Guns of Mars 50
A Martian action-adventure by The Legend Chuck Dixon
CHAPTER 13.2
He turned then to the carcass of the orluk, rivulets of black blood running from the lake that had spilled out beneath its bulk. Winged creatures gathered in clouds to feed on the gore around the rim of the exploded skull. Drawing his dagger, Kal approached the great beast and chose a spot on its neck to plunge the blade home. He drew the blade toward him, moving back along the length of the animal. He cut only deep enough to reach the first layer of subcutaneous fat. Returning to the head of the cut he made a parallel slice along the same line until he was able to peel away the hide in one long strip the width of his hand. He batted away the flying carrion eaters who gathered eagerly to feed on the rich fat exposed by his cuts. He repeated this action many times until he had nearly flayed the entire underside of the stinking cadaver
It was full dark by the time he had enough lengths to begin braiding them together. The killing cold had descended driving the flying vermin back to their lairs. Still, he labored on, ignoring the biting chill, fully engaged in his labors.
He’d not done this kind of work since he was a youngling, but the learned expertise came back to him. He worked the greasy strips in his hands, wrapping them tight about one another, three by three, then splicing the end into the next length to repeat the actions. It would not be a pretty rope but it would serve.
By second moonfall he had fashioned enough of a stretch to reach the slope below. He made a loop fast to a knob of rock and drew it tight, secured with a stout knot. Drawing the line taut, he backed toward the lowest section of the outcropping’s edge. There he dropped the coils of his new rope over the edge. He tested it with a few tugs. There was a tensile strength as well a springiness to it, and he was as satisfied as he could be that it would hold his weight.
He looked back once to see the glow of the stranger’s fire. He could not see the man but only the dark hump of the thoat against the blaze. There was no way this new bounty hunter could see him in the black gloom beyond the flames.
His sword slung over his back, he dropped to make his way hand-over-hand-over-hand-over-hand toward the bottom of the outcropping. Suspended in air, he bunched his legs and swung toward the smooth surface that lay beneath the cap of the ledge. By this method, his feet braced against the rock, he was able to soundlessly descend until he reached the ground.
He moved as quietly as he could down the rock scree, stepping with care so as not to create a noisy slide. Sword drawn, he reached the dust of the canal floor and began stalking toward the light of the fire, eyes scanning the dark for the hooded figure.
Kal stopped well outside the radiant circle of light cast by the fire. Crouching, sword in hand, he searched for the man. He saw only the thoat, sound asleep in the warmth of the blaze.
A metallic click behind him made the muscles bunch across his shoulders
Special Note: GUNS OF MARS is now available in a hardcover edition. It is available at Amazon and at NDM Express.
