"Karin Lowachee - Warchild" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lowachee Karin)

You heard Hasao screaming for Johann, you heard all the
silences after, silence creeping toward you from all over the
ship, deck by deck, until nothing remained but your own
breathing.
Dead in space.
 You lost the gun. You lost the gun and now you had no
defense. Were you going to sit and wait for the creatures to
leave the ship and shoot it from wherever theyтАЩd come from?
Mama said that was what pirates did. What aliens did too,
because they didnтАЩt like to take prisoners. Were you going to
go out and look for Cap, for friends, for family? Daddy and
Mama didnтАЩt know where you were. You shouldnтАЩt have left
the secret compartment. You shouldnтАЩt have gone so far
because now if they were looking for you they would never
find you. You were in the best hiding place in the galaxy.
You couldnтАЩt breathe. The shaft was filling with smoke. You
shut your eyes and covered your mouth with the bottom of
your sweater but it didnтАЩt help. You coughed, big wracking
coughs as if your lungs were going to fall out your mouth and
onto your lap.
The grate opened and a thick, gloved hand reached in and
dragged you into the blinking red lights that meant the ship
needed help. You couldnтАЩt stop coughing, even when the hands
pinched and felt you all over in places nobody was ever
supposed to touchтАФDaddy had said so when youтАЩd gone on
stations and into playdens with other kids. But these hands
poked and Daddy wasnтАЩt anywhere to hear your voice. You
kicked and swung fists but the hands hit you then. The
creatures kicked you and yelled at you to stop it or theyтАЩd
shoot you. The violence of it shocked you motionless.
тАЬHe ainтАЩt armed,тАЭ one of the creatures said.
тАЬHe was. This is the one killed Martine.тАЭ
They hit you again. You stared at their boots. The deck was
cold against your cheek. Above your head, far up against the
lights the creatures carried on their distant, hollow
conversation. You blinked and your eyes ran. Something red
made a film over your sight.
тАЬHeтАЩll be good. HeтАЩs strong.тАЭ
тАЬPretty.тАЭ
тАЬHeтАЩll grow. What does he look like, six?тАЭ
 тАЬHey, kid, how oldтАЩre you?тАЭ Something prodded your back.
You couldnтАЩt answer.
тАЬLook at his tag.тАЭ
The gloved hand came back, smacked you when you tried to
roll away. Your head spun and you couldnтАЩt see clearly. The
hand reached in your sweater and yanked out the chained disk
from around your neck. The reflective helmet that gave no
features came close, looking at your face on the tag and all the
basic information it held in case you were lost on station and
something had happened to your parents or the ship.