32 The Devil Went Down to Georgia (1/2)

Ed easily went down the stairs with Terra behind him. The soldiers had all left to clean up the mutant flood. He grinned, 'It seems my luck is quite good today.' He brought her to his personal apartment. ”You're to stay here until further notice. We can't let Sinless see you, so stay out of sight. Once they're gone then we can introduce you to the base as my new assistant.”

”What if I want to leave?” She questioned in a meek voice.

”Then go. I won't stop you nor am I assigning you any guards.” He waved his hand at her in a shooing manner.

”Why did you rescue me then?” She tilted her head in confusion.

”Simple. I'm a nice guy. Don't overthink it. Anyways, I've got matters to attend to. Feel free to help yourself to food in the pantry or the showers. You smell like rotten sewage. I've put some spare clothes in the dresser.” He turned to leave the apartment.

'She'll be more likely to stay and trust me if I play nice. The chances of the captain finding out about an imposter infiltrating his building is high. I was missing from the base for a while tonight. Fortunately, I already have an alibi.' He walked towards the grocery store used for food storage. Part of it had recently been converted into a bar. He waited outside in the shadows, so he wouldn't be seen. After several minutes, a 2nd Ed showed up.

”Yo!” The 2nd Ed waved.

”Thanks Dupe. I'll take over from here. You can send your clone back home.”

”Sure.” The 2nd Ed began to transform to look like Dupe. ”Later.” He waved goodbye. As he walked away he whispered, ”I'm sorry.”

”Hmm?” Ed looked confused. 'What did he mean by that?' He headed into the grocery store and walked towards the part that had been converted into a bar.

”You're back, Ed!” Another clone of Dupe waved at him.

”It's time to keep to your word, leader!” A large man that reeked of alcohol yelled.

”Right, right!” Another man nodded and cheered. ”You lost the bet! Now you pay the price!”

He glanced between the two men with confusion in his eyes. He glanced at Nick with a questioning look on his face.

”Sorry.” Nick apologized. ”I can't help you out here. You lost the bet, so you have to man up and ride the bull.”

”The bull?!” His eyes widened in surprise. The engineers had thrown together a steam engine with some scrap metal to create a mechanical bull. It had grown quite popular with the guards when they were drinking. ”That's all I have to do?” He questioned.

”Of coursh nots!” A drunk man slurred. ”You agreed to strip ride! Gahahaha!” The man's face was completely red from drinking. His head slowly wobbled as he tried to sit still.

Ed looked at Nick for confirmation. Nick nodded, ”That was the bet. Each time you fall off you must strip a piece of clothing. Your opponent is the drunk man wobbling over there.”

”I see… Let's get it over with then.” He sighed. 'Just what did Dupe's clone get me into?'

”I'm goinsh 1st!” The drunk man walked past him and struggled to climb atop the back of the bull. The bull's round iron body had a leather saddle atop it. A triangular shaped support was beneath the body. Its head had two shiny horns and a big nose.

A nearby man pulled a lever. The steam engine began and created loud noise. Chugga, chugga, chugga. The bull began to tilt forward and backwards, then spin around. A whistling sound rang out as a huge blast of steam poured from the bull's nose. ”YEEHAW!!!” The drunk man held on easily despite being unable to stand properly earlier.

The bull continued to spin faster and faster. It bucked forwards and backwards with increasing intensity. The steam from its nose covered the man and made it hard to breath. A full minute passed before the bull stopped. He got off and stumbled a few steps towards the bar. He picked up his beer and chugged away. He grinned. There was a missing tooth that made his smile somewhat creepy. ”Heheh, your turn, leader!”

'Is he gay or just drunk?' Ed wondered to himself. He grabbed onto the bull and the nearby man started it once more. It swung around wildly, but he was completely unphased. 'Too easy. My limbs are too far beyond ordinary men. I could hold onto something 10 times as strong as this easily…' The ride ended and he got off the bull. The two men continued taking turns, with neither falling off.

”To think the leader was this good!” One of the drunk men exclaimed. ”I didn't think anyone could beat that old drunk.”

”It's too soon to say.” Another shook his head. ”Neither has fallen yet.”

”This is a waste of time.” Ed frowned. He turned to the drunk. ”I'm modifying the bull.” He pulled out a wrench from his pocket and knelt down by the triangular support. The mechanics of the bull were visible underneath the body. 'There's the limiter. Let's just remove it. Thing will probably break sooner, but it's better than wasting my time.'

”I'll go first.” Ed said. He jumped on the bull and the man pulled the lever. The mechanical bull went completely crazy. Steam poured out from underneath the body and the nose. It leaned forward nearly 180 degrees before slamming back down the other way. Creaking and clunking sounds rang out as it spun around quickly. A full minute passed and he got off. ”Your turn.” He smiled.

The drunk man confidently climbed aboard. He managed to hold on for nearly seven seconds before being thrown off. He slammed face first into the floor. ”Ugh!!” He moaned. ”I lost. I'll keep my word.” He stood up, brushed himself off, and exited the bar.

'Eh? The bet was different for him?' He grabbed Dupe by the shoulder and dragged him away from the bar. He frowned, ”Explain.”

”Haha, so it's like this…” Nick waved his hands in front of himself defensively. ”My other clone got a bit drunk and bragged he could beat anyone on the bull ride. That old drunk is known to be the best rider in the base. So, we had a bet. For every round you lost you would have to strip some of your clothes. However, if the old drunk lost a single round then he would join the engineering team.”