Brute Force by Scott meyer

Author:Scott meyer [meyer, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B0BXYLHDM6
Publisher: Rocket Hat industries
Published: 2023-04-01T06:00:00+00:00

22

The next Enemy stood in the middle of the hallway, brandishing knives while pounding out a steady beat. “Hear me, lesser life-form,” he said. “Look. I stab. It’s what I do . . .”

Cross dove forward, arms stretched out in front of him. The battle rock in his hand struck the Enemy in the chest, stunning him. The light gravity brought Cross skidding to the floor on all fours. He took care not to land directly on the alien’s body with its surprisingly fragile bones. Turning around as fast as he could in the tight corridor, he lifted the limp but still living Enemy and threw it back to Una, who threw it further back down the line.

The vanquished Enemy’s knives, all six of them, lay on the floor. He picked one up, considering using it to supplement his rock, but it felt ridiculously tiny in his human hand. Cross brushed the knives aside. They posed more danger as a tripping hazard than they did as weapons.

An Enemy standing further ahead in the hall said, “Hear me, lesser life-form!”

Cross sat down and sagged against the wall, not even turning to look at the Enemy threatening him. “Hey, Una, I’m getting pretty tired. Why don’t you take over for a while.”

Una said, “Sure.”

Cross had to press himself against the wall as she crawled past, their environment suits making the squeeze tighter and their movements clumsier. As she passed Cross, taking the lead position, the Enemy in the hallway ahead said, “. . . others don’t pay enough attention to the follow-through, but I know to push through the stab.”

Una said, “Uh-huh. One second. Hey, Meat Machine. Take point.”

Meat Machine said, “Sure thing, boss.”

Cross glared at Una, who smiled back. “You’ve gotta learn to delegate, Cross.”

“I’ll leave that to you.”

Cross had to press himself to the wall even tighter, as Meat Machine was much wider than Una and was carrying the cricket bat. As he passed, Meat Machine looked down at the battle rock in Cross’s hand.

“Trade you?”

“What the hell.”

Meat Machine took the rock, leaving Cross to carry the bat. With more grunting and scuffling, Meat Machine worked his way past Una, where Cross couldn’t see him.

The Pile said, “The stolen ship docked to this facility has departed, taking all of the small-arms and leaving the warriors behind.”

Up ahead, Cross heard a sickening crunch. Meat Machine said, “Oops. I tried to knock him out, but I overdid it.”

Cross said, “You’re going to have to be more gentle.”

Una said, “Well, you don’t have to.”

Una and Meat Machine laughed, and the whole line of humans moved forward.

They encountered three more Firsts in the maze of hallways, one of whom Meat Machine killed accidentally, one of which he killed deliberately, and one he managed to take alive and pass back down the line.

In the distance, a voice said, “Hear me, lesser life-form!”

Meat Machine said, “Hey, I think we’re coming to some kind of big room.”

As the humans galloped forward on all fours, the voice continued, “When stabbing someone to death, there are many options to consider.

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