[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
missed the plant-thing. Also, none of them did it any harm.
Ryan stared into the viscous eyes, saw the alien intelligence radiating hatred at him.
Suddenly the plant-thing opened its mouth. A razor-edged thorn, like the ones on the
tanglers, came shooting out, hissing straight at Ryan's face.
He dropped under the nutrient level. An instant later the thorn splintered the glass where
his head had been.
Ryan swung the panga, and the blade easily sliced through the vine. A two-foot length
file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20Deathlands%2035%20-%20Bitter%20Fruit.html (271 of 291) [1/3/2005 12:27:09 AM]
file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2035%20-%20Bitter%20Fruit.html
dangled down the side of the glass, floating on the liquid.
Breathing hard, having a difficult time sucking in air that wasn't filled with droplets of the
nutrient-laden water, Ryan grabbed the edge of the tank again, then heaved himself onto
the metal platform running around the edge. His hands, feet, elbows and knees were slick,
making it hard for him to get upright.
The plant-thing was already shifting again, regrouping itself. The time was down to 3:07.
A wicked smile seemed to take form on the plant-thing's lower face, splitting the vines
and mucus material. Another thorn materialized, edging out in preparation to be
propelled.
J.B. rushed into the room, followed immediately by Mildred, Doc and Jak. Krysty was
dropping fresh rounds into her pistol.
"The glass wall," the red-haired woman said to the companions. "Take it out. In order to
stop the plague, we've got to kill the Other."
The Armorer set to at once, blasting out rounds from the scattergun. Huge chunks of the
glass wall disappeared at once. Mildred added her own firepower, then Doc upped the
ante with the .63 scattergun. Jak guarded the tunnel, firing measured shots back down the
way they'd come.
Huge sections of the glass wall disappeared, shattered into gleaming shards. The carnage
was too complete to allow the plant-thing to dam up the holes. It shifted, turning its
malignant attention onto the puny humans that had dared attack it.
There was a brief pause, then the nutrient bath erupted in a foaming spray of activity.
Dozens of rooted tentacles broke the surface, an army bearing thorny weapons.
"Dark night!" J.B. breathed, thumbing fresh rounds into the shotgun.
Doc took deliberate aim, then fired the Le Mat blaster. The .63 shotgun charge took the
plant-thing in the upper left chest but didn't seem to do any damage. "By the Three
Kennedys!"
A tidal wave rose up over the metal platform where Ryan stood, forced by the sudden
surge of the plant-thing tearing itself loose from the root bed. He went with the water,
vaulting over the side. Once he landed, almost on top of the gutted seed herald, a quick
file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20Deathlands%2035%20-%20Bitter%20Fruit.html (272 of 291) [1/3/2005 12:27:09 AM]
file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2035%20-%20Bitter%20Fruit.html
step left him with the SIG-Sauer in his fist again.
He shook out the nearly depleted clip and shoved another one home as the noxious water
swirled around his boots. Keeping the plant-thing in sight, he narrowly avoided being
impaled by another thorn that came rocketing out of its mouth.
Ryan fired three shots, spacing them across the plant-thing's chest. Even in the uncertain
light, he could see the holes appear in the greenish black flesh. In an eyeblink they
covered over.
The clock read 2:51.
The spilled nutrient bath rolled across the floor, shorting out some of the computer banks
when it touched them. The plant-thing drew away from the sparks, bringing an arm
across its incomplete face.
It had a weakness. The realization filled Ryan with a savage satisfaction. "Jak," he called.
The albino looked at him. Conversation was made difficult by the roar and splash of the
nutrient waters and the collapse of the computer systems.
"The flare gun you found at the White Sands redoubt," Ryan said. He held out an empty
hand.
Jak reached into his pack, then flipped the waterproof case for the pistol toward Ryan.
Leathering the SIG-Sauer, Ryan caught the case, bringing it in close so he wouldn't drop
it. With the rush of waters swirling through the room, it could wash away and be lost in a
matter of seconds.
The LED readout was down to 2:41.
Ryan opened the case. Inside was the flare gun and three cartridges.
"The Other won't rest until we're dead, lover." Krysty was less than a yard away, her
haggard gaze resting fully on the approaching plant-thing. She was reloading her pistol
methodically.
file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20Deathlands%2035%20-%20Bitter%20Fruit.html (273 of 291) [1/3/2005 12:27:09 AM]
file:///C|/3226%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20E-books/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2035%20-%20Bitter%20Fruit.html
"We aren't dead yet," Ryan replied, snapping the flare pistol closed. "Just you hang on."
He spun, leveling the weapon before him.
The plant-thing was twenty yards out and closing, bristling with the thorned appendages
that came with it.
"The bastard thing wants me, lover. I can hear its thoughts inside my head. Somehow it
knows about my mutie powers. It knows."
Ryan aimed for the center of the plant-thing, then stroked the trigger. The flare leaped
free of the barrel, streaking across the distance in an eye blink, trailing out a smoky haze
behind it.
Once the flare embedded in the plant flesh, it burned white-hot. Computer-amplified
screams from the plant-thing filled the chamber. It stopped all forward movement, wilting
in place. Tendrils shot out of its chest, dipping down to start sucking up the water around
it. The flare hissed.
Reloading quickly, Ryan fired the remaining two flares into the thing's chest. They
burned more holes and added to the screams. The plant-thing wilted even further, but
gave no indication of dying.
Ryan glanced at the clock 2:31. "Boldt," he said, looking at J.B.
"Don't know," the Armorer said. "Wasn't here when we got here."
"Who's in the tunnel?"
Jak was still trading lead with someone, though the forays weren't very industrious.
"Those White Sands soldiers," J.B. replied.
"They are a tenacious lot, Ryan," Doc commented. "Filled with vim and vigor."
Across the room the plant-thing showed signs of regaining its strength. Ryan watched it,
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]