Read The Cyber Chronicles Book II: Death Zone for Free Online Page A

Shrugging, she sipped some water.
"Honourable war wounds."
    The ruined
world remained until its sun sank over the horizon, and they
experienced night in Flux-reality for the first time. Tassin
assumed that this could only occur when Flux-reality and
Real-reality shared a night, then neither sun shone.
    Finding a
semi-intact building, they settled down to sleep, unable to locate
any Real-reality. Purr took first watch, and sat in the doorway
while Tassin and Sabre stretched out on the bedding. Sabre placed
his bedroll well away from the Queen's, and she eyed him, wishing
it was cold.
    Ever since he
had woken in the cave, and even before that, she had experienced an
undeniable attraction to him, something that had annoyed and
embarrassed her. At first, she had dismissed it as a passing fancy,
especially since he clearly did not share her interest. It had
continued to burgeon, however, and now was too strong to be denied
or ignored. Their enforced intimacy during the snowstorm had
reinforced it, and she longed to be close to him again. The fact
that he kept rescuing and taking care of her made it worse,
too.
    Never had she
been so attracted to a man, nor had a man ever been so impervious
to her charms, and she wondered at the reason for his aloofness. It
made her somewhat resentful, and she resolved to make him notice
her.
     
     
    A gentle
shaking roused her, and she opened her eyes. Sabre leant over her,
the brow band flashing in the darkness.
    "Get up," he
whispered. "Something's outside."
    Purr crouched
in the doorway, and from without came the faint rustling that had
alarmed them. Tassin crept to the door with Sabre and peered out,
her heart hammering. Two orange moons glared down like baleful
eyes, bathing the ruins in dull light. They waited as the rustling
grew louder, accompanied by scraping sounds, and all three craned
to peer around the wall as a greenish glow appeared at the end of
the street. A worm the size of four heavy trade wagons stacked two
deep rounded the corner, moving with the humping gait of a
caterpillar. Its armour-plated head was armed with scissor jaws of
pale chitin, and dozens of stumpy legs dragged its bulk along.
    "Flux-reality
or Real-reality?" Sabre asked.
    Purr shrugged.
"Makes no difference anymore."
    "It looks like
the same one I saw in the mushroom world."
    "Could be. Not
many Real-reality monsters venture this deep into Flux-reality.
It's dangerous for them too, especially something as big as
that."
    "That thing
doesn't look like it's over-burdened with brains."
    The monster
drew nearer, its blind head seeking amongst the ruins, bumping into
walls as it quested for a path. It moved past their hiding place,
taking its green glow, and a terrible smell, with it. As they
relaxed, the green and brown flashes shot through the floor, bright
in the gloom. Tassin tensed, and the world warped.
    Broad daylight
made her squint, and a wave of noise washed over her. She stood on
a crumbling bank, and stepped back from a muddy pool filled with
sludge, reeds, small amphibians and floating green scum. A swamp
surrounded them, thick with marsh weeds, tall reeds and
bulrush-like plants, and inhabited by a plethora of croaking,
squeaking, grunting creatures.
    A splashing
drew their attention to the green worm, which struggled as it sank
into the morass, its clawed feet seeking purchase in the
treacherous ground. Reeds protruded from its flanks, torn from
their roots by the monster's struggles, and Tassin wondered how
many small creatures were embedded in its flesh. The thought gave
her goose bumps, and she inspected herself, but found no plants or
animals in her legs, to her relief.
    Sabre glanced
at Purr. "So it's Real-reality."
    "A foolish
beast. It won't last long."
    They picked
their way through the swamp, searching out firm ground on which to
walk.
    "Surely we
should be moving out of real Flux-reality soon?" Tassin asked the
mosscat.
    "Soon," he
agreed, hopping over a murky pool.
    They spent the
next few