[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

them, and the survivors in a frozen tableau as if they were afraid to believe
that they still lived.
At last Jim lowered his weapon dazedly and looked around.
Sly was lying in the back of the pickup, hands between his thighs, sobbing
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Earthblood%2002%20-%20Deep%
20Trek.html (118 of 292)16-2-2006 16:55:07
Axler, James - Earth Blood 02 - Deep Trek.htm quietly to himself. Steve and
Heather were sitting by him.
Jim was amazed at the way his young daughter coped with the horrors of life
after Earthblood.
She'd scrambled out as soon as the shooting stopped, perky as though it had
been hide-and-seek at her eleventh birthday party back home.
Steve and Carrie checked out the dead. Since his gun was empty, it had been up
to the woman to administer the coup de grace to two of the wounded. She
kneeled without a moment's hesitation beside them and pressed the muzzle of
the warm .22 to the backs of their heads, near the left ear. The shots made
the bodies jerk before they sank into final stillness.
"You did real good, Carrie," said Jim, reloading his own revolver. "Brilliant.
If there was a government to recommend you to, then I'd& well, I'd recommend
you for the finest medal."
"Thanks. The rest of you did good, too."
"Pretty well. But you, Steve," he said, raising his voice, "and Kyle. Try not
to leave yourself with an empty gun. Count your shots and save one. Never know
what you might need it for."
Page 51
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Yeah," said Steve. "Sorry." Kyle simply nodded his agreement.
"I can't believe that I had to put them out of it," Carrie said, shaking her
head.
"Both men had about four bullets in them and they were still living."
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Earthblood%2002%20-%20Deep%
20Trek.html (119 of 292)16-2-2006 16:55:07
Axler, James - Earth Blood 02 - Deep Trek.htm
"Life's not like the vids, Carrie," said Jim.
"Never was."
He stooped and picked up the fluttering pages of the computerized list from
where it lay, sodden in the spreading pool of blood by the clawed hand of the
leader.
It was mainly page after page of names, broken up into what looked to be
arbitrary sections, some with only three or four people identified on it. Most
sheets carried the superscription "Not Wanted."
The last couple of perforated sheets were marked "Wanted." A further notation
stated "Refer to HoSHQ. Attention F."
"Look," said Carrie, pointing with the four-inch barrel of her Smith & Wesson.
The gun was touching the word "Aquila."
Beneath it was an alphabetical list of all the crew's names, beginning with
Cortling, Marcey, ending with Turner, Peter.
"Least somebody wants us," breathed Kyle.
Jim Hilton clicked the full cylinder into place on the Ruger. "Let's move
out," he said.
Chapter Fifteen
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Earthblood%2002%20-%20Deep%
20Trek.html (120 of 292)16-2-2006 16:55:07
Axler, James - Earth Blood 02 - Deep Trek.htm
Nanci Simms had forgotten more about survival techniques than most people ever
learned.
The best way to die was to do something stupid, like leaving your vehicle in
the desert and wandering off into the wilderness. But she also knew that you
could do everything correctly and still get dead.
She lay back and listened to the sound of the Mercedes's powerful engine
fading away across the endless stillness.
"Bastard," she said with a gentle venom.
As the day advanced, every now and again she eased her grip on the deep
arterial wound in her thigh for a second, looking down with a dispassionate
interest as a bright crimson trickle immediately appeared between her fingers
and thumb. It flowed smoothly down her leg, into the hot, thirsty sand.
"What they used to call a catch-22," she whispered.
If she lay where she was, then she would be dead of dehydration within a few
hours. The brains in her skull would finally begin to bubble like gray-pink
oatmeal once the body's temperature regulator gave up the unequal struggle.
Night wasn't that far off, and the woman guessed she could live that long.
Probably through into the middle of the following day.
If she tried to move, she'd be unable to keep a grip on the knife wound, and
the blood would gush out like a scalding geyser. She would be unconscious in
less
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Earthblood%2002%20-%20Deep%
20Trek.html (121 of 292)16-2-2006 16:55:07
Axler, James - Earth Blood 02 - Deep Trek.htm than three minutes.
It was a catch-22, all right, but she wasn't ready to give up.
Shade and fluids, those were the two vital ingredients in staying alive in a
Page 52
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

  • zanotowane.pl
  • doc.pisz.pl
  • pdf.pisz.pl
  • szkla.opx.pl

    •