The entity didn’t reply. The ooze continued to rise, over his knee and up his thigh to his chest and along his damaged shoulder to the control ring. A sharp stabbing tingle followed at the amputation site, and Marcus stood by in amazement as the sleeve of the uniform began to fill in, sensation returning to the arm that grew there, composed of the alien material.

  Marcus turned the newly formed arm over, looking down at his palm before closing it into a fist, opening the hand and wiggling his new fingers. Black and solid, the arm was otherwise a perfect match to the one he had lost.

  “Unbelievable,” Marcus said.

  This is only the beginning. We must locate Sheriff Duke. We must destroy him.

  “I’m ready,” Marcus replied. Killing the Sheriff was a small price to pay for the way he suddenly felt. Powerful and in control. He couldn’t wait to see the look on his father’s face. “By the way, do you have a name?”

  I am Iagorth, the Devourer of the Relyeh. And I hunger.

  A sudden emptiness gnawed at the pit of Marcus’ stomach. “Yeah. I hunger too.”

  25

  Hayden

  “There it is,” Hayden said, pointing through the front windshield of the Osprey’s cockpit, to a mottled patch of dirt still a few kilometers away. “Touch down here, I don’t want to spook them.”

  “Copy that, Sheriff,” Vazquez said, immediately slowing the aircraft.

  “That’s a settlement?” Thomas asked from the co-pilot’s seat.

  “Pozz,” Hayden said. “Carcity. I know it doesn’t look like much. That’s intentional.”

  “It looks like a junkyard,” Vazquez said. “An abandoned garbage heap.”

  Hayden smiled. It did, especially from the air. Carcity was composed completely of old junkers scavenged from around the area. Primarily busses and RVs, but with a mix of smaller vehicles and a fair number of updated modboxes blended in with parts and scraps and other types of metalwork. Sheet metal lean-tos and oil drum fire pits sat flush against a maze of crushed and stacked cars that had once provided exceptional cover against the trife. During an attack the residents of the city could squeeze into the narrow spaces between cars, remaining out of reach until the heat of the sun drew the trife back to their nest to absorb the radiation. A simple and effective defense, no longer needed for the trife, but probably still viable against armed nomads or marauders.

  And the Custodians.

  They had flown a wide berth around Lavega itself, staying well away from the remains of the desert city to prevent the Custodian operatives there from spotting the Osprey. Eying the settlement from a distance, Hayden was surprised by how much it had grown in the years since he had been back west. Lavega had been nearly deserted once, the trife so plentiful in this area that the goliaths were a common sight along the horizon, chasing them down for food. Now the city was lit up even during the day, continuing to draw power from the huge dam that seemed impervious to the passage of time. He had spotted modboxes racing through the streets and heard the reports of gunfire echoing across the horizon. Whoever was in charge down there, they were either doing nothing to prevent chaos or were openly promoting it.

  It had left Hayden thankful to see that Carcity didn’t seem to have changed much in the last few years. Still, returning to the settlement left a feeling of emptiness in his gut. For as much as he had tried to help the people there, he had ultimately been forced to abandon them when the United Western Territories fell apart. When the Hunger had failed to kill him but succeeded in destroying everything he had tried to build.

  And had taken everything that meant the most to him in the process.

  “Sheriff, are you okay?” Fairy asked from behind, snapping him out of his memories.

  He glanced back at her, feeling a sting in his eyes from the moisture gathering there during his reverie. “I lost someone who came from Carcity,” he said. “Seeing it again reminded me of her.”

  “You’ve lost a lot of people, haven’t you?”

  “Too many to count.” Hayden straightened up, rubbing at his eyes with thumb and forefinger to clear the moisture. “I owe it to them to keep fighting until my last breath. To stop the Grand Custodian before he can bring a single Relyeh back into play on Earth.”

  “I’m with you, Sheriff,” Fairy said.

  “So are we,” Thomas said, looking over at Vazquez.

  Hayden had explained everything he had found at the Fort, and how he believed it was all connected. It took a little more effort to convince Vazquez that her side wasn’t acting in her best interests anymore, but given a little time to think about it for herself, she had come around. And even if he was wrong, there was still little harm in her hedging bets by chauffeuring him around.

  “I appreciate that,” Hayden replied. “Especially from you, Maya.”

  “Yeah, well, my pledge of loyalty was to the original Custodian mission. Not to dredging up alien asteroids and letting out whatever might be inside. If you’re right and the Grand Custodian is really pushing this...” She trailed off, silent for a few seconds. “Something changed, Sheriff. I wish I knew what. It wasn’t like this before.”

  “Me too,” Hayden agreed.

  The Osprey continued to slow until it hovered over the landscape, Vazquez hunting for a slice of flat earth along the arid hillscape. She found it a few minutes later, bringing the aircraft the rest of the way down.

  “Fuel’s at a quarter, Sheriff,” Vazquez said. “Not enough to make it back to the Fort. The only refuel option is Haven.”

  “I figured we’d be grounded from here on out,” Hayden replied. “That’s why I brought Zorro along, though I’m starting to think I might have to leave him behind. I have a bad feeling we’re running short on time, and we may need to cover ground a lot faster than we could on horseback.” He looked back at his horse. “Sorry, pardner.”

  Zorro nickered and tossed his head, as if he understood the reasoning but was still annoyed by the conclusion.

  “I’m going to head over to the settlement,” Hayden continued, returning to Zorro and unhitching him from an equipment brace along the fuselage wall. “Can you open the rear cargo ramp?”

  “Roger,” Vazquez said. The back of the craft opened up, pneumatics lowering the ramp to the dry dirt.

  “What about us, Sheriff?” Thomas asked.

  “Fairy is coming with me,” Hayden said. “Thomas, you and Maya are free to go. That was the promise I made to you both and I always do my best to keep my promises. I appreciate your help.”

  “And I appreciate you keeping your word, Sheriff,” Thomas said. “But you can’t really expect me to drop out of this now, can you? I was already concerned about what my people were planning, and what you told us made it a hundred times worse than what I was imagining. We need to stop it for their sake as much as the sav…uh...Earther’s. Sorry. Habit.”

  “At least you’re trying,” Hayden said. “Like I said, you’re free. It’s up to you what you want to do next.”

  “Well then, I’m coming with you.”

  “So am I,” Vazquez said, sliding out of the pilot’s seat.

  Hayden was surprised by her allegiance. “Can I trust you?”

  “Yeah. You have my word. I’ve seen what the Hunger is, Sheriff. We can’t let that come back. Not for anything. I have a family too.”

  “That’s settled then. But Zorro can only carry Fairy and me.”

  “It’s not a problem, Sheriff,” Thomas said. “Maya and I can jog it, no problem. We’ll catch up to you at the settlement. Just don’t leave without us.”

  “Fair enough.” Hayden turned to Fairy. “You ready?”

  “Pozz,” she replied, already waiting next to Zorro. She had already tucked her plasma rifle into the loops where the lost sniper rifle had been.

  Hayden backed Zorro slowly out of the aircraft and then mounted him. He reached down to lift Fairy up behind him before looking back at Thomas and Vazquez. “You’ve got two hours to catch up,” he told them. “And then I’ll assume you’ve changed your minds.”

  “Roger, Sheriff,” Thomas replied. “We’ll be there.”

  Hayden tipped his hat, wheeled Zorro and rode away.

  26

  Hayden

  Hayden slowed Zorro to an easy canter as he and Fairy neared the outskirts of Carcity. They had approached from the east, at the back of the settlement and took a wide tack around the outermost wall of scrapped cars in order to go in through the front gate. There were no visible sentries posted along the barrier, no lookouts watching for danger. Either it was a good sign, the residents unconcerned, or they were under surveillance, just not by obvious means. Hayden wasn’t worried, either way. The people who lived here knew him well, and after he had cleaned up their town, they had always held him in high regard. But would they still think of him kindly after he had been gone for so long?

  He guided Zorro around the wall, coming up on the front gate. The pair of large wrought iron doors hung open with no one standing by at the entrance to monitor comings and goings. It seemed odd to Hayden, odd enough his hand dropped to the butt of the revolver on his hip, ready to pull it at a moment’s notice.

  “Are you sure this is the right place?” Fairy asked. “This settlement’s a ghost town.”

  “It’s the right place,” Hayden confirmed, his eyes trailing to one of the oil drums that still had flames leaking through the top. “Either somebody’s home or they took off in a hurry.”

  “I don’t want to know what made them run like that.”

  They rode through the gate, Zorro slowing to a walk and carrying them toward the center of the town. Evidence of prior occupation was visible all around them. Sleeping bags beneath the shanties, clothes on lines hung out to dry, modboxes with open hoods and tools still resting on the engines.

  But no people.

  “Sheriff, I don’t like this,” Fairy said.

  Hayden didn’t either. He scanned the area, his gaze passing slowly over the partially-painted windows of an old school bus, looking for eyes staring back at him. A stiff wind kicked up, blowing in from behind them and raising a cloud of dust while threatening to blow the hat from his head. Zorro snorted as if sensing something was about to happen. He danced in a tight circle, helping Hayden survey the entire area.

  Hayden drew his revolver, cocking the hammer and holding it ready. But for what?

  The windows on the bus dropped as one, a dozen barrels of a dozen rifles suddenly sticking through them. The windows of an RV on the opposite side did the same, four more guns added to the mix. The open outer gates began to swing closed, trapping them inside.

  Zorro continued to turn. Hayden nudged him with his heels to stop the movement, turning his head to the bus. He moved slowly, slipping his revolver back into its holster before raising his hands. Fairy copied his reaction.

  The door to the bus swung open. A younger man stepped out, dressed in homemade body armor and carrying a shotgun. A large hammer hung from his hip, while a pair of chains swung from his face, each one connecting an ear to a nostril, the rings separating the flesh in an uncommon piercing.

  “Paul, is that you?” Hayden said.

  The man seemed surprised and he froze in his tracks, eyeing Hayden more carefully. “Sheriff Duke?”

  Hayden reached up to lift his hat away from his face. When he did, the man’s stoic expression turned into a wide smile.

  “It’s okay,” he shouted back toward the bus. “It’s okay. It’s Sheriff Duke!” He lowered the shotgun, his caution vanishing as he hurried over to Hayden and extended his hand. Hayden took it, shaking firmly. “It’s been a while, Sheriff. To be honest, we all thought you were dead.” He held Hayden’s hand in his grip. “What happened to your hand?”

  It had been made of metal the last time Paul had shaken it. “Long story,” Hayden replied, looking up as the settlement’s residents began emerging from the bus, the RV and from hidden nooks and crannies all around them. “Why so shy?”

  “Sorry about the rude welcome, Sheriff,” Paul said. “You’d think with the trife vanishing, we’d be safer than before. It hasn’t turned out that way. Raiders come out here from Lavega too damn often.” He turned his head toward Fairy, expression shifting. “Who’s your beautiful companion?”

  “Fairy,” she said. Hayden couldn’t see her face, but he could imagine her blush.

  “Fairy. What a great name.”

  “Help her down, will you, Paul?” Hayden said.

  Paul nodded, holding up his arms while Fairy leaned back to draw her right leg up, bending it at the knee to get it over to the left side of the saddle. She slid off, allowing him to catch her. Hayden joined them on the ground as the townsfolk gathered around them. An older woman led the pack, striding up to him with a stern look on her face.

  “Zelda,” Hayden said, turning to say hello. Her hand smacked hard against his cheek, leaving it stinging.

  “Sheriff Duke!” she cried. “How long has it been, Sheriff? Four years? I thought you were dead. We all did.”

  Hayden smirked, rubbing at his cheek. “It’s a big planet, Zelda. And other people needed help too.”

  Her expression changed again, and she grabbed him in a bearhug, squeezing the air out of him before letting go. “Right, well…you came at a good time. Ever since the trife vanished, Lavega’s turned into a real shithole, instead of an abandoned shithole.” She paused. “You didn’t have anything to do with the trife, did you, Sheriff?”

  “Haven’t you heard the stories?” Fairy asked.

  “What stories?”

  “About Sheriff Duke. I thought everybody knew how the Sheriff killed all the trife.”

  “We don’t get a lot of news out here,” Zelda said. “We do our best to keep to ourselves. Stay out of trouble. Like I was saying, Sheriff, the asshole Mayor of Lavega won’t give us the chance these days. Our Mayor was worse, but this one’s still a piece of work.”

  “What does he want from you?” Hayden asked.

  “The cars,” Paul replied. “The ones we fixed up. He thinks we should give them up for protection. The only protection we need is from him and his goons.”

  “Bastard,” Zelda said. ‘I’ll tell him what he can do with his goons. You know us, Sheriff. We’re fighters. We don’t give in to threats, so every week or two they send a raiding party out to hassle us. Do some damage, make some noise, keep us up all night. Now that you’re here, maybe you can shut them up.”

  “I’d like to help,” Hayden said. “But I’m already on something pretty important.”

  Zelda’s face fell. “Oh. I was hoping that maybe you had come because you got word about our troubles. Heard about it through the winds or something.”

  “I think it’s probably related,” Hayden said. “If I take care of my problem, your problem might just go away. And I can help you out with it if it doesn’t. You’d just need to hang in there for a little while.”

  Her eyes lit up again. “Okay. We can do that for sure, Sheriff Duke. Say, how’s Natalia these days?”

  It was Hayden’s turn to fade. He lowered his head, shaking it. “She passed away a few years back. Hal, too.”

  Zelda looked horrified. “Oh. Sheriff, I’m sorry. Hal too? That’s terrible.” In near tears, she embraced Hayden again, as though she were his mother. “You poor man.”

  “I’m not the only one who’s suffered out here,” Hayden said. “I’m making my peace with it the best I can.”

  She backed away from him a second time. “How can we help?”

  “I need to go into Haven without attracting too much attention. I was hoping I could borrow a car.”

  Zelda laughed. “That’s all you need, Sheriff? A car? Of course. We have more than enough. You can take your pick. But the two of you both look like you could use a bite to eat if you have the time.”

  “We do,” Hayden said. “I’ve got two more deputies coming in on foot. It’ll take them a little while to get here.”

  “On foot? Well, that’s not very sporting of you, Sheriff.”

  “I only have one horse, and I didn’t think you’d take too kindly to us landing an aircraft right outside your gates. You nearly shot me just for riding in here.”

  “Can’t be too careful these days.” She grabbed his arm and squeezed. “Not metal? That’s a trick I haven’t seen before.”

  “Long story,” Hayden repeated.

  Zelda tugged on his arm, pulling him toward the RV. “Paul, why don’t you take care of Zorro? Give him some apples for his trouble.”

  “Sure, Auntie,” Paul said.

  “Sheriff, I’ll go help Paul,” Fairy said. “We’ll catch up to you when we’re done.”

  Hayden smiled. “Pozz.”

  He let Zelda drag him away.

  27

  Hayden

  “And that’s how I wound up like this,” Hayden said before picking up the glass of whiskey on the RV’s small table and taking a sip. He enjoyed the bite of the alcohol as it rolled over his tongue and down his throat, warming his innards.

  “That’s the craziest damned story I’ve ever heard, Sheriff,” Zelda replied. “I wouldn’t believe it were true if you weren’t sitting here in front of me fully whole again.”

  “Me neither,” Paul said from the mattress opposite the table, where he sat beside Fairy. They had finished taking care of Zorro some time ago, and had picked up Hayden’s story in the middle. Even so, Paul had barely blinked during the remainder of the telling.

  “I still remember the first time you showed up here,” Zelda said. “With your deputies and your friends. When you came and took Carl and his buddies away. A knight in dusty armor.” She laughed. “So different from King. Everything got better around here after that day, up until a few months ago anyway. You said what you’re up to may be related? What’s going on around here, Sheriff Duke?”

  “You only get one story a day, Zelda,” Hayden replied. “The short version is somebody else is pushing Lavega’s Mayor to send his outlaws up your way. They probably want your gear to help expand further east. That part of their goal isn’t all that different from what I was trying to do a few years back, but the outcome, if they succeed, won’t be something any of us wants.”