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."I think we've got enough fuel to get back.It'd be a one-time shot—""Told anybody yet?""No."She gave a tired smile."It'll be one hell of a bounce if it doesn't work.""Ummmm.I know that.""Is that what you're sitting here thinking about? Getting back to the Challenger?""Umm-hmm." He snugged her in under his arm again."What are you thinking about?""I don't like to give up.""I hear that." Marshall was staring out the observation window again."But I don't think we're wanted here."A dull boom sounded."What's that?"He waited a moment, before answering, "Thunder, I suppose.You tell me."She realized that, ship-born, he'd never heard thunder before.She sat up.The observation window reflected a stab of lightning."Look! And listen, it'll sound again."Another muffled drum roll."Rain?" asked the commander."Yeah.And lots of it, according to the dean.It'll all wash away." Dusty walked to the window.Her heart ached for the sound of raindrops on the insulated pane."God.I haven't heard rain in two hundred and fifty years.I don't think I want to try to leave.""I don't think we have much choice."The rain came pounding down before she could respond.She felt like a kid again as it splattered the window in front of her face.Dusty stood there and watched it for a long, long time.The bat-winged wind raider rode the forefront of the storm as he would bodysurf a wave.It bucked and fought the rudder under him, but Drakkar threw himself on it and kept it steady.Blade didn't like flying much.He'd only done it once or twice in his career as a Protector and both times in desperation.Though barely motored, once launched properly, the raider could glide over the major part of the L.A.basin.Drakkar took to flying as though he'd been born to it, which, Blade reflected, he had.Wind raiders were part of Denethan's arsenal and threat to the safety of the Seven Counties.He yelled to Blade in the front seat, "Keep the nose up!"Blade threw his weight on the stick, but there wasn't alot he could do.The storm had driven him farther than he'd hoped, but it was also driving them downward.The ridge of mountains along the north side of the basin rose before them.This was where he wanted to be, the Angeles Crest forest.There was water in the ridge which ran west to east from the ocean to the Mojave.And where there was water, there would be nesters.The bat-wing veered off suddenly, left wingtip dragging in spite of Thomas' efforts to right it.Drakkar shouted in Blade's ear, "We're going down!"Blade's reply was torn out of earshot by a wind which was suddenly across and against them instead of being behind them.He could see the darkness of evergreen blanketing brown hills below them rushing up.He threw himself on the stick full weight as the raider came crashing down.Drakkar sat up and peered out of the wreckage.A tree limb gave under the raider as he did.He spat out a mouthful of blood from a split lip and grinned."Any landing you can walk away from is a good one.""I'll remember that while I'm picking pine needles out of my ass." Thomas threw his legs out of the fuselage of the raider and hoisted the rest of himself over gingerly.The stand of trees which had broken their fall, and done a fairly good job of demolishing the wind raider, shivered under his weight.He was still a good six to eight feet off the ground and reminded himself that now was no time to risk a broken ankle.He looped an arm about a tree limb and swung himself down.Drakkar threw down the packs and rifles before joining him.He shrugged on his pack."Any idea where we are?""A good idea.""Great." Drakkar sucked at his split lip for a second."Then things are going according to plan.""Plan?" said Thomas as he shouldered his pack.The Mojavan looked at him."You do have a plan?""Naturally.I'm going to find a nester, kill him, take his horse and ride east.You're welcome to accompany me, but you've got to find and kill your own nester.Make sure he has a horse or mule before you do it, though.We don't have time for wasted effort.''Drakkar stared at him a minute.Then those dark jewel-blue eyes blinked."You're kidding, right?""Do I look like I'm kidding? How the hell do you think we're going to get out of the woods? I have one goal and one goal only—to get to the dean as soon as possible, slit his throat, and put an end to this foolishness.I'll wade through as many nesters as I have to to do it."Drakkar absorbed the words.He shook his head."I thought when you were appointed delegate.""I don't have time and neither does Denethan.The nesters respect one thing and one thing only: strength.They won't cut slack for anybody who can't keep up.They have no respect for community welfare.They're outcasts who live the way they do because they chose to.They're not going to let me walk up to the dean and parlay just because I ask them to." Thomas adjusted the weight of his pack."Coming with me? We need to get mounts, as soon as we can.I figure we have a day of riding ahead of us.""Where are we going?""Just beyond the Vaults, slightly north and east.There's a plains area that sort of fades into the Mojave—""I know it," Drakkar said."All right.Logically, that's where the dean will pull back to establish a front line.His back is to the Vaults if he has to retreat and I'll bet the old bastard has another tunnel entrance or two we didn't find, in case he has to hide to save his ass [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]