Free Condemned (Death Planet Book 1) by Edward M. Grant Page B

bloody mess. As she tossed the boots and pants toward Princess, a rat scuttled between the bushes, and sniffed around Joseph's smashed head.
    Princess looked up over the back of the cart. “He's gone.”
    “What do you mean, he's gone?”
    Princess held up a frayed leather cord. “That's all that's left.”
    “We've been dragging him for over an hour. Probably just wore through the cord. I'm not going back to look for him.”
    Princess grabbed the pants, and pulled them on. “Not much point, if that's what it did to the cord. Wouldn't be much left of his clothes, either.” She pulled the boots on. “So, now what?”
    Brunhilde looked along the river. “I hadn't really thought that far.” She pointed toward the smoke rising into the sky. It was darker and thicker now they were a few klicks closer. “Where there's smoke, there's someone burning things down. Let's take a look.”

CHAPTER 13
    D aniel trudged toward the bridge behind Guy. His feet hurt all over in the ill-fitting boots. If he walked much further in them, would he ever be able to walk again? Maybe they’d stretch.
    The sun was barely above the horizon, which just reminded him of how much he needed to sleep. Despite the months of suspension in the pod, his body didn’t feel rested, and they’d been walking all night. If only he could go back to it, and take a nice nap in that comfortable seat...
    “The sun looks funny,” he said.
    “Look hard, and it’s two stars. They’re so close together you can’t see them easily, but you notice when the bright one goes behind the other. Better be wrapped up warm for a few days, when that happens.”
    “How much further?”
    “Few klicks, once we’re over the bridge. Maybe two hours if we walk fast, three or four if you keep stopping for breaks.”
    The bridge was just a row of thick, hacked-up logs, strapped together with leather cords. More logs stood vertically in the water to support them, covered with weeds at water level. The river rushed past below them, heading for the sea, and breaking into white plumes as it crashed into rocks in the riverbed. Daniel had always meant to find time to learn to swim, but never had. If he fell in, his time on Hades could be over.
    “Is this safe?”
    “Relax. They drive carts and haulers over this thing all day long. It’s not going to fall apart under our weight.”
    The bridge creaked when Guy stepped onto it, as the straps took the strain of his extra weight. But it continued standing as he took a few steps toward the far side. Daniel gently put one foot on the log. It was wet and muddy, and his boot slid as he put his weight on it.
    And there were no hand rails.
    What about Health and Safety? Who built this thing?
    “Can’t I stay on this side?”
    “If you’d rather the slavers get you.”
    Better dead than a slave. If he kept telling himself that, he might really believe it. He held out his arms for balance as he put his other foot on the logs, then took slow, careful steps as he tried to ignore the creaking from the straps and wood. Just take it one step at a time, and don’t look down into the water. You’ll be over before you know it.
    He glanced at Guy. He was almost at the far side, strolling along with his hands on the waistband of his pants, whistling. It couldn’t be that hard, if he could walk across like that.
    Then again, he had boots that fit his feet, and feet which weren’t bruised and blistered. Daniel took another step, then another, pausing between them. At this rate, he should be across by sunset. If he was lucky.
    Something thumped against the supports as it passed under the bridge. Daniel glanced over the edge. A body floated face down in the river, the skin turning grey where the remains of its flesh hadn’t been torn apart. Man or woman? Impossible to tell, when so much had been eaten down to the bone.
    “Hey,” Guy yelled. “Hurry up and get over here.”
    He pointed down-river. A boat approached, long and low, with half a