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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] weakness. But in truth, Ryan was merely putting as much space between himself and the big man as he could. A second later he was off running, leaping through the air and throwing his shoulder and all of his body weight into Purvis's chest. There was a large whoosh as Ryan knocked the air out of the man's lungs, and then a hard smack as Purvis fell backward with Ryan on top of him. file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2061%20-%20Skyda rk%20Spawn.html (164 of 362)16-2-2006 16:53:27 Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_61_-_Skydark_Spawn Purvis gulped for air. Ryan took hold of the man's head and kept slamming it onto the hard tile floor until the back of his skull was crushed. Blood leaked onto the shower floor. He let go of the big man's ruined head and looked over to the shower entrance. The slaves were gone and in their place were two sec men. They didn't look all that surprised to see a dead man lying on the shower floor. If Purvis was anything special, you sure couldn't tell from the sec men's expressions. "What happened to him?" one of the sec men asked. "Slipped on some soap," Ryan answered. "Second one this month," the other sec man commented. Chapter Nineteen "Are we there yet?" Dean asked. The sun had set, and the boy was feeling Page 72 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html tired. "Almost," Clarissa answered as she led them up-river to some unknown destination. "Patience, my dear boy," Doc said. "If the woman leads us to a safe place in which to spend the night, the peaceful rest we will receive will be more than worth the walk." "There it is," she said, pointing off into the distance. "Just behind that rise." file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2061%20-%20Skyda rk%20Spawn.html (165 of 362)16-2-2006 16:53:27 Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_61_-_Skydark_Spawn The companions continued on, followed tirelessly by a group of muties, like seagulls trailing behind a ship hoping to catch something churned up by the ship's wake. When they reached the rise, J.B. stopped abruptly and grabbed Clarissa by the arm. "There's nothing here," he said, taking another look around. "If you double cross us, it'll be the last thing you ever do." "No double cross. You wanted someplace safe, so I'm bringing you to my home, or at least the place I've been living these past few months." "But there's nothing here." "Nothing on the surface, but there's plenty underground. Follow me." Again the friends placed their trust in their female guide. When they reached the bottom of the rise, they came upon a concrete kiosk in the middle of the field. "This looks like the place where we arrived," Dean whispered to Jak. "Same, but different." There was a door on one side of the kiosk. Clarissa opened it and gestured to the four friends. "After you, boys." "What's this?" J.B. asked. "An entrance to a water tunnel." file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2061%20-%20Skyda rk%20Spawn.html (166 of 362)16-2-2006 16:53:27 Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_61_-_Skydark_Spawn "That leads where?" "To one of the power plants downriver," Clarissa answered. "I can't be sure which one, since most of them aren't operating anymore and to find out I'd have to walk some five miles in the dark. I figured it's not that important." J.B. followed the other three friends inside. "What about the muties?" "They're content to wait for me outside at the entrance until I reappear in the morning." "I must say that is an excellent security measure," Doc said. "For some reason, they don't like going underground, or the dark," she said, closing the door and making sure it was locked. The tunnel was indeed dark. With the door closed, J.B. couldn't see his hands, even when he held them directly in front of his face. "Anyone have a gas lighter?" J.B. asked. In answer, a small point of light came on to J.B.'s left, illuminating Jak's pale figure. But a moment later another, much brighter light came on in the tunnel. "There's a few live wires around the falls," Clarissa said, twisting a plastic connector knob onto the ends of two wires. "You just have to know where to look, and not use so much that Baron Fox would notice someone is stealing juice from him." "Wow!" Dean gasped, his neck craning to take in the enormous size of the tunnel. file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2061%20-%20Skyda Page 73 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html rk%20Spawn.html (167 of 362)16-2-2006 16:53:27 Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_61_-_Skydark_Spawn "Wow indeed," Doc echoed. "Big," Jak said. They were standing at the bottom of a huge concrete tunnel that was roughly fifty or sixty feet across and stretched out in both directions for what seemed like forever. It was like a redoubt, J.B. thought but the tunnel was completely cylindrical like a blaster barrel and there seemed to be no end to it. "And this carried water to the power stations downriver?" J.B. asked. "When there was water to be carried there," she answered. But despite it being dry, there was still a soft wash of sound echoing through the tunnel, as if the river's ghost still haunted the caverns beneath the city. "Now it's just a safe place to sleep." "An excellent idea, my dear," Doc said. "What is?" "Sleep." "Be my guest." She had transformed a section of the tunnel into a living space, with several sleeping places made of grasses and twigs. The companions settled in. file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2061%20-%20Skyda rk%20Spawn.html (168 of 362)16-2-2006 16:53:27 Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_61_-_Skydark_Spawn THE FOOD in the farm's cafeteria was as good as one would expect from a farm. The soup and stew had both been made fresh, and Ryan was amazed to find real bits of meat floating around in both. He took a seat on a bench at one of the tables near the exit, and Brody sat with him. When they'd left the showers, there had been plenty of activity among the sec men as they got rid of Purvis's body and cleaned the showers for the next crew coming in. Ryan wondered why they didn't get the slaves to do the job for them, but figured it was easy to keep the man's death secret from the baron if they handled the problem themselves. "Nobody will miss Purvis," Brody explained. "But if the baron catches wind of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |