Under Dark Sky Law by Tamara Boyens Read Free Book Online Page B

what’s going on with this attack. You know these guys?” he
said.
    “Yeah, this is who we had a problem with
earlier—skeletons from south of the Tucson pits. I have a sneaking
suspicion they might have something to do with the riot that was
holding everyone up this morning. FYI, their armor is pretty tough,
but there’s a gap at the center of the throat. If you’ve got enough
downward leverage and a sharp enough blade you should be able to
pierce through it if you’re strong enough,” she said, thinking of
her successful skewering the night before.
    “Duly noted,” he said and another explosion
shook the ground.
    “I hope you weren’t too attached to any of
these guys—doesn’t sound like there’s going to be much left of
anyone. Hey—you got any hand to hand weapons on you?” she
asked.
    He handed her two large KA-BAR style knives
on a belt holster. Nice courtesy, considering she didn’t really
have much in the way of a place to stow them. “Thanks man,” she
said and secured the holster while he attempted to use his cracked
communicator to radio a message into HQ.
    When she peered around the corner, she got a
look at just how much trouble they were in. There weren’t many
additional vehicles next to the remains of the decimated military
convoy, but it looked like the skeletons must have come out of a
clown car because there were dozens of them.
    “Shit,” Sanchez said when he noticed how much
company they had. They briefly took their eyes off the enemy to
consult about their next move.
    “I think our best bet is going to be taking
out as many of those crazy fucks as possible, then taking that last
intact vehicle and making a run for the dome. We’re not in a great
position to fight them all off, and from the looks of it they’re
not short on ballistics,” she said.
    He nodded. “Agreed. On three,” he said and
counted.
    When he reached three they sprang into the
battlefield and she was especially careful not to fire wildly with
the high-powered laser. One shot from one of those things and it
would be lights out for either of them, and she didn’t want her
brains splattered across the desert like a ruined
jack-o-lantern.
    There were five skeletons around their target
vehicle and she took a dive roll to the left as the two on her side
took pot shots. Luckily she was intimately familiar with the
mechanics of fighting in sand, and she rolled straight back onto
her feet. She took two shots, landing one in a skeleton’s chest,
and the other nailed another headshot right in the money zone. She
was rewarded with one exploding head and one skeleton brought to
his knees. She closed the distance to the one that was still alive.
He was coughing and gagging, but still waving around his laser.
With her left hand she withdrew one of the KA-BAR blades and
unceremoniously jammed it into the skeleton’s throat. Blood sprayed
into her face, its sick metallic taste flying through her mouth and
nose. She was glad she hadn’t talked to Calavera about closing up
the weaknesses in the skeleton armor yet. Some days were all about
the small favors.
    Withdrawing the knife, she wiped the blood
out of her eyes and turned to face the next opponent. Sanchez had
felled two on his side, leaving one more to take care of. The
skeleton dashed up to her first, his laser raised for a head shot.
There was no room to retreat, so she took the next best option. She
bent her knees and sprang forward, tackling the skeleton into the
sand and knocking its laser out of its hands in the process. As
much as she loved firing a laser, there was nothing like a good old
fashioned knife fight. Poised in the exact right position again,
she took the knife and with one viscous strike she thrust it upward
through the fragile spot in the armor. The knife ripped through its
larynx, and she felt the knife jam into its hard palate before
coming to a rest. It never even had a chance to scream.
    More Skeletons were already advancing from
the rear, and