James Axler Deathlands 026 Shadowfall

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Deathlands 26 - Shadowfall heart-stopping moment, might well have been
realized.
Two implode grens, in a confined space.
Ryan had seen the results of that kind of detonation, and he could already
visualize what they would find in the remains of the room.
There would be a single pile of mangled flesh, stripped clear off shards of
raw bone.
The muffled crump seemed to fill his ears, and he saw smoke and debris
scattered across the corridor just in front of him. There were cries from
behind him but he ignored them. "Dean! Jak!"
"Over here, Dad!"
The boy's voice was strong, though shock and fear had given it a high, thin
ragged edge. Ryan slowed from a powering run, peering through the haze, his
boots crunching over splinters of broken glass.
"Here."
Now he saw them. Dean was on his hands and knees, one arm around Jak. The
albino had blood smeared across his forehead, but he was obviously conscious,
steadying himself against the wall of the corridor.
"Implodes," Jak said, coughing in the dust. "Wired up to one of the games
machines."
"We know," Ryan replied.
Dean, deafened by the grenades, looked puzzled, shaking his head. Ryan noticed
a trickle of blood was inching from the boy's left ear.
But Jak heard him. "How you know?"
Krysty and the others were grouped around Ryan. The air stank with chemical
fumes from the explosion, and they could all hear the faint crackle of flames
from one of the wrecked machines inside the games room.
"Just been reading a sort of diary left over from predark. Woman who worked
here. Mildred was telling us all it said when she came on a reference to them
sabotaging one of the games. Ready to catch Ruskies if they invaded. That was
the fear, just before skydark."
"It was called Shield of Freedom," J.B. said. "They wired up grens to it."
"I was just going to start playing a game called Shield of Freedom, Dad," Dean
said, standing up unsteadily, accepting a hand from his father. His voice was
unnaturally loud, showing that his hearing was still badly hit by the booby
trap.
"How did you know, Jak?" Trader asked. "You never heard us shouting a warning.
Bombs went off too quickly. How come they didn't hit you?"
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Deathlands 26 - Shadowfall
Jak was also on his feet, shrugging off an offer of assistance from Abe. "Was
sitting down while Dean played. Could see back of machine. Saw two
scarlet-and-blue grens. Wired up. Knew were implodes.
Grabbed boy and out in corridor, around corner. Just in time."
Dean was watching Jak's lips, fascinated. "I can't hear him," he announced to
the group in general. "Is he saying he spotted the bombs while he was sitting
down? Never saw anyone move so fast in all my life. If it hadn't been for Jak,
I wouldn't have had any life left, would I?" Tears trembled in his dark
brimming eyes as the effects of the shock started to get to him. "He dragged
me around the corner, away from the worst of the blast."
Ryan clasped the hand of the albino. "Thanks, Jak. Owe you one."
Jak grinned. "Owe you plenty, Ryan."
Mildred looked concernedly at Dean, then spoke to his father. "I know someone
who might just about fall down if he isn't got back to where he can rest and
have something hot and sweet to drink."
"Yeah," Ryan agreed. "Fact is, Mildred, I reckon we could all follow that
idea."
JAK WASHED THE CUT in his scalp, where a piece of flying glass had slashed
him. Mildred checked the wound carefully to ensure that there were no
splinters left in it.
Dean was unhurt, other than the temporary damage to his hearing, which started
to gradually return.
The rest of the friends took the opportunity to replenish water supplies and
ready some of the food to take with them.
Ryan found himself in the larder area with Trader. "I told you," he said.
"What? What did you tell me this time?"
"California. Western islands. I said that was probably where we landed up."
"So?"
"So, you said Yellowstone and the hot springs and stinking fountains up
there."
Trader shook his head. "No, I didn't."
"You did."
The older man shook his head, pointing his finger at Ryan. "Times I wish that
What's his name? Abe?
Yeah, Abe. Times I wish he'd never tracked me down like he did."
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Deathlands 26 - Shadowfall
"It was 'cause he cared," Ryan said quietly.
Trader gave a strange, grunting laugh. "Cared. Think that means shit to me,
Ryan? After all the long years we rode the blacktops together, you think that
caring means anything? Caring means weakness." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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