                RETRIBUTION

PART 7 BY THE CHOIR BOYZ TEAM.....................


All was quiet.  Footsteps could be heard in the hallway.  Slow
foot steps that seemed to be muffled by much effort and
practice.  Then they stopped just outside CELL B, Scarecrow's
cell. All was quiet.  There was labored breathing just outside
the cell door.  Scarecrow listened for any movement or clue as
to what would follow.  But all he heard was the breathing,
much steadier now.  The key jiggled in the lock of CELL B.
"Gottit," whispered the stranger.  But his liberator was
cautious, and opened the door slowly, half way.  Scarecrow was
frantic to meet the warrior who risked his life to free him
and Arctic Fox.  Finally, the door swung open.  Scarecrow saw
a silhouette in the dimly lit hallway.  He recognized the size
and shape of the warrior who had inflicted insurmountable
damage to the Hydrites inside the prison walls.  Scarecrow had
passed by this man's base many times while making the trip to
his own just a short distance to the north.  Scarecrow made an
unspoken vow to himself that he would one day repay his
neighbor for his heroic effort.  One day they would reminisce
about this day over a glass of that slimy concoction at Barl's
Bar.  Scarecrow passed through the cell door, and extended his
hand to his new friend.  The stranger made no utterance.  He
raised his Xendrix, and Scarecrow felt the awful burning in
his chest.  He frantically tried to hold in the mangled mess
that was once his innards, but the cavity was enormous and the
effort was futile.  As he felt his life slipping away,
Scarecrow could feel his executioner stealing his armor and
all his other possessions.  As he gasped for his last breath,
he took one final, closer look at the face of the man who was
now taking the last of his water crystals.  It all made sense,
now.  He saw the face of HAWK.

Scarecrow's body was taken to the Complex, and was
administered the resurrection process.  He was not ready to
relinquish his soul to the bowels of hell.  Going through the
resurrection process was not a pleasant experience.  It took
time to counter the electrolyte imbalance,  the vitamin
deficiency,  and the confusion that set in as if awakening
from a coma that had lasted eons.  It is said that once
returned from death, you were "half the warrior you used to
be."  He trained hours each day until he acquired the skills
he once had.  And now that he felt like his old self, it was
time to go to work.

He was perplexed by the attack by Hawk.  Hawk had a reputation
for being unpredictable.  But the unprovoked assault made
Scarecrow wonder...why?  It had been a long time since anyone
had encountered Hawk.  He had become reclusive and was rarely
seen in the Wastelands, much less around the Complex.  No one
could recall the last time they had crossed his path in the
supply room, or in Barl's Bar.  Scarecrow heard of no other
recruits having a confrontation with Hawk, nor any attempts to
breach his base.  There were questions to be answered, and
actions that needed to be held accountable for.

                                Michael Willis
                                Cleve Sanders

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