Pangaea: Exiles by Jeff Brackett

Author:Jeff Brackett [Brackett, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severed Press
Published: 2017-11-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

A few hours in, they stopped for a much needed rest. Their pace wasn’t too fast, but it was steady, and it had taxed them all. They all sat, drinking, catching their breath, when Sean asked something that had been on his mind for a while.

“Boss? What are these games that Graham mentioned?”

“You saw the arenas. It’s what passes for entertainment these days.”

“So it’s like gladiatorial games?”

“Yep.”

“And the rovers sell carnies for the arenas?”

“Anyone who wants to can do it. But it’s usually rovers. It’s about the only way for them to make any coin out here. Well, except for the killing and thieving, that is.”

Everyone smiled a bit at that, but they were all too tired to do much more. A few minutes of rest, a few swallows of water, and they were back on the trail. It was a brutal trek, and Sean had a hard time keeping up. He was used to the more sedentary lifestyle of an applications programmer. But his intense martial arts training over the last two years had helped quite a bit, and while he might not be the hulking mass of muscle that either Paxton or Ken was, he wasn’t about to fall over and puke, either.

They would jog a couple of miles, then walk a quarter mile or so. They stopped any time Smiley lost the trail and needed to find it again, or when one of them had to stop for a call of nature, and much of the time was more like a fast walk than a run. Still, they were all nearing exhaustion when Smiley signaled for a stop.

“Thank God,” Paula muttered, which made Sean feel better. He put his palms on his knees, panting.

“I’ll… second… that. Don’t think… I’ve felt… my legs… for at least… an hour.”

Even Paxton seemed worn out. Only Smiley looked relatively unfazed by the march as he walked back to them.

“We’re close,” he said.

“How can you tell?” Sean asked.

“I can smell campfires.”

Sean swallowed.

“So, I don’t guess you expect us to walk in, load up our camelohs, and walk out,” Paula asked Paxton. “I think they might object a little.”

Paxton was silent, looking lost in thought. It took a minute for Sean to realize that the big man had no idea what to do.

He shook his head. “We’ll have to get a good look at things.”

Paula looked at Sean, and he could see the unease in her eyes.

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