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night. Their thunderous steps and roars never seemed to end and the numbers were high. I think forcing slaves, who broke a rule or made their master angry, over the wall has taught the predators that it’s a good place to hang out for a regular meal.”
Andy nodded, “So they think no one in their right mind would come from that direction?”
Olivia said, “I wouldn’t.”
Andy looked at Tyler, “But you did.”
“I didn’t know the magnitude of the danger. After doing it and seeing what was there, I don’t think I would have tried it if I knew in advance.”
“How thick are the trees close to the wall?”
Tyler thought for a moment but Olivia spoke first, “Within fifteen feet of the wall, it’s pretty clear from where the Destroyers skinned those threes to install their cables. Outside of fifteen feet, they’re really thick.”
“Is there enough room for a T-Rex to run through them?”
Olivia looked at Tyler and he said, “Barely. It probably couldn’t run but it could move among them. That Spinosaurus was trapped close to the wall. There is no way it could have moved out into the trees.”
Andy nodded, “Did you hear Raptors?”
Tyler shook his head, “I was too distracted to notice.”
Olivia said, “Are Raptors the Dinosaurs that are much smaller than the Rex and are really fast?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard them in large numbers as long as I’ve lived next to the wall. The guards would take many of us slaves to the top of the wall to witness what would happen to us if we broke their rules or made them unhappy. The Raptors avoid the large predators but I’ve seen large numbers of them challenge a Rex for a kill. There was a large number eating whatever was killed after the Rex ran away.”
Melody looked at Olivia, “How were you ever able to get to sleep?”
“It’s something you have to get used to. I will tell you this. The Destroyers put on a show whenever they throw a slave over the wall. I’ve seen hundreds thrown over the wall over the years and their screams usually followed in less than a minute. I’ve heard the Destroyers betting on how long the slave would survive and the longest bet I’ve ever heard from a Destroyer was seven minutes.”
Andy looked at Tyler, “What’s your idea about going in?”
“I would land on the wall close to the cliffs if I had to do it again but that won’t work with more than one or two. We have to train on landing in the tops of trees. Once we’re in the tree, we take off our gliders and move in on the wall. Climbing it is not difficult and one warrior will be assigned to each spitter on the wall. He will take out the crew with his red beam and take their place manning the spitter. We have enough Destroyer uniforms that were captured when we took their fleet. Once the crews are removed, the ones in the Destroyer uniforms will go up and replace the crews. If no one is manning the spitters, it will be noticed by those manning the main defenses on the coast. The others will go over the wall and attack the spitters on the coast wall from behind.”
Rory looked at Andy, “Our blue archer uniforms are the same color as the Destroyer’s and from a distance would look like them. We wouldn’t need to put on their uniforms.
Harvey’s eyes narrowed, “Why didn’t you see any spitters on the wall?”
Olivia quickly said, “I think they’re going to do it soon. They just finished placing them on the coastal wall a week or so ago.”
Maxius tilted his head, “And just how are you going to keep the carnivores off our fliers while they’re taking out the spitter crews?”
Andy waved his hand, “The ones not involved in that exercise will form a line between them and the forest.”
Melody said, “You know if they use the red beams, the spitter crews will see it.”
Andy nodded, “Yes, but we have enough Master Archers to keep them at bay. We know where to hit the carnivores to kill them with one shot.”
Tyler snorted, “If you
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
John O'Riley
Brenda Sinclair
Christopher George
Stephen Lloyd Jones
Karl Iagnemma
Celya Bowers
Jill Gregory
Aria Cunningham