Tales of the Wastelander Ch. 03

Ben was glad that he'd kept on learning after that fight, eventually earning his black belt in the martial art. He had been working on picking up his second-degree black belt when he received the letter from CryoTek. Though it had technically been hundreds of years since he'd used the skills, to Ben, it was only yesterday.

Ben swung with his machete, scoring a deep cut in the brute's arm, but getting stuck in it as well. He tried pulling it out, but the brute had recovered by then and was swinging at Ben, trying to pulverize him. The hit sent Ben reeling and had him seeing double, but he recovered quickly, taking ready position. Not wanting to get hit again, Ben ducked and rolled away from another powerful blow, keeping his distance.

He inspected the massive mutant and saw that he was mostly muscle, but moved slower than Ben could. Smirking, Ben moved in quickly, landing a few strikes before the bastard could retaliate. Taking cue from several of his favorite martial arts movies, Ben waded in, delivering a series of rapidfire strikes, before dancing away. Each time the brute swung, Ben would dance away, then dive in, striking like a viper.

Aiming for sensitive points, Ben could feel and see the brute slowing down each time. Though each hit had the intended effect, it was clear that the bastard was getting tired, as he'd never truly fought for this long. One thing Ben was grateful for was a sensei who believed in drilling his students relentlessly.

He believed that a fight could go on for minutes, possibly even as long as an hour, before a victor could be declared. Seems that his sensei was right and Ben was happy for the discipline the man had drilled into him. Ben did his dance routine again, striking the brute hard, but this time, he took hold of the machete and pulled it out.

After coming away in his hands, Ben waded in again and hamstrung the brute, while slicing at his shoulders. With all forms of mobility taken away from him, the behemoth of a mutant collapsed to the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut. Ben had put this bastard down and now turned to see if Ylva was all right.

Ylva had stood by, watching the fight while nursing some shallow gashes across her body. The brute had done a number on her, as he'd toyed with the woman, before deciding to end her. But that was before Ben joined the fight, showing her what it was to bring the pain. Ylva had been transfixed by the way Ben had fought, never having seen anyone fight like that!

"Wait!" she called out, as Ben made to cut his throat.

"What?" he wondered.

"I must... speak to him," she replied.

"You sure about that? He could try something," Ben warned.

"Keep your... long knife... on his throat. Kill him... when I say," she told him.

"I can go with that," Ben agreed and rested the edge of the blade on the brute's throat. Ylva walked up to them and started speaking the harsh and guttural language, questioning the brute. He had clammed up, not wanting to talk to her, until she retrieved his axe and put the blade on his balls. The fear in his eyes was palpable, and he started speaking in a torrent.

Ben couldn't help but snicker at this, as that was one thing that would never change: threaten to cut a man's balls off and he'd do everything possible to keep them! Bright green blood spilled from his mouth as he spoke, trying to keep Ylva happy with what he knew.

Her face screwed up as she didn't like what she was hearing, and when he asked a question, she promptly buried the axe into his ball sack. He roared briefly, the pain enough to make him cry out, but he was quickly silenced, as Ylva then cut his throat. Ben was horrified by what he saw and made a noise of disgust, which caught Ylva's attention.

"That was unnecessary! The bastard was crippled and couldn't move! You should have let him live! Cutting open his balls like that? Not cool!" he groused.

"You want... be next?" she growled.

"No! Just saying that being cruel like that was a bit much! You could have just left him here and let the wildlife eat him alive," Ben stated while raising his hands in a gesture of non-aggression.

"Hmmm. That would... be better fate. Man was... monster," she said, looking at the corpse with spite.

"Did he hurt you?" Ben asked, seeing the wounded look on her face.

"Many times... with... that," she pointed. Ben looked and saw that she was pointing at the brute's dick, which was gigantic! It must have been easily eighteen inches in length and nearly three inches thick! By the look on her face, the sex she had with him wasn't consensual, like with the others.

"Well, I guess you've had your vengeance. What will you do now?"

"I will... keep looking," she replied.

"Looking? For what?" he wondered.

"Family."

Ben nodded and let the matter drop. Despite his Asperger's, he could tell that Ylva was hurting and wasn't in a sharing mood. He let her stay there as he went around, looking for the gear that had been taken from him when he was knocked out. He rummaged around in the other three tents and found his baton and hatchet. They were all relatively intact, for which he was very thankful.

He took a gander at his other supplies but found that most of the bars had been either eaten or destroyed. He found a couple that hadn't been eaten yet and tucked those into his pocket. Ben sighed and went back outside to find Ylva and found that she hadn't been idle.

In a pile right by where they had killed the brute, lay an assortment of clothing, tools and weapons. However long Ylva had been sitting there, dealing with her demons, it hadn't been very long. If Ben had to guess, she'd been at this for nearly as long as he had, but she was simply taking everything. Ben was impressed by the amount of stuff that was there and looked over what lay in front of him.

"What's with all the torches?" Ben wondered, noting how Ylva had moved the flaming sticks to surround her and the pile.

"They keep Clackers away. Clackers hate fire and will avoid. Fire kills them," she explained.

"What are Clackers?" he asked.

Ylva offered a brief description of them, and Ben remembered those creatures that chased him to the slavers. At least it was good to know that they feared something other than the sun. Ben nodded and helped Ylva sort through the pile of stuff she'd gathered. Most of which was stuff that belonged to the slavers, but he found a couple more items, including his canteen, that belonged to him.

"Your... things?" she asked.

"Yeah. Had all of this on me when they took me. Truthfully, though, I'm surprised that it's all still in good shape. Thought it would have been busted or misused to where it was useless," Ben remarked.

"Weapons from... before... are valued much. If you die, I will claim them," she said matter-of-factly.

"I can have... everything... here?" she asked, pointing.

"Yeah. Don't really have much use for it, other than food and anything to wear in the cold," Ben told her.

Ylva squealed in glee and started rummaging through the pile, taking the best pieces out for herself. There were certain items she set aside, which Ben could only assume were hers from when she was taken. Ben noted she was taking a lot of the metal implements and tools, which he found odd.

"Do you really need all that stuff? I mean, you have plenty of weapons as it is," Ben wondered.

"Not everyone finds... good gear like yours!" she groused. "Getting... lucky... is not... easy!"

"Luck has nothing to do with it when it comes to proper weapons and the like, as long as you know how to make it. As long as you know how to make things properly, luck has little say in the matter," Ben shot back.

"Oh, you know how to make?" Ylva growled, calling Ben out.

"As a matter of fact, I do know how to make better weapons," he replied confidently.

"How?"

"Well, the first thing to do would be to melt down the steel to where it is liquid, to let any impurities or slag float to the surface. From there, I would then add whatever was needed to make the steel stronger, tougher, etc. To do that, I would need specific items to add to the steel, then stir it in so it would spread through the whole batch. After that, I would recast it into proper ingots, then go from there," Ben explained.

"You can... do this?" Ylva asked, her face alight with wonder.

"If I had access to a furnace hot enough and a proper set of tools, yeah, I could," Ben answered.

"What... time... you come?" Ylva wondered.

"Time?" Ben asked, confused.

"You come... from the... Before?"

"The 'Before'? You mean back before your kind?" Ben asked, taking a stab in the dark.

"Yes! The Before!" Ylva replied excitedly.

"Yeah, that's when I came from. I thought I was only sleeping for ten years, when I slept for over five hundred. Five hundred, you understand this number?" Ben queried.

"I understand five hundred," Ylva replied, awed that he had come from that time. "How you not... die from sleep... too long?"

"It's a special kind of sleep. Like when you freeze things and they stay the same. Only, with a special kind of water and bed," Ben explained, trying to keep things simple so Ylva could follow.

"This bed, it still... work?" Ylva asked, curious.

"Not anymore. No more water or power to keep it working. When it ran out is when I woke up. Now I'm here," he told her.

"Yes! Ben here! Ben come with me. Help me get back to tribe and maybe help me find family?" she asked. Ben was surprised by the offer, as Ylva came across as a loner who preferred her own company. He mulled over what she had tabled, and it made sense. Strength in numbers, someone who knew the lay of the land and all the dangers associated with the Earth as it was now.

"All right, Ylva. I'll come with you. I don't have anyplace to go, so I guess the only other option I have is wherever your tribe is. Not sure I would survive out here on my own anyway," Ben responded.

This elicited a happy squeal from the big woman and she lurched to Ben, giving him a hug. Ben hugged her back a little awkwardly, mainly because he'd never hugged a woman bigger than he was. They soon came apart, Ylva smiling a bit shyly, but happy all the same.

"I'm... glad that... you are... choosing to come. I would have used... lights out... choice if you... refuse," she replied, her use of English slightly better.

"Lights out?" Ben asked. Ylva then mimed a punching motion, which he understood perfectly.

"Knock me out? Why?" he wondered.

"Knowledge of the Before is... difficult to... find. Much was lost from then and... people from the Before, many died or stay away from... my kind," Ylva explained.

"After dealing with those slavers, I can understand why. What's the deal with your tribe? Do they keep slaves?" Ben asked, almost fearing the answer to his question.

"We do, but... only those who... wrong us. They serve until... their master... say they... can leave," Ylva replied.

"Hmm. I suppose that's a fair way of doing things. Especially since the old laws humanity had in place no longer apply," Ben mused.

"And... keep your knowledge... secret. Others will... take you and... make you... slave," she went on.

"What's keeping you from turning me into your slave?" Ben fired off.

"Honor. I... honorable woman. I not make you slave... because honor says, I treat you... with... respect," Ylva replied seriously.

"An honorable woman. Now that is something I put stock into!" Ben said, before extending his arm. Ylva looked at it quizzically, before Ben showed her how he clasped her forearm, while moving her hand to clasp his. She then did a comical 'Oh!' face before smiling and giving his arm a good shake.

"I will say though, had you tried the lights out option, I might have put your lights out," Ben joked.

"You... challenge me?" Ylva asked with a smirk.

"Maybe. We can discuss this later, when we're not in an area that's surrounded by Clackers," Ben told her.

As though she had just remembered this, Ylva started and bent over, scooping up the weapons. She held the jumble of weapons in her arms as she trudged around the largest tent, heading to the rear of it. Ben moved to keep up with her and was confused about how she was going to carry all of that. His answer came in the form of a cart which had been completely obscured by the tent in question.

"I was a little worried that you were going to try carrying those the whole way," Ben joked. Ylva fired him a look before she uttered her scathing reply.

"Do I look like idiot?"

"Nope! Was just making a joke," Ben responded.

"Ha ha ha," Ylva said sarcastically. The cart was empty for the most part, aside from a few items that looked like spare tent poles and such. Ben noted the cart appeared to be well made, if a little crude in its design. He also saw what looked to be a pair of harnesses lying nearby. Ben scratched his head briefly as he looked around for what the harness would fit and had his answer quickly.

"What are those??" he asked, pointing at the animals grazing nearby. The animals looked to be some kind of a mutated hybrid of horse and cow. They stood as tall as Clydesdale horses, but with thickly muscled legs and flanks. They had six legs each, with two sets of horns and enough muscle mass to add up to three steers! Another unique trait that was evident was the color of their hides, which looked like a greenish brown color.

"Thunderers. They will pull the cart," Ylva said simply.

"Thunderers?" he asked.

"Yes. They make thunder when they... charge. They also make loud bark, sound like thunder," Ylva stated.

"Why aren't Clackers attacking them?" Ben asked.

"Sun almost up, so Clackers hide," Ylva stated matter-of-factly. "Clackers must have... large pack to kill one Thunderer. Very thick skin, hard to cut. Need more than... thirty Clackers to hurt one Thunderer. Thunderers bones and horns harder than steel, but Clackers weak. One charge kill ten Clackers, easy," Ylva explained.

"So, never fuck with or piss off a Thunderer. Got it," Ben surmised.

Ylva smirked at this comment as she finished loading the weapons she had brought over. She gestured to Ben, to give her a hand, and he did, picking up everything she wanted to take along, which was nearly everything. Most of the clothing worn by the slavers, any metal items or implements, and the largest or the four tents.

They also packed up the best of the bedrolls and blankets there, making a note to clean them when they had the chance to do so. Within an hour or so the cart was fully packed and everything was tied down so it wouldn't fall out. With the cart packed, the pair of them approached the Thunderers carefully. Following Ylva's lead, Ben coaxed one over to the cart, while Ylva drew the other one in.

Once they were close enough, Ylva slowly got the animals harnessed, and Ben watched avidly. He knew that he would have to do this himself eventually and paid close attention. They also bagged up all the food that had been left out, most of it appearing to be dried meat, some sort of pungent cheese and hard, grainy loaves of bread. Ben looked at the death and carnage that he and Ylva had wrought and was still processing it all.

"Ben? You coming?" Ylva asked impatiently.

"Yeah. I just need a moment," he replied.

"We need to leave, while sun is out. Best time to travel," she told him.

"I figured as much," he said, as he walked over to where she waited and clambered up into the passenger seat of the cart. Ylva, who had the reins, clucked her tongue and snapped the reins gently. Understanding the motion, the beasts started out with a gentle canter, pulling away from the now abandoned slaver's camp.

"We really should come back here. If the information of the Before is that highly sought after, we need to come back here and claim it," Ben stated, looking back for a moment.

"Information from the Before? Where?" Ylva asked, her excitement ramping up.

Ben then explained about the Vault he was in, and of all the items that were left behind. Machines and schematics of how to build greater machinery, which would make life easier for people in general. Of the various tools and implements they could build, of the same quality level as his current gear, maybe even better. Ylva almost turned the cart around until she was told of the volume of stuff there and of the horde of Clackers that chased Ben to the slavers.

"So, Clackers chase you away from the... Vault?" she asked, clarifying what Ben had told her.

"Yeah. There was a lot of them. A lot more than thirty," he said.

"How many more?" she asked, concerned.

"Looked like hundreds. I'm not sure, as getting a proper count while trying to avoid turning into lunch, is a tough thing to do," Ben chuckled. Smiling for a moment, Ylva then grumped as she mulled over what Ben had told her.

"Mean one thing. Clackers have hive close to Vault," she stated.

"A hive? You mean like bees? With hundreds in it?" Ben wondered, shivering at the thought of that many Clackers in one place.

"Yes. That many Clackers chase you, means there is hive close," Ylva grumped, before continuing. "We will come back, but will need help. Many warriors and hunters in my tribe. They help. Maybe."

"I assume that taking on a hive of Clackers isn't something that is done lightly?" he asked. Ylva shook her head, before shuddering over the thought of it.

"Some tribes try... breaking hives before. Few... live," Ylva said dejectedly.

"Hmm. I guess because in this day and age, you don't have flamethrowers. If Clackers hate fire that much, then I would think that's the weapon we need to use to end a Clacker hive," Ben stated.

"Flamethrower?" Ylva asked, looking at him quizzically. Ben smacked himself on the head as he remembered he was dealing with someone who had no idea of advanced technology. He took a beat and explained the concept of a flamethrower and what it did. Ylva's face then changed from dejection to hope, hearing that there was such a weapon that could take on multiple Clackers at once.

"You need... tools from Vault... to make flamethrower?" she asked.

"Those would be best, but if I can find the basic tools here, it shouldn't be that tough to construct one. Just need a few items and a fuel of some kind to make it work," he told her. Ylva was then thrilled, knowing that they stood a chance of dealing with both the hive and getting what they needed from the Vault.

They chatted a bit, at what Ben would need to construct such a device. He told her he didn't know all the ins and outs of it, but that he understood the concept. It would take some tinkering and experimentation, but he was confident that he could build a working prototype. Ylva was glad to hear it, never having heard of or even conceived of such a weapon! But she was glad at the thought that vermin, such as Clackers, could soon be controlled.

The two of them continued on, clearing the fields and eventually coming to a disused road. Ylva guided the Thunderers on while Ben kept watch, having an arrow nocked in his bow at all times. They eventually came towards the remnants of a town around midday, but Ylva directed the Thunderers on a path that would skirt the town. Ben looked at her questioningly, but she brought a finger to her lips and he nodded.

They stayed as quiet as possible, while Ylva kept them out of the town, or on the very edge of it at least. Ben kept his eyes peeled and thought he saw movement, but it was just the wind blowing trash around. He still kept a watchful eye on the town and only relaxed his guard once they were several kilometers clear of it.

"Ok, so what was that about?" he asked.

"What was what about?" Ylva asked.

"The town. We could have saved a lot of time going through it, rather than around it. Why did you do that?" he asked. Ylva looked at Ben and saw that his question was one of curiosity rather than malice. So, she told him.