Starship Desolation Read Online Free PDF

finger squeezed the trigger.
    BAM!
    The vulture’s head exploded in a cloud of red blood. Walker managed to take the beast out before it soared too high. Its body plummeted to the ground. Its talons went slack, releasing the pup. The little guy landed safely on the ground. But another vulture swooped in to grab him.
    Walker lined the reticle up with the abominable predator. But before he could squeeze the trigger, a third vulture slammed into him. The impact knocked him to the scorched ground. The beastly thing was atop Walker, pecking and clawing at him.
    It had rows of teeth, like a shark. Its jaw snapped tight, like an alligator. Walker dodged repeated attempts by the creature to gnaw his face off. He batted the thing aside and scrambled for his weapon. The vulture latched on to Walker’s ankle, but his teeth couldn’t pierce the Saarkturian battle armor.
    Walker clutched the grip of his weapon and swung the barrel around. He blasted off a flurry of gunfire. The bullets tore through the creature’s skull and ripped its way through its torso, blasting out of its ass. Chunks of the birdlike creature splattered against the desert rocks. Walker kicked the carcass off of him.
    The pup had dodged the attack of the other Vulture. But the creature was circling back around for another dive. A few well-placed rounds from Walker’s rifle sent the beast tumbling to the ground. The beast’s body smacked the hard dried dirt. A small plume of dust dispersed in the air.
    Walker climbed to his feet. He took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his brow. He had enough vulture meat to last a lifetime. But he sure didn’t want to haul one of these damn things out of the flats, all the way to the mountains. He couldn’t imagine they were very tasty.
    Before he knew it, the dog was at his feet, looking up at him with those big blue eyes. His tongue was hanging out as he panted. He looked like he was smiling.
    “What are you looking at?” Walker stared at the dog. “You’re free. Go. Get out of here.” He tried to shoo him away.
    The dog tilted his head and lifted an ear. He didn’t know what the hell Walker was saying. But he certainly wasn’t going anywhere. He had found a new best friend.
    Walker took his tactical knife and began carving into the carcass of one of the vultures. It was better than hauling a full bird across the desert. The damn things weighed 150 pounds. It wasn’t a thanksgiving turkey, but it would have to do for now. He tossed a scrap of meat to the dog.
    He looked at Walker like he was crazy. He put his snout to the meat and recoiled instantly. His little face twisted up, and he made a whimper of disapproval. The meat was repugnant.
    “Hey, beggars can’t be choosers.”
    The dog sniffed the meat again and took a tiny bite. He spit it back out and coughed. He shook his head like it was the most horrible tasting thing he’d ever had in his mouth.
    “That bad, huh?”
    The dog whimpered in response.
    Walker stopped carving up the meat. There were many creatures whose meat was poisonous. A defense mechanism. It wasn’t usually found in predators. It was more of a characteristic of prey. It gave Walker pause. Was there something bigger out there that caused these vultures to evolve with a built-in defense mechanism?
    Walker cleaned the blade of his knife and slid it back into the scabbard. It wasn’t even noon yet, and it was deathly hot. He still had a long way to go. He marched toward the mountains, and the dog followed.
    Walker waved him off. “Go on. Run along.”
    But the dog just trotted behind him. He had no intention of listening to Walker.
    “Just because I saved you doesn’t make us friends.”
    The dog tilted his head and kept following along.
    “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” It was almost as if he was expecting some type of answer from the animal. Walker sighed. “Okay, fine. But I’m not slowing down for you. And I’m not saving your ass again. You get in trouble, you’re on