"Steve Perry - Aliens 03 - The Female War" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Steven)

"I wish we could go up," Amy said. "We can't, though."

The old man nodded. 'There are those who feel the 'connection' and hunt for alien breeders above
ground. We're better off down here."

They walked down through the tunnel, death all around them like obscene art, both breathing
shallowly through their mouths. After a minute they stopped, and the old man began to speak again in his
schoolteacher's voice.

"We're not far from the hub now, one of the central areas. That's why there are more breeders
here, what's left of them. We don't dare go any farther."

Amy shuddered slightly. "Can we get out of here, Daddy? It doesn't feel right."
 He looked around warily and then smiled at the child. "Yeah, okay. Let's get an early dinner." They
turned back to the tunnel, the old man letting Amy take the lead.

"You know, I should'veтАФ" he began, when suddenly a hand shot out from the dark wall and
grabbed his knee. Amy let out a single, high-pitched yelp. The old man fell.

Another voice came out of the darkness. "Oh, shit. Oh, shit!" A young man ran into view.

"Paul!" shouted the old man, and the younger one ran to help him. "Get it off me, get it off!"

Paul held a small lantern into the air over the old man. A breeder was strung into the black secretion
there, close to death. It had once been a woman, and now was barely animal, its eyes insane. It held
tight.

"Daddy," Amy breathed out, chest hitching. She started to sob.

Both Paul and the old man beat at the woman's hand with their fists, but she would not let go. Her
face was bloated and almost black. Paul looked toward the hub; somewhere, maybe far away, there
were clattering noises.

"Lisssen," she rasped out, her lips bleeding and cracked. "I am the mother ..."

Paul stood and kicked at her hand. The thing's wrist snapped cleanly, and the old man scuttled
backward, away from the dying creature. She didn't seem to notice that her hand was hanging off her
wrist; she didn't seem to feel pain.

The old man stood, grabbed Amy by the arm, and they all backed away from the mad breeder.

She closed her awful eyes. "Soon," she whispered hoarsely. "Soon, soon." The terror was there on
all of their faces as they moved back toward camp, her final words seeming to echo all around the trio.

The old man said, "Paul?"

The younger man nodded. "I'll take care of it." He pulled a knife from a sheath on his belt. A stray
beam of light glittered from the blade. He moved back toward the breederтАФ