Grendel Unit 1: Bad Day at Khor-wa by Bernard Schaffer Read Free Book Online

can't jump!" S'bal shrieked.  "Get this thing off of me!"  The fish clawed at the breathing mask strapped to his face, trying to undo the straps they'd fashioned around it to keep it from slipping down his neck. 
    Frank tapped Captain Cojo on the arm just as he stepped out onto the airlock's ledge and looked down at the gray, cloudy surface of Khor-Wa far below.  "Something's wrong," Frank said. 
    Vic could see S'bal struggling with the mask but not hear anything over the hissing air jetting into the lock.  He adjusted his own mask and pressed against the walls to make his way back to the door.  "What are you doing?" he hollered.
    "I'm not doing this!" S'bal cried out. 
    "It's too late for that.  "We're going to miss our window to jump if you don't jump now!"
    "I'm not jumping you jackhole!  That's the point!"
    Monster shouted up the corridor toward the cockpit, "The fish isn't jumping!"
    "Figures," Buehl said, shaking his head in frustration.  He brought up the ship's stasis display and wrapped his hands around the controls.  "It won't be pretty!" he shouted over his shoulder.  "Tell me if he goes willingly."  
    In the airlock, Vic swallowed his frustration and said, "It's easy.  All you do is step off the edge and let yourself descend.  The chute does all the work for you.  Even if you pass out, you'll just drop to the ground gentle as can be.  Come on." 
    S'bal slapped the captain's hands away viciously and said, "I'm not going."
    "Okay," Vic said.  "I tried to do this nice."  He snatched S'bal by the shoulder straps of his parachute and yanked him forward, driving a knee up into the Cryndian's gut.  The fish snapped back up and clawed for Vic's face, slapping him with a greasy webbed hand. 
    Vic cursed at the sting and the slime on his skin and grabbed one of S'bal's dangling earrings and tore it free, sending dark red trickles into the creature's gills.  S'bal cried out in pain and clutched his neck, looking down at the blood in disbelief.  Vic grabbed him by the shoulder straps and braced his foot against the airlock, using it to launch himself and the fish away from the door.  S'bal stumbled backwards as he and the captain spun around, both of them vying to overpower the other. 
    Frank tapped his watch, "It's time to go!"
    At that moment, Buehl heard Monster bellow, "Dump them!"  He jerked the ship's controls sideways, sending the Samsara up on its left side at a forty-five degree angle.  Inside the airlock, S'bal screamed aloud as the floor vanished beneath them.  He tumbled past the others into the vast nothingness of space until he was falling faster than he could scream.    
    Monster ran into the cockpit and activated the console in front of his chair.  A grid of Bertram's stratosphere materialized on the screen, showing three glowing dots dropping toward the planet's surface.  "Rate of descent approaching seven hundred miles per hour," he said. 
    Buehl squinted at his screen that showed charts for the captain, Lieutenant Kelly and the Cryndian.  "I'm not sure what S'bal's respirations are supposed to be, but it's off.  I think he's passed out." 
    "Good, he won't be able to interfere with the chute."
    "No.  Something's not right.  He's not getting enough oxygen."  Buehl pushed the button and said, "Control to Captain Cojo." 
    The response was crackled, "Go ahead Control."
    "Confirm status of asset."
    Frank looked up at the same time the captain did, both of them taking their eyes off the fast approaching ground to see that S'bal's eyes were closed and his small green tongue was lolling out between his lips.
    "Is he dead?" Vic shouted. 
    "Negative, but he's not getting enough air.  You still have seven minutes of descent.  He might not make it." 
    They were upside down, arms pinned to their sides by the vortex of wind.  In moments, their chutes would open and the three of them would drift apart, too far out of reach to render assistance.  "Suggestions?" Vic