"Dafydd ab Hugh, Brad Linaweawer DOOM: Infernal Sky (english)" - читать интересную книгу автора

I wasn't going to try to come between them. Just as
I had steered clear of Arlene and Dodd, until her
boyfriend unwillingly joined the zombie corps—
beast all you can be. She and Albert both deserved
whatever chance for happiness they could grab. We
were marines. We didn't need to volunteer for the
crazy suicide missions. We were assigned to them as a
matter of course.
This vacation wasn't going to last.
Looking toward the beach, I saw that Mulligan had
finished his beer and returned to HQ. He wasn't the
type to sunbathe on purpose.
"What time is it?" asked Arlene, pausing only long
enough to spit salt water in my direction.
I made a big deal of lifting my left arm to show off
my brand-new plastalloy wristwatch, spaceproof and
waterproof. I checked the time. "According to the
best naval time, it's late afternoon."
"Teatime."
"Just about," I answered. "You know, it was about
this time last week when they took the bandages off
Albert's eyes."
"He beat them," she said, suddenly very serious,
and I was with her all the way.
No damned imp with a lucky fireball had succeeded
in blinding our big Mormon buddy. I was still pissed
that Bill Ritch had been killed in similar circum-
stances on Deimos. Well, the bastards didn't have any
of Albert. The L.A. mission had turned out to be a
mortality-free operation. Hell, we'd even rescued Ken
Estes when the man could do nothing to help himself.
The docs had him sitting up in bed, wearing pajamas
instead of mummy wrappings, and he could talk
again. A bona fide miracle. Then it was Albert's turn.
"Fly," said Arlene, up close all of a sudden.
"Yeah?"
"You're a great guy," she said, and kissed me on the
cheek. She could always surprise me.
"What brought that on?" I asked.
"You care about Albert," she said softly. "You care
about Jill and Ken, too."
I shook my head. "Don't think that way," I told her.
"You can't relax into—"
She put her hand over my mouth. It was her turn
again: "You're not the only marine who can make
command decisions. Soon the only people left in the
world will have the will to sacrifice their loved ones if
that's what it takes to defeat the invaders. Meanwhile,
we can care for one another."
"You're not describing civilians," I said coldly.