Descending Road - DARK BLOOD RAN OUT by Dana W. Paxson

DARK BLOOD RAN OUT

1563 4D

His mind jolted into overdrive. The world, sparkling with spreading falling glass shards, rotated slightly left as he spun forward; he flailed one arm and straightened his body to see a green lawn, sloping away from the building, begin to approach him. He would hit it obliquely.

The trajectory formed in his mind; with legs and arms he adjusted his impact attitude; he hit feet first, rolled in a ball and bounced hard, shooting away from the building’s base like a tumbling rock. In the corner of one eye the flash of a beam furrowed the grass a foot from his head; he tightened one shoulder and deflected his course just in time to miss another blast aimed at him. Only Gullinder‘s Hounds could shoot so well.

Another building lay ahead, a ground floor window open. He uncoiled with an instant kick, rose in the air and dived inside, landing with a crash among darkened desks. Datascreens shattered, seats tumbled, and Jeddin fetched up against an interior wall under a heap of furniture and equipment. He fought his way free, staggered to his feet, and raced to the door. Dark blood ran out onto his uniform.

The building lay silent. Jeddin slipped out into a long hall, found a liftway door, and forced it without summoning the liftcar: no tracerecord this time. Forcing the door shut again, he descended the shaft hand over hand, forced a second door, and entered a small chamber with three doors leading to supply tunnels. Ramming the lift door shut again, he vanished into the tunnel maze, just as the general alarm system began its tireless, nasal wail. Let the Hounds go sniffing thin air.

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	DARK BLOOD RAN OUT 1563 4D His mind jolted into overdrive. The world, sparkling with spreading falling glass shards, rotated slightly left as he spun forward; he flailed one arm and straightened his body to see a green lawn, sloping away from the building, begin to approach him. He would hit it obliquely. The trajectory formed in his mind; with legs and arms he adjusted his impact attitude; he hit feet first, rolled in a ball and bounced hard, shooting away from the building’s base like a tumbling rock. In the corner of one eye the flash of a beam furrowed the grass a foot from his head; he tightened one shoulder and deflected his course just in time to miss another blast aimed at him. Only Gullinder‘s Hounds could shoot so well. Another building lay ahead, a ground floor window open. He uncoiled with an instant kick, rose in the air and dived inside, landing with a crash among darkened desks. Datascreens shattered, seats tumbled, and Jeddin fetched up against an interior wall under a heap of furniture and equipment. He fought his way free, staggered to his feet, and raced to the door. Dark blood ran out onto his uniform. The building lay silent. Jeddin slipped out into a long hall, found a liftway door, and forced it without summoning the liftcar: no tracerecord this time. Forcing the door shut again, he descended the shaft hand over hand, forced a second door, and entered a small chamber with three doors leading to supply tunnels. Ramming the lift door shut again, he vanished into the tunnel maze, just as the general alarm system began its tireless, nasal wail. Let the Hounds go sniffing thin air.