[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
dropped with surprise, and he looked as if he were trying to speak.
Page 138
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
But the .38-caliber shot was mortal, and he slipped to his knees, the rifle
clattering on the porch. Mildred still held the SKR 551 aimed at him,
hesitating a moment, considering a second bullet, but she saw almost
immediately that it wasn't going to be necessary.
Within a few minutes they'd made their way, unchallenged, to safety, a good
half mile from the edge of the settlement, on a rising point in the buckled
trail, where they could pause and look back at the smoking ruins of Hopeville.
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%2...lands%2044%20-%20Crucible%20of%20
Time.html (268 of 277) [12/29/2004 2:14:39 PM]
Axler, James - Deathlands 44 - Crucible of Time
"Seems like given up," Jak said, shading his eyes with a long white hand.
"Surely do," J.B. agreed, pausing to wipe splattered dirt from the lenses of
his spectacles.
"I'm glad we're out of there," Dean added. "Sure hope Doc's okay."
There was activity around only one of the burning buildings, the large house
that belonged to Joshua Wolfe. There was a feeble bucket-chain operating, and
one man was at the top of a rickety ladder, directing water from a hose into
the inferno of bright orange flames.
Coils of dark smoke enveloped him, and it was impossible to make him out
clearly. Then the wind suddenly dropped and veered, and everyone recognized
him.
"Wolfe," Mildred said.
With his left hand missing, the leader of the Children of the Rock was
struggling to hold the hose while keeping himself steady on the swaying
ladder. Ryan stared across the hazy distance, balancing against a small
aftershock, squinting at the figure of his bitter enemy. Krysty laid a hand on
his arm.
"Said you'd leave him be, lover," she said quietly. "We can walk away."
"Sure, only Trader used to say that when you walked and left an enemy alive,
you were storing up future trouble for yourself. Know what? He was right."
He slowly unslung the Steyr bolt-action rifle from his shoulder, then took
Doc's ponderous Le Mat from his belt and handed it to J.B. "Mind this for me,
friend.
Just while I do me some hunting."
The Armorer took it and jammed it into his own leather belt. "Wind's dropped,"
he said. "Still about ten miles an hour, left to right."
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%2...lands%2044%20-%20Crucible%20of%20
Time.html (269 of 277) [12/29/2004 2:14:39 PM]
Axler, James - Deathlands 44 - Crucible of Time
Ryan levered a 7.62 mm round into the chamber, then hefted the rifle to his
shoulder and peered through the Starlite nightscope with the laser image
enhancer.
The scope brought Joshua Wolfe much closer, the crosshairs centering on his
chest. Though he couldn't see it at that range, Ryan knew that a tiny red dot
would have appeared on the man's shirt, almost invisible.
"Good half mile," Mildred said. "Way beyond my blaster's range."
Ryan remembered her advice on classic target shooting: hold your breath, and
keep the rifle well braced into the shoulder. He didn't need to close one eye.
Mildred claimed that all great shots fired two-eyed anyway. His finger took up
the slack on the trigger, and he readied himself to shoot, taking account of
his heartbeat, aiming to fire between beats for maximum efficiency.
At the very last moment Wolfe seemed to sense his danger and turned on the
ladder, staring directly toward Ryan. He spotted the red dot on his shirt and
brushed at it with his good hand, his mouth opening as though he were about to
yell for help.
Too late.
Page 139
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Ryan corrected his aim a fraction, centering the sight on Wolfe's mouth. He
then squeezed the trigger, bracing himself against the buck of the walnut
stock.
Eye locked to the sight, he saw a crimson rose blossom from the centre of the
man's chest.
Joshua Wolfe threw his arms wide, in the pose of crucifixion, and toppled from
the ladder into the flaming heart of the inferno, vanishing into the fire.
"That's one of the finest shots I ever saw," Mildred said admiringly.
Ryan grunted. "No, it was one of the worst. I was aiming at his head."
DOC HAD FOUND a rusted shovel in an outbuilding and was already three parts
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%2...lands%2044%20-%20Crucible%20of%20
Time.html (270 of 277) [12/29/2004 2:14:39 PM]
Axler, James - Deathlands 44 - Crucible of Time through burying the small body
of Maya Tennant, picking a shady patch of ground beneath an ancient, twisted
quince tree.
Ryan called out as soon as the old man came into sight, so as not to frighten
him.
"Looks like there's been some blood spilled hereabouts, Doc. We passed a
handful of sec men on the trail, heading for Hopeville like their asses were
on fire."
Doc straightened and sighed, rubbing at the small of his back. "Getting too
old for this, friends. I would be grateful for a hand with the interment. A
fine woman died here. That scum dog Owsley butchered her down."
"Didn't spot him on the trail," J.B. said, handing over the Le Mat to Doc.
"You chill him?" Jak asked.
"I dispatched him to dwell with his master, Beelzebub," the old man replied.
"How?" Dean asked interestedly.
"Trusty rapier. Gutted him like a landed trout."
Ryan laughed. "And we were all worrying about you! You did good, old friend."
Doc nodded solemnly. "But what a price to pay," he replied, pointing to the
woman's corpse.
"I'll help you," Dean offered.
"We'll all help," Ryan said. "Then we'll head on back toward the redoubt."
IT TOOK THEM a little under the hour, during which time there were three more
aftershocks, one of them passingly severe, causing some of the excavated earth
to slide back into the unfinished grave. But they quickly cleared it out and
laid the
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%2...lands%2044%20-%20Crucible%20of%20
Time.html (271 of 277) [12/29/2004 2:14:39 PM]
Axler, James - Deathlands 44 - Crucible of Time body reverently into the cold
ground.
"Want to say anything, Doc?" Ryan asked as J.B. Dix patted down the pile of
gray brown dirt.
"She was a good woman and I scarcely knew her. But what I knew was good and
brave and kind. She saved my life from those running dogs."
"Amen," Krysty said, followed by the others.
Ryan brushed muddy earth off his hands. "Time to go now, friends."
"Think that the Children of the Rock'll come after us?" Mildred asked.
Ryan grinned and shook his head. "No. They're finished. From the red reading
it looked like the quake opened up the hot spot at max level. Means they count
in days."
J.B. picked up his fedora and placed it back on his sallow head. "Yeah," he
said.
"And the sooner we're out of here the better. Let's go."
Chapter Thirty-Six
Both Doc and Krysty had tired quickly as they picked their way along the
Page 140
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
trail, through the trees. The quake didn't seem to have been so powerful as
around
Hopeville, but a number of the pines had come down.
It was nearly dark when they finally walked through the massive sec door of
the redoubt, heading for the elevator that should take them down through the
buried levels to the subterranean floor of the mat-trans unit, past the notice
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]