Dawn of Procyon Read Online Free PDF Page A

in your—”
    There was a flash of something dark from below, something that stood out against the ubiquitous red landscape around them, and then there was a crashing noise, and Landry was thrown against the side of the cockpit. He heard screeching and the world seemed to spin in every direction.
    Alarms and sirens blared, and lights in the cockpit flashed.
    Landry screamed. “What the—?”
    “We’re hit, we’re hit.” Landry heard Gus’s voice. The guy sounded insanely calm and in control to Landry. “Losing guidance systems, we’re going in.”
    “Gus, what’s going—?”
    “Brace for impact.” The world was still rotating at nauseating speed, and getting faster. “Hold on, Landry.”
    Chaos. This was insane, Landry thought. They were crashing? How did this happen?
    Am I going to die? Landry thought wildly.
    The ground rushed up, and there was no time for Landry to think of anything else.

 
    Chapter 5
    PSD 29-212: 1545 hours
    Landry clawed his way out of the black sludge that permeated his mind, coming back to consciousness gradually, the veil of darkness drawing away one layer at time. For a while, he had no idea where he was, or what was going on. There was just the pounding in his head and a relentless throbbing sensation that seemed to course down his spine and radiate out through his eyeballs like jagged shards of glass.
    He clutched at his temple, but his hand struck his visor instead.
    He was in an EVA suit.
    The crash. He cursed to himself. The crash!
    Landry scrambled upward into a sitting position, his pain temporarily forgotten. He was still in the rear cockpit of the scout, but he was alone. The cockpit canopy had been partially snapped from its mounts, and it lay ajar, allowing the noxious atmosphere of Proc-One into the cockpit.
    Good thing I’m wearing my EVA.
    “Hey, Gus?” Landry said, wincing as the sound of his own voice inside the helmet sent his headache into another paroxysm of pain. He glanced around but saw no sign of his pilot. “Where are you?”
    Gus did not respond. Outside, Landry could see dark tendrils of smoke trailing into the air around the scout. As he pushed himself forward, he noted that there was a decided slant in the craft’s orientation, angling heavily to the left.
    It was a miracle the scout hadn’t broken up completely, Landry realized. They’d probably been saved by the fact they’d been at low altitude when hit. Maybe they’d skimmed the ground when they’d gone down instead of dropping like a stone.
    Gus must have woken up first, climbed out for a look around. That would explain it.
    “Gus? Are you hearing me on comms? Advise of your position, over.”
    Landry moved forward, pushing the canopy upward to squeeze past the pilot’s seat. It wasn’t an easy task in his bulky suit, and he ended up tumbling forward into Gus’s empty chair.
    “Gah. Get a grip.” He sat up, and something outside caught his eye.
    It was Gus, lying face down in the dirt in his EVA suit.
    “Hey! Gus?” There was still no response. He pushed urgently at the canopy, then slid outside. He tumbled roughly onto the dirt.
    Had Gus been thrown clear during the crash? he wondered. That must have been it. He was probably out cold.
    “Hey, no time for sleeping, buddy. We’ve got a situation here.” He scrambled across the ground and reached for Gus’s shoulder, then began to turn him over. “Nice landing, by the way—”
    Landry stopped. Gus’s visor had been smashed apart, a jagged, gaping hole running vertically down its center. Rivulets of dried blood ran from his scalp, and his skin was pale and blue, his lips almost black.
    Landry cried out and leapt backward, staring in horror at his friend.
    Gus was dead. He was dead.
    His EVA suit was shredded, torn apart down the center. There was a horrendous gash in his chest, and blood . . . so much blood. His oxygen tank was also ruptured, its contents scattered to the winds.
    My only friend in this world is gone , Landry