Read Online Scrapyard Ship 4 Realms of Time by Mark Wayne McGinnis - Free Book Online Page A

African rhinoceros was attempting to dislodge the thousand-pound warrior from his embedded horns. Traveler, heavy hammer in hand, reached the carnage in two bounding steps. He gripped the dead warrior’s leather breastplate and pulled the carcass free. The white rhinoceros charged again, his two bloodied horns missing Traveler’s abdomen by inches. Unexpectedly, this time it was Traveler who charged, letting his heavy hammer fall free he caught the rhinoceros’ horns in two hands. In what seemed like a long time, Traveler, down on one knee, slowly ratcheted the beast’s massive head—turning it one hundred and eighty degrees until its neck made a distinctive crack. Traveler released his grip on the horns and let the animal fall free to the ground. By this time the other rhino-warriors had circled around. In unison, they all bent to one knee, scooped up a handful of soil and gently tossed it onto their brother’s remains. Traveler, the first to stand, turned to face Jason. Jason had seen that expression before. Traveler was exuberant.
    The nine remaining rhino-warriors brought their heavy hammers up high in the air, smacking them together, producing a sound so loud Jason took a reflexive step backward.
    “ Captain Reynolds, you have a fine planet. A place where one can fight with honor. And these beasts look like—”
    “ Yes, we’ve noticed the similarity, Traveler,” Jason said, looking at the dead team member. “I’m sorry for the loss of your warrior.”
    “ He died with honor against a formidable opponent. What more can one ask?” Traveler noted, retrieving his hammer and standing tall, looking proud.
    Chapter 11
    They continued on toward Bristol’s flickering drone icon while maintaining a more acute vigil for what was behind them and to their sides. As the afternoon progressed, more and more wildlife came into view. First, an odd-looking grouping of stubby-legged antelope leapt by, then a pride of eight or nine lions. They looked identical to modern day cats, with one significant difference: They were easily twice the size.
    “ What the hell are those?” Bristol asked startled, as he looked up for the first time from his instrumentation.
    “ Lions.”
    “ So, not friendly?”
    “ No. Not even close,” Jason replied, taking a bit of pleasure in Bristol’s uneasiness.
    Jason glanced at Bristol’s wide-eyed expression behind his helmet’s visor. His pimply face was shiny with perspiration and he looked to be on the verge of hyperventilating.
    As if on cue, another antelope sprinted by mere feet in front of them. Seconds later, a lioness ran by in close pursuit. After several dodging and weaving maneuvers, the antelope seemed to fatigue and started to slow its pace. The lioness pounced; claws gripped and tore at the antelope’s torso and her massive jaws encircled the prey’s neck. With the antelope’s carotid artery severed, blood sprayed into the air and onto the lioness’s face.
    “ Oh God. What kind of fucking place is this?” Bristol screamed.
    “ Take it easy. They’re not interested in you.”
    “ How do you know that?”
    Jason shrugged and kept on walking. “We’re almost there. Keep your mind on your job.”
    Up ahead was a rocky rise in elevation. Jason turned around to see their team procession catching up behind them. Off in the distance, behind the SEALs and rhino-warriors, Orion casually waved that all was well. Dira, at her side, looked the other way.
    Bristol was crouching down, looking at his equipment. “The icons a bit more steady here. The drone’s actually below ground, subterranean.” He stood up and looked toward the rocks a hundred yards away.
    “ Could it be a cave?” Jason asked.
    “ You’re asking me?”
    “ Yes, I’m asking you. You said it was below ground.”
    “ I guess that’s as good a guess as any,” Bristol replied. “So sure, it could be a cave.”
    Billy caught up and also looked at the rocky ridge in the distance. “That where the drone