The Apocalypse Ocean by Tobias S. Buckell, Pablo Defendini Read Free Book Online Page B

Nashara said, and leapt forward. “Meet me back at the Streuner . If you can.” The Doaq ducked and grabbed her, redirecting the energy of the jump to throw her into the side of a house.
    Nashara staggered back to her feet in the middle of a mess of rubble sliding down around her shoulders.
    “ Run Tiago !”
    He grabbed June’s collar; the boy was as frozen as he had been, and yanked him into a run up the street as the battle intensified behind them.

Chapter Nine

     
    Tiago didn’t get very far up the street before one of the nearest doors opened. The whip-lean shape of a Runner beckoned at him to get inside.
    He needed no encouraging. He ran for the door.
    Three explosions shook the street, and Tiago saw with a glance back that Nashara had flicked grenades at the Doaq. It swallowed several, but couldn’t be in more than one place at the same time. One of the grenades exploded to its side, and the Doaq faltered. It looked dizzied.
    The Doaq could be harmed, Tiago thought, dazed. It could be harmed. He paused at the doorway. Maybe Nashara could face it down. Now that would be something to see.
    And then it seemed like the Doaq paused, turned away from Nashara, and looked at Tiago.
    That made no sense. Why would the Doaq care about him?
    It slid up the street, completely ignoring Nashara, headed Tiago’s way.
    “Oh shit.”
    An Ox-man yanked Tiago into the house and barred the door shut. “This way,” the Ox-man grumbled, and shoved the two boys forward through the house.
    A trapdoor underneath a table led them under the house into a hidden basement lit by a single bulb.
    “Through here,” said another Runner, appearing out of the dark. The shadows made his ribs, visible under a thin shirt, look even more pronounced than normal. 
    There was a heavy, thick steel door a pair of Ox-men had opened. As they passed through that, they groaned as they labored to push it shut. Then they hit a switch, and large bars dropped into place with loud clangs. The smell of rank sewage took the breath away from Tiago, and he switched to breathing only out of his mouth.
    In the distance an explosion of brick and screaming startled Tiago. The Doaq must have gotten into the house. With Nashara in pursuit.
    They stood inside a tunnel, lit glancingly by the Runner’s flashlight. The center of the tunnel had a wide trench in it, currently dry.
    The flickering light revealed Kay, waiting with a pair of Ox-men armed with more RPGs. They aimed the weapons at the thick door behind Tiago.
    “So this is our quarry,” Kay said, turning on a small, expensive shielded penlight to check the boy. “Your name is June, right?”
    The shell-shocked and very bewildered June nodded.
    “Can you speak, June?”
    “Yes.” It was no more than a faint whisper.
    “Well June, this is Tiago, and we have to move quickly before the Doaq comes after us. Do you know about the Doaq?”
    June’s eyes were bug-wide. He nodded.
    “Well, it’s taken an interest in you. Probably since that man ran through your home while fighting it back on Palentar. But we will have time to talk about that later. Come on.”
    “What about Nashara?” Tiago asked, looking back at the door.
    “She’s a big girl,” Kay said, “she can take care of herself. Now, we have to move.”
    Kay led them down the gentle slope of the tunnel at a brisk pace to a junction, where the sound of running water filled the air and the stench of sewage increased.
    Five Ox-men stood in a trench full of dirty water holding onto a small metal boat with an old, dirty combustion engine on the back.
    It sputtered to life with a pull of a handle.
    An explosion from further up the tunnel echoed through the sewer tunnels as they clambered in.
    Kay smiled. “That should slow the Doaq down.” She waved her hand at the Ox-men and they let go. She gunned the engine up to a brisk whine as the boat shot clear, bouncing off the sides of the trench.
    Tiago looked around. “All this. You knew the Doaq was