Galactic Marine by Vaughn Heppner

Author:Vaughn Heppner [Heppner, Vaughn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-07T16:00:00+00:00

-25-

As gruesome as it sounds, I should have stripped Qal of his loincloth and belt before leaving his corpse, but I couldn’t force myself to do it. Instead, I trudged naked after the two hardy Neanderthals, with only a broken spear for a weapon.

They picked up a water-skin each after splashing across the river. I slung Qal’s water-skin over my shoulder.

They used cover, slinking whenever an air-car appeared and going to ground and hiding when balloon-tired vehicles drew near.

Bok and the other did not have sandals, but walked on toughened feet. They moved relentlessly no matter what kind of terrain we crossed. I did okay most of the time, but over rocky ground, I was forced to pick my way.

“What is wrong with you?” Bok asked. “Why do you mince like a shaman?”

“My feet hurt,” I said.

“Let me see.” He grabbed an ankle and yanked my foot up, prodding the sole with his fingers. “You have soft feet like a baby.”

“Thanks a lot,” I said, yanking my ankle out of his grasp.

He glared at me as I hopped from him. Then, he laughed. “Bayard of Dirt with soft feet, you are a strange man. How did you ever defeat Qal?”

“I’m tougher than I look.”

“No, no, you are weaker. You tire fast and you hobble through the land. If your feet start to bleed, you will leave tracks. I will have to kill you then, so the…what did you call them?”

“Ophidians,” I said. “It means snake-like creatures.”

He nodded vigorously. “Ophidians are like snakes. They are vile and treacherous, and sly. They hate the Original People.”

“Because they know you’re better than they are,” I said.

He stared at me. “How did you come to learn the secret truth?”

“It’s self-evident,” I said.

“Not to the…Ophidians.”

“No, not to them,” I said. “But as Ophidians, they believe the lie.”

Bok turned to the other. “Bayard is soft, but he is…smart, very smart. We must make sure to bring him home alive. The Shaman and the Historian will want to hear his words.”

That night, I slept like one dead. In the morning, I ached all over. After a long drink, I climbed to my feet and hobbled after Bok and the Feral. It took an hour before I could keep pace with them.

The land had become rockier with sparser vegetation. Once, an air-car traversed the area. It had a radar dish on the back that swiveled everywhere. Were the Ophidians tracking sounds? The dish didn’t strike me as an infrared or thermal sensor.

We remained in a ravine until the air-car had long passed.

Near noon, Bok slew a deer-like animal, spearing it at a watering hole. He produced a flint knife, expertly skinning part of it and hacking out choice pieces.

“Have you ever eaten raw flesh?” he asked me.

I shook my head.

“That must be why you are so weak.” Bok thrust bloody meat at me. Then he sat cross-legged and began to gnaw his piece with gusto.

I also sat cross-legged, small stones sticking against my butt. I held the raw flesh and glanced at him.

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