Swamp World by Adam Heath

Author:Adam Heath [Heath, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AT Heath and Company Publishing
Published: 2023-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

With the slow, high steps that she had learned during basic training, Gunny Grover quietly crept up on the Atrailian. Boots sinking into the saturated soil, her movements were jerky as she pulled a heavy stick from the mud of the forest floor. Brutal images of hand-to-hand combat rattled through her mind as the fighting skills she had learned years before were about to be put to the test; adrenaline surging through her veins made her mind work faster as her reflexes became razor sharp.

Inching closer to her prey, she was shocked by the ill-fitting uniform that the Atrailian wore, like a monkey dressed up for a circus act. For the first time she could finally see beneath the semi-transparent helmet and make out the beings’ reflective skin that reminded her of a beached, dead fish. Every movement closer revealed more details; reed thin fingers, jet black eyes set deeply in a tiny, yet perfectly spherical skull. Compared to the chiseled physiques of a human TCI the creature looked comical, like comparing an inchworm to a rhinoceros. Losing focus and falling heavily to the ground, the Atrailian pivoted in her direction.

Grover was up in an instant, swinging the heavy stick like a bat, the blows glancing off of its round helmet. Stumbling backward, Grover managed to grab its wrist, using all of her weight to slam it against the nearby boulder. As the alien fell she landed a solid knee. This time it’s bubble helmet came flying off.

“Stay down! Stay the hell down!” she screamed, her rage building as the alien scrambled back to its feet. Swinging the heavy stick again, this time she connected with flesh and bone. The alien went down and stayed there.

Face drenched in sweat, her cooling system overwhelmed by her exertions, she knelt down to study the creature and make sure it was unconscious. Satisfied with its lack of muscle tension, she pulled out a lanyard and bound it at hand and elbow. Too exhausted to lift her victim, she looped a short piece of rope around its neck and tied it to a nearby tree. Head spinning from the effort and stress, Grover sucked away at the bite plate that gave her access to a small reserve of filtered water, but it wasn't enough. She felt smothered and needed more air. Shaky hands sought the safety catch on her helmet, popping it off with a quiet hiss. Grabbing her last four food tablets from her belt pouch she swallowed them down dry. As the calories flooded her system her mind began to clear. Still trembling, Grover put her helmet back as the food tablets continued to expand in her stomach, absorbing acid to form a gelatinous mass that gave the sensation of being full. She let out a belch.

With renewed enthusiasm she stood up and, testing the Atrailian’s binds one last time, began scouring the boulders in search of a cave or a hole. Finding a suitable crevice high enough to keep the

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