[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
he should have been seeing to it she stayed comfortable. You look at me now,
you see a man been down some hard roads. Can you imagine what I must have
looked like while I was some pissant newborn? I mean, we're born into this
world ugly
file:///C|/3278%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%2...nds%20042%20-%20Way%20of%20the%20
Wolf.html (83 of 281) [1/17/2005 6:52:56 PM]
Deathlands 42 - Way of the Wolf anyway. But me?" He barked harsh laughter.
"Must have been a sight," J.B. agreed.
"Damn straight, it was." Phillips rubbed his hump as if trying to massage away
the old memory. "My daddy, he was all ready to stove in my head and be done
with it. Only Momma didn't let him. Said she'd buried enough dead births, and
I
was the first one born live. Figured she had something wrong with her insides.
He left her, but she managed to keep us both alive. Turns out I was real good
with my hands. By ten and twelve years old, I was helping feed us by working
on things other people brought to us."
J.B. nodded. "You going to eat, or did I take your plate?"
"We eat in shifts," Phillips replied. "Against getting poisoned."
J.B. understood immediately. "You trade out for food?"
"Yeah. No room for a garden down here, and got no place to raise beef, either.
Gives us a certain vulnerability."
"So you eat far enough apart that the symptoms would show up?"
"Yeah."
J.B. scooped up more beef and beans, chewing it thoroughly. "And if somebody
gets poisoned?"
"Simple. I blow up the building and go out of business. Want some coffee sub
to go with that meal?"
J.B. nodded.
Phillips looked at one of the young men, who got up and took the coffeepot
from the stove. He poured a ceramic cup full, then handed it to the Armorer.
file:///C|/3278%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%2...nds%20042%20-%20Way%20of%20the%20
Wolf.html (84 of 281) [1/17/2005 6:52:56 PM]
Deathlands 42 - Way of the Wolf
"So what's keeping you here?" J.B. asked.
"The plague," the gunsmith answered. "You mean to tell me you haven't heard of
it?"
Chapter Nine
Jak maintained his hold on his hostage with difficulty as the horse reared and
staggered under their combined weight. He kept a steady pressure on the reins,
holding the horse from bolting and running. The burning horse raced through
the brush ahead of them, leaving fiery sparks in its wake. Some of those
sparks fanned to life as fires all on their own.
The albino locked his right arm under his hostage's chin. Warm blood flowed
down his hand from a wound the leaf-bladed knife had made on the man's throat
during the brief struggle. "Move, and die," Jak promised, his lips close to
his captive's ear.
"Gonna be chilled in a minute anyway," the man argued in a strained voice.
"Hiram ain't gonna crawfish. And he don't give a fuck if he kills me, too."
Page 45
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
But he didn't move against the threat of the knife.
Jak watched the man bringing his horse around to face them. The man had lost
control over his mount for a moment when the burning man had dropped at his
horse's hooves. He pulled his long blaster to his shoulder.
The albino kicked the horse in the sides and yanked savagely on the reins. The
startled animal, given its head, burst into a gallop. It vaulted over the
burning man still rolling around on the grass, then it crashed against the
horse carrying the man with the long blaster.
file:///C|/3278%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%2...nds%20042%20-%20Way%20of%20the%20
Wolf.html (85 of 281) [1/17/2005 6:52:56 PM]
Deathlands 42 - Way of the Wolf
The muzzle-flash ballooned from the rifle, reaching out over a foot. Jak heard
the bullet break wind beside his ear. Expertly he flipped the leaf-bladed
knife at the rifleman. The blade flicked into the man's eye, burying deep into
the brain tissue beyond.
Before his hostage could try to break away while the dead man fell from his
staggered horse, Jak drew the .357 Magnum Colt Python and placed the barrel
against the back of the man's head. He pulled on the reins, swinging the horse
back in the direction where the surviving coldheart had gone to brush in front
of
Dean. The man was gone.
Jak raked the area with his gaze, but he didn't see Dean, either. Both of them
had vanished. Then he spotted movement to the right of the tree where Dean had
been. But he had no idea if the movement belonged to friend or foe.
"I THOUGHT WE HAD an understanding between us, Albert," Doc said. "I
must point out your present behavior is less than exemplary, to say the
least."
"This old man talks a lot, doesn't he?" Cobb asked. He stepped behind Doc and
grabbed a handful of the old man's hair.
Doc managed to hold himself in check despite the pain, but he feared his scalp
was going to be torn loose. He kept his hands out at his sides, but he was
waiting for an opportunity.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]