"Lisanne Norman - Sholan 01 - Turning Point" - читать интересную книгу автора (Norman Lisanne)

Her mother's movements quickly grew sluggish, finally stopping as the limited air supply in the pod ran
out.

"Mother! Don't leave me!" Carrie screamed, desperately fighting the effects of the drug that this time
dragged her down into darkness.

Carrie felt herself pushed and pulled in every direction. Scaled faces loomed at her out of the dim light,
clawed hands grasped at her, pawed at her, making her flesh recoil from their sharp, cool touch. She
stumbled against bodies that thrust her away to fall to the ground, only to be dragged to her feet again.
Noise surrounded her, loud, sibilant voices shouting. Like the images, the sounds faded in and out with
her consciousness.

"We have to fight them, Carrie. I can't do it passively like Dad. I'm leaving to join the guerrillas. The
Valtegans are soldiers, not civilians, and they're Alien. We can't appeal to their better nature because
they haven't got one.

"I'm leaving now, tonight, for Geshader."

"Geshader? ButтАж"

"Don't try to change my mind, Carrie," Elise warned quickly, "it's made up. As one of the women in their
plea-sure city, I can get close to the officers, a thing no man can do. And once I'm with them, I'm sure I
can get access to all sorts of useful information."

"But to become one of the prostitutesтАж and with them! How could you?"

Elise gave her a wry grin. "Come off it, Carrie. It's the oldest profession going, and the women from
Geshader that I've talked to say it isn't that bad.

"It isn't as if we can't keep in touch. There's our link after all."

"You just take care, for both our sakes!"

"Do you mind too much? You know the risks we face, don't you?"

"I know," Carrie nodded, "but you're the one taking the real risks. I'll cope somehow. Jack Reynolds is
used to us by now."

"At least you didn't pick up much when I was with that lad from Seaport this spring," her twin grinned,
"so with any luck you'll be spared my 'working experiences.' "

Her voice faded, leaving only the impression of the grin behind.

"It's the only way I could fight them, Carrie."

Figures jostled her again, dark red light on pallid skins, rough claws digging into her arms, drawing blood.
Again, every nerve flared with excruciating pain and she tried to arch her body away from it, but she only
succeeded in crack-ing her head against the wall. Stunned, she heard her own scream as if from far away
as her hands tried to grasp for something concreteтАФanythingтАФto help her hold onto real-ity. She was
aware of a sudden warmth running down her right arm. Blood.