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back out the tunnel, but who knew how many more were coming through the walls in that
tunnel? They were hard to kill&
 Let s go over the pipe. Thrower started to sidle cautiously along the rim towards the
pipe.
Carefully Isles matched him step for step in little shuffling movements. The ground
beneath them crumbled slightly, but they kept moving.
Suddenly one of the creatures lurched through the opening into the shaft, its head
swinging around until the dark, glistening eye spotted them, and it let out rapid, high-pitched
clicks and started dragging itself forward, the front claws reaching out and slashing.
Isles fired her phaser at it, and immediately hot blood spattered from inside the hard
shell. Its muffled roar came from between jagged teeth and it lurched forward.
Unlike Isles and Thrower, it wasn t taking care, and even as they both tried to move
sideways and fire simultaneously at it, it lurched forward carelessly.
The ledge crumbled.
Thrower felt it give way beneath them, and he grabbed Isles collar, trying to throw her
forward, but the creature suddenly fell through the fragile rim and flipped over, its rounded
stump of a tail slamming into Isles s side, sending her backwards into the shaft after it.
Still clinging to her collar, Thrower spun in after her.
The fall was a long way down, and he hit the surface hard. Ice cold water closed over
his head, and he immediately tried to push upwards towards the surface. Kicking powerfully,
he nevertheless felt himself being dragged downwards, the pull of something drawing him
further down.
The nightmarish head of the creature flashed close past him, making his skin crawl even
as his mind was taken up with the instinct to survive. A sharp claw raked down his arm, and
red tinged the water immediately, but the ice cold water numbed any pain.
Isles face appeared before him as she spun downwards. Her teeth were clenched, and
she blinked and reached out as she suddenly saw him.
Grabbing her wrist in a fast, instinctive move, Thrower felt himself tugged sideways.
Lungs bursting, he looked around frantically, and then he saw that Isles had hold of a cable
with one hand. He made a grab for the cable as well, but a heavy piece of rock surged
downward past him and glanced off the side of Isles s head.
She fell limp, bubbles pouring from her mouth, and Thrower knew he only had seconds
to save both of their lives. His lungs screamed for air, and Isles had just let her last bit go.
Even as the depths darkened around him, he felt a sudden sucking sensation, and then
he was being drawn rapidly into a side tunnel. Keeping tight hold of Isles, she was drawn
with him, and now he saw the light above him.
Surface! Air!
The Garrison: Catwalk 44
In a last burst of remaining energy, he surged upwards and gasped as his head broke
the surface, allowing his breath to gush out and suck in more air.
Something bumped up against him, he looked down and saw the dark swirl of hair in
the water.
Isles!
Grabbing her under the arms, he tipped her over so that her head was above the water
level. Spotting the shelf on the side of the tunnel, he dragged her over to it and pushed her up
onto it.
Her chest moved sluggishly, as though finding it hard to move, and he heard the gurgle
of water as she breathed. Not knowing what else to do, he pressed his mouth over hers and
breathed in fast.
Immediately she started to choke, coughing and gurgling, and he pushed her over onto
her stomach as the water she d swallowed gushed up. She coughed up water, and relief
spread through him. If she could cough, she could breath.
 That s it, Isles, he whispered, his voice shaking with cold, shock and fatigue.  Cough
it out. He hauled himself up to lie beside her.
When she finally stopped coughing, she lifted her head to stare blearily up at him
through half-closed eyes.  Thrower? Choking again, she coughed up more water.
 Yeah. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.
Nothing more was said between them. Taking in deep breaths, they rested.
Thrower became aware of his arm throbbing, not to mention his thigh, and finally he
dragged himself up into a sitting position. The sleeve of his uniform and suit at his upper
arms was slashed open, and blood streaks stained it.
Wincing, he pulled the fabric open and studied the slash in his arm.  I d have thought
there d be more blood. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]