"Davis, Jerry - Code of the Beast, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davis Jerry)

"Here," he said.
Sheila took the glass wordlessly and ducked as he put his
free arm around her. Dodd sipped the wine, and the image of the
rolling ball on the screen pulled at his eyes like a magnet. For a
moment he resisted, looking over at his friend and co-worker Bob
Recent. He was cuddled with his wife Denise at the opposite end of
the couch. Both held empty wineglasses in their slack hands, and
Dodd felt guilty that he hadn't given them refills. His other
friend, Toby Whitehouse, was beside the Recents in an over-stuffed
chair. He, too, was holding an empty glass.
Didn't I have something to tell them? Dodd thought. He
couldn't remember. The screen reclaimed his attention.
The surreal, multi-colored sphere had made its way down to a
virgin beach; early-morning sunlight streamed through large,
mist-shrouded waves as they crashed ashore, and gulls whirled and
soared in the lazy glowing sky . . . the music surged and ebbed
with the scenery, never stopping and never repeating itself. Dodd
raised his wineglass to his mouth but nothing came out, it was
already gone. He let his hand drop, forgetting the glass, watching
as the sphere bounced higher up on the beach, rebounding off rocks
and driftwood, hitting patches of sand and sending up clouds of
slow-mo drifting particles.
Suddenly he couldn't see the screen. His eyes struggled to
focus on a dark silhouette inches from his face. "Hey," a voice
said.
"Danny?"
"Yeah, you noticed. Been ringing for a while, man. Had to
finally let myself in."
Dodd glanced over at the time display. It was close to 2:00
AM. "Jesus!" he exclaimed.
"You're frying your brain watching that stuff."
Dodd nodded. This was true. He stood and turned around to say
something to Sheila, but she was still staring at the screen. Bob
and Denise were oblivious, and so was Toby. They just stared at
the screen. It seemed unreal.
"Hello," he said to his guests. "Hello?"
"Want me to get their attention?" Danny asked.
"No." God no! "Let's go out to the garage."
They went out the front door, then around to the side of the
small apartment complex. There was a row of garage doors with
brightly-lit numbers above them. Dodd led Danny over to one of
them and unlocked the door with his voice. It opened with an
electric whine, revealing an empty space with a few boxes in one
corner.
"No car?" Danny asked.
"Haven't had one for years."
"Damn. I was going to ask if I could barrow it."
Dodd laughed, short and sharp.
Two men and a woman Dodd had never met emerged from the
bushes and hurried into the garage. Danny Marauder gave Dodd a hug