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Lunzie had the two girls on their feet, staggering but conscious enough to stand. She turned to help Trizein.
“Where could Bo
“Well hidden enough to elude the heavy-worlders. Safe enough from what's coming. Now,” and he turned to his comrades. “We ca
“As well as you. I'll back us up.”
“I will,” said Kai, shaking his head and looking at her hanging arm.
“No, you've Dimenon. I'll manage.” She glanced out the window again.
It did not take sensitive hearing now to hear the approaching stampede. It did take stern control to remain calm.
“There are four in the sky now,” said Varian, “and the beasts have reached the narrow part of the approach. Get ready.”
Aulia stifled a cry of fear.
“Everyone, breath deeply from the diaphragm,” said Lunzie, “and when we give you the word, to go, yell and run! Keep yelling. It stirs the adrenalin.”
“I don't need any more,” said Margit in a tremulous but defiant voice.
The thunder was deafening, the very plastic shook under their feet. Aulia was trembling so noticeably, Kai wondered if she could stand the strain.
“NOW!”
Their concerted yells would never reach the sky-borne heavy-worlders. Margit was right, there was no need of additional adrenalin. The sight of the bobbing heads of the crested dinosaurs, bearing down on them, was sufficient to have lent wings to anyone. Dimenon, yelling at the top of his lungs, wrestled from Kai's support and outdistanced others as he made for the shuttle. Kai slowed his pace until Varian was abreast of him. Then the two leaders matched strides in the wake of the others, across a compound shuddering with the vibrations of the stampede. They vaulted the first terrace of the incline, nearly ru
A high-pitched scream pierced through the overlying thunder and bellowing as the screen burned, flashed blue fire and broke, with a terrible whining. The bodies of herbivores flowed into the compound, and then the mass behind the foreru
As one now, Kai and Varian moved through the panting, shocked members of the expedition to the pilot cabin. Varian fumbled for the hidden switch to restore power to the shuttle. Kai started to sit at the console and stopped.
“Paskutti took no chances on another message,” he told Varian, looking at the wreckage of the board.
“What about maneuvering?”
“That's still intact. He knew what circuits to break all right.”
They felt the shuttle move, heard something banging dully against the outer hull.
“They outdid themselves with the stampede,” said Varian with an amused chuckle. She heard the startled exclamations from the main compartment and put her head around the frame.
“It'll take more than herbivores to dent the shuttle ceramic. Don't worry. But I would sit down.” She slid into the other seat, moving her useless arm out of her way when it flopped against the backrest. “As soon as the stampede has stopped, we'd better make our move.”
“Bo
“Bo
The leaders saw the boy emerging from the lab, his ship suit dusty and stained, his face drawn with a sudden maturity.
“I thought this was the safest place after I saw Paskutti moving you out. But I wasn't sure who had come back in. Am I glad it's you?”
Cleiti was embracing her friend, weeping with relief. Terilla, bedded down by Trizein, called his name over and over, not quite believing his appearance. Bo
“They'll never find those power packs, Varian. Never! But I thought you'd be killed when I saw Paskutti lock the dome. He smashed the control so I didn't see how I could get you out in time. So . . . I . . . hid!” The boy burst into tears of shame.
“You did exactly as you should, Bo
Another shift of the shuttle sent everyone rocking.
“It's going to fall,” cried Aulia, hands over her ears.
“It could, but it won't crack,” said Kai, feeling the same post-crisis elation that had made Varian chuckle. “Stay calm. We've succeeded so far. We'll survive!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Although Kai's wrist chrono showed that only twenty minutes had elapsed from the moment they had reached the pilot's cabin, it had seemed an age of repeated shocks and jolts until all external noise ceased.
After a moment of silence, Kai opened the iris lock enough to peer out. And saw nothing but mottled coarse furred hide.
He stepped back, gesturing for Varian to look out.
“Buried alive in Hadrasaurs,” she said, irrepressible. Her eyes were very bright, her face lined with the strain of maintaining Discipline over the agony of her crushed and broken shoulder. “Open wider. They're too big to fall in.”
With a wider view, they achieved only the vision of more bodies, darkness beyond. Kai reluctantly decided that they'd have to send Bo
"You might remember that it is now full dark," Lunzie said." They don't have good night vision. If they are out there."
“Where else would they be?” demanded Aulia, hysteria in her shaking voice. “Gloating! Delighted with themselves. I've never liked working with heavy-worlders. They always think they're abused and misused and they're really not good for anything but heavy muscle work.”
“Oh, do be quiet, Aulia,” said Lunzie. “Go on with you, Bo
“Portegin, would you check the control panel's circuitry?” asked Kai. “Varian, let Lunzie see to that arm now we've a spare moment.”
“If, after that, Lunzie gets a crack at your hand, Leader Kai.”
“No “ifs” about it. I do you first, him next,” said Lunzie, reaching for her belt pouch. “At least they left me something to work with.”
“Why bother patching any of us?” demanded Aulia, sinking to the deck, head in her arms. “We can't last long on this planet. Paskutti was right about that. And they've got everything we need!”
“Not everything. They left us the synthesizer,” said Varian with a snort. “couldn't take that, built into the shuttle as it is.”
“There's no power to run it. You heard Tanegli.”
"Bo
“That's only delaying the inevitable,” cried Aulia. “We'll all die once the packs are drained. There's no way to recharge them.”
“Kai got a message out to the Theks,” said Varian, hoping to forestall Aulia's imminent hysterics.
“The Theks!” Aulia burst out laughing, a shrill, mirthless sound. Portegin came striding out of the pilot's cabin and slapped her smartly across the face.