Bandits
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 47159
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A full dozen bandits fell under Roland and Eddie's guns, yet Josh was
still swept far away into the night in what was later described to Roland
as a school bus. It was only Roland's unfamilarity with automobiles that allowed the escape in the first place. He had put a further six bullets straight into the back of the vehicle, high and up so as not to hit Josh. They had torn through the bus and out the roof over the driver's seat. Even with Roland's aim, a bullet tore through the arm of Gribbling Him, an older bandit. He would become sick from the bullet and die, wandering off into a small, hidden corner. His last words would be a riddle, the favorite riddle of Blaine though Gribbling wound never know. Back on the darkened road, Roland cursed himself. His bullets usually would be (and had been) enough to shred the wooden walls and roof of any horse drawn carriage but this was a craft of his Ka-Tet's world and had far different rules. He did not need the others to tell that, if there was ever a chance in the future, destroying the wheels of anything would tend to take it down. A search of the dead bodies had found thirty-seven useable bullets, one decent gun, five days worth of food and something plastic and long. It was not a surprise that the legend on the bottom said 'The Chrysler Tower'. Further examination revealed smaller letters saying 'Christian's Crafts'. Of course, Christian's Crafts, found five miles down the road, was not where the bandits hung out. It was a small lean-to, barely bigger then the bus itself, selling all manny of items, none that could charitably be called 'Crafts'. Some, if handled correctly, could be called 'weapons' and looked as if they had been used. Roland simply pulled his gun and described the man he had taken the tower figure off of. The clerk, a tall, thin, healthy specimen, considered lying, then got a look at Roland's eyes. He told the truth. For several decades after this encounter, he would always tell the truth. Surprising even him, this newfound honorable policy did him well and by the time he died, surrounded by dozens of grandchildren, he was the only bright spot of civilization in a world that had moved on far before the bandits came to live in the automobile plant next to what was once a fair. Josh was not in the plant. He was tied to the top car of the Ferris Wheel. He was obviously bait, as several flags had been tied to his car, including an American Flag. Or what seemed like an American flag, as Scott whispered to Roland. No American flag ever held sixty-six stars. The metal of the Ferris Wheel creaked in the wind.
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Lots42
12/7/2007 9:19:26 AM
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