Earthseed by Pamela Sargent Read Free Book Online

fired, knowing she had only one chance. A beam shot out of the barrel. Jennifer leaped toward a tree, striking the trunk with her shoulder as the cat fell at her feet.
    Robert and Serena ran toward Zoheret; soon everyone was gathered around her. “What happened?” Serena shouted.
    “A cat,” Zoheret managed to say, gesturing at the still form with her gun. “It must have a cub nearby, or it wouldn’t—”
    “It almost got me,” Jennifer said. “Zoheret shot it.”
    Someone grabbed Zoheret’s elbow. She looked into Manuel’s eyes. “Good work.” He smiled. Her anger was gone; she took a breath. His fingers squeezed her arm gently, then released her. “Are you all right?” he asked Jennifer.
    She nodded. “I’m fine—just whacked my shoulder.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “It’s just a bruise.”
    “Then let’s get out of here before it wakes up.” He began to walk up the path, turned, and stared at Zoheret as if wanting her to walk with him, then went on.
    The others followed. Zoheret walked at the end of the line, with Jennifer. The girl was walking with a pronounced limp now; her lips were pressed so tightly together that they were white. Her pretty face was drawn. “There’s a ravine up here,” Robert shouted from up the hill.
    Zoheret took Jennifer’s arm when they came to the ravine. “Can you jump across?” she asked the other girl. The ravine was deep, but not too wide. She did not remember seeing it on a map, but then Ship had not shown them every detail. Zoheret frowned. The bottom of the ravine, about six meters below her, was filled with pine needles, dead tree branches, and heaps of dead leaves; a piece of red fabric rested on the leaves.
    Jennifer pointed with one trembling hand at the fabric. “A scarf,” she said. “The Red team came this way.”
    “Can you jump?” Zoheret asked again.
    Jennifer nodded. Zoheret leaped across first, then turned, holding out her hand. Jennifer jumped toward her, moaning as she landed on her feet. She began to slide. Zoheret caught her and pulled her forward.
    “Are you sure you weren’t hurt?”
    “It’s my ankle,” Jennifer replied, “the one I twisted yesterday. It’s been hurting ever since we started out this morning.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “It isn’t broke. I don’t even think it’s sprained. But I pulled something, and it’s getting worse. It might be a ligament—I don’t know.”
    “Then we’d better stop and see.”
    “No.” Jennifer spat out the word. “No. The others’ll get mad.” Her tongue stumbled over the words. “They didn’t want me on the team anyway. Don’t say anything, please.”
    “But if you’re hurt, we’ll have to carry you. We could rig up a stretcher somehow.”
    “I can walk.” Jennifer sputtered as she slurred her words.
    “Take my arm.”
    “No.”
    “Jen. Take it.”
    She took Zoheret’s arm. They walked together, managing to keep the others in sight. They walked as quickly as they could; Zoheret could tell from the pressure of Jennifer’s arm that the other girl was trying not to lean too hard against her.
    “Oh, no!” someone shouted up ahead. Manuel and those with him had reached the river. “What do we do now?” another voice said. As they drew nearer, Jennifer released Zoheret’s arm and limped more quickly.
    Manuel was pacing back and forth. Dmitri was staring down the steep bank. The gorge through which the river ran was almost twenty meters deep, and the tree that should have connected the two sides of the gorge was gone. Zoheret walked to the edge and looked down. The tree had fallen and now lay half in the river, half on land.
    “It didn’t get there by itself,” Manuel said. “Someone pushed it there. And I know who did it. Ho. I’ll bet it was his idea.”
    “The Red team might have done it,” Zoheret said, but she doubted that. They could climb down the bank on this side, which sloped enough for footing, but she was sure they could not get up the other side,