"Robert Rankin - The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rankin Robert)

more and plodded beside it.

The track led up and up. The sizeable hill seemed little less big than a small mountain. Jack huffed and
puffed, and Anthrax did likewise.

'Good lad,' said Jack. 'We're almost there, I think.'

And almost there they were.

And then they were altogether there.

And Jack, still huffing and puffing, with blue sweat striping his face, hands upon knees and heart going
bumpty-bumpty-bump, raised his squinting eyes to view what vista lay beyond.

And then he opened both his eyes and his mouth, very wide indeed.

For beyond, across a plain of grey and stunted furze, lay THE CITY.

Writ big in letters. Large and capital.

'Whoa,' went Jack, taking stock of whatever he could. 'Now that is a very BIG CITY.'

And as cities go, and in these parts, but for this one, they didn't, it was indeed avery BIG CITY.

And a very dirty city too, from what Jack could see of it. A great dark sooty blot upon the landscape
was this city. A monstrous smut-coloured carbuncle.

Anthrax the horse made a very doubtful face. Which is quite a feat for an equine. Jack cast a glance at
this very doubtful face. 'I know what you mean,' he said. 'It doesn't look too welcoming, does it?'

The horse shook its head.

'You're a very wise horse,' said Jack. 'And I apologise for that earlier remark of mine about having you
converted into cat meat. If you get me in one piece to the city, I'll see that you're well cared for. But,' and
he stared once more towards the distant conurbation, 'that is one ugly-looking eyesore of a city. Perhaps
your previous owner was right in all he said. But we must remain optimistic. Shall we proceed?'

The horse shook its head.

'You would rather return to haul corpses?'

The horse shook its head once more.

Jack now shook his own. Tm talking to a horse,' he said to himself. 'The events of today have unhinged
my mind.'
The sun, Jack noticed, was now very low in the heavens. The blue of the sky had deepened and the day
was drawing towards night.

'We'd best get a move on,' Jack told Anthrax. 'I need to fill my belly and find myself lodgings for the
night.' He shinned once more onto the horse's back, told it to stop, and set off.