Backbag. Scavenger's clothing. Cowboy Town. Thalen's Reach.
It was the biggest colony on the planety.
Eve entered the store, opened her bag, and took out the fusion core along with other artifacts.
The shopkeeper picked up the core.
"This looks fresh. The rest? Scrap. I'll give you 80 units."
Eve nodded. The next store too far to waste her breath bargaining.
"Where did you get it from?" the shopkeeper inquired.
"The tincane attacked me," she answered, stopping at the door.
"You bring me more of these, I'll give you 100 units apiece."
She stepped out.
Fusion cores weren't cheap. But she needed money. A fresh one from the market cost about 2,000 units. Then again, this was Thalen's Reach. No law. No regulation. The land of brutes and thugs.
She bought food, necessities and left the town, heading back to the canyon a few kilometers away.
Her shelter? A wrecked RV. Thrusters never worked. Broken windows covered with clothes and cardboard. A foamy bed. A decent couch. And a working radio.
The RV was half buried in the mud on a mound. A small river flowed within walking distance. She liked the valley.
This part of the planet was temperate year-round. Not too cold. Not too hot.
Scavengers often passed by. She had mounted a human and a cyborg skull on the door to warn thieves and looters.
Afternoon. She turned on the radio and tuned in to one of her favorite channels—Banista-037; the cyborg twins. Space hippies who fetched fresh stories from around the galaxy and chronicled their adventures.
Then she switched the channel and drifted into sleep to the sound of music.
A hard metal clang woke her up. Outside—multiple cowboys, riff-horses, five humans, three human-likes, and a cyborg. One of them was throwing stones at her door.
"Hey lady, seen any vipers around here?" he yelled.
"Only rats and bog-bugs," she answered.
"You mind if we camp for the night?"
She scanned them for weapons. They were armed with snipers, rifles, and pipe-guns. Some even had plasma pistols.
"You can stay. But I want you gone in the morning," she said, then pulled her head back in and shut the door.
In the evening she rose, well rested. She picked up the water minitank and headed for the river.
They camped by the bank. Bonfire.
She started filling up her minitank.
"You live alone out here?" a cowboy asked.
"I live alone out here," she replied flatly, still filling the tank. He didn't ask more questions.
She approached them.
"Any luck?"
"Not in this valley. We've set up traps. Morning's the final verdict, I guess."
"Why are you hunting snakes?"
"I've got a shop three towns away. We make poison arrows, daggers, spears, bullets. Anything you need for the hunt."
Eve was quiet for a moment, then she spoke.
"Follow the river down the canyon. You'll see the water darkening, moss, crabs. That's your cue."
"You sure?"
"Take it or leave it. I'm not gonna argue."
She headed back.
"You can eat with us if you want!" he hollered.
She didn't reply and slipped back into her RV.
They were gone the next morning.