Sproggo - Son of Max

Chapter 1. iii

                  

They dropped into darkness. Sproggo heard them thud into the room just as he was reaching into his pocket for the Zippo lighter he had 'inherited' from Clem. He gave it a flick, opening and lighting it at the same time. He pulled down an old hurricane ulamp from the wall and lit it. The lamp ran off citrus oil and had broken glass, but it was enough to cast a dull light throughout the tiny room they were in. It was only a few meters square and had a cot at one end that Dozer was already laying in, and some shelving at the other with jars and boxes stacked on it. Sproggo pushed past the new comers, "get that filthy rag out of your mate", he said, "you'll find clean cloth on the shelf. Pour some of the yellow liquid in the jar on the top shelf on it, it'll sting like a bastard, but it'll help fight off any infection." The girl went to the shelf to get the gear. Sproggo grabbed a couple of long metal rods off the floor and slid them through some eyelets attached to the underside of the ductwork, past the entry slide, and through more eyelets along the other side of the chute. Effectively, the chute was locked fast into position and could now hold some ones weight.

"How's your mate," he asked as he finished locking the entry chute.

"He's lost a fair bit of blood, but I don't think anything major has been damaged," replied the girl.

Sproggo came over and had a look at her handy work.

"We'll have to keep a close eye on him. Stopping the bleeding will only be the start, Christ knows what sort of shit was on the blade, infection can kill him just as easily as the blood loss," he said. Field medicine had been a priority skill for old Clem because, as he used to say, "You ain't gunna always win Sproggo, shit will always happen." Satisfied all that could be done for the young man was done, Sproggo crossed the room and pulled a jar of dried meat off the shelf and offered it around while having a good look at them for the first time. The girl was quite pretty. She had short blond hair, stood around 5'10, and had the athletic build of a girl that had no fear of getting in and doing what it took to survive. The older guy had olive skin and jet black hair. Like his female companion, he was built hard and was a good 6 foot. He would probably have had a big nose, had it not been broken a few times. Both were about the same age as Sproggo, early to mid 20's. The girl got the feeling they were being checked out, and spoke,

"The names Goz, this is Niko, the kid on the bed is young Dozer. Thanks for your help. We won't clutter up your home too long. We'll bail in the morning."

"Sproggo", Sproggo replied by way of introduction, "and this isn't home, just a bolthole. We probably wouldn't have made it up to my main camp carrying old mate over there before the Gutters caught us, and I can't see you being able to move him in a hurry either. It'll take you a couple of days to get back to your territory without having to carry someone. I wouldn't make too many plans until he's on his feet."

"Fair call," Goz replied, "if you could help us out for a while, our tribe will make it worth your while."

"Are you in a position to make that call," Sproggo asked.

Niko, who til this time had just stood there sussing out Sproggo, finally spoke, "yes, she is."

Sproggo looked from one to the other and nodded, "best get comfortable then, it's going to be a long night. We'll move in the morning when it's safer."