City of the Cyborgs Read Free Page A

and they all turned and strained their eyes.
    “Yep, I see some green over there,” Reb said excitedly. “Let’s go check it out.”
    “It’s definitely water,” Rainor said. “You go make camp beside it. I’ll see if I can find something to eat.”
    “Good luck,” Josh said. “We could all use some food.”
    The Sleepers watched Rainor stride off into the apparently endless desert. Josh was amazed at his ongoing energy. “Well, let’s see what that water looks like.”
    They trudged wearily across the sand. Rainor had been right. There was a small spring, as apparently they all were in this country, but enough for their needs. The place made a very good campsite.
    After they had drunk, all the Sleepers threw themselves flat, panting for breath. It had been a hot day, and Josh was sure that the heat had drained every bit of energy out of his body. They all decided to take a nap except for Reb, who was always tougher than the rest. He said he would stand watch while the rest slept.
    Josh was still dead to the world when he heard Reb yelling, “Here he comes!”
    At once the Sleepers came to their feet. Here came Rainor, strolling into camp with a small desert antelope on his back. Throwing it down, he said, “There’s supper. If you’ll dress it, make the fire, and cook it, I’ll share it with you.”
    “We’d be glad to do that,” Josh said. “Everybody scatter around and find something to burn.”
    Finding wood proved to be quite a chore, but by fanning out they managed to gather enough. Quickly Dave built up the fire, and Reb expertly skinned and dressed the antelope with Rainor’s sheath knife.
    “This here ain’t as big as the deer we had inArkansas,” Reb said, “but I expect he’ll make pretty good eating anyway.”
    The smell of roasting meat tantalized Sarah and seemingly all the other Sleepers as well. Rainor had said not a word. He sat by himself, staring into the fire and lost in thought. He seemed to be totally in his own world. After a while he got up and walked off, still without speaking.
    “He’s
so
strange,” Sarah muttered. “It wouldn’t hurt him to give us a pleasant word now and then.”
    “Well, he brought home the bacon, so he can be as mean as he wants to.” Reb grinned at her. Then he poked at the meat with the sheath knife and said, “I reckon this is about ready. Somebody better go find that fellow.”
    “I’ll do it,” Sarah offered. She got up and walked toward the sandy rise where Rainor had disappeared. Then she saw him, outlined against the dark red sky as the sun went down. “Rainor,” she called, “supper’s ready.”
    He turned at once and walked by her without speaking. In fact, she had to hurry to keep up. “I can’t tell you how grateful we all are for saving us and now for sharing your food with us,” Sarah said.
    Still Rainor did not speak. He walked into the camp and glanced at Reb slicing the roasted meat. He sat down, and Reb gave him the first chunk. “You filled the pot, so you get the prime cut, Rainor.”
    Still the strange young man did not answer. Without a thank-you, he began to eat.
    “Well,” Reb said to the rest, “lay your ears back and fly right at it!” He continued cutting off pieces of the antelope and passing them out.
    The roast was tough, and there was no bread left to serve with it, but the meat flavor was delicious. Rainor had given them salt at breakfast time, and there was plenty of water. The Sleepers ate contentedly.
    Finally Wash lay back and sighed. “That was super!”
    “Sure wish I had some of my mama’s buttermilk pie, though,” Reb said. “That’d go down right good.”
    “You remember the time we had to eat tiger meat when we were out in the jungle?” Josh asked.
    “That was awful,” Sarah said. “I can’t imagine eating a cat—even a tiger.”
    “At least we didn’t have to eat one of them dinosaurs,” Reb said.
    Everyone was satisfied and content. Overhead the stars twinkled, and the