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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781466914209 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Trafford Publishing |
| Publication date: | 02/17/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 124 |
| File size: | 124 KB |
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COWBOY KNIGHT SALVATION
By CIRCLE
Trafford Publishing
Copyright © 2012 CircleAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4669-1419-3
Chapter One
The day of the American Republic had passed. The new Socialist order had taken power under a one world empire, in which all nations and tongues gave up all sovereignty for the unity of one. The rule of law and the force of government were used to subdue all under its bondage. The world had changed from the age of self to the unity of one. the individualists were declared the enemies of the state and hunted down. The elders had said the individualists had ruined the world and that all had to sacrifice to bring the world from ruin. The last days of the great rebellion of the individualists who would not conform to this new form of governance was nearing an end.Socialists had formed a new world army, with men and women from every nation, to hunt down all who resisted. One of the famous generals throughout this campaign was Alan Cally, who was one of the last of the American generals left in the army Corps. He helped invent an iron horse for the new cavalry, and he trained personnel to use the new robotic machine. The iron horses were used to hunt down all of the resistors who had fled the cities and the closed-off detention centers. For over forty years, the great Re-Wilding Project of the old West, where no human was allowed to live, was teaming with life. The project was a giant lab for researchers to bring back animal life from the past. They called it the new West.
Alan Cally and his childhood friend, Travis E. Lee, a descendent of the great American Civil War General Robert E. Lee, were the last two American one-star generals of this one world empire's army. They were up for another star but were turned down with no explanation. They discovered through their military connections that the word was out that they were "too American" and not the right stuff for the leadership under the Supreme Council. The irony was that they loved the army Corps and were loyal to the cause. General lee accepted his fate and decided to stay with the Corps, but General Cally decided to retire. He had always wanted to see the New West but was never assigned to any patrols in that American territory. For forty years, he had watched what he could from information centers for the public and his friends in the Corps who had talked about it. The general had earned privilege and status, so he was granted permission to go see the New West. He was also allowed to keep his iron horse; he had named it "Ranger," from the old Western movies he had watched as a boy with his grandfather. All the old films were banned now. The elders of the new order said the content was too individualist and would only poison the people's minds. All the old twentieth-century material was forbidden.
General Cally and Ranger were waiting at the great gate to the West, some hundred miles from St. Louis. It was used to carry creatures in and out and was the headquarters for the researchers. The general also got to keep his suit of armor to protect him from the creatures and the elements. The suit of armor was an exoskeleton with nanotechnology devices that gave him added strength and protection.
The general said to Ranger, "Well, boy, gets yourself ready to ride."
Ranger just shot back at the general, "Doggone, general, you sure know how to put a horse in harm's way!"
The general replied, "Oh just stop you're complaining and get ready to ride!"
Ranger just mumbled, "Just ought not to do a horse like that!"
General Cally ignored Ranger's mumblings and said, "Get your riding program ready, soldier!"
"Yes sir General!" Ranger said back to Alan.
General Cally told Ranger, "We will need it out there, so be on your hooves!"
Ranger went through his checklist and gave the okay: "Ready sir!"
The great gate was a big door with three smaller doors within it. The smaller door opened into the buffer zone. Then it opened into another gate with doors within doors. Before the two rode out, one of the old researchers yelled at him, "Hey, sir! You look like some old cowboy knight with that hat on."
The general turned back and told the old man, "Had a friend make it for me from the old pictures I remembered as a boy."
The researcher said, "I remember too, sir!"
The general leaned back in his saddle and said, "Never thought I would get the chance to see it, the New West."
The man said back, "it's not the same West, sir."
"I know," said the general.
As the general moved toward the entrance, the researcher called back, "Good luck, sir!"
The general thanked him; he started feeling like a kid again. He called out at Ranger, "Head 'em up, boy, and move 'em out!"
Ranger looked back at the general in dismay and said, "Head what?" The general felt a little embarrassed, so he said, "Never mind," but Ranger shot back, "Head 'em up, huh? How about we turn around and go check out all those fillies?"
The general said, "You can't do anything about them anyway."
Ranger said he knew but the thought made him happy.
Cally got serious and told Ranger, "Ride, soldier boy!"
So the two of them headed out into the New West to see all the changes and find adventure. This dream had kept the general sane for all those years of fighting and killing for the socialists, the dream he would see the West some day. As they rode out, they passed some ruins of the old cities and towns left to decay and rot. The researchers had told him that within a hundred years, most everything would be gone or grown over with vegetation.
Food and water would be no problem to find. He could gather water himself, and there was plenty of small game to hunt. they told him not to hang around too long after the kill. Not if he didn't want to be someone else's lunch. He could find protection at the observation towers. They were located some fifty miles apart, with underground trains and communication if he needed help. While riding out, he and Ranger saw all the different animals from the past, from buffalo and deer to other animals natural to the terrain. The general saw the New West for the first time as he spotted, among them, a grazing herd of large reptilian creatures brought back from ancient times. He realized this was what the researchers were talking about. These big creatures were put there to wipe out the land and crush the remains of the past. All the predators were matched to keep the herds in check by removing the weak. Only the strong could survive.
After the two of them had been riding for a while, the general asked Ranger, "What do you think?"
Ranger's only response was a question back: "Why are we out here?"
The general answered, "To see the New West!"
"Oh!" Ranger replied.
The general decided to have some fun with Ranger and said, "Your program seems to be working fine."
But Ranger was no dummy and answered, "You should know, you wrote it!"
Cally had him now and thanked Ranger, adding, "Even if I do say so myself."
Ranger was about to blow a circuit when he heard this and responded, "Which one of us is talking now?"
So General Cally said back, "It's always me, Ranger."
Ranger hated that and started complaining, "There you go again! always bragging about you is me, or is it me that am you?"
All of a sudden, the general heard something; his mood changed on a dime and he said, "Quiet, Ranger, turn your sensors on!"
"Yes sir!" Ranger sensed that play time was over; he did what the general asked.
Cally asked Ranger, "What do you hear and see?"
Ranger was in full command mode, and his sensors picked up sounds and motions over the horizon. Ranger said, "Sounds like big feet and big bodies." The general asked Ranger how far out they were. Ranger said back, "about two hundred yards, sir."
Cally asked Ranger, "Are they coming this way?"
"Yes sir!"
The general quickly told Ranger to change direction and head for a hill so they could get a better vantage point to get a look at the creature. It was a huge predator reptile. Ranger had wondered why they hadn't seen many animals. The general agreed.
Ranger could only say, "Whoa! look at the size of that thing!"
"Yeah," replied the general, "It's a big one!" He told Ranger to stay still, since the reptile was probably a sight hunter.
Ranger quietly said, "Yesss sirrrr!"
They froze and held their position to watch. The vantage point from the hill gave them a better view of this great creature, and for the time being they were not in the creature's direct path. All of a sudden, Ranger's sensors went off, and a herd of reptiles came toward them; they were being chased by another great reptile like the first one. Hell was fixing to break loose. It was an ambush.
Cally told Ranger, "Get ready to ride!" and Ranger told the general back, "You ain't got to tell me twice."
The herd came up behind them, with the other creature giving chase. As the herd approached them, they darted to the right and ran into the other creature, laying in wait. The big one made his move on the herd and jumped on two of them, pinning them to the ground while biting their feet and heads. Chaos broke out in the herd, with some stopping to sense a direction, but it was too late. The other predator jumped two more creatures and pinned them.
"Well, Ranger, it looks like the two big boys have dinner tonight."
Ranger was still stunned; about the only thing he could say was, "Yeah, they sure are!"
The general decided to move out and run to the side of these creatures to hide. He didn't want curiosity to give way to appetite. Ranger was worried that one of those creatures was checking him out. Ranger said, "Could have sworn that big one was looking at my butt!"
General Cally said back to Ranger, "You're always worried about that thing."
Ranger answered, "You would worry if yours was as pretty as mine. Don't want any teeth marks messing up a thing of beauty."
The general said, "You bring new meaning to 'save your butt.'"
Ranger started complaining about that someone was always trying to kiss it or stick it with something. He said his problem was he was already bent over, but he was glad he had a tail to whack them a few good times. The general chimed in and said, "You got that right!"
So Ranger decided to ask the general if he had to kiss or bend over for the army brass. The general just laughed and said he had to kiss a few to make general, but he never had to bend over. "Never," Ranger asks.
"Never," the general replied. "You know me. Never bend!"
Ranger's sensors picked up that they were clear, so the general asked him to hold up a minute. He wanted to see what these creatures would do. He figured it would be good to get to know his new enemy. They pulled up to another rise to look back. The two creatures were ripping their prey's flesh apart effectively, leaving little waste. It was a horrible sight for the weak. The general had seen plenty of blood in his day. The troops had said he was ruthless and cunning but with a heart. He had great mercy and gave many prisoners a chance to conform and repent their actions. Few did. He always got the tough ones. He never used torture or punishment. But if they refused, he was quick and swift with his laser sword. All they saw was a thin bright light, which cut clean and true. The general said torture and punishment was a waste of time, that all a man had to do was make a choice: serve or die. His sword had seen lots of necks.
The other generals gave no choice. They just butchered them all. The elders said his act of mercy was a sign of weakness. This flaw showed that the individual had feelings; these emotions got in the way of good, sound reality and hid the true form of judgment. The elders said judgment was without emotions. those feelings clouded the reasoning of a sane man. The general's secret love of the past and his Americanism had kept him from winning his second star. Liberty was a disease of the individual, and if not stopped, it would destroy the earth. The illogic of the emotions had placed the world in jeopardy. So the individual had to be stopped.
The general obeyed his superiors and carried out their mission to clear the earth of individuals. The collective was a good hive, and the system worked efficiently. All became like the ants and bees working for one.
After they rode on for a ways, Ranger asked the general, "Well sir, have you seen enough?"
The general thought about it a minute and said, "Enough not to let that thing gain advantage."
Ranger pointed out, "You got that right, sir! Wouldn't want those ugly teeth sunk into my behind!"
General Cally looked surprised and said, "There you go again."
But Ranger was quick and shot back, "You dang right, sir! that thing is worth saving! it's the only one I've got!"
So the general gave in and said, "I hear that!"
The two rode on and talked about how there might be something to safety in numbers. There were hundreds of the reptiles, and only two of them. The new West was different in lots of big ways. The old memories of the general's childhood days did not reflect reality. But it had life and adventure, and it was all the general had left. After three days out, the general looked for a better place to make camp than in the wide open space. Sleeping was becoming dangerous. Better to find a place of operation and control, some structure with walls around it. Maybe look for an old farm house or something.
The general told Ranger, "Let's ride on a ways and find a spot that looks good to make camp. The GPS map shows an area with little vegetation and good rock formations that look like it might be a good location to hold up for the night."
Ranger replied, "Sounds good to me, sir! Just as long as I can put my butt up against a wall or something so one of those creatures can't get to my hind end."
The general told Ranger to give it a rest. That he got his point, but Ranger said, "You know me well, sir!"
General Cally just said, "I wonder why? Enough!" Ranger obeyed his orders with a "Yes, sir!"
So they decide and rode to the area to check it out. Along the way, they saw more herds and plant life, which had turned the plains into a place of beauty and wonder. It was a garden of life few on the planet had ever seen. The public did not know such things were being done. They lived mostly in the enclosed cities and safe zones, using underground rail systems. Most of the world was restricted to the habitat areas. There is little air traffic. Only the wealthy could fly. The population was less than a billion, and the elders said jets were not needed for the public. You could go to any nation by underground train. They were as fast as the old jets.
As they approached the area, the general noticed his personal tracker had shut down, along with Ranger's. Now the researchers couldn't know their location; they were on their own now. The area looked plain, with not much plant life or animals. They rode for miles, seeing few animals; they thought the area was a dead zone, which would mean something had cursed the soil, maybe mini nuke fallout or chemical weapons. it was an area most people wouldn't bother; neither did the animals and plants.
General Cally told Ranger to turn on all his sensors so they could check this place out to see if it was safe. Ranger let out a "Whoa!"
"What have you got, boy?"
"It appears to be a town just over that rise."
Cally asked Ranger, "How's the air around here?"
Ranger replied, "Excellent sir." Cally asked if there were any other readings. "it is all clear on the environment, sir!"
Cally told Ranger, "Go to alert one status. Think we need to check this place out to see if it is safe. Sure would like to get some shut-eye tonight."
"Yes sir! that means I get a wall to my back."
"Ranger, get to the top of that rise. Let's see this old town."
"Sounds good to me, general," Ranger huffed. As they reach the top of the rise, Ranger's alarms went off again. "Whoa, got human contact, sir!"
With a look of surprise on the general's face, he asked, "Human?"
"That's right sir."
The general barked out, "what's its location?"
"It is in the large building at the west end of town, sir."
Cally told Ranger, "let's approach the east side of this town. Didn't come out here to be shot by some old resistor! That should give us some cover to get a closer look at him, whoever he is."
Ranger told the general, "This is making my butt ache already."
Cally, being cocky, said, "Better yours than mine, Ranger."
"That's cold, sir!"
The general snapped, "The coldest, Ranger. Now get ready to hunt!" Ranger dutifully gives his "Yes, sir" to the general.
They made it to the eastern side without incident. General Cally asked Ranger "Is the human still at the western end of town?"
"No, sir, it's moving back toward us."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from COWBOY KNIGHT SALVATION by CIRCLE Copyright © 2012 by Circle. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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