"Bc12" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niven Larry & Pournelle)

"What?"
"He's got to be here somewhere. Whatever did this was in a feeding frenzy. It wouldn't have taken him somewhere else."
Stripped clean. Plucked bare.
"Where's the other dog?"
"Hope to God it ran away. Ran far enough." They headed toward the mining shack.
Her collar buzzed. It was Justin. "What do you see?"
"It's Linda and Joe and one dog."
Aaron's voice was flat. "We're going over to the processing plant. The . . . door's open. Still no sign of the baby. Continue to record."
"Be careful," Justin said.
"Right."
Jessica was ahead of him, rifle at the ready. The ground was bare, not even dust. Jessica stopped short and pointed.
"Another small skeleton," Aaron said carefully. "Probably an immature Joey."
Jessica reached the processing plant. The door was open. There was an aroma of burnt plastic within, and an ancient, oily musk. The door creaked on its hinges as she pushed it back.
The interior was deeply shadowed. Slivers of light slanted through holes in the roof. Her breath sounded like slow thunder.
"Nothing," she reported. "There isn't any sign of . . ." She spun at a sudden clatter behind her. Wind against the corrugated steel door. There was nothing, nothing here at all. She heard Aaron's voice from outside. "You had better come here."
Her heart was a stone in her chest. She went outside, dreading what she was about to find.
Aaron closed the door. Behind it was the skeleton of the missing dog. Next to it was a bundle in a blue blanket. It made a coughing sound, and began to cry.
Jessica watched motionless as a tiny pink fist thrust out of the blanket and waved, more fiercely now, crying, calling for a mother who would never come. "He's alive!" she shouted. She touched the collar button, then changed her mind. Instead she ran to pick up the baby.
Cadzie clutched at her. She dropped his deep blue blanket in the dust and held him at arm's length. Cadzie was furious. Cadzie was--
She hugged him with her left arm so she could touch her collar button. "Cadzie is alive! Dad, you hear? He isn't even marked!"
"We have found the baby," Aaron said. "He is apparently unharmed."
"Tragon, this is Weyland." Her father's voice, flat and unemotional, came from her collar tab. "Would you repeat that?"
"Yes, sir. We have found the baby. Jessica is holding him. He appears to be alive and unharmed." '
"Thank you. Advice."
"Yes, sir."
"Jessica, get the baby into the skeeter and stand by. Aaron, we've got good photographs. Grab anything you think might help us understand this and get out of there."
"Sounds good to me." Aaron nudged Jessica. "Go to the skeeter. I'll cover you," he said. "Get inside and close the doors."
She nodded vigorously. She wanted to run, but she was afraid she would drop Cadzie. It felt good to be in the familiar skeeter seat.
"Justin, do you see anything?" Aaron asked.
"Nothing on either side of the pass."
"Then I'll chance gathering the bodies," Aaron said. "But I don't get it. Something hit this camp. Fast and hard. Killed everything. Except a baby. It couldn't find a child wrapped in a blanket."
"Maybe it wasn't hungry by the time it got to Cadzie."
"No, that's not it," Aaron said. "It stripped a dog next to him, right down to the bones."
"Aaron, this is Zack. We think you should get out of there. You can gather evidence later."
"Agreed." Aaron ran across the dry ground to the skeeter and leaned in. "Give me five minutes, Jessica. Freeze Zack---I've got something important to do."