[Galaxy Of Fear] - 12(25)

Zak moved without thinking. He turned to the cook and shoved her. The cook stumbled backward and crashed into the bubbling pot of stew.

Zak dove for the corner where Boba Fett’s armor was stacked. He scrambled to his feet holding the bounty hunter’s blaster just as Galt tore the meat flower off his face and the cook regained her feet, the knife still clutched in her hand.

Zak frantically searched the weapon. He found the power setting and adjusted it for stun just as the cook charged. The stun bolt caught her squarely in the chest and she crumpled. The second blast dropped Galt in his tracks.

In the momentary silence that followed, Zak heard Fett’s cold voice. “You wasted time setting for stun. You should have killed them.”

Zak looked down at the two skeletal figures. He thought he ought to hate them. They had killed at least two people and had tried to kill him. They were cannibals.

But all Zak felt was pity.

The Children had survived for years in the dangerous, desolate swamp. They had eaten fungus to survive. Their last memory of their parents was a nightmarish meal.

But it was all that they knew.

“They deserve to die,” the bounty hunter said from the shadows.

“No,” Zak said, speaking the words Yoda had spoken. “They thought we were food. I taught them otherwise.”

“Give me my armor.”

Zak hesitated. Considering how Boba Fett had tried to kill them, returning the bounty hunter’s armor and weapons might be the most dangerous thing Zak could do. But he needed help and right now Boba Fett was his only choice.

Zak gathered up Boba Fett’s gear and carried it over to the cage. Fett stretched one arm out from the shadows and grabbed his weapons belt. A moment later, a small fusion cutter glowed brightly and cut cleanly through the wooden bars.

“Helmet.”

Zak pushed the helmet and armor through the hole in the cage, and the bounty hunter pulled them into the shadows.

A moment later, Boba Fett stepped into the half-light cast by the fire. Without asking, he pulled the blaster rifle from Zak’s hands.

The other Children had heard the struggle. Zak could hear footsteps and shouting from outside the hut. “Now what?” he asked Fett.

“Tactical retreat.” The bounty hunter raised his arm and pointed his wrist rockets at the back wall of the hut. There was a crackling sound and a spark shot out, signaling a short circuit. “Moisture damage,” Fett muttered. He made a quick adjustment and fired again.

This time the wrist rocket blasted through the back of the hut. Not waiting for the smoke to clear, Fett grabbed Zak around the waist and plunged through the opening into the swamp.

“Weapons malfunctioning,” the bounty hunter said. He dropped Zak, who ran at his side through ankle-deep pools of water. “Need a place to hole up until I can run a check.”

“Your ship?” Zak asked.

“Too far. These Children know the swamp too well.”

Fett was right. Already the Children were in pursuit. Some of them were closing in from behind. Zak had the sense that others were trying to sprint ahead on either side.

“I know somewhere we can go,” Zak said.

“Lead,” Fett ordered.

Zak swerved to his left. Twice before, he’d met Yoda while traveling in that direction. With any luck, the third time would be the charm.

Zak was no more certain of his path this time than the last-until he found himself running through the remains of the spider battle.

“It’s around here somewhere,” he said, although he didn’t know exactly what he was looking for.

“There,” Fett said. The bounty hunter pushed his way through a curtain of hanging vines.

On the far side, Zak saw a tiny round hut. Not far from the hut, he could see Tash and Yoda. They were sitting at the base of a huge, dark gnarltree. Among the thick roots of the tree, Zak saw a large hole.

Yoda looked up as if he’d been expecting them all along. “Welcome.”

Zak ran forward. Fett strode up behind, his helmeted head scanning the area. He peered down into the hole to make sure nothing was hiding there, then turned toward the others as Zak was telling Tash about the Children. “They’re cannibals, Tash! They’re eating people!”

“What?” Tash said in amazement. “Where’s Uncle Hoole?”

“Yes, where is Hoole?” Boba Fett demanded. “When I find him, all three of you are coming with me.”

Faster than a laser beam, the bounty hunter grabbed Zak by the hair, pinning him in place. Then he leveled his blaster at Yoda and fired.





CHAPTER 17


“No!” Zak cried.

But the blaster fizzled and didn’t fire.

“Moisture damage,” Fett grunted again.

“Away with your weapon!” Yoda said, cringing. His calm Jedi demeanor was gone. Curled up on the ground, hugging his little walking stick, he looked foolish and frightened. “I mean you no harm!”