"Michael Z. Williamson - The Humans Call it Duty" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williamson Michael Z)

Cap watched as the Enemy stood to the side and relieved himself. He jogged
sideways along their path, hidden by leafy undergrowth, and waited until the last man
passed by his chosen target. He crouched, braced, and as the man fumbled with his
pants, threw himself forward. His victim heard him, and his head snapped up in
terror. He was wearing the Goggles people wore to let them see in the dark, but it
was too late. Cap swept over him before he could scream, unsheathed, cut, and
landed rolling. The body gurgled, dropped, twitched and was still.

One.

Cap slipped quickly away, through more brushbushes, and carefully climbed a
tree. He wanted to be high enough to see, but low enough to use the limbs to escape
if he had to. He peered through the woods, eyes seeing by the moonlight, and waited
for the Enemy to respond.

They weren’t a very good Enemy, he thought. They hadn’t noticed yet. That
was good, he supposed, although a part of him was insulted at the poor competition.
He dropped lightly back to the ground and moved back to the kill. Sniffing and
listening carefully, he made sure no one was nearby, then hoisted the body up and
dragged it carefully off. He buried it under a deadfall, where the ants and flies would
take care of it, and erased any sign of his passing. There was no time to rest, but
he’d taken a few bites before burying the body. He could go on.

****

The Enemy had finally figured out that one of theirs was missing. In pairs, they
stumbled noisily through the brush, whispering his name, “Misha!” They weren’t
talking into their magic Comms, yet, that could reach people through the air. They
might soon call for others, however, and that made Cap consider things more
urgently. From his perch high in a graybark tree, he kept watch over the Enemy’s
movements. That pair was closer, and separated from the others by a slight ridge.
He eased back down and concealed himself under a tangler, where he was unlikely to
be seen. They could see heat, but they would not see him. Even faced with Goggles
he could be invisible.

They were heading off to the east. Cap followed along behind at a safe
distance. Could he take two? Perhaps he should wait. But there was little time, and
the Comm had to be found. It had to. He edged closer.

One paused, pulled off his ... no, her, he smelled . . . Helmet, and drank from
a Bottle, leaning against a tree. There was risk from the other, not far away, but Cap
took the chance and jumped.

A bite, twist and roll, and her neck was broken. That injury not even people
could often fix, and not out here. He heard a yell and the cough of a Gun firing, and
heaved himself up and away, bounding into the heavy darkness, the growth a
whisper alongside him as he slipped his feet surely into gaps. No noise from the
hunter. That was the way.