"Steve Perry - Aliens 02 - Nightmare Asylum" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Steven)

his mind was different. She wanted to understand, wanted to give him all the slack he needed, but he
had become someone else, a cold, fearful person who wouldn’t let her in. Somebody who didn’t
want to hear about her love or anger or needs. Hiding behind his wall, hands over his ears.
Still, she kept trying.
“Mitch, listen. I—” Now she did reach out and touch his hair. It felt as real as her own, was
real in that it had grown from his scalp the same way, was made of protein so similar only a
microscope could see the differences.
“Don’t, Billie,” he said.
She felt the words like a blast of frigid air, so cold it took her breath away. How could he do
this? Not talk to her?
“Billie, please. Try to understand. I—I’m not trying to hurt you. It’s—it’s just that I don’t—I
can’t—I… I’m sorry.”
“I’m tired,” Billie said. “I’m going to try to get some rest now.”
She walked away, nearly tripped as the faux grav fluctuated a hair. They’d had problems with
that, nobody thought a robot ship really needed gravity in transit and that system, like many of the
others, had been rigged by Wilks before they lifted. To hear him tell it, if somebody sneezed too
hard, the ship would break up.
The storeroom she used as her sleeping quarters was private, a three meter-by-two-meter box,
but since it was next to the ship’s internal power and heating system, it was also hotter than most
spots onboard. She stripped to her undershirt and panties, lay down, and leaned back against the
bulkhead that served as a pillow. Sweat slid down her bare skin, dampened her clothes, and made
her feel sticky. Still, it wasn’t unbearable. And it was damn sure better than the company she’d have
to endure otherwise.
She was dozing when Wilks appeared in the doorway. She hadn’t bothered to slid shut the
hanging curtain she’d rigged. His sudden presence startled her.
“Make some noise when you move, Wilks. You scared me.”
He stepped into the room, his feet nearly touching hers. She sat up, drew her feet in. He’d seen
her naked, but something about the way he stood there made her nervous.
“Everything scares you, Billie,” he said.
She blinked sweat away, wiped at her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
He moved closer. Knelt. Reached out and caught her shoulders. “When you were a kid you
were scared of dying. Later, you were scared of living.”
“Jesus, Wilks, back off—”
He slid his hands under her shirt before she could react. Cupped her breasts. “And you’ve
always been scared of me,” he said.
Her shock turned to anger. She grabbed his hands, pulled them from under her shirt.
“Goddammit! What the hell do you think you’re doing!”
He grabbed her wrists, leaned against her. His face was only centimeters from hers now. She
could smell his sweat, his… musk.
“You really prefer that thing in the computer room? Wouldn’t you rather be with a real man?
One who has all the right equipment?”
She felt something hard poke into her belly. Christ, was he going to rape her? “Wilks! Stop it!
Why are you doing this?”
He jerked back, his face gone slack for a beat, eyes closed. The lids snapped up and an
infernal light shined from his pupils at her. He grinned.
“Why? Because I’m going to make you face yourself. What you’re afraid of. Love. Passion.
Caring. People.”
Billie looked down, and saw that the bulge she’d felt wasn’t what she’d thought. It was his
belly—
 “Aagghh!”