Doc blinked at the bright morning sunlight as he emerged from a tunnel amid the bustling shifters. After hours of frolicking and sleep in the still zone cavern, they were on the march again, continuing their journey to the core.
The muties seemed well rested, with plenty of spring in their steps, which was the opposite of the way Doc felt. He hadn’t slept well in the cavern; as beautiful as it was, it had been far too cool and damp for his comfort. If he was lucky, he might have three hours of sleep under his belt, which wasn’t nearly enough. He knew from experience that he could survive on that or less, but the quality of his thinking and alertness would be compromised.
Nevertheless, he would have to make do. Not only that, but he would have to excel in handling whatever came his way. His life was as much on the line as ever; minute by minute, he walked a tightrope, and one slip would be enough to take him down forever.
“You’re sluggish this morning.” As always, Ankh was glued to his side. His had been the first face Doc had seen when the lights had come back on in the morning.
Doc shook his head. “I assure you, this constitutional has got my blood flowing, Ankh.”
Ankh cast a sidelong gaze at him, looking doubtful. “And you’re not hungry, I suppose?”
Doc patted his belly. “Not a bit.” The muties had offered him a portion of their rations, but he’d tactfully turned it down. The thought of sharing their squirming handfuls of live insects and worms was repulsive to him. Such food was certainly nutritionally sound, but he would have to be much hungrier to force himself to partake of it.
“Suit yourself.” Ankh smirked. “Let me know if you change your mind. There’s lots to go around.”
Doc smiled and hoped Ankh didn’t hear his stomach growling. He was determined to go without food until he found something more appetizing, like roots or berries, but the truth was, the terrain had been pretty barren so far. Finding suitable victuals in those environs could be more of a challenge than he could stand.
“No matter,” Ankh said. “If you pass out from hunger at some point, we’ll just drag you the rest of the way.”
Doc tipped his head with faux gallantry. “Your hospitality continues to astonish me,” he said.
“You’ll enjoy more of it shortly,” Ankh said. “We’re heading for a ville inhabited by my people, the only one of its kind in the Shift.”
“A ville?” Doc frowned. “How is that possible, given the changeable nature of the local landscape?”
“You’ll see.” Ankh adjusted the Winchester longblaster hanging from his left shoulder. “We’re a good deal cleverer than you norms might believe.”
“I already believe it,” Doc said. “One of my best friends is a mutie, you know.”
Ankh looked at him with obvious disbelief. “You’re just saying that.”
Doc shook his head. “I am not.” There was no need to lie in this case; Krysty Wroth was indeed one of the few people he thought of as a friend in the Deathlands. “Her friendship is indisputable. She has saved my life and the lives of my ‘norm’ friends numerous times.”
Ankh kept staring at him. “This mutie. She isn’t some kind of slave or pet?”
“She is anything but. She is no one’s servant or pawn, I assure you.”
Finally, Ankh tore his gaze away from Doc. “Impossible,” he said quietly. “Such a relationship could never exist.”
Doc lowered his voice. “What about Dr. Hammersmith? I’ve heard Exo refer to him as a very good friend.”
“More like property,” Ankh said. “Though I am certain Hammersmith would tell you otherwise.”
“I see. So Hammersmith is more a slave than a friend, working on behalf of Exo.”
Ankh nodded. “For the best of reasons.”
“And what might those reasons be?”
“The survival of our people,” Ankh said. “And the extinction of all those who oppose them.”
“Ah, yes.” Doc folded his hands behind his back. “And here I was beginning to think your people might not be more of the same old, same old. Clearly, I was wrong.”
“No, no, you were right. We can do things you have never seen before. And our vision for this place is like none other that has ever existed.”
“I will take your word for it, then,” Doc said.
“Oh, no.” Ankh looked up at him with dark eyes gleaming from his crimson face. “You will help make it a reality before all this is done. Not for him.” He gestured at Exo, who walked at the head of the ranks. “For someone more deserving and enlightened.”
“Someone like you, perhaps?”
Ankh shrugged. “Time will tell, Doc. Time will tell.”