some kind of a hospital,” Abbey guessed.
Rainor and the Sleepers followed, keeping back and out of sight as much as possible. None of the cyborgs on the street paid any attention at all to the annihilators or to the limp form of the woman.
“It looks like they’re taking her out of town,” Josh said.
“They are,” Sarah said. “See. There’s the magnetic fence over there.”
“Maybe this will give us some idea of how to get through that thing,” Jake said. “If they’re going outside the city limits, they’ll have to get through that shield.”
There were no buildings now and no place to hide, but the annihilators were all facing forward. Rainor and the Sleepers stayed a comfortable distance behind them and off to the side—a safer place to be, Rainor thought, if the cyborgs should suddenly turn around.
The troop of annihilators marched straight forward. They stopped just before they reached the line of posts.
At that point, the cyborg carrying the woman spoke in his mechanical, dead voice. Unfortunately, what he said, Rainor could not hear.
Almost immediately there was a loud hissing.
“He’s opened up the magnetic shield!” Jake whispered. Then he laughed. “I don’t know why I’m whispering. They’re too far away to hear us, if we can’t hear them.”
They watched the cyborg step through the shield. He took the woman off his shoulder and simply dropped her to the ground. He then rejoined the other annihilators and spoke again to the magnetic fence.
There was a hissing sound. The annihilators promptly turned about face and started their march back toward the city.
A silence came over the Sleepers. Then, “Did yousee that!” Abbey gasped. “I’m not even sure the woman is dead!”
“They sure didn’t care,” Reb muttered angrily. “This is no hospital.”
“Why did they just put her outside the city?” Abbey asked pityingly.
Rainor set his jaw. “We’ve just seen a cyborg burial, I would guess. They threw her out there for the animals to devour.”
They turned slowly to go back into the town.
Josh seemed especially thoughtful. “What they did was bad,” he said, “but now we know how to get out of here when we find Mayfair. We just have to find out what words to say.”
During the walk back into the City of the Cyborgs, Wash looked up at Reb. “Reb?” he said.
“What is it?”
“What we saw. That was terrible.”
“It sure was. These people—whoever’s running this place—have no heart at all.”
Wash trudged along and did not speak for a time. Finally he said, “If they’d do that to one of their own people, think what they’d do to strangers like us.”
Reb nodded, a grim look on his face. “I been thinking about that, and it don’t sound good to me.”
Wash and his friends plodded on, thinking and talking. He had been upset by what he had seen, and he supposed they all had. The sight had left a mark on them. And it sounded as if everyone was now more determined than ever to find Mayfair and to deliver her from the City of the Cyborgs.
7
A Terrible Life
W hen the Sleepers and Rainor split up again, Reb and Wash decided to circle the city. They soon discovered that a large number of cyborgs were at work in the surrounding fields. They stood watching as these strange people moved down the long rows, mechanically hoeing their crops.
Reb, who knew more about farming than most of the others, said, “I never saw anything like this.”
“What, Reb?” Wash asked. They were standing off to one side of a very large field.
“Well, when you chop cotton or work in the potato fields, you work a while and then you rest a while,” Reb said. “Otherwise you burn out. But it doesn’t look like these people
ever
rest. Why, it makes me downright tired just to watch them go at it.”
Wash nodded. “It’s hard to think of them as people,” he said, “but I know they are.”
“They move so much like robots. They never laugh. It makes you feel plumb sorry
Rainor and the Sleepers followed, keeping back and out of sight as much as possible. None of the cyborgs on the street paid any attention at all to the annihilators or to the limp form of the woman.
“It looks like they’re taking her out of town,” Josh said.
“They are,” Sarah said. “See. There’s the magnetic fence over there.”
“Maybe this will give us some idea of how to get through that thing,” Jake said. “If they’re going outside the city limits, they’ll have to get through that shield.”
There were no buildings now and no place to hide, but the annihilators were all facing forward. Rainor and the Sleepers stayed a comfortable distance behind them and off to the side—a safer place to be, Rainor thought, if the cyborgs should suddenly turn around.
The troop of annihilators marched straight forward. They stopped just before they reached the line of posts.
At that point, the cyborg carrying the woman spoke in his mechanical, dead voice. Unfortunately, what he said, Rainor could not hear.
Almost immediately there was a loud hissing.
“He’s opened up the magnetic shield!” Jake whispered. Then he laughed. “I don’t know why I’m whispering. They’re too far away to hear us, if we can’t hear them.”
They watched the cyborg step through the shield. He took the woman off his shoulder and simply dropped her to the ground. He then rejoined the other annihilators and spoke again to the magnetic fence.
There was a hissing sound. The annihilators promptly turned about face and started their march back toward the city.
A silence came over the Sleepers. Then, “Did yousee that!” Abbey gasped. “I’m not even sure the woman is dead!”
“They sure didn’t care,” Reb muttered angrily. “This is no hospital.”
“Why did they just put her outside the city?” Abbey asked pityingly.
Rainor set his jaw. “We’ve just seen a cyborg burial, I would guess. They threw her out there for the animals to devour.”
They turned slowly to go back into the town.
Josh seemed especially thoughtful. “What they did was bad,” he said, “but now we know how to get out of here when we find Mayfair. We just have to find out what words to say.”
During the walk back into the City of the Cyborgs, Wash looked up at Reb. “Reb?” he said.
“What is it?”
“What we saw. That was terrible.”
“It sure was. These people—whoever’s running this place—have no heart at all.”
Wash trudged along and did not speak for a time. Finally he said, “If they’d do that to one of their own people, think what they’d do to strangers like us.”
Reb nodded, a grim look on his face. “I been thinking about that, and it don’t sound good to me.”
Wash and his friends plodded on, thinking and talking. He had been upset by what he had seen, and he supposed they all had. The sight had left a mark on them. And it sounded as if everyone was now more determined than ever to find Mayfair and to deliver her from the City of the Cyborgs.
7
A Terrible Life
W hen the Sleepers and Rainor split up again, Reb and Wash decided to circle the city. They soon discovered that a large number of cyborgs were at work in the surrounding fields. They stood watching as these strange people moved down the long rows, mechanically hoeing their crops.
Reb, who knew more about farming than most of the others, said, “I never saw anything like this.”
“What, Reb?” Wash asked. They were standing off to one side of a very large field.
“Well, when you chop cotton or work in the potato fields, you work a while and then you rest a while,” Reb said. “Otherwise you burn out. But it doesn’t look like these people
ever
rest. Why, it makes me downright tired just to watch them go at it.”
Wash nodded. “It’s hard to think of them as people,” he said, “but I know they are.”
“They move so much like robots. They never laugh. It makes you feel plumb sorry
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