had an encounter with one of them in the south. That time they had fought the tyrant Jesus Garcia and his men. One of the savages had meanwhile murdered their comrades, who were hiding in a mountain cabin.

It had been a tragic time. According to Kerk, Pyrrus had been deeply shocked. Pyrrus had feelings for a woman who was murdered by this savage. The woman had also been severely tortured. No one knew why the savage had committed this cruel act of violence. Now Daphne saw in the distance an equally reckless violence unfolding before her own eyes. The savages went from house to house, killing everyone in their path. She heard the victims screaming. No mercy was given.

Daphne turned her gaze away. She couldn’t understand this sudden and unimaginable violence. According to what she knew, there was peace with the natives in the north. Where did this sudden attack come from? It was an insane act.

She noticed a man swimming in the water. The man fought against the current and managed to swim towards the ferry. It was the city mayor.

He snorted and spat water. ”Help,” he shouted in a weak voice. He fumbled with his hands on one edge of the ferry without getting a grip on it. The ferryman threw a piece of rope at him. The mayor wrapped the rope around him and was helped up on deck.

”That was close,” the ferryman stated. ”I have seen many slipping under the ferry in my years.” He spat into the water and concluded: “Most of them drown in such situations. The current is stronger than you think.”

Daphne approached the mayor. ”What’s happening?” she asked.

”If I only knew,” the mayor replied. ”This is a total surprise. I was lucky to get away. Why this sudden stampede? This has never happened before. Not even when we have had bad weather have the cattle got spooked in this crazy way.”

Daphne pointed to the city. ”There you have the reason.”

Now the mayor also saw the savages moving from house to house. They methodically searched through the ruins. Every cry for help was silenced with a blow from a spear or a wildly chopping tomahawk.

”I thought you were friends with the savages,” Daphne said.

”Yes we are,” the terrified mayor stammered. ”This must be a mistake.” He looked at the horrible sight in the city and repeated: ”A terrible mistake.”

”No warning?” Daphne wondered.

Perplexed and confused, the mayor slowly shook his head. ”No, nothing, absolutely nothing. This attack comes as a complete surprise. This is terrible. What has happened to the ranches?”

”We can only guess,” Daphne said, settling down on the deck. Her legs no longer carried her. She became short of breath and grabbed Michelle, who was standing next to her.

”What is wrong?” Michelle asked in shock.

”I don’t know,” Daphne replied. Then suddenly her gaze went blank and she slipped into a fog. She no longer heard anything. Her heart was pounding, but it was also the only sign of life.

”Daphne, do you hear me?” Michelle shouted anxiously. She awkwardly clapped Daphne’s hand.

Daphne didn’t answer. She was gone for the moment.

”Let her rest for a while,” the mayor said, pulling Michelle’s hand away. He felt Daphne’s pulse. ”She’s in no danger. It’s just the shock. She’ll be fine.” He looked again at the city and gave Daphne a comforting thought. You don’t have to see all this carnage. Sometimes the brain shuts off at the right moment.

The mayor followed with his eyes all the acts of violence that took place before his eyes. Also when the ferry came over to the other side of the river and the others continued further south, he stood there on the shore and watched how the townspeople were slaughtered and house after house set on fire. He only now realized how lucky he had been. He had at the last moment thrown himself into the river from the second floor of the town hall, where he had his residence. It had been more of an instinct than a real sense of danger. Instinct had saved him.

He heard gunfire from the spaceship landing site east of the city. Someone offered resistance. Hope they make it, he thought. A handful of men were in charge of the landing site, which was surrounded by a high fence to protect against intruders.

The mayor saw the strong headlights at the landing site sweeping across the area. The shooting stopped abruptly. It was quiet again. The ominous silence was worse to endure than the noise a moment earlier.

The cattle had rushed further out on the plain east of the city. Many cows had drowned in the river but some had survived the fall into the depths. The surviving beef cows kicked on in the stream with tired legs. Some disappeared with the current, but some managed to get up on the other side. There they left to stand on the narrow shoreline without the opportunity to get up on the plain above, due to the steep climb that followed. There they stood between the river and the plain, roaring dissatisfied as if they had been tricked into taking this undeserved swim.

Michelle stroke Daphne’s forehead gently with water. Daphne remained unconscious.

The mayor got nervous. ”We have to get going. It’s too risky to stay here.” He tried to wake Daphne by tapping her cheeks lightly.

The mayor only now noticed Michelle’s injured leg. “Can you walk? I’m afraid we have a long way to go. The nearest town, called Ortiz, is ten miles away.”

”That will take three hours,” Michelle replied. ”With my limping leg.”

”Maybe we don’t have to go that far,” the mayor comforted. ”The Chicanos must have seen the fire already. They will meet us.”

He patted Daphne’s cheeks again, harder this time. Now Daphne let out a faint moan. She blinked and looked around wondering where she was.

Michelle made her sit up. ”We are safe. Thank you for saving me. We left town at the last minute. But now we have to move on.” She helped Daphne up.

”I need your help,” Michelle said. ”Support my leg, please. I want to walk faster.” The fear in her voice was obvious when she added: “The natives may cross the river at any time.”

”They are called savages,” the mayor said. “Not that I exactly know why. They founded the first colony on Westworld several generations ago and are actually considered to be the native population of the planet.”

”Why did they attack the city?” Daphne asked in a weak voice.

”I don’t know, but I think the reason is some old grudge,” the mayor replied. ”I don’t know the background very well, but they were expelled from the colony more than a hundred years ago, when new colonizers arrived and got into a dispute with the blacks. Many different stories are told about why it happened and I guess they are all equally false.”

Daphne asked the question no one else dared to say out loud: ”Have they been badly treated?”

The mayor nodded. ”I guess so. We should have included them in our community a long time ago and apologized for past wrongdoings. But they are not easy to deal with. We have negotiated with them several times, given them supplies when they needed them, but they have never shown any gratitude. The savages are a proud people.”

The mayor looked at Daphne with sad eyes. ”They were expelled to the northern parts of the planet a very long time ago and they have probably never forgiven us for that. Now it looks like we’re paying the price.”

”This is an expensive price,” Michelle said.

”True,” the mayor said. ”But nothing has indicated that the disagreement would take such forms. We have always been able to discuss with them. We have had several negotiations.” The mayor thought for a while. ”And they have always been successful.”

Daphne looked out over the burning city. ”They don’t seem to want to negotiate today.”

”No, this is a day of mourning,” the mayor confirmed, holding out his hand to Daphne. ”Come on, we have to go.”

Michelle was supported by Daphne and together the small trio went up the narrow road, which led to the Chicano town named Ortiz.

Daphne brought her hand to her forehead. She already felt dizzy. The mayor began to whistle. The melody sounded familiar.

Daphne turned to the mayor and asked, “I forgot your name. You introduced yourself when you saved us from Death Planet, but now I suddenly don’t remember it. We only met for a short while. Are you the mayor of the city?”

”Jonathan Hall,” the mayor replied. ”But call me Jon. Everyone else does. And I’m not a mayor anymore. There is nothing left to be mayor of. But ignore all that now, we have to move faster. I want to get further away from the river. When we reach the trees over there, we can feel reasonably safe.”

A forest grove opened to Daphne’s gaze. She hurried on her steps and dragged Michelle with her. They half-ran to the deciduous trees. Michelle linked forward as fast as she could. Inside the forest, however, she had to stop and rest.

The three of them sat down in the grass and looked for something to eat. The mayor picked nuts from the trees, while Daphne found berries at the edge of the forest. Together they feasted on the little meal.