Guns of Mars 31
A Martian action-adventure by The Legend Chuck Dixon
CHAPTER 9.1
Daylight slanted down into the man-made canyon to expose the layers of rock that formed the walls. Thick deposits of iron-rich strata glowed red in the light. These were interrupted by thinner bands of limestone and basalt and ending in a base of granite from which bits of nickel and pyrite caught the light like sparks. This was the history of Barsoom on display going back to the formation of the planet itself.
The bounty man had little interest in the lesson. He’d been kicked awake by the thark, stiff and aching. He was light-headed when he rose to his feet, the early effects of the deprivations of thirst. Hunger no longer troubled him and he knew this was not a good sign.
“I admit I was not expecting to see you still here, little man,” Kal Keddaq said as he boarded his mount. “I thought you might offer me a bit of sport this morning.”
The bounty man did not answer. He only walked away toward the vertical horizon formed between the narrowing walls of the canal.
He had indeed considered flight when full dark had fallen. Despite the hobble which limited his pace to a walk, he could have been well away from their camp by dawn’s light. But no matter which direction he chose, he would be helpless in a hostile land until able to free himself. He had to accept the bitter truth that the only thing keeping him alive was the thark’s desire to see him suffer further.
At first opportunity, he would part company with his captor no matter what the risk. Death by dehydration or exposure was a certainty if he remained. Before his strength ran out entirely, he would need to make a break. He might, even with his restraints, attempt to overpower the thark. He did not like his odds of succeeding at that. Better to bide his time until a more likely chance presented itself for escape.
As he walked, he studied the walls that rose to either side and noticed that, while shear, the surfaces were not always consistent. There were imperfections caused by subsidence or perhaps tectonic activity. Whole sections where the face of the cliffs had collapsed in heaps of enormous boulders and fine scree. Maybe somewhere ahead there was an ancient remnant of some past catastrophe, a collapsed section of the canal that would provide access to the surface above.
Here and there were deeper recesses, gaps in the wall, their depths concealed in shadow. They looked to be possible lairs or perhaps merely geologic features. This place was a biosphere unto itself. Sheltered from the full effect of the sun, there was moisture, though scant, in the air. More than in the arid reaches of the surface. This allowed wildlife to survive if not thrive. It allowed a crust of lichen to grow as feed for the beasts.
They’d seen herds of wild thoats and a more slender herbivore called a galatin, a graceful animal with long horns atop its narrow skull and six legs that propelled it along with leaps and bounds. There were flurries of stinging insects in the air and various breeds of birds, both feathered and scaled, roosting in high aeries on narrow ledges above. Further evidence of a larger species of fauna was present in the form of scattered bones. These were the skeletal remains of thoats and what might have been a banth, the ferocious feline predator of Barsoom. All of these bones showed signs of catastrophic damage. All appeared to have been gnawed upon by great teeth, even the bones of the banth. Anything that could prey on those giant cats was something to be feared.
Special Note: GUNS OF MARS is now available in a hardcover edition. It is available at Amazon and at NDM Express.
