"Out Of The Box" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martinez Steve)

УOh, is that it? So it feels like youТre sharing power. Okay, fair enough.Ф He wrote it down, and signed it.
УNo. In blood.Ф
УOh, come on, give me a break.Ф
УIt has to be in blood.Ф
УNo it doesnТt. Ink will do just fine. Ink is the standard medium for all legal contracts, foreign and domestic.Ф
УThe deal is off.Ф
УDamn it!Ф He searched around in the drawer. УLetТs see, I may not have anything sharp...Ф
He looked up to see the toy plodding toward him, one claw holding an open safety pin. УYou really came prepared, didnТt you?Ф said Jacob, reaching out, but instead of handing it to him, the little monster jabbed his finger.
УJeez! Toby! Is that you? Are you doing this? IТd better not find out youТre up to some kind of joke because this is long past funny. Do you hear what IТm telling you? Huh?Ф
УIs that enough blood, or would you like another poke?Ф
They stared eye to eye for a moment, but there was no turning back now. Too much to lose. He smeared on the page with his bloody finger, then pressed it to his lips.
УCanТt read it,Ф said the scorpioid.
УKiss my ass.Ф
It gave him another stare, and seemed about to say something, then bent down and scratched a few letters with the tip of the pin.
УOh sure, you get to use my blood.Ф
УThis is good. WhatТs done in blood cannot be undone.Ф
УThatТs funny, didnТt I read that in some story book?Ф
УI wouldnТt know. What time is it?Ф
УThereТs still time. Plenty of time. We still havenТt finished our talk.Ф
УWhat talk?Ф
УRemember last time? I was trying to find out what youТre so mad about.Ф
УNever mind.Ф
УBecause I was just thinkingЧФ
УI know what you think.Ф
УNo, not that. I thought maybe...Ф
УDrop it!Ф It reared up on its four front legs, its neck stretched high, claws twitching.
УMaybe youТre angry because youТre small. You donТt want to stay small the rest of your life, do you? ThereТs a limited range of toys you got there, and you go from one to another. YouТre tired of that, arenТt you?Ф
It relaxed a bit. УI just want to be free.Ф
УOf course you do. Being small is just temporary. ThatТs for practice. Someday youТre going to be much better than I ever wasЧФ
УI already am.Ф
УOf course you are.Ф
УStop trying to butter me up. I know what youТre going to say and I donТt want to hear it.Ф
УForget that. I just want to tell you about something that happened to me, something really strange that I havenТt told anyone else. I was in front of a mirror, trying to shave my face, but my hands werenТt moving right. It was scary, like brain damage, and then I realized it was the hands in the mirror that werenТt moving right, and then my mirror image says, СOh the hell with it,Т and he starts to walk away, so I say, СHey, what the hell,Т and he says, СShave your own damn face,Т and then he starts pissing on the wall. So I say, СHey, cut it out!Т and he says it right back, you know, mocking me, СHey, cut it out.Т I go, СCome back here!Т and he goes, all whiny, СCome back here!Т And then I woke up.Ф
УWhat a dumb-ass dream.Ф
УBut wouldnТt that be something if your dream self got up and walked right out into reality? You know how dreams are, heТd be all clueless.Ф
УWhatТs that got to do with me?Ф
УNothing. It doesnТt have anything to do with you.Ф
УIt better not.Ф
УIТm just trying to figure out something here. YouТre not a dream. YouТre not my son. YouТre not this thing here because last night you were the one with tractor treads. You seem to be some kind of disembodied bad attitude that jumps around from toy to toy.Ф
УWhat about you? YouТre always the same. YouТre stuck-ugly, and so is your son. And youТd have an attitude, too, if the stuck-uglies had enslaved you and all your people.Ф
УWhatТs that about? You mean like children thinking theyТve been enslaved by grownups because they have to do what their parents tell them?Ф
УWho said anything about children, you moron, you stuck-ugly dumb-ass freak! WhatТs the matter, did you inherit your sonТs stupidity?Ф
УLet me tell you about my sonТs stupidity. He keeps it in a box and lets it sleep during the day, and then at night while heТs asleep he lets it run around in control of his servo toys.Ф
УIТll tear your lips off!Ф
It leaped at JacobТs face, catching him off guard because he hadnТt imagined such a leap was possible. He caught it, just barely, but it still managed to grab his lip with its claw. УHeТs asleeb right now, asleeb and dreabing, and yourТre the dreab, because heТd got a inblant in his brain, it activates wen he dreabing.Ф
Jacob got his lip free and tasted blood. УWhat is your problem?Ф he said. The thing gripped his hand like a metal claw, and he held it there with his other hand. One of them was trembling, he wasnТt sure who. УTake it easy. Why canТt you just face it? My son is dreaming, and thatТs what activates you. Or put it this wayЧyou are my son, dreaming, so get over it.Ф
УHeТs mine now. At the stroke of midnight, heТs mine, and then youТll be sorry.Ф
УThatТs why I donТt want you anywhere near him. IТm tired of your threats. YouТre staying in the box.Ф
УIt doesnТt matter.Ф
УIt does matter, because youТre being crazy, and I donТt want my son to be crazy, even when heТs dreaming. YouТre him. If you could just wake up and see that, you wouldnТt be so hateful. YouТre hating yourself, donТt you see? Son?Ф