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where he'd seen a goat path that zigzagged across the face of the mountain.
J.B. was keeping an eye on his chron. "Sixteen minutes, Ryan," he said
quietly.
"Keep the count."
In his heart, Ryan knew that their chances weren't that good. There was no way
they were going to be able to get far enough away from the redoubt in the
short time left to them.
The Trader had used to say that it didn't matter if the odds against survival
were a million to one. You still tried for that one chance.
Frequently glancing over his shoulder to check that the others were keeping up
with him, Ryan led the companions on a breath-stopping descent. Slipping,
sliding and tumbling, they ignored the cuts and bruises and the dust that
stung their eyes. They kept moving.
"Seven minutes," J.B. announced.
Very soon Ryan knew they'd have to stop and try to find some cover, however
minimal. If the redoubt self-
destructed while they were out on the exposed hillside, then they'd all be
pulped.
Several hundred yards below them were the ruins of some buildings. But it was
obvious that they'd been destroyed long years ago. They were useless for
shelter and safety.
"What's that?" Krysty called, pausing a moment and pointing to something just
beyond the farthest building. It looked like a huge saucer of white metal,
streaked with orange rust.
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"Radar dish," J.B. said.
"Satellite receiver, I believe," Doc panted. He was nearly done. A little
blood trickled from his mouth where he'd bitten his lip.
"Five minutes," J.B. counted.
Ryan made the decision.
"There," he said.
There was just room for all of them to squeeze under the fallen metal dish,
pressed against one another.
"What if it's not strong enough?" Mildred asked, and immediately answered her
own question. "Kind of stupid, Mildred. We get killed if it's not strong
enough."
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Deathlands - Time Nomads
"Inside two minutes," J.B. said. "Can't be too sure about accuracy within a
minute or so. Could be any moment."
Krysty had her arm around Ryan's shoulders. "If we don't make it, then it's
been good. Wish we could've found a place to settle, lover."
Ryan held her tight, his cheek against hers, not saying anything.
Waiting.
"I make it around thirty seconds," J.B. announced. "Hang on, people."
"Farewell, comrades," Doc muttered. "I would just like to remark that"
The explosion of the world interrupted him.
The concussion was unimaginable.
Ryan blacked out and guessed that the same happened to all of them. There was
a shock wave that moved the earth beneath, behind and all around them. They
were lifted up and slammed down, and the metal disk above them rang like a
bell. Despite the amazing power of the huge underground explosion, there was
very little noise. There was a pressure that hurt the ears and a vague,
booming sound that seemed to swirl around between sky and earth.
When Ryan came around he was deafened by rocks and stones pounding on the
satellite dish above them.
He instinctively curled partway into a ball, grabbing for Krysty to try to
protect her.
It was impossible to see beyond the circular edge for the whirling dust. The
ground beneath Ryan was still trembling from the shock and what he guessed
were some minor detonations in the remains of the redoubt.
It crossed his mind that this was what it must have been like when the United
States of America died and the Deathlands was born.
The tremors continued for half an hour. Ryan had ordered everyone to remain
within the relative safety of the metal shield. It had been visibly dented and
battered by the hail of stones that had struck it, some of them having
obviously been hurled hundreds of feet in the air. Without its protection
there wasn't much doubt that all six of them would have died.
Ryan tried to swallow and hawked up a mouthful of thick red spittle. His head
ached, and his good eye was sanded sore. Jak had begun to bleed copiously from
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