Weapons poised and ready, the two opponents stood amid the bushes, each unsure of his next move.
Chapter Thirteen
Much too early, noise came from the mat-trans unit, and the three companions drew their weapons in tense expectation.
“Already?” Jak said, cocking back the hammer on the Colt.
“Something’s wrong,” Mildred stated, taking a position along the wall near the door. The gren felt heavy in her right hand, the smooth ring of the pin clenched tight in her left.
“Sheffield?” Ryan asked from the doorway across the hall. The man was pale, but his panga was unsheathed and ready. Behind him, J.B. stood with a grim expression, his own knife held in a throwing grip-
Doc braced the LeMat on top of the console, the muzzle pointed straight at the door. “We shall find out soon enough.”
As the machinery went still, the companions heard a splash, then nothing else. Going to the door, Doc threw it open and greenish water rushed out over his boots.
“By the Three Kennedys!” he started, then saw his friends laying limply on the floor. “Mildred, hurry!”
Rushing forward, the physician tucked away the gren and knelt in the puddle. Grabbing Dean by the shoulders, she turned him over and pounded the boy on the back. In response, he heaved out a stomach full of thin fluid. Mildred kept hitting his back until some color returned to his face, and he began breathing normally.
“Hot pipe,” Dean said, coughing raggedly, then wiping his face with a dripping sleeve. “Wemade it”
Immediately, Mildred went to Krysty and started beating her soundly between the shoulder blades with an open palm. Her damp hair sluggishly flexing, Krysty spewed out the contents of her stomach and shook off the physician, hacking for air.
“What wrong?” Jak asked, helping the boy to stand.
“They’re okay,” Mildred announced, standing. “Just swallowed some bad water.”
The words made Dean go to the corner and retch again, the thought of the rotting corpses filling his mind.
“What is this?” Ryan asked, lifting a canvas bag from the mat-trans chamber. Malodorous greenish water poured from a small rip in the side.
“Grabbed it as we went,” the boy said, nibbing his stomach. “Better than nothing.”
“Anything useful?” J.B. asked without hope.
Ryan tugged the bag open and inspected the contents. “MRE packs,” he said, sounding pleased as he lifted one into view. “Being underwater wouldn’t hurt them a bit.”
“How many are there?” Mildred asked,
He did a rough count riffling the packs with a fingertip. “About forty. Enough for another week.”
“Must have been field rations for a predark recce squad,” J.B. guessed, running a hand over the outside of the bag. Dimly, the faded green letters USMC could be seen on the camou-colored material. “Bad for the Navy boys, good for us.”
Lifting a pack, Doc inspected the foil for any holes or corrosion. “Looks perfect, dear boy,” he rumbled in delight, “Ah, never before have I so truly yearned for the culinary delights of artificial creamed chip beef on canned toast.”
“Pentagon calls it shit on a shingle,” Mildred said, smiling.
“Indeed, madam, but they could order out pizza and chicken wings. Ambrosia comes in many flavors these days, some great, some on toast.”
Frowning, Jak glanced around, “Hey, where blaster?”
“Dropped it,” Dean said, then swallowed to clear his throat, “When we hit the water after the second jump, I lost my grip.”
“Second jump?” Ryan said, advancing. “You were only supposed to do one jump.”
“Wasn’t our choice. Something went wrong with the mat-trans,” Krysty answered. “After going to an empty redoubt we jumped and went to one underwater. We hit the LD button and instead of returning to the empty redoubt came back here. Thank Gaia.”
Dean looked at her on the word “empty,” but said nothing. It was close enough to the truth.
“Dark night!” J.B. stormed, taking off his hat and crumpling it, “We’re short enough as it is without losing a blaster!”
“Into the control room,” Doc ordered brusquely. “Some hot food will help all of us think more clearly.”
Leaving the chamber, the companions were startled when the door slammed shut behind them and the noise of the mat trans rose and faded away.
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