Billy Ray walks slowly East along the Mohawk Trail. The trail is churned up, and the skeletons of several wagons have been pushed aside and ransacked for parts and wood. There are a few folks pulling boards off the ragged wagons at this moment, looking for something to keep the bonfires lit. Billy Ray sees that most of the folks are giving him the hairy eyeball.
Down the road a bit there is a draw where water has carved a narrow path down to the distant Deerf River. Billy Ray can see that there is a faint trail etched in the loose scree here, possibly from folks travelling downward.
He doesn't want to wander too far off, so he'll just give some help to the folks at the wagon wrecks, pulling off larger pieces of wood from the broken hulks and passing them to the scavengers.
"'Ere yall go. Tak dis."
Billy-Ray's strength gives the scavengers a boost, ripping large hunks of board lumber from the wagons. The ragged men at the wagons tip their hats.
"Thankee sai mister. That was a powerful help."
"Happi te hep. 'Ow'd yall end up heah, anyhow?"
The ragged man who spoke looks at Billy Ray
"Prob'ly the same way you did mister. I owned a sundries store near Albnee. Did a good bunch of business with folks thereabouts 'till the Wreckers invaded. They burnt my store to the ground and I said to my wife, 'Salleh, these folks aint gonna be friendly towards us'."
The ragged man points to his glowing green eyes, which are fringed with small waving cillia.
"So we loaded up a wagon with what was left and headed out East. Wagon broke down an' one of our horses got sick 'round here, 'bout the same as the otherin'."
The ragged man looks down the road.
"I had hoped to get a stake in around here, but the folks roundabouts are a mite standoffish, to be kind. Me and Salleh are fixin' to head out yonder towards Grenfield when the weather cools a bit. I'm still hopin' my horse gets better."
"Don' seem lihk folks herabouts ar to friendly, latelys. Yall had trubl wit dese folks?"
The ragged man looks at Billy Ray
"Not personal'y, 'cept to be tol' to move on when I was askin' for a place to get supplies. They don't likes us stayin' here, but they aint gots the men to drive us'n out, an' we gots no wheres to go."
The man spits to the side
"Reckon' they keep hopin' the Twitchy Man will get rid of us all 'fore the snow flies."
"Twitchy Man? Who dat?"
The ragged man smiles
"Ah it's jest an' old campfire story. People 'round here is mostly back-holla folk, and they'll b'lieve any damnfool thing."
The ragged man laughs
"'sposedly some folks've seen this twitchy-like scarecrow fellah, and he sneaks into the camp an' takes people away. I think it's a load of moldy beans m'self. I ain't got time for no boogerman. I gots to get ready for the REAL boogermen."
The ragged man jerks his thumb back in the vague direction of Noratom.
"Those boogermen I gots no doubts about."
"Dem bak holla Granny stories gots plenny o' trut' hidden insid. Maybes dey's sumtin teh dis 'Twitchy Man' story. Yall know sombody 'ho cud tell ole Billy-Ray (dat's me) 'bout him?"
"Billy-Ray be willin' teh trad fo' teh tale."
holds out 2 days worth of rations
The ragged man snatches up the rations.
"Thankee SAI! No problem, Billy Ray. My name's Gus."
Gus shakes Billy Ray's large hand.
"If'n you want, grab a loada them boards we jest got and follow me. I'll introduce you to Old Nan. She's kinda tetched, but she claims she saw the Twitchy Man for certain. Tells a powerful good yarn about it at least."
Old Nan is a wizened old mutant woman. It's hard to tell if she's a human with a few unfortunate mutations or a goat with a few advantageous ones.
Old Nan is covered in a grey fur pelt. Her eyes are that disturbing black barbel-shaped goat pupil, with yellow irises. Two small horns jut from her forehead, and a wispy beard descends from her knobby chin. Otherwise she is human enough, with arthritic-looking hands that are knitting socks at the moment as she rocks in a crude chair.
The old woman looks up at Billy Ray and cackles.
"My stars now there's a healthy boah! What do you need with Old Nan Boah?"
"Howdy mam."
offers sum chaw
"Billy-Ray (dats me) done heard tell o' Ole Nan. Ah been tole she canh hep teh unnerstan 'bouts teh Twitchy Man."
looks at Ole Nan and adds peppers to offer of chaw
One of Old Nan's family members takes the proferred items with a mummur of appreciation. The old goat woman stares off a bit and then begins to speak.
"Well now, it was 'nigh on two months ago, I reckon, right 'bout when we foist pulled up to this here hellhole. I was real twitchy from all that journeyin' through the mountains, an' we had a powerful lot of things to do to get set up. One night I was outside here in my chair cuz I couldn't sleep. The fire'd burned low, and there was jest a little bit of light left when I saw the Twitchy Man.
"He came out of the darkness, walking like he'd got a snort of bad squeezins. He was goin' back and forth, weaving around, but kinda, almost sniffin' if you unnerstand that. Like he was a lookin' for something. He came over to me an' I thought I was headed for the Lord's bosom. He came up to me, an I saw he was a wrapped in a big ol' coat and a floppy hat like a summer sombrero to keep the rays off. He had a scarf on his face too, even though it had been a powerful warm night for Apill. All I could see was these weird yellow shiny eyes.
"Well, I can tell you boah, I was scairt like nothing else I ever seen, and I lived in the back hollas where all the weird things hide. This Twitchy Man done scairt me speechless! He took a long look at me, an' he said nowt the whole time, jest made this burbly bubbly sound in his throat. He turned about and walked away from me, I don't know why.
"Next mornin' ol' Bin Roggars went missing, long with alla his kin. Folks said he jest decided to leave under dark, but I knowed better. The Twitchy Man was headed his way last I seen him."
Old Nan stops and pats her furry forehead with a lace handkerchef.
"I'm sorry boah, that story allus scairs me a trifle. I never did get over that thing's eyes. That and evur one but my kin don't b'lieve me. Sad thing is I seed him some more, and I seed him taking folks with him, an' they all twitching like him. I also seed regular folks jest staring into space when he walk by, like they don't see him. He got some powerful juju, whatever he is."
"Ovah teh which ways yall think 'e come froms? Maabe Billy-Ray ahn his frien's go tak a look-see at dis Twitchy Man."
Old Nan pats her forehead again.
"I allus seed him comin' from the East. Leastaways I think so."
"Thankee, Mam. Ah'll lok innta it. Folks dohn' need no more troubles den dey alreddy gots."
"Yall hav a gud even'n, now"
Off to find the troops. Now that he's got sumptin teh think about, people aren't such a worry.
Old Nan waves good bye.
"Good luck to you boah! Come back an tell me if'n you get him!"
Billy Ray heads back out to the campground where the others had been. He sees Coca chatting up a teenage girl with glowing blue skin along the way.
Guessing Coca-man wouldn't want to have his hunt interuppted, B-R heads back to the camp. Maybe Chiro can do a scouting fly-by.
"Wanna see my gun?"
The girl Marrai giggles and blushes at Coca's double entendre.
"I gots 'bout a half hour lef' 'fore these little 'un gots to go back. You want maybe to show me that gun then?"
Billy Ray sees Chiro just flying into the campground area. Roach and E.V.A seem to be settling down for the night, tidying up the area.
The girl Marrai giggles and blushes at Coca's double entendre.
"I gots 'bout a half hour lef' 'fore these little 'un gots to go back. You want maybe to show me that gun then?"
Coca cracks open his riflepack so she can check out Nixon.
Marrai coos over the large shooting iron
"Oooh now that's big an' purty. You a fightin' man?"
"Howdy, Yall. Ayh don bin ahskin' 'roun 'bout teh troubls heahabouts.
Yall get word o' wat dey's callin' teh Twitchy Man?"
Billy-Ray proceeds to tell the tale to the team, keeping them awake until he finishes and tells the part 'bout Twitchy coming from the east.
"Iffens we cahn get dese folks quieted down, den dey gots a better chanc teh join ups wit Noratom 'gainst dem Rekkers. If yall look at it thataways, dem we's gotta hep."
After that burst of blab, B-R happily waits for someone to come up with a plan.
"Interesting Billy-Ray. I just had a near-twitchy experience down the valley. From what you say, I was being influenced to land against my better judgment. I saw a figure that might be this Twitchy person down the road from a family. Maybe we should check it out. And have some long range back up."
Chiro looks significantly at Nixon.
"Yeah, there's a lot of ill will towards Florda town here. Some think the Flordans are killin' off the refugees, while others think somethin' is feeding on the outskirts of the camp. Lots of angry migrants, though. That Twitchy Dude, whatever it might be, seems to fit the 'hungry monster' category pretty well."
Eva looks unimpressed at the thought of monsters, "Folklore is my best guess, but I guess proper investigation and analysis is needed to root out the cause of all this distress"
Marrai coos over the large shooting iron
"Oooh now that's big an' purty. You a fightin' man?"
"Yep... sniper. Pretty cool huh?"
Marrai smiles at Coca
"Very cool. Maybe after I drop these young'uns off we could take a walk?"
As the last bit of light fades from the sky the group discusses the information Chiro, Roach and Billy Ray collected. Coca strolls back into camp a bit later, a big cheezy grin on his face. When asked where he's been he replies laconically.
"Got my gun oiled."
The rest of the folks at the campfire bring him up to speed as they eat dinner.
"I think I should scout from above in the direction that I saw the mysterious figure. I will also check on the family he was heading toward. If I can take some of Billy-ray's glow stuff I can signal you if i spot anything. Don't plan on flying as low as I was before, I am not fond of having my mind messed with."
"Yall wan Ah goes walkin' along teh trail? Den iffens teh Twitchy Man gets me, yall just gots teh foller me."
"I wounder if his ability for suggestion works with a synthetic mind"Eva tilts her head as she ponders if her robotics will help or hinder her.
"Mmmm I think that is way brave of you Billy-Ray, if we have to use bait I think you would be the hardest of us to take out. Hope it won't come to that."
"I don't know EVA, but you have a better chance than none i would think."
"Let's do it. We've got numbers - and lots and lots of guns."
"Coca man is always ready bruthas."
B-R has what he thinks is a cool plan. He's gonna hold a stun grenade in one hand, with the pin pulled. If da Twitchy Man done gets him, and he starts twitchen, he gon end up droppin' da stunner and stunin' hisself. Or maybe E.V.A. could hold the grenade and decide when and how to use it.
"Lets do eet!"
Chiro will grab some glow stuff (careful not to start it up) and head for the night sky.
Eva agrees to the the big uns idea, with all luch her synthetic wiring will offer her some protection against any attempt at mind control. Eva reminds her self to stay away from BR if he is gonna be holding a grenade.
"Hells yeah. Good plan." Roach adjust his weapons rig. "Just make sure that grenade's a stunner before you start twitchin'. Wouldn't do to drop a frag grenade on yer feet."
Eva seems to be bothered by something she tries to ignore it but her programming takes over, "Billy, your plan has a success rate of 55% and a backfire analouge of 15% if you do not mind waiting for a few moments I can run a simualtion and improve our chances of success by a wider margin...
An arc of electricity surrounds eva as blue and white sparks manifest around her temporal region slowly approaching B-R Eva states "Billy, this will not hurt, I am attempting to reconfigure your neural synapse to make you neurotransmitters less susceptable to the power of sugesstion, will you assent to my aid" Eva smiles gently to her large friend.
E.V.A's mind whirs into high gear as she computes the probabilities
True night has settled into the refugee camp of Tramp Town. The group can hear faint singing and an argument from the distant bonfires. The stars shine down on the Appalachee mountaintops like they've done for a million years and more.
Off te bait teh Twitchy Man. Billy-Ray is still trying to figger out why reconnin' 'is figure an' 'is new transmitter will give power to 'is suggestions, but 'e takes teh time to make sure 'e's holdin' a stunner not a frag.
