GunBarrel Gauntlet: The Last Bronze II

08. Welcome to Dogtown.

                Camping in the heat of the day above the cliffs, the Nomad packed his swag and water canteen onto the back of the Enforcer as the first stars began to wake in the darkling sky. Kicking his heel over the saddle of the bike, he traced his fingers over the hidden kill switches to engage the engine, the frame shaking before he turned the right handled grip and rode away from the lookout plateau.

Finding a perilous slope down from the eroded heights, the back wheel spun out over settled piles of flint as he cascaded down the cliffs like a black mountain goat, riding the momentum of the steeple angles to launch at better opportunities. The falling vertigo of the ground coming at his face grew in detail, threatening to collide with him at any second.

Wrenching the handlebars to lift the front wheel, the Nomad's sharp reflexes positioned the back tyre to launch off a scooped boulder, the kinetic energy of the loaded suspension bounding the machine off the cliff surface in the final metres, landing in motion as a spray of dust kicked out.

The avalanche cloud carved down the escarpments hadn't even settled when he rode away at high speed, profiling his body against the machine to conserve fuel. In the last rays of sunlight the scar of a dirt road manifested against the lay of the land, leading to the west.

Aligning the front tyre of the Enforcer onto this lonely path through the Never-Never, he caught a glance at the limp needle of the fuel gauge, resting on empty. There was possibly an hour's worth of vapours in the tank, maybe just enough to reach the source of the powered lights he had witnessed from the plateau the night before.

* * *

"There she 'iz ... looks busy tonight. Full house." Socky pointed at the twinkling lights of a settlement.

Braking the Kenworth to a standstill under the star clusters of the Milky-Way, Carrion studied the array of lights in the distance for some time, trying to guess at the size of the complex.

"Tell me more about this 'Blue Tattoo'". Sitting there in the unlit cabin, Carrion took out her cigar stub and began to chew.

"Like i said, Bluey runs Dogtown, him and the boys on Zeus's orders. Trades the dogmeat back to Gaswells."

"How friendly is your mate gonna be when he sees us walk up to the front door?"

"He's not one to make friends sista!" Socky laughed. "They're always lookin' for dogfarmers, hard labour I'm afraid."

"Great, so how we gonna talk to them?" Carrion removed the cigar from her mouth.

"Relax, let me do the talkin'! I'll go say me 'ello's and get a weather report of the Gauntlet, walk out of there with a competent Grease-Easy in tow. Simple as that!"

"Alright, but don't screw around in there. Lead them back here before sunrise. Understand Socky?"

"Ten-four, I'll be back in a jiffy."

The grind of an opening door caught Liu's attention, sitting behind the wheel of the Corolla whilst Tiny snored beside her. Peering through the windshield grime, the figure of Socky climbing down from the Cabin alone made her curious, shaking Tiny once before changing her mind. Discreetly opening her own door to leave the vehicle, Liu gingerly sealed it again before stalking away, following the bushy mop of Socky's head as he trekked into the darkness.

* * *

Looming out of the night on a rusting frame, the weathered sign of a puppy-dog logo above the title 'Dinki-Di Pet Food & Meatworks' came into view alongside the road. Resting the bike with a boot on the ground, the Nomad removed his helmet and listened to the barking of what sounded like a pack of dogs being kept behind solid walls.