Free Brynin 3 by Thadd Evans Page A

grass.”
    “Yes. The crew will have to get rid of the corpses.”
    We hopped inside the giag. Behind us, several guards began mumbling. As the engine groaned louder, we pulled onto the road.
     
    After we passed several hills, I saw motion straight ahead. A hundred yards down the road, eight Tiel came out from behind trees, and crawled onto it.
    Boma complained, “We can’t kill all of those!” He shoved one hand through floating text. The giag abruptly veered left and went off the road, entering a forest. The cab began shaking as we drove over tall weeds. Suddenly, it went between trees.
    I blurted, “I hope the bushes don’t break the axle.”
    “We’ll see.” He stuck his hand through syntax, steering the giag to the right. We drove by a sixty-foot tall Mus Nantus. At the same time, eight-inch long thorns hit the windshield and started piling up.
    Behind us, a miner with a raspy voice shouted, “Ank, ank!”
    The right wheel hit a log. My side of the giag jerked up, then plummeted to the ground.
    Boma yelled, “Fuck!” He rammed one hand through syntax. The giag veered left, and went around huge bushes.
    I smelled fumes similar to excrement and sulfur. Within seconds, my helmet rose and the face mask closed. All around me, everyone else started coughing, reacting to the stench.
    Much to my surprise, the giag entered a clearing and went down a hill. As the fumes dissipated, we reached the top, and descended. Beneath the giag, I heard a loud noise. Snap.
    Boma shouted, “The axle just broke.” The giag began shaking.
    I held my right hand over a door-mounted sensor and the window rolled down. I grabbed the windowsill, trying to hold on. In an instant the giag tipped over—ending up on the driver’s side. Soon the vehicle slid to a stop, crashing loudly as it knocked bushes aside.
    I climbed out, reached down, and pulled Boma out. After he rose to his feet, we jumped to the ground.
    To my right, on the side of the giag, all the guards leaped. They landed on their feet amidst knee-high weeds.
    I yanked out my tablet. The screen appeared. Near the middle of it, a compass emerged from a taupe background. I pointed. “Boma, if we go around that hill, and head south, we’ll reach the hangar sometime tomorrow morning. Even if stellar aircraft doesn’t pick us up, we can reach it in that amount of time.”
    He scowled. “We’ll see.” All eight of us, six guards, Boma and I, started hiking around a hill.
     
    The approaching sound of Oiins, a swarm hidden behind nearby Mus Nantus, became louder. Chills ran down my spine as I raised my flamethrower, preparing to fire. At the same time, everyone else aimed their weapons at the Mus.
    A tall guard named Worik gripped his M-349 rifle, an automatic weapon that could fire a thousand bullets per minute. “I’m ready.”
    Wind speed decreased while the swarm came toward us, making an ominous Nnnnn.
    Everyone started firing, a deafening noise. Not far above the weeds grenades exploded, creating brief orange and maroon fireworks.
    As sweat poured off my forehead, the huge swarm blocked out the sky. Bullets tore many Oiins to shreds, but not enough.
    I squeezed the trigger. Flames engulfed hundreds of the insects.
    A clot of Oiins came to rest on a guard. He screamed and dropped his weapon.
    I lowered my barrel and the flames engulfed him. Soon charred insect carcasses fell off his flameproof suit. I released the trigger. The flame disappeared. The guard jumped to his feet, grabbed his rifle and started firing.
    I raised my barrel and pulled the trigger. Flames swept across more Oiins. Thousands of them began circling one guard. He howled, stumbled to the ground, and went into convulsions.
    I pivoted and fired.
    Flames engulfed his writhing silhouette.
    I released the trigger. The flame vanished.
    Gradually, all the burnt insects fell off as his body kept jerking. It was too late, he’d been stung too many times.
    I aimed and fired again. Flames came out while grenades