(eng) Michael Moorcock - Oswald Bastable 03 by The Steel Tsar

Author:The Steel Tsar [Tsar, The Steel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

I heard someone curse and murmur: 'Shoot the blighter.' Birchington, of course, was oblivious.

Greaves sighed. 'We'd better start getting down to the harbor. If we're separated—'

He was interrupted by the unmistakable sounds of airship engines high overhead. 'Damn! That complicates things.'

The sound of the engines grew louder and louder and it was evident that the ships were coming in lower.

We began to duck and weave through the shrubs and trees at the side of the road, heading for the harbor.

Then, suddenly, there was light behind us, and gunfire, the steady pounding of artillery. A dying scream as a bomb descended some distance from the camp. Up the road came several trucks full of soldiers, as well as a couple of armored cars and some motor-bicycles. The firing continued until I realized that the ships were attacking. Something whizzed past me, just above my head. It felt like a one-man glider. These ingenious devices were far more manageable than parachutes in landing troops. It seemed there was a raid on and we had become caught in the middle of it.

Greaves and his lads decided not to vary from their plan. 'We'll use the confusion,' he said.

Birchington called: 'I say, steady on. Perhaps we should wait and see what—'

'No time!' shouted Greaves. 'We don't know what this is all about. Let's get to that boat.'

'But suppose—'

'Shut up, Birchington,' I said. I was prepared to follow Greaves' lead. I felt I had little choice now.

'Wait!' cried the engineer. 'Let's just stop and think for a minute. If we keep our heads—'

'You're about to lose yours to a samurai sword,' called Greaves. 'Now for God's sake shut up, Birchington.

Either stay where you are or come with us quietly.'

'Quietly? I wonder what you mean to say when you say—'

His droning voice was a greater source of fear than any bombs or bullets. We all put on an excellent burst of speed. By now machine-guns were going, both from the ground and from the rear. I have never prayed before for another human being's death, but I prayed that night that somebody would take Birchington directly between the eyes and save us.

The Japanese were all making for the camp. As a result we were lucky. They weren't looking for escaped prisoners just yet. Even when we were spotted, we were taken for enemy soldiers. We were shot at, but we were not pursued.

We reached the outskirts of the town. Getting through the streets unobserved was going to be the difficult part.

Again we were lucky in that whatever was going on behind us was diverting all troops, all attention. It was Birchington crying: 'I say, you fellows, wait for me!' that brought us the greatest danger. A small detachment of Japanese infantry heard his voice and immediately began to fire along the alley we had entered. Greaves went down, together with a couple of others.

I kneeled beside Greaves. I tested his pulse. He had been shot in the back of the head and was quite dead.

Another chap was dead, also, but the survivor was only slightly wounded.

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