A Series.
Riggs groaned, pain throbbing through his entire body. He looked around. All about him lay the wreckage of a ship. He tried pushing himself up but his arms gave out and he fell back against the sand, beaten. Riggs lifted his head and looked around him. He was in some sort of desert. He placed his head on the sand and felt sleep overtake him.
Waking a short time later, Riggs panicked. He used what strength he had to right himself and get a look at his options. He stood up immediately, falling back down. Cursing, he righted himself again and made his way towards the cabin of the ship. Falling against the side of the cabin, he had some recollection of medical supplies being stored there. Stumbling into the cabin, Riggs felt against a side panel. He pulled it aside and found what he was looking for. He removed a syringe filled with a green liquid. Smiling at his luck, he immediately injected the green liquid into his body. He felt the strength begin to return to him as the medicine worked itself through his system.
Rummaging around in the open panel, Riggs found a few canisters of water and removed them, immediately drinking one. Lying back against the side of the cabin, Riggs felt sleep overtaking him again. Shaking his head, he forced himself back up. He rummaged around the rest of the cabin, searching for a weapon. Finding none, he searched around the wreckage. Upon discovering a warped bar of metal from the ship, Riggs brought it back to the cabin with him. He tried remembering all that had transpired but found his short-term memory was failing him. Riggs began messing with the radio located in the cabin, seeing if he could get any use out of it but it was beyond repair. Cursing, Riggs found a few blankets and made himself a rough bed for the night. Satisfied with his lodging, he set out to scout the surrounding area. He was in the middle of a sea of dunes and as he crested the ones surrounding the wreck, around him were only more dunes, as far as the eye could see. Tired, Riggs returned to his bed and went to sleep.
Riggs awoke with a start. He stared up into two yellow eyes glaring down at him. Reflexively, he swung out, striking the assailant in the neck. The man fell over, coughing. Riggs righted himself and was immediately attacked by two more men. Riggs reached for the warped bar of metal but was restrained before he could make any use of it. More men appeared from the desert. The three morphed into twelve as Riggs was dragged from the crash. “Wait,” he shouted hoarsely. His protest was met with a strike to the jaw by one of his assailants. He was dragged toward a large vehicle of some sort. Underneath it had eight wheels and a long flat platform with a steering wheel at its front. Riggs was tossed up onto the platform, where he was met with a few more blows, then bound. Weak from the crash, he passed out after a hard strike to the head.
Waking, Riggs saw he was in a complex of some sort, still bound. A shoddily-constructed fence lined the outskirts of the complex and tents and worn out buildings stood along the inside. Riggs looked over and saw a masked bandit looking down at him. He stared up into the goggles of the bandit. “Where am I?” he asked.
The bandit struck Riggs across the mouth with an open hand and said “silence,” harshly. Riggs studied the camp, trying to memorize its layout, to plan his escape.
“Here he is.” Riggs looked up to see two bandits approaching him, a large, imposing man behind them. The large man was clearly a leader of some sort. He kneeled down in front of Riggs looking into his eyes.
“What were you doing in my desert?” asked the man.
“Crashed,” replied Riggs.
The man nodded. “You know what happens when people crash in my desert?” As the man asked this, Riggs saw a smile spread across the faces of the other two bandits.
“Death?” inquired Riggs, raising his eyebrow with a smirk.
The man smiled. “I like this one,” he said, standing up. He turned to the two bandits that had led him to Riggs. “He will be fun.” The two bandits nodded in agreement. “What is your name?” asked the man.
“Riggs”
“Riggs. I am Gorgonas the Great, ruler of these lands and lord of the Bandit Clan. You have entered into our domain, outsider Riggs, and now you will face death by torture.” Gorgonas stared down at Riggs, his eyes wide with fervor. “No one trespasses on Bandit Clan lands… no one,” spat Gorganas. “Do you have anything to say before the process begins?”
“Go to hell,” coughed Riggs. Gorgonas reeled, back his eyes wide with fury. After staring at Riggs a few moments, studying him, the fury subsided and was replaced with admiration.
“Take him to the Tent of Misery.” Gorganas’ two lackeys stepped forward and grabbed Riggs, lifting him up and bearing him toward a black tent. Riggs looked back over at Gorganas as he was carried away.
Weary, Riggs barely noticed the changing of the torturer and a new man stepping into the tent. The man bore a device with a long metal handle and a ball at the end with holes at the top. Riggs began breathing heavily as the man raised it above his head. The man swung the device down in front of Riggs and bits of molten metal flicked onto Riggs’ bare skin. Riggs cried out in pain as the metal burned his flesh. The torturer began jumping back and forth, clapping, as Riggs continued to yell. Again the man brought down the device, this time near Riggs’ back. Riggs reared back as the metal bit into his flesh. He felt lightheaded and then his world faded to darkness.
Waking, Riggs found he had been cared for to some extent, though for what purpose he was not sure. Outside, the sun had set and the glow of a fire illuminated the flap of the tent. His torturers had taken a break temporarily. Riggs’ skin had been cared for with some ointment unknown to him, yet still burned and blistered. He grunted in pain as the flap moved and Gorganas entered the tent. He bore with him a cat-o’-nine-tails. Gorganas took a position behind Riggs. “Under different circumstances I may have wanted you to be a part of my clan,” said Gorganas. Riggs did not reply. “You have spirit in you boy… I like that. Too bad you entered into my domain the way you did, otherwise… things might have been different.”
Riggs cried out in pain as the whip descended across his back, tearing open the blisters. Gorganas continued with a few more strikes until he saw Riggs was about to pass out again. “Not yet. You will not get out of your fate.” Gorganas kneeled down by Riggs and grabbed the man’s shoulders, righting him. “Look.” Gorganas pointed to the tent flap. “The fire is for you,” he whispered into Riggs’ ear. Then Gorganas let go of Riggs and let him fall forward onto the ground.
As Gorganas left the tent, Riggs caught the sight of a metal post surrounded by flame. Riggs felt himself begin to drift away but he steadied himself. “Get him ready,” he heard a bandit shout outside the tent. Riggs looked around him. He was tied with leather straps around his wrists and on each leg. He tried pulling his leg free from the strap but he was too weak. Cursing, he tried raising the strap to his mouth to chew through it but it did not reach. He collapsed from the exertion.
Gorganas entered the room again, followed by two of his bandits. “Release his bonds,” ordered Gorganas. The bandits did as they were told. Riggs felt himself lifted to his feet. Gorganas stood in front of him, looking down at him. Gorganas grinned and turned, opening the tent flap. “Let it begin,” boomed Gorganas’s voice.
Around the fire stood the bandits of Bandit Clan. Riggs felt himself lurch forward as the two approached the fire. A bandit standing near the fire advanced toward Riggs, a long rope dangling in his hand, strung from the top of the pole in the middle of the fire. Riggs’ hands were placed in front of him as the bandit began to tie the rope around them. Riggs felt something snap in him and dashed forward, smashing his head against the nose of the bandit in front of him. Turning, he lashed out, striking one of the bandits behind him against the side of the throat. A roar went out from around the crowd at the spectacle. The remaining bandit went to grab a club from his side. Riggs wheeled his arm and fist around, striking solidly against the bandit’s chin. The bandit sunk to the ground. Riggs reached down and removed the bandit’s club, striking the other two bandits as they tried to rise. Satisfied they would not give him any more trouble, Riggs took stock of the rest of the bandits around him.
They all had turned to Gorganas who stood in between the tent and the fire, an amused look on his face. Gorganas advanced toward Riggs. “Perhaps you have more use to me than I thought,” said Gorganas. Riggs raised his club and struck at Gorganas as he approached. Gorganas dodged the blow and smashed his fist into Riggs chin, sending him into darkness.
Riggs woke in a dark cell. Groaning, he looked around him, his eyes adjusting to the faint light. A window stood high up on the wall opposite Riggs, and he could see the moon and stars through it. As Riggs stood up, he felt the weight of chains around his wrists. He looked through the cell bars into the next room. A stairway led upstairs and a desk and chair stood by the bottom of the stairs but no one was there.
Riggs yanked on his chains, testing their strength. To his surprise, the chains began to give underneath his struggle. Riggs gave another heavy pull, tearing the chains that bound him from the wall. Riggs raced over the window, holding the excess chain so it would not rattle. He leapt up, seizing hold of the thin bars. He threw his weight back. He smiled as the bars began to give way. He threw his weight back again and the bars groaned under the pressure. Riggs felt like laughing in joy when he heard the door at the top of the stairs open. Riggs fell to the ground and returned to his spot where he woke.
A bandit walked cautiously up to the bars and peered in. “What do you want?” asked Riggs. The bandit removed a club from his side and began unlocking the gate. Riggs pushed himself up against the wall as the bandit entered. The bandit raised his club and uttered something unintelligible to Riggs. “What?” asked Riggs. The bandit swung down. Riggs shot forward from his spot, surprising the bandit and dodging the blow. Riggs tackled the bandit, smacking the man’s head against the stone wall of the cell. The bandit was motionless as Riggs readied to strike again. Riggs removed the bandit’s jacket and mask then headed up the stairs.
The door opened to an empty room. To Riggs’ right was a hallway with a door leading outside at the end of it. He made his way out.
“Hey.”
Riggs froze as he closed the door behind him. Sitting in a chair outside the door was another bandit, this one with a long metal stick sharpened at the end by his side. Riggs nodded.
“Well?”
Riggs continued to stare at the bandit not answering.
“Did you have your fun before Gorganas got ahold of him?” asked the bandit.
Riggs nodded enthusiastically.
The bandit laughed, shaking his head. “Hope you didn’t tune him up too good. Gorganas would be mad.”
Riggs shrugged in response and began making his way out to the street.
“Where you going?” asked the bandit.
Riggs turned back to the bandit not saying a word.
“Something’s up with you,” said the bandit, raising his weapon and advancing towards Riggs. Riggs dashed forward and smashed his club onto the bandit’s head. The bandit sunk down. Riggs grabbed his body and dragged it to the chair, placing the bandit in a sitting position on it. Then he broke for the street. He made his way to the fence. He broke through a weak section and was free.
He began running frantically away from the camp but then paused. “Where am I going?” he wondered out loud. Grunting, he turned back toward the camp. He made his way to a large storehouse where he figured the Bandit Clan stored their vehicles. Breaking in, he confirmed he was right, as this building house not just vehicles but weaponry as well. He rummaged around the crates, retrieving a repeating rifle and a revolver. He smiled, checking that they were loaded. Satisfied, he did a quick search for any extra ammunition but could find none, so he went to the other rifles and revolvers and began emptying the cartridges. Riggs placed the spare ammunition in his belt and pockets and made his way to a buggy type vehicle. He, smiled seeing that the keys were in the ignition. Getting into the vehicle, Riggs heard a commotion outside. He dropped low, bringing his rifle up. Bandits began entering the storehouse.
“Gorganas wants what Gorganas wants,” scoffed a bandit. This remark was met with laughter from the other bandits.
“Gorganas will get what Gorganas gets,” muttered Riggs under his breath. The bandits rummaged around, using lanterns in the faint light.
“Looks like some stuff has gone missing.”
“Probably just misplaced.”
“Here it is.” The lead bandit pulled a long, cylindrical, metal device from a shelf. The bandits around him began laughing loudly. “He really screwed himself over, fighting back,” said the lead bandit, leaving the storehouse with the device.
“We’ll see about that,” replied Riggs to himself.
Riggs pushed the buggy out of the storehouse and onto the road. He found an extra gas can and placed this in the back of the buggy, along with a few extra rifles and revolvers. Ready to escape, Riggs was not yet satisfied. Pushing the buggy back, just within the doors of the storehouse, Riggs raced out to find Gorganas. Making his way down the street, he heard a loud cry. Smiling, he readied his rifle. From down the street emerged a group of ten bandits, racing toward the cry of Gorganas. Riggs raised his rifle and began firing. None of the bandits made it to cover. Riggs hunkered down by a concrete block and waited for the rest of the bandits to exit into the street and meet their fate.
A lone bandit kicked down the door of the house across from Riggs, looking up and down the street, a pipe in his hand. Riggs raised his rifle and fired, shattering the bandit’s skull. Groups of two or three bandits left their houses, firing wildly. Riggs stayed where he was and calmly picked them off. Riggs heard the shout of Gorganas making his way toward the street. Riggs smiled, refilling his repeater.
A group of bandits stormed toward the street, ducking behind buildings and debris, looking for the source of the carnage. Riggs waited until the lead bandit was a few feet in front of him. He rose up and fired, catching the lead bandit in the side of the neck. Two bandits behind the lead froze and Riggs shot them as well. The others scattered. Some fired randomly, others dropped their guns and raced as fast as they could away from their fallen companions. Riggs caught sight of Gorganas’ giant arm protruding from behind a concrete block similar to the one Riggs was himself behind. Riggs raised his repeater and fired, catching a chunk of the giant’s arm. Riggs smiled with satisfaction as he heard Gorganas’s distinct cry.
Riggs advanced toward Gorganas whose arm had disappeared from view. Riggs placed himself against the side of the house with Gorganas at the end of the alleyway. Scanning around for reinforcements, Riggs switched to his revolver and prepared to charge the giant and finish him off. Riggs pivoted around the corner, his revolver cocked. Not seeing Gorganas’ body he advanced toward the concrete block.He stepped out at a wide angle and made his way around. Rounding the corner he cursed as Gorganas was nowhere to be seen.
Riggs pressed himself up against the side of the house, unsure of where his assailant had gone. The sun was beginning to illuminate the bandit hideout. Riggs saw that the trail of blood led into the house he was leaning up against. He peeked into a window beside him, trying to see the layout. It was a one-room house with a few beds and supplies stacked along the side. Riggs made his way to the door. He stood by the side and gave the door a kick. The door flew back, knocking Riggs off balance. Gorganas tore out of the room, brandishing the metallic cylinder the bandits had retrieved for him. Gorganas whipped it frantically around and from the end, three organic tentacles emerged. Riggs raised his revolver and fired. The shot hit Gorganas but only served to anger the giant further. Gorganas pounced on him, swinging the cylinder down. The three tentacles slashed across Riggs’ chest. Riggs screamed out. A burning, intense pain spread across his chest. Gorganas seized Riggs’ hand with the revolver and batted the gun out of his grasp. Riggs watched helplessly as the gun fell into the dirt below the house. Riggs kicked at Gorganas’ knee, knocking it back. Gorganas’ grip on Riggs weakened. Riggs kicked out again. The giant toppled onto Riggs, pinning him against the side of the house. Riggs reached out for the repeater he had set against the side of the house. Gorganas raised his arm again to strike Riggs with the tentacles. As Gorganas reeled back, Riggs struck the giant’s neck as hard as he could. The giant was affected but still brought the weapon down. The tentacles pierced into Riggs’ arm. Riggs fought against fading again. Gorganas raised his arm again. Riggs repeated his punch to Gorganas’s throat this time the giant convulsed forward blood spilling from his lips. Riggs struck Gorganas in the chin. The giant fell forward. Riggs began to wrest the weapon from the giant’s hand when Gorganas surged back to life. He brought the tentacles up and smashed them down. The tentacles cut deep across Riggs’ face, one piercing deep into his right cheek. Riggs’ saw Gorganas’s face, then black. But something in Riggs still held on. The giant raised the weapon again and struck with the tentacles, raking across Riggs’ chest and shoulders. Bt Riggs did not feel it. A weight crashed against him then settled.
Coming to consciousness, Riggs saw Gorganas lying against him. The giant’s eyes had closed and the weapon lay a few inches from his hand, the tentacles hissing and swishing in the air on their own. Riggs worked himself out from under the giant. Standing up, Riggs studied Gorganas. A large pool of blood had accumulated underneath him. Riggs let out a sigh, falling against the side of the house. Riggs grabbed his rifle and made his way through the camp collecting food, weapons, and anything else he had need of shooting down any bandits that had hidden instead of running. Loading it all up into his buggy, Riggs made his way back to the giant. Gorganas still lay motionless in a growing pool of his own blood. Riggs reached down hesitantly and grabbed the weapon that had caused him so much pain. The tentacles whipped around, trying to get to Riggs. Riggs aimed his revolver at the base where the tentacles met and fired. The tentacles convulsed and then all drooped down. Riggs threw the weapon away from him as if it was hot to the touch.
Riggs returned to the buggy. In the dash was a map. Riggs studied it. In dark bold letters a place called Valroth, the only location other than Bandit Clan marked on the map. Riggs set out for it.
