Read Online The Bounty Hunter: Into The Swarm by Joseph Anderson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Joseph Anderson
Ads: Link
the
drone, he stopped at a sudden drop in the street. The road must have been built
on a hill and the alien’s tunnelling had disturbed enough of the ground below
it to cause a collapse. He leaned over and saw a descending slope of concrete chunks,
rebar mesh, and upheaved earth. There was a row of holes where the ground levelled
off and he couldn’t tell how many were occupied by the dross.
Burke was high enough to see the location of the drone on his visor.
He looked down again and considered the drop. The slope looked steep but not
enough that he couldn’t climb it. He didn’t like the tunnels waiting at the
bottom. He readied himself to jump instead: he swung an arm around to secure
the rifle still magnetized to his back, leaned forward, and tensed his legs. He
triggered the mechanisms and launched himself from the top of the ridge.
He was used to the height of his augmented leg’s jump alone, not
combined with the new function of his armor. He was propelled further into the
air than he expected and felt his stomach lurch as he fell for longer than he
anticipated. Cass fortified his lower armor to the fall as he landed cleanly
over the dross tunnels. His feet hit the road with a loud thud and left indents
in the asphalt. He built up more momentum than he planned in the fall and knew
that he made too much noise. He whipped around immediately, ready to snatch the
rifle from his back if many aliens heard him.
Something hissed from the tunnels and Cass highlighted the direction
on his visor. He watched the tails emerge first, probing the rim of the tunnel
before poking its head out. He kept a hand around his back in case there were
others, but no other sounds came after the lone dross leaped fully out of the
tunnel. He shifted his feet and brought his arms back in front of him. He
twisted them both together and the scraping sound of metal blades drawing out
from his wrists joined with the alien’s hissing.
He took one step forward and the dross charged at him. Immediately,
Cass halved the visor’s display to show a second alien charging from behind. It
blended in with the darkness and was barely visible even as it charged. He was
caught between the two of them but concentrated on the one in front of him. He
knew they would jump at him from a few meters out. He had seen hundreds of
humans die from that attack, even after shooting the alien dead in mid-air. The
force of their bodies landing on them was still enough to crush most bones.
The first one leaped and Burke twisted on his feet, heaving his arms
up in the air to catch the alien with his blades. They both pierced it, one in
the chest and another in its stomach but he didn’t stop moving, turning on his
feet with the momentum of the alien’s jump and swinging its body away from him.
The blades let out a squelch as the alien’s flesh was thrown away from him. The
body was sent flying in the direction of the other dross but it had been too
heavy and imprecise. The second alien dodged it easily, darting out of the way
and then bounding right into him.
Burke’s arms had been down after recovering from the throw. The
dross crashed into his armor and knocked him down onto the ground. He scrambled
to get back on his feet but the alien was smothering him, clawing and gnashing
all over his aegis trying to find a place where its teeth would sink in. The
armor held without any warnings of fissures or breaking, but it wouldn’t last
forever; less if the sound of the alien’s attacks attracted others that could
overwhelm him and keep him pinned to the ground.
The alien’s movements were too chaotic and close for him to aim
carefully. He flailed his arms and the blades randomly. They clashed and were
deflected by the creature’s claws and then it jumped back away from him. He
turned on his back and readied his legs to meet the alien’s charge, knowing
that he didn’t have enough time to get to his feet. He kicked out when the
dross was close, triggering the jump
drone, he stopped at a sudden drop in the street. The road must have been built
on a hill and the alien’s tunnelling had disturbed enough of the ground below
it to cause a collapse. He leaned over and saw a descending slope of concrete chunks,
rebar mesh, and upheaved earth. There was a row of holes where the ground levelled
off and he couldn’t tell how many were occupied by the dross.
Burke was high enough to see the location of the drone on his visor.
He looked down again and considered the drop. The slope looked steep but not
enough that he couldn’t climb it. He didn’t like the tunnels waiting at the
bottom. He readied himself to jump instead: he swung an arm around to secure
the rifle still magnetized to his back, leaned forward, and tensed his legs. He
triggered the mechanisms and launched himself from the top of the ridge.
He was used to the height of his augmented leg’s jump alone, not
combined with the new function of his armor. He was propelled further into the
air than he expected and felt his stomach lurch as he fell for longer than he
anticipated. Cass fortified his lower armor to the fall as he landed cleanly
over the dross tunnels. His feet hit the road with a loud thud and left indents
in the asphalt. He built up more momentum than he planned in the fall and knew
that he made too much noise. He whipped around immediately, ready to snatch the
rifle from his back if many aliens heard him.
Something hissed from the tunnels and Cass highlighted the direction
on his visor. He watched the tails emerge first, probing the rim of the tunnel
before poking its head out. He kept a hand around his back in case there were
others, but no other sounds came after the lone dross leaped fully out of the
tunnel. He shifted his feet and brought his arms back in front of him. He
twisted them both together and the scraping sound of metal blades drawing out
from his wrists joined with the alien’s hissing.
He took one step forward and the dross charged at him. Immediately,
Cass halved the visor’s display to show a second alien charging from behind. It
blended in with the darkness and was barely visible even as it charged. He was
caught between the two of them but concentrated on the one in front of him. He
knew they would jump at him from a few meters out. He had seen hundreds of
humans die from that attack, even after shooting the alien dead in mid-air. The
force of their bodies landing on them was still enough to crush most bones.
The first one leaped and Burke twisted on his feet, heaving his arms
up in the air to catch the alien with his blades. They both pierced it, one in
the chest and another in its stomach but he didn’t stop moving, turning on his
feet with the momentum of the alien’s jump and swinging its body away from him.
The blades let out a squelch as the alien’s flesh was thrown away from him. The
body was sent flying in the direction of the other dross but it had been too
heavy and imprecise. The second alien dodged it easily, darting out of the way
and then bounding right into him.
Burke’s arms had been down after recovering from the throw. The
dross crashed into his armor and knocked him down onto the ground. He scrambled
to get back on his feet but the alien was smothering him, clawing and gnashing
all over his aegis trying to find a place where its teeth would sink in. The
armor held without any warnings of fissures or breaking, but it wouldn’t last
forever; less if the sound of the alien’s attacks attracted others that could
overwhelm him and keep him pinned to the ground.
The alien’s movements were too chaotic and close for him to aim
carefully. He flailed his arms and the blades randomly. They clashed and were
deflected by the creature’s claws and then it jumped back away from him. He
turned on his back and readied his legs to meet the alien’s charge, knowing
that he didn’t have enough time to get to his feet. He kicked out when the
dross was close, triggering the jump
Similar Books
