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.Mason felt his pulse quickening.He was finally moving, but he had wasted valuable time.He clicked on the headlights and steered the forklift toward the white tote bags.Leila and Bowie were both watching him with great interest.The soldier lay behind them, eyes closed, leaning back against one of the tote bags.Mason swung the forklift in line with the bags and slowed, once again studying the controls.There were three levers on the right side of the steering wheel.Each had etching on their face, but in the dim glow, he couldn’t make any of it out.He slid the left lever up, and the forks started to rise.He did the same for the second lever, and the blades tilted forward.Likewise, the third lever moved the blades wider and narrower.Okay, he thought, this I understand.He raised the blades until they were in line with the loops at the top of one of the bags.The width appeared to already be set right, so he inched the forklift forward.The left fork snagged on the edge of the loop, but it finally pushed its way through.When he had both forks through the loops, he nudged the center lever.The engine moaned as the forklift hoisted two thousand pounds of peanuts into the air.Something heavy smashed against the door to the receiving area.The enemy was at the gates.Mason wheeled the forklift around, careful not to swing the vehicle too quickly and risk flipping it over.He lined up with the door and floored the gas pedal.Even with a full load, the forklift quickly accelerated to a respectable eight miles an hour.As he neared the doors, the sliding latch broke free, and one of the doors burst open.A pishtaco pushed its way in and immediately shuffled away into the darkness.A second one was halfway through when Mason collided with the door.The momentum of the peanuts and forklift slammed the door against the creature, pinning it between the door and the frame.Bones snapped, jabbing through layers of fat and sending blood spattering across the white tote bag.The creature bellowed, screaming and thrashing.Mason lowered the second lever, tilting the blades down and then shoved the forklift into reverse.As the forklift retreated, the huge bag of peanuts thudded to the ground in front of the doors.Without waiting to see whether it would hold, he wheeled the forklift around and headed back for a second load.From the other side of the room, Bowie started barking.They had problems of their own.Mason swung the forklift in their direction, using the headlights to flood the area.The pishtaco shuffled toward them with its arms outstretched and mouth gaping open.Bowie slowly advanced, snarling, determined to stand between it and his charge.Mason was still fifty feet out—too far away to affect the outcome of what would come next.As the pishtaco neared, Bowie leaped forward, latching onto a huge roll of fat that at one time had been the creature’s nipple.The monster screamed in pain and tried to shake him loose.Bowie’s bite didn’t falter as he shook his head from side to side, tearing at the slab of flesh.Mason lowered the forklift blades to a few feet off the ground.Five seconds from impact!Blood ran down the creature’s stomach as Bowie ripped at its flesh.The pishtaco struck him on the side, and the dog tumbled away, taking a flap of skin with him.Bowie cried as he hit the ground, but he quickly rolled back to his feet and lunged forward to latch onto the back of the creature’s calf.The pishtaco was preparing a tremendous downward strike that probably would have killed Bowie when the forklift finally hit.The forks straddled its enormous body, scraping their way across the creature’s rib cage.An instant later, the heavy steel mast drove it back against one of the totes.Too large to duck under or climb over the forks, it resorted to mindlessly beating against the mast and hydraulic lift cylinder.Mason quickly considered his options.He didn’t dare back the forklift up and try for a better hit.He had to work with what he had.He reached for his Supergrade but stopped short.There was a better way.He grabbed the third lever and shoved it all the way down.The engine whined as the forks slowly inched closer together, crunching bone and collapsing the creature’s chest.It began to cough blood, and its eyes bulged out [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]