Bounty Hunter 1: The Bounty Hunter's Revenge Read Online Free Page A

while I opened my eyes. I
stupidly waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness before I remembered that
I was still stuck inside the suit and helmet. I closed my left eye and peered
out through the hole. I saw that the planet was still in its night cycle but it
wasn’t quite as dark. Nearing dawn, I guessed. I couldn’t see whatever Cass was
talking about.
    “Listen,” she said.
    I closed my eyes. There was no wind at
that moment. I tried to listen for a person or a ship. Maybe Adam had came back
to confirm his kill, I thought bitterly. Enough time had went by that he could
have received payment for the cargo and came back. But I heard nothing like a
ship. Just a faint rustling followed by a sudden grunt, like a sneeze of a
small animal.
    “It’s coming closer. I wanted a few more
days to be on the safe side of your recovery, but we might not have another
chance,” Cass was rambling quickly. “I hope your sidearm isn’t damaged.”
    I both heard and felt the click of Cass
opening a compartment at my right thigh. It took effort but I gradually slid my
right arm down so my hand could reach in to the slot and grip around the
handgun. I pulled it out and slowly brought my arm back up to its starting
position. The gun felt intact from what I could feel from moving it.
    “It’s approaching from your left side.
You’ll have to wait until it walks around to your other side before you take a
shot. No sudden movements. You need to kill this thing for food, Burke. I don’t
have enough supplies to keep you alive forever.”
    A few minutes went by with nothing but
the sound of the creature sniffing around us. Occasionally I felt a little
pressure on my back or my left arm. It must have been confused by what I was. I
must have smelled like something edible but it could only find hard metal where
it looked. I lay as still as I could.
    I wanted to recoil from the animal when
it came into view. It was the size of a large dog but hairy like a rat. It had
the nose of something close to a pig’s and its eyes were hidden amongst layers
of thick, sand covered fur. It put its nose into my right shoulder and inhaled
deeply, huffing air in and out so close to my face that I could smell it. I
started holding my breath.
    The animal ran its nose up to my helmet.
It must have been able to tell that my scent was coming through more strongly
through the crack in the visor. I was soon unable to see anything when its head
blocked the hole entirely, and I took that as my opportunity. I carefully
turned the gun in my hand upwards. What I guessed to be its stomach was above
my forearm and slowly rose the barrel of the gun up at it.
    There was an instant before I fired that
the animal must have felt the movement and let out a noise that was half growl,
half squeal. I squeezed the trigger and, when the gun successfully went off,
fired as many shots as I could before the creature lunged away from me. I must
have gotten at least three hits in. I heard more squealing nearby for a few
moments and then nothing.
    “Poor thing,” Cass said sadly.
    “It was your idea,” I replied.
    “Doesn’t mean I can’t feel bad about
what’s necessary.” I was surprised by how genuinely upset she sounded.
    “Am I allowed to move?”
    “I want to be in control at first. I’ll
use the armor like a full body cast. It will hold you upright and I can make
sure no more damage is done while moving. From what I can see you’re healing
quickly, but if you twist the wrong way or put too much pressure on your leg,
then,” she trailed off.
    “I understand.”
    “This will still hurt,” she explained
softly. “Now you can’t move at all. Normally the suit responds to your movement
and assists you since its too heavy for you to move on your own. If you move
the wrong way while I’m moving something, you may pull something. Or worse, you
may break another bone or undo all the healing you’ve done so far.”
    “Stay limp and let you move me, got it.”
    The