Chapter 7: The Horsemen of the Destruction.

John, Lorraine and Geranio head to the outskirts of town, and after an intense search they find the entrance to the tunnel, perfectly camouflaged. The darkness is total, so they light their powerful lanterns that show them a huge refuge, where there are creatures that seem to act as guardians. In the concavity of the ceiling, gigantic mollusks hang that seem to sleep between steam vapors and strange transparent threads, which are nothing other than the slime they secrete for this purpose. They are struck by a Gilospers, a slug with two legs. The creature spits acid, but John dodges the poisonous fluid, and hits it. To the amazement of all, the slug exclaims with gestures of suffering.

"Stop Please! Do not hurt me!"

-"He can... he can talk! "Says Lorraine, surprised, hiding behind John

"Of course I can, we feed on Deutamine," says the slimy being, approaching.

"Stay away from me!" Lorraine yells at him, purple with revulsion.

"We came to close the tunnel in this cave" -explains John

"I'm sorry but you can't do that."

"Why?

"The horsemen of destruction, in exchange for letting them pass, provide us with Weifragno, the residues of Deutamine. If we break the pact, they will stop feeding us and we will die."

"But the town has tons of Weifragno in its plant!" John informs them and decides to help the poor beasts. Think that their hideous appearance is not a reason for them to live persecuted. They deliberate on the form and eventually go to town to convince everyone to cooperate with them for their own good. The inhabitants, tired of the terror that "the horsemen of destruction" cause, see in this proposal, the solution. In this way creatures and settlers reach an agreement. Six trucks, equipped with hoses, drain the Weifragno from the tunnel and fill a tank, so that the Gillospers can feed.

Willing to fulfill their promise, John and Geranio, with huge rocks, cover the entrance of the cave that communicated the town of Herv with the hideout of the bandits. Once sealed, no one will re-enter; the rocks are too heavy for "horsemen of destruction." Thus, both races, humans and Gilospers, promise to work together, and despite the fact that in the past the humans discriminated against them for being different, now, thanks to them, their nightmares ended.

With the satisfaction of their duty accomplished, the three adventurers always head south. Late at night, when fatigue makes them advance very slowly, they find a desolate town, which seems to be in the place under the light of the full moon, overshadowed by the toxic clouds that cover the sky It looks like abandoned for some time long time. They light a bonfire. John, to the amazement of his companions from the Pw-720 clock, takes out some supplies, even gasoline for Geranium that needs to feed his cables, although from time to time he allows himself to enjoy a real meal; and this is one of those occasions.

"Happy geranium!" He says while eating a hare.

"Geranio eats too much," John says, smiling, as he settles down next to Lorraine.

"I told you it was a problem bringing him with us," she says.

"Don't worry, we have provisions for a long time, in addition, we replenish some when the opportunity to hunt occurs.

The night, very clear, allows to see in the distance the silhouettes of the huge trees, and two beautiful white owls, sing their monotonous serenade. Lorraine, withdraws from the rest, looking for some privacy to sleep. The eye of the cyclops and John, doze off from time to time, however they remain alert in case something unexpected occurs. At dawn, the three of them continue on their way to what remains of the once bustling and glittering city of Las Vegas, now called Sin City. Despite everything, one of its casinos is still standing. At times, when each seems deep in thought, John reviews his brief memories and wonders if he is doing the right thing under the circumstances. If it hadn't been for the best to go back to sleep, a thought that he dismisses immediately. He feels that what he is experiencing is exciting and it is very important to be amazed at each event that he experiences, because life gives him something to discover every day, surprises that awaken the possibility of marveling. Never had so many things existed for him until the moment of awakening, or being born.

"What if we have fun for a bit?" John proposes, with the approval of Lorraine. The casino shines in luxury, and thousands of luminaries recall its times of splendor. Geranium, you must stay outside as its gigantic geography does not enter through the door. Shocked by the size of the cyclops, people crowd around it, but just a few minutes later, everyone's attention turns to the roulette wheel.

John bets on zero, and wins; like this over and over again until a young blond man in an extravagant suit, who has been watching him closely since he started winning, goes on alert, and suddenly John no longer wins. The tactic that has worked so far fails time and time again.

"It seems that your luck has changed" says the blond subject, approaching with a look full of pride.

"No. The problem is that you are scammers" answers John, at the same time that he plucks a cable connected to the roulette wheel that reveals the trap. The guards of the place point their weapons at the same time that John is literally swallowed by the earth; the men open fire, but today is not his lucky day, Geranio, he tears off the door that prevented his passage and like a steel wall he absorbs the impact of the bullets, and furiously he gives them what they deserve. The leader, who tries to escape through the back door, is intercepted by John, who grabs him by the hair and drags him to the police station. On the way the man begs for mercy, John does not listen to him, until the subject proposes him.

"I will give you all the money I have stolen, but please do not give me to the police! " He says scared to death - I will do absolutely everything they tell me, but don't leave me there! Also, I know they need me to reach their destination - he says with you slowly and clearly.

"And you, how do you know our destiny?" John asks, in a bad way, as he grabs him by the neck and lifts him a meter off the ground.

"Everything is known here. When they stopped to rest on the side of the mountain, three onlookers from the place overheard their conversation, and I can assure you that they did not reach Neo Genova without my guiding them. They are on the right track, but it will be impossible for them to get there without my knowledge. There are nooks and crannies that you don't know and hidden paths that you will never discover on your own, believe me."

"I do not know if you are lying, but if so, you will regret it ... I assure you!"

"I'm not lying! - He assured joining the palms of his hands and making a few bows."

"Then you will travel with us and you will assist us in everything we send you."

"Insurance. My name is Faust, and I will follow your every order, I promise, you can trust me."

Geranio single eye looks suspiciously at the subject, who shows submission, bowing all the time; and you can't help but be tempted to hit him a bit.

"Why are you hitting me damn creature?"

"Faust, it's not sincere! Faust is not a friend of Geranio."

When a while later they set out on their way, Faust, more than delicate, complains constantly and tries to rest every ten minutes.

"You have to walk! - His companions insist - Think about what you would be going through in jail if we had left you there!"

When the night catches them, the temperature drops so much due to pollution that they must light a fire to combat the three degrees below zero that the instruments mark; and unsurprisingly, Faust, he doesn't stop complaining:

"I should be warm, enjoying the pleasures that money gives, counting my fortune."

"Shut up now! You put my nerves on edge! - says Lorraine."

- And who are you? I only accept orders from the boss

"My name is Lorraine, and I am the daughter of the president of the world."

"Ah, since you are the deserter, the army is looking for you in heaven and earth -she says smiling."

"It could be, let them look, if they find me my partner will attend to them, right Geranio?"

"Geranium defend Lorraine! Nobody hurt her!"

"There is a lot to go, we better rest -advises John, while preparing a gap between two rocks, near the fire -As soon as dawn we leave "he says.

Lorraine walks over to him, pale with cold and shivering. He, without saying anything, hugs her to help her warm up and the two stay close together, until dawn finds them asleep. When the sun invades the desert plain, the group prepares to continue their march.

"My feet hurt!" Faust says, after almost an hour's walk. Any inconvenience, no matter how small, is cause for complaint. He is a very annoying and irritating subject; which makes John wonder if it was appropriate to let him be part of that journey, and if it is time to do without it. He steps away from the group a bit, presses the blue light on his watch and asks the opinion of the computer.

"I can help you in many things you need, but not in making decisions. You must decide what to do."

Without thinking too much about it, John is confident that it is the only way to get there. You must monitor the actions of the new member of the group and trust your intuition.

Suddenly, a heartrending howl surprises them and they run towards the place where it comes from. A black dog with little hair is being injured by a group of "horsemen of destruction".

"You guys! ... Enough! Shouts John."

- Boy, the dog is ours! Says one of the bandits. John points his gun and warns them to leave him alone.

"And what are you going to do? Do you think you scare us? " Our young friend feels great respect and love towards beings mistakenly considered, inferior, and he is not willing to let those mad criminals continue to punish the defenseless dog, and without delaying a second, he removes the elements of torture that they used for fun and uses them against them, who flee like cowards.

Faust, takes advantage of the distraction and tries to escape, without seeing that behind him Lorraine, a witness to the events and fed up with his increasingly annoying behavior, cannot overcome the temptation and with an accurate punch leaves him a black eye.

"What were you trying to escape with?" Lorraine tells him, taking him by the collar of his shirt. So you are sorry you joined us! You are nothing but a cowardly idiot, a useless spoiled!

"They are going to finish me!; This is no life for a man like me! I feel like a prisoner! I want to leave! My feet are sore and my clothes are ruined!" He says whimpering " I'll make you a map of the route to follow; They will see that this way they will arrive without inconvenience."

"You will leave as soon as we reach our destination" John says, without looking at him, while he heals the wounds of the animal that licks his hands in gratitude, and follows them timidly with a secret wish, to stay with them.

"Your name will be Blackie," Lorraine tells him. The animal seems to like its new name, but actually what it likes the most is having conquered them.