Duke twisted the throttle gently to walk the Chicken down the ramp out of the boxcar.
Duke twisted the throttle gently to walk the Chicken down the ramp out of the boxcar. It clanked and hissed and belched smoke and steam but it stepped gently enough to not break the ramp. Duke was also pleased he didn't walk it right off the side, ruining months of research and work. The yokels stared slack-jawed at the Chicken. Stare at this, he thought and pushed the throttle forward. The Chicken responded immediately, metal feet pounding away from the station into the desert. Duke couldn't help it, "Yeeeeeha!" he yelled.
Later…
There had been a rattler here not long ago. Duke examined the loose dirt, crushing a chunk in his gloved hand. It was sticky with slime. He walked back to the Chicken and got out the piston. He assembled it, lit the miniature boiler and soon the piston was beating into the ground regularly. Duke jumped onto the Chicken and walked it a hundred or so yards away. He checked the Gatling guns. They swiveled on their mounts. He flipped the switch to charge the voltaic cells. The harpoon at the front of the Chicken hummed with electrical charge. The first worm to poke its head out of the sand was going to be very shocked to see him…or whatever they did since they didn't have eyes. Rattler meat and hide were going for outrageous prices back east. And the Chinese out west were buying their organs for their medicine. Just a couple of good sized worms would pay to build at least three more walkers like the Chicken. And maybe there'd be an army contract in his future.
Visions of dollar signs were wiped from his head as the ground started to rumble and worm tentacles burst through the ground to smash the piston. "Okay Chicken," he said. "Let's see what you can do."
#weirdwest
Later…
There had been a rattler here not long ago. Duke examined the loose dirt, crushing a chunk in his gloved hand. It was sticky with slime. He walked back to the Chicken and got out the piston. He assembled it, lit the miniature boiler and soon the piston was beating into the ground regularly. Duke jumped onto the Chicken and walked it a hundred or so yards away. He checked the Gatling guns. They swiveled on their mounts. He flipped the switch to charge the voltaic cells. The harpoon at the front of the Chicken hummed with electrical charge. The first worm to poke its head out of the sand was going to be very shocked to see him…or whatever they did since they didn't have eyes. Rattler meat and hide were going for outrageous prices back east. And the Chinese out west were buying their organs for their medicine. Just a couple of good sized worms would pay to build at least three more walkers like the Chicken. And maybe there'd be an army contract in his future.
Visions of dollar signs were wiped from his head as the ground started to rumble and worm tentacles burst through the ground to smash the piston. "Okay Chicken," he said. "Let's see what you can do."
#weirdwest
Horseradish
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