[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
slowly, floating upward through the massed kelp.
Brett and Panille, splashing their way back into the cabin, had accepted a
hand from Kareen. Scudi, seated at the controls, spared a glance for Brett to
reassure herself that he was safe, then returned her attention to the watery
world visible through the plaz.
"It's tearing him apart!" Scudi gasped.
The others sloshed to a position behind Scudi and looked outside. The foil
slithered upward against giant kelp fronds, giving those inside the pilot
cabin a dimly lighted view of Bushka close beside them. One large kelp
tentacle, wrapped around his body, held Bushka fast while another tentacle
gripped his left arm. A cloud of dark liquid flooded the water around
Bushka's arm.
Kareen gasped.
Brett understood then -- the cloud: blood! The arm had been torn from
Bushka's body.
As though it wanted to spit him out, the kelp tentacles whipped away from
Bushka and shunted him swiftly upward.
Scudi tipped the foil's nose up and drove for the surface. They found Bushka
there, half-conscious and bleeding dangerously. A hunt of dashers, coming to
the smell of blood, was whipped back by kelp fronds.
Later, after Kareen had treated Bushka, Brett and Panille lashed him to the
cot and carried him forward. Ale walked alongside. "He's lost a lot of
blood," she said. "The brachial artery was wide open."
Scudi remained at the helm, sparing only a brief glance at Bushka's pale face
as the cot was lowered to the deck behind her. She held the foil in a tight
circle within a kelp-free area. Choppy waves drummed a dulled tunk-tunk
against the hull. The last of the unwanted water had gone overboard but the
decks were still damp with it.
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Scudi, the image of Bushka's injuries fresh in her mind, thought: Ship save
us!
The kelp has turned vicious!
Panille stood above Bushka. A wash of agony grayed Bushka's face but he
appeared conscious. Seeing this, Panille demanded, "What were you trying to
do?"
"Shhhh," Ale cautioned.
"'S'all right," Bushka managed. "Was gonna kill Gallow."
Panille could not suppress his outrage. "You almost killed us all!"
Kareen pulled Panille away.
Brett slid into the seat beside Scudi and looked out at the dark pile of the
outpost with its foam-laced base. Little Sun had risen and the water was
bright with the double light.
"Kelp," Bushka said.
"Hush," Ale said. "Save your strength."
"Gotta talk. Kelp has all the Guemes dead . . . in it. All there. Said I
tore off arm of humanity . . . punished me in kind. Damn! Damn!" He tried
to look at the place where his arm had been but the lashings on the cot
restrained him.
Scudi stared wide-eyed at Brett. Was it possible the kelp took on the
personality of all the dead it had absorbed? Would all the old scores be
settled? Given consciousness finally and words in which to express itself,
the kelp spoke in violent action. She shuddered as she looked out at the
green fronds surrounding the foil.
"There are dashers all over the place," Scudi said.
"Where . . . where's my arm?" Bushka moaned.
His eyes were closed and his large head looked even larger against the pale
fabric of the cot.
"Packed in ice in the cooler," Ale said. "We'll interfere as little as
possible with the wound tissue. Better chance for reattachment."
"Kelp knew I was just a fool that Gallow . . . took advantage of," Bushka
groaned. He twisted his head from side to side. "Why'd it hurt me?"
A heavy gust of wind popped the foil hard and thrust it sideways against the
kelp. A loud thump sounded amidships and the foil heeled, righting itself
with a rasping hiss.
"What is it? What's that?" Ale demanded.
Brett pointed to the sky above the outpost. "I think we've just had our
attention called to something. Look! Have you ever seen that many LTAs?"
"LTAs hell!" Panille said. "Ship's guts! Those are hylighters! Thousands of
them."
Brett stared open-mouthed. Like all Pandoran children, he had watched holos
of the kelp's spore carriers, a phenomenon unseen on Pandora for generations.
Panille was right! Hylighters!
"They're so beautiful," Scudi murmured.
Brett had to agree. The hylighters, giant organic hydrogen bags, danced with
rainbow colors in the doubled sunlight. They drifted high across the outpost,
moving southwest on a steady wind.
"It's out of our hands now," Panille said. "The kelp will do its own
propagating."
"They're coming down," Brett said. "Look. Some of them are trailing
tentacles in the water.
The flight of hylighters, well past the outpost now, moved in a gentle slope
of wind toward the sea.
"It's almost as though they were being directed," Scudi said. "See how they
move together."
Once more, something hard banged against the foil's hull. A channel opened
Page 209
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
beside them, spreading outward toward the place where the hylighters were
coming down close above the water. Slowly at first, a current moved the foil
into the new channel.
"Better go along with it," Panille said.
"But Twisp is still there at the outpost!" Brett objected.
"Kelp's directing this show," Panille said. "Your friend will have to take
his own chances."
"I think Shadow's right," Scudi ventured. She pointed toward the outpost.
"See? There are more hylighters. They're almost touching the rock."
"But what if Twisp comes back and we aren't . . ."
"I'll bring us back as soon as the kelp lets us," Scudi said. She fired up
the ramjets.
"No! I'll take breather tanks and go out to --"
"Brett!" Scudi put a hand on his arm. "You saw what it did to Bushka."
"But I haven't hurt it . . . or anyone. That Merman would have killed me."
"We don't know what it'll do," Scudi said.
"She's right," Panille said. "What good would you be to your friend without
arms?"
Brett sank back into the seat.
Scudi pushed the throttles ahead and lowered the foils. The boat gathered [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
slowly, floating upward through the massed kelp.
Brett and Panille, splashing their way back into the cabin, had accepted a
hand from Kareen. Scudi, seated at the controls, spared a glance for Brett to
reassure herself that he was safe, then returned her attention to the watery
world visible through the plaz.
"It's tearing him apart!" Scudi gasped.
The others sloshed to a position behind Scudi and looked outside. The foil
slithered upward against giant kelp fronds, giving those inside the pilot
cabin a dimly lighted view of Bushka close beside them. One large kelp
tentacle, wrapped around his body, held Bushka fast while another tentacle
gripped his left arm. A cloud of dark liquid flooded the water around
Bushka's arm.
Kareen gasped.
Brett understood then -- the cloud: blood! The arm had been torn from
Bushka's body.
As though it wanted to spit him out, the kelp tentacles whipped away from
Bushka and shunted him swiftly upward.
Scudi tipped the foil's nose up and drove for the surface. They found Bushka
there, half-conscious and bleeding dangerously. A hunt of dashers, coming to
the smell of blood, was whipped back by kelp fronds.
Later, after Kareen had treated Bushka, Brett and Panille lashed him to the
cot and carried him forward. Ale walked alongside. "He's lost a lot of
blood," she said. "The brachial artery was wide open."
Scudi remained at the helm, sparing only a brief glance at Bushka's pale face
as the cot was lowered to the deck behind her. She held the foil in a tight
circle within a kelp-free area. Choppy waves drummed a dulled tunk-tunk
against the hull. The last of the unwanted water had gone overboard but the
decks were still damp with it.
Page 208
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Scudi, the image of Bushka's injuries fresh in her mind, thought: Ship save
us!
The kelp has turned vicious!
Panille stood above Bushka. A wash of agony grayed Bushka's face but he
appeared conscious. Seeing this, Panille demanded, "What were you trying to
do?"
"Shhhh," Ale cautioned.
"'S'all right," Bushka managed. "Was gonna kill Gallow."
Panille could not suppress his outrage. "You almost killed us all!"
Kareen pulled Panille away.
Brett slid into the seat beside Scudi and looked out at the dark pile of the
outpost with its foam-laced base. Little Sun had risen and the water was
bright with the double light.
"Kelp," Bushka said.
"Hush," Ale said. "Save your strength."
"Gotta talk. Kelp has all the Guemes dead . . . in it. All there. Said I
tore off arm of humanity . . . punished me in kind. Damn! Damn!" He tried
to look at the place where his arm had been but the lashings on the cot
restrained him.
Scudi stared wide-eyed at Brett. Was it possible the kelp took on the
personality of all the dead it had absorbed? Would all the old scores be
settled? Given consciousness finally and words in which to express itself,
the kelp spoke in violent action. She shuddered as she looked out at the
green fronds surrounding the foil.
"There are dashers all over the place," Scudi said.
"Where . . . where's my arm?" Bushka moaned.
His eyes were closed and his large head looked even larger against the pale
fabric of the cot.
"Packed in ice in the cooler," Ale said. "We'll interfere as little as
possible with the wound tissue. Better chance for reattachment."
"Kelp knew I was just a fool that Gallow . . . took advantage of," Bushka
groaned. He twisted his head from side to side. "Why'd it hurt me?"
A heavy gust of wind popped the foil hard and thrust it sideways against the
kelp. A loud thump sounded amidships and the foil heeled, righting itself
with a rasping hiss.
"What is it? What's that?" Ale demanded.
Brett pointed to the sky above the outpost. "I think we've just had our
attention called to something. Look! Have you ever seen that many LTAs?"
"LTAs hell!" Panille said. "Ship's guts! Those are hylighters! Thousands of
them."
Brett stared open-mouthed. Like all Pandoran children, he had watched holos
of the kelp's spore carriers, a phenomenon unseen on Pandora for generations.
Panille was right! Hylighters!
"They're so beautiful," Scudi murmured.
Brett had to agree. The hylighters, giant organic hydrogen bags, danced with
rainbow colors in the doubled sunlight. They drifted high across the outpost,
moving southwest on a steady wind.
"It's out of our hands now," Panille said. "The kelp will do its own
propagating."
"They're coming down," Brett said. "Look. Some of them are trailing
tentacles in the water.
The flight of hylighters, well past the outpost now, moved in a gentle slope
of wind toward the sea.
"It's almost as though they were being directed," Scudi said. "See how they
move together."
Once more, something hard banged against the foil's hull. A channel opened
Page 209
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
beside them, spreading outward toward the place where the hylighters were
coming down close above the water. Slowly at first, a current moved the foil
into the new channel.
"Better go along with it," Panille said.
"But Twisp is still there at the outpost!" Brett objected.
"Kelp's directing this show," Panille said. "Your friend will have to take
his own chances."
"I think Shadow's right," Scudi ventured. She pointed toward the outpost.
"See? There are more hylighters. They're almost touching the rock."
"But what if Twisp comes back and we aren't . . ."
"I'll bring us back as soon as the kelp lets us," Scudi said. She fired up
the ramjets.
"No! I'll take breather tanks and go out to --"
"Brett!" Scudi put a hand on his arm. "You saw what it did to Bushka."
"But I haven't hurt it . . . or anyone. That Merman would have killed me."
"We don't know what it'll do," Scudi said.
"She's right," Panille said. "What good would you be to your friend without
arms?"
Brett sank back into the seat.
Scudi pushed the throttles ahead and lowered the foils. The boat gathered [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]