Free Hellworld (Deathstalker Prelude) by Simon R. Green Page B

Doctor.”
    Williams drew his hand back out of the water, and the dweller below struck quickly while its prey was still within range. A dark blue tentacle shot up out of the water and slapped around Williams’ wrist. He screamed with pain as the hold tightened viciously, and had to brace his legs against the side of the well to keep from being drawn in. The tentacle snapped taut.
    Hunter fired instinctively with his disrupter, and severed the tentacle. Williams fell backwards, and scrambled away from the water hole without bothering to get up. The severed tentacle thrashed back and forth in the water. Pale purple blood flew on the air. Hunter stepped back to avoid it, and three more tentacles erupted out of the churning water, attracted by the movement. They whipped around Hunter, pinning his arms to his sides, and then snapped taut. Hunter crashed to the ground, and fought desperately against the tentacles’ pull. Their hold tightened, and hundreds of miniscule barbs grated against his steelmesh tunic.
    Krystel drew her sword and cut at the nearest tentacle. The sharp edge barely penetrated the leathery flesh, and she sawed at the tentacle to try and weaken it. The Captain was dragged steadily closer to the well’s edge, despite all his struggles. Krystel glared at Williams, who was sitting nursing his bruised wrist.
    “Grab him, dammit; I can’t do it all myself!”
    For a moment, Williams was tempted to tell her to go to hell. He wasn’t about to risk his life for the Captain’s. One look at Krystel changed that. He wasn’t stupid enough to get an Investigator mad at him. He moved quickly forward and grabbed Hunter’s legs. The extra weight slowed the tentacles down, but Hunter was still being drawn closer to the water’s edge. Krystel sheathed her sword, drew her gun, and fired into the water. The tentacles writhed, slamming Hunter and Williams against the ground, but didn’t release their hold. Krystel swore unemotionally, and put away her gun. She unclipped a concussion grenade from her bandolier, primed it, and tossed the grenade into the middle of the well. It quickly disappeared, and for a long moment nothing happened. The tentacles snapped taut again, and Hunter dug his heels in against the broken ground. Williams clung to the Captain’s legs and swore breathlessly.
    Water fountained up out of the well as the grenade exploded down below. The tentacles bucked and heaved, casting Hunter and Williams away. The water boiled and frothed, and chunks of partially broiled flesh bobbed to the surface. The tentacles whipped back into the water and disappeared. The surface of the water gradually grew still, and a long, peaceful silence fell over the water hole.
    “Is there any life form on this planet that isn’t treacherous and disgusting?” said Hunter, sitting up slowly and carefully.
    “Early days yet, Captain,” said Krystel, lighting a new cigar. “The rest could be downright devious.”
    Williams got unsteadily to his feet. “I think we should all return to the pinnace. The Captain and I could both be suffering from internal injuries.”
    “Don’t make such a drama out of it,” said Hunter. He rose to his feet and made a token attempt at brushing the dirt from his uniform. “We’re just bruised and battered, that’s all. Now let’s get moving again. The sooner we put some distance between us and whatever it is that’s living at the bottom of that well, the better I’ll like it. And in future, if we come across any other water holes, I think we’ll drop a grenade down it first, and check the quality of the water afterwards.”
    He turned his back on the water hole and walked away. Krystel and Williams exchanged a glance, and moved off after him.
    Corbie and Lindholm strolled unhurriedly after Megan DeChance as they left the melting forest behind them and headed out over the broken plain. The esper was some way ahead of the two marines, and the gap was slowly widening. DeChance glanced back