The Second Time Travel Megapack by Wilside Press

Author:Wilside Press
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Adventure, time travel, sci-fi
ISBN: 9781479403400
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2014-08-13T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER IV

THE SIEGE OF THE PRIMITIVES

What now?” Stratton groaned, twisting to the door. The portal, sliding open, revealed Talus, waving filamentary arms in a paroxysm of apprehension.

“Hold it,” the American said grimly. “As you are! If you move, I’ll ray you!”

“Flaton—dead—incredible! He has the ray-gun!” Talus’s thoughts were a jumble of astonishment at the pulped remnant of his companion, of terror of the weapon Stratton held. “He will disintegrate me before I can draw my own. Defeated—from within and without. I should not have come—”

“Damn right you shouldn’t,” Stratton interjected. This telepathy business had its points, he thought. He knew he was master of the situation now. “What’s going on out there?”

“Our screen scans the plain for a half-mile around. I have seen them approaching—the barbarians. They are converging on all sides. They will destroy us.”

“That’s lovely! How about our getting away in the stratocar?”

“I do not know how to navigate it.”

“That means we’ve got to fight them off. Can we?”

“One man on each side of the wall, with our weapons we should have been impregnable. But you have killed Flaton—”

“Never mind that. I’ll make a dicker with you. You take one side, I’ll take the other. You ought to be smart enough to see that we’ve got to play fair with each other or we both lose out. How about it?”

“Done!”

Stratton couldn’t distinguish any reservation in the man’s mind. Not just now. Afterwards he might change. “Are there any more of these ray-guns around?”

“Another in the cabinet to the left. That one—”

“Elaise,” Stratton threw over his shoulder. “There’s a magic wand, as you call it, in that closet on this side of me. Get it. You work it by pushing that little thing on its side. You come out with us, stay in the center of the blockade and don’t take your eyes off this beauty. If you hear him think anything even a little bit hostile to me or you, let him have it. All the way down!” Then, to Talus, “You get that, don’t you?”

“I understand.” He was thoroughly cowed. “I shall give her no cause to disintegrate me. But we must hurry, or they will be over the wall.

“Let’s go!”

There were steps in the sides of the stockade wall. Atop it was a runway protected by a rampart. If there were only four of the future-men, Stratton thought, they must have been here a long time to have built this fortress. Then he saw that it was of the same glass-like consistency as the floor within. He tested the ray on it.

Its button pushed halfway down, the green halo formed around its end, but there was no visible effect on the fused rock. A little further. The green deepened to a brilliant dazzle that extended in a tight beam to the spot at which he aimed. The stone glowed red, then white. It melted, ran in little streamlets down the slick sides of the little wall. That was what they had done! They had melted the solid stone to make their lair.

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.