"Arkady & Boris Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic" - читать интересную книгу автора (Strugatski Arkady)

better than any pylons or signposts.
I ordered Kirill to descend to four feet. I lay flat on my belly and looked into the open doors. At first I
couldn't see anything because of the bright sunlight. Just blackness. Then my eyes grew accustomed and I
saw that nothing seemed to have changed in the garage since the last time. The dump truck was still
parked over the pit, in perfect shape, without any holes or spots. And everything was still the same on the
cement floorтАФprobably because there wasn't too much witches' jelly in the pit and it hadn't splashed out
since that time. There was only one thing that I didn't like. In the very back of the garage, near the
canisters, I could see something silvery. That hadn't been there before. Well, all right, so there was
something silvery, we couldn't go back now just because of that! I mean it didn't shine in any special way,
just a little bit and in a calm, even a gentle way. I just got up, brushed myself off, and looked around.
There were the trucks on the lot, just like new. Even newer than they had been the last time I was here.
And the gasoline truck, the poor bastard was rusted through and ready to fall apart. There was the cover
on the ground, just like on that map of theirs.
I didn't like the looks of that cover. Its shadow wasn't right. The sun was at our backs, yet its shadow
was stretching toward us. Well, all right, it was far enough away from us. It seemed OK, we could get on
with our work. But what was the silvery thing shining back there? Was it just my imagination? It would be
nice to have a smoke now and sit for a spell and mull it all overтАФwhy there was that shine over the
canisters, why it didn't shine next to them, why the cover was casting that shadow. Buzzard Burbridge
told me something about the shadows, that they were weird but harmless. Something happens here with
the shadows. But what was that silvery shine? It looked just like cobwebs on the trees in a forest. What
kind of spider could have spun it? I had never seen any bugs in the Zone. The worst part was that my
empty was right there, two steps from the canisters. I should have stolen it that time. Then we wouldn't
be having any of these problems now. But it was too heavy. After all, the bitch was full, I could pick it up
all right, but as for dragging it on my back, in the dark, on all fours тАж If you haven't carried an empty
around, try it: it's like hauling twenty pounds of water without a pail. It was time to go. I wished I had a
drink. I turned to Tender.
"Kirill and I are going into the garage now. You stay here. Don't touch the controls without my
orders, no matter what, even if the earth catches fire under you. If you chicken out, I'll find you in the
hereafter."
He nodded at me seriously, as if to say, I won't chicken out. His nose looked like a plum, I had really
given him a solid punch. I lowered the emergency pulley ropes carefully, checked out the silvery glow
one more time, waved Kirill on, and started down. On the asphalt, I waited for him to come down the
other rope.
"Don't rush," I said. "No hurry. Less dust."
We stood on the asphalt, the boot swaying next to us, and the ropes wriggling under our feet. Tender
stuck his head over the rail and looked at us. His eyes were full of despair. It was time to go.
"Follow me step for step, two steps behind me, keep your eyes on my back, and stay alert."
I went on. I stopped in the doorway to look around. It's a hell of a lot easier working in the daylight
than at night! I remember lying in that same doorway. It was pitch black and the witches' jelly was
shooting tongues of flame up from the pit, pale blue, like burning alcohol. It didn't make things any lighter.
In fact, the bastards made it seem even darker. And now, it was a snap! My eyes had gotten used to the
murky light, and I could even see the dust in the darkest corners. And there really was something silvery
over thereтАФthere were silvery threads stretching to the ceiling from the canisters. They sure looked like a
spider's web. Maybe that's all it was, too, but I was going to keep away from it. That's where I made my
mistake. I should have stood Kirill right next to me, waited for his eyes to grow accustomed to the light,
too, and then pointed out the web to him. Point it out to him. But I was used to working alone. I saw
what I had to see, and I forgot all about Kirill.
I stepped inside and went straight for the canisters. I crouched over the empty. There didn't seem to
be any web on the empty. I picked up one end and said to Kirill:
"Here, grab one, and don't drop itтАФit's heavy."