Orphans - Kevin Killiany [36]
She was not following her exact route, staying a bit farther from the trail and stream than she had before, just in case there was someone following her tracks directly behind.
A native called out in musical baritone from somewhere behind her and to her right. A second answered, his voice a mellifluous counterpoint, from almost directly to her right.
I’m being chased by a humanoid opera,Pattie thought as she jigged slightly left.
When she judged she was upstream of the little clearing with the traps, she cut left and bolted for the stream. She knew she didn’t have much reserves left and put everything into a flowing scurry she hoped was too close to the ground for the giants to notice.
She came up short at the edge of the undergrowth. Forty meters of open grass sloped down from her position to the water.
Perhaps sixty meters to her left, still looking downstream to where the shrubbery grew to the water’s edge, stood two natives. One had what looked like a bow, easily as long as he was tall, while the other bore a shield and drawn sword.
Pattie paused, gathering her strength for a dash to the river. She had seen natives run and knew that neither of these two could catch her before she reached the water even if they saw her break cover. Her goal was to get to the water without being seen. Her real fear was that they would catch her before she made the woods on the other side of the trail.
Taking a final breath to steady her nerves, she moved into the open, keeping as close to the ground as possible. The two natives continued to watch upstream.
She had just begun to think she was going to make it when an animal whinnied loudly to her right. On the trail, across the narrow brook, was a native she had not seen, dressed in heavy leather armor and mounted on a huge black beast. She’d been so focused on the other two hunters she hadn’t even looked in this direction.
To her left the natives shouted. The armored rider drew his sword and answered, his voice sounding more angry than victorious to Pattie’s ears.
For her part, closer to the water than the bushes by a dozen steps, she bolted for the water. She hoped the rider’s heavy armor would…
Pattie’s back legs slid to the right and she spun around, flat to the ground. For a fateful heartbeat she lay splayed out, her head toward the underbrush. Then she tried to rise. Pain radiated from her left lower shoulder.
She was pinned to the ground. But how? The mounted native was still across the river, the other two just now running toward her. It wasn’t until she saw the bowman reaching for another arrow that she realized what had happened.
Prideful idiot,she berated herself.
She was an engineer, she knew a projectile of thin enough cross section could pierce her armor. But she had become so complacent in the superiority of her exoskeleton to the thin hides of softs that she hadn’t even considered one of their primitive arrows a threat.
Now here she was, pinned ( like a bug,she couldn’t help thinking) to the ground while enemies closed in on either side.
The rider would reach her first. His mount leapt the stream that had looked so impassable to Pattie with apparent ease. She could feel the thunder of the beast’s hooves as he charged toward her, leaning far out and down out of his saddle, his sword raised. Was he so eager to be the first to kill the monster?
She clenched her eyes as his sword swung forward, and braced for the blow. Dirt sprayed her face. She heard the animal grunt and the sword swish through the air and ting against…what?
She opened her eyes, turning her head to follow the mounted warrior as he closed with the two natives on foot.
The one with the sword and shield braced himself, ready to meet the rider’s charge. At the last moment the mount seemed to prance, jumping suddenly sideways to the swordsman’s weak side. Even as the man turned, the animal kicked out with its hind legs, catching him full on the shield and sending him sprawling before