"Laura Annie Gilman - End of Day" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gilman Laura Anne)

****

Back home, the corpse was dropped in the kitchen for Leah to deal with. I
don’t want to know where it goes. Meat is meat, but some things you better just call
stew. Anyway, we had to make our report.

Drew was in the office when we got there, waiting for the news. He’s the
oldest Older in our House. I think he’s my parent, ‘cause he never quite looks me in
the eye. The ones who’ve got kids are like that, like it’s all their fault.

Well, it is. But what can you do?

Nance tells it like it was, and Drew nods thoughtful like, moving markers on
the map he’s got tacked against the far wall. They track howlers, townies, anybody
comes into range. I don’t know what good they think it’s gonna do, someone
decides to oust us. Home’s twenty-three bodies, counting Annie who’s old, and the
baby Simon. Twenty-three won’t do shit a howler party come a knocking. But I
don’t think about that. I follow Nance, and she’s the brains for all of us. Us four:
me, Roo, Nance and Jody. I don’t always like ‘em, but I love ‘em. You know what I
mean? Two other hunter-packs in Home, but none like us. And none of ‘em
Changed.

Drew scoots us, and we scatter, leaving him nodding over his notes and
stroking that pointy chin of his. My hand goes to my chain in reflex. Yeah. Looks
better on me.

****

Hallway’s dimmed, cause it’s daylight. Jody’s for sleeping. Nance slams that
down; Nance thinks like Olders, sometimes, that there’s time and place and a
not-time and place. Sleeping in daylight’s a not-time. Roo’s got its own ideas, you
can tell, but don’t volunteer them, same as always. Roo don’t lead, don’t follow.
Just happens to be where everyone else is.

After check-in, I’m supposed to go for schooling. None of the other of the
three: Nance and Jody’re done with it, nobody tells Roo what do to. But they’ve
hopes I’ll learn something. Don’t see the point, much. Townies read, townies die.
The Olders say otherwise we’re just howlers. Me, I see howlers livin’. What’s the
point? But it makes the Olders happy, so I sit for a couple hours: turn pages, sound
out words. Look at the pictures of what was. Go couple-three days south, you see
what was, too. Old stuff, gone now. Buildings, way bigger than Home, way bigger
than towns, even the biggest towns. Blew ‘em to bits, in the aftermath. People were
gone, why not? Must’ve been fun.

I’m not supposed to think like that. Those’re howler-thoughts.

I don’t want to go for schooling today. So when the pack goes left, I tag
along. Whatever’s better than sitting alone. Nance’s striding, tall-like, Jody bumping
on walls, hopping up and down, getting in Roo’s way. Jody’s the dumb one.