Los Angeles 2170, page 17
Plus, she could smell the water, a lighter, cleaner taste to the hot air as she raced.
She fired a shot into the ground, just to let the girl know help was coming, and to provide a direction for the boys following. Trees and canyons did strange things to sound. They might not have heard the girl, or might be too far away to track the sound.
But gunfire carried a long ways.
Another sound. It was so low she almost missed it over the rumble of her hooves, but enough carried to the monkeybrain in the back of her skull and screamed CAT!!!
She must be close, so she pushed for everything she had.
Chance was almost moving too fast to stop, when she hit the clearing at this side of the creek.
Big-ass mountain lion was stalking, like a hot stud just walking into a bar to let everyone know he was the shit.
The girl screamed again, backed up against a tree, but terror had taken her mind. And they all knew it.
Damn, that monster’s almost as long as my horse.
Chance looked at the clearing, the cat, the girl, and the river all in one snapshot.
Normal horse could maybe hit thirty kph on a flat part of this trail. She was approaching forty, and weighed too much to just stop.
Kitty turned an angry, hungry face towards her and roared indignation. Big John probably pooped all over the place if he heard that. Sutherland would have just sniffed and maybe flickered an ear.
Cat like that could hit the girl with a single pounce from here. They didn’t run with any endurance, but could short sprint and leap, once they had you trapped.
No time to plan for pretty.
Chance considered shooting at the cat, but was moving too fast to make it count, so she just slammed into it like some idiot in a muscle car trying to beat a red light and broadsiding a bus.
Kitty sure as hell wasn’t expecting it. He got bowled sideways and took a swipe at her with all four paws, like any vicious tabby cat does when they’re done with the belly scritches.
Didn’t work so well on a steel and carbon-fibre casing.
Inertia drove her almost over the top of the damned creature, too fast to stomp as it was belly-up. Instead, she just drug her back legs. Nearly a ton of flesh and metal was sliding towards the creek, where things would get bad and strange fast.
But the girl would be safe for now. All that really mattered.
Chance just had to figure out how to survive this as well.
Angry kitty howled. Must have broken a nail or something.
Chance was past it and her front hooves were in the water. Kitty might be covered in mud.
And then the damned thing jumped her.
Stupid cat thought she was a horse, or maybe a deer. Mounted her, as if he was a horse. Literally jumped in the air and landed on her rump, with all four claws trying to grab hold of flesh.
Wasn’t any flesh, but it got enough grip through the carbon-fibre bits to hold on. Must be running on instinct right now, because it went for the horse’s throat.
Except this wasn’t a horse. And that part was metal, too.
She had never been headbutted by a cat this big. Whiskers raked her kidneys as he tried to wrap around and bite where a horse had a neck. Freaked the cat out almost as much as her.
It growled in frustration and pulled its head back, suddenly looking up at her confused. Damned thing’s eyes got big as it figured out where the human bits were.
Oh, shit.
Chance started to rear up, but the weight was all wrong and she was fetlock deep in mud and water. She couldn’t get her right arm around to shoot the damned thing, either.
She was about to be bit by a humongous monster of a house cat.
A shot rang out. And a second. And a third. So fast that they sounded like a single one with a couple of echoes.
Except that that cat didn’t jump forward to kill her.
It stopped. Kinda bitched at her with a harsh meow, and then slid off her back, landing in the water with a splash that covered her with water and thin blood.
Chance remembered to breathe. Heartrate was up in that place where rabbits got jealous.
She wiped mud and water from her face and looked at the clearing behind her.
Corlin and Sutherland were on the edge of the clearing, nearly thirty meters away. His gun was in hand and tracking the cat, but it wasn’t moving, so he didn’t shoot again.
Wow. Corlin’s a true buckaroo, on top of everything else?
Cowboy rode around Corlin with that big rifle in hand, not aiming at anything in particular, but ready.
Chance turned and started to walk back towards the bank, when something exploded out of the water at her.
The cat.
Angry.
Coming.
Why won’t you stay dead?
Before she could react, Cowboy fired a single shot that sounded like Gabriel’s horn.
This time the damned thing stayed down.
Trivia Night was in full bloom, but they weren’t playing. Chance was in a corner booth as far as you could get from the MC, with Corlin in the middle and Cowboy on the far side. At least for now.
Some cute chick kept making goo-goo eyes at the older man, so she figured Cowboy might head off and get a phone number shortly. He deserved it.
Corlin raised his glass in a toast. Both of them scrambled to match.
“To family,” he said, looking right and then left, before settling on her. “But more importantly, to friends.”
They all killed the shot glasses of whatever Corlin had ordered. She had almost been expecting tequila, but this went down far nicer. Must be one of the better whiskeys. Probably as good as this joint ever carried, unless Corlin had handed them a bottle from his own stash. He might have.
“So she’s okay?” Chance asked.
Things had gotten hectic, once the kitty was dead. Medical Assault team had dropped right out of the sky on ropes with a platform-thingee, once Corlin called them in, and whisked her into the heavens.
Cowboy had kept the cat’s soaked carcass, wrapping it up in a tarp and slinging it across Chance’s back until they got back to the trailer.
“She’s fine,” Corlin’s smile was still worried, but relaxing. “Frightened, exhausted, and probably sedated right now, but alive. Because of you.”
Chance wanted to say something self-deprecating, but now wasn’t the time.
Corlin had asked for her help. Wasn’t that what you were supposed to do?
“So what’s next?” Chance asked instead.
“There are always jobs out there,” Corlin replied sharply. “It you want to put yourself on the line.”
“Maybe,” Chance said. “Not to help someone get an extra two points on their quarterly numbers, but to help people? Yeah, I’d like that.”
“You sure?” Cowboy spoke up. “I’m generally retired from that sort of shit, except when Corlin has something with special needs. It can be messy.”
“Yeah, but you’re an old, crotchety fart, too,” she grinned at him. He grinned back. “Us youngsters have to make you look bad.”
“I’ll add you to the shorter list, Chance,” Corlin said, making it clear she had moved from somebody he hung out with occasionally to someone he would call first in an emergency.
She liked that. Sure, you could make money escorting tourists on hikes and trails. And the occasional job where somebody needed plausible deniability later. But those were just money.
They didn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things.
Chance wanted to make a difference.
About the Author
Blaze Ward writes science fiction in the Alexandria Station universe (Jessica Keller, The Science Officer, The Story Road, etc.) as well as several other science fiction universes, such as Star Dragon, the Dominion, and more. He also writes odd bits of high fantasy with swords and orcs. In addition, he is the Editor and Publisher of Boundary Shock Quarterly Magazine. You can find out more at his website www.blazeward.com, as well as Facebook, Goodreads, and other places.
Blaze's works are available as ebooks, paper, and audio, and can be found at a variety of online vendors. His newsletter comes out regularly, and you can also follow his blog on his website. He really enjoys interacting with fans, and looks forward to any and all questions—even ones about his books!
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Also by Blaze Ward
The Lazarus Alliance
Escape
Return
Rebellion
* * *
The Jessica Keller Chronicles
Auberon
Queen of the Pirates
Last of the Immortals
Goddess of War
Flight of the Blackbird
The Red Admiral
St. Legier
Winterhome
Petron
* * *
CS-405
Queen Anne’s Revenge
Packmule
Persephone
* * *
Additional Alexandria Station Stories
The Story Road
Siren
Two Bottles of Wine With A War God
* * *
The Science Officer Series Season One
The Science Officer
The Mind Field
The Gilded Cage
The Pleasure Dome
The Doomsday Vault
The Last Flagship
The Hammerfield Gambit
The Hammerfield Payoff
The Bryce Connection
* * *
The Science Officer Series Season Two
Alien Seas
* * *
Shadow of the Dominion
Longshot Hypothesis
Hard Bargain
Outermost
Dominion-427
Phoenix
Princess Rualoh
* * *
The Handsome Rob Gigs
Can’t Shoot Straight Gang
Can’t Shoot Straight Gang Returns
Hunting Handsome Rob
Handsome Rob, Assassin
* * *
Earth Force Sky Patrol
Birth of the Star Dragon
Flight of the Star Dragon
Call of the Star Dragon
Shadow of the Star Dragon
Trial of the Star Dragon
* * *
Hunter Bureau
Mirrors
Latency
About Knotted Road Press
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With authors in a variety of genres including literary, poetry, mystery, fantasy, and science fiction, Knotted Road Press has something for everyone.
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Los Angeles 2170
Blaze Ward
Copyright © 2021 Blaze Ward
All rights reserved
Published by Knotted Road Press
www.KnottedRoadPress.com
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ISBN: 978-1-64470-210-9
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Cover and interior design copyright © 2021 Knotted Road Press
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Reviews
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This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Blaze Ward, Los Angeles 2170
