James Axler Deathlands 037 Demons of Eden

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from the herd's right flank. The ground quaked at the pounding of their
hooves, and the air was choked with the dust of their passing. Their massive
tufted humps and domed, horned heads bobbed as they thundered by, the farthest
reaches of the herd shrouded by dust-clogged distance.
Tersely, his body taut with anticipation, Joe explained how they would hunt
the great animals. They would travel in pairs, pick out a buffalo from the
herd and while one hunter tried to drop it with a single, killing shot, the
partner would keep a loaded blaster at the ready.
"Buffalo are unpredictable," he added. "Sometimes what seems to be a mortal
wound
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Dlands 37- Demons of Eden won't kill it. It will be angered enough to charge
as its last act of life. That's why standby blasters are needed."
"We only have a couple of long blasters," Ryan argued. "Will our handblasters
do?"
Joe eyed the weapons critically, then nodded. "They have plenty of stopping
power, at least. Just don't get too close."
Doc waved a hand grandly. "I, for one, do not intend to do so. I shall be more
than happy to participate in a feast of fresh meat, but I have no desire to
risk my life to put it on my plate. Judas Redux, the flour and myself will sit
this one out."
Joe glanced at Jak. "Partner up with me."
Jak nodded his agreement and unholstered his Colt Python. "Let's do it."
The six people directed their horses down the bluff toward the
westward-rumbling herd.
Joe's face was alight with excitement. He howled a hunting cry, raised his
rifle and heeled his pony into a gallop.
Jak followed him, wondering briefly what would happen if his, or someone
else's, horse slipped beneath the hooves of the herd. It wasn't a mental
picture he wanted to dwell on.
They shouted encouragement to one another as they rode along the flank of the
herd, but the rumble of the buffalo's passage was so loud, their voices were
overwhelmed.
Jak had yet to test his mount's speed and gait, so he kicked it hard in the
ribs. The next moment he was clinging to the reins for his life. It was as
though his horse had exploded forward. The steed rushed at a nightmare pace
beside the outer edge of the herd. Rather than reining in the horse, Jak
enjoyed the wild ride. The teenager had, more than his companions, the
capacity for taking things as they came.
Whether outrunning an acid rainstorm, wading through toxic swamps in the bayou
or swapping strangleholds with muties, Jak didn't usually bother to look far
ahead.
He had done so only once in his life, when he settled down on a spread in New
Mexico with his wife, Christina, and their daughter, Jenny. After they had
been murdered by marauders, Jak had steadfastly refused to look very far into
the future. There was no percentage in it.
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Dlands 37- Demons of Eden
Joe caught Jak's attention by waving and shouting. He pointed out a huge bull
that snorted and eyed the approaching mounted men with something akin to
anger. From hoof to hump, it stood half a head taller than Jak and it was
perhaps ten feet long from nose to the brushy end of its tail. The coarse,
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curly hair was a muddy brown, with black streaks blended into it. It looked as
if it would weigh out at close to a ton. The bull shook its massive horned
head, a challenging bellow rising above the cacophony of hoofbeats and bawls.
Nodding in wordless agreement, Joe and Jak picked out the big bull as their
common target. They rode closer. The never-ending roar, the choking dust and
the cloying odor of the great beasts exhilarated Jak.
He galloped alongside the shaggy herd, watching their humps heaving up and
down like the prows of ships breasting rough seas.
Joe shouted at the bull, trying to cut it out of the herd. Both men started up
a raucous hooting. Foam was wind whipped from the beast's open mouth, and its
red-shot eyes bored in on them.
Suddenly, so suddenly that the dodging maneuver of Jak's horse nearly unseated
him, the buffalo lunged away from the herd and charged. The mammoth humpback
came directly for its tormentors, hooves tearing up clods of earth, horns
questing for enemies to rend.
Both Joe and Jak managed to swerve their steeds out of the bull's path, and it
kept going.
Unhindered by the press of the herd, the big animal's speed was astonishing.
It galloped away from them, heading south. Howling with the joy of the hunt,
Joe and Jak gave chase, exhorting their mounts to give everything they had.
The horses managed to maintain a long-legged, full-out pace for a mile, yet
the buffalo continued to elude them. Glancing over his shoulder, Jak barely
discerned the distant figures of Doc and Judas Redux on the bluff. He also
noticed that the herd and his friends were almost out of sight, but he didn't
worry about either.
The chase after the bull continued, the land gradually sloping into a marsh.
Stunted trees stood in tight groups, and the grasses of the rolling plains
were replaced by reedy strands of cane and cattails, which formed borders
around a narrow creek.
The buffalo splashed through a shallow pond, sending a sheet of muddy water
cascading into the air.
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Dlands 37- Demons of Eden
Both Jak and Joe were soaked, and by the time they wiped the water out their
eyes, the buffalo had run into a copse of cottonwood trees. It didn't reappear
on the opposite side.
The two men approached the copse from either side. Jak was too excited to be
cautious.
With a bellow that seemed to make the air shiver, the buffalo thundered out of
the stand of trees, crashing through saplings, snapping off branches like
matchwood. Jak's horse neighed in a mad panic, and as he tried to align the
sights of his blaster with the shaggy skull, his mount reared, its forelegs
slashing the air wildly.
The buffalo's curved horns missed the horse's belly by a hairbreadth. Jak felt
himself slipping from the saddle, and he kicked himself free of the stirrups,
trying to land on his feet. He managed to hit the turf upright, but he
stumbled and went to one knee.
The buffalo came to a sudden, dirt-flinging halt, whirled and charged. He [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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