Frank and Iya froze. Obviously, they did not expect to see a Sinister interventionist in the backyard of the dormitory. Frightened eyes, hidden by a gas mask, stared at Frank, who stared at him with suspicion and even hatred. Bright blue eyes fell on the disheveled ground, into which the palm of Ray, who had fallen into despair, had just recently clung to it…
Ray tightened his grip on the gun, confident that he had given himself away, ready to shoot if necessary. Frank, without taking his eyes off the machine gun, slowly walked up to the ATV and sat on it…
«I’ll be right back,» Iya said barely audibly and went back into the house.
Ray was afraid that his hands would begin to tremble from fear. He turned around and walked to the side, trying to give his unsteady walk a marching rhythm. He seemed to feel Frank’s suspicious gaze on his back, but calmly walked on until he stopped near the electric road – supposedly to patrol it. He walked along the road for about five minutes until he finally heard the noise of a motor and saw the ATV itself, on which the brother and sister were sitting. They took a long look at the supposed invader and only then drove out onto the electric road leading to the west – leading towards Grievers.
****************
– Who were you eavesdropping on, soldier? – The vile voice of the overlord made Ray remember that he is the Destroyer.
Realizing that various fears would haunt him for the rest of his life, the Destroyer replied:
– Gang. I thought they were looking for Shelter. I eavesdropped on them, and, to be honest, I didn’t hear anything important from them.
– Did you leave them alive?
The sound of forks and liquid being poured – judging by the loud hissing, diamond wine – made Ray strain his ears even more. He never thought that Bail could eat in a civilized manner.
«Yes, my lord,» answered the Destroyer. – They were armed.
– What are your next actions, soldier?
Again that nasty slurping sound. It might not necessarily have been the sound of human beings being eaten, but still, the sound was disgusting. Ray made a grimace of disgust and turned towards the University of Iridology. There were a crowd of young girls on bicycles, with sympathetic expressions on their genetically modified faces surrounding an incredibly curvaceous woman, and Ray knew which one.
«My lord, I need a car with a robot driver,» Rey said thoughtfully, turning towards the dorm.
– For what?
The Destroyer thought that it was impossible to lie to his master, and was about to tell the truth…
But…
Ray thought quite differently.
«I need to go to Sionville.» In order to find and eliminate Johann Schelter.
– How are you going to do this?
Ray, trembling all over, peered into the windows of the dorm. The first drops of rain appeared on the uniform. Greenish whirlwinds appeared in the sky. Poisonous winds – the raw material for Lavertian spirals – were approaching. The spirals that his wife so dreamed of seeing…
– I AM TALKING TO YOU, SOLDIER!
As usual, Rey flinched from such cries of the protector, but not this time…
– HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DESTROY JOHANN SCHELTER?
«Let this be a surprise for you, my lord,» said the Destroyer calmly. «I assure you that this time I will not let you down.»
«Keep in mind, soldier,» Bail began to growl, «if you don’t get to Johann Shelter this time, I will declare war on Paxbright.» Every Paxbrightite who catches the eye of my interventionists will be killed, every one – old man, woman, and child. And all this will happen through your fault. IT’S ONLY YOUR FAULT. You understood me?
«Yes, I understand,» said Ray, sincerely indifferent to the fate of every old man, woman and child on the planet.
– Wait for the car.
Silence.. and this slurping…
With a firm step, Ray headed towards the dorm. He was not embarrassed by Bale’s weaknesses, nor his cries, nor his threats to start a war. His mind – Ray’s mind – was filled with that one thought that had come to him while eavesdropping on the conversation of the strangest trio he had ever heard.
Frank, Iya and Fonzy know the place where the broken time machine is hidden…
And walking smoothly, like a robot, Rey – looking more like a soldier than ever – had no doubt that very soon he would find out where this place was…
Non-coincidences are COINCIDENT
«She is changeable and stubborn; More than once I saw how she bit her lips and deliberately tangled her hair with a comb.
Perhaps she is evil and deceitful, and in everything she is a woman; but even when she speaks slander about herself, even then she seems the most seductive.»
She was spinning in a whirlpool of hateful memories. The University of Melbourne disappeared – as if an uncontrollable memory found the memory of it not hateful enough and decided not to concentrate on it any longer. Black and white frames flashed before her eyes – it seemed that her mind was choosing the right memory to dwell on. Floating off into the distance, green eyes never left Cymon, who clung to Elias like a wild cat. Her boyfriend, Claude, wanted to break the grip, but Cymon roughly pushed Claude aside. Her eyes searched for Michael, but they never found her – or rather, her uncontrollable body did not allow her to do so. The black picture froze before my eyes, like a frame from a film. Purple ripples appeared – they immediately disappeared, the frame became colored, and a burning primal fear appeared in the chest. She began to blink frequently. The smell of burning filled her nostrils, hot crimson earth appeared under her feet, a huge, broad-shouldered man named Frank appeared in front of her eyes, and the sound rang in her ears:
«I advise you to answer the question, otherwise I will kill the girl.»
Frank aimed his prosthetic crossbow at her face. The red trident protruding from the crossbow, shining in the light of the sun, seemed to touch the tip of her tongue. She involuntarily shrank, but immediately the trident disappeared behind her back, covered with a leather jacket. Michael tried to block her. The palette of her terrible feelings was diluted by something bright, she began to fight with Michael, trying to push him to the side. She was surprised that it was impossible to move the thin, lanky Michael from his place – he stood just like a wall. But she did not give up trying to push Michael aside. She didn’t understand what would happen next, she still didn’t know how she ended up here, she was sure of only one feeling. This feeling squeezed her body in an invisible vice…
Fear.
Only she had no doubt about her fear…
– What with her? She is alive?
– Where is she looking?.. E-Emy… Some kind of red field is reflected in her eyes…
– Emy, my love, wake up! Elias! Elias, do something!
– I can not do anything. Judging by her behavior, she is watching an anti-film.
Four silhouettes froze at the side window. Emy threw her head back on the seat, wide open green eyes frozen. Michael and Claude bent over the unconscious Emy, Cymon and Elias stood a little further away. Elias had a cut lip and the letters FO on his face were bleeding slightly.
– What is an anti-film? Cymon asked Elias.
«A negative moment from the past that appears before your eyes if you don’t take lycids,» Claude answered, holding Emy’s hand. – How long will it last, Elias?
– Don’t know. She’s only tried lycids once, so the first time shouldn’t be long.
– Will these anti-films constantly haunt her? – Claude asked in fear.
– For the rest of your life, if you don’t take lycids.
