"Karl Glogaver - 02 - Breakfast In The Ruins" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moorcock Michael)

a dark area. The old man said something to the soldiers and then he and his
companions began unloading the cart. Karl tried to see which one of the people
was his mother. The ragged men and women carried their burdens to the dark area
and dropped them into it. Karl could now see that it was a freshly dug pit.
There were already a large number of bodies in it. He peered in, certain that
he had heard his mother's voice among the moans of the wounded as,
indiscriminately, they were buried with the dead. All around the square
shutters were closing and lights were being extinguished. A soldier came up and
dragged Karl away from the graveside. "Get back," he said, "or you'll go in
with them."
Soon the cart went away. The soldiers sat down by the graveside and lit their
pipes, complaining about the smell, which had become almost overpowering, and
passing a bottle of wine back and forth. "I'll be glad when this is over," said
one.

Karl squatted against the wall of the house, trying to distinguish his mother's
voice amongst those which groaned or cried out from the pit. He was sure he
could hear her pleading to be let out.

By dawn, her voice had stopped and the cart came back with a fresh load. These
were dumped into the pit and the soldiers got up reluctantly at the command of
their officer, putting down their rifles and picking up shovels. They began to
throw earth onto the bodies.

When the grave was covered, Karl got up and began to walk away.

The guards put down their shovels. They seemed more cheerful now and they
opened another bottle of wine. One of them saw Karl. "Hello, young man.
You're up early." He ruffled the boy's hair. "Hoping for some more excitement,
eh?" He took a pull on the bottle and then offered it to Karl. "Like a drink?
" He laughed. Karl smiled at him.

Karl gasps and he writhes on the bed.

- What are you doing ? he says.

- Don't you like it? You don't have to like it. Not everyone does.

- Oh, God, says Karl.

The black man gets up. His body gleams in the faint light from the window. He
moves gracefully back, out of range of Karl's vision. - Perhaps you had better
sleep. There is lots of time.

-No...

- You want to go on? A pause.

-Yes...