Otter knew they called him “The Bad Luck Bear”. In the three months they had been travelling together, though, it seemed that through Otter’s offerings and rituals, they had staved off most of the bad luck. Sure, there was that night they were caught in the rain with a flat tire on the truck, or the day the farmer chased them off his land with a shotgun in his hand regardless of how Otter used the Force behind his voice. But in general, his little band with his Prof, the Bear, and himself, their luck wasn’t as bad as expected.
Of course, they were also still alive which was the best luck of all.
“Think we can make it to Sin-sin tonight?” Otter asked Maximilian, his Prof, as he drove the truck down what seemed to be a rabbit trail, it being wide enough only for maybe a horse or a runabout.
“Plenny o’ time, boss,” he said in that heavy accent that would have been considered deep south if it still existed. “Plenny o’ time.”
Since the city boss knew that they were in the area – because of one of the other towns’ functioning radio – they were asked to come to the city to see it. Sin-Sin was almost untouched after The Great Crash, and was a mere hundred miles from the Great Lake that had swallowed what was known as Michigan. Not quite a port town like Decanter, it was on the banks of a big river and got most of its goods from Decanter and Indian Country. It was not quite self-sufficient, having suffered from incursions on its outskirts from Ravagers and muties. But within its city, Otter knew from other Railwalkers that the boss there brokered no shit or shinola from anyone. Neither did its residents.
They had come from Indianapolis, a wreck of a town even though it was on the Lake. Muties had taken over, but they still believed in the Railwalkers and gave no trouble to them. In fact, Otter had finished a peace accord between them and the Indians to the south to get them some goods.
Otter, although he carried a sword like the rest of the Railwalkers, was not an amazing fighter like some of the others, especially not like Bear. But, then, Otter wasn’t built for that – he was built for diplomacy, making deals, and, if necessary, coercion. Max, for all his knowledge of the history of the regions they travelled, was a mixed martial artist and depended more on his fists than his blade. It just got in the way for him.
They came over a rise, not even a hill, and through the trees they could see the skyline of Sin-Sin. Otter glanced at the sun, and Max read his mind. “Plenny o’ time, boss. Stop y’r worryin’.”
He glanced back at Bear, who was crushed in the truck’s “back seat”. Bear stood an easy six foot six, weighing three-hundred stone of lean muscle. Supposedly he was descended from a famous founder of the old States, but his name had been lost in the misty sands of time. “I need to stretch out and have a smoke.”
“Ten, fifteen,” said Max. “Can ya hold it f’r that long?”
“Do I have a choice?” His head bounced off the ceiling when Mal hit another bump. “Fuck – “ and it happened again.
Otter hung onto the door as Max went through the ruts like a boat through a storm. They came through to the first checkpoint just as the sun was touching the horizon.
Otter said, “Twenty-three blessings on you and yours. I am before you as Otter. My companions are Maximilian and Bear.”
The policeman was struck dumb, not knowing the response. Otter gave him a gentle smile.
“Railwalker,” the cop said quietly. Otter’s eye tattoo was unmistakable, and hardly anyone wanted to impersonate a Railwalker, because they were always asked at some point to prove it.
“Yup,” said Otter casually, defusing the discomfort that the cop was feeling. “Your boss wants to see us.”
The policeman shrugged, and waved his hand at the other officer, who went to the saw horses and moved them out of the way. “Enjoy your stay.”
“Twenty-three blessings on you and yours,” Otter said, and Max got the truck moving again.
Although they were on dirt streets now, Max drove slower. He always drove slower when there were houses, even though they looked abandoned. Muties probably lived there, on the outskirts, just like they normally did in most big cities. However, Sin-sin was a mutie-free city, so he had heard.
Max finally got through the suburbs to the next checkpoint, and the next, and by the third one, they were using flashlights. Bear was starting to growl that he needed to get out NOW.
Otter asked at the third checkpoint, “Where might be the Tower?” The city boss always stayed in a tower.
The cop pointed to a huge square building with a few lights on in some of the windows. “There she is,” he said, sounding almost wistful.
Otter said his thanks and blessings, and they headed into downtown.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fanfic, based on Daywalker: Tales of the Urban Shaman by Duncan Eagleson (like that’s his real name).
Maybe more. I wanted to get this out because it’s been burning in my head. I read the book and realized I could write better than that. So…