Search for Honor by Tripp Ellis

Author:Tripp Ellis [Ellis, Tripp]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: military, SF
Amazon: B071JS92N8
Publisher: self-published
Published: 2017-06-06T06:00:00+00:00

30

Zack

The shadows were getting longer. The squad had made it through the hottest part of the day, taking refuge from time to time in slivers of shade. They marched in a single file line with Rex on point and Fester bringing up the rear.

From above, Fester must have looked like a tasty treat. The creature plunged down like a dive bomber. It swooped behind Fester and latched onto his shoulders. The creature’s talons pierced his skin, puncturing his thoracic cavity.

This was no mere vulture.

The beast was easily twice the size of a man. It had bat-like wings that spanned 30 feet across, which cast a large shadow on the sand.

Fester’s left arm was limp—one of the nerve branches underneath the collarbone had been severed.

The beast’s teeth were like razors. It had narrow, viper like eyes. It's reddish, scaly skin blended perfectly with the rust colored mountains. It was the closest thing to a dragon that Zack had ever seen, though this beast didn't seem to breathe fire.

With the flap of its wings, it lifted Fester from the ground. He was screaming in agony. His feet dangled in the air, kicking and flailing. His rifle fell from his grip and plummeted to the sand. He tried to move his hands, but the median and radial nerve had been severed by the beast’s talons.

The creature flapped its wings, and Fester dangled 20 feet above the ground. Soon he was going to be a speck in the sky, and the angry flying lizard was going to be enjoying a nice meal.

Zack snapped his weapon into the firing position and took aim at the beast’s head. He blasted off several quick bursts. Brilliant beams of plasma raced across the sky, eviscerating the creature's skull. Its wings kept flapping, but without rhythm or purpose. It's long scaly neck wiggled in all directions, spewing green blood. It rained down, dotting the red sand.

Fester fell from the talons and smacked the ground in a soft patch of sand. The beast crashed down a moment later in a chaotic spiral. Nerve impulses kept the creature twitching and the wings flapping. It kicked and clawed and almost seemed like it was trying to stand. After a few moments, the last shiver rippled through its body.

Zack and the others rushed to Fester’s aid. He was in bad shape. Blood oozed from the puncture wounds around his collar bones.

Diesel used her palms to put pressure on the lesions to stem the bleeding, while Zack dug in his pack for a med-kit. He pulled out a tube of GS gel and squeezed it in the wound. It was an expandable biopolymer foam that was extremely effective at controlling bleeding from puncture wounds. It contained an analgesic, antibiotic, and a regenerative compound that sped up healing.

"I can't feel my hands," Fester said. He had a panicked look on his face. "I think my leg is broken.”

Zack injected a pain medication into Fester's arm, then examined his leg. Zack pulled out his PDU and scanned the injury site.

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.