Bryan Walker The Saffron Malformation (epub)

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.“Ka na!”“Ra ba.”No words in the Once Men’s language spanned more than a single syllable and he knew this was it.They still had the brains of men and they were using them now.Coordinating their efforts into a single final assault.Quey sat up and fired wildly at the Once Men.The first shot struck one and a red mist burst from his shoulder and sent him spinning to the ground.The others reacted, ducking behind the cars and his shots hit air or metal.When he was empty he lay flat against the seat again and listened to the frantic shouts of their staccato language as he loaded his last magazine into his gun and chambered a round.There were ten of them out there and ten rounds in his gun, a thought that prickled its way up his spine and through the back of his head.He shunned it.No point in paying it notice as there was nothing he could do to change it.Still, his mind swam into what felt like a dream.His thoughts blurred and nothing felt real.He took a deep breath and shook the sensation.‘No time for that,’ he thought, ‘You’ll have all the euphoria you can handle in not too long now.’He listened to the Once Men’s feet hurry across the pavement as they positioned themselves to execute whatever plan their alpha had formulated.He heard them settle just outside the doors on either side, then he heard the sound of feet pounding on metal far behind him and he knew they were on the roof of his trailer.They were moving up the rig toward the cab and his eyes watered slightly.Shaking, he searched the cab but there was nowhere for him to hide from the storm of bullets that was about to rain in on him.Cautious and trembling he lifted his head and a shot rang out.A bullet tore a two-inch hole in the seat just above his head as he collapsed back down against the leather.He’d only been up a split but it was enough time to notice the Once Man leaning over the hood of the car in front of his truck.He was aiming a rifle.A really big fucking rifle.“Ha,” he heard the man behind the car bark and the footsteps slowly moving along the roof of the trailer started up again.Heart racing he felt the hot breeze swarm over him as it passed through the truck’s shattered windows and the sweat beading over his skin, and soaking through his clothes.Quey’s eyes searched for something he hadn’t noticed.Glancing frantically about, his mind churning desperately and seeking a plan for a scenario that ended with him breathing and still alive, he thought about Cal choking on his own blood and suddenly he felt cold despite the heat.Fully automatic gunfire ripped across the barren wastes.Quey’s brow furrowed.Once Men never used repeaters.Point of fact, there weren’t many people that did these days either, and the last time he’d heard shots ring out like that was the night Cal died.‘It’s been a good run.’Quey had never given much thought to Cal’s last words until he expected to be dead himself.Now, lying flat in the front seat of his own rig, he reflected and tried to muster the courage to say them himself.He thought of all the wonderful shine he’d made and all the crates and barrels he’d delivered.He thought of the towns he’d visited, the festivals he’d been responsible for and the people he’d acquainted, and he felt nothing but longing.Where Cal had found gratification Quey found despair.Cal made shine till the day he died because for him the shine had been enough.For Quey the shine was a way of getting cash enough on hand for someday.What he intended to do when that someday arrived he was never sure of, but he knew it wasn’t making shine.That was why he couldn’t bring himself to say his friend’s words.Instead, as he listened to the rapid gunfire hammer across the highway, he pleaded, “Come on, this can’t be it.”Then he heard the bang of a body collapsing on the roof above him and the wet, solid smack of one falling to the pavement.Return gunfire originated from the passenger’s side of his truck and there was a soft whirr as something mechanical moved.More automatic fire cracked across the highway and then there was the short shouting of the Once Men, frantic and panicked.The Once Man waiting outside the passenger side door hurried around the front of the truck.Quey heard his footsteps circle around and then the solid crackle of automatic fire followed by the heavy collapse of a man hitting the ground.Curiosity got the better of him and since he already figured he was dead, he decided to sit up and take a look.He looked first to the car where the Once Man had been positioned across the hood with a rifle.He was now aiming at something else, something off in the wastes Quey couldn’t see from his current position.A puff of smoke burst from the rifle.Something mechanical whirred and the car screamed as gunfire ripped through its nose.Three dozen holes flashed into existence under a cluster of sparks and the front of the car sunk on its newly flattened tires.Quey sat up but hunched behind the wheel.There was something on the other side of the car parked beside his rig.The Once Man opened fire, three quick shots, and Quey ducked, but his eyes kept searching for whatever was on the other side of that car.He heard the whirr again and the subtle clicking of the Once Man reloading.The Once Man ran out from behind the car, aiming his rifle and screaming as he ran toward the mysterious stranger with the repeater.Three quick shots echoed across the wastes and the Once Man dropped, lifeless, into a steadily filling pool of blood.Quey peered at the front end of the car beside him, anxious and terrified as he waited to see what might come out from behind it.The highway was silent again.Quey sat back, broken glass crunching noisily under his weight, and sighed.He decided if who or whatever was on the other side of that car wanted to kill him then it was going to.He could tell by the sound of the gun it was firing that it was heavy enough to get through his truck [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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