James Axler Deathlands 041 Freedom Lost

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

[html].html (91 of 278) [12/28/2004 1:02:28 AM]
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_41_-_Freedom_Lost
"I'll take a little mind rot over senility any day, you old fool," Mildred
said with a chuckle. "Besides, from the sounds of it, you wasted more than a
few hours of your own life watching the daily parade of the misfits."
"At times, dear Doctor, that was all I was allowed to do to pass the time
during my incarceration. And I can assure you, my jailers gave no choice of
channels."
Mildred fell silent after that.
THE PARTY OF EIGHT continued to follow the broken pavement of the old
Hawthorne Road. Extra care had to be given to watching where they stepped, as
the road was pitted with small holes that could easily twist an ankle or cause
a fall.
At times, the blacktop disappeared entirely to be replaced with a mix of lush,
ankle-high green grass and the hardy, small white daisies that seemed to bloom
throughout Deathlands. After Mildred had stopped reminiscing, a slight pall
seemed to hang over the group. About a mile into their trip, the silence had
become almost tangible.
Ryan took notice of the lack of sounds in the air. Before there had been faint
reminders that life was still here among the ruins the hum of insects, the
discussions between the arguing friends, the sound of footsteps rising and
falling on the road. Now it was almost as if each of them had subconsciously
started trying to move more silently, a hidden command to breathe easy and
keep noise to a minimum.
The absence of bird calls was especially noticeable. Once, Krysty had
wordlessly tugged at Ryan's long coat. When he glanced back, he couldn't help
but see she was troubled, as well. Her sentient red hair was coiling and
uncoiling in a manner that indicated that she, too, subconsciously knew
something was wrong.
Still, the tree-lined roadway gave all indications of being safe, and their
guide had no problems with striding ahead without fear. Alton apparently knew
where he was going, and the closer they got, the more at ease he acted.
"Been a while since I got out this way," he said. "Like you, I been traveling
myself. Back and forth with no permanent place to hang my hat."
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20-%20Freedom%20Lost%20(v1.0)%20
[html].html (92 of 278) [12/28/2004 1:02:28 AM]
Page 52
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_41_-_Freedom_Lost
Dean, bored out of his young mind and looking up at the blue sky, noticed the
movement in the trees first. His keen eyes detected a slight movement in the
leafy covering of a particular large tree directly next to the scavie's head.
The mighty oak's branches were hanging out like spread wooden fingers over the
asphalt path they were traveling.
He thought about mentioning it, but he didn't want to look like a stupe over a
squirrel or other arbor-dwelling creature. Besides, his father didn't seem to
be worried, and the boy knew Ryan's survival senses were honed by experience
to a much finer edge than his own. As Alton and then Ryan both passed under
the long branches, Dean held his breath until they were on the other side.
The boy exhaled with relief.
Until the leaves parted with a sudden, frantic rustling, and the hidden men
leaped out and were upon them.
Chapter Nine
"Ambush!" Dean cried out in a voice pitched high and tight with shock, but his
warning arrived a second too late as the men in the tree revealed themselves
with a sudden, murderous intensity.
Alton Adrian fell like a dropped doll, taken totally by surprise as the weight
of his attacker came down hard and swift upon his head and upper body. The
second man wasn't as lucky. He had chosen Ryan as his target. The one-eyed man
reacted much more swiftly than the bearded guide, his reflexes inhumanly quick
as he brought up the muzzle of the SIG-Sauer in a swift, practiced motion and
fired off a trio of shots, each slug catching his assailant in the chest. The
force of the bullets at such close range flipped the attacker backward,
causing him to hurl his weapon away.
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20-%20Freedom%20Lost%20(v1.0)%20
[html].html (93 of 278) [12/28/2004 1:02:28 AM]
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_41_-_Freedom_Lost
He landed hard on his lower back and rear once his feet clumsily hit heel
first on the broken road. Between the force of the bullets and the impact of
the fall, the man was wheezing, gasping for air as he writhed helplessly in
pain.
J.B. was in motion the instant the ambush begun, swinging the butt of his own
weapon in a forward arc across the back of the man who had focused his
energies on the unsuspecting scavie. The sound of hard blaster on softer skull
was loud and unforgiving. Even with the disadvantage of poor vision, the
Armorer was a deadly foe in close-quarters fighting.
The others Jak, Mildred, Doc and Krysty all came to instant readiness, their
own individual weapons springing up from their holsters and other places of
concealment to find safe haven in their hands.
No other ambushers revealed themselves.
"That it?" Jak asked in disbelief, still peering hard into the foliage above.
"Looks like it." Krysty said.
"Stupes," Jak muttered, shaking his head in amusement.
Mildred was kneeling and checking the broken cranium of the man J.B. had taken
down. She felt the bloody skull and winced.
"This one's alive, but he won't be answering any questions for a while. Some
lump he is growing on his skull."
"Could improve his dumb-ass looks," J.B. muttered angrily.
The sec man Ryan had drilled staggered to his feet, holding his chest and ribs
with both hands. His face was a twisted mask of agony as he tried awkwardly to
stand.
Ryan reached over and shoved him back down hard on the ground.
"Ow, goddammit!" the man roared. "Wearing armor under those work clothes,
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20-%20Freedom%20Lost%20(v1.0)%20
[html].html (94 of 278) [12/28/2004 1:02:28 AM]
Page 53
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_41_-_Freedom_Lost aren't you?" Ryan remarked calmly.
"Best purchase I ever made. Saved my ass twice before," he managed to gasp in
a voice tight with pain and fear.
"Too bad they don't make it for the head."
"You weren't aiming for my head."
"I am now," Ryan said, making a point of aiming the SIG-Sauer right between
the man's eyes.
"Shit!" the man cried out, bringing his hands up to his face.
"Hold still. No, don't keep trying to get up or I'll drop you coldcocked like
your pal over there."
The man looked over at his comrade lying unconscious at the edge of the road.
"He chilled?"
"No, just sleepy. What I want you to do is roll over flat on your stomach with
your hands above your head. Cross your legs like a bashful gaudy slut and keep
them that way until I tell you to move," Ryan ordered.
The man complied, groaning with the effort of contorting his already aching
body.
"Now, I'm going to ask you some questions," Ryan said. "I want answers and I
want them fast, or I'm going to start blowing you apart piece by piece, and no
body armor is going to stop it. You get me?"
"Wait a second. We're sec men out of Freedom. You're getting awfully damn
close to the area we're supposed to protect."
Ryan looked to Alton for confirmation. Alton shrugged and pointed to the
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20-%20Freedom%20Lost%20(v1.0)%20
[html].html (95 of 278) [12/28/2004 1:02:28 AM]
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_41_-_Freedom_Lost identical green denim jackets the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Linki