Planet of Death by Robert Silverberg

Author:Robert Silverberg
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC.
Published: 2011-09-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

“Who Are You, Markham?”

Getting back to the ship seemed to take almost forever. Crawford was worried about those trees. He and Lazenby kept their blast-guns drawn.

A couple of times it seemed as if a tree was about to strike. Branches began to move. Was it the breeze, or was it going to be an attack?

Luck was with them. They reached the edge of the jungle unharmed. The ship was just a hundred yards away, in the middle of the clearing.

“We made it!” Lazenby said.

“Not so fast,” said Crawford. “We’re not in the ship yet. Keep your eyes open.”

They stepped into the clearing. The thick purplish grass rose high around their boots. Moving quickly, they walked toward the safety of the ship.

Suddenly an animal came rushing through the grass toward them. It was about the size of a dog, but no dog ever looked like this. The animal had six legs and a huge, toothy mouth.

Here we go again, thought Crawford.

Lazenby said, “Don’t shoot it! Maybe it isn’t after us!”

“Look at those teeth! If it comes any closer, I’ll have to shoot!”

It was only twenty yards away now. In another moment it would be upon them.

Lazenby pointed to the sky.

“What’s that?” he yelled.

Crawford looked up just in time. He saw a heavy shape diving out of the sky. It was some kind of bird, as big as a vulture. Its wings were folded and it was letting itself drop right to the ground.

The bird had a beak more than a foot long. The sharp beak looked like a deadly sword.

Crawford watched as the bird dropped straight down, beak first. The long pointed beak speared into the back of the dog-like animal. There was a loud yelping sound as the animal fell over. “Will you look at that?” Crawford whispered. “It went right through!”

It was the second time that Crawford had been rescued by one animal attacking another. The doglike beast was badly wounded. The dive-bombing bird had drilled a hole deep into its body. Now the bird was on the ground next to the dying animal. Crawford saw leathery wings fluttering as the bird got into position for its feast.

Then the long beak opened. Bright jagged teeth were inside.

“Amazing!” Lazenby said softly. “On this planet even the birds have teeth!”

Crawford didn’t feel like staying around to see the killer-bird have its meal. He jerked Lazenby by the elbow.

“Let’s not wait around for the next surprise,” Crawford said. “There’s the ship!”

They hurried through the grass. This time, they got into the ship without any further excitement.

Once the door was locked, Crawford let out his breath in relief. Safe! Safe aboard the ship!

He had been in dangerous places before. But never one like this. Never a place where death might come from any direction, where it might drop from the skies or reach from a tree.

They rode the elevator up to the top compartment. Captain Hendrin was there. He was dictating the ship’s log, and hadn’t yet gone out to explore.

“What’s the trouble?” the Captain demanded.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.