Obligations

by Kevin Ikenberry

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  Get “Salvage Title” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8Q3HBV.

  Find out more about Kevin Steverson and “Salvage Title” at: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/kevin-steverson/.

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  The following is an

  Excerpt from Devil Calls the Tune:

  Devil Calls the Tune

  ___________________

  Chris Maddox

  Now Available from Theogony Books

  eBook, Paperback, and (Soon) Audio

  Excerpt from “Devil Calls the Tune:”

  Kenyon shouted, “Flyer! Fast mover!”

  Everyone grabbed their packs and started running. When McCarthy didn’t, Devlin grabbed him by his uniform shirt and yelled, “Come on!”

  The little outcropping they had weathered under was part of a larger set of hills. Devlin and McCarthy made for a sheer cliff face that was tall enough that it would make strafing difficult. They dove behind a few rocks, and Devlin peered over one. The flier had overshot the group and was circling.

  McCarthy reached into his pack and pulled out a rail pistol and magazine. He slapped the magazine home into its well and charged the pistol.

  “Where the fark did you get that!” Devlin panted. He reached over and took the pistol. McCarthy let him.

  “This was the surprise,” McCarthy said. “I found the pistol, then searched the wreckage for ammo. I found some and parts to a bunch of rifles. Most were in bad shape, but Pringle figured he might be able to cobble together a couple from the parts. He was going take the lot back to the camp so they would have something to defend the wounded with. He sent me with this for you. Best we could get together at the time. Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. This is pretty good. I won’t beat the shit out of you now for the fire.”

  “The fire?” McCarthy looked blank for a moment, then realization hit. “Oh, you think that the fire attracted—”

  “Our flying friend over there. Yeah, I just—get your head down!” He pulled at McCarthy as rounds from the flier dug into the earth. There was something odd about this one.

  He took a quick look. This wasn’t the same flier that had attacked the camp, this one was…

  “Drone!” Devlin yelled. He watched the thing from the rocks, watched it circle around again. He braced the pistol on the rocks, steadied, and waited.

  When the drone started its run again, Devlin sighted in, breathed out, and fired.

  The drone disintegrated in a fiery cloud as the rail gun round entered its main capacitor bank. He watched it fall and then rose from behind the rocks. McCarthy joined him.

  Devlin looked over at the tree line and waved his arm. A moment later, Kenyon appeared, followed by Gartlan and MacBain.

  “Devlin!” Decker’s voice came out of the tree line. Kenyon and the others started to where Decker’s voice had come from. Devlin started to run.

  He found the group gathered around Decker. She was holding Moran’s head in her lap. Moran’s uniform had a red stain in the abdomen that was growing larger by the moment.

  “Got hit as I dived into the woods,” Moran croaked. Her blond hair was already slick with sweat, her face pale.

  “Sorry, Devlin. I…I…” her voice trailed off as her implant fed nanites and nighty-night into her system. A moment later she looked dead, which for all intents and purposes she was.

  Devlin rubbed his scalp. He glared over at McCarthy, whose shocked face got even paler as he looked at the body, hibernating though it was, of Lisa Moran. He bowed his head and started to stammer, “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

  “Shut up, Tom. Just shut up,” Devlin said tiredly. “You didn’t know; you had no way of knowing. This wasn’t even the same flier that attacked the camp. Just a stupid mistake, but it’s one that we have to deal with now. Is anybody else hurt?”

  Arnette was sitting on the ground beside Decker with her legs crossed. She held one ankle in her hands. “Well, now that you mention it…” She looked at Devlin with pain-filled eyes. “I think my ankle is broken. I stepped straight into a hole as I came into the woods.”

  Decker moved her legs out from underneath Moran’s head and laid it gently on the ground. She made her way to the other woman. Gartlan bent down as well and said, “Let’s get your boot off.”

  Together, the two started trying to get the girl’s boot off. When Arnette hissed once and nearly passed out, they realized they’d have to cut it off. Gartlan produced a tactical knife and used the monomolecular edge to slice down the side of the boot. His cut made, he handed the knife to Decker, who sliced down the foot portion of the boot, careful not to cut too deeply.

  “Here you go, Wolf,” she said handing the knife back to Gartlan, who folded it and put it back in his pocket. Together, he and Decker were finally able to peel the ruined boot off the injured girl’s foot.

  Her foot, already purple, immediately started to swell. They propped her leg up on a rock covered with Gartlan’s tunic. Gartlan shook his head at Devlin. “She isn’t likely to go nighty-night, but she might as well. She ain’t going anywhere on that foot for a few days. And she’s not going to like this, but we’re going to have to set it and splint it so that the nanis don’t knit it wrong. Probably still will, but the canker mechanics should be able to fix it without too much problem if we get home.”

  Sarah Arnette’s eyes went wide as Gartlan’s words hit home. “Oh Gods!” she moaned. “This is going to suck!”

  “Do it,” Devlin said. “Come on, guys. They don’t need an audience, and we’ve got to get our shit together.”

  He turned to walk away as Gartlan bent back down, and Decker opened a med kit.

  Another drone flier came to halt in front of them, and a voice came over its vocoder, “State your name and passcode.”

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  Get “Devil Calls the Tune” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0849QYWMJ.

  Find out more about Chris Maddox and “Devil Calls the Tune” at: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/chris-maddox/.

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