Out of the Black - Lee Doty [61]
Alex, Ping thought, now he owed the little centimeter-shorter runt his life. He wondered if he'd been able to take out all the weapons in the room.
He could barely see through the dust and jittery shadows. Somewhere a few lights still flickered sporadically. He found his other pistol within arms reach, but dropped it into his holster without trying the trigger. It was subtly warped, barrel curving perhaps three millimeters to the left. Ozone tinged the air as a few of the shelves' motors labored against warped gears, tracks, and casters. A low electric hum moaned about him as he struggled to his feet.
Alex's work must have either stunned him or affected his inner ear because he couldn't immediately stand without holding on to the now immobile shelves. The dizziness subsided to a manageable level after a few seconds.
He made his way unsteadily to the end of the aisle and poked his head around the bullet-pocked end cap. In the walkway between the stacks of shelves were two corpses at about four meters. Farther back was another corpse, and three visible gunmen. One had been coming down the aisle whenhad opened his little present. He was now on all fours, retching into an expanding pool of bile. Farther away another gunman stumbled out from between two shelves. Ping rounded the end of the shelves and entered the aisle where Rae was now swaying on hands and knees. The gun still clutched in one hand supported part of her weight with the barrel pressed into the floor.
There was a low, wrenching moan and a rumble through the floor as the building settled around it's newly warped infrastructure. "Geez Alex!" Rae whispered.
"Uh-huh." Ping said from inside his personal haze. "Let's go..."
He grabbed Rae under her shoulders and helped her to her feet. She staggered and put a hand on the shelves for support.
"It passes quickly." Ping lied. "Come on."
***
"We should've brought more Grunts." Neiland said through clenched teeth.
"That would have helped." Garvey said as he tried to staunch the blood flowing from Neiland's destroyed shoulder. "Of course, you still would've managed to get shot. What's this, the fourth time you've been shot since we met?"
"Third. I believe that's a hole in your leg, too."
"Bullet hog. Mine's just a scratch. Keep pressure here." Garvey pressed Neiland's left hand on his wounded shoulder. "I don't have time to try to heal this... gotta deal with Lutine's lackey before he does any more damage.
"Hurry back, you know I can't work a healing yet... That Jamming was sure a surprise." Neiland said, smiling through the field anesthetic his medkit had administered before the Jamming turned it into a paperweight. "Not bad for a newbie."
Garvey drew his pistol and nodded as he examined the warped metal. "Never seen a Jam that left metal warped." He shrugged, "We've still got a few surprises left too. Be right back."
He stood shakily, favoring his wounded left leg, and shouted. "Check your weapons! We're going medieval! Cover the door!"
He closed his eyes and accessed the Loom. From the templates available, he chose the weave of Grappling- it wasn't the most effective weapon, but it would likely be the most satisfying.
***
Ping and Rae stumbled back into the greater darkness of the utility room. "Alex! Alex baby?" Rae hissed into the deep silence, but there was no reply. They both fumbled toward where Alex had been sitting. Ping heard Rae stumble and go down hard in the dark. "Found him." She said from below. "Help me get him up."
They managed to get Alex's slack form up between them and together they dragged him out the door. They turned left and moved as quickly as possible down the aisle of shelving, across the side passage, and into the aisle of shelves where Rae and Ping had spent the final seconds of the gunfight. When they hit the wall at the edge of the room, they turned right, toward the exits. As they moved, Alex began to stir. First mumbling, then he began to take a few weak steps as they dragged him between them. "Shhh, honey, it's gonna be okay, but you've gotta keep it quiet." Rae