[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Connrad laughed loudly, sure of himself.
LeMarck hated the sound, but his thoughts turned instantly to the red team out
in the pit, wondering which among them had been lost. He hoped it wasn't the
one-eyed man.
RYAN WENT TO GROUND, rolling over twice to put more yardage between himself
and the big mutie cat.
The huge animal's shoulders stood almost as tall as Ryan's armpit. The eyes
spit green fire, rolling in the weak moonlight, threaded with brilliant
crimson blood lines burning in the yellowed whites. Its fur was night black,
and white fangs stabbed free of purple-gray lips, drooling crystal-clear
strings.
The cat landed with a loose thump in the area where Ryan had stood. Spitting
out a wicked, irritated cough, the animal sprang after him.
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/J...%20Deathlands%20038%20-%20Mars%2
0Arena.html (208 of 291) [12/29/2004 10:49:28 PM]
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%20038
%20-%20Mars%20Arena.html
J.B.'s Uzi ripped a spray of bullets against the trees and through the brush
where it had been standing, but the mutie cat gave no pause at all.
Ryan squeezed off two rounds, faster than he'd wanted to because he knew he
didn't have the shot he needed. Both bullets creased the raised muscle mass
surrounding the cat's neck; neither did any permanent damage.
"Get back, Ryan!" Mildred yelled. "Get back and give me some room!"
Her last words got tangled up in the sudden screams and yells of the stickies
breaking out of the brush. Gunfire broke out in earnest as the other members
of the group opened fire.
Page 126
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Even with a number of them going down, the stickies rushed forward, waving
clubs and stone-sharpened knives made of whatever metal scraps they could
find.
The cat's shoulder smashed into Ryan. He barely managed to avoid the snapping
jaws, but the impact knocked the SIG-Sauer from his hand. There was no time to
bring up the
Steyr because the mutie cat wheeled around instantly.
Whipping its head forward again, the cat tried to sink its fangs into Ryan's
throat. Even focused on the animal as he was, he was aware of the stickies
getting closer.
J.B. and Mildred raced forward to take away the no-man's-land that separated
the stickies from Ryan and the cat, grabbing cover behind trees and rocks
where they could. Spears sailed through the air, followed by a few stone axs
and squared-off hammers that split or broke off pieces of the rocks they
slammed against.
Ryan caught the cat by its dish-shaped ears, halting the wedge-shaped head. It
howled in pain and surprise. Instantly changing tactics, the cat curled up
backward and tried to bring its claw-studded hind legs into play.
Already expecting the move, Ryan wasn't there when the claws slashed through
empty air. He moved to the right, feeling that he was moving in slow motion
next to the cat's quickness.
Before the animal could come around, Ryan grabbed a fistful of the loose hide
at its neck. With a lithe jump, he bounded onto the cat's shoulders, he
gripped the fur-covered flesh he had hold of as tightly as he could, then
locked his legs around in front of the cat's forward legs so it couldn't rip
him to shreds with its hind claws.
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/J...%20Deathlands%20038%20-%20Mars%2
0Arena.html (209 of 291) [12/29/2004 10:49:28 PM]
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%20038
%20-%20Mars%20Arena.html
The cat snarled and spit, twisting and turning to rid itself of its burden.
Ryan held on, putting his body on top of the cat's, weighing down the animal's
head.
Making the cat work the larger muscles of its body to support him and try to
throw him off would cause the beast to use up oxygen more quickly, slowing and
weakening it.
Ryan still believed the creature could outlast his own strength. He leaned
forward, biting into the animal's neck in an attempt to forge one more point
of attachment.
He ripped the panga free and used his left hand to work the big knife.
Reaching under the mutie cat's neck, he stabbed it in the chest. The beast
quivered as though an electric shock had hit it.
Drawing the panga from its flesh sheath, Ryan stabbed again, burying the
weapon as deep as he could, then twisting it to tear the wound open as wide as
he was able. The cat snapped its jaws as he pulled the knife free again,
barely missing sinking its ivory fangs into his arm.
The exertion of hanging on, avoiding the cat's snapping jaws and being on the
offense took its toll. Ryan had difficulty breathing, choking on the wet,
smelly fur in his mouth, the smell of fresh blood clogging his nostrils.
He took a fresh grip on the panga, shifting the blade. Knowing he couldn't
hang on to the cat much longer, feeling the burning ache throbbing deep in his
shoulder, his lungs working hard to suck in air he couldn't breathe, he drew
the panga hard against the mutie cat's throat, pulling with everything he had
left. The effort unseated him from the cat's back, but not before he felt the
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]