Under the Vultures' Moon

William Stafford

Description

Jed and Horse ride again in this sequel to sci-fi Western VULTURES' MOON. When a shuttle crash leaves a young boy orphaned, Jed strives to find who's responsible. During the investigation, the gunslinger and his miraculous steed encounter a host of unsavoury characters and dangerous situations, and the resurgence of an old enemy causes Jed to question his understanding of right and wrong. Fans of the first book will enjoy this fast-moving, action-packed adventure from author William Stafford.

Sujets

• Science fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 11 mars 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783339549
• Langue: English

Extrait

Title Page
UNDER THE VULTURES’ MOON
Jed And Horse Ride Again
A Sci-fi Western by
William Stafford



Publisher Information
Published in 2014 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
The right of William Stafford to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
Copyright © 2014 William Stafford
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.



Dedication
For Ellis: it’s too early for black pants



Chapter One
Crash!
Jed and his Horse hovered over the wreckage. The shuttle had come off the rails and smashed into a heap of boulders - no! Correction: the shuttle had been derailed deliberately and you can bet sure as hell those rocks hadn’t been there the last time it made this trip.
Several people had been thrown from the caboose. Horse scanned them for signs of life and shook his head. He floated down towards the carriage. Jed heard the plaintive cries of a child. He hopped off the saddle before Horse landed and hit the ground running.
“You will be careful, won’t you, Jed?” said Horse.
“It had occurred to me,” the gunslinger muttered. He climbed into the overturned shuttle, bowing his head low.
All around, bodies were strewn in ungainly, uncomfortable positions - these folks’ days of discomfort are over, thought Jed. There wasn’t time to go from corpse to corpse to see if there was anything worth salvaging. Besides it was too far from the nearest quack who could perform the operation and the chosen parts would be useless by the time Jed got there - even travelling by Horse. Jed was glad to be whole and not in need of any replacements for the moment.
Time was a luxury he didn’t have. Sparks flashed and popped from cables, the torn-out guts of the shuttle. Jed reckoned an explosion would not be long coming. Under the fizz and crackle of the electrics, another noise: the sound of a child sobbing.
“Hey, there!” Jed called along the length of the carriage. The sobbing ceased: kid don’t want to be found, Jed reckoned and understood. “Hey, I ain’t going to hurt you, but it’s time to go, little one.”
He stepped over the body of a woman, trying to avoid catching the splayed fabric of her dress with his spurs - they were only for show, those spurs; a stern word was often enough to get Horse moving. That, or endless wheedling and cajoling.
“Come on, little buddy,” Jed maintained a friendly tone. “Let’s get you out of here.”
He heard a sharp intake of breath. The kid was close. Jed stooped.
Between upturned seats, eyes glinted in the shadows.
“There you are!” Jed awarded the kid a rare smile. “What’s your name, son?”
“Wyatt,” the boy replied with a wet sniff.
“I’m Jed. Give me your hand.” He reached into the gap but not too far.
“Who are you, Mister?”
“Like I said, the name’s Jed. I’m here to get you out.”
The boy crawled forwards then hesitated. “Your hands, Mister!”
Jed glanced. The sleeves of his blue shirt had ridden up revealing the neat but visible joins of Doc Brandy’s handiwork. The skin colour wasn’t an exact match but Jed barely noticed the discrepancy anymore and the new extremities worked as well as his original pair.
“They’re my hands,” Jed shrugged. “All bought and paid for.”
The boy giggled. He put his hot little hand in Jed’s. The gunslinger pulled him free of the seats.
“Can you stand?”
“I reckon so. Thanks, Mister.”
“Come on.”
He led the boy to the exit, advising him to keep looking straight ahead. Wyatt yelped when a stray cable snaked overhead, hissing and spitting. A blast from Jed’s revolver severed it.
“Wowie!” said Wyatt. “Do that again!”
Jed climbed out then lifted the boy from the carriage.
“You took your time,” said Horse, masking his relief. “I heard a shot.”
“You heard right,” said Jed. “Come on.”
They hurried behind the fall of boulders. Wyatt’s eyes were wide with wonder. He had never seen a Horse before. They hunkered down and braced themselves. The explosion came seconds later. Shrapnel flew in all directions, whizzing overhead. More gruesome: chunks of the dead dropped wetly in a wide circle around the wreckage. A fine red drizzle hung in the air. Jed let the boy wear his hat. The kid was thrilled; the hat fell over his eyes but that was the point.
When all was calm, Jed lifted Wyatt into the saddle and then climbed on behind.
“Wowie!” said the boy, holding onto the hat as Horse galloped away from the scene, rising higher in the air with every step.
Minutes later, they set down on the prairie. Jed fixed a drink and offered Wyatt some trail biscuit. The boy didn’t seem to have much of an appetite.
“Thanks for saving me, Mister,” he repeated. “I guess you’d like me to tell you what happened.”
“Your guess is altogether correct,” said Horse. Despite his forlorn state, the boy chuckled.
“In your own time,” Jed prompted. The boy managed to take a sip before he spoke.
“We was travelling to Wheelhub,” he began. “My folks and me.”
Horse interrupted. “That shuttle doesn’t go to Wheelhub.” Jed shot him a dirty look.
“We was sort of taking the long way around,” Wyatt resumed. “Stopping off to see relations, seeing a bit of the Moon. My pa...” he broke off to wipe a tear. “My pa had landed himself a new job and so we was celebrating, making a vacation of the trip. My ma was against it from the get-go. She reckons folks oughta stay put.” His chest heaved and he sobbed, “And I reckon she got that right.”
Jed waited patiently for the boy to continue. Horse was on tenterhooks.
“But what happened to the shuttle?” he stamped his front hooves.
“I don’t rightly know,” the boy wept. “There was a bang and we was all thrown around. My pa was brained by a suitcase but my ma stashed me under the seats for safety. And then these men got on. They - they shot everyone who was still alive. People crying in pain and begging for help. They just shot them. My ma -”
Jed figured he knew who the woman he stepped over was.
“I hid,” Wyatt composed himself a little. “They never saw me. They was searching for something; I don’t know if’n they found it but they was worrit the whole thing would blow sky high so they went. I heard them ride off but I stayed where I was. I was too scairt to move and I figured if the shuttle did blow up, why, I might be better off.”
“You from Hellion’s Grove, son?”
The boy nodded. “Yes, sir. How did you -?”
“Words you use,” Horse explained. “Like ‘scairt’ and ‘worrit’. Dead giveaway - oops!” If Horse could have blushed he would have, but mention of the D word hadn’t upset the boy any more than he already was.
Jed scratched the stubble on his chin. “I’m guessing there’s no use in taking you back there, is there? What about in Wheelhub? You got any folks up there?”
Wyatt shook his head.
“What about the relatives you visited on the way?” said Horse. “Maybe we could take you to them.”
Again, the boy shook his head. A troubled look clouded his brow. “Thing is, Mister, we ain’t never seen our relations. Everywhere we went it was the same story. Doors barred and bolted again’ us. Guns pointed in our faces. Keep moving, they all said, every man jack of them, there ain’t nothing for you here. My ma would plead with them but my pa was prideful and he pulled us away saying he would not forget this ill treatment when his fortunes was raised high, he would not forgive this shameful treatment, no sir, when the boot was on the other foot.”
His voice faltered as he remembered his father’s fate.
Jed took Horse aside for a conference. “What do you reckon?”
“Well, we can’t keep him with us,” said Horse, “I should have thought that was obvious.”
“I’m thinking...”
“...Tarnation...”
“Ain’t far. You got enough juice to get us to Tarnation?”
“That remains to be seen,” said Horse. “My tanks are running low. You’ve got that light in your eye, Jed. You’re thinking something’s up.”
“Weren’t no ordinary robbery,” the gunslinger paced in a wide circle, voicing his thoughts as he had them. “Those men were after something in particular.”
“You think?” Horse blinked.
Jed ignored the sarcasm. “Something they did not find...” He looked at the boy who, his story told, was now tucking into the trail biscuit with gusto and swilling it down with hearty swigs. “Saddle up! We’re going to Tarnation.”
The boy got to his feet. “What’s there?” He sprayed crumbs on his shirt.
“Friends,” said Jed. He lifted Wyatt onto Horse’s back. “People who’ll take care of you while I figure out what’s to be done. On the way, you can tell me the names of all the relations you visited since you left the Grove.”
Horse set off at a canter. He picked up speed. After a hundred yards, his hooves left the ground and did not touch down again until sundown when they arrived in the bustling but isolated town of Tarnation.



Chapter Two
Tarnation!
Billy’s ma was happy to take in Wyatt as a boarder and would accept no coin from Jed in recompense. The gunslinger had saved her family’s lives and Billy idolised him. Now with Horse connected to fodder pipes in the stable yard, Jed installed himself in a bo