gamma world Red Sails in the Fallout by Paul Kidd

Author:Paul Kidd [Kidd, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780786957927
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Published: 2011-01-01T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Swimming was the most ridiculously wonderful thing. Xoota floated in shallow water, propelling herself slowly along with her fingertips touching the bottom. She cruised with just her snout above water, utterly at peace.

Shaani lounged naked on a rock, wet and comfortable. She wriggled her fine, pink toes. “That was an experience. Swimming in water. Really swimming in it. Oh my.”

She lay on her back with her long, white hair spread across the rocks to dry, her pink tail coiled in sensuous delight.

“I declare myself to be a fairly happy rat.” She sighed contentedly. “The ship needs repairs, but it can all be done. Science always finds a way. That swim was just what I needed to get the brain going and raise the spirits. I could spend a lifetime lying like this, right here.”

Xoota agreed. She floated a little more, loving the sound of the waterfall, the echo from the rocks, and the wonderful sense of pure privacy. She wrung out her antennae and waded for shore. “I’m getting out.”

Shaani kept her eyes closed, smiling as she raised one finger. “And I am not looking at the sacred pouch.”

Xoota made a prim face. “Just because some of us have modesty …”

“An outmoded concept. Unscientific.”

Wig-wig came bustling into the cave. The earwig swarm carried several remarkable objects along with them—round, yellow, egg-shaped things, each bigger than a pair of clenched fists. The bugs seemed happy. “Gleee. Nice eatings in forest. Good things. Eat. Eat.”

Naked, free of sand encrustation and wonderfully lazy, the two women reached for the fruits the earwigs offered them. The fruits were heavy, slightly soft, and smelled seductively sweet. Xoota sniffed and let her antennae test alternative futures to see if poison might be in the offing. But she saw nothing but a flash of happiness and joy.

“So, Wig-wig, any sign of Benek?”

“He be around. Saw footprints and fruit skins.” The bugs began swarming around one of the fruits, eating heartily. “Yummy.”

Xoota had a knife piled over with her armor. She reached out and used it to slice a line around her fruit. Juice went everywhere. While she cut, she looked out through the silver curtain of the waterfall. Images of the fig trees, the white palms, and the distant tower shimmered far beyond. Xoota had never seen anything like it in her life.

“So what is this place?”

“A garden?” Shaani peeled her fruit with her utility knife. There was no way to do it cleanly. “The water is being pumped to the top of the rocks; then it all runs down to the lake. So there has to be an operating power supply somewhere near.” She sniffed at her fruit then tested it with her tongue. She made a face of astonishment and started eating. The incoherent noises of enjoyment were enough to overcome Xoota’s caution. She carved off a slice of fruit and tasted it then ate like a starving dingo.

It was delicious.

They ate the fruits then reached for more. The mess was horrendous; juice went everywhere.

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