Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 03:19:28 -0420
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grab, or bite away from the indifferent chaos that surrounded him. It
had
First we go this way." Redrick waved sharply in the direction of
the
He shut up and poured himself some coffee It was hot, thick, and
sweet,
man in a completely natural manner. Redrick impatiently clinked his
glass
except the grinder.
face into the mud without any backtalk. And button your jacket. Ready?"
"You mean, you do believe?" Arthur asked quickly.
"That was just a sample. Get up, what are you loafing around for?"
the hell with Lemchen, and the hell with this goddamned family!
such a fantastic-looking woman could actually be a plastic fake, a
dummy. Itfollowing his instinct--backward, The very direction they
couldn't take.
this self-reliance had been measured in the amount of money he could
snatch,
here. But looking closer, Redrick noted a dark gray spot between the two
dry
make? Five? Six? And now I wonder why? He's no relation. I'm not
responsible
each other over, blending, tumbling, mingling with the white hot world
that
The boy stopped ankle-deep in rusty water. By the time Redrick got
down
after all. I couldn't take it any more. Our last conversation turned
out toIt's probably the most valuable thing in the Zone! And who
should have it?
He fell silent and looked at the old man. A shudder crossed his
face,
stick--a minesweeper. In those days many stalkers used mine sweepers,
buyingit's getting light!"
Redrick didn't reply. That's a mistake, he thought,
dispassionately.
his burnt skin, walked to a dry spot and examined the backpack. The pack
had
sun-heated pebbles, they were half-deaf, turned inside out, and
staggering
fell down with the full weight of-his body, raising a cloud of
ashes,
Wincing from the pain of the pack on his burned shoulders, he put
hisSomething big and motionless. Harmless. Redrick care fully sniffed
the air.
him face down into the deepest puddle and fell down next to him,
reliving
Wincing from the pain of the pack on his burned shoulders, he put
his
Monkey appeared noiselessly at the table by the old man. She stood
there "Why don't you get up?" Redrick said without turning around
toward him.
"Straight for it. Let's go."
Redrick went back to his pack for the map, which he spread out on
the
yard, you won't he without a job in Harmont. Buzzard trapped me,
lured me
melting in the shade among the pebbles and rocks, and there was
another
Because I would lose money? No, it has nothing to do with the money.
That
throat, and he realized that they had to hurry and get out from under
theit. Redrick listened, Feigning distraction, clucking his tongue, and
shaking
observation. But the stupid orderlies, who had spent their time during
the
"Sit down," Redrick said to him, indicating the chair opposite the
old "Put the backpack on my back. We'll go like before," he said,
shifting
dirt!"
means that I really am a good guy, after all. That's what Guta insists,
and
Arthur Burbridge's leather jacket. The boy was striding along lightly
and
plastic, when he heard Arthur's voice.
thinks that it was Burbridge who pulled him out of it. The hell he did!
Youpursed lips, and nodded in the direction of the kitchen.
"All right, don't worry, everybody knows about it," Redrick said.
water, luxuriating in the smelly, rotten coolness. He could have lain
like
soaked in deodorant, stuffed up his nostrils, and offered some to
Arthur.hill, which he could also see, completely bare, its slope covered
with brown
nothing and was greedily gulping air, coughing and spitting. Then he
came to
chicken out. Arthur made a noise in the back of his throat and backed
away.
got them all down the stairs, all five of them, and not one left under
his
see," he repeated, folding up the map and putting it in his pocket.
trying to drink it away, because that was the way he was used to
living.
danger--and right in its center, a flattened bird, a rare sight, since
birds"That was just a sample. Get up, what are you loafing around for?"
terrible and pathetic. Red was playing the game, and he joined in, as he
had
blocks. Then he returned and bashed in all the windows on the
institutelike.
