[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

burst into flames, black smoke pouring from every vent.
Only seconds had passed in the blitzkrieg against the Walker, but Mildred was
already working on Ryan, her hands pressed to his chest and pushing hard three
times, followed by a pause, then three more hard pushes.
"Keep giving him air!" she ordered.
Krysty didn't reply, but pressed her mouth against Ryan's and continued
blowing into his lungs. The Deathlands warrior's chest rose and fell, but
there still was no pulse.
"Strive to live," the redhead whispered between breaths. "Please, lover,
live."
Straddling the man, Mildred began pounding on Ryan's chest with both fists
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20Fortress%20-%20Nick%20Pollotta
%201.0.html (171 of 283) [12/24/2004 11:33:51 PM]
D4
clasped together. The thumps sounded hollow and empty.
"Follow my mark!" the physician commanded. "One, two, three, mark!" She
punched as Krysty exhaled.
"Again!" Mildred commanded. "Again! Again!"
A minute passed, then another with only the sounds of the fists hitting flesh
disturbing the silence of the dark street. The crackling light from the
burning
Walker cast bizarre shadows on the walls of the pre-dark buildings.
"Give it up, Millie," J.B. said softly. "He's gone."
"Fuck that!" she raged, and slammed the man in the chest even harder. "Live,
you son of a bitch! I've lost enough patients in this godforsaken hell. You're
not gonna be one of them! Come on, you one-eyed bastard! Live, goddamn it!
Live!"
Suddenly, a tremor shook Ryan's body and his eye fluttered open. He drew in a
ragged breath. Krysty pulled back, as the man began to cough, then weakly
Page 98
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
turned on his side to lose his breakfast over the bumper.
"Motherfucker& " Ryan panted in a whisper, gasping for breath. "What& hit me?"
"Got electrocuted," Mildred said, grabbing his wrist to check the pulse. The
beat was irregular, but getting stronger. "It, ah, knocked you out for a
while."
Accepting a canteen from Dean, Ryan washed out his mouth and spit, then
drained the container to fall onto his back exhausted from the effort.
Krysty took his hands and held them to her breast. "Glad to have you back,
lover," she whispered.
"Thanks. Hurt worse than losing the eye," Ryan croaked, then impossibly slid
off the minivan and stood on wobbly legs, one hand palming the damaged hood
for
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20Fortress%20-%20Nick%20Pollotta
%201.0.html (172 of 283) [12/24/2004 11:33:51 PM]
D4
support.
Astonished, Mildred couldn't believe the sight. Anybody else would need bed
rest for a few days.
"I don't doubt it hurt like blazes," the physician said, massaging her hand.
Punching the man in the chest was like punching a bag of potatoes. Solid
muscle.
"Back in my day, we used to kill criminals by electrocution until the folks
realized just how horrible a death it was."
"Feeling okay?" Dean asked, handing his father the dropped blaster.
"Sure." It took him a few tries, but Ryan got the SIG-Sauer in its holster.
"Kind of weak," the man admitted, wincing as if the sound of his own voice was
causing him pain.
"That'll pass soon enough," Mildred said, rummaging in her med kit. "Here,
take these aspirin and suck on this piece of C-4."
Not quite sure he heard that correctly, Ryan stared at the items lying in his
palm.
"You want me to do what?" he demanded uncertainly.
"Consume plastic explosives, madam?" Doc rumbled askance. "What voodoo is
this?"
"Stuff it, you old coot." Mildred scowled and turned to Ryan.
"C-4 is mostly nitroglycerine. That's good for the heart and yours just had a
hell of a strain."
Hesitating for a moment, Ryan dry swallowed the pills and tucked the whitish-
gray lump of plastique in his cheek. Immediately, he made a face at the
horrible taste, but a few moments later there was a rush of color to his
cheeks and the man stood straighter with renewed strength.
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...20Fortress%20-%20Nick%20Pollotta
%201.0.html (173 of 283) [12/24/2004 11:33:51 PM]
D4
"Nuke me," Ryan said, giving a rare smile. "I feel better."
"Using C-4 for a bad ticker," J.B. said, kissing Mildred on the cheek. "That's
a new one on me."
"Only for an emergency," she answered. "It can kill as easy as cure."
Unexpectedly, Ryan pulled his blaster and jacked the slide. "Where's the
Walker?" he demanded, looking around in the stygian blackness. The headlights
of the bikes threw great swatches of light across the parked cars, the beams
crisscrossing one another.
"Dean and I terminated its prime functions with extreme prejudice," Doc [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]