Man-Kzin Wars XII by Larry Niven (books you have to read .TXT) 📕

I run behind it and push. For each inch it budges, my feet seem to slide back two feet. At this rate, I won't get it there in time, and the throbbing pain from the wound in my side drains me of energy with each attempt. I force my weight against the slab again, but it won't move this time, and my body falls to the ground. I can't do it.

“Give me room!” a familiar voice yells, and a hand pushes me down the slab. I look, and towering over me is Paz. She leans her shoulder into the slab and pushes.

Her strength is contagious, and another rush of adrenaline courses through my body. I dig into the slab next to her and push. The concrete scrapes on the ground, leaving scratches on the floor. It's moving! A couple of the faster outsiders get to the door and push, but the slab stops their momentum. An outsider reaches through the small gap between the doors with a gun and shoots, but she can’t aim. There’s no risk to us.

Paz smacks the gun out of the hand, and the slab forces the doors to shut on the arm. Blood flows down from the arm as the owner screeches in pain. More outsiders have reached the doors, and they push hard against them. Their force separates the doors enough to let the outsider retrieve her now-broken arm.

“Give it everything you've got on three,” Paz orders. “One. Two. Three!”

We push. I put everything I can into this last push. My side burns with pain, and the blood I am forcing out of my body soaks the ground beneath me. My feet slip as my eyes get blurry. I slide back and down the slab. When my body hits the ground, everything goes black.

CHAPTER XX

The blaring sound of an alarm startles me awake. It's deafening and causes me to curl up against the nearest wall, covering my ears. My eyes blur when I open them, and my head throbs, trying to make sense of this unknown room. Two figures stand above me, also covering their ears. One of the bodies is at least five times larger than the other.

“80!” A faint voice penetrates through the alarm. It's a young voice, and the owner runs toward me. My eyes adjust, and I see Pocket wrap her arms around me.

I pick her up as I stand and squeeze her tight. I wince because her weight puts pressure on my wound, so I place her back on the ground. When I lift my shirt, I notice that my injury is dressed with a bandage.

“I did the best I could,” Paz speaks over the alarm, placing her hand on my shoulder.

“Thank you.” I smile at her. “Is that—”

“The Ragnarok. Yes.” She pulls Pocket into her protective arms. “We need to find somewhere to try to ride this out.

“I know where. Follow me.” I grab one of the boxes that hold the pouches of food, and head out the door. Paz grabs another and follows, with Pocket trailing close behind.

When I step out of the room, I see down the left end of the hallway the outsiders still trying to break through the doors, though the concrete slab is blocking them. Our destination is in the other direction, so I turn and head that way. Unable to hear their footsteps because of the alarm, I look back every few seconds to make sure they are close.

“We're fine. Keep going,” Paz reassures me.

After a couple of turns, we reach an intersection. There is a corridor to our right and double doors leading outside to our left. The hall is the safest bet, but it could take twice as long to get to our destination. If we go through the doors to the outside, we could cut across the yard to our goal. The blaring alarm makes the decision easier. We might expose ourselves a little too much going outside, but most of the fighting is happening at the other end of the compound. Plus, we could hear each other if we weren't competing with the siren.

I open the door with care and look for any unwelcome signs. The yard is quiet, and if it weren't for the audible reminders of what is going on, I could be convinced it was nothing more than a regular day.

“Where are we going?” Pocket asks as the door shuts behind her.

I turn to face her. “To the—”

Pocket's scream stops me short. An outsider has grabbed her and has a gun pointed at her head. His other hand covers Pocket's mouth. How did I miss this? They must have hidden right at the door.

“It's okay, Pocket. It's going to be okay,” I reassure her.

The outsider pulls Pocket closer. “Give me those boxes.”

“Stay calm.” I look directly at the outsider as I hand my box to Paz. I walk toward the outsider with my hands up.

“Get back!” the outsider screams. His hand is shaking, and sweat is rolling down his brow.

I set out into a full sprint at him. I know he doesn't have any bullets in that gun, or else he would have already shot us.

“What are you doing?” He trembles. The fear causes his arms to get weak, and Pocket pulls herself away before I charge my momentum. I throw my body weight into him and against the door.

An elbow or knee of his must have caught me right on my new wound, because a fire of pain swells through my body. The damage I have caused to him is much worse. His body is limp as he falls out of the dent in the door and onto the ground.

I don't waste any more time on him. The alarms have been blasting for a while. I'm not sure how much longer we have before all of this is in ruins. I grab Pocket by her hand, and we hustle