CHAPTER SIX
An Intern?
Abe kicked his bike into a harsh slide to the right, speeding his cycle toward that of the Intern. What was that creature doing? It looked almost exactly like those of Vykkers labs, except in replacement of their ball caps they had bowl helmets for save motorcycle travel. A Snuzi gun was strapped down near its feet.
The Intern’s reaction was to jerk ahead, but Abe’s slide could not be stopped. The Intern snarled – revealing that its lips had not been sewn shut – and spun left. Abe ducked his head out of the way of the Intern’s high handlebars, and the two bikes missed each other by mere inches, throwing dust high in the air.
Before Abe could even correct his spin, the Intern had whipped around to come about right behind him. The machine gun blazed, and hot lead zinged through the air, rebounding from Abe’s bike and nearly connecting with his foot.
Like that attachment, do you? Abe thought, taking his feet momentarily off their places. Well, try this!
He suddenly threw the gearshift into FULL REVERSE and turned right. The Intern’s bike sped past him, so close this time that it took some of the paint off and would have taken off Abe’s leg had he not moved it out of the way. The Intern tried to reverse as well, but Abe threw the bike back into FORWARD and sped by the enemy again, leaving the Intern choking in his dust.
Abe realized that his heart was actually beating quicker than usual. Is it my mind going crazy on me, he wondered, or am I actually enjoying this?
He took his mind off his driving for an instant to check on the other party members. Oner was whooping like a demon, firing off his pistol at two Interns who were trying to get the better of him. Crak and Cloud…
Abe grimaced. Oh no. No, no. Not now…
Crak lay facedown on the sand behind them, a long skid trail leading from his downed bike. Cloud had dismounted beside him, and stood over the fallen Slig with laser weapon in hand, firing at the Interns circling around. The Interns had not yet started firing their weapons, but Abe knew they would.
Abe snarled, then pulled on the handlebars and swung into a banking turn back toward Crak and Cloud. Why did he have to do this? Why had he even agreed to have two untrained Sligs in his party, when it could have just been him and Oner, the best of their two kinds? Now he was going to suffer for allowing them on his team!
But, after all, this is what heroes do.
He hoped Oner wouldn’t just speed off into the desert; if they were going to help Crak, they needed all the firepower they could muster. Abe braked beside the two Sligs so hard he fell forward over the handlebars, but he managed to turn his awkward stop into a somersault, coming up beside Cloud.
“Keep firing!” he shouted. “Shoot the Interns or their engines!”
“Can’t you see I’m trying!?” Cloud roared, his voice strained as he pumped away flashing bolts at the Interns.
Abe pulled his carbine out of its holster. “Don’t talk back, soldier. Didn’t your trainers ever tell you that?”
The Interns began to close in…
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Master of ellipsis...
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